San Junipero of the Black Mirror series creates a focus on the controversial idea of life after death. Throughout the episode the main characters Kelly and Yorkie experience San Junipero; a lively beach town, and their reality; a futuristic world where the afterlife is accessible before death. In reality Yorkie is a paraplegic from a car accident she experienced decades ago, after she left her home after expressing her homosexuality to her parents. Meanwhile in reality Kelly is very elderly and suffers the loss of her daughter and husband. They, among other elderly people, are given the opportunity to have their consciousness uploaded, which puts them in the place of San Junipero. In san Junipero Yorkie is young and starts off shy. She is hesitant to express her sexuality and meet anyone but once she meets Kelly she becomes adventurous and curious in this afterlife. Through the use of the utopia that is San Junipero, this episode expresses the differences between the religious beliefs of an afterlife and the possibility of a technological afterlife.

According to various religious beliefs the afterlife is a place that is accessed according to the quality of life that a person has lived. For example, in the Christian faith “It is clearly stated that those who do not follow and believe in Jesus will ultimately end up in hell, while those who do will achieve salvation and end up in heaven” (Views on Death According to Different Religions). This is the belief that a person who lives a holy life by following Jesus and being a good Christian will end up in the afterlife that is heaven. Heaven is believed in the Christian faith to be a place after life “in which believers enjoy the presence of God and other believers and freedom from suffering and sin” (How the Major Religions View the Afterlife). Similarly, in the Muslim faith it is believed that charity which he had given, knowledge which he had taught and prayers on their behalf by a righteous child” so being a genuine person will lead to a good afterlife. However, contrasting to the Christian faith, “present life is only a preparation for the next realm of existence” (How the Major Religions View the Afterlife) which means that there is not necessarily a heaven but these good deeds lead to a pleasant future existence. Likewise, in the Hindu religion “death is regarded as a natural process in the existence of soul as a separate entity. When a person dies, the soul travels for sometime to another world and finally returns again to the earth to continue its journey” (How the Major Religions View the Afterlife) so once they die they do not end up in a heaven or utopia for the afterlife but they are given another form of existence. Along the same lines, “Buddhism believe in reincarnation: once a person dies on this earth, he will be reborn to a new life here and the status of that life depends on the work he did before his previous death” (How the Major Religions View the Afterlife). Regardless of the religion there is a common theme among these examples that those who live a genuine and charitable life will be given a pleasant afterlife whether it be in a heaven or another form of existence. 

In the episode of San Junipero people are given the option to upload the consciousness to a town called San Junipero, which is similar to a utopia. When given the option to go to San Junipero there does not need to be a commitment at first. Participants are able to submit their consciousness and visit San Junipero but they are brought back to reality at midnight. When in San Junipero the participants are made young and lively. Despite the luxuries in crossing over: submitting consciousness to San Junipero forever, there are people who oppose it. For example, Kelly refuses to cross over. At the time Kelly’s daughter died, San Junipero was not an option, but when her husband died it was an option. Although he had the opportunity to cross over to San Junipero, he denied it. At the latter end of the episode it is revealed that he did not feel it was a fair opportunity to take, as it was not an opportunity his daughter was given. This creates the controversy between the religious and technological afterlife, as there is a choice between the two in this episode.

The differences between a technological after life and the religious concepts of afterlife are made apparent by the creation of San Junipero. Before entering San Junipero for certain people are given the opportunity to access it various times without committing. This opposes various beliefs about religious after life because in the Christian, Buddhist, Muslim and Hindu religions people are not given access to their afterlife before their death. Along the same lines, this technological afterlife differs from a religious afterlife because people have the ability to visit San Junipero and know what is coming which contrasts the religious afterlife in that it is a belief and faith but there is no true certainty what happens in the afterlife. Another contradiction between the technological afterlife and the religious afterlife is that all people are given the opportunity to go to San Junipero. In many teachings state that the only reason for birth into the material world is the opportunity to prepare for the soul's destiny in the immaterial worlds” (How the Major Religions View the Afterlife) yet before entering San Junipero there is no judgment of the previous life. This contrasts the religious beliefs on after life, as there is no karmic cycle that grants any better or worse afterlife to enter San Junipero, but it is an option for all to be given the chance to upload their consciousness. On the other hand, a similarity between the religious afterlife and the technological afterlife is that they are both intended to be similar to utopias however it is earned in the religious afterlife but given in the technological. Another instance where they differ is that there are few if no beliefs in the religious afterlife where the views of those in company have opposing views to theirs in reality. This contrasts how the attitude of participants in San Junipero changes in the example of the acceptance of homosexuality in San Junipero but not in Yorkie’s reality. Nonetheless, this also gives a similarity between the religious and technological afterlives are blissful because it means there is a universal acceptance and peace in both forms of afterlives. Another difference between the religious afterlife and the technological afterlife is the remnants of the actual being that has died. In religious contexts the “part of the human being that survives death is known in Christianity, Islam and Judaism as the soul” (How the Major Religions View the Afterlife) however, in the reality outside of San Junipero a person only remains as a chip in a control room. This emphasizes the contrast between the afterlife being spiritual and tangible. 

San Junipero gives a depiction of what a technological afterlife would be like which can be compared and contrasted to the different religious beliefs on afterlife. There are various factors differentiating the two afterlives however there are similarities as well. While the religious afterlife is based off the previous life, San Junipero is similar to a fresh start in the afterlife. The technological afterlife of San Junipero greatly contradicts the karmic and spiritual bases behind the religious afterlife however it mirrors various religious afterlives with the theme of a utopia. 
