"Fifteen Million Merits" je druga epizoda prve serije britanske naučnofantastične antologijske serije Black Mirror. Napisali su je kreator serije i voditelj serije Charlie Brooker i njegova supruga Konnie Huq, a režirao je Euros Lyn. Prvi put je emitovan na Channel 4 11. decembra 2011.
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Short filmTranscript
00:00Hello, the movie is here. Today we are working on a sci-fi movie from 2011 called 15 Million Merits.
00:08In the far future, poor people live in buildings where they have to ride stationary bicycles to earn a living,
00:14which they use to pay for most of their everyday activities.
00:17Food costs, but also a piece of toothpaste that they consume every morning.
00:22Their rooms are small squares covered with screens that can be used for watching shows,
00:27playing games that have to be paid for.
00:29But these screens also play ads for adults, even while you are in the bathroom,
00:32and skipping these ads also takes away their merits.
00:35Every user has an avatar in the system, and getting clothes and other accessories for it also has to be paid for.
00:41There is no rest or break outside. The building is their only life.
00:45Except if they don't spend a huge amount of money on a gold card for the talent show Hotshot,
00:49which might bring them a better life.
00:51One of these cyclists is Bing Madsen, who has over 15 million merits.
00:56He is not a big spender, prefers that his avatar stays the same,
00:59but skips all the ads whenever he appears and spends the evening playing video games.
01:04Bing doesn't care about talent shows or stupid comedies,
01:06so he sticks to music or landscapes while riding a bicycle, always relaxing around it.
01:11This is very different from the guy on the bicycle next to him, Dustin, who is rude and disgusting.
01:17He laughs loudly at his stupid humorous shows,
01:20watches movies for adults in a bicycle room in front of everyone,
01:23treats cleaners like garbage and laughs at people who have adult problems because of bicycles.
01:28Bing doesn't praise him, but he doesn't ask him to stop either.
01:31Another colleague of his is Swift,
01:33a young woman who practices violin while riding a bicycle and is in love with Bing.
01:37One day during lunch, Swift teaches him how to take apples out of the machine whenever he gets dizzy,
01:42and tries to talk to him after he's gone crazy,
01:45but Bing only thanks him before he goes to his table.
01:48Later that day, Bing tries to play video games when another ad appears on the screen.
01:53Tired of this, he closes his eyes to have a moment of peace without the screen,
01:57but this only causes the system to put all the screens in red
02:00and there are warnings that you need to continue watching.
02:03Bing gives up, opens his eyes and, seeing that he has earned it,
02:07decides to watch a movie for adults overnight.
02:10The next morning, he notices that a new colleague is in the elevator,
02:13a beautiful girl named Abby Khan.
02:15One of the bikers is not in his station,
02:17and that's because he couldn't stand it anymore and became a cleaner,
02:20and Dustin laughs at him.
02:22Later in the bathroom, Bing hears a beautiful singing voice
02:25coming from one of the stations and discovers that it's Abby.
02:29Starting to fall in love with her, Bing tries to talk to her, but doesn't know what to say.
02:34His awkward attempt to talk interrupts another ad that appears on the screen in front of him,
02:39so he can't do much more than a simple return to work.
02:43Abby takes the bike that freed the guy who sent the cleaner,
02:46and Bing is constantly watching while he's driving, which makes Swift lovey-dovey.
02:50During lunch, Abby uses the paper bag that comes with the apples
02:54to make origami in the shape of a penguin,
02:56but when he leaves it on his bike as a decoration,
02:58the cleaner takes it away because it's not allowed there.
03:01At that moment, Bing notices Abby looking back at him,
03:04so when he goes to bed that night, he can't stop thinking about her
03:07and continues to sing the melody he heard from her in the bathroom.
03:10When he sees the hot shot ads on the screens, he gets the idea.
03:14The next day, Bing sees how Abby's apple got stuck in the machine
03:17and learns how to take it out,
03:19and uses the opportunity to start a real conversation this time.
