“The Flick” by Annie Baker is a hyper-realistic play that seeks to portray the gritty reality of existence for many people around the world, being the cogs, wheels, and grease of the shiny (on the exterior) capitalist society. It is a world where people are stuck making decisions they are forced to make, work jobs they feel no heart for, and drown their sorrows in cheap entertainment and alcohol. It is ironic that the workers of that very same entertainment industry are often those who cannot escape the reality of their position, as demonstrated by Avery and their ongoing depression.
The emotional and mental state of Avery, the only African-American character out of the three, is fairly obvious from the get-go – when asked about why he is so depressed, the answer is: “Um. Because everything is horrible? And sad?” – that line being said in a way as though he is stating the obvious. The reason why this resonates so well with the audience is because it is a mood they feel every single day. The reasons for Avery’s depression are not his own, he is not plagued as much by his own internal problems, but rather suffers the consequences of being a part of our society.
The character’s mental health issues are endemic to today’s world, which suffers the ever-increasing rates of personal problems, be that developmental disabilities, eating disorders, or ailments like depression, anxiety, and others. Avery, in the play, is a member of an underprivileged minority, working a minimum wage job, and suffering from various offenses indirectly caused by their boss, who never appears on the scene but is, nevertheless, present. The money he is paid is not enough to maintain a decent standard of living or move forward, his education is not enough to get ahead in life, and the job itself consists of scrubbing floors from sticky drinks and picking up various remains of other people’s fun at the theatre, all while knowing that the same will happen tomorrow, again, and again.
Cinema is, ironically, the only thing that makes Avery happy, as he is a big fan of the big screen and the industry associated with it. It enables him to escape the dull and grey reality of working a dead-end job. However, when not entranced by the screen, the young man feels that life is indeed hopeless and horrible and that the only thing he can look up to is to wearing the same objectifying uniform while doing jobs other people would find beneath them to do. This is very reminiscent of how many of us are seeing the world right now, working low-end jobs in retail, catering, hospitality, factories, and in the fields picking fruit, offering ourselves, our time, health, and bodies to the never-ending conveyer of goods and services enjoyed by someone else.
These factors are the reason why Avery’s depression is not a personal matter, but rather a social issue. It is caused by the forces outside of his control, which cause him to feel the way he does. Granted, every named character in the play is in the same boat and has similar issues, be it college debt, housing crisis, health issues, the commoditization of relationships, and so forth. Not everyone breaks under the pressure, not immediately, at least. But it is easy to see how even seemingly mundane drudgery and the lack of light at the end of the tunnel can bring about suffering. Like Avery, there are many unhappy people in today’s world, and they are needed if modern-day capitalism is to keep functioning.