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> we see that Severance is really a show about work under capitalism, exploring issues such as the role of uncompensated reproductive labour, the right (or lack

> we see that Severance is really a show about work under capitalism, exploring issues such as the role of uncompensated reproductive labour, the right (or lack thereof) to refuse work, the concept of work-life balance and employee surveillance. No, what we see is someone incapable of viewing anything except through the lens of Marxism.

texaslonghorn5 4y ago
If not these ideas, then what would you say are the major themes/takeaways/lessons from the show? What do we or the characters learn? The only other big things that I caught were the meaninglessness/vapidity and pseudo-intellectualism during the "dinner" party conversation. If we assume that the show has some meaning or is at least trying to deliver some message, then I'm having a hard time finding an alternative interpretation.
- luxuryballs 4y ago
  No matter how much we advance and abstract things there’s always a trade-off. You can’t escape the reality of having to toil unless someone else has already done the toiling for you. It’s like the natural law of thermodynamics transcending through human experience (can’t create anything for free).
  - EtienneK 4y ago
    Automation is already doing a lot of the toiling for us and this will increase in the future.
    - bigiain 4y ago
      > Automation is already doing a lot of the toiling for us The big unanswered question in that is who is “us” referring to there? Who is going to benefit from the toiling of automation? Especially when considering some of the poster children for robotic automation are Amazon and Tesla? The cynic in me doesn’t see much upside to automation for Amazon warehouse workers or Tesla assembly line staff.bit I have no doubt it’ll make Elon and Jeff richer still.
    - luxuryballs 4y ago
      But at what cost? I think that’s the point. You can’t get away from the toil, it will just be replaced by something else, possibly worse.
- UIUC_06 4y ago
  Someone today talked about "artful ambiguity" in reference to Marxism (for the Logistics movie). If capital-exploits-workers is what you believe in, then you will see it everywhere. But it's thin and unsatisfying gruel. Life is more than politics. I deliberately pick a left-wing magazine, The Atlantic [1], for this. If anyone would apply a socialist rubric to Severance, it's them. Yet the words "capital", "Marx" and "socialist" don't even appear in it. [1] https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2022/02/severance-makes-workplace-eerily-dystopian/622883/ https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2022/02/severanc...
  - texaslonghorn5 4y ago
    The Atlantic isn't a "left-wing magazine." Liberal / centrist / socially liberal yes, maybe they often have progressive writers author pieces. But they also platform conservative or center-right voices and that would be highly atypical/irregular for any left-wing magazine. In fact, there's a lot of ideas to the left of The Atlantic, and I'm sure many people who support these ideas would dismiss The Atlantic as being far too liberal/neoliberal.
    - Apocryphon 4y ago
      Take, for instance, The Baffler: https://thebaffler.com/salvos/omniscient-gentlemen-of-the-atlantic https://thebaffler.com/salvos/omniscient-gentlemen-of-the-at...
    - UIUC_06 4y ago

texaslonghorn5 4y ago

If not these ideas, then what would you say are the major themes/takeaways/lessons from the show? What do we or the characters learn? The only other big things that I caught were the meaninglessness/vapidity and pseudo-intellectualism during the "dinner" party conversation. If we assume that the show has some meaning or is at least trying to deliver some message, then I'm having a hard time finding an alternative interpretation.

luxuryballs 4y ago
No matter how much we advance and abstract things there’s always a trade-off. You can’t escape the reality of having to toil unless someone else has already done the toiling for you. It’s like the natural law of thermodynamics transcending through human experience (can’t create anything for free).
- EtienneK 4y ago
  Automation is already doing a lot of the toiling for us and this will increase in the future.
  - bigiain 4y ago
    > Automation is already doing a lot of the toiling for us The big unanswered question in that is who is “us” referring to there? Who is going to benefit from the toiling of automation? Especially when considering some of the poster children for robotic automation are Amazon and Tesla? The cynic in me doesn’t see much upside to automation for Amazon warehouse workers or Tesla assembly line staff.bit I have no doubt it’ll make Elon and Jeff richer still.
  - luxuryballs 4y ago
    But at what cost? I think that’s the point. You can’t get away from the toil, it will just be replaced by something else, possibly worse.
UIUC_06 4y ago
Someone today talked about "artful ambiguity" in reference to Marxism (for the Logistics movie). If capital-exploits-workers is what you believe in, then you will see it everywhere. But it's thin and unsatisfying gruel. Life is more than politics. I deliberately pick a left-wing magazine, The Atlantic [1], for this. If anyone would apply a socialist rubric to Severance, it's them. Yet the words "capital", "Marx" and "socialist" don't even appear in it. [1] https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2022/02/severance-makes-workplace-eerily-dystopian/622883/ https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2022/02/severanc...
- texaslonghorn5 4y ago
  The Atlantic isn't a "left-wing magazine." Liberal / centrist / socially liberal yes, maybe they often have progressive writers author pieces. But they also platform conservative or center-right voices and that would be highly atypical/irregular for any left-wing magazine. In fact, there's a lot of ideas to the left of The Atlantic, and I'm sure many people who support these ideas would dismiss The Atlantic as being far too liberal/neoliberal.
  - Apocryphon 4y ago
    Take, for instance, The Baffler: https://thebaffler.com/salvos/omniscient-gentlemen-of-the-atlantic https://thebaffler.com/salvos/omniscient-gentlemen-of-the-at...
  - UIUC_06 4y ago