representation and reality

What makes this show so interesting to me is not that it's about rich white people, but that it's a show written by privileged white people adored by privileged white people. What interests me is my own perspective, because I have a birds eye view of the system mediated by the system it's portraying. I get to absorb the message of Succession and see how true its message is in real time. The writers did an amazing job, and part of that success is due to them pulling from so many pieces of classical literature. It's Western canon shaped by Western canon; of course the present West is going to love it. It's over-glorified in our society but I do think it is quite good. That always seems to be the tension with combatting the West, doesn't it? That part of their "supremacy" comes from a valid claim of capability. 

Succession is a mirror of society. They are quite accurately portraying the lives of billionaires. I am absolutely not a billionaire, but I have had a peek at that society due to my mother's profession-- she was a classical ballet dancer trained in France. She toured the world as a dancer and as a teacher, which I was fortunate enough to be a part of. I've stayed in the homes of billionaires and dined with presidents of nations and Succession looks just like that world. As to the levels of personal abuse in the families of billionaires, I cannot be sure of its accuracy but I don't doubt it. Tyrants rule the world as they see fit and their world starts with their family. 

praise: an element of white supremacy

Succession has won 155 awards and was nominated 303 times over the its five year run, including 19 Primetime Emmy Award wins and 75 nominations, 8 Critics Choice Awards, and 18 Golden Globes. To say Succession dominated the Western television world in the early 2020s would be an understatement. Their presence left little room for other television shows to shine and set the tone for what the performing arts and television world should aspire to. The shows nominated after it like The Bear, White Lotus, and Ted Lasso have that white dramedy essence. We live in a capitalist world, just like the Roys, where everything being produced is controlled. There are always influences at play.

Evaluating the cultural response to Succession tells us what this world values right now. Its popularity is overinflated, just like how the influence of the Roys are overinflated. It is evidence of white supremacy and capitalism and Western supremacy at work in our life today. But the internal message of Succession, as much as Jesse Armstrong could get out around pushback he faced, tells you to be critical of all of this. You should look at Succession’s over-glorification and realize there is a lot to condemn about the society we live in. Knowing the similarities between Succession’s world and our world, we can see what it means for Succession itself to be a product of a capitalist world. It reminds me of The Hunger Games movies. Our entertainment world got so focused on Team Gale or Team Peeta when the whole story was about Katniss and how horrible their society was. Hollywood raves over Succession but we should all be asking why, and see the answer reflected back to us.