Black Mirror is a British TV series created by Charlie Brooker. It depicts dystopian worlds, which often set in a hypothetical near future, that are similar to ours but at the same time very different. Each one of its episodes is a self-contained story. “San Junipero” is one of them. This episode premiered in October 2016 on Netflix, a streaming media service, and won two Primetime Emmy Awards (Television Academy). The story revolves around two protagonists, Yokie and Kelly, and their romantic relationship. In this episode, they have the ability to live in San Junipero, which is a simulated reality. It’s like a video game, but much more sophisticated and immersive. In this reality, people even have the ability to adjust their pain absorption; that is, they can control how much painful sensation that they can receive. So in San Junipero, not only can people see and hear, like our video games, they are also able to smell, taste, and feel. It is as though an alternative reality and universe; however, it is simulated by a hypothetical technology, which I believe that it could be possible in the time to come. This question of what if it could happen in the future is what makes this episode a SF. According to Christopher Evans, “Perhaps the crispest definition is that science fiction is a literature of ‘what if?’ What if we could travel in time? What if we were living on other planets? What if we made contact with alien races? And so on. The starting point is that the writer supposes things are different from how we know them to be” (Evans 9). Evan and I share the same view about the what if. By raising the question of what if, it makes the Black Mirror episode a SF. As our technology advances, maybe we will one day be able to live in a simulated alternative reality, just like them in the show. Our virtual reality technology today is already one step moving toward such a possibility. I believe that this connection between the Black Mirror episode and our present time is another reason that it is a SF. Kim Stanley Robinson came up with his definition of SF in the article “Notes for an Essay on Cecelia Holland”; he stated that SF is “an historical literature… In every sf narrative, there is an explicit or implicit fictional history that connects the period depicted to our present moment, or to some moment in our past” (Robinson 54). Robinson and I both agree that in order for a literature or a TV series to be considered a SF, it has to connect to our present moment. “San Junipero” certainly did that.
“San Junipero” is a SF because it poses a question of what if. If there’s an alternative reality, a much more pleasant world, like “San Junipero”, would you want to live in there? My answer is that I would. By uploading my consciousness and memory to the cloud, I can live in a place like “San Junipero” for as long as I want, even long after my death, after my physical body decays and turns into dusts underground. There is no need for a body anymore; I can live in eternity inside of “San Junipero”. Immortality is achieved if this technology does get invented in our near future. This reminds me of The X-Files’ “Kill Switch” episode. Towards the end, Esther Nairn was able to upload her consciousness to the internet right before she dies and her body perishes by a missile attack. This idea of uploading our consciousness to a medium, be it the cloud or our internet, is not uncommon. People have been exploring this what if question before “San Junipero”. If we draw a comparison between the two episodes, we can see that both ask this question of what if; thus, both The X-Files and Black Mirror episodes are SF. Life isn’t the same for everyone. For the privileged, they live in a utopia. It could be that they are the dominate race in a given society and experiencing less discrimination; they are wealthy, and all the opportunities are available to them; or they are healthy, strong and good-looking, et cetera. For the disadvantaged, they live in a dystopia. It could be that the fruit of their labor is being taken away, so they receive barely minimum living wage; they are disabled and being discriminated; or they could simply be different from the mainstream culture, which ultimately ostracizes them for being the outcasts. A world like “San Junipero” gives the disadvantaged another opportunity to live a flourishing and fulfilled life. Some might call it fake. Yes, it is possible to change our world for the better. But the resistance to change is enormous, and the progress has been slow. Yet time continues to tick. Life has been improved for many, but the improvement distributed unevenly across the world. Just imagine the different between the life of a billionaire man living in New York and a Bangladesh shoes factory female work. For example, according to International Labour Organization, in 2013 over a thousand were killed in a fashion factory incident in Dhaka, Bangladesh; most of them were women. They live in a dystopia. I believe that our reality is the lived experience, virtual or not. By posing this question of what if we can live in a place like “San Junipero”, it steers us toward imagining such a situation. I think that science and technology is about imaging the what if. A SF like “San Junipero” helps us create future technology; thus, it is vitally important to us. It will shape the future of humanity.
“San Junipero” is a SF because it is connected to our present moment. Living in “San Junipero” is like playing a massively multiplayer online role-playing game, only much more real and immersive. A role-playing online games like World of Warcraft and The Elder Scrolls Online are quite popular. Over three millions people play World of Warcraft every day, and over one million for Elder Scrolls Online, according to MMO Populations. Especially for the younger generation, we play a lot of video games. It is part of our culture. With the advancement of virtual reality, a world like “San Junipero” becomes ever more attainable. We can see that what we are developing at the present moment is trying to reach a goal like “San Junipero”, a realistic life experience. Just by looking at the number, millions of people are playing MMORPG everyday; many will be thrilled to see “San Junipero” becomes a reality. It is this connection between the imaginary near future “San Junipero” technology and the role-playing video game development today makes “San Junipero” a SF. “San Junipero” isn’t something that comes out of nowhere. It is our expectation of future technology, the ultimate goal and destination of video game technology. “San Junipero” has this prophetic vision about our future, which is another characteristic of a SF. “San Junipero” brings its prophecy to help us see our possible future, so that we are prepared if it does becomes true. That’s why a SF like “San Junipero” is important to us.
Whether or not we can create a technology for a world like “San Junipero” to exist, time will tell. But I do feel that there is a need for an alternative reality. It will make life worth living, especially for those who are depressed. When we face issues such as existential crisis, we realize that life is meaningless. Living in a virtual reality or our world makes no difference. To live a fulfilled, happy life and to create our own life meaning, I believe that we ought to have an alternative option like San Junipero. It will enrich our human experience especially for the disadvantaged. The privileged might say that it is running away from our real lives. I agree. But it is to escape from one meaningless world to the next, a better one for the disadvantaged.
Work Cited
Evans, Christopher. Writing Science Fiction. London, A & C Black, 1988. Print.
“Kill Switch.”The X-Files, directed by Rob Bowman, season 5, episode 11, Fox Broadcasting Company, 1998.
Robinson, Kim Stanley. “Notes for an Essay on Cecelia Holland.” Foundation 40 (Summer 1987): 54-61. Print.
“San Junipero.” Black Mirror, directed by Owen Harris, Season 3, episode 4, Netflix, 2016.
Television Academy. “69th Emmy Award Winners.” Television Academy, Television Academy, 4 Sept. 2019, www.emmys.com/news/awards-news/69th-emmy-award-winners.
“The Elder Scrolls Online – MMO Populations & Player Counts.” MMO Populations, mmo-population.com/r/elderscrollsonline.
The Rana Plaza Accident and Its Aftermath, 21 Dec. 2017, www.ilo.org/global/topics/geip/WCMS_614394/lang–en/index.htm.
“World of Warcraft – MMO Populations & Player Counts.” MMO Populations, mmo-population.com/r/wow.
