Even thought Farhad Manjoo's novel True Enough mainly focuses on the different truths in political events, I find the psychological aspects that he brings up to be fascinating. Specifically, Manjoo explains the phenomena of selective exposure and selective perception. I found these two concepts to be particularly interesting because they explain how we use our existing beliefs and biases to shape our own realities. Both of these ideas can show why people may develop divergent truths over the same concept.
According to Manjoo, selective exposure says that "in an effort to avoid the cognitive dissonance that comes out of receiving news that challenges our beliefs, we cunningly select the messages we consume" (30). By selectively exposing ourselves to certain sources, we are creating a small comfortable sphere in which we can obtain news that confirms our biases. To me, this idea can be somewhat disturbing. If we are not willing to listen to all sides of an issue, including beliefs that contradict ours, then we are becoming too narrow-minded. Instead, we should be open-minded, and we should take into account all views to get a better and more balance perspective on an issue. In this way, we can better understand other people and the world.
Selective perception says that "even when two people of opposing ideologies overcome their tendency toward selective exposure and choose to watch the same thing, they may still end up being pushed apart from each other" (71). I think that Manjoo provides us with great examples of this concept, from the 9/11 attacks to the Princeton-Dartmouth football game. Like selective exposure, this idea is disturbing, more so especially since both sides are exposed to the same thing. If we cannot perceive the same reality, then it will be harder to understand other people and their views on the same event.
Overall, these concepts show why groups can be fragmented, creating tension and lack of unity. Furthermore, with today's overwhelming amount of news sources and technology, selective exposure and perception is even easier to achieve. Although we have a wide range of options, we are still narrow-minded in our choosing.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Obliteration of Opposition in 1984
George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984 recounts the journey of Winston Smith, a man struggling to survive under the oppressive dictatorship of the Party in a country called Oceania. The Party yearns for absolute power, and they utilize psychological manipulation techniques to successfully control the minds and bodies of its citizens. The goal of the members of the Party is domination of all facets of life, from society in general down to the individual mind. By writing this novel, Orwell is warning the world that the danger of the desire for power lies in the strength of psychological manipulation. Through eliminating all outlets of opposition from the sociological level to the personal level, including memories, language, emotions, and intelligence, the Party can eradicate any possible source of rebellion.
The people of Oceania are conditioned to repress any significant cultural and historical memories from the past. The Party even has a specific institution, the Ministry of Truth, which specializes in changing history. With the constant alteration of past events, it becomes literally impossible to distinguish between what was real and what was not. Then, the public has no choice but to believe whatever the Party tells them is the truth. Winston believes that the proles, the common working class of Oceania, are the key to rebellion; however, even they cannot conjure up any meaningful memory that would be destructive to the Party. Throughout the novel, Orwell emphasizes the significance of historical and cultural memories because they threaten absolute power; if some memory can be used against the Party to prove that the actions of the Party were wrong or misleading, then that could be detrimental to their regime. For example, Winston finds a photograph that proves the innocence of three former Party leaders. The photograph “was enough to blow the Party to atoms, if in some way it could have been published to the world and its significance made known” (81). If the public could have seen this photograph and realized that the Party had explicitly lied to them, then they would have questioned the motives of the Party and lost their allegiance to them. Furthermore, this skepticism could have eventually sparked rebellion. Therefore, because history and culture are seen as such threatening channels of resistance, the Party needs to quell all memories of everyone in society.
