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Thursday 5 February 2015

The Village

    There is no crime in The Village! Well apart from that time when Number 53 stole that telephone from the kiosk. Oh and the surveillance camera from its plinth. Not for getting the screwdriver and pieces of electrical components from the trailer of the electrics truck. Number 6 did steal a taxi, and Number 8 did as well, but only so that she could follow them. But Number 2 had been advised about the two taxis, but decided to let them go, so that the new emotion transmitter could have a proper test. Ah, there was that time Number 6 attacked two motor mechanics, and stole their jet boat. But Number 2 knew about that. Other than those few instances, there is no crime in The Village. What’s more there are no locked doors, well only at night, that’s to stop citizens leaving their cells/rooms and cottages at night when everyone’s supposed to be asleep. Well yes, there was that time when Number 6 found the French door was unlocked, and took the advantage to go out into the Village after curfew. But Number 2 knew about that, she saw it as being an opportunity to test their efficiencies. But there are definitely no keyholes, if memory serves, so no need for keys. Well one key in the possession of the Butler, and one keyhole, in the "Well Come" door. If of course you don’t count the keyhole in the door to the cell in the Jailhouse where The Man With No Name was kept under protective custody. And of course the keyhole in the door to the cage! Not forgetting the key to the Prisoner's house. Mind you Number 6 did commit a spot of breaking and entry, into a laboratory. Does that count as a crime? He also gained unlawful entry into the Professor’s house, and was caught red-handed by Madam Professor. But nothing was done about it. Assault and battery, possibly grievous badly harm, that’s a crime! While Number 6 was impersonating a Top Hat official of administration, he not only attacked two security guards, rendering them unconscious. He also attacked the Projectionist! Grievous bodily harm is a crime Number 6 is often guilty of. There was that time in the woods, but I suppose Number 6 would plead extenuating circumstances. Such as he was provoked by the two men, and that it were they who caused the fight for which he was reported to the Committee.
   What about the flagrant of the breaking of the rules? By the possession of a radio for example? The Prisoner couldn’t get away with that one, they put him on trial for it! Mind you the death sentence seemed a bit excessive!
    There was a case of “identity theft.” This chap Curtis arrived in The Village. He thought he could steal Number 6’s identity and get away with it. But The Village Guardian eventually put paid to him!
   But other than the crimes stated, and perhaps one or two which may have been missed, there is no crime, well hardly any that would warrant a police force, unless you count The Village Guardian. But then there are also the Guardians, such as the gardener, he was a Guardian. And no doubt there are others, all watching and reporting. Well they didn’t watched Number 53’s activities very carefully, otherwise a Guardian would have reported the thefts! And there are the Observers who apparently see and hear everything through the hidden microphones, and the surveillance cameras! So its no wonder there’s no crime, the citizens never know when they are being watched, and so behave accordingly, whether they are being watched or not! Lets face it, its impossible for the Observers to hear and see everything. That would mean that everyone would be watching everyone else all the time. Its no wonder there’s no crime in The Village!


Be seeing you

17 comments:

  1. Hello David,
    I like this!

    There are one or two more crimes I'd like to add: That of being an individual, and attempts to escape. But again it's more like a deviation from the rules, isn't it. It seems as if crimes in the Village are handled more as illnesses than as crimes. There is no police station, but there's the hospital. More efficient I guess. On the other hand, there's no need to send anyone to prison when they are already there.

    Yet, I wonder where they sent or how they punished Number Six after he destroyed the General. I guess it would be considered to be a more serious crime than possessing a radio.

    Best regards,
    Jana
    BCNU

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    1. Hello Jana,
      That's right there's no police station in The Village. I'm not sure if trying to escape is a crime. The new Number 2 in 'Arrival' said in his report, that his trying to escape was part of the normal classification. Mind you the theft of a helicopter could be seen in a totally different light. I'm not so sure that being an individual is a crime, after all what can they do to Number 6? Fine him or put him in prison? Well he's in prison as it is, so the next step would be to have him placed in solitary confinement!
      One crime I did forget was the act of sabotage by Number 12 in 'The General,' when he placed wires over the electrical contact of a lightbulb. Yes, and the act of sabotage against the General, as you mentioned in your comment. There are one or two brutal attacks by Number 6, like the time he and his men assaulted the two men operating the searchlight in 'Checkmate.' And as we do not see the portly Shopkeeper again, perhaps he was found guilty of "cooking" his shop accounts books. That would be another crime! Oh and what about Number 6 having made his own stone axe and chisel? To Number 2 even these tools were outside the pale of the law, but he winked a blind surveillance eye about that. There might also be a case for being drunk and disorderly in the Cat and Mouse. But at least when Number 6 took the provisions and camera from the General Stores 'in 'Many Happy Returns' he left an I.O.U signed No.6, which I assume also covered the black loudspeaker he also took.
      Strewth, this has added something not only in reply to your comment, but also to the article!

      Good to hear from you Jana, I hope the day gos well with you.
      Very best regards
      David
      BCNU

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  2. Agree. "We're democratic. In some ways." says No. 2. In the Village it isn't so much about everyday crime like theft, burglary or homicide but about deviating from certain rules or more generally: the norm. Whoever set them up. Which is part of the problem. - BCNU!

