The Society

Dystopian Fiction Has Been Moved to Current Affairs

In Episode 10 of Dystopian Fiction Has Been Moved to Current Affairs, Clare Coombe and Masha Yakovleva are discussing Netflix drama The Society.

CW: please be aware that this episode makes reference to suicide and domestic abuse.

In its single season, this is a drama that covers all aspects of how best a society should be organized and led, without resorting to a state-of-nature post-apocalyptic scenario. Instead, The Society takes place in (possibly) a parallel-universe version of a small American town, where everyone other than the senior high-schoolers seem to have disappeared. Furthermore, there is no longer any contact with the outside world, and it is unclear whether there is anything beyond the newly forested border to the town itself.

In this episode, we discuss how decisions are made for the new society, the role of a leader, dictatorship by consent, the introduction of elections, and both a leader's assassination and a military coup.

We talk about the sharing of resources, rationing, and the validity of personal property in times of constraint. We also consider the strengths and weaknesses of work rotas, a planned economy, and future-proofing in a society where there are no skilled workers or graduates.

The presentation of justice is of particular interest in The Society, including the powers and responsibilities of the police, the challenges of incarceration, the possibility of fair investigation and trial by jury, and whether implementing the death penalty for murder is justifiable.

We also discuss the impact of trauma on the characters, and how accommodations are made or not to avoid issues of physical and mental health and disability. Areas of interest include the benefits and challenges of community and shared living, and whether these help or hinder resilience.

The Society is one of those shows that raises repeated questions of 'What would you do?' for the audience. We'd love to hear your thoughts as to the decisions made by the characters and whether you would have done the same.

It's also the show that provided part of the inspiration behind the Being Society project, with which this podcast is linked. If you want to explore more of these questions, with accompanying resources, you can do so for free on the project website.

If you've enjoyed this episode, please do consider making a small donation to support our work.