1984

The article is about how since 2001, the NSA has been spying on us through our electronics, like our phone calls and internet communications.  In the book, the Party spies on civilians through the t.v.’s as well as read their minds.  “You had to live - did live, from habit that became instinct - in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and, except in darkness, every movement scrutinized” (page 3).

This song by Pearl Jam is the definition of dystopia.  The video literally depicts the end of the world, and the lyrics suggest that the evolution of humans is what caused it.  The song sends the same message as 1984, as the song was written in 1998 and one of the last lines is “2010, watch it go to fire.”  They’re “predicting” that human greed and corruption will be our downfall, just as Orwell predicted in the 50′s.  In 1984, the Party brainwashes the people to love them.  O’Brien tells Winston, “You must love Big Brother.  It is not enough to obey him; you must love him” (page 282).  In the song, the narrator is supposed to be an elite man, and he says “Admire me, admire my home.  Admire my son, he’s my clone.  This land is mine, this land is free.  I’ll do what I want, but irresponsibly.”  Because he is prestigious he is ordering others to admire him, just like the Party.

The man in this video says the bottom 90% of Americans have absolutely no say in the passing of a law.  Whether 0% or 100% of citizens support an idea, there is always about a 30% chance it will become a law.  This video relates to 1984 because, based on his analysis, the government is hungry for power just like the party.  As O’Brien says “But always - do not forget this, Winston - always there will be the intoxication of power, constantly increasing and constantly growing subtler.”  The video explains that it is mainly the fault of corporations and billionaires, who are able to buy political influence, but it doesn’t change the fact that it is legal.  The “constantly increasing power” O’Brien obsesses over can be compared to money for corporations.  The video explains that when they buy political influence, it causes a cycle that just ends up making them even more money.

I think if 1984 was meant to be anything, it was meant to be scary.  I think Orwell feared that England was headed down a path of power and corruption, so he wrote this book and set it in the not so far future (at the time) to share his fear with the general public.  While his 1984 was far worse than what 1984 actually ended up being like, when it comes to privacy and political and corporate corruption, it is hard to deny that most first world countries have been on a downward spiral since the book was published.  Right now it seems unlikely, but I can’t help but wonder if at some point our world will be as messed up as that of 1984.  Its hard to envision a nation that gets away with having their slogans be “War is peace.  Freedom is Slavery.  Ignorance is Strength” (page 4).

I can’t say that 1984 opened up my eyes or made me more wary about trustworthiness of my country, but it was definitely a thought provoking read.  While I think Orwell was pretty paranoid, I respect him for bringing much needed attention to a very delicate topic.  Winston was a strange and often confusing character, but to get the intended message across, I think Orwell made the right move in making him the protagonist.  Winston is paranoid, but the ending proves to us that his knowledge and suspicions about the party were true.  Everyone else was blind to the fact that the party was corrupt, which I think is Orwell’s way of telling us we need to wake up and realize the government isn’t as trustworthy as we think.  Also, not giving the book a happy ending was a good strategy because it made the threat seem more real.  “The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake.  We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power.  Not wealth or luxury or long life or happiness; only power, pure power” (page 263).

While the video should be taken with a grain of salt, it does describe the origins of the NSA and how it has evolved over the years. Like groups within the Party, specifically the Thought Police, the NSA monitors citizens and is sort of our “Big Brother”.

Regarding surveillance, we are monitored almost everywhere in public. With thought monitoring, even though no one is checking our phones constantly, the government has the ability to. Although this isn’t as big an issue in the United States as it is in other countries, there is censorship in the regards that some books and issues aren’t allowed to be taught in school. Whether you argue it as a good or bad thing, we citizens are slowly giving some freedoms up.

Orwell writes, “Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing”. Revolution, even for a good reason, requires one to reshape other’s currently-held beliefs. And in doing so, power is gained. In “Won’t Get Fooled Again”, The Who extends this idea to then say the new power inevitably becomes corrupt, just like the old one. In 1984, Winston the rebel tries to revolt, but ends up corrupt like the Party.

In 1984, the Thought Police monitor citizens to make sure they don’t think anything that could harm the government. As Orwell writes, “If you want to keep a secret, you must also hide it from yourself”. By today’s standards, this is clearly an invasion of privacy; as citizens of the United States, we have the First Amendment to protect our right to free speech. Recently, though, there have been debate about whether or not our government has the right to unlock our phones. The question arose after the San Bernardino terrorist attack. Some see this as an invasion of privacy, some see this as necessary for national security.

As the book went on you learned more about his fear of the government. We had expected Winston to be caught, and in the end, it seems poor little Winston was caught.

Can you tell when someone is watching you? At any point in time you have a random feeling of being watched, and in fact you are. In the book, Winston feels like he is always being watched through the telescreen. He watches all of his movements as to not give anything up. Especially because he bought a book from a store not approved by the party. While Winston fears the party and their control, the younger generations have no fear in the party, In fact the only thing they know is that the party is good. While Winston fears the party about being watched, the younger generations has no problem participating in certain things, ‘Want to see the hanging! Want to see the hanging!’ Chanted the little girl, still capering round. Some Eurasian prisoners, guilty of war crimes, were to be hanged in the park that evening, Winston remembered.” (Page 23).

He goes from writing his own thoughts down in his personal diary that could get him killed. Every other person believes whatever the Party says. They get brainwashed into it, except Winston. He try’s to make a change in the Party and fight off their rulings.

This picture represents propaganda. In the book “1984″ propaganda in the society, which promotes watching hangings and killings is an example of a sort of scare tactic that is used a lot in news media. The party forces the people to do things and forces propaganda down their throat. 

Even though that this video is a funny video it correlates with “1984.″ Even though the girl knows she is not supposed to write on the board, she does it anyway. This is almost the same as in “1984″ when Winston reads “the Book.” The book is significant because nobody is supposed to be reading it and if they do they will get in trouble with the thought police. 

I picked the song “Every Breath You Take” by The Police. This song symbolizes someone watching your every move and controlling your life just like Big Brother. Big Brother controls everyone's life. The past, the present and the future is all controlled by Big Brother.

In the book “1984″ Winston keeps a journal to express his thoughts. Now you might say that this is a normal thing to do but you would be wrong. Big Brother controls everyone’s thoughts. He knows that it is extremely risky because if he gets caught he will be tortured and possibly killed, but he writes anyway. This is his big secrets that he must keep from everyone. 

This article relates real world situations with the book. They are saying that there is always a second and third party watching your every move. Just like Big Brother these people are always watching you and seeing what websites you go on the most. Winston writes in his journal about love and sex, two of the many things that are against the rules. He has a lot of built up emotions about these subjects since they are a natural part of human life but are no longer allowed at all under the rule of big brother.

This video shows a modern day man who in his own house made it so that every move you take your being watched. But not in a bad way. If anything happens, the system is set up to tweet the owner. While this system is a helpful system, the telescreen in 1984, was considered a bad thing, especially in the  eyes of Winston. “The instrument (the telescreen, it was called) could be dimmed, but there was no way of shutting it off completely.” (page 2). Winston believed the telescreen was always watching him, and it was watching his every move and recorded his every word.