Black Mirror's White Bear, Crime and Punishment

WARNING! THIS POST CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE BLACK MIRROR EPISODE 'WHITE BEAR.' IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED IT AND YOU CARE ABOUT SPOILERS, CLOSE THIS TAB AND WATCH THE EPISODE NOW! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! THE SPOILERS WILL BEGIN AFTER THIS PICTURE!

Introduction and Synopsis

In my time watching Black Mirror, I don't think I've ever been so stumped by an episode's message. Not because I didn't get it but because I had no idea who to side with. It really asks questions about whether the punishment fits the crime and whether or not criminals deserve a punishment that severe. I'm gonna attempt to find out who was the true villain in 'White Bear' by balancing their horrendous actions with what they're going through.

I should probably do a recap first to lay out the moral dilemma first. In the episode, a woman called Victoria Skillane (Lenora Crichlow) wakes up in a house with amnesia. She is being hunted by people in masks and everyone else is simply filming her via their phones. Another woman called Jem Tuppence Middleton) saves her and reveals that there was a signal known as 'white bear' that made most of the population 'observers' and the rest into homicidal maniacs. Only Victoria, Jem and another man called Damien (Ian Bonar) (who is killed by the masked people early on) are unaffected. Victoria and Jem soon meet another man called Baxter (Michael Smiley) who turns out to be a maniac to tries to torture and kill Victoria only for Jem to save her. 

They get to the white bear tower only to be attacked again. Victoria tries to shoot one of the maniacs only for the gun to be made of confetti. The walls part to reveal an audience and Baxter and Jem strap her to a chair. It turns out that Victoria was an accomplice to the abduction, torture and murder of a young girl. Her boyfriend carried out the murder but he committed suicide in prison. She filmed it so she is still guilty. The 'white bear' was actually a teddy the girl owned and it has become the name of a theme park. The park in question is Victoria's punishment: She is to have her memories wiped every day and she is put through a fictional scenario designed to terrify and traumatise her. Baxter, Jem and Damien (who is still alive) are a part of it whilst the onlookers are simply visitors to the park who are allowed to film the scenario without being allowed to interfere. 

Victoria is then paraded back to her house where her memories are wiped again as she is forced to watch the video of the girl's murder that she herself filmed. The episode ends with the routine starting again, this time from Baxter's point of view as he treats this as an amusement park designed for the enjoyment of men, women and children. 

So yeah... I'm in a bit of a pickle here. On the one hand, Victoria deserves some punishment for her heinous actions but on the other hand, the punishment itself seems too harsh. Gahhh my brain! I might as well look at it from two sides: Victoria and Baxter.

The Case for Victoria Skillane

The majority of the episode is from her point of view and thus we are as confused as she is. The reveal that she is a criminal is a plot twist and she is terrified for the entire time. She is, after all, a human being subjected to terrible things. Granted for a good reason (I'll get to that later) but she is helpless and afraid the whole time.

As for the punishment itself. I can see it being justified for one day but this has been going on for a while and will continue to go on after the episode is over. At some point, it becomes overkill. The other characters are just outright cruel to her and she is clearly remorseful for her actions... granted that's because she doesn't remember them but the constant memory wiping is perhaps the cruellest part of the punishment as the procedure is shown to be painful. The part that stuck to me the most were Victoria's screams as she was being tortured. She deserves punishment but nothing this severe. Especially as her boyfriend, who actually committed the murder, didn't suffer the same fate as he ended up in jail. At some point, she just becomes the victim.

The Case for Baxter and the White Bear Justice Park

Victoria Skillane aided and abetted a murder. She filmed the murder without doing anything to intervene and she is guilty of a serious crime. She deserves to be punished in some way and given how high profile this case was, it was likely that the people demanded justice for Victoria's actions, especially as the murderer took the coward's way out. The White Bear Justice Park is a chance for the people to exact justice for the girl's murder.

Baxter set this up presumably because he was especially angry at the girl's murder. This was opportunity for him to get closure and justice whilst also making a profit out of it for good measure. He set up White Bear as a memorial of sorts to the victim and punishing Victoria is a good way to honor her memory. His methods may  have been extreme but he believes that he is justified because he was punishing the wicked. Plus, he never caused serious harm to her as the guns never actually killed or hurt anyone. The only harm he caused her was the memory wipes and even then that was to stop her suspecting.

In his eyes, he is doing the right thing.

Verdict

I think what the episode is saying is that nobody's truly right in this scenario. Baxter may be punishing a criminal but he is doing so for his own enjoyment and is using a needlessly extreme scenario to do so. Victoria may be a victim but she deserved some form of punishment for doing a truly evil crime. They're both doing terrible things but at the same time, you understand their points of view.