Another outlet of opposition, language, is closed off by the Party through the development of Newspeak, the official language of Oceania. Newspeak seeks to repress language through shortening phrases, simplifying words, and eliminating synonyms and antonyms. The old language of Oceania is threatening to the absolute power of the Party because it allows for freedom of speech, creativity, and expression of new ideas. Orwell stresses the importance of language in this novel because without it, resistance is hopeless. According to Syme, who is working on developing the latest Newspeak dictionary, “The Revolution will be complete when the language is perfect” (54). He tells Winston, “Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it” (53). By creating a language in which one is limited in what he or she can say, it will be impossible to defy the Party. Furthermore, the critical period for language development is at a very young age; if children learn Newspeak during this time, then it will be nearly impossible for them to learn any other language later in life. This will assist the Party in creating future generations of acquiescent and loyal subjects that know no other way of expression of thoughts or ideas. It is necessary that the Party create this strict and simplified language so that they can eliminate another major threat to their dictatorship. Overall, manipulating language is another important psychological technique that is essential in reaching absolute power.
While removing the outlets of memory and language pertain to a more sociological level, the Party also reaches down to control the personal emotions and family relationships of the individual. Family bonds and the emotions that result from these bonds are another threat to the Party. If the citizens of Oceania were allowed to have strong familial relationships, then that could serve as a foundation on which to build resistance movements. Also, the Party desires to divide families; they created the Junior Spies League, which encourages children to report any traitorous acts by their parents or relatives. Through organizations like this, the Party creates mistrust amongst families, decreasing any chance of opposition. The Party also condemns any sexual acts, eradicating any sense of intimacy or connection between people. The Party needs to manipulate all relationships so that people cannot bond; otherwise, opposition may form and become stronger through these bonds. Winston represses memories of childhood trauma, which begin to recur in his dreams. He stifles these memories in order to alleviate the suffering he felt towards the disappearance of his family and the shame he felt for having stolen chocolate from his sister. Suppression of these memories is necessary because they would have allowed Winston to feel emotions towards his family; he could have felt upset, angry, and guilty about their sudden and inexplicable disappearance. Possibly, he would have directed these emotions towards the Party, and blamed them for these traumatic events. This situation poses danger to the rule of the Party, and therefore, they must close off this outlet of opposition through repression of emotions and division of families.
The ultimate form of psychological manipulation through the elimination of outlets of resistance is self-repression. By conditioning citizens to repress their own intelligence and minds, the Party can achieve utter control at a completely personal level. Self-repression requires that the individual restrain his or her logic and reason so that he or she does not question the motives or acts of the Party. Like memory, language, and emotion, Orwell shows that intelligence is a major threat to absolute power. Repressing one’s intelligence “needed also a sort of athleticism of mind, an ability at one moment to make the most delicate use of logic and at the next to be unconscious of the crudest logical errors. Stupidity was as necessary as intelligence, and as difficult to attain” (289). Even though it seems ironic that one needs a certain level of flexibility of the mind to reach stupidity, it is a crucial part of the Party’s rules. The citizens need to rid their minds of any knowledge that will threaten the dictatorship; they need to learn to be ignorant. Besides that, they need to force themselves to believe things that go against their logic. If people can self-repress common sense and believe in absurdities, then they can more easily accept the principles of the Party, transforming them into obedient citizens. Through the ideas of self-repression and escalation of stupidity, Orwell proves that psychological manipulation of one’s mind and intellect contributes to absolute power.
Psychological manipulation is a main theme of 1984 that recurs throughout the book. By cutting off all outlets of resistance on all levels, any person or group can attain total power. This strategy shows that the desire for power by anyone can be extremely dangerous to humanity in general. This concept is applicable to the world at large; for example, psychological control techniques are used to indoctrinate prisoners of war. During the Korean War, the Chinese in North Korea utilized such methods to eliminate any resistance from the American prisoners. By psychologically conditioning people through fear and pain, anyone is susceptible to losing his or her human nature. Orwell’s novel serves as a warning against totalitarian regimes, and creates awareness about the effects of their desire for power.
Work Cited
Orwell, George. 1984. New York: Harcourt Brace and Company, 1949.
