George Orwell 1984

[JWT]

As I work on the outline for my next sci-fi novel, I keep coming back to Orwell’s 1984.

It was published almost 80 years ago, yet people still reference it whenever governments, surveillance, censorship or manipulation of information make the news.

How close do you think we actually are to Orwell’s vision?

Are concepts like constant surveillance, changing language and social conformity becoming reality, or is 1984 now used as a catch-all comparison for things Orwell never imagined?

Which parts of the novel do you think proved remarkably accurate, and which parts missed the mark?

I’d be interested to hear whether you think 1984 has become more relevant with time, or whether another dystopian novel is a better guide to the world we’re living in today.

If you had to recommend one dystopian novel that best reflects the world of 2026, would it be 1984, or would you choose something else?

Looking forward to your thoughts

John Westley Turnbull

[Quoth]

His 1984 was about Governments that already existed in 1948, as was Animal Farm.

He started as a Communist but saw what the Soviet backed groups were doing in the Spanish Civil war (executing socialists!) and became a Socialist.

Stalin literally airbrushed people out of images and created fake history.

[nana77]

1Q84: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1Q84
Personally, I don't really give a f*, but survellaince and stalking are two things that differs, imho.
What I really don't like about it is the vile mood one takes within that, 'cause ain't facing confrontations.

[JWT]

To answer my own question, and without deliberately getting involved in today’s politics, I think some aspects of Orwell’s 1984 seem remarkably prescient, including, but certainly not limited to:

Fear as a political tool, where governments and media can use public anxiety to encourage compliance or attract attention.

Mass surveillance through CCTV, smartphones, location tracking, facial recognition and the vast amounts of personal data collected by governments and technology companies. The sheer volume of information that can now be gathered about ordinary people would have been almost unimaginable when Orwell wrote 1984.

Social conformity. Are there not parallels between Orwell’s state-enforced conformity and the pressures created today by social media, online outrage and public shaming?

Whether Orwell intended these exact parallels is open to debate, but I find it fascinating how often 1984 is still used to describe aspects of modern society.

The novel I’m currently outlining draws on some of these ideas, which is probably why I’ve found myself thinking about Orwell again.

John Westley Turnbull

[nana77]

May I argue that, whenewer that's real (and it is) anyone can't blame anything by ownself, 'cause to shut it down it's just one button (or not having a TV at all, or well.... I don't think it takes that much not to fullfill the 10 minuts of spare time by watching and scrolling, compulsively posts).
To me every minute of absolute silence values billions, billions of dollars. Will not exchange that for any.