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My detailed assessment of Francois Truffaut’s Fahrenheit 451 [based on the book of the same name by Ray Bradbury] as it appears in Pratilipi:

In his novel The Master and Margarita, Mikhail Bulgakov tells us, “written-on paper burns reluctantly”. Bulgakov wrote these words in 1940, in the Stalin-governed Soviet Union. The time we are going to talk about has taken Bulgakov’s words as a challenge and has created a proper system to burn such paper that, proud of being written-on, commits the sin of refusing to burn.

It is a time when the work of fire-brigades is not to put out fires, but to burn books. Where firemen are actually bookburners. Where the TV is not only a source of information and entertainment, but also the only socially acceptable means of thought. This progressive and prosperous society does not tolerate books. It has understood that books are dangerous. Possessed of life and power and personality. A power that grows in the hearts of their readers. Which themselves can change, and can change the reader too. This society has prospered enough to be able to rid itself of such dangerous things and keep itself happy. And, for the information needed in order to enjoy the fruits of such prosperity (what products are being sold at what prices in which mall), there is always the TV. Hundreds of channels, 24 hours a day!

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Read the full assessment entitled “With Hope, In Spite of Fear” here

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