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Redundant, has nothing directly to do with Cairn's act
->'''Jane''': Everyone's laughing at us.\\
'''Michael''': You don't know that.\\
'''Jane''': I know people. We love humiliation. We can't not laugh.
'''Michael''': You don't know that.\\
'''Jane''': I know people. We love humiliation. We can't not laugh.
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** Indeed, it is the idiot who tweeted this live and most definitely the newsrooms who, despite being being notice by the government NOT to broadcast this, they didn't listen and made it global.
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* DownerEnding: The Prime Minister does... ''it'', saves the princess, and even boosts his political career after the act. The ending shows that he's been broken ''as a person'' anyway, traumatized and with an utterly destroyed marriage. And it turns out he didn't even need to go through with it in the first place.
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* DownerEnding: The Prime Minister does... ''it'', saves the princess, and even boosts his political career after the act. The ending shows that he's been broken destroyed ''as a person'' anyway, traumatized and with an utterly destroyed ruined marriage. And it turns out he didn't even need to go through with it in the first place.
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* DownerEnding: The Prime Minister does... ''it'', saves the princess, and even boosts his political career after the act. The ending shows that he's been destroyed ''as a person'' anyway, traumatized and with an utterly destroyed marriage. And it turns out he didn't even need to go through with it in the first place.
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* DownerEnding: The Prime Minister does... ''it'', saves the princess, and even boosts his political career after the act. The ending shows that he's been destroyed broken ''as a person'' anyway, traumatized and with an utterly destroyed marriage. And it turns out he didn't even need to go through with it in the first place.
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* DownerEnding: The Prime Minister does... ''it'', saves the princess, and even boosts his political career after the act (if only because everyone felt both awe and sorry for him). The ending shows that he's been destroyed ''as a person'' anyway, traumatized and with an utterly destroyed marriage. And it turns out he didn't even need to go through with it in the first place.
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* DownerEnding: The Prime Minister does... ''it'', saves the princess, and even boosts his political career after the act (if only because everyone felt both awe and sorry for him).act. The ending shows that he's been destroyed ''as a person'' anyway, traumatized and with an utterly destroyed marriage. And it turns out he didn't even need to go through with it in the first place.
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** Indeed, it is the idiot who tweeted this live and most definitely the newsrooms who, despite being being notice by the government NOT to broadcast this, they didn't listen and made it global.
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* AnAesop: A rare in-universe example. The kidnapper actually releases the Princess half an hour ''before'' the 4 PM deadline into an empty UsefulNotes/{{London}}, when everybody is too busy watching the Prime Minister fucking a pig on television, solely to prove a point.
-Could be considered a BrokenAesop, though, seeing as he used kidnapping and [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil sexual coercion]] as tools to teach a [[SarcasmMode "moral lesson."]]
-Could be considered a BrokenAesop, though, seeing as he used kidnapping and [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil sexual coercion]] as tools to teach a [[SarcasmMode "moral lesson."]]
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* AnAesop: A rare in-universe example. The kidnapper actually releases the Princess half an hour ''before'' the 4 PM deadline into an empty UsefulNotes/{{London}}, when everybody is too busy watching the Prime Minister fucking a pig on television, solely to prove a point.
-Couldpoint. Could be considered a BrokenAesop, though, seeing as he used kidnapping and [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil sexual coercion]] as tools to teach a [[SarcasmMode "moral lesson."]]
-Could
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-Could be considered a BrokenAesop, though, seeing as he used kidnapping and [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil sexual coercion]] as tools to teach a [[SarcasmMode "moral lesson."]]
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* SlaveToPR: The Prime Minister; played for drama. If he doesn't do the deed, Susannah will die and the backlash will wreck him. He does eventually acquiesce, but the experience is extremely traumatic.
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* SlaveToPR: The Prime Minister; played for drama. If he doesn't do the deed, Susannah will die and the backlash will wreck him.him, and possibly threaten his family. He does eventually acquiesce, but the experience is extremely traumatic.
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[[center:[-'''[[BlackMirror/SeriesOne]]'''-]]]
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[[center:[-'''[[Recap/BlackMirror Series One]]'''-]]]
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%% HandlingSpoilers: An episode recap page is, by default, a spoiler. Readers of these pages are expected to have watched the episode in question. Therefore, there are no spoiler tags on recap pages. Conversely, do not add spoilers for future episodes, even under tags. Those go on the later episode pages.
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%% HandlingSpoilers: Administrivia/HandlingSpoilers: An episode recap page is, by default, a spoiler. Readers of these pages are expected to have watched the episode in question. Therefore, there are no spoiler tags on recap pages. Conversely, do not add spoilers for future episodes, even under tags. Those go on the later episode pages.
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* BatmanGambit: The kidnapper's entire artistic point hinges on this. He correctly guesses that everyone in London will be too busy watching the televised buildup to the 4:00 deadline to notice Princess Susannah, who is released at 3:30, wandering the streets alone.
