Friday, January 9, 2015
1984 Analysis
A common theme that seems to continue to reappear within dystopian societies is the manipulation of opposites. By offsetting the balance between opposites, chaos is set in motion, power is seized, and a false reality is created. The film 1984, directed by Micheal Radford in the same year as the title, not only addresses this this ideal the way other films do, such as Soylent Green and THX1138, but goes to the extend of making it part of the script; at one point stating "War is peace, Ignorance is strength and freedom is slavery." By changing the language and manipulating words to represent one thing but mean another altogether, the Big Brother party is able to maintain absolute power and control.
INGSOC, the society within this film, believes, whether the citizens are conscious of it or not, a totalitarian state controlled under the dictatorship, Big Brother, is the right way to lead their lives. This state calls for humans to abandon their individuality for the goodness of collectivism and alter what they know to be true as a way of saving themselves from the eventual fall of humanity. But contrary to what they may believe, by giving way to such ideals they are the very reason for the fall of humanity and what this party is pursuing is inhumane and extremely corrupt.
While Soylent Green and THX 1138 mention opposites such as dark vs light, lies vs truth and rules vs freedom, 1984 takes these contradictions and understands them. By being aware of the black and white nature of truth, truth which holds two sides to the story, Big Brother is then able to manipulate it; and so lies become the new truth. Power becomes about brainwashing and reordering a society so that they will bow at a dictators feet. Understanding is key in this case. Big Brother understands this fact and withholds reason from the citizens. The citizens should simply trust Big Brother and not need to know why. But, by human nature, curiosity and the need to understand is what keeps humanity justified and continuous. The main character's constant search for reason and truth is humane but does not keep pace with the purpose of the society he lives within.
This is interesting because for a society to work flourish, power comes from the individual and together the masses. But dictatorships resent this sort of power. Therefore, greedy leaders seek to crush individualism and alter history in order to continue their manipulation and repress their citizen all in the name of total control. By keeping citizens uninformed it is easier to change their way of thinking, force them to second guess themselves and therefore, rely on Big Brother, for the answers, the "truth" and a new reality. Children are especially important for this sort of government to work for they are easily influenced, know no different lifestyle and are the future. Perhaps this is why in the film younger generations are more enthusiastic and eager when praising Big Brother and the older generation appears reluctant and skeptical. Again, opposites come into play between old and young, wise and naive. What is confusing is why these sorts of societies are sought after by leaders? They are leading unintelligent, dependent, inhumane people and the only success that can come from a society such as this is only as far as the leader can see.
So while opposites can cause confusion by their contradictory nature they are absolutely necessary in order to maintain balance. Balance is the key to truth but also humanity; without it, the human race would become inhumane.
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There are many stories that pose the question of what a society is willing to sacrifice in order to survive, or in their eyes, flourish. 1984, and thx both have systems in place in order to reduce a persons capacity for complex thought and desires, and by doing so, supposedly enable the greater society to function. In our view, the world is clearly dystopian. But when you look at a story of young adult fiction like "The Giver," by Lois Lowry, there is still a discussion of sameness. Even though the community is sheltered and people are raised and directed towards their strength, the population is still medicated, with a desire for sameness to maintain the status quo. Interestingly enough , I believe Lowry wrote her novel in the 90's for the same reason that Orwell wrote his, because of their uneasiness of governments who try to control everything.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with the view that balance is the way to a healthy society. This totalitarian government with subjects that end up being more mechanical than human seem to be sought after in many dystopian universes. The Giver, while achieving the mechanical citizen mindset through drugs, creates the completely controlled environment similar to the one in 1984. Most of the reasoning behind this completely controlled environment is that it stops all crime. But what tends to be an effort to save lives ends up rendering life into survival, which isn't the same. I think the way you summarized this essay was eloquent and extremely well done.
ReplyDeleteYou make an interesting point on the state of human life. The party has taken all basic joys out of life and has enforced strict regulations that have led to a dull, uneducated populace. It make one question why exactly the leaders run such a society. What is there to gain from keep the public uninformed? When you say that society can only advance as far as the leaders take them, you raise this question. Power is obviously the primary motivation, but it has to be more than just that. It is still possible to gain power in a democratic society. One possible explanation is that society was never meant to be this way. However the party took control, they realized the only way to maintain their power was to drastically deprive their citizens of basic rights and amenities, all while changing basic thought. They could now brainwash their followers so there would be no rebellion. Perhaps Airstrip One was never meant to become the society it was but it gradually had to happen so the rulers could maintain authority.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, the best way of taking power is to keep everyone relying on you for the truth, especially the younger generations. I think it's completely messed up that the government can say anything in this movie and everyone will believe it to be fact. Also, I'm in the same boat as you when it comes to The Party's motivations. I get that they said they want power for the sake of having power, but that makes no sense to me. Power is a means, not an end, no matter what O'Brien states in the film. I think that the inner members of the Party once had a plan of what to do when they gain enough power, but have completely forgotten their original goals and have somehow indoctrinated themselves into seeking out more power with no reason. If anything, the fact that people can be greedy should cause The Party to want to gain something with their power besides more power.
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