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Comparison Between '1984 And Metropolis'

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The perpetual struggle for societal perfection erodes social egalitarianism by distorting human values. This is explored through Lang’s German expressionist silent film, “Metropolis” and Orwell’s dystopian novel, “1984” these texts elucidate the contamination of the human spirit due to one’s obsession for control. Both texts are constructed by composers who have lived through hardships in their society, which heavily influenced their visions of the future to be a dystopian world, controlled by either capitalists or totalitarian regime. Erosion of the social egalitarian is achieved through the authorities overwhelming obsession for power through oppressing the lower classes through the abuse of power. This is expressed in “Metropolis” through …show more content…

This emphasises that the truth is constantly being hidden from the lower classes as the totalitarian government constantly controls their mind, so the only one’s who understand the truth about the history are the proles because they are not being brainwashed by the government, which relates back to Fascism period where Hitler intended to make everyone equal, all obedient and ignorant. In chapter 1, part 1, a woman from the proles and her child attend the flicks with a large crowd of inner party members, their reactions to the horrific scene where the innocent people were killed in horrendous ways were juxtaposed, the woman from the proles stated defensively, “they didn’t ought to show that to the kids”. Demonstrating that those who are not under the influence of totalitarian regime have more morality than those who suffer from suppression of control totalitarian regimes. O’brien abuses his power to manipulate Winston into believing that individualism is a disease, relating back to the middle ages where Individualism was consider unorthodox. The persuasive tone in “You are clinging to your disease under the impression that it is a virtue” highlights the authorities control over the minds of empiricists like Winston. Finally, Orwell’s perceptions have been greatly altered due to his experience with the wars he’s lived through that he was lead to write, “If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face - forever” The horrific visual imagery

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Ethos Pathos And Logos In George Orwell's 1984

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This is another connection to the ideology found in “1984”. It is the concept that Winston happens upon while reading the manifesto of the Brotherhood; “…the key lies in the proles.” This is the response the Winston finds after reading the book, and it is an answer that he believes unequivocally. However, Winston also considers that there is a strong unlikeliness of the proles ever rebelling, (potentially due to the instilling of “doublethink”). The proles are distracted by the everyday struggle to survive; they can never be bothered or take the necessary time to organize.

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Metropolis And 1984 Essay

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As examples of dystopian fiction, metropolis and 1984 share some common concerns and conventions. In a comparative essay, analyse and evaluate each text as an artistic response to the political, social and cultural climates of their respective contexts: Texts are inherently responses which represents composers concerns of their political, social and cultural climates. Both Fritz Lang’s German Expressionist Film Metropolis (1927) and George Orwell’s dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1948) portray the subjugation of the individual and the divide between social classes. Lang’s focus is on the consequences to society due to loss of values such as compassion in Weimar Germany following WWI.

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George Orwell's Novel As Ignorance And Powerless People

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The portrait of proles in George Orwell’s 1984 novel as ignorant and powerless people In George Orwell’s novel, 1984, the Proles - 85% of the IngSoc population - are portrayed as powerless and incapable of rebelling against Big Brother due to the manipulation of the Inner Party. This portrait is evident in the dialogues between characters, in Winston’s thoughts and the way The World State society is divided and separated. In essence, the proles provide a background to highlight the author’s critique to citizen's passivity and manipulation.

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Similarities Between Winston And O Brien

1343 Words | 6 Pages

The story follows our protagonist, Winston, as he rejects and rebels against the Party, a system that mind-controls individuals and whose primary goal is total tyranny and dominance. O’Brien, Winston's friend and ultimate betrayer, is the head of the thought police at the party. Though seemingly different, especially considering the social status in the book and where they are at, Winston and O’Brien in the novel 1984 think the same way.

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1984 Winston's Desire For Change

748 Words | 3 Pages

Demonstrating how the party’s ideals have caused Winston to automatically make the assumption that all proles are subhuman. In the text, Winston never actively challenges this presumption; consequently, displaying his unconscious superiority complex caused by the government's orthodoxical ideals. Correspondingly, the use of the third-person in the second quotation serves to distance Winston from the proles; further empathizing the class division between Winston and the proles, which distinguishes the likelihood of insurgency to

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1232 Words | 5 Pages

In dystopian society, technology, social manipulation, and control are all factors used to maintain oppressive societal control and the illusion of a perfect society, even at the expense of universal human values. The film Metropolis by Fritz Lang and the novel 1984 by George Orwell offer a variety of social and political perspectives that allow the audience to gain insight into the oppression of freedom, truth and love within their context. Both address loss of these values within society through control and oppression, but they differ in perspective, due to the contrasting views of each composer. Lang made Metropolis during the era of the Weimar Republic. This was the country's first attempt at creating a democracy in the very difficult years following the first world war, as he tapped into Germany's power struggles, issues of poverty and conflict.

