George Orwell poured his heart and soul out to write his famous novel 1984. This piece of literature is considered one of the greatest sci-fi works. It shows a dystopian future that is controlled via heavy surveillance, where every word is monitored, unacceptable speech is deleted, history is distorted and individuals are at risk of becoming “unpersons” for holding views disliked by those in power. However, some of his predictions are becoming frighteningly accurate.
The novel tells the story of Winston Smith, an unfortunate middle-aged bureaucrat who lives in Oceania, where he is governed by surveillance. Even though there are no laws, there is a police force, the “Thought Police,” and the constant reminders, on posters, that “Big Brother Is Watching You.” Smith works at the Ministry of Truth, and his job is to rewrite the reports in newspapers of the past to conform to the present reality. Smith lives in a constant state of uncertainty; he is not sure the year is in fact 1984.
The society portrayed in “1984” is one in which social control is exercised through disinformation, single ideology, and surveillance. Although there has been a vast variety of dystopian future-themed novels published such as classics like the Handmaid’s Tale and Fahrenheit 451 to newer ones like Hunger games and divergent, 1984 hits different! In fact, its impact is so profound that the term ‘Orwellian’ has been coined to describe it.
The novel gives us an era where everything is grey and bleak with little to hope for. Orwell explained that the novel was not an attack on any particular government but a satire of the totalitarian tendencies in Western society and intellectuals. Critics have observed the current social and political climate can potentially lead to the once feared dystopian future.
The steady rise of reality TV began in the ‘60s with “Candid Camera,” “An American Family,” “Real People,” “Cops” and “The Real World,” to the currently airing “Keeping up with the Kardashians” and “Big Boss”, television has also contributed to the acceptance of a kind of video surveillance.
A great example of this is, it might seem just clever marketing that one of the longest-running and most popular reality television shows in the world is entitled “Big Brother” or the Indian version that is also very famous named “Big Boss”. Ironically the watchful “eye” that is not only observing but also “guiding” them by regulating rules and control in the house is very well-depicted in line with the novel. This reality show is also an experiment in controlling and modifying behavior. By asking participants to put their private lives on display, encourage self-scrutiny and behave according to what should be done or vice versa.
However, that being said, there is one major difference! That is excessive awareness and a friendly face of media. Overexposure to all kinds of information and democratic governance where there are constant reminders that we as people are free to do or choose whatever, has led us to believe that we are free from any propaganda and can exercise full control. But the reality is quite the opposite. Over-consumption of media sources from daily news to tv shows not only reinforces what behavior or mindset is appropriate or not but also creates a sense of paranoia when the individual feels like they haven’t embodied a certain way of living. A common example would include the luxurious lifestyles exhibited in tv shows. Moreover, the advent of social media has inflated this to a whole new level. It is Social Media is simply a few clicks away that can keep you updated from minute to minute. However, companies can ban anyone at any time for any reason. Those banished can have every post they’ve ever written wiped away, every record of their existence. Furthermore, key-board twitter warfare where no other opinion is entertained may lead to being ‘canceled’. Thus, making their digital presence in danger leading them to either exit or conform.
And post-pandemic, increased use of smartphones and laptops has taken on this role, acting as both our window to the digital world and the means through which a plethora of private companies from data brokers to social media companies themselves surveil our every action and feed us what they want via advertisements.
Our world goes far beyond the one imagined by Orwell in which every device from our watches to our refrigerators, our thermostats to our toasters, is increasingly Internet-connected and streaming a real-time documentary of our lives. Private companies have now become almost untouchable with their increasing power. Having a say in major commercial and political decisions as well, they continue to capitalize on their power that seems to be less in controlling the state and more towards their monetary gains.
In a nutshell, as we rush towards an even more Orwellian world of surveillance, censorship, and control, perhaps the kind of future George Orwell envisioned and feared.
