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The Real Horror of Black Mirror’s “Common People” Is Disability Under Capitalism
What looks like a critique of predatory tech is, for disabled people, a chilling reflection of real life.
On the surface, Common People, the first episode of Black Mirror’s Season 7, is a gut-wrenching, emotionally potent critique of a predatory technology — exactly the type of narrative we expect from show creator Charlie Brooker.
But for myself, and many disabled people, the episode doesn’t just offer speculative fiction about a possible future. It’s a frightening metaphor for our present.
In Amanda (Rashida Jones), I saw a portrait of disability. Her life is sustained through a paid subscription, and ultimately, her joy becomes inconvenient, her body becomes property, and her very lifeforce becomes currency. I recognize these injustices. Not as science fiction. But as the reality of disability under capitalism.
The Price of Staying Alive
The episode follows familiar Black Mirror patterns: a tragedy sparks a desperate desire, and technology offers a solution no one can resist. When Amanda falls into a coma due to a brain tumor, her husband Mike (Chris O’Dowd) is offered a choice: let her die, or subscribe to an…
