LITERATURE - George Orwell
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 พ.ค. 2024
- George Orwell is the most famous English language writer of the 20th century, the author of Animal Farm and 1984. What was he trying to tell us and what is his genius? If you like our films, take a look at our shop (we ship worldwide): goo.gl/vSiVRh
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'None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.'
Hardly a profoundly enlightened statement...
It's a statement that's been said by many people just in different words.
The question becomes: how does one discern true freedom from slavery masquerading as freedom?
Qaedtg H Firstly, you've got to be able to see the lies that become accepted and institutionalised, eg. JFK, 9/11.... Then when you see the lies, you start seeing the agenda and what is done to convince us, eg. "War on Terror", "ISIS", "Refugees", "Terror Attacks", "Anti-Semitism", "Global Warming", "TTIP", "NATO", "NWO"...
I thought that quote belonged to Goethe.
"The past was erased, the erasure was forgotten, the lie became the truth" ~ Orwell 1984.
only dystopian societies deserve to exist.
Philippines right now
The lie is the truth. 2+2=17 🤪. Ryhu.
OOOOoh interseting.
I wonder if this relates to any important wars in the 20th century
"Sophisticated entertainment and empty headed news reports all wrapped up in a constant reference to freedom." Sounds like America.
Sounds like every culture that is related to any kind of "liberalism".
J Sepulveda Not really, If you think that his books where simply made as a warning about liberalism then you really didn't understand them.
Actually, it's made to be misunderstood for any common people, like any system. Only few will want to study a system besides being part of it.
The thing is if you want to make a system for THE PEOPLE, or if you want it for SOME PEOPLE.
In Chile we have a quote: "no es culpa del chancho, sino del que le da afrecho".
In english would be something like: "It isn't fault of the hog, but from the one who gives him bread".
J Sepulveda What are you even trying to say? It looks like you had a stroke while typing that comment.
Don't worry, my doctor says I'm fine ;)
1984 is one of the best books I've ever read.
scariest book ever
ONLY ONE REAL MISTAKE (AS IT ALL STARTED IN ABOUT 84) IS DOUBLE THINK IS POLITICAL CORRECTNESS...
1985 is better
Animal farm is better
it had an effect on me like no other book ever..
'All animals are treated equal. Some more equal than the others'
is that animal farm?
@@justedgy7776 Yes, Animal Farm (you can read it or TH-cam the cartoon version.) And it's actually "ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL."
Eventually the rule is amended in the plot to "SOME ANIMALS ARE *MORE* EQUAL THAN OTHERS."
Look into it. The ending is great.
@@iamwhoyousayiam6773 CIA changed the ending from the book lol
@@slent5346 lmao idk about that but I think I may have misread OP and it was satirical
Animal Farm
Currently reading 1984 so the timing of this is quite splendid
follow it up with brave new world by huxley if u haven't read that yet
BARSCIENCE101 Yes, Both amazing work of literature that have mind boggling similarity to todays world, albeit not as drastically.
N. E
not sure what u meant, but i think huxley was actually closer to today's reality than orwell in his prediction
btw albin, sverige?
Brave New World is class. I think Eric Blair was a student of Aldous Huxley in Eton.
Excellent video. Orwell was a literary genius and one of my favourite writers along with Dickens. One of my favourite Owell quotes and there are many, is this one "In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act." We have reached that point in time now.
mark eliot - If you thought that 3 years ago, what must you be thinking now, I wonder.
@@tonycooper4141 unfortunately… “socialist, communist , marxist”: all 3 are dirty words in the US still among the public. They will go on and on about how “Marxism is bad; quick! LOOK at how ssssccaaaaarrrwwwyyy Russia/China/Venezuela is. Just about everything bad that other state does over there, our state either does it here or in poorer countries.
Or “socialism is so bad… look at all the famines?”
They refuse to take into account ANY accurate world history or even our own current policy on sanctions put on places like Cuba, Venezuela and Iran). No real discussion about the issues. Just talking points. Any time you push past the talking point… they have nothing, just raw pathetic emotion.
I’ve never heard anything about Marxism or socialism being spoken of in a positive (or even just a neutral light) throughout my entire childhood and early 20s. First time was in Bernie ‘16- and all the supportive and all the honest criticism was coming from the independent left.
