Privacy and government surveillance

Private and Government Surveillance.
Student’s Name:
Institutional Affiliation:

Private and Government Surveillance
Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984) is a film that is based on George Orwell’s political novel of the same name. It focuses on highlighting the dangers of a totalitarian government. After witnessing the hazards of communism in places like the Union of Socialist Soviet Republic (U.S.S.R), he felt he should alert the western nations who seemed to embrace the concept of communism. The movie also focuses on the dangers of mind control and shows how risky it is even to attempt to control the way citizens of a nation or state think. The following essay focuses on the use of technology in the film and how it is employed for privacy and government surveillance.
Although the book was written in the 1940s, Orwell wanted to depict the use of highly advanced technology by the government CITATION Orw87 l 1033 (Orwell, 1987). The citizens of Oceania are surrounded and controlled by technology which also monitors their every move. As a result, people like Winston who do not agree with everything that the government does are forced to watch their backs constantly. There is widespread use of cameras and telescreens that seem to be everywhere one goes. Perhaps Orwell’s use of technology was prophetic as the kind of technology seen in the novel is what exists today CITATION Bas88 l 1033 (Basalla, 1988). Further, the mysterious figure that is only known as Big Brother, which appears to be the government regularly infringes on the rights of its citizens.

No one may express a negative opinion of the government and even thinking such a thought is a bigger crime. The government of Oceania does not allow its people to have free will or free speech and spies and cameras regularly monitor them.
The use of telescreens and microphones that are hidden all over the state enables the government to find out who has been saying what about them. Despite the fact that the book was written at a time when computers did not exist, Orwell does a splendid job of describing the machines that were used to exert control over the masses and inflict fear upon them CITATION Cai84 l 1033 (Cain, 1984). In a twist of events, the book describes the adverse effects of technology when everybody believes that technology should work for good. Even at the end, when O’Brien tortures Winston physically, he still uses a technological device for the final blow. The author does not describe how the device works, but he explains that it causes a lot of pain. So much pain that Winston has no choice but to give up and accept Big Brother while at the same time betraying Julia. When torturing him, O’Brien asserts, “That was forty. You can see that the numbers on this dial run up to a hundred”. This shows how much pain the device could inflict on Winston. He had no choice.
In summary, technology is used to great effect by George Orwell in his political novel 1984. However, the use of technology is misguided and wrong. Whereas most people associate technology with progress and development, Orwell depicts the use of technology in a different light. It is a tool that is used to oppress and deny people their privacy and right to free speech. The government regularly uses camera, telescreens, and microphones to monitor the activities of its population. Despite the fact that the novel was written in an era of minimal technology, the author did a magnificent job of displaying the effects of the use of technology by a totalitarian government.
References
BIBLIOGRAPHY Basalla, G. (1988). The evolution of technology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Cain, E. J. (1984). The challenge of technology: Educating the exceptional child for the world of tomorrow. Teaching Exceptional Children, 238.
Orwell, G. (1987). 1984. New York: Penguin Books.