Appearances can be deceptive but necessary: An analysis of 1984 and Planet of the Apes

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.