Now I see the world VERY clearly and we just will not survive much longer, as capitalism/corporatism has sucked up all of our parent’s wealth, and will still give their employees PENNIES. Add to that- they engaged in price gouging the public during a WORLDWIDE PANDEMIC, making TRILLIONS in profits… even though their workers who are the ones GENERATING THE WEALTH don’t have anything bc “we need to maximize efficiency.” Fuck all billionaires. Seriously. You really have to be a special kind of selfish, greedy, materialistic sociopath in order to become one.
Oops- can’t forget how Amazon treats their people (not calling a hospital for someone who needs it, forcing people to work without hazard pay and next to nothing PPP during a WORLDWIDE PANDEMIC and SEVERE tornado warning- which killed multiple workers in the warehouse, making workers pee & poo in bottles…. All of this while they are generating more wealth and profit than they ever have before.
Once I became more and more educated and interested in politics, I became more and more angry.
And it’s definitely NOT the immigrants. We live in a corporate, capitalist hellscape, owned by the billionaire class. It’s disgusting but the sooner we all realize that it’s not one singular individual causing your problems… it’s the systems we have already set up to make people behave, go to work, be productive, paid just barely enough as to prevent strikes or riots.
I was so disgusted when I realized how little my country cares for me (or any other person) that my own government fed me American exceptionalism/cruelty and forced capitalist dogma down my throat all while still teaching nearly nothing about socialism… or ANYTHING ABOUT LEFT WING ECONOMICS.
Also just goes to show you how SUPREMELY IMPORTANT education is. A great display of stupidity, perniciousness as well as exposing just how much of an astroturfed sham that the “anti-CRT push has been.
I love my country and the people here are good people. But I absolutely despise those who would try to take us back to the 1950s socially (aka forcing girls to marry or making it nearly impossible to live on her own, forcing people to have babies, segregation & Jim Crow, cops and white supremacist terrorists beating the fuck out of black people, hating gay and trans people who are much more likely to experience violence, not allowing women to own credit cards or have birth control etc) and will literally NEVER EVER EVER TALK ABOUT ANY ECONOMIC POLICY… unless it’s to whine and bitch about the “other side.” It’s even more gross how much a like the dems and reps are🤮🤮
I read “1984” and “Animal Farm”. Great books!
This video made me feel sadness at the world and awe at george orwell at the same time.
For better or for worse, the academicians are the only ones who can bring changes to the modern world. So when the majority of them have become elitist and individualistic, all we can expect is that the scientific evolution will worsen the state of societies
He was ahead of his time.
What do u mean by 'sadness at the world' ?
Plus he was involved in a gunshot wound that was just about miraculous to have survived!
- Fighting Fascists on the front lines in 1937 Spanish Civil War - He took a direct sniper rifle shot right through the middle of his neck / throat : Pretty much always a guaranteed killshot)
Point is: He wasn't just some writer with political opinions sat in a comfy study in England, he really got out there and chose to put his life and body on the line to fight real Fascism!
Just a few weeks later he went right back, to continue fighting - That's how much it meant to him, the Spanish guys on the front couldn't believe that he was back, though this wasn't even his home country, as it was for with them - They loved him for it.
He did it to keep this sick ideology from spreading (Which sadly of course it did, becoming the Second World War)
.....A lot of writers at that time were doing this whole tough / manly posturing schtick in their writing
- Orwell was the real deal!
And he did it with absolutely zero macho posturing bullshit!
“Omnipresent screens which both addicted and at the same time watched over their citizens.” Well, he wasn’t so far off.
similar to the wide screened smartphones in our case and how people say our governments use them to watch on us.
Well we're here. So, should we trust any of this?? I don't know anymore.
Yes, They do follow and watch us, 5g came in for that, not so people can download movies faster, also lamppost like things too, but instead of light they have cameras.
these are the things i just witnessed in my neighbourhood and city, also they kinda -magically- appeared, without any noise, those fat black 5g cables and street cameras, of course while we were in a lockdown, that was one reason they put us in it, so they can do whatever they planned without people's attention and approval.... they make "crisis situations", so they can make "temporary" laws, which of course will almost unnoticeably stay after the "crisis" and change our rights, especially our sovereignty over our own bodies, take care people, we will have our own way too, let's not give up and let's not bow down to the corruption!
@@utaghoul1093 lmao
these videos are a public service
So amazingly beautiful...
