Animal Farm And Its Relevance
Totalitarianism, populism, and domination. These are the terms that come to mind when one thinks of George Orwell’s Animal Farm. However, this work by the students of the Korean National University of Performing Arts presents it differently at first glance. Through the metaphor of Sugar Candy Mountain, it playfully shows the cruel reality that our society is facing.
Democracy is in danger every day. We see it everywhere in the world – in Europe, Asia, America… Populists, who promise better tomorrows and an ideal society, are getting hold of power. They proclaim to their desperate citizens that they care about them. Unfortunately, that is only how it seems. They are getting them drunk with ideology, and they would rather promise the unfulfillable than solve urgent issues. Just likein Animal Farm, where the animals are promised Sugar Candy Mountain – a utopia which makes reality sweeter, if only temporarily.
The majority of us wish to act the proper way. To act heroically, to fight for equality and the general welfare. Who among us actually has the courage to stand up to injustice, though? Who among us would stand by their opinion if they had a metaphorical barrel in front of their face? It is hard to say. The characters in Animal Farm are highly stylised, but they mirror the structure of our society to some extent. Some people are like the horse Boxer, whose life-long mission is to be useful, and it is not important to him which master he is serving right now. Some, like the mare Mollie, seek only their own comfort and pleasure in life. Either way, we all have to exist together in one world, on one farm.
Freedom of speech is a key pillar of democracy, yet even democratic states do not have it mastered perfectly. If we consider, for example, the WPFI (World Press Freedom Index) indicator from the organization Reporters without Borders [1], we can see how deeply rooted freedom of speech is in individual democracies. For example, the Czech Republic has a relatively high score, ranking tenth globally. In contrast, South Korea (where the students who portray Animal Farm come from) is significantly worse off. It ranks sixty-first in the world ranking. Both countries are democracies, but each is different in this regard. How is it possible that freedom of the press is being weakened globally? The answer may be the concentration of power. It is different in every country, with politicians owning the media in some places, and economic elites in others.
The entire performance was accompanied by a simple phrase: “The more burdensome reality becomes, the sweeter the fantasy grows.” It is almost sad how true this statement is. The more desperate and gloomy our world seems, the more we prefer to run to empty promises and slogans and cling to straws of hope. Can we be surprised that the masses succumb to populists? Can we blame ordinary people for believing in simple solutions in the hustle and bustle of everyday life? Can people be blamed for craving the sweet taste of sugar candy, even if the pleasure from it is only temporary? Ignorance probably cannot be an excuse one hundredpercent, but on the other hand, we should have understanding for someone who, after a full day of work and taking care of a family, no longer has the capacity to look for answers to complex political questions that even experts disagree on. Everyone should act in such a way that they will not have to be ashamed of their decisions and choices in the future.
One of the factors that greatly influences our political orientation, the development of critical thinking, and our resistance to populism is... education. That is why it is interesting that one of the settings that the students used in the production was the school classroom. The views that children are exposed to in schools, and how important concepts are presented to them, to some extent determine the future nature of society in a givencountry.
We live in a world where nothing is certain. We must constantly fight for our place and protect the principles we care about. Let us therefore take an example from the often-rehashed Animal Farm, and let us not be seduced by simple conclusions and the momentary comfort of our desires. We must not let Napoleon take up arms.
[1] https://rsf.org/en/index?year=2025
The author: Justýna Jirsová
The photographer: Justýna Georgievová