I read the clearview thread, who is Orwell? (1 Viewer)

[John*C]

In the DVD "Hackers"1995 Cerial Killer said at the table of the male hackers, Orwells here we are living large, we have no names; we are nameless. To keep this an on topic to DVD I referenced my files on "Hackers" to get the exact words spoken by charactor/hacker Cerial Killer.


I know who Jack Foley was and what was named after him, but I have no reference to a Orwell or first name to look it up; after all I am curious as newbie to filmagraphy.

 

[Julie K]

I guess nobody reads 1984 in high school anymore?

George Orwell's 1984 describes a totalitarian future. The Clearplay device is not Orwellian because it is a device offered by a private company and is not forced on anyone who doesn't want it.

 

[Chad R]

That's a reference to George Orwell, author of 1984 (to which the reference specifically refers) as well as Animal Farm.

 

[Peter Apruzzese]

It's a reference to the famous author George Orwell, who wrote the novels "1984" and "Animal Farm" and others.

 

[NickSo]

I haven't read 1984... we did Brave New World tho :p)

 

[Michael St. Clair]

While I don't like the device, to be clear, I have never called it Orwellian.

I said I found the naming of the device to be Orwellian doublespeak. This tech doesn't 'clear' up anything, it clouds or obscures it.

Obviously more accurate names like 'CensorPlay' or 'EditPlay' or 'FilterPlay' might make some people uncomfortable. Maybe 'CleanPlay' wasn't available?

But 'ClearPlay'? Is the irony lost on the owners or all of their customers? I somehow doubt it.

 

[Julie K]

I'd agree if this device were being required by a government trying to protect us from "unclear" things.

The name is rather silly, but I just don't think that a name of one product being offered by a private company really can be called Orwellian. It's just a product name. A private company does not have the power to enforce its "doublespeak".

I've called my homeowner's association a bunch of Nazis before, but I really shouldn't. No matter how many stupid CC&Rs they come up with, they really can't compare to a Nazi government. It's the same thing with Clearplay.

 

[Leila Dougan]

Hackers is one of my all-time favorite movies (guilty pleasure). I could quote that movie all day long

 

[Jeff Gatie]

Brave New World was Aldous Huxley, not Orwell. Great book, lousy mini-series.

 

[Michael St. Clair]

And I'd agree with you if doublespeak were limited to the government, and if we weren't in the era where the lines between corporations and government weren't continually greying.

I'd better stop at this point.

 

[D. Scott MacDonald]

The real Orwellian concepts in these clearplay threads have been from those that who oppose the idea that I, a lone individual, can choose how I wish to view content in the privacy of my own home. You may not like what I do in my own home, but if it doesn't bother you, I don't see why you should try to stop me, and I'd label any attempt to do so Orwellian.

 

[Julie K]

I do agree with you to a certain extent, but not completely. I will when Clearplay breaks down my door at night.

I better stop at this point too

 

[Julie K]

I would have to disagree here, too, with what is and isn't Orwellian. Orwell was writing about totalitarianism. We are able to buy, or not buy, the Clearplay player and are able to freely express our opinions for or against it. This is certainly not totalitarianism! I think saying a person opposed to Clearplay is Orwellian misses the point in the same manner as someone who says that Clearplay is Orwellian. In my opinion to be truly Orwellian requires that a person or groups of persons have a certain amount of power and control to be able to force people into one type of thinking or onto one path of behavior.

"If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face--for ever."

 

[RobertR]

Agreed. I saw people in those threads making it quite clear that they favor the use of coercive State power to ensure that Clearplay can't function (as opposed to merely expressing opposition to the idea), and it's that coercive power that is the crucial distinction between the mere misuse of language by a corporation and the Orwellian nightmare of 1984.

 

[NickSo]

Yeah, knew that But since the two had similar themes, our class got to decide to do either 1984 or Brave New World. Just giving reason why schools today might not read 1984.

 

[Grant B]

1984 ....kind of like what Homeland Security is supose to be if someone got their way (and they were effective)

 

[Julie K]

I missed the part about State power - that is crucial, and in that instance I would agree the comments are Orwellian.

 

[Grant B]

Hey who is that kicking down my Door?
Nevermind....

 

[Garrett Lundy]

Don't you love how people only read 1984 in school and the idea of reading it "for fun" long after you graduate seems like a bizarre alien concept?

If I had to re-build my small library 1984 is one of five books that I would re-buy first. I read it once a year.

 

[D. Scott MacDonald]

This was not really discussed in the current thread, but was very prevalent in the two earlier threads. Another attitude that surprised me (although not technically Orwellian since they wanted Hollywood to do it without government coersion), was that they wanted the DVDs to disable the skip ahead and fastforward features during the duration of the entire movie.