(BD TOP NEWS BLOG) Lumon Industries is a hypothetical biotech firm at the center of the Apple TV+ TV show Severance, which debuted in 2022. The company is a nightmare vision of corporate control, based on a groundbreaking treatment that divides workers' work and private memories, effectively forming two distinct states of consciousness out of the same individual. It is a real cause for concern in relation to identity, agency, and the modern workplace, and so Lumon is a fascinating subject to explore.
Established in 1865 by Kier Eagan, Lumon initially started as a small company engaged in the manufacturing of topical salves but gradually spread its presence into pharmaceuticals, medical technology, cosmetics, and personal care. With the passage of time, it transformed into a strong multinational organization that dominated many industries. The town of Kier, founded by its namesake, is a testament to Lumon's sweeping hegemony, with almost half of the town's population employed by the company. As Lumon expanded, so did its corporate philosophy, which became ever more enshrined in near-religious worship of Kier Eagan, whose teachings and philosophy continue to be at the heart of the company's business and culture.
The firing procedure, Lumon's most controversial and characteristic tech, is a brain implant that obtains a strict bifurcation of an employee's work self and personal self. The individual's consciousness is cut in half such that their "innie" (work self) has no recollection or memory of their existence outside work, and their "outie" (personal self) has no recollection of work activities. The system is marketed as a fresh solution to optimize work-life and productivity, so that workers are fully engaged while at work and can live their own lives without the stress of their job creeping into it. This separation is deeply troubling, particularly for the "innie," who is trapped in a cycle of work with no agency or leverage beyond the walls of Lumon. The existence of an entity that has no awareness beyond work, and no rest or respite, complicates fundamental notions of human agency and self-determination.
Company culture at Lumon is deeply rooted in the teachings of Kier Eagan, whose teachings are scripture within the corporation. Employees on the severed floor are reminded every day of the nine fundamental values he taught: Vision, Verve, Wit, Cheer, Humility, Benevolence, Nimbleness, Probity, and Wiles. These values are embedded in the workforce through company-approved literature, rituals, and even celebratory rewards designed to make loyalty attractive. The office itself is an oppressive and antiseptic environment, with uniformed corridors, windowless offices, and a deliberately disorienting design intended to prevent employees from getting a sense of the scope of Lumon's operations. This atmosphere is utilized to alienate and manage the severed employees, making them feel dependent on the company and withholding from them any external perspective.
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The company's departments operate in utmost secrecy, with workers having highly specific but seemingly meaningless tasks to perform. The Macrodata Refinement (MDR) department, where most of Severance takes place, compels employees to sort out numbers on the basis of vague emotional criteria, without access to what the data are. Other departments, such as Optics and Design, also appear to be performing equally mysterious roles, contributing to the overall sense of unease and manipulation. Even the existence of a strange "goat department" in which employees tend to an unseen herd of goats with blind necessity only contributes to the sinister ambiance. This intentional ambiguity forces workers to labor in blind compliance, affirming their reliance on the corporate structure.
At the top of Lumon's hierarchy is the mysterious Board, a group that communicates only through intermediaries and is seldom heard from directly. This lack of transparency helps create the sense of fear and repression within the company, as employees are not told what they do. Harmony Cobel, a chief enforcer of Lumon's policies, is a great example of the repressive style of management used by the company. As the supervisor of the severed workers, she has total authority over their professional lives as well as invading their personal lives on a presumed identity. Her double role as a regulator and a voyeur reveals the extent of Lumon's power, which makes it hard to separate professional obligations from personal coercion.
The ethical implications of severance are the subject of the narrative of Severance. The process raises questions about consent, as the "innie" is not asked about their existence and cannot quit, so they are a captive worker. The concept of a consciousness that exists to only labor is disturbing in itself, as it takes away the fundamental human experience of relaxation, relationships, and self-growth. The show addresses the psychological toll of such a life, illustrating the experience of despair, rebellion, and struggle towards autonomy in the severed workers. Their journey towards self-awareness and resistance against Lumon makes the theme the dangers of unchecked capitalist power and commodification of the mind.
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The series also delves into the broader implications of office culture, likening it to real-world effects such as corporate surveillance, the erasure of work-life boundaries, and the dehumanization of employees in big business. Lumon is a dystopian caricature of modern corporate culture, in which employees are nothing but wheels in a machine, lacking autonomy and personality. The forced jollity, compulsory team-building activities, and forced rewards are all a reflection of how actual corporations try to create loyalty while stifling dissent. Severance decries the idea that one's identity should be defined by work, forcing the viewer to rethink the place of labor in their own life.
Aside from its critique of corporate culture, Lumon is a reflection of the risks of unregulated technological progress. The severance process is a deed of draconian bioengineering, one that transforms the essence of human consciousness. Presented as a voluntary act, the process quickly proves its malevolent impact, most notably in how it lends itself to exploitation and control. The series raises concerns about the ethics of brain modification and the potential for technology being used against personal freedom. In a world where scientific breakthrough is all too frequently driven by greed, not morality, Lumon stands as a warning about the unforeseen consequences of tampering with human consciousness.
The way in which Lumon's true motives are hidden in plain sight adds an additional layer of tension and horror to its depiction. The corporation's enormous authority, mysterious top echelons, and fanatical cult-like loyalty to Kier Eagan suggest that there is more at stake than corporate domination lurking behind its motives. There are hints throughout the series of a deeper, more sinister motivation, including possible mind control, experimentation, and continuance of an ideological legacy. This is all done in an atmosphere of mystery that keeps the characters and the audience suspended in suspense, reinforcing the idea that Lumon exists outside the bounds of moral norms.
The battle of control and resistance is the key struggle in Severance, where the severed workers slowly realize the truth about their world and attempt to regain their autonomy. Their struggle represents the power of human spirit and human natural will to be independent regardless of how far-reaching the oppression. As time goes by, their acts of rebellion become more apparent and contest the seemingly impregnable stranglehold of Lumon. The conflict between individual agency and corporate control is performed in a powerful and emotional drama, making people question the morality of modern workplaces and the limits of corporate power.
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In the end, Lumon Industries is not just a piece of fiction—it is a reflection of realized fears about work, technology, and personal freedom. Its ghoulish practices and haunted corporate culture make it a compelling metaphor for the perils of unchecked power. In its exploration of severance, the series forces us to pose uncomfortable questions about identity, agency, and the nature of work itself. By doing so, it offers a chilling but provocative critique of contemporary society, warning against a future in which employer and employee are blurred to unwholesome extremes.
here are some possibilities based on its corporate and mysterious nature:
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Syndicate
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Monolith
Cartel
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Megacorp
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