George Orwell's 1984

The President was basically a Hollywood actor back then. A total precedent. New careers were popping up everywhere. Women were rocking those permed curls, denim, and puffed sleeves. I had just come out of my first marriage. I was 31, in my prime. Now, Adele has hit 50. It feels like yesterday, yet 26 years have vanished. Fast forward to 2010. The President is an African American. Another precedent. Women are wearing plastic breasts and lip fillers. I’ve just emerged from my third marriage. It's as if nothing has changed at all. It's terrifying how time slips away. In the twilight of my life, having long since passed 50, I find myself reflecting. On time, on life, and on that approaching, inevitable... on George Orwell, who hasn't a clue. Loser.

//Note to the moderators: this isn't a literature discussion. I'm clearly not contemplating George Orwell's novel; I'm contemplating the twilight of my own life and the end that looms ahead.

No, I'm not sick, I haven't been diagnosed with anything, and I'm not suicidal. I'm just being realistic, knowing that at 57, the end is drawing closer.

Based on this reasoning, even Arthur C. Clarke wouldn't have a clue, yet he remains an absolute genius and one of the greatest minds of our time. It is certainly something worth contemplating.

Age doesn't mean a thing... whether you're 17, 27, 77, or even 177. It’s all about how you feel inside. If you hit 57 and decide you're already at the finish line, then that's exactly what's going to happen... 😬

Keep smiling, keep your head up, and just charge forward through life. You can shape your reality however you want. If you align your own mental standards with the way the world works, you'll find your rhythm. That's how you make things happen. 🙂

But listen, you have to believe in your vision with everything you've got. Because if you don't... 👎

Ronald Rogers27

Hey everyone, listen up—we’re in a philosophy forum, not some self-help seminar or a place for tarot readings and other nonsense.

Just let me contemplate my own mortality in peace; it isn't negative, it's just a little mental exercise.

But you all jumped to conclusions immediately. Honestly, we are drowning in this modern wave of "self-help" garbage. Even Orwell missed how bad this would get.

It's nothing but negativity from you lot, seeing everything through blackest lens. What are you even doing in an American philosophy forum, if I may ask?

How can you possibly claim that "everyone is being negative" when you have only heard from one single person?

Bradley Taylor24 said:How can you possibly claim that "everyone is being negative" when you have only heard from one single person?

That one person only messaged me to talk about self-help.

And you immediately tried to dismiss it as off-topic, even after I clarified I wasn't talking about Orwell or his novel.

That makes you just as much of a killjoy.

Honestly, I should have just posted over at an automotive forum with those gearheads; I would've found five times better conversationalists there than here in this philosophy section. You guys aren't even philosophers. What on earth are you doing in a philosophy sub?

So, what’s it actually like hitting 57? I'm curious—how much of your original self do you feel you've held onto compared to when you were 27? Are we talking maybe 50%? 30%?
Do you find yourself feeling old and wise, where nothing really moves the needle for you anymore, and death starts to feel like this big, final mystery hanging in the air?

I don't mean any harm by asking, I'm genuinely just curious about the perspective.

silvercobra68 said:That one person only messaged me to talk about self-help.

And you immediately tried to dismiss it as off-topic, even after I clarified I wasn't talking about Orwell or his novel.

That makes you just as much of a killjoy.

Honestly, I should have just posted over at an automotive forum with those gearheads; I would've found five times better conversationalists there than here in this philosophy section. You guys aren't even philosophers. What on earth are you doing in a philosophy sub?

I truly don't understand what you were anticipating after following those sentences with, "Orwell, who clearly hasn't a clue. Loser.". Given the years we've all spent in these discussions, one might reasonably expect you to realize that such remarks are nothing more than standard trolling, simply disguised as the opening premise of a thread.

Bradley Taylor24 said:I truly don't understand what you were anticipating after following those sentences with, "Orwell, who clearly hasn't a clue. Loser.". Given the years we've all spent in these discussions, one might reasonably expect you to realize that such remarks are nothing more than standard trolling, simply disguised as the opening premise of a thread.

