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The Severance writer and cast on corporate cults, sci-fi, and more

arstechnica.com

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Re: The Severance writer and cast on corporate cults, sci-fi, and more

#51

Post by ndsipa_pomu »

woleium wrote: post #47
ndsipa_pomu wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a whole village in North Wales that's Prisoner themed

The other way round, it predates the show and was used as the set.

So you mean that The Prisoner was Portmeirion themed?

But yes, Portmeirion had a rich history before McGoohan decided that it was perfect for his idea. Noël Coward wrote Blithe Spirit while staying in the village. George Bernard Shaw, H.G. Wells, Gregory Peck and Ingrid Bergman were all visitors. Beatles Paul McCartney, George Harrison and their manager, Brian Epstein, were also regulars in the village.

Re: The Severance writer and cast on corporate cults, sci-fi, and more

#52

Post by defrost »

JKCalhoun wrote: post #32
dbspin wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That was B2B - it was a golf course brag for executives. Customers camping outside Apple stores was something different. That's personal identity defined by not merely consumption, but parasocial relationship to a brand.

I'm reminded of teenagers chasing the Beatles from their limos to the hotel entrance. "Customers"? "Brand"?

Question Marks?

Customers==people that purchase records, tickets, merch, official fanzines, etc.

Brand==Manufactured PR image sustained by managers, PR staff, consultants to industry, etc.

Re: The Severance writer and cast on corporate cults, sci-fi, and more

#53

Post by crtasm »

fingerlocks wrote: post #31
dbspin wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That was B2B - it was a golf course brag for executives. Customers camping outside Apple stores was something different. That's personal identity defined by not merely consumption, but parasocial relationship to a brand.

Apple isn’t unique. There’s all sorts of products like that. Concert tickets, sports events, recreation permits, and especially video game stuff. People camped out when the Nvidia RTX 30xx series launched a few years back. There was a massive line of people, a real wtf moment. That’s just a graphics card.

Event tickets don't feel comparable - the new Apple gadget will be on shelves ongoingly but tt might be a very long wait to see your favourite band play again.

Re: The Severance writer and cast on corporate cults, sci-fi, and more

#54

Post by tonyedgecombe »

bsenftner wrote: post #23
nonameiguess wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From watching Severance, the closest parallel to me for a company I ever actually worked for is Disney. Disneyland performer was one of my first jobs, and the orientation is a lot like Lumon's. Video history of the company's reach and achievements. Tremendence reverence for the founder. Disneyland has a statue of Walt holding hands with Mickey at the junction between Main Street and Fantasyland and Main Street itself…

Having worked on Disney Animation productions, you ought to meet these life long fanatics that actually manage to become Disney animators - their ultimate fantasy is realized, and then after a year or three the glow has dimmed, their figurines decorating their office acquire dust, and they become nonanimated, heads down, and just work, without the glow anymore. Disney corporate is rough.

Doesn't that apply to all of us when we enter the world of work.

Re: The Severance writer and cast on corporate cults, sci-fi, and more

#55

Post by bsenftner »

MrMcCall wrote: post #33
bsenftner wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having worked on Disney Animation productions, you ought to meet these life long fanatics that actually manage to become Disney animators - their ultimate fantasy is realized, and then after a year or three the glow has dimmed, their figurines decorating their office acquire dust, and they become nonanimated, heads down, and just work, without the glow anymore. Disney corporate is rough.

Sick people make others sick. And few people know how to be healthy, so they are utterly unprotected. That is how the callously cruel and ungrateful spread their misery around, however unconsciously. Waking up is not a bogeyman to be feared but a urgent need for survival. No human being can survive their first years without compassion; we need to realize that compassion is essential for the survival of our entire wor…

Fully agree.
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