Amanda Medlin 4/21/13 Professor Arnold INTL 3111 Corrupt Power George Orwell's message of the dangers of a totalitarianism

authority is clear in his novel, Nineteen-Eighty-Four, and it displays an exercise of power at its most corrupt level. While Kinji Fukasaku's approach to these themes is much different in the film Battle Royale, he manifests the danger and corrupting influence of power and the devastating effects this can have on the individual and the society. The reader or viewer is then led to acknowledge this through the false narratives of these governments, their many contradictions, and the citizens mortal fear of those in power. The corrupting influence of power and government is demonstrated in these works, warning the reader or viewer of the perils of a totalitarian government and the terror of dystopian societies. Battle Royale is a film that takes place in Japan at the dawn of the last millennium. The government is going to great lengths to have complete control of the younger generation, and insists that they are unruly, disobedient, and insubordinate. In this fictional portrayal, the Japanese economy is in ruins, unemployment is high, and over 800,000 students are boycotting school. Fearing a youthful rebellion, Japans leaders enact the Millennium Educational Reform Act or the BR act. The act gives the government full control of education, and allows them to abduct an entire class of ninth graders, place them on an island, and force them to kill each other (Warren, 60). The very premise of the film suggests the level of corruption of the government, and the false narratives that the citizens have grown to accept as they fall prey to this

authoritarian power. The government has assumed complete control and maintains it through playing with the lives of the youth of Japan. Kitano, previously the childrens fourth grade teacher, acts as their guide through the game and explains, This country's absolutely no good anymore. So the big-wigs got together and passed this law...BATTLE ROYALE. So today's lesson is... you kill each other off 'til there's only one left. Nothing's against the rules (Kitano, BR). In this situation, the Japanese government has shaped the narratives in the news to reflect the potential threat the oligarchy feels from the younger generation. By convincing every one of the so called Youthful Revolution they were able to assume control of the group through fear and death. This exemplifies the devastating effects false narratives have on the individual, and the dangers of corrupt power in the governments hands. In a totalitarian government, the narratives and history that shape the citizens of a country lie in the hands of those in power. In Nineteen-Eighty-Four, the history of their Oceania is constantly being altered to support the current goals of the Party. Who controls the past ran the Party slogan, controls the future: who controls the present controls the past. Clearly the Part y feels that they control the present, and with this power they assume control of the past. Indeed, Winston's profession and the Ministry of Truth are completely devoted to fabricating the past and altering it to fit their purpose. Winston explains, "If all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed- if all records told the same tale- then the lie passed into history and became truth." The citizens of Oceania are constantly being fed a new national history and their education system spoon feeds them lies and keeps them shut off from other societies. However, because of the isolation and false histories of Oceania, it is impossible for the citizens to realize their suffering and overthrow such a corrupt government. Instead, citizens endure little-to-no privacy, shortages, malnourishment, and torture under the rule of the government. The Party uses

false narratives of Oceanias military success, and of a bountiful country with overflowing resources, as well as contradictions to keep Oceanic citizens restrained and powerless against its frightening corruption. The Party is able to successfully maintain its power through clouding the minds of its citizens with contradictions, lies, and concepts like doublethink. There are plenty of contradictions in the Party, beginning with their slogan: War is Peace; Freedom is Slavery; Ignorance is Strength. The Partys use of contradictions is blatantly clear in the antonyms that form their oxymoronic statement. The party slogan holds different meanings, depending on who's reading it. For the inner party it means as long as Oceania is at war, the masses are able to direct their anger at an enemy and not at the Party; the Inner Party enjoys its freedom insomuch as it enslaves the masses, be it Outer Party Members, Proletariats, or workers in the war zone; as long as the masses remain ignorant to the truth, the Party remains strong. For those not understanding the machinations of the Inner Party, they believe peace can only be achieved by eliminating the enemies of the Party and of Oceania, that to act freely would lessen Oceania's strength and lead it to possible doom, and that any deviation from the Party weakens the nation, preferring to remain ignorant (Lorcher, Examples of Irony) . This double meaning is another way that the Party influences the different levels of their hierarchy and asserts its power over the individual. The Party maintains control with the ironic use of doublethink: the ability to think two completely contradictory thoughts at the same time, believing both to be true. This type of cognitive process is exemplified by the war with Eurasia. During Hate Week, a speech is being given by a Party Member to the crowd, when suddenly he gets a note and everything changes. They were at war with Eurasia just minutes ago, and now they are at war with Eastasia. But

