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2019 | OriginalPaper | Chapter

The Sovereignty of Truth: Memory and Morality in “Crocodile”

Author : Jossalyn G. Larson

Published in: Through the Black Mirror

Publisher: Springer International Publishing

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Abstract

Black Mirror (2011–) has devoted much of its critique to technology’s elimination of ambiguity, suggesting that humans might experience an omniscience that has previously only been a quality of the divine. This has led many to argue that the series represents a post-religious dystopia; however, I argue that the series includes embedded religious symbols which make very profound statements about the role of faith in a technological world. The fourth season’s “Crocodile” echoes Platonic and Neoplatonic moral philosophies and a corroborative theory of “truth,” which suggest that a truth can only be encountered through reason, self-sacrifice, and devotion to a sovereign “good.” In this study, I analyze “Crocodile” through the lens of moral philosophy in order to demonstrate that the series does not represent a technological usurping of faith; rather, it argues that omniscience-via-technology becomes a threat only when devotion to a sovereign “good” is abandoned in favor of self-preservation.

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Metadata
Title
The Sovereignty of Truth: Memory and Morality in “Crocodile”
Author
Jossalyn G. Larson
Copyright Year
2019
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19458-1_17