Already established with its unsettling social commentary, Netflix’s Black Mirror series owed viewers no more. However, in December, the writers introduced something new, something different, something more disturbing: “Bandersnatch”. An interactive movie, “Bandersnatch” allows viewers to choose what decisions the movie’s protagonist, a young app developer named Stefan Butler, makes. Whether it’s the casual selection of breakfast cereal to the grave dilemma of whether to chop up a body or bury it, “Bandersnatch” imbues its viewers with the guilt and responsibility of turning Stefan Butler’s life into a nightmare.

Unable to make his own choices, Butler is struck by the movie’s existential question: Is someone controlling every decision you make? In largely controlling Butler, the viewers are forced to ponder this for themselves, too. Despite our underlying belief that we are all self-aware, individually thinking humans, who’s to say that we aren’t being maneuvered around like marionettes?

“The idea that I’m not in control and that some other force is making the decision for me… in a lot of ways, it’s obviously true,” said AP Literature teacher Todd Wilkinson, regarding the idea behind “Bandersnatch”. “It invites all of this paranoid speculation about: ‘Do I need to put tape over the camera on my computer?’ and all of these other things.”

Maybe “Bandersnatch” is making us paranoid. Maybe we’re all being fooled by Stefan’s acid trip. But is this seeming conspiracy theory actually so absurd?

We live in a society defined by technological advancement and control. We see artificial intelligence daily, mainly in social media ads that target our subconscious desires. Whether it’s your Amazon Echo that speaks when not addressed, or an advertisement reflecting a topic from a recent conversation, these technological mechanisms seem to pinpoint exactly who we are, then brainwash us into wanting and doing things we never did before.

“We’re getting more and more sophisticated at selling people things that they don’t really need and making you desire things that don’t necessarily make your life better,” added Wilkinson. Everything around us has the intention of influencing our decisions. Regardless of its veracity, the running meme about an FBI agent looking at us through our computer’s camera does represent an understandable fear that we’re being watched.

Many, like senior Samantha Stall, see clear parallels between “Bandersnatch” and a society that increasingly seems to be under surveillance. “Humankind is definitely hurtling towards a technology takeover,” Stahl explained. “Companies like Facebook are already undermining our privacy in ways that have exploded into scandals.”

We are deceived by the facade of privacy and free will. There really isn’t a definitive way to prove that someone isn’t constantly watching, listening to, or controlling us. “Bandersnatch” exacerbates and comments on these fears, creating unease about the world around us and ensuring an existential contemplation of our existence. Are we living in a simulation? It pushes our minds down the black hole of infinite possibilities and infinite endings. Essentially, one can’t help but imagine: “You are just a puppet. You are not in control.”