# There’s a difference between constructive cynicism and edgelordism.

Black Mirror, while well-made, tends toward repeating media criticisms that
were already cliche in the early 90s. When your complaint is…

* * *

There’s a difference between constructive cynicism and edgelordism. It’s one
thing to have and promote a cynical view in the face of utopianism; to jump
onto the tail end of an existing backlash is far less useful.

Black Mirror, while well-made, tends toward repeating media criticisms that
were already cliche in the early 90s. When your complaint is twenty-five years
old, repeating it without adding anything is of limited utility; Black Mirror
doesn’t introduce new and interesting twists to its complaints, and it doesn’t
reproduce anything *but* the complaint.

(Now, I don’t hate Black Mirror. It’s like rewatching The Twilight Zone:
everything is predictable, but there’s really excellent atmosphere.)

By [John Ohno](https://medium.com/@enkiv2) on [October 26,
2016](https://medium.com/p/d6ecd5d49b53).

[Canonical link](https://medium.com/@enkiv2/theres-a-difference-between-
constructive-cynicism-and-edgelordism-d6ecd5d49b53)

Exported from [Medium](https://medium.com) on September 18, 2020.