Silo and the Nature of Belief

Kathleen: You haven’t taken your herbs in days.

Paul: But I don’t know what’s changed.

Kathleen: Maybe you have.

This conversation between Sheriff Paul Billings (Chinaza Uche) and his wife Kathleen (Caitlin Zoz) in Season Two of Silo encapsulates the series’ most fascinating feature: exploring the relationship between understanding the world and ourselves.

The Apple TV show focuses on individuals living in an underground structure where the laws, norms, and official narrative concerning the silo’s existence constitute their entire world. Through the control and manipulation of information, authorities keep it that way.

Sheriff Billings suffers from a disorder causing his hands to occasionally shake, one he hides because it could disqualify him from being sheriff. As he shares his latest decision to act on his doubts about the silo’s origins, Kathleen points out that this defiance has, at least temporarily, healed him. Themes of doubt, defiance, and social (in)stability characterize Season 2.

In some ways, Sheriff Billings’ journey throughout the season parallels the New Testament narrative of Saul, who went from gospel persecutor to proclaimer (from Saul to Paul). As sheriff, Paul Billings is responsible for maintaining social order. Similarly Saul—as a sanctioned persecutor—can also be understood as trying to maintain a sense of social order by punishing those spreading “radical” beliefs. Just as Billings’ questioning of authority alters his worldview, Saul’s was altered while traveling to Damascus. These two figures and their stories invite us to consider three types of beliefs that inform how we treat each other: (meta) physical beliefs, social beliefs, and psychological beliefs.

Where Did We Come From?

(Meta) physical beliefs concern the physical constitution of human life. Examples include questions about the origin of life and whether humans possess a soul. Season 1 of Silo revealed that the lottery system where couples can “win” opportunities to conceive was another means of social control. Certain women who believed the doctor removed their implant preventing them from conceiving after “winning” the lottery did not have it removed, which then led them to believe that their inability to conceive was due to a personal or partner defect.

If childbirth–for those fortunate enough to conceive–is the primary reference concerning the origins of life, what is the nature of dependency between the authorities and residents concerning life’s ultimate purpose? Are beliefs about “something beyond” the silo (e.g., an expanded physical plane, the potential for a spiritual plane, etc.) precluded with this kind of social arrangement?

Whereas authorities in Silo tend to suggest life’s ultimate purpose is to maintain species survival through social order, obedience to authority, and social regulation and efficiency, scripture offers a radically different telos. Humans were intentionally created and bear their Creator’s image. Jesus, present during creation, eventually comes to earth. In scripture, we are taught how to fully realize our status as image bearers, until we are reunited with the Creator.

What is the Purpose of Institutions?

Social beliefs involve group-level entities. In Season 2 of Silo, residents’ beliefs about the governing entities are challenged, with many questioning their legitimacy. Given these institutions make up their world(view), it is easy to see how at least some could derive existential meaning from their position within and trust in these institutions. Although not as extreme as Sheriff Billings’ apparent healing, Season 2 includes multiple instances in which characters learn new information about the silo, altering their understanding of what it means for their place within it.

Again, scripture paints a different picture. Notable are Jesus’ teachings about the law. Although God gives us the law for our benefit, Jesus reminds us not to substitute the law and the normative and institutional structures involved in its maintenance (e.g., churches, human authorities, etc.) for God’s authority. Jesus’ statement that the sabbath was made for us and not the other way around could be reasonably interpreted as applying to all forms of behavioral regulation regarding the law and Christian ethics. While adherence in some cases helps us more fully realize our status as image bearers, our worth is not determined by such adherence. Such worth–immensely valuable and worthy of divine love–was “baked into” our existence by our Creator. Thus, efforts to adhere are efforts to know and relate to God more.

Who are People, Really?

Psychological beliefs concern the features and causes of human thought, emotion, and behavior. Silo and scripture address the related psychological questions of whether people are capable of change and, if so, what influence new information can have on said change.

Silo’s emphasis on questioning authority and searching for meaning involves new alliances, individuals abandoning certain forms of safety and security to learn more about the silo’s origins, and the imperative to share these new insights with others in hopes that they, too, may change. Similarly, these phenomena help us understand, at least in part, the robust growth of Christ-followers after his death and resurrection. Although knowing does not always translate into doing, there is enough historical evidence that changes in people’s understanding of the world can lead to changes in their relation to the world.

In sum, Silo centers social beliefs related to obedience to authority, institutional legitimacy, and social stability in a way that defines residents’ beliefs about the world and themselves. They are discouraged from questioning the physical bases of their existence. Their understanding of others as psychological beings often focuses on whether people can (or should) change with the discovery of new information about the Silo, but rarely anything else.

This is beautifully illustrated through the show’s use of lighting and space. The frequent use of dim, dull lighting serves to parallel the residents’ limited worldview—not just concerning the nature of the world outside of the silo or the origins of their existence, but also concerning the possibility there is more to social life than what is legitimized and regulated by authorities. Second, the camera angles looking up and down speak to the overbearing hierarchy governing the characters’ social interactions. The implication is that the words and ideas of those who live higher up are more important and legitimate than those living below. Lastly, there are rarely scenes with open spaces within the rooms and common places of the silo. Space is often taken up by objects that are permitted by silo authorities. As with the silo’s lighting and verticality, the lack of open space serves as a parallel to the limited worldviews of the residents. Within and between persons, there is not much “space” to think and discuss.

Thankfully, scripture offers a better way. By basing the contours of our experiences with reality on being image bearers of an all-loving God, we have the “space” to explore our beliefs about what makes us human physically, socially, and psychologically–as long as doing so aligns with God’s will for us. Far from limiting our worldview, such a realization can expand and optimize it for his glory.

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At Think Christian, we encourage careful cultural discernment. We recognize and respect that many Christians choose not to engage with pop culture that contains particular content, such as abuse, sex, violence, alcohol or drug use, or that employs the use of coarse language. To that end, we suggest visiting Common Sense Media for detailed information regarding the content of the particular pieces of pop culture discussed in this article.