The Modern Gothic: Examining Humanity’s Relationship with Technology in Black Mirror’s Be Right Back

The Gothic genre, since its beginning, has been a reflection to society's fears and anxieties towards cultural and technological shifts. This thesis critically examines how Netflix's "Black Mirror" episode "Be Right Back" continues the Gothic tradition by reflecting contemporary fears of humanity's complex relationship with technology. Through an analysis of the traditional Gothic elements: haunting and death, the supernatural, and the uncanny-- "Black Mirror" is placed in the Gothic genre identifying fears of artificial intelligence and human identity. The episode's portrayal of an AI surrogate for a dead boyfriend, the episode is a cautionary tale about the limitations of technology in replicating the complexities of the human experience, love, and grief. Ultimately, this thesis contends that the Gothic's continued relevance lies in its ability to interrogate societal fears, and "Black Mirror" exemplifies this tradition by asking a fundamental question: what truly makes us human?