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* NiceJobBreakingItHero: A downplayed example. Home Secretary Cairns secretly arranges for a porn actor to actually perform the broadcast, with digital tricks used to superimpose the Prime Minister's head on his body. Word somehow gets out, and the kidnapper punishes the government for "breaking the rules" by sending United Kingdom News a finger with Princess Susannah's ring and a video of a masked figure actually cutting her hand. The release of the story leads to massive public backlash and forces Callow's hand even further. However, it's repeatedly emphasized throughout the episode that none of the cabinet has ever dealt with something like this before, so Cairns genuinely believed that she was doing the right thing; furthermore, she had no idea that the Internet would learn the truth and reveal the plot.
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* IHaveBoobsYouMustObey: PlayedForDrama, like virtually every trope in this episode. Malakia, the reporter described below, uses topless shots to bait her contact in the government for advance information on the officials' plans. Later, it's implied that she sends even more revealing pictures to thank him for his help.
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* IHaveBoobsYouMustObey: PlayedForDrama, like virtually every trope in this episode. Malakia, Malaika, the reporter described below, uses topless shots to bait her contact in the government for advance information on the officials' plans. Later, it's implied that she sends even more revealing pictures to thank him for his help.
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* 24HourNewsNetworks: Part of the episode's critique. The fictional United Kingdom News is the centerpiece, but real-life networks, including MSNBC, Fox, and Al Jazeera, are mentioned by name.
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* 24HourNewsNetworks: TwentyFourHourNewsNetworks: Part of the episode's critique. The fictional United Kingdom News is the centerpiece, but real-life networks, including MSNBC, Fox, and Al Jazeera, are mentioned by name.
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* 24NewsNetworks: Part of the episode's critique. The fictional United Kingdom News is the centerpiece, but real-life networks, including MSNBC, Fox, and Al Jazeera, are mentioned by name.
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* 24NewsNetworks: 24HourNewsNetworks: Part of the episode's critique. The fictional United Kingdom News is the centerpiece, but real-life networks, including MSNBC, Fox, and Al Jazeera, are mentioned by name.
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* NothingIsScarier: The poster for the episode, seen above, runs on this trope. It seems to be an average picture of a pig...but once you've watched the show to completion, you know just what that pig represents.
** After the Prime Minister decides that there's no other option, he's taken inside the room where the broadcast is to take place. The soundtrack goes quiet, and all we see is a shot of a cute pig happily eating, a cameraman standing nearby. It's horrific.
** Similarly, we only get a brief shot of the Prime Minister actually performing the action (it's just his head and shoulders thrusting forward as he sobs); for the rest of the sequence, the camera focuses on the faces of the people watching, and their disgusted reactions say it all.
** After the Prime Minister decides that there's no other option, he's taken inside the room where the broadcast is to take place. The soundtrack goes quiet, and all we see is a shot of a cute pig happily eating, a cameraman standing nearby. It's horrific.
** Similarly, we only get a brief shot of the Prime Minister actually performing the action (it's just his head and shoulders thrusting forward as he sobs); for the rest of the sequence, the camera focuses on the faces of the people watching, and their disgusted reactions say it all.
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* RuleOfSymbolism: An in-universe example. Pigs are unconsidered "unclean" animals in some religions, and several commentators suggest that the use of one for the act indicates that a terrorist group is behind the plot.
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* 24NewsNetworks: Part of the episode's critique. The fictional United Kingdom News is the centerpiece, but real-life networks, including MSNBC, Fox, and Al Jazeera, are mentioned by name.
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* BrandX: United Kingdom News, a fictional team that represents the press at large. Interestingly, other news networks, both British and global, are mentioned by name, but presumably, none of them wanted to appear in the episode.
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* TheDogWasTheMastermind: The culprit behind the whole scheme turns out to be one of the many people we see going about their daily lives throughout the episode. We only discover it's him when the camera pans to his body dangling from a rope after he commits suicide, identifiable by the missing finger on his hand (which turns out to be the one that was sent to the press).
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* {{Foreshadowing}}: Scenes of the team at 10 Downing Street discussing what to do are intercut with shots of everyday Londoners glued to their television sets to follow the story. The "commoners" include a man watching from home, a group of rowdy pubgoers, an entire hosptial's staff, and a rustic-looking man going about chores. That man is the only one ''not'' watching the coverage. He turns out to be Carlton Bloom, a MadArtist who orchestrated the event to make a comment about the Internet age. Not only does his refusal to turn on the TV make perfect sense for someone who's critiquing the BileFascination trope, but it also serves as a clue to viewers: Bloom doesn't need to view the action because he knows what's happening already.
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* IHaveBoobsYouMustObey: PlayedForDrama, like virtually every trope in this episode. Malakia, the reporter described below, uses topless shots to bait her contact in the government for advance information on the officials' plans. Later, it's implied that she sends even more revealing pictures to thank him for his help.
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* LetUsNeverSpeakOfThisAgain: PlayedForDrama. When Secretary Cairns is told that Princess Susannah was released thirty minutes before the 4:00 deadline, she tells the agent on the phone to "lose that page of the report," making it clear that no one must ever know the truth. Given that no mention is made of the princess's early release in the news coverage that ends the episode, it seems as though the gag order worked.
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* ReactionShot: This is how the actual demand is shown--after the Prime Minister tearfully remarks that he loves his wife and begs for God's forgiveness, the camera cuts to various people facing the screen. Their expressions gradually go from amused to absolutely ''horrified'' as the act goes on, with several viewers turning away and looking sick. One young woman remarks that it's been going on for over an hour before it's finally over...and yet, just as the kidnapper knew, they couldn't turn away.
