
As the technology of the world evolves to make the everyday lives of everyday people easier, it also allows people to escape their lives. The point of television, films, and videogames is not just to entertain, but also to help forget about the world for a short period of time. The episode of Black Mirror discussed this idea of escapism, and questions what is reality, and what the consequences of living in a fake world would be. 

Today, the world is obsessed with fake universes. These universes are presented in the form of television, videogames, movies, and even those not presented technologically, such as books. Without these universes, the real world would be a bland wasteland of lifeless individuals. There would be no Star Wars, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Breaking Bad, or Mario. Although this sounds like a horrible place, what is the point of creativity? Why do these universes need to exist? 

First, it must be understood why storytelling was created in the first place. Many ancient cultures used stories as a way to pass important information and to teach others important lessons (Andrews et. Al, 2009). Technology has allowed storytelling to become a part of popular culture. In this way, a story can be passed on in a matter of seconds to millions around the world. Movies have taken over books as the popular form of storytelling. A message can be passed along in an hour through a film, or a day through a novel. 

Technology has become more interactive as it has grown. The first films were silent, without color, and very short. Today, films run for well over an hour, have full color formats, loud sounds, and are meant to ensnare as much of the audience as possible. Theatre screens are colossal giants that entrap the attention of an audience. 3D glasses were created to suck the viewer into the action. Similarly, videogames have created massive worlds to keep the gamer from leaving the virtual universe. Virtual reality is being developed to make games even more interactive than they already are. No one wants to stop fighting dragons and exploring sprawling caves when they have to leave for work. Everyone one earth would immediately choose a different universe over the one we are living in. 

It has been said that “Students need to learn that the images on the screen are made by humans and their validity and accuracy need to be questioned” (Probst, 1983). Fictional universes are all products of the human mind, and have never existed. However, this does not mean that everyone wouldn’t want them to. Imagine the Matrix universe. If the world today was revealed to be a simulation, and the real world was revealed to be a dystopian wasteland, would you really want to live in the dystopian wasteland? It would mean leaving your fictional family and friends behind forever. Although they aren’t real, they’re real enough to you. The character Cypher expresses this to agent Smith, as he would rather live in a blissful ignorance about the world than live in one he knows is fake. He is living in a world he knows is not real, so he cannot live peacefully due to this knowledge.  So what makes something real? 

Because fictional universes are products of the human mind, they have some basis from the real world. There are universes that we will never imagine because we have a limit on what we can imagine. Because of this connection, there will never be a true escape from earth. Black Mirror mentioned this as Yorkie was followed by fragments of her car crash. The nature of San Junipero worked the same way as it does in the real world. It was nothing more than a simulation of earth.

San Junipero works in a way that is unlike how a dream or simulation would work. Everyone in San Junipero is a real person. If everyone in San Junipero were thrown back onto earth, they would all share memories and share connections with each other. Like what was said earlier, if you woke up tomorrow in a dystopian world, you would still want to come back to your fictional friends and family. The other aspect of San Junipero which allows it to work, is that everyone living in it is either dead or soon to be. No one would be able to return to earth, even though they know it exists. If you woke up in a virtual world tomorrow, the fact that you know of the real world would affect how you view the virtual one. Crime, murder, and violence would not seem so bad anymore, as there would not be any consequences holding you back. You might be thrown in virtual jail, but this would seem ridiculous, considering that you can just be returned to the real world. Due to the inability to return to the real world for the people of San Junipero, the world they are living in does indeed have consequences, and therefore is, in fact, their reality (Schapiro, 2016).  

Imagine your favorite movie, game, or television show. Imagine that you are now a character in that universe. This world you are currently living in now does not exist. It sounds like the greatest thing that could happen. However, a universe presented in media like this typically shows what someone would want to see, not what the world would really look like. Let’s look at a universe such as Star Wars. Becoming a Jedi sounds fun, but that would be a world without consequences. Realistically, you wouldn’t ever be able to have a relationship, you would be in constant danger, and chances are, you would die before you reach 50 years old. Everyone would want to live in the Star Wars universe because of the knowledge of this one. No one thinks about the consequences of living in a different universe. 

The rise of technology has provided the world with millions of virtual worlds and universes, and is making these virtual worlds more interactive, so that nobody would ever want to leave. However, these worlds are never truly the reality due to the connection to the real world. The lack of consequences in a video game is the reason they are so popular, to get away from the consequences of this world. If a fictional world suddenly became reality, it would be grounded by the consequences of living in it. 

  