Will Upcoming ‘Orwell’ Doc Miss Entire Point of ‘1984?’
Director Raoul Peck's alarming statement suggests exactly that
There’s never been a better time for a refresher course on George Orwell’s “1984.”
That’s bad news, of course.
The text describes a dystopian realm where the past is re-written and personal freedoms don’t exist. The 1984 British film adaptation of the same name starred John Hurt as Winston Smith, a worker drone ensnared in a totalitarian state.
![1984 (1984) ORIGINAL TRAILER [HD]](https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-youtube-lyte/lyteCache.php?origThumbUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FT8BA7adK6XA%2F0.jpg)
The book and the film are both classic yarns and cautionary tales, and much of what Orwell wrote in that 1949 text is alarmingly close to modern times.
This may be the book’s most haunting passage:
“Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And the process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right.”
Sound familiar?
Enter director Raoul Peck. The filmmaker is behind “Orwell,” a feature-length documentary that just got scooped up by Neon. The indie studio gave us last year’s Oscar-nominated documentary “Fire of Love.” The project also has the approval of the Orwell estate, another positive sign.
So far, so good. Except the director’s statement on the project should chill us all.
“Today, the “newspeak” of authoritarian rule is alive and well and in unexpected places, from the rise of AI Chatbot to the Russian propaganda machine, from the marketing webs of commercial metaverses to the political banning of books in the Southern United States” said Peck in a statement tied to the Neon deal.
It’s like Peck read “1984” and missed the point for purely partisan purposes.
RELATED: DeMILLE CALLS SENSITIVITY READERS ‘ORWELLIAN’
The “Russian Propaganda machine?” Does Peck still think the Russians stole the 2016 election out from under Hillary Clinton, or that Putin pushed the Hunter Biden “hoax” upon us?
Is he an election denier?
Is Russian disinformation top of mind today given everything else happening around the U.S.?
Has he missed the U.S. government leaning on Big Tech platforms to censor debate across the country? What about the new, not-so-improved “struggle sessions” where celebrities grovel for forgiveness for sharing the “wrong” ideas?
Scarlett Johansson exits her trans role in ‘Rub and Tug’ and admits her previous statement on the controversy was “insensitive” https://t.co/hbYlNmv210 pic.twitter.com/V5EAdblBcK
— Variety (@Variety) July 14, 2018
Mario Lopez Apologizes For ‘Ignorant’ Remarks He Made About Not Letting Kids Choose Their Gender https://t.co/BfaeAPREUz
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) July 31, 2019
Did Peck miss the army of woke sensitivity readers changing beloved texts, sometimes without the approval of the writers?
It gets worse.
Peck blasts the “political banning of books,” an obvious reference to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ efforts to remove hardcore pornography from Florida schools. Does Peck want that obscene material taught in the classroom?
Did he miss the governor shredding the press for distorting the issue?
Tax dollars, paying for porn in kids’ schools.
DeSantis plays graphic video of ‘pornographic’ books found in Florida schools at press conference https://t.co/IVcrw4SfWq via @nypost
— Scott C. Johnston (@SJohnston60) March 9, 2023
It suggests Peck might twist Orwell’s legacy at a pivotal time in western culture.
The project also has Oscar-winner Alex Gibney attached. The far-Left director’s leanings are clear and we all know which ideological side favors speech suppression today.
It couldn’t be more obvious.
Yet Gibney was one of the few artists who stood up for director Meg Smaker after Sundance, and the far Left, attempted to cancel her for directing “Jihad Rehab.”
Another name attached to the project is Jeff Skoll, the founder of the progressive film studio Participant Media. Will he look beyond his ideological blinders to see the real Orwell? Or will Gibney, Skoll and Peck take a page of “1984’s” authoritarian playbook?
“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.” — George Orwell
I have to agree with your opinion Christian – sounds like Peck’s film will be one-sided and will completely ignore the brainwashing (including the medical tyranny) by the liberal elite. Interesting that Peck is making this film and mentioning the “Russian propaganda” angle since there’s an upcoming Russian feature film adaptation of “1984” to be released this year, which will surely be more interesting to watch than this vapid docu.
