I started watching Black Mirror two years ago and I was stunned by the creativity and thought put into its production. I stopped on season 2 episode 1 because, at that time, the topic was too much for me to handle (frankly, it still is too much) but I was impressed by the series and it’s uniqueness and depth. I recently decided to use the perks of finally having access to Netflix and resumed the series from where I left off – episode 2 of the second season got me thinking about interesting topics and I decided to put it out in a blog.

For those unaware, Black Mirror is a British series which premiered in 2011. The episodes are standalone usually with the length of 40-80 minutes and are united by the concept of the possible effects of the progressing technology on human society. The series explores alternative futures with heavy impact on what could go wrong if we are not careful enough with our technological development. One of my personal favorite series.

Before I begin I want to highlight that I am extremely interested in your thoughts on the topic so I would love to hear your comments (you can reach me on Facebook or Instagram, I would love to discuss the episode and series in general). Also, please note the post will be spoiler heavy so if you haven’t seen the episode get back to the blog after you do it. I hope you enjoy it!

Short summary: Victoria Skillane (Lenora Crichlow) wakes up in her house unable to recall the past. Strange symbols on the TV screens and flashbacks of what seems to be time spent with her daughter confuse her even further and she tries seeking help outside. Despite her unfortunate situation people seem to be indifferent and only take photos and videos of her while refusing to communicate in any way. Things get even scarier when “hunters” appear and express sadistic behavior trying to put a show for the people. While running Vicotria encounters a man and a girl and they join forces to escape following a plan of heading towards “White Bear”, destroying the transmitter and seeking safety in an unaffected zone further away. The source of the strange human behavior is believed to be caused by the transmitter and with a huge struggle to stay alive and by losing their partner Vicotria and the girl named Jem finally make it to “White Bear” and manage to accomplish their initial plan. At this point, Victoria is tied to a chair and it is revealed that everything that happened so far was an act – Victoria and her boyfriend are, in reality, criminals. The girl who Victoria thought is her daughter is actually the victim – her boyfriend tortured her before brutally murdering her in the woods and Victoria was his accomplice who filmed the entire act. Her partner committed suicide in order not to face consequence but Vicotria was unable to escape and her punishment is to constantly relive the made-up scenario which puts her in the shoes of the victim.

The episode will most certainly question your sense of justice.

Needless to say, the episode was extremely effective when it comes to fucking with your mind and giving birth to various emotions. During the development of the storyline, I was tense and curious about how things will resolve. There were hints leading viewers to believe that Victoria has experienced the entire thing before, however, the dramatic twist at the end wasn’t something you would expect.

An amazing build-up which once again accomplished the goal of Charlie Brooker when it comes to exploring the possible future if our society keeps going the way it is currently headed and starts exploiting technology more then necessary. All the episodes so far accomplished this goal but White Bear put a different light to all those things and focused on a different but still terrifying and haunting human side – extreme judgment and lack of forgiveness on one hand and lack of empathy and obsession of “watching a show” on the other. This was heavily emphasized and depicted in an extremely high level which might seem exaggerated but when you think about it is not that far from reality.

The whole idea of Black Mirror as a series is to explore the possible consequence modern technology and its advance can have on society. Usually, the episodes are heavy and put emphasis on what could go wrong despite all the positive, on the first glance, effects of our technological development. It personally terrifies me that the scenarios played out in the series are absolutely possible knowing the nature of humans and how they are capable of distorting the original purpose of things.

White Bear, in particular, points out our growing addiction towards constantly observing what others are doing thanks to the social media and our uncontrollable desire of sharing everything we see. Our obsession with technology is impossible not to spot and come to think of it we are more and more dependable on recent advancements in the field. With the speed of development, we become more and more reliable on various “innovative” products and it becomes harder to do things on our own. As much as there are benefits of technological advancements we should be careful not to forget how to do things on our own and let things get out of control.

The most important issue explored in the episode was without a doubt the sense of justice. The entire storyline was building up to the culmination revealing that what was happening was just the sentence Victoria was serving. We even managed to catch a glimpse (one of the images above shows it) that the group of actors were part of the so-called White Bear Justice Park, which apparently serves for fulfilling the sentences of those type of criminals. This particular part got me thinking about the current state of society. In general, what I am witnessing is less and less sympathy and willingness to forgive which might as well just turn into an extreme and unjustified sense of what is right and what people deserve as punishment for their actions. The particular issue of being overly judgmental, absolutely unsympathetic, and basically ruthless is further explored in episode four of the same season – White Christmas. This is another amazing episode which shows the cruel and arrogant side of people in a world where being tolerant and understanding is a thing from the past. A really petrifying image of the future, however, I am happy to say that for each showcase of indifference there are several acts of kindness, understanding, and tolerance visible if you look around well enough. At least for now – it’s all up to us to determine which way our world will go.

Fun fact – the crime of Victoria and her boyfriend is a reference to a real-life case. The Moors murders carried out by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley between July 1963 and October 1965 in the area of Manchester, England. The couple committed sexual assault and brutal murder of five children aged 10-17 before they were finally caught.

It is only natural that people would want atonement for such a terrible act and there is no way to justify the actions of a person who committed such a thing. However, what scares me is that Victoria has not been given a chance of redemption and she is forced into the most terrible type of sentence there can ever be – reliving the same horror over and over again. No matter what, everyone deserves a chance to be heard and to make amends – no I am not saying it would be fine letting her go depending on her story and point of view – I am just saying a different type of sentence – way less brutal and devastating would have done the judgment just fine.

Human nature is a scary thing and you never know at which point things will get out of control. We have countless examples in the world history of people taking a basic idea and feeling to the extreme which has terrible consequences. The story here is similar – wanting justice is one thing but taking things out of control and trying to set some distorted and ridiculous punishments regardless of how severe the crime is a bit over the top.

So, in the end, was Vicotria‘s sentence what she deserved? This question takes me back to my high school years – during a class of literature we were exploring a similar scenario, however, a bit more detailed. A person who murdered his own father has been sentenced to death after spending some time in prison. However, while being locked up he had the time to reassess his actions and think about his point of view and way of life – he realizes his mistakes and how terrible he behaved and becomes determined to change his life for good if he gets out alive. As you might expect, he is not given a chance of atonement or a discussion where he can defend himself.

If someone does a horrifying crime does this mean he/she shouldn’t have a chance for atonement? Is human life such a thing that we can disregard just like that? What do you think about the case? I would love to hear your opinion on the topic.

Instagram     LinkedIn     Portfolio