Through the portrayal of dystopian worlds in George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty Four and Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, the composers aim to encourage their own societies more critically and understand the ways in which governments were able to use power and control to the detriment of the people. The composers skilfully use their settings and fictional world building as well as portrayals of totalitarianism as dystopia to explore governmental control and allow members of the audience and wider societies to re-examine their own political environments and think critically about their own societies. Orwell uses events and themes from his own understanding of his culture and society, and its history to build a world which not only represents the world he lives in or world histories he knows, but to encourage people in his current society to critically re-examine their own world and understandings of it. 1984 can be seen as a cautionary tale, warning readers of the dangers of totalitarianism and full governmental control by drawing from the author’s personal experience and knowledge of history. In the creation of Airstrip One and Oceania, Orwell uses imagery to explore how totalitarian regimes take …show more content…
The characterisation of Robot Maria as a State vessel who pretends to work for the people, but instead serves the state is similar to the representation of secret police, as well as acting as a foil for normal Maria and perpetuating the Madonna/whore complex to add further meaning. The idea of covert surveillance is one which worries viewers and through the portrayal of a dystopian society which uses surveillance to control people, allows the composer to examine the ways which governments gain control over people to encourage others to examine their own societies and vulnerabilities to the control of the