The Therapy Zone

    A parallel has in the past been drawn between ‘It’s Your Funeral’ and ‘The Manchurian Candidate’ {1962} which is based upon the novel by Richard Condon in which a unit of American Marines fighting in the Korean war are captured by the Chinese and taken to Manchuria. Each Soldier is drugged, hypnotised and conditioned. One man, Raymond Shaw is especially susceptible to this form of hypnotic conditioning and suggestion. He is conditioned to be a killer, an assassin, then once released by the Chinese, together with the rest of his unit, Raymond Shaw is returned a hero to America. To activate Marco into assassinating Senator Thomas Jordon, a deck of cards is used, and one card in particular activates Raymond Shaw.….. the Queen of Diamonds.
    The parallel drawn between ‘The Manchurian Candidate’ and ‘Its Your Funeral’ is how the watchmaker-number 50 is indoctrinated by Number 100 in carrying out the assassination of the retiring Number 2. By doing so will wake the citizens out of their lethargy and make them angry enough to fight. As with the conditioning of Raymond Shaw, in becoming an assassin to assassinate senator Thomas Jordon.
Well I suppose that there is something of a tenuous parallel which can be drawn between the two, yet remember when considering this, that there is a very distinct difference between the two, Raymond Shaw in ‘The Manchurian Candidate’ was drugged, hypnotised and conditioned to react to a certain card ‘the Queen of Diamonds’. Where as in ‘It’s Your Funeral,’ the watchmaker-Number -50 knew exactly what he was doing. There were no drugs or hypnotic suggestion used, the watchmaker was  openly conscious to Number 100’s indoctrination and persuasion and remained so, openly believing  that what he was about to do. That assassinating the retiring Number 2, was for the good of the citizens, or so he believed.

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