When it was
originally released in the United Kingdom in 1967, Patrick
McGoohan's nightmarish and magnificent TV series The
Prisoner bombed with the Brit audience.
Yet The Prisoner was arguably the most popular vehicle of libertarian ideas in socialist France over the past half-century. Ask a Parisian to name an Ayn Rand book and he'll give you a blank stare; mention The Prisoner and you'll likely hear back the French version of the series' catch-phrase, "Be seeing you"—Bonjour chez vous! Unveiled just months before the May '68 riots, this philosophical and rebellious series struck a nerve in an overwhelmingly Catholic country at a time when its long-haired youth were loudly questioning authority.
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Robert|1.15.09 @ 3:01PM|#
But the pun in the phrase doesn't translate.
Paul|1.15.09 @ 3:11PM|#
I don't mean to nit-picky here-- you know, as I wasn't "there" and everything-- but is it possible the French youth...all youth in 1968 for that matter, were questioning the establishment more than they were questioning authority?
Paul|1.15.09 @ 3:20PM|#
Forgive me if I'm late to the party on this one, but of the one season I saw of Lost, has anyone noted about thematic similarities between it and The Prisoner?
Travis|1.15.09 @ 3:34PM|#
Paul,
I've wondered about that myself. I would like to know what J.J. Abrams thought of The Prisoner.
€|1.15.09 @ 3:35PM|#
Loudly asserting authority, actually.
But hey -- same diff.
|1.15.09 @ 3:35PM|#
You are correct Paul. Nine out of ten angry protestors are in favor of strong intrusive authorities, they just don't like the current establishment. It all goes back to the pervasive belief of "if only the right people were in charge".
|1.15.09 @ 3:35PM|#
..."individualism"-a word almost always used as a pejorative in France
Is this really true? Can anyone confirm?/
Elemenope|1.15.09 @ 3:40PM|#
It all goes back to the pervasive belief of "if only the right people were in charge".
And that person is, invariably, "me".
TofuSushi|1.15.09 @ 3:41PM|#
In spite of these Libertarian values, France remained on the cutting edge of Social Progressivism until the current Bush poodle was installed in office. All Prisoner helped do is oppress people longer.
Seward|1.15.09 @ 3:51PM|#
TofuSushi,
Yeah, the ghettoization of ethnic groups in France is clearly explained by the election of Sarkozy. It didn't have anything to do with decades of government policies which limited, for example, employment opportunities, etc.
|1.15.09 @ 3:51PM|#
Is Emmanuelle Richard Matt's wife?
I would like to know what J.J. Abrams thought of The Prisoner.
Probably the same thing he thought about The X-Files--rip off time!
Paul|1.15.09 @ 3:51PM|#
France remained on the cutting edge of Social Progressivism
Bleeding edge, really. Just trying to be accurate.
|1.15.09 @ 3:53PM|#
Unsubstantive Kurt,
In a strong welfare state such as France, "individualist" could easily carry the meaning "greedy, wants-homeless-old-people-to-eat-their-own-poop bastard."
Look at what the average American dumbass thinks "libertarian" means. "You're those awful people that think we shouldn't have stop signs!" Because when I articulate my longing for human dignity and liberty, the end of the destructive war on drugs and the massive violation of rights that the government performs on us everyday, I'm really just talking about the scourge of stop signs.
TofuSushi|1.15.09 @ 3:55PM|#
In a strong welfare state such as France, "individualist" could easily carry the meaning "greedy, wants-homeless-old-people-to-eat-their-own-poop bastard."
That really is the proper meaning. The Rightwing Noisemachine has turned it into something else.
We do need more stop signs too.
|1.15.09 @ 3:58PM|#
I'm really just talking about the scourge of stop signs.
You're just a Republican who wants to smoke pot!
As for individualism and Europe, my experience has been that Europeans (in general) have a much more tribal attitude based on national or ethnic identity. Catalans are not Spanish, for instance, and they bristle if you say they are. Tribal attitudes naturally tend towards more commutarian ideals and disapprove of individualism.
That is not to say that all Europeans are like that, it's just what happens when a lot of people share a distinct cultural identity.
Brian Sorgatz|1.15.09 @ 3:58PM|#
...struck a nerve in an overwhelmingly Catholic country at a time when its long-haired youth were loudly questioning authority.
I'm not Catholic, but I would defend Catholicism from the implication that it is inherently more repressive than Protestantism. If that's true, why does Rome have so much eye candy? The Vatican preserved the kind of stuff that the northern Protestant hordes liked to burn.
Matt Welch|1.15.09 @ 4:02PM|#
Is Emmanuelle Richard Matt's wife?
Oui.
TofuSushi|1.15.09 @ 4:03PM|#
Episiarch, we need to be more communal. A whole world community would benefit us all. Just look at Europe and how advanced they are over the US. They recycle much more than the US does.
TofuSushi|1.15.09 @ 4:06PM|#
Matt, no wonder you do not have an exploitive photo of her on the bio page like you do of the other exploited womyn at reason!
Matt Welch|1.15.09 @ 4:14PM|#
no wonder you do not have an exploitive photo of her on the bio page like you do of the other exploited womyn at reason!
