by G. Jack Urso
Lord of the Flies is a 1963 film based on the 1954 novel of the
same name by William Golding about a group of English school boys who are
stranded on a desert island after a nuclear war breaks out. The film, directed
by Peter Brook, was seen by millions of Baby Boomers in high school English
classes who would then practice “duck and cover” drills in case of a very real
nuclear war — ritualistically rehearsing their own impending deaths.
The trailer for the film is
provided above from the Aeolus 13 Umbra YouTube channel.
The plot for Lord of the Flies is widely published, but, in brief, the boys find
themselves on the island after their plane crashes. No adults survive and the
boys quickly divide into two groups: one led by Ralph, a believer in democracy,
and the other by Jack, the anarchic leader of the school’s choir. Ralph wants
to return to civilization while Jack and his followers quickly descend into
violent, uncivilized behavior. The resulting clash becomes an allegory for the
Cold War. Standing on the brink of nuclear war, we vacillated between giving
into our baser instincts and descending into violent conflicts or listening to
the better angels of our nature and working together for the common good. This
conflict created a social mass psychosis and we personified our fears until
they commanded us like the proverbial Lord of the Flies — the shadow of which
still haunts us today.
One important image in the film
is the bonfire; it represents the boy’s desire to return to civilization. As
events unfold, and the boys descend into anarchy, the fire becomes unattended
and goes out and the chance for rescue by a passing ship is missed. The lesson
is clear — as we give into our baser instincts, civilization slips further and
further away.
The lessons from the novel and
the excellent 1963 film version are as relevant today as they were then — if
not more so. America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia are all in the throes
of violently bitter partisan politics. Many nations are seeing nationalist
political movements rising up that threaten the advancement of civilization and
limit or turn back progress on societal and scientific development. The fire of
civilization is going out all over the world and fewer and fewer people think
it is worth keeping lit.
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