Nineteen Eighty Four – 1949
Written by George Orwell
Set in Oceania (what we know as london)- Eurasia, EastAsia
Winston Smith ( first person) – 39 years old, drinks victory gin, works for the ministry of truth as a records editor.
Julia – 26, works as a machine operator in the ministry of truth. Represents all that is pure and good.
Obrien – an inner party member, he is all that is corrupt and cruel, befriending winston then toturing and killing him.
Neologism
- Telescreens (transmit both sides)
- Newspeak (the recommended language)
- Doublethink ( the acceptance of contrary opinions or beliefs at the same time, especially as a result of political indoctrination)
- Thoughtcrime (illegal thought)
- Thought Police
Ministry’s of Peace, Plenty, Love, Truth
“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.”
“War is peace.
Freedom is slavery.
Ignorance is strength.”
“If you want to keep a secret, you must also hide it from yourself.”
“Doublethink means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one’s mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them.”
“Down with big brother”
- Technology
- Totalitarian state
- Corruption
- A main protagonist
- Rebelling against the state through acts of own desire and humanity.
Use the Minority report, A handmaid’s tale, Donald Trump/North Korea/ Vladimir Putin
Minority Report – 2002
Loosely based off Philip K’s text, Directed by Steven Spielberg. Set in 2054.
Set in Washington DC USa. Optical recognition is everywhere.
John Anderton – His child was taken, now he’s trying to redeem by stopping all murders.
Agatha Lively – The Strongest Pre Cog. The only female She can see what the others cannot, without her the others cannot function. Forced to do the state’s bidding with no choice. Exposed.
Lamar Burgess – He strives for perfection and an immaculate world. He will do anything to get that.
Neologisms
- Precrime ( when someone has decided to or their future is set to make a murder)
- Pre Cogs ( the people who parents were heroin addicts, and this resulted in them being able to see murders)
- Neuroin/Clarity (the drugs which are inhaled and give a fuzzy buzz like heroin)
“Can you see” – Agatha
“Officer Fletcher: John, don’t run.
John Anderton: You don’t have to chase me.
Officer Fletcher: You don’t have to run.
John Anderton: Everybody runs, Fletch.”
“Dr. Iris Hineman: Sometimes, in order to see the light, you have to risk the dark.”
“Lycon: [to John Anderton] In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.”
“Gideon: Careful, Chief. Dig up the past, all you get is dirty.”
- Technology is a major factor, everything is glass, clean, perfected.
- Eye scanners – no privacy
- One person discovering the lies.
- One main governmental system controlling everything. Totalitarian state
You can find some extra quotations and reference material here:
The Handmaid’s Tale – 1985
Written by Margaret Atwood
Set in Gilead, where America/Usa is. Formed on a military dictatorship.
In the future, the christian state has taken over in a war which has deemed most woman sterile. Those that are not sterile, are forced to be raped and raped by commanders to try and produce offspring for the state. Women are forced to wear long dresses and hide themselves while being slaves to the male population. Offred recounts her life before the takeover where she had a lover and a child Where she was free and not monitored or being told what to do, while going forward as a fertile woman trying to stay alive. The ending, she gets hauled away in a van and you do not know what happens after that.
Features of dystopian
- Strong political presence.
- A force or power which keeps people in check.
- Some form of war or destruction.
- A strong protagonist not happy with following the rules/way of enforced life.