'Black Mirror' and the possibility of looking inside yourself
Black Mirror has returned to Netflix with its seventh season to remind us of the world we live in and the abyss that the future often represents. Since the episodes are independent, the level of satisfaction is uneven and depends largely on individual sensitivity to connect more with some stories than others. What remains intact is the ability to analyze the human condition in the face of digital progress. There are episodes full of hopelessness or even anguish, and some others, however, transport us to unusual possibilities that serve to delve deeper into the realm of emotions.
This is the case ofEulogy, the fifth episode, where the protagonist, Philip, a lonely man played by actor Paul Giamatti, receives a very intriguing call from a company that organizes funerals. They inform him of the death of a person he knew decades ago. But the ritual will not be traditional. It is an immersive funeral that is built from all the memories of the people who knew the deceased.
The chapter, on the one hand, shows us how the solicitous and predisposed attitude of artificial intelligence can make us participate in absolutely unknown processes without assessing their risks. The charm, the assertive attitude and the ease of resources of these voices of the virtual world when interacting with humans lead us to unusual interfaces driven by curiosity and a sometimes reckless obedience. This time the proposal of Black Mirror It's truly tempting: it offers the chance to delve into the old photographs we accumulate at home and relive those moments based on what we archive in our memories. The episode recreates this imaginary very well, without losing its fine sense of humor. Philip will return to very intense moments of his youth and experience scenes and situations again. But what it doesn't take into account is that this digital world is never innocent. What we store in our memories are only points of view of our own history, but Eulogy It has more versions and different perspectives. It contains more information than we ourselves knew or have stored in our brains.
Revisiting the past carries the risk of discovering new ways of interpreting it and understanding our lives. It can be painful, but it can also provide the opportunity to repair emotional damage we've carried over time. Eulogy It will be much more than an immersive funeral.
As always, Black Mirror It offers this reading of the future and, in turn, the possibility of reflecting ourselves in the mirror that screens represent, allowing us to return to the past. Some episodes offer the opportunity, not to look beyond, but to look within. You see Philip's story, and at the same time, it makes you reflect on the interpretation you may have constructed of your life and question everything you didn't notice or take into account.
