Olivia and Orwell

Elizabeth thinks Olivia is reading Animal Farm…
Olivia: No, Elizabeth, it’s not Animal Farm. It’s 1984. You know, the one about a dystopian future where everything is controlled by Big Brother.
Elizabeth: Oh, I see. So, you’re reading about a world where pigs don’t have to sew dresses either?
Olivia: Oho. Hilarious. At least I’m expanding my mind. What are you doing? Sewing tiny dresses for plush toys?
Elizabeth: Hey, those tiny dresses bring joy to a lot of plush toys. And besides, I don’t hear you complaining when you get a new outfit.
Olivia: Touché. But I still think reading Orwell is a bit more intellectually stimulating than sewing.
Elizabeth: Stimulating, huh? I bet you just like the idea of a world where you can boss everyone around, like Napoleon in Animal Farm.
Olivia: Oh pulease, if anyone’s a dictator around here, it’s you with your sewing schedule. ‘Olivia, hold this fabric! Olivia, fetch me the scissors!’
Elizabeth: Well, someone has to keep you busy. Otherwise, you’d just be lounging around with your nose in a book all day.
Olivia: And what’s wrong with that? At least I’m not making a mess with thread and fabric scraps everywhere.
Elizabeth: Mess? You mean the creative chaos of making beautiful dresses? Maybe you should try it sometime. It might be a nice break from all that ‘intellectual stimulation’.
Olivia: I’ll pass, thanks. But if you ever need a critique on Orwell’s portrayal of totalitarian regimes, just ask.
Elizabeth: And if you ever need a fabulous new dress to wear while reading, feel free.
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Voice-over
Elizabeth and Olivia seem well-matched and well-read in this tennis of taunts.

Orwell's Dystopia, Huxley's Dystopia

George and Aldous discuss their visions of the future:

George: Big Brother will ban books.

Aldous: There’ll be too many books to read.

George: Big Brother will deprive us of information.

Aldous: We’ll be fed so much information we’ll be paralyzed.

George: Big Brother will spy on us with cameras and microphones.

Aldous: Computers will spy on our trivial shopping lists and suggest alternatives.

George: Big Brother will control us by inflicting pain.

Aldous: People will be controlled by indulging in pleasure.

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Voice-over

Conversation adapted from an Orwell-Huxley infographic created by Column Five for Akom Entertainment. In Orwell's dystopia, we have no choice to escape. In Huxley's dystopia, it is also hard... to escape from pleasure.

FaceBook + Google = 1984 False analogy?

f.b + g = 1984

A darkened room, whispering…

Julia: It’s getting like 1984.

Winston: What is?

Julia: FaceBook collecting all your private data and putting it online.

Winston: False analogy. You volunteer your private information to FaceBook. Orwell’s Big Brother was watching you.

Julia: Well how about Google then? It watches where you go and collects that information without asking.

Winston: False analogy again. Orwell’s Big Brother used the data to control the citizens. Google sells your information.

Julia: It still feels like 1984 with all the spying going on.

Winston: I will say this though. FaceBook and Google add up to something like 1984. It’s a partial analogy.

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Voice-over

An analogy compares A with B and finds that they share features.

A false analogy is one where A and B may superficially share features but underneath there is little relevance or only a few shared features.

Hillary Clinton commented at the UN on the recent civil unrest in Syria, that to compare Syria to Libya was a “false analogy.”

Valid analogies may range from strong through partial to weak. Winston’s reasoning that two false analogies add up to a partial analogy is intriguing. It has an instinctive validity.

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