Season 3:
Episode 6 "Hated in the Nation"
Another thing with the ADIs, (and this is something that I kept thinking about towards the end of the episode): why didn't the group just alter the image of the person they were trying to protect? Like if the ADI has a certain image of the person (blonde hair, blue eyes, long nose, ect) would it be confused if the person had all of these traits but had brown eyes instead? Could they just put on some contact lenses? That was something I thought about a lot during the episode, but I'm assuming that there is probably something more that I am missing but who knows...
This whole #DeathTo hashtag is really just a game of consequences. The people playing are the ones who in the end, ended up paying the price with their lives. They think that they can just say whatever they want to, hide behind a computer or phone screen, and have that be that. They also thought that they could punish people in the comforts of their own homes, and this is true for so many people. The term "cyber bullying" has been circulating the news more and more frequently throughout the years, especially when it comes to celebrities. It is so easy to write a hateful comment on a celebrity's page because the user thinks that the celebrity has millions of comments on his or her picture, so there's no way he or she would get called out for a rude comment. It's this mindset that they are protected through "anonymous" comments that makes these cyber bullies believe that they can say all the things they would never have the courage to say if they were to see that certain person in public.
As cruel as this may sound, I thought the "change of rules" in the end was quite brilliant. I mean I don't feel happy about the death of thousands of people, but I do feel like that twist really made the episode. Garrett Scholes' really did play everyone, and although he did teach a lesson I'm sure no one will ever forget, he took it one step too far. However it wouldn't be a Black Mirror episode if things weren't taken too far now would it?
Although I've seen several people comment that the ending was anti-climatic and could have been done better, I on the other hand quite liked it. Did Scholes really think he could have everyone play this game of consequences without sitting down and playing the game himself? I loved that he thought he got away with everything, but in the end, Detective Blue will show him that he's not as clever as he thinks. Whether she ends up killing him or whether she ends up tracking him down to arrest him (this one seems more plausible), I really liked how this episode came back in full circle. The game of consequences started with Garrett Scholes, and now, it will also end with him.
All in all this one wasn't my favorite episode. I found it quite disappointing that it was the last episode of the season because it should have given more of a punch, but instead it was just...there. It wasn't a bad episode by any means, but there were better episodes to end the season with.
- Synopsis
Detective Karin Parke and her partner Detective Constable Blue Coulson take on the mysterious case concerning the death of the infamous journalist, Jo Powers. Powers' death is seen as a suicide since her husband found her with her throat cut, although the detectives do not ignore the fact that Powers has been getting a string of death threats from the public due to her controversial article about a former disability activist. Blue believes that Powers' murderer is none other than her beloved husband, and sets off to prove to Parke that she is correct. However, during this investigation both detectives are confronted with another unexplained death that has them both baffled. As Parke and Blue continue to dive deeper into the murder investigations they realize that the murders are anything but random, and the corrupts have been right in front of their faces all of this time, hiding in plain sight. The only problem is despite knowing who or what is causing these murders, the detectives are running out of time finding ways to stop the murders from occurring and it won't be long before one of their own gets targeted.
- Discussion
This episode, like "Nosedive" brings us back to the dangers of social media. In "Nosedive" the application that was used to "rank" people is a combination of Instagram (with users uploading their photos to have others "like" and comment on these photos) and Yelp (where users would rate people out of 5 stars). For "Hated in the Nation" the application targeted in this episode (no pun intended) is Twitter.
Even if you don't have a Twitter account (yes there are people who do not, I being one of them) you still know what Twitter is. Twitter is one of the most popular social media application and it doesn't take a genius to figure out why. Users are able to send a message-whether it be that their dogs just gave birth to a liter of puppies or how excited they are because they won tickets to see Taylor Swift in concert-to hundreds of people, and if their account is public, then anyone can read their most mundane thoughts and tweets. Celebrities love using Twitter as a way to interact with their fans and they definitely do take advantage of the platform. Since Twitter is such a big hit, I was glad that the producers of Black Mirror decided to dive deeper into this platform to see if it can do more harm than good.
