"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."

http://za.hallmarkchannel.tv/programmes/animal_farm_35232/

“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”

George Orwell’s “Animal Story” is a classic for a reason. It is about the vicious circle of human social condition. If you watch it as a movie on a DVD, watch the executive producer Robert Halmi Sr.’s commentary (special features), and you will understand why the story is quite differently perceived to this day in the United States and in other parts of the world, especially the Eastern European countries.

The story and the movie are about FREEDOM. Some of us read or see the story and have flashbacks, mostly of bad memories of living behind the Iron Curtain. To those in the free world who are unfamiliar with the life behind the Iron Curtain the allegory is so foreign that they do not even know what to make of it, despite George Orwell’s book being a required reading in the 8-th grade schooling in the U.S.A. Hence,the difference in the perception of the story.

Today, Robert Halmi’s commentary is more relevant to modern times than ever: isn't the free world about to turn into an “Animal Farm?” Fair warning from Robert Halmi: “We must protect our freedom. If we do not have FREEDOM, we stop being human beings.”

Just as a reminder to myself, I transcribed here the Symbolism of the story from special features section of the Hallmark movie “Animal Farm” DVD. However, I did purposely omit the parallels with historical equivalents that served as a source for the alegory. We all can think of some substitutions to the modern times characters. Besides, I do not want some highschoolers just to copy and paste the notes into their “research papers" from my page. They better read Helmi's commentary in special features after watching the Hallmark movie. There are plenty of cheat-sheets" on the Web as it is.

Let's think about this symbolism as pertaining to our own "back yard:"

* Mr. Jones: Irresponsible, cruel moral decline (…)
* Humans: symbolizes the evils of (…)
* Old Major: wise, respected, helps set the Rebellion in motion (…)
* Snowball: Eloquent speaker, successfully organized Farm defense (…)
* Napoleon: Conceited, cruel and corrupt leader (…)
* Squealer: Persuasive, symbolic of the propaganda machine (…)
* Boxer: Hardworking, dedicated (…)
* Pigs: (…) party loyalists.
* Dogs: Pig’s private army, loyal like the (…)
* Windmill: (…) industry.

If you read or watch the "Animal Farm" story again, pay close attention the changing rules that are a "living, breathing thing."

There is no room for human individuality in the Animal Farm .