Agreed
Finished rereading 1984, long live Orwell's beautiful mind
“Every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism and for democratic socialism, as I understand it.” - George Orwell, “Why I write” p. 394
1984 changed my life, amazing book
El crocs soto t shut up
I'm a foreign teenager, I enjoy watching your videos a lot, especially the ones about literature. It's so easy to understand every word and the meaning of every sentence, I'm extremely happy that I discovered you. Could you make a video about Edgar Allan Poe? I just started reading his stories and want to know more about him. Of course I'll read the biography in my language but you make some very interesting points, which is the reason I ask you for it. Thank you.
Thanks so much for watching. Sadly we won't be able to make a video about Poe because he isn't a thinker who interests us - sadly. No doubt it is our fault...
It's fine, of course. I really appreciate your work.
Thanks!
Brad Smith his written English might be but I doubt about his spoken English. I myself am not a native English speaker. My grammar and writing are decent but my spoken English SUCKS! I repeat words too often, go blank at times, can't think of the word right away, can't express myself. And the worst of all, I don't have any native speaker to talk to. Any suggestions?
Agreed
I disagree that the "only" reason literature exists is to change the world. Literature is art, and art is an expression of oneself. Whether or not its your desire is to change the world doesn't change the fact that its art.
i agree
I couldn't have more love for this essayist and for this author, who woke me up for good when I was just a kid in Junior High. I share his devotion to language and the free and organic use of it, and of the wisdom of the ordinary people all over the world.
11:50 good thing today's world didn't turn out to be like Orwell described... *gradually goes from laughter to tears*
Paul Merlin it's on its way though...
God help US ALL 🙏
I think he is one of the best writers ever !
I'm actually amazed we are allowed to know about this.
Joe Barrett
: Where do you live? North Korea?
If you read 1984, you realise the government is not trying to destroy your body but enslave your soul. They feed you lies that you must swallow and become part of yourself. They give you both the truth and lies but at the end you would happily choose lies.
@@goffharr6345 Let's be clear though, he was talking about totalitarian regimes and mainly the USSR.
@@ZigSputnik Orwell was himself a socialist lol and attended many communist meetings in India.
@@user-hq6wy7mf3s He was a socialist, but not a communist. He was a reporter and was always gathering information for his novels.
Can I just say the comments here are amazing, bravo everyone.
Agreed! They are very weighty and thought-provoking.
School of Life has so much to do with me that sometimes I think this channel is a projection of my mind to teach me through videos what I need to know about myself.
same :D
Moysés Gurgel I'm glad there are other people in the world that think as I do
It's like 'The Book'
Totally. Especially when something releases that is relevant to my current situation. It's like direct guidance.
depletable Truly, it dawns on me that I have been living in a big snobbery - I being a snob to myself.
Could you do a video on Oscar Wilde? It would be a good contrast from Orwell. Art as a political/cultural tool vs Art for Art's sake.
I second that. Great idea!
Third. Discerning manipulation from sublimation is an important skill for all people everywhere.
Wilde also argued that through socialism we would get rid of the burden of having to be charitable. We'd only have to be charitable when we want to instead of being peer pressured to do so.
Trevor LeMay which essays are you talking about?
proexpert1019 The Soul of Man under Socialism
Orwell : Never use a long word where short one can do
Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
The School of Life :
Those were Orwell's ideologies, SoL is just mentioning them, it does not necessarily mean that they follow the same ideology.
@@nandinisahu1716 they make the videos of the thinker that interest them. there is a good way to justify this video but the one you mentioned is simply nonsensical. they don't believe in simple language is a indirect way of calling them elitist. the real reason in short is different time period, different literacy rate of common people. you can probably expand further....
If Orwell could see the world today....
@JCH or today...
People dont change .will be the same 100 years from now .somebody if we are still around will make the same comment into our brain transplanted micro chip 🐵
He did that's why he wrote about it lol
@@koysherchaudhury8010 or today...
Or today during the covid19 pandemic, we aren't allowed to leave our homes unless the police approve
Aldous Huxley next while we're on the topic of dystopian fiction
Ben Macdowall also Suzann Collins, the modern day Orwell
That is like calling someone who paints with their own shit the modern day Da Vinci.
that's not how the channel works. Are you trying to look smart because you know a similar writer?
