Metalhead: A Critical Analysis of Black Mirror's Post-Apocalyptic Tale

This essay provides a critical analysis of the Black Mirror episode, "Metalhead", directed by David Slade and created by Charlie Brooker. The analysis delves into the plot, which centers on Bella's struggle for survival in a post-apocalyptic world, pursued by robotic dogs. The essay examines the portrayal of horror, the use of AI, and the episode's strengths and weaknesses, including criticisms of its concise running time and the lack of detailed character development. It acknowledges the effectiveness of the robotic dog's design and the episode's ability to evoke a sense of realism. The essay concludes by emphasizing the movie's aesthetic representation of survival and helplessness, its monochrome visuals, and its thought-provoking questions.

Running head: METALHEAD, CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Metalhead, critical analysis
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author Note

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Introduction
The aim of the paper is to critically the plot and the story of the “Metalhead”, part of the
anthology series of the “Black Mirror”. It is directed by David Slade and the series creator is
Charlie Brooker (IMDb, 2019). The plot of the film is based on the black and white platform
where the protagonist of the film, Bella, trying to run after the incident of the collapse of the
human society. It is based on the story of Bella who is trying to flee the robotic dogs. The story
revolves around the issue of the fulfillment of the promise of stealing something from the
warehouse where they counter the robotic dog whose sole purpose is to destroy (IMDb, 2019).
The horror portrayed in the series is merciless where the character of CGI monster as it gives the
feeling of real belief (Cumming, 2019). It is also important to note that the series have
particularly used the AI is the most effective manner, the nuances attached to the portrayal of the
robotic dog is confronted by issues however it does not fail to astonish the audience. Even
though the ruthlessness attached to the story is horrific and merciless, it is not to mention that the
creation of the robot dog does not set any limit to the ruthlessness it can create (IMDb, 2019).
The final scene of the episode revolves around the issue of punishment for transgression.
However it is not to deny that the series and the Black Mirror is an absolute technological treat to
the audience and it has successfully portrayed the ruthlessness of the characters in the most
efficient manner.
Critical analysis
It can be criticized that the cost of compassion is not displayed in the effective manner.
Moreover the total running time of the episode falls short of highlighting many nuances of the

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characters. It can also be elaborated from the particular series; it ends with the non-specified
explanation of the end of the series (Forbes.com, 2019). It should also be mentioned that this
season failed in few issues where the portrayal of the character and the robotic dog required
greater detailing. At the initial few minutes, it highlighted the scene of the farms with the pigs
which has been supposedly killed by the robotic creature. It has provided lesser visualization of
the intense expression instead it is more focused on the un-optimized humanity (Forbes.com,
2019). It is to be noted that some of the scenes of the series meanders just for the sake of
meaning with the attempt to build the outside world where the name of the characters could not
be realized and could not be related to. Moreover the movie is the portrayal of the endless
violence and horrific scenes with the philosophical dichotomy like people can rule for something
which they do not have the optimized perfection (Cumming, 2019). However it is not to deny the
fact that the entire episodes of Black Mirror is actually a self-contained experiment and it is
focused on the real life scenarios that the woman or the protagonist is facing in relation to the
machine. It is to be considered important due to the fact the portrayal of survival in the film is
differently presented than many other series based on similar storyline. It is elegant, simple and
the use of technology has been given utmost importance throughout this particular series. This is
more of an apocalyptic representation of things where the minute nuances of the series are being
portrayed and it is left to the imagination of the viewer (Chakrabarti, 2019). One of the primary
attractions of the whole series is the robotic dog and the portrayal of the same in the black and
white background. It has been helpful in relating the nature of the character by placing it in the
boundaries of realism (Benedek et al., 2017). It cannot be equated with one of the science fiction
series or movies of the time since the projection of reality has been so real that none of the
scenes could be compared to the movies like Terminator (Forbes.com, 2019). This is based on

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the regular portrayal of the survival of Bella in the context of the robotic creatures even though it
feels extremely real and practical to relate to. The equation that the series tries to show to the
audience is indeed convincing since it is the survival of the human brain over the machine
programming and this is one of the key themes of the film which is portrayed beautifully
(Cumming, 2019). What is beautifully striking in the film is the balance that the director has tried
to portray, the season ends with the ray of hope in order to contrast it with the excessive horrific
representation of suicide of the protagonist of the series. Hence it is to be argued that the series is
the creative mastery of art of the director. This is the visual representation of survival even
though from a different perspective (Frase,2016). At the end of the discussion, it can be said that
the Metalhead is surely one of the best portrayal of the survival of people and machine and the
struggle between two of the greatest forces.
However it is not to deny that the concept required better analysis and projection since
some of the characters are hastily portrayed and the use of technology would have better in terms
of the design of the robotic dog (Chakrabarti, 2019). However it can be said that the series has
been able to strike a balance between the contradictory portrayals of things and to have been
quite successful in lingering the thought of survival form this point of view (Mazzone et al.,
2019). Nonetheless, this has been not been accepted by the global critic as it has been criticized
by many that the sole theme of the movie is hopelessness and it is dark in character. It has also
been argued that this particular series is less gore than the other survival fictions. Even though
there have few comparisons with other similar works like the “Mad Max: Fury Road”, it has its
own message to convey in a different manner.

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Conclusion
The movie is a clear projection of aesthetic representation of the basic question of
survival and the feeling of helplessness on the face of threat. It is significant to note that the
portrayal of the in this distinct ways have made this series of Black Mirror stand out of the
similar series of the recent times. What is noteworthy in the film is the black and white screen.
There have been few justifications for the use of monochrome for this series however what is
important to consider here is that it is to supplement the them and the key aspects of the series ,
the black and white and white background has been used. The series has been successful in
raising some of the primary questions to the viewers and the ending leads to different
interpretations. Irrespective of the centrality of the theme, this series catches the attention of the
viewer since it has been presented from a different perspective.

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