Nosedive

• Finding purpose in a purposeless world
• Those who conform to the superficialities and inauthenticity of society prosper (Naomi), while those who don’t partake in the masquerade and see the world for what it actually is languish at the bottom of the societal hierarchy (Susan, Lacie towards the end)
  • However, the fake people live in a make-believe world and are oblivious to reality (Is ignorance really bliss?), while those who don’t have to worry about their ratings are free to do whatever they want, such as scream insults (as Lacie and her fellow prisoner do at the end)
• The expectations society places on us generally outweigh our moral conscience and deter us from doing good
• There are two worlds within one: a superficial and authentic one
  • The outsiders ultimately have a firmer grip on reality, as they manage to see through society’s facade

Shut Up and Dance

• Do the ends justify the means?
  • It’s agreed upon that we should punish those who do wrong, but at what point are we allowed to take justice into our own hands?
  • All those part of the ‘dance’ did something wrong, and they’ve been thrust into the game by someone who clearly feels they have the right to adjudicate justice
  • Kenny ultimately ‘wins’ the game, but is still caught and reported
    • There are no winners when you’ve done something wrong; nowhere to hide from your past actions
• Conflict between spirit of teamwork and self-interest when two people are faced with a common enemy
  • Hector realizes he has to work with Kenny to get out of this and mostly cooperates, but selfishness prevails when he insists on being the driver, leaving Kenny to perform the much more dangerous task of robbing the bank

Hated in the Nation

• A question of morality; who is ‘good’ and who is ‘bad’?
  • The people being targeted by #DeathTo: They’re being targeted because they’ve done bad things and/or are viewed unfavourably by the public, but ultimately become martyrs and would be seen in a much more positive light in retrospect
  • The people using #DeathTo: They’d like to think they’re good as they see themselves as bringing people to justice, but can definitely be seen as bad as they’re essentially casting death spells upon people they’ve never met, which is a less than ideal thing to do
  • The person behind it all: The episode’s antagonist and obviously a ‘bad guy’ for killing over 300,000 people, but he would argue that he was just cleansing the barrel of all the bad apples; that people who wish for others to die deserve to be punished