Instead, I am going to talk about one of my favourite books! Allow me to introduce 1984 by George Orwell!
For those who have not read it, the book is about life under a totalitarian regime. If you are looking for a good read to pass the time (as if you do not have enough school work already), I seriously suggest picking up a copy of the book. It was also made into a movie.
More information on the book can be conveniently found on Wikipedia!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brave_new_world
Big Brother is watching you...In essence, this story is about conforming to the beliefs of the dominant group, which would be The Party in this case. The Party is a large political group which is in control of Oceania which includes the former United Kingdom, which the book is set in. Its leader is a mysterious man known only as Big Brother who is never seen in person. Winston, the main character, constantly questions life under the rule of The Party and his role in the running of The Party. He resists falling prey to groupthink or rather blind patriotism to the The Party. The more he questions The Party, the more he starts to disassociate himself from the group.
As mentioned, Winston constantly ponders about the consequences of his wavering loyalty to the The Party. For example, he debates whether it is beneficial for him to keep a diary when Party doctrine discourages this. This can come under the problem of individual vs. group needs. He measures the rewards gained from being true to the Party and this evaluation determines his loyalty to the group. I believe this is one reason why some people may not be committed to their social or work groups. There is an imbalance between effort and reward.
Winston also has to cope with group pressure throughout the entire book. From time to time, he would try to acquire idiosyncrasy points by conforming. (if anything this puts his mind at ease, I doubt the Party even cares) For instance, he sometimes takes pride in producing a good piece of work ( he is an editor/writer) for the Party. He also takes note of the written and unwritten rules of the Party. As such, he knows that visiting Proletariat pubs are discouraged, even though there is no rule explicitly stated. He even goes as far as gain the support of a fellow rebel, Julia, and together they secretly defy the Party even more. These are some of the ways to overcome group pressure in the study of communications.
One of the most important topics of the book is groupthink. Well, the group is more like a party with millions of members but in essence it is still the same. The Party governing Oceania displays many of the symptoms of groupthink. For example, the Party members believe that The Party is indestructible and eternal. The thought of The Party's fall is inconceivable to many. They also believe that The Party is always right and that all Party propaganda is the truth. ( In fact, their Ministry of Truth is the exact opposite) Lastly, they clamp down hard on dissenters. The Thought Police constantly arrests dissenters who even THINK about disagreeing with The Party. The Ministry of Love is where those thought rebels are sent to. The Party is not lying when they say that "Big Brother is Watching You". There are other signs of groupthink but they are simply too numerous to list.
Many see Brave New World as a counterpart to 1984.All in all, 1984 is a good book which challenges the mind, or at least my mind. If you are interested in books about dystopian societies, this is definately a must-have. You may also want to check out other books like Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.
Check this out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYecfV3ubP8
Apple made an advertisement for their Mac which was inspired by 1984.
6 comments:
eh, how is this post less complicated when compared to the other posts; at least i don't have to read a book!
joke aside, literature of such genres are actually very deep in hidden meanings. the author may be pointing out the truth, that having a government is like having Big Brother watching over us, and that we are all contributors to our own demise.
To peel yourself away from a group by forming an alliance with yet another group (or person). How ironic. It seems we cannot ever escape from the binds of human relationships.
I've never really understood groupthink because I always think that no matter what, there will be a point when the group's decision will be wrong, or that there is another better idea to be made/contributed. One thing that always is of concern to me is whether members falling into the groupthink syndrome are aware of their group's shortcomings. It would be sad if they blind themselves to flaws on purpose in order to fit in better with the group.
This post reminded me of one of my favourite movies of all time, V for Vendetta, where a futuristic England is controlled by a totalitarian regime.
I haven't heard of this book and i doubt i will ever read it. But i can understand the aspects of groupthink that you've mentioned regarding the storyline.
I like to hightlight the portion where you mentioned about the Thought Police. I get the impression that our government and people are in a sense influenced by groupthink not just politically but in the area of freedom of speech.
Isn't it contradicting that this nation claims itself to be democratic?. Just a thought, i maybe wrong or out of point...
The points reagarding the fact that Winston measures the rewards gained from being true to the Party and this evaluation determines his loyalty to the group has made me think more deeply about groupthink. I agree with the point you make that some people may not be committed to their social or work groups due to an imbalance between effort and reward. Perhaps this can be due to the personality of the person, whereby only commited people work and those who do not care much about work dont commit themselves to work.
Interesting read. The dangers of groupthink is illustrated clearly, when the shared steroetypes and illusion of invulnerability is so apparent, that even more so its important to continually check and evaluate if the belief is of a legitimate cause.
It is always good to think out of the box, be radical, and challenge the norm ways of thinking!
Regards,
Shawn Lee Wei Bin
Ok i agree with zed that this post is still as complicated. I believe is the language you have chose to use in your entries. But a good job done in analysing the book!
The recent post that I had is something to do with "Big brother" as well. Only difference is that I am talking about technology advances while you are talking about the government. "Big brother" this term used will automatically imply that it is someone being close to you and that this someone takes care of you. However, to think that technology or the government is like a big brother to us depicts a deeper and complicated meaning. Seriously, it's scary to think that the government should be watching over us.
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