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Changed line(s) 7,9 (click to see context) from:
* In ''15 Million Merits'', the citizens all sleep in their own single cells and are bombarded with pornography every few minutes. One method of population control, I suppose...
* FridgeBrilliance in ''15 Million Merits'':
** It's implied, when Abi goes for her Hot Shot audition, that the Cuppliance is responsible for her [[spoiler:going into pornography]] more than anything else. But then, Bing goes on as well, [[spoiler:''avoids drinking it...'' and then goes along with the panel's offer and gets swallowed up by the machine anyway]]. Maybe the drink didn't really do that much, they just ''thought'' it did?
* FridgeBrilliance in ''15 Million Merits'':
** It's implied, when Abi goes for her Hot Shot audition, that the Cuppliance is responsible for her [[spoiler:going into pornography]] more than anything else. But then, Bing goes on as well, [[spoiler:''avoids drinking it...'' and then goes along with the panel's offer and gets swallowed up by the machine anyway]]. Maybe the drink didn't really do that much, they just ''thought'' it did?
to:
* In ''15 Million Merits'', the citizens all sleep in their own single cells and are bombarded with pornography every few minutes. One method of population control, I suppose...
control...
* FridgeBrilliance in ''15 MillionMerits'':
**Merits'': It's implied, when Abi goes for her Hot Shot audition, that the Cuppliance is responsible for her [[spoiler:going into pornography]] more than anything else. But then, Bing goes on as well, [[spoiler:''avoids drinking it...'' and then goes along with the panel's offer and gets swallowed up by the machine anyway]]. Maybe the drink didn't really do that much, they just ''thought'' it did?
* FridgeBrilliance in ''15 Million
**
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Changed line(s) 8,20 (click to see context) from:
* FridgeBrilliance in ''15 Million Merits'': it's implied, when Abi goes for her Hot Shot audition, that the Cuppliance is responsible for her [[spoiler:going into pornography]] more than anything else. But then, Bing goes on as well, [[spoiler:''avoids drinking it...'' and then goes along with the panel's offer and gets swallowed up by the machine anyway]]. Maybe the drink didn't really do that much, they just ''thought'' it did?
** I don't think the cup does anything and the offer of being in a slightly better situation is just too high
** I always believed that she went through with it because Bing had spent so many merits on her for the audition, that she thought that he would've wanted her to accept it.
** This troper thinks of it more like FridgeHorror: [[spoiler:As Bing dishes out his heartfelt rant at the judges and the audience, it makes the viewer believe that he's genuinely outraged by all of it. But seeing him later, doing the same thing for fame and celebrity, not only clarifies that he didn't really mean what he had been saying, but everything he has done since has been ''of his own free will''! He's clearly that amoral.]]
*** Except he really isn't. He makes it clear during one his streams that the only reason he doesn't slash his throat out is because the producers will find a way to make it 'entertaining'. And the fact that he keeps his shard in a black casing as a reminder everyday. Furthermore, does he look very happy in his new life? Not really.
*** I don't think it's "clear [that] the only reason he doesn't slash is throat out is because the producers will find a way to make it 'entertaining.'" I know that's what he says, but that safely-packaged "fight the power" message is his shtick, right? But I also don't think that he was cynical when he said that stuff to the judges -- he meant it when he said it. He was fed up with the artificial society around him and his pointless role in it. But when he was suddenly offered an easy and comparatively comfortable life, his conviction failed him; he flinched. It's like if a genuine, committed Occupy Wall Street protester who worked 40 hours per week for a barely livable wage were suddenly offered $250k per year to quit protesting and write a couple of "safe" anti-capitalism articles per week for Vox. Doubtless some wouldn't take that deal, but how many would?
*** He did mean what he was saying: it was largely unplanned, and he countered one of the judges when he described it as an "act". The problem was that [[AndThenWhat he had no plan beyond saying it]], and the judges were "swayed", but not in the way he was expecting. They then decide to ''let him'' say all that stuff and even put it in a timeslot, while the crowd goads him into doing it. Regardless of whether it was true or not, or was a genuine tirade against the entertainment industry, a simple rant isn't going to change the system, but it's more likely the system will [[TheManIsStickingItToTheMan assimilate the person doing it.]] [[spoiler:Bing clearly feels as unfulfilled in his new role as he was on the bikes.]] That's what the scenes were meant to illustrate.
** He clearly was hoping to reach the judges and the audience and create a big emotional upheaval, which did not happen. So perhaps he figured that even though he would be absorbed into the system and reduced to one more form of pop culture, maybe he could reach at least one person, and be at least that tiny degree of successful communicating his message.