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It stars Creator/RoryKinnear (Callow), Lindsey Duncan (Cairns), and Lydia Wilson (Susannah).
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It stars Creator/RoryKinnear (Callow), [[Film/{{Birdman}} Lindsey Duncan Duncan]] (Cairns), Creator/DonaldSumpter (Julian), and Lydia Wilson [[Series/RipperStreet Lydia]] [[Film/StarTrekBeyond Wilson]] (Susannah).
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Nothing to do with actual National Anthems, UsefulNotes/{{British|NationalAnthems}} or [[NationalAnthem otherwise]].
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* AnAesop: A rare in-universe example.The kidnapper actually releases the Princess half an hour ''before'' the 4 PM deadline into an empty UsefulNotes/{{London}}, when everybody is too busy watching the Prime Minister fucking a pig on television, solely to prove a point.
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* AnAesop: A rare in-universe example. The kidnapper actually releases the Princess half an hour ''before'' the 4 PM deadline into an empty UsefulNotes/{{London}}, when everybody is too busy watching the Prime Minister fucking a pig on television, solely to prove a point.
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** BlackComedyRape: The Prime Minister is being forced to have sex against his will, yet as soon as the video of the demand is posted on Website/YouTube, people are leaving comments mocking the Prime Minster for what he has to do. Everyone in the country is tuning in to the broadcast of the act and looking forward to it with a sort of horrible glee. This lasts for about a second once it has begun and then practically everyone is shaking their heads in horror and feeling sorry for the Prime Minister. Nevertheless, ''they keep watching''. Also RapeAsDrama as the act is awful and traumatic for the PM, and Charlie Brooker is using it as a fairly obvious AnAesop about new media. Also used in-universe: part of the whole point is to show the initial belief of BlackComedyRape and then move to RapeAsDrama.
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* IntrepidReporter: Malaika, a journalist at [=UKN=], will do anything to get an award-winning scoop -- be it sending nudes to a government official for insider tips on the government's next move, or deliberately walking into the building believed to be holding the princess as the strike team raids it. Deconstructed, as she's caught and shot for getting in the way of operations.
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* NewMediaAreEvil: While shaping up to be an overarching theme in the series, its presence here is overt nonetheless.
** OldMediaAreEvil: That said, however, from what we see of the more traditional forms of media, they don't exactly escape unscathed either.
** OldMediaAreEvil: That said, however, from what we see of the more traditional forms of media, they don't exactly escape unscathed either.
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* NewMediaAreEvil: While shaping up to be an overarching theme in the series, its presence here is overt nonetheless.
** OldMediaAreEvil: That said, however, from what we seenonetheless. The kidnapper takes full advantage of new media to coerce the more traditional forms of media, they don't exactly escape unscathed either.prime minister into having sex with a pig.
** OldMediaAreEvil: That said, however, from what we see
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** Michael Callow is fairly clearly intended to be at least reminiscent of UsefulNotes/DavidCameron (who, incidentally, episode writer Creator/CharlieBrooker has an intense hatred of).
*** However, Brooker has denied that Callow is based on Cameron, and notes that in any case the Prime Minister is probably the most sympathetic character in the episode. Still, Brooker was later amused to see [[https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/shortcuts/2015/sep/21/pigs-prime-minister-black-mirror-ashcroft-allegation-charlie-brooker Cameron accused of something reminiscent of this episode...]]
*** However, Brooker has denied that Callow is based on Cameron, and notes that in any case the Prime Minister is probably the most sympathetic character in the episode. Still, Brooker was later amused to see [[https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/shortcuts/2015/sep/21/pigs-prime-minister-black-mirror-ashcroft-allegation-charlie-brooker Cameron accused of something reminiscent of this episode...]]
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** Played with in Michael Callow Callow. While he is fairly clearly intended to be at least reminiscent of UsefulNotes/DavidCameron (who, incidentally, episode writer Creator/CharlieBrooker has an intense hatred of).
*** However,of), Brooker has denied that Callow is based on Cameron, and notes that in any case the Prime Minister is probably the most sympathetic character in the episode. Still, Brooker was later amused to see [[https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/shortcuts/2015/sep/21/pigs-prime-minister-black-mirror-ashcroft-allegation-charlie-brooker Cameron accused of something reminiscent of this episode...]]
*** However,
* OldMediaAreEvil: From what we see of the more traditional forms of media, they don't exactly escape unscathed either, as newspapers, etc. do some pretty questionable things in the episode.
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* SaveThePrincess: As it happens, ''they didn't need to''.
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* SaveThePrincess: The goal of the episode is to rescue the kidnapped Princess Susannah. As it happens, ''they didn't need to''.
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[[CaptainErsatz Princess Susannah]] is kidnapped while the abductor taunts the police and press by releasing videos on the internet. The singular demand? That the Prime Minister [[{{Squick}} have sexual intercourse with a pig on live television.]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjfw5mr6fQ8 Trailer here (obviously NSFW)]]
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[[CaptainErsatz Princess Susannah]] is kidnapped while the abductor taunts the police and press by releasing videos on the internet. The singular demand? That the Prime Minister [[{{Squick}} have sexual intercourse with a pig on live television.]] [[http://www.[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjfw5mr6fQ8 com/watch?v=midBr3d3MUg Trailer here (obviously NSFW)]]
here]] ([[{{NSFW}} Chance it if you want]])
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removed spoiler tags
%%
%%
%% HandlingSpoilers: An episode recap page is, by default, a spoiler. Readers of these pages are expected to have watched the episode in question. Therefore, there are no spoiler tags on recap pages. Conversely, do not add spoilers for future episodes, even under tags. Those go on the later episode pages.
