The Architecture of Apathy: Why 'Severance' is the Ultimate Psychological Thriller
Finding balance between work and life is something we all search after, but what if you could enforce that idea surgically?
What if you, while at your workplace, had absolutely no memory of your life outside of work, and at home, you didn't have any clue about your job? This terrifying and brilliant concept is exactly what is shown in Severance, a series produced by Apple TV+. It doesn't just pose a problem of escaping painful routines; it forces you to see what happens to you when you remove all the personal context from your life.
Mark, the main character of the story, is one of those people who are ready to endure the severance procedure in a company called Lumon Industries. The second he enters the elevator of the office, his mind divides. His innie is going to do nothing but work for eight hours without having to experience the boring life of a desk worker. His innie will live Perpetual evenings and weekends, blissfully unaware of the stressors and relationships that characterize the outside world. This bifurcation raises unsettling questions about identity: who are we when we separate our professional selves from our personal lives, and what essential parts of humanity are lost in that division?
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Not only is Severance an outstanding work because of its high-concept science fiction premise but also because of the manner it manifests psychological horror. The series does not use sudden scares and jumps or monsters in the basement of Efforts rather, terror comes vicariously through the characters who have locked themselves up in their minds. They reveal their self-imposed confinement of how job positions can rob people of free will and independence as every episode deepens the audience’s understanding of this psychological confinement. Characters lead their lives in a world without any personal incentives or influence trapped in sterile offices and void of real-life experiences.
The scenery for the television series is genuinely awe-inspiring. The office buildings of Lumon show liminality since they have the same immaculate walls of white, totally smooth green carpets, and old-fashioned designs. Such sameness builds up an unsettling and creepy atmosphere that reflects the state of mind of the employees. The impression made on a person through the screen is so strong that it is even possible to smell the air that is being purified with the help of accurate filters. The way in which the characters are portrayed makes it obvious that they are too little compared to the vast and self-sufficient machinery of the company.
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The pace of this show can certainly be described as slow, thoughtful, and dramatic, leading to what is perhaps one of the most astonishing endings in television history. Unlike many shows, it respects the viewers’ intelligence and avoids giving too much information at once. Instead, it presents the ideas of autonomy versus control gradually, leaving the viewers to think about what it would mean to live in the world where your identity can be easily taken apart.
In case you have not watched the series Severance yet, it is high time for you to do that. This show does not only portray capitalism, identity, and trauma in a sarcastic way. It raises a very serious question concerning humanity, especially taking into account the fact that for many people nowadays work serves as an integral part of their lives.