Generally, we include photos only of staffers, or ex-staffers. I'm sure a Google search would produce something, though.
TofuSushi|1.15.09 @ 4:16PM|#
Photography oppresses womyn.
Barbie|1.15.09 @ 4:19PM|#
Photography oppresses womyn.
As does math.
TofuSushi|1.15.09 @ 4:21PM|#
As does math.
And interest on money.
Paul|1.15.09 @ 4:32PM|#
And interest on money.
And the Jews.
|1.15.09 @ 4:33PM|#
France is Le Village.
ron|1.15.09 @ 4:35PM|#
wheres the fucking spoiler warning on this article
Wicks Cherrycoke|1.15.09 @ 4:51PM|#
Ron,
Questions are a burden to others, answers a prison for oneself.
|1.15.09 @ 5:42PM|#
Interesting article, but a couple of (rather pedantic, I admit) problems:
1) The article talks of the British public "expecting McGoohan to reprise his hugely popular role as the James Bond-style secret agent John Drake". Anyone who knows Danger Man/Secret Agent and is aware of McGoohan's role will know that John Drake's antics are hardly James Bond-like. Drake is in many ways the anti-Bond. He doesn't love and leave an endless parade of totty. He doesn't do violence much, doesn't kill people and certainly wouldn't see killing as an excuse to deploy the cheesy one-liner. The whole point of Drake is precisely that he isn't like Bond.
2) McGoohan didn't play a bad guy in Ice Station Zebra. He played a British intelligence officer who was one of the two main goodies.
Guy Montag|1.15.09 @ 5:58PM|#
Yeah, the ghettoization of ethnic groups in France is clearly explained by the election of Sarkozy. It didn't have anything to do with decades of government policies which limited, for example, employment opportunities, etc.
A country that can afford to burn cars the same way we burn firewood (where legal) must have some sort of way to sustain that consumption.
(yes, that was total snark)
Terry|1.15.09 @ 6:59PM|#
"How Patrick McGoohan and The Prisoner Made the French Swoon for Libertarian Ideas"
Yea, a lot of fucking help that did. After the 60s the french went deeper into socialism.
|1.15.09 @ 7:16PM|#
"Ask a Parisian to name an Ayn Rand book and he'll give you a blank stare"
Man I live in Portugal,
here there's a communist party (as in supporting Stalin), Leftist Block (Trotsky types, it'll work next time), The Socialist Party and Social Democrat Party (the right wing party! well they don't like abortion).
Every book shop is run by a Lefty and the philosophy section is full of crap like Naomi Klein, Choamsky and tomes about either how great Stalin was or generally why Mao was misunderstood.
One of my favourite hobbies is walking into a book shop and asking one of the goaty bearded beret wearing che look alike assistants if they have capitalism and freedom by Milton Friedmann.
Usually you get this really funny look like
"you're one of those neoliberal bastards I read about in the shock Doctrine"
I grin like a fecker and say ah well Ill get it from Amazon thank got for free trade eh?
|1.15.09 @ 7:38PM|#
"The Prisoner bombed with the Brit audience"
I think it was actually one of the most successful shows in British history in ratings terms
Guy Montag|1.15.09 @ 7:53PM|#
I think it was actually one of the most successful shows in British history in ratings terms
Not sure that mattered on the BBC of auld.
Guy Montag|1.15.09 @ 7:57PM|#
Every book shop is run by a Lefty and the philosophy section is full of crap like Naomi Klein, Choamsky and tomes about either how great Stalin was or generally why Mao was misunderstood.
The recently closed Olsen's Books and Music in my neighborhood (Crystal City, Arlington VA) was the light version of that. The certainly did not carry Radicals for Capitalism, but they did have all of the Obama tripe on proud display in the front window, along with other works of that vein.
They are now out of business, thankfully.
Robert|1.15.09 @ 8:49PM|#
The answer is yes, but don't let that stop anyone. I've known Damon Lindelof since he was a teenager, and I'm very proud of an entertained by him.
Unfortunately as with The Prisoner, most of the audience is apparently going to detest the conclusion of Lost, which will reveal that the plot and all its implied science fiction was a hoax. However, review of Lost will reveal an enormous depth of meaning and humor. Lost will leave a mark on our culture far greater than The Prisoner ever did.
BTW, an episode late in season 4 of Lost alluded cleverly (as always) to "The Chimes of Big Ben" -- which is also a thematic clue to the plot.
EJM|1.16.09 @ 10:57AM|#
I assume that viewers in France (unlike those in the U.S.) at least got to see the episode "Living in Harmony" during the series' original run.
Franklin Harris|1.16.09 @ 1:45PM|#
And it aired on ITV, not the BBC.
|1.16.09 @ 6:18PM|#
Look at what the average American dumbass thinks "libertarian" means.
Point taken; we live in a country where a sizeable portion of the populace believes a guy like Milton Friedman is a "right-wing fascist"...
Brian Sorgatz|1.17.09 @ 3:47PM|#
wheres the fucking spoiler warning on this article
I second that. Just because the show has been around a few years doesn't mean that everyone has seen it.