%%
%%
%%
%% HandlingSpoilers: An episode recap page is, by default, a spoiler. Readers of these pages are expected to have watched the episode in question. Therefore, there are no spoiler tags on recap pages. Conversely, do not add spoilers for future episodes, even under tags. Those go on the later episode pages.
%%
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* AnAesop: A rare in-universe example.[[spoiler: The kidnapper actually releases the Princess half an hour ''before'' the 4 PM deadline into an empty UsefulNotes/{{London}}, when everybody is too busy watching the Prime Minister fucking a pig on television, solely to prove a point.]]
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* AnAesop: A rare in-universe example.[[spoiler: The kidnapper actually releases the Princess half an hour ''before'' the 4 PM deadline into an empty UsefulNotes/{{London}}, when everybody is too busy watching the Prime Minister fucking a pig on television, solely to prove a point.]]
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** BlackComedyRape: The Prime Minister is being forced to have sex against his will, yet as soon as the video of the demand is posted on Website/YouTube, people are leaving comments mocking the Prime Minster for what he has to do. [[spoiler:Everyone in the country is tuning in to the broadcast of the act and looking forward to it with a sort of horrible glee. This lasts for about a second once it has begun and then practically everyone is shaking their heads in horror and feeling sorry for the Prime Minister. Nevertheless, ''they keep watching''.]] Also RapeAsDrama as [[spoiler:the act is awful and traumatic for the PM, and Charlie Brooker is using it as a fairly obvious AnAesop about new media.]] Also used in-universe: [[spoiler:part of the whole point is to show the initial belief of BlackComedyRape and then move to RapeAsDrama]].
* ChekhovsGunman: Early in the episode, a seemingly-unrelated newscast mentions [[spoiler:a controversial artist named Carlton Bloom, who is eventually revealed as the kidnapper. Bloom can also be seen for a brief moment thirty-three minutes and sixteen seconds in, unidentified as such]].
* ChekhovsGunman: Early in the episode, a seemingly-unrelated newscast mentions [[spoiler:a controversial artist named Carlton Bloom, who is eventually revealed as the kidnapper. Bloom can also be seen for a brief moment thirty-three minutes and sixteen seconds in, unidentified as such]].
to:
** BlackComedyRape: The Prime Minister is being forced to have sex against his will, yet as soon as the video of the demand is posted on Website/YouTube, people are leaving comments mocking the Prime Minster for what he has to do. [[spoiler:Everyone Everyone in the country is tuning in to the broadcast of the act and looking forward to it with a sort of horrible glee. This lasts for about a second once it has begun and then practically everyone is shaking their heads in horror and feeling sorry for the Prime Minister. Nevertheless, ''they keep watching''.]] Also RapeAsDrama as [[spoiler:the the act is awful and traumatic for the PM, and Charlie Brooker is using it as a fairly obvious AnAesop about new media.]] media. Also used in-universe: [[spoiler:part part of the whole point is to show the initial belief of BlackComedyRape and then move to RapeAsDrama]].
RapeAsDrama.
* ChekhovsGunman: Early in the episode, a seemingly-unrelated newscast mentions[[spoiler:a a controversial artist named Carlton Bloom, who is eventually revealed as the kidnapper. Bloom can also be seen for a brief moment thirty-three minutes and sixteen seconds in, unidentified as such]].such.
* ChekhovsGunman: Early in the episode, a seemingly-unrelated newscast mentions
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* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:The Prime Minister does... ''it'', saves the princess, and even boosts his political career after the act (if only because everyone felt both awe and sorry for him). The ending shows that he's been destroyed ''as a person'' anyway, traumatized and with an utterly destroyed marriage. And it turns out he didn't even need to go through with it in the first place.]]
* FingerInTheMail: The kidnapper mails the Princess' finger to the press after it is revealed that the PM is using a [[ItMakesSenseinContext body double in a sex tape.]] [[spoiler: However, forensic examination shows it's NOT the Princess' finger. In an appallingly extreme bluff, it's the ''kidnapper's'']].
* {{Fingore}}: [[spoiler:Princess Susannah's finger is cut off for the government trying to bypass the kidnapper's demand. It turns out it's the ''kidnapper's'' finger instead.]]
* FingerInTheMail: The kidnapper mails the Princess' finger to the press after it is revealed that the PM is using a [[ItMakesSenseinContext body double in a sex tape.]] [[spoiler: However, forensic examination shows it's NOT the Princess' finger. In an appallingly extreme bluff, it's the ''kidnapper's'']].
* {{Fingore}}: [[spoiler:Princess Susannah's finger is cut off for the government trying to bypass the kidnapper's demand. It turns out it's the ''kidnapper's'' finger instead.]]
to:
* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:The The Prime Minister does... ''it'', saves the princess, and even boosts his political career after the act (if only because everyone felt both awe and sorry for him). The ending shows that he's been destroyed ''as a person'' anyway, traumatized and with an utterly destroyed marriage. And it turns out he didn't even need to go through with it in the first place.]]
place.
