How the Show “Severence” Models How Western Populations Were Controlled

Btw, the Director is a Zionist

The threads come together, and the world arrives at the truth: that the majority of devastation going on in the world right now is not because of some nebulous enemy whose name always changes, but because of our own globalist Western Empire, who have a corrupt and devastatingly harmful partnership with Israel, a country founded on white supremacist and extremist religious ideology. The empire funded and supported a genocide, provoked a proxy war with Russia, supported the rise of neo-Nazis in Ukraine, and propagandized Western civilians to not know the real story. The empire is also responsible for much more than that, including villainizing countries that could have been our allies.

"The surest way to tame a prisoner is to make him believe he’s free.” - Mrs. Selvig, “Severance”

The empire knew that through their actions, thousands of innocent people would die. They also knew other innocent civilians would unknowingly fund those deaths, psyoped into beliefs that encouraged problematic narratives and silenced dissent.

They did this strategically. The show Severance on Apple TV can be looked at as a model to demonstrate how. FYI, the director, Ben Stiller, is a Zionist. He defends Israel’s genocide even as his show demonstrates an understanding of how authoritarian techniques work.

Using the show to compare, this may be what happened to Western populaces to get us where we are today.

Premise

In Severance, the giant corporation Lumon acts as a metaphor for an authoritarian regime. It is a science fiction show, so it employs people who are “severed”, meaning they underwent a neurological procedure to divide the memories of their “inside” work memories from their “outside” personal ones. When a severed person leaves Lumon, their brain is triggered so their “outie” (outside self) will take over the consciousness of the body, meaning they will have no memory of what their “innie” (work self) did that day. Then when the “outie” reenters Lumon, their brain is similarly triggered, so they have no memory of their personal lives.

But Lumon is cruel and authoritarian. It deprives the “innies,” who are unable to quit without their “outie”’s consent, of anything that brings joy to life. But since the “innie” self and “outie” self can’t communicate, the “outie” doesn’t know the “innie” suffers. The “innie” thus becomes a slave, forced to contribute to Lumon’s mysterious sinister initiatives.

Lumon maintains control by the following strategies:

Divide and conquer

At the beginning of the show, we learn that the innies at different departments in Lumon do not trust each other. Dylan, a character from the “MacroData Refinement” department, is suspicious of “Optics & Design.” This is because departments are discouraged from talking to one another, and Dylan has also heard a rumour that O&D once staged a violent uprising. When we get to see more of O&D, however, we see that they have possession of a painting that alternatively depicts MDR as instigators of the uprising. The departments were thus turned against each other through propaganda and deception, and only when the departments begin connecting and recognizing each other’s humanity do they begin to take down the true antagonist.

In reality, we know from examples like Libya, Syria, and the Ukraine that the empire finds existing weaknesses in countries, and exploits them. They encourage, trigger, and exacerbate protests and coups to destabilize foreign countries and install leaders that are essentially Western puppets, and then use the rhetoric of “democracy” to feign benevolence. The CIA handbook demonstrates how people can be provoked to be “saboteurs” against their own governments and communities, through specific, coordinated techniques.

Now think about your own life. Prior to your knowledge about the abuses of the empire, how did you feel about your fellow man? Societies have natural existing social tensions. But they’ve gotten much worse, haven’t they?

Women—have you been feeling more and more that men are all shit and that they are not only not to be trusted, but not even needed at all? Men—have you been feeling increasingly silenced, yet you blamed this not on institutions or governments that fund and control them, but rather women themselves?

Non-white people—do you feel increasingly suspicious of white people? Do you feel that if they do not adhere to 100% of our talking points, they are inherently immoral and it is better to cut them out completely? White people—did you feel lectured by the media or resent immigration and DEI programs, yet directed your anger to non-white people instead of those in control of the policies?

Democrats—when Trump won the election, did you blame your fellow American voter, rather than question why both options were war-mongerers? Don’t both Republicans and Democrats refuse to listen to each other, purely because they come from someone across the aisle?

And what about Iran, Russia, and China? Our own governments have negatively impacted our lives more than they have but we are forced to perceive them as perpetual, inherent enemies.

In 2020, journalist Candace Owens (no relation) claimed that billionaire George Soros exacerbated the BLM protests on purpose to heighten racial tension and enflame division. She was accused of bringing down other black people, or denying that black people have valid concerns.

