Workism

How working is a religion in Hollywood's stories

‘She's early here,' Lou says, pointing at Vivian with his head while arriving at Manhattan Magazine's office in New York.

‘She has been here for the last 12 hours’, Maud answers. They were talking about Vivian Kent, their colleague at the magazine. She has headphones on and is frantically tapping her keyboard, completely focused on the screen.

This is just one of the many scenes in the new Netflix hit show Inventing Anna, that portrays a somewhat problematic relationship with work. Later in the same episode, Vivian's water will break, and she will still be torn between continuing to work and going to the hospital to give birth.

The series is a love letter to the overworking lifestyle of the US, which is usually portrayed as even more extreme in New York. ‘If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere.' This famous Sinatra phrase is even used at the main characters Anna Delvey's court defense.

Anna Delvey (or Sorokin) frauded banks and took hundreds of thousands of dollars from wealthy New Yorkers while pretending she was a German heiress. It's an interesting story in itself, and the show is quite fun. Shonda Rhymes sure knows how to entertain.

Even so, I couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed about the underlying messages the show portrayed. Especially how toxic working relations and workaholic situations are portrayed with complete normalcy, even as a good thing. Something to strive for.

The show seems to absolve some of Anna's fault for stealing, not because she only frauded banks and rich people—who were reimbursed or got even richer afterward—but because she worked very hard. In her best friend Neffe's words: 'She's a hustler.'

With increasing anti-work movements and huge numbers of resignations, this passionate view of work feels a little anachronic. Covid shone a new light on work relations and exploration. We started questioning the centrality of work in our lives and how toxic views of work can be detrimental to our mental health. There's finally a push-back hustle culture. But our current view of working hard is still almost religious.

Workism

I first read about workism in an Atlantic article by Derek Thompson. The idea is that we treat work as a religion. Being what gives meaning to our lives:

'What is workism? It is the belief that work is not only necessary to economic production, but also the centerpiece of one’s identity and life’s purpose; and the belief that any policy to promote human welfare must always encourage more work.’

This idea is extremely ingrained in us, as well as in our stories. It's the chicken and the egg. Is it so present in our mindsets because of the stories we are told—or do the movies, series, and books just reflect the reality back to us?

It's far easier to find a story where the main character has a blurred relationship with their job than one that has a great work-life balance. The blurred relationship is usually just brushed off as commitment. Even when working conditions are clearly awful, the solution the movie finds is saying the character should buckle up, work harder and endure anything.

The Devil wears Prada

We cannot talk about working relations in movies and not talk about The Devil Wears Prada. Maybe the movie with more discussions on the topic.

In the aftermath of the #me-too movement, there were many revisions of this movie, stating that her boyfriend and friends were awful and actually the villains from the movie. Those articles were pointing out how they were undermining her career.

I have never seen it this way, and I don't think anyone should. She had an extremely toxic boss and work. Andy's friends tried to point out how bad was the situation, to which she would always reply that she didn't have a choice of not doing whatever Miranda wanted. But that's not true. We always have choices. Her choice of going to a work event, out of a sudden on her boyfriend's birthday for instance is quite shitty, no matter what.

Asking someone that works for you to do impossible tasks such as obtaining a manuscript of a book that hasn't been released is a type of harassment. It's not a test to see how good an employee is. It doesn't depend on being good at your job or not.

No one should be available 24/7 and treated badly, even if you are an assistant to someone famous. The choice of her job over her relationships is not one anyone should be taking, and in the end, she understands that she doesn't want to be like Miranda—because Miranda is utterly unhappy—and finally walks out.

How stories help normalize situations like these

The power of audiovisuals has been manifested and exploited politically, socially, and economically throughout history. Politicians have successfully used films as propaganda for the last century and shaped the population's views about wars and much more. This shows the raw power of stories—an immense power that has shaped our culture and lives.

A good story can entertain, educate, and inspire the viewer in many ways. Because we feel empathy for the characters, their stories became a little bit our stories, and their realities a little bit the norm.

Watching or reading so many characters whose lives are so focused on work, gives us a sense, even if subconsciously that's the norm. So, we try to emulate this to fit in.

Every story is set and developed in a particular culture. They are an integral part of us; they mirror what we believe and how we coexist as people. It is easier to see our concerns, attitudes, flaws, and strengths in films than it is to decipher them from our daily interactions.

When our prevalent beliefs and ideologies are challenged in films, we are sometimes able to interrogate ourselves and embrace change. On the same note, when they are constantly reiterated, these beliefs continue to live on and play a big part in our lives. The continuous portrayal of work as central to many stories reiterates its centrality to our lives and societies.

---

What to read?

The bonfire of vanities by Tom Wolfe. In this book's introduction, the author explains he wanted to write a book about New York. Although it does portray quite well the big apple in the '80s this book is much more than that. It shows how work is central to the main characters. It molds them and their views of the city. It's their ego and how they chase power.

What to watch?

Big (1988). Sometimes we feel like little kids trapped in an adult body, right?

Watch Tom Hanks cope with the concept of Adulting as he tries to meddle with grown-ups, get a job, and get used to it all. He is a teenager that turns magically into an adult. This surreal transition reminds us of when we started our working lives and how confusing it can feel.

What to binge?

Inventing Anna. If you still haven't watched it, you should. It's a fun series, where apparently Shonda Rhymes put the whole cast of her former success Scandal in.

It has some weird devotion to work and frivolous money spending, but still worth it if you have a critical eye, or if you are just looking for some fun series.