A Change of Mind
Encyclopedia
A Change of Mind is the twelfth episode of the television
series The Prisoner
, originally broadcast on 15 December 1967.
is seen pursuing his daily exercise routine in the woods. Two thugs arrive and accuse him of being antisocial for not using the community gym
, and a fight ensues in which Number 6 defeats the thugs. In an ante-room to a committee chamber, a Villager is seen confessing to being "inadequate and anti-social", and being applauded by others for this admission. Number 6 is invited into the committee room to confess his lack of cooperation, but refuses to do so.
Number 6 is then seen being reported in the Village newspaper for "further investigation" and others start avoiding him. Number 2
denies having any influence over the committee but warns of the consequences of non-compliance. Number 86 arrives and chides Number 6 for his non-cooperation.
Number 6's exposure of a community "rehab
" process causes the committee to label him uncooperative, and he is taken to a medical facility where he meets a Villager (with a scar on his temple) who says he had been labelled as "unmutual" but is now cured. Number 6 again appears before the committee and told he will be labelled for conversion if he doesn't fall into line. He then reads in the Tally-Ho and hears over the public address system
that he has been labelled "unmutual".
As a new day dawns, Number 6 is being ostracized and Number 2 threatens him with "social conversion". Number 6 is rounded up by the villagers and marched to the medical facility. He is strapped to a table and the conversion process is explained by Number 86, who is in charge of it.
Number 6 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 86 and pours it away. Number 2 arrives and questions Number 6 about his resignation, but is rebuffed. Number 86, watching Number 6 remove the dressing covering his "operation scar", doubts that he has been properly conditioned but Number 2 insists that all is well. Number 86 tries to drug Number 6 again, but he takes over the tea-making process, switching the cups so that Number 86 drinks the drugged tea.
Back in the woods seen at the beginning of the episode, the thugs again confront Number 6 who initially appears confused and unable to show aggression. Number 6 is able to get the better of them, however. Number 86, still under the influence of the drugged tea, comes to the woods and is hypnotised by Number 6 into explaining how the conditioning process was faked; she is given certain instructions by Number 6.
In the closing sequence, Number 6 visits Number 2 and convinces him that the ploy has worked, informing him that he wants to tell "everyone". Number 2 arranges for the whole village to hear Number 6's public "confession". The programmed Number 86 arrives and charges Number 2 with "unmutuality", and Number 2 initially walks off pursued by the villagers, and is eventually forced to flee.
(in which "unmutual" is equivalent to "communist") and the show trial
s of Stalinist Russia (which often featured coerced confessions), as well as the ethical issues of lobotomy
. At one point, some of the other prisoners are shown going through "self-criticism
", which was common in China at the time.
The character of Number Two, as is typical in The Prisoner, becomes the victim of his own weakness, an over-confidence in his own ability to crack Number Six, a theme developed almost to its extreme in "Hammer Into Anvil
" and actually so in "Fall Out
". Also typically, the Number Two character relies upon a technical expert whose expertise is actually subvertible by Number 6's perspicacity, as seen in "The Girl Who Was Death
" and "A. B. and C.
" Meanwhile, it remains unclear as to whether the "ordinary" villagers are fully informed participants in Number 2's attempts to crack Number 6, or merely compliant drones who have themselves been cracked. Certainly, Matthew White points out that this episode in particular shows the "most unsympathetic portrayal of the common Villagers."
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
series The Prisoner
The Prisoner
The Prisoner is a 17-episode British television series first broadcast in the UK from 29 September 1967 to 1 February 1968. Starring and co-created by Patrick McGoohan, it combined spy fiction with elements of science fiction, allegory and psychological drama.The series follows a British former...
, originally broadcast on 15 December 1967.
Synopsis
Number 6Number Six (The Prisoner)
Number Six is the central fictional character in the 1960s television series The Prisoner, played by Patrick McGoohan. In the AMC remake, the character is played by Jim Caviezel, renamed "Six"....
is seen pursuing his daily exercise routine in the woods. Two thugs arrive and accuse him of being antisocial for not using the community gym
Gym
The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...
, and a fight ensues in which Number 6 defeats the thugs. In an ante-room to a committee chamber, a Villager is seen confessing to being "inadequate and anti-social", and being applauded by others for this admission. Number 6 is invited into the committee room to confess his lack of cooperation, but refuses to do so.
Number 6 is then seen being reported in the Village newspaper for "further investigation" and others start avoiding him. Number 2
Number Two (The Prisoner)
Number Two was the title of the chief administrator of The Village in the 1967-68 British television series The Prisoner. More than 17 different actors appeared as holders of the office during the 17-episode series .The first...
denies having any influence over the committee but warns of the consequences of non-compliance. Number 86 arrives and chides Number 6 for his non-cooperation.
Number 6's exposure of a community "rehab
Rehabilitation (penology)
Rehabilitation means; To restore to useful life, as through therapy and education or To restore to good condition, operation, or capacity....
" process causes the committee to label him uncooperative, and he is taken to a medical facility where he meets a Villager (with a scar on his temple) who says he had been labelled as "unmutual" but is now cured. Number 6 again appears before the committee and told he will be labelled for conversion if he doesn't fall into line. He then reads in the Tally-Ho and hears over the public address system
Public address
A public address system is an electronic amplification system with a mixer, amplifier and loudspeakers, used to reinforce a sound source, e.g., a person giving a speech, a DJ playing prerecorded music, and distributing the sound throughout a venue or building.Simple PA systems are often used in...
that he has been labelled "unmutual".
As a new day dawns, Number 6 is being ostracized and Number 2 threatens him with "social conversion". Number 6 is rounded up by the villagers and marched to the medical facility. He is strapped to a table and the conversion process is explained by Number 86, who is in charge of it.