I guess the biggest question 'White Bear' poses is this: At what point is this punishment enough?



And that concludes this thought from an autistic mind. Where do you stand on the debate? Do you side with Victoria or Baxter? And is there really a right answer? Let me know in the comments below and be sure to like my Facebook page 'Joel Mole' for more content! Until the next time, fair thee well good people of the internet!

Black Mirror's Hang the DJ and the Search for Perfect Love

WARNING! THIS POST CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE BLACK MIRROR EPISODE 'HANG THE DJ.' IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED IT AND YOU CARE ABOUT SPOILERS, CLOSE THIS TAB AND WATCH THE EPISODE NOW! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! THE SPOILERS WILL BEGIN AFTER THIS PICTURE!

I'm going to keep writing blogs about the sci-fi anthology thriller series Black Mirror but only when the themes and messages are strong and interesting enough to talk about. I'm not going to look at episodes such as 'San Junipero' because that's more of a straightforward love story set in a fascinating world with a simple message of 'love transcends everything.' 'Hang the DJ' on the other hand provides a more complex and detailed look on love. In particular, 'Hang the DJ' focuses on the search for 'the one' and how difficult that can be despite a system seemingly primed to solve that very problem. 

In the episode, we are introduced to a world dominated by a matchmaking device known as COACH that puts people in relationships and decides how long it will last. No matter how much or how little chemistry you have, you have to stay with them for as long as COACH deems necessary. Through analysing different relationships and one-night stands, COACH eventually finds the 'perfect match.' As the motto for COACH says: 'Everything happens for a reason.' 

The episode focuses on Frank (Joe Cole) and Amy (Georgina Campbell) as they are matched for 12 hours despite clearly falling in love with each other. They go their separate ways and get put into longer relationships with people they're clearly not meant for. Eventually COACH reunites them and they agree to not look at their expiry dates but Frank does so anyway without Amy and his relationship suffers as a result. Despite this, they still love each other even as they get paired with their perfect matches, they decide to defy the system and escape only to learn that they were a part of a simulation all along. 

The simulation itself presents 1000 scenarios where the potential matches are put in a scenario where they would either rebel or accept an illogical system. The more times they rebel, the higher the compatibility rating of their real-life counterpart. The episode ends with the real Frank and Amy meeting for the first time after the dating app the simulation was a part of matches them with a 99.8% compatibility rating.

So, wouldn't it be nice to have a system like COACH? I'm serious! A system that guarantees perfect love sounds like a dream come true to those like me who are struggling to even find a date, let alone 'the one.' Ideally the search for 'the one' should be a piece of cake (see every Disney princess film ever except for Moana and Brave but even then, that's because they're strong independent women). But real life isn't like that. We are not made to have dates that give us a fair chance to get to know each other. Those we consider 'the one' may not even be for us because of either work commitments, long distances and/or third parties who beat us to it. Dating apps aren't even reliable because those considered compatible make the choice not to do anything (or act like complete smegheads). 

In 'Hang the DJ,' there are less obstacles since the characters aren't shown to have any jobs and they all live in a single space meaning that they only have to worry about who COACH pairs them up with and they are free to spend time with their significant others.

Though to 'Hang the DJ's' credit, the 'system' isn't presented as perfect either. Frank and Amy go through several terrible relationships and one-night stands before they are given their perfect match (or in this case, before they find each other). Frank in particular has to endure a year long relationship with a bitter and rude woman whilst Amy goes through several one-night stands to the point where it burns her out. Even the dating app itself which the entire episode takes place in has to create simulations where the simulacra go through several difficult scenarios before it is ready to match their real-life counterparts. Heck, because it's real life, I doubt the road for Frank and Amy will be smooth sailing either. Love is complicated no matter what. 

I also think that this episode has some interesting commentary on what constitutes 'true love.' There's a memorable scene in the middle of the episode where Frank and Amy witness what COACH deemed a 'perfect couple' and they are rather put off by what they see because the relationship itself feels unnatural. I've never been in a relationship myself but I know enough about them to know that they're not perfect. Every couple fights, it's inevitable when two people stay together for so long. Even Frank and Amy have their fights but their love is still true because their love overpowers any differences. That, to me, is true love. True love isn't perfect but true lovers love each other despite their differences. In other words, they don't always get on but they love each other unconditionally. 

I think that's the ultimate message of 'Hang the DJ.' Love isn't perfect and it takes a while to find your true love but you'll find them eventually. There's even merit to the difficult experiences because they enable you to learn from the pros and cons of previous relationships to prepare you for 'the one.' As COACH says in the episode, 'everything happens for a reason.'

That concludes this thought from an autistic mind. What are your thoughts on true love and 'Hang the DJ?' Do you agree/disagree? Discuss in the comments below and be sure to like my Facebook page 'Joel Mole.' Thank you for taking your time to read this and thank you for your patience. Until the next time, fair thee well good people of the internet!

