Well, here's a twist that's worthy of a Black Mirror episode: Did Ross Geller low-key predict the reality of "San Junipero"?
Netflix thinks so, and, to be honest, I'm totally convinced.
First, some background on that Emmy-winning episode of Black Mirror, which reminded the world of the importance of Belinda Carlisle's "Heaven Is A Place On Earth." The episode of the technology-focused anthology series revolves around two women who, over the course of the episode, are revealed to be living in an virtual reality. Their minds' consciousness — which depicts the two women, both elderly, as 20-somethings — is inside a computer, while their bodies lay sleeping in the "real world."
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At the end of the episode, both women decide to stay in the computer-generated reality after their deaths, enjoying the '80s aesthetic of the fictional beach town seemingly for the rest of time. None of it is real, exactly, but it certainly feels that way...so what's the difference?
David Schwimmer's Friends character Ross Geller knows what's up. In a new video Netflix posted on their YouTube page, Ross explains to his pals (who are perpetually uninterested in all his science talk) that living in a computer-generated reality is the way of the future...just as it was in "San Junipero."
"By the year 2030, there will be computers that can carry out the same amount of functions as an actual human brain. So theoretically you could download all of your thoughts and memories into the computer and live forever as a machine."
The laugh track then ensues, even though what Ross is saying is downright chilling.
If the future that Ross and "San Junipero" predict ever does become a reality...well, I hope we have Netflix there.