A society run through the means of a dominant government is bound to have rebels. These rebels go to extreme measures in order to prove their self worth and individuality. In George Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1948), the Party acts as a supreme power and portrays Winston Smith, the protagonist as a rebel. Terry Gilliam’s film, Brazil (1985), has a government that works behind the scenes, authenticating authority through various propaganda posters and technological techniques, all of which Sam Lowry rebels against. Examples of government rebels in the real world are quite evident; in New Mexico a resistance group arose in attempts to save their village from the hands of the government only to have the leader murdered. “Unsilenced” written …show more content…
In George Orwell’s Nineteen Eight-Four, Winston writes his deepest thoughts within his diary, although he knows this a thought crime, he continues to write regardless. As Winston opens his diary he states “this was not illegal (nothing was illegal, since there were no longer any laws), but if detected it was reasonably certain to be punished with death,” (Orwell 6). This quote makes it evident that though Winston is well aware of his crime he still chooses to carry on as he believes that rebelling against the Party is a way to weaken the control it has. Similarly, in Terry Gilliam’s adaptation of Brazil, the audience sees early on in the film how little respect some employees have for their government. It is shown that when the boss in charge of the Department of Records is not present the employees are seen to be watching old movies and only pretend to work when the boss is physically present (Gilliam). The lack of productivity in the department shows the audacity the citizens have to defy the government but lack the ability to do so; as the minute an authoritative figure is shown they quickly remember what the party in charge is truly capable of. Although, both Winston in Orwell’s dystopia and the employees of the Department of Records in Gilliam’s dystopia wish to degrade the higher power both are deemed as unsuccessful in …show more content…
George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, portrays a dystopia in which it is wrong to love; which Winston then uses as his method of rebellion as he creates romantic relations with Julia, a more hidden rebel. The moment after Winston and Julia have been intimate, Winston reveals “Their embraced had been a battle, the climax a victory. It was a blow struck against the Party. It was a political act,” (Orwell 126). Although the act of sex is shown to bring couples closer, Winston reveals this is not the case for him, for him, it is merely an act of upheaval towards the Party. Likewise, Gilliam’s film, Brazil also shows a similar act of love as Sam Lowry has dreams about falling in love with a girl, who we later know as Jill Layton. Near the end of the movie, the audience sees that both Sam and Jill are captured by government officials while lying in bed together, (Gilliam), an act of rebellion similar to that of Winston’s. It becomes apparent that the right to express oneself through acts of love is considered the ultimate act of insurgence within these dystopias. The real world is no exception to this. As Atilano proves in Garcia’s article, he does all that is possible to be able to seem a hero to his family, “I wondered about the process of overcoming fear of death for the common good. ‘When does someone decide that life becomes secondary to a
Nineteen Eighty-Four written by George Orwell and Gattaca directed by Andrew Niccol are prophetic social commentaries which explore the broad social wrong of a totalitarian government. Both texts depict a futuristic, dystopian society in which individuality is destroyed in favour of faceless conformity. Niccol and Orwell through the experiences of their protagonists reflect the impact isolation from society has on individuals. The authors of both texts also use their protagonists Winston, who cannot understand the rhetoric of the government party and Vincent, who is trapped, unable to achieve his dreams because of his imperfect genome, to demonstrate individual rebellion against society and explore the significant social injustices of a totalitarian state.
Winston is confronted with struggle throughout the entirety of George Orwell`s dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. Living within a totalitarian regime subsequently causes Winston to seek approaches for dealing with such abundant oppression; he finds liberation through self-awareness, understanding and ultimately rebellion. First, Winston realizes that “if you want to keep a secret you must also hide it from yourself”, alluding to the notion of thoughtcrime (162). This recognition exemplifies the complete cognizance that Winston has regarding the oppressive society displayed throughout the novel. Next, Syme states “It’s a beautiful thing, the destruction of words”, alluding to the idea of Newspeak (28). This statement directly correlates to Winston speaking with other party members to gain knowledge about how others feels about policies deployed by the government. This information-seeking also connects with Winston`s rebellion, as he actively searched for others to join his uprising, which is shown when Winston tells O’Brien “We want to join [The Brotherhood]” (171). Winston’s attempt to join a rebellious organization exhibits his evident desire to release his suppressed emotions. Winston devises a very methodical approach to deal with the problematic society he resides in.
