JAAG Cast 1984 Podcast #2

Podcast Group: Julia, Afi, Ashton, Genero. Kakutani, Michiko. “Why '1984' Is a 2017 Must-Read.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 26 Jan. 2017, http://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/26/books/why-1984-is-a-2017-must-read.html This source works for our next club meeting because it directly links the themes of 1984 with "Trump's America." The New Historist lens was a clear choice for a discussion because this book is all about the control and effects of government. In the article, the author compares the government of 1984 with our government today saying, "A world of endless war, where fear and hate are drummed up against foreigners, and movies show boatloads of refugees dying at sea. A world in which the government insists that reality is not 'something objective, external, existing in its own right' — but rather, 'whatever the Party holds to be the truth is truth.'" As I was reading this section I had trouble deciding which world he was talking about. This is alarming since 1984 is supposed to be a totalitarian dystopia; unlike the democratic republic, we have here in the US. The article continues to speak of alternative facts, being watched, and the government's ability to control what people see and believe.