Black Mirror - Black Museum (Part 3 in a series)

My final review for Black Mirror is Black Museum. This episode takes a controversial look at Utopian solutions to problems we face today. It has been the goal of humans for the past 5000 years to create Utopian societies. In order to have this type of society, we have to figure how to manage deviant behaviors. Black Museum explores our current fascination with criminal behavior.

The Black Museum is a combination of science fiction and realistic fiction. It delves into the darkest parts of our soul. What struck me while watching this is the irony of this show being on Netflix. A streaming service that profits from the same misery that this episode explores. We give awards and accolades for Making of a Murder similar to the Museum of artifacts of criminal injustice.

It might seem to be a stretch that one person can be a part of many miscarriages of justice, however look at our current political climate. One person can be indicted for a series of events that impacts all of us. It leaves people wanting justice against those who harm so many. Criminal Justice is similar to big Pharma. Recidivism is an allusion when profit is concerned, leaving many to want fairness and equality for family members that were victims of such a system.

Dark and complex, Black Museum represents the spirit of parallel universes to explore our own. In the coming weeks, I will have an additional 3 episodes to recommend. Black Mirror successfully does what many have failed to do in the past, and that is bring the spirit of the Twilight Zone to our modern world.

Black Mirror - Nosedive (Part 2 in a Series)

Black Mirror's Nosedive explores the increasing dependency rating systems of social media by humans to help shape our view of the world. We currently live in a world in which the 5 star rating system is currently used to shape how we see a business or event. When you search a business on Google, you can see the ratings. The same for FB or YELP. People can rate a business or event.

Beyond the rating, is a dark side. People with mental health issues can anonymously berate a business or event. 1 star and a degrading remark based on an unstable reaction to an experience. The irrational can cut like a knife on how people perceive a business, especially if they are new. 

What would happen when we create a system for humans being rated?  Would we apply the rating systems to privileges and access to class systems? This episode addresses the peril that can be caused by a virtual caste system. The episode explores how such a system can impact human development. From early childhood to adulthood, the rating system impacts self-worth.

When you think about it, this is an extension of the means tested society that exists today. We constantly reinforce self-worth from age 3 to adulthood. Children at identified and placed in programs that shape their reality and perception. Poor and rich are divided by school placement. Race and gender has evaluative processes from early on that determine self-worth. Nosedive warns us of a world that extends the reach of shaping our perception of who we are supposed to be in the world we live in. 

Another aspect this episode that is critically important is the story of the Truck Driver. A glimpse into the future of healthcare. Pay close attention to means testing care. We already have started to incorporate the philosophy of rating systems into our current healthcare system. A dark warning regarding the direction we are heading. 

Shaping is a huge part of rating systems. The intent of information sharing via ratings helps create a society that is extremely impersonal. We become detached from allowances for bad luck, or tragic events that impact a human life. You are only as good as your last rating, and this is very dangerous. 

Black Mirror - Shut Up and Dance (Part 1 of a 3 part Series)

Finally, there is a  series that brought the Twilight Zone into  the modern age. My daughter talked me into checking out Black Mirror on Netflix. I am skeptical, but I gave a shot.To my surprise, the series brought the spirit of the Twilight Zone, and examined contemporary issues surrounding technology.

Many episodes expose how our lives have been conditioned to revolve around algorithms. Ironically, Netflix is a great example when you think about it. It recommends movies that you "might" like based on algorithms created by your viewing. Patterns of behavior guided by behavior analysis. This is the world we live in, and their is a dark side. For this reason, I am going to suggest 3 episodes from the series that are a must watch.

Shut Up and Dance takes us down the dark side of a carefully planned algorithm. The episode consists of vignettes of technology impacted interactions among individuals. They will cross paths based on a series of algorithms that encourage them to commit crimes or be shamed for personal indiscretions. This was a common story line in the Twilight Zone. Ultimately, it is easy to manipulate human behavior towards a dark path.

Technology has a dark side, that can utilize our brain's sub-conscious layers that lead to dark thoughts. This episode captures how men, are easily manipulated by their poor choices exposed by technology. While set in the future, we can use technology today to have similar results. The parallel universe of the Black Mirror is why I love this series, because similar to the Twilight Zone, the dangers that exist in the future are currently here today. We just have to recognize them.

White Right Meeting the Enemy

White Right Meeting the Enemy is a documentary about a Muslim journalist, from the UK who is confronted with vicious hate by White Nationalists after an interview she participate in discussing multiculturalism. The anonymous (of course) attacks were vile included terms like "Sand Ni#$%$ and Shit Skin. There were also personal death threats against the journalist. Online examples of the darkest parts of our humanity set the tone for what it feels to be attacked for your beliefs or the color of you skin. Many watching the documentary surely felt the ugliness of the attacks, however what makes this documentary unique is the approach the journalist takes to confront the enemy.

Deeyah Kahn (the journalist)  takes a dramatic step towards decency by trying to find the humanity behind the hate she experienced. She comes to the United States and immerses herself into the White Nationalist movement. Truthfully, you can not get more authentic experiences than what she went through. The timing of her arrival in the United States was uncanny. (She was filming during the horrible events in Virginia.)Vicious at first, and then the humanity slowly beings to arrive once interactions among enemies occurs. It was quite telling, and in my opinion the best example how we should confront hate. Isolation from these groups solidifies the hate, while interaction brings about change in personal values and insight. There is a transformation happening as she gets to know the leaders of the movements.

Why is this documentary so important?  Too often ,we choose rallies over personal contact. Dissent is often resolved on social media versus personal contact. Most people who hate have been victims of trauma. The hate comes from a space that all us have shared at one point in our life. It is difficult for humans to see the humanity in our actions, when actions are aggressive towards another human being. However, we have a responsibility to confront hate with compassion and understanding, as crazy as this statement must sound. Hate is often attributed to environment, and the best way to change the narrative is to introduce people to new environments. A very very powerful point that this documentary makes is we all have a responsibility to see the humanity in our actions, while judging the actions of others.

The Keepers

The Keepers is a documentary series on Netflix is important on many fronts. The series is a about the murder of Sister Cathy, a Roman Catholic nun who was a teacher in Baltimore Maryland. We are introduced to former students of Sister Cathy that clearly know there was a cover up of her death by the church and local political entities including law enforcement. How do they know? They were victims of abuse by the same person the possibly killed Sister Cathy.

What makes this documentary important is the detail of cover ups by the church and local officials. It is truly disturbing the great lengths the Roman Catholic church will go to to protect one of their own priests. The collaboration by local law enforcement demonstrates what lengths the cover ups can involve high ranking people in our community. The documentary also shows how clever the perpetrator of abuse uses a technique of building relationships in the community to protect them from being help accountable.

For the last 25-30 years, we have learned about the Roman Catholic cover ups. Globally as well as nationally, we have heard countless examples of abuse and cover ups. What this documentary explains is how it happens. Additionally, we learn the great lengths how a community can be powerless to stop abuse. The victims, go through a process of injustice and shame while the deviant personality creates a wall that can be impenetrable.

The documentary is important and provides a contrast to our nation's fascination with the current leader of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis. Our mainstream media has a love affair with this Pope which is based on his words, not actions. This is why people need to watch The Keepers. To understand that there are hundreds of thousands of victims that continue to be denied justice by the current Pope. The Pope's words are nothing but empty promises.

Until the Catholic Church takes responsibility for the actions of their clergy, we will continue to see cover ups and abuse. One of my favorite lines in the movie was from a former student who is in her late 60s. She said, 'I hope I can see the day that the person who murdered Sister Cathy is brought to justice." My heart ached, as she was an abuse survivor, She wanted justice for Sister Cathy, not herself. Even though. the person abused her and murdered Sister Cathy are the same person.. How powerful is her statement. Such a powerful testament to help us understand how trauma can last a lifetime if left unresolved, yet through hope the victims of trauma seek justice. Truly powerful.

Behind the Candelabra

Behind the Candelabra is a Home Box Office movie about the estranged life of Liberace. Liberace was portrayed in the movie as a man lost in his own world of sexual deviancy, and denial of his own sexuality. The movie is flawed, and this is why I am recommending it from a different critical lens.

If you believe the movie version of the life of Liberace, there was not much to admire. He was self-absorbed and used men repeatedly until he grew tired of them. His lavish lifestyle was repugnant. He enjoyed a lifestyle that glamorized wealth. He lived in a den of lies. People were not friends, they were acquaintances. His manager's role was to ensure this lifestyle went on uninterrupted, as best he could throughout Liberace's career.

Whether this was true or not, it is how the movie was delivered. That's the key to watching the movie. First, the stars portraying all the major roles are heterosexual. Scott Bakula, Michael Douglas, and Matt Damon headline the movie. This demonstrates HBO's motivation was profit, and not to help us understand the complexity of Liberace. Having these 3 actors play the roles is similar to Al Jolson wearing black face to portray African-Americans in the 1920s.

Do we really need heterosexual stars to relay the story of Liberace? How ironic when you think about the era that the movie is set in. The late 70s and 80s when gays were ostracized for seeking medical care for HIV. It is a slap in the face to ask the audience to sincerely reflect upon this time, when the main characters lack the depth themselves to understand the problem. Watching Damon and Douglas feels uncomfortable. Where they acting or perpetuating a stereotype? It is kind of surprising especially from Damon, who is the first to advocate for such causes of decency.

