Sadakat Chowdhury
Utopia/Dystopia
S. Park-Primiano
Critical Reflection 3: The Role of Technology in the Repression of the Id
It is appallingly obvious that technology has made virtually all facets of reality more efficient and easier to access than it has ever been before. With the gamut of conveniences that it allows, technology has become seamlessly integrated into the social infrastructure at almost every level. There is hardly an arena in which technology is not used. While the technological prowess of modern society increases, it is important to note the potential hazards and side effects of this escalation. Among these hazards are the threats of the perpetuation of social stratification, and in effect, antiquation of the
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While Winston is being scanned, the camera zooms into an MCU shot of Winston’s head and the camera perspective is made to be from the viewpoint of the telescreen that is scanning him. This shot type is juxtaposed with a shot in which the telescreen is incessantly flashing in the background behind Winston as he sits on his desk. These filming styles highlight the prominence of the telescreen and portray it as an omnipotent force controlling Winston’s actions and facial expressions through fear. Because of the presence of this telescreen and the other surveillance cameras throughout this oppressive society, Winston is made to repress his feelings of contempt and discontent within the oppressive regime of Big Brother. More importantly, the fear of these surveillance cameras forces Winston to repress any animalistic urges he has, such as the urge to express his libido for Julia. There are a multitude of scenes within the film that highlight Winston’s fear of expression of his libido when within the presence of a telescreen. One example is when he and Julia make sure that the telescreen is off in O’Connor’s (Michael Redgrave’s) residence when they admit that they had broken party rules by being together. They fear the
The Party uses surveillance in various intrusive ways to police the thoughts and actions of the people. In the opening scene, Winston uses an alcove in his flat to write in his diary out of sight of the telescreen, an instrument similar to a television that cannot be turned off. Winston knows that it is watching his every move. Later, when O’Brien simply turns off his telescreen, Winston is amazed at this inconceivable privilege. The screens cover public areas as well as each house in Oceania. Also covering the streets are posters of a man with a black moustache and following eyes, which everyone knows as Big Brother. This idyllic, anonymous figure
This tactic of control used by the party, was the uncomforting feeling of not being able to trust nor admire anyone in Oceania besides the Party and Big Brother . Winston's paranoia occurred because the Party programmed his mind to believe he could not trust anyone and if he did he would be vanished. Due to this belief imprinted on his mind he began to worry that Julia would deceive him, furthermore accumulating to his paranoia . Part of human nature is love and devotion into another human being, by the Party removing this from our morals comes the fear to love and be vulnerable as portrayed through Winston. The panic of getting turned down or in this case potentially killed due to having affection towards another tends to cause paranoia in Winston's life.
If the telescreen records you doing certain things you are immediately under suspicion like turning your back to the telescreen ”Winston kept his back turned to the telescreen. It was safer, though, as he well knew, even a back can be revealing. (1.1.6)” In book one chapter one paragraph 6 Winston reveals that even by facing away the thought police could still detect his rebellion. Winston also reveals in book one chapter five paragraph 65 that “It [‘s] terribly dangerous to let your thoughts wander when you were in any public place or within range of a telescreen. The smallest thing could give you away...” For example “to wear an improper expression on your face (to look incredulous when a victory was announced, for example) was itself a punishable offense. There was even a word for it in Newspeak: facecrime, it was called. (1.5.65). Which is similar to how a small thing could put you under surveillance by the
Through out George Orwells 1984, the use of telescreens is very efficient and effective for the Party. On the other hand it plays a very hard role on our main character, Winston. Through out the novel, he lives in fear of the telescreen and is ultimately taken by the mighty power that is the Party, all in help by the telescreen. The watchful eye of the telescreen is not totally fiction though, in many places it all ready exists.Winston is a worker who's job is to change history to make sure that its "correct" by the Parties standards. He meets a lovely girl Julia and falls in love. They together try to find life and happiness together, and also they want to find the resistance, or the group of people that they figured existed
The telescreens in the novel are everywhere and they can see everything that people do. This relates to today’s times because of all the technology that has emerged. Phones, for examples, can now tell a person where they have been and how long they were there. This connects back to 1984 with the fact that now; people are basically carrying around telescreens in their pockets. The telescreens in 1984 watched over the proles and members of both inner and outer party, just like cell phones track everyone with a smartphone. Another instance in the novel that relates to today’s world is the telescreen waking you up in the morning. When Winston wakes up one morning and the instructress yells commands to help wake him up, she shouts, “And now let’s see which of us can touch our toes!” (Orwell 33). The relation here is that there are phone applications today that will set off an
Throughout the novel, Winston wanted to rebel against the government, but the fear of the thought police made him conform. The party used telescreens and other things to monitor the citizens to make sure they were not thinking for themselves. This is why Winston had to be careful in what he does because if he got caught he would have been killed. When Winston finally found people that he trusted and thought were on his side, he started to begin to do things outside of conformity. This is when the party stepped in and began to punish him with his worst fear of rats to make him conform again. Winston knew that Big Brother was not real, but he was forced to conform by being brainwashed by his
Thirdly When Winston and Julia go to O'Brien's to look at the newest version of the Newspeak dictionary, O'Brien turns the telescreen off, and immediately Winston feels like he can say anything. Winston exclaims, "You can turn it off!" (173). Every fear of the Party's eye immediately vanishes when the screen is turned off. The screen represents all that is frightening and once turned off the thought of fear is eliminated (to a degree). Every thought that Winston has held in is spilled without the fear of O'Brien or man. Winston speaks for Julia and himself saying, "We are enemies of the Party. We disbelieve in the principles of Ingsoc. We are thought criminals. We are also adulterers." (174). The fact that the constant eye through the telescreens of "Big Brother" is gone, or at least thought to be, eliminates the thought of being afraid making Winston feel invincible.
