How do digital media technologies, such as the ones that inhabit the Arkangel episode of the Black Mirror series, bring forward controversial relationships with human culture? Is it the resulting digital media culture a conflicting one, in which media and society contrast rather than producing positive relationships for both?

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‘Black Mirror’ is a series that examines the dark aspects of modern society, particularly as it relates to our relationship with technology. In the episode that we are analyzing, Arkangel, is perfectly explained how the wrong use of technology lead to the destruction of parental relationship. I will apply two theories to explain how technology can often lead to producing negative relationship between people.

Transcoding

Is the principle that describe the computerization of culture, so it explains how computational layer shapes and modifies human culture. Modifying humane culture, computerization also changes the way people interact with each other, and, therefore, their relationship. The Arkangel chip is a security system designed to allow parents to monitor their children. At first, Marie is only interested in tracking her daughter’s whereabouts, but with the many other options offered to facilitate Sara’s life, Marie’s protectiveness soon reaches new heights. A kid needs to roll in the mud to build its natural defenses, they need to feel and understand the spectrum of human emotion in order to evolve. Postponing, or even attempting to halt these developments entirely, will surely stunt a child’s growth and stop them from becoming the person they could be. There’s a fine line between over-protectiveness and the invasion of privacy and, in this day and age, it is becoming increasingly blurred.

Immediacy

Is the transparency and linear perspective of the medium. This theory can be seen since the beginning of the episode, where they insert the Arkangel chip into Sara’s brain, but she doesn’t even know that she is controlled by her mother. That chips allows her mother to see what she’s seeing, to pinpoint her location at any time, and to blur out things that might elevate Sara’s cortisol levels. Her device stunts her emotional growth, since anything stressful or harmful is blurred out of her vision, including her grandfather’s heart attack. The medium is so invisible that the girl realizes only gradually that she is different from the rest of the kids. Soon she discovers that she misses pieces of what everyone else can see, therefore she desperately tries to find out what those are and tries to search them to actually be able to see them fully. She becomes obsessed and she starts watching and seeking violence. The discovering that it was all due to her mother’s controlling instincts ruins their relationship because of the lack of trust. Sara gets upset and starts using violence, but since she cannot see any of it, she can never stop.