Number 6 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 86 and pours it away. Number 2 arrives and questions Number 6 about his resignation, but is rebuffed. Number 86, watching Number 6 remove the dressing covering his "operation scar", doubts that he has been properly conditioned but Number 2 insists that all is well. Number 86 tries to drug Number 6 again, but he takes over the tea-making process, switching the cups so that Number 86 drinks the drugged tea.
Back in the woods seen at the beginning of the episode, the thugs again confront Number 6 who initially appears confused and unable to show aggression. Number 6 is able to get the better of them, however. Number 86, still under the influence of the drugged tea, comes to the woods and is hypnotised by Number 6 into explaining how the conditioning process was faked; she is given certain instructions by Number 6.
In the closing sequence, Number 6 visits Number 2 and convinces him that the ploy has worked, informing him that he wants to tell "everyone". Number 2 arranges for the whole village to hear Number 6's public "confession". The programmed Number 86 arrives and charges Number 2 with "unmutuality", and Number 2 initially walks off pursued by the villagers, and is eventually forced to flee.
Commentary
This episode deals with conformity, methods of enforcing it, and the consequences of its rejection. In particular, it has been said that the episode addresses both McCarthyismMcCarthyism
McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of disloyalty, subversion, or treason without proper regard for evidence. The term has its origins in the period in the United States known as the Second Red Scare, lasting roughly from the late 1940s to the late 1950s and characterized by...
(in which "unmutual" is equivalent to "communist") and the show trial
Show trial
The term show trial is a pejorative description of a type of highly public trial in which there is a strong connotation that the judicial authorities have already determined the guilt of the defendant. The actual trial has as its only goal to present the accusation and the verdict to the public as...
s of Stalinist Russia (which often featured coerced confessions), as well as the ethical issues of lobotomy
Lobotomy
Lobotomy "; τομή – tomē: "cut/slice") is a neurosurgical procedure, a form of psychosurgery, also known as a leukotomy or leucotomy . It consists of cutting the connections to and from the prefrontal cortex, the anterior part of the frontal lobes of the brain...
. At one point, some of the other prisoners are shown going through "self-criticism
Self-criticism
Self-criticism refers to the pointing out of things critical/important to one's own beliefs, thoughts, actions, behaviour or results; it can form part of private, personal reflection or a group discussion.-Philosophy:...
", which was common in China at the time.
The character of Number Two, as is typical in The Prisoner, becomes the victim of his own weakness, an over-confidence in his own ability to crack Number Six, a theme developed almost to its extreme in "Hammer Into Anvil
Hammer Into Anvil
"Hammer into Anvil" is an episode of the 1960s television program The Prisoner. It is one of the minority of episodes that do not deal with Number Six attempting to escape or the Village authorities attempting to coerce him into revealing information....
" and actually so in "Fall Out
Fall Out (The Prisoner)
"Fall Out" is the seventeenth and final episode of the allegorical British science fiction series The Prisoner, which starred Patrick McGoohan as the incarcerated Number Six...
". Also typically, the Number Two character relies upon a technical expert whose expertise is actually subvertible by Number 6's perspicacity, as seen in "The Girl Who Was Death
The Girl Who Was Death
"The Girl Who Was Death" is a television episode of the British science fiction-allegorical series, The Prisoner. It originally aired in the UK on ITV on 18 January 1968...
" and "A. B. and C.
A. B. and C.
"A. B. and C." is the title of the third episode of the British science fiction-allegorical series, The Prisoner. It originally aired in the UK on ITV on 13 October 1967 and was first broadcast in the United States on CBS on 22 June 1968....
" Meanwhile, it remains unclear as to whether the "ordinary" villagers are fully informed participants in Number 2's attempts to crack Number 6, or merely compliant drones who have themselves been cracked. Certainly, Matthew White points out that this episode in particular shows the "most unsympathetic portrayal of the common Villagers."
Additional cast
- Doctor - George PravdaGeorge PravdaGeorge Pravda was a Czechoslovakian film and television actor.He began his career in Czechoslovakia, where he was credited as Jirí Pravda, and then emigrated to the United Kingdom....
- Number Forty-Two: Kathleen Breck
- Supervisor - Peter SwanwickPeter SwanwickPeter Swanwick was a British actor best remembered as the "Supervisor" in the 1967 TV series, The Prisoner...
- Lobo man - Thomas HeathcoteThomas HeathcoteThomas Heathcote was a British character actor.He was educated at Bradfield College, near Reading in Berkshire, England. His films included A Night to Remember , Village of the Damned , Billy Budd , A Man for All Seasons , Night of the Big Heat and Quatermass and the Pit...
- Committee chairman - Bartlett Mullins
- Number Ninety-Three - Michael Miller
- Social group member - Joseph Cuby
- Social group member - Michael Chow
- Number Forty-Eight - June EllisJune Ellis-Selected filmography:* The Angel Who Pawned Her Harp * Sky West and Crooked * Quatermass and the Pit * Ring of Bright Water * Anne of the Thousand Days * Frenzy * Yanks...
- Woodland man - John HamblinJohn HamblinJohn Hamblin is an Australian children's television presenter and actor, best known for presenting Play School from 1970 to 1999.Hamblin grew up in Suffolk, England, and did his national service in Cyprus before returning to England to become an actor...
- Woodland man - Michael BillingtonMichael Billington (actor)Michael Billington was a popular British film and television actor....
- Announcer: Fenella FieldingFenella FieldingFenella Fielding — "England's first lady of the double entendre" — is an English actress, popular in the 1950s and 1960s. She is known for her seductive image and distinctively husky voice.-Family:...
(unseen)