A story about Nazi resisters in Berlin during WW2. Based on a true story. Falla evokes the pettiness, sadism and egotism of the period, with the SS at the top instilling fear throughout the whole of society, and everyone else either trying to be invisible or curry favour but ratting on others. An image of a society based on the worst, most destructive attributes of humans, with the criminals and sadists running the show. Interesting that Communist societies seem to have gone the same route - something about narrow ideology and the opportunities it presents to those who crave power and status.
This is probably a truer portrait of that society than the one presented by Dick in his police mysteries set in that period. Dick exposes the corruption of the powerful, but he doesn't explore the pettiness, the grinding down of the general population. Falla does both.
It is interesting, the "you're either with us or against us" mentality - you don't have to actively act against the regime to be arrested. It is enough to be passive in the face of it; neither acting for nor against. Reminds me of Bush's comment after 9/11.
The superior, above-the-law attitude of the police in the story is also reminiscent of the many police incidents with Blacks in the US recently. There seems to be that same sense of superiority, of limitlessness of power, and of despising the Other.
No comments:
Post a Comment