"Men Against Fire" is the fifth and penultimate episode of the third series of British science fiction
anthology series
An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a differ ...
''
Black Mirror
''Black Mirror'' is a British anthology television series created by Charlie Brooker. Individual episodes explore a diversity of genres, but most are set in near-future dystopias with science fiction technology—a type of speculative fictio ...
''. Written by series creator and showrunner
Charlie Brooker
Charlton Brooker (born 3 March 1971) is an English television presenter, writer, producer and satirist. He is the creator and co-showrunner of the sci-fi drama anthology series ''Black Mirror'', and has written for comedy series such as ''Bras ...
and directed by
Jakob Verbruggen
Jakob Verbruggen (born in Merksem in 1980) is a Belgian television and film director. He studied at the Royal Institute for Theatre, Cinema and Sound (RITCS) in Belgium.Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
on 21 October 2016, together with the rest of series three.
The episode follows Stripe (
Malachi Kirby
Malachi Kirby is a British actor and writer. He gained prominence through his roles in the 2016 ''Roots'' remake and the ''Black Mirror'' episode "Men Against Fire". He earned a BAFTA for his performance in '' Small Axe'': ''Mangrove''.
Early ...
), a soldier who hunts humanoid mutants known as roaches. After a malfunctioning of his MASS, a
neural implant
Brain implants, often referred to as neural implants, are technological devices that connect directly to a biological subject's brain – usually placed on the surface of the brain, or attached to the brain's Cerebral cortex, cortex. A common purpo ...
, he discovers that these "roaches" are ordinary human beings. In a fateful confrontation with the psychologist Arquette ( Michael Kelly), Stripe learns that the MASS alters his perception of reality. The episode was first conceived under the name "Inbound" in 2010. Its storyline shifted over time, influenced by Brooker reading ''Men Against Fire'' by
S.L.A. Marshall
Brigadier General Samuel Lyman Atwood Marshall, also known as SLAM, (July 18, 1900 – December 17, 1977) was a military journalist and historian. He served with the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I, before becoming a journalist, spec ...
and '' On Killing'' by Dave Grossman.
The episode received mixed critical reception. Positive reviews praised Kirby and Kelly's acting as well as the relevance of the episode in a time of rising
xenophobia
Xenophobia () is the fear or dislike of anything which is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression of perceived conflict between an in-group and out-group and may manifest in suspicion by the one of the other's activities, a ...
in Europe and America. Other critics found the plot twist predictable and remarked that the storyline relied too heavily on cliches. Critical commentary frequently notes parallels to
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
. "Men Against Fire" was ranked poorly against other ''Black Mirror'' episodes by reviewers.
Plot
"Stripe" Koinange (
Malachi Kirby
Malachi Kirby is a British actor and writer. He gained prominence through his roles in the 2016 ''Roots'' remake and the ''Black Mirror'' episode "Men Against Fire". He earned a BAFTA for his performance in '' Small Axe'': ''Mangrove''.
Early ...
) and "Hunter" Raiman (
Madeline Brewer
Madeline Kathryn Brewer (born May 1, 1992) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Tricia Miller in the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards, Emmy award-winning series ''Orange Is the New Black'' (2013), her role in ''Hemlock Grove (TV series ...
) are squadmates in a military that hunts roaches—pale, snarling, humanoid monsters with sharp teeth. Each soldier has a
neural implant
Brain implants, often referred to as neural implants, are technological devices that connect directly to a biological subject's brain – usually placed on the surface of the brain, or attached to the brain's Cerebral cortex, cortex. A common purpo ...
called MASS that provides data via
augmented reality
Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive experience that combines the real world and computer-generated content. The content can span multiple sensory modalities, including visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory and olfactory. AR can be de ...
. Stripe and Hunter's squad searches a farmhouse while squad leader Medina (
Sarah Snook
Sarah Snook (born 1 December 1987) is an Australian actress. She is known for her starring role as Shiv Roy in the television series '' Succession'' (2018–present), for which she earned critical acclaim in international media. She has won sev ...