The people of Oceania are conditioned to repress any significant cultural and historical memories from the past. The Party even has a specific institution, the Ministry of Truth, which specializes in changing history. With the constant alteration of past events, it becomes literally impossible to distinguish between what was real and what was not. Then, the public has no choice but to believe whatever the Party tells them is the truth. Winston believes that the proles, the common working class of Oceania, are the key to rebellion; however, even they cannot conjure up any meaningful memory that would be destructive to the Party. Throughout the novel, Orwell emphasizes the significance of historical and cultural memories because they threaten absolute power; if some memory can be used against the Party to prove that the actions of the Party were wrong or misleading, then that could be detrimental to their regime. For example, Winston finds a photograph that proves the innocence of three former Party leaders. The photograph “was enough to blow the Party to atoms, if in some way it could have been published to the world and its significance made known” (81). If the public could have seen this photograph and realized that the Party had explicitly lied to them, then they would have questioned the motives of the Party and lost their allegiance to them. Furthermore, this skepticism could have eventually sparked rebellion. Therefore, because history and culture are seen as such threatening channels of resistance, the Party needs to quell all memories of everyone in society.
Another outlet of opposition, language, is closed off by the Party through the development of Newspeak, the official language of Oceania. Newspeak seeks to repress language through shortening phrases, simplifying words, and eliminating synonyms and antonyms. The old language of Oceania is threatening to the absolute power of the Party because it allows for freedom of speech, creativity, and expression of new ideas. Orwell stresses the importance of language in this novel because without it, resistance is hopeless. According to Syme, who is working on developing the latest Newspeak dictionary, “The Revolution will be complete when the language is perfect” (54). He tells Winston, “Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it” (53). By creating a language in which one is limited in what he or she can say, it will be impossible to defy the Party. Furthermore, the critical period for language development is at a very young age; if children learn Newspeak during this time, then it will be nearly impossible for them to learn any other language later in life. This will assist the Party in creating future generations of acquiescent and loyal subjects that know no other way of expression of thoughts or ideas. It is necessary that the Party create this strict and simplified language so that they can eliminate another major threat to their dictatorship. Overall, manipulating language is another important psychological technique that is essential in reaching absolute power.
While removing the outlets of memory and language pertain to a more sociological level, the Party also reaches down to control the personal emotions and family relationships of the individual. Family bonds and the emotions that result from these bonds are another threat to the Party. If the citizens of Oceania were allowed to have strong familial relationships, then that could serve as a foundation on which to build resistance movements. Also, the Party desires to divide families; they created the Junior Spies League, which encourages children to report any traitorous acts by their parents or relatives. Through organizations like this, the Party creates mistrust amongst families, decreasing any chance of opposition. The Party also condemns any sexual acts, eradicating any sense of intimacy or connection between people. The Party needs to manipulate all relationships so that people cannot bond; otherwise, opposition may form and become stronger through these bonds. Winston represses memories of childhood trauma, which begin to recur in his dreams. He stifles these memories in order to alleviate the suffering he felt towards the disappearance of his family and the shame he felt for having stolen chocolate from his sister. Suppression of these memories is necessary because they would have allowed Winston to feel emotions towards his family; he could have felt upset, angry, and guilty about their sudden and inexplicable disappearance. Possibly, he would have directed these emotions towards the Party, and blamed them for these traumatic events. This situation poses danger to the rule of the Party, and therefore, they must close off this outlet of opposition through repression of emotions and division of families.
The ultimate form of psychological manipulation through the elimination of outlets of resistance is self-repression. By conditioning citizens to repress their own intelligence and minds, the Party can achieve utter control at a completely personal level. Self-repression requires that the individual restrain his or her logic and reason so that he or she does not question the motives or acts of the Party. Like memory, language, and emotion, Orwell shows that intelligence is a major threat to absolute power. Repressing one’s intelligence “needed also a sort of athleticism of mind, an ability at one moment to make the most delicate use of logic and at the next to be unconscious of the crudest logical errors. Stupidity was as necessary as intelligence, and as difficult to attain” (289). Even though it seems ironic that one needs a certain level of flexibility of the mind to reach stupidity, it is a crucial part of the Party’s rules. The citizens need to rid their minds of any knowledge that will threaten the dictatorship; they need to learn to be ignorant. Besides that, they need to force themselves to believe things that go against their logic. If people can self-repress common sense and believe in absurdities, then they can more easily accept the principles of the Party, transforming them into obedient citizens. Through the ideas of self-repression and escalation of stupidity, Orwell proves that psychological manipulation of one’s mind and intellect contributes to absolute power.
