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Black Mirror’s Awkwafina on Tech, Terror, and Staying Human in a World Run by Algorithms

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Yong Chavez

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6VWTsLqSprw?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></div><p>Black Mirror has always blurred the line between sci-fi nightmares and unsettling reality, and this season delivers all that once more. With a cast led by Awkwafina, Paul Giamatti, Rashida Jones, Issa Rae, and many more, the latest installment of the twisted anthology series isn’t just reflecting our relationship with technology — it’s poking at it, dissecting it, and asking whether we’ll even recognize ourselves once the algorithms are done with us.</p><div><br/></div><p>For Awkwafina, this isn’t just another role — it’s a confrontation with the very forces that built her career.</p><div><br/></div><p>“Technology gives and takes away,” I commented, and she nodded enthusiastically on a recent morning at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills, where we sat down to talk about the show and her journey so far.</p><div><br/></div><p>“It does. My career started on YouTube. That was new back then… kind of weird and a little scary,” she reflects. “I think that it’s important to integrate it into your life to an extent, but to also be aware of its implications.”</p><div><br/></div><p>This season pushes deeper into the tension between identity and invention. In a world increasingly shaped by algorithmic influence, the show stays laser-focused on the human core of its stories — something Awkwafina sees as crucial.</p><div><br/></div><p>“If you get something that maybe is algorithmically charged, I think you have the choice to participate in it or not,” she says. “But there are people that are doing really human stuff, and so you just gotta pick them.”</p><div><br/></div><p>And for her, picking roles that challenge her is part of the process — from the unfiltered YouTube persona that launched her, to the Golden Globe-winning heartache of The Farewell.</p><div><br/></div><p>“You want to occupy all the spaces that challenge you,” she says. “The Farewell was like a very different kind of thing for me. I like being able to feel good in comedy… but I think that if the story calls for you to really resonate with it, you resonate with it. This was one of them, for sure.”</p><div><br/></div><p>Black Mirror is known for examining the darkest parts of ourselves. The series continues its tradition of exposing the hidden costs of innovation — something Awkwafina says is deeply needed right now.</p><div><br/></div><p>Offscreen, Awkwafina remains grounded by her community, especially the trailblazing Asian American women who inspired her. “Margaret Cho was an idol. And I did Quiz Lady with Sandra Oh. We would get into really deep, philosophical conversations about everything, and she really taught me so much.”</p><div><br/></div><p>When I asked how some moments in her rise through Hollywood changed her perspective or stayed with her, Awkwafina leaned into lived wisdom.</p><div><br/></div><p>“So many life lessons, like the transient nature of everything — the transient nature of fear, of anxiety over the unknown,” she says. “You have to stay grounded, because if not, something’s gonna ground you or pull you back down. I don’t believe in the transient highs or the transient lows anymore. I think I’m just trying to look at everything with perspective.”</p><div><br/></div><p>Perspective, after all, may be the one thing technology can’t automate.</p><div><br/></div><p>Season 7 of Black Mirror is now streaming on Netflix.</p>

<p><i>Black Mirror</i> has always blurred the line between sci-fi nightmares and unsettling reality, and this season delivers all that once more. With a cast led by Awkwafina, Paul Giamatti, Rashida Jones, Issa Rae, and many more.</p>

Black Mirror has always blurred the line between sci-fi nightmares and unsettling reality, and this season delivers all that once more. With a cast led by Awkwafina, Paul Giamatti, Rashida Jones, Issa Rae, and many more.

Black Mirror's Awkwafina on tech, terror, and staying human in a world run by algorithms

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Black Mirror's Awkwafina on tech, terror, and staying human in a world run by algorithms

Yong Chavez,

ABS-CBN News

Published Apr 26, 2025 02:47 AM PHT

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Updated Jun 25, 2025 12:51 PM PHT

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ABSNews

Black Mirror

Awkwafina

Paul Giamatti

Rashida Jones

Issa Rae

Netflix

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