Nowadays, films are much more than only mere entertainment. They are a motor for our daily actions, vocabulary, and lifestyle in general – from short situational dramas from TV series to new tech gadgets used by film characters. As regards the latter, the most popular tech brand among top film and TV series characters is BlackBerry.
We wrote about the appearances of the devices with the characteristic keyboard in international film and TV productions a few months ago. This time, inspired by the 44th Polish Film Festival, we decided to take a closer look at BlackBerry’s career on the silver screen. What is interesting, the cult phones often appeared there organically. Its popularity and original design often made screenwriters and directors use the brand so that the characters could use the Internet or send a text message. According to BlackBerry’s statistics, in 2015, the brand appeared as many as 199 times in the so-called American ‘big four’, that is national shows, cable TV, and original Amazon and Netflix productions.
A great example of BlackBerry’s appearance on the silver screen is an Academy Award‑winning film The Big Short, depicting the story of the crisis which hit the real estate market in the last decade. In the film, bankers and other business sharks use BlackBerry phones daily to check the stock market news, send e-mails on their way from one hotel to another, or just make a call and shout at someone’s incompetence.
The same with the comedy Sleeping with Other People starring Alison Brie famous for her role in Communityseries and the star of Saturday Night Live– Jason Sudeikis. The latter uses the Q10 model. But it was not always so rosy. Liam Neeson uses a BlackBerry to prove his innocence and find the real criminal in Taken 3.
What is more, BlackBerry often appears on the smaller screen, which seems to be more powerful than ever thanks to huge streaming platforms. Thus, the famous ‘phone with a keyboard’ appeared in the hands of Frank Underwood in House of Cards, which is actually true for politicians in the United States; for example, Barack Obama often mentioned how fond he was of the brand. After all, BlackBerry is an undisputed leader in phone security; therefore, it is no surprise that is it chosen by powerful and important figures.
Besides, not only fictional politicians use BlackBerry. It was also popular among… lawyers. BlackBerry appeared in the first seasons of the cult TV series Suits, where one of the leading characters is played by the Duchess of Sussex. A popular lawyer – Harvey Specter – uses his phone to cause terror among his opponents from the courtroom and gives a similar device to his subordinate, Mike.
The Polish audience may also remember the device from Bonesseries, which was highly popular in Poland.An indefatigable couple of dr Temperance (Emily Deschanel), an anthropologist, and special agent Booth (David Boreanaz) many a time solved mysteries hidden in bones with the help of their BlackBerry.
It is clear that BlackBerry has left its mark on the contemporary cinematography. Let’s hope that the new KEY2 (whose red version is absolutely captivating) will soon capture the hearts of Hollywood. Among a thousand of similar models, choose the one which stands out.
BlackBerry was a partner of Anywhere.pl festival studio at the 44th Polish Film Festival in Gdynia.
