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Back again to the retro-future

<2022-04-02>

Recently I've been watching (and enjoying) "Severance" on Apple TV. The sets and overall aesthetic of the show are a huge part of it; the faceless creepy white hallways and generic modern office decor really underscore the anomie of the corporate environment. A prominent feature of which are the office computers, which are in fact somewhat enhanced versions of 1970s computer terminals.

This wouldn't be at all surprising if the show was set in the 70s - I mean, it's hardly remarkable that "Halt and Catch Fire" featured a bunch of 80s computing tech. But Severance is set in the present day, so it's a bit unexpected to see contemporary office workers kitted out with such old gear.

It would be even more unexpected, except that old computers anachronistically inserted into the present has sort of become a thing lately. Not sure if it's yet enough of a thing to have become a cliché, but we might possibly call it a trend.

John Wick 2 (2017), John Wick 3 (2019). The present-day criminal underworld lines up its hits on Vic 20s apparently. Speculation on Reddit is that this somehow makes them more able to avoid being hacked. I suppose it is true that contemporary spyware will not run on a Vic 20. Neither will modern encryption, but hey, I'm not one to quibble. I've heard a similar rationale explained a Commodore 64C in Fast & Furious 9 (2021), but I haven't seen it.

Maniac (2018). It's been a while since I watched this one, but I seem to recall it featured a bunch of 80s computers in a present-day office setting, and one of the characters loading up some VR porn from a floppy disk. In contrast, other scenes featured a futuristic AI computer running a drug trial. I can't really think of a rationale for why the old tech makes an appearance, but this show is so weird that it probably doesn't need one.

Loki (2021). I guess it makes sense that the Time Variance Authority would be big into retro-futurism. As with Severance, the computer prominantly featured on the reception desk is really a terminal, in this case a Lear-Siegler ADM-3A. To give credit to the set designers, other retro-ish computers in the show are original designs, and they look great.

Severance (2022). Here, the office workers all have matching Data General Dasher D2s, upgraded to display simple graphics and even accept trackball input. This works thematically as a way to underscore the extreme separation between the office environment and the outside world. And I suppose, it could be seen as a way for management to better control the flow of information into and out of the space, by providing the workers with computers that can't do anything but run a singular office program.

But don't get me wrong. While I think it's a bit odd the computing tech of yesteryear has been turning up in so many shows lately, I'm not complaining. It is true that when I began writing up this entry I was thinking I'd have a more negative take (as in, gee whiz gang, get some new ideas) but having thought about it a bit more I've changed my mind. Particularly in the case of Severance, ruminating on the significance of the Dasher terminals led me to the insight that the show can be seen as an extended mediation on how authoritarian regimes consolidate their power through controlling information, up to and including the memory of their subjects in this case. (Possibly an obvious insight to others, but it took me a while to get there.) As long as the retro tech ties in conceptually with the rest of the show, no objections here.

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Back again to the retro-future was published on 2022-04-02