TOTALITARIAN WORLDS: NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR AND V FOR VENDETTA

Abstract

Totalitarianism is a significant concept not only on political but also on social and cultural grounds. Totalitarian regimes, which aim to exercise total power over citizens, are generally portrayed in dystopian works. Perhaps, one of the most known and read dystopias of this kind, Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell has influenced and inspired many other similar works through its powerful criticism of an absolute political authority. One such work is the movie V for Vendetta directed by James McTeigue, being based on the graphic novel of the same name by Alan Moore and David Lloyd. The movie, like Nineteen Eighty-Four, depicts a dystopian future making a similar totalitarian rule its focus point and raising questions about ruling systems. With regard to totalitarianism, Oceania of Nineteen Eighty-Four is ruled by simply-called Party led by Big Brother while the ruling party Norsefire in V for Vendetta is headed by Adam Sutler. Taking into consideration such similarities, this study aims to put forward totalitarian systems of the two works concerning such elements as party, ideology, surveillance, secret police, propaganda and resistance.

Keywords

• totalitarianism
• distopia
• surveillance
• secret police
• propaganda

TOTALITARIAN WORLDS: NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR AND V FOR VENDETTA

Öz

Totaliterlik sadece siyasal değil aynı zamanda sosyal ve kültürel alanlarda da önemli bir kavramdır. Vatandaşlar üzerinde toptan (total) iktidar uygulamayı amaçlayan totaliter rejimler genellikle distopik eserlerde resmedilmektedir. Bu türden distopyaların belki de en çok bilinen ve okunanı olan George Orwell’in yazdığı Bin Dokuz Yüz Seksen Dört mutlak siyasal otoriteye karşı güçlü eleştirisiyle birçok benzer eseri etkilemiş ve onlara ilham vermiştir. Böyle bir eser Alan Moore ve David Lloyd’un aynı isimli grafik romanından uyarlanan ve James McTeigue tarafından yönetilen V filmidir. Bin Dokuz Yüz Seksen Dört gibi bu film de benzer bir totaliter yönetimi odak noktası yaparak ve yönetim sistemleri ile ilgili soruları gündeme getirerek distopik bir geleceği tasvir etmektedir. Totaliterliğe ilişkin olarak, Bin Dokuz Yüz Seksen Dört’te Okyanusya başında Büyük Birader’in bulunduğu ve basitçe adlandırılan Parti tarafından yönetilirken V’deki yönetici parti Norsefire’ın başında ise Adam Sutler bulunmaktadır. Bu türden benzerlikleri göz önüne alarak, bu çalışma, parti, ideoloji, gözetim, gizli polis, propaganda ve direniş gibi açılardan bu iki eserdeki totaliter sistemleri ortaya koymayı amaçlamaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• totaliterlik
• distopya
• gözetim
• gizli polis
• propaganda

References

1. Abrams, M. H. (1999). A glossary of literary terms (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Heinle&Heinle.
2. Arendt, H. (1962). The origins of totalitarianism (7th ed.). Cleveland, OH: Meridian Books.
3. Atwood, M. (2005). Writing with intent: Essays, reviews, personal prose: 1983-2005. New York, NY: Carroll and Graf Publishers.
4. Booker, M. K. (1994). Dystopian literature: A theory and research guide. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
5. Claeys, G. (2010). The origins of dystopia: Wells, Huxley and Orwell. In G. Claeys (Ed.), The Cambridge companion to utopian literature (pp. 107-131). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
6. Friedrich, C. J., & Brzezinski, Z. K. (1965). Totalitarian dictatorship and autocracy (2nd ed.). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
7. Gentile, G. (1928). The philosophic basis of fascism. Foreign Affairs, 6(2), 290-304. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20028606
8. Gregor, A. J. (2009). Marxism, fascism and totalitarianism: Chapters in the intellectual history of radicalism. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

9. Gregor, A. J. (2012). Totalitarianism and political religion: An intellectual history. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
10. Linz, J. J. (2000). Totalitarian and authoritarian regimes. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers.
11. McTeigue, J. (Director), Silver J., Hill, G., Wachowski, L., & Wachowski, L. (Producers). (2006). V for vendetta [Film; Netflix]. United States: Warner Bros. Pictures.
12. Moore, A. (1990). Behind the painted smile. In KC Karlson (Ed.), V for Vendetta (pp. 267-276). New York, NY: DC Comics.
13. Orwell, G. (1941). Literature and totalitarianism. https://www.orwell.ru/library/articles/totalitarianism/english/e_lat
14. Orwell, G. (1946). Why I write. https://orwell.ru/library/essays/wiw/english/e_wiw
15. Orwell, G. (1968). The Collected Essays, Journalism and Letters of George Orwell (4th vol.). London, England: Secker & Warburg.
16. Orwell, G. (2000). Nineteen eighty-four. London, England: Penguin Books.
17. Pauley, B. F. (2005). Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini: totalitarianism in the twentieth century (4th ed.). Chichester, England: Wiley Blackwell.