ShmoopTube

Where Monty Python meets your 10th grade teacher.

Search Thousands of Shmoop Videos

1984 Summary 136164 Views


Share It!


Description:

By the end of this video, you will be brainwashed. There's nothing you can do about it; we just wanted to let you know. We like to think we're bigger than Big Brother...

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:05

1984, a la Shmoop. Dear Diary… I think I'm paranoid. I always

00:13

feel like somebody's watching me. Maybe it's because of the giant flat screens in my living

00:20

room that monitor my every move.

00:22

Or the neighbor kids spying on me like snitches-in-training. Or the giant posters that say, "Big Brother

00:28

is watching you."

00:30

It's enough to give a guy a complex. Don’t believe me? You try peeing in front of a telescreen.

00:40

… I'm a member of the Party of Oceania, which

00:43

sounds glamorous…

00:44

…but it's kind of a drag. I have to wear overalls, which are all wrong for my body

00:47

type…

00:47

…and my job is absolutely mind-numbing. The party likes to change history a lot, and

00:51

whenever it does, I'm the “White-out Guy.”

00:53

There aren't many perks to living in Oceania.

00:56

You are the one bright spot in my life, Diary, and I'm pretty sure I'd be killed if anyone

01:01

found out that you existed. The Party isn’t exactly supportive of free thinking.

01:06

It’s not like there’s any juicy bits in here, though, because I don't have much of

01:10

a love life to write about. There is one girl I’ve got the hots for, but she's sworn to

01:14

celibacy. Great.

01:14

Plus, she acts like a real snob. I was pretty sure she hated me, too, but the other day

01:19

she slipped me a note saying that she loved me! Wowza!

01:22

That kind of thing just doesn't happen in Oceania. We aren't really allowed to date,

01:24

much less fall in love. Now that I know her, Julia and I get along

01:26

pretty well, although she's not as into the revolutionary stuff as I am. She just wants

01:30

me for my body. I guess I'll learn to live with it, somehow.

01:31

Julia and rented a secret room in a secondhand store without any recording devices. Which

01:35

is fine with me, because I really don't want a sex tape getting leaked.

01:36

Our gooses are totally cooked if we’re discovered, but torture and death won't be a big deal,

01:37

as long as Julia and I stay secretly true to each other.

01:37

I mean… how bad could a little torture be, anyway…right? …. Right?

01:38

By now you’ve probably gotten the impression that the Party is a sinister, mind-controlling

01:42

government. You’d be correct. But there is one force that resists the party...the

01:52

Brotherhood.

01:53

No, they're not a group of mutants with superpowers, but how cool would that be?

01:58

Still, even without a telepathy-resistant helmet, anyone who fights Big Brother is okay

02:01

with me.

02:02

You know, this guy at work, O'Brien, gave me a weird look the other day, and it made

02:07

me wonder whether he's a member of the Brotherhood!

02:09

But it's not just something you can just come out and mention to a guy, like… telling

02:10

him he’s got spinach in his teeth. Breaking news, Diary…it’s true! O'Brien

02:13

invited Julia and me over to his pad. It was so cool. He even turned off his telescreen

02:16

so nobody could eavesdrop on us!

02:17

O’Brien has tons of actual books which somehow escaped the Party’s clutches, and he loaned

02:24

me the manifesto of the Brotherhood! What a guy.

02:29

I'm actually starting to think that life might not be an endless slog fill of drudgery and

02:33

despair!

02:34

Okay, Diary. I'm writing this entry in my head, because you aren't here. Where am I?

02:42

Well, that's a funny story...

02:43

Let me sum it up for you... O'Brien is really in cahoots with the Thought Police, and he's

02:50

been watching me for 7 years. How did I not figure out that this guy was an evil genius?

02:55

He's also really good at torture, and his goal is to brainwash me until I love Big Brother

03:00

again.

03:00

Yeah right. I'll always secretly hate that mustachioed twerp, and keep on loving Julia.

03:08

Even if O'Brien says she ratted me out in interrogation.

03:10

Speaking of rats…I really hoped nobody would figure out that rats are my worst nightmare,

03:12

but what do you know… O'Brien guessed it!  

03:13

He had rats… big, hungry rats! And he was going to put them on my face!

03:21

And you know what? I decided to opt out of that. Yes sir. I told O'Brien to put those

03:28

rats on Julia's face, not mine! And then it was over!

03:31

Shoot, if I'd known It was that easy, I would have sold Julia out a long time ago. I don't

03:33

need her anymore, anyway. I'm a happy man now. I just love Big Brother. Don't you?

Up Next

Utopias Becoming Dystopias
29763 Views

This video defines utopias and dystopias, and investigates how a utopia might become a dystopia. Can a seemingly perfect world actually be a dystop...

Related Videos

The Importance of Being Earnest Summary
123036 Views

They say that honesty is the best policy, but Jack lies about his identity and still gets the girl. Does that mean we should all lie to get what we...

The Giver Summary
105891 Views

Ever wish you could remember everything that you ever studied? How about everything that everyone has ever studied? Yeah, pretty sure our brains ju...

Invisible Man (Ellison)
1818 Views

Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man is an American classic. Hope you're not expecting any exciting shower scenes though. It's not that kind of book.

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night
1255 Views

Do not go gentle into that good night. In fact, if it's past your curfew, don't go at all into that good night. You just stay in your good bed and...