Dystopian Societys
V for Vendetta, 1984, and Citizenfour
Governments are invading the people's privacy by force.
In V for Vendetta, V says that, "people shouldn't be afraid of their government" (McTeigue). This directly relates to quotes from 1984 such as, "Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing," (Orwell) and from Citizenfour, "The government will do whatever they want to to have more power over communication" (Poitras). In all three societies, governments want more and more power over their citizens. They use force because it makes us easier to control. V wanted to free his society from the harsh control of their government, Winston Smith wanted to change his society because of how overbearing the government was, and Edward Snowden wanted to expose to us the harsh reality of the society we live in today.
The Media has a huge impact on how a government is viewed.
In Citizenfour, Snowden says that he, "does not want his bias on the facts so that the public can receive the best view" (Poitras). In V for Vendetta, it is said that, "our job is to report the news, not fabricate is. That's the government's job" (McTeigue). This also relates to Winston's job in 1984, "I just have to throw it down the memory hole and it's gone forever" (Orwell). The media is controlled in some way by every government so that they only show the people what the government wants them to see. The most extreme example of this is in 1984 how the government decided to change every fact ever known to man so that they can further brainwash their citizens into thinking whatever they want, but it also shows in V for Vendetta with the government making up the news and in Citizenfour through how Snowden stresses that he wants the reporter to strictly show the facts and nothing but the facts.
Paranoia is a factor in every dystopian society.
In 1984, Julia has to tell Winston to keep quiet even in the countryside because she says, "there could be hidden mikes everywhere" (Orwell). V for Vendetta states simple, "is that what you think or what they want you to think"(McTeigue). Citizenfour shows Snowden always being paranoid because he knows what the government is capable of, but the quote, "unplug everything. As long as it is on, it can be listened through" (Poitras), makes us all wonder what all is possible because of our technologically inclined world. The governments in all three cases give every citizen a reason to be paranoid because they only want you to think what they do and they will use any means necessary to enforce their beliefs. Everyone who has viewed these three dystopian societys has had a heightened amount of paranoia because it makes us think about what really could be going on.
Government control is a cycle.
In Citizenfour, Snowden says, "They only want more and more power over communication" (Poitras). This is the first step in the chain reaction. The second step is absolute control as exemplified in 1984 where, "Big Brother is always watching" (Orwell). The third step is a peoples revolution, such as the example V started at the end of V for Vendetta with his amazing line, "beneath this mask there is more than flesh. Beneath this mask there is an idea, Mr. Creedy, and ideas are bulletproof" (McTeigue). Every government through history has seemed to go slightly power crazy, and even though they may get the power they want for a short amount of time, the citizens will eventually say enough is enough.