Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id QAA00668 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Mon, 27 May 2002 16:18:23 +0100 Message-ID: <570E2BEE7BC5A34684EE5914FCFC368C10FD0B@fillan.stir.ac.uk> From: Vincent Campbell <v.p.campbell@stir.ac.uk> To: "'memetics@mmu.ac.uk'" <memetics@mmu.ac.uk> Subject: RE: The Expt Date: Mon, 27 May 2002 15:15:36 +0100 X-Mailer: Internet Mail Service (5.5.2653.19) Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1" X-Filter-Info: UoS MailScan 0.1 [D 1] X-MailScanner: Found to be clean Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
<Interesting. Do you think any of them had read Animal Farm? I felt
like I
> was watching a humanised version at times.>
>
Bimson explicitly mentioned it in the first episode, explaining the
plot it to a fellow inmate. This was before he decided to try a coup
(obviously preferring Napoleon to Snowball in Orwell's masterpiece.
<The final question offered by the Expt is that tyranny occurs in
the vacuum
> of power, as shown in the program. But I think they were being very
> simplistic, because this society was small. Even the populists try to
> accrue
> power, such as Tony Blair.
>
> Still, an interesting exercise.>
>
I agree. I think tyranny emerges in the absence of order, which
isn't quite the same thing as the absence of power. Tyranny can also be
collective as well as individual, the tyranny of the majority, for example.
Maybe that's what pissed off Petkin, Edwards and Bimson, their
individuality, and in the former two's case, the key role in breaking the
guards, being "rewarded" only with equal status as the others- they replaced
one kind of authority with another, that was equally unacceptable to them.
Given that Petkin and Edwards apparently displayed very different reasons
for challenging the system at every opportunity (the former out a desire to
undermine authority, the latter to usurp it), it would have been interesting
to see how the coup would have turned out.
Vincent
-- The University of Stirling is a university established in Scotland by charter at Stirling, FK9 4LA. Privileged/Confidential Information may be contained in this message. If you are not the addressee indicated in this message (or responsible for delivery of the message to such person), you may not disclose, copy or deliver this message to anyone and any action taken or omitted to be taken in reliance on it, is prohibited and may be unlawful. In such case, you should destroy this message and kindly notify the sender by reply email. Please advise immediately if you or your employer do not consent to Internet email for messages of this kind. Opinions, conclusions and other information in this message that do not relate to the official business of the University of Stirling shall be understood as neither given nor endorsed by it.=============================================================== This was distributed via the memetics list associated with the Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission For information about the journal and the list (e.g. unsubscribing) see: http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Mon May 27 2002 - 16:30:37 BST