Animal Farm

 

So I have finally gotten around to finding out what Animal Farm is about. And despite a plain beginning and a mediocre characterisation of the farm animals as human sterotypes; once the pigs get going on their quest for ultimate power, it is amazing how acurate it is to the way I percieve the world today.

The whole line about selling "Animalism" to the masses while actually ignoring its principles and changing its rules over time without anyone noticing, feels so real and seems to be just what the west is doing with Democracy.

Despite the films Socialist roots, it's amazing how any power struggle seems to result in the same kind of tricks and tactics being employed against the public. I absolutely loved the propaganda films that the pigs make in order to tell the animals that despite what their eyes percieve, everything is in fact okay and things are getting better for everyone, echos the chocolate ration part of 1984 nicely, oh and the character of Snowball is a great show of how the reverend and herocic can so easily be turned into the outcast and demonised at the whim of those in power (Is there a connection between the character of Snowball and Lisa Simpson's cat(s)?)

In the story the flag of Animalism is changed into a version that better reflects what Animalism has become and I can't help but think that this is going to be reflected in the flag of NATO in the next few years. There's a story in the news today about the armed forces in the UK being down on numbers and 5000 more are needed urgently, It's not so astounding that the numbers are dwindling after the government of this country have been shrinking the armed forces since the 90's under a flag of peace, but hey! as soon as there's a unjustified war started by our government. Guess who's fault it is? yep its ours; the suckers who listen to these power hungry pigs, trust them so faithfully, and exercise Doublethink to stop them going insane.

I related to Jess in the film and feel that I am going to have to suffer a whole lot like she did before the table can be turned and like the Unabomber pointed out the status quo can be reset and only reset, as regardless of the aims and principles of the revolutionaries, the future can not be seen and controlled.

Another thing that I noticed in the story is something that I have been feeling for a while, and that is once a bad regime gets power and starts to screw it's followers, there is no way that one person can do anything about it, there has to be a revolution to dislodge the strangle hold. As an individual there is only one option, to get the hell out of there, and take their loved ones with them.


 

03/11/06

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