Humanity Hallows Issue 4 Out Now!
Pick up your copy on campus or read online.
By Daniel J Broadley
Rarely do we get an episode of Black Mirror with a feel good factor to it, but that’s just what we get with the fourth installment of the latest in the new series, ‘San Junipero’.
This is by far the best episode of Black Mirror so far. It is deeply philosophical, dealing with death, the afterlife, intimacy and how technology ties in with all of these in this alternate reality.
San Junipero is a virtual world that people can visit as their younger selves. The main story is of two dying elderly women living out their dream lives together in San Junipero, but this is revealed slowly and gradually. This episode masterfully keeps you guessing as to the true nature of this world.
Not only is San Junipero a virtual world you can visit when you’re old and dying, but it’s a place you can ‘pass on to’ by uploading your consciousness (soul, maybe?) upon death. Meaning, you can live for eternity in your younger body in a simulation.
Very Elon Musk.
Not only is this episode deeply philosophical with a beautiful story, it’s aesthetically spot on. The soundtrack, the colouring, the clothes, it’s all perfect as we step in to San Junipero in the 1980s and briefly slip in to the 90s and early 2000s. It’s all very nostalgic.
Maybe I’m a sucker for happy endings, but I’d say ‘San Junipero’ is Charlie Brooker’s masterpiece.
You can even take a look at a playlist Brooker himself put together via his Spotify and Twitter, full of tracks both included and unused in the episode. See if you can figure out the significance of this song:
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