Pluribus’ Hive Mind and Western Civ… And a Book Update!
On my recent trip to see my Dad in Hawaii, I had to opportunity to kill time on the airplane by indulging in some shows that I hadn’t seen yet. One of them was AppleTV’s Pluribus.
While I have not seen a lot of the groundbreaking science fiction properties that the show was riffing on (ie Invasion of the Body Snatchers), I’ve encountered the concept of a hive mind already in shows like Rick and Morty and Star Trek: The Next Generation. The general conceit of the trope is that, via a forced conversion process, the “hive mind” slowly displaces an entire population, overriding the inhabitants’ will, until only a rogue, unpredictable element thwarts (or doesn’t!) the viral-like spread. Similar to zombie films, the terror of losing our innate will speaks to our Western Enlightenment sensibilities, valuing Reason as our most valuable asset. That is, the loss of individuality poses a threat to our autonomy, because our autonomy is what makes us special and unique.
Where Pluribus upsets the traditional formula of the lone hero fighting back against an unrelenting horde of “sameness” is that the “hive mind” state achieved in the show promotes a utopian ideal of unrestricted cooperation. As Koumba points out (one of the “immune” individuals that remains autonomous, alongside the show’s lead, Carol Sturka, and several others), ideologies and identities that would be used to discriminate against others have effectively vanished in the wake of the earth’s population being subsumed into the hive mind. Also, there is the unfettered distribution of resources among the world’s inhabitants and the democratization of knowledge (enabling every human with pooled intelligence). It’s implied that, because the world now equally experiences all things, all at once, humanity is incentivized to reduce it’s own self-inflicted suffering through acts of generosity and deference.
Of those immune to the effects of the hive mind, Koumba and Carol appear to be the only two remaining survivors that root their sociological understanding of the world within a typical Western Enlightenment mindset. This contrasts against the de-emphasized individualism that the other survivors exude, as each hail from societies that have historically valued cohesiveness and social consensus over western expressions of individualism. (There’s some Japanese novels that I read in college where embracing Western ideals resulted in tragedy, implying that things like wild gestures of love were irresponsible and detrimental to the family and it’s values.) Carol’s disdain for the other survivors is apparent, incredulous of why they aren’t outraged and wanting to fix or save humanity. The show then becomes a study in toxicity, revealing the depths of Carol’s self-inflicted misery, leaving the audience wondering if maybe the problem is actually with her and not the hive mind.
I’ll drop further posts as the watch continues. Hopefully it goes somewhere interesting.
My lack of social media presence continues to irk me, but honestly it’s been nice to give up that part of me. I feel freer and unrestricted. Less anxious about being constantly “plugged in” to the greater world as a whole.
Turing’s Miscellany has left my hands and moved on to be compiled and designed by a friend. The hope is that I can get it formatted for print on demand as soon as possible. Whether to release it as a paperback or a hardcover, I’ve weighed the pros and cons. At the moment, paperback feels more appropriate given it being an anthology.
Anyways, I’m hoping to get more regular with my posting again, now that the book is finished. Of course, there’s the upcoming trilogy that I’ve been planning for some time. All my preliminary research materials have been purchased. I only now have to read… well… a lot.
Until then!
