Dystopian realism. Or how filmmaking invites acceptance of the present.

Review of "The Architect" (2023) Miniseries

Abstract

Daniel Natoli Rojo’s review of the Norwegian miniseries The Architect (2023) explores how this audiovisual work fits into the trend of dystopian realism, a genre that, rather than warning against undesirable futures, seems to encourage acceptance of the current neoliberal present as inevitable. The series follows Julie, a young aspiring architect living in precarious conditions while pursuing a professional ideal that ultimately reproduces the very logic that oppresses her. Natoli highlights how the series portrays an atomised society, devoid of community ties or collective responses, where precarity, debt, and technological surveillance are normalised. Drawing on thinkers such as Mark Fisher, Henri Lefebvre, and Remedios Zafra, the review points out the narrative’s blind spots: the absence of the State, the family, and social movements. The dystopia, instead of mobilising, disarms. However, the final scene offers a glimmer of hope: Julie, having achieved her goal, experiences a crisis that may open the door to imagining another world. The review concludes that while the series reflects contemporary disillusionment, it also suggests that discomfort may be the seed of subjective and political transformation.