The Power to Create

by Ariel Anton

Upon reading the first few chapters of 1984, by George Orwell, I quickly realized something I that was a common theme in the earlier units and lectures: the dangers associated with a very strong slogan. In 1984, the quote "War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength" is repeated on many occasions--on posters, and on telescreens. The use of slogans historically allowed for propaganda to become reality, and in conjunction with redefining words, the Party in 1984 believes that this will serve as a key mechanism in assuming control over everyone under their authority. Through this, we see that nobody is brave enough to speak out logically, and these logical contradictions become embedded truth to the people in Oceania. We can look at this issue today: how many people have you seen using the term "peaceful protests" to actually describe violent rioting? All too often we have seen individuals with bad intentions infiltrating crowds of people who truly seek to protest peacefully, and then inciting the violence that the media scrambles to cover and shock the world with. Most of the time now, we can look at the media simply equating "protests" to "riots," which are two very different actions that many news outlets are increasingly reporting to be essentially synonymous. The slogan in 1984 is showing how a society can equate two very contrasting words, thus, eliminating an individual's ability to know the difference between what words are right and what words are wrong. 

Something that struck me later in the story is when Winston finds a paperweight, and wonders about its decorative purpose and the time that it must have been made in.  This brought up the idea that decoration and art itself can be a threat to the Party--thinking creatively is dangerous, as it leads people outside the lines of what they have always been told to only practice and believe. Decorations and artistic works are inspiring, thus, the Party clearly has worked to remove all things that could lead a person to feel inspired and create one's own individuality. When people are able to create, envision, and make symbolic messages through their own work, they are threatening the control that one may have upon them. If we look at the way art works today, many messages are being passed around beyond a studio setting--they are expressed on murals and on the street. These works stimulate feelings and can stir strong emotions within people--often without even displaying any words. From what we have already seen earlier, language can be easily manipulated and lead people to lose control of how they are able to speak freely, as the definitions of words in dictionaries become null. Destroying art and fine craftsmanship is the final way to erase history, meaning, and life as we know it, since we not only interpret the objective aspect of arts and crafts like we do when we read, but the visual stimulation allows us to feel the subjectivity that can't otherwise be felt while viewing little black words on white paper.