Thoughts on Street of Cannons

Kayleigh 2022-11-25 03:59:42

The excellent works presented by Otomo Keyang + Jin Min, the three parts have their own advantages, but I think the metaphor of "Street of Cannons" is the most exquisite. I have a bad habit of always substituting reality into works of art, so it's a little hard for me to find that the world fits in so well with Streets of Cannons.

The Street of Cannons touches me because its metaphor is not only a fascist society, but also a George Orwellian society. What it metaphors, or what it wants us to be vigilant about, is the real society we live in:

A society that sees entertainment as "dangerous"; a society that is tense and orderly, where everyone is overwhelmed by their livelihoods; a society that only teaches children the art of artillery; a society that doesn't even know who the enemy is, but still fires with command. Without advanced pursuit, individual struggle is meaningless. Adults may be able to see clearly, but to children it is unclear: "You will understand when you grow up." In this society, the ideal of a child is to enter the system and become a commander.

A particularly good portrayal is the artillerymen's protest against the working conditions: "Hopefully they are firing pollution-free shells... We have the right to work in a safe and healthy environment!". But this progress is still within the existing framework, it does not touch the fundamentals and cannot change anything.

It may only be a little different from reality: there is no such deep-rooted system in reality. If you work hard, you should be able to detour towards the correct goal.

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