George Orwell's '1984'

1984: Video Understanding


This blog resonates with my understanding of video lectures focusing on its critique of power and religion from George Orwell's novel "Nineteen Eighty Four", assigned by Prof. Dilip Barad Sir.


The first video examines the phrase "God is power," illustrating how the Party replaces traditional religious belief with absolute political authority. The second video presents 1984 as a critique of organized religion, highlighting parallels between the Party’s control mechanisms and religious institutions. Together, these discussions shed light on Orwell’s warning against blind faith- whether in a political regime or religious doctrine and the dangers of absolute power.


VIDEO- 1:




"God is Power"- 1984

In 1984, George Orwell explores the phrase " God is power", demonstrating how the Party replaces traditional religious beliefs with the worship of absolute authority. The novel critiques both totalitarian control and the nature of divinity, revealing how power itself becomes the highest force in Oceania, shaping every aspect of life.


  • God and Power in 1984: The word “God” appears eight times in the novel, mainly in its later sections. The Party actively suppresses religious belief, punishing individuals for even mentioning God. This reinforces the idea that there is no higher power beyond the Party itself, ensuring that loyalty to Big Brother remains unquestioned.


  • Totalitarian Domination: The Party’s control is not limited to physical oppression; it extends to the thoughts and emotions of individuals. By employing constant surveillance, propaganda, and psychological manipulation, it eliminates personal autonomy. People are not only forced to obey but also to internalize the Party’s ideology, erasing the distinction between private belief and public loyalty.


  • Power as a New Religion: O’Brien’s declaration that “God is power” highlights how the Party has transformed political authority into an object of worship. Big Brother serves as a godlike figure, demanding complete devotion. Just as religious faith requires believers to surrender themselves to a higher power, the Party compels citizens to surrender their independent thought, accepting its authority as absolute and infallible.


  • Manipulation of Truth: The Party controls reality itself through doublethink and historical revisionism. Citizens must accept contradictions—believing that war is peace, freedom is slavery, and ignorance is strength. By altering the past and shaping the present, the Party ensures that its version of the truth is the only one that exists. This manipulation prevents any resistance, as there is no objective reality against which to challenge the Party’s rule.


  • Struggle for Individuality: Winston’s journey reflects the human spirit’s resistance against oppressive control. Though the Party attempts to strip people of their ability to think independently, Winston clings to the belief that personal truth and memory matter. Orwell presents this struggle as fundamental to human nature, showing that even under the harshest conditions, the desire for freedom and self-awareness persists.


  • Critique of Religious Obedience: Orwell’s critique extends beyond totalitarianism to organized religion. The Party’s demand for absolute faith mirrors how religious institutions throughout history have required unquestioning devotion. By equating power with divinity, Orwell challenges how both political and religious systems can be used to suppress independent thought, condition obedience, and justify control over individuals.


Through these ideas, 1984 serves as a stark warning about the dangers of absolute power. The phrase “God is power” encapsulates the Party’s ultimate goal: to make power itself the only belief that matters, eliminating individual thought and ensuring that nothing exists beyond the Party’s authority.



VIDEO- 2:




1984 as a Critique of Religion


George Orwell’s 1984 is widely regarded as a critique of totalitarianism, but it can also be interpreted as a criticism of organized religion, particularly its mechanisms of control, dogma, and suppression of individual thought. The Party in 1984 functions in a manner similar to religious institutions, with Big Brother assuming the role of an omnipotent deity, demanding unquestioning loyalty and love from the people. Just as religious traditions emphasize faith in an unseen, all-powerful being, the Party enforces absolute devotion to Big Brother, even though he may not exist.


Big Brother as a God-Like Figure


In religious traditions, particularly in monotheistic faiths like Christianity and Catholicism, God is an all-knowing, all-seeing entity who watches over believers and judges them based on their actions and thoughts. In 1984, Big Brother serves the same function, omnipresent through telescreens and posters, ensuring that people feel constantly watched. The Party enforces love for Big Brother in a way that mirrors religious devotion, with Winston even being told that true belief means loving Big Brother completely.


The Party’s slogan—"War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength"—functions like a religious paradox, akin to Christian doctrines such as the Trinity or the idea of divine grace, which require believers to accept apparent contradictions without question. This highlights how Orwell critiques not only political totalitarianism but also the way religious institutions demand unquestioning faith in their teachings.



The Party as a Religious Institution


The Party enforces a strict system of beliefs, much like organized religion. It controls historical narratives, rewrites the past, and punishes heresy—similar to how the Catholic Church once dictated theological truth, persecuted heretics, and revised religious doctrine over time. The Two Minutes Hate is reminiscent of religious rituals, where collective emotions are directed towards a perceived enemy, much like sermons warning against sin or religious revivals that stir up fear and devotion.


The Thought Police function like religious inquisitors, punishing those who stray from the accepted doctrine. Even independent thought—thoughtcrime—is considered a serious offense, much like heresy in religious contexts. Orwell suggests that just as religious institutions have historically sought to suppress questioning and maintain ideological purity, totalitarian regimes do the same through psychological control and fear.



Newspeak and Religious Dogma


Another key parallel between 1984 and organized religion is Newspeak, the Party’s language designed to limit independent thought. In a similar way, religious doctrines often create rigid theological language, discouraging believers from questioning or thinking outside the accepted framework. By reducing language, the Party ensures that rebellion becomes unthinkable—just as religious orthodoxy ensures that doubting the faith becomes spiritually dangerous.



Winston’s Journey as a Religious Conversion


Winston’s journey in 1984 mirrors a religious conversion, but in a dystopian, negative sense. Initially, he is a skeptic, much like a non-believer questioning the dominant faith. His affair with Julia and his secret rebellion are his acts of heresy. However, when he is captured by the Party, O’Brien becomes a priest-like figure, guiding him through a painful process of "purification." This recalls religious confession and penance, where sinners are broken down and reformed into devoted followers.


Winston’s eventual acceptance of Big Brother resembles the process of religious indoctrination. By the end, he no longer resists or questions; he has been reprogrammed to love Big Brother, much like a convert who has undergone intense spiritual transformation. This ending suggests Orwell’s deeper concern with the dangers of absolute ideological control, whether political or religious.


Conclusion


Through these parallels, Orwell critiques the ways in which religious institutions, like totalitarian governments, manipulate belief, control knowledge, and demand blind obedience. 1984 warns against the dangers of unquestioning faith—whether in a political leader, a religious doctrine, or an ideological system. Orwell does not necessarily argue that religion itself is inherently oppressive, but he highlights how any system that demands absolute belief and suppresses free thought can become a tool of tyranny.



Refernces:

"Critique of Religion | 1984 | George Orwell." YouTube, uploaded by DoE-MKBU, 2.0 years ago, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zh41QghkCUA. Accessed 28 Feb. 2025.


DoE-MKBU. “God Is Power | 1984 | George Orwell.” YouTube, 21 Feb. 2023, www.youtube.com/watch?v=cj29I_MU3cA. Accessed 28 Feb. 2025.


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