) interrogates the owner, a devout Christian (
Francis Magee
Francis Magee (born 7 June 1959) is an Irish actor. He portrayed Liam Tyler in British soap opera ''EastEnders'' from 1993 to 1995. He has also appeared in numerous television shows and feature films, including ''Sahara'' (2005), ''Layer Cake'' ...
). Stripe discovers a nest of roaches, one of whom points an
LED
A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor Electronics, device that Light#Light sources, emits light when Electric current, current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy i ...
device at Stripe; unfazed, he shoots one roach dead and stabs another to death. Medina arrests the owner and the squad burns down the farmhouse.
Stripe is rewarded with an erotic dream following his kills, but his MASS glitches during it. After further malfunctions the following day, Stripe has his MASS tested and consults a psychologist, Arquette ( Michael Kelly), but neither visit reveals any problems.
The next day, Medina, Stripe and Hunter arrive at an abandoned housing complex. After a roach-sniper suddenly kills Medina, the other two soldiers enter the building as the sniper shoots at them. Stripe encounters a woman and urges her to flee, but Hunter shoots her dead. Stripe finds another woman (
Ariane Labed
Ariane Labed (born 8 May 1984) is a Greek-French actress and film director. She is known for her feature film debut in ''Attenberg'', for which she won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress, and appearing in Helen Edmundson's film ''Mary Magdalene'' in ...
) with her child, and Hunter prepares to shoot them. Stripe intervenes and wrestles Hunter, knocking her unconscious as she shoots him in the stomach. Stripe gets up and escapes with the mother and son.
They reach a cave in the woods where the woman, named Catarina, explains that the MASS implant alters soldiers' senses to show people of her ethnic group as inhuman "roaches". They are victims of a
genocide
Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Latin ...
justified by the military as genetic cleansing. While laypeople see the group as they are, they treat them as inferior due to propaganda. Hunter arrives and kills Catarina and her son Alec, then knocks Stripe unconscious.
Stripe awakens in a cell, where Arquette apologises for his MASS glitch, caused by the LED device. Arquette reveals that MASS alters soldiers' senses so they can kill without hesitation or remorse, and that Stripe consented to this when he enlisted before having his memory wiped. Stripe has the choice to allow his MASS and memory to be reset, or to be imprisoned. Arquette forces Stripe to rewatch the sensory feed of his farmhouse raid, where he now sees himself gruesomely killing people.
In the final scene, Stripe, now a decorated officer, approaches the house from his erotic dreams. He has tears streaming down his face as he smiles. The house is then shown to be a dilapidated empty home.
Production
Whilst series one and two of ''Black Mirror'' were shown on
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
in the UK, in September 2015 Netflix commissioned the series for 12 episodes (split into two series of six episodes). In March 2016, Netflix outbid Channel 4 for the rights to distributing the third series, with a bid of $40 million. Due to its move to Netflix, the show had a larger budget than in previous series. "Men Against Fire" is the fifth episode of the third series; all six episodes in this series were released on Netflix simultaneously on 21 October 2016. As ''Black Mirror'' is an
anthology series
An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a differ ...
, each episode is standalone.
The titles of the six episodes that make up series 3 were announced in July 2016, along with the release date. A trailer for series three, featuring an amalgamation of clips and sound bites from the six episodes, was released by Netflix on 7 October 2016.
Conception and writing
The episode was written by series creator
Charlie Brooker
Charlton Brooker (born 3 March 1971) is an English television presenter, writer, producer and satirist. He is the creator and co-showrunner of the sci-fi drama anthology series ''Black Mirror'', and has written for comedy series such as ''Bras ...
. Originally called "Inbound", the first draft was inspired by the 2010 documentary ''
The War You Don't See
''The War You Don't See'' is a 2010 British documentary film written, produced and directed by John Pilger with Alan Lowery, which challenges the media for the role they played in the Iraq, Afghanistan, and Israel/Palestine conflicts. The film, ...
