MovieChat Forums > The Prisoner (1968) Discussion > Jesus, I Never Saw Writers Miss the Poin...

Jesus, I Never Saw Writers Miss the Point of their Own Material So Badly

posted a year ago by [deleted]
2 replies | jump to latest

I've watched The Prisoner several times, and the thing that drives me crazy is how the writers and McGoohan seemed to have stumbled on a brilliant metaphor at the time and then failed to notice it entirely.

The series, at the beginning, seemed to be railing against bureaucracy, something we take for granted today but back in the 1950s and 60s was freaking people out. The reason why it was freaking people out is that for the first time, they were unrolling this system where everyone is just an account number, and where every time you went to customer service or needed help, you were met with someone different.

Everyone was scared that it was going to make life less personal and reduce everyone to just a number, because people are human beings, not #2525 or #AB241. And you can actually see this issue unfolding today where customer service can't literally talk to you about your problem unless they know what your account number is or because you're starting with a new customer rep today than you did the last, you have to tell your story all over again to catch that person up.

The Prisoner was this close to actually exploring this whole problem. But then it was like it had no idea what it was trying to do or say and ended on this crazy "hippie" note about "freedom." This is why I can't hold the show in regard, because it completely missed the point of its own metaphor.

[–] Owlwise (1513) 10 months ago

Or else you missed the point of it being about far more than just bureaucracy. Freedom, conformity, escape, control, inner psychology, individuality & identity, personal authenticity & modernity—these are just some of the ideas that the series grapples with—and the final episode is Surrealism, Theater of the Absurd, metaphor & allegory, all at once & beautifully done. The Prisoner is definitely of its time & speaks to its time, but in such a way that it remains timeless & relevant to this day. Perhaps even more so now.

[–] Owlwise (1513) 5 months ago

No, it certainly touched on that metaphor, but it went far more deeply than that, which is what makes it such a powerful & relevant series to this day. Reducing people to numbers & metrics is just one of many examples of how human beings are controlled, programmed, imprisoned. The series isn't just about that one issue, but rather about the worldview, the mindset, that creates it in the first place.