Years and Years - A Clinical Review

What if you thought that today was the last day of your life? How would you live? What would you do? Would you have regrets? The poetry within the irony of Years and Years remains to be seen until the bitter end where death is not a finality rather an eternity. Life does go on existing for years and years while death is but a milestone to be achieved within that existence. Before that mile marker is reached, what will it take to wake you up? What will be your defining moment whereby the status-quo no longer stands tried and true? Most people live their lives on autopilot marked only by minute external events that cause minor disruptions within their sphere of perception. These disturbances appear extraordinary, yet do they matter within one year’s time? Will today’s events play a central part within your psyche 5 or 10 years from now? After you are awoken, what remains constant, everlasting, and subjectively meaningful? 

“Two most important days in your life: the day you were born; and the day you discovered why.” - Unknown 

Years and Years speaks to the heart of Fear within today’s society towards the unknown. The future is not certain yet reading the headlines of today, one might believe that the world is headed on a collision course with a destitute fate. Millennials postpone or completely forego bringing children into a world that appears corrupt, unscrupulous, and nefarious. News agencies bombard our attentions with the imminent demise of the political and environmental climates yet regrettably never superimpose solutions to the problems they report. It is as if we are watching a unilateral argument for a predestined future that holds no collaborative stake within reality and our objective is to simply exist within a sheer state of anxiety towards the unknown future that we are promised. If the world is collapsing in front of our eyes and the future appears so void, why would anyone bring a child into existence? Anxiety is the infectious disease that spawns from the overly informed masses that have yet to be awoken to a future that has yet to be written. There may be writing on the walls, yet nothing is forever certain. Take a look at your own personal future and what that holds. How many births, deaths, loves, separations, moments of sheer magic, and untold possibilities that you will experience between 2019 and 2032? The only marketable permanent and absolutes exist within ourselves. That permanence is rooted only within Love and Family. Gratitude and walking alongside the precipice of life are the sheer motivators to appreciate each and every moment as they come. 

It is 2 Minutes to Midnight. Today our Dooms Day Clock stands at its lowest position indicating imminent danger for humanity by nuclear annihilation. Anxiety is riddled throughout our society and we are constantly positioned with threats that require us to reflect upon our own personal mortality. If you were notified today that a nuclear war had been initiated, what would be your first impulse? They say that the most partitioned off portions of ourselves arise when we are within a fight or flight response. The true nature of our being and sheer essence of our hearts have the greatest potentiality to shine through when faced with death. Who would you want to be around in those final moments? Would you tell those you love how much they mean to you? What would you abandon within yourself in order to appreciate that final 2 minutes in the most real state of being imaginable? 

Life is consumed by obligatory ideals that we instill within ourselves. Society dictates who and what we should be, and we spend our lives trying to assimilate to a reality that is external and devoid of authenticity. Would you leave your husband to be with the one you truly loved? Would you be willing to take a risk that you never thought possible? In those final moments, would the personal affects you surround yourself with even matter? Would that paper bill you hold in your hand have any true value? Rome is already burning yet little do we recognize that the flame has always been lit like an everlasting candle. It never goes out yet through it, we can visualize the endless possibilities that can be created from the embers. That flame does not symbolize a death but more importantly a rebirth. A Phoenix can only arise from the ashes. Why would we wait until the final moments of our lives to live the life we have always wanted? The final scene of episode 1 encompasses the true flame within our individual hearts and guides you in the direction you’ve always wanted to go. 

What have you lost in your life that you once thought you could never live without? For many people this answer comes in the form of financial or material possessions. Imagine losing everything material that you have ever purchased and ever worked towards. What then holds true value? Have you ever contemplated that the value we place upon the dollar is only affixed to the attachment society has towards its meaning? If society collapses, the ‘value’ of the dollar is only worth the paper it was printed upon. Banks and governments are not absolutes and one day, that paper you spent your entire life sacrificing towards could be worthless. All of the missed opportunities to truly connect with others and do what truly makes life worth living would be erased to sheer nothingness. 

