Against interactivity. Phenomenological notes on Black Mirror: Bandersnatch

• Main Author: Adriano D'Aloia
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: University of Bologna 2020-12-01
• Series: Series. International journal of tv serial narratives
• Subjects: interactive cinema; bandersnatch; black mirror; netflix; transmedia storytelling
• Online Access: https://series.unibo.it/article/view/11410

Interactive cinema is one of the most interesting areas of experimentation with storytelling form. Black Mirror: Bandersnatch (2018), a stand-alone episode of the acclaimed British television series available on Netflix, has restarted the debate around this genre. This article offers a discussion of several critical elements inherent to the experience of viewing Bandersnatch, specifically those related to its interactive, meta-reflexive, and ludic character. The tension between interactive and interpretative cooperation, between actuality and virtuality, between self-reflexivity and self-referentiality, between free choice and control, between co-authorship and authority, and between gaming and gambling, bring out the contradictions of a product characteristic of the current transmedial landscape.