Psychological manipulation is a main theme of 1984 that recurs throughout the book. By cutting off all outlets of resistance on all levels, any person or group can attain total power. This strategy shows that the desire for power by anyone can be extremely dangerous to humanity in general. This concept is applicable to the world at large; for example, psychological control techniques are used to indoctrinate prisoners of war. During the Korean War, the Chinese in North Korea utilized such methods to eliminate any resistance from the American prisoners. By psychologically conditioning people through fear and pain, anyone is susceptible to losing his or her human nature. Orwell’s novel serves as a warning against totalitarian regimes, and creates awareness about the effects of their desire for power.
Work Cited
Orwell, George. 1984. New York: Harcourt Brace and Company, 1949.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Arizona Shooter Feeling Remorse
Jared Loughner, the man behind the January 8th Arizona shooting spree, is starting to show signs of mental improvement and stability. The other day, a federal judge ordered that Loughner would go through four more months of psychiatric treatment to see if he can recover enough to go to trial. In January, he had murdered six people and injured thirteen, including Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords.
According to the website Jezebel, Loughner was diagnosed with schizophrenia in May and seen as psychologically unfit to stand trial. Before, he had believed that he had killed Giffords, and he was always smirking in his court appearances. However, now his attitude has changed, and he has begun to feel regret for his actions. According to his psychologist Christina Pietz, "He understands he's murdered people ... He feels guilty." Furthermore, she said that in court, "his demeanor is distinctly different ... His smirk is gone. He appears to be paying attention."
According to Time, his recent court appearance on Wednesday was remarkably different than when he appeared in court last May; during that time, he had seemed oblivious to everything and had to be dragged out of the trial. At his latest hearing, he sat there emotionless and seemed to show signs of mental progress. Whether or not he will continue improving is still uncertain, but according to Pietz, he should be ready for trial in eight months. Since this was such a big story last January, I think that it is important to continue following Loughner's state and the trial. It will be interesting to see how this case unfolds in the upcoming months.
According to the website Jezebel, Loughner was diagnosed with schizophrenia in May and seen as psychologically unfit to stand trial. Before, he had believed that he had killed Giffords, and he was always smirking in his court appearances. However, now his attitude has changed, and he has begun to feel regret for his actions. According to his psychologist Christina Pietz, "He understands he's murdered people ... He feels guilty." Furthermore, she said that in court, "his demeanor is distinctly different ... His smirk is gone. He appears to be paying attention."
According to Time, his recent court appearance on Wednesday was remarkably different than when he appeared in court last May; during that time, he had seemed oblivious to everything and had to be dragged out of the trial. At his latest hearing, he sat there emotionless and seemed to show signs of mental progress. Whether or not he will continue improving is still uncertain, but according to Pietz, he should be ready for trial in eight months. Since this was such a big story last January, I think that it is important to continue following Loughner's state and the trial. It will be interesting to see how this case unfolds in the upcoming months.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
True Enough Reflection
I thought that the first 25 pages of the book True Enough by Farhad Manjoo were really fascinating and eye-opening. Since I am very interested in the media and journalism, Manjoo's points about how people distort news to fit their own beliefs really made me question my own interpretation of the news. Right from the beginning I was engaged in the book when he stated, "No longer are we merely holding opinions different from one another; we're also holding different facts" (2). At first, this idea sounded ridiculous to me, since facts are basically set in stone. However, I think that Manjoo proves that this statement is actually true.
