The Entire History of You

I have decided to only write reviews on these episodes after I watch them for a second time. I am mid-way through the 3rd season on my 2nd run. As many of my outlooks on various episodes have changed, this one stayed very much the same, which is not a good or bad thing... it's a great thing! It seems a lot of people watch this show for all different reasons. My reason is evolving and changing the more I watch it. As before, I watched it to see a dark foretelling of how technology affects our lives... I am not starting to see that technology is merely the vehicle in this series, and the vehicle drives our human nature. Human nature is becoming the theme to me more and more, and technology is a perfect catalyst to drive our inner most desires, which they can be beautiful, as well as dark and depraved.

This episode is driven by the "Grain" implant that allows us to see the entirety of all the moments we have lived throughout our lives. There are characters shown in this episode on both spectrums; those who live it and find it to now be the only way to live; and those who see how destructive it can be, and prefer to live without it. I think I would be in the latter category myself.

The way our protagonist over analyzes every little element of body language, the way things are said, so on and so forth, the more you see how quickly you can become obsessive with such a privilege. Though many drone-like people (the ones of today who are staring at their Iphone while walking amongst actual beauty in our natural world) might see nothing harmful about this, but instead see convenience, leisure, and after awhile, necessity. However, it is increasingly clear to me that it is a destroyer. A destroyer of our privacy, our humility, our ability to grow and evolve, and ultimately, a destroyer of our sanity. This is done very well by telling an impactful story of what could very easily happen within the lives of many ordinary people.

Again we come back to human nature. If such a thing were to exist, I can think of so many people I personally know who would take advantage of this exactly as our protagonist does, eventually leading to him becoming completely insane, and ultimately alone and depressed. Though human evolution is essential, and I don't wish to go back to the days of being neanderthals... this episode has as strong a message as ever, as well as being entertaining. That message is that although progress is good, perhaps we SHOULD backtrack a bit. I am already seeing that in today's world, 2018, our dependence on technology is so great, that we are approaching a time where we (collectively as a species) don't even know how to live anymore. I truly feel sorry for anyone who has been born in the new millenium. Will we forget how to build a fire, read a map, etc?

Yes, I tend to go on stream-of-consciousness tangents in my reviews... but this is what the show does to me. It makes me think like this, more so than anything I have ever watched, and this episode is one of a few that is the epitome of what Black Mirror is all about, and why I love it so dearly.

For whatever reason, this episode is the most memorable to me of the Black Mirror series. I am not saying it's the best written or acted, but it epitomizes Black Mirror and the dark side of technology. Great pace and tone setter for the series.

Loved this episode because it looks too true to not believe. With the revolution that started with cameras and selfies, there are security cameras and drones flying everywhere. Gradually there would be cars and tons and tons of data flying everywhere. There will absolutely be no movement or activity that will be hidden but do we really want to keep rewinding and living the past activities.

Liam hardly seems to be living in the present. all his activities be it sex, drinking viewing or work are carried out by looking towards the past ... thereby no new experience. The grain chip technology is no doubt a great resource for goverment and crime agencies; classic example will be where the security guy allows him to board by looking at his past but I wonder if a human needs access to his history all the time. It will only make a person live his traumas and virtual pleasures over and over again.

Some people say that "we are defined by our memories" and that "without memory we would lack any perspective" with which to assess the world. Others say that "memories are meant to fade." and that "time heals all wounds."

What if we lived in a world where memories literally own us and where they never, ever fade and are accessible in high definition and slow motion replay... Forever to anyone? What if they could be stored and digitised... or even traded as a commodity? What would memories become then?

They would become our most prized possessions: More irreplaceable than hand-crafted treasures, more valuable than any diamond or gold. Imagine, our very essence and experiences captured (and with liberal editing) all the best parts distilled into a narcotic, addictive stream of consciousness, on tap wherever and whenever we desire.

We could go back, time and time again to revisit out best experiences. We could show these details at will to others on any available screen. Alternatively, we could expunge forever that which we never wish to see again, and be forever distrusted as someone with no proof of what they've done or where they've been...

Or, we could even keep those most painful moments it as a lash with which to whip ourselves while saying a dozen Hail Marys.

This is the story of a family that live in such a world, where things once experienced can be recorded forever and used to wager a strategic, rightful war on those around us. But at what cost to ourselves and our relationships?

This for me was the best episode of the two series of Black Mirror, and also the best piece of Television drama over the past 5-8 years.

As a television production student I am critical of drama pieces, but this episode completely blew me away and gripped me from start to end. If anyone asks can television drama be effective over 45-60 minutes , I will always tell them to watch this episode.

This is a masterclass in directing by Ben Welsh. The direction of the cast was perfect, the camera-work suited the feel of the piece , and choice of locations and props for me really added to this film. How they were able to add this futuristic technology to the characters felt 'scarily' believable (especially these days with the development of Google Glasses)

For me this films shows thats you can make an effective drama without making over dramatic and unbelievable plots. As this films grabs its audience, and using its 'gritty' and 'subtle' style makes it for me as one of my favourite dramas ever broadcasted on TV