Basing your fictional country of Russia but yet making radicalization something bad, when one of the most important historical and influential figures of Russia/20th Century was radicalized, radicalized by the tsarist state, that killed his anarchist brother for trying to change (assassination of Alexander II), that had the highest infenction, the highest infant mortality, having the worst life quality in all of Europe, getting into Marxism, being so influential there are two ideologicals following him, his dreams of a (Soviet) Socialist Union.
About the new "Animal Farm" trailer(2026), and possible political reasons
+importance of the original "Animal Farm" by George Orwell
[The only good thing about the new "Animal Farm" adaptation is that it might get people's attention enough to read the book)
I recently stumbled upon a new adaptation of the "Animal Farm" by George Orwell(2026). I personally think that it's not good to turn the original story into... that.
First, I want to write a little about the "Animal Farm" and what it's about since I recently finished reading it(though not in English)
As well as some information about George Orwell
He was, as far as I'm aware, a democratic socialist(btw, socialism ≠ communism sometimes). He'd seen how some people were surviving instead of living, and I think it's safe to assume that he wished for equality and was against imperialism.
George Orwell went to Spain, and there, he witnessed different opposing political forces.
That's not the only thing he saw, though.
People of the USSR who were going to help the socialists of Spain as a "fellow socialist country" were sent there. They were accusing everyone who seemed to oppose them, fabricated lies only to get rid of the said people. There were interrogations, people disappearing, and violent acts that the communists were committing in Spain. Of course, it was just like an echo of the enormously scaled repression and oppression that the people of Soviet Union were undergoing through(especially those of Soviet Ukraine), and yet, George Orwell, who was accused of being a spy(if I remember that correctly) himself, was shocked by the methods the USSR people were using in Spain. Before "Animal Farm" he had already written another book that was based on that period of his life, I think, but this post is focused on "Animal Farm", plus I haven't read that book.
That being said, "Animal Farm" is somewhat based on the USSR, or at least some of the information George Orwell did know as someone who had never been to Soviet Union.
Besides that, the story is about the totalitarian regimes overall.
Spoilers for those who haven't read the book ahead(!)
I won't be writing the whole story, but I'll try to write about the beginning and some parts of it, as well as the ending.
In the story, the animals decide to revolt against their owner and build themselves a place where all of the animals are equal and working for themselves, where the justice system is fair, there's no stealing or murders.
At first, everything goes well — they manage to get the farm to themselves, and they even rename it (there are some parallels to russian revolution, I suppose)
There are two most popular pigs that both might potentially become leaders, but quite soon in the story,
One of them is declared an enemy(Snowball), and all of the good things he's done for the animals are twisted to the point of turning evil <- Napoleon, the remaining pig that was the one that declared this pig an enemy, constantly creates lies and twists the truth(with the help of another pig that has a role of a propagandist — Squealer)
It's partly an allusion to how any strong political opposition was treated in the USSR(though it surely applies to other totalitarian countries) -> they were made villains and often even killed
Overall, totalitarian countries, most of the time, if not always, have villains, both external and internal
That way, the citizens have someone to blame for all of the bad things that are happening
In the story, for example, all of the animals start blaming Snowball for everything. That's the kind of thing that is happening in modern russia as well. As much as I'm aware, though, very often, it's not even just one person but rather a group of people. As for internal villains/enemies, marginalized groups are often the ones used. It's easy to blame them for ruining the country since some people already hate them. In USSR, internal enemies were the bourgeoisie and nationalists<-(it's a good way to destroy any kind of opposition. Just call them a part of the bourgeoisie and an enemy of the country, and you can do whatever you want! Those people who were called nationalists, btw, were just people who loved their respective cultures. Usually, they were Ukrainians.) As for external villains/enemies, any other country can serve as such. When talking about USSR, it should be noted that it was typically the countries of the West.
The external villains/enemies in the story are, obviously, people. Humans.
Keep all of this in mind because I'll come back to it later.
In the story, Napoleon soon becomes a dictator(btw Snowball is based on Leon Trotsky while Napoleon is based on Joseph Stalin)
The story illustrates lies and propaganda of the leader that are spread by Squealer.
All of the evidence of past words(even those said by Napoleon himself) is either erased or rewritten. When the lies are told constantly and it's really hard to find the truth, since people might not even trust their own memories, especially when they're told they're wrong <- it's way easier to start believing the propaganda and misinformation then.
No animal must kill(which was even written down) turns into -> no animal must kill without a reason.
It's all because Napoleon killed some of the animals after they had admitted to doing something bad. Here, I want to mention that people were massively executed in the USSR. Some were gone missing. Any wrong word could get people either sent away to work in awful conditions(most people died), usually in Siberia, to help build smth, and other hard jobs, or just straight-up ended up being shot. I also would like to add that very often, so-called confessions were forced out of people, as those from NKVD(Soviet secret police) would torture it out of the person.
This leads us to the fact that the freedom of speech is never fully allowed in totalitarian countries. It might be allowed to some extent, but the government is still watching and making sure a person's views aren't "wrong" and against the country's "values". Censorship is usually full and blooming in totalitarian countries.
