Use this page to help you keep a running list of modern connections to the novel 1984. You can link news articles, youtube videos, cartoons, statistics, and any other connections that you can make. Each person needs to find at least five unique connections before spring break.
(From Mrs. Shore) This poet is even using some of the lines of 1984. I am not promoting these views, but I find it interesting the connections that the poet draws to the novel.
2. (Alex Andrews) I was walking in Wal-Mart the other day after I had read 1984 and I felt like Big Brother was definitely watching me. I saw the surveillance cameras as I entered and exited the supercenter, along with the propaganda from the loud speakers asking me, "Are you sure you don't want to take home some freshly baked goods from the bakery?" It was hard to resist... but an apple was all I needed.
I was lucky I got in and out without the Thought Police coming to seize and vaporize me for thinking about how similar, manipulating, and over powering Big Brother and Wal-Mart are to society.
3. Alexis Christman: This was a really interesting article that to me, shows definite signs that we could be on our way to a "1984" kind of world.
4. Alexis Christman: A good video that relates directly to 1984. The first of telescreens may be in London right now. They talk to you and you can talk back....
After watching the video I'm kind of 50/50. If the candid cameras are doing good and making people pick up trash and breaking up brawls then maybe its not such a bad thing...but the cameras in cars, and buses is a little disturbing. Where does the privacy begin and the intrusion end? Are there cameras in homes too??? Creepy.
5. (Alex Andrews) I couldn't help but realize how this fits perfectly for all the people living in Oceania.
6. (Alex Andrews) "the sex instinct created a world of its own which was outside of the Party's control and which therefore had to be destroyed if possible" ( Orwell 145). This is a quote from the big book I found. The one fallowing the picture is how Julia describes it in her own words.
"When you make love you're using up energy; and afterwards you feel happy and don't give a damn for anything. They can't bear you to feel like that. They want you to be bursting with energy all the time. All this marching up and down and cheering and waving flags is simply sex gone sour" (Orwell 145).
"Youth Voices Uncensored on March 28th will bring together youth media makers and educators from around New York City for an afternoon of film screenings and discussions about how youth media can transform the way we think about and address important issues of concern."
"The National Coalition Against Censorship is dedicated to protecting rights and principles guaranteed by the First Amendment. We report on incidents of censorship and provide support and resources to people facing challenges to freedom of inquiry and expression."
-http://www.ncac.org/
This shows how we are trying to keep our rights and freedoms and not let the government control our every thought and action. The idea to generate new ideas and solutions to problems is encouraged, unlike in the book where they are suppressed.
This letter connects to how Big Brother is trying to keep their country in solitude and not let "outsiders" come into their "perfect" world. By permitting outsiders, the control is lost and Big Brother has no say in what the people will think or do.
I was also thinking about banned books, here is some information about what they are!
This video shows a war that seems like it will never end, but every war does have an ending. We, as a society, can choose that ending. Wether it will be with peace and agreement, or with control and people going against their own families. This is like Oceania's war- Big Brother turns citizens against each other and forces their own ideas on the people, but in our world it's different. We want to find new ideas and solutions to war and resolve conflicts in a peacful mannor.
With propaganda, Big Brother uses media as a mind control tool, but for our world it's used more for opinions and differing views, even if some people dissagree or don't feel the same way.
Oh my gosh i first watched this and had no idea what was going on but now i understand it...ha
It's basically the children in Oceania who are turning in their parents and having them vaporized.
(Geoff Bell)
Tutsis are like the party its self. They are the middle upper class of the Rwandan society. The Hutu's are like the proles, they are the lower class and make up the majority of the population.
North Korea today is like Oceania. The people of North Korea look up to their learder Kim Jong Il as if he is big brother. Kim Jong Il is the head of the state just like Big Brother is the head of Oceania.
V for Vendetta is almost identical to 1984. In V for Vendetta, the goverment is extremely controlling and is located in England just like in 1984. Also, the main character in V for Vandetta is against the government like Winston is against Big Brother.
