Appearances may be deceptive but necessary when confronted with the threat of those who threaten society. The
novel 1984 by George Orwell demonstrates a society in which deceptive
appearances are essential for the ruling government, as well as appearances being
critical for the average being to survive. Planet of the Apes demonstrates the
cruelty of deception and the heights it is taken to until it becomes a power-
seeking quest. 1984 (1949) and PotA (1968) present appropriations of their
contexts, in which totalitarian governments were feared. The manipulation of
this fear was used to their advantage, as demonstrated in the texts.
1984
presents the power of appearance in deluding the ordinary citizen of Oceania.
Orwell constructs a city of illusion in order to comment on the effect of
appearance and deception in aiding totalitarian regimes in the post-war
context. This is presented through the use of the party’s phantasmagoria. The
party’s paradoxical slogan “war is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength”
is used to regulate the people of Oceania via double speak. The use of these
contradictory views aims to brainwash the average being into self-regulation,
thus aiding the Party’s deception. Further more, the nomenclature of the
Ministry of Love, Ministry of Truth, Ministry of Peace and Ministry of plenty
are used to aid the façade of the totalitarian regime. The terms are highly
paradoxical which, again, is in an attempt to brain wash the average human into
self- regulation and mindless following of the party which establishes the
party’ use of false appearances in order to advance their illusion of false
emotions.
Winston
and Julia’s façade as members of the Party is used to allegorize that need
deception in appearance is also critical for the average citizen to survive.
Their appearance in public is adhering the Party’s ideals. This is exemplified
through their participation in Hate Week and their roles in the Ministry of
Truth in general. However, their masks are often contrasted with their true appearances.
This is exemplified through the symbolism of the note from Julia, which states
“I love you”. The declaratory statement subverts the hegemonic governments
ideals and is a form of thought crime, which shows that they still have
independent thought. This act of rebellion is both Winston and Julia’s true
nature, thus demonstrating that they need to able to deceive the party in order
to survive and achieve their ultimate goals.
The room
above Mr Charington’s shop is also used as a tool to show Winston and Julia’s
true identity. The secluded room appears to symbolize freedom, and Winston and
Julia are able to shed their appearance of party adherents and are able to
express themselves freely. However, it is highly ironic that Winston and Julia
are not actually free and are in fact being deceived themselves in what they
think is their own deception. The room is monitored by telescreens, the Party
revealing themselves in order to maintain control. This demonstrates the
Party’s own manipulation of Julia and Winston in allowing them to believe that
they are free to shed their phantasmagoria only to be struck down by the power
of the rigid regime.
The
juxtaposition of the nomenclature of the Ministry of Love and its true nature
emphasizes the importance of appearance in deluding society. The name of the
ministry is highly ironic as it contradicts the nature of the ministry, which
appropriates the conditions of a labor camp. This magnifies that the party
often manipulates appearances in society in order to maintain control. The
ministry also manipulates the fear of those in society in order to break their
masks. This is demonstrated through the symbolism of the rat mask in room 101
which Winston deeply fears. The appearance of the rat mask leads to
manipulation of this fear, which brings Winston to breaking point portrayed
upon Winston exclaiming “Do it to Julia! Not me! Julia!” This exemplifies the
relentlessness of the regime in their misleading of society by bringing their
minds to breaking points, which leads to self-regulation.
The
conclusion of the novel aids in exhibiting the manipulation of appearance in
order to regulate the people of Oceania. The irony of the statement “he had on
the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother” illustrates the way in which the
party has influenced the malleability of Winston’s mind in order to make the
themselves appear as something they weren’t previously thought of, specifically
big Brother. The love shown to Big Brother in this chapter is contrasted to
Winston’s previous thought “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER” highlighting the
malleability of his mind due to the party’s manipulation of fear in order to
regulation society and remain hegemonic.
Planet
of the Apes (1968) appropriates the tensions felt in the post-war era, more
specifically the cold war. In the text, it is highlight that although
appearances can be deceptive, the powers of totalitarian regimes become brutal
to the point that it is a power-seeking quest. The theriomorphism of the
totalitarian regime isn’t deceptive at all but rather portrays the appearance
of the government for what they really are. The use of the apes symbolizes the
primitive nature of absolutist government. It’s also used to portray the way in
which the dictatorial regime devolves human kind, contrasting the tribal and
unsophisticated humans of the planet to present-day man, represented by George
Taylor. In this way, it is shown the manipulation does not have to be used to oppress
power but rather brute force.
The use
of force and degradation rather that deception in appearance is again shown as
useful through the characterization of George Taylor. George Taylor is symbolic
of the traditional American hero who the nation looks to in times of trouble.
His bravery is initially represented through the statement “keep your stinkin’
paws off me you damn, dirty ape!” However, the apes radically alter his
appearance by treating him like an animal, illustrating that the system is
willing to use brute force rather than deception to radically alter people’s
states of minds to create an oppressive regime.
Although
the appearance of the apes makes it blatantly clear that the totalistic
administration is animalistic, deception is still used to a degree in order to
oppress humans. This is used from the declaratory statement “you took away his
memory!” identifies that the apes, as a symbol for oppression, have distorted
the natural feature of the human mind to make it more malleable, assisting
their regime in allowing it to maintain control. The malleability that is forced
upon human’s minds is also demonstrated through the motif of the cages. This
animalistic imagery shows the people as animals, ironically, rather than the
apes, demonstrated the establishment’s need to tame them in order to maintain
the hegemonic government.
The
initial appearance of the planet is also used to show how the regime has shown
deception. The knowledge comes to the audience at the end of the film when the
“unnamed” planet is revealed to be Earth. This is communicated through the
symbolism of the statue of liberty, which is a recognizable image of human
development. It is implied that men in fact brought on their own destruction
due to the powers of an oppressive regime during the cold-war turning the
Forbidden Zone which was once a “paradise” into a “wasteland, ironically. This
is also revealed in the declaratory statement “they blew us up!” The use of the
third person “they” has an accusing tone, demonstrating that the manipulation
of fear that the totalitarian governments participated in is what led to the
nuclear catastrophe. At this point it is also revealed that the Apes have been
deceiving the humans as well as their own society for a considerable amount of
time to avoid another catastrophe such as the nuclear war but also to suppress anti-government
feelings which may lead to the fall of their society, according to the
destruction of the previous one before them.
Appropriations
of the post-war context demonstrated that appearance could be deceptive but
necessary in order for totalitarianism to be the hegemonic ideal in
society. This is shown through the text
1984 by George Orwell who communicates that the government must use the
deception in order to maintain control as well the people of society who must
use deception in appearance to survive. Franklin j. Schaffer’s Planet of the
Apes (which appropriates the context of the Cold War) thoroughly explores not
only the brute force necessary for a totalitarian regime to reign but also the
way in which they much deceive their societies. Both the texts demonstrated the
controlling nature of the establishment through deception in appearance.
- Cassie
PS this is my extension 1 english essay. I uploading it for backup reasons as well as sharing with everyone I guess.