* FingerInTheMail: The kidnapper mails the Princess' finger to the press after it is revealed that the PM is using a [[ItMakesSenseinContext body double in a sex tape.]][[spoiler: However, forensic examination shows it's NOT the Princess' finger. In an appallingly extreme bluff, it's the ''kidnapper's'']].
''kidnapper's''.
* {{Fingore}}:[[spoiler:Princess Princess Susannah's finger is cut off for the government trying to bypass the kidnapper's demand. It turns out it's the ''kidnapper's'' finger instead.]]
* FingerInTheMail: The kidnapper mails the Princess' finger to the press after it is revealed that the PM is using a [[ItMakesSenseinContext body double in a sex tape.]]
* {{Fingore}}:
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* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: In between a faceless and ill-informed mob loudly braying for the Prime Minister's actions on social networking sites [[spoiler: and watching a man who's been compelled to have sex with a pig live on national television with horrified fascination]], self-serving politicians and media cynically attempting to twist the issue to their advantage while putting on an air of 'above-it-all' self-righteousness and self-importance all throughout out and the kidnapper who put everything into motion in the first place [[spoiler: solely to prove a point and create a twisted art performance]], humanity as a whole doesn't exactly come out of this one well.
* MadArtist: [[spoiler: Who is also revealed at the end to be a Turner Prize winner in a rather blunt TakeThat against the modern art world. The whole sequence of events is even described, a year later, as "The First Great Artwork of the Twenty-First Century" by a controversial critic in what may be a reference to Damien Hirst and others who made similar comments about the September 11 attacks.]]
* MadArtist: [[spoiler: Who is also revealed at the end to be a Turner Prize winner in a rather blunt TakeThat against the modern art world. The whole sequence of events is even described, a year later, as "The First Great Artwork of the Twenty-First Century" by a controversial critic in what may be a reference to Damien Hirst and others who made similar comments about the September 11 attacks.]]
to:
* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: In between a faceless and ill-informed mob loudly braying for the Prime Minister's actions on social networking sites [[spoiler: and watching a man who's been compelled to have sex with a pig live on national television with horrified fascination]], fascination, self-serving politicians and media cynically attempting to twist the issue to their advantage while putting on an air of 'above-it-all' self-righteousness and self-importance all throughout out and the kidnapper who put everything into motion in the first place [[spoiler: solely to prove a point and create a twisted art performance]], performance, humanity as a whole doesn't exactly come out of this one well.
* MadArtist:[[spoiler: Who is also revealed at the end to be a Turner Prize winner in a rather blunt TakeThat against the modern art world. The whole sequence of events is even described, a year later, as "The First Great Artwork of the Twenty-First Century" by a controversial critic in what may be a reference to Damien Hirst and others who made similar comments about the September 11 attacks.]]
* MadArtist:
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* SaveThePrincess: [[spoiler:As it happens, ''they didn't need to''.]]
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* SaveThePrincess: [[spoiler:As As it happens, ''they didn't need to''.]]
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* ShaggyDogStory: [[spoiler:As if the Prime Minister actually giving in to the kidnapper's demands wasn't bad enough, a scene shortly afterwards reveals that he didn't ''have'' to go through with it. The Princess was released a few minutes before the deed was done, but with everyone else glued to their screens in [[BileFascination morbid anticipation]], she walked across a bridge unnoticed.]]
* SlaveToPR: The Prime Minister; played for drama. [[spoiler:If he doesn't do the deed, Susannah will die and the backlash will wreck him. He does eventually acquiesce, but the experience is extremely traumatic]].
* SlaveToPR: The Prime Minister; played for drama. [[spoiler:If he doesn't do the deed, Susannah will die and the backlash will wreck him. He does eventually acquiesce, but the experience is extremely traumatic]].
to:
* ShaggyDogStory: [[spoiler:As As if the Prime Minister actually giving in to the kidnapper's demands wasn't bad enough, a scene shortly afterwards reveals that he didn't ''have'' to go through with it. The Princess was released a few minutes before the deed was done, but with everyone else glued to their screens in [[BileFascination morbid anticipation]], she walked across a bridge unnoticed.]]
unnoticed.
* SlaveToPR: The Prime Minister; played for drama.[[spoiler:If If he doesn't do the deed, Susannah will die and the backlash will wreck him. He does eventually acquiesce, but the experience is extremely traumatic]].traumatic.
* SlaveToPR: The Prime Minister; played for drama.
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* XanatosGambit: Michael Callow finds himself on the receiving end of one after [[spoiler:the SWAT team fails to find Princess Susannah. Either he has sex with a pig and gets mocked by the country or he doesn't have sex with a pig, keeping his dignity but losing any chance at retrieving Princess Susannah and incurring critical backlash from the country for prioritizing his dignity above the life of Princess Susannah.]]
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* XanatosGambit: Michael Callow finds himself on the receiving end of one after [[spoiler:the the SWAT team fails to find Princess Susannah. Either he has sex with a pig and gets mocked by the country or he doesn't have sex with a pig, keeping his dignity but losing any chance at retrieving Princess Susannah and incurring critical backlash from the country for prioritizing his dignity above the life of Princess Susannah.]]
