Reality or fiction?

BLACK MIRROR - THE NATIONAL ANTHEM

Black Mirror is a British series whose chapters  have no relation to each other (not counting the small winks or references that appear in some of the episodes). Currently, the series is in the Netflix catalog. According to the synopsis given by the streaming platform, the series consists of a sci-fi anthology series which explores a twisted, high-tech near-future where humanity greatest innovations and darkest instincts collide. The series has five seasons and one interactive movie. 

The series contains many interesting episodes with inventions that help societies, but that bring out details that make them lose their useful function. However, there is an episode among all of them that is not far from our reality. Not because of the technological sample it shows, but because of how realistic it is, and how it actually could happen, or already happens.

That the above serves to introduce the first episode of the series: The National Anthem. The title does not clarify the topic to be discussed, and its synopsis gives a small idea of what is to come. 

Prime Minister Michael Callow faces a shocking dilemma when Princess Susannah, a much-loved member of the Royal Family, is kidnapped.

The episode consists of a member of the royal family being kidnapped. A very dear member. The kidnapper's demand is that the Prime Minister have sex with a pig. This to be televised at 4:00pm and without any type manipulation. The episode takes place in doing everything possible to avoid reaching this extreme, and how the population and the world in general begin to express their opinion on the subject. This chapter shows the extreme of the people, not only because of the kidnapper, but also because of the actions of the people, and even more, of the media and social networks.

Then it is put on the table: the life of the beloved Princess, or the integrity and well-being of Michael Callow? The population acted as judges in a trial in which the government and the kidnapper had placed the Prime Minister.

This chapter, despite being the first of the five seasons that make up Black Mirror, starts off strong. Its theme borders on the disgusting and the moral of the people. And better yet, it gives us a forceful critique of the human acting, and how social networks, the Internet and the media act in daily life.

Usually, the chapters of Black Mirror offer a utopian view on technological advances and what we could do with them (although most of the time those utopias turn into dystopias). This episode is not the exception. But as I said before, it has that special touch of being part of our reality by not containing something related to science fiction.

MEDIA MANIPULATION, THE ROLE OF THE INTERNET AND GLOBALIZATION

First of all, the manipulation of the media. In the chapter we observe how the government withheld the media (essentially television) from talking about the problem. It is known that this happens in our societies. The government does not skimp on keeping the media, journalists and the issues they deal with under control. In the case of Mexico, this situation is alarming when taking into account the number of journalists who are killed while doing their work. Although it is clear that this situation is not exclusive to the Mexican territory, since more countries are joining. 

(Visit https://www.milenio.com/internacional/periodistas-asesinados-en-mexico-2020-primer-lugar for more information about this topic).

In addition to this, the following link leads to video is an example of another type of manipulation. This happens in the United States of America. A curious form of how the content is transmitted in the news. https://youtu.be/dVSGYTfX4L0

In spite of being able to think that it is something ridiculous when knowing that the programs might be linked, the problem is that this happens in numerous newscasts, giving exactly the same message. And this is not the only example, it also happens with sections to increase purchases (consumerism) or spread certain news.

It should be added that despite the fact that this practice can be somehow funny because of how they do not even bother to change words or allow more freedom when giving the message, it is certainly worrying. Where is the freedom of the press? The autonomy of the media? Give the news according to the newscast and not have everyone give the same script? Personally, this is terrifying.

This is where the Internet and social networks come in. What is placed on the networks is not well regulated. Not to mention that some social networks come to restrict accounts for no reason, or decide not to delete some content when it certainly violates the community rules, the truth is that there is a lot of freedom in what you can upload. It completely breaks what is done with traditional media. While they must be someone to make something known (and often regulated or censored), the Internet gave the opportunity for anyone to upload what they want, and it is the same people who make it viral.

And even more so with globalization. What happens at one end of the world is quickly known everywhere. But just as we have made progress in this regard, the authorities are acting to limit this. They have not been entirely achieved, but they have moved forward to bring media censorship to the internet.

