The Inevitable Dystopia: A study of Black Mirror as a postmodern work of hi-tech horror
Author
Schüsler, Nikolaj
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2019
Submitted on
2019-08-08
Pages
63
Abstract
This thesis examines how the anthology series Black Mirror textually represents advanced technology and artificial intelligence—especially the idea that consciousness can be uploaded and downloaded—and argues that these portrayals position the work as postmodern hi-tech horror. The study applies a qualitative textual analysis of selected episodes chosen for their focus on the digitalization of consciousness, grounded in a theoretical framework of postmodernism, satire, horror, and black humour, alongside a discussion of authorial intention. The central research question asks how the series presents the consequences of technological influence on individuals and society in relation to consciousness, and how this becomes a satirical critique articulated in a postmodern literary form; the role of horror in expressing anxiety and trauma is also addressed. The analysis identifies a clear alignment between the show’s narratological strategies and the employed theories. The findings indicate that Black Mirror can be read as a postmodern work of hi-tech horror: its satire of society’s interaction with advanced technology and AI underscores the inevitability of technological progression, while the depiction of transferable consciousness functions as literary horror by dramatizing blurred boundaries between the natural and the unnatural through fear and anxiety. The thesis thereby contributes to understanding Black Mirror’s genre and its treatment of technology and consciousness in contemporary postmodern literature.
Dette speciale undersøger, hvordan antologien Black Mirror tekstuelt fremstiller avanceret teknologi og kunstig intelligens – særligt forestillingen om at kunne uploade og downloade bevidsthed – og argumenterer for, at disse fremstillinger placerer værket som postmoderne hi-tech horror. Studiet bygger på en kvalitativ tekstanalyse af udvalgte afsnit, valgt for deres fokus på bevidsthedens digitalisering, forankret i et teoretisk rammeværk af postmodernisme, satire, horror og sort humor samt en diskussion af forfatterintention. Den centrale problemformulering spørger, hvordan serien tekstuelt viser teknologiens følger for individ og samfund i relation til bevidsthedsbegrebet, og hvordan dette bliver til en satirisk kritik artikuleret i en postmoderne litterær form; desuden belyses horrorens rolle i at formidle angst og traume. Analysen påviser en tydelig sammenhæng mellem seriens narratologiske greb og de anvendte teorier. Fundene indikerer, at Black Mirror kan læses som et postmoderne værk af hi-tech horror: Satiren over samfundets omgang med avanceret teknologi og AI understreger teknologiens uafvendelige fremmarch, mens fremstillingen af overførbar bevidsthed fungerer som litterær horror ved at dramatisere usikre grænser mellem det naturlige og det unaturlige gennem frygt og angst. Specialet bidrager dermed til forståelsen af Black Mirrors genre og behandling af teknologi og bevidsthed i samtidens postmoderne litteratur.
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