Monday, April 10, 2017
Hypocritical Punishment
The "White Bear" episode of "Black Mirror" shows a very cruel way of punishment for a human being. Many may argue that Victoria's punishment was just because of how she treated that little girl. She videoed the little girl being beaten and murdered and did nothing to help stop her fiancé from doing what he did. However, when these other people do the same thing to her over and over again everyday, it makes them no better than her. I can agree that if they would have chased Victoria down and went through that everyday routine they did just once, then that would have been a just punishment. But the fact that they used her as an amusement park attraction everyday is morally wrong in so many ways. It was obvious that at the end of each day that she had become remorseful. Because she becomes remorseful, that shows that the type of punishment they used would have been a good way for rehabilitation. But, because they wanted to make money and did not care for Victoria's rehabilitation, they tortured her everyday. After saying all of this I am in no way saying that the crime she committed was right. And I agree completely that she deserved a punishment far beyond anything someone could give her. But, I think we as humans need to learn to become more forgiving especially when the person shows remorse. I do think it is possible that Victoria's fiancé could have forced or threatened her to record the brutal murdering of that child but I also think that she could have attempted to contact the police or stop him from committing the act of violence if she truly disagreed with it. I think they way she reacts to the sights and sounds of the crime she committed could lead us to believe that she did not agree fully with her fiancé. The punishment they use on Victoria is also useless because of the way they erase her memory everyday. She does not have the chance to remember the day before and realize how bad her crime was. In conclusion, I think the punishment they used on Victoria could be effective for rehabilitation if it is modified and not used everyday. I think the punishment should have been used once and then she should have went to jail for a period of time. The punishment would be effective in making Victoria remorseful and then she would understand that she needs to serve time in jail for her crime.
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4 comments:
I agree. If they subject the criminal to the same horrors that they committed, does that make the participants any better than the people they're punishing? That would make the purpose of the justice system to scare people into not committing crime based on the fact that they will have to go through the same thing. When today we paint the justice system as a way to correct people that commit crime, and encourage them to not commit crimes because they are immoral.
Parker, I agree with your thoughts on rehabilitation. They didn't ever give her the chance to realize what she did was wrong and would work to become better. Like Leiah said, I don't think this makes the people doing it any better than Victoria.
I agree with the point you make about the participants of her torture and the visitors of the Justice Park being no better than her; they are all bystanders. I also agree with the fact that, at the end of each day, Victoria appears to be remorseful and her punishment would therefore be effective rehabilitation.
I agree with what has been said on rehabilitation, but I also agree that the way that they punished her in the film is not very useful for anything other than their entertainment. I believe that if the punishment was performed once that it would be enough for her to realize what she had done wrong push her towards rehabilitation.
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