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Comment by rantanplan | Hacker News Reader

Everything you said is just spot on. Every single word is like exactly how I feel about the show.

I have no clue why you're getting downvoted.

I suspect that at a certain age shows like Fight Club or Mr Robot are deep and edgy, but when you've been around the block a bit the world is less black and white and a lot more grey. I hate to play the ageist card here, I really do, but teen or 20 something me would be over the moon for Mr Robot. Modern me, not so much. The whole "we must crush The Man(TM) and only then will we have utopia" is just too much to swallow, even if the show flirts occasionally with criticizing that message, but that is the take-away if you remotely relate to any of the protagonists. If anything, a rational look at this show makes Elliot look like the dangerous psychopath that he is and the "bad guys" are the ones trying to make sure everyone keeps their jobs and homes.

I also think the whole Chinese domination against a weak and emotional West is a tired cliche, the same way the 80s had Japanese domination over a weak and emotional west in fiction. Mr Robot could be our Rising Sun (1993), where it will seem ridiculous, baiting, and pandering to future viewers.

I somewhat agree but Season 2 certainly introduces more "grey".

I keep seeing comments that the show is not accessible (e.g. previous poster " I just wish it was a better and more accessible show.") but then comments that it is pandering to the audience by being unoriginal with tropes.

I would argue in large part to be "accessible" aka relevant to many is to be contextual of the current times and slightly unoriginal.

China right now is hacking the US. This is widely known. What other entity should be picked? You could go ultra scifi and go with aliens but I would imagine that would make the show fairly targeted to inaccessible (scifi has historical had a tough time in prime time).

I admit the whole evil company / sticking to the man motive is overdone but that is sort of inline with the hacking we have seen (which is what the article sort of delves into).

Nah I think the age aspect is correct.

Sometimes I keep forgetting that I'm well over my thirties.

But in any case, the show did make an awesome debut, but all the cliches and weird pacing(especially in 2nd season) ruined it for me.

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