Examples Of Totalitarianism In George Orwell's '1984'
In this age where information is accessible at our fingertips, it pays to know what is real. It takes a quick search to find out if what you’re seeing is fake or not. Yet, many people still fall into the trap of alternative facts and fake news, unwilling to challenge their biases and merely accepting what they see without any semblance of skepticism. Imagine how worse this could be in a heavily controlled, totalitarian society.
What we are experiencing now, where the government itself purveys fake news and oppresses dissenting voices, bears great resemblance to the premise of my favorite book, 1984. Published by George Orwell in 1949, the novel portrays an authoritarian state through the eyes of an average citizen, Winston. The term Orwellian is coined from the novel, which is used to describe actions by a totalitarian or authoritarian state that includes deception, secret surveillance, historical revisionism and blatantly …show more content…
Aside from the perpetration of fake news by our government, those who control it also engages in other Orwellian activities. For instance, the constant barrage of propaganda from people such as Mocha Uson and Sass Sasot creates a false dichotomy between the DDS and the “Yellowtards” or “Dilawans”, when the corrupt people controlling the state are the real enemy. Similarly, in the novel, “Hate Week” is a psychological tactic used by the government to fuel the people’s hatred against the perceived enemies of the state. Another example of Orwellian actions from the government is the implementation of “Operation Tokhang”, whose name is derived from “Tok-tok Hangyo” (to knock and plead, usually for the suspect to surrender or stop using drugs). The name implies benevolent action, but in reality, tokhang ends with the suspect dead by a law enforcer or a vigilante’s hands. Similarly, in the novel, the institution in charge of torturing dissenting or critical individuals is called “The Minister of
What we are experiencing now, where the government itself purveys fake news and oppresses dissenting voices, bears great resemblance to the premise of my favorite book, 1984. Published by George Orwell in 1949, the novel portrays an authoritarian state through the eyes of an average citizen, Winston. The term Orwellian is coined from the novel, which is used to describe actions by a totalitarian or authoritarian state that includes deception, secret surveillance, historical revisionism and blatantly …show more content…
Aside from the perpetration of fake news by our government, those who control it also engages in other Orwellian activities. For instance, the constant barrage of propaganda from people such as Mocha Uson and Sass Sasot creates a false dichotomy between the DDS and the “Yellowtards” or “Dilawans”, when the corrupt people controlling the state are the real enemy. Similarly, in the novel, “Hate Week” is a psychological tactic used by the government to fuel the people’s hatred against the perceived enemies of the state. Another example of Orwellian actions from the government is the implementation of “Operation Tokhang”, whose name is derived from “Tok-tok Hangyo” (to knock and plead, usually for the suspect to surrender or stop using drugs). The name implies benevolent action, but in reality, tokhang ends with the suspect dead by a law enforcer or a vigilante’s hands. Similarly, in the novel, the institution in charge of torturing dissenting or critical individuals is called “The Minister of