Annihilation, the latest novel by Michel Houellebecq, tells of an election night in France in 2027, a very hard fought battle between the outgoing President’s candidate (a Dauphin who is not meant to be Macron) and that of the extreme right (successor). who it shouldn’t be about Le Pen). The author – a reactionary widely read by progressives – says that the ultranationalists’ victory “was unimaginable, but it’s been fifty years since it was like this, and sometimes unimaginable things happen.”
One of the final chapters of Succession, the acclaimed HBO series about the family of a ruthless tycoon (supposedly not the Murdochs), is set on election night in the United States, followed by a news-only television network (supposedly not Fox). ) with an adjusted result, incidents at the exam and a feared extremist candidate (it is said not to be Trump).
The episode is hectic, though some scenes squeak to anyone familiar with a newsroom, however sectarian. The plot gets to the heart of the matter by pointing out that the partiality of certain media corresponds to very specific interests. And he denounces the danger of destabilizing the system when it is television that announces a winner or talks about who really won. The succession cause is not inconceivable, because there has already been an uprising there.
There is just as much cynicism in Annihilation as there is in Succession. The same disbelief, the idea that basically nothing matters because you only have to look out for your own interests. A dawning glimpse of democracy. Trumpist and pre-Lepenian approaches have been present here for some time. One can talk about beatings, play the xenophobic card, appropriate the nation and the dead. They fit the Cainita fight, the demonization of the other, the lie. No, none of that matters. Not even a legitimate victory confirms irresponsibility.
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