Eric No I was just pointing out that Huxley provides an interesting alternative dystopia to Orwell and reading/studying them together can be fun. I hope you're not this snappy in real life, have a nice day
lol
You've got no idea how long I've silently waited for this. Finally! :)
same :)
Soon, an episode about *Derek Jarman*, one can hope.
Orwell was someone who pointed out what hid in plain sight, and it is never easy to do that .... a truly remarkable human being
The silence that follows after your video ends puts me in a state of deep contemplation.
This is my favorite School of Life video so far! I can't quite get away from Orwell in my writing classes because his ideas matter more than ever.
He may be a little outside of The School of Life's usual range, but I'd love to see a video delving into J.R.R. Tolkien's works. There's a lot of wisdom buried in there.
You really forgot to mention how he fought with Spanish Republicans with the POUM/Anarchists in the Spanish civil war? He wrote Homage to Catalonia on his experiences. It was also a large inspiration for Animal Farm and 1984.
This whole video talked about how Orwell was a political writer without going into any detail of what his politics entailed lol
He went to fight fascism and encountered Stalinism purging the left he was part of. So he ended up hating them both.
I just finished reading 1984.. And I can't get enough of it. It's pure genius and mind provoking.
Ah, I was hoping the video would focus a bit on the importance of Homage to Catalonia, the precursor for his two best-known novels. Still, the video was more than I hoped for. Thank you!
"If men would behave decently the world would be decent" fucking hell man that got me! it's so simple, obvious, it seems so platitudinous, but it's so right.
Human society would be decent for sure. As a species, we have the power to solve the vast majority of problems we face, if only we could unite and focus. From climate change to resource management, health epidemics to mass inequality, it's all doable. The only thing holding us back is our greed (both individual and collectively as nations), and lack of emotional intelligence.
"There is no man-made climte change. Health Epidemics are created" hahahahaha sorry bud but I have no time for trolls or morons.
Oh i think you misunderstand, i'm not trying to convince you of anything :) you are clearly too enlightened for me to touch your intelligence!
FU 2 ok buddy sure thing. Let me get back to you on this, because if i'm gonna do it properly then i shouldn't rush ;) (By the way, i would actually think the onus is on yourself to back up your bold statements with some evidence, as you happen to be the one challenging the consensus of >95% of the scientific community... even more on the climate change front if you rule out scientists funded by the fossil fuel lobby)
But i'll make a short start at it now with the apparently easy target: "Health Epidemics are created". Seriously? As a species we were been suffering from health epidemics for thousands of years before anybody even knew bacteria existed! The well known ones to me would be Bubonic Plague and Smallpox, but for sure more happened all over the world ever since we started living in dense population centres. Epidemics even happen in other animals, so it's clear that these things occur naturally without human intention and interferrence. In fact, how we can contain them in the present day is a miracle of modern medicine - the levels of people dying in modern day epidemics such as Ebola pales in comparison to even the relatively recent spanish flu.
But this all seems fairly obvious, so may i assume that you actually believe that this is all true, but we have in fact also learned how to fully cure all these diseases and could eridicate them if we wished... but instead morally corrupt politicians and scientists conspire to allow them to flurish in areas where we want population control? May I then ask if you have ever conducted scientific research of your own into bacteria or viruses, or even have the faintest inkling of an idea about how complex it is to cure these things? Without even taking into account that these epidemics tend to kick off in rural regions, which often have poor education and infrastructure (Thus poor hygiene, hence this is where they break out), or serious political instability, which all hinders the effort to contain them. It takes more than a snap of your fingers to go out and collect samples of, say, a virus, study it, safely and ethically (if i could write 'safely and ethically' in italics or underlined there, i would, it's important!) figure out a way to aid the body in fighting said virus or build up immunity, then mass produce these medicines and vaccines and distribute them in the affected area. All on a budget (budget being the one bit i have some ideological qualms with, but hey this is the real world and researchers have to deal with the fact that money matters more than it should in these instances).
