In White Bear we see the potential for the concept of "justice" within the near future. Instead of just a prison sentence, the criminal is given a daily public torture session. Everyday the prisoner is visibly and physically punished as part of their prison sentence for the crimes they were convicted for. While some may see this "justice park" as a relevant form of punishment for the criminals who's heinous crimes "deserve it," I don't think this is a form of punishment suitable for true justice. By erasing the criminal's mind every night, the captors are turning the person into another victim each day and one who has no memory of any wrong doing let alone who they themselves are. There is a form of justice within the idea of making a criminal reflect on their crime and showing them punishment for it. With this "justice park," the criminal not only cannot reflect on their crime, they don't even know that what is happening to them is punishment, to say nothing of the fact of what the punishment is for. I feel like taking away a criminal's memory is a punishment in itself and that to then torture the person on top of it is taking the process to a level too far. The "justice park" within White Bear is really a mockery of what is just.
In the episode White Bear they also take their justice to another weird level by having presumably paying guests witness this daily torture. These guests just watch while filming the action and taking pictures. Apparently anyone can participate in this way including all ages of children. Though I believe this is a reasonable future within the "reality TV" society we live in, I don't think this is an acceptable method of exposing justice and deterring crime amongst the population. No matter the motives behind it, showing torture to children and getting pleasure from watching it in general is morally wrong and reprehensible. If this torture is the new norm for criminal punishment, then it should be restricted to viewing by adults only at a minimum. Instead of a profit focused model, this "justice park" should be more of an educational focused place to scare criminals "straight" so to speak. It should be limited to crimes that are so morally wrong that there is no acceptable way to bring the criminal back into society. As it is, the current model may cause more criminals as children look at what is happening and get the idea that torture is okay. They may even think that being a viewing bystander is an acceptable reaction to crime. I believe this method of justice will just lead to a spiraling down society that encourages crime in order to squeeze money out of the torture of criminals.
No comments:
Post a Comment