By Any Means Necessary

George Orwell’s novel, 1984, has become an iconic cultural reference to government control in the 21st Century. In a time where the implemented system, like capitalism or socialism, is brought into question by social uncertainties, whether it would terrorist attacks or economic uncertainty, 1984 is brought out to exemplify the argument for those in favor of the opposing position. The story of Winston’s life in the dystopian society known as Oceania shows the oppression and the lack of rights an individual has when a government has supreme control over a society. The intentions behind the oppressive actions of the totalitarian government in control, in 1984, were to protect the society from the perils of an emotional world and create the closest form of utopian society. Regardless of what country you are in today, a government’s actions mirror those of the authoritative state in Orwell’s novel; protect their society by any means necessary and ensure its future prosperity. However, in doing this, a government must also assure its own future. Therefore, anarchy and resistance towards the system in place cannot be tolerated and must be dealt with swiftly, as seen in 1984 with the concept of the “Thought Police.”
After September 11, the United States government was able to clearly view the extent of the extreme opposition and the danger they brought to the society of America; a society they worked hard to build and perfect, despite its many flaws. For the United States, this society is the closest there is to a Utopia. It was threat that had to be dealt with quickly and prevent at any cause. As a result, the “US Patriot Act” was created on October 26 of 2001, according to the American Civil Liberties Union or ACLU. Some of the things that the “Patriot Act” allows the government to conduct unauthorized searches, access “personal medical, financial, mental health, and student records with minimal judicial oversight,” detain American citizens and non-citizens indefinitely without charges, and expand “ terrorism laws to include ‘domestic terrorism’ which could subject political organizations to surveillance, wiretapping, harassment, and criminal action for political advocacy,” (“The USA PATRIOT ACT and Government Actions that Threaten Our Civil Liberties”). According to the ACLU, the rights provided by the first, fourth, fifth, sixth, eight, and fourteenth amendments were violated by the “Patriot Act.” However, the United States may make the point the abilities given to them by this act ensures that they can keep the public safe from another terrorist attack. Perhaps some rights will be violated but it will be for America’s greater good. On the other side, the opposing view may declare this to be the start of slippery slope in which the government partakes in questionable actions – all for the sake of national security.
Eventually, in the pursuit of a world free of violence and despair, the authoritative state may take more severe actions to ensure the prosperity of whatever society is maintaining that state. Stanley Kubrick’s film A Clockwork Orange is an example of where the slippery slope may lead a government. In the film, a young man named Alex is brainwashed, or “treated,” into believing all sorts of lewd acts are terrible. The intentions of the government portrayed in the film have moved into preventing and controlling for the security of their society. Although the film’s events are still science fiction, the notions presented provide a disturbing window into the possibilities of future government control tactics. Coinciding with the ideas in 1984, Kurt Wimmer’s 2002 film, Equilibrium, the government’s plan to prevent war is to create a world without emotions. All the citizens under this particular authoritative state must take a drug called Prozium in order to prevent any kind of emotional feeling. No feeling means no violence and no war. The loss of individualism ensures the government’s future. Again, though the events are based in a very distant future, the ideas presented capture the Dystopian society.
It may seem that these concepts of government control in the Orwell’s 1984 are still farfetched but the reality is that they have already been introduced into our society in more subtle ways. In his essay, “Where did the Future Go?” Randy Martin stated that “In 1983, then Secretary of Education William Bennett issued the polemic ‘A Nation At Risk’ which fingered low test scores among public school children as a threat to national security,” which lead to higher standards comprised in the act known as “No Child Left Behind.” The government inserted themselves into the lives of young people through education for the reason of ensuring that they are prepared to continue the prosperity of the current state that maintains the government, like the plot of A Clockwork Orange.

Works Cited

A Clockwork Orange. Dir. Stanley Kubrick. Warner Bros., 1971.

Equilibrium. Dir. Kurt Wimmer. Dimension Films, 2002.

Martin, Randy. "Where Did the Future Go?" Logos 5.1 (2006): 1-12. Logosonline. 5 Oct. 2009 <http://www.logosjournal.com/issue_5.1/martin.htm>

Orwell, George. 1984. New York: New American Library, 1961.

