Black Mirror: Why Smithereens Is Actually Hard Science Fiction
Ryan Britt Jun 6, 2019
Series creator Charlie Brooker says episode two of the new season isn’t sci-fi. But what this sci-fi critic presupposes is… maybe it is?
This story contains spoilers for Black Mirror season 5 episode “Smithereens.”
The second episode of Black Mirror season 5 — “Smithereens” — probably won’t sit well with sci-fi enthusiasts hungry for another trippy tech-twist. In fact, writer Charlie Brooker has gone on record about the episode, telling EW they “wanted to do a contemporary episode without any sci-fi elements at all.” And yet, when one considers the purpose and lasting execution of science fiction, “Smithereens” could totally be viewed as a work of hard Sf.
To paraphrase Kurt Vonnegut in the essay “Science Fiction,” science fiction authors and critics love to stay up late and debate about the definition of science fiction. In Vonnegut’s day, these debates existed in real life, mostly at small science fiction conventions.
Series creator Charlie Brooker says episode two of the new season isn’t sci-fi. But what this sci-fi critic presupposes is… maybe it is?
This story contains spoilers for Black Mirror season 5 episode “Smithereens.”
The second episode of Black Mirror season 5 — “Smithereens” — probably won’t sit well with sci-fi enthusiasts hungry for another trippy tech-twist. In fact, writer Charlie Brooker has gone on record about the episode, telling EW they “wanted to do a contemporary episode without any sci-fi elements at all.” And yet, when one considers the purpose and lasting execution of science fiction, “Smithereens” could totally be viewed as a work of hard Sf.
To paraphrase Kurt Vonnegut in the essay “Science Fiction,” science fiction authors and critics love to stay up late and debate about the definition of science fiction. In Vonnegut’s day, these debates existed in real life, mostly at small science fiction conventions.
- 6/6/2019
- Den of Geek
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