I want to start off with talking about hashtag that started all of these murders: #DeathTo and the person's name. Hashtags are no strangers to Twitter users (as well as Instagram users) and people use them all time, and many hashtags are used to search trending topics. I know the whole #DeathTo hashtag is meant to be seen as extremely cruel (which it is don't get me wrong), but is it wrong if I say that I wouldn't be surprised if this hashtag is actually a real thing? It's crazy how many people would participate in this "campaign" and how many people get a rise out of harming other people.
I know in the show the hashtag is aimed towards public figures, but I can see average people using this just to get rid of an enemy. If you think about it, how many people in this world get put in jail for life for committing murders. Granted some of these murderers are serial killers, but many people are killed by people they know. How many jealous boyfriends kill their girlfriends and how many school shootings are there in year? The idea that someone or something can do the dirty work for you will be more than appealing to some people.
I know in the show the hashtag is aimed towards public figures, but I can see average people using this just to get rid of an enemy. If you think about it, how many people in this world get put in jail for life for committing murders. Granted some of these murderers are serial killers, but many people are killed by people they know. How many jealous boyfriends kill their girlfriends and how many school shootings are there in year? The idea that someone or something can do the dirty work for you will be more than appealing to some people.
If this hashtag existed and it worked, would you use it on someone? Or do you know anyone that would?
I can't talk about the killings without talking about the little murderers themselves: Autonomous Drone Insects also known as ADIs. In this world, real bees are endangered of becoming extinct and that is the reason why scientists have created these drone insects. These ADIs are created to mimic real bees; therefore, they look, sound, and act like real bees. These ADIs have been a successful project thus far because due to the decrease in bee population, the ADIs instead go around pollinating the flowers throughout the United Kingdom. Now I know this tidbit might not be important to some people, but I think it's important to realize that it is no coincident that the writers decided to talk about bees in this episode. The bee populations have been decreasing and each year fewer and fewer bees are seen. The fact that scientists and engineers might need to create ADIs for the bees in the near future, isn't something that is so far off.
Another tidbit that I found interesting and also quite frightening because it doesn't seem that far off from our reality, is the fact that the government funds the ADI project so they can use the bees to spy on the general public. I'm sure we've all heard of conspiracy theories of all the ways they government spies on its citizens. There's the popular belief that they listen in on telephone conversations, they listen in via bluetooth of cars, and they are able to hack webcams on computers and laptops. There are other theories I'm sure, but those are the ones that I've heard be talked about the most. Either way, the government in this world funds the creation of these insects to make it seem like they are trying to improve the environment but in reality they have ulterior motives. It kind of makes you wonder what else they are hiding up their sleeves huh?
This whole #DeathTo hashtag is really just a game of consequences. The people playing are the ones who in the end, ended up paying the price with their lives. They think that they can just say whatever they want to, hide behind a computer or phone screen, and have that be that. They also thought that they could punish people in the comforts of their own homes, and this is true for so many people. The term "cyber bullying" has been circulating the news more and more frequently throughout the years, especially when it comes to celebrities. It is so easy to write a hateful comment on a celebrity's page because the user thinks that the celebrity has millions of comments on his or her picture, so there's no way he or she would get called out for a rude comment. It's this mindset that they are protected through "anonymous" comments that makes these cyber bullies believe that they can say all the things they would never have the courage to say if they were to see that certain person in public.
As cruel as this may sound, I thought the "change of rules" in the end was quite brilliant. I mean I don't feel happy about the death of thousands of people, but I do feel like that twist really made the episode. Garrett Scholes' really did play everyone, and although he did teach a lesson I'm sure no one will ever forget, he took it one step too far. However it wouldn't be a Black Mirror episode if things weren't taken too far now would it?
Although I've seen several people comment that the ending was anti-climatic and could have been done better, I on the other hand quite liked it. Did Scholes really think he could have everyone play this game of consequences without sitting down and playing the game himself? I loved that he thought he got away with everything, but in the end, Detective Blue will show him that he's not as clever as he thinks. Whether she ends up killing him or whether she ends up tracking him down to arrest him (this one seems more plausible), I really liked how this episode came back in full circle. The game of consequences started with Garrett Scholes, and now, it will also end with him.
All in all this one wasn't my favorite episode. I found it quite disappointing that it was the last episode of the season because it should have given more of a punch, but instead it was just...there. It wasn't a bad episode by any means, but there were better episodes to end the season with.
★★.5/5
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