Be seeing you
Friday, 10 February 2017
A Reason For Being!
The Prisoner awakens in what
he thought to be the study of his own home, he was wrong! He takes his first
tentative steps out into The Village, he’s shocked, disorientated. He sees the
figure of a man leaning out of a window of the Bell Tower, the
Prisoner rushes round the base of the tower to find a door. He quickly climbs
up in the Bell Tower, but of the
figure he saw leaning out of the window there is no sign! He climbs to the Top
of the Bell Tower and looks
in every direction, the whole Village laid out before him. What might have been
the purpose of that figure leaning out of the window? After all he was there,
you and I, and anyone watching ‘Arrival’ saw the figure, so he must have been
there. Perhaps the figure was there to attract the Prisoner’s attention in
order to make him climb the Bell Tower, and from
the highest point give the Prisoner the best view of The Village they could in
order to confirm his new surroundings, until he was given an aerial tour by
helicopter that is. The Prisoner did not encounter the figure he saw, so where
did it disappear to? Obviously he ducked away in some unknown space, and simply
not seen by the Prisoner, after all people don’t just disappear, unless they
are abducted to The Village! But never mind the disappearing figure of a man,
who in their right mind would haul a heavy stone statue up to the top of the Bell Tower? Was that
put there simply to try and convince the Prisoner that it was the statue he had
seen? If so it was a pretty poor attempt, after all, the statue had been placed
right at the top of the Bell Tower, it wasn’t
even pointing in the right direction, and not at the window the Prisoner had
seen the figure leaning out of! However both the stone statue and the figure of
the man do have something in common, they are both ambiguous. But the reason
for the one may well be the reason for the other. The figure of the man is
replaced by a statue, making it appear the Prisoner made a mistake, if that be
the reason for their being!
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Yes, that's it, I think. The scene is an allegory for the human condition (see René Magritte's painting by the same name).
ReplyDeleteWe're meant to wonder, did The Prisoner mistake a graven image, a statue, for a man? How silly. But does not all mankind do the same! It's a ridiculous thought when you think literally, or when you see it portrayed in this scene, but what if it's all done legally? How many of us understand the law?
Lawyers call these things 'legal fictions'. And a 'Person', legally speaking, is one example of a 'fiction of law'. Lawyers say the law abounds in fictions. But they also say, "Fictio cedit veritati. Fictio juris non est ubi veritas."
The Prisoner thinks he's a free man, when in fact he's held captive as a 'Person'. He protests his freedom in every episode, only to be laughed at by those who know better (i.e. the current No.2). The one occasion on which he says he's not a number, but a free PERSON he's told these are effectively the same thing - "six of one, half-a-dozen of the other", and that's true.
When these things are fully grasped it's easy to see why (in 'Dance of the Dead' at least) No.2 laughs when The Prisoner asks, "Who is No.1." It also explains why, when you pull off the primate mask (the misdirection of human evolution) you see yourself looking back, as No.1, which we know is not true.
But...(seeing as I'm chatting about images), have you ever pondered the image on the cover of Thomas Hobbes' famous book? It's well worth a goosey : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_politic
sam
That’s very deep for a Saturday! If the Prisoner did mistake that statue for a man, then he was a fool, and yet there is no sign of that statue again in further scenes in the bell tower in later episodes! And where did the man go? Why didn’t the Prisoner encounter him? I am reminded of ;
DeleteAntigonish [I met a man who wasn't there]
Hughes Mearns
Yesterday, upon the stair,
I met a man who wasn't there
He wasn't there again today
I wish, I wish he'd go away...
When I came home last night at three
The man was waiting there for me
But when I looked around the hall
I couldn't see him there at all!
Go away, go away, don't you come back any more!
Go away, go away, and please don't slam the door... (slam!)
Last night I saw upon the stair
A little man who wasn't there
He wasn't there again today
Oh, how I wish he'd go away...
It’s not precise to the scene in ‘Arrival’ of course, the fact the man wasn’t there!
The law is not like other matters, and is very difficult to understand. In the village there is no law, only the rules. No human rights, well it is a prison, and many of the citizens of the village are open to human experimentation, the doctors using experiments formerly used on animals.
