Social Attitudes Of Freedom And Control By George Orwell And Fritz Lang

Throughout the 1940’s the totalitarian governments of Nazi Germany and communist Russia served as a major influence for George Orwell’s 1984. 1984 incorporates the dangerous tools used by the fascist governments in Europe such as propaganda, party control, and the control of history used during the times. George Orwell was alive during a time where totalitarian governments were more common. This concerned Orwell causing him to write novels warning the people about the dangers this type of government can cause.

The mass industrialization of the Western World following the Great War and the resulting rapid expansion in technological advancement is reflected in Lang’s 1927 Metropolis through filmic techniques and deliberate symbolism. The use of these techniques enhances the exploration of the tension between a utopian aspiration for a mythical cohesion between man and machines, and its unachievable reality. The industrial nature of the film is first illustrated in the opening sequence, with a multiple exposure shot highlighting the vast number of machines and their prevalence within the film’s context.

t has been sixty-six years since the first printing of George Orwell’s acclaimed book, Nineteen Eighty-Four. Almost seven decades have passed and many still wonders, was Orwell right? Has our society become a totalitarian wasteland? Nineteen Eighty-Four is a dystopian novel, taking place in what Orwell calls Airstrip One, or what is known today as England. When one closely observes the happenings in today’s world, one can see evidence of the Orwellian predictions that are established in the book. With those events, there are many parallels between Nineteen Eighty-Four and our society today with the usage of government surveillance, the decadence of language, and the annihilation of culture.

First published in 1949, Orwell certainly believed that the novel would have some higher purpose in the political sphere, and it did. But perhaps it wasn’t the purpose that was truly intended? Nearly seventy years after its first appearance, 1984 can be found on many high school, college and political group reading lists. Coining terms such as “Big Brother,” or “thoughtcrime,” the novel created an entirely new type of dystopian society defined by many as “Orwellian.” But with close reading one can see that George Orwell wrote 1984 for a very specific purpose. In 1984 Orwell writes about the dangers of deviating from a true socialist society.

George Orwell wrote his best works during the tragic events of the fierce government repression of Communist Russia and Nazi Germany during the 1940’s. He expressed various grievances toward the high authority of these totalitarian governments and the abuse of their powers. In his writings, he alludes to many well known dictators, such as Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin, and he cynically views them as symbols of corruption and the loss of basic human rights and freedom. In his most renowned novel, 1984, George Orwell insightfully demonstrates how the repressing influence of a totalitarian government ironically amplifies and draws out the natural essence of humanity within the characters, specifically relating to romance, hope and rebellion, and fear and betrayal throughout the novel.

George Orwell’s 1984 is more than just a novel, it is a warning to a potential dystopian society of the future. Written in 1949, Orwell envisioned a totalitarian government under the figurehead Big Brother. In this totalitarian society, every thought and action is carefully examined for any sign of rebellion against the ruling party. Emotion has been abolished and love is nonexistent; an entire new language is being drafted to reduce human thought to the bare minimum. In a society such as the one portrayed in 1984, one is hardly human. In George Orwell’s 1984, the party uses fear, oppression, and propaganda to strip the people of their humanity.

The characters presented in Fritz Lang’s film Metropolis and George Orwell’s novel 1984 are unique in terms of their personalities however share similar values of freedom, purity and honesty. As a result, the comparative representation of characters in these texts has substantially informed my understanding that composers affirm values like individuality, freedom and equality in order to respond to contextual concerns and warn of a future where these values would not exist.

Context plays a large role in the portrayal of values as it influences the composer’s thoughts about society. It is evident that the respective context of Fritz Lang has greatly influenced the portrayal of significant values in his film, Metropolis; similarly these values have also been shaped in George Orwell’s novel, 1984. The values portrayed in both these texts include the political values of authority and control, which is influenced by the totalitarian societies in which Lang and Orwell live, and the value of individual identity, shaped by individuals becoming slaves to technology, which is influenced by the composer’s context of the machine age. Fritz Lang’s context has greatly influenced the way in which the political values of authority

The utilization of technology in an autocratic regime is evident throughout both history and within dystopic fiction. Through the comparative study of Fritz Lang’s Metropolis and George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984), the extent of which technology impacts and aids a dictatorial regime is examined through the intertextual perspectives offered by each text. The incorporation of the political philosophy of collectivism, and by extension the absence of individual liberty and thought, reflects both the social and cultural influences surrounding the composer upon the creation of the text.

Orwell’s novel has played a significant role throughout history. At the time of its authorship in 1949 some countries were exhibiting horrific

Between and after the World Wars, literary and art movements were influenced by world events; this is true for both the Allies and the Germans, as each interpreted historic events in different ways due to their different ideas and values. Metropolis, a silent film by Fritz Lang, and the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four by the British author George Orwell explore similar notions of absolute power and lack of individuality in their respective societies, conveying their viewpoints on social issues of their time. Written some twenty years apart, the texts each question the fundamentals of life itself, as their respective protagonists seek to know more about their worlds.

Sean: Our session will focus on the way a comparison of the time and place within Fritz Lang’s “Metropolis” and George Orwell’s “Nineteen Eighty-Four” reflects the wonder and fear of the 1920s and 1940s. Specifically focusing on the ideas of “Power and control, and Mind Manipulation, the eradication of the individual.

Lang and Orwell’s seminal texts both express their concerns of the imbalance of power in totalitarian regimes where supreme power is concentrated and a small fraction of society possesses total control. In Fritz Lang’s German expressionist film Metropolis (1927) the totalitarian control is from the industry. Whereas, the novel 1984 (1948) by George Orwell focuses on the extremes of political power. The dystopian worlds Lang and Orwell create through a range of literary and film techniques though, differ in response to their respective contexts.

The exploitation of power obtained through social manipulation can have detrimental effects on both individuals and society, often leading to rebellion. This notion is explored in Fritz Lang's film 'Metropolis' (1927) in which the period of industrialisation in post WWI Germany is reflected, highlighting his fear of a socially repressive society that parallels with George Orwell's 1949 novel ‘1984’. Whilst they share similar concerns regarding the machine age capitalist society, Orwell constructs a distinct ideological framework that functions on intellectual suppression through characteristics of both

George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four is the ultimate negative utopia. Written in 1949 as an apocalyptic vision of the future, it shows the cruelty and pure horror of living in an utterly totalitarian world where all traces of individualism are being abolished. This novel was composed to denounce Hitler?s Germany and Stalin?s Russia and to create a warning to the rest of the world. It takes the reader through a year in the life of Winston Smith as he transforms from a rebel to a fanatic of totalitarianism.