After viewing the episode “The Entire History of You” of Black Mirror, I reflected on how memory keeps us focused on the past and not the present. In the episode, when Liam and Ffion are having sex, both individuals are viewing past sexual encounters through the grain implemented behind their ear. Once both of them climax in the real world, they stop viewing their respective recordings and begin living in the present once again. While the grain is an effect tool recall information and store happy moments, this device basically turns Liam insane with jealous and suspicion regarding Ffion and Jonas. This addition memory gained by the grain keeps Liam recounting past events and analyzing each individuals actions, drawing conclusions merely on facial reactions or simple gestures. In addition, memory can be skewed by the grain. Liam says to Ffion, “you’re a bitch, sometimes,” yet Ffion leaves out the sometimes and replays the memory. The grain ends up having destructive implications in Liam’s life: he lost his wife and child, realized his wife had cheated on him, and ended up manually removing his grain through an extremely painful method. The show seems to be a warning for what the future capacity for memory and storage can lead to. Do we want to know everything that we do and say, or is it sometimes better that we forget some details of a conversation or event? In the case of this episode, memory seemed to be the reason for the disaster that unfolded in Liam’s lap.
In addition, as Science Fiction serves as a predictor of future events, I reflected on what future technology will bring. Delany’s Web in Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand resembles our modern-day internet, and some of the innovations predicted in Black Mirror have already been implemented in our society. In an episode titled “Hated in the Nation,” the modern world no longer has bees to pollinate the plants, so mechanical bees were engineered to replace the lost species. However, a hacker could manipulate these remote-control bees and use them for deadly purposes. In our current society, bees are dying at an alarming rate, and we will need to find some supplement in the future to replace these dying species. Thus, mechanical bees are not far from being a common occurrence in our everyday lives, and we must think of the ramifications and possible implications of this new technology. In addition, in the episode “White Christmas,” a man using a software called “Eye-Link” can have dating professionals help him pick up women by seeing through his eyes and guiding his moves. With the invention of new, updated cameras and first person point of view perspective cameras, the possibility for technology such as “Eye-Link” could soon be a possibility and seriously infringe on our individual privacy. These episodes of Black Mirror serve as a warning for the harmful and disastrous consequences that new technology can have on society, and we must proceed with caution in the development of innovations that could possible conflict with society’s privacy and best interests.