summary of the story
The story takes place in a future world where people can upload their consciousness to virtual reality after death. It seems that people's life can be extended indefinitely, reaching a state of spiritual perpetuation, but in fact the problems faced in this world are still in "heaven". Existence, even because there is no place to work or create, and nowhere to vent, there will be other problems that arise that are different from the living.
Since "Black Mirror" merged science fiction films into black reality and liberated science fiction from the past forms of adventure survival and western films, the theme of science fiction dramas began to explore its profound meaning.
On the other hand, "Uploading New Life" does not take the usual path, and interprets the controversial and high-concept consciousness uploading with a lighthearted, humorous and ironic sense of joy. Therefore, you don't have to be scared away by its high-tech settings. Each episode has high-density slang-free, laughing points and stalks, as well as the progressive emotional drama of the male and female protagonists. People who like love can see it as a soap opera. Those who like dark humor can enjoy a lot of social metaphors, and those who like sci-fi can take a look at the technological ideas inside.
----The following contains spoilers----
At the beginning of chasing the drama, it was inevitable to be persuaded to quit by the 50-cent special-effect unmanned flying car, the strong low-cost style , and some strange and strange scenes that make people dance, such as the magical dance of the male protagonist and the concubine, but in After the first episode these things were reduced considerably, and the laughs were reasonably combined with the afterlife avatar.
The plot revolves around the young male protagonist Nathan , who died in an unmanned car accident , and his real customer service Nora in the virtual world. The camera keeps switching back and forth between the virtual world "Horizen" and the real world. The main line is to find out how Nathan died. Nathan's death was not simple. The conspiracy behind it may be related to the free post-death uploading software he developed; the second is to explore Nathan's emotional line. Whether it is feasible for his girlfriend to have a long-distance relationship with life and death separation, and in his conversation and getting along with the "angel" Nora, he has developed feelings for Nora beyond ordinary friendship.
In fact, regardless of the worldview uploaded after death, the main line of the plot is quite ordinary , and there are not too many surprises, so watching the compressed version of the commentary on the Internet can not feel the fun of this drama very well, and I have no intention of repeating what others have written. Mainline content multiple times.
Come on, let me open your mind
What I think is really interesting is the ingenious borrowing and quoting of real life : subverting the daily details of life that make people smile, brain-opening and reasonable ideas, and unavoidable workplace complaints no matter what era you are in, and possibilities Abusive or abusive relationships that happen to anyone. For example, the fun of going to the toilet in the title scene of the play, using the code loopholes in the system to produce bread and eating, artificial intelligence unable to find the cat in the verification code, etc., including the mutual teasing between the supporting characters and the "angel".
A major feature of this play is that it expresses and shows the possibilities of the present and the future. It does not deliberately avoid questions that it may not be able to answer. At the same time, it does not go too far into its rigor or sociality, resulting in the loss of creativity. This aspect is also the reason why the audience can watch the drama with a relatively relaxed attitude, without having to worry about heavy thinking burdens or moral burdens. But this does not reduce the intensity of the drama's criticism and ridicule of the real society .
For example, the American anti-sexual harassment movement Metoo , which was popular in the past few years, also reflected in the play. The dating software requires a camera to record the confirmation of "I agree" between the two parties before the sexual act , and the little boy in the play tampered with the program in order to grow up. After becoming a woman, there are also sonorous comments about the male gaze.
Real interaction in society is reduced, apathy is more common, and privacy issues in modern society, the Internet is ubiquitous in obtaining personal information, and it knows more about ourselves than we are. These things are set in the future, and are now in our lives. is already happening.
Injustice exists in any world
Even in the virtual world, when the rules of the human game have not changed, the problem of class still exists, and there is still the oppression and exploitation of capital . Whether it is a real customer service in the virtual world, or 2Gs who upload to the online poor area, one is under the pressure of scoring and assessment, and the other is lingering in order to retain the only remaining sense of life. As the male protagonist's dog doctor said, life is inherently unfair, whether in real life or in the virtual world, people living in privilege even know nothing about it .
The setting of the 2g area is particularly interesting to me. In addition to the division of classes, all people's conscious actions and emotions are converted into traffic. When this value is limited, how do you choose from life as a person? You can only do the most important thing. Things or doing nothing to maintain energy ?
This also reminds us from the side that, as people who are still alive and active and have no clear numerical value to limit their actions, how precious and magical existence is life and vitality, and how often these energy and attention are arbitrarily disposed of and wasted on many trivial matters. And we never feel like we've wasted ineffective time and energy on things that are of little importance, because these things seem to us almost limitless. When things are limited and priced, people know how to cherish them. Start to price your attention now.
Of course, the virtual life uploaded after death is the core of the play, and the play cannot be separated from the discussion on the practice of prolonging life online. For example, if the memory is incomplete, is this backup still a complete me? String data, whether the soul still exists; do people who become virtual numbers still retain their identity and rights; do people who pay for virtual accounts have the power to manipulate the deceased at will; is the virtual upload the will of the deceased, or Satisfying the fantasies and desires of the world.
Perhaps for a wealthy Jock or a black lover next door, virtual worlds are indeed a way of achieving heaven, but for most people, aren't virtual existences after death just for comfort to those who are still alive? with hope?
When there is only enjoyment in life or dormancy waiting for the flow to be exhausted, all experiences are virtual signals, and even the power to "wait to die" has completely disappeared, life has left reality and creation, whether there is any meaning of existence, and in the absence of In the world of the end, where everything is endless, isn't it just repeating itself mechanically, like a permanent state of stagnation ?
These discussions are not pointed out by strong conflict or sharp tone, but are extended and unfolded in a timely manner in combination with the plot, leaving more of the hook for thinking to the audience.
On the whole, "Uploading the New Life" is a light-hearted and cheerful sci-fi comedy that is suitable for watching in one breath. Compared with the richly designed scenes, the characters are slightly flat and the male protagonist's triangular emotional line is also very subtle. I prefer it. Think, apart from the glamorous advertisements of life after death, does the extension of consciousness after death really bring happiness and satisfaction to people, if not, where is the meaning of eternal life ?
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