Black Mirror S7E1, Corona
Can’t shake the feeling of how we’re now inside a black mirror episode
The second of July, 2021, set a new record for 27.000 new confirmed covid cases. It is definitely a different kind of excitement, a bleak and tasteless one, which makes me feel like a character of a black mirror episode. This covid situation is akin to a black mirror episode setting, thrilling with a little hint of haunting, sometimes gore, mixed with an evil brilliance, with an ‘oh we are fucked’ late realization.
Have you ever watch a black mirror episode and left feeling empty, such as all your emotions are being shaken to their core, leaving you scarred for life? That may be too euphemistic, but this late in the covid game, that is exactly where I stand.
People get sick, lose their family members, cancel life events, getting their lives turned upside down, like a huge shit storm that covers the entire world in one night. Break up is inevitable, getting into social events to heal is the least of my concerns.
Just recently, one of my close friends is supposed to get married. However, one week before her wedding reception, her father got a sore throat and tested positive for covid-19. The whole planned wedding event got pushed back, waiting for the covid scene to rest first. Almost one month passed, and I got the message that her father died. In a blink of an eye, the build-up joy of having the celebration quickly changed into grief. The congratulations become condolences, the already made wedding dress transforms into some sort of a reminder. I can’t bear myself to imagine how she must have felt and many other stories that share this tragedy.
The worst thing is that, unlike a TV bit, it seems like there is nothing we can do, there’s no bad guy to be investigated and chased, there is no magic healing drug that can be obtained, we can just accept our bleak, tasteless fate. There is no justice around this virus, good guys, bad guys, the choices we make can’t reflect on who gets to suffer.
But it is not entirely true, isn’t it?
Just like every black mirror episode (that I had seen) which all had open endings, there are different ways to see the next step. We can’t always pity ourselves and give up all hope, there will come times when our role is needed, and we can only hang on until that time. I feel lucky and am so very grateful that I still had the chance today, thanks to many medical practitioners, researchers, doctors, government officials, and my family and friends.
It is really easy to feel down at this time, and being alone with my thoughts doesn’t really help. Days seem to be moving forward unapologetically, unwillingly getting dragged from one day to the next, days turn into weeks, and weeks into months. Furthermore, I despise that my body's natural response is to take the painless path, distracting myself with consumable media, Hollywood movies, TV shows, comic books, and once in a blue moon, some porn.
I commend everyone that had come this far, kudos to all of us. There are zero people that have not been affected by this cruel pandemic, and we are survivors. We had done our best so far, supporting our closest person, abide by the health protocol, and we will continue to do so. I like to think that this episode’s writer is not so cruel, and there is a sweet sweet taste of a silver lining to be discovered.
19.41–20.31
452 words, 50 min
