'Kidding' is a painful reminder of how capitalism commodifies and sells empathy and love to those most in need
There always is a lot to unpack in every episode of Showtime’s delightful tragicomedy ‘Kidding’. But one issue that keeps popping up over and over is the grotesque commodification of empathy.
Yes, capitalism and consumerism are terrible. In every manner possible. But what ‘Kidding’ brings out is especially more so. Imagine the sanguine specimen of the human species. A man who is compassionate to a fault. A man whose radical empathy consumes him so much, he is left a hollow shell in his personal life. A man whose only want in life is to make children everywhere happy.
And then imagine companies, nay, money-making behemoths -- like Amazon, as seen in episode 4 of the show’s second season -- take this radical empathy, turn it into a product and make more money from it.
There are many, many concerns regarding this, and also to wrap one's head around the idea that there exist dolls of Jim Carrey’s beloved children’s TV character Mr. Pickles that can work as a communication channel between Mr. Pickles and those who own the dolls. It would feel like a ‘Black Mirror’ episode waiting to happen, only with more confetti, snuggly puppets and wonderment.
But there is also just the sheer hideous concept of being able to not just commodify love and compassion, but also be able to sell it to those who are most in need of that love and compassion. Episode 4 starts at a bizarre place and time: Croatia, in the very midst of its war for independence in 1991. As buildings are bombed and children are killed, we see Mr. Pickles on TV, the only place of solace in a world literally on the brink of collapse.
That segment illustrates the kind of reach Mr. Pickles has; the kind of bond he has with kids across the world; the kind of influence he commands. That, in the context of a greedy corporation with the sole purpose of wanting more money and power, is horrific. And unfortunately, it is not as fictional as it would seem.
In the show, almost everyone (and even Jeff to a certain degree) is complicit in this monstrosity. His blindness to the ugliness of a consumerist system, and naivete in imagining his powers could not be used for bad, only adds to one’s frustration. He fails to acknowledge how rotten the system is after his “rant” (it wasn’t a rant at all) at the end of season 1 leads to the cancellation of his show, even when it was a call for more empathy, more love, especially in grief.
Perhaps, this consumerist mindset is what ‘Kidding’ aims to illustrate more vividly than anything else, even if it is, like all the tragedies in this show, hidden beneath a layer of cotton candy and cuddles.
'Kidding' Season 2 airs on Sundays at 10 pm EST on Showtime.