As an ordinary citizen born into in a respectable democratic society, I grew up with the opportunity of having a government that treated its citizens fairly while providing them a set of human rights. However, this is not the same case for all countries around the world, as citizens may not always be granted rights or privileges by their government. These governments are generally more focused on their personal goals, often times prioritizing power over the well-being of their citizens.
Through the use of psychological manipulation, governments are able to govern their citizens one step further, effectively controlling their citizens to keep them from challenging their power.
Psychological manipulation is a form of influence which intends to change the perception and behavior of others through means of deceptive and abusive tactics. Within a dystopian society, these tactics are generally used to brainwash citizens into believing any information told to them by the government.
In the novel 1984, written by George Orwell, Oceania’s government, the Party, uses psychological manipulation in order to keep its citizens from challenging the Party’s authority. They utilize in order to influence one’s self to become obedient towards the party, further strengthening their reign.
Examples of how psychological manipulation was used in 1984:
Big Brother
“The poster with the enormous face gazed from the wall. It was one of those pictures which are so contrived that the eyes follow you about when you move. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the caption beneath it ran” (Orwell 3).
Such portraits and captions were placed across the country where people thought they could not be seen to discourage any actions that went against the Party. Big Brother was a symbolic representation of the Party who was portrayed as an omniscient figure. Thus, creating an illusion that no matter where you are, that Big Brother will always be watching you.
Falsification of Records
“And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed -if all records told the same tale — then the lie passed into history and became truth. ‘Who controls the past,’ ran the Party slogan, ‘controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.’” (Orwell 35).
The Party’s motto of the control of records demonstrate methods of controlling history by altering records. The control of the past allows control of the future because the past can be seen as a definition of the countrys’ future goals. Citizens are constantly reminded about the horrible past of the country before they had been “liberated” by the Party. In addition, historical records has been edited to reflect the Party’s ideologies. Due to the fact that individuals are not permitted to keep any records of the past, they are essentially forced to believe almost any information suggested to them. Thus, showing the Party’s use of psychological manipulation to further strengthen their reign.
Newspeak
“Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it. Every concept that can ever be needed will be expressed by exactly one word, with its meaning rigidly defined and all its subsidiary meanings rubbed out and forgotten.” (Orwell 67)
Newspeak is a special language created by the Party with the intention of minimizing the chances of rebellion. Each time a word was used that influenced a thought of rebllion, it was then eliminated from the vocabulary, as if it had never existed. Newspeak is the only vocabulary in the world that grows smaller and smaller. It is used as a form of psychological manipulation as it is creates a language where it is essentially impossible to think about rebellion.
Hate Moments
“The horrible thing about the Two Minutes Hate was not that one was obliged to act a part, but, on the contrary, that it was impossible to avoid joining in. […] A hideous ecstasy of fear and vindictiveness, a desire to kill, to torture, to smash faces in with a sledge-hammer, seemed to flow through the whole group of people like an electric current, turning one even against one’s will into a grimacing, screaming lunatic.” (Orwell 16).
Two Minutes Hate was routinely performed on a daily basis by all Party members. During these two minutes, members are forced to scream and express feelings of hatred towards the Party’s enemies. Although it is called “Two Minutes Hate,” its purpose is to divert the initial hatred of individuals towards Big Brother and shift it towards the Party’s enemies. This psychological manipulation removes all feelings of hatred towards the Party.
Connection
Psychological manipulation is a form of social influence used to underhandedly change the perspective of individuals or a group of individuals. Overall, the theme of psychological manipulation is used throughout the novel of 1984 by the Party in order to control their citizens in their country and further strengthen their reign through many different deceptive methods. This report further analyzes the different forms of deceptive methods presented in the novel.
Although this novel is fictional, there are places in the world where governments will use psychological manipulation in the same way and for the same purpose as the Party in the novel 1984.
One of these examples would be North Korea. North Korea is essentially the real-life counterpart of Oceania in the novel 1984. Similarly, the government in North Korea, uses psychological manipulation in order to control their citizens and strengthen their overall reign.
Similar to Big Brother in 1984, the godlike or omnipresent figure in North Korea would be its dictator, Kim Jong Un. The citizens are constantly reminded that Kim can see all, hear all, and be everywhere at once, and that it would be impossible to rebel against his authority.
Falsification of records is also very prominent in historical records of North Korea. Whenever a new dictator comes into power, they will impose new ideologies onto the citizens. However, if their ideologies contradicted with any of the previous dictator’s ideologies or beliefs, historical records would be fixed in order to correspond with the new leaders’ words. In the same way, citizens in North Korea are not allowed to keep records or pictures of the past, making it impossible to question the government’s false claims. Even the though theme of psychological manipulation was presented in a fictional text, it may still be present in other societies around the world.
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