'', which featured lengthy stories from victims of the
Iraq War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish)
, partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
. In "Inbound", an attack on Britain appeared to be from an alien force, but was later revealed to be an invasion by Norway. It was the second script pitched in 2010 for the first series of ''Black Mirror'', but it was rejected at the time. Influenced by ''Men Against Fire: The Problem of Battle Command'' by
S.L.A. Marshall
Brigadier General Samuel Lyman Atwood Marshall, also known as SLAM, (July 18, 1900 – December 17, 1977) was a military journalist and historian. He served with the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I, before becoming a journalist, spec ...
and '' On Killing'' by Dave Grossman, the episode's focus gradually shifted to a war where combat is censored to soldiers, and it was renamed "Men Against Fire".
The title of the episode comes from Brigadier General
S.L.A. Marshall
Brigadier General Samuel Lyman Atwood Marshall, also known as SLAM, (July 18, 1900 – December 17, 1977) was a military journalist and historian. He served with the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I, before becoming a journalist, spec ...
's book ''Men Against Fire: The Problem of Battle Command'' (1947), wherein Marshall claims that during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, over 70% of soldiers did not fire their rifles, even under immediate threat, and most of those who fired aimed above the enemy's head. A similar statement is made during one of Arquette's dialogues in the episode. ''
TheWrap
''TheWrap'' is an American online news website covering the business of entertainment and media via digital, print and live events. It was founded by journalist Sharon Waxman
Sharon I. Waxman (born c.1963) is an American author, journalist, ...
'' later reported that there have been suggestions that Marshall's claim is incorrect. For research, Brooker also read Dave Grossman's book '' On Killing'', which is about the psychology of killing and based on Marshall's work. He initially wrote Arquette as more "stuffy", though his character was always intended to be sympathetic. He is a father figure to some of the soldiers, and thinks his actions are good.
Casting and filming
Jakob Verbruggen
Jakob Verbruggen (born in Merksem in 1980) is a Belgian television and film director. He studied at the Royal Institute for Theatre, Cinema and Sound (RITCS) in Belgium.
Malachi Kirby
Malachi Kirby is a British actor and writer. He gained prominence through his roles in the 2016 ''Roots'' remake and the ''Black Mirror'' episode "Men Against Fire". He earned a BAFTA for his performance in '' Small Axe'': ''Mangrove''.
Early ...
, a fan of the programme, was cast as Stripe. Kirby played the character as naive, vulnerable and with a sense of doubt, rather than as an alpha male.Michael Kelly plays psychologist Arquette, having previously worked with Verbruggen on the American political thriller ''
House of Cards
A house of cards (also known as a card tower or card castle) is a structure created by stacking playing cards on top of each other, often in the shape of a pyramid. "House of cards" is also an Expression (language), expression that dates back to ...
''. Kelly believed that Arquette and Doug Stamper—his character on ''House of Cards''—had a commonality of "true convictions in their actions". He suggested that Arquette thinks his actions help soldiers cope with
posttraumatic stress disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on ...
.
The episode was filmed in 18 days. He was inspired by the "fearless high energy" of the 1997 science fiction film ''
Starship Troopers
''Starship Troopers'' is a military science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. Written in a few weeks in reaction to the US suspending nuclear tests, the story was first published as a two-part serial in ''The Magazine of F ...
''. Though intended to look "gritty" and foreign, perhaps in an Eastern European setting, the production was constrained to the United Kingdom for economy of time and budget. Two locations near London were used for filming: the first was a disused army barracks, and the second was a set constructed in the forest for use as the village setting. A farmhouse was used as the "roach nest".
