The Analytic Insight of Mr Robot’s - Irving

The Value Of Dark Humor And A Dystopian Milkshake — a lesson from the first 2 minutes of Season 3 Episode 1

Season 3 of Mr Robot premiered this week. The opening two minutes was analytic brilliance… okay, that may be a bit much but it was a powerful lesson. The opening seven minutes of the show have been available in trailer format for quite a while. You can view it here:

We open in typical Mr Robot fashion — a mysterious character we have yet to be introduced to, with odd and somewhat uncomfortable mannerisms, in a place where the awkwardness of humanity is on full display. It is a simple enough interaction. Irving tries to redeem a free milkshake.

Cashier — Looks like you’re going to get a free milkshake, you lucky dog.

Irving — I’ll take chocolate, please.

Cashier — Oh, sorry, sir. That offer is only valid on your next visit.

Irving — I don’t understand. I got my punches. Didn’t you just say I could have a free milkshake?

Cashier — Yes, and you can redeem it on your next visit.

Irving — What’s the difference? I’m here now.

Cashier — I’m sorry, sir. That’s not the way it works.

Irving — Okay, should I just get out of line and then get back in?

Cashier — No, sir. You would have to redeem it on your next visit here.

Irving — Okay. What qualifies as a visit? Do I have to leave the premises and come back? Do I have to go home? Is it time-based? You see the faulty logic here, don’t you?

Cashier — Sir, those are the rules. You can speak to the manager, or I’d be happy to add a milkshake to your order for $12.95.

Irving — It’s not about the money.(CELL PHONE RINGS) It’s about the principle.

Cashier — Sir, there’s nothing I can do.

Dark Humor and Dystopian Milkshakes

I am going back to brilliant! Many people will see the dark humor of this dialogue. Plenty will reference a similar giveaway or loyalty program in their past. Some will reference the cynical business practice of “breakage” — providing rewards that are difficult to redeem. But as Irving notes — it is about the principle.

What qualifies as a visit? Many of you work for companies that have a concept, metric, data point labeled visitors. Most of you take this for granted. That statement is condemning of everyone; the product guy, the web developer, the DBA, the marketer, the executive, and … far too often… the analyst. But as our dialogue demonstrates, it is clearly not that simple.

Irving goes on to list at a fairly lengthy, if not exhaustive, list of potential defining attributes of a visit. Time, continuity, and location — just to summarize. Web-based visitors include more nebulous concepts like IP address, session, cookies, and more. A visit really isn’t as intuitive as you might think. The NFL learned that lesson with catch. They now speak of it as a process. Processes tend to be on the messier side of the noun spectrum… wait they are verbs… adjectives? Hopefully, you get the point.

When we lose our principles, we invite chaos. — Irving

Irving concludes his interaction with the cashier with a dark observation. It is also classic Mr Robot. It applies to his dialogue with the clerk, his understanding of the new situation with Elliot, and a comment on the shows dystopian society in general.

A Final Analogy or Two…

The world of Mr Robot has descended into an odd dystopia. Honestly, one that is likely far less severe than reality would offer. If New York City lost power for as long as they insinuated, it is good bet things would have gotten much, much worse.

All of this was brought on when Elliot destroyed the data. What Irving offers us may actually be more destructive. You don’t need a dark army of hackers and schizophrenic geniuses to destroy things. You get there quickly enough with poor definitions and badly identified processes. Fortunately for society so far, we haven’t centralized enough power in a single Evil Corporation or Government to descend into dystopia… or have we? Mr Robot’s contemporary references certain force you to ask that question.

Politics aside, be sure to qualify and define your business processes. Be principled and logical in how you structure and communicate things — especially those easily confused with acts and/or states of being…

Thanks for reading and be sure to enjoy your dystopian milkshake… if you ever manage to get it.

For more from Mr Robot consider: