Black Mirror: Arkangel

Rating: 3/10 (boo)
1. The idea was excellent, but was poorly developed.
2. The plot had way too many loopholes and blanks making it unable to support a decent debate.
3. Camerawork and graphics were great.

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In this episode of Black Mirror, director Jodie Foster tried his best to depict the potential dangers we face from the advent of new technology and parents' over-protection, but failed to make a valid point.

All the tragedy in this story is entirely the mother's fault; it was her stupidity, not her protectiveness that triggered it. Marie, the mother, was perfectly aware of the fact that the Arkangel is irremovable; yet she decided to plant it in her daughter's body anyway, thereby imprisoning her in the surveillance of others and depriving her of her liberty for the rest of her life. This is key; no parent would think of controlling their children into adulthood, yet with the Arkangel in the body, it is inevitable for that to happen. It was a tremendously irrational decision to make even for the most protective parents. As Sara grows and develops curiosity for the things censored from her, Marie decides to turn the system off (which was too late, considering the mentions in the dialogue that Europe had already banned the Arkangel and further development was cancelled);  she is obviously mistaken to think that stashing the tablet in the attic will do the trick, since she predictably returns to the device when Sara worried her. Destroying the tablet wouldn't have been suffice, since the implant remains hackable; if Marie sincerely intended to become independent of the Arkangel, hiding the tablet wouldn't have been her move.

As such, there are critical flaws in the setting of the story. This is what I thought messed up the film most; the ludicrous background made it hard to take the dilemma seriously. Clearly, the writer didn't think this through and focused on the debate, but had he given the Arkangel a better function, it would have earned better ratings from me.

Despite the drawbacks above, the audience still had some things to chew on. Assuming the Arkangel is reasonable and doesn't have the ridiculous features like censoring and being unable to extract, is a parenting device that delivers the location and health status information of the child reasonable? Is the Arkangel helpful for proper parenting, or is it just another form of privacy breaching? Did the Arkangel cause Sara's rebellious behavior, or was Sara herself to blame? Again, forgetting that Marie made highly unrealistic decisions, I think that it is understandable for a parent to want to use this device. However, the child should be informed of this, and the device should be removed whenever the child wants. Not only is it a serious breach of privacy, but it will also negatively influence the child's education. Obviously, the censoring of violent and inappropriate content is absurd, since everyone has to be exposed to such content at some point in their life.

This is a photo of the dog that constantly gets censored by the Arkangel. Seriously, what's wrong with a dog doing what dogs do?

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Memoir (Assignment 1)

This piece is the second draft of an in-class assignment I wrote before. The prompt was to write "anything," but start every sentence with "I remember." After the first class, the rule was slightly lifted for the second draft, but I was quite fond of my original text, so I didn't change a lot.

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I remember waiting the elevator with a suitcase in each hand, staring at the beige apartment door I will never see again. I remember the taxi ride to Incheon, and the farewells I had to make with my friends and family. I remember getting off a different taxi, this time on an unfamiliar night street in Paris, and how awed yet dreadful I felt about my surroundings and future. I remember the desperate feeling of being rescued when we were warmly welcomed by a fellow Korean lady in our temporary guest house. I remember being horrified by the littered pigeon and dog feces on the streets the next day; the countless beggars, the supermarkets that seemed impossible to access compared to the 24-hour convenience stores in Korea. I remember dreading the 3 years I had to spend in the alien land, and the number of times I whined to my parents about wanting to go home.
Then I remember starting school and making friends. I remember their faces and the conversations we had: Fraser Cowie, from Scotland, and our common interest in Star Wars and legos; Rintaro Oi, from Japan, who seemed to like everything I liked; Kiwhan Youn, a fellow Korean who I am still closest friends with. I remember the times I spent with this group, digging holes and looking for insects in break time, acing every math and science class, sometimes getting scolded for running around with big stones in the school forest.

I remember the journeys I had with my family all around Europe during the very long vacations of French schools; the amazing chateaus that I used to think were useless piles of rubble, the beautiful buildings of Gaudi under the glaring Spanish sun, the famous German food that everyone loves but me, the Gondola rides and glass ornaments of Venice, the ferry trip along the Nile in Egypt where I spent half the time sick in the bathroom, and possibly my favorite: the glorious glaciers and waterfalls of Iceland, the wild whales we encountered and all the other natural wonders I thought I were the only one who knew the existence of.

I remember the kind French neighbors, my private French teacher who came every Thursdays, and the baker downstairs I always met to buy a fresh baguette for my family's breakfast every Saturday at 10 in the morning. I remember how beautiful the Seine and the Eiffel Tower looked whenever I was on my way to the Louvre for art lessons.

I remember all the other things I forgot. I remember how much I had grown fond of the alien land, the dog poop, and the beggars by the time I had to leave. I remember my 3 years in Paris, and how I'd do anything to revisit.

I remember the happiest days of my life.

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