Like most episodes ofBlack Mirror, “Men Against Fire” explores the difficulties of maintaining humanistic empathy in the face of intrusive modern technology. Directed by Jakob Verbruggen, this is the penultimate episode of the third season, and has often been likened tothe classic anthology series,The Twilight Zone. It delves deep into techno-paranoia, examining how humanity’s worst impulses can be encouraged in the ‘right’ setting.
While the Netflix series’earlier episodes like “White Bear”show offenders getting some kind of perverted justice, “Men Against Fire” absolves wrongdoers of any crimes. Even though it leans heavily on various sci-fi tropes, it is effective in illustrating how each individual becomes just another cog in the machine when it comes to high-tech warfare. The ending, as can be expected from anyBlack Mirrorstory, is queasyand not wholly unrealistic.
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What Is Black Mirror’s ‘Men Against Fire’ About?
Set in an indeterminate future, “Men Against Fire” begins with Stripe Koinange (Malachi Kirby) fantasizing about a beautiful woman. He is a new recruit in the military, whose first mission involves visiting a nearby village where the food supply has been ransacked and contaminated by “roaches” (apparently some kind of vermin with infected blood). Stripe and his fellow soldiers follow squad leader Medina (Sarah Snook) to check out a lead: a devout Christian man named Parn Heidekker (Francis Magee), who has been known to sympathize with roaches in the past. It is revealed at this point thateach soldier has a neural implantcalled Mass, which provides information via augmented reality, gives them a tactical advantage, and even reinforces ‘good’ behavior.
When the soldiers arrive at Heidekker’s rundown property, Medina interrogates him while the rest search. Stripe eventually discovers a nest of roaches, who appear as pale and aggressive humanoids. He manages to kill two, after which he picks up a strange device that one of them had. He accidentally flashes its bright green light into his eye, which causes him to hear a high-pitch whistling sound. When the rest of the roaches have been killed, Heidekker is arrested and the house is burned down.
Stripe soon experiences a series of events that cause him to believe that his Mass system is malfunctioning. Even his “sweet dreams” of the same woman — a reward for his kills — appear to be glitching. After Stripe’s implant passes all diagnostics, he visits military psychiatrist Arquette (Michael Kelly), who concludes the session by saying that he just needs “a real good sleep.” However, Stripe’s recurring dream continues to glitch, and is much more intense this time.
The next day, Medina, Stripe, and comrade Raiman (Madeline Brewer) visit a compound where they believe more roaches are hiding. Stripe discovers that he has regained his sense of smell while the rest of his abilities (like reading the holograms) are affected. A roach sniper kills Medina, and the other two head inside the building. The ensuing fight confirms that the ‘human’ people Stripe sees look like roaches to Raiman. Before the latter could murder a mother and her son, Stripe knocks her unconscious and ends up in an underground lair with the two.
The woman, Katarina, reveals that the Mass implants condition the soldiers to view their target as grotesque creatures while numbing their senses, so that they can carry out genocide more effectively. The “roaches” are actually humans who have been declared genetically inferior. After a war 10 years prior, the public’s perception was shaped by government propaganda. This is why the civilians, who do not even have the implants,still despise these ostracized individuals, as they have been fed with information about how dangerous they are. The device that Stripe found was reverse-engineered by the roaches to deactivate Mass, so that the soldiers could see them as humans.
Raiman, who has tracked them down, bursts in at this moment to kill Katarina and her son, and knock out Stripe.
How Does ‘Men Against Fire’ End?
Stripe is shown in a cell, where he is visited by Arquette. Arquette admits to the soldier that the Mass system was designed to dehumanize the enemy, making it easierfor the soldiers to pull the trigger. This was deemed necessary for “protecting the bloodline,” as the roaches have genetic predispositions to illnesses. He also shows video footage of a naive Stripe agreeing to receive the implant, while knowing that his consent would be erased from memory later. This is a representation of young and agreeable soldiers who are not fully aware of what they are signing up for, and subject themselves to manipulation by the government.
Arquette gives Stripe a choice. He can agree to having his memory of the past few days wiped out, with a complete Mass reset. Alternatively, he canrelive the horror of brutally killing roaches, without the reality augmentation, on constant loop (similar to what is shown intheBlack Mirrorepisode “White Christmas”). The scene cuts to Stripe, decked out in his military uniform, standing in front of a beautiful house and the woman of his dreams welcoming him — an idealized version of the military homecoming. In reality, as the viewer can see, the house is in ruins and there is no one waiting for him. A single tear falls down Stripe’s face, suggesting that he is not entirely unaware that this is just an illusion.
In the bookInside Black Mirror, series creator Charlie Broker states that the title of the episode was inspired by the bookMen Against Fire: The Problem of Battle Commandby S.L.A. Marshall, who claims that over 70% of the soldiers were unable to fire their rifles during World War II (a fact that Arquette also explains to Stripe). “Men Against Fire” highlights the role of authority in propagating false information so that the soldiers feel justified in exterminating those whom they see as ‘sub-human’. The dreams seen in the episode hint atthe life promised to the militaryin exchange for their service. Raiman is so fanatical about the cause that she feels it is her duty to kill Heidekker too. She even suggests burning down the whole forest so that the roaches have nowhere to hide — forgetting that she is also compromising the safety of those whom she is supposed to protect.
The Mass itself also symbolizes the over-consumption of the media by the masses. The constant flow of misinformation divides them, creates hysteria, and removes empathy. However, as theBlack Mirrorproducer Annabel Jones sums up the ending, “the propaganda, military and personal, continues.”
