How the ‘Severance’ child-boss represents childhood under threat

The Apple TV+ series Severance features a child supervisor named Miss Huang, who matter-of-factly explains her age by saying she's a child "because of when I was born." This response reveals a devastating truth about the role of work in the 21st century. Historically, the concept of childhood has evolved over time, and what constitutes a "child" has depended on when and where a person is born. In the past, children were often portrayed as miniature adults and were expected to work from a young age. The modern understanding of childhood as a distinct life stage characterized by play, protection, and freedom from adult responsibilities is a relatively recent development. The belief that children deserve a life free from the stress of the workplace is also a recent concept. Today, the ideal childhood is under threat due to the lack of support for caregiving and the devaluation of childcare work. The character of Miss Huang represents a future where childhood survives only as a date on a birth certificate, and all other attributes are economically impractical. In this sense, Miss Huang is capitalism's ideal child, already a productive worker as a tween, requiring no parent's time, no teacher's patience, and no community's resources. The show's portrayal of Miss Huang serves as a warning about what a work-obsessed future holds, where childhood is reduced to a mere technicality.