AO5 Flashcards

Question

Notes on HULU TV Adaptation of THT (2017)

Answer 1

The white, wide-brimmed bonnet and red cloak have become synonymous with women’s oppression, and the TV adaptation did not deviate from the symbolism of the specific costumes of the novel. * The release of the series coincided with the election of Donald Trump, and the rise of movements and laws to limit women’s reproductive freedom: ○ Women began to wear outfits inspired by the television series at protests against these measures * In the series, Offred’s face is often shown very close to camera, allowing the audience a greater emotional connection to the character: ○ This close focus on the character’s face also narrows the visual field, mirroring Offred’s limited perspective in Gilead ○ This is in contrast to the book, in which we as the reader have very little physical description of Offred to go on, as though to represent her individuality fading

Answer 2

* Jennifer O’Dee (2013) stated that “Orwell characterises his women under a misogynistic lens”: ○ Winston sees women as one of two groups: sexless/mothers (Mrs Parsons/Katharine) or sexual temptresses (Julia/prostitute) might recognise society's lack of gender everyone wears same overalls, does same jobs, aims to get rid of role of "mother" - might see this society as freedom for women)

Answer 3

* Orwell as ill whilst writing on the Scottish island of Jura * He also stated that the novel was not intended as an attack on socialism or the British Labour Party, of which he was a supporter: ○ He set the book in a fictionalised future version of Britain in order to emphasise the fact that totalitarianism, if not fought against, could triumph anywhere * Orwell died in 1950

Answer 4

* Dorian Lynskey, writing in The Guardian in 2019, said that 1984 “remains the book we turn to when truth is mutilated, when language is distorted, when power is abused, when we want to know how bad things can get”: ○ He cites President Trump’s adviser, Kellyanne Conway, who first used the phrase “alternative facts” in 2017, although he does acknowledge that Trump was not a dictator - Orwell wrote the book that killed him. - The word “Orwellian” has turned the author’s own name into a capacious synonym for everything he feared and hated. - Orwell’s famously translucent prose conceals a world of complexity - His real talent was for analysing and explaining a tumultuous period in human history. - He always tried to tell the truth and admired anyone who did likewise.

Answer 5

The 1984 film version of the novel featured John Hurt as Winston Smith and Richard Burton as O’Brien, * The choice of Hurt as the character of Winston embodied his physical frailty and guarded optimism * However, there are some differences between the novel and the film: ○ The film ends with Winston saying “I love you” rather than “Big Brother”, leaving the ending ambiguous - does he love Big Brother or Julia? ○ There is also an implicit suggestion that Julia might actually be a spy in the film

Answer 6

“Nazi theory indeed specifically denies that a thing such as ‘the truth’ exists” “Two plus two could certainly equal five if the fuhrer wanted it”

Answer 7

In literary theory, a Marxist interpretation reads the text as an expression of contemporary class struggle. Literature is not simply a matter of personal expression or taste. It somehow relates to the social and political conditions of the time. *How it relates is of course up for debate. Is the text a mirror of social values? Is it a form of propaganda for the ruling classes? Can literature challenge social norms? These are the questions that preoccupy Marxist literary critics. **Karl Marx theorized that human beings are the product of their social and economic environment**.Marx himself often treated literature as simple propaganda for the ruling classes. **Kellner** takes a Marxist perspective, as this statement describes how **the literature is a direct political and economic reflection of the experiences of the author** and, thus, the world in which the author lived when he wrote, or at the very least the world that the author feared was on the horizon. As a whole, 1984 seems to be stating that **politics is solely a constant struggle for power** and the only change brought about is the **replacement of one ruling class with another**. This ideal is solidified by the class structure of the Party members within 1984 and ultimately by the power-plays of the Party, which is to be impressed upon all citizens of Oceania.

Answer 8

Fear of betrayal and **inculcated self surveillance** keep the handmaids from speaking out

Answer 9

Ellergy for human rights 6 months after decoration of human rights See 1984 from a humanist perspective - Orwell explemfiying the consequences of what happens when u take away those human right see freedom of speech / fair trail / etc … Original title the “last man in Europe “ FINISH LISTENING TO AND MAKING NOTES FROM IN OUR TIME PODCAST

Answer 10

• a students’ own alternative readings • the views of classmates (take care about how to credit these in an academic essay: a simple “Others have stated/suggested etc” will do) • views from academics in literary criticism (e.g. A.C Bradley, G. Wilson Knight, Jacqueline Rose) • theoretical perspectives (reading the text through a particular theoretical lens e.g. feminism or Marxism) • critical perspectives over time (i.e. the way the text has been viewed critically over time) • for drama, readings provided by productions (offers both directorial interpretation as well as actors’ interpretations) • stage and screen adaptations of works

Answer 11

…a warped society existing in a sterile and dangerous wasteland, where fertility has become a precious commodity to be used for state purposes in a grotesque parody of Biblical familial practices.

Answer 12

The monthly rape synthesises the institutionalized humiliation, objectification, and ownership of women in Gilead.

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