Where Every Scroll is a New Adventure
1984 - Blog Posts
OH MMY GOD, THERE IS A MANGA FOR 1984??!??!??
i’ve been SEARCHING for the 1984 manga for quite some time, and finally acquired it as a christmas gift :3
i don’t see many ppl talk abt it, even though most of the panels are so funny 💀 i need more appreciation for this stupid ass manga i love it sm
Lavinia Richter icons 3/2 (bonus)
- like if you like it
- reblog if you save it/ use it
Lil 1984 fanart i drew for a school presentation, cause i couldn't find a good picture for the starting / ending slide so i just... Made my own?? (<- for anyone who hasn't seen the book cover: disclaimer, this art isn't my own idea it's v heavily referencing one of the book cover versions)
Being an artist is such a wierd experience, like wdym i can just make my own shit for school projects n such???
The Funeral (1984)
Rebloging again because this is important
HEY PLEASE READ !!
if you guys AT ALL enjoy using the internet whether it's for news, entertainment, or communication purposes there is a bill floating around right now that has a good possibility of being passed that will influence the way we ALL use the internet. this bill is called KOSA and it presents itself as "kids online safety act" but in reality it is and will try to sensor SO much important information out there about LGBTQ+, POC communities, feminism and women's rights, and so much more. the bill targets mainly people under 17 but this bill will affect adults too. your favorite social media and websites will become highly cleansed from anything the government deems as "dangerous" to children online. one of the ways they are trying to ensure kids aren't accessing content that is "dangerous" enforces EVERYONE to upload private information or a photo of your ID to access social media apps and websites. IF YOU CARE AT ALL ABOUT PROTECTING FREE SPEACH ON THE INTERNET AND THE WAY WE USE IT TO COMMUNICATE PLEASE HELP ENSURE THAT THIS BILL DOES NOT PASS.
CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES AND SENATORS TO SHOE THAT YOU DO NOT SUPPORT THE KOSA BILL.
PLEASE REBLOG AND SHARE !!!!
HERE IS A FREE PETITION YOU CAN SIGN TO HELP:
God he’s such a bastard (affectionate)
…Also this drawing is giving massive tumble sexyman vibes
"They got me a long time ago." - O'Brien
Quote and character from the book "1984" by George Orwell
read Orwell’s 1984 over the summer and now we’re doing it in school so I kinda had to draw this..
brilliant book!
and yes I accidentally spent the last few hours doing this instead of homework whoops
See the Winston/Julia/O’Brien love triangle would never happen because having any kind of queer relationship would never be greenlit by any of those executives (especially if these are the same Netflix executives that decided to make Dorian and Basil SIBLINGS in the new podg adaptation). The homoeroticism would hurt marketability, we can’t have that 😣.
not that there wouldn’t be a love triangle though. They’d probably just write in a new female character.
Everything else about this is painfully accurate.
Just waiting for some braindead capitalists in Hollywood or at Netflix to announce they're producing an adaptation of 1984 "but with a fresh, modern take", and then they're just ageing down all the characters so they can have a dystopian YA story where all the kids get sorted into one of the four ministries and somehow Winston and Julia's relationship gets turned into a love triangle because the producers add O'Brien to the mix for "some drama", and then they have Winston and Julia start a violent rebellion to overthrow the system which is spread out over 4 movies (or 5 seasons on TV), just so they can sell tons of overpriced eyeshadow palettes while an insane amount of "Which Ministry would you be in" quizzes pop up on the internet and ppl make stupid Newspeak TikToks, completely missing the point.
OP i agree with all of this, but I’d also like to add that the “survival” theme Newman was going for goes against the entire point of the original novel. THE WHOLE POINT of 1984 originally was that through loving each other, Winston and Julia were able to do more than survive, they were able to find scraps of joy and meaning outside of the Party. In fact, that’s a major reason why the Party suppresses interpersonal relationships, because it exists by monopolizing the energies and activities and feelings of it’s citizens, and to do this, it keeps them in a state of mind where there sole focus is survival (via war, economic insecurity, repression, etc). By loving each other, Winston and Julia are able to transcend the survival mindset, until they are captured and tortured, which works because a total focus on survival, and the all-consuming fear that accompanies it, crowds out one’s mental space, leaving no energy for interpersonal love.
by reducing Julia’s motives to survival, Newman is denying what makes the Winston/Julia romance a meaningful form of resistance.