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1984 And 1984 Comparative Essay

508 Words | 3 Pages

Dystopian texts espouse a variety of didactic messages that depend significantly upon both the context and zeitgeist of the time in which they were created. Differences can be found when comparing the techniques and perspectives the authors have chosen to represent their contextual concerns to audiences. Together both Fritz Lang’s silent black and white film ‘Metropolis’ 1927 and George Orwell’s novel ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’ (*referred to as 1984) 1948, confront and provoke audiences to consider the impact that (abusive power + unquestionable control= insert question statement) can have not only on the characters in these two texts, but also on the cultural and political lives of the reader and viewer. By subjugating & dehumanising the lower classes, dictators are

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Proles In George Orwell's 1984

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In 1984, a dystopian novel written by George Orwell, proles are represented as being generally incompetent in the ability to think and rebel against their stolen rights. However, as the story progresses, Winston comes to a realization that proles are the only ones with the character of human beings and the strength to gain consciousness to overthrow the party. Through this characterization of the proles, Orwell satirizes the detrimental effects of Stalin’s totalitarian government in employing total control and perpetual surveillance of the people in USSR to maintain an established hierarchy. The nature of how the system views the proles is clearly visible through the treatment and description of the proles in the eyes of Winston.

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Metropolis And Nineteen Eighty Four: A Comparative Study

1035 Words | 5 Pages

Orwell’s contexts stem from the post world war two pessimisms where rebellions were treated with torture and incarceration which is reflected in the novel. Rebellion in 1984 begins with winston unleashing all his fury by setting pen to paper using repetition of “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER” to emphasise the ultimate crime of rebellion winston had committed, “thoughtcrime”. The foreshadowing in “thoughtcrime does not entail death: thoughtcrime IS death” highlights that winston will eventually face the repercussions of perpetrating such crimes in “room 101”. Winston’s burdened emotions compels him to join a “secret organisation” which is exemplified in the contradictory statement “we are enemies of the party” because Winston joins a party, to rebel against another therefore contradicting his own belief of being an individual however, unlike metropolis, winston’s acts of rebellion do not end triumphantly. Therefore, It is evident that in a dictatorial society, individuals feel the need to rebel as an outlet for their

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513 Words | 3 Pages

In George Orwell’s 1984, a future totalitarian government is presented to the audience with the heavy use of satire. This government serves two purposes: mocking Communism and demonstrating the effects of government control on its citizens and society. Through his ominous tone, Orwell satirizes the relationship between citizens and members of government authority. He portrays O’Brien as Winston’s friend, rather than his enemy.

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884 Words | 4 Pages

Viewers inevitably become enraged with a “hideous ecstasy of fear and vindictiveness” (16). The slogans of the Party, in their contradictory nature, are the central tenets of doublethink. The final slogan of the Party, “Ignorance is Strength” (18), postulates the inability of the people to recognize contradictions affixes the power of the authoritarian regime. Winston observes a Party mantra which states “who controls the past, […] controls the future” and “who controls the present, controls the past” (37). The prevalence of propaganda instilled by the government inculcates the pedagogy of the party to enforce a fervent

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1391 Words | 6 Pages

By:Aman Parmar Internal conflict and strife affects people throughout their lives and the way an individual handles it may speak to who the character is, and how they view the people around them. In the book 1984 George Orwell created a world in which Winston, and many others lives are controlled by the party, resulting in fear, which may lead straight into conflict with themselves. Conflict between the characters and the party, and strife between O’Brien and Winston. The internal conflict and strife that is developed by the characters can lead to a certain thought or representation of an individual or group that can lead to two different outcomes, one in which makes the character understand, or the complete opposite, as they face challenges that they aren’t used to. Conflict between a person and themselves, can lead to both positive and negative thoughts of a person or a party, leading to realization, and the truth, and may also lead to believing what’s not the truth, regrets and overthinking.

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973 Words | 4 Pages

Living through the first half of the twentieth century, George Orwell watched the rise of totalitarian regimes in Germany, Italy, Spain, and the Soviet Union. Fighting in Spain, he witnessed the brutalities of the fascists and Stalinists first hand. His experiences awakened him to the evils of a totalitarian government. In his novel 1984, Orwell paints a dark and pessimistic vision of the future where society is completely controlled by a totalitarian government. He uses symbolism and the character’s developments to show the nature of total power in a government and the extremes it will go through to retain that power by repressing individual freedom and the truth.

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