In True Enough, he uses several different cases to show how people can manipulate the truth. I was especially appalled at the case involving the girl who died of a disease related to AIDs; it was sickening that the mother didn't get her daughter proper treatment just because she didn't believe that HIV caused AIDs. This example definitely shows how dangerous it can be when twisting the truth. Manjoo also discusses the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and their plan to portray John Kerry as a dishonorable traitor during the Vietnam War. It amazed me that despite a total lack of evidence, many Americans still believed the veterans' campaign.
While reading this book, I was reminded of a concept that I learned in psychology class called confirmation bias. Confirmation bias basically says that humans tend to look for or pay attention only to information that confirms their own beliefs. In his book, Manjoo states, "Although information now flows more freely than it did in the past-- and this is certainly a salutary development-- today's news landscape will also, inevitably, help us to indulge our biases and preexisting beliefs" (17). I think that this quote shows how confirmation bias is playing a role in how we choose our news. Because there are so many media outlets today, we can easily pick what sources we want to follow, and usually these sources share the same views as us.
I am excited to continue reading True Enough to see what other real-life stories Manjoo will tell that exemplify how people can manipulate or create the truth. Like the author, I am curious as to "How can so many people who live in the same place see the world so differently?" (7).
In True Enough, he uses several different cases to show how people can manipulate the truth. I was especially appalled at the case involving the girl who died of a disease related to AIDs; it was sickening that the mother didn't get her daughter proper treatment just because she didn't believe that HIV caused AIDs. This example definitely shows how dangerous it can be when twisting the truth. Manjoo also discusses the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and their plan to portray John Kerry as a dishonorable traitor during the Vietnam War. It amazed me that despite a total lack of evidence, many Americans still believed the veterans' campaign.
While reading this book, I was reminded of a concept that I learned in psychology class called confirmation bias. Confirmation bias basically says that humans tend to look for or pay attention only to information that confirms their own beliefs. In his book, Manjoo states, "Although information now flows more freely than it did in the past-- and this is certainly a salutary development-- today's news landscape will also, inevitably, help us to indulge our biases and preexisting beliefs" (17). I think that this quote shows how confirmation bias is playing a role in how we choose our news. Because there are so many media outlets today, we can easily pick what sources we want to follow, and usually these sources share the same views as us.
I am excited to continue reading True Enough to see what other real-life stories Manjoo will tell that exemplify how people can manipulate or create the truth. Like the author, I am curious as to "How can so many people who live in the same place see the world so differently?" (7).
Toddlers & Tiaras
While beauty pageants across the world have always caused controversy over the degradation of women, a new realm of beauty pageant has been brought to light with the TLC hit reality show, Toddlers and Tiaras. For almost three years running, the show details the lives of young girls and their parents as they prepare to compete in beauty pageants. In the latest issue of People magazine, the cover story features the show, and describes how it has sparked outrage over the shocking world of child beauty pageants.
The article in People illustrates the ridiculous extremes that the young children must go through in order to be ready to participate in a pageant. Such extremes include fake hair, fake teeth (called "flippers" in the pageant world), spray tans, padding, and waxing. Clinical social worker Mark Sichel told People that all of this tedious preparation "causes the children tremendous confusion, wondering why they are not okay without those things." This confusion can have a negative impact on these young girls' body images, especially as they grow older.
In a Fox News article, childhood behavioral health psychologist Dr. Mike Bishop agreed, "Toddler beauty pageants set a superficial expectation about what makes someone beautiful – that beauty is primarily about your pose, your smile, your hair, and the clothes you wear. Self-worth should not be tied to competitions." Supporters of the pageants argue that the competitions increase self-esteem and confidence. While this may be true, there are other more effective ways to help young children do so.
