As meta (both -physical and -phorical) as Severance is, the more unsettling aspect of the show is that it’s quite literal. In my experience, many corporations are very cult-like, in their language, marketing, dress code, rules, etc.
There’s always been something subversive in the way corporations (for the sake of PR) pretend to care about their workers, the environment, and people in general, while the exact opposite is true. Milchick might be the most important through-line character of the entire show for setting this tone.
He has a kind of corporate speak and fake smile, which underneath the surface of something like: “Here at Lumon, we care about you and your feedback.” is really saying: “You’re expendable, if you leave us feedback, it’ll disappear into a black hole, and if you keep making noise, you’ll disappear into a black hole.” Have a nice day! ☀️
Offices will have casual Fridays, force cake on everyone’s birthday, and retreats to try and get their workers to bond with one-another because some pop-psychology tip the boss heard suggests this will improve morale, and better morale will improve productivity. Everything a company does is designed around improving the bottom line.
The greatest mystery of the show is why the work is so important, and why it requires certain people to do it. There are so many twist-endings this conjures, but the most brutal and bleak ending of all would be if the innies became obsolete by way of AI or some other kind of automation, which for them isn’t just losing a job, but a death-sentence.
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