MICKEY 17: A Satire About American Capitalism

'Are You Afraid To Die?'

This might be one of the oldest and deepest philosophical questions and Mickey 17 delivers triggering response; One that is darkly comedic and existentially horrifying.

At first glance, the film looks like another sci-fi survival story. But this is Bong Joon Ho , the Film Director who has spent his entire careerr exposing the myth of meritocracy and the cruelty of capitalism. A great example of this is it’s the class juxtapositions of Parasite and the environmental activism in Okja. Through this film he continues this tradition and this time, the reflections is even more unsettling. Thats why I believe that this film isn’t just a Scifi survival story, its a film about the moral cost of progress and capitalism’s obsession with expendability.

Its giving me….. Black Mirror vibes mixed with Idiocracy (2006)

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I have a lot to unpack here…

The Plot: A Failed Colony (*SPOILERS*)

In the distant future, Earth is no longer habitable. In response, the wealthiest and most powerful man on earth orchestrate an interstellar migration, sending a select group of humans to colonize The New World.

But Instead of a “hopeful new beginning” we end up in a dystopian colony in space. The place is not a harmonious society working together toward survival but a Surrealistic Space Cult, ruled by Commander Kenneth Marshall, a narcissistic leader who sees human lives as expendable assets in service of his own ambition for power.

Sounds familiar?…

Mikey 17: The Ultimate Bullshit Job

Mikey is not a hero. He’s an expendable.

At its core, Mickey 17 explores the Paradox of Power. The colony’s survival depends on a workforce that is both necessary and entirely replaceable. Mikey’s role is not just dangerous, but it is designed to be absurd. He exists solely to perform tasks too precarious or undesirable for anyone else, only to be discarded and replaced by his next clon. His job becomes an eternal cycle of life and death.

This premise reflects the darkest aspects of capitalism: the illusion of individuality within a system that ultimately sees people as disposable. He was told that his sacrifice serves the greater good. But if that were true, why was he treated as a resource rather than a real person?

David Graeber’s concept of a “Bullshit Job” is a form of employment so utterly pointless that even the worker struggles to justify its existence, Bong Joon Ho finds its ultimate cinematic expression in Mickey 17, transforming this idea into a dystopian sci-fi satire, where the very function of Mickey is as absurd as it is horrifying, Drawing a direct parallel to contemporary labor systems, where millions of workers perform monotonous tasks to sustain an economy that does not value them beyond their productivity.

“Why Don’t You Guys Do Rock, Paper, Scissors And We’ll Just Shoot The Loser?”

Meet Kenneth and Ylfa: The Most Unsettling Power Couple Villains (SPOILERS)

Mark Ruffalo as Kenneth Marshall isn’t exactly an unknown villain. With his fake charisma and desperate need for adoration, he’s clearly a satire of a certain orange-tinted celebrity…. But if you think he’s the scariest antagonist of the film, think again.

Then there is Ylfa, his wife and the real puppet master. Played with eerie precision by Toni Collette , Ylfa is always lurking just behind Kenneth, whispering words in his ear, correcting his manners, pulling the strings. And what’s her little obsession that make her unique, oh yeah, freaking sauce. It’s a bizarre but brilliant detail that encapsulates her character perfectly. She is obsessed with refining and perfecting flavors, much like how she refines and perfects the human genome to create the recipe for “The perfect Human”

My favourite moment in the film shows her forcing Mikey to taste one of her sauces, attacking him for not appreciating its complexity, and calling him unsophisticated. Because in her world, power is about control, and control is about taste.

Meanwhile, Kenneth is the self-proclaimed visionary of this doomed colony, selling the American Dream… I found that his depiction of a tiran might be to on the nose, foreshadowing today western politics in North America.

Bong Joon-ho suggests something alarming.

No matter where humanity goes. We bring our worst tendencies with us.

Colonization, capitalism, and the illusion of choice.

The Ethics of Cloning: Eugenics and Exploitation

Cloning opens up a very slippery slope: If we could design and print humans, who decides which versions are “better”? What stops us from engineering the perfect workforce, man-made product that obey orders, endures suffering, and never ask for a raise?

The moment cloning becomes just another corporate tool, human life will loose its value. It’s no longer about who you are but how useful you are. And if your present version of you is no longer efficient? No problem, we can manufacture disposable AI workers, stripping you from independence and dignity.

This isn’t just sci-fi speculation. In 1970, ethicist Paul Ramsey warned against human cloning in his book Fabricated Man: The Ethics of Genetic Control. He declare that cloning would turn parenthood into manufacturing, reducing humans to products: pre-designed, pre-tested, and conveniently replaceable.

“The rationalization of procreation—its replacement by replication—can only mean the abolition of man’s embodied personhood.” - Paul Ramsey

Or, in simpler terms: if we start copying humans instead of creating them, we stop being people. We become inventory.

The Ethics of Surrogacy: Uterus for Hire. (SPOILERS)

One of the film’s most disturbing subplots explores human reproduction. When the colony leaders decide they need to “preserve the species,” they select a woman to be a surrogate based on her “genetic superiority.” She’s not seen as a woman anymore, She becomes a vessel for the future

I felt that this scene was a direct critique of the way women’s bodies have historically been controlled, exploited, and legislated. From anti-abortion laws to the ethics of surrogacy, Mikey 17 is forcing us to look at how power dictates who gets to reproduce and on whose terms.

I find this topic somehow as a paradox for me; It seems that general public has consistently expressed the view that human cloning is wrong, Several nations, including Denmark, France, Norway, Spain, and Canada have passed or sought either partial or total bans. Call me crazy…. but I do not understand how to prohibit human reproductive cloning while allowing the use of cloning technology to produce stem cells and implant or attempt to implant cloned human embryos into a uterus or the functional equivalent of a uterus.

The film just briefly touches this subject and it is presented to us very late into the plot, I found it very interesting and I wish we could it explore it more, It reminded me of films like Children of Man and The Handmaid´s Tale.

FINAL THOUGHTS: LOVE IT OR HATE IT, BUT DON’T IGNORE IT

I ain´t gonna lie, this will be a divisive movie.

Mikey 17 is not an easy film. It’s weird. It’s uncomfortable. It’s full of satire that’s almost too on the nose. Some people will find it brilliant; others will hate it.

I personally find Bong Joon-ho’s films so powerful. They don’t just entertain. It makes you leave the cinema wondering about my reality, including society, culture and politics.

Please let me know in the comments what are your thoughts about this movie.

Did you find a deeper meaning?

I´ll be reading your theories.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Rating: 9/10 ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