Controversy surrounding the show has escalated in recent episodes of the past month, which have featured toddlers dressed up in inappropriate adult costumes. The September 7th episode of Toddlers and Tiaras even ignited uproar from the Parents Television Council (PTC) when it showed 3 year old Paisley wearing Julia Roberts' prostitute costume from the movie Pretty Woman. PTC member Melissa Henson told Entertainment Weekly, "For years we’ve seen adult sexuality being inappropriately and aggressively foisted on innocent young children, but children today are being sexualized at younger and younger ages.”
Overall, I think that the concept of child beauty pageants is completely disturbing and unnecessary. Throughout the public sphere, critics of the show are expressing their outrage over the sexualization of these toddlers. I think that these pageants are robbing the children of their childhood through all this intense and costly preparation and competition. Even more damaging is the effect that these pageants will have on their body image.
People article:
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20527816,00.html
Fox article:
http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2010/06/03/tlcs-toddlers-tiaras-returns-critics-say-parents-exploitive/#ixzz1ZH2KzM5E
Entertainment Weekly:
http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/09/07/ptc-slams-toddlers-tiaras-for-pretty-woman-costume/
The article in People illustrates the ridiculous extremes that the young children must go through in order to be ready to participate in a pageant. Such extremes include fake hair, fake teeth (called "flippers" in the pageant world), spray tans, padding, and waxing. Clinical social worker Mark Sichel told People that all of this tedious preparation "causes the children tremendous confusion, wondering why they are not okay without those things." This confusion can have a negative impact on these young girls' body images, especially as they grow older.
In a Fox News article, childhood behavioral health psychologist Dr. Mike Bishop agreed, "Toddler beauty pageants set a superficial expectation about what makes someone beautiful – that beauty is primarily about your pose, your smile, your hair, and the clothes you wear. Self-worth should not be tied to competitions." Supporters of the pageants argue that the competitions increase self-esteem and confidence. While this may be true, there are other more effective ways to help young children do so.
Controversy surrounding the show has escalated in recent episodes of the past month, which have featured toddlers dressed up in inappropriate adult costumes. The September 7th episode of Toddlers and Tiaras even ignited uproar from the Parents Television Council (PTC) when it showed 3 year old Paisley wearing Julia Roberts' prostitute costume from the movie Pretty Woman. PTC member Melissa Henson told Entertainment Weekly, "For years we’ve seen adult sexuality being inappropriately and aggressively foisted on innocent young children, but children today are being sexualized at younger and younger ages.”
Overall, I think that the concept of child beauty pageants is completely disturbing and unnecessary. Throughout the public sphere, critics of the show are expressing their outrage over the sexualization of these toddlers. I think that these pageants are robbing the children of their childhood through all this intense and costly preparation and competition. Even more damaging is the effect that these pageants will have on their body image.
People article:
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20527816,00.html
Fox article:
http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2010/06/03/tlcs-toddlers-tiaras-returns-critics-say-parents-exploitive/#ixzz1ZH2KzM5E
Entertainment Weekly:
http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/09/07/ptc-slams-toddlers-tiaras-for-pretty-woman-costume/
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Psychology in 1984
While reading George Orwell’s novel, 1984, I was intrigued by the psychological manipulation techniques that the Party successfully utilizes to establish complete and utter control over its citizens. After having taken Advanced Placement Psychology last year, I found myself analyzing the Party’s different strategies in dominating important psychological aspects of the human mind, such as language, memory, learning, intelligence, and behavior.
The Party uses a variety of tactics to control the minds of its citizens. I think the most important is the telescreen; the telescreen constantly streams propaganda designed to influence their thoughts, and the citizens have no choice but to listen to it. Besides that, the telescreen monitors all behavior, and this forces everyone to act in a way that appeases the Party. Concerning manipulation of language, the Party uses Newspeak, a language that erases all creativity and limits expression of speech. As future generations learn Newspeak during the critical period of language development, they will not know any other language, thus being incapable of any thoughts that oppose the Party.