Julia by Sandra Newman is a terrible book and here’s why
“Julia never actually liked Winston Smith, she actually thought he was pretentious and annoying.”
So why does she repeatedly tell him she loves him
“She’s lying.”
But why
“She was a honeytrap by the Thought Police.”
But she acts surprised when the Thought Police come to arrest her
“She’s been told to act surprised.”
So she’s just doing as she’s told for the entire novel and never makes any decisions for herself
“Yes! It’s what she has to do to survive! That’s the point of the book!”
Really because she never once says that when she’s being used as a whore for the Thought Police, if anything it seems like she’s motivated by the prospect of getting a new flat, plus she seems to put actual effort into adopting the party’s ideology, so clearly it’s not just about survival…
“Okay so Julia’s motivations are a little confused, but this book adds so much that Orwell didn’t consider in the original!”
Like what
“The Holodomor.”
Jesus Christ…
“No, but it’s the survival theme again, she sells her mother out in order to escape the famine!”
Okay, and how does she feel about that?
“She doesn’t, she was only a kid, she can’t hold herself responsible.”
Really? Because Winston held himself responsible for the deaths of his mother and sister, and he was only a kid, it’s part of what makes him so complex…
“Well that wouldn’t work here anyway.”
Why not?
“Julia’s mother makes her do it.”
Are you serious? Does Julia make a single decision in the entire story?
“Of course! She runs away at the end.”
What, when she’s seven months pregnant and has been tortured and starved for months? I thought this was supposed to be about providing a woman’s perspective on the original; what woman would choose to go for a cross country run in that physical state?
“Julia’s built different. She doesn’t even get scared when the rats jump onto her face.”
Why would she? It’s never established that she was scared of them in the first place!
“She bites one of their heads off.”
Cringe, then what
“Oh, then they just let her go.”
You cannot be serious
“Of course! They’ve got to use Room 101 at least a hundred times a day, so she just runs out the clock.”
And how does she figure that out
“She doesn’t, someone…”
…tells her to do it, quel surprise
“No but this character is a super cool badass female OC who O’Brien plagiarises because he has no ideas of his own.”
Are you aware of the irony of writing that in a book that wouldn’t exist without Orwell’s original
“Yeah but Orwell’s protagonist is so whiny!”
He’s a victim of a totalitarian regime, what do you expect
“Yeah but he’s so self-important!”
And that’s his downfall, in his hubris he falls into the most obvious trap in the world, O’Brien lures him in with the masculine power fantasy of being a resistance fighter and Smith pays the price by being carted off to the Ministry of Love to be tortured to death.
“The Ministry of Love isn’t that bad, Julia makes it out okay.”
Yes, that’s the problem, Julia survives everything
“She does get a nasty scratch off one of those rats…”
In the original it’s implied she got lobotomised
“That wouldn’t work in this version.”
I shudder to ask, but why not
“Because she needs to live long enough to see the regime fall.”
And how long does that take
“About six hours after the end of the original.”
Are you fucking serious
“And then she meets Big Brother face to face!”
Big Brother isn’t fucking real
“In this version he is.”
So you have a protagonist who survives the horrors of a brutal famine, the Ministry of Love and Room 101 with barely any emotional or physical damage, then after a heavily pregnant hike she gets to meet the final boss of totalitarianism face to face, and you think Winston is self-important?
“Did I mention that she’s queer in this version?”
Is that supported by the text of the original in any way at all
“No.”
Then why. Why to any of this. If you hate Winston so much and you have to change every single aspect of Julia to shoehorn her into your batshit headcanons, why write a book about them, why write a book about 1984, why did this get published, why is this getting good reviews. Why. Why. Why to any of this
I’m going to be so honest, my ideal date would consist of sharing illegally obtained chocolate and tea, cuddling, and reading dense political theory in an antique store in a run-down, sketchy part of town.
My thoughts exactly.
I swear, this feels straight out of a hurt/comfort/angst/whump fic.
why is Winston torture scene so oddly intimate?
FARAS : Other Possibilities
I've been trying to create several interesting images of Roswell aliens for a while. I'm going to reveal a few images here.
