A shocking turn of events in 1984, spies were closer to Winston that we'd imagined. I didn't really expect it, but it makes total sense looking back. The thought police had been set up throughout the beginning of the book as these super-sneaky, night-terror like beings hiding in the shadows, and it was inevitable that they'd actually show up at some point. Still, the fact that Winston and Julia already knew they were screwed does have some meaning. Absolutely nothing can be hidden from the party, and your mistakes definitely comes back to haunt you.
Last week in the middle of a midnight youtube rabbithole, I found this somewhat interesting animated series that hit me with some 1984 vibes. Here's the link to one of the short films in the series. It's only 5 minutes long, and worth watching.
In the short, citizens live in a heavily regulated city called Autodale, which is run by robots. The short describes Autodale's "Model Citizen/Family," showing off Mr. and Mrs. Robinson and their son, Robinson Junior, repeating the same daily cycle over and over again as Robinson Junior grows up. Each day, the friendly neighborhood robot checks in with them, with the same, friendly responses said by both sides. In the end, however, once Robinson Junior grows up, Autodale has no more use for the old Mr. and Mrs. Robinson, and the friendly neighborhood robot comes to take them away.
In line to be executed, Mr. Robinson tearfully thanks the robot executioner for all he has done, and you definitely get the feeling that it was heartfelt. These people have been totally brainwashed into believing in the system. Robinson Junior, now the new Mr. Robinson, continues the cycle with his new wife, and his new daughter.
So what did y'all think? I think some parts obviously differ from 1984, but the main structure is still there. If you're interested, the creator did make more videos featuring Autodale, and they're definitely worth looking into.
That does seem similar. I would say one difference is robot vs. man being the controller of the system. Humans are narcissistic and I think any story in which man carries his mission out like a robot is inherently more disturbing than one in which the robots are the evil overlords. (Obviously there are ways to make the robot narrative interesting as well)
ReplyDeleteI can see a loose connection with the authoritarian control and the use of technology as a regulator of behavior, but other than that I don't think they are very similar in general.
ReplyDeleteI think a society like Autodale is something that the Party is probably striving for, but they aren't there yet in the year 1984. In Orwell's book, discontent people who are willing to fight the party still remain, but from Winston's description of younger generations, a society where everyone is fully indoctrinated in the Party can't be more than a few decades away.
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