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After simmering at Ben Stiller’s Red Hour Production for nearly a decade, AppleTV+’s series Severance proved to be a massive success. Naturally, Apple did what any company with a successful television project does and renewed the series for a second season (concluded a few weeks back) followed by an order for Season 3. The whole show toys with the ideas of constructed identities, free will, and late-stage capitalism — the latter of which dictates that we shouldn’t let our personal lives affect our work performance.
We won’t really dive into the specifics of the show; if you’re already reading these lines, there’s more than a good chance that you know what Severance is and what it’s about. But we will point out that the series really leans into what that late-stage corporate culture looks like, especially in regard to its most mysterious figure — Lumon’s founder, Kier Eagan, who is basically deified by the employees and the company.
This isn’t by accident; massive companies tend to develop cult-like environments, especially when they’re led by individuals with intense, almost messianic personas. Take Apple as an example. When the founder becomes the brand, devotion to them becomes part of the job. Add a carefully curated language, like “We’re not just building software, we’re changing the world,” and you’ve got a message that would further inspire loyalty and devotion. It sure sounds better than “We’re optimizing ad delivery.” Anyway, back to the topic at hand: who exactly is Kier Eagan in Severance?
Kier Eagan is the founder of Lumon Industries and the central yet mysterious figure in Severance. Though worshiped with cult-like devotion within the company, he’s represented through art in the series — mostly through the series of paintings, sculptures, and audio recordings. He’s so revered by the employees that he’s treated as their leader, savior, mentor, and friend, despite being none of those things for a very long time. Yet, despite his death, his influence still looms large and shapes the company’s operations, as well as the lives of its employees.
There aren’t many things known about Kier Eagan’s childhood, but there are plenty of stories and portraits throughout the series that allude to his early life. Sadly, there aren’t any resources that would provide Lumon employees with the means to verify any of those stories. The only resources that are available are those carefully selected and provided by Lumon and its management, which further seek to deify the company’s founder for the purposes of manipulation and control of its employees.
Kier was born in 1841 to parents who shared a “close biological relationship,” which made him prone to afflictions like easy bruising and illnesses like tuberculosis. This was all commemorated in various art throughout the show. Despite his illnesses, Kier also exhibited a strong work ethic; he got his first job at 12 years old, stuffing chairs for a furniture tycoon, Edgar Willit, a mean and sadistic employer who often beat his employees with the leg of a dresser. Kier walked seven miles to and from his first job each day.
He also had a twin brother, Dieter, who suddenly began to decay and turn into sap, moss, and other woodland detritus after he “spilled his lineage” during their escape into the wilderness beyond their father’s ether mill, as described in the Fourth Appendix of the Compliance Handbook. Kier walked away from his brother’s suffering until he reached Woe’s Hollow, where he claimed he encountered the Temper known as Woe. He later entered Scissor Cave and tamed the Four Tempers, though Kier himself referred to the cave as “of his own mind.”
Later, while working as a stew-man at an ether company, he met his wife, Imogene — an event portrayed by The Courtship of Kier and Imogene, displayed in the Optics and Design department of Lumon Industries. He then spent some time in the military as a doctor, which gave him the idea of creating and selling his own medical salves, eventually leading to the foundation of Lumon Industries in 1865. Though the company’s beginnings were humble, Kier’s wealth of experience and strong work ethic soon brought enormous success and growth to Lumon.
During his tenure as the company’s CEO, from 1865 to 1939, Kier believed that the person’s work was a reflection of their deeper values and character. His speeches and lines were recorded and appear to form the base of Lumon’s employee code of conduct, which aims to educate employees on how to live, be more industrious, and be more diligent in their efforts. In addition to the Four Tempers that he claimed he tamed, Kier also laid out core principles that he expected Lumon employees to live by.
And while those principles formed the core of his belief system, the series doesn’t explain whether or not he followed his own principles to a T. Still, the current rhetoric at Lumon clearly portrays Kier as an infinitely wise, prophetic messiah who deserves endless worship and reverence. In the end, Kier remained the CEO of Lumon until the day he died. Even his death remains a mystery, as the series doesn’t even specify the circumstances of his death, apart from the fact that he was 98 years old at the time of passing.
