
Throughout the episode of San Junipero themes of the darker side of technology and the understanding of an afterlife are explored. This episode questions whether it is wise to use technology to capture the human consciousness to be put into a technological afterlife where someone can live in a utopia. This brings up the questions that if technology can be used to actually capture a person’s consciousness, who would be able to use the technology and if technology could potentially be built to put someone into a computer that would essentially keep you alive forever. That also brings up the question that if that technology is built, what does that mean surrounding our death, if the technology would affect how people would act while they are still alive and the quintessential understanding of judgement going into the afterlife. 

Can the human consciousness be bottled, harnessed and put into a computer which could keep your consciousness alive forever? This may seem impossible but at this moment there are people on life support that are being kept alive after they are declared brain dead. When you think about that, we are already defying death in a sense; that after we are already supposed to be dead, we are technically still alive. Our heart is kept pumping, our organs are still alive. The brain and actual person may be gone, but the body is still alive. San Junipero explores the opposite situation. In San Junipero technology keeps the brain and consciousness alive while letting the body die. Although we may never be able to predict if the technology can be created to keep someone’s mind alive forever, we must think about what that technology would cost. In the United States, “end of life care accounts for approximately 10-12% of all heath care spending (Financing end-of-life care in the USA). This is a significant amount of money being spent on taking care of someone at the end of their life. But if someone is essentially being kept alive forever, then there would be a big increase in the amount of money spent on end of life care. The amount of money it would take to finance a company that keeps people’s consciousness in a utopia forever is incredible. The technology would be immense and would probably be very costly. A family would have to pay a substantial amount of money for someone to essentially be kept alive forever. If the cost is a one-time, paid in full deal then the technology would only be available to the rich. 

If this technology was incredibly expensive and only available to the rich, then that would bring up the question of equality. Death is supposed to be the great equalizer; rich or poor you die. In this situation, the rich get to avoid death and live in a world where they can have whatever they want in anytime that they want to be in. They get to choose how their life gets to be spent for the rest of their life, indulging in whatever vices they seek. People in the middle class or lower classes would be unable to have this opportunity, making death something that only some have to fear at the end of their life. 

Not only does San Junipero question the idea of technology and who has the ability to utilize it, but it also questions the idea of an afterlife. Traditionally when we think of an afterlife, you think of heaven and hell. In the Bible, it is said “but I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment” (Matthew 12:36). At the end of your life, you will be judged for your actions and placed accordingly. In this situation, someone could potentially commit acts of evil, be a person that spreads fear or despair but still have the ability to escape the consequences of their actions by going into the utopia of San Junipero. Most people take comfort in the fact that when we die, we will be judged. Nobody wants to think of a murderer being able to experience happiness for eternity. We all believe that in the end, they will be judged accordingly. In this situation, we lose the hope that people get an eternity based on how they live their life. If they live their life with evil intentions, then they will be punished eternally. Not every evil person gets sent to jail, and most rich people are able to escape prison because they can hire lawyers that will get them out of their sentence. And because they are rich, they will be able to afford to buy their way into a perfect escape into San Junipero. 

Not only would this system be flawed in who would be able to live in San Junipero, but it could also potentially cause chaos while we are still alive. Since we believe in judgment and the possibility of damnation, people tend to act with the understanding of the repercussions of their actions. With the possibility of no judgement, people may stop caring about their actions and how they affect others. Essentially everyone that had the ability to buy their way into this afterlife could commit heinous acts while on Earth without the fear of what is to come. Suffering and evil could potentially increase all over the world if people no longer care about the possibility of being judged. Life may become hell, but people can still live without fear of being judged and the hope of an afterlife that is filled with nothing but happiness and indulgence. 

Overall the ideas of technology and afterlife show that the idea of a technologically induced afterlife could potentially be dangerous. It may only be accessible to the rich and if that is true, they could live without the fear of consequences and potentially make life hell for other people on Earth. San Junipero may seem like an escape of death but in reality, it could bring hell to Earth. An afterlife like San Junipero would eliminate hope for people because it eliminates judgement for those who deserve to be judged. Death is no longer the great equalizer but rather a divide between those who can afford the technology and those who cannot. 
