Comparing Lang's Nineteen Eighty-Four And Metropolis

Dystopian societies, as described in novels and movies, fascinates all audiences from young to old because they can relate in someway to the portrayed unfortunate circumstances. For instance, the novel 1984 and the movie Divergent, intrigue the imagination for most readers because they can actually sense an overpowering government in their own life. Both of the stories are an extreme of what most people would say is taking place in reality today; however, their story still resonates in the minds of many as it expresses a common theme. Both 1984 and Divergent have a similar theme of a controlling government system that oppresses their citizens.

In the dystopian worlds created by the film director Andrew Niccol and renowned author George Orwell, notions of control and freedom are explored. Both worlds contain an overarching power that governs the rest of the population and restricts freedom of individuals, these powers also aid in the progression of technology, which further act to control individuals. The characterisations of the protagonists of each text portray the lack of freedom from the perspective of those that are affected. Both authors use a variety of techniques to portray themes of control and freedom in their texts.

The novel depicting a negative utopia, 1984, was written in relation to the events happening in the year 1948. The Second World War and the Holocaust were major events that this audience could relate to 1984. While readers of the novel today feel that it holds little relevance to the world in the 21st century, it contains many elements that compare to 2015. 1984 shows relevance today in 2015 through the telescreens, the news, and by the rationing systems. Although 1984 had a lot of relations to the year 1948, it still has a large impact on events happening in today’s world.

Torture, murder, oppression; these despicable acts are prime tenets in the governments of 1984, by George Orwell, and 2081, by Kurt Vonnegut. Inhuman acts are commonplace in many fictional worlds, but these two works showcase characters losing their humanity and being subjected to terrible acts. In both 1984 and 2081, dehumanization and inhumane acts are expressed through the removal of free expression and physical violence designed to break deviants.

Your world is not real. Kennedy was never assassinated, Michael jackson has actually always been white, and subway is certainly NOT always fresh. Stop thinking you are free, you’re not. Okay, I’m just kidding. But am I really? Because sometimes subway really just sucks. Questioning. With this, through his work ‘Nineteen Eighty Four’, George Orwell has brought to my attention that I should be occasionally thinking for myself rather than constantly abiding by what I’m told is right. More specifically, ‘Nineteen Eighty Four’ suggests the plentiful ways that people can be oppressed in a totalitarian society will result in the loss of humanity and failure to rebound from the government’s control. These forces inhibit and encourage individuals’ actions and is described in the novel by the abundant use of technology combined with psychological manipulation. Orwell also uses symbols and metaphor to explain consequences of totalitarianism on a deeper level.

In this world what people often forget about that a human can do is cause mass destruction, things one should remember can be forgotten easily and just as fast as it came it leave, this can be seen in the books around us. Authors share their opinion through the words they write talking about society and how if we keep going the direction we are going we will find ourselves in deep trouble, the messages authors are trying to send can be seen through social commentary, many books have powerful messages behind them; especially in dystopian novels and movies. They show these messages through diction,syntax, imagery, and character development; for examples the books and movies; Fahrenheit 451, Incarceron, Wall-E, and Hunger games. The authors Ray Bradbury, Catherine Fisher, Andrew Stanton, and Suzanne Collins all convey a message through their works through syntax, diction, camera angles, and imagery; emphasizing their warnings of what they fear may happen.

Through this activity, Winston introduces us to Doublethink, the ability to hold two contradictory ideas in your head while guiding yourself to believe the one that best fits the principles of Ingsoc, the party doctrine. To even doubt or question Ingsoc is dubbed ‘thoughtcrime’, and pursued ruthlessly by the thought police.

The quote “The object of power is power” is heavily supported by George Orwell’s 1949 novel ‘1984’ and Fritz Lang’s 1927 film ‘Metropolis’ through their intertextual connections and shared perspectives. Both texts were composed around the context of pre and post World War 2 which is clearly evident through their settings, characterisation, themes and ideas. Through Orwell’s and Fritz’s use of dystopic societies, empowerment of women and detrimental dictatorship rule it is blatant that George Orwell’s quote “The object of power is power” is quite strongly supported by the intertextual connections and shared perspectives of Orwell’s ‘1984’ and Lang’s ‘Metropolis’.

The novels Utopia by Thomas More and 1984 by George Orwell and short story Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut explore the Utopic and Dystopic genre through the structure and regulations of their societies. In Utopia, More provides us with a contemporary understanding of society and human nature, with an indepth study of morals, values and beliefs in England around the Renaissance Era. 1984 was published while the Second World War was fresh in people’s minds, creating fears amongst society with Orwell emphasizing the possibility of such a dehumanised and controlled

1984 by George Orwell, published in 1948. Orwell uses the dystopian genre to conceive an exemplification of life in the future based on conformity, dependence of technology, and the absolute control of the state over the people, their rights, and their history. The dystopian genre has been classified to have constraints upon the structure of the storyline; variations of such plots come through in different ideas, but all adhere to: conformity, surveillance / invasion of privacy, a terrible / unnamable past which lead to the dystopia’s creation, a futuristic setting, lack of rights / freedom / expression for the people, and a distinct segregation of the higher and lower classes.How

The world that is overrun with tyranny creates the capacity for people to be forced to live in inhumane conditions. This often involves a leader who silences people by restricting their power and limiting them to a lifestyle that is unsatisfactory compared to the elite in society. Through the novel 1984 and short story 2081, authors George Orwell and Kurt Vonnegut introduce readers to the idea of inhumanity by means of mentally incapacitating citizens and holding them at equal rankings through means of oppression.

In George Orwell’s 1984, society greatly impacts the decisions of the hero. This dystopian novel focuses on the

Through the dystopic texts of 1984 written by George Orwell and V for Vendetta directed by James McTeigue, the concept of a cautionary tale is portrayed by the dystopic qualities present in the highlighted texts. To which a dystopic text is an exploration of restrictive and controlling societies which reflect modern day concerns. To portray the texts as a warning story, Orwell and McTeigue give depictions of the dystopic qualities of their worlds, through the loss of independence and freedom and emphasise the importance of the individual through its loss in the dystopic societies.

Society is the binding force between people within a community. Different cultures spawn different societies, but they all share something in common: a set of rules and expectations to fulfill. When people fail to fulfill these expectations, often their community reacts negatively towards them and this is a common problem in society today. For example, many communities are not accepting of those who have differing religions from that of their own. The conflict that arises from societies is also a common topic in literature. Two novels that deal with a clash between characters and their society are A Clockwork Orange and Lolita. The two novels may have differing genres, settings, themes, and characters, yet they still share certain similarities. Though seemingly different upon first impression, Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita and Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange have something in common: deceptive voice via first person narration, narrators who share similar views on the acceptability of sex and violence within society, and an unreliability in the protagonists’ recollection of events.

This approach is concerned about the social content of the literary work, consequently, the idea is to analyze literature from the implications and the consequences that a capitalist system has on a specific society. As cliffsnotes.com, (n.d) indicates: “this theoretical approach asks us to consider how a literary work reflects the socioeconomic conditions of the time in which it was written”.