AVAILABLE for no more than a week on the streaming platform, the sixth season of Black Mirror is already generating buzz. And it's the first episode in the season, Joan is Awful, in particular, that has caught viewers' interest.
The pitch is simple: "an average woman is stunned to discover a global streaming platform has launched a prestige TV drama adaptation of her life – in which she is portrayed by Hollywood A-lister Salma Hayek," as Netflix explains on its platform. An undisguised satire of the American giant that has sparked much discussion across the internet.
In this episode, the 'global streaming platform' in question is none other than Streamberry, a service featuring the color scheme, design, launch animation and famous 'TUDUM' of the Netflix site. And the streaming giant has decided to play along by recreating a real platform called Streamberry.
On this site, users can discover content inspired by older Black Mirror episodes such as Bandersnatch or the episode Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too starring Miley Cyrus. By clicking on the content thumbnails, users are redirected directly to the episode in question on Netflix's genuine streaming platform.
In addition to this fake streaming site, Netflix has also created https://youareawful.com/ where users can submit their photo as well as their name to generate their own poster inspired by the episode Joan is Awful. As in the episode in question, you'll need to be careful when accepting the terms of use, as they outline that the poster created could be used as a marketing tool on large-scale advertising posters in a reference to the episode.
(Spoiler alert) Indeed, in Joan is Awful, the main character sees her life adapted for the screen by the streaming service after accepting the terms and conditions without reading them.
Streaming sites are increasingly extending the universe of their series and films with the development of supplemental content. Amazon's Prime Video has decided to provide another dimension to the new season of The Boys by offering a fiction podcast. – ETX Daily Up, June 23, 2023