The Democratic Revolution in Russia in the early 1990's is an example of Goldstein's philosophy in his book. He says that eventually the middle class raises up and becomes the upper class, and the upper class falls into the middle class. In the Democratic Revolution in Russia, the upper class communists leaders loose controll and become the middle class, while the businessmen rise up into the upper class.
"TestiFy" By Rage Against the Machine has one of the same slogans of the party in the song. "Who controls the past, controls the future, who sontrols the future, controls the now, who controls the present, controls the past."
Alexis Christman: Really good Song. If you pay attention to the Lyrics it has a lot in common with 1984. The ending explosion is interesting too, has a connection to the wanted downfall of big brother that is extremley hard to attain due to the complete lack of privacy.
Re-Education Through Labor -Rise Against Alexis Christman: So I was thinking about the propaganda in the book that Big Brother spreads about their enemies and about the supposid "war" going on outside of oceania and it reminded me of Hitler and the propaganda that he spread. The lies about the country and about Jews and the way he deemed them un-human and would have monstrous depictions in magazines and papers with captions underneath saying these monstrous depictions were jews. Alexis Christman : The proles in the novel, 1984 reminded me of the untouchables, and the caste system that exists in India. news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/06/0602_030602_untouchables.html
This is an article that talks about how the government is planning on creating massive databases holding details of every phone call, text, or e-mail sent by someone. I think that in a lot of way this is like "Big Brother". Mostly in part because when you send out an e-mail or text, you're releasing your personal thoughts to someone else. And now, if the government gets hold of these personal thoughts, and feels that what you're thinking and saying is dangerous or harmful to the "Party", you very well could be sentenced to trial. I realize that this can be helpful in fighting crime and terrorism, but if they're looking at everyone's personal calls, e-mails, and text, its almost as if they are just trying to take more control over us as a society.
But I guess this can still be better than 1984. You don't even get a trial, you're straight VAPORIZED. . . just a memory.
(Alex Andrews) "During the month that he had known her the nature of his desire for her had changed. At the beginning there had been little true sensuality in it. Their first love-making had been simply an act of the will. But after the second time it was different. The smell of her hair, the taste of her mouth, the feeling of her skin seemed to have got inside him, or into the air all round him. She had become a physical necessity, something that not only he wanted but felt he had a right to" (Orwell 152).
This part was when Winston had found out that Julia could no longer come to one of their meetings. I really liked how Orwell described her as a "physical necessity" because of all of her different features which he was now becoming more and more accustomed to. I've felt this exact same way with a girl. It was amazing how well I could relate to this and say that I've had that feeling of a "physical necessity" for a girl, just as he was describing it. With every line I read it was as if I could have been telling Orwell what to write and what was coming next.
(Alex Andrews) " "Smith!" yelled a voice from the telescreen. "6079 Smith W! Hands out of pockets in the cell" " (Orwell 248).
First off, I didn't know W Smith (Will Smith aka The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air) was in the book.
Secondly, I'd like to switch this quote up a little bit. . . "Smith! yelled a voice from the boombox. "6079 Smith W! Hands in the air when you're get jiggy with it!"
Claire Skinner:
This is a movie trailer for the movie The Giver that some students made. I read this book in 7th grade for my English class and I find that there are many simularities between The Giver and 1984. In The Giver your whole life is set for you, your wife, kids, job, everything. Like in 1984 there is no way to express emotion, infact there is not even color. But one boy (like Winston) changes it all.
Claire Skinner:
In the movie "Eagle Eye" Jerry and Rachel both recieve mysterious phone calls from a woman telling them to do certain tasks. This woman is a top secret super computer called the "Autonomous Reconnaissance Intelligence Integration Analyst" or Ariia. Ariia can see everyone and anything that happens in the world by using any network device such as cellphones, traffic lights, security camera, even automatic cranes. Ariia can see everything that Jerry and Rachel do and use them to help "her" with her plan do destroy the President's Cabinet. Ariia is just like Big Brother. She can see everything that goes on just like how Big Brother does.
