Within the Black Mirror episode “San Junipero,” a plethora of moral and ethical questions arise. The moral dilemma of euthanasia becomes a prevalent issue throughout the episode. The issue relies on the fact that the main character in the text, Yorkie, struggles with wanting to undergo a lethal injection, but her family, who is deeply religious, refuses. This situation gives viewers a clearer image that these circumstances happen to real people, not just in a fictitious television program.  

Euthanasia or physicians assisted suicide is defined as the practice of ending a life in order to relieve a person of pain and suffering. Two main sides of the argument are formed, one side saying it is morally just for this process to be legal and the other stating that it is homicide and is considered morally wrong for people to commit this act. For those who are religious, most of the religions around the world have somewhere written in their holy scriptures that all life is precious and any sort killing that is self-inflicted is considered suicide no matter the terms. BBC states that “all religions [dictate] that those who become vulnerable through illness… deserve special care and protection, and that proper end of life care is a much better thing than euthanasia.” When it came to the main character in the Black Mirror episode “San Junipero,” Yorkie suffers from quadriplegia and also loses the ability to talk. When going back to San Junipero, she tells Kelly, other main character and her love interest, that in present day she is trying to marry someone who help override her deeply religious parents’ authority to keep her sustained with a feeding tube. This situation relates back, because it shows how her parents strongly followed the practices of their religion and as long as she had the right care, they believed she should remain living, although she has no quality of life and it is against their own daughters wishes. This situation also relates to the real case regarding Terri Schiavo, who had fell into a vegetative state and had no living will. Her husband argued that she should be able to end her life whereas her religious family argued the opposite. It became a famous court case and according to CBS News, “Terri’s Law” passed stating that they could not remove her feeding tube. This shows that not only is this shown on television, but are current situations throughout the world. The fact that a television program portrays such a controversial moral issue shows the importance of this issue in the modern era. 

The music within the text “San Junipero” ties directly to the issues that the characters are facing within the episode of Black Mirror. Songs like “Girlfriend in a Coma” by the Smiths and “Professional Widow” by Tori Amos are played in the background of the scenes that shows Yorkie in the hospital in her vegetative state. These songs relate directly back to the situation that lies within the episode regarding the euthanasia dilemma. Throughout the episode, viewers are continuously confused with the unclear plot, however the music left little clues in the episode “San Junipero” that helped tie all the moral and ethical situations together, heavily focusing on the euthanizing of Yorkie. The fact that the writers added these songs to the background of “San Junipero” shows that the writers saw their significant relationship to the episode and how this episode of Black Mirror shows the importance of the ethical situation that remains a key issue in society today. 

Not only does the issue of euthanasia arise in this episode of Black Mirror, but the issue of when being euthanized, the spirits of those who died are taken to a “heaven-like” afterlife. Instead of passing away like in today’s society, the individual who has died will be transported to a place where other dead souls carry out the rest of their existence called “San Junipero.” The moral dilemma of not only euthanasia arises, but this fiction invention, that could one day become real, that takes the dead to a man-made afterlife is an issue that faces the main characters. Kelly is conflicted on passing over to “San Junipero,” because her daughter died before the invention was created and her husband decided against this afterlife to be with their daughter. This situation could become an issue with religious groups as well, because they each believe in their own afterlife. This also proves that it is a moral dilemma alongside the issue of euthanasia. 

Throughout the text, many difficult circumstances arise that also show its prevalence to modern society. Euthanasia is a highly debated topic that is still relevant to the world today. It remains clear that issue with euthanasia is heavily reliant on the fact that most world religions have it written in their scriptures that forbid this practice from being justified. Its religious significance is shown through Yorkie’s parents as they would not allow her daughter to die even though this is against her daughters wish and she has no quality of life and how this similar situation happened in real life with Terri Schiavo. With the music in the background of the episode of Black Mirror “San Junipero,” it also puts emphasis on the struggle with Yorkie’s euthanization and how this also remains an issue. All these factors came together to portray a modern issue through a fictitious world on screen. 
