Question of the day: Are we currently living in Orwell's 1984? Or is the novel 1984 just an accurate reflection of continuous and fluid world history that evolves slightly in name only?
Orwell's 1984: Understanding the plot and characters
Dystopia: A fictional world / state / society that is characterized by poverty, squalor, and oppression.
In 1949 a visionary author named George Orwell wrote a book entitled, "Nineteen Eighty-Four". In the novel, Orwell describes a zombie-like world that many would define as being dystopian in nature and in function. This fictional world inhabited by mindless souls is called, "Oceania".
In an attempt to understand Orwell's mind, let's say that Oceania is a One World / New World Order conglomeration of countries that comprises the Americas, Britain (called "Airstrip One" in the novel), Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and southern Africa below the River Congo.
Oceania also controls at various times in its history via never-ending wars with Eurasia and Eastasia, the polar regions, India, Indonesia and the islands of the Pacific Ocean.
The ruling ideology / doctrine of Oceania is "Ingsoc" which in Oceania's fictional language is interpreted as meaning, "Western Socialism". Sounds familiar? The purpose of this ideology is to exercise unadulterated control over the world's masses and thus govern them under the flag of "One World", "One Citizen".
Oceania's supreme leader is Big Brother, who is believed by the faithful / zombie-like masses to be the founding father of the Ingsoc revolution.
Because of the shroud of mystery that surrounds "Big Brother", some in Oceania begin to speculate that he is no more than a figurehead used by the ruling political party to spread propaganda and to manipulate the weak minded.
This particular "Personality Cult" is embraced by the people like a soul saving religion. Big Brother's ability to become the beloved focal point of all that represents love, fear, and reverence is what creates this class of zombie-like citizens.
Taking all of this into account let us just reflect for a moment that George Orwell published this extraordinary novel in 1949. The point of the reflection is to question if Orwell was indeed a visionary that foresaw what many believe is inevitable or was his novel only meant to entertain those that put their trust in never ending conspiracies while peeping from underneath the bed's covers nervously waiting for the arrival of the "Anti-Christ".
Does Orwell's novel correctly foster the belief that because of global corporations that are "too big to fail", stock market crashes, endless wars, flying robot drones overhead, high unemployment, class warfare, tyranny and every "ism" that pains mankind, that in one way or another, the "fragile world " that we overtly live in is in reality one day closer to an apocalyptic ending that creates his forewarned "Big Brother"?
Indeed hundreds of millions of people will vehemently argue that we are already living in "that day" that Orwell's novel foretold of.
Interestingly, there are tens of millions of Americans who have read George Orwell's "Nineteen Eighty-Four" and have deduced that because of Barack Obama's U.S. presidential victories in 2008 and 2012, the United States is currently at the doorstep of Dystopia, inadvertently opening the door for President Obama to be ordained as the supreme leader of Oceania.
Perhaps with the struggles of class warfare, high unemployment, distrust of the government, a combination of all the "isms" and of course... endless world wars, George Orwell's world in 1949 reminds us that 64 years later in the future, nothing ever really changes, indeed the only thing that ever changes about "Big Brother" is the style of clothes he wears. Food for thought....didn't the world once consider Caesar "Big Brother"? You already know the answer.
As always Louisianans the New Orleans Examiner is interested in what you think. Is a lot of today's distrust for politicians, political parties and the media in tune to George Orwell's classic novel "Nineteen Eighty-Four"? And if so has events that include international terrorism, war, the Eurodollar, religion, high unemployment, uncertainty, "the invisible hand" and of course the world's glutton for oil the reason for this belief? Inquiring minds want to know.
Until next time Louisianans, Good day, God Bless and Good Fishing.
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