# Black Mirror S04 E06 — “Black Museum” — open spoilers **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 3, 2018, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-mirror-s04-e06-black-museum-open-spoilers/805806 "2018-01-03T18:00:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2018, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-mirror-s04-e06-black-museum-open-spoilers/805806/21 "2018-01-03T23:54:53Z")
I actually find it amusingly ironic that for all its bleak depictions about possible futures of technology, _Black Mirror_ has been surprisingly optimistic about interracial relationships. We’ve seen multiple examples over the episodes where it’s completely unremarkable and depicted as such. We’ve even seen lesbian relationships depicted as unremarkable. It literally was a throwaway moment in _Hang the DJ_. I don’t recall any gay male relationships given any attention, but still. It’s just so weird to tune into such a dark show and get cheering depictions of such things. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-mirror-s04-e06-black-museum-open-spoilers/805806/22 "2018-01-04T11:15:06Z")
> [@Jacquernagy](#): > > I felt that putting her into the stuffed animal (a monkey, not a bear, actually), was horrifically cruel. I think a reasonably empathetic person, under those circumstances, would inquire if there was some other option in between “deletion” and transferring her into a pathetic inanimate object capable of only communicating two phrases. I know exactly what I would be asking the doctor in that situation. Yes this literally could not possibly be the best situation and shows the assholishness of everyone except Carrie involved in this decision. I’ll assume that at this point it’s impossible for them to create an inanimate object that can receive more than 3 inputs (Monkey Loves you, monkey needs a hug and not pressing anything at all). Just using the 2 active inputs it would be trivially easy to create a system that enabled Carrie to give fleshed out thoughts. Carrie could learn Morse code or some other system and a device could then display what she’d written for easy use by the recipient. The fact such facilities were not made available and she ended up locked in a glass case in a museum is horrifying. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-mirror-s04-e06-black-museum-open-spoilers/805806/23 "2018-01-04T11:23:07Z")
> [@Jacquernagy](#): > > I even wondered if the _title_ of the episode was a racial reference. Obviously the show itself is called “Black Mirror” […] The Wikipedia article for the episode also notes that there is a real-life Scotland Yard museum of crime artifacts called the “Black Museum”. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-mirror-s04-e06-black-museum-open-spoilers/805806/24 "2018-01-04T13:55:09Z")
> [@Mr\_Shine](#): > > Yes this literally could not possibly be the best situation and shows the assholishness of everyone except Carrie involved in this decision. I’ll assume that at this point it’s impossible for them to create an inanimate object that can receive more than 3 inputs (Monkey Loves you, monkey needs a hug and not pressing anything at all). Just using the 2 active inputs it would be trivially easy to create a system that enabled Carrie to give fleshed out thoughts. Carrie could learn Morse code or some other system and a device could then display what she’d written for easy use by the recipient. The fact such facilities were not made available and she ended up locked in a glass case in a museum is horrifying. Did they ever say what happened with Carrie? They clearly showed the girl’s mother in the monkey at the end, but I don’t remember if they said they took out Carrie or not. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-mirror-s04-e06-black-museum-open-spoilers/805806/25 "2018-01-04T14:02:29Z")
> [@Edward\_The\_Head](#): > > Did they ever say what happened with Carrie? They clearly showed the girl’s mother in the monkey at the end, but I don’t remember if they said they took out Carrie or not. The girl’s mother was in the girl. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-mirror-s04-e06-black-museum-open-spoilers/805806/26 "2018-01-04T14:06:36Z")
> [@Mr\_Shine](#): > > The girl’s mother was in the girl. Was she? I thought she was in the monkey as the girl was carrying the monkey at the end and put it in the seat next to her. I thought the monkey also said “Monkey loves you” after that. If the mother was in the girl it wasn’t clear to me. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-mirror-s04-e06-black-museum-open-spoilers/805806/27 "2018-01-04T14:10:16Z")
