Severance — an allegory of corporate culture
Spoiler-free zone — The SF thriller hit from Apple TV+ that should be a must-watch for anyone with an office job.
Severance (Apple TV+, 2022) is a science fiction thriller series that should be a must watch for every corporate employee. Brought to life by excellent design, writing, performance and direction, this nail-biting thriller exposes the hypocrisy and truth behind the facade of the HR and wellbeing buzzwords of the offices only COVID has helped most people escape. Similar to the way Squid Game (Netflix, 2021) exposed the excesses of social inequality, this show holds the world of HR up to the light. It stands as an indictment of 21st century business culture and depicts a world without trade unions — where people sell themselves into wage slavery.
Severance in the show is a surgical procedure that ‘severs’ work from home life, permanently. The Outside person or ‘outie’ commutes to work every day, changes into anonymous work clothes and steps into an elevator. Eight hours later, they come to consciousness in the elevator on the way up, where they change again, and comute home, having no recollection of what they did or who they met whilst at work. They have no idea even what job they are doing. Nor do they care. Severance is sold to them as being the ultimate in work/life balance, as they are able, as far as they are aware, to live…
