Retributive Justice in Black Mirror

Black Mirror’s “White Bear” is a perfect example of what people want when they say, “…an eye for an eye.” In the beginning of the episode, a woman, named Victoria, wakes up disorientated and does not remember who she is. She walks around the house looking for clues that can help trigger a memory. She finds pictures of a young girl who she believes to be is her daughter. When she decides to walk outside the house, she notices people are recording her on their phones. She tries to talk to them, but they simply ignore her. Then a man with a strange symbol on his mask similar to the ones on the TVs attempts to shoot her. She quickly flees and meets Jem and Damien. They are able to help her escape from the masked man, but Damien dies in the attempt. Jem explains to Victoria that a mysterious signal has been broadcasting on the TV and the internet which has brainwashed most of the population to become “passive voyeurs” who do nothing but record their environment. It seems like they are the few that have not affected. However, Jem continues to tell her that there are also “hunters” who act barbarous and want to kill them. Jem devises to destroy the transmitter at “White Bear” to stop the signal’s effect in their area.

Along the way, they meet Baxter, another person who has not been affected by the transmitter. At first, he appears to be nice, but later turns out to be a hunter. Jem is able to save Victoria and herself by shooting Baxter. They take his car and drive up to White Bear. White Bear triggers Victoria to get brief visions or flashbacks of events. When they are about to burn the building, they are encountered by two hunters. Victoria successfully wrestles a shotgun away from a hunter and fires, but the gun only sprays confetti. Suddenly, the rooms transform into a stage with an audience, and Jem and the hunters strap Victoria to a chair. Baxter joins them and explains Victoria and to us, the viewers, the truth. Victoria is actually a criminal who is facing punishment. Victoria and her fiancé, Iain Rannoch, kidnapped a young girl named Jemima Sykes from her home. Iain tortured and killed her while Victoria merely recorded him on her phone. Jemima’s white teddy bear became the symbol of the nationwide investigation. Iain was able to escape justification by committing suicide in his cell before the trail. In order to prevent Victoria from doing the same, the court sentenced Victoria to undergo a daily punishment where she would feel the same feelings of fright and helplessness that Jemima had. At the end of the day, Victoria is forced to watch her own footage of Jemima before being wiped of her memories and having to repeat the same day again.

In the greater schemes of things, this episode demonstrates “an eye for an eye,” or retributive justice. This type of justice focuses on the principle of punishment. Black Mirror’s dystopian society believes in revenge or reparation which is very different from our society today. We are more of a restorative justice. We send criminals to jail because we believe that we can correct or fix their behaviors. After facing time, we give these criminals second chances by placing them back into society. If we had a retributive justice similar to White Bear, then we would possibly have less crimes because people would be more likely to be afraid to commit them.