Maniac explores the problem of loneliness, relationships, and the need for human connection.
Human connection is vital to human health. The search for human connection is a natural part of being human and that connection can be found a number of different ways. Maniac, a new show on Netflix, is a study on human connection and the difficulty of finding it in modern society.
Maniac And The Search For Human Connection
Maniac opens with Dr. Mantleray talking about the loss of human connection, “It’s quite terrible to be alone. Put simply, my goal is to eradicate all unnecessary and inefficient forms of human pain, forever. We must evolve past our suffering. My research into this matter is, of course, ongoing.” There are services such as Friend Proxy to help people to find friends and relationships in this futuristic drama. Human connection seems difficult to find at best in this future society and impossible to find at worst. Dr. Mantleray hopes to find a cure to solve the problem of loneliness and the lack of human connection. This Netflix show hits home today as people have become lonelier and it has become more difficult to meet people.
Human connection has become more difficult to find today as a result of isolation, work, and micro-communities. Isolation has increased as traditional communities have broken as a result of technology, travel, living in areas with people who don’t share the same values, and growth of government. People are working more as living in cities has become more expensive and the cost of living has increased in major cities across the country. Micro-communities have risen with social media where people only connect and talk to people who share their same values. There are even actual micro-communities where people live in the same community with those who share their same values. The combination of isolation and only attending functions with a very small community online or in-person has created a loss of human connection today.
While there is nothing wrong with being alone, working, and spending time with people who share your views, it has resulted in a breakdown of communication today. You should strive to seek human connection even though it is reportedly more difficult today because being social is necessary for human health. If you don’t have many friends or social connections, be creative and find ways to make social connections. Humans are by nature social creatures.
Summary
Choose to take a risk and make a new friend or ask a friend to do something. As the nation continues to get more divided as a result of the prevalence of identity politics and tribalism that separate people into set groups, it is important that people are able to talk with people from different backgrounds and to remain civil. We must work past the number of things that are isolating and separating people into groups they never leave and learn to communicate and be rational again. Otherwise, Maniac may become a reality in our world instead of merely a Netflix show.
