Black Mirror and Philosophy - (Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture) by David Kyle Johnson & William Irwin (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A philosophical look at the twisted, high-tech near-future of the sci-fi anthology series Black Mirror, offering a glimpse of the darkest reflections of the human condition in digital technology

Black Mirror―the Emmy-winning Netflix series that holds up a dark, digital mirror of speculative technologies to modern society--shows us a high-tech world where it is all too easy to fall victim to ever-evolving forms of social control.In Black Mirror and Philosophy, original essays written by a diverse group of scholars invite you to peer into the void and explore the philosophical, ethical, and existential dimensions of Charlie Brooker's sinister stories. The collection reflects Black Mirror's anthology structure by pairing a chapter with every episode in the show's five seasons--including an interactive, choose-your-own-adventure analysis of Bandersnatch--and concludes with general essays that explore the series' broader themes. Chapters address questions about artificial intelligence, virtual reality, surveillance, privacy, love, death, criminal behavior, and politics, including:

• Have we given social media too much power over our lives?
• Could heaven really, one day, be a place on Earth?
• Should criminal justice and punishment be crowdsourced?
• What rights should a "cookie" have?

Immersive, engaging, and experimental, Black Mirror and Philosophy navigates the intellectual landscape of Brooker's morality plays for the modern world, where humanity's greatest innovations and darkest instincts collide.

From the Back Cover

PHILOSOPHY/POP CULTURE

What dangers does the rapid advancement of technology pose?

Have we given social media too much power over our lives?

Could heaven really, one day, be a place on Earth?

Should criminal justice and punishment be crowdsourced?

What rights should a "cookie" have?

The future is bright--or is it? In the dystopian near-future of the Emmy-winning sci-fi television series Black Mirror--where consciousness can be incarcerated in circuitry, social media metrics determine class status, and the dead can be robotically or digitally reanimated--it is all too easy to fall victim to the dangers of a technologically-driven world and its ever-evolving forms of social control. From surveilled minds to violated memories, Charlie Brooker's high-concept anthology series takes an incisive look at the darkest reflections of the human condition in digital technology through sharply allegorical tales that tap into our collective techno-paranoia with remarkable acuity.

Black Mirror and Philosophy unravels the philosophical threads woven throughout the show's futurist premises, including questions about artificial intelligence, virtual reality, surveillance, privacy, love, death, criminal behavior, and politics. Original essays written by a diverse group of scholars invite you to peer into the void and explore the ethical, political, and existential dimensions of Brooker's sinister stories (and hunt for some Easter eggs in the process). The collection pairs a chapter with each episode in Black Mirror's five seasons--including an interactive, choose-your-own-adventure analysis of Bandersnatch--and concludes with general essays that examine the series' broad themes.

Immersive, engaging, and experimental, Black Mirror and Philosophy navigates the intellectual landscape of Brooker's morality plays for the modern world, where humanity's greatest innovations and darkest instincts collide.

About the Author

DAVID KYLE JOHNSON is Professor of Philosophy at King's College in Pennsylvania. He is the editor of four books on popular culture and philosophy, including Inception and Philosophy (Wiley Blackwell, 2011), and has written over 20 articles for academic books and journals. He also produces lecture series for The Teaching Company's "The Great Courses," including Sci-Phi: Science Fiction as Philosophy.