After discussing various episodes of Black Mirror in class, I decided to go ahead and binge watch all of the episodes. One of the episodes that stuck out to me specifically for this class was episode 4 of season 3, “San Junipero.” The episode is ultimately about life after death through technology. San Junipero is a virtual town full of dead people’s consciousness who are able to live as their younger selves forever. The living but dying can visit the town for up to 5 hours per week as a trial to test whether they would like to be uploaded into the town. As with many Black Mirror episodes, the music can explain what’s really going. The songs: “Heaven Is a Place on Earth”, “Fake,” “Living in a Box,” and “Girlfriend in a Coma,” almost have ironic meanings since this heaven on earth is “fake” and is a literal box of data. The episode plays with our society’s notions of heaven and fear of death.
Different religions have different explanations as to what happens to humans after death. San Junipero provides it’s own explanation and relief from the anxiety of impending death and the fear of the unknown. The dying know exactly what to expect and have a choice of when to die and where they will go after death. The episode, like “Be Right Back” also plays with the notion of intimacy and love of something that isn’t totally real. If someone you loved chose to be in San Junipero would you follow? The episode shows the romance of an elderly dying woman and a middle age paraplegic woman, yet in San Junipero they are young, beautiful and healthy. The question still remains can technology replicate personality and unique qualities that make up a person? If stripped away of all the imperfections, are you still the same person?
I also found a very interesting article about a company that claims it can transfer consciousness to an artificial body. The company “Humani“, promises that within 30 years they can cheat death. Using nanotechnology, and artificial intelligence, Humai is saving the way people talk, their behaviors and thought process to recreate consciousness. The CEO of the company, Josh Bocanegra said, “I don’t think of it as fighting death. I think of it as making death optional. I personally cannot imagine why someone would want to die, but I respect everyone’s wishes.” I would imagine this endeavor is very expensive and if the technology is sound, will only provide access for the very rich. It is also problematic since we all know how finicky technology could be. What happens if the data becomes corrupted or broken, a virus is installed or God(?) forbid hackers try to infiltrate the system. The last scene of the episode truly shows the frailty of San Junipero and this technology as the after life of individuals is stored in a huge warehouse run by robots. If an accident occurs, will your afterlife be cut short?