Season 3:
Episode 5 "Men Against Fire"
Disclaimer: This discussion will have spoilers for the film Shutter Island and the novel The 5th Wave.
"Stripe," "Hunter," and their leader Medina-a group of American soldiers- are on a mission to hunt down a group of mutated humans called "roaches." The government believes that the roaches are a threat to civilians, and any contact with them could contaminate the rest of the civilians; therefore, they must be found and disposed of immediately. Each solider in this unit has an implanted chip inside of their brain, called MASS, that helps them perform to their best ability in the field. This chip enhances their five senses making them well equip to handle any mission that is thrown at them. The unit gets a tip that a group of roaches are hiding out in an old farmhouse protected by an old Christian man, and begins to invade the property. Inside the unit finds many roaches and while he tries to take one down, one of the roaches points an LED device at Stripe which he he picks up and accidentally flashes himself in the eyes with it. After their successful raid, Stripe finds out that whatever was in the LED device has distorted the function in the MASS. Stripe knows that the right thing to do would be to report this dispute to his leaders, but he brushes it off as being a small concern, not knowing how big of an impact that small device would have on him.
This episode didn't get a lot of love from viewers and honestly I can tell why. Although it isn't up there with "The National Anthem" and "The Waldo Project" it isn't close to being fan favorite. I can't speak for everyone else to why they weren't so fond of the episode, but for me it just felt like something I've seen again and again before-not the worst by any means. I'll name the two works this episode reminded me of later, and why the big twist didn't do it for me. Although I do want to start with what I really enjoyed about the episode because like I said, this wasn't the worst of the bunch.
As cruel as the military was to "lie"to their soldiers (more about that later) it isn't wrong to say that their invention is pretty brilliant. As the episode goes on to explain, one of the reasons why they inserted this MASS chip into the soldiers is because they believe that by distorting their views of the enemy, it would help the soldiers be more efficient. There isn't that slight hesitation that a soldier might get before he or she pulls the trigger because enemy or not, the person on the other side of the pistol is still a living, and breathing human being. Yet what if the enemy wasn't human, but was a sickly, diseased spreading creature that attacks to kill? By taking away the physical aspect of a person-their face, their bodies, their voice-it dehumanizes them and makes them into vial creatures that must be destroyed. Not only that, these creatures, or should I say roaches, are easier to kill. Let's take video games for example-when playing a RPG where the player is a shooter or a hunter, the prey is always some disgusting creature that you would want to destroy. After all, you wouldn't play a game where you chase around a bunch of adorable puppies with a gun and blasted their brains out right? Actually, don't answer that if your answer isn't an immediate "no!"
So I understood why Stripe was so upset when he found out the truth. He believed that he was doing good by protecting the citizens from these roaches, but in reality, he is just a pawn used for murder. Stripe truly loved his job because he was fighting for something that he believed in, and he couldn't believe that he had been tricked all along. It's easy to feel sympathy for Stripe when he's like this, all remorseful and what not, but let's not forget what Arquette, the psychologist had revealed about him. Arquette reminds Stripe that no one tricked him into doing anything, and that he signed up for this position fully knowing what he was getting himself into. Before Stripe signed up to be a soldier, he worked for a company that strongly believes in the purification of "bloodline[s]"-since Stripe has the "correct" mindset, it wasn't difficult to reel him into being a soldier. Arquette plays back a video of Stripe agreeing to the job, and explains that the reason why he doesn't remember any of this, is because his memory has been wiped. You see, aside from heightening their senses, the MASS can also alter and erase memories as well as inducing sexual dreams for the soldiers each night (more on that later).
For me, the big "twist" didn't really hit home because for the first time in a long time (I'm horrible, I know) I figured out the twist from the very start. The MASS chip that were implanted in these soldiers reminded me of the eyewear that the soldiers in Rick Yancey's novel The 5th Wave would wear. These glasses were meant to help the soldiers see better because the enemy, those not human, would light up which would make them easier to spot (and to kill). In the end, we find out what those glasses were really used for so I kind of put two and two together. There was always the off chance that I would be wrong, but I figured that would be a great twist for other people who haven't read books or seen movies with a similar plotline.