03:22Abby has just turned 21,
03:24which is the age at which people are introduced to the cycling system.
03:28She wanted to go to the same institution as her sister,
03:30but she's too full, so she's here now.
03:33Bing uses the same healthy diet that Swift used on him,
03:37and explains how unhealthy food is cheaper,
03:39but you have to burn it later,
03:41and then you'll want more sugar, creating a vicious circle.
03:45He also told her that he heard her sing
03:47and thinks she has a beautiful voice,
03:49but Abby reduces it by saying that it's not a big deal
03:51and that it's just a song her family has been singing for years.
03:55Believing that she has the skills to achieve great success,
03:58Bing mentions that she should go to the hot shot,
04:00and if she doesn't have 12 million, he will give them to her.
04:03That's the money she got from her brother last year when she died,
04:06and she almost never uses it.
04:08She doesn't want new stupid apps or going for her avatar.
04:12It's all unreal, and what he wants is something real,
04:15something new and out of the boring routine.
04:18Bing thinks Abby has it, so after he insists a lot,
04:21Abby accepts to go as long as he makes her a friend.
04:24Later, when she returns to her room,
04:26Bing discovers that the card costs 15 million,
04:28not 12, which would leave him only 9,000 credits.
04:32He still decides to go, and when Abby receives the gift,
04:35he answers with his avatar, which blows a kiss to Bing.
04:38The next day, Bing and Abby go together to the lift to Spratt,
04:41where the show is being filmed.
04:43Abby gives Bing a penguin origami,
04:45and points out that she's bending down so he can hide it in his belt.
04:49By the way, Bing holds her hand to comfort her
04:51when she notices how nervous she is.
04:53When they arrive at the studio, Abby is allowed in
04:55because she has the card, and she presents Bing
04:57as her friend and family location,
04:59which is why he gets a temporary tattoo on his hand
05:02that allows him to enter.
05:04Then, they go to the waiting room,
05:06which is full of participants waiting for their turn.
05:08Some have arrived today, and others have been here for a whole week.
05:11However, Abby doesn't have to wait long.
05:13Because of her good looks, she's chosen to go next.
05:16Because of that, a singer named Glee
05:18complains about the lack of respect for the queue,
05:20but the man reminds her to only follow the instructions.
05:23Abby is taken to a screen test,
05:25which consists only of filming in front of the camera.
05:27She says she wants to be a famous singer
05:29before they immediately take her backstage.
05:32The worker warns her that there's a box of booze
05:34called Kaplienz, and Abby tries to break it,
05:37but she's told that it's mandatory for all participants
05:39to calm down and prevent them from returning.
05:41Abby drinks it and starts to feel a little weird,
05:44but still goes to the stage to perform.
05:46Three judges are waiting for her.
05:48Hope, Charity, and Wraith.
05:50Hope is brave enough to continue singing,
05:52but Wraith is constantly asking to take off.
05:54Abby ignores that and sings
05:56Anyone Who Knows What Love Is by Irma Thomas,
05:58and the audience likes the performance of everyone
06:00except for Swift, who is still in love with her.
06:02Hope and Charity also love her performance,
06:04but Wraith looks boring all the time.
06:06Hope is the one who shortened her performance
06:08and said that although this is the best singing
06:10of the season, her voice is simply good,
06:12not great.
06:14However, she is beautiful
06:16and would fit perfectly on Wraith's adult channel.
06:18The three judges begin to pressure her
06:20to take on the role in adult films,
06:22reminding her that this is the only way
06:24to succeed and leave the life of bicycling behind.
06:26The market is, in the end,
06:28overcrowded with singers,
06:30and other people would die if they had a chance
06:32like this date.
06:34Bing is in the backstage and looks at all this.
06:36He tries to save her, but the security takes him away.
06:38Abby still feels the effects of the fog in her brain
06:40and is overshadowed by the audience,
06:42who is scolding her to do it,
06:44and she accepts the agreement.
06:46But the way she says she wants to show
06:48that she is not even a little happy about it.