If I had any brain cells left to spare, I'd lend you some, but since I'm tapped out, I'll just give you an explanation.

So, Orwell depicts 1984 as an anti-human year—a nightmare defined by technical horrors like Big Brother. It’s a year where individual life is stripped of all humanity. Yet, looking back from our current perspective, 1984 almost seems human-friendly. Don't you think? And yet, fundamentally, nothing has actually changed. Except, of course, for us, now being twenty-six years older.

Well, I guess I'm the bad guy here... 😉

Look, Joe, I won't bug you about this anymore. Seriously, sorry if I stepped on any toes or said anything out of line. Just chalk my nonsense up to nothing. 😬

Ronald Rogers27

Would you say that your life has been "good"?
And how do you personally contemplate the concept of mortality?

The opening post is fine. It possesses a certain philosophical soul—even if it feels a bit out of step with the present moment, the current debaters, and the general vibe of this forum...
As soon as you post something that doesn't reek of total uniformity, you run into all sorts of offended types like Bradley Taylor24. And Bradley Taylor24 isn't an outlier: having a Black basketball player as an avatar is considered "in," yet labeling someone a troll is also apparently very "in"...
1984 was a good year for birth. It’s the year of Terminator—which is telling; it’s as if one could already sense people becoming impotent. Even back then, they were invoking a future savior who would arrive to save the day (and fertilize a lovely Linda Hamilton). Seriously, among so many heroes, so many grown men, couldn't a single one step up for Linda? Did we really have to summon him from the future?
Indiana Jones is still digging through antiquities. It's just another version of impotence: a fixation on things long past, on "that life which has aged and can no longer be made young again." Moreover, in 1984, Indiana projects his life toward the exotic, toward the Far East—to India!? How decadent, how otherworldly. Instead of indulging in Indian mysticism and searching for "a little poison to lull us to sleep," perhaps we should deal with the prosaic "here and now"?
And what did our children look like in 1984? Bleak. Teenagers were living through nightmares, summoning razor-wielding monsters in their dreams to hunt them down. For them, the only excitement left was found in those dreams. Reality was clearly just gray.
Or perhaps they turned their pets into monsters. Monsters that multiply rapidly and threaten to tear the entire social fabric apart.

Looking back from today, 1984 shows the early signs of universal decay. But for Joe, that seems far more enticing than the fleeting nature of "exiting a third marriage"...

silvercobra68 said:If I had any brain cells left to spare, I'd lend you some, but since I'm tapped out, I'll just give you an explanation.

So, Orwell depicts 1984 as an anti-human year—a nightmare defined by technical horrors like Big Brother. It’s a year where individual life is stripped of all humanity. Yet, looking back from our current perspective, 1984 almost seems human-friendly. Don't you think? And yet, fundamentally, nothing has actually changed. Except, of course, for us, now being twenty-six years older.

The specific year isn't actually the point. If I recall correctly, the novel itself suggests that 1984 is just an assumption; given how information is manipulated, the date could easily be a fabrication. Instead of focusing on the calendar, think of "1984" as a synonym for the world Orwell was describing. In that sense, we are already living in 1984. We're stuck in that timeline indefinitely...

silvercobra68 said:The President was basically a Hollywood actor back then. A total precedent. New careers were popping up everywhere. Women were rocking those permed curls, denim, and puffed sleeves. I had just come out of my first marriage. I was 31, in my prime. Now, Adele has hit 50. It feels like yesterday, yet 26 years have vanished. Fast forward to 2010. The President is an African American. Another precedent. Women are wearing plastic breasts and lip fillers. I’ve just emerged from my third marriage. It's as if nothing has changed at all. It's terrifying how time slips away. In the twilight of my life, having long since passed 50, I find myself reflecting. On time, on life, and on that approaching, inevitable... on George Orwell, who hasn't a clue. Loser.

//Note to the moderators: this isn't a literature discussion. I'm clearly not contemplating George Orwell's novel; I'm contemplating the twilight of my own life and the end that looms ahead.

No, I'm not sick, I haven't been diagnosed with anything, and I'm not suicidal. I'm just being realistic, knowing that at 57, the end is drawing closer.