No.6 also protests that he will not be pushed, filed, indexed, briefed, de-briefed or numbered. He protests at having his individuality taken away, that they have taken away his name and given a number. But then we don’t know what the Prisoner’s name is in the first place, he could be anyone, or everyman!
The trouble with the Prisoner is he’s his own worst enemy, which was what McGoohan was attempting to show us, that No.6 has only himself to blame for his being a prisoner in the village. Which suggests he has been struggling with himself all the time ,not physically, but psychologically, in the village of the mind!
David
Yes, pretty deep I guess, but I really think the series speaks on the very deepest level. Surely that's why, for some, it has such enduring appeal. Perhaps for you above us all David?
ReplyDeleteI really think No.6 is an 'everyman' character and I agree that he ... we, are our own worst enemy (at least in the sense P.McG was trying to convey here).
I do wish he'd been left to produce just the original 7 episodes and importantly, as a serial, not as a series. Seems like a small thing, but I think P.McG really wanted people to get it, to understand, rather than, as some creative types desire, to create a perpetual (money-making) mystery. I'd even go so far as to say it's precisely that - a persistent and pernicious mystery that he's trying to debunk and destroy, both in character as The Prisoner and, by our viewing and understanding it, in real life, by producing the series in the first place. History shows us then was not the time, and it appears, even now is not yet the time...for the big reveal.
sam
Hello Sam. The Prisoner speaks on many levels, and as deep as one wishes to delve. I remember when as a boy I had but few questions of the series, and I have to admit ‘Fall Out’ was a complete mystery that was suddenly gone, not for me to be seen again until 1976! And then in adulthood the series became more complicated the more I delved into it. And yes it is that which has made the series endure, that and the fact that as Patrick McGoohan once said “One thousand people can watch the series, each having a different idea as to what it’s all about, and everyone be right.” Certainly for me personally, the Prisoner has taken me to many levels, and along so many paths and avenues.
DeleteI think McGoohan was right with his original thinking of a 7 part mini-series or serial, which he originally envisaged. But that idea didn’t suit Lew Grade who originally wanted 26 episodes so he could sell the series to American TV companies. 26 episodes were clearly impossible, so Lew and Pat agreed on 17 episodes, and were lucky to finish the series, since by the time of the last four episodes the production was running out of money!
Certainly the Prisoner was a failure financially. McGoohan did want people to get it, to understand. He had a message that we were all becoming numbers, well we are for official purposes. He also wanted to tell people to speak out when they see injustice, to tell officialdom that they can’t do that to me! Also not to give away personal information, something which many prisoner fans didn’t get, because whilst on social media they are only too happy to tell of personal lives and details!
The Prisoner can mean so many different things to so many people. The big reveal is that we are all Number 1, look after Number 1, because if we don’t who will?
David
Hi David,
ReplyDeleteDid McGoohan expressly say he thought 'we're all becoming numbers' and that he wanted people to tell officialdom 'they can't do that to me!' I'd love to see a quote from him about that.
It seems that, for you, the programme's ultimate message can only be "look after number 1."
Is that fair to say?
sam
Hello Sam,
DeleteWell not exactly those words, I cannot recall his exact words, although he did use Lew Grade as an analogy. I’ll have a rummage in the archive see if I can find what he actually said. But its the meaning behind the words which is important.
Looking after Number 1, not really, its simply one way of looking at it. In the series its Number 1 looking after Number 6 to see that no real harm comes to him, not to damage the tissue, just bruise it a little. After spending many years researching the Prisoner and related material, now the Prisoner for me is pure adventure, escapism. And I have created the Prisoner for myself in short stories published my blog, and in the four Prisoner based novels I have written, and that has taken me away from McGoohan’s series in recent years. So much so that I’m not really sure what McGoohan’s Prisoner means to me these days. But certainly I give away as little as possible about myself on social media, in fact I use social media very little, unlike many. As Number 6 says “My life is my own.” People today do not appreciate the meaning of privacy, its lost on social media.
And yet, when it comes to Number 1, we have no idea who Number 1 is not until the advent of ‘Fall Out,’ even McGoohan had no idea who No.1 is until he wrote the script for that final episode, and made himself No.1!
David
Morning David,
ReplyDeleteThank you once again for your response. It would be great if you can explore your archive for a quote suggestive of the ultimate message of The Prisoner series. Very kind of you!
