So let’s get into it. “National Anthem” is the first episode of the critically acclaimed series Black Mirror- now on Netflix. It’s one of those first episodes that sticks with you. I have to admit, the first episode of any series these days has to pass this test for me. With so many shows competing for our attention, I don’t know how people can sit through two, three, even four episodes of a series that has yet to grow interesting. This is the age of streaming entertainment, you have to reel me in on the first episode otherwise you’ve lost me and I’m off to something else.
National Anthem gets it right. It pulls you in within the first five minutes. The Prime Minister of the UK is in a dilemma. A member of the royal family has been kidnapped, a beloved princess no less. The kidnapper uploads a video to youtube in which the princess reads the demands of her kidnapper. In order to get the princess back, the kidnapper demands that the prime minister humiliate himself by having sexual intercourse with a pig on live television. Then and only then would the princess be released.
The entire episode showcases the kind of pandemonium that would ensue if such a bizarre scenario were to occur. The video of the princess goes viral and a second video is released which is meant to send the message that the princess is being mutilated because the kidnappers instructions are not being met. As the seriousness of the situation increases, public sentiment begins to put pressure on the PM to go through with the act. In the end, the PM cracks under the weight of the public polls, the advice of his advisors, the uncertainty of his career, safety, and to a small degree what I can only guess is a strange sense of loyalty to the British royal family.
The prime minister goes on live tv and screws a pig for upwards of an hour. The princess is released unharmed and we learn that the kidnapper was some British artist trying to make a political/philosophical statement about the government. The kidnapper commits suicide. For the PM, life goes on, his approval ratings go up over the next few months and the only problems he has in the end is the coldness from his wife at home. I guess she didn’t like the idea of her husband sweatily banging a pig on national tv.
There were some other sub plots and characters in the episode but this was the meat and potatoes of it all. Now, here’s my two cents:
I cannot imagine any politician on the world stage being coerced by an anonymous terrorist to publicly screw a pig on tv. Voluntarily and privately, who knows what these mofos do behind closed doors but if it was a terrorist demand, Nope! I can’t see it happening. I don’t care who was kidnapped.
Most of it was spot on in terms of how the news media and public would react. The weirdest part about the episode for me was just how much the advisors were down for the pig fu@$inhg from the beginning. Yes, there was the older female woman who botched the green screen plan with the porn actor, she did try to provide an alternative but in the end when she says to the PM “unless this happens we cannot guarantee the safety of you and your family”, I thought to myself, “Wow, you are really trying to get this dude behind that pig.” Totally weird! and the Queen implying that he should do it as well. I just don’t see it happening.
When we finally see the lucky pig in the episode I remember thinking how gigantic the pig looked. I live in NYC and the only times I get to see a pig is when its cooked as a bacon strip on my plate. The two or three other times I’ve seen actual live pigs in my travels, I do recall thinking each time “this pig is huge”.
Now, these were my very surface-y thoughts about the episode National Anthem. An intriguing first episode for the series, totally unbelievable in many ways but good to get the ball rolling, and enough shock value to be both dark and comical.
I could’ve went into some of the deep messages the show gives about the relationship between government and the press in the modern age. The coping we must do with viral content in the digital age. The blurring of the lines between entertainment and real life, this and that- but I thought I’d keep it light and talk about my raw reactions and thoughts while watching.
That’s all for now