Initially, Winston develops thoughts in his mind, with what he believes about Julia being with the thought police. His fears of the telescreen, which leads to Winston being afraid of the party and being caught for his thought, which develops the internal conflict.
He panics on what to do thinking big brother found out he even puts a little trap as small as a hair just to to find out if someone is spying at him. Something winston wrote in his journal is” to the future or to the past, to a time when thought is free. When men are different from one another and do not live alone- to a time when truth exist and what is done cannot be undone from the ages of uniformity, from the age of solitude, from the age of big brother from the age of doublethink greetings”. He is writing of how things used to be before it all changed with big
Throughout the novel, Winston is always hiding his thoughts about the Party and about Big Brother, although he is completely against it. However, in order to ensure that he does not get caught, he must act as though he loves them and agrees with their power over society. Surveillance is shaping these characters to be a perfect representation of what they are expected to be, instead of being who they are.
To be specific, Winston’s life thus far has been making a turn for the better—obtaining his diary, meeting new colleagues, and acquainting himself with Julia—until he is caught by the Thought Police. The fact that telescreens reveal themselves around Charrington’s attic confirms my prediction that Winston will find trouble with the telescreen.
The Party has a device used to control the people to even a greater extent called the telescreen. Winston finds a way to sort of slip around its watch on him when he is alone. "It was terribly dangerous to let your thoughts wander when you were in any public place with range of a telescreen.
The culture surrounding Winston is very confined. With the telescreens watching everyone and everything, it's hard for anyone to have free thought. An example of how Big Brother can tell if a person is not thinking the way they should be, is that they can tell by facial expressions. Orwell writes "To wear an improper expression... was... a punishable offense" (54) With restrictions like this, it is hard for characters to do what they please. This effects Winston by making him act a certain way so that he can avoid being caught. However, Winston does not seem to mind being caught for some time. When Winston is writing in his journal, he writes "theyll shoot me i dont care" (20). This is just a fragment of what Winston wrote in this entry. The fact that Orwell gave Winston the trait to write with improper grammar signifies how delirious Winston is when he writes this. (make sure you put a conclusion sentence)
As previously mentioned, both the novel and the movie they were being watched at all times, but in 1984 Winston knew that his town contained cameras and microphones. Although he did not know about the telescreens behind the St. Clements Church photo, he knew that there could be hidden cameras. In The Truman Show all the other men, woman, and children were actors and actresses, but Truman was not. Truman oblivious that he was being monitored. Winston and Truman both try to defy the norm of their society, but they do not have the same results. While Truman is confronted by Christof and begged to stay, he succeeds in leaving and exiting with his catchphrase “and in case I don’t see you later good afternoon, good evening, and good night!” Winston unfortunately is not so lucky, he is tortured and faced with his worst fear, rats. The severe horror that Winston faces does break his rebellious spirit and his final thoughts are “He loved Big Brother” (Orwell 298).
In today's society there is no escape from technology. We are completely submerged in our iPhone, ipads, computers, and gaming systems. These gadgets give us the opportunity to be connected to each other and the rest of the world at all times. But, this is not a glorious step in history. Technology blinds us from the real world. As John Tudor said, “Technology makes it possible for people to gain control over everything, except technology.” We may run our lives with the help of our iPhones and computers, but do these forms of technology in turn control us? At first glance these new advances are greater steps to making our lives easier. But, when examined closely a large portion of technology is the cause of many problems in our society.