“The USA PATRIOT ACT and Government Actions that Threaten Our Civil Liberties.” American Civil Liberties Union. 9 Nov. 2009

Correcting for the Future: Analysis of A Clockwork Orange

Stanley Kubrick’s film A Clockwork Orange no doubt raised some eyebrows and turned some heads when it first premiered in 1972. The brutal nature of the future depicted in the film provided as a social commentary on the possibilities of the extended control of the established authority. Thirty-seven years later, A Clockwork Orange continues to speak for the many controversial issues that exist between the government in control and the established society in many different parts of the world. Randy Martin’s essay, “Where did the Future Go?” and Louis Althusser’s essay “Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses,” discuss the notions of the government’s role in improving society for the intention of maintaining the current system and creating future prosperity.
Randy Martin’s idea of the government’s plans to improve the future economic market can be seen in the events that occur to the main character Alex of A Clockwork Orange. In his essay, Martin states, “No longer divided between labor and capital, society’s central cleavage would be played out along the lines of risk–the prospect of a return in excess of expectation,” meaning that the government invests in the present society with the expectation they will perform efficiently in the future. Martin’s theory is exemplified in Secretary of Education William Bennett’s comments about the lack of decent test score in America’s children being a “threat to national security.” In the film, Alex, a troubled and violent young adult, becomes the subject of a governmental experiment to rid him of his “ultra-violent” ways. The intentions of the government that is portrayed in the film is to create a Utopian-like society, free of violence and corruption by robbing those deemed hazardous to society, like Alex, of the freedom of choice and ideas, as evident when he becomes physically ill anytime he thinks about lewd acts. The government is deciding what choices he will make and that is what Althusser discusses.
In another perspective on the matter of government control for improvement of the future, Louis Althusser looks at the influences of the governments into the ideology of an individual. As he discusses the theory that certain ideas disappear, certain notions, like “subject, consciousness, belief, actions,” survive, and new rituals and an ideology coherent with the apparatus (the state) appear, all are heavily influenced by the government in place to the benefit of the desired society. During his “re-education” through the forced film watching, Alex was essentially hypnotized, or “cured,” into believing that all types of lewd acts were wrong. His brutal, yet confident, character was replaced was a compliant, gullible, and weak mindset that left him defenseless. Basically making Alex a drone of the government for whatever they needed him to do, which is visible in the end of the film when he agrees with the experiment’s director, the same man who put him through the misery that landed him homeless, defenseless, and hospitalized, to help him and government. Alex may not have wanted to help him but the reality is he is no longer in a position to bargain or make decisions for himself. His decisions are the government’s decisions; his ideology is the government’s ideology.
It is evident in today’s world where government has begun working towards securing the future of themselves and their preferred society, as seen with the high standards they have instituted for the performance of schools, according to Randy Martin. Regardless of its growing age and changing viewership, Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange will continue to be a relevant piece of work, coinciding with the ideas of Randy Martin and Louis Althusser.

Works Cited
Althusser, Louis. "Ideology and ideological State Apparatuses." La Pensee (1970): 1-42. Monthly Review Press. 5 Oct. 2009. <http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/althusser/1970/ideology.htm>
A Clockwork Orange. Dir. Stanley Kubrick. Warner Bros., 1971.
Martin, Randy. "Where Did the Future Go?" Logos 5.1 (2006): 1-12. Logosonline. 5 Oct. 2009 <http://www.logosjournal.com/issue_5.1/martin.htm>

The Fire Brigade: Fahrenheit 451 Group Project

After reading the book Fahrenheit 451, and viewing the film version, I was able to see the many different aspects of this brilliant story and went into the group project with the frame of mind that each person in the group would be assigned a particular part of the film and they would do the research on their own. After the first meeting, I was able to see that was not going to be the case. Unlike other groups I have worked with in the past, this was the epitome of a group effort.
Everybody involved introduced an instrumental theme or idea that is now part of the group presentation. Now, I can not tell which idea came from which member and what I introduced because everybody collectively elaborated on every suggestion and aspect of the film. By the end, one idea was completely different from its starting point and everybody had left their mark on it. Essentially, this was the process while organizing the presentation.
Finally, I volunteered to take the first part of the presentation and using the ideas and suggestion from my group members, I elaborated a little more and did a little more research to expand the notions about the director’s techniques in the film. Also for the presentation, I will introduce how the director rearranged critical elements of the film, and discuss a bit on why, and talk about the concept behind the title of book. I was also a part of the re-creating the parlor scenes from the movie for our presentation, which was the most fun part of the project.