tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33211251.post3057132433537311939..comments2024-01-08T19:49:13.932+00:00Comments on Froogville: An idea 'stolen'Frooghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06738623732860210935noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33211251.post-75579279967955542362012-11-05T09:25:26.484+00:002012-11-05T09:25:26.484+00:00This is a very resonant concept. On one level, it&...This is a very resonant concept. On one level, it's just an extreme representation of the vexation that public utilities companies so often visit upon us, especially when they are state-run monopolies. But on another, it becomes a Kafkaesque metaphor for the pervasive - and often perverse - influence of the state in our daily lives... or for our powerlessness in the grip of a malign Fate.<br /><br />I find its message particularly applicable to China, where the influence of the Party - and of the major organs of state such as the PLA and the giant state-owned enterprises - really does intrude into every corner of society... and often does seem to unleash horrors on people for irrational, inexplicable reasons.<br /><br />There are lots of other intriguing, disturbing themes in this as well, of course, such as the reluctance of most bystanders to intervene in a problem situation, and the misplaced trust most of us have in 'the authorities' - or in our modern technology - to ultimately take care of problems like this.<br />Frooghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06738623732860210935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33211251.post-69462383237483456562012-11-03T06:54:10.732+00:002012-11-03T06:54:10.732+00:00Well, we don't have phone booths here, but... ...Well, we don't have phone booths here, but... the new breed of ATMs are uncannily phone booth-like.Frooghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06738623732860210935noreply@blogger.com