Kate Winslet as Elena Vernham in HBO’s The Regime, the endearingly strict head of a tiny European nation. Above all, Elena Vernham is afraid of mold. Elena Vernham is the authoritarian chancellor of her country. She is charming, ignorant, and oppressive in equal measure. Her fear of spores is so severe that the very first episode of the March 3 debut of the television show begins with an impromptu repair of the old palace she lives in to remove any indication that there may be poisonous mushrooms. It becomes evident throughout the episode that Elena Vernham secretive mold-phobia is the one thing that may challenge her excessive ambition and topple her dictatorial authority.
This is the reason she employs Herbert Zubak (played by Matthias Schoenaerts), a disgraced soldier, as an assistant whose only job it is to check the humidity in a room before she enters and to spend several hours a week in an oxygen tank where she hides from the risk of infection, Bubble Boy-style. In the premiere, Elena Vernham fixation on mold and her eventual downfall are never more apparent than during a banquet she throws where she must successfully close a significant deal with the US president.
She feels quite safe because there are humidifiers beneath each table, but she loses it when Herbert casually mentions the room’s dampness, highlighting her biggest fear and placing her in danger of political repercussions. It makes sense to be afraid of mold because it can be poisonous, hazardous, and occasionally even lethal. But Elena Vernham constant concern about mold reveals more about her anxiety about losing control of her life and her general sense of dread about dying. It also draws attention to another factor that can jeopardize her strong position: her sense of reality.
Why does Elena Vernham have a mold phobia?
Everything in Elena Vernham life, including her meals and political meetings as chancellor. Is planned to reduce her exposure to the mold threat, which she believes to be constant. Before entering a room, she has Herbert use a hydrometer to measure the humidity. Anyone who dares to approach her is required to hold their breath and take a breath mint to reduce the possibility of contamination. Elena also sees a doctor frequently, and the doctor oversees her oxygen chamber sessions.
One of Elena’s counselors mentions in the episode that Elena’s late father was also a politician and that mold caused a lung condition that ultimately led to his death. This may explain Elena’s dismal obsession; mold stands for the impermanence of her mortality. Which she will never be able to control no matter how strong she will.
Is Elena right to be concerned about this?
Even though Elena is certain that hazardous mold permeates every aspect of her existence, it doesn’t seem like a serious problem. Although Elena seems to be surrounded by people who don’t seem to sense mold or exhibit any signs of it. She may be smelling “rotten air” everywhere. Her family and staff’s needless caving in to her great stress seems to indicate. That they are more interested in assuaging her fears than in preventing the mold from growing. Agnes, Elena’s helper, tells Herbert, “If she smells mold, tell her you smell it too,”. In a scene that implies that people in Elena’s immediate vicinity would prefer to make light of her. Than take a chance on incurring her fury.
Is health paranoia a thing for dictators?
Judy Berman, a reviewer, described Elena as “petrified of pathogens—in her case, mold” in her review of The Regime. Similar to many other tyrants, both past and present. Many of the most infamous autocrats in history have indeed suffered from paranoid tendencies and health obsessions. For example, Saddam Hussein was a well-known germaphobe, Joseph Stalin had florid paranoia. In his final years, and Adolf Hitler was a well-known hypochondriac. All of which is to say that a long line of real-life tyrants. Who suffered from health concerns seem to have influenced the character of Elena. With her terrifying obsession with mold and her megalomaniacal tendencies.
Blog By:- ExpertSadar
