1984 by George Orwell is actually not a book that I have personally read, but hearing about it from others has left it engrained into my mind. My English class in high school was assigned a book to read (I think there were four different books to choose from), and unfortunately I was not assigned 1984, but I was able to listen to all of the presentations on the novel by my peers.
1984 takes place in a dystopian society, where everyone is watched by the government and surrounded by propaganda. The leader of “the Party,” Big Brother, is featured on pieces of propaganda (an example is shown above). The “Though Police” monitor individuals within the society to make sure no one is thinking independently.
The reason I thought of this book is actually because of the novel we read in my DCI 180 class, The Circle. They share a lot of the same elements; however, because The Circle is more recent, it is more futuristic in nature and more technology-heavy. But, both novels explore the idea of life without privacy, as Mae’s whole life is live-streamed online and all of the citizens in Oceania—the location of 1984—are monitored constantly. Both books also contain the element of propaganda. In The Circle, this propaganda is “produced” by Mae prior to her transparency (meaning her life all online):
- Secrets are Lies
- Sharing is Caring
- Privacy is Theft
Other similar sayings are posted all around the Circle’s campus preceding the reveal of a new technology. In 1984, posters bearing Big Brother are commonplace, and propaganda films are played regularly.
The Circle and 1984 are also similar in the ways their leaders are portrayed. In The Circle, Stenton, Bailey, and Gospodinov, nicknamed the “Three Wise Men,” are adored by all of the workers at the Circle; it is rumored whether Bailey even leaves the campus or not. Likewise, Big Brother is seen as an infamous figure, and it is debated whether he even exists or not.
I think that 1984 would be a great addition to our class, Black Mirror and Digital Culture, because it covers the same scenarios we have talked about in class, such as privacy and influence of media. This novel and the one we read in class are so similar, so I think it would be interesting to pair them together in order to look at how closely they mirror each other.
An assignment that I thought of that pairs well with the novel would be having the students briefly record what they do throughout the day and have them come to class with that list. Then in class, I would ask the students how their daily routine would change if they were being watched all throughout that day. I think the discussions surrounding that activity would lead to a bunch of cool new ideas, like whether we are heading towards a society similar to Oceania’s, or whether they already exist today.
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-Four
https://www.shmoop.com/the-circle/summary.html