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    1. Hello Arno,
      In Slade Prison in the BBC comedy series 'Porrige' there were just two rules. Don't write on the lavatory walls, and obey all the rules as MacKay the chief warder said.
      The thing about the so called "rules" that govern the citizens who live in The Village, not only do we not know who wrote these rules, but as far as we know no-one has ever seen them! It's like the signing of the "Magna Carta" in 1215. "First drafted by the Archbishop of Canterbury to make peace between the unpopular King and a group of rebel barons, it promised the protection of church rights, protection for the barons from illegal imprisonment, access to swift justice, and limitations on feudal payments to the Crown, to be implemented through a council of 25 barons." It was alright for the King, Churchmen, and Barons of the day. But the ordinary people, the peasants, they would never get to see a copy of the Magna Carta!

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magna_Carta

      I hope the day goes well with you.

      Very kind regards
      David
      BCNU

      Delete
    2. "Someone must have been telling lies about Josef K., he knew he had done nothing wrong but, one morning, he was arrested. "

      Such is the initial line of Kafka's novel "The Trial". Skirting around, that's as close as we get in the course of the action to any accurate accusation or the law, for that matter, that K. had violated. - BCNU!

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    3. Hello Arno,
      It reads as though there might have been Jammers putting the poison in againSt Joseph K, telling lies against him!

      Certainly the law was not in Joseph K's favour.

      Very kind regards
      David
      BCNU

      Delete
    4. For peace of mind or for the sake of correctness one should say that the English translation of one particular word isn't 100% clear enough. Because it isn't just plain "lies" that were spread about Josef K. Kafka himself actually writes "verleumden" (look it up!). There's a wealth of English verbs here each of which indicating to a slightly different aspect or meaning. It's a term reaching into the legal realm. It can be a lie but it doesn't have to be one, it can also be the truth issued at the improper moment so somebody may experience severe disadvantages. Err, understood? - BCNU!

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  3. Hello David and Arno,

    it's like opening Pandoras Box, a very interesting discussion indeed!

    I guess one of the main questions must be what is considered a law, or a rule, or if both are identical. Which actions are punished and how? Is being chased down by Rover already a punishment, implicitely or explicitely? Is the Truth Test one? Or sending people to treatment for being unmutual, is that therapy, or punishment?

    I think mostly the rules of the Village are implicit, and they are enforced by making the Prisoners afraid of the consequencies... It's all about control and prevention, kind of.

    Have to....

    Best regards,
    Jana
    BCNU



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    1. Kafka again. In "The Penal Colony" (colony, not unlike a village) the law is enforced while simultaneously the letters of it are written or engraved directly into the body of the convicts. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Penal_Colony - BCNU!

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    2. Hello Arno,
      "The Penal Colony," it appears there are worse places than The Village! In The Village citizens could have had a Penny Farthing along with their number engraved on their bodies. Mind you I've seen pictures on the Internet in which enthusiasts of 'the Prisoner' have had canopied Penny Farthing tattoos done!

      Very kind regards
      David
      BCNU

      Delete
  4. This makes me think.. In the Penal Colony the Rules are engraved into the body of the convicts, in the Village they were washed into the prisoners brains. There is some similarity if you ask me...

    David, I like your examples! I had forgotten about the shop keeper.
    There are also the Watchmaker who is building a bomb, and the Jammers, who are causing false alarms. Solitary confinement - I think in a way the state of being unmutual is somewhat like it...

    Very best wishes, have a nice evening!
    Jana

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    1. Hello Jana,
      This article has certainly generated some interest and discussion.
      I don't think we can count the Watchmakers bomb making activities, because he had been brainwashed or indoctorinated by Number 100, "groomed" or "radicalised" in todays terms.
      Certainly a number of The Village doctors are guilty of crimes against humanity!

      Very best wishes, have a good day.
      David
      BCNU

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    2. Hello David,
      agreed, the watchmaker certainly wasn't to blame for his actions. Although I'm not so sure how he would have acted without indoctrination.

      Crimes against humanity, absolutely! I agree. I wonder, would they count as crimes from the Villages point of view?

      Thanks, and very best wishes to you too!
      Jana
      BCNU

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  5. He also feeds the cat! No pets allowed, it's against the rules. Of course, Number 2 is exempt from that rule.

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    1. Hello Enrik1138,
      You see, I knew I had missed other examples. Indeed Number 2 does appear to be exempt from the rules. As they say, there are rules for some, and and rules for others!
      Yet playing devils advocate, Number 6 didn't exactly keep a pet, the cat simply moved in, and made itself at home! And there might be a question of possession, who's cat was it in the first place? Yes Number 2 in 'Dance of the Dead' said the cat was hers, yet the cat walked into Number 6's cottage at the end of 'Many Happy Returns,' at Number 2's feet. Ah ha, I think I have it. 'Dance of the Dead' is the second episode in the production/library order, and therefore comes before 'Many Happy Returns.' Perhaps in that case, when Number 2 of 'D of the D' eventually leaves The Village for some reason she leaves the cat behind!
      Good to read from you again.

      Very kind regards
      David
      BCNU

      Delete
  6. The point about THE LAW is it is something nobody has ever read or been in touch with somebody directly involved in the act of enforcing it. At the most somebody knows somebody who's heard of or known somebody who, from an inferior position, had been in touch with THE LAW or its agents. It's remote but it's immediate. So to speak. In Kafka's "Penal Colony" THE LAW is executed while, perhaps before, the rules, the DOs and DON'Ts, are written or inscribed physically into the victim. Guilty, read the charge! That's it. -BCNU!

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  7. Maybe one could say that the law is kind of embodied by Number 1. It's anonymous, but ubiquitous. Just a thought. Maybe Number 1 is like the commander in The Penal Colony...
    Be seeing you.
    Jana

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