Brennan, E. 2016. 'Techno-Apocalypse: Technology, Religion, and Ideology in Bryan Singer’s H+'. in Firestone, A, M.F. Pharr & L.A. Clark (eds). 'The Last Midnight: Critical Essays on Apocalyptic Narratives in Millennial Media'. Jefferson: McFarland. (original) (raw)

This essay critically analyses the digital series H+. In the near future, adults who can afford them, have replaced tablets and cell phones with nanotechnology implants. The H+ implant acts as a medical diagnostic and can overlay the user's senses with a computer interface. The apocalypse comes in the form of a computer virus which infects the H+ network and instantly kills one third of humanity. The series represents the anxiety and religiosity that surrounds the possible social consequences of digital technology. It also explores the tensions and intersections between technology and faith. This essay makes the case, however, that H+ is grounded in the rhetoric of the technological sublime and, as a result, it offers only a narrow interpretation of faith and technology at the expense of an exploration of society, culture and what it is to be human.