The “1984” film was directed by Michael Radford based on George Orwell’s classic novel. The film borrows heavily from Orwell’s view of a dystopia and stirs various prominent actors like John Hurt (Winston Smith) and Suzanna Hamilton (Juliana). The essay seeks to explain the film from sociological perspectives of a conflict theorist, functionalist and symbolic internationalist. However, to understand how these perspectives would be incorporated into the whole film, it is essential to delve deeper into what they stand for.
A conflict theorist social paradigm
A conflict theorist focuses on the macro analysis of how the elite conquers and use the weak to their advantage. For example, the conflict theorist looks at how scarce resources are distributed in the society and calculates the percentage of the resources owned by the elite as compared to the percentage owned by the poor (Horton, 706). The conflict theorists also focus on the negative aspect of the society and believe that people in the society are never willing to work together for the societal social order’s success.
Functionalist perspective
According to Campos et al. (7), functionalism is a paradigm that believes that a society is made up of interdependent subsections that work to ensure the society’s success as a whole. For example, education sector imparts knowledge which enables the citizens of a country to get employment and in turn pay taxes to the government. The functionalists believe that a society is based on either mechanical cohesion or organic cohesion. Mechanical cohesion implies that society is united by the shared values while the organic cohesion signifies unity based on interdependence of the citizens even if the people hold different values.
The symbolic interactionist perspective
The interactionist paradigm is based on the assumption that one can tell the interaction of people based on their verbal communication and other non-verbal cues. For instance, instant quarreling would imply that society has conflict. Silence may also be interpreted to mean that the people lack freedom with their government and are therefore withdrawn. Having been coined by George Mead in 1863, the perspective has been used by sociologists to carry out microanalysis of the society (Blumer, 5) The perspective applies to governments where certain tools are considered the symbols of power.
Two paradigms have been used in various ways. The analysis of how these perspectives have been depicted in the film is done by considering the significant themes in the film.
Themes that support a conflict theorist paradigm
Totalitarianism theme is one that supports a conflict theorist perspective. The film depicts the ideal state predicted by Orwell in which the government has absolute control over the citizens. The theme justifies the dystopia presented by Orwell in his novel and from a conflict theorist perspective, the film presents a situation in which the government promotes communism but takes a more significant chunk of the resources. Besides, the film shows how effective propaganda has been used to the extent that the citizens of Oceania have immense hatred towards any enemies that the leaders tell them about.
The theme of love and sexuality also support a conflict theory. In the film, Winston loses his seat in the Party because of his desire to have sexual interaction with Katherine. However, Winston gets in love with Julia but later loses their relationship since it was not an inherent feeling. However, the feeling is not only limited to romantic love but also focuses on how Orwell’s mother‘s love proved important for their development as a family. The main aim of the party is to destroy these family units and ensure that all children are raised up in the Party facilities where they can be taught hatred and capitalism.
The theme of independence and identity also supports a conflict theorist perspective of the film. The Party suppresses citizens by subjecting them to similar clothing and food so that none of them stands out to challenge the elite in the society.
Matters are made worse when the Party outlaws the diary updates of Winston for the fear that he could spark a revolution against it or influence other citizens to have independent thoughts. O’Brien, one of the totalitarian figures in the film, argues that ‘free thinking’ is a sign of insanity and that Winston should not imagine that being a man gives him free credit to having free and independent ideas.
The third theme that supports a conflict theorist point of view when analyzing the film is loyalty. Dictatorial governments value the loyalty of the citizens whom the elite view as subjects. Winston finds himself in a dilemma between personal loyalty to Julia and the loyalty to the Party. When Winston agrees to work with Brotherhood, he becomes fiercely loyal to the extent of killing innocent Oceanians for the Party.
However, O’Brien realizes that physical torture and threat by poisonous rats could change Winston’s loyalty to Juliana. Ultimately, Winston stops his loyalty for Juliana and concentrates on serving the Party. Besides, Winston eventually stops writing on his diaries and gives in to the Party’s ideas.
