Recently, I watched the alternate-history dystopian television series “The Man in the High Castle” with great enthusiasm. Based on the 1962 novel by Philip K. Dick and produced by Ridley Scott, the TV drama explores the compelling themes of another possibility, another history and another world. It also presents the themes of xenophobia versus racial harmony, uniformity versus diversity and tyranny versus resistance, all of which have colored our history with blood.
“The Man in the High Castle” is set in an alternate history in which Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan won World War II and divided the United States into two: the Japanese Pacific States, which rule the West Coast, and the Nazi American Reich, which rules the East Coast. In the series, America is occupied by Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany after the defeat of the US in the Pacific War and the destruction of Washington by a German atomic bomb.
The title of the drama, “The Man in the High Castle,” refers to the head of the resistance, Hawthorne Abendsen. At the same time, however, viewers notice that Adolf Hitler resides in a high castle, too. Indeed, the two leaders resemble each other in many respects. For example, both hide in a high castle where ordinary people cannot approach. Both are secluded and isolated. Both are greatly interested in newsreel films depicting alternate histories.
The similarities between the two leaders imply that there may be only a thin line between tyranny and resistance when either is pushed to the extreme. Although Abendsen later turns out to be a kind and friendly man, his followers can be as cruel and ruthless as their oppressors. Both sides can be self-righteous and do not hesitate to kill innocent people in the name of a grand cause they believe in, calling the victims “collateral damage.” They also punish traitors and take revenge on political foes. That is why the protagonist, Juliana Crain, chides the resistance, saying, “If you keep doing it, you are no better than the Nazis.”
Juliana also says, “I put faith in humans, not in ideologies.” Then she shoots a resistance leader — the father of her half-sister, Trudy — to save a sick boy who is the son of her Nazi enemy. In that sense, Juliana is an admirable humanitarian who has a warm heart.
The title of the film reel that both Abendsen and Hitler collect is "The Grasshopper Lies Heavy." In Philip K. Dick’s novel, Hawthorne Abendsen is the author of a book by the same name that depicts an alternate history. Likewise, the TV series implies that Abendsen may be the actual creator of films that depict alternate histories. Both the book and the films help people open their eyes to alternate history and another possibility.
It is noteworthy that “The Man in the High Castle” implies that there may be another world or a parallel universe. Therefore, the film reels, which show different worlds and realities, greatly inspire resistance fighters who dream of a whole new world. Some characters in the series discover that their deceased family members are alive in a parallel universe or alternative history in which the Allies have defeated Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan.
Some of them even travel to the parallel universe and reunite with their loved ones who have been killed in the present world. They want to bring their family members back to the world in which they now live. But how could they bring them to a dystopian world of Nazism and imperialism, where racism, genocide and tyranny are rampant? Even if they could come, how could they survive in a grim world where the Nazi SS and the Japanese Kempeitai, or military police, ruthlessly surveil, persecute and kill people?
“The Man in the High Castle” suggests that acknowledging the possibility of an alternate history, another world or a parallel universe is important because it gives us valuable lessons and hope. If we firmly believe that the present reality is the one and only absolute truth, we may become narrow-minded and short-sighted. On the contrary, if we accept the possibility of other realities and different worlds, it will open our eyes and broaden the horizons of our perception. Furthermore, our vision of another world will encourage and enable us to build a better world.
These days, some political commentators warn us that our current situation resembles the pre-World War II period in many ways. If World War III were to break out, we could end up living in a dystopian world like the one vividly depicted in “The Man in the High Castle.” If so, it would be a terrible nightmare from which we would try to wake up. “The Man in the High Castle” urges us to remain vigilant and choose wisely to avoid living in the dreadful dystopian world it portrays.
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Kim Seong-kon
Kim Seong-kon is a professor emeritus of English at Seoul National University and a visiting scholar at Dartmouth College. The views expressed here are the writer's own. — Ed
khnews@heraldcorp.com