[If (tele)presence is the illusion that mediated experience is nonmediated reality, inverse presence is the illusion that the nonmediated experience of reality is mediated. As Lydia Timmins and I found, it’s particularly likely to occur during extremely negative or positive events. DesignTAXI is one of several publications reporting on a clever mock ad that illustrates this phenomenon. Designboom adds this:
The mock-up of the outdoor advertising campaign sees Madrid’s bus stops fitted with a mirrored surface that reads: “BLACK MIRROR: 6th Season. Live Now, everywhere.” Citizens wearing masks, face shields and gloves are portrayed in the pictures, adding an extra surreal layer to the spec ad.
LADbible has a sampling of reactions from Twitter. For more details (in Spanish) see the Brother Ad School website. A series of other examples of inverse presence reactions to these difficult times from the ISPR Presence Community Facebook group follow below. –Matthew]
Netflix Concept Ad Unsettlingly Depicts ‘Black Mirror’ Season 6 Launch Date: Now
By Mikelle Leow
03 Jun 2020
These are wild times indeed. From a global pandemic to widespread protests, looting, and even uncanny robot dogs on park control duty, 2020 is akin to a whole Black Mirror sequel.
Charlie Brooker, the creator of the dystopian anthology series himself, has no present plans to work on the next season of the hit Netflix original show, sharing that life is already difficult enough.
Recent events have seemed too surreal, leading students at Brother Ad School in Madrid to produce a spooky spec campaign envisioning the sixth season of Black Mirror to be playing out in the real world.
The now-viral creative—written by students Tito Rocha and Rubén De Blas, with art direction by Alberto Arribas and Mer Mandrés—depicts that the season is available “live now, everywhere.”
And guess who has been cast for the series? Spoiler alert, it’s you. The campaign features a mirror disrupted with a grungy black frame, putting whoever is in the reflection at the center of the show.
“In Netflix, the fifth is the last season you can watch. The sixth is happening in the real world,” the students describe.
[More examples of inverse presence from the ISPR Presence Community Facebook group: ]
