“Plurality”: a Future Where Privacy Gives Way to Safety

Director Dennis Liu posted his Sci-Fi short film, Plurality, to YouTube back in October. The film, set in New York City in the year 2023, looks at an alternate reality where privacy no longer exists. Where the government, with the goal of maximizing personal safety, has implemented the “Bentham Grid,” an intelligent grid that can trace individuals based on DNA fingerprints. The grid can analyze and identify a DNA strand when a person touches a doorknob, a subway handrail, or even brushes up against the glass windows of a store front. Liu doesn’t provide all the answers, but the film makes it clear that the Grid will not work out exactly as planned.