Happy new year! Our newest unit in PLP has involved studying dystopias and utopias. So of course we read the most famous dystopia novel of all time: George Orwell’s 1984. After finishing the novel, we were assigned a mini-project. Working in a small groups, we would have to pick a character and draw them on a life-sized piece of paper. We would then have to cover the body with meaningful symbols that represented the nature of the character. We then taped the character to a green screen and animated a small part of the body. Focusing on the character “Big Brother” we decided to animate his head. Here is how my group’s (Nash, Jayden, Zak, and me) animation turned out:
https://youtu.be/3SynDuDDGyA
Here are the meaningful things on our body that we feel represent Big Brother:
1. The head:
We knew straight from the start that we wanted to put a famous dictator in place of Big Brother’s face. We felt that it was the only thing that would truly represent the suppressive nature of society in 1984 especially since Big Brother is the face of that society. When deciding which dictator to use, we focused more on Big Brother’s physical appearance. His most defining feature is his moustache, something shared by an extremely famous dictator: Adolf Hitler. In fact, Big Brother’s moustache is the first thing mentioned about him: “The black-moustachio’d face gazed down from every commanding corner. There was one on the house-front immediately opposite. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the caption said, while the dark eyes looked deep into Winston’s own.” (Chapter 1). As made obvious by Orwell, Big Brother has an intense, menacing stare, one that we thought would be perfectly represented by the scowling face of Hitler. Hitler was also able to brainwash people similar to the way that Big-Brother does. This passage in Chapter One shows the full effect that Big Brother has on audiences:
“But the face of Big Brother seemed to persist for several seconds on the screen, as though the impact that it had made on everyone’s eyeballs was too vivid to wear off immediately. The little sandy-haired woman had flung herself forward over the back of the chair in front of her. With a tremulous murmur that sounded like ‘My Saviour!’ she extended her arms towards the screen. Then she buried her face in her hands. It was apparent that she was uttering a prayer.
At this moment the entire group of people broke into a deep, slow, rhythmical chant of ‘B-B! … B-B!’ – over and over again, very slowly, with a long pause between the first ‘B’ and the second – a heavy, murmurous sound, somehow curiously savage, in the background of which one seemed to hear the stamp of naked feet and the throbbing of tom-toms. For perhaps as much as thirty seconds they kept it up. It was a refrain that was often heard in moments of overwhelming emotion. Partly it was a sort of hymn to the wisdom and majesty of Big Brother, but still more it was an act of self-hypnosis, a deliberate drowning of consciousness by means of rhythmic noise.”
2. The security camera:
The security camera our portrayal of Big Brother is holding represents one of the common slogans of 1984: “Big Brother is watching you”. What better to represent this slogan than to have Big Brother hold a security camera? We also chose to include this image because the telescreen that transmits Big Brother’s image is essentially a security camera: “The telescreen received and transmitted simultaneously. Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it, moreover, so long as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded, he could be seen as well as heard.” (Chapter 1). On the telescreen, Big Brother’s face reminds citizens of the constant surveillance and monitoring of the Party, making it much like a security camera.
3. The muscles:
The muscles we added to Big Brother serve little point other than to remind viewers of his strength and power. He represents a powerful government so it seems only fitting that he be powerful himself.
4. The batteries:
We decided to include batteries on Big Brother as he is commonly seen on a telescreen. This makes him seem almost artificial, like he needs batteries to run and function. The batteries also remind me of a recurring question I had while reading the book: Is Big Brother a real person or just a symbol, a figurehead of the oppressive government? Part way through the novel, Winston also wonders the same thing: “Does Big Brother exist?’
‘Of course he exists. The Party exists. Big Brother is the embodiment of the Party.’
‘Does he exist in the same way as I exist?’
‘You do not exist,’ said O’Brien.” (Chapter 2).
The batteries remind us that Big Brother may be an artificial creation, not an actual living and breathing human.
5. The slogans:
We included the three slogans of the Party as tattoos on Big Brother’s body. These slogans reveal the true nature of the Party, and the piercing stare of Big Brother seems to be scream out these slogans. Winston, like everyone else, is constantly reminded of these slogans: “From where Winston stood it was just possible to read, picked out on its white face in elegant lettering, the three slogans of the Party:
WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH” (Chapter 1).
In fact, the very image if Big Brother is enough to remind Winston of these slogans: “[Winston] takes a coin from his pocket and looks into the face of Big Brother. He cannot help but recall the Party slogans: “WAR IS PEACE,” “FREEDOM IS SLAVERY,” “IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH.”
These slogans go against everything that we value in today’s society: peace, freedom, and knowledge. It would seem only fitting that the figurehead of the Party, Big Brother, would have its slogans tattooed on his body.
So there you have it. Our representation of 1984’s Big Brother.