Yes, I remember that particular episode when it came out several years ago. Really horrible for the protagonist when it was all for nothing. I wonder what societal message the writers were trying to convey there. Charlie Brooker is one hell of a guy. He reminds me of people like Ricky Gervais or Quentin Tarantino, folks who really have the most “out-there” opinions and are no stranger to being very critical of the modern entertainment industry, though in a certain “avant-garde” type of way. Brooker had a distaste for The X Factor and he still refuses to watch any episode of Severance.
I’m not sure if you know this but his sarcastic critique on paedohysteria goes back further to when he criticized the dominant and ratings-vacuum reality show that was "To Catch a Predator", when it neared the end of its run in 2008. He wrote an article about the show in The Guardian and it's an absolute goldmine!
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2008/may/31/features16.theguide6
These are two of my favorite quotes from the article. I will admit, it gave me a bit of chuckle with his clever writing descriptions.
"When a TV show makes you feel sorry for potential child rapists, you know it's doing something wrong. To Catch A Predator (Mon, 10pm, FX) is that show. It hails from America, where it's not some wacky bit of far-out cable madness, but a mainstream network broadcast; a staple feature of Dateline NBC."
"And then it's over. Justice prevails - provided you overlook the several billion troubling aspects to the show. The overpowering whiff of entrapment, for one thing. The collusion between reporters, vigilante groups and police for another. And that "attractive young actress" who greets them by the door: make no mistake, she's hot. And at 18, she's US legal. Presumably someone at To Catch A Predator HQ sat down with a bunch of audition tapes and spooled through it, trying to find a sexy 18-year-old who could pass for 13. They'll have stared at girl after girl, umming and ahhing over their chest sizes, until they found just the right one. And like I say, she's hot. But if you fancy her, you're a paedophile."
I'm shocked at how this guy hasn't got cancelled yet. He's like the next-to equivalent of Quentin Tarantino or Ricky Gervais, in terms of outlandishness, but in a good way of course. I really wish there were more people like him.
I'm surprised that the media haven't picked up on the fact that the writer behind Black Mirror has spoken out about paedohysteria and satirized it, both in the Guardian article and with Chris Morris in Nathan Barley. Americans would certainly get a surprise reading that article, and might look at a couple of Black Mirror episodes a bit differently.
ReplyDeleteBTW, once you have more content up on your blog, I'll be happy to link to it from mine. (AF).
Hey, thanks for commenting AF. Glad to see you here. Anyways, the writer behind that Black Mirror definitely knew something was up. That episode and probably his other works are starting to reek of anti-pedohysteria once you realize the subtlety and his nab at TCAP.
DeleteThere's not many people out there right now who have been brave enough to criticize TCAP and its spin-offs, let alone all those wannabe vigilante groups running around as they "pedophilize" adults hooking up with younger adults, etc. There are definitely a good solid few, but I assume they are keeping their mouths tightly shut for obvious reasons. The same reason applies to sex stings. Not a single peep. I digressed, yet I learned that the hard way. That’s why I’m here…to vent.
Yet, people look up to Mr. Hansen like he's some sort of ancient Egyptian Deity. He cheated on his wife and was caught embezzling funds. I heard he angered some of his fans with his slow Kickstarter, but I'm having trouble remembering exactly why. Regardless, it's safe to assume that he's definitely not a saint, that's for sure.
I’m not sure if you know this but there was a district attorney assistant in Texas who killed himself in front of cameras in 2006. He was a prosecutor, so he knew full well that he was completely fucked. If you look up that particular episode now, you're going to get comments that congratulate the guy for committing suicide. Very typical behavior of a normie. “One less pedophile”, they say.
Hansen's reaction was that of someone who noticed that their food got slightly overcooked. Totally unfazed. In fact, most people in the media act as though these types of suicides (pedocides) are no big deal. I don't understand how any of the adults who pretended to be kids (decoys) in the show sleep well at night, knowing full well they are ruining people's lives for entertainment.
Same goes with these police-oriented sex stings. Not a single cop that I am aware of had said anything that diminishes these types of practices, at least not publicly. They're extremely unethical, but are keen on ruining lives for the sake of reaching quotas and scoring publicity points. Imagine being charged with "child sex trafficking" or "attempted rape" when there was no victim at all? What a pathetic society, but they symbolize the core aspect of modern America and western societal law: evil. The law is the true evil and I stand by that. Here, in America, we have a strong fetish for slapping people with extreme felonies and ankle bracelets, as well keeping people behind bars for as long as possible, even for mundane crimes.
Anyways, I appreciate you taking your time to comment on my blog. Pardon me for taking so long to respond, but I'll get more blogs up and running sooner or later, I suppose. Right now, I've got a lot of personal things to take care of, but hopefully I'll be more active, now that the summer is here. Take care!