Is it really ever that deep? - Khadeja Usmani

            When we discuss motifs and references in class, especially those to older Western culture, I can’t help but think about them through the lens of politics. As a political science student, I find it impossible to ignore how Murakami’s The Bakery Attack and The Second Bakery Attack are not just stories about hunger but about the systems that define consumption.

In The Bakery Attack, when the baker tells the two students they can have bread only if they listen to Wagner, the scene shifts from survival to submission. The baker isn’t violent, but he subtly imposes order by setting the terms of their need, turning a moment of desperation into a controlled exchange. Wagner’s music, which was later associated with Nazi ideology, adds another layer to this dynamic. It represents how power can disguise itself as culture–just how state control can be deceptive in nature. The students’ hunger is satisfied, but only after they conform to the baker’s ritual. Murakami’s choice of Wagner paired with the exchange between the baker and students makes me think how even small acts of order can reflect larger systems of control. I’m not completely sure if this can be read through the lens of fascism, but the story seems to suggest how authority often works quietly, shaping behavior under the guise of civility or art. 

In The Second Bakery Attack, that same need for order takes on a different shape. The baker and Wagner are replaced by McDonald’s–the most premier symbol of mass production and convenience. The narrator and his wife carry out their “attack” almost automatically, following a script they don’t fully understand. Their hunger is finally gone, and they even feel happy, but it’s a strange kind of relief–more like a reset than a resolution. After reading this story, I still felt a sense of unease as if there was no true conclusion. I believe Murakami attempts to show how systems of control adapt over time over the course of these two stories. The order that fascism once enforced through ideology is now maintained through habit, repetition, and comfort. I’m not entirely sure if the story is meant to be read this way, but it made me think about how capitalism satisfies us just enough to keep us from questioning the source of our hunger in the first place.