So while most people felt for Stripe, I for one, didn't...well not really. Okay so maybe he was tricked in a sense and if the government had straight out told him what he was signing up for, maybe he wouldn't have jumped on the bandwagon. Maybe, maybe, maybe-but the truth of the matter is, before he was even involve in the military, he was the kind of person that believed in the whole "keeping bloodlines pure" crap. Maybe he wouldn't have taken things as far as other people would, but the seed was still there whether or not what grows will be a large tree or a small sprout, the seed was already planted.
Here's where the moral of it all lies: does he erase it all and go back to living an ignorance yes, but happy life? Or does he go against the system and live out the rest of his life knowing the truth of it all?
- Synopsis
Disclaimer: This discussion will have spoilers for the film Shutter Island and the novel The 5th Wave.
"Stripe," "Hunter," and their leader Medina-a group of American soldiers- are on a mission to hunt down a group of mutated humans called "roaches." The government believes that the roaches are a threat to civilians, and any contact with them could contaminate the rest of the civilians; therefore, they must be found and disposed of immediately. Each solider in this unit has an implanted chip inside of their brain, called MASS, that helps them perform to their best ability in the field. This chip enhances their five senses making them well equip to handle any mission that is thrown at them. The unit gets a tip that a group of roaches are hiding out in an old farmhouse protected by an old Christian man, and begins to invade the property. Inside the unit finds many roaches and while he tries to take one down, one of the roaches points an LED device at Stripe which he he picks up and accidentally flashes himself in the eyes with it. After their successful raid, Stripe finds out that whatever was in the LED device has distorted the function in the MASS. Stripe knows that the right thing to do would be to report this dispute to his leaders, but he brushes it off as being a small concern, not knowing how big of an impact that small device would have on him.
- Discussion
The technology used in this episode, the MASS, is realistically speaking, the most "realistic" of all the new technology that has been introduced in the show thus far. I mean a device created to enhance the senses and make soldiers better equip for war? Which nation wouldn't want to spend all of their fundings on this project?
As cruel as the military was to "lie"to their soldiers (more about that later) it isn't wrong to say that their invention is pretty brilliant. As the episode goes on to explain, one of the reasons why they inserted this MASS chip into the soldiers is because they believe that by distorting their views of the enemy, it would help the soldiers be more efficient. There isn't that slight hesitation that a soldier might get before he or she pulls the trigger because enemy or not, the person on the other side of the pistol is still a living, and breathing human being. Yet what if the enemy wasn't human, but was a sickly, diseased spreading creature that attacks to kill? By taking away the physical aspect of a person-their face, their bodies, their voice-it dehumanizes them and makes them into vial creatures that must be destroyed. Not only that, these creatures, or should I say roaches, are easier to kill. Let's take video games for example-when playing a RPG where the player is a shooter or a hunter, the prey is always some disgusting creature that you would want to destroy. After all, you wouldn't play a game where you chase around a bunch of adorable puppies with a gun and blasted their brains out right? Actually, don't answer that if your answer isn't an immediate "no!"
Let's take it down a notch too- it is so much easier for people to step on a moth-all gray and plain-then for them to kill a beautiful butterfly isn't it?
Now I'm not a soldier nor do I know anyone close to me that has been to war, but I can only imagine that unless you are a true sadist, that it's safe to assume that no one-not even trained soldiers-enjoy killing. It's one thing to see the enemy and take them out because you want to defend your home, but it's another to get excited and happy about killing. War, as many people would say, is evil, but sometimes it's a necessary evil. If we wake up tomorrow and all of a sudden all the nations in the world agree (and mean it) on world peace, would the soldiers fighting for their nations get angry at this? Would they want to continue to fight and live their lives away from their loved ones? Despite what anyone might say, at the end of the day, the "enemy" whoever they are, are still human beings. They are still people, like you and I and taking another life should never feel good.
That is why so many soldiers have PTSD after returning, and unlike video games or movies which glorify war and killing, death is anything but glamorous. Yet what causes the stress in these soldiers is not just physical harm, but also mental strains from all elements of war. It's the guilt and remorse and laying awake at night thinking about all the horrors of the day, only to wake up and relive those horrors time and time again. Yet with the MASS, all of that guilt and remorse is gone.