So why recommend the movie? Watch the movie and realize what was lost in opportunity. The director should have given insight into root cause and effect. Liberace was bullied as a child. He was chased by tabloids long before the movie suggests. (Dating back to his first lawsuit in the 1950s) This form of harassment was the reason for the lies and deceit. He had to protect his assets by pretending to be a heterosexual. This was the reason for his behavior. This was a lost opportunity. Instead, the movie choose to have a Wolf on Wall Street approach to telling the story.

Liberace was a complicated part of Hollywood history. The movie demonstrates that Hollywood still has a way to go regarding civil rights for people who are in the LGBTQ community. Low pay and and underground cinema are still the norm. When Hollywood casts stars like Damon and Douglas to tell a story, they send a message that gay men were not good enough to play the roles. In a sense, the story of Liberace is showcased by the discrimination in castings. Make millions by keeping a secret, or come out and have Matt Damon make the millions for you. That's why this movie is so powerful.

Evil Genius - (Lack there of....)

Evil Genius is a documentary on Netflix about a very strange incident in Erie Pa. The incident I am speaking to is a bank robbery that happened in the early 2000's. There were many complexities including a beheading to distract law enforcement. The documentary is a continuation of Netflix's fascination with complex criminal justice cases. The series in my opinion is flawed and dangerous on many fronts.

The documentary focuses on one woman, the supposed "Evil Genius." It is clear by the marketing and branding that the producers want us to believe the main character is evil, and that people can be entrapped by her evil. In a sense, people somehow lack free will, and gravitate towards evil. Somehow, Erie Pa had an evil force in it's mist without ever realizing it existed. I am pretty sure the community knew about the suspect. However, the direction of the documentary is that evil lurks, and we somehow never knew it was there....

There is a danger to this simplicity. Many people watching this documentary will come to the conclusion that we live in a world of good v. evil, versus a world of circumstance and environment. The documentary is void of humanity. Instead, it lowers our intelligence. It oversimplifies the good v. evil analogy.

Documentaries are supposed to be about the documentation about the event versus the emotions of the event. The series manipulates the viewer with clever sound bites from our media, and melodramatic music. The artwork on the poster is evil. Law and Order type graphics throughout the entire documentary. I was waiting for the 'bum bum bum bum" music from the show at times. The purpose of these type of cinematic props is to convince the audience this woman was surely "evil." This is not a documentary, it is a commentary.

Another critical lens could have taken this series in an entirely different direction. Erie Pennsylvania had a Mental Health crisis. People struggling with Mental Health were most likely medicated, versus therapeutically treated. In fact, I found it interesting after watching the documentary how much efforts have shifted in Erie Pa. So much that the local United Way shifted  funding to early intervention and mental health related services in 2018 for children in this region. (http://www.goerie.com/news/20180121/erie-united-way-wont-renew-dozens-of-agency-grants)
Erie Pa. ignored their most vulnerable population and paid a heavy price. That is the lesson to be learned.

Evil Genius is not the correct title for this documentary. It should have been titled, "Mental Health Crisis in Erie Pa." Even the local law enforcement lacked the proper understanding of mental health. They let a man get his head blown off while clearly he was asking for help. There was so much to learn from this tragic event and the people involved in such acts. We as a society should be asking, "What are the antecedents for deviant behavior?" Instead, we attribute it to good v. evil. This cheapens our approach to mental health in my opinion.

The good v. evil analogy is similar to the recent outrage of our President calling a gang "animals." Labels strip away at our humanity. My suggestion, see for yourself. Watch the documentary and imagine if it was titled, "Mental Health Crisis in Erie" with the subtext, "Community Experiences Tragic Event Due to the lack of Mental Health Screenings and Services." Eliminate the music, and melodrama, and we could of had one heck of a learning experience about how our country can prevent the tragic events we witness every day that traumatize our nation. The bottom line, lost opportunity for learning Netflix. Shame on you....(And I love your documentaries)

Patient 17

Patient 17 is an interesting documentary regarding evidence that an advanced life form may be monitoring us. It is the story of a surgeon, who claims to remove highly advanced implants from humans. The implants are embedded by Aliens without our knowing, until our body begins to reject the technology via illness and pain. This technology is part of a larger story regarding abductions from non humans that are monitoring the earth.

For some, the documentary is a stretch. After all, a doctor armed with a patient, a scalpel, black lights and a stud finder may seem to be a bit odd. What comes to question right away is the authenticity of the claims. However, the implants are examined and some of the components are very complicated and not of this earth. This leads the viewer to ask, "how did this unknown technology become implanted into the victims?"

Documentaries like this, when viewed with an open mind help us ask questions about their own existence. They will questions whether other civilizations exist outside of our solar system. If they exists, are they friendly, more advanced, or studying our situation on earth. Al great questions that lead us to a path of enlightenment that advanced civilizations may already be here.