tMARCH IO

THE VELDT—

ARKANGEL

Screenshots shown
Screenshots shown
Screenshots shown

BRAINSTORM

- In the veldt, the kids are brought up and raised by the artificial Intelligence in the house.
However, the kids spent most of their time in the nursery as well which portrays as a
parent to both the children. The nursey represents whatever the kids think of.
- The story revolves around an artificial intelligence controlled house. The kids depend on
the house, to spend their time and take care of them.
- Arkangel- he is the producer of black mirror and the writer of arkangel
- The mother Marie
Good Morning, My name is Arundhati Banerjee, I am in 11th grade and this is my English IO.
Today I will be discussing “The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury and “Arkangel”, which is an episode from
Black mirror, produced and written by Charlie Brooker. I have chosen the global issue of power
and more specifically how parental power can cause negative effects not only on the child but
also relationships within the family unit.

Okay, in The Veldt we see a family of four living in a smart house, containing machines from
automatic bath scrubbers to self-massaging beds . The house also includes a room, known as
the nursery, that replicates your thoughts into real life visuals. In the short story, the lack of
parental power has caused the children to completely and utterly rely on the nursery for all
needs rather than their actual parents.

Whereas in Arkangel we see that the mother’s excessive power over her daughter through
technology ruins a mother-daughter relationship and also shows a form of betrayal. In the
episode, the mother inserts a chip in her daughters brain, through which she can control what
her daughter sees and what she does not. The writer has also written similar texts such as Be
right back, which shows how cloning can also lead to a destructive relationship.

The excerpt that I have chosen for The Veldt is a conversation between George and Lydia, the
parents of Peter and Wendy, who come to the realization that the nursery has become a more
important source of entertainment, care and love for the children rather than themselves.

So the extract begins with George and Lydia rushing into the house after having a horrific
experience in a veldt in Africa with lions feeding on a zebra, projected by the nursery through
the children’s thoughts. In an instant it comes as a shock to the parents but also to the readers
to know that young children are thinking about death and killing, which should be horrifying for
kids their age. We see that the lack of parental power has caused the children to think and
imagine whatever they want. We are shown that, if not under parental supervision, technology
could be misused, and this is exactly what is happening.

Knowing this, if we look at Arkangel, we notice that the theme is the total opposite. we can see
that Marie is trying to protect her daughter from all violence and inappropriate visuals by
blurring her vision. In the first screenshot chosen, we see that Marie blurs out Sara’s vision,
when they are walking past a very aggressive and ferocious dog. At this point, the use of a
“point of view” camera angle is shown along with a muffled bark. This can be considered as a
sound motif. As the picture got blurry the sound also became softer and less harsh. Both
Diegetic and non-Diegetic sounds were used in this scene. The audience was able to hear the
barking and the intense background music, while the characters could only hear the barking.
We understand that Marie is trying to protect Sara, however she takes It to extreme lengths by
imposing on her freedom and acting very overprotective of her.
Furthermore, if we look at The Veldt, we see that not only has the nursery taken over all of the
children’s time, but it is also ruining the relationship between their parents, and they do not
have control over it. In the excerpt, Lydia complains about having nothing to do. She states that
they bought the house, so they wouldn’t have to do anything. Not having to do anything,
means relying on someone or something else, which leads to losing control and power.
Bradbury shows that since the house is so technologically advanced, the parents have almost
become useless and unnecessary. As mentioned before, the nursery gives out a motherly vibe
for the children and they spend all their time in the nursery anyway. This leads to Lydia and
George becoming afraid because for so many years, the house, the nursery has raised the kids.
The mother did not have to lift a finger. The children devote their whole time to the nursery
rather than their parents, which makes it seem as though the family is falling apart. Effectively,
the kids are distancing themselves from the parents. It is like there is a wall between them. It
seems to indicate that it is now high time the parents got their control and power back and live
normally.

Looking back on Arkangel, the theme continues to be at the opposite end of the spectrum as
compared to the Veldt. Looking at the second screenshot, we see that the mother is always
with her daughter. She is always playing, teaching and taking care of her daughter, Sara. She
has full control over everything that Sara does from checking on how many cookies she takes
from the cupboard to what she does in her own bedroom. In this scene, Sara chats with her
friends about a fight turning bloody, which, however, is blurred out. When she comes home,
she is curious to see blood properly for herself. She goes to the extent of stabbing herself with a
pencil, the blood from the finger is censored by the chip and mother rushes in to help. The
screenshot provides a “point of view” camera angle. The viewers are able to see the bloody
finger. However, the finger is blurred out for the viewers and for the character, which appears
to be a form of avoidance of anything gory or shocking. There is the use of an intense and eerie
background music which is completely non-Diegetic. We see that the mother is too intrusive in
her daughter’s life and pretty much causes Sara to hurt herself to see blood. The blurring of the
blood also symbolizes mothers feel that children should not see or be near violence, or even
feel it. We notice that since the mother has been so involved in Sara’s life, it has come to the
point where not knowing where her daughter is, gives her anxiety and stress.

Lastly, in The Veldt, the parents are fed up with the nursery. This is not only because the
nursery is taking up the kids’ time but also because it is slowly becoming dangerous for the kids.
Lydia and George decide that the only way to stop worsening the situation is for the nursery to
shut down. They make a collective decision of going on a vacation and being away from the
house. We see now that the parents are take this matter in their hands and taking over the
power from the nursery by playing a more personal parenting role. To me it seems that taking a
vacation may be a somewhat unusual solution to the problem, but perhaps quite effective. I
think it will definitely benefit the children to move away from technology for a while to
appreciate doing things on their own, away from the comfort of the nursery. It will probably
also help the George and Lydia re-evaluate their position as parents and be more meaningful
for the children. They need to show the children that they bring in other humane aspects as
compared to the nursery such as providing love and care.

In Arkangel, we see an opposite reaction from Marie, as she decides to lose control of her
daughter, by stopping use of the chip and monitor. This scene is found between the times 21:03
to 21:07. The use of a “eye-level” camera angle is provided with a transition to a “close up”
camera angle on Sara. The background music is repeated from before. This occurs when Marie
and Sara visit the therapist, after Sara purposefully stabbed her own finger. The therapist
recommends that Marie stops controlling Sara and Marie accepts this. Marie stops intruding
into Sara’s personal life. Brooker provides evidence showing that Marie stops using the control,
giving the viewers a sense of satisfaction and relief. However, ultimately Marie is unable to stay
away, leading to a destructive mother-daughter relationship.

It is funny to see how the tables have turned because through my extracts, we can see that in
The Veldt the parents begin to gain control, while in Arkangel, Marie stops controlling her
daughter.