1984 …

[naomi24]

… by George Orwell. Anyone read it - and if so what were your impressions and is it relevant to what is happening today? The condemnation and destruction of history, the suppression of ideas that oppose the ideals of the ‘woke’, and the insistence in some quarters that two plus two really does equal five - all of that I think we are now witnessing.

Your thoughts?

[Atheist]

Despite Blair's (Eric's) scenario, the world he describes is not confined to socialism. The misinformation and lies and denials we hear every day are on all sides.

[jno]

1984 is just a transposition of 1948, when he wrote it.

[Gromit]

Jno,
// just a transposition of [the year], when he wrote it. //

A sequel could not be written in 2020 then :-)

[Gromit]

On a serious note, I was made to read it at school and thought it was boring. Even the film with peter Cushing was disappointing.
Ever since it was written, commentators have tried to draw a parallel to current politic situations, and they seldom fit.
1984 is about total control and state manipulation of the people, and took its cue from Soviet Communism. But the thing that Orwell could never have anticipated was the advent of the internet. Now people can easily avoid the state’s propaganda and watch stuff that is completely uncensored.
Unfortunately, that also introduces more problems than it solves.

[ichkeria]

I am amazed anyone could find 1984 boring.

There is no comparison between the scenario in Eurasia and the UK in 2020, for all our difficulties. We’ve never had so many means of self expression. Gromit makes a good point about the internet: it’s why real authoritarian countries try to suppress it. It’s harder too with social media for anyone to get away with manipulating events. You can of course manipulate news but that isn’t the same thing.

[tiggerblue10]

I think the only country anywhere near a 1984 like state would be North Korea.

[Gromit]

// I think the only country anywhere near a 1984 like state would be North Korea. //

Maybe Big Brother wants you to think that Tiggerblue10?
;-)

[Tilly2]

Sometimes they threaten you with something - something you can't stand up to, can't even think about. And then you say, "Don't do it to me, do it to somebody else, do it to So-and-so." And perhaps you might pretend, afterwards, that it was only a trick and that you just said it to make them stop and didn't mean it. But that isn't true. At the time when it happens you do mean it. You think there's no other way of saving yourself, and you're quite ready to save yourself that way. You WANT it to happen to the other person. You don't give a damn what they suffer. All you care is yourself.”
― George Orwell, 1984

[pixie374]

It was one of the few that school didn't ruin and I enjoyed it a few times afterwards. Although still overrated, I think. Nothing like life today, it's fiction.

[Tilly2]

It is fiction but some of it rings true, Pixie.

[pixie374]

Only in one area I can think of. But even then, very exaggerated.

[Tilly2]

The lies, the deceit and the information control are very real.

[pixie374]

Do you mean, in general, Tilly? Or at certain times? As far as I can see, people are still pretty free to say, think and believe what they want to. Information control is mostly down to the media, which nobody totally believes anyway. So, maybe. But I'm not convinced.

[Tilly2]

I'm talking about the present time, Pixie. Yes, we are free to say what we want, within reason, but what we are being told is being manipulated and doctored to suit the powers that be.

[tiggerblue10]

I think therefore I am, Gromit ;o)

[Zacs-Master]

This very forum where we can say exactly what we want without recourse shows that a 1984 Scenario is not what we are living with or even remotely approaching.

[douglas9401]

"This very forum where we can say exactly what we want without recourse..."

Not always 'exactly', xZacs. ;-)

[Gromit]

^ ^

Zacs,
Reported ;-)

[jim360]

The very act of suggesting that there's a parallel between 1984 and what is happening today -- which, I assume, is restricted to current events in the UK, USA etc -- shows that it isn't remotely true. The world will be in a 1984 scenario only when nobody notices, except for the people in power.

It's also important to distinguish between genuine suppression and what is merely vocal criticism. Even if that criticism goes too far, it still is not at all oppressive.

[Mozz71]

Theland referencing The Bible is relevant to this thread. Like 1984, it's a work of fiction. I remember reading it when I was younger, but whether my memories are of the book, or the John Hurt movie adaptation of the same year, I couldn't tell you.

There are times I feel like I'm perpetually trapped in Room 101.