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Sunday, November 19, 2017

"Please, Kill Me"

The episode "White Bear" from the Black Mirror series was very unsettling. The show starts by showing a woman, Victoria, who wakes up in a chair, in front of her is a television with a strange symbol on it. She walks outside and sees that there are people in the windows of other houses on the block but they are all recording her and not answering any of  her questions. In the end of the show it is revealed that this is part of her punishment for the crime she was a part of. 
Throughout the show Victoria is being pursued by masked people trying to kill her but there is one women there, Jem, that is trying to help her escape these people. It turns out though that Jem was never her friend, or even trying to help her. Jem was just doing her job the entire time.  
The reason Victoria is being punished is because her fiance kid napped, tortured, and murdered a six-year-old child while she filmed it all. He was able to escape punishment because he killed himself, but Victoria is now stuck in this cycle of torture. 
Is this type of punishment ok? I don't believe that is is. This type of punishment make her relive the same day over and over again with her memory being wiped at the end of each day. She wakes up and doesn't even remember the crime she committed of the punishment she received the day before. i believe that the point of punishment is so that you can learn from your mistakes but Victoria is unable to do that. 
I also believe that this is wrong because it seems that people are profiting off of her crime. Victoria is being held in White Bear Justice Park a place customized just for her. A place where people can visit and play a part in her torture by video recording her every move. They can even buy sponges soaked in a red liquid that resembles blood to throw at her. These people are enjoying her suffering and don't mind paying to watch it.  
I find this type of punishment to be inhumane. She is being held like an animal, worse than an animal. She only once that day in he morning and only ate once in the woods. The electric shocks they give to her at the end of the day are extremely painful and is most-likely damaging her brain. I think that this type of punishment is honestly overkill and that they should just lock her up like a normal criminal. 
Image result for white bear gifs black mirror 

4 comments:

Unknown said...

I agree, having a monetary incentive does make it a bit more sadistic.

Unknown said...

You make great points. I really resonate with the point that the purpose of punishment is to learn from it. In this way, the woman will never learn from her mistake. She is stuck in a perpetual cycle of torture with no purpose other than to entertain others. At times it seems as if the participants forget that the woman is still a human being with feelings and values.

Shinn Taniguchi said...

It is inhumane and overkill, but drugs are drugs. Those tiny prints will get you. She should've seen it coming, if she had some common sense, she wouldn't have taken those pills or drugs. Maybe it is overkill, but you have to pay the price for torturing someone who was innocent. Even worse, torturing their family.

Valery Gomez said...

I agree 100% that it is not justice if she can not even remember the crime that she did!