Oppressive Government In The Movie, Diver

Oppressive Government The government displayed in the book 1984 and in the movie Divergent have become so involved and manipulating in everyday life that they are actively seeking out any sort of rebellion and making their people believe they are not doing anything wrong. Not only is the government a common theme in both, but an element of love in introduced to the character that is rebelling. The fact that the government has to seek out groups and organizations that are trying to overthrow them is a sign that their citizens are not happy. It is shown multiple times throughout the book and the movie that any sort of rebellion is looked down on and the government shows no mercy. There is also a lack of basic rights or ways to obtain supplies
that would be helpful in organizing a rebellion. In today’s American government, people worry the government could get to that point, but there are checks, balances in the system to prevent such a government from becoming reality. In the Bill of Rights, a part of the Constitution of the United States of America, the second amendment protects our right to bear arms, which was first proposed as a way for the citizens to protect themselves not only from invading countries or for militias, but also for the people to withstand our own government if it were to ever become overreaching.
In 1984 there wouldn’t be any such right, mostly because the government could change that document at any time they felt necessary. In Divergent, there is access to guns, but all the people are split up into factions and anyone who does not fit into the one they choose is cast out of society, where they couldn’t receive any supplies not given to them by one of the factions. These dystopian societies have unique ways in discouraging their people from having opinions that differ from the government, while our real world government is concerned with protecting our right to not only have those opinions, but to also share them within the
law. Another component that leads people to believe that there is a corrupt element to our government is the endless hierarchy of people that any task must travel through to get to an executive. In 1984 the Outer Party is like our local government where you have localized tasks and small problems that do not need the attention of the more important people, and the Inner Party was responsible for the things that were directly related to the big idea tasks and making sure the Outer Party stays in line. In Divergent, the separation of the factions is almost like a hierarchy, because Erudyte seems to believe they are better and take control of government and execute all the members of Abnegation. An interesting detail is that in either story, the age sixteen is the age when children are placed or choose which faction they will belong to. The separation of powers in our current society could be compared to those found in Divergent, but in reality, America’s separation of powers is constructed much better, and is dependent on all of the people, which protects one group of people from becoming too powerful. It is also interesting how the theme of love is introduced in both.
It is used in both as a way to propel the rebellion of both main characters. Winston only thinks of rebelling against the government until he becomes close with Julia, and then he actively is committing a crime that he uses as his rebellion against the government. Similarly, Triss rebels against Erudyte and puts a stop to how they are trying to control Dauntless to overthrow the already existing government. Although the outcomes are quite different, there is a similarity in the theme of love being a catalyst to the rebellious thoughts and actions of the main character in both the book and movie. Love is something that is passionate enough to drive you into doing things you wouldn’t normally do, and both stories use it as a way to propel the character into a dangerous and new
situation. A dystopian society is exemplified in both stories as well, and is shown in many ways. One way a dystopian society is displayed is that there is an ongoing war in both, one which is fought by dauntless in Divergent, and just a regular army in 1984, but neither war is actually apparent, because you only hear news of victories in 1984 and the war in Divergent seems to be on hold at the time. One other way that the consumer becomes aware of the dystopian society is that the government uses drugs against people, either during torture or to take control of them ("Similarities."). One last way both worlds have become unsatisfactory is the fact that people are classified in society and you are always being told where you should fit in and don’t have the option to really explore all the opportunities. When living in a society such as Ameria’s, and reading about a government that has grown too big for the good of the people, people start to worry that our government could become similar. The only way to prevent such a problem from occurring is to actively support or to try to prevent certain policies and legislation from becoming standard. Both stories provide examples of a life that becomes detrimental to people's health, and carry many similarities, but also an abundance of differences. With the examples of the government overstepping their reach, people become more aware that they need to be an active citizen and prevent the atrocities written in fiction from becoming reality.