Aliens are usually depicted naked. But if they're intelligent, they'll wear clothes. In that sense, I also tried to dress them in clothes that reflect their own culture.
If aliens are physical beings, they may also be powerless individuals like us after being isolated from their advanced technology. What if the aliens that crashed into Roswell in 1974 were some kind of bored millionaires who were traveling in space, and the UAPs that are coming now are search teams to find them?
How does it feel when you meet aliens? We don't know what they're going to do after landing or crashing, but it's going to be a very strange feeling when you first encounter them.
If aliens were within Area 51, they would have wandered there in their own way. Are there any lucky people who would have witnessed such a sight?
Aliens may look like us, or they may be very different. Could they breathe in the Earth's atmosphere? In many parts of the outer world, will each intelligent creature reach a similar form through some sort of convergent evolution? Or did it evolve into something completely different in a completely different environment?
I want to move on to a different topic for a while after this work. I think many people were surprised by the recent disclosure of the hearing that alien bodies are being kept in the United States. I'm really curious about what the truth is.
FARAS : Leaked MakHa Archived Images
Date: 29th July 1948
The species is identified as 'MakHa', a name arising from the unique sound they produce during communication.
The MakHa are humanoid in form with tall, slender bodies and elongated limbs. They possess a distinctive elongated cranium, earning them the nickname "horse-head" among initial contact teams. Skin color varies from pale white to a more muted grey hue.
Unlike the Roswell aliens, they did not speak English. But one of them was able to use English, and the other learned quickly, so communication was soon possible.
MakHa society appears to treat all individuals equally, irrespective of their apparent age. Our observations suggest that this may not stem from moral or ideological concepts, but from the lack of significant functional and experiential differences between younger and older individuals.
The MakHa show clear signs of hostility towards the Roswell aliens, despite their likely shared origin. Our inquiries indicate that this antagonism is primarily due to pronounced ideological differences. The MakHa lean towards a more totalitarian and collectivist system compared to the Roswell one.
These MakHa were presumed to be artificially created creatures. They learned everything, but they felt mechanical, not by curiosity. Some officers taught them to play hide-and-seek, which they performed very well, but did not appear to have any pleasure or curiosity.
They didn't show much emotional change even after they understood that there was nothing they could change here. It's supposed to be because, in addition to their senses and nerves being different from modern humans, their view of time already has a good understanding of how these deterministic events work.
They just seemed content to understand and remember things around them. If they could have changed something, they would have acted as best they could, but they had already figured things out, so they didn't show much agitation or take any particular action in contact with some of the surviving Roswell aliens. Their behavior seemed very strange, but it wasn't that officers couldn't find their human side. They were fully communicative beings, and they wished their ancestors good luck.
FARAS-1947 :
Interaction with Extraterrestrial Lifeforms from the Roswell Incident
Date: August 7, 1947
This report details the surprising interaction with the extraterrestrial beings who survived the FARAS-1947 crash. Remarkably, these beings showed not only an ability to understand and speak English but also demonstrated an array of behaviors similar to human characteristics.
Upon discovery, these beings were compliant and cooperative. Their capability to communicate in English came via small micro-speakers embedded on the surface of their biological spacesuits. The sophistication of these micro-speakers led some scientists to initially suspect the use of telepathy. The beings wore what appeared to be biological spacesuits but without helmets. They said they abandoned their helmets to comply with their security protocols. But at the same time they added that if we wanted to find the helmet, we could. Despite not wearing helmets, they showed no signs of respiratory distress. However, unlike humans, they did not appear to respire through a mouth or nose, but rather through an enclosed system provided by the suit, located beneath their necks. Their eyes appeared to be largely black, akin to sunglasses. Upon closer observation, it was found that beneath this black exterior, they possessed eyes similar in form to human eyes. They described this aspect of their appearance as part of a biological containment system. When scientists illuminated their eyes, they could see tiny lights floating under their outer black eyes.
While generally expressionless, these beings occasionally displayed human-like emotions, such as sadness, light-hearted laughter, and smiles. Their ability to converse in English led to a degree of skepticism among some observers, who questioned whether this could be an elaborate prank.
