ONI BABA AND 1984
These two pieces are beautiful triumphs of art that are ultimately indulgent fantasies into the most horrible parts of us. Both are expressions of utter bleakness, each ending with the total annihilation of its main character by evil. In both cases the conclusions are cynical, self-hating submission.
To be clear, I think both are beautiful masterpieces that help us to understand our own minds. But in the same way that many action movies or rap songs indulge in violence to that end, both are gratuitous explorations of misery and cruelty.
The old woman in Oni Baba lives a life of desperate scarcity, surviving on the killing and harvesting of fighting nobles. This lonesome, predatory existence eventually leads to the coercion and manipulation of her only companion out of jealousy. Its conclusion is this: If we masquerade as a monster to please our ego, we are irreparably transformed into that monster.
1984 describes a governing mechanism who’s size and strength has far surpassed any counter measures which would protect the minds and hearts of individuals. Its conclusion is this: Governments are capable of murdering love. In fact, the innermost love that resides in our center.
Both are important, brilliant explorations that are certainly not wrong in their assertions. They’re just not quite right either.