Diksha Sundriyal
A small alpine French town in Netflix’s ‘Anthracite’ is shaken to its core when one secret after another is revealed, making everyone question not just their neighbors but their own sanity. Tensions rise as several people go missing, and the suspicion turns toward a long-defunct cult. But that’s not the real reason behind the true anger of the townsfolk. The murders and the mystery surrounding them happen later, but first, the town must deal with the deadly consequences of the actions of a company that operates in secret and does despicable things that have an adverse impact on the lives of the locals. The show, partially inspired by a real-life cult, creates an extremely realistic narrative that makes the audience wonder if the said company in the show also bears a real-life counterpart. SPOILERS AHEAD
Arcacia is Fictional But Puts Forward Real Issues
While every mystery and secret in the town of Levionna can be traced back to the Ecrins Cult, the townsfolk note that all of that is now in the past. The people have moved on, and they are trying to focus on different things. The most important thing is the plethora of issues in their present, created by the company known as Arcacia. Much like the majority of the stuff in ‘Anthracite,’ Arcacia is a fictional company that was specifically created to serve the plot of the Netflix series.
In the show, Arcacia always remains in the background of Levionna, as it is being protested by the people of the town, who believe that the experiments at its secret lab are causing all sorts of troubles for the locals, most significant of which is the impact it has on the health of its children. No one knows what experiments are taking place inside the facility, but they know that Arcacia’s presence has led to the mines, one of the major sources of employment in the area, being monopolized, with the jobs of the people taken away completely.
It has something to do with the anthracite in the mines and what the scientists of Arcacia have found in it, but the fact cannot be refuted: they are conducting illegal experiments on locals, especially children, and this is ruining lives, on top of what the company’s presence has already done to the town’s economy. This sentiment riles up the entire town against them and later plays a significant role in the way things turn out for the company.
While Arcacia is entirely fictional and has delicate strings attached to the Ecrins Cult, the creators of the show have made sure to make it look like a real pharma company that has become so invested in its research and trying to come up with a million-dollar idea that it has lost all regard for human life. This sentiment is very real for a lot of people in the audience, and this is what resonates with them while they watch ‘Anthracite.’
Read More: Anthracite: Is the Ecrins Cult a Real Cult? Is Caleb Johansson an Actual Cult Leader?