They explained that they had deliberately crashed to bypass certain protocols of importance to them. Despite some suffering severe injuries during the process, they indicated they had foreknowledge of the outcomes before the incident occurred. The beings suggested that their survival was limited to the lifespan permitted by their biological spacesuits. They proceeded to share specific pieces of information they wished to impart before their anticipated demise. However, due to the sensitive nature of these discussions, they cannot be disclosed in this document.
I want to write a narrative piece about censorship. When I was younger I thought it was something only in books, I never would have imagined that it would be something I would encounter in my real life. Why do people want to ban books? Books provide knowledge, they help us step into worldly perspectives other than our own. We hear stories, we learn, and we grow.
I read Fahrenheit 451 in eighth grade for the first time, and I was throughly shocked by the content. Why would a society be so afraid of books, and literature that they wanted to burn them. In my fourteen year old brain it felt like an act of immaturity, and completely unnecessary. Let the people read! Let them grow their horizons and read!
It wasn’t until I had read 1984 that I truly began to understand the point of government censorship. When I read Bradbury the year before, I was reading a required book for class, and my brain didn’t think much past the fact that I thought it was wrong. However while reading Orwell I really started to grasp at what was the reason and why it was so wrong that people were banning books.
I’ll probably come back to this later, but I am starting to write a narrative essay on this, and I needed a place to just blurt my thoughts.
Black September (September Hitam)
I finished the reading challenge #BacaBukuSejarahBareng on September with 4 books: 1984 by George Orwell, Bumi Manusia by Pramoedya Ananta Toer, Berita Kehilangan from KontraS, and TEMPO's Investigation Report titled Pengakuan Algojo 1965.
Keep reading to find the review of each books.
1. 1984 by George Orwell — 5 stars
I wasn't a fan of George Orwell until this year, so I haven't had time to delve deep into his political ideology. My very first introduction to his work was when I read Animal Farm. That book's genius enchanted me so badly that the next day I immediately ordered "Homage to Catalonia" and "1984". Despite having both of them since April, only 1984 screamed loudly to me when September came. As an Indonesian who loves history, September was an important month. Although in 1984, Indonesia was mentioned only once, the political satire from this book is actually relatable to what happened in Indonesia in 1965.
If my ego as a politics student speaks, then this book is a good satire toward totalitarianism and not only that, but also to my country's current political situation (as of 10/10/2024).
There is one thing that we as humans do almost all the time, and it is incorrect: separating politics and culture. I wasn't going to talk much about Newspeak and how its grammar can help people to become dull and unintelligent, but I'm going to highlight the brilliance of Big Brother (if he is even real and not a fictive figure made by The Party) and The Party in using politics to redefine cultures, and by saying cultures, it also means the change from Oldspeak (Standard English) to Newspeak. The culture reset The Party was trying to do can determine every aspect of everyone's life.
The Party knows tremendously well the importance of controlling and remaking the culture as they like with their political power. And this narrative that Orwell brought is so genius as to even touch the surface of the most fundamental thing in everyone's life: language. Changing the language can change habits and perspectives. And The Party wasn't even finished with language as the main tool of control. It also uses psychological manipulation and brainwashing. I mean, how many times did we see that Oceania (the country where The Party resides) changed its war enemy from Eurasia to Eastasia? And how fast can the news be changed so that no one can trace that there was an error made by The Party?
I was foolish to think that Orwell would go easy on this book, by giving the reader a slight romance and sweet forbidden love. I was also naïve to think that Winston and Julia would go hand in hand, meeting the Brotherhood and- Jesus, I really was naïve. But of course, it is really Orwell's book when he won't give the wonderful and happy ending closure to the reader.
2. Bumi Manusia (This Earth of Mankind) by Pramoedya Ananta Toer — 5 stars
In these times, it is an enviable privilege when someone possesses the Buru Quartet series by Pramoedya Ananta Toer. Those who have read 'This Earth of Mankind,' the first book of the aforementioned series, should rejoice for being able to enjoy this magnificent novel in its original language. We should also be proud that our nation's dark history was still willingly written with such skill by Pramoedya Ananta Toer, who was continually oppressed by the state through imprisonment and marginalization.
