When I was young, I used to watch this cute little show about bunnies. Happy little bunnies hopping around in the meadows, stealing vegetables from the farms. It was such a cute, simple idea that I was hooked. I don't think I ever missed an episode. I had no idea it was a novel while the show was running. It wasn't until I was browsing through a second-hand shop in the city that I stumbled upon it. Now, I am of the opinion that every book deserves a good home, so Watership Down joined the ranks of unread novels littering bookshelves, tables and ledges around my home. It sat on my shelf half-forgotten for almost two years.
Since graduating high school, the term 'summer vacation' has meant little to nothing to me. Work took priority since moving out of my parents' house. That is to say bills took priority. This is my first year with a salary instead of a wage job. I'll be damned if I'm not taking a proper vacation! I packed up my duffel bag with books and clothes and I hauled ass out of the city for the week.
I felt bad for ignoring all of the unread books spread across my house while I continued to accumulate more. At this rate, I'll never be able to read my own collection because it is growing faster than I can keep up with. When I packed up the books I planned on taking on vacation with me, I decided I would not take anything that has been in my collection for less than a year. I was going to plow through my long-forgottens. This included Watership Down.
Cut to me at my parent's house. The clock reads 4:30AM and there's Ms. May wide awake with a book in her hands. Once I started reading Watership Down, I couldn't put it down. It was actually kind of sad. If I had left it on the dining room table (which is the pinnacle of socialization in my parents' house) I would pick it up as soon as I sat down. Someone's trying to have a conversation with Ms. May? Nope, sorry. I found a book. Everything else in my life became secondary to finding out what happened to the bunnies, even though I already knew the story by heart.
Have you ever had an idea that was just beyond your reach? You stretch out your consciousness to grasp it, but your mind just barely grazes it. That's how I felt about this novel. There was something to it that I wasn't quite getting. After I finished reading, I started to look up book discussions and reviews. I had to know what it was I am missing. I couldn't agree with a single review I read. The general opinion seems to be that this is a novel of leadership and humanity's involvement in nature. Sure, I can see that, but that's not the idea that was keeping me from starting a new novel. I had to solve this mystery!
I sat on the porch with my headphones on and my notebook in my lap. I doodled bunnies in the margin of the blank page and listened to "We're Alive" but the solution wasn't coming to me. Maybe if I distracted myself with zombies, the answer would come more naturally than trying to force ideas.
Eureka! We're Alive wasn't a distraction at all, it was the solution! I've heard that Watership Down is a political allegory, but I am inclined to disagree. It is a struggle between tyranny and freedom, nature and reason, fear and duty. Am I blind?! They aren't political at all, it is entirely human nature! Let me try to explain with a comparison to "We're Alive".
The most important quality these two pieces of media have in common are the settlements. The rabbits in 'Watership Down' are forced to leave one warren that is in danger to find a new home with nothing to rely on but the feeling of one. This is almost directly parallel to the ending chapter of season 2 in 'We're Alive'. The likeness of the residence of the Tower and the warren of 'Watership Down' is striking.
The Maulers (a group of escaped convicts that have taken up residence in a strip mall, for those who are not zombie-savvy) play the same sort of role in the podcast that the rabbits in Cowslip's warren does in the novel. Death to these characters means absolutely nothing. Both groups are willing to sacrifice the lives of their own to ensure the survivors are able to live comfortably without threat of what lies beyond their safe zone.
When I was a kid, Efrafa scared the Hell out of me. These rabbits had zero control over their own lives. Everything they did was directly controlled by the warren and their leader. (Communism..?) This is how the survivors in the Colony lived. Is it possible to actually live happily like this? Again, these are the sacrifices the survivors had to make to ensure their futures. It makes me wonder how much would I be willing to give up to continue living. Would I become a pawn in a larger plan of someone else? Would I follow their direction without question? Would I run or would I stay? Would I fight? Would you?
These warrens and shelters are their home now and those with you are as good as family. Family above all else. Over and over again, especially in the podcast, the cast will run headlong into danger for the sake of one of their own. The family is an extension of the self. What would you risk to save your mother? Your cousin? Often times I feel that I can handle any amount of garbage and mistreatment, but I simply can't abide someone trying to mess with my employees. They are my family now too. I would do anything for them, but would I be able to risk my life for one of them? I really don't know.
The overarching theme I've found is the constant fear they all live in. It has become a natural part of life without being overbearing. How does this relate to you? Everywhere you turn, there is danger but we live with it. We protect ourselves. Look both ways before crossing the street. Don't approach strange dogs. Unplug your toaster. For all that we have done since our ancestors painted in caves, we all still live in fear.
I think the scariest part of both is how the obvious enemies are not the biggest threat the cast has to face. No enemy puts up the kind of fight or causes as much damage as their own kind. (Efrafa, the Maulers.) This is true in day-to-day life as well. If you need proof, open your local newspaper. How many articles are about shark attacks or bears mauling hikers, and how many are about anthrax in letters, or kids getting shot over drugs? Humanity is its own worst enemy.
I highly recommend anyone reading this to check out "We're Alive" at http://www.zombiepodcast.com. It is well worth your time.
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