This is an article appertaining to be from No.2 of 'Hammer Into Anvil.' I'm not at all sure what it was that caused No.2 to be so paranoid when it comes to the security of the Village in the first place, but I can guess. It is always possible that No.2 is referring to 'Jammers,' who we hear about from Number 118 in 'It's Your Funeral.' But that does not account for the claim of not necessarily knowing who the enemies are, or who they might be. We learn in 'It's Your Funeral' that all known Jammers are on a list, and anything heard from them, Control just lets ride. But perhaps the Village Administration was not so advanced when it comes to Jammers, and that at the time of 'Hammer Into Anvil,' no such list of known Jammers existed at that time.
It is clear that No.6 is carrying out Jamming techniques against No.2, in a series of non-existant plots which are designed to drive No.2 over the edge! And it could be in the reading of this newspaper article from The Tally Ho, that would have given No.6 the idea in the first place.
Be seeing you
Although born after WW2 we all know those alert posters telling people to beware of spys and instructing them to behave carefully in what they say or else to report suspicious actions and people. The above article serves the same purpose. You don't need a specific cause for it. The keyword is paranoia and keeping people at bay. All the more as No. 2 himself displays distict traits of paraoia. - BCNU!
ReplyDeleteAdd: In the "Change" episode we can see a poster very much in the style mentioned and, of course, reminding of Orwell's 1984, No. 2 exhorting: "Your Community Needs YOU!"
Delete- BCNU!
Hello Arno,
DeleteThe 'Your Community needs you' Poster is even more reminiscent of General Lord Kitchener and the WW1 poster 'Your Country Needs You.'
http://www.sterlingtimes.org/kitchener.jpg
Regards
David
BCNU
Hello Arno,
DeleteYes I can understand the meaning of your comment, but the Village seems so normal, only Number 2 can see conspiracies everywhere, where there are no conspiracies, such is his own paranoia. If only No.2 put more trust in his assitant No.14, things might have turned out differently for him.
As for the article in The Tally Ho, it's probably mis-information, Village propaganda,as you say, it's effect to help keep the citizens in order, probably set them to watch one another.
Kind regards
David
BCNU
Hello
ReplyDeleteIt seems to be a parody of the demands of the Official Secrets Act placed on the U.K. citizens during the spy scandals of the early 1960's. In particular the scandal of the Spies For Peace and one of the models for The Village the notorious RSG6 affair.
Some of the lines are taken directly from the press of 1963.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpHL61itBvE
Sincerely
Mr. Anonymous
Hello Mister Anonymous
DeleteThat's perfectly correct, and you can add the Profumo affair of 1963 to the list.
http://www.retrosellers.com/features92.htm
Kind regards
David
BCNU
Hello David
ReplyDeleteHere is an actual example of the press from 1963:
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=CYcTAAAAIBAJ&sjid=YpUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3650,2067395&dq=traitor+spies+for+peace&hl=en
You will notice the headline about 'traitor' and as you read the rest of the article you will find mention of the 'security services'.
There are later news items where Prime Minister Macmillan practically gives a verbatim speech in the tone and content of the Tally Ho item.
'SuperMac' as the Prime Minister was called is considered to be one of the models for the fictional PM F.U.
The turmoil of the spy scandals lead to the rise of the Harold Wilson era and the struggle to promise the 'security of the community' against spy threats, real or imagined, were the model for the mock election we see in Free For All.
Sincerely
Mr. Anonymous
Hello Mister Anonymous,
DeleteThank you for the link, I'll take a look. It would seem that there is more truth in 'the Prisoner' than can be imagined. And is not fact stranger than fiction?
And as it happens, Harold Wilson was never too far away from a touch of scandal himself!
Regards
David
BCNU