Issa Rae’s Black Mirror Episode Is a Metaphor for How Hollywood Treats Black Women
It seems like Black female characters can never catch a break!
Courtesy: Netflix
When Issa Rae shows up in a Black Mirror episode, you already know it's about to hit different! In the newly released episode “Hotel Reverie” (Season 7, Episode 3), Rae plays Brandy Friday, a Hollywood superstar who signs on to an experimental film project powered by AI technology, Redream. She's brought on to help recreate the 1940s classic Hotel Reverie and breathe new life into the vintage media company Keyworth Pictures. But instead of just acting, Brandy finds herself trapped in a surreal, tech-driven nightmare full of manipulated realities, endless reshoots, and loss of control over her life.
As wild as it sounds, the story isn’t just a dystopian “what if”—it’s an emotional metaphor for what we, as Black women in entertainment, experience every day: showing up, doing the work, and getting caught in systems that were never built with us in mind.
It also taps into something Brandy herself is tired of: being boxed into roles like the “noble victim” (the one who gets traumatized but doesn’t complain, like Kimmie in Beauty in Black) or the “fuckable sidekick,” basically the sexy Black best friend who exists to uplift the white lead (think Monica Rambeau in WandaVision). These roles still shape much of mainstream media and rarely let Black women be complex, messy, or fully human.
When I watched this episode, I saw decades of real-life Hollywood struggles being played out in an imagined future. Brandy gets caught between being seen, boxed into stereotypes, and stripped of her creative control (instances we've seen before IRL). Rae’s character brings all of that to life, mimicking the push and pull Black women have been navigating both on-screen and behind the scenes for way too long.
Black Women Always Gotta Wing It
One of the most telling themes in “Hotel Reverie” is the pressure Black women face to always get it right. On the set of the 1940s British romance (the AI world), Brandy is expected to perfectly replicate the original film, otherwise, the entire production falls apart. “She must stick to the script if she ever wants to make it home,” Netflix explains.
While filming a scene, Brandy realizes everything is fake, and in her confusion, plays the piano terribly. The thing is, Redream’s representative, Kimmy (played by Awkwafina), never mentioned Brandy needed to know how to play the piano. Still, that small mistake derails the entire movie plot. Brandy is left to improvise while being dragged by a production team more concerned with finishing the film than with her well-being.
This points to the truth that Black women in entertainment are often expected to perform at a high level with little preparation or support. It was so frustrating watching as the film crew failed to properly prepare Brandy—they could've at least given sis a test run with the AI software to prevent things from spiraling out of control!
The Grind Don’t Stop Even in a Glitch
As if the pressure wasn’t enough, the chaos hits a new level when someone spills a drink on the software, trapping Brandy inside the AI world. Time moves differently in there—for Brandy, every second feels like seven hours—and if they don’t finish filming, she could lose consciousness. In a way, that trapped feeling is all too familiar. It mirrors the constant pressure Black women face in real life to keep performing and keep pushing, even when every second feels like an eternity.
Rather than being concerned that Brandy is stuck in another world, Judith, the head of Keyworth Pictures, casually asks, “Does that mean we have to pay her for more days?” A brutal reminder of how Hollywood unfairly compensates Black actresses, much like when Taraji P. Henson called out pay disparities during The Color Purple press run. And it’s not just a Hollywood problem. According to recent data from the National Partnership for Women & Families, Black women are paid just 64 cents for every dollar paid to white men. Yeah, this episode is exposing the truth.
Another Day, Another *almost* Love Story
While Brandy is trapped in the simulation, love takes over. After she reveals the truth about the AI world to Dorothy (played by Emma Corrin), her artificial co-star, they try to break free and make the most of their limited time. A romantic bond forms between them, and things even get a little spicy!
For once, Brandy experiences the kind of whirlwind romance that real life never allowed her, especially with someone like Dorothy, a white woman, in the 1940s. But in the AI world, they get to make their own rules.
However, once the software’s fixed, Dorothy's memory of everything gets wiped, and filming picks back up like nothing ever happened. This leaves Brandy heartbroken—her body even goes into shock. She fell in love and even thought about staying in the AI world forever just to hold onto the feeling. But in the end, she finishes the movie and snaps back to reality.
Brandy's story brings to life how often Black women’s characters are denied full, satisfying endings. Y'all remember Queen & Slim? It built up this beautiful runaway love story only to have the couple betrayed and hunted down (and honestly, that ending still pisses me off). We rarely get the full fairytale without some “but” hanging over it. Even in fantasy or sci-fi stories, it feels like Black women are allowed happiness... but only for a little while.
The Set Ain’t Always Safe
The way Brandy is treated reflects the struggles Black actresses often face on real sets. Their safety is frequently overlooked in favor of keeping the production moving. Brandy was expected to “just go with it,” forced to hand over her consciousness with zero transparency about the software’s safety.
Similarly, Halle Berry, broke her arm while filming Gothika and suffered several injuries while working on John Wick 3 and her MMA drama Bruised.
In severe cases, this negligence has put Black women in deadly situations. Stuntwoman Joi Harris, who was doubling for Zazie Beetz in Deadpool 2, tragically lost her life on set. According to The Hollywood Reporter, her death was caused by safety violations and poor planning, not rider error. Accidents like these reveal a bigger issue: Black stunt doubles and actresses aren't getting the care they deserve—and Black Mirror spells that out without blinking. Black women are expected to power through, stay professional, and survive whatever’s thrown at us (all for a system that doesn't care about us).
Overall, I absolutely loved the episode—it pulled me in and kept me hooked. But I can’t help but reflect on how it highlights something many Black women are all too familiar with: being left to endure both emotional and physical pain without so much as an apology or fair compensation. It’s a harsh truth that’s often overlooked in entertainment, and while “Hotel Reverie” was thought-provoking, it also served as a painful reminder of how far we still have to go to allow Black women equal treatment. Am I reaching, though? Let me know!
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