Love is tricky. But it’s even trickier when you’re trying to find it in a somewhat futuristic, mystical landscape.
The following films — and one standout television show — show that finding love in another time and place isn’t any easier than it is on modern-day Earth.
Black Mirror
Black Mirror, a Netflix show, is a Twilight Zone-like series that posits what life would be like in the near future. The show tackles myriad issues—social media status, politics, self-preservation, parenthood—but some of the show’s most memorable and lauded episodes are about love.
For sake of time, words and your patience, I’ll briefly describe two of the show’s love-centric episodes.
In “The Entire History of You,” a husband and wife fall victim to the technology that was designed to help humanity live “better.” As the husband becomes more and more obsessed with constantly reviewing his and his wife’s activities via a futuristic implant, his seemingly wonderful relationship with his wife begins to become more troubled.
“San Junipero” asks the question: If you were guaranteed some kind of life after death, would you take it? The answer may seem like a definite yes, but like most things science fiction discusses, a seemingly simple answer is never, well, that simple. For example, what if your former love-of-your-life couldn’t join you in this new, technology-made-possible afterlife?
Although this episode is more light-hearted than some of the series other episodes, its various meditations on love—old, new, and everything in-between—are exquisite.
The Love Witch
Although The Love Witch (2016) isn’t exactly set in a futuristic world, it does take place in a reality that’s not quite present or past.
In the film, Elaine (Samantha Robinson), the “Love Witch,” shows that one’s interest in finding love can be quite detrimental, especially if that “interest” is based on personal gain and narcissism.
Through the film, Elaine uses various concoctions and spells to snag men she fancies without giving any thought to those men’s needs or wants. Although her actions are, at first, harmless, her interest in love soon becomes a self-destructive obsession that equals disaster for any man who catches her eye.
The Lobster
Have you ever wondered what would happen if being single was somehow punishable? In The Lobster (2015), that frightening possibility becomes reality.
In the film, David (Colin Farrell) is taken to The Hotel to find his mate. In this futuristic world, The City has made law that if a person is unable to find a mate in 45 days at The Hotel, they are transformed into an animal of their choosing, and sent into The Woods.
Although David has a difficult time finding love at The Hotel, he does find a woman he fancies after escaping into The Woods to live with The Loners, a love-hating human gang. And when circumstance gets in the way of he and his love’s journey, he has to decided if his love for her is real.
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Abbie Stutzer is a writer and editor from Lawrence, Kansas. Find her on Twitter at @abbiestutzer and on Insta at @abbiestutzer. Email her at abbie@ynotcam.com.
Image via Cancia Leirissa
