by John W. Whitehead \/ June 21st, 2018<\/p>\n
\nWe\u2019re run by the Pentagon, we\u2019re run by Madison Avenue, we\u2019re run by television, and as long as we accept those things and don\u2019t revolt we\u2019ll have to go along with the stream to the eventual avalanche\u2026. As long as we go out and buy stuff, we\u2019re at their mercy\u2026 We all live in a little Village. Your Village may be different from other people\u2019s Villages, but we are all prisoners.<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 Patrick McGoohan, The Prisoner<\/em>, Television Series<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
First broadcast in America 50 years ago, The Prisoner\u2014<\/em>a dystopian television series described as \u201cJames Bond meets George Orwell filtered through Franz Kafka<\/a>\u201c\u2014confronted societal themes that are still relevant today: the rise of a police state, the freedom of the individual, round-the-clock surveillance, the corruption of government, totalitarianism, weaponization, group think, mass marketing, and the tendency of humankind to meekly accept their lot in life as a prisoner in a prison of their own making.<\/p>\n
Perhaps the best visual debate ever on individuality and freedom, The Prisoner<\/em> (17 episodes in all) centers around a British secret agent who abruptly resigns only to find himself imprisoned and interrogated in a mysterious, self-contained, cosmopolitan, seemingly tranquil retirement community known only as the Village. The Village is an idyllic setting with parks and green fields, recreational activities and even a butler.<\/p>\n
While luxurious and resort-like, the Village is a…<\/p>\n<\/div>\n