White Bear or Groundhog Day on Steroids???

            This dramatic episode from Black Mirror depicted an unfair treatment to a criminal. The young woman suffering from a cruel trearment from an unfair justice system. I will be honest, I believe that people should treat others the way that they want to be treated, and some people take that as “an eye for an eye.” This is the way that he justice system is depicted in the White Bear Correctional Facility. Victoria is forced to suffer the same conceuences that her fiancé and she put on an innocent little girl.

            There is no doubt I my mind that Victoria should be punished, and should suffer, like the little girl had to. But I think that there is a much more just way to go about this. Victoria is stuck in a “Groundhog Day” time loop, but unike Bill Murray, she has no recollection of the past. Victoria is forced to relive the same torturous experice day after day after day. It is supposed to be a punishment for an action that she cant even remember commiting. My main question is, is it just to pussish and torture a human being if they have no idea what they are being pusihed for?

            Obviously there are some cases where psychopathic murders don’t see the wrong in their actions, but at least they know what they did. Victoria has no clue what she is being punished for, and doesn’t get the opportunity to learn a lesson. She just thinks that shes being hunted for no reason. Obviously, her asctions should have concequences, and she needs to be punished, but most punishments are created to, not just teach a lesson, but prevent future incedents. I suppose that a good argument for this would be, knowing that this is a possible consequence, that may drive people away from future crimes. I still don’t think that it is morally right to do this, and the kicker for me, as I stated earlier, is the fact that the conducters brainwash her and she has no recollection of what is going on.

So the question is, is she really learning a lesson. I think that the answer here is simply… NO! Whatever lesson she may potentially learn is wiped from her memory moments later. A question that was left unanswered in the show is, how much longer do they keep this up? We are left curious as to if this goes on for just a few days or even weeks or months.

The last thing that makes me doubt their punishment is the fact that they let civilians so close to a murderer. Obviously she is naware of her past, and the actors do keep a close eye on what is going on with the convict, but if she has the tendancy in her brain to kill once, whats going to happen when they push her further and further into this stressful situation? I think that she, or someone else if they continue this punishment with other criminals, will eventually snap and go back to a psychotic rampage.

Nick Blancett