In a Twisted Civil Society
In a Twisted Civil Society
The image I have chosen from this episode embodies the episode as a whole. The main character, Victoria, is shown in the middle. She is wearing a plain gray sweatshirt and similar but lighter gray pants. Her face is a bit distorted by the glass that she is entrapped in, but viewers can still tell that her hair is up in a messy ponytail or bun and her face seems to be showing distress. Her hands are placed on the chair as if they could be strapped down, her feet have also been placed in this similar position. There is also a noticeable light that is outlining the capsule she has been placed in. Illuminating her figure in the stark contrast of the dark surrounding her. This is definitely a sign and symbol of what is happening to her. Moving to the outside of this capsule, it can be seen that there are figures surrounding Victoria. There are four silhouettes directly in the foreground of this image that can be seen carrying Victoria glass prison. Moving outwards there are grey barrier fences put up. Almost as if there is some sort of parade going on, keeping the common people and majority of the population outside of this specific space. There are signs these people are holding and it can be seen that all of their attention is directed towards Victoria in the middle of the street. Everyone has paused and gathered to see this spectacle occur. Lastly, the lighting is something to be noticed. There are little circular lights that are hanging on the grey barriers, as well as more hanging from what looks to be light posts. This entire street has been lit and set up for this parade, leading one to believe it is a celebration for the capture of Victoria.
“The Civil Sphere” written by Alexander aimed to answer the question as to how communities continue to maintain social cohesion in times of strife. This strife mostly being due to America’s diverse communities with different points of view. Alexander was a radical student at Harvard University. He participated as a journalist and New Left activism during his time there. Alexander was interested in how communities maintained cohesion through times where it does not seem like anyone can see outside of themselves. His response to this was to create the idea that cultures are more important when thinking about conflict because these are the groups that are hit, but the collective that has a response and supports one another. The civil sphere by definition is a distinct realm of social life that has its own cultural ideals and creates something good monetarily. This definition is going to mean that social life is based on the cultural logic one is taught. Making the collective bias greater than one may have thought of before. Collective ideas are extremely important and ingrained in people's minds. Specifically class and cultural solidarity are two major ideas in this article. Alexander argues that the way we think is shaped by the institutions we surround ourselves with. Our sense of belonging comes directly from our culture and institutions.
When talking about the civil sphere this past week, this episode can be seen as a good example of this. The woman wakes up from a state of losing her entire memory, possibly by anesthesia, and as she begins walking around realizes she is being videotaped by everyone around her. The way this episode relates to civil society is the example of Victoria being the only one breaking past the barrier of civil society, aka the people videotaping her. Eventually, she finds people who are, like her, aware of their surroundings. Providing the example of a culture that is funded through the connection with other people. The connection to see past the screens and devalue social stigma of looking at their technology binds them together, leading them to become a unit with the same goal to take down whatever is causing this. However, by the end of the episode, we learn the woman we have been rooting for the entire time really has created this world for herself. In relation to Alexander discusses the idea of justice in the sense of the law and how it interacts with society. This episode has created the idea of if everyday people were allowed to torture one another for what has been done, which is why the protagonist felt crazy a majority of the episode. In addition to the image shown above, when the citizens have finally caught her for her serious crimes and put her back in the bubble to do this all over again, like a game almost. Putting justice into the hands of the people would in most realities go over very poorly, this one however is monitored and because Victoria has no idea what has happened in the past, it protects the humans participating in the game, as well as herself. Civil society in this realm means those who continue to punish, even when the crime has been forgotten.
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