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Context ModA1984 Metropolis
Context ModA1984 Metropolis
Context ModA1984 Metropolis
Note that whilst 1984 was published in June of 1949 and Mao Zedong came to
power in September 1949.Maos rise to power and the conflict of the Civil war within
China would have had impacts on Orwell since it was another demonstration of
huge conflicts of ideology on a global scale. As well as this, Chiang Kai-shek; The
leader of the republic of China was quite brutish and oppressive as a ruler,
especially to those of lower class during wartime.
Totalitarianism was coined by Mussolini himself as Totalitario to describe the
new fascist state of Italy.
A state can be classified as Totalitarian if it fits the following criteria:
-
Powerful ideology
Described by Mikael Gorbachev as a Cult of Personality: Ideology of a
political personality to the point of worship; i.e busts, posters were
common in most dictatorships. One common example is during Stalins
rule there was a lot of busts and posters praising him.
Single Mass party lead by the charismatic leader
A system of terror implemented by a secret police force
e.g. the Gestapo under Stalin, the NKVD and later the KGB in Soviet Russia
Centralised control of the economy
GOSPLAN under Russia
5 yr plans
Essentially there is a lack of private ownership of the factors of
production, factories are told what to produce by the government.
Especially important during wartime where most factories could be
directed towards munition and weaponry production.
However this would often lead to a problem in terms of the production of
sustainable resources. (Russia experienced this when War communism
was implemented (Although they were not totalitarian yet) leading to
mass famine)
Propaganda and Censorship; control of the media.
Very common in dictatorships in general
More often than not there is a large scale suppression of freedom of
speech and expression
Under Stalin artists were only allowed to create art if it fit under Socialist
realism i.e. they were only allowed to portray the Workers struggle
within their paintings.
Stalin completely altered Russian history, literally having a book written
called The short course on Russian history in which he integrated
himself into key events within Russia, such as his role in the October
revolution and the civil war.
(This paragraph is not really useful as context) Despite not having any
prominence within the party beforehand. Rightly dubbed the Grey- blur
for being absolutely useless. His actual rise to power started when he was
appointed General Secretary of the Soviet Party under Lenin, mainly
because the members of the Party believed it to be a boring job and
thought he would be useless on it either way. But surprisingly gave him a
large amount of power in deciding who could join the party, and he filled
the party with his supporters.
Hitler was notably a very charismatic character and a powerful speaker,
this was one of his main tools of propaganda. As well as his use of his
minister of propaganda Goebbels who would make use of film to further
propaganda.
This marked huge economic turmoil for the entire world, especially to
those who were active participants within the First World War, as their
economys tanked under the pressures of wartime production. This was a
large reason as to why many of the major world powers failed to oppose
Hitler when he began breaking the Treaty of Versailles; all of their
economies were too weak, and as were everyone elses; they feared that
if they retaliated they probably would not have back up.
World War II and the plans put in place by Theodore Roosevelt, Winston Churchill
and Joseph Stalin at the Tehran, Yalta and Potsdam conferences toward the end of
the war.
-
Cold War:
The Iron Curtain: A metaphoric division of Europe, heavy conflict between Russia
and the West
-
There was this belief that Russia could not be appeased by politics, especially
with Stalin in charge. Thereby they had to utilise military tactics to beat
Russia
I am convinced that there is nothing they admire so much as strength, and
there is nothing for which they have less respect for than military weakness
Churchill.
Reinforced by the Clifford Memorandum which stated that the yonly
response to Russia is with military power.
Truman Doctrine:
Free countries that are being occupied by a non-democratic government
Counteract movements that threatened democracy
Essentially tried to drive Americans to fear communism (Later furthered
by Mcarthyism)
Response to Russias pressuring of Turkey to support Greece in civil War
and Britains retraction due to financial issues.
Save Greece and Turkey, America was no longer isolationist; they acted as
the Worlds police.
In respect to 1984:
This can be paralleled to talk of the consistent shift of alliances between the Wars
(Eurasia, Oceania and East Asia). Especially relating to Russia.
1. Russia was an ally during WWI under Tsarist rule, they were pretty weak
because they still utilised the feudal system and failed to industrialise, as
such they lost to Germany really hard.
2. Beginning of WWII; Russia was sort of neutral, they were really weak and
mainly dealing with internal affairs since the abdication of the Tsar, the Rise
of Communism, and the Civil war.
3. Russia withdraws from the war based on Lenins policy of Peace at all costs
under the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in order to try and get Russia to rebuild its
economy. This angered a lot of the Western powers as it meant that Germany
was basically safe from one of their flanks.
4. Under Stalin; Russia signs the Non- Aggression Pact
5. Germany backstabs Russia by attacking them, but attacks during winter so
everything fails
6. Russia is now allies with the West
7. Cold War starts, and now Russia is no longer allies with the West
Technological advances post- World War I and World War II
-
The mass atrocities within the Wars and the turmoil saw many people go
towards science and its potential to further the world. Especially with the
increased need to develop technologies to further prevent future conflict.
Metropolis
The revolutionary wave across Europe toward the end of WWI:
-
failed takeover the Beer Hall Putsch as well as the publication of Mein
Kampf in 1925.
The Golden Age of Weimar 192429:
Gustav Stresemann:
-
Originally, workers had very little power when it came to wage decisions and
working conditions because of the sheer power of employers as well as the
replicability of workers.
This was countered by the introduction of trade unions which would represent
a group of workers and allow them to stand up against the large coporations.
tensions between labour and capital (workers strikes, social unrest etc.)
Urban expansion and the rise of modern American cities and culture
during the 1920s:
New York and Chicago