Then again, apparently you're a pretty intelligent guy, maybe you do have the answer to all this :)
To be clear, I am no expert in this suject, but i have recently studied (and passed ;) ) a few 3-month modules at uni on biochemistry and cell metabolism, and have a fat 1000+ page biochem textbook sitting under my desk, so i have some small insight into how hard these topics can get... just scratching the surface of the biochemistry of viruses gives you some idea of the scale of the challenge. So can you please tell me at least that you will come at this with some evidence more than what you found in some 3rd rate conspiracy documentaries? Especially since that did end up being a tad more than a "short start", it would be a bit shitty if you did end up being just a troll or a moron :')
Cortes lived at a time when people thought plagues were sent down from heaven. Bit tricky to intentionally commit biowarfare when, as far as you are aware, it can only be controlled by God.
As for my education, I specifically said I am not an expert... I hope you can at least read that! I merely allude that, having scratched the surface of these topics from the chemistry perspective, I have some idea as to the complexity again of the matter. Again, do you have any more basis for your claims than unverified internet documentaries/articles? Because as basic as my education on these matters is, there's a fair chance that a few months of lectures by expert researchers in the field, plus lab projects, plus examinations, gives me some more perspective in the matter than "Mr Fuck U 2" who just saw the most awesome suppressed documentary on the internet :)
Maybe you do have better sources than that! But you aren't leaping to provide them yet, and as you seem to scorn the idea of "wasted years" studying a subject and learning first hand from people who have devoted their life to research, I suspect you have little idea of what even counts as good research.
So give me some decent info on these bold claims you make, something a bit better than "Some religious men decided to intentionally spread a plague a couple of hundred years before anyone even knew what bacteria were, and when the assumed knowledge was that plagues happened according to the will of God". Until then, i can only assume you're a troll/moron wasting my time and will have to ignore you. fuck knows you've done a decent job of it already!
I would love to see videos on JD Salinger, Ernest Hemingway, Kurt Vonnegut, Aldous Huxley, Charles Bukowski, and F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Also, great video.
Had an indepth conversation about Orwell this time last week! this is exactly what i need! Thankyou SOL
Do a video on H.P. Lovecraft!!!
North of the Console yes please!
North of the Console please and even Edgar Allan Poe.
pls pls pls id pay to watch that !!!!!
They absolutely should, though. His sort of philosophical horror has helped define the genre to the point where any horror writer or director would list him in their list of inspirational figureheads and he was also a prolific letter writer (something like 500,000 pieces of correspondence). He's perfect for SOL.
För sure
I would love to see a video on William Faulkner or Herman Melville.
Thank you for pointing this out!!!!
Just discovered this channel today. And this is about the best thing I have seen in a long time on TH-cam. Keep it coming!
A thousand times thank you!! As a teacher of English in Italy I appreciate your deep, accurate and well done insights of the most important authors in the world!! I often show them to my students!
Most people forget that Orwell was a socialist. He said, "A Socialist United States of Europe seems to me the only worthwhile political objective today." He also wrote Homage To Catalonia which praised the left-wing anarchist movement occurring in Catalonia, Spain. He wrote, "It was the first time I had ever been in a town where the working class was in the saddle. There was much in it I did not understand, in some ways I did not even like it, but I immediately recognized it as a state of affairs worth fighting for."
Yeah, Homage to Catalonia was glaringly left out of this video. It's interesting because a Spanish Republican poster is shown at the beginning when the narrator is talking about things Orwell stood for, but arguably his best work and most important is never discussed. 1984 is based on his experience in Barcelona during Stalin's consolidation of power under the Communist Party of Spain.
@JCH So you want to recreate a murderous system, that has nothing to do with socialism, exept killing allmost all socialists, but without anything that makes that system what it is?
You want fascism without fascism...
Visionary Oaks Wait I don’t get it.
A) What economist is a socialist? Mind sharing any influential ones?
B) How was Anarchist Spain successful (especially when it lost a war) and how did fascist Spain’s economy burn to ashes, considering it had an economic boom in the 60s?
This just seems like weasel words to me.
Even then Anarchism isn’t a long term sustainable form of government, as there needs to be some form of law and order.
No one forgets he was a Socialist. What they forget is his criticism of social policies: when socialists forget about the disadvantaged, and their only quest is for power.
@Well Drive this guy thinks having a political compass on his profile picture makes him an expert on politics and economics.
"Be Excellent to each other"
- Bill S. Preston, Esquire, & "Ted" Theodore Logan
"all we are is dust in the wind"
roidroid "every rose has its thorn"
7:58
Orwell: “There is really no need for any of the hundreds of foreign phrases now in current English.”