thats not all. They had always been at war with Eastasia; Eurasia had always been their allies. It is foreseeable that in the future it will change once again and Oceania will be at war with Eurasia again and allied with Eastasia. All the citizens, Proles, Outer Party, and Inner Party members will use doublethink then again too, remembering that Oceania has always been at war with Eurasia (Doublethink-1984). The use of doublethink is then applied to use logic against logic, and allows the citizens of Oceania to believe that democracy is impossible and that the Party is the guardian of democracy simultaneously. In this way, the Party uses contradictions and doublethink to protect the governments power. Contradictions are ever present in Battle Royale as well, and are displayed through the logic of the game and the character of Kitano. The game was created by the BR Act, which was passed to control the chaos and rebelliousness of the younger generation. However, it pits them against each other in a bloody, murderous trial and paints life as a game of survival. This battle doesnt teach a lesson for the students to take with them about respect and obedience, but instead offers the final punishment of death, except for the winner. In addition, there is no evidence that the concept of Battle Royale is having positive effects on the youth at all. The classes are chosen at random, which does not encourage any change of character among the children. Likewise, the winner of the game is treated as a hero and welcomed home with praise, despite the brutal and murderous actions that they performed for their success. The Japanese government chose a strategy of controlling the masses through fear, rather than logic. In the film, Kitano embodies a character similar to OBrien, and is supposed to guide the children through the game. He is someone that they are familiar with, since he taught their fourth grade class, and the class mistakenly believes they can trust him. However, he immediately contradicts this by killing a girl with a knife to the face after she was whispering during the

orientation video, and detonating the collar of a classmate that acted out in protest. The collars are placed around each students neck and act as motivation for the children to participate in the game. The students are informed that if they dont compete, the collars will simultaneously detonate on the third day, killing everyone. After Kitano has regained control of the classroom, he remarks that he isnt supposed to kill anybody, confusing the students. They then view him as an unpredictable threat, and fear him. They are so frightened of him that when he appears before two of the students during the game, Mitsuko who is about to kill Noriko, runs away upon sight of him. He then contradicts himself further by offering Noriko comforting words and leaving without causing any harm to any of the players. Kitano remains a prominent government figure not only through his contradictory actions, but by instilling a deep fear of himself in the students. They dare not cross him, for fear of their lives, and the only attempt of an offensive attack against the base of operations fails miserably and ends in the death of all the students involved. This symbolizes the hopelessness of overthrowing a corrupt government, and the quick, fatal action it will take to protect its power. Through this assertion of power, the government is able to instill a deep fear of the consequences of rebellion into a society and maintain its power. In the final section of Nineteen-eighty-four, Orwell clearly exposes the corruption of the Party's power and the way it uses fear to control the masses. For instance, during the period of torture that Winston had to endure, O'Brien explained to Winston, "The Party seeks Power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power". This bluntly illustrates that the Party's goal is to seek and find power, gaining total control over everyone and everything despite the negative aspects that this entails. This helps make O'Brien's depiction of life a few decades past his time much more realistic when he says, "Do you begin to see, then, what kind of world we are creating -- A world of fear and treachery

and torment, a world of trampling and being trampled upon (Orwell, 287)." OBrien brutal point lays bare the plans of the Party, and outlines how they intend to maintain power through fear. In Oceania, even a wrong thought can lead to extreme consequences such as torture and death. Because its citizens live in constant fear of the government, the Party is able to successfully control Oceania and heighten its power. The dangers of a government with complete control are clearly depicted in Nineteen-EightyFour and Battle Royale, for the individual and the society. In both cases, a totalitarian authority causes undo strife, struggle, harm, and even death to its citizens to maintain power. The corruption of these governments is clear through their use of false narratives and contradictions, as well as the deep fear their citizens hold for those in power. By showing an exercise of power at its most corrupt level, Kinji Fukasaku and George Orwell make clear the dangers of a totalitarian authority and the corrupting influence of power and government.

Works Cited

Battle Royale. Film. Kinji Fukasaku

"Doublethink-1984." HubPages. Hub Pages Inc, 5 Dec. 2005. Web. 22 Apr. 2013. <http://cgl0216.hubpages.com/hub/Doublethink-1984>.

Lorcher, Trent. "Examples of Irony in 1984 by George Orwell with Analysis & Quotes." Bright Hub Education. Bright Hub Inc, 17 Jan. 2012. Web. 22 Apr. 2013. <http://www.brighthubeducation.com/homework-help-literature/40624-irony-in-1984-bygeorge-orwell/>.

Orwell, George. Nineteen Eighty-four, a Novel. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1949. Print.

Warren, Nicholas. "Battle Royale." OJS Library. Movie Reviews, n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2013. <http://ojs.library.dal.ca/index.php/YAHS/article/viewFile/164/198>.