The "Original Planet of the Apes" & Police Treatment of Climate Change Protestors

The original film version of "Planet of the Apes" (not the prequels/sequels or re-makes !) had a profound impact on me as a child. In this film the hero, Charlton Heston, is one of a crew of astronauts who land on what we believe to be a far distant planet at some equally distant time in the future. Only the Heston character, Taylor, survives. At the end of the film we discover that the planet is, in fact, earth : an earth now run by ape men. I will call them "ape men" rather than "apes" because this is what they are. There are 3 species of "ape men", supposedly corresponding to chimpanzees (scientists), orang-utang (politicians) and gorillas (militia). The gorillas are frequently seen chasing humans (now a subordinate species) on horseback.

The image on the front page of the Financial Times today also had a profound impact on me, as a reminder not only of the original "Planet of the Apes", but of media images of the 1980s Miners Strike in Britain, when policemen on horseback pursued protestors. The FT image shows a mounted police officer in riot gear, followed by another, chasing, whilst shouting at, a climate change protestor who is running through the scrub land around Heathrow Airport. In short, this is an ugly scene, particularly so for someone who is an environmentalist, in fact a supporter of the climate change protestors, and a horsewoman. I seriously question whether mounted police should conduct themselves thus, or have we already fast-forwarded into the future ?

Animus, Anima, Animal ?

It is widely accepted amongst psychologists that people have a masculine and feminine dimension to their character, whatever their gender, albeit that sex (as in gender) will generally determine the predominance of the masculine in men, and the feminine in women. Carl Jung called the "masculine personality" of a woman her "animus", and the "feminine personality" of a man his "anima".

However, I often wonder whether people also have an "animal component" to their personality, or, indeed, an "animal personality". If so, then I can identify with those who, like myself, feel connected to their feline or equine selves.