In the Black Mirror Episode “White Bear,” a girl named Victoria wakes up in a state of confusion and then proceeds to live the worst day of her life as she is chased by crazy killers while numerous people videotape her. At the end of the episode, the viewers realize that Victoria continuously lives this horrifying day full of torture again and again and again. This is her punishment helping her fiancé kidnap a young girl and then for videotaping her fiancé torture and murder the young girl. But, if it was so wrong of Victoria to videotape that torture and murder, why is it right for millions of people to visit a justice park and video torture?
In my opinion, two wrongs do not make a right. With that being said, I believe that Victoria’s punishment is not teaching society a good lesson at all. In fact, they are teaching a lesson that if someone engages in an intolerable crime, their punishment should be for that crime to be reversed onto them tenfold. This lesson to me is sickening. I think that if society were to start making this type of punishment the norm, people, especially children would become less forgiving and more revengeful.
Where some individuals might feel that the severity of this type of punishment would be beneficial to society and would potentially decrease crime rate, I think it would have the opposite effect and increase crime rate. For instance, people would constantly be visiting parks such as the “White Bear Justice Park” for fun just as they would an amusement park. They are given rules like do not get too close but also enjoy yourself. Yes, I repeat, enjoy yourself. Individuals are told to enjoy themselves as well as taking lots of video footage to upload at these justice parks where an individual is being tortured. This is sickening, upsetting, and disturbing. With the mindset that one should find enjoyment in someone else’s torture as well as publicizing their pain, there is potential that a mindset that like would carry over to every day life. If one finds enjoyment in someone else’s torture at a justice park, then they could want to find that same enjoyment outside of the justice park. It could lead to bystanders finding pleasure in videotaping physical fights or someone getting bullied instead of standing up for what is right and helping.
2 comments:
I agree that it would only cause more violence to occur, especially in the younger generations. It makes me question, did people get so bored of the "normal" entertainment that they had to create this?
I really like your "two wrongs make a right" idea. What was unsettling to me about 'White Bear' was exactly what you point out: the punishment was ten times worse than the crime. To me, the Justice Park seems like a perfect way to create little sociopaths, especially with the still-developing minds of children. The more you are exposed to something, the more you accept it as normal. Part of me wonders how many kids and teenagers, after going to White Bear Justice Park, try to get revenge on people who have done them wrong by terrorizing them.
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