1984 Post Reading

  The idea of government oppression is terrifying. As Americans, we like to at least feel as if we have some control in what goes on in our life, so any situation where we don't is one that we fear. This is why I think the most terrifying "Utopian" is one where people are falsely content and happy with their lives in government.
  The main reason I believe this is simple. In a world where you believe you are happy, you won't fight back against the oppression. In almost every dystopian I've read, the society is mostly happy, so they never resist, while the protagonist is unhappy, giving them the means to fight back. For instance, in 1984, the government relies on people like Winston to make themselves and their figure head Big Brother look perfect, thus making the society falsely happy, which is why there's little to no resistance. But in other dystopias where the society isn't happy, there is resistance, like the Hunger Games. In The Hunger Games, the society's unhappiness led to a full blown revolution, which is why I think its more dangerous when the society is unaware of how oppressed and unhappy they truly are. Any thoughts of resistance would be gone, as they would be content with what they had.
  Another example worth noting is Anthem. In Anthem, the society isn't necessarily happy with putting everyone else first, but they believe it to be for the better, and view anything else as selfish and wrong, which is why there's no rebelling. It's because the government played on the society's morals, in a "you don't really want to be that kind of person, do you?" kind of way. This shows when Equality breaks the rules. Notice that he's never afraid of his government punishing him, but rather, he feels as if he went against his morals. It's kind of similar to the Roman Catholic Church in the dark ages. They made people believe that it was wrong to disobey the clergy and the monarchy, and sinful to learn to read. In 1984, writing in books is illegal, and spending time alone is questionable. The government is trying to make a new language to replace the old, so that people could forget about the time where there was freedom. The society just allows itself to be oppressed. Any problem that they face from the government is swept under the rug, like people getting vaporized. It's kind of like the Matrix. People are slaves but either don't know it, or refuse to accept it, which is the way some society's are today. In fact, North Korea is basically the real world example of Oceanic London in 1984. They both brainwash the people into believing that their government is this perfect ruler, through propaganda, and cutting off communication with the rest of the world.
  I think at any rate, we should keep government's under close surveillance. They're supposed to be doing what is in the best interest for the people, and the second they stop is the second we should resist.