Philip K. Dicks Electric Dreams
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Meaning they not only continue trying to deliver goods, but serve customers who dont even need them.
Why is that, we wonder?
But it turns out that Zabriskies plan works: Days later, Alice (Janelle Monae!)
shows up in the form of a PR robot straight out ofMetropolis.
They talk cordially, but Alice will not relent.
This episode is a narrative magic trick.
Because, as it turns out, Zabriskie and her compatriots are not real!
Theyre robots just like Alice, built so that the automation production pipeline can have happy customers!
But … double twist!
Zabriskie knew this all along!
Shes learned the value of life and love even though she isnt real!
Her virus shuts down Autofac and she returns to her boyfriend, finally hugging him!
What a great trick!
Just like withepisode one, we are pushed away from understanding our main character constantly.
We dont know why Zabriskie wants to hide her magazine.
We dont know why she keeps thinking about her dreams.
It is all meant to draw our curiosity, but not our emotional investment.
Its as purposeless a flashback as Ive ever seen.
Its not the only delay tactic: It takes nearly 20 minutes for Alice to appear.
This is the central problem with how we approach reveal-based storytelling, especially with anthologies likeElectric DreamsandBlack Mirror.
Its a moment that creates a real new conflict and changes the scope of the narrative.
And both have to feel meaningful.
Of course, thats not the only thing in Autofac that matters.
This episode is ostensibly about the dangers of automation.
Alice tells us, The autofac doesnt need to understand.
It can make anything it has the blueprints for.
But the reality is that its just another riff on apocalypse porn.
The fantasy of the apocalypse isnt that we are doomed, but thatwell survive it.
Make no mistake, this is an episode about the dangers of automation and drones.
And its being put out by … a company that leads the world in automation and drones.
I get the artistic notions within this.
But to what end?
Is Jeff Bezos really going to pull a Zabriskie and undo all this?
For Amazon, its hard to see this as anything but performative responsibility.
Really owning the message of Autofac would require change.
It would require taking on the actual cost of putting people first.
If thats not the most cynical thing in the world, I dont know what is.
