Comparing Government In 1984 And Gilliam's Brazil

Dystopias are actually just utopias or a paradise in the eyes of the people controlling them. The rules that are depicted by governments controlling these dystopias are what they feel like are necessary to keep their citizens safe and happy. Sometimes these governments choose to hide certain news or facts and even lie about what is happening outside their society. The reason could be that they just want their population to be ignorant and just live in the society without any concern. The government in George Orwell’s 1984 and Terry Gilliam’s Brazil, even in real life change records and manipulate the news and media to their preference. The effect of this would be, that the natives living in these societies get wrong information and are ignorant

So when someone from their society points at something wrong the party did their opinion is dismissed. For example, in Brazil when the printer malfunctions and changes the name form Tuttle to Buttle, the people in charge cover it up as much as they can so that no can realize that their government is not perfect. If the people realize that the government is not as perfect as it seems and that they also make mistakes, hide facts and lie to them. Then they will no longer trust their government, they will stop obeying them which might cause a rebellion and the government does not want that to happen. The governments control of the history and past grants them leadership of the future and present. For instance, in 1984 the party’s slogan is “who controls the past, controls the future: who controls the present controls the past” (Orwell 35). In 1984 Winston believes that as long as a person’s perception of the truth can be externally verified, then even a lie can become the truth. As long as governments or parties have control over history and the past no person can stand up against them because no one can verify or prove what they have to say about the

An example of this lies in 1984 when “There was a riotous interlude while posters were ripped from the walls, banners torn to shreds and trampled underfoot. But within two or three minutes it was all over. One minute more, and the feral roars of rage were again bursting from the crowd. The Hate continued exactly as before, except that the target had been changed” (Orwell 181). This illustrates how government can keep their citizens in control by making someone else take the blame like blaming Goldstein for the wrong information on the war. And they can achieve this by manipulating the media to their will and keep the citizens on war and etc. not on them. By doing so the people stay ignorant to what their government is doing and blame the enemy when something bad occurs because of the