This is what happened in The National Anthem. The government could not fight the entire wave of people talking about the subject, uploading the content and giving their opinion on it. Even despite the indication that it was illegal to have partially or totally the content of the Prime Minister and the pig, there were people who recorded what happened anyway. The same happened with the person who recognized the actor while they were taking him to the filming set, took a photo and uploaded it to social networks. With us, the same happens with us when uploading copyrighted content to the Internet, be it series, books or movies.

SOCIAL PRESSURE AND SOCIETY'S MORAL

This part can be encompassed in the phrase that says "It's okay as long as it's not me".

When the video came out, people started talking about it. Initially, many decided that the Prime Minister should not comply with the demands of what they called "New Kind of Terrorism." But as the time progresses and the hour in which the deal must be fulfilled approaches, people begin to switch sides and say what the Prime Minister should do.

A degenerate begins to see what the government will do about it. They had already passed the stage in which what was happening on television was hidden from them, they already knew that they had tried to make a stuntman impersonate the Prime Minister for the broadcast. They had no choice but to wait to see the spectacle they had led to. They cared more about the Princess's life by making them believe that her severed finger was hers, than if Callow would commit a despicable act and against her integrity.

Who are they to decide what to do or not do? In the end, it was all the pressure of the affair, and even more the social pressure that made Callow have the encounter with the pig. A desensitized population gathered to watch the event they called "history." Many of them smiled or laughed, made jokes about it.

An hour passes, and there are no more smiles. Is this what happens when a tragic event happens before us without warning? There no one smiles or celebrates, it is pure regret. It happened when, during the presidency of Mexico, Felipe Calderon, a wave of uncontrolled organized crime began. If something tragic happened out of sudden, no one laughed. But when it happened, there were already people making jokes about it.

I think this happened in reverse in the first episode of Black Mirror. People were excited to witness an act of this magnitude. But when the whole moment of laughter passed when they saw that it was something serious, an abuse of the integrity of a human. Even so, few were those who dared to continue with their initial attitude.

Around 1.3 billion people watched the show. And for what? To demonstrate the social decadence in seeing others suffer? Or to show how involved we are with the media and social networks?

ATTENTION TO IRRELEVANT THINGS AND LOSE OF CONTROL OF OUR USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Princess Susannah (who I think would be Princess Diana in present times, just as she was in her time) was released half an hour before the agreed time of the meeting was. No one noticed. The government was busy in the failed operation to save her. The population was entertained watching the progress of the case on television or on social networks.

If they had realized that the Princess was free, everything would have been avoided. Two things are demonstrated here. First, that people were more interested in the show to be put on, than the Princess, even if they wanted to say otherwise. Until after the event, people found her, and blindly believed that the Prime Minister's sacrifice was worth it.

Second, I can't help but associate it with what are known as "smoke screens". How many times have we paid more attention to unimportant news, usually related to gossip or showbiz (celebrities), than to issues of social importance? This was not entirely the case within the episode, but it is not difficult to relate it.

Such a damaging act ("acto dantesco", in spanish) could have been avoided if they had paid attention to other things than that. Do something of profit, or simply rescind observing it. Have a modicum of decency. But it was not like that. No one realized it until later. People will live in ignorance. I don't think it's for your own good. "Ignorance is bliss," not when you ignore something of this magnitude. And what about social responsibility? Does it not matter? We must be aware of the importance we give to these things, especially our time in the media.

FINAL COMMENTS

ICTs help us to make our lives easier in different fields, but just as they do that, they can have negative repercussions on us. Whether with traditional media or with new technologies, all at some point surpass us and manipulate us, as much as we do with them.

We must have a balance between our life outside of them, to the one that is inside. The current situation does not help much as having to be in constant contact with the rest via the Internet. But this does not remove the responsibility that we have in the content that we observe, the time that we spend.

I have already said this before. This series has the habit of showing chapters in which technological advances, and more than anything our use of them, are the ones that lead us to ruin. The same thing happened here, but there is no need to make distant imaginations about what can be invented in the future, with what we currently have is enough and more than enough. I don't expect that from one day to the next people will start to become more aware of it. Morbidity has always existed. What I would like is for them to realize what is going on around them, and social media has done nothing more than polarize this process even more.