Pink Floyd: The Wall

As we are all in lockdown, with the pandemic COVID-19 threatening humankind’s very existence(!), the concept that a 1979 rock album could have foretold this time period is surprising, but not impossible. The Berlin Wall still existed then. Dystopia beckoned.

The difference, of course, is that this Wall is mental and psychological, not physical. But the idea of a fascist society fed by the product of state educational facilities is the part that may have seemed entirely British at the time. At least, the group Pink Floyd thought so. (We must recall that Syd Barrett, an original member of the band, had gone ‘crazy’.)

Marching in Lockstep

If you want to hammer an idea home, all you have to do is use this tool multiple times as the basis of an army of marching soldiers. It’s certainly a powerful image. Fascism is everywhere, even in western democracies: if you don’t agree with the government line, you will be singled out and made to feel like there’s something wrong with you. And if you speak out, questioning what’s happening in your corner of the world, you’ll be labelled as a conspiracy theorist. Soon, others will label you as a freak and a nutcase. Problem solved!

Just Another Brick in the Wall?

More like: grist for the mill. If you come out of the education system just like everyone else, you will be perfect for the daily grind. Just smart enough to work the equipment, but too dumb to realize that you’re a slave to the system. Then one day, you’ll begin to see that you are totally trapped by their Wall. How will you ever break out?

It’s Up to Us to Bring Down the Wall

“They” (the Establishment) have not had to pull the wool over our eyes to make us ‘sheeple’; they just had to unleash the wolf in our soul and we did the rest.

Remember this?