1984 Ponderings

After having read 1984 I often think about the quarrels Winston had with himself, and the Party. More than that, I find myself reflecting on the part of the book when Winston is tortured and cedes his malcontent attitude toward the Party and gives in to ebulliently loving Big Brother. I found myself thinking that the book as a whole was very hypocritical (which doesn't detract from its value). In the book Orwell insinuates that good/bad is a matter of opinion and is not objective, yet in the book is looked at as a warning toward this type of future. My question is that if good and bad are not objective, then why is this future bad thing and something that we should be warned against? Also, the idea of newspeak had me wondering about the purpose of language. There are some who say that people are born inherently knowing what is good and bad, that somehow they just know. Yet the implications of this assumption are huge. For, good and bad are English words and it would be crazy to assume babies are born knowing English. The other side might argue that the babies inherently understand the "idea" of good and bad, but then, how does one express or have an idea without using some form of language? Some people disparage this point of view, because it makes them feel very uncomfortable, as Winston felt uncomfortable when he couldn't prove O'Brien wrong about there being no objective reality, and therfore whatever the Party did was justifiable.

I am currently reading a book called Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson. The book is about a slave race called the Skaa trying to rebel against the Lord Ruler who oppresses them. The Skaa are enslaved by the Lord Ruler's Noblemen and his inquisition. The main characters of the book are two Mistborn Skaa's (meaning they have special powers) Kelsier, and Vin. Kelsier is the leader of a thieving crew that robs from the Lord Ruler, and Vin is a member. So far the tone of the book is saturnine. Kelsier is trying to start a rebellion to usurp the Lord Ruler but most of the Skaa in Luthadel, the seat of Lord Ruler, are not enthusiastic after years and years of enslavement and previous failed attempts. Kelsier hopes to throw the city of Luthadel into chaos using Mistwraiths, amorphous monsters, then use his rebel army to take control of the Palace and eventually the government. Some Skaa in the city think that Kelsier is trying to beguile them, and others have simply accepted the stigma of being a Skaa, and have resigned to being a slave until they die. If Kelsier is able to persuade the Skaa to his cause remains to be seen...

I saw Avatar last week with my family in IMAX 3D. Avatar was about a marine, Jake Sully, whose mission was to negotiate a deal with the Na'vi, a 10 foot tall blue skinned species, on planet Pandora that would include the Na'vi finding a new home on the planet, for their home sits on the largest deposit of a material that humans are trying to mine. Jake Sully reached his nadir when he started sympathizing with the Na'vi, effectively betraying the human military commander on Pandora, who promised that if a negotiation couldn't be reached, he would simply blow up the Na'vi's salient home. When Jake tried to warn the Na'vi, and Jake's Na'vi lover that the military would come if they didn't relocate, the Na'vi were incensed that Jake had been part of the plan. Jake tried to save face by saying he was hectored into and that he changed his mind, but the Na'vi excoriated him anyway. In order to win back the Na'vi's trust Jake tamed a huge banshee, an act of cachet, to show what an outstanding warrior he was. The Na'vi exonerated Jake, and Jake proceeded to lead the sortie against the military that was proceeding to destroy the Na'vi's home. I won't give anymore of the movie away otherwise I might spoil it. Overall, it was an excellent movie with the best visuals of any movie produced thus far. I highly recommend it.