*** One could also view it as the opposite — that he was so disillusioned by the failure of his message, and the system's ability to subsume even the most effective criticism, that he lost the will to fight anymore, and decided that if he was going to give up, he might as well give up in comfort.
* ''15 Million Merits''? Why not 12 million? 20 million? Because in the future, [[FifteenMinutesOfFame everybody will be famous for fifteen minutes]].
** That is pretty brilliant, but it may be accidental because the price used to be 12 million. The fact that Bing was forced to cough up the extra 3 million was a minor plot point to emphasize his self-sacrifice.
* Another FridgeBrilliance: The usage of Giuseppe Verdi's "Dies irae" ---- Day of Wrath ---- as ''Hot Shot'''s theme fits in well with what Judge Wraith does, inflicting wrath upon contestants. It becomes more clear on what he [[spoiler:did to Abi, turning her into a porn star, which is a wrath for her]].
* Bing's name. Like the search engine that got its name specifically '''b'''ecause '''i'''t's '''n'''ot '''g'''oogle, Website/{{Google}} potentially being one of the soul-sucking modern tech corporations that Brooker's message is ''always'' aimed at. Took me six years to notice that.
** I don't think the cup does anything and the offer of being in a slightly better situation is just too high
** I always believed that she went through with it because Bing had spent so many merits on her for the audition, that she thought that he would've wanted her to accept it.
** This troper thinks of it more like FridgeHorror: [[spoiler:As Bing dishes out his heartfelt rant at the judges and the audience, it makes the viewer believe that he's genuinely outraged by all of it. But seeing him later, doing the same thing for fame and celebrity, not only clarifies that he didn't really mean what he had been saying, but everything he has done since has been ''of his own free will''! He's clearly that amoral.]]
*** Except he really isn't. He makes it clear during one his streams that the only reason he doesn't slash his throat out is because the producers will find a way to make it 'entertaining'. And the fact that he keeps his shard in a black casing as a reminder everyday. Furthermore, does he look very happy in his new life? Not really.
*** I don't think it's "clear [that] the only reason he doesn't slash is throat out is because the producers will find a way to make it 'entertaining.'" I know that's what he says, but that safely-packaged "fight the power" message is his shtick, right? But I also don't think that he was cynical when he said that stuff to the judges -- he meant it when he said it. He was fed up with the artificial society around him and his pointless role in it. But when he was suddenly offered an easy and comparatively comfortable life, his conviction failed him; he flinched. It's like if a genuine, committed Occupy Wall Street protester who worked 40 hours per week for a barely livable wage were suddenly offered $250k per year to quit protesting and write a couple of "safe" anti-capitalism articles per week for Vox. Doubtless some wouldn't take that deal, but how many would?
*** He did mean what he was saying: it was largely unplanned, and he countered one of the judges when he described it as an "act". The problem was that [[AndThenWhat he had no plan beyond saying it]], and the judges were "swayed", but not in the way he was expecting. They then decide to ''let him'' say all that stuff and even put it in a timeslot, while the crowd goads him into doing it. Regardless of whether it was true or not, or was a genuine tirade against the entertainment industry, a simple rant isn't going to change the system, but it's more likely the system will [[TheManIsStickingItToTheMan assimilate the person doing it.]] [[spoiler:Bing clearly feels as unfulfilled in his new role as he was on the bikes.]] That's what the scenes were meant to illustrate.
** He clearly was hoping to reach the judges and the audience and create a big emotional upheaval, which did not happen. So perhaps he figured that even though he would be absorbed into the system and reduced to one more form of pop culture, maybe he could reach at least one person, and be at least that tiny degree of successful communicating his message.
*** One could also view it as the opposite — that he was so disillusioned by the failure of his message, and the system's ability to subsume even the most effective criticism, that he lost the will to fight anymore, and decided that if he was going to give up, he might as well give up in comfort.
* ''15 Million Merits''? Why not 12 million? 20 million? Because in the future, [[FifteenMinutesOfFame everybody will be famous for fifteen minutes]].
** That is pretty brilliant, but it may be accidental because the price used to be 12 million. The fact that Bing was forced to cough up the extra 3 million was a minor plot point to emphasize his self-sacrifice.
* Another FridgeBrilliance: The usage of Giuseppe Verdi's "Dies irae" ---- Day of Wrath ---- as ''Hot Shot'''s theme fits in well with what Judge Wraith does, inflicting wrath upon contestants. It becomes more clear on what he [[spoiler:did to Abi, turning her into a porn star, which is a wrath for her]].
