"A Change of Mind" is a television episode of the British science fiction-allegorical series, The Prisoner (1967 series). It was first broadcast on 15 December 1967. Themes explored include coerced confessions and medicalized political control; also conformity, methods of enforcing it, and the consequences of its rejection.[1]
Plot summary[]
Number Six pursues his daily exercise routine in the woods. Two young toughs arrive and accuse him of being anti-social for not using the community gym and a fight ensues in which Number Six prevails. In an anteroom to the Council Chamber, a Villager is seen desperately confessing to being "inadequate and anti-social"; he is applauded by others for this admission. Number Six is invited into the committee chamber to confess his lack of cooperation, but sarcastically declines to do so.
The Village newspaper, the Tally Ho, reports that Number Six is due for "further investigation". Number Two denies having any influence over the committee but warns of the consequences of non-compliance. Number Eighty-Six, an attractive female, chides Number Six for his non-cooperation.
Number Six's exposure of a community "rehab" process causes the committee to label him uncooperative. He is taken to the Hospital, where he encounters a Villager with a scar on his temple who says that he had been labelled as "unmutual", but is now cured. Number Six again appears before the committee and is told he will be labelled for "Instant Social Conversion" if he doesn't fall into line. He then reads in the Tally-Ho and hears over the public address system that he is officially "unmutual".
Next morning Number Six is thoroughly shunned, and Number Two threatens him again with Social Conversion, which is a sort of lobotomy. Number Six is attacked by the irate Villagers and marched to the Hospital. There he is strapped to a table and the Social Conversion process is explained to a Village television audience by Number Eighty-six, who is the chief technician in charge. Drugged, Number Six is subjected to an ultra-sonic treatment which lobotomizes him. At the last second, Number Eighty-six shuts off the ultrasound.
Number Six wakes up, apparently docile, returns to the community, and is welcomed by all. In his flat he sees his cup of tea being drugged by Number Eighty-six and pours it away. Number Two arrives and questions Number Six about his resignation, but is rebuffed. Number Two and Number Eighty-six discuss Number Six and reveal that the "ultra-sonic" lobotomy was an intentional sham, meant to convince the subject (in conjunction with the drug) that he has been lobotomized. Number Eighty-six, watching Number Six remove the dressing covering his "operation scar", doubts that he has been properly conditioned, but Number Two insists that all is well. She tries to drug Number Six again, but he takes over the tea-making process, switching the cups so that Number Eighty-six drinks the drugged tea instead.
Back at the exercise site in the woods, the thugs again confront Number Six. He initially appears confused and unable to defend himself, but ultimately rallies and prevails. Number Eighty-six, still intoxicated with the drug, is hypnotised by Number Six and explains how the conditioning process was faked; she is given undisclosed instructions by Number Six.
Number Six visits Number Two and convinces him that the ploy has worked, informing him that he wants to publicly confess to "everyone". Number Two arranges for the whole village to hear Number Six speak. The programmed Number Eighty-six arrives on cue at the stroke of 4 o'clock and loudly charges Number Two with being "unmutual". The Villagers turn on Number Two, who is forced to flee through the Village streets.
Notes[]
- In its depiction of attempts at political control, the episode can be seen as referencing both McCarthyism (in which "unmutual" is equivalent to "communist") and the show trials of Stalinist Russia (which often featured coerced confessions). At one point, some of the other prisoners are shown going through a "self-criticism" exercise, which was an enforced practice in China during the Cultural Revolution (1966–76) of that time. The use of psychiatric techniques for political control (a kind of non-invasive lobotomy in this case) is also explored.[2]
- The "self-criticism" sessions were later copied by North Korea, along with other Soviet and Chinese methods of social control.
- In the Soviet Union political opposition was often labeled as a mental illness to undermine the opposition's credibility.
- In East Germany political enemies were subjected to psychological warfare to destroy their mental stability. The Stasi used the practice of Zersetzung to create paranoia in the political opposition.
- The use of show trials declined in the 1970s as they proved counterproductive and created martyrs. The Securitate relied on fear and creating a sense of apathy.
- The posters, "The Community Needs You!", are a reference to the posters used during World War 1 and World War 2 to inspire unity among the population.
- The latest Number 2, as is typical in The Prisoner, becomes the victim of his own weaknesses and over-confidence in his ability to crack Number 6, a pattern developed almost to its extreme in "Hammer Into Anvil (1967 episode)" and actually so in "Fall Out". Also typical is Number 2's reliance upon a female technical expert who is subvertible by Number 6's perspicacity, as also seen in "The Girl Who Was Death (1968 episode)" and "A. B. and C. (1967 episode)".
- Matthew White points out that this episode has the "most unsympathetic portrayal of the common Villagers"[3] who oppress Number 6 and assist the "management" to an unprecedented degree.
Credits[]
Cast[]
Guest Stars[]
- Angela Browne as Number Eighty-Six
- John Sharp as Number Two
with[]
- Angelo Muscat as The Butler
- George Pravda as Doctor
- Kathleen Breck as Number Forty-Two
- Peter Swansick as Supervisor
- Thomas Heathcote as Lobo Man
- Bartlett Mullins as Committee Chairman
and[]
- Michael Miller as Number Ninety-Three
- Joseph Cuby as 1st Member of Social Group
- Michael Chow as 2nd Member of Social Group
- June Ellis as Number Forty-Eight
- John Hamblin as 1st Woodland Man
- Michael Billington as 2nd Woodland Man
Uncredited[]
- Peter Brace as Villager
- Maxwell Craig as Welfare Committee Member
- Hugh Elton as Patient
- Richard Gregory as Welfare Committee Member
- Victor Harrington as Welfare Committee Member
- Roy Lansford as Medical Assistant
- Fred Machon as Welfare Committee Member
- Peter Madden as Undertaker (opening)
- George Markstein as Man Behind Desk (Title Sequence)
- Fenella Fielding as Loudspeaker announcer/Telephone operator (voice only)
- Frank Maher as stunt double (Patrick McGoohan)
Crew[]
- Written by Roger Parkes
- Script Editor: George Markstein
- Produced by David Tomblin
- Directed by Joseph Serf
- Executive Producer: Patrick McGoohan
- Production Manager: Bernard Williams
- Director of Photography: Brendan J. Stafford B.S.C.
- Art Director: Jack Shampan
- Camera Operator: Jack Lowin
- Editor: Lee Doig
- Theme by Ron Grainer
- Musical Director: Albert Elms
- Cameraman (2nd Unit): Robert Monks
- Assistant Director: Gino Marotta
- Sound Editor: Wilf Thompson
- Sound Recordist: John Bramall
- Music Editor: Eric Mival
- Casting Director: Rose Tobias-Shaw
- Continuity: Doris Martin
- Set Dresser: Kenneth Bridgeman
- Make-Up: Eddie Knight
- Hairdressing: Pat McDermot
- Wardrobe: Masada Wilmot
Uncredited[]
- property master: Mickey O'Toole
- props: Charlie Parfitt
- fight choreographer: Frank Maher
References[]
- ↑ BBC – Cult – Classic TV – The Prisoner (1967–1968)
- ↑ White, p. 91.
- ↑ White, p. 90.
- White, Matthew (1988). The Official Prisoner Companion. London: Sidgwick & Jackson. ISBN 0-283-99598-X.
Bibliography[]
- The Prisoner: The Original Scripts, foreword by Roger Parkes, Reynolds & Hearn. ISBN 978-1-903111-81-9. OCLC 61145235. – script of episode
External links[]
- Template:IMDb title