Monday, June 08, 2009

Happy 60th Annversary, 1984

Today marks the 60th anniversary of the publication of 1984. Rumor has it that Big Brother is still watching.

Hat tip to Todd Mason.

9 comments:

Todd Mason said...

Christopher Hitchens, on TALK OF THE NATION to discuss 1984, notes that this is also the anniversary of Thomas Paine's death...Paine being an inspiration to Orwell. (Who, Hitchens also notes, was instructed in French at Eton by Aldous Huxley.)

Dan said...

I always wanted to see an edition of 1984 with big posters of "W" on the cover.

Todd Mason said...

You have to love the plunging neckline (and, I suppose, also the 'beater) on the cover of the Signet edition here, both for their clumsiness and their lack of appropriateness to the text.

Gerard Saylor said...

I do love the plunging neckline. Yes, I do.

Todd Mason said...

Yes, Gerald, but if we're to have a plunging meckline, at least get Robert McGinnis or someone similarly talented to take that plunge.

pattinase (abbott) said...

One of those books that stays with you forever. That neckline fools you into thinking it's fluff.

Gerard Saylor said...

I'll take what I can get, Todd.

Juri said...

Actually it's not Big Brother anymore that's watching - a Finnish critic created a term "Some Brother" (or "somebrother"; "jokuveli" in Finnish, doesn't translate well). We all have the devices (cell phones with cameras etc.) with which can watch each other and also those in the power, but the power has also the devices, as does the economical elite, with all the surveillance cameras around the shops and such. So everyone's under someone's surveillance all the time, but there's no point in that, since it doesn't help anyone's stay in the power. I thought this war a pretty good explanation of the recent times.

Juri said...

The English term could be "abrother".