Sunday 21 April 2013

In Orwell's 1984, how does the Party control the people through media?

The Party
has total control over the media and uses it to incessantly propagandize the outer Party members
and, to a lesser extent, the proles. As the people have no other source of information, the
Party can lie freely. For example, it is always telling the people that life is getting better
for them materially, while, in fact, it is constantly getting worse. Rations, for example, are
cut, not increased; people eat poor food and rely on Victory Gin to fight off hunger.


The Party uses its command of the telescreens to channel people's emotions, especially
the aggressions that build up because of the miserable and repressed lives the people are forced
to lead. This energy is funneled into televised Two Minute Hate rallies. Any positive emotions
are channelled into idolization of Big Brother rather than into normal loving
relationships.

The Party uses film propaganda to desensitize people to the
high levels of violence that characterize the regime. Early in the novel, for example,

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