Jeremy Robertson

INTL 3111: Politics and Culture Essay Proposal 23 April 2014 Rebellion as a necessity to the existence of totalitarian state I will be using George Orwells 1984 as the theoretical toolbox to analyze the dystopian film Equilibrium in order to make connections between the two pieces by utilizing themes from 1984. A theme Ive noticed throughout 1984 is rebellion and how it is utilized in the novel to create all of the methods used by The Party to establish and maintain a totalitarian state. At first, rebellion to such a state seems as if the act would dismantle an overbearing rule, however I believe that this rebellion plays a major role in the establishment of a totalitarian state itself. Without this theme protruding its way throughout 1984, there would be no story like Winstons to tell, and no recount of the evils and barbaric ways of a totalitarian government. It would simply be a story of the ways and means of a governing body, in which every citizen conformed to both physically and mentally. Rebellion plays the key role in showing defiance to authoritarian rule and creates the basis upon which we are able to see totalitarianism for what it is. Using this lens from 1984 I plan to connect rebellion as a necessity to the existence of a totalitarian state to the film Equilibrium by utilizing the films depiction of how rebellion against the state is first prevented, then developed to show all facets of the totalitarian rule.