* Bing's name. Like the search engine that got its name specifically '''b'''ecause '''i'''t's '''n'''ot '''g'''oogle, Website/{{Google}} potentially being one of the soul-sucking modern tech corporations that Brooker's message is ''always'' aimed at. Took me six years to notice that.
to:
* FridgeBrilliance in ''15 Million Merits'': it's Merits'':
** It's implied, when Abi goes for her Hot Shot audition, that the Cuppliance is responsible for her [[spoiler:going into pornography]] more than anything else. But then, Bing goes on as well, [[spoiler:''avoids drinking it...'' and then goes along with the panel's offer and gets swallowed up by the machine anyway]]. Maybe the drink didn't really do that much, they just ''thought'' it did?
** %%** I don't think the cup does anything and the offer of being in a slightly better situation is just too high
** %%** I always believed that she went through with it because Bing had spent so many merits on her for the audition, that she thought that he would've wanted her to accept it.
** %%** This troper thinks of it more like FridgeHorror: [[spoiler:As Bing dishes out his heartfelt rant at the judges and the audience, it makes the viewer believe that he's genuinely outraged by all of it. But seeing him later, doing the same thing for fame and celebrity, not only clarifies that he didn't really mean what he had been saying, but everything he has done since has been ''of his own free will''! He's clearly that amoral.]]
*** %%*** Except he really isn't. He makes it clear during one his streams that the only reason he doesn't slash his throat out is because the producers will find a way to make it 'entertaining'. And the fact that he keeps his shard in a black casing as a reminder everyday. Furthermore, does he look very happy in his new life? Not really.
*** %%*** I don't think it's "clear [that] the only reason he doesn't slash is throat out is because the producers will find a way to make it 'entertaining.'" I know that's what he says, but that safely-packaged "fight the power" message is his shtick, right? But I also don't think that he was cynical when he said that stuff to the judges -- he meant it when he said it. He was fed up with the artificial society around him and his pointless role in it. But when he was suddenly offered an easy and comparatively comfortable life, his conviction failed him; he flinched. It's like if a genuine, committed Occupy Wall Street protester who worked 40 hours per week for a barely livable wage were suddenly offered $250k per year to quit protesting and write a couple of "safe" anti-capitalism articles per week for Vox. Doubtless some wouldn't take that deal, but how many would?
*** ** He did mean what he was saying: it was largely unplanned, and he countered one of the judges when he described it as an "act". The problem was that [[AndThenWhat he had no plan beyond saying it]], and the judges were "swayed", but not in the way he was expecting. They then decide to ''let him'' say all that stuff and even put it in a timeslot, while the crowd goads him into doing it. Regardless of whether it was true or not, or was a genuine tirade against the entertainment industry, a simple rant isn't going to change the system, but it's more likely the system will [[TheManIsStickingItToTheMan assimilate the person doing it.]] [[spoiler:Bing clearly feels as unfulfilled in his new role as he was on the bikes.]] That's what the scenes were meant to illustrate.
** He clearly was hoping to reach the judges and the audience and create a big emotional upheaval, which did not happen. So perhaps he figured that even though he would be absorbed into the system and reduced to one more form of pop culture, maybe he could reach at least one person, and be at least that tiny degree of successful communicating hismessage.
***message. One could also view it as the opposite — that he was so disillusioned by the failure of his message, and the system's ability to subsume even the most effective criticism, that he lost the will to fight anymore, and decided that if he was going to give up, he might as well give up in comfort.
* ''15 Million Merits''? Why not 12 million? 20 million? Because in the future, [[FifteenMinutesOfFame everybody will be famous for fifteenminutes]].
** That is pretty brilliant, but it mayminutes]]. May be accidental because the price used to be 12 million. The fact that Bing was forced to cough up the extra 3 million was a minor plot point to emphasize his self-sacrifice.
*Another FridgeBrilliance: The usage of Giuseppe Verdi's "Dies irae" ---- Day of Wrath ---- as ''Hot Shot'''s theme fits in well with what Judge Wraith does, inflicting wrath upon contestants. It becomes more clear on what he [[spoiler:did to Abi, turning her into a porn star, which is a wrath for her]].
* Bing's name. Like the search engine that got its name specifically '''b'''ecause '''i'''t's '''n'''ot '''g'''oogle, Website/{{Google}} potentially being one of the soul-sucking modern tech corporations that Brooker's message is ''always'' aimed at. Took me six years to notice that.