To be clear, social divisions and social concerns exist in reality. But if the empire can destabilize other countries with division, they can also do so at home.

The people get blamed, not the state. These ideas can be seeded to you through propaganda. Look at this article from the Canadian National Post for example, which is targeted at older Conservative readers. The NP informs them that the Canadian government published a guide on Islamophobia, and within it, there is a statement that says people are not allowed to criticize jihadists, or they could be called racist. This article will obviously upset conservative readers, and make them think pro-Palestine protestors are extremist and out of control.

But the government is the one who published the guide. If they think the jihadist statement is dangerous, they can simply remove it. But instead, they choose to rile up readers against pro-Palestinian protesters. The protestors did not create the guide, nor is the guide legally binding. This article thus promotes division.

Also, the National Post is owned by Postmedia, which is mostly owned by New Jersey’s Chatham Asset Management. Chatham was founded by Anthony Melchiorre, who was charged in 2023 with the “improper trading of certain fixed income securities.” He had to pay $19.3 million in settlements, but he still has significant ownership of The National Post. These are the kind of people who have the power to control our perceptions of each other.

And on that note:

Control of information, literature, and ideas

In Severance, the innies’ access to literature is restricted. Their only access to it is a corporate manual, and a book that glorifies Lumon ideology. Later in the show, the innies are however able to get a hold of an unsanctioned book, which includes forbidden ideas, such as the fact that they deserve control over their lives (from 1:20).

In the Western empire, we don’t think of our press as being restricted. I can, for instance, publish and disseminate this essay freely, at least for the time being.

But certain ideas are not allowed, and our propaganda system is more complicated than simply banning things. As well as controlling our education about Israel, there is also psychological and financial manipulation within our media. The notion of reputability for example rests on institutions validating each other. While it is true that people should not believe just anything on the internet, “reputable” outlets are corruptible and can disseminate misinformation. Just look at the BBC, or the New York Times, which also gets to decide which books will be most successful. These outlets’ rhetoric is controlled, and they are complicit in promoting false narratives that have killed many people. This is a bigger issue that we understood—look for example at this article from 2010, which demonstrates how Israelis literally teach other how to edit Wikipedia articles so they reflect opinions that are “balanced and Zionist in nature.”

And then there’s the sources that are demonized. Conspiracy theories, which range from obviously false to simply unproven, and foreign media like RT tends to be dismissed as ridiculous or propaganda. But if more of us had for example read Russian media prior to the invasion of Ukraine, we may have better understood the country’s perspective directly from Russians. We would have better understood what happened with the NATO expansions from a non-Western lens, and this could have prevented the Ukrainian war and saved thousands of lives. And secretive things like crime or spy shit will not be reported in the media, so conspiracy theories that back up their arguments can sometimes be informative to understanding what might be going on in reality.

Even when sources are propaganda, reading it can still be helpful. Understanding a propagandist’s narrative helps elucidate their lens, and consider their possible intentions.

Notably, people in the West’s freedom of speech is also being indisputably threatened right now. And our Western universities, which are meant to stand for freedom of thought and expression, are demonstrating that they value financial backing above human rights to expression.

Punishment of dissent

At Lumon, workers who step out of line get punished.

Dissenters in our empire get punished too. Here are just some people across the West who were punished for expressing ideas not endorsed by the empire: Asa Winstanley, Sarah Wilkinson, Richard Medhurst, Ali Abunimah, Yves Engler, Tony Greenstein, Richard Barnard, David Miller, Hash Tayeh, Mahmoud Khalil, Julian Assange. And there are more, including the many student protestors who are harassed and portrayed as “terrorist supporters” or “anti-semites” for the crime of demanding an end to genocide.

Punishment can happen in ways other than arrests. You can be smeared as a propagandist for pointing out the NATO provocation, or smeared as a terrorist sympathizer for expressing dissent with Israel’s genocide. You can also be fired from your job, or re-educated for expressing wrongthink—Elon Musk for example had to go on a hasbara tour to Israel after expressing anti-semitic views.

