human no longer.
just a short one here, to emphasize smth i've been beating round the bush abt in every entry. think i finally managed to pin it down to one single idea.. and that's the compelled transformation of the human race and mankind to something quite human-less.. like machines.
By this.. I mean. Erm. Okay. Man has feelings and emotion. Man has a brain with which to think. Man have an intelligence capacity. Man can form thoughts. Man can communicate. Man is allowed the freedom of choice.
By depriving all these basic rights to mankind, the Party is basically turning them into machines. Machines can't do all that Man can do. It's really an extreme kind of control.. and the scary thing is.. it seems to be working. That is, I'm assuming that the majority aren't like Winston.
Which brings me back to the Matrix again. It's the reverse here though. In 1984, men control machine-like men. In the Matrix, men-like machines control men. Hmm.
1984 - the Epitome of Propaganda
The propaganda in 1984 is freaky. I think even Hitler's apparently fantastic master of propaganda guy (i can't rmb his name for the life of me now..) and all the other big shots in History will kowtow to the Inner Party.
The Two Minutes Hate basically creates a rage against the Brotherhood and Emmanuel Goldstein, with insults and curses that stirs up so much emotion.
The telescreens bark out the wonders of Big Brother and the brilliant Inner Party almost every second of the day.
Big Brother's face and the party slogans screamed out at you from everywhere.
Newspapers and other publications told you only what the Inner party wanted you to know.
And the scariest thing of all. Articles, reports and books can be edited in a flash, as easily as a person can cease to exist, even in memory. And no longer is there truth and lies. Only "truth".
Can you imagine? One minute, you're told something.. the next minute, you're told to believe something else, and you just HAVE to. Because after all, there's no proof anything else existed. Even if it did in memory, you have no hard evidence. And you could know this friend one day.. and the next day, he's not just no longer alive, but was never born in the first place.
If such a thing were to happen to us, there'd be no such thing as History.. or maybe there would, but it'll never be History as it really happened. I could never believe anything I read.
In this case, maybe the party's slogan "Ignorance is strength" makes sense. If you're not aware about the goings-on around you, that documents are constantly being edited and modified to suit the Party's needs, and you don't seek the truth, wouldn't that make you much safer? Well, safer from harm from the Party anyway. And that kinda makes you strong. Interesting how all the slogans seem to make sense when put in this weird world's context.
Just one more slogan left to go. War is Peace. Till then.
The Language Revolution
A language revolution. That's precisely what the citizens of Oceania are going through, with the gradual riddance of Oldspeak (Standard English as we know it) and the introduction of Newspeak.
When reading the Appendix - 'The Principles of Newspeak', I was awe-struck. First by the amazing consequences of something like that ever happening to us, and then by how clever Orwell was at coming up with such a thing. Alrighty, one at a time.
1) Can you imagine.. if someday, WE had to convert to Newspeak? All the words we know now.. the very same words i'm using to express what i'm feeling abt newspeak will cease to exist and it'll be put forth in a totally different way. This entire entry could probably be re-written in Newspeak in maybe 5 sentences.
See, here's the Party at work with control again. By decreasing the number of words in the human vocabulary, they also narrow the range of thought. But really. Language is the basis of all communication.. and to attempt to edit that is terribly ambitious and daring. One mistake, and the world could be changed. Just like that. At like, a snap of the fingers. Language in Newspeak becomes so technical, structured and rigid. Gone are the days of literature.. out the window will fly Shakespeare, Wordsworth, Byron and EVERYTHING.
I really enjoy the beauty of language.. well, English, that is. Because there SO many words, some almost similar yet so different in essence, it is somewhat "easier" to choose the right words to convey how I feel. But the Party intends to stamp that out.. and make it so difficult to express one's thought such that you are FORCED to think the way they want you to. Scary.
And I also think this is a perfect example of how 1984 reflects what our world is not. Our dictionaries keep getting thicker and thicker, as more and more words are added to make language more complete. In 1984, they keep deleting words. It's the exact opposite intention.. you know?
2) Orwell is fantastic. I dont know how anyone could be able to think up such a detailed and meticulous plan as to how language could be revolutionized. How the number of words in our vocabulary can be reduced, by adding prefixes and suffixes.
Was really quite amazed as I read through it. And thinking about it.. I suppose it works. Newspeak I mean. Goodthink, doubleplusgood, fullwise, mans, speedful. Goodness. It all makes sense, yet doesn't.
Control: 1984 vs The Matrix
Whenever I think of control, The Matrix trilogy comes to mind. And i'm a huge fan of the matrix.. so yay. =)
Firstly.. 1984 reeks of control. Every page has something related to control. From the diminishing number of words in the dictionary (which would probably take a whole entry in itself) to the threatening telescreens to the Thought Police to the Two Minutes Hate to.. the list is endless. 1984 IS control. Well, almost.
Like i'd mentioned in my first entry, the Inner Party attempts to control even your thoughts. Thoughts.. your most private possessions. And you can't even be free with that.
I guess the party slogan 'Freedom is Slavery' applies here. Through making each person a slave to their demands and orders, they are "free". Free as free can be, that is. They are allowed to live, breathe and work as they are instructed to, as opposed to being in jail. Ironically, the free-est people seem to be the proles, who are considered as outcastes. The slogan really makes sense, sort of, in a warped kinda way.
Anyway. Before I forget abt analysing the concept of control in the Matrix also..