** It's implied, when Abi goes for her Hot Shot audition, that the Cuppliance is responsible for her [[spoiler:going into pornography]] more than anything else. But then, Bing goes on as well, [[spoiler:''avoids drinking it...'' and then goes along with the panel's offer and gets swallowed up by the machine anyway]]. Maybe the drink didn't really do that much, they just ''thought'' it did?
** He clearly was hoping to reach the judges and the audience and create a big emotional upheaval, which did not happen. So perhaps he figured that even though he would be absorbed into the system and reduced to one more form of pop culture, maybe he could reach at least one person, and be at least that tiny degree of successful communicating his
***
* ''15 Million Merits''? Why not 12 million? 20 million? Because in the future, [[FifteenMinutesOfFame everybody will be famous for fifteen
** That is pretty brilliant, but it may
*
* Bing's name. Like the search engine that got its name specifically '''b'''ecause '''i'''t's '''n'''ot '''g'''oogle, Website/{{Google}} potentially being one of the soul-sucking modern tech corporations that Brooker's message is ''always'' aimed at.
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Changed line(s) 5,13 (click to see context) from:
* Either FridgeBrilliance or FridgeHorror depending on your viewpoint, but in ''15 Million Merits'', the omnipresent exercise bikes that ''apparently'' provide power to society don't appear to be connected to anything. This would make the constant pedaling totally pointless. Given the other omnipresent aspect of this society, constant entertainment on screens everywhere, the bikes could be just another way to occupy a populace that actually has nothing to do.
** It's shown that you obtain the "merits" through the cycling, but exactly what the cycling is meant to achieve is never clarified, although as a bit of FridgeBrilliance, this is the point -- the bikes are useless busywork which everyone has to do to get by, even if it's totally pointless, as a metaphor for the work everyone has to do to get by in the real world today. Ever feel like your job is totally useless and produces nothing worthwhile? That's what the bikes are meant to be.
** Isn't it suggested that cycling provides electricity to power all the screens? So people are kept compliant by watching trash to distract them from their meaningless jobs... which exist only to produce the trash that keeps everyone compliant... Consumer capitalism in a nutshell.
*** Yes, that's what the populace is led to believe, but the humans generally only provide ~250 Watts while cycling, ~400-500 Watts if they really push themselves. Now currently, a 52" TV will use about ~285 watts (varies depending on manufacturer, of course); even taking into account future improvements in energy-saving technology, it's very unlikely humans alone would be able to power the power city that includes lifts, vending machines, lights, touch-screen mirrors, and of course the omnipresent floor-to-ceiling [=TVs=] complete with motion detectors. It's possible that they are simply there to augment the power consumption, but personally I think it's just to keep the population busy and to make them think they're doing something worthwhile.
*** But this episode is most likely set in a far future, so they probably found a way to subtract more energy
*** [[MST3KMantra It's a metaphor, nothing more.]] It doesn't make objective sense, but then it's not meant to.
** According to Brooker, they at most run the screens, and it's more about [[BreadAndCircuses preserving social structure and keeping people busy]] than actually producing any power.
*** Further evidenced by the carrot-and-stick conditioning: merits if you do keep exercising, demotion to cleaner / game-show fodder if you don't.
** It doesn't need to be connected to anything. If the wheels are constructed in a certain fashion with magnetic material and the base has an electric circuit, then it could be an induction generator, and any other work consequence of the activity can just be connected to the base, hidden wires and all (or, why not, wirelessly; it's the future!) Going into the nitty-gritty of how much power a human being can actually generate as such will probably not wield very impressive values, though, so we enter "[[Franchise/TheMatrix Matrix's]] giant human battery" territory: the message is more important than the factual nature of the mechanism.
** It's shown that you obtain the "merits" through the cycling, but exactly what the cycling is meant to achieve is never clarified, although as a bit of FridgeBrilliance, this is the point -- the bikes are useless busywork which everyone has to do to get by, even if it's totally pointless, as a metaphor for the work everyone has to do to get by in the real world today. Ever feel like your job is totally useless and produces nothing worthwhile? That's what the bikes are meant to be.
** Isn't it suggested that cycling provides electricity to power all the screens? So people are kept compliant by watching trash to distract them from their meaningless jobs... which exist only to produce the trash that keeps everyone compliant... Consumer capitalism in a nutshell.
*** Yes, that's what the populace is led to believe, but the humans generally only provide ~250 Watts while cycling, ~400-500 Watts if they really push themselves. Now currently, a 52" TV will use about ~285 watts (varies depending on manufacturer, of course); even taking into account future improvements in energy-saving technology, it's very unlikely humans alone would be able to power the power city that includes lifts, vending machines, lights, touch-screen mirrors, and of course the omnipresent floor-to-ceiling [=TVs=] complete with motion detectors. It's possible that they are simply there to augment the power consumption, but personally I think it's just to keep the population busy and to make them think they're doing something worthwhile.