1984, by George Orwell, depicts the psychological progression of Winston Smith, a rebellious citizen among an oppressive government. In such a government, each ministry deals with the polar opposite of its namesake, stupidity is as necessary as intellect, and Big Brother is always watching. Conformity is not the ultimate goal of the Party. It is a side effect of Two Minutes Hate, relentless torture, and a lack of meaningful relationships aside from the love of Big Brother. Orwell so vividly illustrates the crushing brutality of the Party in order to warn the reader that an absolute government with the power to drive a citizen to his or her breaking point will inevitably destroy the core of human drive and independence. Those with the power to exploit personal fears and control levels of commitment through torture can crush anyone, for “in the face of pain, there are no heroes” (Orwell 213).
Love is an underlying theme in the novel. Love can be seen as nonexistence in this totalitarian society. The marriage between Winston and Katherine was a disastrous one because they were only married for fifteen months and they can n...
In the book 1984 by George Orwell, Julia’s encounter with Winston at the Fiction Department is an essential and exhilarating event. Julia purposely falls to ground and gives Winston the love note and leaves Winston thinking if she was a member of the Thought Police or they both had a strong love and sexual relationship throughout the book. After their encounter, Julia is at the canteen and stares at Winston as if she was a member of the Thought police, but Julia was very clever because she already knew that Winston was against The Party. After numerous tries Winston finally meets Julia at the Victory Square where she gives Winston directions to meet her at the Golden Country. Finally Winston meets her at the place where they introduce themselves and have a sexual intercourse. Throughout the novel 1984, Julia evolves from being a member of the Junior Anti-Sex League to Winston’s private partner by becoming more sexually active with the Party members, more intuitive than Winston, and more tactical from personal experiences.
To start off, Orwell's sole inclusion of women who base their relationships with men exclusively on sex demonstrates Orwell's negative beliefs about women. Despite Julia's claims to love Winston, their relationship is not about “the love of one person, but the animal instinct”(132). Julia has been in similar relationships to her and Winston's “hundreds of times”(131), relationships that look only at the sexual side and never at the emotional. She refuses all of Winston's attempts to expand their relationship, having “a disconcerting habit of falling asleep”(163) whenever he persists in talking. And although Winston cares for Julia more than he cares for Katharine, Katharine also bases her relationship with Winston completely on sex. When Winston reflects on their time together, he thinks, “he could have borne living with her if it had been agreed that they remain celibate... It ...
George Orwell creates a dark, depressing and pessimistic world where the government has full control over the masses in the novel 1984. The protagonist, Winston, is low-level Party member who has grown to resent the society that he lives in. Orwell portrays him as a individual that begins to lose his sanity due to the constrictions of society. There are only two possible outcomes, either he becomes more effectively assimilated or he brings about the change he desires. Winston starts a journey towards his own self-destruction. His first defiant act is the diary where he writes “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER.” But he goes further by having an affair with Julia, another party member, renting a room over Mr. Carrington’s antique shop where Winston conducts this affair with Julia, and by following O’Brien who claims to have connections with the Brotherhood, the anti-Party movement led my Emmanuel Goldstein. Winston and Julia are both eventually arrested by the Thought Police when Mr. Carrington turns out to be a undercover officer. They both eventually betray each other when O’Brien conducts torture upon them at the Ministry of Love. Orwell conveys the limitations of the individual when it comes to doing something monumental like overthrowing the established hierarchy which is seen through the futility of Winston Smith’s actions that end with his failure instead of the end of Big Brother. Winston’s goal of liberating himself turns out to be hopeless when the people he trusted end up betraying him and how he was arbitrarily manipulated. It can be perceived that Winston was in fact concerned more about his own sanity and physical well-being because he gives into Big Brother after he is tortured and becomes content to live in the society he hated so much. Winston witnesses the weakness within the prole community because of their inability to understand the Party’s workings but he himself embodies weakness by sabotaging himself by associating with all the wrong people and by simply falling into the arms of Big Brother. Orwell created a world where there is no use but to assimilate from Winston’s perspective making his struggle utterly hopeless.
