The LA Times columnist, LZ Granderson, questions his own attraction to the HBO series Succession despite the extraordinary levels of dysfunction, cruelty, and sheer greed displayed by the media mogul Roy family. It’s marked by an unceasing barrage of familial abuse and capitalist excess that clearly is intended as satirical dark comedy. It seems that nothing is new under the sun. Granderson’s ambivalence over this modern drama could easily be applied to the Biblical Joseph story—which may also be a form of ancient satire. An overambitious brother taunts his siblings who in turn sell him into slavery; accused of predatory sexual behavior, Joseph is sent to languish in a dungeon. A series of fortuitous events allow him to become one of the most powerful men in Egypt, but not before he destroys another witless victim. When his brothers, in desperation, seek relief from starvation, Joseph teaches them a cruel lesson by entrapping their youngest brother and threatening to imprison him. Unlike Succession, these brothers do achieve a level of rapprochement, and all appear to live happily ever after, repressing their latent emotional injuries.
It seems that we humans find entertainment, maybe even schadenfreude from the tortuous lives of others. When revealed to us on the screen or in the pages of the Bible, we consume the stories like buckets of popcorn at a movie theater. Far from being a symptom of contemporary times, the human propensity to hurt the ones we love in the pursuit of our own ambitions spans the entire scope of human history.
It takes work to be cruel and it requires effort to be compassionate as well. The path of vindictiveness and vengefulness is often exhausting, and the rewards come at the expense of the well-being of others. However in our humanity, we can also choose a path of patience, compassion, and forgiveness. Perhaps the modern Succession series and the dysfunction of the Biblical families serve the same purpose: witnessing the dreadful results of their behavior, we can and should choose to do far better in our own lives.
— Rabbi Ron Stern