Alternative worst-title: Pseudo-Review of Severance, the tv show
Disclaimer: I‘m writing this pseudo-review after viewing the first two episodes only. No spoilers. So buckle-up buttercup.
Having recently purchased a new iPad Air 5, I‘m once again on the AppleTV+ rodeo–on account I get the service for three months for free. For. In case, dear worst-reader, you‘re not in the know. I don‘t dig subscription media services. For the most part, when it comes to consuming-to-survive media, I don’t mind paying as I go, which is why I prefer the Apple TV. Also. As with everything Apple, one has to be prudent with expenses just to be able to afford all this krapp, which means I do all I can to avoid paying stupid-money for AppleTV+. And so. Long live corporate monopolies and unregulated capitalism and forced obsoletism, etc. (Sarcasm off.) That said, here‘s a shortlist of what worst-moi and my better-half are currently subscribed to:
- Netflix
- As of the fall 2022 we‘re subscribed to the cheapest service rate, which I think is 7,-€; if Netflix pushes ads through this price-point we will be canceling.
- Apple Music
- Although I started this last summer on subscription I‘ve since changed it to the yearly 100,-€ flat rate, on account there‘s a bit of money to be saved. Still a subscription in my worst-book.
- Amazon Prime – JUST CANCELLED
- For the last few years we‘ve been subscribed to Prime. After Amazon‘s rate hike announcement I immediately cancelled it. Since we never really dug the movie offering and it‘s cheaper, we moved to Netflix. BTW, Amazon‘s Music service sucks. Will I miss Prime shipping? Now that‘s a good worst-question. I am gonna miss Star Trek Picard though!
With three months of free AppleTV+ there‘s quite a bit to catch up on. I’m looking forward to See, The Morning Show (season 2) and whatever else I missed since 2020, the last time I got this service for free. To start, my better-half and I watched the first two episodes of Severance last night. And get this. After the first few minutes of episode one I knew I was in for something good. With that in mind, to make things short-n-sweet, here the gist of everything I have to say about this show after only two episodes.
Gosh darnit I wish I had written that.
The thing is, dear worst-reader, I wrote a play called The Good Criminal. It was about not only corporate abuse but the willingness of corporate employees to play along with the $hitshow that is corporate #Americant. The way the first episode of Severance begins, with a lone woman laying on a corporate conference room table, being woken up by a conference room speaker, and the subsequent animosity she shows for her corporate situation, fit perfect into worst-writer‘s mindset of corporate Mise en scène. By the end of the second episode my better-half and I agreed that the writer (Dan Erikson) and director (Ben Stiller) have created a masterpiece of duality that spans exactly the same-differences between Orwell and Huxley. Bravo!
For those not in the know, here‘s worst-writer‘s short-take on the same-differences between Orwell vs Huxley. Orwell (1984) writes about coercive and violent authoritarianism. Huxley (Brave New World) is about authoritarian power recognizing there is no need for violence because coercion can be achieved through mental manipulation, which includes drugs, advertising, emotions, etc.
Although surely this tv show will steer in the direction of entertainment as I continue watching it, I‘m particularly interested in how its creators, satirically or not, maintain the same-differences that abound when depicting social and political issues in this worst-world. Will the show take me in the satirical direction of movies like Starship Troopers or Robocop? Or what about Don‘t Look Up, Network or Blazzing Saddles? And there‘s my all-time favorite socially critical film: Heaven‘s Gate. For, dear worst-reader, if you want to see a depiction of the origins of #Americant watch Heaven‘s Gate.
#Nomatter the direction Severance takes, my only hope is it doesn‘t stray with typical Hollywood appeasement. You know. Hollywood can only take social and political issues so far, which, IMHO, is why Heaven‘s Gate was such a colossal failure as it literally took down a movie studio. Then again, today‘s entertainment industry doesn‘t seem to be lacking in funding? Am I wrong. Anywho. As long as Severance remains steadfast and adheres to the premise that corporatism, in all its forms, is no different than fascism, totalitarianism and is in total opposition to human freedom and dignity, I‘ll keep watching it.
Or maybe not. Whatever.
Rant on.
-T
Links:
– https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Severance_(TV_series)?wprov=sfti1
– https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldous_Huxley?wprov=sfti1
– https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Orwell?wprov=sfti1
– https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaven’s_Gate_(film)?wprov=sfti1
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