Equilibrium Vs 1984

The movie Equilibrium directed by Kurt Wimmer, and the book 1984 written by George Orwell both explore what would happen when a government has complete control. When you let someone think for you and make all of your decisions, you lose what makes you human, which is your free will, and your ability to make conscious decisions. In both the text and movie they take away human identity to gain control. The key differences are the ways Big Brother and Father seize control, and what effect it has on the main character’s thoughts, and how this translates into their actions.

In 1984 control is a two party system, which the citizens are willing to give up freedom in order for protection, and as soon as their vulnerable the government oversteps its boundaries and reaps complete control. Big Brother is able to maintain control by erasing the past they hold everything that is dear to all humans which are memories. As a result the only way the citizens of Ingsoc know who they are is to look towards Big Brother to shape them as a character. As Bloom said the way the citizens want to be molded, is
At their core they are similar, however, Big Brother does a better job because its scheme is more complicated and sinister, whereas the flaw in Tetragrammaton plan is easier to exploit. Destroying Big Brother would require destroying everything because all the citizens of Ingsoc know, is Big Brother, and Big Brother controls every facet of their life. The downfall and salvation of both entities as Orwell put well: “Until they become conscious they will never rebel, and until after they have rebelled they cannot become conscious”(70). Consciousness and humanity are one and the same. So when these entities gain control they no longer have control over humans, they have control over non human,