As the roaches were to be shown close up to the camera, their design was considered in detail. Their clothing was ill-fitted, to look like it had been taken from villages. After looking at the effects of skin diseases and mutations, production designer Joel Collins conceived of a design in which their brains and features had swelling, as if they had
hydrocephalus
Hydrocephalus is a condition in which an accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) occurs within the brain. This typically causes increased intracranial pressure, pressure inside the skull. Older people may have headaches, double vision, poor ...
. Kristyan Mallett worked on prosthetics, and four designs were tested on camera. The actors required hours in make-up for prosthetics. Adult actors were given black contact lenses, while the eyes of a young boy featured were altered using visual effects in post-production. As the story only made sense if the fight scene in the farmhouse was shown from a soldier's point of view, the scene was shot in a frantic style, and roaches appeared more human-like when viewed from behind.
Body doubles were used for the effect of Stripe seeing three copies of his fiancée as his MASS malfunctions during a dream. Kelly's two scenes were filmed across three days, the latter being a lengthy scene where Stripe and Arquette are alone in a cell together. Kelly spent the second day thoroughly rehearsing this scene repeatedly, and it was filmed on the third day. The room was chosen to be "bright, uncomfortable and extremely claustrophobic", and the two characters are never shown in the same frame; as Stripe learns information, the room feels like it closes in on him.
Analysis
Both Kelly and executive producer Annabel Jones compared the episode to what they saw as rising xenophobia in Europe and America, exemplified by media descriptions of refugees as "swarms" of people, the
Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign
The 2016 presidential campaign of Donald Trump was formally launched on June 16, 2015, at Trump Tower in New York City. Trump was the Republican nominee for President of the United States in the 2016 election, having won the most state prim ...
and
Brexit
Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...
coverage. These comparisons were also made by critics: Matt Patches of ''
Thrillist
Thrillist is an online media website covering food, drink, travel and entertainment. The company was founded in 2004 and is based in New York City, United States. In October 2016, Thrillist merged with internet brands '' The Dodo'', NowThis News ...
'' summarised the episode as a "catch-all metaphor for how we deal with the disenfranchised members of our global society", whilst Christian Holub of ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' described it as a "thought-provoking parable about the military's role in genocide". Tristram Fane Saunders of ''
The Telegraph
''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include:
Australia
* ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...
'' believed compassion to be the message of the episode.
The episode was described by reviewers as analogous to
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
and the
Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...
. Sophie Gilbert of ''
The Atlantic
''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science.
It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'' commented that the episode's depiction of
eugenics
Eugenics ( ; ) is a fringe set of beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter human gene pools by excluding people and groups judged to be inferior or ...
links to "prejudices still rife among humankind" such as "institutionalized racism, tribalism, and fear of refugees". Alissa Wilkinson of '' Vox'' found that the episode was about the past rather than the future, as it explores
crimes against humanity
Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...
from 20th century history. Andrew Liptak of ''
The Verge
''The Verge'' is an American technology news website operated by Vox Media, publishing news, feature stories, guidebooks, product reviews, consumer electronics news, and podcasts.
The website launched on November 1, 2011, and uses Vox Media' ...
'' wrote that in the episode, the "government perpetuated a holocaust by literally demonizing its enemies". Several reviewers noted that the villagers in the episode do not have the MASS system, so they see the genocide victims as they are, but still consider them "roaches".
Verbruggen said that the ending, in which Stripe appears to come home to a beautiful house and fiancée, but then the house is seen to be empty and derelict, can be interpreted in different ways by the audience. Kirby suggested an interpretation where Stripe chooses to keep his memories, but enable the MASS system, so he knows his vision is a lie. Kelly opined that Stripe had his memories wiped and that the house being empty is seen only by the viewers, not by Stripe. Verbruggen questions whether any of the episode's events are real. Brooker called the ending "oblique", saying that he did not have an answer to what the ending meant. The ending was originally conceived of as a homecoming parade for the returning soldiers, which is revealed to not be real.
"Men Against Fire" has been compared to other works of science fiction. Alex Mullane of ''
Digital Spy
Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...
