Craving an anti-American show where the “elites” are playing ‘god’ without permission? Look no further than Mr. Robot, a drama set to premiere on USA starting June 24, 2015.
“Sometimes I dream of saving the world,” the protagonist mused in one of several promotional clips for the show, “Saving everyone from the Invisible Hand - the top 1 percent of the best that play ‘god’ without permission. And now I think they’re following me.” In the official trailer, the show’s hero describes himself as a “vigilante hacker” by night.
Anyone familiar with economics would hear the phrase “invisible hand” and realize it is an attack on free market economics. It’s a phrase that was used by economist Adam Smith in 1776 to explain how free economic decisions by individuals through capitalism benefits society overall, as if guided by an “invisible hand.”
According to a USA Network press release, Mr. Robot will follow an “unlikely hero” recruited into an underground hacking group headed by an anarchist whose ambition is to take down corporate America. A corporate America which is supposedly pulling the strings in a puppet world. How very Occupy Wall Street.
Since the 2008 recession, liberals in the media and in entertainment have played on anti-wealth and anti-business sentiment time and time again. Mr. Robot is just another example.
USA Network (owned by Comcast) touted the show as a compelling narrative of twenty-first century America and described it as “contemporary and culturally resonant.” The president of USA Network Chris McCumber even gushed, “MR. ROBOT could not be more timely and relevant.”
The very premise of Mr. Robot is dismally anti-American and anti-business. The entire show is built around the idea that corporate businesses have destroyed the American Dream and now have the world locked in a socialist-esque gridlock. Yet, USA called it “culturally resonant.”
Its anti-capitalist, anti-American theme was most blatant on the show’s website, which opens with a feigned chat log from Mr. Robot. He types, “there’s a part of you that’s exhausted with this world… a world that decides where you work, who you see, and how you empty and fill your depressing bank account.” The site then displayed four graphics with blatant business-is-evil statements:
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Patriot: The American Dream is a myth
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Executive: Everyone steals. That’s how it works.
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Capitalist: Give a man a gun and he’ll rob a bank. Give a man a bank and he’ll rob the world.
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Businessman: You’ve been owned.
According to Entertainment Weekly, USA launched a new online marketing campaign for Mr. Robot at the end of April which included four ads. Those ads said,“F--k Wall St,” “F--k Society,” “F--k Social Media,” and “F--k the system.” In each advertisement, the middle letters of the expletive were covered by a picture of the computer tech protagonist. The explicit, offensive ads succinctly summed up the tone of Mr. Robot as well as many liberals’ attitude toward business and industry.