The monkey can only use two phrases - ‘monkey loves you’ (the positive one) and ‘monkey needs a hug’ (the negative). ‘Monkey loves you’ in this case translates as ‘good damn job’. The monkey was still Claire, and Nish’s mom was in Nish. She rescued Claire because a) someone needs to do something about her being trapped in a 2-sentence monkey, and b) burning her alive is not it. Presumably, she’s heading off to St. Juniper to have her mom and Claire transferred into San Junipero. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-mirror-s04-e06-black-museum-open-spoilers/805806/28 "2018-01-04T14:10:27Z")
> [@Edward\_The\_Head](#): > > Was she? I thought she was in the monkey as the girl was carrying the monkey at the end and put it in the seat next to her. I thought the monkey also said “Monkey loves you” after that. If the mother was in the girl it wasn’t clear to me. Nish clearly understood her mother to a level beyond the monkey loves you/needs a hug binary. Also when Nish put on her shades you can see from her mum’s perspective them going on and from our perspective them going on Nish. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-mirror-s04-e06-black-museum-open-spoilers/805806/29 "2018-01-04T14:12:03Z")
> [@Edward\_The\_Head](#): > > Was she? I thought she was in the monkey as the girl was carrying the monkey at the end and put it in the seat next to her. I thought the monkey also said “Monkey loves you” after that. If the mother was in the girl it wasn’t clear to me. When Nish gets into the car, she looks at herself in the rearview mirror and her mother is shown giving her the thumbs up and a “you did good, baby”. Nish takes the monkey for the same reason why she set her father free: compassion. We can assume she’s going to try to give Carrie a chance at happiness. ---
**Author:** ![snoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@snoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snoe)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-mirror-s04-e06-black-museum-open-spoilers/805806/30 "2018-01-04T15:07:32Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > When Nish gets into the car, she looks at herself in the rearview mirror and her mother is shown giving her the thumbs up and a “you did good, baby”. > > Nish takes the monkey for the same reason why she set her father free: compassion. We can assume she’s going to try to give Carrie a chance at happiness. Hopefully they will have lots of adventures on the road. Thelma & Louise, but three of them, and minus the tragic ending (knock wood). There are some resonances with “San Junipero,” now that I think about it… What do people think about the idea that the Black Museum (the place, not the episode) is a kind of dark, evil synecdoche\* of the series? Rolo, the teller of dark/violent/sad stories, as a stand-in for Brooker & Co.\*\* Until the reveal of Nish’s true intentions, she’s an audience stand-in. (She even knows that there’s going to be a “but” — a Black Mirror twist — in each of the stories. Do I remember rightly that she starts saying that after experiencing the first story? In other words, she becomes a knowledgeable/experienced Black Mirror viewer?) - Lemme know if I’m using that term wrong. \*\*ETA: I mean, Rolo is all about “tech,” just like Brooker et al! ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-mirror-s04-e06-black-museum-open-spoilers/805806/31 "2018-01-04T20:34:35Z")
> [@Lightray](#): > > I actually find it amusingly ironic that for all its bleak depictions about possible futures of technology, _Black Mirror_ has been surprisingly optimistic about interracial relationships. We’ve seen multiple examples over the episodes where it’s completely unremarkable and depicted as such. > > We’ve even seen lesbian relationships depicted as unremarkable. Hello! HELLO! the 21st century is calling. Fwiw, it’s pretty fascinating observing Americans talk about this stuff - can’t remember I last heard someone say “interracial”, maybe 20 years ago or something. ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-mirror-s04-e06-black-museum-open-spoilers/805806/32 "2018-01-04T21:12:26Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > Hello! HELLO! the 21st century is calling. > > Fwiw, it’s pretty fascinating observing Americans talk about this stuff - can’t remember I last heard someone say “interracial”, maybe 20 years ago or something. Well, I do live in Missouri. I wouldn’t exactly place racial relations hereabouts into the 21st century. But for this episode in particular, I think there’s a difference in interpretation between American and UK/European sensibilities about how racially focused any of its particular storylines are. And, by the way 21st century: Why the erasure of gay guys on the show, if it’s okay to show gay women in relationships? ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-mirror-s04-e06-black-museum-open-spoilers/805806/33 "2018-01-04T22:03:33Z")