'' and Charles Bramesco of ''
Vulture
A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...
'' made comparisons with the 1997 satirical film ''
Starship Troopers
''Starship Troopers'' is a military science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. Written in a few weeks in reaction to the US suspending nuclear tests, the story was first published as a two-part serial in ''The Magazine of F ...
'', for the soldiers' "macho talk of ending the Roach menace" and the work's "thinly veiled commentary on the culture of virulence that warring nations have to cultivate". The episode was also described as the episode of ''Black Mirror'' most similar to ''
The Twilight Zone
''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, su ...
'', the anthology series which inspired it, for its focus on one simple parable. Liptak compared the episode's narrative of a soldier realising the damage he is inflicting and going through a personal crisis to the military-related works " Enemy Mine", a 1979 novella, and '' Captain America: The Winter Soldier'', a 2014 film.
A ''Den of Geek'' article compares several real-world technologies to features of the MASS tool.
Applied Research Associates
Applied Research Associates, Inc is a research and engineering company headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico, founded in 1979. As of 2018, its revenue was estimated at between $100 and $750 million by ''The Washington Post''. As of 2011, it ha ...
' product ARC4 is an
augmented reality
Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive experience that combines the real world and computer-generated content. The content can span multiple sensory modalities, including visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory and olfactory. AR can be de ...
headset designed for soldiers, whilst Waverly Labs has an app and earpiece translation tool designed for conversation, and a product "iBand+" in development claims it will be able to induce
lucid dream
A lucid dream is a type of dream in which the dreamer becomes aware that they are dreaming while dreaming. During a lucid dream, the dreamer may gain some amount of control over the dream characters, narrative, or environment; however, this is n ...
ing.
Reception
On
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the episode received a rating of 57%, based on 21 reviews, indicating mixed reception. The episode received an A− rating by Zack Handlen of ''
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'', a B− grade from Christian Holub of ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' and a score of three out of five stars in Tristram Fane Saunder's review for ''
The Telegraph
''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include:
Australia
* ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...
''. Roxanne Sancto of '' Paste'' praised the episode as "incredibly fucking relevant" and Gilbert said it was "one of the better episodes of the series", but Matt Fowler of ''
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'' wrote that it was the "least engaging emotionally" in the third series and Adam Chitwood of ''
Collider
A collider is a type of particle accelerator which brings two opposing particle beams together such that the particles collide. Colliders may either be ring accelerators or linear accelerators.
Colliders are used as a research tool in particle ...
'' criticised it as "heavy-handed with its social commentary". Both Liptak and Bramesco believed the concepts to be interesting, but executed poorly. However, Handlen praised the episode's pacing.
The plot twist was widely considered to be predictable, leading Wilkinson and Mullane to say that the episode was not shocking and Wilkinson to say that it lacked tension. However, Gilbert described the twist as "terrific" and "unexpected", praising its plausibility. Handlen described the ending of the episode as "slightly unclear", albeit symbolically "effective". Saunders enjoyed the scene with Stripe and Arquette alone in a cell, commenting that them "discussing ideas of right and wrong" was "by far the finest part of the episode".
Kirby and Kelly were both praised for their performances as Stripe and Arquette, respectively. Handlen noted that Stripe is a passive character, and opined that Kirby did a good job in keeping "our interest and our sympathies" throughout the episode. Bramesco believed that Kirby's performance introduced "a grounded component worthy of the audience's emotional investment" to the episode. Gilbert praised that Kelly "imbues every performance with extraordinary menace". Sancto praised the scene in which Stripe and Catarina—the mother labelled as a "roach"—converse.
The episode was criticised for overreliance on cliches, particularly those relating to the military and dystopic science fiction. Saunders wrote that the episode's portrayal of the military was "competent and familiar, rather than fresh or exciting". Bramesco said the episode was too much of a "simplistic metaphor" and "doesn't offer anything new". Mullane wrote that "there a few shots where the boom mic slips into frame, which is an uncharacteristically sloppy distraction". Bramesco opined that the episode was "gratuitously violent".