If you're willing I'd love to chat with you some more about the over-all message and intent of the series and perhaps have you scrutinise my theory?
It's not something I've tried formally to set-out before, but I've been ruminating on it for many years and perhaps it's time to invite the scrutiny of others.
I'm not at all sure I can achieve this mind you. I may not even be up to the task!
sam
Good afternoon Sam,
DeleteI will have a delve in the archive, leave that with me. I’ve an idea that he mentioned something on those lines in a television programme about the series called ‘Six Into One The Prisoner File’ made in 1984, you might recall that. I thought it was a complete and utter waste of time, as it was supposed to give answers, it ddin’t!
Yes I’m open to any form of chat about the series, so if you wish to chat about more of the overall message and intent of the series then fine by me.
I’m popping out soon to the hospital to pick up a prescription, on foot, but it’s a lovely day for a walk.
So we’ll be chatting later on I’m sure.
Enjoy your day
David
Great. Thank you David.
ReplyDeleteTo kick things off I thought I'd refer back to something we touched on at the beginning of this thread ; Your observation (and my agreement) that what I began trying to explain is rather 'deep'.
In a clip from a tv interview with P.McG, when asked about the conclusion of the series (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhlS6kNT0pI) he said:
"It was about the most evil human being...human essence, and that is ourselves. It is within each of us...the most dangerous thing on earth, is what is within us, and therfore, that is what I made Number One ; Oneself : An image of himself - which he was trying to beat."
He said it rather earnestly, judging from his expression, and not at all playfully or mischievously. But either way, he speaks of 'the most evil human essence, within each of us' ; surely a very deep theme indeed! The very deepest perhaps. Speaking - I would suggest - to the very nature and grounding of our humanity.
So, if The Prisoner's battle is actually an internal one, with his only foe being "himself" or (as I hope to demonstrate) "An image of himself", the series can only really be understood allegorically. The subject matter being something abstract "within each of us." But this means the series must be interpreted, by each of us, individually, and will produce as many interpretations as it has fans. This is a problem only if you want to know what the author himself intended.
What if P.McG actually had a very specific interpreatation and messsage in mind? Something that's vey difficult to explain at all, let alone to portray in an entertaining and enjoyable way!
This is why, for my part, I love 'The Prisoner', and it's why I've such respect and admiration for Patrick himself.
If I'm correct, the evidence I offer (from the show and elsewhere) will hold against any honest scrutiny. I just need open-minded, free-thinking individuals who will do me the honour of listening and verifying what I claim.
Now anyone seeing this might think to themselves, 'Steady on mate! It's only a flippin' TV show!' And ordinarily I'd be the first to say exactly that! But if I've understood what Patrick was seeking to demonstrate, I believe everyone will see the huge significance of the show - for themselves, in the here-and-now, something that far exceeds mere entertainment. It's an outrageous sounding claim, I recognise that, but I'd love the chance to have it fairly tested.
Kind regards
sam
Hello Sam and good afternoon.
DeleteI seem to be like the preverbal white rabbit….late! Yesterday turned out to be a busy old day. Then this morning I have been in the village, not physically you understand, but via my mind’s eye as I work through the editing a chapter of a manuscript.
Yes indeed that’s what Patrick McGoohan said, but I’ve wondered if that’s what he was striving towards? Because he is famous for having said that he went to see Lew Grade, during production, telling him that he was completely lost and couldn’t find an ending to the series! When he wrote ‘Fall Out’ he made himself No.1, and banged on about that it is in us all, the most dangerous thing on Earth, and of course he was right. But there is no indication of this or anything he said within the previous 16 episodes. If as he suggests No.6 being No.1 he was trying to beat something within himself, his evil self, again there is no indication of this within the previous 16 episodes. However, what McGoohan said later gives the idea that everything which happened in each episode didn’t physically happen to No.6, but pictured the struggle within in his mind!
Mind you over the years I have learned to take what McGoohan said with a pinch of salt, because we know he wrote ‘Fall Out’ in 36 hours after the previous 16 episodes. Yet when interviewed by a reporter for the Daily Mirror, I have the cutting somewhere, he told the reporter that he wrote the conclusion {Fall Out} first and then worked backwards with the series. No he didn’t!
