Predictions in 1984.
I have always liked science fiction and novels that depict chaos in society, so when I started reading 1984 I could not stop thinking about the dystopian-boom of books such as The Hunger Games, Divergent, and the classic, Brave New World. Are they going to be a sort of prediction of the future? Today is almost impossible to think about such a situation; however, if we take a look at the past, it was not even thought that the man would walk on the moon, until it happened…
I have always liked science fiction and novels that depict chaos in society, so when I started reading 1984 I could not stop thinking about the dystopian-boom of books such as The Hunger Games, Divergent, and the classic, Brave New World. Are they going to be a sort of prediction of the future? Today is almost impossible to think about such a situation; however, if we take a look at the past, it was not even thought that the man would walk on the moon, until it happened…
What if we think about George Orwell’s novel as a prediction? Are there any other authors who have written something that has became part of reality in the future? Here I will present some ideas regarding this point.
Have you ever heard about
Jules Gabriel Verne? (1828-1905)
He was French famous writer who was a pioneer in writing science fiction
novels, and is widely known because of his predictions. You may remember him
from some novels such as Around
the world in Eighty Days, Journey to the Center of the Earth, or Twenty
Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.
He has been considered
even a prophet by some fanatic followers as many objects became part of reality
years after he pictured them in his mind. For instance, National Geographic
listed the most important inventions that Jules Verne predicted, such as the
electric submarine, the skywriting, which nowadays is commonly used by
enterprices to make advertisements on the sky with the purpose of promoting a
product or service. We can also mention the news broadcast, in which he
imagined people delivering a speech to a big community without using any
printed paper, and guess what, then in the 20th century it just happened.
(The list goes on if you want to take a look at it, the link it will be at the end of this post).
There are the list of predictions that can be identified from those novels. Now, going back to Orwell’s novel, is there any prediction of nowadays society?
(The list goes on if you want to take a look at it, the link it will be at the end of this post).
There are the list of predictions that can be identified from those novels. Now, going back to Orwell’s novel, is there any prediction of nowadays society?
The closest image to 1984 that I could think about is the
case of North Korea and its totalitarian government. Among the similarities we
can list, the sick control of literature, the military and constant
surveillance, human rights vioaltion, manipulation of economy, and the
“rectification” of history.
While reading Orwell’s
novel, it just seemed that the instances that were described were not part of
reality when in fact, they are. The following documentary shows the sickness in
the absolute and strict government control. It has some elements that bear
resemblance with the book. The biographies of the heroes are constantly
“rectified” as to praise their image. (min 41). Actually it is even stated in
an official piece of writing that they buit houses in 4 min and 44 seconds.
Incredible.
Literacy statictics are invented as to cover the cognitive submission of the citizens. Not only there is mental control, but also a physical one since the portions of food are also restringed.
Literacy statictics are invented as to cover the cognitive submission of the citizens. Not only there is mental control, but also a physical one since the portions of food are also restringed.
Do you think that there
is another prediction in 1984?
If so, what would be it?
Do you know any other writer who has predicted something in piece of work that became real?
Do you know any other writer who has predicted something in piece of work that became real?
Edmund Smyth (2000). Jules Verne:Narratrives of
modernity. Liverpool
University Press.
I so glad that your post is related to this topic, since the post that I'm working on related to Orwell's novel is directly connected to something that happens in the current world, which is how propaganda has been controlling people’s feelings, thinking and believes.
ResponderEliminarTo answer you final questions, I strongly believe that one of the predictions is how propaganda and mass media are controlling the world. People’s behavior is conditioned to the messages that commercial breaks and posters of big department stores share with consumers in order to psychologically influence in their behavior, to make them believe that if they get “X” product they are going to look great and if they look great, they are going to be happier.
Moreover, mass media is one of the most important sources of news and a huge amount of people have it as the main source to be informed about what is happening in the world. Orwell’s novels also present the idea that mass media is controlled by the government and I strongly believe that it has become common in our reality. There is lots of information that has been hidden from us or just omitted, such as the teachers’ strike in our country.
All in all, I agree with you that there are some stories that could become true, like the one that you presented of Jules Verne and what happens with propaganda in Orwell’s 1984.