In the television series Black Mirror there is a particularly striking episode titled "White Bear". In this episode a women wakes up with no memory of her life during what appears to be a post-suicide attempt state. She leaves what the audience can assume to be her home after she finds a picture of a little girl she believes might be her daughter. The women is immediately taken back when she realizes the people she encounters will not help her or talk to her, but rather record her with their cell phones. She then realizes she is being chased by people with weapons throughout the course of the episode until it is revealed she is the subject of a theme park of sorts, and she is being punished for recording the murder of the little girl in the picture. Through the events of the episode, it becomes obvious the plot and symbols mimic events in history. By incorporating a bold symbol and torturous acts, "White Bear" is paralleling Nazism and portraying desensitization in an almost comical sense by the surreal level of carelessness of the audience members encountering the girl.. Audience members are left to question the purpose of the episode; is it appropriate to be parodying such controversial topics?

In order to find context in the use of symbolism for tortuous groups, the "History of the Swastika" revealed that the swastika has been an important symbol dating back to Neolithic Eurasia (History of). The article states the original meaning of the swastika is "good fortune" (History of). By the early 1920s, the swastika evolved to be a symbol of the pure Aryan state (History of). While the swastika was as a symbol for Nazi propaganda, it elicited two very different emotions; pride for most of the German state, or fear for those who did not fit the racially-pure Aryan image (History of). Today, the swastika symbol cannot be used in any connotation without arousing controversy. In "White Bear", a similarly bold symbol is used and equally promotes terror. Much like the swastika, the tetris-like symbol used in the Black Mirror episode originated as a harmless shape. The most important appearances of the symbol occurred as an image on television screens and computer screens, the gun-man's face mask, and finally ask the woman's fiance's tattoo.

As soon as the woman wakes up in the episode, the audience immediately is drawn to the symbol appearing on the television screen. Once the woman sees it she immediately gets a headache triggering small flashbacks. This headache occurs multiple times throughout the episode whenever the symbol appears on a screen. In relation to the symbol of Nazism, the swastika, the symbol brings emotional pain to those who see it, and were affected by Nazism. By incorporating a pain-inducing symbol, whether it being physical or emotional pain, it allows for the episode to be taken more seriously. Producers were right in choosing a bold symbol because it subconsciously pulls empathy for the audience members who are unknowingly being alluded to the swastika of the Nazis. 

Another appearance of the tetris-like symbol occurs on the mask of the gunman chasing the women. Since she had already been exposed to the symbol upon her waking, she already associated fear with that symbol. The swastika was also evident on all members of the Nazi party's uniforms. This occurrence parallels the "us versus them" feel that occurred during the Nazi party's reign which gives the audience members an idea of how terrifying it was to be approached by a uniformed and symbolled group.  Including the symbols on the uniforms furthered evidence of the allusion to Nazism in this Black Mirror episode. 

Towards the end of the episode, the origin of the symbol is revealed: a tattoo on the back of the woman's fiance's neck. While the tattoo may have originated as a harmless shape when the man got the tattoo, the second he murdered the little girl his tattoo became a symbol of crime and torture and a symbol that evokes fear. This history correlates exactly with the history of the swastika as it originated as a symbol of good luck. Today the swastika is only a symbol of controversy. Again, by using a bold, easily-recognizable symbol, audience members are bound to take the episode more seriously. 

In the article "Brutality- Desensitization Process Nearly Complete", the author is discussing the progressive desensitization of humans and the criteria for when this process is complete. Since the article was written in 1999, it claimed technological advances should allow for this process to be complete by the year 2001 (Brutality). Now being in 2015, it is obvious that the author could not be more correct. The author claims future Americans will be emotionless and incapable of empathy resulting in a society of war without regrets (Brutality). The Columbine Massacre is mentioned as a sign that the process is in its final stages; Americans being unaffected by violence and also acting violently, which serves as clear evidence of brutality-desensitization. More evidence the author mentions includes evolved horror films. He describes how the gore in movies today makes the films of his time appear tame. The most appalling claim in the article states that in a study, 9 year olds were able to fall asleep watching a shooting. In relation to the Black Mirror episode, the author of the article would say (whilst watching the episode) the dystopian society depicted is long past completing the desensitization process due to the entertainment this society receives from witnessing a live stage show torture and recording a murder.

At the end of the "White Bear" episode, the reasons behind the strange events of the episode are revealed. A room that is revealed to be a simulation physically turns around and an audience is present. It is revealed that the whole chase was occurring as a live stage act, with audience members histerically laughing and carrying on as if it was a comedy show. The "White Bear" episode is portraying a contradictory society; they believe this woman is evil and deserves punishment for recording the murder on her phone. In order to ensure she receives the most effective punishment possible, the White Bear Correctional Park was opened. The woman is tortured daily and people pay an admission to torture her or watch others torture her. By showing a society that has no regard of hypocrisy, the author of the Brutality article is proven to be correct in the theory of the process being complete. 

Another aspect of the episode that furthers the desensitization process being complete is the fact that the woman recorded the murder of the little girl on her cell phone. While this fact isn't revealed until the very end of the episode, it shows that a person is so unaffected by horrendous acts that they feel it is appropriate to pull their phone out and capture it on film. Throughout the episode the people follow the woman around without once looking away from their phone screen. Since the article was written before technology has evolved to what it is today, the author never could have predicted that desensitization would result in people recording and finding entertainment in someone's torture. However, the scenario depicted in the episode proves the process is long past completion.

In Black Mirror's "White Bear", a woman wakes up into a pre-determined, tortuous routine. Producers effortlessly recreated events from history in order to evoke an emotional response from viewers to force them to take the episode more seriously. By including a bold symbol and a society entertained by torture, Nazism was alluded to and the results of desensitization were exemplified. While these aspects were used to promote a serious tone, the episode itself appeared comical due to it being almost too similar to current and past events. 

