DANGER: SOME SPOILERS AHEAD
“People think there’s one reality, but there’s loads of em all snaking off like roots, and what we do on one path affects what happens on other paths. Time is a construct.”
Bandersnatch is a 2018 Netflix sci fi/ horror film that is a part of the fantastic Black Mirror series. Though it is a film it is also a choose your own adventure game. You, the viewer, make certain decisions for Stefan, the protagonist, starting with what kind of cereal he should have for breakfast.
Stefan is a young game developer from the 80s, creating a choose your own adventure based video game himself that he has titled ‘Bandersnatch’ after the book it was based on. Colin, another game developer and a hero of Stefan’s reveals to him that his own life is like a choose your own adventure game, his fate decided by the smallest of decisions.
What makes the interaction in Bandersnatch so brilliant is that it is entirely self aware. You, the viewer on Netflix is a part of the story as the one who is pulling the strings on the protagonist. As Stefan ruminates on Colin’s words, he becomes aware of you, the viewer’s presence and role in his fate as he realizes he no longer has control over his decisions. This is most convincing in the moment in which he actively resists the decision picked by the viewer. The moment of resistance to it draws attention to the own player’s agency, something that we tend to take for granted when playing games.
Bandersnatch’s drawing of the viewer’s agency as the player into the narrative is one of the most effective breaks of the fourth wall I have experienced.
“There’s a cosmic flowchart that dictates where you can and where you can’t go. I’ve given you the knowledge, I’ve set you free.”