*** But this episode is most likely set in a far future, so they probably found a way to subtract more energy
*** [[MST3KMantra It's a metaphor, nothing more.]] It doesn't make objective sense, but then it's not meant to.
** According to Brooker, they at most run the screens, and it's more about [[BreadAndCircuses preserving social structure and keeping people busy]] than actually producing any power.
*** Further evidenced by the carrot-and-stick conditioning: merits if you do keep exercising, demotion to cleaner / game-show fodder if you don't.
** It doesn't need to be connected to anything. If the wheels are constructed in a certain fashion with magnetic material and the base has an electric circuit, then it could be an induction generator, and any other work consequence of the activity can just be connected to the base, hidden wires and all (or, why not, wirelessly; it's the future!) Going into the nitty-gritty of how much power a human being can actually generate as such will probably not wield very impressive values, though, so we enter "[[Franchise/TheMatrix Matrix's]] giant human battery" territory: the message is more important than the factual nature of the mechanism.
to:
** It's shown that you obtain the "merits" through the cycling, but exactly what the cycling is meant to achieve is never clarified, although as a bit of FridgeBrilliance, this is the point -- the bikes are useless busywork which everyone has to do to get by, even if it's totally pointless, as a metaphor for the work everyone has to do to get by in the real world today. Ever feel like your job is totally useless and produces nothing worthwhile? That's what the bikes are meant to be.
** Isn't it suggested that cycling provides electricity to power all the screens? So people are kept compliant by watching trash to distract them from their meaningless jobs... which exist only to produce the trash that keeps everyone compliant... Consumer capitalism in a nutshell.
*** Yes, that's what the populace is led to believe, but the humans generally only provide ~250 Watts while cycling, ~400-500 Watts if they really push themselves. Now currently, a 52" TV will use about ~285 watts (varies depending on manufacturer, of course); even taking into account future improvements in energy-saving technology, it's very unlikely humans alone would be able to power the power city that includes lifts, vending machines, lights, touch-screen mirrors, and of course the omnipresent floor-to-ceiling [=TVs=] complete with motion detectors. It's possible that they are simply there to augment the power consumption, but personally I think it's just to keep the population busy and to make them think they're doing something worthwhile.
*** But this episode is most likely set in a far future, so they probably found a way to subtract more energy
*** [[MST3KMantra It's a metaphor, nothing more.]] It doesn't make objective sense, but then it's not meant to.
** According to Brooker, they at most run the screens, and it's more about [[BreadAndCircuses preserving social structure and keeping people busy]] than actually producing any power.
*** Further evidenced by the carrot-and-stick conditioning: merits if you do keep exercising, demotion to cleaner / game-show fodder if you don't.
** It doesn't need to be connected to anything. If the wheels are constructed in a certain fashion with magnetic material and the base has an electric circuit, then it could be an induction generator, and any other work consequence of the activity can just be connected to the base, hidden wires and all (or, why not, wirelessly; it's the future!) Going into the nitty-gritty of how much power a human being can actually generate as such will probably not wield very impressive values, though, so we enter "[[Franchise/TheMatrix Matrix's]] giant human battery" territory: the message is more important than the factual nature of the mechanism.
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****I don't think it's "clear [that] the only reason he doesn't slash is throat out is because the producers will find a way to make it 'entertaining.'" I know that's what he says, but that safely-packaged "fight the power" message is his shtick, right? But I also don't think that he was cynical when he said that stuff to the judges -- he meant it when he said it. He was fed up with the artificial society around him and his pointless role in it. But when he was suddenly offered an easy and comparatively comfortable life, his conviction failed him; he flinched. It's like if a genuine, committed Occupy Wall Street protester who worked 40 hours per week for a barely livable wage were suddenly offered $250k per year to quit protesting and write a couple of "safe" anti-capitalism articles per week for Vox. Doubtless some wouldn't take that deal, but how many would?
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Changed line(s) 27 (click to see context) from:
* Bing's name. [[CaptainObvious It's Bing]]. Like the search engine that got its name specifically '''b'''ecause '''i'''t's '''n'''ot '''g'''oogle, Website/{{Google}} potentially being one of the soul-sucking modern tech corporations that Brooker's message is ''always'' aimed at. Took me six years to notice that.
to:
* Bing's name. [[CaptainObvious It's Bing]]. Like the search engine that got its name specifically '''b'''ecause '''i'''t's '''n'''ot '''g'''oogle, Website/{{Google}} potentially being one of the soul-sucking modern tech corporations that Brooker's message is ''always'' aimed at. Took me six years to notice that.
