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But it also involves, ultimately, raising one’s child such that they can function in the world on their own as an adult. The same impulse with reference an adult, such as a romantic partner, would clearly be tied up with the problematic nature of jealousy. The relationship between a parent and child is, however, distinctive endemic to it is the desire of the parent to kept their child safe, and the expectation that they will do their best to do so. So, I was basically on the side of thinking that Arkangel was a gross injustice from the moment it was injected into Sara’s head, but I understand that the parental impulse behind this move is not something I can fully appreciate, because I don’t have kids. I must admit that I, too, feel old when I read about parents being investigated for child neglect for reasons like this and recall my own childhood. Marie’s father, Russ, mentions his age as he talks about letting his kids go out and wander alone. Our culture seems to be tending in the direction of expecting parents to go in the direction of Marie, as opposed to the converse. If Marie’s use of Arkangel strikes you as implausible, bear in mind that we live in a world where things like this happen. It’s about making sure your child is safe, and so on. Access to the camera and microphone of the device would be taking it a step further, but one could see the argument in favor of doing so. Location tracking is already available on the basis of cellphones, and may be a helpful tool for parents. It is easy enough to see why a parent might want technology along these lines. It is her job to protect her child, rather than Sara’s job to protect herself worries about being able to get there in time to the side. However, since the tablet Marie uses also alerts her when Sara is under a sufficient amount of stress, perhaps the plan is not as implausible as it might seem. It is one thing to block them from objectionable images in media, but quite another when it comes to real life. It would seem to be important that a child be able to recognize when they are actually being threatened. Of course, there is something a bit dumb about this idea. At first Marie demurs at the notion of using this function, but ultimately she does in relation to a scary dog on their block, and it would seem to have been a slippery slope from there. Perhaps most disturbingly, it also includes a parental control option that blurs distressing sights and sounds, on the basis of cortisol levels. Sara has an implant placed in her head, and Marie gets a tablet that allows her to do things such as track Sara’s location, check her vitals, and see through her eyes.
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This leads Marie to enlist in a trial program of hardware being offered by the Arkangel company. We cut from there to an incident where Sara, at the age of three, wanders away from the park in pursuit of a cat and goes missing for an indeterminate length of time that seems to span a few hours at least. The episode begins from the perspective of Marie, as she gives birth to Sara via C-section, and momentarily worries as the child does not seem to be breathing at first. Neither acts blamelessly throughout, by any means, but one’s interpretation of the narrative will be colored by which one feels the most inclined to identify with, or defend. Rather than merely giving us one character for whom we might feel empathy, the episode gives us two: Marie, and her daughter Sara. Those who have children likely relate to “Arkangel” differently from those of us who do not. Further, it is worth noting that we may not all see the same things, or come to the same conclusions. Equally, then, it seems appropriate to suggest that the purpose of this black mirror should involve critically assessing what it shows to us. We use mirrors to assess our appearance, and to help us make adjustments to it. But to look in the mirror is not just to see oneself. Black Mirror is a show about the darker aspects of the human soul, and how technology can feed into our worst tendencies.