4 upvotes, 2 direct replies (showing 2)
View submission: Anyone else dislike adds?
YES, there is a Black Mirror episode (Season 1, ep 2, "15 Million Merits") that captures exactly this.
Description:
A satire on entertainment shows and our insatiable thirst for distraction set in a dystopian version of a future reality.
In this world, a society of people live in an enormous, enclosed space with contiguous video screens covering nearly every surface offering personalised entertainment. They earn their living by riding on exercise bikes in order to power their surroundings, earning currency known as Merits. These can be used to buy food, a squirt of toothpaste - EVERYTHING is a single transaction using your merits - virtual accessories for their Dopple, a virtual avatar, and to skip advertising that frequently interrupts everyday activities. Overweight people are second-class citizens who either work as cleaners around the bikes (where they are verbally abused) or are humiliated on game shows which others pay to watch.
Lacking enough Merits to skip an ad, Bing tries to look away, but the automated systems emit an increasingly high pitched and louder beeping noise that only stops when he opens his eyes. Bing tries to use the restroom, but since he cannot leave his cell until the ad finishes...
Link to more about it. https://black-mirror.fandom.com/wiki/Fifteen%5C_Million%5C_Merits[1][2]
1: https://black-mirror.fandom.com/wiki/Fifteen%5C_Million%5C_Merits
2: https://black-mirror.fandom.com/wiki/Fifteen_Million_Merits
This episode fascinated and scared me, and like many other Black Mirror episodes, feels like something just around the corner in our lives.
Comment by OshaViolated at 21/02/2025 at 19:26 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Sony also patented a TV that would track your eyes to ENSURE you're watching the ads and not just ignoring them/walking off
So it's not just fictional anymore
Comment by GuiltyYams at 22/02/2025 at 04:19 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
That episode lives rent free in my head. I have seen all the episodes. I watched this one when it was new. *So* creepy.