Out of Sight, Out of Mind
Watching Black Mirror has brought upon a sudden realization that our current social structures and relationships with technology will someday lead us to the future. I wonder now though if that future is bright and positive, or a form of dystopia portrayed within the series. In regards to “The National Anthem,” the very first episode of the series, I believe we are already heading down a similar path.
Public spectacle will never cease to garner global attention. Try as we might to show empathy and support towards worldwide issues, our system simply doesn’t allow for that. Within our North American culture, celebrity and our own politics are two of the major headline topics we seek to read. Magazines, social trends, and more all point towards that: what did Donald Trump do today? What is the next social media challenge? I am guilty of this too: my timelines are filled with the latest drama in our Western world, while countries are literally imploding due to war, famine, and terrorism. We are all too distracted, like the U.K. public in this episode, to focus on the events that take place not too far from us. While the exact notion of this episode’s storyline is not the same, the idea that as a community we care more about our own than anything or anyone else else still rings true. In the realm of this episode, Princess Susannah is our Kim Kardashian, and we all are strung along a narrative to show remorse and care about her wellbeing post her Parisian robbery. This is not to say that the events that took place in her hotel room weren’t horrendous (because they were and should never happen to anyone), but why is there endless news coverage and public outcry when a millionaire socialite/businesswoman is done harm… yet virtually none regarding millions who struggle to survive and face similar violence every single day? It speaks to our society when we create these filter bubbles and curate a timeline of stories that is “ideal” for our own consumption.
While I highly doubt that we will ever live in a time where this is not the case, I believe that breaking down filter bubbles and reading about global issues is one way to prevent this dark future from happening. Genuinely demonstrating care and working towards solving all problems and helping all people, not just our own, is critical. This creates a public mindset where all lives matter, regardless of any social/political/economic differences. An underprivileged child from the other side of the world merits the same attention and care as our public figures. Social media should do just that: create a global community where a variety of resources could be gathered and actually work to make a difference. Create social media challenges that actually benefit society, trend a variety of stories from around the world, let every voice be heard. Place value on all lives; perhaps then the events that took place in this episode will never become a reality.