With us or against us mentality

Like at any toxic workplace, at Lumon, managers accuse innies of “hating [their] teams” or not being team players if you expresses dissent. Similarly, if you criticize the Western/Zionist Empire, you may get accused of not being patriotic, of consenting to being taken over by an imaginary crueler empire, or of just being “negative” and unhelpful. While there are problems with negativity, positive psychology silences dissent, and dissent can correct big problems before they get out of control.

One contemporary example of this is the patriotism psyop in Canada. Canada still needs to take accountability for their complicity in Gaza and Ukraine. But with the American threat of annexation, if you’re not being super patriotic right now or supporting the correct, CBC-approved Carney candidate, you’re apparently not being Canadian enough or doing enough to protect your sovereignty. I don’t like Pollievre either (he’s also a Zionist), but not supporting Carney does not equate to supporting American annexation.

While Trump of course deserves anger for the annexation threats, our government also put us in this precarious position. They supported the empire’s wars, participated in warmongering psyops, and sucked at diplomacy with countries that could have been allies.

Now our sovereignty is threatened. But you better wave that Canadian flag. You better wave it, or you were never really Canadian in the first place, were you?

Fall Guy/Fake Reform

At the end of Severance’s Season 1, the “innies” escape Lumon and tell the world about the company’s abuses. Then at the beginning of Season 2, the new manager tells our protagonist that the old manager was fired, and they are implementing new policies to “address” their concerns.

But the new manager is also oppressive. And the new policies (2:00 minute count) are performative frills which don’t actually change anything.

Post-9/11, Western populaces picked up on all of the Islamophobia messaging in media, and correctly accused the Bush Administration of racism. We also criticized them for the “Weapons of Mass Destruction” lies which killed thousands of people.

After George Bush left office, though, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. With Obama being elected, we thought, corruption was over! Yay, no more warmongering liars! Oops, wait, just kidding. Nothing changed. The left-right mentality is a trap that prevents the most serious problems from being rooted out.

Epstein’s crimes for example prove that the sexual trafficking of minors to wealthy people occurred in America. They prove the clients exist, and that the American government is aware of people involved. Yet neither Democratic nor Republican admins will release this information. Why? Releasing it would be in the best interest of American children. But both the left and the right won’t, which indicates a prioritization of protecting the wealthy over children’s safety, and this requires nonpartisan collaboration.

Manipulating Identity Politics

At Lumon, Floor Manager Milchick, who is African-American, receives a painting. It is of Lumon’s first CEO Kier Eagan, who was white but is depicted in the painting in blackface. The concealed, shadowy Lumon Board tells him this is to make him feel included and recognized. But it’s mockingly cruel, a tool of manipulation. Milchick appears to want to talk about how he feels regarding his black identity in an uncontrolled, non-Board approved way. But he can’t. The Board says this is what it means to be inclusive and implies he should appreciate it, so he has no choice but to accept their definition.

Similarly, identity politics were also controlled by the empire to manipulate us. Like the Nazis, we were united under ideas that appeared initially benevolent and inclusive. But then identity politics and political correctness were weaponized to do non-benevolent things.

NGOs that appear to be benevolent for example used their identity to enable harm, while using that identity to shield them from pushback. The ADL uses its platform for example to glorify illegal arrest and detention, as well as defend Israel’s genocide.

Identity politics and human rights branding can be used as a mask to hide under a benevolent name, which obscures what is actually humanitarian in reality. While I have no doubt that USAID completes real humanitarian projects too, the empire also appears to have used it to spend millions of taxpayer dollars on programs that have benevolent names, but might have actually been weaponized for something else. If there are no crimes, then why are USAID staff being asked to shred and burn records? If USAID was not involved in some degree of corruption, like they have been before, why can’t they be transparent?

This is a huge disaster that I worry will make the wrong people, including those that work on legitimately helpful initiatives, suffer. So on this note, if you are tempted to take this out on community members for any identity politics they expressed, don’t. They’re not you’re your enemy. Social issues do exist, but we were all propagandized in different ways. Please see “Divide and Conquer” above.

Conclusion

Like in Severance, the empire messed around in our brains. Our opinions were manipulated. They tricked us into thinking we were protecting Israel and Ukraine, but we were actually provoking war and killing children. The Western Empire are the Nazis of the 21st century, and they use your hard-earned money to hurt people.

These false narratives cannot be left to stand while people are suffering and being murdered. Now is the time to express dissent. Lumon needs real reform.