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Monday, June 27, 2005
All animals are equal but some are more equal than others. | It's been a busy few days! Design work for myOtaku.com is wrapping up and things are coming together nicely. Not long to wait now.
The last few nights have been very busy for me, apart from actually working on things. I also read two novels in two nights. Well, sort of.
A while ago I had begun reading George Orwell's 1984. I read the first few chapters and then stopped. But I began reading again a couple of nights ago. As it turns out, I finished the entire novel by the morning.
The next night, I read Animal Farm by the very same author. Animal Farm is much shorter, but is still an absolutely brilliant story.
I am disappointed that I never read either of these novels in school. Instead of reading 1984, we read Brave New World. The latter is a great novel, but I think I preferred 1984. Perhaps this is because 1984 is more sinister. In Brave New World, society is organized in a way to be "better for the good of everyone" (at least in the opinion of The Controller or whatever his name was). In 1984, the Party's motives are far more sinister and misguided. Control, power, immortality. The idea that if history only exists in data that is written down, one can control history if all of that data is controlled. The whole concept of doublespeak and crimestop were pretty horrific, I thought. The latter half of the book was really a nightmare. Like Brave New World, 1984 ends on an incredibly negative note. But I think 1984's ending is a lot worse; the main character (who's name I'm forgetting) in Brave New World never actually submits to the world around him. But in 1984...well, I won't spoil it for you, but the entire process of change is quite shocking.
If you haven't read these novels, I strongly urge you to do so. They are both essentially dealing with concepts of Communism and in that sense, I think they're very effective.
This is particularly true with Animal Farm. The animals begin a rebellion to rise up from Mr. Jones (the owner of Manor Farm), but in the end their rebellion simply transforms into another regime that is even worse than what they suffered under Mr. Jones. Much like in Communist China, intellectuals jostle for position and other intellectuals are persecuted so as to provide no competition. Keep the population uneducated and ignorant and you can create a simplistic patriotism and system of propaganda that keeps them under control.
1984 particularly reminded me of The Matrix, in terms of specific things that The Matrix borrowed from it. The general themes are obvious, but so is the idea of several control systems layered within one another. It's interesting, because there are so many parallels; I think 1984's control/power system not only resembles Communism, but also organized religion. Organized religion - especially creationist "scientists" - constantly practice a form of doublespeak. Creation "science" would not exist without such a practice, due to the obvious inherent contradictions. It is necessary to avoid or deny certain facts so that a square peg can be plugged into a round hole. The Party did that with just about everything; if their forecasts for rations had been wrong, they'd simply go back and edit all of the newspapers to eliminate any record of the miscalculation.
Anyway, yeah, I would absolutely recommend these novels to anyone who wants something intruiging to read. I think both 1984 and Animal Farm really have the power to make people sit up and think, especially if you aren't very knowledgable about political issues. Forming these subjects into relatable stories really does help to create a vivid image in your mind.
Elfy: Don't worry, my memory is bad at times too (and not through alcohol, which is doubly scary).
Shinny: Ahh I see what you mean. I definitely prefer being on the beach during the evening. It's somehow more mysterious and beautiful then. But I also like being on the beach when it's very overcast and stormy.
SunfallE: Glad you appreciated the title, yo. Yay for spread out cut scenes.
Evil Jedi: Bingo! If I want to sit back and passively consume, I will get a movie. But with a game, I want to be an active participant.
An MGS movie would be good, but it'd be B-grade if Kojima were to do it, I think. I think he's a talented game designer, but...I suspect that if he did a film it would contain some of the campness of the game's cut scenes. And that might be a bit sticky in a film.
Aaryanna: I haven't yet played Tales of Symphonia unfortunately, but I've heard great things about it.
nobodysbaby: That's a lot of exclamation marks! Careful not to overdose, all things in moderation. ^_^
Pumpkin: I've never fallen asleep during a cut scene, but I don't fall asleep too easily unless I'm in bed or something.
Sara: A week? You haven't commented on my page for a longer period than that! You haven't missed anything though, so I suppose it doesn't matter. Hehe
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