I especially found the repression of memories and intelligence fascinating. Winston represses so many memories about his mother and sister that ultimately surface to consciousness. This reminded me of Freud’s psychoanalytical approach in that Winston had repressed these memories to his subconscious in order to alleviate the suffering he felt towards the disappearance of his family and the shame he felt for having stolen the chocolate from his sister. The other citizens have repressed memories of their childhood too, for fear of possibly committing thoughtcrime. Besides restraining their memories, the citizens also need to restrain their intelligence. Winston says, “It needed also a sort of athleticism of mind, an ability at one moment to make the most delicate use of logic and at the next to be unconscious of the crudest logical errors. Stupidity was as necessary as intelligence, and as difficult to attain” (289). I found it interesting that they needed to acquire a level of stupidity, so that they don’t question the Party.
Finally, the conditioning of the citizens captivated me. The Party mainly uses physical punishment to condition its people. As shown in the conditioning of Winston at the end of the novel, he cannot withstand any physical pain from the dial. He thinks, “Of pain you could wish only one thing: that it should stop” (246). Therefore, pain is a very effective tool in conditioning the people to obey them. With such strict and horrible conditioning methods like this, it is easy to see why the people always obey the Party and have no desire to rebel.
Overall, I think that one of the main purposes of 1984 is to show how powerful psychological manipulation can be. It proves that everyone is susceptible to being influenced psychologically, and even the strongest people, who try to defy it, such as Winston, will surrender in the end. Psychological manipulation is essential for absolute power—what the Party is striving to achieve. I think that at the end of the novel, it is clear they have achieved their goal after Winston has been broken down.
The Party uses a variety of tactics to control the minds of its citizens. I think the most important is the telescreen; the telescreen constantly streams propaganda designed to influence their thoughts, and the citizens have no choice but to listen to it. Besides that, the telescreen monitors all behavior, and this forces everyone to act in a way that appeases the Party. Concerning manipulation of language, the Party uses Newspeak, a language that erases all creativity and limits expression of speech. As future generations learn Newspeak during the critical period of language development, they will not know any other language, thus being incapable of any thoughts that oppose the Party.
I especially found the repression of memories and intelligence fascinating. Winston represses so many memories about his mother and sister that ultimately surface to consciousness. This reminded me of Freud’s psychoanalytical approach in that Winston had repressed these memories to his subconscious in order to alleviate the suffering he felt towards the disappearance of his family and the shame he felt for having stolen the chocolate from his sister. The other citizens have repressed memories of their childhood too, for fear of possibly committing thoughtcrime. Besides restraining their memories, the citizens also need to restrain their intelligence. Winston says, “It needed also a sort of athleticism of mind, an ability at one moment to make the most delicate use of logic and at the next to be unconscious of the crudest logical errors. Stupidity was as necessary as intelligence, and as difficult to attain” (289). I found it interesting that they needed to acquire a level of stupidity, so that they don’t question the Party.
Finally, the conditioning of the citizens captivated me. The Party mainly uses physical punishment to condition its people. As shown in the conditioning of Winston at the end of the novel, he cannot withstand any physical pain from the dial. He thinks, “Of pain you could wish only one thing: that it should stop” (246). Therefore, pain is a very effective tool in conditioning the people to obey them. With such strict and horrible conditioning methods like this, it is easy to see why the people always obey the Party and have no desire to rebel.
Overall, I think that one of the main purposes of 1984 is to show how powerful psychological manipulation can be. It proves that everyone is susceptible to being influenced psychologically, and even the strongest people, who try to defy it, such as Winston, will surrender in the end. Psychological manipulation is essential for absolute power—what the Party is striving to achieve. I think that at the end of the novel, it is clear they have achieved their goal after Winston has been broken down.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Children's Book Encourages Dieting
I have been following the topic of body image in pop culture. In today’s world, many pre-teen and teenage girls constantly are pressured to be thin. Media outlets, such as the Internet, magazines, and television, bombard these girls with the idea that one has to be skinny to be perfect. While this problem has been prevalent in mostly teenagers, it will have reached even younger children with the release of a new children’s book called Maggie Goes On A Diet by Paul M. Kramer. The book, scheduled for an October 16 release, tells the story of a young girl’s struggle with being overweight. According to the website, Jezebel, the description of the book reads:
“This book is about a 14 year old girl who goes on a diet and is transformed from being extremely overweight and insecure to a normal sized girl who becomes the school soccer star. Through time, exercise and hard work, Maggie becomes more and more confident and develops a positive self image.”