Let’s think about this differently. Both sides have their points 1984 can be twisted but that is why we remain confused and tribal. 1984 should be viewed as a landscape of our own individual fears, desires, instincts etc. This idea that it’s your side or my side is a misunderstanding of reality. There is no side. It’s only you. That’s it the outside world is irrelevant. Not to be confused with the sophists, but true never comes from what you perceive. It’s always internal. I AM WHAT I PERCEIVE. If I perceive society as chaotic and split its because I am. There is no truth outside you.
I like how you are just as clueless as what you claim Peck to be. Taking down confederate statues = 1984!!!! OMG, TAKING DOWN STATUES THAT GLORIFY THE IDEA OF ONE MAN OWNING ANOTHER IS SO AGAINST MY HERITAGE!!!! You clearly are delusional. The purpose of taking down confederate statues is because they glorify people who tore the country apart because they couldn’t expand their slave empire. That is not erasing history, that is erasing the disgusting message those men stood for from the public. What is erasing history is Rob DeSantis criticizing the Collegboard’s African American Studies. I find it ironic how the final quote you use is exactly what Rob DeSantis is doing. Flagging math textbooks over “critical race theory” is what will make idiots like you claim that 2+2=5. And no, I do not believe Peck is referring to any of what you claim he is referring to BECAUSE NONE OF THAT IS RELATED TO WHAT HE IS CLAIMING. HE IS CLAIMING THAT RUSSIA IS INDOCTRINATING THEIR PEOPLE WHICH HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH RUSSIAN IN THE US. Literally everything coming from both sides of the Ukraine war is propaganda. Like seriously, there were people posting about how supposedly the T14 was in Ukraine when the video was filmed in a training ground. Maybe you should look at yourself before criticizing others. I find it ironic how you are an example of doublethink. You accuse Peck of being apart of Far-left agenda of erasing history but when you do it, it’s “embracing your heritage”
You’re the clueless one and you’re the delusional one. You’re defending Peck who is spreading Far Left propaganda. Ron DeSantis is doing no such thing. He’s still allowing slavery to be taught, it’s just NOT under Critical Race Theory. Critical Race Theory is a real thing and you’re defending it. You’re the embodiment of evil and you’re exactly what Christian Toto is talking about you evil heartless abomination.
Wow, anything that doesn’t agree with your opinion is “Far-Left Propaganda.” Let me ask you a question, what are the ideas of the Far-Left? Do you know? Now compare that to what Peck is saying, is Peck’s statement similar to those far left ideas? No. And I never said DeSantis is not allowing slavery to be taught. But what I am ripping on DeSantis for is the banning of books that have no right to be banned and the stripping down of the AP African American Studies course. For the AP course, thanks to DeSantis, now many black authors who have written on CRT, feminism, and LGBTQ topics are now being removed from the curriculum. I don’t care what your opinion on those topics are, they still need to be taught in the classroom. Let’s take slavery for example. Slavery is a horrible thing, do we still teach it? Yes. So if CRT is as evil as you claim, that is still not a valid argument for it to be taken out of the curriculum. Hell, if that was the case let’s take out American atrocities because “those are horrible things and we shouldn’t let it spread to our youth” or whatever you guys say. And how am I defending CRT? Are saying I’m propagating unconscious, systemic racism in this country or am I evil because I think it’s a real thing? Also, do you even know what CRT? If so, please define it because there’s like 20 million definitions for it.
You clearly hate America and want to see it burn to the ground because of that “systemic racism” bullcrap you’re pushing. That’s why you’re evil and you’re anti-American. You are a propagandist.
I understand a lot of other people’s viewpoint more than most. I’ve had quite civil discussions with conservatives and many of them are my friends. 2, I don’t attack people unless they go around insulting people randomly and overall being uncivil. And 3, I do defend CRT as in the core belief that there is systemic racism, but that is it. 4. I do not believe in censorship, I am literally criticizing Rob DeSantis for causing the AP to remove some of their material, how is that believing in censorship???? If anything, you are more likely to support censorship since you basically worship DeSantis despite him literally banning MATH textbooks over CRT claims. You will be one of the first to most likely to believe that 2+2=5 when DeSantis says so
Also use literally any other insult, it’s kind of getting boring. I always get my dopamine fix by laughing at your terrible arguments and insults, so please, take some time out of your day and come up with your own insults. Oh wait, you’re a far-right conservative so that’s not possible
@You’re not the most intelligent
You’re the one who’s ignorant. The fact that you have to do a long rant shows you don’t know anything about George Orwell and you’re using his name to defend Far Left Extremism. And you’re an evil bigot.
