Comment on national anthem
AllNewTypeFace@leminal.space 1 month ago
I’ve only seen one episode, the San Junipero one. I can’t wait to watch the rest. I do love some cozy, optimistic sci-fi.
I do love some cozy, optimistic sci-fi.
Well, as others have said, Black Mirror is definitely not cozy/optimistic. In my opinion, it’s easy to miss the final point of San Junipero. You have to have watched the episode White Christmas. If you’ve seen that episode, you know what cookies are and you know that there is an implication in the last seconds of San Junipero that, in my opinion, is pretty dark.
Still the best fucking episode though.
What is so dark? I feel like I must be missing something. Their consciousnesses are being maintained by a server farm. But what is dark about that? It just seems optimistic and such how they get to pretend to live in their 20s forever. Nothing like living in a torturous snow globe or whatever.
forever
What server farm is forever?
The series Upload is like taking the idea and giving it its own universe. It’s good, but I’ll ruin the black mirror episode.
From their perspective, it’s forever.
I’ve watched both White Christmas and St Junipero and I do not see what the implication should be. Care to elaborate?
Well, in white Christmas, the cookie is extracted from the host’s brain and is depicted as a little round silver object that is then placed in the… smart-speaker-style container, and we see that it is an exact copy of the host and even (briefly) thinks it is the host.
It is swiftly (in the real world lol) disabused of that notion with such a horrific kick in the ass that it gladly, willingly, lovingly accepts a life of slavery over the alternative which was only barely demonstrated to it.
The other cookie in the episode, the murderer they are trying to elicit a confession from, experiences much more horrific circumstances than the first cookie (with the infinite unbreakable radio) and the humans in the real world who casually inflict this on them are depicted as being completely cavalier about it.
San Junipero did not need that last shot. It could have ended with them dancing. We all knew it was virtual reality. We all knew what was happening. If they just wanted a happy ending, then pointing us directly at the hardware that looks suspiciously like a cookie sitting in a warehouse full of cookies is to me a pretty direct statement, given that cookies are basically given hellish experiences in the only other episode they are referenced.
cookies are basically given hellish experiences in the only other episode they are referenced
Cookies are featured in several episodes. Not only is the technology slightly different most of the time, it is not always used for torture. In addition to San Junipero, Hang the DJ, Eulogy, and Ashley Too (arguable) are not hellish.
I do not think there is any implication in showing the buttons, at the end of St Junipero. I really believe the authors wanted to make a truly wholesome episode but, as you say, this is just my opinion.
Cozy and optimistic is an interesting way to describe that show…
That’s one of the best episodes by far. Honestly, stop while you’re ahead.
Honestly don’t get why that one was so popular. Cookies find a relationship after death, yay? Not anywhere near as philosophically interesting as lots of other episodes.
I think it’s because it has a happy ending, relatively speaking.
Personally, I saw it as far more dystopian, people killing themselves so that an AI version of then runs cycles to fulfill patterns established while alive? Ugh. Sounds like hell in a bottle to me.
I’d do this, knowing full well that my AI version would do horrific things to the Epstein class.
As a matter of fact, I did research, and found out our hardware is still far behind.
But what is one more loan you know you won’t have to pay back?
How do none of the replies notice your obvious joke?
Banana@sh.itjust.works 1 month ago
Oh honey.
That’s only that episode. That episode is an outlier
The rest of the show is pessimistic dystopia at best.
restingOface@quokk.au 1 month ago
There are a few that are not.
spoiler
Banana@sh.itjust.works 1 month ago
Oh I hadn’t seen those, good to know!
restingOface@quokk.au 1 month ago
But you are right, those are definitely outliers. If an episode seems like it is a feel good romp, there is usually some dark existential twist just around the corner.
HerbGrower@slrpnk.net 1 month ago
Hang the DJ just makes me wonder how much was spent on data centres compared to swiping left/right
a_non_monotonic_function@lemmy.world 1 month ago
It was a great episode.
Banana@sh.itjust.works 1 month ago
Agreed!!