Love, Death & Robots: Pop Squad Reaction

I really enjoyed watching all of the episodes in class of Love, Death & Robots, but the episode "Pop Squad" stuck out to me the most. Out of all of the episodes, I felt that this one contained and covered a variety of real issues that us as humans face now or could be certain to face in the future. 

"Pop Squad" is set hundreds of years in the future where cities expand way above the clouds, and those that are alive have traded the ability to have children in exchange for eternity through a drug called Rejoo. The main job that the police, and one of the main characters Briggs has, is to arrest any "breeders" and kill any children they find. It is not explicitly stated, but can be implied that everyone in this society is supposed to take Rejoo regularly and only those that stop taking the drug are able to either physically have children, or are able to think more freely and less selfishly. 

The basis of this episode really made me think about what the future will look like. In the present day, there are already concerns across the globe that environmentally humans are overextending the capacity that Earth can hold. China currently has a limit that says married couples can have no more than three children, and that policy has been stricter in the past. In the meantime, Earth is considered overpopulated by many as consistent population growth over the last hundreds of years is not catching up to the human race. Natural resources and other species of animals are being wiped out as urbanization increases worldwide. Both of these concepts are shown through the size of cities and their skyscrapers as well as the laws of the society in "Pop Squad."

Another thing I found interesting in the episode is the effects of a society becoming more selfish and more worried about themselves. I think that this is already present in today's world, as social media really twists our brains and makes us more obsessed with ourselves than any other point in history. Off of our phones, adults are getting married and having children at much older ages than before for both economic and social reasons. The episode shows an extreme take on the direction society is pushing towards, although the events that take place never feel impossible. This is why the messages resonated with me the most.

With modern medicine improving, generations can live longer than the ones before them. At the same time, that gives more time to worry about ourselves instead of caring for others. Paired with the stark reality that our planet’s health is in jeopardy, there are very dangerous consequences shown in “Pop Squad.”