Subscribed to life: Black Mirror paints a bleak picture of subscription culture

The first episode of the new series of Black Mirror shows us just how bleak the future might be if you are forced to subscribe to life.

Last night, I watched the first episode of the seventh season of Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror, and I suddenly came to the realization that we’re living in the subscription age.

I was talking to my boyfriend, and we soon realized that we were also a subscription couple. We get a food subscription delivered every day, my boyfriend uses a smartwatch that costs $200 a year, and we watch TV via a subscribed streaming service.

All of these things we don’t actually own and they could be taken away in a second. While this wouldn’t be life-changing if they canceled our subscription, when you’re subscribed to life – the loss of that subscription would be catastrophic.

And that’s exactly what Brooker is attempting to convey in the first episode of season 7: Common People.

What happens in Common People (mild spoilers)

The narrative focuses on a married working-class couple, school teacher Amanda (Rashida Jones) and construction worker Mike (Chris O’Dowd).

Amanda collapses in her classroom and is rushed to the hospital, where Mike will be forced into a life-or-death situation.

Until Mike meets the representative of the health technology start-up “Rivermind” which holds the solution.

The streaming service that will keep Amanda alive costs $300 a month, more than the couple can afford.

Nonetheless, Mike goes through with the life-saving decision, and Amanda makes a full recovery until things start going downhill.

We don’t own anything anymore

While there are metaphors carefully interwoven throughout the episode, I was mainly captivated by the idea that we will be dependent on companies' services and their constant upgrades.

Recently, Garmin users were so outraged at the company introducing Garmin Connect+ that they called on the Pope to intervene.

The announcement sparked a heated discussion as users felt like they were already paying top dollar for the hardware, and now they had to subscribe to another paid service for the best performance.

Similarly, there has been discourse surrounding Apple’s device usability and degraded performance when a new device comes out.

Conspiracy theories surrounding Apple’s deliberate slowing of older devices have been a topic of conversation for years, but whether this is true is still up for debate.

However, what is true is that many companies will stop rolling out updates for older devices, which forces consumers to buy the latest product.

Common People takes this idea of intentional device degradation, the need to upgrade, and companies owning us as we fall deeper into their product ecosystem to a whole new level.

Amanda is forced to upgrade to a subscription plan she can’t afford to avoid losing her job.

To afford the new plan, Mike is forced to essentially prostitute himself, performing horrific acts of mutilation just to get enough money to pay Rivermind.

The episode centers around this idea of exploitation and that big tech companies lie to sell their products, and when they have their claws in us, they will bleed us dry.