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[[center:[-'''Series/BlackMirrorSeriesOne'''-]]]
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It stars Creator/RoryKinnear (Callow), Creator/LindseyDuncan (Cairns), and Creator/LydiaWilson (Susannah).
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It stars Creator/RoryKinnear (Callow), Creator/LindseyDuncan Lindsey Duncan (Cairns), and Creator/LydiaWilson Lydia Wilson (Susannah).
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[[center:[-'''The National Anthem'''-] -- [-[[Recap/BlackMirrorFifteenMillionMerits Fifteen Million Merits]]-] -- [-[[Recap/BlackMirrorTheEntireHistoryOfYou The Entire History of You]]-]]]
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It stars Creator/RoryKinnear (Callow), Creator/LindseyDuncan (Cairns), and Creator/LydiaWilson (Susannah).
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[[CaptainErsatz Princess Susannah]] is kidnapped while the abductor taunts the police and press by releasing videos on the internet. The singular demand? That the Prime Minister [[{{Squick}} have sexual intercourse with a pig on live television.]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjfw5mr6fQ8 Trailer here (obviously NSFW)]]
!!Tropes related to ''The National Anthem'':
* AnAesop: A rare in-universe example.[[spoiler: The kidnapper actually releases the Princess half an hour ''before'' the 4 PM deadline into an empty UsefulNotes/{{London}}, when everybody is too busy watching the Prime Minister fucking a pig on television, solely to prove a point.]]
* BestialityIsDepraved: The horrifying ransom demand Princess Susannah's kidnapper makes of the Prime Minister to ensure her release.
* BlackComedy: Blacker than black. You ''will'' laugh after the ransom demand is first read out; from thereon in it gets a lot blacker and much less comedic as the full implications of the kidnapping and its ransom start to play out.
** BlackComedyRape: The Prime Minister is being forced to have sex against his will, yet as soon as the video of the demand is posted on Website/YouTube, people are leaving comments mocking the Prime Minster for what he has to do. [[spoiler:Everyone in the country is tuning in to the broadcast of the act and looking forward to it with a sort of horrible glee. This lasts for about a second once it has begun and then practically everyone is shaking their heads in horror and feeling sorry for the Prime Minister. Nevertheless, ''they keep watching''.]] Also RapeAsDrama as [[spoiler:the act is awful and traumatic for the PM, and Charlie Brooker is using it as a fairly obvious AnAesop about new media.]] Also used in-universe: [[spoiler:part of the whole point is to show the initial belief of BlackComedyRape and then move to RapeAsDrama]].
* ChekhovsGunman: Early in the episode, a seemingly-unrelated newscast mentions [[spoiler:a controversial artist named Carlton Bloom, who is eventually revealed as the kidnapper. Bloom can also be seen for a brief moment thirty-three minutes and sixteen seconds in, unidentified as such]].
* ComeToGawk: Everyone in the UK watches the broadcast either for amusement or out of pity. Even those expressing disgust at others for watching are watching it themselves in horror.
* DecoyHidingPlace: The government is led to believe the video was uploaded from an abandoned college, so a strike team moves in. It turns out to be a fake, complete with a decoy damsel.
* DistressedDamsel: Princess Susanna, a beloved princess, is kidnapped.
* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:The Prime Minister does... ''it'', saves the princess, and even boosts his political career after the act (if only because everyone felt both awe and sorry for him). The ending shows that he's been destroyed ''as a person'' anyway, traumatized and with an utterly destroyed marriage. And it turns out he didn't even need to go through with it in the first place.]]
* FingerInTheMail: The kidnapper mails the Princess' finger to the press after it is revealed that the PM is using a [[ItMakesSenseinContext body double in a sex tape.]] [[spoiler: However, forensic examination shows it's NOT the Princess' finger. In an appallingly extreme bluff, it's the ''kidnapper's'']].
* {{Fingore}}: [[spoiler:Princess Susannah's finger is cut off for the government trying to bypass the kidnapper's demand. It turns out it's the ''kidnapper's'' finger instead.]]
* FreezeFrameBonus: The kidnapper's list of demands at the end of the Website/YouTube video.
* FunnyBackgroundEvent: The pub some of the public are watching in has a chalkboard in the background showing odds for a betting pool of various possible outcomes, including the prime minister sobbing, vomiting, and so on.
* HostageSituation: An {{Expy}} of Princess Diana and Kate Middleton has been kidnapped by an unknown group, whose demand makes up the premise of the plot.
* HostageVideo: Two of them, one with the ultimatum (with the hostage clearly baffled at the demands), and another once the kidnapper discovers a cheat.
* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: In between a faceless and ill-informed mob loudly braying for the Prime Minister's actions on social networking sites [[spoiler: and watching a man who's been compelled to have sex with a pig live on national television with horrified fascination]], self-serving politicians and media cynically attempting to twist the issue to their advantage while putting on an air of 'above-it-all' self-righteousness and self-importance all throughout out and the kidnapper who put everything into motion in the first place [[spoiler: solely to prove a point and create a twisted art performance]], humanity as a whole doesn't exactly come out of this one well.
