Harrison Bergeron
I wrote here before about conservatives' need to find a dystopian novel to channel their fears of the Obama administration through. During the dark Bush years we found revelation in 1984.
Now Kurt Vonnegut's classic short story Harrison Bergeron has been adapted to a short film titled 2081 and this looks like a winner (trailer here). With the forced equality and the evil Handicapper General slapping masks and weights and headphones on everyone to stifle their potential, I'm sure it will only be a matter of time before Glenn Beck is sobbing on live television, imploring us all to be Harrison Bergerons and ballet dance against the Obama Regime.
I mean, he fucking cries over Coke commercials.
Now Kurt Vonnegut's classic short story Harrison Bergeron has been adapted to a short film titled 2081 and this looks like a winner (trailer here). With the forced equality and the evil Handicapper General slapping masks and weights and headphones on everyone to stifle their potential, I'm sure it will only be a matter of time before Glenn Beck is sobbing on live television, imploring us all to be Harrison Bergerons and ballet dance against the Obama Regime.
I mean, he fucking cries over Coke commercials.
posted by Matt Bors at
2:00 PM
6 Comments:
I can't quite figure you out ... and that is one of the things that I really like about you.
I will have to go to the Library and read that story ... had never heard about it. As far as it being a dystopian standard bearer for the conservatives the equal of '1984' ... I don't know about that.
To me, Orwell's view is pretty universal. It represents the ultimate goal of power. From what you and the trailer leads me to think, the symptoms of mediocracy is what Harrison Bergeon warns about.
It isn't but for powers on sake that there is a abolution of individual talent and gifts. At least that is how I see it!
As usual the wingnuts will misinterpret the satire, ignorant as they are. The notion of the Right crowning Kurt Vonnegut as their voice fighting the oppression of the left ..... well, it's just too funny for words. It might almost be worth it.
The funniest part is, it was GWB who signed No Child Left Behind.
I'm not too familiar with Vonnegut - I read "Breakfast of Champions" quite awhile ago, but I agree that he's a very odd figure for the right to idolize. He compared Bush to Hitler in 2003 by saying that at least Hitler was elected.
Anyway, for Vonnegut's take on how people will probably bastardize the intent for his story, I found this link:
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2005/may/05/vonnegut_lawyers_could/
Ayn Rand?
I'm not saying ant of Vonnegut's work was meant to be taken as a right-wing paranoid fantasy, but given how untethered they are to reality, people like Glenn Beck seem to think the government described in Harrison Bergeron is upon us.
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