This was my second viewing
of the episode “White Bear “and it did not fail to make my stomach turn. Since I
was aware of the ending twist, I found myself repeating in my head throughout
the beginning that she’s criminal to
justify what they are doing to her. Instead of sympathizing with her from the
beginning, like I did when I first watched it, I tried to sympathize with the
parents of the little girl. Would I want this to be done to my daughter’s
killer? Still, no matter how I word it I was unsettled by her punishment.
First of
all, I don’t believe the punishment fits the crime. From seeing her role, which
was simply to record the crime, it seems to me like she was the passive one. She
didn’t seem like the mastermind of the situation. She did nothing to help the
little girl, so she is guilty but she doesn’t deserve that amount of
punishment, her fiancée did. But since he took the crowd’s way out, justice still
needed to be served. They decided to erase her memory and make her live through
the pain, confusion, and agony that the victim most likely went through with
added capitalism by creating a theme park around it.
Ultimately,
they sentenced her to death with more steps and a monetary incentive. She is
going to die. Even she cannot fully recall the events of the prior day, her
body is still dealing with an extensive amount of stress and trauma. It’s not a
matter of if but when she dies, I cannot put it pass them to not the same for more
criminals. People want to witness justice,
and I am using that term loosely, being served.
Putting
aside the fact that the punishment does not fit the crime, I wonder if in this
universe there are people that condemn this treatment of criminals. In the U.S.
there are people that protest the death penalty so it is possible that there is
someone in that Black Mirror universe that protests White Bear Justice Park, or
others like it. I personally think that what they are doing to her is far worse
than just putting her on death row. In the end she’s even begging to be killed.
I never personally
had someone I loved be taken from me in such a cruel fashion as they took that
little girl from her family, but I would not be contempt knowing that a human,
even if they’re a criminal, is being treated in such a heinous way.
3 comments:
I have also seen this episode before so I tried to justify her punishment by remembering her crime but they are not equal. I also believe her crime was too extreme, and she will die soon. This process seems dangerous to her overall health and has her asking for death. I like how you brought up the Justice Park protests because I did not even think about that.
Considering the fact that she was just recording and did not help the little girl, I still feel like she needs to be punished in a way that will make her think twice about recording someone else's death. The punishment she received was way too severe and I'm positive that it will lead to death. Would you make her go through that day of people recording her once without wiping her memory or would you give her some fair time behind bars?
I'm glad you brought up the point about her being taken away from her family, and how they must have felt. This is why she is so messed up and having mental breakdowns. It is because her childhood was destroyed by a demented person who abducted her as a child. This affected her and her family tremendously and is part of the reason she panics so easily when reminded of the tragic situation. Not being informed of her situation until so many years laters makes the situation even worse.
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