That is why one of the unproven rumors about “1984” - as explored in Dorian Lynskey’s “The Ministry of Truth,” a respectful and intelligent “biography” of a novel - is that the title was merely a transposition of its publication date, 1948. The most important thing to know about “future-thinking” “utopian” and/or “dystopian” novels is that they are never really about the future at all instead these novels are about the world that surrounded the author. While times have changed, the things that worried George Orwell haven’t changed at all. He got a lot of bad press over the decades - but that was before we found out he was already one of us. Big Brother is no longer simply a set of shadowy, avuncular, half-smiling eyes on living-room posters and street-side billboards he now reserves a virtual space at all our family gatherings, and tells us what to do and buy long before we had the inclination to do or buy anything. He’s introducing us to our next partner or spouse on dating and “hook-up” apps, bombarding us with spurious and inaccurate information through jargon and euphemism (“border control” as a code for family separation, or “climate change” as a substitute for “climate collapse”), and instructing us - even from as far away as other continents – about who we should vote for and, more important, who we shouldn’t. Of course Big Brother isn’t just watching us anymore - he’s listening to our cell phone and FaceTime conversations, friending us on Facebook, following us on Instagram (just as we are often following Him).
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