fbpx
Wikipedia

The Hanging Stranger

April 15, 2024

"The Hanging Stranger" is a science fiction-horror short story by American writer Philip K. Dick, originally published in December 1953 in the magazine Science Fiction Adventures. It has been reprinted in several anthologies, and published in French, Italian and German.[1] It was adapted by Dee Rees into the episode "Kill All Others" or "K.A.O." for the 2017 television series Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams.[2] A book was also released to republish "The Hanging Stranger" along with the nine other stories on which the Electric Dreams episodes were based.[3]

Plot edit

The protagonist, a store owner Ed Loyce,[4] is disturbed when he sees a stranger hanging from a lamppost, but finds that other people consider the apparent lynching unremarkable.[5]

He finds evidence that alien insects have taken over, manages to get out of town, talks to the police commissioner, who believes him, and after getting all the information about what Ed knows, explains that the body was hung to see whether anyone reacted to it, anyone they didn't have control over. He then takes Ed outside and hangs him from a lamppost.

TV adaptation edit

Plot edit

The television adaptation differs from the short story in having a more political focus.[6][7] The protagonist, Philbert Noyce played by Mel Rodriguez, is a low-motivation quality-control worker in an automated factory.[8] Noyce hears and sees the phrase "kill all others" used during a television appearance by the sole candidate for the presidency in the one-party state of MexUsCan. Few others acknowledge seeing or hearing the message, but many are affected by it. Only one of Noyce's co-workers seems to believe what he says about the message and the political system. He becomes increasingly agitated by this policy statement and his totalitarian society over the course of the episode. His wife, workmates, and fellow citizens remain unconcerned by the "kill all others" message and by their society's heavy-handed responses to his concerns. A new, large, illuminated "kill all others" billboard appears with what looks like a body hanging in front of it, which doesn't appear to bother anyone. Noyce, now evading the authorities, who have identified him as an "other" and having his flight being broadcast on live television, climbs up on the billboard. He yells "we're all others!" and verifies that it's a real person in the noose by jumping onto him before falling off the billboard. His body is eventually hung in the place of the previous one.[9]

Cast edit

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Publication: Science Fiction Adventures, December 1953". ISFDB. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  2. ^ O'Falt, Chris (2018-06-07). "'Kill All Others': Dee Rees' 'Electric Dreams' Episode Is a Masterclass in Science-Fiction World-Building". IndieWire. Retrieved 2020-11-16.
  3. ^ Athitakis, Mark (January 9, 2018). "'Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams' is a companion anthology to the new TV show". Washington Post. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  4. ^ Dick, Philip K. The Hanging Stranger.
  5. ^ Vineyard, Jennifer (January 22, 2018). "Every episode of Electric Dreams explained by the series showrunner". SYFY. Retrieved February 3, 2018.[dead link]
  6. ^ Robertson, Adi (January 16, 2018). "How Electric Dreams updates Philip K. Dick's Cold War stories". The Verge. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  7. ^ Dick, Philip K. The Hanging Stranger.
  8. ^ Goodman, Tim (January 12, 2018). "'Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams': TV Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  9. ^ Metz, Nina (January 11, 2018). "Philip K. Dick's daughter brings his short stories to life in Amazon's 'Electric Dreams'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 3, 2018.

External links edit

  • "The Hanging Stranger" title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
  • "The Hanging Stranger" at the Internet Archive
  • An omnibus collection of Dick's short fiction in the public domain, including this story at Standard Ebooks
  • The Hanging Stranger at Project Gutenberg
  • "The Hanging Stranger" at AmericanLiterature.com
  • Kill All Others at IMDb  

April 15, 2024
hanging, stranger, science, fiction, horror, short, story, american, writer, philip, dick, originally, published, december, 1953, magazine, science, fiction, adventures, been, reprinted, several, anthologies, published, french, italian, german, adapted, rees, . The Hanging Stranger is a science fiction horror short story by American writer Philip K Dick originally published in December 1953 in the magazine Science Fiction Adventures It has been reprinted in several anthologies and published in French Italian and German 1 It was adapted by Dee Rees into the episode Kill All Others or K A O for the 2017 television series Philip K Dick s Electric Dreams 2 A book was also released to republish The Hanging Stranger along with the nine other stories on which the Electric Dreams episodes were based 3 Contents 1 Plot 2 TV adaptation 2 1 Plot 2 2 Cast 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksPlot editThe protagonist a store owner Ed Loyce 4 is disturbed when he sees a stranger hanging from a lamppost but finds that other people consider the apparent lynching unremarkable 5 He finds evidence that alien insects have taken over manages to get out of town talks to the police commissioner who believes him and after getting all the information about what Ed knows explains that the body was hung to see whether anyone reacted to it anyone they didn t have control over He then takes Ed outside and hangs him from a lamppost TV adaptation editPlot edit The television adaptation differs from the short story in having a more political focus 6 7 The protagonist Philbert Noyce played by Mel Rodriguez is a low motivation quality control worker in an automated factory 8 Noyce hears and sees the phrase kill all others used during a television appearance by the sole candidate for the presidency in the one party state of MexUsCan Few others acknowledge seeing or hearing the message but many are affected by it Only one of Noyce s co workers seems to believe what he says about the message and the political system He becomes increasingly agitated by this policy statement and his totalitarian society over the course of the episode His wife workmates and fellow citizens remain unconcerned by the kill all others message and by their society s heavy handed responses to his concerns A new large illuminated kill all others billboard appears with what looks like a body hanging in front of it which doesn t appear to bother anyone Noyce now evading the authorities who have identified him as an other and having his flight being broadcast on live television climbs up on the billboard He yells we re all others and verifies that it s a real person in the noose by jumping onto him before falling off the billboard His body is eventually hung in the place of the previous one 9 Cast edit Mel Rodriguez as Philbert Noyce Sarah Baker as Maggie Noyce Jason Mitchell as Lenny Glenn Morshower as Ed Louis Herthum as Supervisor DuShon Monique Brown as Peace Sergeant Vera Farmiga as the CandidateSee also editThe Father thing Folie a Deux The X Files References edit Publication Science Fiction Adventures December 1953 ISFDB Retrieved February 3 2018 O Falt Chris 2018 06 07 Kill All Others Dee Rees Electric Dreams Episode Is a Masterclass in Science Fiction World Building IndieWire Retrieved 2020 11 16 Athitakis Mark January 9 2018 Philip K Dick s Electric Dreams is a companion anthology to the new TV show Washington Post Retrieved February 3 2018 Dick Philip K The Hanging Stranger Vineyard Jennifer January 22 2018 Every episode of Electric Dreams explained by the series showrunner SYFY Retrieved February 3 2018 dead link Robertson Adi January 16 2018 How Electric Dreams updates Philip K Dick s Cold War stories The Verge Retrieved February 3 2018 Dick Philip K The Hanging Stranger Goodman Tim January 12 2018 Philip K Dick s Electric Dreams TV Review The Hollywood Reporter Retrieved February 3 2018 Metz Nina January 11 2018 Philip K Dick s daughter brings his short stories to life in Amazon s Electric Dreams Chicago Tribune Retrieved February 3 2018 External links edit The Hanging Stranger title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database The Hanging Stranger at the Internet Archive An omnibus collection of Dick s short fiction in the public domain including this story at Standard Ebooks The Hanging Stranger at Project Gutenberg The Hanging Stranger at AmericanLiterature com Kill All Others at IMDb nbsp Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Hanging Stranger amp oldid 1216896432, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.