IC Day - Black Mirror Marathon

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Every year The Haverford School community engages in a day of learning beyond the normal scope of the curriculum. Students choose to investigate such divergent topics as data analytics in sports, the history of Philadelphia's Old City neighborhood, environmental art, and self-care and masculinity. Mr. Gary Kan and I lead a session conducting a filmic and philosophical analysis of the Netflix series TV show, Black Mirror. The show explores many of the questions that the exponential developments of technology are presenting, as well as the intended consequences of such “progress.” Black Mirror is fertile soil for important conversations about humanity’s future in an increasingly technological world. Started by Mr. Matt Green in 2018, the day is designed around four episodes that map out an experiential dialectical arch for the students. We follow each up with a discussion of the questions it asks and the themes it explores and we conclude with a broader analysis of the existential and epistemological issues currently facing humanity as the result of technological advancement. If you are a fan of philosophy, science fiction, dystopian literature, this would be your kind of TV marathon.