The end of the world as we know it
‘ Incorporated’ is the latest foray into the apocalypse
You think it’s bad now? Just wait.
Syfy’s Incorporated (Wednesday, 10 ET/PT, with pilot on Syfy’s YouTube channel) is the latest entertainment offering set in an authoritarian future, this time with corporations taking over failed governments in a planet decaying from climate change.
It’s “the dystopian world that I see ourselves moving toward rapidly. To be able to take on the challenge of living in that world and trying to explore that world is very intriguing to me,” says Dennis Haysbert ( 24, The Unit), who plays Julian, the intimidating enforcer for Spiga Biotech, one of the global giants.
Incorporated, set in 2074, centers on rising executive Ben Larson (Sean Teale, Reign), who advises Spiga boss (Julia Ormond,
Mad Men, Sabrina) — she’s also his mother-in-law — even as he infiltrates the organization on behalf of an opposition group.
Incorporated, produced by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, is just onerecent TV show or film that explores an authoritarian, postapocalyptic or environmentally degraded world. Others: Mr. Robot, The Walking Dead, Divergent, Elysium and Snowpiercer, with The Handmaid’s Tale coming to Hulu in 2017.
Haysbert expects more will come, as entertainment reflects cultural anxieties.
“There’s going to be a deluge of post-apocalyptic, dystopian films coming out, because we are headed toward that,” he says. “It’s always prudent to show you what the extreme negative can be so we can really try to push forward the positive in our real lives.”
Incorporated, which was screened at the United Nations, connects to a long dystopian tradition that can be traced back decades to films such as Fritz Lang ’s Metropolis in 1927. It shares themes with many novels, films and TV shows, including:
In Incorporated, CORPORATISM. companies such as Spiga protect and provide for employees in a dangerous, ecologically diminished world while demanding loyalty. (Similar themes explored in: The Fifth Element; Wall-E, Metropolis; Blade Runner.)
CLIMATE CHANGE/ ENVIRONMENTAL DESTRUCTION. Global warming and pollution have wreaked havoc on Incorpo
rated‘ s Earth, with Iceland as a beach destination, a melted Arctic ice cap and limited food under tight corporate control. ( Snowpiercer, The 100, The Day After Tomorrow, Waterworld, A Boy and His Dog and Soylent Green.)
Spiga SURVEILLANCE SOCIETY. employees undergo electronic body scans upon arrival and departure from work and Julian asks Ben about a program that allows the Big Brother-like examination of people’s dreams. ( 1984, Mr. Robot, Person of Interest.)
CLASS DIVISION/WEALTH
Ben and Laura live INEQUALITY. and work in an affluent, cleanbordering-on-sterile Green Zone, with walls and security protecting it from the dangerous, decayed Red Zone. ( Brave New World, Elysium, Metropolis, Dark Angel.)
DECAYED, FORBIDDING URBAN
For fun, Ben and ENVIRONMENT. his colleagues head to the lawless Red Zone, a grimy, neon-lit place with entertainment involving sex, drugs and violence. ( Blade Runner, A Clockwork Orange.)
Ben is HUMAN TRAFFICKING. searching for a woman he knew in his youth who may now be a sex slave available for the enjoyment of corporate overlords. ( Dollhouse, Westworld.)
REPRODUCTION/FERTILITY/ EUGENICS. Ben’s wife, Laura (Allison Miller, Terra Nova), needs corporate approval to become
pregnant. ( Children of Men, The Handmaid’s Tale, Gattaca, THX 1138, The Lottery, Orphan Black.)