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** I don't think the cup does anything and the offer of being in a slightly better situation is just too high
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**** But this episode is most likely set in a far future, so they probably found a way to subtract more energy
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** That is pretty brilliant, but it may be accidental because the price used to be 12 million. The fact that Bing was forced to cough up the extra 3 million was a minor plot point to emphasize his self-sacrifice.
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*** One could also view it as the opposite — that he was so disillusioned by the failure of his message, and the system's ability to subsume even the most effective criticism, that he lost the will to fight anymore, and decided that if he was going to give up, he might as well give up in comfort.
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* FridgeHorror after watching ''Black Museum'' -- a character in that episode reads a ''15 Million Merits'' graphic novel, suggesting that the story in this episode is being used as straight-laced entertainment in the future (compared to the "this is bad" entertainment it was in RealLife).
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[[center:[-'''[[Fridge/BlackMirror Black Mirror Fridge]]'''-]]]
[[center:[-'''Series One'''-]]]
[[center:[-[[Fridge/BlackMirrorTheNationalAnthem The National Anthem]]-] -- [-'''Fifteen Million Merits'''-] -- [-[[Fridge/BlackMirrorTheEntireHistoryOfYou The Entire History of You]]-]]]
[[center:[-'''Series One'''-]]]
[[center:[-[[Fridge/BlackMirrorTheNationalAnthem The National Anthem]]-] -- [-'''Fifteen Million Merits'''-] -- [-[[Fridge/BlackMirrorTheEntireHistoryOfYou The Entire History of You]]-]]]
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* Either FridgeBrilliance or FridgeHorror depending on your viewpoint, but in ''15 Million Merits'', the omnipresent exercise bikes that ''apparently'' provide power to society don't appear to be connected to anything. This would make the constant pedaling totally pointless. Given the other omnipresent aspect of this society, constant entertainment on screens everywhere, the bikes could be just another way to occupy a populace that actually has nothing to do.
** It's shown that you obtain the "merits" through the cycling, but exactly what the cycling is meant to achieve is never clarified, although as a bit of FridgeBrilliance, this is the point -- the bikes are useless busywork which everyone has to do to get by, even if it's totally pointless, as a metaphor for the work everyone has to do to get by in the real world today. Ever feel like your job is totally useless and produces nothing worthwhile? That's what the bikes are meant to be.
** Isn't it suggested that cycling provides electricity to power all the screens? So people are kept compliant by watching trash to distract them from their meaningless jobs... which exist only to produce the trash that keeps everyone compliant... Consumer capitalism in a nutshell.
*** Yes, that's what the populace is led to believe, but the humans generally only provide ~250 Watts while cycling, ~400-500 Watts if they really push themselves. Now currently, a 52" TV will use about ~285 watts (varies depending on manufacturer, of course); even taking into account future improvements in energy-saving technology, it's very unlikely humans alone would be able to power the power city that includes lifts, vending machines, lights, touch-screen mirrors, and of course the omnipresent floor-to-ceiling [=TVs=] complete with motion detectors. It's possible that they are simply there to augment the power consumption, but personally I think it's just to keep the population busy and to make them think they're doing something worthwhile.
*** [[MST3KMantra It's a metaphor, nothing more.]] It doesn't make objective sense, but then it's not meant to.
** According to Brooker, they at most run the screens, and it's more about [[BreadAndCircuses preserving social structure and keeping people busy]] than actually producing any power.
*** Further evidenced by the carrot-and-stick conditioning: merits if you do keep exercising, demotion to cleaner / game-show fodder if you don't.
** It doesn't need to be connected to anything. If the wheels are constructed in a certain fashion with magnetic material and the base has an electric circuit, then it could be an induction generator, and any other work consequence of the activity can just be connected to the base, hidden wires and all (or, why not, wirelessly; it's the future!) Going into the nitty-gritty of how much power a human being can actually generate as such will probably not wield very impressive values, though, so we enter "[[Franchise/TheMatrix Matrix's]] giant human battery" territory: the message is more important than the factual nature of the mechanism.