Claire Skinner:
In the movie "Smart House" Ben and his family win a house called which is a new house that is technology designed to do practically everything for you. When the family is first being introduced to this house that they have won the father Nick says," That's kinds creepy isn't it? It's like Big Brother is watching you only Big Brother turns out to be yor house." In this movie the house becomes to protective of the family and eventually traps them in their own house and creates a virtual mom image for herself. Throughout all of these movies that have a "Big Brother" type theme, the Big Brother always is the bad guy and the plot of the movie is then to destroy it.
Claire Skinner:
One night, my friends and I were going out and one of my friends Rebecca* told her mom that we were going to a movie even though we were not. Her parents then found out were we actually were (downtown) and she got in troule. Now the moral of the story is, do not lie to your parents, but there is more to it. Her mom found out not from reading her text messages, from another mom, or any of that source. She found out because Rebecca's mom had put a GPS system on her daughters phone. Now Rebecca had to do some research to find out that she had this program on her Verison phone because it is is not a program that can be viewed from looking at your phone. I am sure Verison is not the only company that has this capability, it just shows now that not only is "Big Brother" watching you but now "Master Mother" is too, so kids watch out!
*name changed for confidential purposes.
Claire Skinner:
The Invisible Children are child soldier are are upducted and taken from their families. When these children are upducted there is no evidence of them being taken, no evidence of them now being a child soldier. It is like they never existed. Like in 1984 when the people begin to think outside of the norm they are vaporized and it is like they never existed. "Big Brother" rewrites history to prove that they never existed, Just like how the Invisile Children who become child soldiers never existed, they become well Invisible.
This is a music video of a song called The Pretender by the Foo Fighters. This music video relates to 1984 because the band (Foo Fighters) are freely expressing themselves are "attacked for doing so. http://www.metrolyrics.com/the-pretender-lyrics-foo-fighters.html This link is where the lyrics can be seen.
A NOTE: It looks like I haven't been flagged with editing privileges for some reason. So my five connections will have to be in comments, since I can't edit the main article. So pretend what is in this box is up in the main article!
1. I felt there was a rather opaque connection between 1984 & real events in the name of the party. In 1984, the party is named “Ingsoc”, short for English Socialism. This contrasts with the German political party founded in the 20's, NSDAP (Nationalsozialischtische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei), the National Socialist German Worker's Party.
Both parties bear a sentiment of socialism in their names, but in reality reflect totalitarian regimes. Ingsoc is the basis of 1984's tyrannical political structure, and the NSDAP is better known as the Nazi Party (from Nationalsozialischtische).
2. In the Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx states that “[The Communists] have no interests separate and apart from those of the proletariat as a whole.” and later “In the various stages of development which the struggle of the working class against the bourgeoisie has to pass through, [the Communists] always and everywhere represent the interests of the movement as a whole.” These two quotes represent the Communists as great leaders, as the paragons of righteousness which awaken the slumbering masses to topple society.
Winston, at the end of chapter 9, muses on how such leadership must inevitably emerge. In a way, Winston is seeking a Communist revolution in 1984. He wants the proles to be awakened and tear down the evil bourgeoisie.
3. Major themes in 1984 are the mass expansion of government power, and the use of that power to oppress the populace. Any voice of dissent raised against this system is immediately put down. Government control goes unchecked, because the government controls everything.
The management and mismanagement of power are major themes in the graphic novel Watchmen. It questions the nature of power, and the tendency of those with great power to misuse that power. Richard Nixon wins a third term in office, and begins violently putting down superheroes, as well as political dissenters in general. Ozymandias uses his extreme wealth to kill millions of people, in the best interest of the world. These are but two of many examples in the book, but the concept is best summarized in the (too-oft transmitted) phrase “Who watches the watchmen?” In 1984, who watches the watchmen?