If you look at it that way, you're closer to death every single year. A 21-year-old is technically closer to the end than a 20-year-old. The only difference is when you're 20, you don't give a damn about it. And maybe it isn't an "end" at all—maybe it's more like reaching a destination

silvercobra68 said:If I had any brain cells left to spare, I'd lend you some, but since I'm tapped out, I'll just give you an explanation.

So, Orwell depicts 1984 as an anti-human year—a nightmare defined by technical horrors like Big Brother. It’s a year where individual life is stripped of all humanity. Yet, looking back from our current perspective, 1984 almost seems human-friendly. Don't you think? And yet, fundamentally, nothing has actually changed. Except, of course, for us, now being twenty-six years older.

I would argue that quite a lot has changed.
People today simply live shorter lives; on a daily basis, they are living less while laboring significantly more.

The level of control exerted over the population is steadily increasing. We are spiraling deeper into a literal *1984* from which there may be no escape. However, people tend to behave like sheep, more than willing to accept whatever the masters dictate under the guise of acting "for their own good."

Great, now they’ve dragged politics into the shop window too.

The only person actually capable of following my train of thought is some tiny, all-powerful mastermind.

Everyone else should probably look for something a bit more low-brow. You've got parenting, self-help, and expat forums down there—or just stick to the sports section up top.

Or maybe this is just what 2010 looks like: people with limited intellect who can't grasp reality because they've been fed a script. Now they’re just regurgitating lines about "accepting whatever the boss decides."

And what exactly is this "boss" doing? Tell me! Who is this ultimate villain responsible for wrecking the world we live in?

Come on, geniuses. Let's see it. Give me a first and last name for this monster!!!

silvercobra68 said:Great, now they’ve dragged politics into the shop window too.

The only person actually capable of following my train of thought is some tiny, all-powerful mastermind.

Everyone else should probably look for something a bit more low-brow. You've got parenting, self-help, and expat forums down there—or just stick to the sports section up top.

Or maybe this is just what 2010 looks like: people with limited intellect who can't grasp reality because they've been fed a script. Now they’re just regurgitating lines about "accepting whatever the boss decides."

And what exactly is this "boss" doing? Tell me! Who is this ultimate villain responsible for wrecking the world we live in?

Come on, geniuses. Let's see it. Give me a first and last name for this monster!!!

Oh, how incredibly shallow it is to assume we are dealing with a single individual possessing a specific name and title.

When you start your very first post by writing, "... about Quincy who hasn't a clue. A loser."
And then you go ahead and title the entire thread 1984...

... and subsequently find yourself bewildered by the responses you receive, it becomes quite apparent that you have essentially just delivered a message to your own reflection...

silvercobra68 said:Great, now they’ve dragged politics into the shop window too.

The only person actually capable of following my train of thought is some tiny, all-powerful mastermind.

Everyone else should probably look for something a bit more low-brow. You've got parenting, self-help, and expat forums down there—or just stick to the sports section up top.

Or maybe this is just what 2010 looks like: people with limited intellect who can't grasp reality because they've been fed a script. Now they’re just regurgitating lines about "accepting whatever the boss decides."

And what exactly is this "boss" doing? Tell me! Who is this ultimate villain responsible for wrecking the world we live in?

Come on, geniuses. Let's see it. Give me a first and last name for this monster!!!

... fear... it’s a real bastard...

redtinker36 said:... fear... it’s a real bastard...

Well said, Alvin. 🙂

But isn't it strange? Fear is precisely what keeps us alive. What an absurdity...

Michael Sullivan5 said:Well said, Alvin. 🙂

But isn't it strange? Fear is precisely what keeps us alive. What an absurdity...

Did fear ban tobacco commercials?

Did fear ban alcohol advertisements?

And is fear really the thing exploiting the naive, filling their heads with nonsense until they drop dead from heart attacks at thirty-five?

Is fear what triggers wars in the Middle East?

Or is it actually just the sum total of all those tiny, insignificant daily actions taken by all seven billion people on this planet?