In
the first two rows Allen Purcell - "the young and
progressive president of the newest and most creative agencies in
Research" - lose a bedroom and a kitchen gains. We are in
the novel Redemption immoral Philip Dick's distant 1956
(effectively the Italian title, the original was "The Man
Who Japed") just reprinted by Fanucci in the new, beautiful
translation by Tommaso Pincio. Start claustrophobic: thin
plasterboard wall, two folding chairs and a cooker (also used by
the sink, table, dresser) occupy the entire space. Thanks to
various "space-saving devices" the big room constantly
changing: if the bed disappears arrives precisely the kitchen.
Remains little room for dressing. The bathroom in the corridor,
in common with their neighbors. But Purcell is very proud of that
studio, inherited from family and "defended for over 40
years." From his studio Purcell can see "the cusp -
blessed - the Rimor" ie the moral cleansing that governs
society by the revolution of 1985. Now we are in 2144 and Purcell
is about to lose the valuable apartment, despite being a powerful
man, about to get to the top of the mass media system. The
eviction takes place by decision of the condominium. The
neighbors had gathered, like every Wednesday, to examine the
morality of the tenants and was relieved the case of "Mr. A.
P. "who was" abhorrent activities entertained with a
young woman "that he kissed her. We are in a society where
"oh God" is considered a grave blasphemy and where
critics of the Rimor are considered dangerous "anarchists"
who "want the return of fornication, neon signs, drugs." The
Allen Purcell Rimor bruise that will not only lose the apartment,
but self-sue for a serious crime, have damaged the statue of
Major Streiter, founder of the Moral Restoration. Yet the reader
has the feeling that this gesture will engage a revolt and the
novel ends with a slender hope so (a bit 'like in the movies
always open yet desperate Dardenne brothers). Even so, before
being thrown out by the media, Purcell will be able to play a
joke - hence the title - worth going down in history. Not reveal
here but I anticipate that if you read this, you hear the phrases
"active assimilation" and "threat applicant 'or
even the simple word' boil 'put you to laugh uncontrollably. What
is important above all is the kind of future that Dick built in
1956, based on "worst 4". Capitalism-p (ie worst) is
mixed with socialism-p, integralism-p,-p technology. A little
'as in "1984" Orwell - but the outcomes in some ways
completely unpredictable - we have a total political control and
social and moral anti-sex sets, in addition there is the false
popular participation (meetings of condominium) and a highly
developed technology micro-robots, popularly called 'table', who
were filming everyone and everything, but even with automated
systems and anonymous accusation-defense which apparently ensure
the fairness of the process but are actually made up and rotten
from the beginning. The popular-Monthly meetings are the summit
of the "snoop and gossip" over "centuries of
sectarian Christians" but Dick also makes a caricature of
Stalinist trials, played on micro scale. Then "sex morbid
people hunted for acts of nature. This system is like an immense
torture chamber where people stare at each other trying to
cogliersi him out (...) witch hunts and stellate rooms. "
The translator reminds us that the rooms were established in 1487
starred by King Henry VII and was a high court asked to judge
every action and even thought of 'treason' a bit '- I might add -
as now disagree with the ECB or with the stock market. In this
society-nightmare "worse 4" seems to be a way out: the
"neuro" (as they call with contempt), the antisocial,
those who go on tilt can ask for help from the Resort, "mental
health", in apparently the only zone where little robots
spies or "cohorts" of Rimor can not enter. But really
Resort are an alternative to the system or rather they are
complete, place and manner in which reabsorb the dissidents, in
the words of Purcell "two sides of one coin"? Perhaps
the alternative is the "ruins" of a distant atomic war,
radioactive districts where but survived a few fragments of the
past, including literature, "pornographic" by Joyce,
Truman Capote or the "Decameron." By the way, the lost
classics of literature (Walter Scott and Charles Dickens) are
rewritten by "circles of readers." The main
character is buffoon and desecrating the beginning unconsciously
- almost schizophrenic - and then by choice. Dick could not have
read (the book was released in 1960) but it seems a definition of
Paul Goodman in "The Youth absurd" that became famous
during the years of the riots: "As society becomes more
compact and complete a criminal act may well be a dumb political
move and a political protest is inevitably considered criminal. "
In this sense, it concerns us all, anarchists and / or rebels, in
this 2011, in the face of this democratic society, more and more
compact and complete.