Definitely not just a carbon copy dystopian thriller, Altered Carbon is a cyberpunk noir series that forces viewers to think long and hard about just what it means to be “human”.
Altered Carbon is the latest addition in the powerhouse arsenal that is Netflix’s original series and is a bold and complex story about a dystopian society in Earth’s not too distant future. Based off the 2002 novel of the same name by author Richard K. Morgan the story follows a former soldier Takeshi Kovacs who’s hired to solve a murder. Aside from the drastically different backdrop to our present day, the show takes a deep and dark look at just what it means to be human and how humanity has changed when the fear of death is no longer necessary.
Kovacs, played by Joel Kinnaman, is an ex soldier for the Protectorate who after a crisis of conscience betrays his comrades to join a rising resistance to the established order. After being hunted and “killed”, he awakes 250 years later in a different body and is charged by the man who purchased his release to solve a very interesting homicide. The man is uber-wealthy Laurens Bancroft (James Purefoy) and the murder he needs Kovacs to solve is his own.
What plays out over the course of the 10 episode run is a classic detective/gumshoe tale reminiscent of some of the very best films of that genre from the 1930’s and 1940’s. The atmosphere is spot on. Seedy bars and clubs, a neon lit underground that despite very advanced future technology feels eerily recognizable. Even much of the dialogue in the episodes is internal, and is voiced over the scene explaining Takeshi’s motives and calculations much like the noir films of the past.
Visually, the show is stunning. Just gorgeous. Amazingly choreographed fight scenes, advanced technology and a world so much different while at the same time still so much like present day. At times part Blade Runner, others part Matrix. But the show is far from just being eye candy. On a deeper level it takes a look at the vices that humanity has always had only now amplified a hundred fold by the fact that no one need die anymore.
At least not if you have the money.
Sins And Sleeves
The main plot device that makes Altered Carbon stand out its contemporaries in this genre are is the concept of Sleeving. Sleeves are what humans now refer to their physical selves as and they have the ability now to wear other bodies if their birth sleeve is damaged, murdered or they just feel the need to change it up. Humans have devices installed into the base of their skulls when they are just a year old called “Stacks”. Basically a hard drive for all that makes up that particular individual. As long as it suffers no severe trauma it can be removed and installed in a new Sleeve.
On the face it’s such a simple concept. The search for immortality here in the real world is a subject that has fascinated and inspired many and much of what has been theorized as potentially possible is realized and fleshed out in Altered Carbon. In all manner of ways. Being able to transcend the birth body when age or sickness would claim it to be able to start over, or to discard it for a newer, enhanced model. As the show explores, the options are only as limited as one’s imagination.
But this medical breakthrough has it’s pros and cons. Like all technology, the user is ultimately the one to determine how to use it and for what purpose.
One of man’s greatest breakthrough technologies, fire, can be used to light the world or to burn it down.
For most people, at the end of their days they are able to purchase a Sleeve to transfer their Stack to, but their options are limited. They have to go through the entire ageing process all over again. So even though they can, most choose not to. But for the very wealthy, high-tech cloned bodies and enhanced upgrades are a major business endeavor and are able to supply the demand for eternal life. Those who have been around for hundreds of years are called Meths, inspired by the long-lived character from the bible; Methuselah. For them, money is the key to immortality. And those who are lucky enough to be a Meth have no shortage of funds. The old adage of “You can’t take it with you” no longer applies as they no longer need to leave.
Living for so long however seems to not grant extra wisdom to Meth’s but only enhances the violent excess of the human condition. The seven deadly sins are painfully embellished in this extravagant society. Primarily greed, wrath and lust. Often all three at once.
Early in the series there is a lavish party thrown by the Bancroft clan, a gathering of the greedy and morally bankrupt Meth’s. A literal den of snakes. The main course at the party appears to be some kind of snow leopard, presumably extinct. As it’s laid on its stomach with its back completely opened and picked clean it conveys the message that living forever requires (or is aided by) the forgoing of all of humanity’s rules. Growing above them. Here gluttony is shown in just how far some will go to entertain themselves as the boredom of living forever sets in. The excess just gets worse the older they get. Morals get lain to waste in search of the ultimate thrill in a world where the possibilities are almost limitless.
That particular scene is paralleled elsewhere in the season with an empty Sleeve laid out on a table, ribs exposed and chest cavity torn open. Much like the endangered animal that is being served up to the greedy, this lifestyle consumes itself and all those who live it or who strive to be a part of it.
