This episode of Black Mirror is set in a future where humans use a memory implant called a "grain" that records everything they do, see, and hear for later playback or a "re-do" as they call it. I immediately thought of how this is technology going to the extreme to capture moments so we can "remember" them, kind of like how we take pictures and/or videos of moments. I put remember in quotes because since they have it recorded and in their head forever, they don't really have to work to remember anything. However, that is just one problem I saw with this technology as this episode played out. Another downside to this was that as much as we may think it would be great to relive moments without needing to use a device to capture them, this episode shows us why it isn't always that great.
Liam expresses to his friends that he doesn't think this appraisal at work went so well, and they instantly want him to "re-do" it for them on the screen so they can analyze it. Since most people in this future world have a grain, they all can share moments they've experienced whether it be awesome, sad, intimate, or embarrassing. At first I thought that the only positive to this technology was that we would be able to live more in the moment because our eyes are just capturing everything for us for later, but then I wondered if they are truly living in the moment if they know they can just replay it later. I think our ability to store and replicate any experience whether it be by phone or by grain, takes away from being fully present in a moment as it is actually happening. Another problem I saw main character Liam experience was over analyzing everything that had been recorded. Since he could play back everything he's ever seen, it was so easy for him to dwell in the past. In today's world, I think we definitely see this in text messages. People over analyze what people say to them because it is permanently recorded on their device.
However, I think the hardest part to absorb about this episode from a "grain-less" perspective, is the normalcy that this technology has taken on in their society. Looking at Nancy Baym's four theoretical frameworks, they are definitely in the domestication stage. This makes me step back and think about technologies that are domesticated in our society today, like cell phones for example and even further - Facebook. And it makes me wonder how ridiculous it could look from a "phone-less" and "Facebook-less" perspective that we are constantly looking at these devices and connecting with friends through them. It worries me that the power that technology seems to have over us will eventually lead our society to situations we wouldn't want to find ourselves in - like living with the grain.
Alyson, great post! You hit it on the head. You made three points extremely well. The characters are not storing "memories," they are storing the exact moment. Memories include the way we perceive and feel about the situation, not the exact situation. The movie didn't really touch on this, but the idea that if you are focused on capturing the moment, you may not actually feel the need to be fully present in that moment. This is something we struggle with now when using smartphone technology and the same thing Socrates was suggesting about writing. Lastly, the "grain" is so engrained into their society that it has become domesticated and they no longer question the behaviors it creates. This is an incredibly important point the show makes. Great post!
ReplyDeleteAlyson,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your point that the grain can be compared to texting in terms of how we over-analyze the messages. I think it's really interesting to think about how these two mediums impact our perception of social cues. With texting, there are hardly any social cues except for the words that we can read on the screen. It is up to the reader to interpret the tone and meaning of the message. With the grain, you are flooded with social cues, and you have to weed through them all in order to make sense of the message. In both mediums, there is a hyper-awareness of these social cues for different reasons. I find it interesting that two different mediums can cause the same hyper-awareness of social cues, to the point where, at least in this case, someone can essentially self destruct.