Severance: an ideal-typical science-fictional device in the service of critical management studies. Identities, secrets, control

Severance: un dispositif science-fictionnel idéal-typique au service du management critique. Identités, secrets, contrôle

Malo Artur () and Matthieu Kwasniuk-Zelazny
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Malo Artur: DRM MOST - DRM - Dauphine Recherches en Management - Université Paris Dauphine-PSL - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Matthieu Kwasniuk-Zelazny: DRM MOST - DRM - Dauphine Recherches en Management - Université Paris Dauphine-PSL - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

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Abstract: Severance plunges into a dystopia where Lumon Industries uses a microchip to separate the professional and personal memories of its employees, creating two distinct identities: "innies" (at work) and "outies" (outside). Mark Scout, a team leader, and Helly R., a rebellious new recruit, discover the abuses of this practice and ally themselves to expose Lumon's secrets. The series critiques totalitarian corporate control, where private and professional lives blur under omnipresent surveillance. It highlights the tensions between discipline and individual freedom, exploring themes such as identity, memory, and alienation. Through a rigid bureaucracy and the cult-like worship of Lumon's founder, it denounces modern organizational aberrations. Flaws in the system emerge, notably in episode 6, where the severance process is compromised. Severance thus offers a profound reflection on information control and the impact of structural systems on human liberties.

Keywords: Science-fiction; Control; Severance; Secrecy; Divulgation; Secret; Contrôle (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-04-03
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Published in Management en séries. Saison 3, EM Normandie, Apr 2025, Le Havre, France

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05660862

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