A conflict theorist would also consider propaganda as a theme that supports the conflict social paradigm. The film presents an ironical scene where Winston, a possible reformist, works for the Ministry of Truth yet he knows and believes that the information sent to the public is distorted and false. The Party uses a well-organized ministry as the main source of the propaganda to ensure that the citizens are directed on what to know as reality. The Party does not only rely on the ministry to propagate lie but also uses Big Brother's posters to ensure that the citizens remain loyal. A clear demonstration of the propaganda success is the degree of hatred that the Oceanians have towards the stated enemies. However, if the Party turns a foe into a friend, the propaganda immediately spreads, and the citizens begin to like the former enemy once again. The conflict theory suggests that a nation can only be loyal to the leaders if they believe what they say. However, Oceania is one society where the citizens lack the freedom of choice between what to believe and what not to believe. Besides, the Party ensures that every citizen working for the Ministry of Truth is loyal to the leaders and anyone who shows disloyalty is punished severely. For example, when O’Brien realized that Winston was keeping personal notes in his diary, he became worried that his views could reach out to the public and that Winston’s opinions could have a detrimental effect to the party. It is for that reason that O’Brien decides to subject Winston to physical torture to scare him from the efforts of holding personal opinions. Unfortunately, Winston gives in to the pressure and stops keeping the personal diary.
Finally, the theme of wealth V. poverty shows how a conflict theorist would justify his paradigm in the film. The Oceanian society is made up of two groups; the party leaders and the Party members. The film demonstrates a clear distinction between the two groups. The party leaders reside in luxurious apartments with well-organized amenities while the party members are left to live in the small rooms with no amenities. Besides, the party members are subjected to low quality food so that they remain the servants of the rich. O'Brien and Winston have different views when they see the city. Winston feels that the city is a reflection of a dying world and wonders how the residents of the prole society can survive in an area with poor sanitation while O'Brien only sees a society trapped in their love for their leaders. Through the theme of poverty, the film demonstrates the conflict theorist's view that leaders of a totalitarian society can do whatever it takes to disrupt the peace of the society to gain economically, socially and politically.
Themes that support a symbolic interactionist paradigm
The theme of music comes out as the outright support of the symbolic interactionist’s perception of the film. There are various instances where Winston uses music to imagine a better world while undergoing the torture and trauma perpetrated by the Party. For example, the song, "under the Chestnut Tree" reflects the lives of Aaronson, Jones, and Rutherford, former members of the Party who were thrown out for betraying the values of the society. Besides, the film shows a scene where Julia and Winston stand on a landscape and sees a golden country. While staring at the land, a beautiful song from a bird distracts them, and they begin to imagine how fascinating the world would be if only they had the same kind of freedom.
A symbolic interactionist can also note that the theme of language portrays a significant intention by the Oceanian government to influence how the citizens live and interact. Language joins a people together and allows them to share their values in a unique and specific manner. However, the Party has successfully eliminated words that would be used to support rebellion through the introduction of Newspeak. The Party ensures that citizens only use words like ‘thank you’ and ‘accept’ to remain loyal to the status quo.
The third theme that allows a symbolic interactionist to analyze the film is technology. Despite the fact that technology is widely viewed as an opportunity to develop the Oceanian society, the Party uses telescreens to monitor the movements and social behavior of the citizens and only supports the use of advanced technology in circumstances where the use would support the government. For example, the party quickly approved of psychological artificial insemination.
Conclusion
The film “1984” provides an avenue for a sociological analysis from various perspectives. The essay has focused on the symbolic interactionist paradigm and the conflict theorist perspective. A conflict theorist can analyze the film by considering the themes of totalitarianism, independence and identity, and loyalty while music, technology, and language have been discussed as the themes that promote symbolic interactionism. The analysis of the film has been based on George Orwell’s novel written three and half decades before the release of the film.
Works Cited
Blumer, Herbert. Symbolic interactionism: Perspective and method. Univ of California Press, 1986.
Campos, Joseph J., et al. "A functionalist perspective on the nature of emotion." Japanese Journal of Research on Emotions 2.1 (1994): 1-20.
Horton, John. "Order and conflict theories of social problems as competing ideologies." (1966): 701-713.
Michael, R. “The 1984 film.” Retrieved from www.ebaumsworld.com/videos/1984- movie/81753727/
