Mr.+Robot+Discussion+-+Freedom

The issue raised in //Mr. Robot// is this: You think you are free to choose, but are you? Or are others making decisions for you and giving you the illusion of freedom of choice?

Examples from //Mr. Robot//:   Closing thought: Propaganda makes up our mind for us, but in such a way that it leaves us the sense of pride and satisfaction of men who have made up their own minds. And in the last analysis, propaganda achieves this effect because we want it to. This is one of the few real pleasures left to modern man: this illusion that he is thinking for himself when, in fact, someone else is doing his thinking for him. —Thomas Merton
 * "Mr. Robot" tells Elliot: "You know it controls you and everyone you care about…Money." Perhaps this gnawing feeling is the reason that Elliot is quick to declare that he doesn't care about money. (Elliot is true to his declaration, turning down a chance to make millions by getting his hands dirty at E Corp and demonstrating that he's free from E Corp's power.)
 * Thinking things over as he faces tough choices, Elliot muses: "Choices…Do we decide them or do they decide us?"
 * Governments are presumably democracies, but the "top 1% of the top 1%…the guys that play God without permission" make decisions that affect everyone, without our consent. For Elliot, Darlene, and Angela, it was the loss of a parent because executives chose to ignore clear health hazards, causing E Corp employees to die of leukemia.
 * Corporations offer a wide array of products to choose from, and we are free not to buy anything at all. Of course, marketing has a say in the matter.
 * After complaining about life's limited choices (Coke vs. Pepsi, McDonald's vs. Burger King), Elliot decides to make a tough decision and turn in the drug dealer, even though that decision forces him to accept other decisions.
 * When Elliot's decisions lead to despair, his psychologist reminds him that "you found options, Elliot. That's the power you have. That's the control you own."
 * According to Mr. Robot, the problem with companies like "Evil Corp" is that "the people don't have freedom of choice as long as [they] exist."
 * Elliot, Darlene, and to some degree Angela are all driven to behave a certain way. Their actions are personal, yet they really are the result of an uncountable number of events that all occurred before, most notably the Washington Township Leak. In one of his more depressed moments, Elliot makes the analogy to computer daemons (an obvious reference to our "demons"): "Primal urges, repressed memories, unconscious habits, … They're always there, always active. We can try to be right. We can try to be good. We can try to make a difference. But it's all b--s--. Because intentions are irrelevant. They don't drive us. Daemons do."
 * Elliot continually thinks about and talks about having "control." Elliot recognizes that you need to be "in control" in order to have freedom. Otherwise, you're doing what others want.
 * In her very thoughtful and deliberate way, Angela decides to take the offer to work at E Corp, apparently with the idea that she can best take it down from the inside. Nevertheless, we definitely get a sense that Terry Colby and/or Phillip Price are pulling all the strings.
 * Behind all the scenes, we see Whiterose pulling the real strings.
 * During Elliot's identity crisis, Mr. Robot yells at him that "control is an illusion."

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