Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic Unlock the Editor\u2019s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Perhaps conceding that he can no longer stay ahead of the curve in our stranger-than-fiction times, Charlie Brooker has pivoted his prophetic, tech-sceptic satire Black Mirror from a show that looks forward to one that harks back.In the latest six-story season \u2014 the fifth on Netflix and seventh overall \u2014 the futuristic collides with the nostalgic. There are tales here about people haunted by or pining for the past, 1990s reminiscences, odes to old Hollywood and the anthology\u2019s first sequel (to the 2017 episode \u201cUSS Callister\u201d).The first episode meanwhile marks a return to form after a shaky genre-switching sixth season. A terrific tragic-comic take on both exploitative private healthcare providers and the \u201csubscripification\u201d of everyday life, \u201cCommon People\u201d revolves around an ailing woman whose consciousness is backed up to the cloud for a monthly fee. The trouble is, $300 only gets her the \u201cbasic\u201d package. Soon enough Amanda (Rashida Jones) begins spouting adverts in the middle of conversations and starts getting priced out of her own life once upgrades are offered.The collection\u2019s other standout is \u201cEulogy\u201d: a poignant piece about a middle-aged man who is given a chance to virtually walk around old photographs in search of memories of a lost ex-lover ahead of her funeral. Having long blamed his ex for their bruising break-up, embittered Philip (the ever-brilliant Paul Giamatti) finally begins to see things through her eyes. The past, we\u2019re movingly reminded, is not fixed, but something that becomes elastic on re-examination.But this is a season as uneven as any since the switch to Netflix from Channel 4. \u201cB\u00eate Noire\u201d \u2014 an uncanny revenge thriller about a woman psychologically tormented by a bullied former schoolmate \u2014 is atmospheric until it comes undone in an uninspired final act. \u201cPlaything\u201d \u2014 a tale about a recluse (Peter Capaldi) who finds insights about life in a 1990s computer game \u2014 is at once overwrought and incomplete.The two feature-length chapters prove more solid but too safe. \u201cHotel Reverie\u201d is the latest of Black Mirror\u2019s bittersweet \u201cvirtual love stories\u201d (see also \u201cSan Junipero\u201d, \u201cHang the DJ\u201d, \u201cStriking Vipers\u201d). Following a contemporary actress (Issa Rae) who is inserted into a 1940s movie and falls for its star (Emma Corrin), it has moments of charm and tenderness but seems like a missed opportunity to tackle cinema\u2019s use of AI. \u201cUSS Callister: Into Infinity\u201d brings us back aboard the titular simulated-reality spaceship for a new voyage through (digital) space and into the darkest corners of the human mind \u2014 only to largely end up going over similar storylines, themes and metaphysical quandaries as the first film.The same can perhaps be said for Black Mirror as a whole. While episodes such as \u201cCommon People\u201d and \u201cEulogy\u201d show that Brooker is still able to deliver a satirical bite and emotional punch, the once far-seeing series now feels a little predictable.\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2606\u2606On Netflix from April 10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic Unlock the Editor\u2019s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Perhaps conceding that he can no longer stay ahead of the curve in our stranger-than-fiction times, Charlie Brooker has pivoted his prophetic, tech-sceptic satire Black Mirror<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":270585,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-270584","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-culture"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270584","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=270584"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270584\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":270586,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270584\/revisions\/270586"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/270585"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=270584"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=270584"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=270584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}