Burn Them All

I've survived most of June! I realised close to the end of May that the first two thirds or so of June were going to be totally ridiculous, but looks like I've not only made it, but actually been able to catch up reading also. I've still got a backlog of books to write up, but looks like I'm back up to date (thanks, again, long-haul flights and audiobooks). 

The latest two books I've finished have both been very interesting ones… These are Pirate Cinema by Cory Doctrow and the absolute classic Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. 

For those that haven't come across Doctrow before, he's an irrepressible blogger and 'net activist, editor at Boing Boing (the 'zine/group blog). I can't remember where I first came across Doctrow, but I've a feeling that it was through one of several references to him on XKCD. I went to a talk of his at the Edinburgh Book Festival in 2011, the title of which I sadly can't remember or find easily, but this prompted me to pick up his book Makers, focusing on 'maker culture' in the near-future - being the living embodiment of hardware- and life-hackers.

Pirate Cinema, like Makers, feels fundamentally like a form of geek wish-fulfilment. Unlike Makers, Pirate Cinema is aimed primarily at Young Adults, which gave it a rather different (and more accessible) tone, and made it on the whole less depressing. The novel focusses on a near-future Britain where over-bearing technological restrictions and laws have been put in place in attempt to curb piracy, with the media companies easily able to twist the collective arm of the government to get what they want in terms of legislation, despite general unpopularity. Being caught pirating leads to having your internet cut off, which, as the politicians in the book seem to generally fail to grasp, is for many families, a sort of death sentence, with some people unable to work, get their medication, study, or pay their bills.

The message here is clear - the politicians are sufficiently far removed that they don't understand that the internet is increasingly becoming another vital service, more akin to water or electricity, than a passing distraction or pure entertainment tool. The implication is that this is as true now as it in the novel, and this viewpoint has been validated repeatedly in the past. 

But the book is not a pro-piracy tract. The specific emphasis is on piracy enabling creativity. One example is the main character's, Trent McCauley's, pastime - cutting footage from movies of a particular dead actor to construct entirely new short films through a mixture of encyclopaedic knowledge of his work and nifty video editing. The results, it is indicated, are generally as good or better than the original works, and is a clear example of artistic creativity - something which, it would seem, the media companies want to stamp out at any cost, regardless of the resulting curbs to the freedom of the general populace. 

Pirate Cinema is a fun read, which is formulated to induce anger at how close we are to some of the thing in the book actually happening (I refer you to the repeated attempts to introduce stupid and ill-considered internet legislation which have been repeatedly shown to be wildly unpopular, and yet which still keep resurfacing - you can certainly find more on Boing Boing). It's not a must-read, by any stretch, but is a entertaining look into this topic from a YA perspective. 

Next, we have the phenomenal Fahrenheit 451, probably Ray Bradbury's most famous work. Now this is something I feel that everyone should read. Published in 1953, Fahrenheit 451 is set in a dystopian world where books are banned, the population is kept disinterested and desiccated through easily-digestible and trite, meaningless television broadcasts and driving their cars really fast. Houses are fireproofed, so now the job of the 'firemen' is to go and burn books where they are reported, and ensure that those who are found to have them are dealt with. 

The story follows the fireman Guy Montag in his awakening into the real horrific nature of the world around him. The whole narrative burns with passion - throwing the rage of someone waking up to the truth of their situation against the sterile, processed world. At its heart, it is a love story to books and libraries, and a cautionary tale of the world we might expect if we give in to censorship, but there's so much more to it than that. It's not just some broad allegory warning 'there but for the grace of God go we' - it's the painful journey of one man in an impossible world. As with 1984, we see the world through the eyes of one, solitary figure and feel their pain, which makes the impact of the world so much more striking.

I saw the 1966 film version of Fahrenheit 451 some years ago. I don't remember much of it, but I still think it's worth checking out. While reading the book, I couldn't tell whether there were some big differences between the two, or whether I was just misremembering - it seems it was the former, and that efforts were made by the director to soften some of the punches of the book. Looking back, I think it strips out some of the most interesting elements of the book, but is telling partly a different story (which Bradbury seems to have been on board with). 

If you haven't read Fahrenheit 451, I would highly recommend it. It's not a long read, and is powerful and illuminating. 

Look out for another gaming blog post on Monday, and more book write-ups when I get the chance. Until next time...