* Either FridgeBrilliance or FridgeHorror depending on your viewpoint, but at the end of ''15 Million Merits'', the main character, Bing, is seen [[spoiler:looking out of what might be a huge fake vista of woodland]], or is alternatively [[spoiler:looking out of a real floor to ceiling set of windows showing lush green forest as far as the eye can see]]. This means that he has either [[spoiler:swapped his tiny cell for a larger GildedCage]] or [[spoiler:the endless drudgery of cycling that the majority of the populace does has enabled most of the planet to resort back to natural forest]]. Either ending can be seen as ultra depressing, but YMMV.
* In ''15 Million Merits'', the citizens all sleep in their own single cells and are bombarded with pornography every few minutes. One method of population control, I suppose...
* FridgeBrilliance in ''15 Million Merits'': it's implied, when Abi goes for her Hot Shot audition, that the Cuppliance is responsible for her [[spoiler:going into pornography]] more than anything else. But then, Bing goes on as well, [[spoiler:''avoids drinking it...'' and then goes along with the panel's offer and gets swallowed up by the machine anyway]]. Maybe the drink didn't really do that much, they just ''thought'' it did?
** I always believed that she went through with it because Bing had spent so many merits on her for the audition, that she thought that he would've wanted her to accept it.
** This troper thinks of it more like FridgeHorror: [[spoiler:As Bing dishes out his heartfelt rant at the judges and the audience, it makes the viewer believe that he's genuinely outraged by all of it. But seeing him later, doing the same thing for fame and celebrity, not only clarifies that he didn't really mean what he had been saying, but everything he has done since has been ''of his own free will''! He's clearly that amoral.]]
*** Except he really isn't. He makes it clear during one his streams that the only reason he doesn't slash his throat out is because the producers will find a way to make it 'entertaining'. And the fact that he keeps his shard in a black casing as a reminder everyday. Furthermore, does he look very happy in his new life? Not really.
*** He did mean what he was saying: it was largely unplanned, and he countered one of the judges when he described it as an "act". The problem was that [[AndThenWhat he had no plan beyond saying it]], and the judges were "swayed", but not in the way he was expecting. They then decide to ''let him'' say all that stuff and even put it in a timeslot, while the crowd goads him into doing it. Regardless of whether it was true or not, or was a genuine tirade against the entertainment industry, a simple rant isn't going to change the system, but it's more likely the system will [[TheManIsStickingItToTheMan assimilate the person doing it.]] [[spoiler:Bing clearly feels as unfulfilled in his new role as he was on the bikes.]] That's what the scenes were meant to illustrate.
** He clearly was hoping to reach the judges and the audience and create a big emotional upheaval, which did not happen. So perhaps he figured that even though he would be absorbed into the system and reduced to one more form of pop culture, maybe he could reach at least one person, and be at least that tiny degree of successful communicating his message.
* ''15 Million Merits''? Why not 12 million? 20 million? Because in the future, [[FifteenMinutesOfFame everybody will be famous for fifteen minutes]].
* Another FridgeBrilliance: The usage of Giuseppe Verdi's "Dies irae" ---- Day of Wrath ---- as ''Hot Shot'''s theme fits in well with what Judge Wraith does, inflicting wrath upon contestants. It becomes more clear on what he [[spoiler:did to Abi, turning her into a porn star, which is a wrath for her]].
* Bing's name. [[CaptainObvious It's Bing]]. Like the search engine that got its name specifically '''b'''ecause '''i'''t's '''n'''ot '''g'''oogle, Website/{{Google}} potentially being one of the soul-sucking modern tech corporations that Brooker's message is ''always'' aimed at. Took me six years to notice that.
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** It's shown that you obtain the "merits" through the cycling, but exactly what the cycling is meant to achieve is never clarified, although as a bit of FridgeBrilliance, this is the point -- the bikes are useless busywork which everyone has to do to get by, even if it's totally pointless, as a metaphor for the work everyone has to do to get by in the real world today. Ever feel like your job is totally useless and produces nothing worthwhile? That's what the bikes are meant to be.
** Isn't it suggested that cycling provides electricity to power all the screens? So people are kept compliant by watching trash to distract them from their meaningless jobs... which exist only to produce the trash that keeps everyone compliant... Consumer capitalism in a nutshell.
*** Yes, that's what the populace is led to believe, but the humans generally only provide ~250 Watts while cycling, ~400-500 Watts if they really push themselves. Now currently, a 52" TV will use about ~285 watts (varies depending on manufacturer, of course); even taking into account future improvements in energy-saving technology, it's very unlikely humans alone would be able to power the power city that includes lifts, vending machines, lights, touch-screen mirrors, and of course the omnipresent floor-to-ceiling [=TVs=] complete with motion detectors. It's possible that they are simply there to augment the power consumption, but personally I think it's just to keep the population busy and to make them think they're doing something worthwhile.