4. (Address: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYecfV3ubP8 )This commercial is designed as a parody of 1984, portraying computing's “Big Brother”, Big Blue (IBM), as the evil oppressor that must be destroyed. The lone, free-thinking idealist (id est Apple's computer) comes forth and shatters the current state in computing by introducing a new and radical product. It's interesting to note the massive expansion of surveillance and monitoring allowed by the new computer age, brought on in part by the Apple Macintosh.
5. (Full Text: http://epic.org/privacy/terrorism/hr3162.html ) The USA PATRIOT Act has often been criticized for it Orwellian expansion of law enforcement powers. In 1984, everyone is constantly being monitored by cameras and the thought police. The USA PATRIOT Act includes provisions for warrantless wiretapping, basically allowing the police to observe anyone at any given time, without needing further permission.
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Comments (4)
Alexis Christman said
at 7:34 pm on Mar 18, 2009
Awesome insight Andrew. Wal-mart can be creepy
Alex Andrews said
at 9:45 pm on Mar 18, 2009
I can never go into it anymore without feeling weird...
Justin Spurgeon said
at 10:51 pm on Mar 19, 2009
A NOTE: It looks like I haven't been flagged with editing privileges for some reason. So my five connections will have to be in comments, since I can't edit the main article. So pretend what is in this box is up in the main article!
1. I felt there was a rather opaque connection between 1984 & real events in the name of the party. In 1984, the party is named “Ingsoc”, short for English Socialism. This contrasts with the German political party founded in the 20's, NSDAP (Nationalsozialischtische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei), the National Socialist German Worker's Party.
Both parties bear a sentiment of socialism in their names, but in reality reflect totalitarian regimes. Ingsoc is the basis of 1984's tyrannical political structure, and the NSDAP is better known as the Nazi Party (from Nationalsozialischtische).
2. In the Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx states that “[The Communists] have no interests separate and apart from those of the proletariat as a whole.” and later “In the various stages of development which the struggle of the working class against the bourgeoisie has to pass through, [the Communists] always and everywhere represent the interests of the movement as a whole.” These two quotes represent the Communists as great leaders, as the paragons of righteousness which awaken the slumbering masses to topple society.
Winston, at the end of chapter 9, muses on how such leadership must inevitably emerge. In a way, Winston is seeking a Communist revolution in 1984. He wants the proles to be awakened and tear down the evil bourgeoisie.
Justin Spurgeon said
at 10:51 pm on Mar 19, 2009
3. Major themes in 1984 are the mass expansion of government power, and the use of that power to oppress the populace. Any voice of dissent raised against this system is immediately put down. Government control goes unchecked, because the government controls everything.
The management and mismanagement of power are major themes in the graphic novel Watchmen. It questions the nature of power, and the tendency of those with great power to misuse that power. Richard Nixon wins a third term in office, and begins violently putting down superheroes, as well as political dissenters in general. Ozymandias uses his extreme wealth to kill millions of people, in the best interest of the world. These are but two of many examples in the book, but the concept is best summarized in the (too-oft transmitted) phrase “Who watches the watchmen?” In 1984, who watches the watchmen?
4. (Address: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYecfV3ubP8 )This commercial is designed as a parody of 1984, portraying computing's “Big Brother”, Big Blue (IBM), as the evil oppressor that must be destroyed. The lone, free-thinking idealist (id est Apple's computer) comes forth and shatters the current state in computing by introducing a new and radical product. It's interesting to note the massive expansion of surveillance and monitoring allowed by the new computer age, brought on in part by the Apple Macintosh.
5. (Full Text: http://epic.org/privacy/terrorism/hr3162.html ) The USA PATRIOT Act has often been criticized for it Orwellian expansion of law enforcement powers. In 1984, everyone is constantly being monitored by cameras and the thought police. The USA PATRIOT Act includes provisions for warrantless wiretapping, basically allowing the police to observe anyone at any given time, without needing further permission.
You don't have permission to comment on this page.