In the end, the history of Kier Eagan remains shrouded in mystery, and for every fact we know, there appear to be two facts we don’t. Not only that, but it’s really difficult to know what is and isn’t true about Lumon’s founder. Still, one thing is certain: as long as Lumon exists, so too will the legend of Kier Eagan, half-man, half-myth, all corporate. And if the past is any clue, Kier’s not just rolling in his grave — he’s probably workshopping new corporate policies from it.
The post This May Not Be Lumon-Approved, but Here’s the History of Kier in ‘Severance’ appeared first on Black Girl Nerds.
After simmering at Ben Stiller’s Red Hour Production for nearly a decade, AppleTV+’s series Severance proved to be a massive success. Naturally, Apple did what any company with a successful television project does and renewed the series for a second season (concluded a few weeks back) followed by an order for Season 3. The whole show toys with the ideas of constructed identities, free will, and late-stage capitalism — the latter of which dictates that we shouldn’t let our personal lives affect our work performance.
We won’t really dive into the specifics of the show; if you’re already reading these lines, there’s more than a good chance that you know what Severance is and what it’s about. But we will point out that the series really leans into what that late-stage corporate culture looks like, especially in regard to its most mysterious figure — Lumon’s founder, Kier Eagan, who is basically deified by the employees and the company.
This isn’t by accident; massive companies tend to develop cult-like environments, especially when they’re led by individuals with intense, almost messianic personas. Take Apple as an example. When the founder becomes the brand, devotion to them becomes part of the job. Add a carefully curated language, like “We’re not just building software, we’re changing the world,” and you’ve got a message that would further inspire loyalty and devotion. It sure sounds better than “We’re optimizing ad delivery.” Anyway, back to the topic at hand: who exactly is Kier Eagan in Severance?
Kier Eagan is the founder of Lumon Industries and the central yet mysterious figure in Severance. Though worshiped with cult-like devotion within the company, he’s represented through art in the series — mostly through the series of paintings, sculptures, and audio recordings. He’s so revered by the employees that he’s treated as their leader, savior, mentor, and friend, despite being none of those things for a very long time. Yet, despite his death, his influence still looms large and shapes the company’s operations, as well as the lives of its employees.
There aren’t many things known about Kier Eagan’s childhood, but there are plenty of stories and portraits throughout the series that allude to his early life. Sadly, there aren’t any resources that would provide Lumon employees with the means to verify any of those stories. The only resources that are available are those carefully selected and provided by Lumon and its management, which further seek to deify the company’s founder for the purposes of manipulation and control of its employees.
Kier was born in 1841 to parents who shared a “close biological relationship,” which made him prone to afflictions like easy bruising and illnesses like tuberculosis. This was all commemorated in various art throughout the show. Despite his illnesses, Kier also exhibited a strong work ethic; he got his first job at 12 years old, stuffing chairs for a furniture tycoon, Edgar Willit, a mean and sadistic employer who often beat his employees with the leg of a dresser. Kier walked seven miles to and from his first job each day.
He also had a twin brother, Dieter, who suddenly began to decay and turn into sap, moss, and other woodland detritus after he “spilled his lineage” during their escape into the wilderness beyond their father’s ether mill, as described in the Fourth Appendix of the Compliance Handbook. Kier walked away from his brother’s suffering until he reached Woe’s Hollow, where he claimed he encountered the Temper known as Woe. He later entered Scissor Cave and tamed the Four Tempers, though Kier himself referred to the cave as “of his own mind.”
Later, while working as a stew-man at an ether company, he met his wife, Imogene — an event portrayed by The Courtship of Kier and Imogene, displayed in the Optics and Design department of Lumon Industries. He then spent some time in the military as a doctor, which gave him the idea of creating and selling his own medical salves, eventually leading to the foundation of Lumon Industries in 1865. Though the company’s beginnings were humble, Kier’s wealth of experience and strong work ethic soon brought enormous success and growth to Lumon.