*** [[MST3KMantra It's a metaphor, nothing more.]] It doesn't make objective sense, but then it's not meant to.
** According to Brooker, they at most run the screens, and it's more about [[BreadAndCircuses preserving social structure and keeping people busy]] than actually producing any power.
*** Further evidenced by the carrot-and-stick conditioning: merits if you do keep exercising, demotion to cleaner / game-show fodder if you don't.
** It doesn't need to be connected to anything. If the wheels are constructed in a certain fashion with magnetic material and the base has an electric circuit, then it could be an induction generator, and any other work consequence of the activity can just be connected to the base, hidden wires and all (or, why not, wirelessly; it's the future!) Going into the nitty-gritty of how much power a human being can actually generate as such will probably not wield very impressive values, though, so we enter "[[Franchise/TheMatrix Matrix's]] giant human battery" territory: the message is more important than the factual nature of the mechanism.
* Either FridgeBrilliance or FridgeHorror depending on your viewpoint, but at the end of ''15 Million Merits'', the main character, Bing, is seen [[spoiler:looking out of what might be a huge fake vista of woodland]], or is alternatively [[spoiler:looking out of a real floor to ceiling set of windows showing lush green forest as far as the eye can see]]. This means that he has either [[spoiler:swapped his tiny cell for a larger GildedCage]] or [[spoiler:the endless drudgery of cycling that the majority of the populace does has enabled most of the planet to resort back to natural forest]]. Either ending can be seen as ultra depressing, but YMMV.
* In ''15 Million Merits'', the citizens all sleep in their own single cells and are bombarded with pornography every few minutes. One method of population control, I suppose...
* FridgeBrilliance in ''15 Million Merits'': it's implied, when Abi goes for her Hot Shot audition, that the Cuppliance is responsible for her [[spoiler:going into pornography]] more than anything else. But then, Bing goes on as well, [[spoiler:''avoids drinking it...'' and then goes along with the panel's offer and gets swallowed up by the machine anyway]]. Maybe the drink didn't really do that much, they just ''thought'' it did?
** I always believed that she went through with it because Bing had spent so many merits on her for the audition, that she thought that he would've wanted her to accept it.
** This troper thinks of it more like FridgeHorror: [[spoiler:As Bing dishes out his heartfelt rant at the judges and the audience, it makes the viewer believe that he's genuinely outraged by all of it. But seeing him later, doing the same thing for fame and celebrity, not only clarifies that he didn't really mean what he had been saying, but everything he has done since has been ''of his own free will''! He's clearly that amoral.]]
*** Except he really isn't. He makes it clear during one his streams that the only reason he doesn't slash his throat out is because the producers will find a way to make it 'entertaining'. And the fact that he keeps his shard in a black casing as a reminder everyday. Furthermore, does he look very happy in his new life? Not really.
*** He did mean what he was saying: it was largely unplanned, and he countered one of the judges when he described it as an "act". The problem was that [[AndThenWhat he had no plan beyond saying it]], and the judges were "swayed", but not in the way he was expecting. They then decide to ''let him'' say all that stuff and even put it in a timeslot, while the crowd goads him into doing it. Regardless of whether it was true or not, or was a genuine tirade against the entertainment industry, a simple rant isn't going to change the system, but it's more likely the system will [[TheManIsStickingItToTheMan assimilate the person doing it.]] [[spoiler:Bing clearly feels as unfulfilled in his new role as he was on the bikes.]] That's what the scenes were meant to illustrate.
** He clearly was hoping to reach the judges and the audience and create a big emotional upheaval, which did not happen. So perhaps he figured that even though he would be absorbed into the system and reduced to one more form of pop culture, maybe he could reach at least one person, and be at least that tiny degree of successful communicating his message.
* ''15 Million Merits''? Why not 12 million? 20 million? Because in the future, [[FifteenMinutesOfFame everybody will be famous for fifteen minutes]].
* Another FridgeBrilliance: The usage of Giuseppe Verdi's "Dies irae" ---- Day of Wrath ---- as ''Hot Shot'''s theme fits in well with what Judge Wraith does, inflicting wrath upon contestants. It becomes more clear on what he [[spoiler:did to Abi, turning her into a porn star, which is a wrath for her]].
* Bing's name. [[CaptainObvious It's Bing]]. Like the search engine that got its name specifically '''b'''ecause '''i'''t's '''n'''ot '''g'''oogle, Website/{{Google}} potentially being one of the soul-sucking modern tech corporations that Brooker's message is ''always'' aimed at. Took me six years to notice that.
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