James Joyce: *breathing intensifies*
how can one not love this man who has brought so much good to humankind?
Didn't appreciated him properly until reading Why Orwell Matters from Hitchens.
rmeddy1 exactly
rmeddy1 You should also look for "The Same Man," a mixed bio on Orwelll and Evelyn Waugh.
It is profoundly rare when I ask a question, but I have not heard of Google. What is it?
Who cares what Hitchens thinks. Read the book and think for yourself.
Because you're weak intellectually, and need your heroes to validate your opinions.
I think it is a grave error to downplay the importance of the suppression of free speech as portrayed in 1984.
Matt Gilbert I agree. This mini documentary was good in many respects but it didn't say much about the frightening description of what life would be like in a totalitarian regime that wouldn't even allow two people to fall in love.
It seems to me, that many people have an inherent trust in leaders despite the vast historical evidence that most leaders or groups in power are anything but trustworthy. Why are so many so gullible?
The author of this video may not have been able to see Orwells 1984 from the perspective of those of us who inherently distrust leaders. It seems like the true horror of living in a society where you had no rights and were under the thumb of the government 24/7 is vividly portrayed in "1984" but the videographer here didn't say much about that. In this sense I think the video was biased toward pro establishment perspectives.
@@braeburn2333 freedom of speech is downgraded by a simplification of language rather than an expansion of it.
well TSOL seems to have a left-leaning bias from what I can tell so that's to be expected
Shave Data When Orwell was alive, the left were the bastions of free speech. Oh, how times have changed.
@@finismalorum9746 they still are
Love your work man, I hope you realise how big an impact you are making in peoples lives by educating them. And this might only be one side to the story, but it sure does spark an interest so that people can go do more research. Thanx and please keep it up
Too few people know how pertinent Orwell's insights are to this dark moment in History we're living through. ... well done and thank you for an excellent video.
That line outside the Mac store is so on point.
This guy is easily my favorite author of all time
the visuals and editing of these videos is a masterpiece in itself
Every time I read or hear about Orwell and his ideas, I end up re-considering how I think and write. His ideas are quite timeless so I find it a bit weird that he is not talked about more, in popular media and all, outside of 'Orwell was right' articles and the like.
Also, was that Senran Kagura I saw? It sure was made for titillation but I feel the need to mention that it has a decent good vs evil story/feel-good 'power of friendship' story. I don't know about the new one though.
"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others." (George Orwell - Animal Farm)
Sure
And so the PiGS starting ruling over the other animals . Sound familiar???
“Every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism and for democratic socialism, as I understand it.” - George Orwell, “Why I write” p. 394
@@ireneforster4279 yes police officers
YES, THIS IS WHAT I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR
Dullahan n
This might be one of the best videos of "The School of Life". Well done! Congratulations.
I first read this great novel 1984 by George Orwell during the summer of 1983, after having graduated from high school; while working summer jobs. 1984 published in 1949 by Penguin Books was one of the most important, influential novels I have ever read, and it is one of my favourites.
"I write it because there is some lie I want to expose, some fact to which I want to draw attention-"
I like this guy already. Nothing is more important in this modern world of lies.
The *best* of all videos on literature.
Fantastic.
Derek Gunn why ?!
The greatness of the truth it contains, and the importance of the subject because of his ethics.
For a long time, i just know the two famous book of George Orwell, namely Animal Farm and 1984. Now i am also interested in his other works. I love thic channel .
A very fine appreciation of Orwell's life and work.
One of your best videos! I've always wanted to know more about Orwell, thank you so much.
FU 2 haha get off youtube ya reactionist.
I learned that the two books he was most famous for he wrote at the end of his life, and I learned about his background and philosophy about intellectuals and the "common people", and sadly enough, I learned that he wrote 1984, which I completely mix up with other 20th century authors. I love Pink Floyd's album Animals, which is based in animal farm! I need to read it. How many things were that?
FU 2 you really don't know anything about pedagogy. Otherwise you wouldn't have stated that. Pictures make you remember that you learned instead of reading. You reckon I would look him up on wikipedia? Haha I learned much better from this video, you dumbfuck.
FU 2 I SAID THREE THINGS. DO I have to repeat myself because you're so dumb? I learned the books he wrote, hos background and philosophy and why. Obviously you can't count. Ok BYE! I see that as I won this conversation. You didn't even read my response.