06:50In fact, she starts crying.
06:52Returning to her room, Swift is also disappointed
06:54by this result.
06:56Bing returns to his normal life
06:58and feels terrible about what happened.
07:00He holds the penguin that Abby gave him
07:02along with her empty box of juice
07:04hidden under his pillow
07:06and goes through his routine
07:08in a terrible mood.
07:10Especially when Dustin starts the adult channel
07:12and has to hear Abby giving interviews
07:14while she sounds soulless.
07:16Because of the money spent on the card,
07:18he has to go back to fast food.
07:20Later in the evening, when he plays video games,
07:22the ads resume on the screen,
07:24but Bing does not have enough money
07:26to skip it and cover his eyes.
07:28But the alarm is so high
07:30that it can not last more than a few seconds.
07:32After opening his eyes again,
07:34he tries to open the door,
07:36but the portals are disabled during the ad.
07:38The soulless picture of Abby on the screens
07:40is too much for Bing to be able to pick up,
07:42so he started to go crazy.
07:44Screams and blows on the screens
07:46until one of them breaks.
07:48When Bing notices a piece of glass on the floor,
07:50he does a test by making a cut on his tattoo
07:52From then on, Bing starts to live a hard life
07:54and concentrates on saving money.
07:56He is the first one to show up on a bike in the morning,
07:58uses only the smallest cup of toothpaste
08:00and does not buy food anymore.
08:02Instead, he takes the headed apples
08:04in the machine and the leftovers from the tables.
08:06In the evening, instead of playing video games,
08:08he practices a sweat routine
08:10before he completely rots on the bed.
08:12In the end, Bing manages to return
08:1415 million in earnings
08:16and uses them to buy a card for Hotshot.
08:18On the day of the show, a piece of glass
08:20falls on Bing's head, hiding him in his clothes.
08:22The metal detector detects it because of the glass.
08:24He is the first one to arrive,
08:26but soon the room is crowded again,
08:28and even the needle returned.
08:30The only reason why he is quickly chosen
08:32is that the producer was told to bring
08:34some ethnic person for the change.
08:36For the screen test, he simply says
08:38that he is a entertainer, and when he is offered a juice,
08:40he tells the stage worker that he has already drunk his own,
08:42showing him an empty carton
08:44that he also puts in his clothes.
08:46When he gets drunk, the judges have nothing to say
08:48and Bing starts to dance.
08:50However, after a few seconds,
08:52he pulls out the glass and holds it by the neck,
08:54threatening to do everything with blood
08:56if someone approaches him.
08:58Wraith tells him that he doesn't care if he dies,
09:00but Hope tells the security to hold on
09:02and they encourage him to speak.
09:04Bing starts to talk about the system
09:06in which he lives, pointing out
09:08how people use him as a source of food
09:10and everyone went crazy,
09:12insulting the judges for making things worse.
09:14When he finished, the public was shocked.
09:16However, they start screaming and clapping
09:18when Hope calls this the most heartwarming performance
09:20they've ever had.
09:22Hope pretends to understand what Bing is trying to say,
09:24saying that he loves his stuff,
09:26and offers him to continue
09:28to convey his message on his channel,
09:30offering 30 minutes twice a week
09:32on his streams.
09:34Charity agrees that she would watch such passion,
09:36and Wraith calls the sharp with a good trick,
09:38so as happened with Abby,
09:40the whole audience, except for Swift,
09:42began to shout, do it.
09:44Bing accepts the deal.
09:46A few days later,
09:48Glee appears on Hotshot,
09:50and the terrible singer is thrown out.
09:52But now there's a new show on TV.
09:54Bing, with the sharp on his neck,
09:56talks about the system with anger in his eyes.
09:58Until the show ends,
10:00his face receives a normal expression
10:02while he calls everyone to turn on
10:04next week for another speech.
10:06Now Bing lives in a luxury apartment
10:08with a lot of fresh orange juice,
10:10a real penguin figurine,
10:12which he circles instead of advertising.
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