111-2 Reading and Oral Training

Conclusion of 1984: What does "Orwellian" really mean?

After reading the story of Oceania in 1984, one should be very familiar with the word
"Orwellian." The dystopian society of Oceania depicts Orwell's imagination of a totalitarian
society. However, "Orwellian" is not merely about the new words or Orwellian terms that
Orwell invented in 1984, nor is it only used to describe the obvious political surveillance and
limits on personal freedom of any regime. More so, it is about the sacrifice and surrender of
ideas through the careless loss of linguistic complexity, regardless of the society one is in.

In 1984, Newspeak was the language system that the Party relentlessly worked on. The entire
Ministry of Truth was devoted not only to rewriting history but also to revising, editing, and
creating a dictionary. The purpose was to reduce language to its bare bones and eliminate the
nuances of language and its corresponding ideas. Having fewer words means the expression
and communication of human consciousness would also have less subtlety and intricacy.
However, having fewer words in the dictionary was not the ultimate purpose; Newspeak was,
in fact, "designed to diminish the range of thought." It was those delicate and complicated
thoughts and feelings in your mind that the Party wanted to take over and eliminate.

Can you tell the difference between "uncold" and "warm"? Or "ungood" and "bad"? If you
can, then imagine if one day those words disappeared from the dictionary and ceased to exist.
Would you still be able to remember what "warm" is and what "bad" means after twenty
years have passed?

Knowing that there is a big telescreen watching over everything you say and do is a
straightforward and intimidating fear. However, having one's thoughts reconstructed and
reeducated through language is much less direct and could be achieved without physical
violence. Though it might take a comparatively longer time, less resistance is also a gain.
Although a slow process, it can nevertheless be very effective if it creeps inside your
unconsciousness without you even noticing it. When there are no words such as "warm" and
"bad," you will likely never be able to complain about a malfunctioning heating system
during brutal winters or think hard about how to improve your life if it is merely "ungood"
instead of bad. Without such opposing words to express opposite ideas, everything becomes
just a matter of different levels of severity, not a status quo to accept, tolerate, avoid or even
to challenge and change.

In 1984, the Party tried to control its people via Newspeak. Therefore, from a reader's point
of view, the enemy of the people and its weapon are both clear to see. But imagine if you
were one of the people in Oceania, told to hate Goldstein, what should you believe? And in
our life today, are we free from such conflicting information wars? Does your enemy look
like Big Brother on the telescreen, or does your enemy even have one identifiable look? How
should one distinguish lies from truths?
The modern term "media literacy" sums up the current environment of our media-dominant
society and offers a contemporary answer to the Orwellian dystopia. When George Orwell
wrote the story, he was certainly against any form of tyranny of any political system. But the
story was also a cautionary tale about the importance of language and how it could be used as
a powerful tool to destroy and fabricate—"Who controls the past controls the future, who
controls the present controls the past."

Nowadays, with the quick exchange of information and the popular culture of following Key
Opinion Leaders (KOLs) and online celebrities, public opinions can be easily formed without
much scrutiny. Similar scenarios, like the "Hate Week," using a popular craze to marginalise
other viewpoints, are being noticed. In the name of democracy, the brutality of populism is
not unheard of. Contemporary concepts like cyber warfare, media framing, fake news,
disinformation, logical fallacy, filter bubble, fact-checking, and so on are not merely trendy
but critical ideas when cultivating one's intellectual independence.

So, to return to our original question: What does Orwellian really mean? If you are waiting
for an answer from me, then be careful—you might be waiting for an Orwellian type of
information input, like brainwashing. But if you are looking around the room and trying to
identify unquestioned, pre-made ideas and opinions that slip into your life, then chances are
you are on the right track to finding your own answer.

Ted-Ed:
What “Orwellian” Really Means?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oe64p-QzhNE

Key ideas:
1. Multiple roles of language
2. History and individuals
3. Home and rootless people
4. Science, logic and civilisation
5. Physical torture and psychological control
6. Technology and us