I don’t post much thoughts on here for the same reason I am posting this. Weird flex, right?
I also don’t watch TV much, but when I do it’s usually something philosophical and creepy like Black Mirror.
There’s several episodes worth talking about on the internet because they involve social media, this ever-evolving medium and how it can be used to our advantage but mostly to our detriment.
One episode, Hated In The Nation (Season 3), deals with a twitter account that will actually kill someone who gets the most kill hashtags. So the public starts killing off their most hated celebrities and public figures. These weren’t people who were responsible for other people’s suffering or death (because that doesn’t seem to matter as much as if we like the person) just people that others disliked for saying or doing something unpopular. It was a mob rules kind of mentality.
They are picked off by these cyborg bee’s that the government made to help re-pollinate the land. The killer hijacks their program and redirects them to the chosen lottery winner aka loser.
But it gets really good…
SPOILER ALERT
Don’t keep reading if you want to enjoy this episode in full ignorance!
The fun part for me was that in the end, the final kill? Everyone who ever voted on the platform using the hashtag #kill ___insert the person’s name you hate the most__ winds up being the final target. A mass murder of proxy-murderers.
I thought it was a fitting twist. To get back at an overly judgmental, dehumanizing society. What made these people so righteous, so worthy to play judge, jury and executioner with someone else’s life? None of them knew the targets personally. It was a great critique on how people are becoming atomized, alienated, cut-off, and apathetic for others by the internet. Not many people hold themselves to the same standard they hold others. We expect politicians and entertainers, and even other regular people to be so perfect and polished when we ourselves are far from that. Most of us wouldn’t measure up to the standards we hold to others. Some of the biggest critics are the least talented for the job. But we never want to face that same judgement, and really, if you were to use that hashtag, you probably deserve to have it used on you. Thoughts?
*this was something I wrote a year+ back, wasn’t sure of, and forgot about but I think the idea is still relevant.*
Iteration 88: Black Mirror
oil & acrylic on canvas
36’’ x 24’’ x 1.5’’
*SOLD (prints available in the shop)
Description: (shadow side) It is said that a horse will reflect back to you what is in your heart. This is why it symbolizes the shadow side, or dark side, because any impurities come to the surface when gazed upon. It is essential to see this side of ourselves if we want to rid ourselves of any impurities, therefore it is also the most truthful and self-aware.
Lol