Welcome to the the A to Z Blog Challenge when bloggers globally take up the challenge of blogging every day except Sundays in the month of April, using each letter of the alphabet in order. Some bloggers have a theme, others do not. My theme is future dystopia. I will be sharing books, concepts, movies, and other stuff that allow us to explore how these futures might arise, what they would mean for humanity, and what we might do about them.
A is for Animal House, George Orwell’s dystopic fable on the dangers of authoritarianism, another A, and how frighteningly easy it is to take root in a seemingly democratic set-up. At the time it was written, it was a clear allegory of the fall of the Tzar, the rise of communist Russia, and its evolution into an authoritarian regime under Stalin. It is not only treatise on authoritarianism but also on the greed and corruption of people, especially those in power. Its those human failings that makes us vulnerable to authoritarian grabs. Its institutions that protect us, but when only a few oversee those institutions, then they protect those in power.
And as with other Orwell’s books, the manipulation of language and history as methods of control underpin the power of those in authority. For example, one of the seven commandments of animalism, the principles of an equal and just society for animals, is that no animals sleep in beds. When the pigs move into the manor house, they change the principle to no animals sleep in beds with sheets. Misinformation is another tactic used by the pigs, using outright lies and convincing the other animals that they are true. For example, they send Boxer, the horse who did all the heavy work, to the glue farm once he was no longer useful and told the other animals they were sending him to the vets for care.
Animal Farm teaches us a lot about dystopia, and that sometimes we may be closer to authoritarian regimes than we’d like to believe. We must beware of how truth is used, how history is told (and retold), and how people in power behave. We will be seeing a lot of these elements as we explore this topic over the next month. In Animal House its easy to identify the corruption and selfishness, and attribute it to certain animals. In other types of dystopia, it is not always so easy to know who’s pulling the strings.
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I’ve never read Animal House, but I am familiar with other books Orwell wrote and know his work is usually easy to follow from world history. Can’t say I’m a fan, possibly because he is a little too close to reality and I prefer to escape into books? Look forward to seeing what else you discuss.
AJ Blythe – A to Z: Poisons and their use
Thanks for dropping by. I agree Orwell is too close to reality and frankly I read his books in school. I look for escapism as well.
Love Animal Farm, and I think a better read than ‘1984’. He had amazing foresight into what might go wrong with our world and our politics.
https://iainkellywriting.com/2021/04/01/the-state-trilogy-a-z-guide-a/
He certainly did. His books remain so relevant today.
I read Animal Farm a long time ago, when I was a kid, and even then I realised some of Orwel’s warnings – though I wonder what I’d make of the story today.
i might be rereading it.
@JazzFeathers
The Old Shelter – The Great War
I read it in school as well. I think it might be pretty scary to reread it now.
Just stopping by to say hello on the A2Z Challenge
WElcome and thanks for dropping by.
This is a great theme! I wrote a novel that was in a dystopian universe of my design. It was really cool to write, think about, and publish. I look forward to reading your posts!
Stopping by from A to Z!
– Jayden Vincente
Erotic fiction author
https://jrvincente.com/a-to-z-2021/