Black Mirror's Nosedive and the Dangers of Social Validation

WARNING! THIS POST CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE BLACK MIRROR EPISODE 'NOSEDIVE.' IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED IT AND YOU CARE ABOUT SPOILERS, CLOSE THIS TAB AND WATCH THE EPISODE NOW! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! 

As of writing this post, I am easing myself into Charlie Brooker's sci-fi anthology series, Black Mirror. For those of you who don't know, Black Mirror, tells different stories in different settings, usually about how humanity would react to cutting edge technology. Usually, but not always, the show would get into some dark territories, hence why I'm easing myself into the series and I will say that it is NOT for everyone. From what I have seen though, the show is marvelous with its relevant themes, biting satire, clever writing and amazing actors. However, there was one episode that really stood out to me, that being the Season 3 premiere: 'Nosedive.'

'Nosedive' tells the story of Lacie Pound (played by Bryce Dallas Howard), a woman living in a society where people are constantly rated out of 5 stars. The higher the average score, the more privileges you get. Lacie, who averages at 4.2, is invited to a wedding attended by high fours, something which could boost her own rating big enough to get a new house. However, as the title suggests, her life takes a gigantic nosedive as one bad situation after another decreases her average score until she hits zero.

The opening 10 minutes of this episode is honestly terrifying to watch. We see Lacie's day-to-day life as she puts on a fake smile, which she practices in front of a mirror, in order to be liked by everyone. Everything about this sequence seems fake from the light colours (notice the pink tint) to the overly cheery attitudes which makes the whole thing seem off. Throughout the episode, Lacie tries very hard to be liked and nothing seems authentic. Even her own brother, a 3.8, claims not to recognise her anymore as she is always putting on a front. The only characters who feel natural are characters with a low rating because they generally don't care about their image and are happy with their lives.

There's a scene in the middle where Lacie meets the 1.4 truck driver and this is where the episode's moral comes front and centre. The driver is only like this because her cancer-ridden husband was denied access to a high-end hospital because his rating wasn't high enough. After his death, she decided to be honest with herself and though it made her a social pariah, she's the only character who's truly happy because she no longer cares what people think of her.

Then, at the end, Lacie gets a zero and sent to jail for causing a scene. She is deeply upset at first but then gets into an insult match with a fellow inmate and even though she is imprisoned, she is truly free to say what she wants without fear of backlash.

This got me thinking about the idea external social validation. In 'Nosedive's' society, your external image can change how you are able to live your life. You can only live in certain places if you're a 3.8 or higher, for example, and you can only board flights if you're a 4.2 or higher. It speaks a lot about how others' perception of you can change your lifestyle.

In a world dominated by social media, it seems as if people go out of the way to get likes by painting their lives as picturesque as possible. I see this often in Facebook and I presume that it's especially the case with Instagram (I don't have the latter so I wouldn't know). I'm a victim of this too. I constantly worry that my life doesn't seem that interesting since I don't have enough pictures of it and I often compare other people's profile pictures against my own to see who has more likes. It's always the worst seeing my Facebook friends go off on adventures and bragging about them when I have less to brag about. But at the same time, I'm probably the same as I often display my greater achievements on Facebook. Heck, I share my blogs around to get as many views as possible. I know I shouldn't worry about it but I do. I'm like Lacie, I care about what people think of me and I try presenting myself as a good man (which I believe I am) to get people to like me.

Because to be honest, external validation feels good. It feels great when someone tells you you're great and awesome. But if, like me, you're almost dependent on it to feel good about yourself, then it's honestly damaging because you're constantly worrying that people don't like you and cast you aside. This is especially true in competitive scenarios like competitions and pretty much everything to do with theatre. When I lose competitions or I don't get into plays I audition for, it makes me feel like I'm not good enough which is a really unhealthy way of thinking and probably untrue. It drives me to push my image into higher standards and if I end up like Lacie, that can do more harm to me than good.

I think that's why 'Nosedive' struck a chord with me more than any other Black Mirror episode I've seen (well except maybe 'Hang the DJ' but that's a whole other blog post) because we're dangerously close to that society. We do rate each other for our online activities and we maybe even subconsciously do the same with everyday life. If we all stop worrying about what people think of us then we would probably feel better about ourselves.

That concludes this thought from an autistic mind. Sorry I've been gone for so long but I tried to move this to a new site only to realise that the old format was fine. What are your thoughts on the matter? Do you agree/disagree? Discuss in the comments below and be sure to like my Facebook page 'Joel Mole.' Thank you for taking your time to read this and thank you for your patience. Until the next time, fair thee well good people of the internet!