Excerpt:

Think of science fiction as a mirror for our times. Just as television’s first “Twilight Zone” (1959-1964) reflected cold war fears and anxieties, “Black Mirror,” the more recent Netflix anthology series is very much of the moment. Plots range wildly, from a dating site with ulterior motives. Genetic engineering by a creepy Captain Kirk clone. An underclass on stationary bikes earning credits for food while they generate electricity. One episode, “San Junipero,” about two women who are more than best friends won two 2017 Primetime Emmys, and was nominated for a Hugo Award for best dramatic sci fi short. “Black Mirror” segments are very much about how we are changed by technology, says Lisa Yaszek, Georgia Tech science fiction historian and critic. As “Black Mirror” creator Charlie Brooker said of his show, “If technology is a drug, what are its side effects?” What do we see when we look in the black mirror of our computer screens?

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