J.G.
Ballard’s novel The Drought featured character
studies of the human reaction to a slow moving yet ultimately disastrous
environmental event. Fresh water
steadily regressing during an extended hot spell, the effect was myriad on the
residents of the small town, each reacting in their own, human way to the
increasingly desperate situation.
Changing the angle but keeping the focus group the same, Ballard’s 1975 High-Rise is likewise an examination of
the nuts and bolts of thought inherent to a steadily deteriorating situation. This time, however, the setting is as urban
as can be: the modern, self-contained high rise.
The
opening line of High-Rise, for as
surreal as it rests on the page, announces itself in direct terms for what it
is: a story of humanity decayed. The
decay subsequently portrayed through three characters, High-Rise gives page time to a handful of characters but most
prominently three men. The first is Richard Lang. A passive medical professor, he watches with
little emotion as his fellow residents, shops, schools, and recreational areas
in their 40-story building begin to show signs that the unspoken social
agreements we all adhere to begin are eroding in the closely packed
environment. Children making noise, dogs
making a mess, and everyone crowded together as they go to the 10th floor supermarket,
public pool, and attempt to use the elevators—nothing has an effect on
Lang. Wilder is a documentary film maker
who, when seeing the residents disagreements become communal, and upper floor
residents, who generally look down on the lower floor residents, start to
protect what they believe is theirs (elevators, trash chutes, roof gardens,
etc.), makes a plan to reach the upper floors to have a look for himself. Camera in hand, he meets more resistance than
expected. And lastly is the building’s
architect, Anthony Royal. A rich man
with a much younger wife who occupies one of the upper-floor penthouses, as
life below starts to degenerate toward complete anti-social behavior, he begins
to think about moving out. But can he
leave his creation?
