1984 George Orwell

[Polyintrinsic]

I implore you- the escapist forum community- to convey your assessment of George Orwell's masterpeice 1984. Some simple questions, was it over the top? Will totalitarian regimes become as prominent as he fictionized. Have we unknowlingly slipped into factors of unreleasable control?(Department of Home Security).

Personally, i believe that the overall vulnerability and desperation of a populace has a huge impact on the people elected to control/govern the populace. For example, in Germany before Hitler's rise to power Germany was facing huge economic hardships due to the sanctions placed on her by the Treaty of Versailles, thus causing a vulnerable and desperate populace who was willing to elect a visionary to solve their problems. As we all know, while this visionary was personable and charismatic, his overall plans of lebensraum(living space) for the German people were not based on a personal need to fulfill his population's need but to fullfill the need and greed of power felt of himself.

Again to reiterate the main question; how effective and true is Orwell's fictionization of the future/present?

 

[Kollega]

I think it is all summed up in the semi-comedic statement many make today in response to political news around the world: Orwell's "1984" was not supposed to be a guide.

Seconded.

Universal rule is: in dire times, people need someone charismatic to follow. The problem is that everyone charismatic enough is a manipulative bastard. In such case, totalitarian regimes become very prominent.

We're fucked.

 

[SquirrelPants]

1984 flows badly, has terrible pacing, and is very melodramatic about expressing its point. While I do agree that we shouldn't let governments get to that point, at the same time I hate it when people take that as definitive truth, "this is going to/has already happened."

Honestly, I prefer Animal Farm. It is a bit more lighthearted and is actually entertaining to read.

 

[Crystal Cuckoo]

I think it is all summed up in the semi-comedic statement many make today in response to political news around the world: Orwell's "1984" was not supposed to be a guide.

Thirdeded.

But I'd also like to mention that dystopias aren't meant to serve as a warning of what could happen in the future; they're meant to criticise society's habits of today.

Good book, though. About one of the few books I've actually winced while reading.

 

[More Fun To Compute]

The book is supposed to be over the top, in my opinion. It stretches the absurdity of it's own situations to almost black comedy levels, even if it doesn't take it as far as the movie Brazil, it does work in the same satirical way. It tries to shock you to make you look at things in a different way.

I think that it does have something to say about how many people just want to follow someone in authority and trust them totally while those same people in authority are only really interested in their own status. And of course how people can be manipulated and turned into followers with propaganda. The book describes human nature so their is still a lot of truth in it. Research into human psychology has probably moved forward since then so you can get more truth from that sphere but the book 1984 is still going to have more truth and have a stronger message than the vast majority of entertainment media.

 

[SmartIdiot]

I think it is all summed up in the semi-comedic statement many make today in response to political news around the world: Orwell's "1984" was not supposed to be a guide.

Fourthed.

Many people take these works of fiction far too literally. Most of the people saying "this is happening/has happened" are usually 15 year olds who have just discovered punk rock. Kidding. But a lot of people are quite po-faced about it. While the book paints a dire portrait of totalitarianism you must bear in mind it's just entertainment and... there will always be ways to get around 'big brother' ;P.

 

[scotth266]

I managed to get up to the point where the guy was captured. At that point, the novel just got too depressing to read. I read books to be entertained, not because I feel like slashing my wrists. Still, it was a very somber and interesting piece of literature.

 

[Perception]

While reading 1984, keep in mind the political climate and (then) recent history around the time it was written (published 1949).

If anything, we've moved a great deal further away from the three totalitarian superstates described in 1984 since Orwell wrote it.

 

[Pimppeter2]

I haven't read it yet. But it sounds like I will enjoy it thoroughly.

Currently reading a giant source book on Terrorism, then I'm going to read the New Dan Brown Novel for fun, then I'll get into this

 

[JemJar]

1984 flows badly, has terrible pacing, and is very melodramatic about expressing its point. While I do agree that we shouldn't let governments get to that point, at the same time I hate it when people take that as definitive truth, "this is going to/has already happened."

Honestly, I prefer Animal Farm. It is a bit more lighthearted and is actually entertaining to read.

I'm glad someone else said that first. Good luck out there, I'll be standing by with a bucket of cold water and some burn ointment just in case.

 

[thenumberthirteen]

I think it's a really good book. I didn't read it in school, and so can actually appreciate it (I have hated every book that I have had to read at school). Will it happen? Probably not, but considering the number of CCTV cameras there are in the UK at the moment I think government may have taken a few hints from it.

 

[The_ModeRazor]

Of course there won't be soch a totalitarian bullshit. They would have to kill the internet and do a lot of other stuff that people wouldn't take kindly to. It would lead to civil war at the very least, but I honestly doubt such a government could be set up.

 

[Spaceman_Spiff]

Am I the only person who found 1984 to be hilarious? It is more a book of ideas than a novel though but it was still interesting enough to rank highly to me.

 

[Queen Michael]

Read it a month ago. My verdict:
The parts describing the dystopian future were great, but the plot was pretty boring. And the character of Julia can be summed up with this sentence: "The indoctrination of Big Brother was PERFECT and FLAWLESS and made EVERYONE the way BIG BROTHER WANTED THEM and ALWAYS WORKED. (except for this one girl named Julia for no apparent reason.)"
I give it 3/5: It's like it's two books, one very good and one that I find quite boring. (Of course, that's my opinion only.)

 

[mrpenguinismyhomeboy]

Yup, it's all true and we're fucked.

Yep.

 

[funguy2121]

I implore you- the escapist forum community- to convey your assessment of George Orwell's masterpeice 1984. Some simple questions, was it over the top? Will totalitarian regimes become as prominent as he fictionized. Have we unknowlingly slipped into factors of unreleasable control?(Department of Home Security).

Personally, i believe that the overall vulnerability and desperation of a populace has a huge impact on the people elected to control/govern the populace. For example, in Germany before Hitler's rise to power Germany was facing huge economic hardships due to the sanctions placed on her by the Treaty of Versailles, thus causing a vulnerable and desperate populace who was willing to elect a visionary to solve their problems. As we all know, while this visionary was personable and charismatic, his overall plans of lebensraum(living space) for the German people were not based on a personal need to fulfill his population's need but to fullfill the need and greed of power felt of himself.

Again to reiterate the main question; how effective and true is Orwell's fictionization of the future/present?

A comparison to Huxley is deserved...

 

[rayman 101]

I agree about nations tendency to run for the more extremist parties when the countries are in a terrible state, but I think the world has become a bit too developed and complex (internet and satallite communications) to reach the extremes of the book. The only way I can see it happening if there was some huge apocalypse, something like a mini nuclear war, where the survivors would come out as too dazed and traumitized to notice their society slowly turning into a totalitarian regime, and the event of that happeining also seems highly unlikely.

P.S. Even though it is one of my favourite books, I agree with the fact that it has one of the most depressing endings ever.

EDIT: I also think that the vision of the dystopia that Farenheit 451 created is a lot more disturbing and plausible to me, considering how brainwashed the MTV generation are from all the media bullshit shoved down their throats