Orwell's 1984 in 2017

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Hoverdasher

Hoverdasher

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I've just started reading, 1984, for the first time. It's eerie to read, with all that is going on in the world, today. Winston just noticed he had left the diary open on the table in the alcove. DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER: the words were in full view, and someone is knocking at the door--is it the thought police?

Uh-hem.

Let me know your thoughts.

Hoverdasher

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I read this in school in 1984. While we don't have thought police, we do have advanced marketing strategies to help 'shape' your opinions. I have my orange Penguin edition on the self. I should really give it another read.
 
There is a sequel to it 1985 by. George Dalos. I have a copy of this book.:)
 
TheDustyZebra said:
You know, I very likely did, too! And of course, at that time, most people were scoffing and saying, "See, it didn't really happen." And people like my parents were saying, "So he was off by a few years. Give it time."
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Timeframe aside, it's still pretty relevant.
 
BAYLOR said:
I wonder what Orwell would have made of Political Correctness?:unsure:
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I figure our current leaders know not the original meaning behind, politic: shrewd, keen, sharp diplomat! And, politics and ethics having once been a happily married couple?! Yikes! Probably haven't read, The Art of War, either--though there is a lot of defamation going on among our leaders against global neighbors are erudite in this concise bit of writing. Crap, is that a regular chopper overhead, or a Blackhawk?
 
I'm seeing Winston waver, as though oscillating from beneath a wicked spell, and the splendor of a freedom with which he is flirting...only to nearly rebuke himself for so doing. Something happened, I predict--the human hard drive seems to have been erased! Yet, the thrill of freedom is a memory not simply vivisected from we who are human. Hmm. Memory, Will, Freedom...i suspect Big Brother to be anathema, here. Do the proles come into significant play, later?

Another note, in comparing this novel with modern times. We seek or say we seek opportunity for all, yet is Capitalism the pernicious evil Dr King believed it to be-- leaving true freedom only to the elite few? Sheesh, am I the "rabble?"

Stuff to ponder.
 
Hoverdasher said:
I figure our current leaders know not the original meaning behind, politic: shrewd, keen, sharp diplomat! And, politics and ethics having once been a happily married couple?! Yikes! Probably haven't read, The Art of War, either--though there is a lot of defamation going on among our leaders against global neighbors are erudite in this concise bit of writing. Crap, is that a regular chopper overhead, or a Blackhawk?
Click to expand...

I think the Greeks helps establish that world leaders should be calm, rational, intelligent and able to articulate themselves in a clear and logical manner. This philosophy of rule has recently, of course, been widely debunked and we now know it for the fake news it really is.
 
Hoverdasher said:
I'm seeing Winston waver, as though oscillating from beneath a wicked spell, and the splendor of a freedom with which he is flirting...only to nearly rebuke himself for so doing. Something happened, I predict--the human hard drive seems to have been erased! Yet, the thrill of freedom is a memory not simply vivisected from we who are human. Hmm. Memory, Will, Freedom...i suspect Big Brother to be anathema, here. Do the proles come into significant play, later?

Another note, in comparing this novel with modern times. We seek or say we seek opportunity for all, yet is Capitalism the pernicious evil Dr King believed it to be-- leaving true freedom only to the elite few? Sheesh, am I the "rabble?"

Stuff to ponder.
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I've come recently to a rather harsh conclusion - money does buy freedom.
 
I think 1984 remains hugely relevant. Obviously the three-megastate system hasn't come to pass, but there are a number of countries that operate in a similar way to Oceania. It's essentially a blueprint for dictators. Also, just look at the variety of politicians, agitators and crackpots who mention 1984 to support their own causes, many of whom would happily have had Orwell shot. The book clearly carries a lot of weight for a huge range of people.

Forum rules prohibit the discussion of politics in much detail, but the all-out assault on objective truth we've seen in the English-speaking world over the last year or two is pure 1984. Millions of people in the US and a fair few in the UK believe in nonsense conspiracy theories that you can only believe if you accept whatever the group-leader is saying at the moment as being correct, even if it contradicts your own eyes or what he was saying the moment before.

One point Orwell makes which I think is often missed relates to the purpose of the dictatorship rather than how it is run. The purpose of the 1984 world, and all dictatorships, is sadism. As O'Brien says, the 1984 world exists to allow the Inner Party to wield power, and power is wielded by making people suffer. When you look at the vindictiveness of many politicians and despots, it's clear how true this is.
 
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