Wednesday January 25th

Due in class:   Speeches for those going. A report due on totalitarian governments. Pages 1-55 should be read.

In-Class:  5 speeches. Quiz on pages 1-55 of 1984.

Assignments: Work on your senior speeches.

Links: A break-down of events and characters in the novel, 1984. This may help in your understanding.

         George Orwell Resources

         Background that explains English Socialism

         Internet Links & Resources on 1984. 
        Watch the trailer of the newest version of 1984 here.

Above: Another scene from the older version of the movie. This picture shows Winston eating in the cafeteria with Julia. Above the table can be seen a telescreen, probably barking out details about how statistics show productions have increased, and how Oceania's economy is thriving. This is the kind of propoganda that Stalin fed to the people of Russia during the Russian Revolution in a newspaper known as "Pravda", meaning, "the truth". All Pravda contained was a bunch of lies to convince citizens they were far better off than they thought, despite the fact that many were starving.

The cartoon on the right is pointing out how modern networking steals your privacy and is watching over everything you do and say.

Background Information: Taken from: www.cryingvoice.com/Endtimes/ Mark11.html
The government lets us believe that all surveillance and tracking is for "our benefit" and to protect us. We are also told that even if we don't like this system, there is nothing we can do against it. A free monthly Canadian computer & Internet newspaper, called Ottawa Computes!, published the following article in January 1997: Big Brother watches us all, by David Rosen.

In Orwell's dark satire, 1984, the population is watched constantly by an omniscient government... Couldn't happen here, right? Not so fast... 

Did you know that all credit-card companies track your every purchase on an hourly basis? The companies say they do this for two reasons: preventing fraud and target marketing to customers. 

If you live or travel in Ontario, you can try out the new ETR 407 Highway, "Canada's First Express Toll Route." Instead of dropping quarters into a basket, you can have the government monitor where you go along the highway and then automatically debit money from your bank account. Don't want to sign up? No problem, the highway has cameras trained on your license plate and happily snaps a picture of your car. In a few weeks, you get a bill in the mail. Not planning on driving on Highway 407? Don't worry. Other major streets and highways across Canada are being monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Welcome to the world of privacy, Orwell style. 

Been out walking in any mall, bank, subway station, or other "public" place recently? You've probably been caught on camera. Some Canadian cities, such as Hull, have surveillance cameras strung up on high poles to combat crime... 

Don't call your broker, banker, or anyone else in a large company, though. They often record all incoming calls "for training purposes."... If you're thinking about using a cell phone or even one of those fancy cordless models, you should know that any 13-year old kid with a $200 scanner from Radio Shack (and a bit of patience) can listen in on your phone call. 

Thinking about sending e-mail? Think again. Hackers can read any e-mail message they want. Also, don't forget that the courts have decided that your employer owns your work e-mail accounts and can snoop your files without telling you... 

So relax, Big Brother isn't just watching you. He's watching all of us.

Above: The type of poster the citizens of Oceania would never be able to escape from.  Just the mere thought that Big Brother was able to watch every move they made instilled enough fear to promote perfect behavior from all citizens.

Many people refer to this novel whenever they feel that citizens have lost their privacy. Is the government really watching over us this intensely, or are we just paranoid?