When he wrote ‘Fall Out’ I do wonder how much of the previous 16 episodes he kept in mind, because it seems to bear no relation to 15 of the episodes, only to ‘Once Upon A Time.’ However I have to say I cannot think of another way for the Prisoner to end, ‘Fall Out’ is the most logical conclusion. But having said that, ‘Fall Out’ might well be where the Prisoner begins. My wife and I have watched the series beginning and ending with ‘Fall out’ and it works, making the series a vicious circle from which there is no escape!
Yes the Prisoner can be seen as a battle within himself, and its an aspect many fans subscribe to. Whatever McGoohan’s specific interpretation and message is, he never explained it in any more detail than he did. He expected people to work it out and understand it for themselves.
The Prisoner is only a television series, but that doesn’t stop certain fans from interpreting the series as a way of life. Sorry, but that’s far too much for me.
But McGoohan was making predictions for the future, which have come to fruition. He told us but at the time no-one was listening.
Kind regards
David
Hi David
ReplyDeleteYes, what P.McG says in some interviews does contradict what he says in others! So we can't read too much into any one comment. He does have a mischievious, even provocative way of responding at times. I like it. Though it only serves to add to the puzzle.
He really did want people to work it out for themselves, as you say. And without doubt it contains predictions that have come to pass. Not least, the way in which so many of us freely relinquish private data via social media and mobile technology, as you've mentioned before.
Not sure what you mean by "certain fans interpreting the series as a way of life"? But if you mean they 'eat sleep and breathe' The Prisoner, then yes, I'd agree that's far far too much. It's a TV show.
sam
Hello Sam,
DeleteThey mean to live everyday life as No.6 lives his life in the village, how that equates to real life I’m not so sure. Others treat the Prisoner as some sort of religion. While other fans say how much they would love to live in the village, they don’t say as Prisoner’s or warders, probably just as citizens who no-one bothers! Some fans have no idea what they are talking about, and often talk through their....hats! Anyway just look about them and they will see they are already living in the village, both the physical village, and the village of the mind, we each carry one of those about with us!
Enjoy your afternoon
David
Wow. I had no idea!
DeleteI knew it had a following of course, even today, so long after the original broadcast, and justifiably so, but I was ignorant of such an obsession!
Hello Sam,
DeleteThe prisoner has had a large following since the late 1970’s screening of the series, and although the Prisoner was never produced as a children’s television series it has over the years and decades attracted children to the series, I was one of them back in 1967. And people do still come to the Prisoner for the very first time, and it has to be said the series has not aged unlike many other 1960’s television series. I have to say that the series has attracted eccentrics, there was one chap that if you talked to him at Prisoner Conventions held at Portmeirion, he would talk in “Prisoner speak” using sentences used in the Prisoner. And if he couldn’t think of an appropriate sentence he would simply reply “That would be telling!”
Once upon a time there were Prisoner local groups of fans up, down, and across the British Isle’s all dedicated to the series, but none of those groups have withstood the test of time, of course those were in the days long before the advent of the Internet. There are a number of Prisoner groups on facebook which I don’t really associate myself with because they are still asking age old questions about the series, and many cannot stand anyone who does not think the same about the series as them. People in those groups consider themselves to be right, and everyone else is wrong, because if there’s a question asked and they don’t like the answer they ridicule you, especially if you give a well formed answer. They will argue and argue, and keep at you until you concede that they are right and you are wrong, or until you simply go away! Well that’s entirely up to them of course, but generally I keep away.
However there are good people out there, fans of the Prisoner, and one Prisoner website I recommend, which you will find interesting, is run by my good friend Rick Davy The Unmutual Website - The Prisoner Patrick McGoohan Portmeirion Home Page
David
Once again David -- Wow!
DeleteI must thank you for giving me the 'heads-up' and making me aware of all this. I think I'll keep my mouth shut and my thoughts to myself from now on!
All the best,
sam
P.S. Thank you for the links though. I will give those a peek sometime.
DeleteGood evening Sam, Oh don't do that, I trust I have not put you off from our little deliberations, I'm quite enjoying them. This isn't facebook, people who do comment on my blog are easy going, and open minded to discussion.
DeleteEnjoy your evening
David