Terry Gilliam’s dystopian film, Brazil (1985), lays out a visually stunning and ultimately sinister depiction of a future society hounded by an oppressive government’s desire for absolute control over the population. Of elementary focus in the film are the roles of technology and the subsequent dehumanization of the modern world and the myth of the “free man” under a totalitarian regime. Gilliam shows our current obsession with technology and information as an exasperating evolution of modernity that is, ultimately, leading us nowhere. Repeatedly, we see the shortcomings of a society that is overly reliant upon systematic response (as displayed by the constant demands for paperwork) and completely lacking in individualism and expression (as shown by the massive, colorless, unadorned structures that compose this future world.) While Gilliam’s film never really resolves any of these issues, his examination of them is thorough enough to merit further discussion.
In 1984, George Orwell presents an overly controlled society that is run by Big Brother. The protagonist, Winston, attempts to “stay human” in the face of a dehumanizing, totalitarian regime. Big Brother possesses so much control over these people that even the most natural thoughts such as love and sex are considered taboo and are punishable. Big Brother has taken this society and turned each individual against one another. Parents distrust their own offspring, husband and wife turn on one another, and some people turn on their own selves entirely. The people of Oceania become brainwashed by Big Brother. Punishment for any uprising rebellions is punishable harshly.
While researching for a book on the making of and feud over the American release of Terry Gilliam's Brazil, author Jack Mathews read virtually every review of the film printed in the United States and found that very few failed to refer to the film as "futuristic" or "Orwellian." "The comparisons are understandable, if inaccurate," says Mathews, "There isn't a futuristic element in Brazil. The story is Orwellian, in the sense that it is set in a totalitarian state where individuality is smothered by enforced conformity. But where George Orwell...was envisioning a future ruled by fascism and technology, Gilliam was satirizing the bureaucratic, largely dysfunctional industrial world that had been driving him crazy all his life"(Mathews). Terry Gilliam's Brazil, made in 1985, at first glance, seems much like Michael Radford's film version of George Orwell's 1984, made in 1984, in its setting and story. However, upon further examination of the two films, there are differences in style and tone that distance them from each other. 1984 is dark and gloomy from beginning to end while Brazil, though still dark, has a much lighter atmosphere. The love stories presented in both films are unmistakably similar and make the plots seem closer to each other, but this is the only strong link they share, for differences in tone distance the films from each other. Because of its dark humor, Brazil is a satire of the very society in which the story takes place, while 1984, though also a satire, lacks any humor whatsoever and is more of a horror story of a society that might await mankind.
George Orwell’s haunting dystopian novel 1984 delves into the closely monitored lives of the citizens of Oceania as the Party tries to take control of society. In totalitarianism, propaganda and terrorism are ways of subjugation with a main goal: total obedience. He aimed to create a “what if” novel, what would happen if totalitarian regimes, such as the Nazis and Soviets, were to take over the world. If totalitarianism were to happen, the leader would be the brain of the whole system. Orwell emphasizes the theme of individualism versus collective identity through Winston, the protagonist, and his defiance to the Party and Big Brother, with a frightening tone, surreal imagery and a third person limited point of view.
Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley, exemplifies the idea that in an ever-growing modern world, one who demonstrates traditional values about love will be unable to cope up with the questionable morals and differentiating, controversial values present, seen through John’s difficult experience in the Brave New World. In the novel, there is a severe disconnect between what John was taught and the ideals of the Brave New World, which encouraged ruthless, unemotional, and quick interactions with someone found attractive instead of a stable relationship with a loved one. As a result, John struggled greatly to try to adapt to the Brave New World while still trying to maintain his own values, and proved to be unfit to stay there. It is evident that John could have never survived in such a society, due to the great difference in between both of their morals, and the Brave New World’s disapproval of his own values, seen through John’s reaction to the recreational activities, the people in the Brave New World’s mockery of his most favorite pieces of literature, which formed his ideas on love, and finally in his own relationship with Lenina. However, while John’s downward spiral of his mental and emotional state in the Brave New World and his unwillingness to accept their values cause him to leave London, his final conformity and unwilling acceptance to the Brave New World ideals cause the final tragedy at the end of the novel, revealing that he would have never been able to survive in this society, for he was bound to be tainted by their values.
In the novel 1984, Orwell produced a social critique on totalitarianism and a future dystopia that made the world pause and think about our past, present and future. When reading this novel we all must take the time to think of the possibility that Orwell's world could come to pass. Orwell presents the concepts of power, marginalization, and resistance through physical, psychological, sexual and political control of the people of Oceania. The reader experiences the emotional ride through the eyes of Winston Smith, who was born into the oppressive life under the rule of Ingsoc. Readers are encouraged through Winston to adopt a negative opinion on the idea of communist rule and the inherent dangers of totalitarianism. The psychological manipulation and physical control are explored through Winston's journey, and with Winston's resistance and ultimate downfall, the reader is able to fully appreciate O'Briens reasoning, "Power is not a means, it is an end."
As a child develops into an adult there are critical developmental steps that are necessary for a complete and successful transition. The physical transition is the most obvious change, but underneath the thick skin and amongst the complex systems, exists another layer of transitions. Ideas, rationales, ideologies and beliefs all dwell within this layer of each being. It could be said that a nation can also fit this transitional framework. A nation grows in both size (wealth, population, power), and in ideological maturity (emancipation of slaves, civil rights, women’s rights…etc). This constant evolution of ideas and size is the foundation of a successful government. Without change and growth, the system currently in effect will grow stagnant and inevitably harmful to the public. The United States encourages an “American Dream”. Deeply rooted within the capitalistic, republican values of the nation, the American Dream has been pursued by generations. The concept is simple: to attain one’s stake, your slice of the pie, all that is required is good old fashioned hard work. There is no room in the American Dream to question authority or pursue truth. Of course, one must not think of the activity that hums quietly in the background, that’s just government protecting you and your interests. Brazil, directed by Terry Gilliam, is a film that brings into light often hidden aspects of the American Dream, exposing the bold contradictions that turn the greatest symbol of personal drive into a hauntingly apparent contradiction. The film succeeds in pulling the fallacies of establishment out of the murky soup of facades, and in conveying them using the perverse decomposition of the character ...
Love is the foundation and the weakness of a totalitarian regime. For a stable totalitarian society, love between two individuals is eliminated because only a relationship between the person and the party and a love for its leader can exist. The totalitarian society depicted throughout the Orwell’s novel 1984 has created a concept of an Orwellian society. Stalin’s Soviet state can be considered Orwellian because it draws close parallels to the imaginary world of Oceania in 1984. During the twentieth century, Soviet Russia lived under Stalin’s brutal and oppressive governments, which was necessary for Stalin to retain power. In both cases, brutality and oppression led to an absence of relationships and love. This love was directed towards Stalin and Big Brother, and human beings became willing servants of their leader. The biggest threat to any totalitarian regime is love, or the lack of it. As Orwell said, they key danger to the system is “the growth of liberalism and skepticism in their own ranks” (Orwell 171). For example, in the novel it was the desire of the Party to eliminate love and sex, in order to channel this pent-up passion towards the love of Big Brother. Similarly, Stalin used propaganda and extreme nationalism to brainwash the peoples of Russia. He channeled their beliefs into a passion for Soviet ideals and a love of Stalin. In both cases, love for anything but the Party is the biggest threat to the regime. The stability of the Party and Stalin’s regime directly depended upon loyalty to the government above all else. By drawing upon the close relationships between the two Orwellian societies, we can examine just how dangerous love is to the Party.