The Man in the High Castle (Seasons 1 and 2)
They say that there is no entity as time. It is just a construct made by Man. Life works just fine when the purpose of your living is laid bare for you to follow, and Nature does not put obstacles in your path. It may work just fine if you live in a utopia, a paradise, a land of make-believe! In reality, Nature had to be tamed. The element of predictability needs to be made clear to avert eventualities. This is where time comes in handy, to put a perspective on the cyclical nature of things. Everything in Nature has a mathematic equation to put them in place and time is a denominator.
We have heard of Manzanar, the concentration camp built to place American-Japanese after Pearl Harbour. And the American-German Bund movement which existed before WW2 to promote Nazi in a favourable light. That was it! After World War 2 ended, they were passé.
Imagine an alternative universe where the Germans and the Japanese won World War 2! Well, that is the premise of this miniseries set at around 1962. There is no JFK and no Cuban Missile crisis. Washington, DC had been bombed with a nuclear bomb. The Nazi Army had taken control of the Eastern part of North America and renamed it as Greater Nazi Reich with New York as their administrative capital. The Japanese have carved the Eastern part of US to name it the Japanese Pacific States, to rule it with an iron fist in a delicate balance of power realm between the Empire, Kempeitai and Yakuza. Bordering these two areas is a lawless state in the spine of the continent referred to the Neutral Zone.
Amidst all these, there is the Resistance Army whose freedom fighters try to purge the invaders from American soil.
Embroiled in all this imbroglio are - an Aikido exponent whose sister is killed by the Japanese Military police, her boyfriend, a Nazi agent, an SS officer and his family, a Japanese inspector and an impressive deeply spiritual Japanese minister who could time-travel. The Minister, sometimes, during some unspecified moments, could venture into an alternative universe of what would have been with their own President and the Cold War. The mainstay of the Resistance's activity seems to procure and send reels of films which carry coded messages. Sneak peek into the films which are actually newsreels shows a different narrative to the life that they were leading.
And a senile Adolf Hitler is still alive, perched up in a castle in the mountains, he stays aloof to his surroundings, watching runs and re-runs of old films! There is a power struggle brewing to oust the dictator.
The second season had just ended and the third should more interesting as the plot thickens...
Looking at the title of miniseries, one wonders whether the man in the high castle actually refers to Hitler as he is the one in his own world in villa up in the Alps. Alas, it refers to the man who distributes reels of film which show an alternate universe to what they are trapped in!
They say that there is no entity as time. It is just a construct made by Man. Life works just fine when the purpose of your living is laid bare for you to follow, and Nature does not put obstacles in your path. It may work just fine if you live in a utopia, a paradise, a land of make-believe! In reality, Nature had to be tamed. The element of predictability needs to be made clear to avert eventualities. This is where time comes in handy, to put a perspective on the cyclical nature of things. Everything in Nature has a mathematic equation to put them in place and time is a denominator.We have heard of Manzanar, the concentration camp built to place American-Japanese after Pearl Harbour. And the American-German Bund movement which existed before WW2 to promote Nazi in a favourable light. That was it! After World War 2 ended, they were passé.
Imagine an alternative universe where the Germans and the Japanese won World War 2! Well, that is the premise of this miniseries set at around 1962. There is no JFK and no Cuban Missile crisis. Washington, DC had been bombed with a nuclear bomb. The Nazi Army had taken control of the Eastern part of North America and renamed it as Greater Nazi Reich with New York as their administrative capital. The Japanese have carved the Eastern part of US to name it the Japanese Pacific States, to rule it with an iron fist in a delicate balance of power realm between the Empire, Kempeitai and Yakuza. Bordering these two areas is a lawless state in the spine of the continent referred to the Neutral Zone.
Amidst all these, there is the Resistance Army whose freedom fighters try to purge the invaders from American soil.
Embroiled in all this imbroglio are - an Aikido exponent whose sister is killed by the Japanese Military police, her boyfriend, a Nazi agent, an SS officer and his family, a Japanese inspector and an impressive deeply spiritual Japanese minister who could time-travel. The Minister, sometimes, during some unspecified moments, could venture into an alternative universe of what would have been with their own President and the Cold War. The mainstay of the Resistance's activity seems to procure and send reels of films which carry coded messages. Sneak peek into the films which are actually newsreels shows a different narrative to the life that they were leading.
And a senile Adolf Hitler is still alive, perched up in a castle in the mountains, he stays aloof to his surroundings, watching runs and re-runs of old films! There is a power struggle brewing to oust the dictator.
The second season had just ended and the third should more interesting as the plot thickens...
There will come a day when all men must bear the weight of their responsibility!N.B. There are ports within our plane of existence where we can teleport ourselves into different timelines. Apparently, this is how sages communicate with their gurus to get advice on the further plan of action or inaction. Clairvoyants are also able to communicate with the departed through this loophole. Hey, this is time travel!
Fate is fluid, Destiny is in the hand of man.
Looking at the title of miniseries, one wonders whether the man in the high castle actually refers to Hitler as he is the one in his own world in villa up in the Alps. Alas, it refers to the man who distributes reels of film which show an alternate universe to what they are trapped in!
Comments
Post a Comment