Analysis Of Colson Whitehead's 'The Loser Edit'

In his essay “The Loser Edit”, Colson Whitehead explores the idea of a “loser edit”, which he defines as a narrative that strives to capture someone’s life to fit a certain edit. The edit puts a spotlight on our flaws through reality tv, social media, and real life situations. Whitehead explains that the loser and winner edit “clasp meaning onto experience”, through its control over our actions or reactions in everyday life. In this essay, Whitehead argues about the harm that the loser edit creates when it stretches beyond the barriers of reality tv into real life situations. An extreme representation of Whitehead’s worries can be seen in the Black Mirror episode “Nosedive”, through the importance the episode’s fictional society places on a …show more content…
Being branded with the loser edit serves as a reminder for all of the things someone has done wrong, as deemed by society. It encourages someone to constantly self evaluate until they fit the mold society created for them. This is the main issue Lacey struggles with in “Nosedive”. Each time she receives a low rating, each of her mistakes, regardless of how minor, are documented. Her rating is visible to everyone, and when it’s very low, she serves as a walking reminder for people to avoid doing what she did wrong. Not only does this cause her to become obsessive over her rating, but it also restricts her from being herself. When she allows her edit to constantly make her worry about what she’s doing wrong, Lacey becomes consumed by the false persona she takes on, losing the essence of who she is. This is noticed by her brother, a social outcast who chooses not to conform to the rating system at all. The failure that Whitehead argues are represented by the loser edit aren't necessarily wrong in general, but are deemed wrong in society. With Lacey, the offenses that cause her to get a lower rating aren't objectively bad things. Becoming frustrated with missing a flight or being overly nice to acquaintance to the point where it appears fake aren’t purposely rude offenses. The rating/edit system creates its own moral code, and going against them are seen as failure. Edits …show more content…
He brings up issues that come along with these edits, such as how people use encounters for a certain result, the unfair set up between the winner and loser edit, and the failure people are forced to reflect on, as determined by society. Though the Black Mirror episode “Nosedive” brings up the idea of the winner and loser edits through ratings from a satirical and exaggerated perspective, it showcases the issues Whitehead writes on in his