Baring White Bear's Bystanders

"White Bear" is packed full of ideas on criminal justice, desensitization, and social norms; however, this episode also tries call out a specific kind of injustice in our own modern world. While this message is not readily apparent, it becomes more obvious when certain parallels are drawn. 

"White Bear" tells the story of Victoria, who wakes up in an apocalyptic world with no memories and a picture of her daughter. However, this entire world is actually a justice park punishing her for aiding her fiancee in the kidnapping, torture, and burning of 6 year old Jemima Sykes.  Despite not actively participating in any of these crimes, Victoria is punished for not stopping these heinous acts. Victoria's crime is being a bystander, not standing up against injustice. Her finance was the one who tortured and killed the girl but Victoria allowed, if not encouraged, his crime making her just as guilty as him.

Despite being a criminal in an incredibly gruesome act of violence, Victoria is displayed as the protagonist throughout the episode. As an audience, we sympathize with her and want her to survive. The actors in the Justice Park and the guests who stand by with their phones are portrayed as the villains. Even though the society in this world accepts the Justice Park, no one watching this episode of Black Mirror would endorse this form of justice. Even after the Victoria's true identity is revealed, a certain level of sympathy for Victoria is maintained. Yes, she committed an awful crime, but her punishment is far crueler. The punishment does not fit the crime. She is tortured physically and psychologically, fed very little food, and emotionally traumatized. 

Furthermore, the guests in the park could be held liable the same way as Victoria, They may not have actively participate in Victoria's torture, but they encourage it by filming just like Victoria did with Jemima. Using the same logic as Victoria's trial, wouldn't the guests be just as guilty as her? They sit back and allow someone to be tortured and eventually killed. 

The producers of Black Mirror purposefully paralleled the 2 crimes in this episode: Jemima's death and Victoria's torture. The actors in the park play the role of Victoria's fiancee and the guests take on Victoria's role, as the enabler. Everyone in this episode is guilty of something. The moral of the story: allowing someone to commit an act of injustice, whether that be one of violence, oppression, or discrimination, is just as bad as committing the act itself.