I guess my point is really about Brooker. He’s lived in London most of his adult life, he’s married to a second generation Indian, he just doesn’t give skin colour a second thought. It’s not a thing anymore. ---
**Author:** ![snoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@snoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snoe)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-mirror-s04-e06-black-museum-open-spoilers/805806/34 "2018-01-04T22:49:23Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > I guess my point is really about Brooker. He’s lived in London most of his adult life, he’s married to a second generation Indian, he just doesn’t give skin colour a second thought. > > It’s not a thing anymore. It’s still a thing in the US, IMHO. And I’d guess that interracial couples in the UK would generally agree it’s a thing over there, but I’ll defer to their accounts of their experiences. Brooker co-wrote a season finale that is — probably — dealing with race in a deep way. He and his fellow writers absolutely pay attention to skin color. As I read the series, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-mirror-s04-e06-black-museum-open-spoilers/805806/35 "2018-01-05T00:09:42Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > It’s not a thing anymore. You do realize that the rest of the world watched the anti-immigrant/foreigner rhetoric that led up to Brexit, right? So we’re pretty much aware that London-and-the-UK are _not_ post-racism quite yet. It may not be the same brand of racism that we see in the US, but it’s still a pretty bold move for someone writing a show based on predicting future trends to depict a future where it ain’t no big thing; cause we’re not there _yet_. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2018, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-mirror-s04-e06-black-museum-open-spoilers/805806/36 "2018-01-07T22:26:26Z")
Brexit was about racism? It’s too idiotic to waste time on. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-mirror-s04-e06-black-museum-open-spoilers/805806/37 "2018-01-15T20:58:22Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > I guess my point is really about Brooker. He’s lived in London most of his adult life, he’s married to a second generation Indian, he just doesn’t give skin colour a second thought. > > It’s not a thing anymore. Charlie Brooker clearly does give “skin colour” a second thought and that’s not a bad thing. As has been noted, racism rather clearly is still a thing in the UK and Europe and I say that as someone of Middle Eastern descent who’s spent time in the UK. > [@](#): > > Brexit was about racism? It’s too idiotic to waste time on. Respectfully, the idea that Brexit “wasn’t” about racism is an idea too idiotic to waste time on. You might as well claim that Trump’s election had nothing to do with racism or sexism. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-mirror-s04-e06-black-museum-open-spoilers/805806/38 "2018-01-15T21:16:12Z")
I think most of the _younger_ generation in the UK is now almost color blind. But the votes in favor of Brexit were largely attributable to the generally mild but pervasive and ingrained racism of the older generation. The Brexit vote was massively split by age group. > **[Britain’s youth voted Remain](https://www.politico.eu/article/britains-youth-voted-remain-leave-eu-brexit-referendum-stats/)** > > Three quarters of British voters aged 24 and under voted against Brexit. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-mirror-s04-e06-black-museum-open-spoilers/805806/39 "2018-01-15T22:32:18Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > I think most of the _younger_ generation in the UK is now almost color blind.] This is certainly a popular view among white people but I don’t think it’s true in either the US or the UK and I think most Muslims and South Asians in the UK would dispute it. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-mirror-s04-e06-black-museum-open-spoilers/805806/40 "2018-01-15T22:50:01Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > This is certainly a popular view among white people but I don’t think it’s true in either the US or the UK and I think most Muslims and South Asians in the UK would dispute it. Yes, I used to naively think the same thing about the young generation in the U.S., until the last couple of years showed me otherwise. You’re fooling yourself if you think the UK is any different. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-mirror-s04-e06-black-museum-open-spoilers/805806.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-mirror-s04-e06-black-museum-open-spoilers/805806.md?page=3)