I’m not sure how I graduated High School without having to read 1984. Part of my goal of intentionally picking out 40 books for 2010 was to read a few of those books I always knew I should read.
It doesn’t take long to understand what makes 1984 a dystopian masterpiece. It’s influence of science fiction is obvious, and the pop culture legacy of terms like “Big Brother” doesn’t seem to be going away.
Although we made it through 1984 without falling into socialism, many of its warnings are more timely now than ever. The power of The Party was in their complete control of information, even the ability to control perceptions of the past.
The explosion of information in our culture promised to eradicate such threats, but it may actually be creating them. With too many voices to listen to, we create echo chambers of those who already agree with us. It’s easier to follow someone’s twitter links than to actually do the research. It wouldn’t be too hard for a few voices to control such a conversation.
How can Big Brother be stopped?
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