To understand people the way Vince Gilligan understands them, it would take seven lives…or at least the vision of Walter White to realize how far someone can go when they feel they no longer see the world. Gilligan revealed in Breaking Bad. … How can an ordinary man be so completely transformed when frustration, pride and the need for recognition are mixed in the exact dose. That tough view of human nature remains intact in his new Apple TV+ series “Pluribus,” but this time he’s changed the Albuquerque desert into a sci-fi world where happiness is mandatory and freedom is an illusion.
The new series from the “Breaking Bad” creator follows the story of Carolina, the unhappiest person on Earth who must save a world tainted by happiness. Who takes this woman’s place is Rhea Seehorn, an actress who admits that she has been in situations not very far from those of her character. “We’ve all felt pressure to be nice, especially as women. We are taught to hide negative emotions, especially women more than men. There’s also the whole ‘self-help’ trend, which started in the ’80s and ’90s, which insists that you should be happy and not have any faults,” he confirms to the ABC.
The plot shows how an epidemic or virus transforms humanity into a happy and united mass, erasing individuality. The protagonist is one of the few people unaffected by the virus that turns humanity into happy, compliant citizens. However, throughout the series, Gilligan has no intention of writing a specific message, setting an agenda, or answering a question. The actress recalled Neil Postman’s words in an article comparing Brave New World to 1984, where he said: “Brave New World is scarier because it suggests that we will love our oppressors without realizing it.”
Karolina Wydra, who plays Zosia, a member of the collective consciousness who accompanies Carol, does not believe that society today is under pressure to be happier, even though there is greater access to information on how to improve. “Today we can explore our psyche, our wounds, and this is a positive thing. Although of course it can go to extremes. It’s okay to feel down sometimes; The important thing is to have the full range of emotions, not just happiness. “We need that dark part too,” says the actress.
In the midst of this collective crisis, her heroine must face society on her own, without anyone’s help, because she does not fit in with the rest and does not participate in the collective reaction. She finds herself isolated emotionally and physically: her struggle against this new “order” places her on the margins of society. “I’ve thought a lot about what it means to be alone.. In real life, I’m a mix of extrovert and introvert, and I need both sides to balance me out. But Carol is quite a misanthrope when the story begins; His partner was his connection to the world. “It was Carole who invited the neighbors over for barbecues, and Carole probably didn’t even know their names,” he explains. The moment everything disappears, the crisis begins. “I found it interesting to think: What if I was really alone? Completely alone. That existential idea of eternal solitude seemed terrifying to me. It’s not a month’s retreat in a cabin; it’s forever. “Carol doesn’t know whether or not the world will change again.
In this story, Gilligan once again turns his eyes to contemplating human nature, although this time through science fiction, where loneliness and isolation are major themes. However, both actresses realize that the goal of creators is not to convey a specific idea or thought, but rather to raise questions and make people think. “Many journalists have asked me if it is about artificial intelligence, because it is a current topic, although when Vince started thinking about the idea eight or nine years ago, artificial intelligence was already there, but it was not as central as it is today. Political or religious readings can be made, but he did not write from that place. I like to think that her goal is to inspire us to talk about what unites us as human beings rather than what divides us.“, they add.
About The Author
