Samaria

Description

Welcome to Samaria Lane. The over-saturated disgustingly picturesque suburbs. Where feminism goes to die, and husbands named George thrive. A wonderful place to raise a child. Meet Ellabella, our narrator, the quintessential housewife. She is dead. So, let me introduce Lorabella and Elizabella. They’re alive. The sweetest housewives who definitely don’t hate each other they just bake each other pies filled with resentment and jealousy. The birds chirp, the husbands grill and the wives do all the emotional and household labour. Just as it should be. All is swell in this quaint neighbourhood…That is, until the local wholefoods retailer closes. Do you know what that means? NO ORGANIC FOOD. The horror. The neighbourhood will starve! They do. It isn’t long before the residents turn on each other. A forgotten thank-you, an unreturned smile, a stubbed toe from a kicked kerb. Pure pandemonium. Lorabella and Elizabella turn to each other. With their worlds crumbling and bellies rumbling. They do the only rationale thing; they agree to eat their children - maybe a nice soup? But children are small and don’t keep you full for long. And when you eat someone’s child, they will expect to eat yours as promised…

Biblical Connection

The famine in besieged Samaria, 2 Kings 6:24-30. There are many dark parts of The Bible that serve as testament to the wrong-doings and failings of humanity. Being the most violent creature on Earth and God’s favourite makes for quite the complex backstory for our consciousness to quibble over (probably why we watch so much porn, it’s great). I am choosing to interpret the famine in Samaria and subsequent eating of babies as literal. Cannibalism, particularly inter-family cannibalism is perfect fodder for a light -hearted comedy…okay, dark-comedy. The adaption of this story is heightened to a surrealist-Stepford-wives-on-steroids level to not only increase the humour (just in case people don’t find baby soup inherently funny) but also to make a comment of the over-consumption and degradation of our planet and societies. This is a satirisation of the narrative sold as the perfect life (marriage, house, 2.5 kids) by corporations and governments to further push the capitalist structure that keep the rich, rich and the poor, poor. The juxtaposition of an opulent want-for-nothing town and the depravity and desperation that must be reached to eat your own children serves as comedy gold and a comment on the current social and economic climate.