For their work on this episode, Kristyan Mallett and Tanya Lodge were nominated for a 2017
Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild
The Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild is an American labor union representing make-up artists and hair stylists in feature films, television programs, commercials, live network events and theatrical productions in the United States. The membe ...
award, in the category of Best Special Makeup Effects – Television Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television.
''Black Mirror'' episode rankings
"Men Against Fire" appeared on many critics' rankings of the 23 instalments in the ''Black Mirror'' series, from best to worst.
* 3rd – Matt Donnelly and Tim Molloy, ''
TheWrap
''TheWrap'' is an American online news website covering the business of entertainment and media via digital, print and live events. It was founded by journalist Sharon Waxman
Sharon I. Waxman (born c.1963) is an American author, journalist, ...
Esquire
Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title.
In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
''
* 20th – Charles Bramesco, ''
Vulture
A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...
''
* 21st – Morgan Jeffery and Rosie Fletcher, ''
Digital Spy
Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...
''
* 22nd – Aubrey Page, ''
Collider
A collider is a type of particle accelerator which brings two opposing particle beams together such that the particles collide. Colliders may either be ring accelerators or linear accelerators.
Colliders are used as a research tool in particle ...
''
* 22nd – Travis Clark, ''
Business Insider
''Insider'', previously named ''Business Insider'' (''BI''), is an American financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Insider''s parent company Insider Inc. has been owned by the German publ ...
''
''
IndieWire
IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Hollyw ...
'' authors ranked the 22 ''Black Mirror'' instalments excluding ''
Bandersnatch
A bandersnatch is a fictional creature in Lewis Carroll's 1871 novel ''Through the Looking-Glass'' and his 1874 poem ''The Hunting of the Snark''. Although neither work describes the appearance of a bandersnatch in great detail, in ''The Hunting ...
'' by quality, giving "Men Against Fire" a position of 18th. Additionally, Proma Khosla of ''
Mashable
Mashable is a digital media platform, news website and entertainment company founded by Pete Cashmore in 2005.
History
Mashable was founded by Pete Cashmore while living in Aberdeen, Scotland, in July 2005. Early iterations of the site were a ...
'' ranked the same instalments by tone, concluding that "Men Against Fire" was the eighth most bleak. Eric Anthony Glover of ''
Entertainment Tonight
''Entertainment Tonight'' (or simply ''ET'') is an American Broadcast syndication, first-run syndicated news broadcasting news magazine, newsmagazine program that is distributed by CBS Media Ventures throughout the United States and owned by Para ...
'' ranked the episode 15th out of the 19 episodes from series one to four.
Other critics ranked the 13 episodes in ''Black Mirror''s first three series.
* 6th – Andrew Wallenstein, ''Variety''
* 11th – Adam David,
CNN Philippines
CNN Philippines (abbreviated as CNN PH) is a commercial broadcast, cable and satellite television network in the Philippines. It is owned and operated by Nine Media Corporation, together with Radio Philippines Network (RPN) as the main content ...
* 12th – Jacob Hall, ''
/Film
''/Film'', also spelled ''Slashfilm'', is a blog that covers movie news, reviews, interviews, and trailers. It was founded by Peter Sciretta in August 2005.
Podcasts
Six podcasts have run on the site. ''The /Filmcast'', hosted by David Chen, De ...
''
* 12th – Mat Elfring, ''
GameSpot
''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
''
Some critics ranked the six episodes from series three of ''Black Mirror'' in order of quality.
* 6th – Jacob Stolworthy and Christopher Hooton, ''The Independent''
* 6th – Liam Hoofe, ''Flickering Myth''
anthology series
An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a differ ...
'' The Outer Limits'' with a similar premise
* ''The 5th Wave'' (film) – science-fiction film where people are also manipulated with implants to kill other people