'This Earth of Mankind' is an excellent opening book for the Buru Quartet, providing a solid foundation for understanding Indonesia's journey through this historical fiction. Set in the late 19th century, this book tells the story of Minke, a native Javanese youth (inlander) born into the aristocratic class (priyayi). From the beginning, Minke's character is left mysterious and unclear in origin, though said to come from a priyayi family background. Thus, readers are made curious about Minke, and this curiosity grows along with Minke's journey as a student at HBS or Hogere Burger School.
A spotlight often shone on Minke is how he, as a native, was able to attend HBS and achieve excellent rankings at the school. This was an extraordinary achievement for a native because HBS was mostly filled with totok or pure Dutch and Indo or mixed Dutch. Not only that, Minke was also praised by many for his fluency in Dutch, like a native speaker. This fluency even made his own mother doubt his Javanese-ness.
The main conflict of the novel begins when Minke meets Nyai Ontosoroh, a concubine who, according to Minke, is unlike typical concubines. Nyai Ontosoroh has a very strong character, supported by her proficiency in Dutch and her ability to read Dutch magazines. Minke had never known a Nyai or concubine capable of speaking and (seemingly) being as educated as Nyai Ontosoroh. Minke's heart is also stirred by the beauty of Nyai Ontosoroh's daughter, Annelies Mellema. The meeting of these three is an unusual one, causing all mouths in their town to gossip about them.
'This Earth of Mankind' itself was inspired by Tirto Adhi Soerjo, the Father of Indonesian Press. He was a journalist, writer, and nationalist who lived from 1880 to 1918. Tirto Adhi Soerjo also founded several newspapers such as Medan Prijaji, which in its time became the first newspaper operated by natives in the Dutch East Indies.
This novel writes a scathing critique of Dutch colonialism that occurred in Indonesia, as well as the complexities of racism and classism during Dutch colonialism. Not only that, Javanese traditionalism is also challenged by the modernity brought by Dutch knowledge, making this book not simply place one party in the black camp and the other in the white. In fact, some argue that the Dutch East Indies Government and the Javanese Priyayi who held positions in the Dutch East Indies government were two giant pillars that suppressed the lives of people without positions and noble blood.
Minke's own morality can be questioned. On one hand, he is greatly advantaged by the noble blood flowing within him, allowing him to attend a good school, but on the other hand, he is also disgusted by and curses Javanese aristocracy which he feels greatly demeans other humans. From Dutch school, he learns about individual rights and freedom of thought and opinion, but at the same school, he realizes that no matter how free a person is, they cannot be freer than the colonizers who come to colonize.
Buru Quartet, series which Pramoedya Ananta Toer narrated during his exile on Buru Island, has been praised for many years yet the availability of these books remain limited. It is why I am hoping that may the rumors regarding of Pramoedya’s works’ reprinting in 2025, truly happen. Because it is such a shame for everyone in Indonesia to not knowing this great roman.
3. Berita Kehilangan from various writers compiled by KontraS and Ultimus — 4.5 Stars
Inside of the reading communities spread across X (formerly Twitter), many have agreed to give September a moniker: Black September. This is done to commemorate the enforced disappearances and killings that occurred in September-October 1965 and many that followed during Orde Baru (New Order) Regime. There's also hashtag going online titled #BacaBukuSejarahBareng which then motivated me to pick up history-themed books available on the bookshelf in my room.
I've owned "Berita Kehilangan" since 2021, but as per my usual habit, I waited for this book to "call out" to me to be read. At the right moment, last September, I finally decided to break the seal of this book to enjoy its contents.
But how could I enjoy what I read, if it contains an anthology of heart-wrenching short stories inspired by enforced disappearances to cruel murders? Throughout all the short stories, the main perpetrator consistently points to the government. The government through its racist policies, through its brutal and cruel military apparatus, and through the cultures of enforced disappearances deliberately perpetuated to create an atmosphere of terror, so that society remains submissive and obedient to the government.
This anthology of short stories originated from the "Berita Kehilangan" short story writing competition held during the Week of Enforced Disappearances 2021 (held by KontraS) and participated by 280 writers. There are 15 selected short stories from 15 writers through the competition and 5 short stories from 5 guest writers, that fill this book. All of them stem from real events and experiences of people who witnessed or became victims or were affected or also those who studied the dark history of this nation.
