psychological warfare Flashcards
(14 cards)
how is torture presented
a methodical assault on the human mind, designed not simply to punish but toreconstruct beliefand enforce ideological submission
what does the ministry of love represent in 1984
not rehabilitation buttotal psychological domination
“We do not merely destroy our enemies; we change them.”
what does room 101 do
symbolises this process, depicting the breaking point of the mind, where loyalty is eliminated
“do it to Julia! not me!”
how does the party annihilate the self
by erasing love, autonomy and moral boundaries
what does Fromm note
“the aim of the party is to conquer the inner man”
orwell shows how totalitarian regimes manipulate emotional bonds to enforce complicity
how does orwell mirror Stalin’s NKVD torture methods
threats to family and psychological degradation preceded execution — a regime that, like the Party, claimed moral authority while inflicting terror
how does atwood portray sexual torture
both physical and psychological warfare
what is the ceremony and how does it create cognitive dissonance
state-mandated rape masked as divine duty
contrast what charactersfeeland what they aretoldto believe, for example harmonising rape with the regime’s insistence that it is morally righteous
what regimes does this form of violence mirror
theBosnian War, where Serb forces operated rape camps to terrorise Muslim women
theTaliban, who enacted public punishments andframed sexual violence as religious justice
“one detaches oneself. one describes”
Offred passively narrates
this psychological dissociation is a survival mechanism
what happens in the red centre
the handmaids are forced to internalise these twisted morals, and their indoctrination
In a perverted version of therapy, the handmaids mechanically chant “her fault! her fault” repeatedly in response to Janine being gang raped at 14
what is this psychological conditioning similar to
present day victim blaming, used to humiliate the abused, instilling misogynistic ideology
how does gilead transform trauma into guilt
using “language as a framework to thought, one that is difficult to think outside of” [Linda Thomas]
how does atwood and orwell ultimately present torture
Orwell shows the Party manipulating fear to force betrayal,
Atwood presents Gilead turning women against themselves and each other
Both suggest that authoritarian control over bodies inevitably extends to the mind