* MadArtist: [[spoiler: Who is also revealed at the end to be a Turner Prize winner in a rather blunt TakeThat against the modern art world. The whole sequence of events is even described, a year later, as "The First Great Artwork of the Twenty-First Century" by a controversial critic in what may be a reference to Damien Hirst and others who made similar comments about the September 11 attacks.]]
* NewMediaAreEvil: While shaping up to be an overarching theme in the series, its presence here is overt nonetheless.
** OldMediaAreEvil: That said, however, from what we see of the more traditional forms of media, they don't exactly escape unscathed either.
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed:
** Princess Susannah is basically a cross between Princess Diana (widely popular among the public and a campaigner for good causes) and Kate Middleton (a fashionable recent university graduate, only recently married).
** Michael Callow is fairly clearly intended to be at least reminiscent of UsefulNotes/DavidCameron (who, incidentally, episode writer Creator/CharlieBrooker has an intense hatred of).
*** However, Brooker has denied that Callow is based on Cameron, and notes that in any case the Prime Minister is probably the most sympathetic character in the episode. Still, Brooker was later amused to see [[https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/shortcuts/2015/sep/21/pigs-prime-minister-black-mirror-ashcroft-allegation-charlie-brooker Cameron accused of something reminiscent of this episode...]]
* NoPartyGiven: The episode never states to which party Callow belongs, though he stands in for Cameron, a Conservative PM.
* PassThePopcorn: During one of the news reports discussing the reactions on Website/YouTube and Twitter a message to this effect is briefly shown.
* SaveThePrincess: [[spoiler:As it happens, ''they didn't need to''.]]
* SensoryAbuse: In a last ditch attempt to stop people watching the broadcast, it's preceded with a minute-long tone [[BrownNote that supposedly causes nausea]].
* ShaggyDogStory: [[spoiler:As if the Prime Minister actually giving in to the kidnapper's demands wasn't bad enough, a scene shortly afterwards reveals that he didn't ''have'' to go through with it. The Princess was released a few minutes before the deed was done, but with everyone else glued to their screens in [[BileFascination morbid anticipation]], she walked across a bridge unnoticed.]]
* SlaveToPR: The Prime Minister; played for drama. [[spoiler:If he doesn't do the deed, Susannah will die and the backlash will wreck him. He does eventually acquiesce, but the experience is extremely traumatic]].
* StreisandEffect: In-Universe. They tried to take down the video on [=YouTube=], but it only made it even more popular. The news tried to censor it by not talking about it, but it only made it more popular on social media.
* TakeThat: To David Cameron. Although played with; while the Callow[=/=]Cameron links are there, and while Callow isn't exactly a paragon of humanity himself, he is portrayed quite sympathetically and his experiences are ultimately ''not'' something to be laughed at or dismissed.
* VomitDiscretionShot: Poor, poor Michael Callow.
* XanatosGambit: Michael Callow finds himself on the receiving end of one after [[spoiler:the SWAT team fails to find Princess Susannah. Either he has sex with a pig and gets mocked by the country or he doesn't have sex with a pig, keeping his dignity but losing any chance at retrieving Princess Susannah and incurring critical backlash from the country for prioritizing his dignity above the life of Princess Susannah.]]
!!Tropes related to ''The National Anthem'':
* AnAesop: A rare in-universe example.[[spoiler: The kidnapper actually releases the Princess half an hour ''before'' the 4 PM deadline into an empty UsefulNotes/{{London}}, when everybody is too busy watching the Prime Minister fucking a pig on television, solely to prove a point.]]
* BestialityIsDepraved: The horrifying ransom demand Princess Susannah's kidnapper makes of the Prime Minister to ensure her release.
* BlackComedy: Blacker than black. You ''will'' laugh after the ransom demand is first read out; from thereon in it gets a lot blacker and much less comedic as the full implications of the kidnapping and its ransom start to play out.
** BlackComedyRape: The Prime Minister is being forced to have sex against his will, yet as soon as the video of the demand is posted on Website/YouTube, people are leaving comments mocking the Prime Minster for what he has to do. [[spoiler:Everyone in the country is tuning in to the broadcast of the act and looking forward to it with a sort of horrible glee. This lasts for about a second once it has begun and then practically everyone is shaking their heads in horror and feeling sorry for the Prime Minister. Nevertheless, ''they keep watching''.]] Also RapeAsDrama as [[spoiler:the act is awful and traumatic for the PM, and Charlie Brooker is using it as a fairly obvious AnAesop about new media.]] Also used in-universe: [[spoiler:part of the whole point is to show the initial belief of BlackComedyRape and then move to RapeAsDrama]].
* ChekhovsGunman: Early in the episode, a seemingly-unrelated newscast mentions [[spoiler:a controversial artist named Carlton Bloom, who is eventually revealed as the kidnapper. Bloom can also be seen for a brief moment thirty-three minutes and sixteen seconds in, unidentified as such]].
* ComeToGawk: Everyone in the UK watches the broadcast either for amusement or out of pity. Even those expressing disgust at others for watching are watching it themselves in horror.
* DecoyHidingPlace: The government is led to believe the video was uploaded from an abandoned college, so a strike team moves in. It turns out to be a fake, complete with a decoy damsel.
* DistressedDamsel: Princess Susanna, a beloved princess, is kidnapped.
* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:The Prime Minister does... ''it'', saves the princess, and even boosts his political career after the act (if only because everyone felt both awe and sorry for him). The ending shows that he's been destroyed ''as a person'' anyway, traumatized and with an utterly destroyed marriage. And it turns out he didn't even need to go through with it in the first place.]]
* FingerInTheMail: The kidnapper mails the Princess' finger to the press after it is revealed that the PM is using a [[ItMakesSenseinContext body double in a sex tape.]] [[spoiler: However, forensic examination shows it's NOT the Princess' finger. In an appallingly extreme bluff, it's the ''kidnapper's'']].
* {{Fingore}}: [[spoiler:Princess Susannah's finger is cut off for the government trying to bypass the kidnapper's demand. It turns out it's the ''kidnapper's'' finger instead.]]
* FreezeFrameBonus: The kidnapper's list of demands at the end of the Website/YouTube video.
* FunnyBackgroundEvent: The pub some of the public are watching in has a chalkboard in the background showing odds for a betting pool of various possible outcomes, including the prime minister sobbing, vomiting, and so on.
* HostageSituation: An {{Expy}} of Princess Diana and Kate Middleton has been kidnapped by an unknown group, whose demand makes up the premise of the plot.
* HostageVideo: Two of them, one with the ultimatum (with the hostage clearly baffled at the demands), and another once the kidnapper discovers a cheat.
* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: In between a faceless and ill-informed mob loudly braying for the Prime Minister's actions on social networking sites [[spoiler: and watching a man who's been compelled to have sex with a pig live on national television with horrified fascination]], self-serving politicians and media cynically attempting to twist the issue to their advantage while putting on an air of 'above-it-all' self-righteousness and self-importance all throughout out and the kidnapper who put everything into motion in the first place [[spoiler: solely to prove a point and create a twisted art performance]], humanity as a whole doesn't exactly come out of this one well.
* MadArtist: [[spoiler: Who is also revealed at the end to be a Turner Prize winner in a rather blunt TakeThat against the modern art world. The whole sequence of events is even described, a year later, as "The First Great Artwork of the Twenty-First Century" by a controversial critic in what may be a reference to Damien Hirst and others who made similar comments about the September 11 attacks.]]
* NewMediaAreEvil: While shaping up to be an overarching theme in the series, its presence here is overt nonetheless.
** OldMediaAreEvil: That said, however, from what we see of the more traditional forms of media, they don't exactly escape unscathed either.
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed:
** Princess Susannah is basically a cross between Princess Diana (widely popular among the public and a campaigner for good causes) and Kate Middleton (a fashionable recent university graduate, only recently married).
** Michael Callow is fairly clearly intended to be at least reminiscent of UsefulNotes/DavidCameron (who, incidentally, episode writer Creator/CharlieBrooker has an intense hatred of).
*** However, Brooker has denied that Callow is based on Cameron, and notes that in any case the Prime Minister is probably the most sympathetic character in the episode. Still, Brooker was later amused to see [[https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/shortcuts/2015/sep/21/pigs-prime-minister-black-mirror-ashcroft-allegation-charlie-brooker Cameron accused of something reminiscent of this episode...]]
* NoPartyGiven: The episode never states to which party Callow belongs, though he stands in for Cameron, a Conservative PM.
* PassThePopcorn: During one of the news reports discussing the reactions on Website/YouTube and Twitter a message to this effect is briefly shown.
* SaveThePrincess: [[spoiler:As it happens, ''they didn't need to''.]]
* SensoryAbuse: In a last ditch attempt to stop people watching the broadcast, it's preceded with a minute-long tone [[BrownNote that supposedly causes nausea]].
* ShaggyDogStory: [[spoiler:As if the Prime Minister actually giving in to the kidnapper's demands wasn't bad enough, a scene shortly afterwards reveals that he didn't ''have'' to go through with it. The Princess was released a few minutes before the deed was done, but with everyone else glued to their screens in [[BileFascination morbid anticipation]], she walked across a bridge unnoticed.]]
* SlaveToPR: The Prime Minister; played for drama. [[spoiler:If he doesn't do the deed, Susannah will die and the backlash will wreck him. He does eventually acquiesce, but the experience is extremely traumatic]].
* StreisandEffect: In-Universe. They tried to take down the video on [=YouTube=], but it only made it even more popular. The news tried to censor it by not talking about it, but it only made it more popular on social media.
* TakeThat: To David Cameron. Although played with; while the Callow[=/=]Cameron links are there, and while Callow isn't exactly a paragon of humanity himself, he is portrayed quite sympathetically and his experiences are ultimately ''not'' something to be laughed at or dismissed.
* VomitDiscretionShot: Poor, poor Michael Callow.
* XanatosGambit: Michael Callow finds himself on the receiving end of one after [[spoiler:the SWAT team fails to find Princess Susannah. Either he has sex with a pig and gets mocked by the country or he doesn't have sex with a pig, keeping his dignity but losing any chance at retrieving Princess Susannah and incurring critical backlash from the country for prioritizing his dignity above the life of Princess Susannah.]]
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[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/86fb18b09711462deddc74b3a7f2a28b.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''God Save the Pork'']]
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[[caption-width-right:300:''God Save the Pork'']]
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