In the Matrix, everybody's controlled by the machines, as in, really controlled. You lose your whole life, and give it to machines to direct. From birth, you are "plugged in" and electricity is absorbed from you to run the machines. So, it SEEMS like an exchange. You give them something, and they give you.. "life" in the Matrix. In 1984, you give them your loyalty and labour, and they give you "life" as part of the Outer Party. However, in any case, you are still on the losing end, cos they control you no matter what.
Choice. You do get a choice to get out of the Matrix system, and enter the real world (gee, whatever that might be now). Of course, it means knowing the truth, becoming unsafe and risk getting killed in the evictions of Zion everytime the population hits 250, 000 (i hope i got the number right). As in 1984, you have a choice of knowing the truth too. Where the Inner Party uses propaganda to make lies become the TRUTH, you can still choose to rebel inwardly.. maybe join the proles.. or be put in prison.. and risk getting killed. Honestly, looking at the options, i'd rather stay in the Matrix (even if it means that the delicious spaghetti i love doesn't really exist) and continue obeying the Inner Party.
Though scary, control is also darn important. To the people at the reigns, that is. Without it, Airstrip One wouldn't be operating the way the Party wants it, and life in the Matrix would be in chaos. Hmm. I guess this reflects a large part of our own present world right now. As free as we may seem, there are still many binding rules that control us. If not for laws and regulations, wouldn't everyone be running amok? Where would order be? Even in a scenario such as school.. control exists.
I don't think there can ever be a free world with no control. It's impossible for all mankind to live by one path alone. Each of us are different, and until there's a way to create a uniform thought for everybody, control MUST exist.
on trust.
for someone who depends a lot on trust, it's one scary thing to imagine a world where i cannot trust anybody.
Winston allowed himself to trust.. O'Brien, Julia and Mr Charrington. And look where he ended up. Little did he know that very people he trusted would turn out to be the enemy.
Interesting though, how Julia and Winston were allowed to continue their rendezvous in the room for some time before being arrested.
Maybe this is an Ingsoc principle. Where you are forced, really really forced, to be alone and independent with no one else to turn to, such that you end up obeying all orders. I guess, when there's no one else to trust, might as well just do what you're asked to, or else you just might be erased from the records. Just like that.
No love. No trust.
A world that runs on.. Power. Control. Fear. One wonders what life is for now. In a world like that, I'd rather not live. There doesn't seem to be a purpose.. no sense of what is good or bad. oh sorry, i mean, ungood. just aimless wandering, with compelled hate and anger.. isn't that sad?
on love.
Love. Big airy-fairy word that has no one definition so I won't debate it's meaning. We'll just settle for that ambiguous idea of love being this fuzzy feeling that somehow makes two people feel like one.
Out of all the small topics I raised in the overview, I picked love first cos.. well. Being the hopeless romantic that I am, it just seemed too crucial an issue to leave for later. So.. love.
"A curious emotion stirred in Winston's heart. In front of him was an enemy who was trying to kill him: in front of him, also, was a human creature, in pain and perhaps with a broken bone. Already he had instinctively started forward to help her. In the moment when he had seen her fall on the bandaged arm, it had been as though he felt the pain in his own body."
That love, you think?
A short while after that incident, he opens up the piece of paper she slipped into his hand to reveal the 3 words: I love you. Never mind that he thought she'd been trying to kill him all this while. Never mind that before this, they've never even spoke before. I mean, these days, who needed to get to know the person to fall in love with them? Gee.
And so begins the process of courtship - trying to meet and chat at every opportunity they get. Eventually, they uh.. do stuff the Junior Anti-Sex League would scream at.
I think what struck me most was when they were arrested. At that point, he didn't seem to care much for what would happen to Julia. In fact, I don't think he cared at all. And then in the dreaded Room 101, he confirmed how much he actually loved her. I mean, if he could scream out to make them torture Julia instead of him, he can't care very much for her, can he?
To me, I feel Julia was simply a vehicle for him to express his rebellion. An opportunity presented itself to him.. who could resist it? The higher the risks, the better the kick, no? And committing this "sin" was probably the biggest and most effective way to rebel, aside from his diary and thoughts.
And then the sex part. Sexual intercourse was not meant to be enjoyed (funny how they mean this on the part of the woman..) but ONLY to breed, to create people for the Party to manipulate. Like, people are just animals now. Machines told to generate another person. It becomes so.. technical. Honestly, I'm like.. Bah! to this idea. Face it. People love sex. It's probably like, the oldest activity in the world. Or how they say prostitution is the oldest profession in the world. You see, in any society, as diverse as they may be in culture, language and whatever, there is one thing in common and that's sex. Even the birds and the bees do it.
Am quite disgusted by the thought of it actually. Hmm. Fervent banging with straight faces and thoughts of pleasing Big Brother.. It's just wrong. Sex was always meant to be the ultimate expression of love. But.. where is the love? Amazing how they "prohibit" even sex. But then again, I just sex might lead to love and feelings and emotions and then there goes the Party's policies.
What I want to know is: Can love exist? Guess that's a question I'll never know the answer to. i did have an interesting thought though. You know how the Communists would enforce their ideals on the people, but very ironically let themselves off? Like, how everything should be state-controlled where everybody is equal, but the communist leaders get to enjoy good food while the people are starving, rake in the money while the people are suffering in poverty.. etc. So, if the same concept were to apply here.. for all you know, things like love and sex for pleasure actually does exist in the Inner Party. after all, they DO get to enjoy real coffee and stuff, whatever fake coffee is.