In the story, the animals are afraid to speak up partly because of the dogs that are constantly near Napoleon and also because of the sheep that are blindly following the leader. It really makes sense to use this animal, as it usually symbolizes following a leader blindly. The sheep are constantly repeating all of the slogans and are easily swayed by the propaganda. Obviously, it's also about the similar kind of people in real life. There isn't much to discuss here, and I would like to keep this post at least somewhat short...
An interesting part of the story is when a horse Boxer, who is fully devoted to Napoleon and is working really hard(even harder than other animals), is taken away to be slaughtered, while other animals hear lies that say that he had been taken away to be treated, and then he died in bed(while also glorifying the Napoleon and the Animal Farm. Which is an important part, I think, as any heroes of a totalitarian country must glorify their leader and their country. Anyone must if they want to keep their position, but the government can also always lie about them glorifying the leader and the country.) <-[also, note: he was in bad condition which is one of the reasons he got taken away. There's also propaganda of working really hard and at the same time having either a bearable amount of money or being straight up poor in the story, which was also a thing in the USSR]
I think it shows that even if a person is extremely devoted to a totalitarian country, it doesn't mean that they will fully escape the awful parts of it
(If they're not a part of the elite)
So, the animals(beside the pigs and dogs) in the story are living in lies(and even if they remember the truth, they can't be certain in it without evidence) and are working really hard. They're given less and less food while the pigs, especially Napoleon, eat well.
Another extremely important part is the fact that all of the woes (and especially government mistakes and/or purposeful terrible violent acts such as murder and even genocide) are attempted to be hidden from the outer world -> most totalitarian countries, if not all, do that(which is also shown in the story when the animals pretend there's no lack of food for them when a person who's helping Napoleon to connect with people from other farms in order to buy some much needed stuff...)
The government and people it pays to, create a perfect image, especially for those who decide to visit the country
Just like that, the USSR created a perfect image of a technologically advanced, wonderful country, all while hiding Holodomor(genocide of Ukrainians whose food was taken away by the government. A lot of Ukrainians ended up either dying or surviving by eating other people) and all of the oppression of its people
Even the citizens themselves are told that they're basically living in a dream and that, no matter what, it's better than before (it's from the book. The animals are told that it's better than before and are constantly threatened with an idea of their owner coming back.)
Also, I want to remind you guys that russia is using propaganda to be a "good guy" and hide most of the bad stuff, too.
In the end, though, other animals can't tell the pigs and the people apart
It means that the pigs became the ones they were supposedly fighting against — the oppressors.
Also, it reminds me of the fact that the USSR that was supposedly against Nazis Germany, actually, not only had ended up similar to it but also had collaborated with it in the past(Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact)
Overall, the moment it's beneficial for the totalitarian leader/dictator, the external villains/enemies are welcome
Though it rarely happens with internal villains/enemies(sometimes it does)
Such hypocrisy is a normal thing for dictators
Usually, they don't really have "friends" in the form of other leaders(like Stalin wasn't really ally of Hitler, I think), they only use others for their own gain
And for that, they're willing to go really far
Now, the importance of "Animal Farm" is enormous, as it depicts totalitarianism and serves as a sort of warning for people to see the signs of it(such message might be even more prominent in "1984", but I haven't read that book yet, so I can't tell),
Which is why the initial message(considering the fact that totalitarian countries still exist and new ones can form) should be preserved the way it is
So, back to the new cartoon adaptation(2026) <-(note: as I'm writing this, as far as I'm aware, it's not out yet... there's only a trailer, so it's mostly just judging by the trailer....or maybe it did come out, and I just missed it somehow. Idk.)
As I mentioned a moment ago, some countries are totalitarian (russia, China, North Korea) or seem on the verge of becoming one (I'm looking at you, USA)
And it makes me wonder whether such transformation into a silly children cartoon(instead of a cartoon that actually gets the point across) is actually because of the USA politics.
Especially if more people read fewer books and know only this adaptation, then they probably won't know a lot of needed information before it's too late, and then they need to deal with a dictatorship... so it's like trying to erase the initial message and replace it with something else...
Or maybe I'm just overthinking it and creating a conspiracy theory.
Either way, I have some things to share — about the way a lot of cartoons are(not all of them, though) and why it's a bad thing, but the post is getting way too long and it's written at night(I will have saved it in my drafts), so I'll probably share my thoughts in another post.
A. Krylova (А Крылова) cover for КРОКОДИЛ / Krokodil magazine (satyric magazine in U.S.S.R.) February 1975
caption: - You would like to put on a skirt for the occasion.
(on the calendar: March 8th.)
légende: - Tu ne voudrais pas enfiler une jupe pour l'occasion.
(sur le calendrier: 8 mars)
Nota bene:
March 8, 1917: in Russia, women are demonstrating to demand bread and the return of their husbands to the front. It’s the beginning of the February Revolution.
Le 8 mars 1917, en Russie, les femmes manifestent pour réclamer du pain et le retour de leurs maris partis au front. C’est le début de la Révolution de février.
