“The painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful disease or in an irreversible coma”.  This is Google’s definition of euthanasia; it so happens to be illegal in a lot of countries for reasons that most people could understand. This word “euthanasia” plays a big role in the Black Mirror episode. Another topic that is a big deal in the eyes of the viewers when they watch this episode would be technology. Technology plays a big role in modern day life as well as this episode, without technology than what was happening in this episode would not be made possible.   Euthanasia and technology are extremely different and have evolved a lot in real life versus this episode of the show for a number of reasons. They still have a lot of similarities and characteristics, but in the end they are not the same as they are in the real world.

In the real world euthanasia is a pretty sensitive topic. Many people who have had really sick or injured friends or family have considered using the method of euthanasia on their loved ones.  Some people do feel as though letting go of their loved ones when they are in this physical state would be the best course of action. On the contrary many people find this process to be barbaric or inhumane because often times the people who are being euthanized do not have a say in if they get to live or survive, and this concept may upset many people. This is why many people are pushing to make this method illegal, which isn’t crazy because it is illegal in all but four countries and four states.  

In this show, euthanasia does so happen to be legal and they are debating to use it on Yorkie. But one must realize how different euthanasia is in this episode versus real life. In the episode if Yorkie was to be euthanized, then she wouldn’t die but she would merely “pass into the afterlife of San Junipero”. If someone were to go to this place, then I would consider them dead because they still have a conscious mind and they are making decisions for themselves, and they essentially continue to live through their physical minds in a certain make believe place. Although this concept only happens with the help of technology. If this idea of “San Junipero” were possible in real life than most people would probably choose to go their rather than just pull the plug.  But the real world is not like that and these are real lives that are placed on the line. Although some people’s lives are so bad when they are in a coma that euthanasia is the best option. Like in the book they say “Many people choose this method as an easy alternative for peace” (Baruch A. Brody Page 9).  So in terms of this episode it seems like a lot less is on the line if they decide to pull the plug on Yorkie and send her into San Junipero.

Technology is another important difference in this show versus real life. The technology used in this show is seemingly much more advance based on what is seen in the episode versus what the actual limit to technology is in real life. The technology in this show is so advance on so many levels. For example, the technology alone crafted this entire afterlife place for people to escape to after they die. There is no possible way that modern technology is even close to scratching the surface on something as big as that. This afterlife that has been created seems to have limitless storage capacity creating many clubs and cities, and even the beach has a realistic look to it.  Yorkie in the show mentions a number of times on how realistic the world they are in is. It amazes me to see how Black Mirror really shows how humans can stretch technology and see what the breaking point of humans actually is. It’s a crazy idea to think about what our technological creators have in store for us in the future. Maybe one day an afterlife like what is shown in the episode will actually be possible. For example, in this book the author said “At the rate AI technology is improving, a kid born today will rarely need to see a doctor to get a diagnosis by the time they are an adult” (Kevin Kelly Page 163).

These two ideas of euthanasia and technology, really play a big role in the episode of the series Black Mirror. The whole plot and idea would not be possible for this show if these two things were not expressed in the way that they were. It’s a good thing that it was represented this way because it made for an extremely interesting episode that would catch the attention of many viewers.

Based on this episode and comparing these with real life. It is easy to tell how different technology and euthanasia are in this show versus real life. Let’s say that our life was the same as the life represented in the episode. Then the idea of euthanasia would not be that and maybe it wouldn’t be banned in so many countries around the world. It would definitely make dying a lot easier and people would be more accepting of the idea of euthanasia. 

This show seemed to be set in the future based on all of the beyond modern looking architecture and vehicles that are shown at the end of the episode when they are making their way over to the hospital to see Yorkie. So this is most likely a place of the future, with that being said maybe there is a possibility that all of these things could one day be made possible and people would be more accepting of these new and almost alienated ideas. The only thing people can do is to wait and see if this reality might actually happen. Hopefully this will work out for the best and improve the world.      
