The following article contains spoilers for Black Mirror season 7, episode 1, “Common People.”Black Mirror season 7, episode 1 stars Tracee Ellis Ross and Rashida Jones spoke about the similarities between Amanda (Jones) and Gaynor (Ellis Ross) as users of Rivermind. In “Common People,” Amanda suffers from a fatal brain tumor, which leads to her husband Mike (Chris O’Dowd) being presented with Rivermind, a subscription service that will replace the tumor with synthetic tissue and keep Amanda alive. Gaynor sells Rivermind as the ultimate solution to save Amanda’s life, but the couple soon discover the service comes with several catches. Gaynor repeatedly sells Amanda and Mike “updates” to their subscription as their original service continues to downgrade.
Speaking with Decider, Ellis Ross explained Gaynor’s evolving relationship with Rivermind, which took her from being just a user herself to now a peddler of the subscription service. She responds that Gaynor is both a victim and a perpetrator of Rivermind, showing the duality of her character.
I don’t think she thought she was evil. I think that’s the way it comes across, but she is a person who was perpetrated on in her own vulnerability and now she’s the one doing the perpetrating.
Jones remarked on the “cycle” that both Amanda and Gaynor are trapped in by using Rivermind, owing to the issue with “capitalism.”
That’s the thing, the cycle is really hard to break on both sides. If there’s a way to make money and save yourself, you’re gonna do it. It’s capitalism.
Ellis Ross further spoke about her character’s morality as a “representation of greed” and how the Rivermind subscription service has “warped” Gaynor’s ideas.
And she’s a representation of greed, but I don’t think anyone sets out to be a bad person. I think most people have a lot of, whether they’re warped ideas or not, think they’re doing the right thing, even if it turns out being on the wrong side.
What This Means For Gaynor In Common People
Both Amanda And Gaynor Are Victims Of Rivermind
“Common People” exemplifies how businesses take advantage of ordinary people’s lives. Gaynor sells Rivermind to Mike as the ultimate solution to Amanda’s health issues, effectively saving her life. Gaynor explains that she also uses Rivermind but does not disclose any drawbacks that come with the service, focusing only on the positive. When Amanda involuntarily turns into a walking commercial, frequently reciting advertisements for various products and services, she and Mike return to Gaynor, who explains that this is because they are subscribed to only the most basic tier of Rivermind.
Like in most Black Mirror episodes, the characters are victims of technology and greed.
As the episode progresses, more tiers are added to Rivermind, finally ending in “RivermindLux,” which promises heightened sensations that the user can control on their phone. With each tier, Gaynor introduces price increases for the new services and reduced capabilities for the “Common People” protagonists, who eventually cannot even afford “Rivermind Common.”
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Gaynor is subject to the same difficulties that Amanda and Mike experience. Gaynor might receive a discounted subscription because she’s an employee, but she is still forced to follow along with the service’s continuous upgrades. She is just as trapped in the “cycle” of Rivermind’s capitalist goals. Even if she is technically helping to keep people alive by selling Rivermind, she is contributing to a toxic service that she also must subscribe to. To save herself from the same struggles, Gaynor must continue to both work and pay for Rivermind. Like in most Black Mirror episodes, the characters are victims of technology and greed.
Our Take On The Rivermind Subscription In Common People
No One Wins In This Tragic Black Mirror Episode
In exchange for keeping Amanda alive, Rivermind turns her into a breathing billboard. Gaynor also becomes a walking commercials but with the illusion of having more autonomy than Amanda. In exchange for avoiding ad interruptions in her day-to-day life, Gaynor must turn herself into an advertisement for Rivermind by working for them.
Neither woman is free from selling a product or service as both need to pay a fee to stay alive. Their experiences are different, but both end in the same way: making Rivermind money. Mike’s heartbreaking decision to suffocate Amanda at Black Mirror‘s ending of “Common People” shows that Rivermind failed to do its job by focusing on turning a profit, rather than genuinely benefiting humanity.
Source: Decider