The teaching of the 4 Noble Truths in Zen Buddhism allocates that attachment is the root of suffering. Oftentimes this phrase is misinterpreted to the extent that we should live a completely detached life whereby we are not connected with anything or anyone. This would be a fallacy and only creates further suffering. The meaning behind the 2nd Noble Truth is of impermanence. Appreciate what you have while you have it, regale upon the sacrificial nature of striving for something greater, yet do not become attached in ways that prevent you from living without that piece of glory. One of the greatest lessons to be learned is that money comes and goes. The financial sector begins to collapse in Episode 2 rendering money utterly useless. The most prominent of characters within the series lose their life savings and are driven into financial ruin. As art represents life, some of the most affluent of us will find ourselves living again at home like children. Everything external we have ever worked for can be gone in an instant, yet life goes on for years and years. In those moments of challenge, when every penny is drawn from that bank account, and when all of your hard work is reduced to a bunch of 1 and 0’s, what will you be attached to? This is not a possibility far removed from reality. People declare bankruptcy every single day and unfortunately, the suicide rate amongst the wealthiest who lose their fortunes are astronomical. Their identity was rooted in something theoretical and they were too attached to a piece of paper. 

Why would you want to live forever besides on the basis of fear alone? They say that the only common detonator in life is death. Technology is attempting to remove this problem and allow people to live on forever. We oftentimes forget that we always live on through our legacies and we are never gone. Through eternal love and the collective consciousness, death is never the end. On the day the world is going to perish, Edith puts her mortality into jeopardy to document the atrocities and truths behind a nuclear war. Her doomsday clock has been set to 10 years. The knowledge behind this piece is liberating as it should be for anyone. Knowing how much time you have left here allows one to fully grasp the importance of seizing every single opportunity. Every opportunity in life holds so much potential for expanded connection to one’s true Self. 

Bethany is youthful in her life experiences, yet she already believes that living an eternal life is a better proposition than existing within a material world. Technology has advanced so that one’s memories can be uploaded digitally yet there is a pause to the exact extent to which individual consciousness will perpetuate after death. Transhumans are people who have moved past biological existence and into a digital continuance. Throughout the series, Bethany attempts to fully integrate her biology with the most advanced pieces of technology. These are futuristic concepts yet all of them are not far from reality. Her biomorphic transformation is the centerpiece for the authentic alignment that the remaining characters transgress upon. Though Bethany never completely encapsulates this fully digitized experience, the final moments before Edith’s death pulls into question how far technology and human interventions can curtail the death of individual consciousness. The closing scene of the series leaves the viewer with more questions while pedestalizing the continuation of the Self through Love. 

In juxtaposing the element of fire for rebirth, water is used to symbolize death. Edith’s memories are transferred into liquid form and the main character’s father is reduced to water as well. Daniel himself dies by drowning while attempting to save the man he loves. Most religions across the world use water as a symbol for cleansing yet it is also a marker of death. Christians believe that the world was purified by a great flood and Hindus disperse the dead’s ashes in the Ganges River. 

When achievements have been gained and you feel like celebrating, who do you call first? In those moments of despair and when all hope is lost, who do you reach out to? The connections within your life with which you choose to celebrate those moments of joy and those you wish to comfort you in the darkest of hours, these are the ones that make up your family. For some people, this is a biological family while others it is the chosen family. This series encapsulates the important opportunities that oftentimes are missed when we forget to celebrate with others and do not allow ourselves to be consoled. 

This series speaks to the heart of Americans and Western Societies in relation to how we perceive our information and entertainment. The main photo of the television show speaks volumes about what this show is meant to represent; we are at the mercy of television sets and forego the idea of interpersonal relationships all together. A family crowded around a fictional digital representation of life separates the true interconnectedness that all of us thrive for as individuals. We watch these little screens with awe and wonder while completely displacing the real connections that exists between those that surround us. Stop looking outside for that validation and begin to look to those whom you love.

It is poignant to begin this blog with Years and Years as my direction and dedication towards analyzing pop culture lies within the relegation that life does not exist within the confines of these tiny screens but rather upon our connection with others. Always remember that the stories told here are but mere representations of how a life should be experienced with those whom we love. 

Will you live your days as if you were dying? “I am Love!”

Chris Pollock

www.TheClinicalReview.com