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It was probably only a matter of time before an interactive movie appeared on one of big streaming platforms. The online environment seems to be ideal for interaction with the viewer, who will decide the hero’s fate with one click. The feature production under the sign of one of the most popular series available on Netflix, Black Mirror, Bandersnatch is neither the first such film, nor even the first interactive experiment on the platform (previous productions: Puss in Book: Trapped in an Epic Tale (2017), Stretch Armstrong: The Breakout (2017) and Minecraft: Story Mode (2018).

The first interactive film dates back to 1967, when during EXPO in Montreal Czechoslovakian Kinoautomat was screened for the first time. The audience voted during the projection using buttons, and the cinematographer, based on viewers rating, covered one of two screens on which the film was being shown. It is also worth mentioning Dawid Marcinkowski’s Sufferrosa, available to watch for free on the film’s website. You can’t resist the impression that the work of the Polish creator confusingly resembled point & click games because the interaction experience consisted of visiting individual rooms and collecting information (which could be skipped by going straight to one of the two endings).

The main problems of interactive films have always been time constraints and money – the more material, the higher the cost – and therefore, even with the most sincere desire of creators, the choice was rather modest. The exploration of this field has been almost completely dominated by video games, in which, firstly, it is much easier for an adequate level of immersion and bond with the hero we control, and secondly, the shallowness of self-agency and the trap of narrative linearity are easily covered by the size of colorful worlds and the number of action-attractions. In the film it is more difficult, as demonstrated by examples of interactive experiments in the past.

David Slade’s Bandersnatch compared to its predecessors stands out due to its high self-awareness and clever meta-level game. Here we have the story about, among others, work on interactive game. In a way, the film itself mentions its flaws (there is no time for creating many endings, the choice can only be an illusion of free will, otherwise the projection would never end, etc.), ironically self-commenting and corresponding with its competitor, medium of video games.

Clicking, of course, will please the viewers. Unfortunately, even despite the most accurate intellectual play motif of psychosis, conspiracy theories and the recently fashionable 80s, interaction will remain only an illusion. Our choices are not very important, the hero’s path has been sketched out from above, and the individual endings will differ only in cosmetic (in narrative scale) changes.

One thread deserves attention. Stefan Butler (Fionn Whitehead), the protagonist of Bandersnatch, at some point begins to realize that he does not make decisions alone. There is a suggestion of conflict between character and viewer, the almighty driving force. It is a pity that this stops on a delicate rebellion level. Oh, if the creators had the courage to exploit this motive, we would have a real gem in our hands!

Bandersnatch remains a successful production, looking much better than its predecessors. Does it set a new development path for streaming platforms? Probably not, although it will definitely remain a nice curiosity in the Netflix offer. We will probably have to wait a long time for artistic processing of interactive medium in the film.

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Mateusz Tarwacki

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Laura Przybylska
Laura Przybylska

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