Symbolism
In addition to the reference of Methulselah, Altered Carbon is steeped in biblical references and symbolism. A strong sub-plot in the background of the series refers to one Resolution 653. While anyone can technically transfer their Stack, the Catholic church has forbid this practice stating that the soul can not be transferred. Therefore if someone re-Sleeves it is their belief that they will not be admitted into Heaven. The proposed resolution would allow authorities to supersede the religious coding on their Stacks in order for the victims to testify in their own murders.
Day of the Dead, a traditional Mexican holiday, takes on a new life in the future now that the dead can literally return to the land of the living. Those who have chosen not to re-Sleeve after their death can still be brought back by thier living relatives. This is done by renting Sleeves for the day for their loved ones to inhabit. This made for a hilarious but touching sequence in one of the episodes. It gives a different perspective of this feigned immortality from the people who choose not to go on.
The rich Laurens Bancroft, victim of the murder that Kovacs is tasked to solve, is the patriarch of one of the wealthiest families in the entire Protectorate. But in a scene in which he is seen offering comfort to the sick and starving masses of those who live on the ground far from the spires of the affluent, he is revealed to be nothing more than a con-man. A charlatan like those televangelists grifting money from those who do not have it by serving up nothing more than an illusion. He becomes ill and dies before them but as they know, he will return. Not due to some divine miracle, but by the miracle that is science.
And the purposeful symbolism of the show is not all religious in nature.
For instance one of the more iconic images scattered throughout Altered Carbon is that of the Ouroboros. The snake that devours itself. It traditionally is meant to signify infinity or wholeness. And it is the perfect metaphor for the series. The concept of transcending the body any number of times, seemingly unto infinity, is a representation or manifestation of the Ouroboros. It does not always ends well for everyone as becomes apparent as the show progresses, and some devour themselves in the process of achieving immortality.
In a scene at the climax of the series, where Takeshi is swordfighting with his sister and they both are able to land a strike against the other. As they struggle together, each with their sword piercing the other, it recalls the image of the Ouroboros perfectly. Represented by the sister who has not let the past die, and the brother who has moved on.
Heaven In The Clouds
One of the other central themes in Altered Carbon, and one that also blurs the line with biblical symbolism is how the series portrays the concept of class.
Wealth is the prime mover in most of the series in one manner or another. And it’s what sets the Meth’s, literally living in the clouds, apart from the average civilian, or Grounder. Again, everyone has the same ability to increase their lifespan by transferring their Stacks to a new Sleeve, but nowhere near the same opportunities and options as those who’ve amassed multiple lifetimes worth of wealth.
For example, the parents of a 7 year old girl killed by a drunk driver are unable to afford a replacement Sleeve for their daughter, so the Government steps in to help. But without money you can only get what they have lying around, placing their 7 year old in the body of a 50-something year old adult woman. There are also a host of available upgrades and high tech replacement parts, clones, 3D printed Sleeves, synthetic Sleeves and more. If you have the cash you can do whatever you want. If not…
Everything revolves around your status in this society and has bred no shortage of opportunists willing to do whatever it takes to climb the ladder into the clouds. Literally and metaphorically.
Meth society can not be seen living amongst the common people on the ground so they have built homes into skyscrapers that reach well above the clouds. Ivory towers. Already viewed as gods of a sort due to their long lives and financial capability to do pretty much anything they so desire this metaphor is not lost. Heaven above and Hell below. Although the “Heaven above” is not too different than the “Hell below”. In fact it’s much worse.
Even higher than the peaks of their towering palaces is the floating den of sin and indulgence known as Heaven in the Clouds. When the thrill of all the excess you can imagine is achieved, where else is there to go? Nothing other than to cross that one final line from that last vestiges of decency and humanity left in them into becoming a true demon.
But even Heaven can fall.
Future’s Future
Altered Carbon ends tying up most of the major plot threads laid out during the course of its 10 episodes but not necessarily everything. Kovacs has solved the murder he was brought back to solve, made his money and was granted his pardon. So where does he go from here?
There are two more books in the Altered Carbon series from which they can mine from if they so choose. As of now there have been no mentions of any intent to do so. The remaining books in the trilogy move in a very different direction so it will be interesting to see how they adapt them if they do go forward with this series.
The future for more Altered Carbon may be murky but is well worth exploring further. It offers more complex concepts and ideas than typical futuristic dystopian films or shows, and it stays with you even after watching all of it. This is the mark of a well thought out and well executed production. Cinematically beautiful and deeply thought provoking. Altered Carbon will be on the minds of many for years to come.
Mike Harris hails from the suburbs of Chicago and has been a fan for most of his life. Working as an industrial radiographer and raising a family with his wife take up most of his time, but there’s always room for Star Wars books and podcasts! Just looking to give back to Star Wars and the fan community, it’s been a source of fun and learning for him for so long.