Monday, January 11, 2010

George Orwell's Animal Farm (Animated Movie Whose Original Ending Was Changed By C.I.A. for Anti-Communist Propaganda Purposes)

This Animal Farm book by George Orwell was always one of my favorites to read when I was back in school. I have never watched this animated movie of the book, so hopefully it is decent. You can read about this movie on the Wikipedia page or watch the cartoon movie (or simply click the picture above).

However if you are supposed to be reading the actual book, please be advised that
the Central Intelligence Agency (C.I.A.) changed the movie's ending from the ending in the book for propaganda purposes.

That ending was altered in the 1955 animated version, which removed the humans, leaving only the nasty pigs. Another example of Hollywood butchering great literature? Yes, but in this case the film's secret producer was the Central Intelligence Agency.


The C.I.A., it seems, was worried that the public might be too influenced by Orwell's pox-on-both-their-houses critique of the capitalist humans and Communist pigs. So after his death in 1950, agents were dispatched (by none other than E. Howard Hunt, later of Watergate fame) to buy the film rights to ''Animal Farm'' from his widow to make its message more overtly anti-Communist.


The Animal Farm video is below in Parts:


Part 1 of 8



Part 2 of 8



Part 3 of 8



Part 4 of 8



Part 5 of 8



Part 6 of 8



Part 7 of 8



Part 8 of 8



Source:
The New York Times


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