Reflection: I Make Money Moves

By Cameron Breland

My “Black Mirror” episode is about the growing problem of materialism or materialistic wealth. Many people are caught up in trying to chase money, and they forget about the other important things in life.

In the future, materialism has taken over the world, leaving the upper class rich, a small middle class, and a large class of poor people. Technology has advanced so much that people can read another person’s personal information from an app. This information includes what the person owns, such as the kind of car, how big their house is, fancy or regular clothes, and how much wealth they have acquired.

On the app, people judge each other for the over-extravagant things some have, and make fun of the poor, who have little to nothing. Everyone in society is bitter and consumed with greed, and they will do anything to get ahead of someone.

One character is middle class and trying to get into the upper class. The problem is he is stuck at a dead in job with no bright future in sight until a promotional challenge pops up in the app. The app creators have a challenge set up with 100 contestants who qualified to participate. The grand prize is riches and wealth beyond imagination.

The challenges are not for the weak. There are 30 challenges, starting with: What is something bad you would do for $20 dollars? Each challenge increases with a new level of cruelty and embarrassment.

The main character has passed the first couple of levels with ease by cursing random people, treating his family like crap, and cheating on his girlfriend. The challenges eventually become illegal, such as robbing people challengers know or vandalizing their workplaces, causing contestants to lose their jobs.

The final two contests somehow make it to the final challenge. To get the grand prize, the two contests must kill one another, or the game will be over. This is broadcasted across the app, and the contestants are hesitant and not willing to do it.

Then one guy raises a gun at the other contestant slowly, and the fellow competitor does the same until they’re even with each other. The screen goes black. Then you hear a gun shot.


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