During his tenure as the company’s CEO, from 1865 to 1939, Kier believed that the person’s work was a reflection of their deeper values and character. His speeches and lines were recorded and appear to form the base of Lumon’s employee code of conduct, which aims to educate employees on how to live, be more industrious, and be more diligent in their efforts. In addition to the Four Tempers that he claimed he tamed, Kier also laid out core principles that he expected Lumon employees to live by.
And while those principles formed the core of his belief system, the series doesn’t explain whether or not he followed his own principles to a T. Still, the current rhetoric at Lumon clearly portrays Kier as an infinitely wise, prophetic messiah who deserves endless worship and reverence. In the end, Kier remained the CEO of Lumon until the day he died. Even his death remains a mystery, as the series doesn’t even specify the circumstances of his death, apart from the fact that he was 98 years old at the time of passing.
In the end, the history of Kier Eagan remains shrouded in mystery, and for every fact we know, there appear to be two facts we don’t. Not only that, but it’s really difficult to know what is and isn’t true about Lumon’s founder. Still, one thing is certain: as long as Lumon exists, so too will the legend of Kier Eagan, half-man, half-myth, all corporate. And if the past is any clue, Kier’s not just rolling in his grave — he’s probably workshopping new corporate policies from it.
The post This May Not Be Lumon-Approved, but Here’s the History of Kier in ‘Severance’ appeared first on Black Girl Nerds.
The classic board game Monopoly is on the verge of having a big media moment and resurgence. Not only is there a Monopoly movie in the works from Margot Robbie, but now a reality competition series based on the game has landed on Netflix. News about the reality series broke via Deadline. The streaming giant has had quite a bit of success with reality competition shows based on famous IPs lately. Shows like The Golden Ticket, based on the world of Willy Wonka, for example. Also, the recent Squid Game reality competition series, based on their own scripted TV series.
The synopsis from Hasbro for the forthcoming Monopoly competition series describes it as “A large-scale social-experiment contest. Strategy, alliances, and cutthroat competition will collide as contestants battle for fortune and navigate the fine line between capitalism and chaos. Players will test their friendships, acquire riches, and try to own it all by any means necessary.” Hasbro has found success turning other iconic board games into competition shows, like Scrabble and Trivial Pursuit. But perhaps no board game has as much name-brand recognition as Monopoly does. Hasbro absorbed the rights to Monopoly back in 1991.
The original Monopoly board game first hit store shelves exactly 90 years ago, in 1935, from game company Parker Brothers. It was an instant success, capturing the attention of adults and children alike. It has since gone on to sell a staggering 275 million copies around the world. It’s also been translated into dozens of languages. Elements of the game have made their way into the English language vernacular, such as “Get out of jail free card.” There are few board games that can claim that level of pop cultural penetration. There’s no word yet as to when the Monopoly series will go into production, or when the show will drop on Netflix.
The post MONOPOLY Reality Competition Series Finds a Home at Netflix appeared first on Nerdist.
There are so many people to thank for the many comic book films that have been created over the span of two decades. Some were simple introductions to characters that we already know and love, while others were so mind blowing that we can’t even believe we got to see them take place on screen. Prime example would be seeing Hugh Jackman team up with Ryan Reynolds in Deadpool & Wolverine after social media quite literally begged for it to happen.
There are thousands of comic books with arcs that are amazing, but they haven’t been brought to life for whatever reason. Studios like Warner Bros’ DC sector and Marvel often create their own stories but will pull bits and pieces from the source material. This leaves space for the imagination to run wild knowing they aren’t 100% comic book accurate, although many of us wish they were. On the other hand, there are some ideas that were brought to the forefront, teased as possibilities, then poof, never to be heard about again. Let’s take a dive into several comic book arcs that will never be movies.
