Bookshelf Battle

Hey 3.5 readers.

So, after many years, I finally hopped down the rabbit hole of Black Mirror this week. I always wanted to but never got around to it. What with Covid making new movie releases a thing of the past, I’ve been starved for new content so I gave this a go and am glad I did.

If you haven’t watched it yet, it’s a modern day Twilight Zone but with a focus on the ills of technology. Each episode focuses on a piece of tech that was meant to improve life only to ruin it in new and crazy ways.

In this post, I’m reviewing the most recent episode, Striking Vipers. Anthony Mackie and Yahya Abdul-Madeen II play a couple old college roommates Danny and Karl who in their young glory days, used to stay up all night chasing babes, only to head back to their crib and play the “Street Fighter-esque” video game Striking Vipers until the wee hours of the morning.

Flash forward to middle age and Danny and Karl are reaping the rewards of life’s struggles, as well as the punishments. Both are financially successful and have nice homes, secure in their jobs, no longer worried about climbing the ladder and no longer worrying about making rent.

Danny is married and has a son while Karl is recently divorced. Danny openly states he’s happy to be off the market rather than going through the rat race of the dating scene, constantly trying to impress women who would reject him over the slightest detail.

Meanwhile, Karl is recently divorced and hopes his new found single status, combined with the financial success he lacked in youth, will allow him to chase a plethora of younger hotties.

Everything changes when the dudes reconnect thanks to the latest VR version of Striking Vipers. The bros begin hanging out online late at night, enjoying their bouts of virtual fisticuffs…that is until they realize that it is possible for them to make their characters hump and they actually feel the humping.

Suddenly, their worlds are turned upside down. Yes, there are benefits to middle age that come with putting in the years but that time puts a beating on the body and the soul. These dudes are still men. In their hearts, they still want to go out to the club and pick up new booty, but Danny loves his wife too much and wouldn’t dare wreck his idyllic suburban life…even though the sex is ho hum.

And though Karl thought he’d become a late in life ladies’ man, he finds that the younger women just want his money and don’t understand his jokes and/or pop cultural references. Even worse, he can’t keep up in the boudoir.

Ergo, a game that provides safe, wild and crazy red hot sex with the assistance of a trusted friend who will be cool and not demand any strings to be attached sounds like the solution to their problems.

Ah, but the questions about. Does this mean they are gay? One of the characters is a woman, but is the dude gay for being a woman in the game? Is the other dude gay for banging a woman played by a dude? Will this affect their relationships i.e. if they are constantly banging each other in the video game world, will they have any stamina left for their real life partners? And holy crap, what if this means they are in love? Like not best buddy dude bro love but romantic love? Is it possible to have a virtual friends with benefits situation without love attaching?

These are the bizarre questions that Black Mirror asks. Sometimes they are answered and sometimes not but I think overall, this episode does a good job of summarizing the joys and pitfalls that come with various stages of life. In youth, you are full of energy but low on knowledge and money. In middle age you are higher on money but and knowledge but lack the energy to do anything about it. An ironic nightmare, really.

STATUS: Shelf-worthy.