Although Maggie is a teenager, the book is geared towards children between the ages of four to twelve. After seeing the cover of the book, showing an overweight girl looking into a mirror and holding up a pink dress that clearly will not fit her, I was somewhat disturbed. Even though the cartoonish illustration looks like it is meant for juvenile readers, what message will this image send to children who pick up this book at the bookstore, especially if that child is overweight?
I know that childhood obesity is a very serious topic that affects thousands of children everywhere. However, there are other ways to correct this issue besides encouraging them to follow a meticulous diet. Also, dieting is a rigorous process that requires a lot of commitment; young children should not be committing themselves to an eating regimen. Instead, they should be devoting their time to normal childhood activities. For example, by becoming involved in sports, they can use their energy to dedicate themselves to that sport while getting proper exercise as well. I think that parents also can help in motivating children to lead healthier lifestyles. By eating healthier and staying active themselves, their children will look to them as role models.
According to Jezebel, after receiving tons of criticism, Kramer defended his book in an interview on Good Morning America, "My intentions were just to write a story to entice and to have children feel better about themselves, discover a new way of eating, learn to do exercise, try to emulate Maggie and learn from Maggie's experience." Even though these reasons are good-natured, it does not make up for the fact that the book’s title is suggesting dieting in young children.
The realm of pop culture is already filled with publicity pressuring teenagers to be thinner. It is unnecessary to urge even younger children to lose weight as well. Therefore, children’s books, such as Maggie Goes On A Diet, will do more harm than good. While it may strive to teach children to have a more positive self body image, it does so in all the wrong ways.
“This book is about a 14 year old girl who goes on a diet and is transformed from being extremely overweight and insecure to a normal sized girl who becomes the school soccer star. Through time, exercise and hard work, Maggie becomes more and more confident and develops a positive self image.”
Although Maggie is a teenager, the book is geared towards children between the ages of four to twelve. After seeing the cover of the book, showing an overweight girl looking into a mirror and holding up a pink dress that clearly will not fit her, I was somewhat disturbed. Even though the cartoonish illustration looks like it is meant for juvenile readers, what message will this image send to children who pick up this book at the bookstore, especially if that child is overweight?
I know that childhood obesity is a very serious topic that affects thousands of children everywhere. However, there are other ways to correct this issue besides encouraging them to follow a meticulous diet. Also, dieting is a rigorous process that requires a lot of commitment; young children should not be committing themselves to an eating regimen. Instead, they should be devoting their time to normal childhood activities. For example, by becoming involved in sports, they can use their energy to dedicate themselves to that sport while getting proper exercise as well. I think that parents also can help in motivating children to lead healthier lifestyles. By eating healthier and staying active themselves, their children will look to them as role models.
According to Jezebel, after receiving tons of criticism, Kramer defended his book in an interview on Good Morning America, "My intentions were just to write a story to entice and to have children feel better about themselves, discover a new way of eating, learn to do exercise, try to emulate Maggie and learn from Maggie's experience." Even though these reasons are good-natured, it does not make up for the fact that the book’s title is suggesting dieting in young children.
The realm of pop culture is already filled with publicity pressuring teenagers to be thinner. It is unnecessary to urge even younger children to lose weight as well. Therefore, children’s books, such as Maggie Goes On A Diet, will do more harm than good. While it may strive to teach children to have a more positive self body image, it does so in all the wrong ways.
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