Strange Holiday

Set in a contemporary 1940s American setting around Christmas, with a sudden plunge into a nightmare of state control. The narrative revisits a world where the Constitution has allegedly been altered, signaling a postwar anxiety about civil liberties. The temporal frame blends a holiday atmosphere with a chilling exploration of authoritarian potential.

The action shifts between a remote countryside setting—farmhouse, fields, and a crash site—and a nearly deserted small town with an empty main street and shuttered offices. The environment contrasts festive Christmas scenes with sudden, unsettling isolation. This backdrop reinforces the story’s tension between familiar, intimate life and a looming, oppressive order.

🗽 Freedom

The story probes the fragility of civil liberties, showing a regime that bans religion and free speech and punishes non-conformity. Stevenson’s interrogation and imprisonment expose how quickly personal rights can be eroded under coercive power. The dystopian elements act as a cautionary mirror to democracy and the stakes of individual rights.

🌫️ Reality vs Dream

A central tension arises from a dreamlike sequence in which Stevenson imagines an alternate, oppressive future. The twist that the sequence is revealed as a bad dream reframes the events as a warning rather than a prophecy. It questions what is real when fear and propaganda blur the line between truth and illusion.

🏚️ Desolation

Desolate streets, silent offices, and a jail cell create a mood of isolation and threat that mirrors the suppression of dissent. The stark setting emphasizes the cost of conformity and fear on everyday life. It underlines how architectural emptiness can symbolize a society emptied of its freedoms.