One of the short stories in this book that made me pause for quite a while is the fact that there were forced relocations/abductions of underage children from East Timor during the conflict with Indonesia from 1975-1999. These children were taken by military personnel to Indonesia. Many children then lived in neglect and grew up in poverty, and not a few experienced sexual abuse and forced religious conversion.
There's also a story inspired by the true story of a young Chinese activist, who was found murdered in her home. Ita Martadinata Haryono was a key witness who was to testify at a UN hearing in New York in October 1998. Ita was about to testify about the mass rape of Chinese Women after the 1998 reformation.
4. Pengakuan Algojo 1965 — 4.5 stars
"That ideology (Communism, Marxism, and Leninism) has long been bankrupt. The Soviet Union is in shambles, China is now as capitalist as America. The idea of a classless society is an outdated and futile utopia... In other words, face communism with relaxation. Because that ideology is actually quite ordinary."
This book contains 10 pages dedicated to a "disclaimer" stating that Tempo's investigative report is intended for a higher purpose and not merely to "corner" certain groups or perpetrators of violence. This report is published and compiled to inspire national reconciliation for the victims and families of the 1965 Incident. The book also provides historical facts that many Indonesians have almost forgotten about how military personnel, religious organizations, and thuggish actions could unite to kill hundreds or even millions of people.
This institution was called the Operational Command for the Restoration of Security and Order (Kopkamtib), established on October 2, 1965, to crush the PKI and restore state order that had just been hit by the September 30th Movement. The National Commission on Human Rights, through its investigation, found that Kopkamtib was the main perpetrator of gross human rights violations in the 1965-1966 events.
The format of this book is quite interesting, as it provides a series of interview results and investigations of people who were once involved in the killing of party members and PKI sympathizers, and also highlights the experiences of people who directly witnessed these events. Not only that, several articles from historians and researchers are also included to add insight into the events that occurred 59 years ago.
Nevertheless, this book does not focus too much on cases that befell women at that time. Most of those interviewed as victims were only men (there is only one article with a female source).
This week obsession: 1984 by George Orwell.
Just adding the former Twitter thread of analysis here for posterity.
Actually the implied timeline for the fall of Ingsoc is even shorter than that, on a second look. The Appendix says the Newspeak spoken in 1984 is captured in the 9th & 10th editions of the Newspeak dictionary, and that the 11th edition was the “final” one. We don’t know exactly when the Party rose to power or started Newspeak, but if they’re already on the 10th edition by 1984 or shortly thereafter, and the Party doesn’t take power until after 1949, that implies new editions being released at absolute most every 3-4 years. If the 10th edition is released roughly contemporaneously with the events of the book & Ingsoc lasts long enough to produce an 11th edition, but not a 12th, that suggests the collapse of the regime within about a decade of those events. Another clue: Translation of English Lit classics to Newspeak were planned, and it “was not expected that they would be completed before the first or second decade of the 21st century,” after which the originals would be destroyed. The use of the subjunctive—and the fact that the future authors of the Appendix assume readers remain familiar with works of Shakespeare, Milton, Jefferson etc.—also implies the fall of Ingsoc before “the first or second decade of the twenty-first century”. So that’s at least two very strong clues Orwell plants that Ingsoc did not outlast the 20th Century, despite its seeming efficiency at ferreting out and breaking dissenters.
Absolutely amazing money quote too:
The large number of people responding that they did indeed miss this when they read Nineteen Eighty-Four suggests Orwell pulled off a rather brilliant literary prank: He wrote an optimistic epilogue, but hid it in the guise of an Appendix which many (perhaps most) readers either skipped or took at face value as just an essay about Newspeak, rather than a continuation of the story. And this is perfect. It would have been a literary crime to spoil the gut punch of “He loved Big Brother” by tacking on an overt happy ending epilogue. The happy ending is there, but Orwell makes you work for it.
Besties I am reading about the appendix of 1984 by George Orwell and I just re-read the actual appendix last night and I stg I'm gonna scream and cry and throw up because it's fucking past perfect tense and it's the "woulds" and it's the fact that the appendix is written in modern English. 1984 secret ending where Big Brother is long gone it makes me cry.
this is good and correct. that scene is in fact extremely horny
My toxic trait is finding O'Brien's interrogation of Winston to be extremely horny
