The Digital Dystopias of Black Mirror and Electric Dreams

Summary: This critical examination of two dystopian television series— Black Mirror and Electric Dreams —focuses on pop culture depictions of technology and its impact on human existence. Representations of a wide range of modern and futuristic technologies are explored, from early portrayals of artificial intelligence ( Rossum's Universal Robots , 1921) to digital consciousness transference as envisioned in Black Mirror 's "San Junipero." These representations reflect societal anxieties about unfettered technological development and how a world infused with invasive artificial intelligence might redefine life and death, power and control. The impact of social media platforms is considered in the contexts of modern-day communication and political manipulation