At the end of the election of ‘Free For All,’
the candidate No.6 was proven to have won the election by a landslide majority.
Outside, the gathered electorate shouted out for No.2 with great enthusiasm, “We
want Number Two, we want Number Two, Number Two, Number Two, Number Two.”
However when the new No.2 is
presented to them by the out going Number 2 on the steps of the Town Hall, there
is an eerie silence, and he is treated with suspicion by the citizens. And as
the new Number 2 is driven away to
his new sanctum of the Green Dome, the citizens just go away quietly, and its
just as though the election had never happened in the first place. This
being the case, it makes me wonder why anybody voted for No.6! But then Number 2 is a master manipulator of such a community as that of
The Village!
Be seeing you
Good morning David,
ReplyDeleteI've always been confused about the strange silence.. by now I guess they just realize that they voted for Number 6 but all they got was another Number 2.. who was even promoted and presented by the old one.
Maybe they themselves wonder why they have voted for him in the first place, too. In a way it's like each election when you realize that nothing will change.
Best wishes
Jana
BCNU
Could it be, everybody except No. 6 (being drugged, don't forget) knew what was going to happen after the poll? And isn't there a sense of shame visible in some of the faces, realising that they had been (mis-) used in this affair. Unlikely, I think, that the Village should have treated each and every citizen chemically in order to conform in this "game". But force or any kind to make it work must have been used. - BCNU!
ReplyDeleteThat's a very interesting idea.. I like it!
ReplyDeleteHello Arno and Jana,
ReplyDeleteI like both of your comments. Yes it is like nothing will change, despite the election, its still the same!
Mass chemical manipulation of the citizens would be a simple thing to do, everyone drugged through the drinking water supply, and conditioning of the mind could take place when everyone is asleep. In the same way they condition Number 6's mind on occasion, via the over-head light above his bed.
And yes, looking at those pictures again there does seem to be a look of shame about the expressions on their faces.
Very kind regards to you both
David
BCNU
Principally speaking I would agree, one could do it. However, each individual reacts differently to psychotropic doses, drugs. I'm somewhat in doubt if the Village really would have taken such a risk. Imagine one group of people behaving lethargically, they'd hardly be of any use in this complex scheme. Others might react agressively or with too exaggerated zeal and thus spoil the plot. No, I'd guess the Village rather coerced people by subtle intimidations or perhaps by promising them benefits if they took part and so on. - BCNU!
DeleteHello Arno,
DeleteI take your point. Perhaps there is another way. Perhaps the citizens could have been conditioned subliminally, through their television sets, as the students of Speedlearn were in 'The General.' Simply exchange mass education to mass conditioning of the citizens!
Very kind regards
David
BCNU
That's possible, yes. Provided that "Speedlearn" was in fact in operation. Like I wrote in my e-mail, another idea would be that the Village initiated the election process early on, before No. 6 arrived, he was relatively new in the Village. So, there would be no need to manipulate people's minds by drugs or electronically, they'd simply made believe that elections would be held (how long has the Village existed, hence the prospect of elections would sound believable to many) and most of them would take this farce at face value, I am sure. - BCNU!
ReplyDeleteHello Arno,
DeleteRegarding Speedlearn, that educational experiment had to have begun long before the episode of 'The General,' seeing as Speedlearn is already embedded in The Village at the start of that episode. What's more every citizen knows about Speedlearn, everyone that is but No.6!
But yes, you make a good sound, and valid point in your comment, in fact in film the library order of 'the Prisoner' 'Free For All' is third, so No.6 would be relatively new in The Village.
Enjoy the weekend
Very kind regards
David
BCNU