An explicit allegory about the pernicious nature of fascism and how it indoctrinates individuals through the systematic destruction of free will and personal autonomy, Mike De Leon's Batch'81 is a bold, incisive critique of authoritarianism that wonderfully deconstructs the necessity of violence it relies on to manifest itself. The narrative schematic deployed here - a group of friends goes through the hazing process of a fraternity in order to elevate themselves and their status - is far from subtle, yet it also provides ample opportunities for De Leon to question the nature of fascism as a social phenomenon. Eschewing false dichotomies related to collectivism/individualism that is often asserted in political discursion, Batch'81 detangles itself by taking a more purely sociological approach, observing through this allegorical story how the fascistic mindset relies on subservience and the application of authority. Oppression of the minority and normalization of particular modes of thought is at the root of the fascistic mindset, and the material conditions must be ripe for indoctrination to occur in which the individual subjugates themselves willingly to authority and the power it promises. Allegiance supplants morality, the attainment of power itself rests at the top of the hierarchy. It's the allure to such power or status that creates such subservience, and for the characters at the center of the story, they suffer through subjugation and violence, both physical and psychological, in order to achieve this status the frat promises them. In its denouement, Batch'81 suggests that appeals to authority and the strict social hierarchies of power rooted in fascism are symbiotic, breeding a perpetual state of violence, subjugation, and social strife throughout the society that will continue to plague humanity until we detach ourselves from such notions of living. A brazen, direct parable in which Fraternity hazing is a symbolic device for authoritarianism and fascism, De Leon's Batch'81 illustrates how under the authoritarian mindset violence is a necessary utility due purely to its efficiency; It's a means to an end, a horrendous mindset, and one that guarantees violence in society itself will remain in a state of perpetuity until we recognize that force while efficient is never morally just.
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June 2023
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