Film-1984

Ok this is well known in england but im not sure how well know it is in other countries, but i was watching it last night and its the first time ive seen the movie(based off a book written in 1949 for those who dont know) and man it was sick. Never before has a movie made me think so much about what could happen, and for once i saw a movie that didnt have a 'good guys winning' ending! The main guy was getting tortured for the last 20 mins or so of the movie in order to be made to 'love big brother' who controls everything. The ending confused me abit though...what are other peoples opinion on this film/book? I thought it was very realistic and kind of reminds me of how saddam hussein was.Though not even he was that evil.

you reall should read the book. It's amazing.

Already have-this just reminded me of it and got me thinking again.

I saw this a while ago after i read the book. It was a good movie, but it didn't hit so much as thought provoking, as i've already read the book. From what i remember it was pretty much just as the book was.

What part of the ending are you confused about?

It was cos the guy was about to get eaten by rats, and then all of a sudden it went to him just going along with the system and he looks llike he's had nothing done to him after all that torture.

Its only thought provoking for me i guess because i havent read the book for a while.

agreed - it's a seminal work.

i think that casting john hurt as winston and richard burton as o'brien were both excellent decisions.

alasdair

exactly ^ amazing and much better than the movie,imo
one of my favorite pieces of lit.

The most relevant book of our time (IMO).

My fondest memory of the movie was it was the first time i had seen full frontal nudity as a kid. It stunned me a bit actually. Hey, i was 7 at the time. ehhehehhe

^Aye, thats bit class isnt it.

Well the book, and the rest of Orwell's work are among my most highly regarded pieces of literature.

But haven't seen the movie.

George Orwell is great.

Anyone ever read down and out in paris and london?

^ Yeah I've read all of his books with the exception of homage to catalonia though I have that on my phone so I'll read it sooner or later.

Down and Out in Paris in London is based on a period of his life in which he actually gave up all his possessions and went to live on the streets for a few years as he was sick of trying to live a meaningful life within society. What a man!

If anyone is interested you can get all of his works for free here.

I would recommend that you have some sort of portable e-reading device as sitting in front of a computer to read a book is kind of a bitch.

Keep The Aspidistra Flying is probably my fav. Orwell novel. Check it out if you get the chance.

And SmC if you sit and think about it for a while it is easy to draw so many parallels not just between 1984 and totalitarian regimes, but between it and democratic regimes as well.

In fact if you factor in the state of today's media in Western countries it is much easier to draw distinctions with the themes encountered in 1984 than by comparing it to third-world countries.

In my opinion 1984 did happen it just happened differently. It wasn't necessary to restrict people's lives totalitarianily. They just gave us MTV (insert your own favourite method of thought control through denying people the motivation to use their brains here), and the stupidity of all of us did the rest.

"I'd rather be a prisoner in a George Orwellian world, than this pacified society of happy boys and girls" - Propagandhi.

For another interesting piece of literature along similar lines (I think there is also a movie) check out Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451. Although once again, in reality, rather than just banning books, they gave us TV.



RIP one of the world's "stand out" people.

**EXTREME SPOILER**

"He gazed up at the enormous face. Forty years it had taken him to learn
what kind of smile was hidden beneath the dark moustache. O cruel, needless
misunderstanding! O stubborn, self-willed exile from the loving breast!
Two gin-scented tears trickled down the sides of his nose. But it was all
right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won
the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother."

I have found this final passage recurring to me over and over in the years since I first read the book.

lostpunk5545 said:

And SmC if you sit and think about it for a while it is easy to draw so many parallels not just between 1984 and totalitarian regimes, but between it and democratic regimes as well.

In fact if you factor in the state of today's media in Western countries it is much easier to draw distinctions with the themes encountered in 1984 than by comparing it to third-world countries.

In my opinion 1984 did happen it just happened differently. It wasn't necessary to restrict people's lives totalitarianily. They just gave us MTV (insert your own favourite method of thought control through denying people the motivation to use their brains here), and the stupidity of all of us did the rest.

"I'd rather be a prisoner in a George Orwellian world, than this pacified society of happy boys and girls" - Propagandhi.

Click to expand...

Yup i know what you mean mate-was just using saddam as an example cos thats what most people are familiar with nowadays.

With respect to fictional parallels to modern life, I think Huxley's Brave New World hit closer to the mark, given the spendthrift, consumerist, shallow, media-soaked environment of the first world.

of course this book^ would come up in this discussion. my very favorite of this type. and i agree it does come closer to the vision of the present time (than 1984) with all that belisarius mentioned and also with the images of excess and sedation

While I agree that Brave New World came closer to hitting the mark with a possible vision of the future (in the sense of technology etc.) I still find 1984 to be a far superior book