The world of “Severance” might look similar to our own, but a closer peek at its technology adds layers to the show’s central mystery. The most glaringly obvious example of this is the computers used by the Microdata Refinement (MDR) team on the severed floor at Lumon Industries, which appear more retrofuturistic than dystopian. This might not make sense at first, as Lumon has mastered the ethically dubious, highly controversial severance procedure, highlighting the technological leaps that have already been achieved by this society. But the computers used to carry out the “mysterious and important” work at Lumon aren’t sleek or ergonomic — they’re nostalgic, almost surreal in design, with a bulky trackball lodged beside the dual-toned keyboard. The narrative themes of corporate hegemony and manipulation (which were partly inspired by “The Stanley Parable”) can be gleaned solely from these designs, as these keyboards feature every button except CTRL and ESC.
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Another jarring bit of technology we see at Lumon is the psychological torture device in the Break Room, which doesn’t look threatening or ominous at first glance. The mood is set right after an employee enters, as they are met with a long, dark hallway that is barely wide enough for one person. This induced anxiety and claustrophobia is followed by a simple setup: a dimly lit table set up that looks like an interrogation chamber, with a transparent projector screen displaying the words that need to be spoken over and over. There are no sophisticated probes/machines used to hurt the employee, but a horrible psychological tactic is used to ensure that even the strongest minds break and shatter. Once again, a false sense of security is created via a technological setup that evokes twisted nostalgia and ominous simplicity.
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However, this technological dissonance exists even outside Lumon, as every character is seen driving cars that can only be termed old-school and retro. Series creator Dan Erickson shed some light on this important worldbuilding detail, so let’s unpack it.
Severance’s old tech is deliberately used to evoke confusion and ambiguity
In an interview with BuzzFeed, Erickson explained why the presence of old tech in the show is intentional, to the point that Lumon’s hold over its employees subtly extends to the outside world. For starters, the retrofuturistic tech “looks cool” as an aesthetic choice, but the old-style computers on the severed floor are mostly used to disorient severed employees from a definite sense of time and space:
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“I will say that I do think it looks cool, whether there’s another layer behind that. There’s always a sense of being a little bit out of time and space. And that starts on the severed floor, because down there, the technology is intentionally kind of older — in part because you can’t really have anything down there that would give a cell phone signal or an internet signal. But also because there is a sense of wanting to unmoor workers and have them not necessarily know what year it is outside, or where they live outside. And so we wanted to extend some of that ambiguity to the outside from the viewer’s perspective.”
While older technology shuts down the possibility of using WiFi or Bluetooth to facilitate contact with the outside world, it also introduces confusion in an innie’s perception of the reality they live in. This deliberate dissonance doesn’t stop there, as Lumon’s shadow creeps all over the town, signifying the covert surveillance techniques such corporations employ to keep their workforce in line. This controlled hold over socio-cultural trends and the lives of its employees manifests in the kind of cars that these characters end up driving, including Harmony Cobel’s (Patricia Arquette) 1982 Volkswagen Rabbit and Mark Scout’s (Adam Scott) 1997 Volvo 960.
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Moreover, Lumon’s corrosive influence extends way beyond its corporate buildings: It’s present in its birthing cabins, company-owned factory towns, and even when you chat with your neighbor, who you think is devoid of ulterior motives. As Erickson puts it, it’s “a slightly skewed version of our reality” where the notions of time, space, and scientific progress are consciously warped to suit a corrupt mega-corporation’s whims.
The first two seasons of “Severance” are available to stream on Apple TV+.
