Today in 1949 George Orwell’s classic dystopian novel 1984 was published.
Man! Was it that long ago?
1984, I mean, not 1949.
I remember growing up in the years before 1984, when Orwell’s novel was still a dark prophecy of the future. There was no way that the world would really resemble the novel come that year, but the number "1984" was still an ominous and emblematic number, filled with cultural resonance.
Guess the passage of time took the edge of it.
The novel’s still a classic, though.
Now, you may be wondering why I’ve got a picture of Joseph Stalin in this post. The reason is that 1984 was written in significant measure to illustrate Orwell’s disappointment with Soviet Communism and, if you read the novel, it’s hard not to see Joseph Stalin (who was in power in Russia at the time) and all the Soviet propaganda posters of him as the prototype for Big Brother and all the IngSoc ("English Socialism") propaganda posters of him in turn. Realizing the political context of 1984, it’s hard not to imagine Joseph Stalin’s face on all those "Big Brother Is Watching You" posters.
Ahhh, 1984 — I remember it well. All throughout Detroit folks used stencils to spray paint “WAR IS PEACE” on freeway viaducts. Until recently you could see faint shadows of those words.
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Yes, I too remember life before, and leading up to “1984”… wondering just where and when “1984”, “Fahrenheit 451”, and the thought police would show up.
We all lived under the nuclear umbrella and after tossing off “big government” after the Nixon years… who would have thought that “Big Brother” would look more and more like the more and more authoritarian and anti-dissent USA of George W. Bush.
“Dissent is the highest form of patriotism.”
– Thomas Jefferson
That doesn’t mean the ALL dissent is the highest form of patriotism.
Those were dark days….from one who remembers the PALPABLE, I mean it, relief upon hearing that the Wall fell, and that Gorby had resigned….If you felt the urge to call up somebody (in those days, instead of blogging about it) and DID call someone to tell them about it, you know what I mean.
I was in the last of that generation. My brothers and sisters don’t have a real concept of the wall. Remember the TV mini-series that focused on a nuclear war?
Good grief- what does that mean “anti-dissent”? Can you give examples of George Bush & Co being anti-dissent?
Weren’t Stalin and Uncle Sam presented as “Brothers in Arms” in WWII propaganda posters? I bet there was a British equivalent, so I wonder if Orwell was alluding to WWII posters.
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