White Bear

A young woman wakes up from unconsciousness with complete amnesia. Not knowing who she is or where she is, she begins to wander around and it becomes increasingly clear to her that something is seriously wrong. All the people she encounters stare at her in complete silence and record her with mobile phones, keeping a safe distance at all times. And then masked lunatics begin to appear, trying in every way to get to her, completely ignoring the silent observers.

Almost everything I want to comment on this episode would spoil it to those who have not seen it yet. The series has gone a step further and sci-fi drama, that characterized the previous episodes, here is brought to the brink of horror. A mysterious story, good acting and even better directing build a creepy and tense atmosphere, which culminates in a completely unexpected twist. All sorts of theories went through my head, but at no point was I even close to grasping what it was all about. Original and very effective.

8/10.

The second series of 'Black Mirror (2011-)' continues with 'White Bear', which is perhaps the most 'twist-reliant' episode so far. In fact, it's the only episode of the first two seasons to pivot entirely on a single, central reveal. That's not to say it's bad, though. The plot point in question does reshape the rest of the piece, while also opening a discussion around several interesting themes. When is a punishment considered a crime? Can you be held responsible for something you have no recollection of? How far is too far? These questions are incredibly intriguing and the picture does an excellent job of posing them without even really attempting to answer them. It's thematically compelling and often uncomfortable, its devilishly dark and near nihilistic outlook never once relenting. The bulk of the movie is taken up by a more straightforward survival story, though. It's chock full of mysteries and doesn't really come into itself until its final third. It's always enjoyable, though. It may not be the best 'Black Mirror (2011-)', but it's still a solid piece of science-fiction. 7/10

This is one of the best episodes in Black Mirror. It reminded me of Metalhead episode in a sense that I did not enjoy 40 mins of a woman screaming and running without knowing what's happening in that crazy world, but here in White Bear this is exactly the thing; you should at least know that this is pointless torture! It broke my heart when she said "I'm a human being", she begs and cries everyday and yet no one in the show doubted the whole thing! Yes, people can get really cruel and dreadful, especially when they collectively believe that they have the right to judge and punish. The mark on the screens reminded me of the Nazi's swastika, and no surprise that I was very familiar with the euphoria and blind belief of the audience in the episode; we have seen this with Hitler, Rwanda, Middle east, etc. When you're strong and you think you're on the right side/class/race/religion, you can be really really inhumane to the extent that you enjoy repeated pointless torture to a human for THE SAME CRIME.

Very well written and very well acted as well.

My most rewatched episode of Black Mirror is - no surprises here - San Junipero. White Bear, however, is possibly the second one.

The plot is known: a woman wakes up without memory in a post-apocalyptic world. We are told that "a signal" turned a majority of the population into "constant watchers": people who compulsively record what's going on with their phones. And there is a lot of juicy stuff going on, as some became killers who hunt down the few sane individuals left. The result is akin to a zombie story - except that here the "hordes of zombies" just point their phones at you.

The above is not a spoiler but the set up.

Then, of course, there is the big reveal. When you watch Black Mirror you always expect - or, more appropriately, dread - sone nasty surprise. White Bear, however, pulles the biggest rug ever under the feet of the watcher. And it is not simply a "reveal": the story frolics in it, down to the end titles, in a horrific final stretch where you don't know if to laugh or be chilled. BTW, when was the last time where all the clues scattered in the story are openly shown and explained?

I don't understand those who diss this episode because the main character constantly cries and whimpers. First, try to wake up in a post-apocalyptic world where people with various weapons unrelentingly chase you. Second... do those bothered by the constant display of suffering even watched how the story ends?

Sadly, one can't discuss this episode without spoilering it. However, the real world already catched up: watch anything dire happen in a public space and a crowd of "zombies" will rush in armed with their phones. Just watch any video of the climate protesters who threw tomato soup on a Van Gogh painting, and you will see the crowd of zombies with phones and cameras who immediately arrived to film the scene - even before the museum security.

White Bear tells us that "Black Mirror" is, now, almost in the rear view - and that's makes me want to whimper and cry.

"White Bear" encapsulates what's so fascinatingly prescient about the provocative concept of "Black Mirror"; rather than being a shallow, two-dimensional exploration of man's burgeoning relationship with ever advancing encroachments of technology, simplistically lensing one as inherently good & the other, irredeemably evil etc. Creator & writer Charlie Brooker conscientiously depicts (in a startlingly mature manner) how technology is usually neither good, nor particularly bad (in any situation, involving inhumane tragedy) & rather than being our nemesis, it's often the facilitator of humanities' ability to be both its own saviour & oppressor, simultaneously. Ergo, we victimise ourselves & are not victimised by it.

That's not to say that caution shouldn't be shown in response to the increasingly rapid expansion & development of new algorithms & systems erected by pioneering inventors & A. I. etc. Rather than for our own benefit (& to stop certain things from falling in to what we'd likely deem "the wrong hands"), any progress made must be carefully recorded (ironically) & studied (the ramifications continuously kept at the forefront of our minds) to ensure detrimental impacts (caused by our own existential flaws) aren't exacerbated by certain things becoming widely available to those who can't be trusted to weild such power responsibly.

Hence, devices continually featured in each of the anthology series are theoretically a means to an end (opposed to an end, justifying the means), permitting us to be more amplified iterations of who we are inside - & that's precisely the question he's asking; who actually are you, initially?

I say this because here, he crafts a fascinatingly macabre & morally ambiguous tale where we're presented with protagonists who are antagonists & antagonists who could arguably be labelled as the protagonists (either works), depending upon a person's internal perspective (both sides of the equation, flesh & blood) - & from that vague subjectivity (solely focused on people, rather than inanimate objects they hold at their fingertips), extremely challenging & complex subject matter is allowed to be addressed, seeking to clarify what we personally stand for, sparking further, meaningful conversations concerning what any of us would constitute as a reasonable dispensation of justice etc. Which is hard to quantify, agree on or measure within a polarised, collective society.