The sci-fi anthology series Black Mirror, created by Charlie Brooker, featured Jodie Foster’s directorial contribution in season 4, episode 2, “Arkangel” accompanied by backlash for its controversial contents. It goes beyond the concept of overbearing parenting to crossing a line into absolute control over a child’s personal and physiological decision making. The episode follows a single mother named Marie (Rosemarie DeWitt) who implants her daughter, Sara, with the Arkangel monitoring system. Beyond helicopter parenting, Brooker and Foster’s collaborative handling of the subject matter resulted in “Arkangel” becoming one of the series’ most controversial to date.
The technology allows for her to see through Sara’s eyes and dictate what she can and cannot see. Marie is also able to see her daughter’s health stats as well as set blocking restrictions similar to season 2, episode 4, “White Christmas”. Eventually, doctors and physicians collectively ban the device, but it remains implanted in Sara. Despite choosing not to use the Arkangel, as Sara becomes distrustful as a teenager, Marie uses it to monitor her once more. She discovers that her daughter is doing drugs and having sex with a young man named Trick, played by Owen Teague (IT: Chapter One).
As it progresses, the Arkangel system alerts Marie that Sara has become pregnant. She decides to sneak an emergency contraceptive pill into her drink when her daughter wakes up in the morning for breakfast. At school that day, Sara gets sick and goes to the nurse’s office where she is informed that it is the result of the contraceptive that is used for “terminating your pregnancy”. Audience members immediately took to social media to discuss the issues with the series’ statement that this is the purpose of using emergency contraceptives.
The Controversy Of Misinformation In “Arkangel”
Emergency contraceptives such as Plan-B are used to stop a pregnancy from happening. When taken less than 72-hours after sex, it prevents the fertilization of an egg. It is in no way capable of causing a miscarriage or terminating a pregnancy. For over 50 years, reproductive health pertaining to abortion, emergency contraceptives, and birth control have been attacked with proposed legislature aimed at restricting access or removing the options all together. By stating that an emergency contraceptive was used to terminate Sara’s pregnancy, “Arkangel” spread misinformation about its true purpose and further stigmatized its use.
When it premiered, reproductive rights organizations critiqued its gross conflation with abortion and emergency contraception. One of the biggest issues brought up by audience members was the fact that Jodie Foster, a woman, played a hand in this particular episode and must take responsibility for allowing the misinformation to be present. While fans were initially overjoyed by the news that the iconic Jodie Foster was involved in a Black Mirror episode, they were let down by the lack of research and thought put into the use of emergency contraception which created the controversy that now surrounds “Arkangel”.
Ultimately, no statement was ever made by Netflix, Chris Carter, or Jodie Foster on the controversial episode. While Black Mirror is known to revisit technology featured in previous episodes, it is safe to say that they may stay away from “Arkangel” for quite some time.