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Similarities Between Metropolis And 1984

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Diverging contextual influences shape the way in which dystopian texts portray worlds in which oppressive societal control and the illusion of utopia is maintained through propaganda and indoctrination at the expense of altruistic human values. Fritz Lang’s expressionist 1927 film Metropolis and George Orwell’s 1949 dystopic novel 1984 critique the imposition of conformity due to unbridled authority in society, as well as convey the importance of human connections for a harmonious, progressive society. Through the comparative study of these texts, responders attain an enhanced understanding of the context’s influence on the representation of these multifaceted societal concerns. Excessive authorial power in society deny individuals personal …show more content…

The eradication of “ordinary human feeling(s)” is portrayed in cumulative listing “Never again will [Winston] be capable of love… courage, or integrity”, reflective of the impact of Stalinist punishment regimes for rebels. Orwell establishes the innate desire for intellectual freedom and autonomous thought in Winston's first act of rebellion against the Party in the repeated entry of "DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER" in his diary. Winston's rebellious affair with Julia results in Winston's feelings of anger and hatred to shift to more compassionate affections, emotions which Lang also emphasises in Metropolis, "At the sight of the words, I love you, the desire to stay alive had welled in him". Parson's dream, "I started talking in my sleep... 'Down with Big Brother!'" revealing that the intrinsic desire for freedom can never be suppressed, yet, irony in Parson’s “doleful pride” at his daughter denouncement of his thoughtcrime exemplifies the division within familial structures, posing as a microcosm for the loss of human connections and ensuing societal divisions. Hence, due to the political upheaval, which arose preceding the Cold War, Orwell's perspective on his contemporary society gives rise to the bleak ending of 1984, depicted in the metaphor "[the] bullet was entering his brain". In 1984, Orwell defends the individual liberties of expression as being necessary for our humanity, just as Lang emphasised the need for empathy and compassion for the functioning of

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Metropolis And 1984 Essay

1039 Words | 5 Pages

Having eliminated all bonds of human connection between individuals, the Party intended that ‘the sex instinct will be eradicated… neurologists shall abolish the orgasm’ where the high modal declaration depicts the frightening measures imposed by the administration to prevent revolution. Thus, the relationship between Winston and Julia serves as an outlet of instinct but is also an expression of rebellion against the status quo: ‘their embrace had been a battle… It was a political act.’   Further, the ‘glass paper weight’ motif serves as a reminder of the past, a beacon of hope but in the arrest shatters, signifying defeat to the state. Ultimately, as Winston falls short of liberation, he disintegrates into a shell of his former self: betraying Julia and becomes a mindless vehicle of the Party’s propaganda for Big Brother.

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Fahrenheit 451 And The Handmaid's

987 Words | 4 Pages

After reading a select few words of science fiction from the twentieth century, one of the most recurring themes was the power of words and literature. Or rather, the fear of the power that literature and words may have on society. In the dystopian novels, Nineteen Eighty-Four, Fahrenheit 451, and The Handmaid’s Tale, the envisioned societies were all controlled by governments that disvalued books. It could be assumed by readers of these novels, that the reasoning behind the prohibition of novels in these works is due to the ideas that could influence those in their so-called utopias. The symbolic representations of the newspaper in Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, the pillow in Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, and the temperature at which paper

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Similarities Between Fahrenheit 451 And Minority Report

334 Words | 2 Pages

Dystopian Literature is a science fiction, futuristic, and imaginative society that is caliginous and miserable. In a dystopian world, a ordinary society isn’t portrayed to be good because of the flaws contained in the non perfect society . In Fahrenheit 451 (F451) and Minority Report two characteristics present are propaganda being used to control the citizens of society along with citizens are perceived to be under constant surveillance. Fahrenheit 451 and Minority Report both have the characteristic of propaganda being used to take control of the citizens.

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Connection Between 1984 And George Orwell's Flanders

2082 Words | 9 Pages

These viewpoints were spreading all across the world and tension between Communist countries like the USSR and Democratic countries like the United States began to rise increasingly. As Political ideas begun to rise all across the world Orwell reflected 1984 as “a novel wrote as a warning after years of brooding on the twin menaces of Nazism and Stalinism.” (famousauthor). Another notable reason on why Orwell could have written this the way he did would be the war he witnessed during the World War Two era “he uses the nostalgic recollections of a middle-aged man to

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Similarities Between 1984 And Fahrenheit 451

554 Words | 3 Pages

History provides us with many examples of the great lengths that the government or the society is willing to traverse to suppress or censor what they consider dissentious or “incorrect” ideas and values. When Knowledge becomes a weapon against the totalitarian authority, and History becomes the evidence, a rewriting of historical facts is required to curb the people witnessing the ‘change’. The authority therefore constantly refines and alters History, through the medium of language, with the ultimate goal that no one will be able to conceptualise anything that might question the authority’s absolute power. Winston Churchill aptly said in his speech ‘The Defence of Freedom and Peace (The Lights are Going Out)’, “… how are they to quell the natural promptings of human nature, which after all these centuries of trial and progress has inherited a whole armoury of potent and indestructible knowledge?” Hence, complete complacency and ignorance from the people is what the authority requires, both of them shown at their extremes in two dystopian novels, George Orwell’s 1984 and Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451.

