Hypocrisy of White Bear Justice Park

After watching this horrifyingly degrading Black Mirror episode, I found it scary that anyone would come up with an idea as such. There were many details that were left open-ended to the viewer, as discussed in class. These questions included: Did she really commit the crime, or was it all for show? How long had she been there, and for how much longer? What was the time period and mental status of society? Despite these inquires, I was still able to form an opinion about what was happening to Victoria. Torture is wrong, and no one should ever have the authority to inflict harm on another human being. If Victoria and her fiancé actually did murder the girl, then yes, they should have been imprisoned. The kind of prison Victoria was in however had no effect on her in the long run.

The idea of the justice park completely collapsed on itself under the ignorant people who ran it. By wiping Victoria’s mind clean after each dehumanizing day she goes through, she has no recollection of any of her crimes, or what the audience does to her. This renders each day of Victoria’s life, and the purpose of the park pointless. The audience and actors become Victoria before the initial mind wipe. They are no longer the innocent ones, but she is. They are doing to her exactly what they condemn her for, which is the main contradictory point. They are just as bad as she was. If Victoria woke up, in contrast, with knowledge of what she had done, being tortured would at least have some context. I think the people who torture her are using her as an opportunity to get anger out, or blame her for their own losses.

The treatment of all people when it comes to justice should be the same. If for some reason in the society depicted this punishment is the normal for all criminals, that is a different story, but we will never know, and I still think it is wrong. It is probably a safe bet that everyone in the audience would surely change their minds about the system if they were in Victoria’s shoes. Instead, focusing on teaching criminals a different way of life, mindset, and moral values should be the goal. In fact, everyone could use a little simplicity, support, and reform here and there I’d say!