The Sinister Six
Oh boy, did we think this was slowly forming into the next big thing since the Avengers. When members of the Sinister Six started popping up in films left and right, we just KNEW we were in for a box office smash the moment creatives decided they were ready to write this project. Then, they left us hanging.
While there are many associates to the villainous team, the primary members are Doc Ock, Sandman, Kraven the Hunter, Electro, Mysterio, and Vulture. Each of those characters have now been played on screen, with Aaron Taylor-Johnson being the latest one in last year’s poorly received Kraven the Hunter. When we first met Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina) and Sandman (Thomas Haden Church) in Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man 2, nerds everywhere were geeking out at the thought of what they were potentially forming. Then a few years go by and we are teased yet again when we are introduced to Electro (Jamie Foxx) in Andrew Garfield’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
Those films never got their third installment (tragic, as Garfield is a great Peter Parker), but more years pass and we get a young Tom Holland ready to play with our heart strings again. These films included incredible side characters like Vulture (Batman, I mean: Michael Keaton) and Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal), and it was at that moment where Marvel Studios had the perfect opportunity to really give the people what they wanted — then they didn’t.
Many speculate the real reason was the business aspect of the battle for character rights between Sony and Disney (who owns Marvel), but that has long been resolved. Whatever the reason is, not having a Sinister 6 film when it’s a prominent story line within Marvel’s original comic books is a tragedy. I know they say never say never, but with the way Kraven flopped, it’s safe to say this won’t become a reality in this multiverse.
Spider-Man vs. Venom
I know what you’re thinking: “We did get this in Spider-Man 3 between Maguire and Topher Grace’s Venom!” No… no we did not because we have erased that memory from existence. Sure, it happened, but it was so diluted by the many villains in the film that it didn’t get a proper platform to thrive. Not to mention, Grace’s take on the character wasn’t as dark or enjoyable as he could have been given that he was an extremely awful casting choice.
The real robbery occurred when we were given a post credit scene of Tom Hardy’s Venom at the conclusion of Spider-Man: No Way Home, tempting us with the idea that he could face off against Holland’s Peter Parker, giving us the match-up we really deserve. In true Marvel fashion, that never transpired into anything as Hardy had his final role as Eddie Brock in Venom: The Last Dance last October. With Venom being one of the biggest villains in the Marvel catalogue, it’s quite sad knowing we won’t get to see that ultimate match up. I mean, with three Venom flicks, it was wild we didn’t even get a glimpse of what Spidey was doing the entire time (like, how are you both running around in New York doing vigilante stuff and not cross paths?)
So to put it quite plainly, we were robbed, especially given that, while all three Spider-Man actors are extremely great, Hardy was such an entertaining Eddie Brock, and we may not get another like him.
Henry Cavill’s Man of Steel Sequel
This take might not be so much comic book related, but more so on the film aspect since Henry Cavill is arguably the best Superman we’ve gotten as of late (many may stand on the idea that Christopher Reeve is the best, but to each their own). Man of Steel is a masterpiece and the casting director that landed on Cavill deserves endless praise as he is such a phenomenal Clark Kent. He has the looks, the build, and the persona to play a hero in disguise and fans were eagerly awaiting a sequel to the highly successful first installment that released back in 2013. But not only did we not get it, it was recently announced that Cavill was no longer going to be playing Kent as James Gunn chose to go a different direction with the character and recast.
This stunned many as it didn’t make much sense. Cavill is still in his prime and gave no signs of being done playing Superman, so why the switch up? Social media was in a frenzy when Cavill announced he was hanging up his cape. Fast forward to now where we have a new actor stepping into the role, with many noticing his uncanny resemblance to Cavill himself; 29-year-old David Corenswet will don the S on his chest in this year’s Superman: Legacy, marking his first major role (you may recall seeing him in Twisters this past summer).
Regardless of our broken hearts of not seeing Man of Steel 2 become a reality, we can’t knock the fact that Superman: Legacy actually looks good, might I say? Only time will tell as the film is set to release July 11, 2025.
The post Comic Book Arcs That Will Never Be Movies appeared first on Black Girl Nerds.