So basically...Stripe wasn't lied to.
However, I'm not without sympathy. Truth is, whoever Stripe was before the experiment is gone and it is who he is now that matters. As human beings we are growing and evolving everyday, and it is both cruel and wrong to judge a person based on their mistakes; based on who they were years ago as if you are the exact same person you were several years prior. When Arquette replayed the footage of the invasion of the farmhouse, this time without the distortion from MASS, Stripe was able to see what some audience members had known all along, that these soldiers were hunting human beings as if they were wild animals. The guilt alone of not only that mission, but of all the missions prior, of all the lives that he had taken, is enough to destroy him but Arquette takes it one step further: he threatens Stripe by promising to have his MASS replay this video footage over and over again if he doesn't comply to have his memory reset.
Notice I didn't ask does he take the easy way out or does he do what's right because I hate it when people split decisions into such "this or that" mentality. There is no universal right or wrong answer because the world is filled with billions of people all having reasonings behind their thoughts, and they back those reasons up. I will say that Stripe is in a catch 20/20 situation here because no matter what choice he chooses, he will lose in a big way.
Honestly, I don't blame him for picking the latter. If I had that farm invasion scene looping over and over in my head-along with the added on guilt of all the murders I took part in-I'd rather just die than live with that torture. Speaking of dying, I found it really odd that they didn't just off Stripe once he found out the truth. I mean soldiers die in raids all the time right? I'm sure they brainwashed the other soldiers well enough that no one would go around snooping for trouble. They can also tell the soldiers that Stripe was killed by one of the roaches and that will really get the troops riled up. Why not just eliminate him? Why take the time to explain and then torture him?
The psychologist could be a straight out sadist or maybe because despite it all, he still is a psychologist, he wanted to study Stripe's reaction. He wanted to see what decision he would choose and why. I think there's a sick fascination going on between himself and Stripe, and I guess the same can be said for audiences of this show. Many viewers jokingly (or maybe not) state that after watching an episode of Black Mirror, they fall into a small "depression" and need to watch a "happier" show to rid their minds of the terrors of the show. Yet the reason why we keep coming back for more so to speak is because it is intriguing, and it really works the mind; the same can be said for Arquette in this case.
The ending scene was really heartbreaking, one of the saddest in my opinion because it is an illusion of happiness. Stripe has been discharge and is now returning to a rundown, empty house. Yet in his eyes with the MASS still implanted in his skull, he sees a beautiful home and an even more beautiful woman (the same girl he has been dreaming about) waiting for him. He will live the rest of his life in ignorant bliss thinking he's with someone he loves, but in reality he is all alone. I don't know about you, but that is a punishment worse than death to me.
The ending reminded me of the ending of Shutter Island when Leonardo Dicaprio's character, Teddy (or Andrew you can say) chose to believe a lie (that he was a good man whose wife died in a fire) than to accept the truth (that he was the one that murdered her). People lie to one another all the time, to either get them through the day or to make others feel better, so it's no wonder that we also lie to ourselves. More often than not it's the lies that soothes us to sleep while the truth keeps us awake each and every night.
The ending scene was really heartbreaking, one of the saddest in my opinion because it is an illusion of happiness. Stripe has been discharge and is now returning to a rundown, empty house. Yet in his eyes with the MASS still implanted in his skull, he sees a beautiful home and an even more beautiful woman (the same girl he has been dreaming about) waiting for him. He will live the rest of his life in ignorant bliss thinking he's with someone he loves, but in reality he is all alone. I don't know about you, but that is a punishment worse than death to me.
The ending reminded me of the ending of Shutter Island when Leonardo Dicaprio's character, Teddy (or Andrew you can say) chose to believe a lie (that he was a good man whose wife died in a fire) than to accept the truth (that he was the one that murdered her). People lie to one another all the time, to either get them through the day or to make others feel better, so it's no wonder that we also lie to ourselves. More often than not it's the lies that soothes us to sleep while the truth keeps us awake each and every night.
★★★.5/5
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