Re:'1984' at Seventy: Why We Still Read Orwell
by basch on Tuesday June 11, 2019 @05:17PM
(#20159622)
I always wonder why these two books are framed as mutually exclusive (and F451 for that matter.)
They all reduce to tuning out discomfort, either through pleasure or storytelling. They paint pictures of different forms of self censorship.
You are either using pills, entertainment, religion, lies, propaganda, or marketing to achieve a nirvana of cognitive dissonance and safety.
They are not a zero sum game, they compliment each other nicely.
Another book that doesn't get mentioned enough in this category is Ira Levin's (Rosemary's Baby, The Stepford Wives, The Boys from Brazil) This Perfect Day. It's a global AI super computer house sorting hat, like Captain Marvel or I Robot, mixed with Gattaca.
They all reduce to tuning out discomfort, either through pleasure or storytelling. They paint pictures of different forms of self censorship.
You are either using pills, entertainment, religion, lies, propaganda, or marketing to achieve a nirvana of cognitive dissonance and safety.
They are not a zero sum game, they compliment each other nicely.
Another book that doesn't get mentioned enough in this category is Ira Levin's (Rosemary's Baby, The Stepford Wives, The Boys from Brazil) This Perfect Day. It's a global AI super computer house sorting hat, like Captain Marvel or I Robot, mixed with Gattaca.