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Comparing Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 And George Orwell

1115 Words | 5 Pages

Totalitarian regimes, desolate environments, genetic modification, dehumanization of individuals, suffocating societal planning, infringement on personal rights, and the demonization of any and all who oppose authority—these nightmarish things have one thing in common: all are aspects of dystopian works. The dystopian societies presented in fiction writing and the resulting popularity during different time periods, such as the height of the Cold War, postcolonial Africa, and the last decade in America, are products of political satire and parody reflecting on current societal and political issues and extrapolating them to their extreme conclusions. The Oxford English Dictionary defines the word “dystopia” as “an imaginary place or condition in which everything is as bad as possible” (“Oxford English Dictionary”). Certainly, nearly everybody has read at least a handful of dystopian works in their lifetime.

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Loyalty In 1984

1083 Words | 5 Pages

They had held on to the primitive emotions which he himself had to relearn by conscious effort” (165). Winston, a member of the Outer Party, is exasperated by the internal workings of the Party as he lives in a terrifying society that completely represses humanity, while also demanding complete control of all aspects of daily life. Throughout Winston’s lifetime, Big Brother and the Party instill fear and paranoia in him through their persistent surveillance aimed at eliminating deviation from the Party and dehumanizing him, causing him to eventually misplace his loyalty as he lives unhappily. Orwell emphasizes how the Party demands not only loyalty and respect from their citizens, but also absolute obedience, causing them to live as puppets of the regime. While sitting in the Chestnut Tree Café, Winston is reminded of a conversation he had with Julia, where she remarked, “‘They can’t get inside you,’

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What Is The Vulnerability Of Power In 1984 By George Orwell

1141 Words | 5 Pages

And ... at the end tongue sticking right out" emphasises the way that individuals have become inured to violence by constant exposure to cruelty. Furthermore, through the depiction of Winston's loveless relationship with his wife Katherine in the simile "to embrace her was like embracing a jointed wooden image", Orwell highlights how the Party's control of human intimacy to ensure absolute devotion to the State has caused the disintegration of meaningful relationships. However, whilst Winston and Julia's romance serves as a symbol of the power of love to undermine the power of the state, Orwell illustrates how relationships are ultimately rendered obsolete in the metaphor "No emotion was pure, because everything was mixed up with fear and hatred", signifying how constant indoctrination has diminished individuals’ capacity for true emotional expression hence destroying their relationships. Finally, Orwell demonstrates the inevitable destruction of relationships in Winston's

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Comparison Between '1984 And Metropolis'

1382 Words | 6 Pages

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

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Similarities Between 1984 And Metropolis

939 Words | 4 Pages

Fritz Lang and George Orwell express their concern for the welfare of future societies throughout their texts Metropolis and Nineteen Eighty-four, stimulated by the scenes they witnessed from their contexts. Fritz Lang directed and released Metropolis (1927) in Germany during the time of the Weimar Republic, significantly influencing his film. George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-four (1949) was motivated from the events from both World Wars and the malicious dictators such as Hitler, Stalin and Mussolini that came to power, demonstrating totalitarian dictatorships. Through their dystopic texts, they present a warning on the detriment of totalitarian leaders with their covetousness to demonstrate power and control by all means necessary leading

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705 Words | 3 Pages

The story of Moses is perhaps one of the most well-known stories in the Bible. Moses was chosen by God to bring his people redemption. When God came to him, and told him what he was to do, Moses tried to dissuade God from sending him. At that point he has a wife and child, he was leading a comfortable life. (Clowney, 2013, p. 91)

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1984 And The Handmaid's Tale Essay

1239 Words | 5 Pages

In ‘1984’ and ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’, the destruction of the individual is due to a combination of the destruction of independence, language and totalitarian monopolistic control. Complete collectivism, despite separate political beliefs, is presented throughout dictatorial societal jurisdiction as being the predominant way to maintain eternal power. The regimes seek to control individuals and therefore engage in continuing reconnaissance or surveillance of the populace. The mind is the most individual source of power to any person and totalitarianism aims to create complete orthodoxy by controlling and manipulating the mind. Both Orwell in ‘Nineteen Eighty Four’ and Atwood in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ are examples of how dystopian literature presents

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1984 Victory Gin Analysis

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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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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771 Words | 4 Pages

This gives the illusion of a dystopian society. George Orwell’s novel 1984 conforms to the conventions of dystopia by using propaganda, depicting people who are dehumanized, and the citizens conform to uniform expectations in order to showcase the complete control of the Party. The

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