Details

• Title: Five Million Credits
• Episode: 2
• Season: 1

Description

The protagonist is woken up by a virtual rooster in walled room composed of screens. We are then introduced to his daily routine.

Brushing off his teeth. Cycling on a stationary bike to earn “credits”, which is the currency of this world. Daily bombardment of commercial advertisement and porn that cannot be looked away unless you incur a penalty.

Then a day came when he hears a beautiful song from a woman. It awakens him from his apathy and he got into a conversation with her. He convinces her that her voice is good enough for a reality TV show. The woman just brushes it off as flattery at first. Further interactions with lessened her hesitation.

Finally, their interactions culminated in his offer of giving her a very expensive gold ticket to a X-Factor like reality TV show, Hot Shot. The woman initially hesitates but finally relents. They are now on the road of possible greatness. Or perhaps something different.

Review

The world here is a dystopia that reminds me of Fahrenheit 451 and The Running Man. It also reminds me of contemporary shows like American Idol.

It seems that the world became fully integrated with technology. No clues were given on the state of the world outside the microcosm that the shows provide unlike films like The Matrix. We learn later that the stationary bikes power the electricity of the Hot Shot show. I assume that it probably powers all electricity in the state though.

People are bombarded daily with advertisements via the screens in their room. You can’t look away because the advertisement pause until it can track your eyeballs looking at the screen. The show makes it clear that pornography has became legalized, accepted and ubiquitous. You can’t also escape the reality TV show Hot shots.

The world primary means of communication and entertainment is thru apps. Lots and lots of apps. Apps as mundane as a virtual chicken alarm clock to First Person Shooters without direction to virtual Gurus and so on.

The show seem to be railing against consumerism, obsession with technology, mindless entertainment, forced advertising and superficiality.