V For Vendetta Vs. 1984

3/5/08

V for Vendetta vs. 1984

Throughout 1984, George Orwell (the author) gives the reader a sense of darkness and despair. Oceania's mainland is called Air Strip One, which was formerly England. Showing Oceania full of destroyed buildings and bombed-out clearings really hits home with readers. This gives people the chance to visualize a well known place under complete destruction. V for Vendetta gives off the same exact feeling throughout the entire film. It takes place in England also but has a vigilante hero. Both the movie and book have a feeling of deep hatred towards an unstoppable government.

Big Brother and INGSOC have the entire community wrapped around their fingers. Big Brother has full control over everyone. There is a telescreen in every home to monitor the citizens. This scares the citizens into a state of allowance. They don't question anything Big Brother says because they know he will have them killed. The Party forces their hand on every aspect of life. They change history by deleting and changing text in newspapers, magazines, and books. This shines a positive light on Big Brother, who is made responsible for every positive change in Oceania. Not only does the Party control the past they are trying to prevent the future by developing a new language called Newspeak. Newspeak is an attempt to prevent political rebellion by destroying every word related to it. Not only does the Party have complete control over text, they also control the citizens' thoughts. People are even afraid to think against the government because of thoughtcrime. If someone looks suspicious anyone can accuse them of

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thoughtcrime which eventually will lead to death because you can't prove you weren't thinking against the government.

Oceania is a hopeless country. The people cannot think for themselves and their way of life is way below par. Citizens are given horrible food and some are even a generic version of the "real