1984

George Orwell was a master at being able to use his literature's great metaphors to predict what he saw the future of not just America, but the world as well. He often tried to predict what might become of future civilizations and what the reality of governing societies during his time were really trying to do. In 1984, the film opens with the people at the Ministry of Truth watching a daily segment intently in a movie theater about the Oceania's biggest enemies and threats. Right off the bat, the theme and practice of propaganda and brain washing to assure Big Brother that its people have no free thought and the extent of intellect is strictly limited to what they want them to know. Because of the films powerful message, the crowd becomes more and more excited and even aggressive when Julia throws an object at the screen. While the crowd is blindly falling for this mind control tactic, Winston Smith looks on in disgust while trying to keep his true feelings of resentment, anger and loathing  for Big Brother a secret. Winston is the only one in the crowd who does not get sucked into the daily film like everyone else does. Because the government is a totalitarian state, Big Brother makes its people watch the film everyday. The biggest reasoning is that when one walks ever morning, how the beginning of their morning happens can shape how they feel, think and act throughout the entirety of a single day. By showing a daily brainwashing film seminar, Oceania's totalitarians government can be reassured that its workers are going to obey everything they want to institute. The conformation of this practice happens when the film seminar is over and they all make an X in the air, saluting their flag (along with saluting the goodbye of their individuality). Winston works for the Ministry of truth in a small, confining cubicle helping them write about information but mostly history because most knowledge is based off the truth of the past. The old saying and cliche is "History is written by those who survive it" and by using history or information, Big Brother can control people even more by making it seem that Oceania is the good guys while everyone else is evil. On a side note without trying to create controversy, the first 20 minute of the film can really make you question everything that's been recorded in archives of world history ranging in all topics, making one wonder how much of historical events are actually accurate with what really happened. Winston manages to see past the face value of the film and Big Brother and chooses to have free thought by writing his thoughts in a journal which is strictly against everything that Big Brother and Oceania are trying to promote. Free thought is always a key theme in Dystopia films because future governing bodies are always trying to prevent free thought. Combine the idea of history's cliche of those who survive it, write it and government trying to prevent free thought, it makes most question the authority and media of today's societies around the world.