Hello again my lovely readers!
So, in my last post I talked about the dangers of media manipulation, however I focused mostly on just the US and Britain. But what about our mysterious neighbouring country, Oceania?
Not much is known about this country except for their technological advancement and secretive nature. But recently, a couple of escapees from Oceania described their horrendous life under their dictator, "Big Brother". They suffered under a totalitarian government in which the majority of its citizens aren't even aware of the terrible conditions they are forced to live in. They are bombarded with constant propaganda from the moment they are born and are made to believe blatant lies - accept them as truth.
One of the escapees, who wants to remain anonymous, describes how he used to work in a "Party" (government) building called, "The Ministry of Truth". Here, he was responsible for "rectifying" all sorts of news reports. In other words he would re-write the past to fit with the Party's present and future needs. For instance, he had to re-write a news report where Big Brother had incorrectly predicted war movements, in order to make it seem like Big Brother had correctly predicted the events that actually happened (Orwell 41). He also had to fix previously projected financial figures, which were "grossly wrong", to agree with their current financial conditions (41). The most troublesome thing about all this is that nobody would even notice these drastic changes.
He said: "In no case would it have been possible, once the deed was done, to prove that any falsification had taken place." (43)
He talks of the constant war between Oceania, Eastasia, and Eurasia - how they constantly changed enemies, yet never changed enemies at all. The Party made sure to fix records so it appears that their current enemy had always been their enemy. He found this to be particularly troubling because his own personal memories told him otherwise - that Oceania would change sides every few years (35).
"If the Party could thrust its hand into the past and say of this or that event, it never happened - that, surely, was more terrifying than mere torture and death?" (37)
The escapee went on to explain the importance of something called, "doublethink" in Oceania's society. Doublethink is the term used to describe the ability to hold two contradictory beliefs, while believing in both of them (37-38). He attributes this concept to the Party's success. It is what allows the Party to stay in control of its citizens - enables them to swallow false information and propaganda without any fight. The escapee elaborated by saying how doublethink was the reason for his ability to loathe Big Brother, yet adore him and view him as his saviour all at the same time.
He also shared a Party slogan that says: "Who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past" (37). In this slogan, we learn about the severity of media manipulation in Oceania and how it is deemed acceptable/goes unnoticed by most of its citizens.
This makes me worry about our future. Will our society be nearly as bad as Oceania's one day? Is it only a matter of time until we fall into a state of blind acceptance to the messages provided by the media? Well I certainly hope not. Let's use Oceania as a warning of what could be and aim to avoid it.
-A.W.
So, in my last post I talked about the dangers of media manipulation, however I focused mostly on just the US and Britain. But what about our mysterious neighbouring country, Oceania?
Not much is known about this country except for their technological advancement and secretive nature. But recently, a couple of escapees from Oceania described their horrendous life under their dictator, "Big Brother". They suffered under a totalitarian government in which the majority of its citizens aren't even aware of the terrible conditions they are forced to live in. They are bombarded with constant propaganda from the moment they are born and are made to believe blatant lies - accept them as truth.
One of the escapees, who wants to remain anonymous, describes how he used to work in a "Party" (government) building called, "The Ministry of Truth". Here, he was responsible for "rectifying" all sorts of news reports. In other words he would re-write the past to fit with the Party's present and future needs. For instance, he had to re-write a news report where Big Brother had incorrectly predicted war movements, in order to make it seem like Big Brother had correctly predicted the events that actually happened (Orwell 41). He also had to fix previously projected financial figures, which were "grossly wrong", to agree with their current financial conditions (41). The most troublesome thing about all this is that nobody would even notice these drastic changes.
He said: "In no case would it have been possible, once the deed was done, to prove that any falsification had taken place." (43)
He talks of the constant war between Oceania, Eastasia, and Eurasia - how they constantly changed enemies, yet never changed enemies at all. The Party made sure to fix records so it appears that their current enemy had always been their enemy. He found this to be particularly troubling because his own personal memories told him otherwise - that Oceania would change sides every few years (35).
"If the Party could thrust its hand into the past and say of this or that event, it never happened - that, surely, was more terrifying than mere torture and death?" (37)
The escapee went on to explain the importance of something called, "doublethink" in Oceania's society. Doublethink is the term used to describe the ability to hold two contradictory beliefs, while believing in both of them (37-38). He attributes this concept to the Party's success. It is what allows the Party to stay in control of its citizens - enables them to swallow false information and propaganda without any fight. The escapee elaborated by saying how doublethink was the reason for his ability to loathe Big Brother, yet adore him and view him as his saviour all at the same time.
He also shared a Party slogan that says: "Who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past" (37). In this slogan, we learn about the severity of media manipulation in Oceania and how it is deemed acceptable/goes unnoticed by most of its citizens.
This makes me worry about our future. Will our society be nearly as bad as Oceania's one day? Is it only a matter of time until we fall into a state of blind acceptance to the messages provided by the media? Well I certainly hope not. Let's use Oceania as a warning of what could be and aim to avoid it.
-A.W.