An example of dehumanization in war. Black Mirror: Men Against Fire. This video is an excerpt from Black Mirror (S3:E5). This is a classroom example of how dehumanization supports the killing of other human beings. When an outgroup is seen as "less than" it makes it easier to kill its members. In the episode, new AI technology presents the "enemy" as a monster. The people in the army simply see this abomination, without really seeing the person. Everything changes when the protagonist downloads this device and can actually relate to these people. The same mechanism of dehumanization can be seen in history, where people are classified as, rats and other disgusting animals, so that it is easier to see them as not worthy of respect, and more precisely, worthy of abuse. This can be seen in World War II as in various other wars, genocide throughout history, and unfortunately, in current political narratives. Identifying these narrative devices may help to see the manipulation underlying these processes, and hopefully resist them.

An example of dehumanization in war. Black Mirror: Men Against Fire. This video is an excerpt from Black Mirror (S3:E5). This is a classroom example of how dehumanization supports the killing of other human beings. When an outgroup is seen as "less than" it makes it easier to kill its members. In the episode, new AI technology presents the "enemy" as a monster. The people in the army simply see this abomination, without really seeing the person. Everything changes when the protagonist downloads this device and can actually relate to these people. The same mechanism of dehumanization can be seen in history, where people are classified as, rats and other disgusting animals, so that it is easier to see them as not worthy of respect, and more precisely, worthy of abuse. This can be seen in World War II as in various other wars, genocide throughout history, and unfortunately, in current political narratives. Identifying these narrative devices may help to see the manipulation underlying these processes, and hopefully resist them.