“Systemic racism” isn’t real. This shows you hate America and want to see it burn to the ground you evil heartless abomination.
You’re the embodiment of evil by targeting Ron DeSantis. He’s not erasing teachings of slavery. He’s still allowing it as long as it’s not under Critical Race Theory(which is what an evil abomination like you is defending).
yes yes, because I want to thoroughly make a point means I don’t know anything about George Orwell despite you literally never bringing up anything he ever says. If you think I don’t know anything about Orwell, then here’s an open door for you to enlighten me with words from Orwell himself. If you are unable to do so, then I think you need to rethink your ideas. And no, I am not using his name to defend Far left extremism. I’m literally a moderate liberal and I literally said myself “I think you can look through history and around the world and see elements of it on both sides of the political spectrum.” Is that not criticizing the Far Left? Both Animal Farm and 1984 have the most similarities drawn with the USSR. Snowball and Goldstein both resemble Trotsky and Napoleon in Animal Farm can be seen as a Stalin like figure. 1984 probably has the most similarities. Winston mentions the 3 Year Plans, a very clear reference to Stalin’s Five Year Plans which were meant to rapidly industrialize the Soviet state. 2+2=5 is a reference to a soviet propaganda poster which said “2+2+the worker’s enthusiasm = 5.” The anti-sex nature of Oceania in an either intentional or unintentional manner had similarities to the de-eroticized Soviet State. In a critical essay from Robert Gleckner,he mentions “Vera Sandomirsky [who] establishes the fundamental reality of Orwell’s vision of a de-eroticized society. As she puts it, the idea of Soviet virtue “means first the de-erotization [sic]of love and, secondly, the subordination of the sexual drive to the political and economic exigencies of the Soviet State. But there still remains a third aspect,…the most sinister of all: its use as a device for invading the one sphere of personal privacy yet remaining to the Soviet citizen.” I have said this before and I shall say it again, I do not support Far left ideas. I am quite opposed to them as I am opposed to far right ideas. And yes, systemic racism is real(clearly you haven’t looked up redlining because then you would realize America is kind of fucked up as a society) but that does not mean I hate America. I shall again say this, I criticize America because I want it to prosper in the future, so American society can improve itself. If anything, you are doing more harm by not recognizing the flaws and trying to fix them. Love isn’t absolute meat riding without any criticisms, that’s called extreme nationalism(much like that of Stalin or Hitler or Mussolini), sometimes you have to point out certain flaws. And that’s what I believe when I criticize America because it is out of the love of my heart. And if you keep saying I hate America, I swear to god I shove radium done your throat and watch as it slowly erodes your jaw so you can stop accusing me of hating the country that I was born in, the country that I love so dearly with all my heart, and the country that I would give my life for. Keep those dirty words out of your mouth.
The only person saying dirty words is you. You clearly do hate America and want to see it burn to the ground, all because of the flaws it had. Instead of learning from the flaws and show that America has changed, you rather see it become communist. Because you’re an evil communist. You don’t America improved, you want to see it destroyed, you evil heartless abomination.
@You’re not the most intelligent
You’re the one who can’t read Orwell. All you’re doing is coping over me calling you out for being a hypocrite. All you’re doing is moving the goalpost. Because you clearly do hate America, and you’re just shielding yourself.
And no, “systemic racism” isn’t real. You’re looking in a Woke fantasy, which means you’re out of touch with reality.
You know what, I’m tired of thoroughly slapping your sorry ass around every post I make. From now on I will repeatedly call you heartless abomination and call you a communist you evil, heartless, communist abomination 😉
@You’re not the most intelligent
Who’s being the communist again? That’s you.
It seems that Raoul Peck, Alex Gibney and Jeff Skoll are pushing 1984 on everyone with their lies, using George Orwell’s name to do that.