1984 And Metropolis

Dystopian texts portray worlds in which oppressive societal control and the illusion of utopia is maintained through propaganda and indoctrination at the expense of altruistic human values. Fritz Lang’s expressionist, science-fiction film Metropolis (1927) and George Orwell’s dystopic novel 1984 (1949) both critique the imposition of conformity and excessive control in society, as well as caution against misguided scientific hubris, whilst highlighting the significance of the individual. Through the comparative study of these texts, responders attain an enhanced understanding of the context’s influence on the representation of these polysemic and multifaceted societal concerns.

Oppressive societal regimes deny individuals personal identity,
Orwell’s condescending views towards totalitarian authority and advocation for individuality stems from Stalinism of the Soviet Union, based on psychological manipulation and the exploitation of power, typified in animalistic imagery “Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing”, EXPLAIN THE QUOTE. The extent to which tyrannical dictatorship leads to rigid orthodoxy and societal subservience is expounded in the hyperbole, “Nothing was your own except the few cubic centimeters inside your skull”. The prohibition of individualism by society’s monolithic dogma is explicated in the oxymoronic state slogan “War is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength” which indoctrinates jarring contradictions as established social values. Furthermore, in the solitary dissidence of Winston, the sibilant aphorism “Sanity is not statistical…if you clung to truth even against the whole world, you are not mad” edifies the innate human nature to develop a strong sense of individual identity, foreshadowing a rebellion. The paradox “Until they became conscious they will never rebel, and until after they have rebelled they cannot become conscious,” substantiates the inevitability of human rebellion through history and across texts, although, in contrast to Lang, Orwell shows that rebellion does not always prevail, revealing that tyrannies such as fascism and Stalinism annihilate human sentience. Orwell’s 1984 and Lang’s ‘Metropolis’ explicate the significance of individuality, revealing the dehumanising effects of conformity and extreme control arising from dictatorial