Punishments for crimes have evolved for centuries– the brazen bull, the guillotine, stoning. They all happen to be ancient techniques, but what if there were futuristic punishments for crime? Black Museum offers a new perspective at how dangerous technology can become.
Black Mirror is a series of stand-alone dramas on Netflix where each episode focuses on the negative impacts of a futuristic world on individuals and overall society. As this is one of my favorite TV Shows, my passion blog will be my review of the most notable episodes and my view of the deeper meanings behind them. In my sixth blog post, I will be looking at Season 4, Episode 6: Black Museum.
Nish is traveling through the southwest and finds her way to the Black Museum, which displays a collection of techno-crimes. It is owned by Rolo, who tours Nish throughout the various exhibits and provides gory backstories to each object. Each of the objects tend to contain the consciousness of a criminal, forcing them to continue their existence as limited beings. The main exhibit happens to be a hologram of Clayton Leigh, a man who was accused of murder even though new evidence proves that he is not guilty. Visitors are able to push a lever to electrocute him, and they are able to receive a souvenir after they do so. Nish turns on Rolo, telling him that Clayton is her father. After killing Rolo, she transfers Rolo’s consciousness to the hologram, freeing her father’s consciousness. The episode ends with Nish lighting the museum on fire and driving away.
This episode is intriguing in the way that it makes the viewer question their morals. While Rolo explains each object and their backstories with glee, the viewer and Nish emphasize with the criminals who are being punished, even though those people have also done terrible things. If one commits murder, is it okay to preserve their consciousness and keep them alive for eternity just to punish them?
The exhibits at the Black Museum also portray a fearful truth— technology will advance and there is no doubt about it. Yet, what restrictions, if any, will be in place to prevent punishments like those in Black Museum from coming true? It will be interesting to see this conversation develop in various governmental organizations, but hopefully we will never get too close to the horrifying dystopias of Black Mirror.