MovieChat Forums > Black Mirror (2011) Discussion > What people did in Shut Up and Dance

What people did in Shut Up and Dance

posted 8 years ago by svalinanikola
19 replies | jump to latest

I thought it was pretty obvious they all did different crimes, except for the kid and the guy he fought. They were both looking at child porn.

However, the others weren't looking at that stuff. The black guy is called a pervert but we have no idea what he did. I think they would've made it a little more clear if he too looked at child porn and those people wouldn't just call him a pervert for that.

That guy who was working with the kid did have a mistress, otherwise all that stuff with him wouldn't make much sense, all the evidence and stuff.

The woman was racist.

Why was this hard to understand?

[–] B-J-C 8 years ago

I'm not sure what your question is. Kenny and the man he fought were paedophiles, Hector was an adulterer (or was arranging to be one), the man on the scooter was some sort of 'pervert', although that could mean almost anything depending on who is using that word.

As for the woman, she could have been a racist, but usually people who are truly racist are either open about it and don't mind letting others know, or they're unaware of it. It's possible that she was the latter, but it's also possible that she made an innocent yet un-PC remark in an email and the hacker(s) leaked it and let the media draw their own conclusions.

[–] vjfoogie 8 years ago

Yeah. If you look hard enough everybody makes a "racist" comment some time in their life. Unless they know she was firing people for being black or something...they screwed her over pretty hard.

[–] svalinanikola 8 years ago

There's no question, I'm just surprised some people didn't understand those things, some thought they were all pedophiles.

[–] laurendorward-990-190608 8 years ago

some people clearly don't watch things properly. you're right of course.

[–] OratiaGlake (1259) 6 years ago

I found this one of the best Black Mirrors and was both shocked and disappointed (at Kenny) that Kenny turned out to have been looking at children for his pornography. I found it interesting that THEY would get a youth to ‘execute’ a paedophile when Kenny’s crime just seemed to be masterbation....but then it made sense.
However, THEY were only going to post the video of him masterbating, which of course would be embarrassing, but not what he was doing it to.

[–] ewilsonn 8 years ago

I know this is a stupid question but what defined the woman as racist?

[–] vjfoogie 8 years ago

The email said something (it is very briefly shown) about her making a comment about the black janitor. Something along the lines of monkey and can't do his job.

[–] ewilsonn 8 years ago

Oh Jesus I'd never noticed that, how awful. Thank you for clarifying!

[–] smidget28 (805) 7 years ago

The only one even remotely hard to understand was the guy on motorcycle. And, the crimes seem to be progressively worse, as we go....the woman is actually FIRST. She puts the keys and then she's done. The motorcyclist does the delivery and says, "You do what they say and you're out." So his "crime" is somewhere between the racist emails and the mistress. Depending on the family, his "perversion" COULD be that he is gay? I am not saying this is a perversion, but in some families, it might be treated as such. But IMHO, it's not as bad as the last two people. And, the older man, imho, could be an ACTIVE assailant, which is what Kenny might end up to be as he grows older.

[–] kellycallie (728) 7 years ago

The black guy was a ''cheater'' and the other man had a mistress. Both fairly normal if you ask me. The other two were pedophiles and deserved what they got. It would have only been may a few years before ''sweet kenny'' acted on his impulses.

[–] GotWood84 (384) 6 years ago

"It would have only been may a few years before ''sweet kenny'' acted on his impulses. "
You don't know that.

"The other two were pedophiles and deserved what they got."
Kenny was only looking at porn on the internet. He was "fantasizing." From what we know he never acted on his fantasies and he seemed attracted to his co worker who appeared to be older than him.

[–] Noufa (400) 6 years ago

"Only" looking at porn? I suspect you're trolling. But it was pornography involving children. Serious harm had already been done. Whether he was actively involved in the creation of the video is a legal distinction, not a moral one. Kenny was creating a demand for something evil.

Again, I realize you're probably just being contrarian. My point is that the plot doesn't really work if what he had done was NBD.

[–] GotWood84 (384) 6 years ago

So you believe the punishment fit the crime?
He was terrorized, forced to rob a bank AND fight to the death.

What did he do? He WATCHED an illegal video and masturbated. I don't care what the content was.

[–] Noufa (400) 6 years ago

He kept escalating to avoid consequences. First, acting as a "mule" with the cake. Then robbing a bank. And finally committing murder. The progressions all seemed understandable, in isolation. But it all sustains his identity as a child rapist. What are you supposed to do with someone like that?

I'm being easier on Kenny than you. He could have redeemed himself if he bit the bullet & reached out for help.

[–] GotWood84 (384) 6 years ago

"I'm being easier on Kenny than you."

How are you being easier on him than I? You're saying him being terrorized was justified and I'm saying it wasn't. He didn't deserve what was happening to him.

"But it all sustains his identity as a child rapist."

Point to the scene where he actually rapes a child.

[–] Noufa (400) 6 years ago

The blackmailer wouldn't be able to terrorize him if he admitted his crime. I'm not familiar with the UK legal system. But a confession holds serious weight in common law. If he turned himself in to legal authorities, he probably would have gotten off with counseling & probation. That's the whole tragedy of this story; it didn't have to be a big deal.

I am making an assumption that he would go on molest children first hand. But considering the lengths he went to cover up his kiddie porn history, it's not a stretch.

[–] SisterSuzy101 (367) 6 years ago

"But considering the lengths he went to cover up his kiddie porn history, it's not a stretch."

To be fair, Kenny didn't know he was going to as far as he did. When he first agreed to follow the hacker(s) instructions, he thought he was only going to drop a cake off at the other end of town. Heck, I'd do something as simple and harmless to prevent a video being leaked of me watching normal porn.
When it escalated from there, when he and Hector arrived at the bank with the task of robbing it, Kenny initially refused, only giving in when Hector put further pressure on him.

As for committing "murder". I'm sorry, but can you really call that murder? It was case of either kill or be killed, both of which Kenny was not willing to do. He even tried to run when the other pedo lunged at him. In fact, we don't actually know if Kenny succeeded in killing him or not, we just seem him limping away from the forest, tired and bloodied. It's perfectly possible he may have successfully subdued his opponent (with a rock most likely, hence the blood) rather than kill him.

[–] Noufa (400) 6 years ago

You have a point. They carefully groomed Kenny to do terrible things. But that's how most vices work. You do something dumb, get invested in it, then escalate to something even dumber. Kenny never shows the fortitude to break the cycle. Keep in mind that he was doing all this for a mere CHANCE to cover up his crime. The trolls had no incentive to keep their word.

I would call it murder. He tried to kill himself, which rules out self-defense as a motivation. It was more like "kill or be exposed".

This reminds me of a recent tragedy in Las Vegas. A woman got a manicure & tried to sneak away without paying for it. The salon owner saw her & tried to stop the getaway by standing in the way of the thief's car. The salon owner was run over & killed:

https://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/homicides/mother-killed-over-manicure-at-las-vegas-nail-salon-boyfriend-says-1562026/

I don't think the thief wanted to kill anyone. She just wanted to keep the 35 bucks. Doesn't matter. It's still murder. If she got lucky & the victim survived, that doesn't absolve her reckless behavior.

[–] SisterSuzy101 (367) 6 years ago

This is one of the dumbest posts I've ever read!