Margo Ellis, Opinion Editor–
There’s something enthralling about media that’s designed to make you think.
Maybe it’s the idea that there’s more going on than what you see on the screen or the page, but I think that it has to do with the somewhat inquisitive nature of humans. We’re designed to be curious, ask questions and then demand answers.
Personally, I like TV shows that throw the audience right into the action. When each piece of the puzzle is slowly explained, I feel like I’m experiencing the story right alongside the characters in the show.
One such show, “Severance,” examines the complexities of the balance between work and personal life. In “Severance,” advancements in technology allow for the surgical split of a person’s conscience- essentially creating two separate people, an
“innie” and an “outie.” Those who choose to undergo the severance procedure don’t remember what they do at work when they’re at home, and vice-versa. Their work is deemed sensitive enough to require complete secrecy, as even the “innies” don’t truly know what their work pertains to.
For each worker, their innie’s conscience never really leaves the office. Each morning, they find themselves on the elevator to the severed basement floor, where they work for eight hours and then return to the elevator. On ascent, their consciences switch- and suddenly, they’re back where they started. To them, no time has passed.
The show presents itself as a type of commentary on the modern implications of work/life balance, and how the idea of essentially shutting down a part of yourself each day to be a “better” employee may not be as beneficial as it seems. Many of the severed characters exude unwavering loyalty to their employers and the company they work for, despite not knowing anything about the work they do or its importance. The audience is strung along, watching the interactions between the reality of the outside world and the fabrication of the secretive workplace.
“Severance” provides a necessary critique on modern society’s view of office culture, using tactics like dehumanization and psychological manipulation to dramatize the conditions many people work in today.
The show does a great job of hiding just enough information from the audience (and the characters) to make each episode an edge-of-your-seat experience. With the arrival of the second season just this past month, the story continues to provide question after question to the audience, and with each answer, another question appears.
Despite the reality of “Severance” being partially far-fetched, I haven’t heard of any technology that allows us to split our conscience, yet I think that the message and tactics used to employ it are incredibly important. Of course, the show is incredibly enjoyable, entertaining and enthralling, but the larger point is that it presents a story not too far off from our current reality. The existence of companies that exploit and abuse their employees is much too familiar for comfort, and I feel that “Severance” represents something that we, as a society, should fear.
The first season of “Severance” is currently available to watch on Apple TV Plus. If you have a subscription and haven’t watched it, I strongly encourage you to check it out. I think that it’s important now more than ever to engage with media that warns us about the dangers of a society gone wrong, especially as we grapple with the current state of the world around us. We need to question the structures that make up our lives. We need to imagine the worst possible outcomes to fully understand the path we’re going down, and we need to learn how to change our trajectory.
Each day that you wake up, repeating the same routine, asking no questions and getting no answers, just remember: “This is the life you’ve been given…So do something with this.”
Margo Ellis ‘28 is a politics and public affairs and journalism double major from Akron.