Dystopia Fuelled by Technology (through the lens of Black Mirror)

 

“Dystopia” is a theme heavily referenced in popular culture, whether it be literature, television, art or even music. Black Mirror is a show which is a prime example of these dystopian themes being used as social commentary. Each episode follows its own storyline, focusing on either a future version of the world where humanity's greatest inventions are working against them or an exaggerated version of issues already faced by the world. Being a British anthology television series, a lot of its main messages are specific to Western society ; by doing so it not only warns us about the future of our technology-driven society but also shows us the dystopian elements within our own society in the present. Taking this into account, I will be focusing on two episodes that take both the future and the present into account: “San Junipero” and “Nosedive”, both from season three. Although the series has many other brilliant episodes that tackle similar themes these two are the ones that resonated the most with me.

“Do we really want to live forever” alongside being the main lyric to Alphaville's dystopian cold 
war hit “forever young”, it is also the question addressed by the San Junipero episode. The main story revolves around a young couple’s love story in the 80s and the bond they build which is fuelled by an upbeat soundtrack from the 80s and 90s - the tone of the episode acts as a reprieve from the dystopian elements present otherwise in Black Mirror. However, as the episode progresses it can be seen that the story moves between different eras. For example, from the 80s, then to the 90s and finally the 2000s, and this creates a sense of the characters travelling through time. It is then revealed that San Junipero is a computer simulation in which people's consciousness is uploaded after they die so they can live forever in this ‘utopia’ of a world and they have no concept of time. This hence provides them with the opportunity to relive their youth in an era of their choosing with the concept of ageing being removed. After a struggle between the characters deciding if they really want to live forever in this world, the story ends with the characters riding off into the sunset of San Junipero. They drive down a winding cliff-side road with the aforementioned ‘upbeat’ tone as Belinda Carlisle's song, Heaven is a Place on Earth, closes the episode.

Although initially it might seem as if for the first time a black mirror episode actually had a happy ending, San Junipero is more subtle in the sense that the dystopian themes present in this episode are not as apparent. With the characters no longer faced with the scarcity of time, they are thrown into a world where long term relationships, commitments no longer matter in the very basic facets that guide our day to day decision making. It can be said that San Junipero has a utopian facade, and the fact that immortality (in this episode) depends on the technology that is used for the simulation’s existence perfectly mirrors the extent to which technology controls our day to day lives in the real world - this facade we put up that convinces us that we are happy and we have control over this technology we have created. Just how the episode ends on an ominous note and the characters' futures are left to the viewer’s own imagination, it's difficult for us to envision the impact this control technology has over our lives in the real world as well. As Kelly, one of the episode's main characters states, “Forever? Who can even make sense of forever?”

Nosedive is another episode that focuses on technology fuelling dystopia. Starring Bryce Dallas Howard, the episode explores a world where your place in society is decided on the basis of a real life yelp-style rating on a social media app that drives human interaction. In this society each interaction in real life or on social media enables people to give each other ratings out of five. These ratings decide every aspect of one's lives from discounts, to being allowed access to certain public spaces to even purchasing homes. The main story revolves around the main character Lacie trying desperately to increase her rating to be able to purchase her dream home. She uses the occasion of her wealthy, famous childhood friend's wedding as a way to boost her rating as those in attendance will be people with a rating above 4.3 and interactions with them will have a far greater impact on her ranking. However, certain interactions she has at the airport and in the taxi lower her ranking significantly, preventing her entry on the plane. The rest of the episode shows Lacie trying to get to the wedding, her ranking continuing to decrease as her pent up anger and frustration rises. As she finally reaches the wedding we see her having a complete nervous breakdown. She threatens her friend with a knife, yelling out all her resentment and insecurities at a crowd of confused wedding attendees. The episode ends with her rating dropping to a score of one and her arrest. 

This episode explores our relationship with social media and the control it has over our lives. From the pastel colour choice in the setting, clothes and buildings highlighting the lack of uniqueness in this society as each individual attempts to put up this mask to present their best self forward to the world and in doing so loses their individuality. It is a clear nod to how social media fuels trends and changes values. Those with high four rankings live a “perfect” life having access to the best society has to offer while those with lower rankings face a number of obstacles. In the society presented in nosedive social media and its pressures manifest themselves into real life, sending a clear message that our society is heading in a similar direction. For instance, there may be future developments like how in the Nosedive episode, China’s social credit system decides who has access to certain facilities and the quality of life they lead. The episode is also a commentary on mental health being impacted by social media -  Lacies breakdown towards the end is a cause of the pressures of maintaining this ‘perfect’ society alongside her struggle with weight, a reference to social media being the cause of body dysmorphia in a lot of cases.

Black Mirror is without a doubt a show that actually invites us to think and further analyse the dystopian nature of our hyper-connected, capitalistic world run by technology. The reason why Black Mirror has been popular throughout its five seasons is because of the familiarity of its stories and themes that help connect with an audience. Each story involves technology and aspects of our life like social media, video games, our obsession with celebrities, fake news and exaggerated portrayals of dating sites - nevertheless, it's familiar enough to have an impact on those who are watching. Oftentimes it creates a sense of anxiety and uncertainty with the show's focus being on how technology, man’s very own creation, is not in their control and is working against the contemporary human race in ways they cannot even imagine, nor predict.

an article by Rayaan Habib