**SOME SPOILERS**
The third episode of Netflix’s original science fiction anthology series Black Mirror is called “The Entire History of You.” The main character is a young man named Liam. It is set in the not so distant future where a device, called the “Willow Grain”, is created that records and stores memories, which can be viewed and displayed at the whim of the user on their eyes or television. There are many benefits of the device but (as in every episode) the episode begins to show how it can ravage the personal life of its user. Jonas it introduce early in the episode and begins to create a divide between Liam and his wife, Fi. Liam obsesses over a past relationship between Fi and Jonas. This obsession is eats away at Liam. His obsession is fed and allowed to fester with the existence of the Grain. He hyper analyzes every single interaction Fi and Jonas share. Even finding Jonas and Fi in the background of other memories he views at a dinner party. Predictably, envy and obsession take over Liam.
There is a huge focus in the episode on human interaction and dialogue. The Grain removes people from the moment. Peoples past memories are the center of who they are as people. At the dinner party the hosts play footage of a party they attended several years earlier. Past recordings go so far as to invade the sex lives of Fi and Liam. They watch themselves making love in the past while having non-passionate sex in the present. It is deeply troubling to see how simple conversation, arguments, and even sexual encounters are blurred and superseded by past memories viewed over and over again. When the characters look back using the Grain their eyes are even made opaque, which is a clearly intentional choice to symbolize how they become/are becoming removed from the people around them. Retreating into memories viewed through rose colored glasses. They pale color their eyes become take on an even deeper meaning as Liam lets visions of the past take over his life.
This dulling of human interaction is what I believe to be the endpoint of the spectacle of social media and the way it can inform and often control our sense of self. The spectacle is not simple a collection of images, but rather the relationship between people and those images. The focus on people, conversation and deep emotions exemplifies this fact. It is easy to interpret the picture and video capabilities of the Grain as the root of the problem, but when you look deeper into the way those images are used it is obvious that the root of the problem comes from how we operate as people. We are creatures of passion and sometimes narcissism. The Grain operates as a catalyst for passion to become obsession and narcissism to enter the forefront of one's mind.
While the other episodes are dark, this episode takes the classification of “sci-fi horror” to a more human level. The implication set forth in the episode are particularly relatable as the world the main characters navigate is similar to our own. Each character in the episode nails complex and sometimes awkward nature of conversation. Liam (Toby Kebbell) and Fi (Jodie Whittaker) make you believe their story on a personal level. The constantly provocative and innovative storytelling and writing delivered in this underrate (in my opinion) final episode of the first season.
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