And what exactly is "funny papers", haha you're sick.
FU 2 Illiterate? I'm just finishing my bachelor's degree and next year I'm starting my master's, thank you very much.
WHAT IS SELDOM MENTIONED: Englishman Eric Blair (aka: George Orwell) was born in India in 1903, where his father was employed in the Opium Department of the Indian Civil Service (the Opium Department being a whole other can of worms).
As a young man Blair entered the Eaton college preparatory boarding school in England where his French teacher was none other than Aldous Huxley. Blair and Huxley became friends and shared a common love of literature. Orwell and Huxley read Henry Ford’s book titled THE INTERNATIONAL JEW - THE WORLD'S FOREMOST PROBLEM and re-prints of the Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion and Ford's articles that were printed in his Dearborn Independent newspaper and eventually formulated two separate, albeit similar, novels that are both considered classics. Those being "1984" by George Orwell and "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley.
Both novels describe a bleak futuristic world that would exist if the Protocols of Zion were successfully executed to fruition. For those who have not read either book, read "1984" first. If you don’t want to read all of "1984", then at least read the “document” by the book’s character Emmanuel Goldstein titled, "The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism." It’s located in the middle of the book. You will recognize what has come, or is coming, to be our reality. Such as Europa is today’s European Union, Oceania is the countries that subscribe to NAFTA; Eastasia is forming as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which are China, Japan and Indonesia, etc..
"1984" describes state sponsored torture, 24/7 television brainwashing media machines, perpetual war and war hysteria, war not for territorial gains, omnipresent security cameras, concentration of wealth, representatives appointing other representatives, rampant pornography, gun control leading to total gun confiscation, well-spaced terror events, and so on.
Blair and Huxley weren’t genius predictors of the future, they simply read the Protocols of Zion and made some very accurate conclusions based on the success of the Protocols..
Thank you, the School of life for bringing the best thought of Orwell in short time.
Wow! Thanks so much for that interesting article on George Orwell. I can resonate with what he writes about. A man ahead of his time.
"And the more important work they do, the less visible they are".
Well fuck
This might be your best video yet
wow a presidebt
Bernie Sanders ...just so you'd know, the 'democrats abroad' voted for you in the primary. 😀
Shut the fuck up Bernie, don't you have an election to win?
One of my favorite authors of all time!
'All are equal. But some are more equal than others'- This line hit me hard
Great video! I'm adding 1984 to my reading list. Please make a video on Oscar Wilde next.
Do one about the brazilian writer machado de Assis please
ja ia pedir também
pedro alexandre Machadão is an outstanding genious!
pedro alexandre they really should do latin american writers...gabriel garcia marquez, mario vargas llosa, etc
Varaga Ashede Yes. Borges!
I would rather have one on João Guimarães Rosa.
Petition to make more literature videos! These are my favorite informational videos on all of the tube!
Jesus, that was inspiring. I had just taken up writing about my injury, and I was always a fan of Moby Dick and Melville's rambling prose about whatever the character was thinking. The simile, metaphor, abstraction of emotion to pull you in. I always found it fun and poetic, and in fact I was trying to use my story as therapy to understand my emotions a bit better and maybe have others understand it as well.I was writing theraputically, but also to make others a little more kinder to the injured. but after reading animal farm in a single sitting i see what he means. The power of a short, concise, and simple novel is by far more effective than anything else.
I think I'll try and edit my story the way it is, but maybe try it again with this sort of reductive style on it, see if I can't make it interesting.
"Why Orwell Matters" - by Christopher Hitchens. Just because obedience ideologies are not religious does not mean they are not deadly.
Hitchens really said that ? 🤔
@@blockbyblock4078 That was the whole premise of the book, that dogmas beyond religion are still deadly and enslaving. Not-religious does not mean not dangerous.
Give it a read and see what he was trying to convey to the willfully deaf and blind, to the majority of more dogmatic than religion "atheists" blindly following and obeying deadly, enslaving non-religious dogmas.
@@3ittybittypiggiesstorytime547 okay!!
Abuse of power is not solvable, therefore power should be abolished where possible and any remaining power decentralized as thinly as possible among the individuals and democratic communities.
Polycube Who would monitor that decentralization?
It's controlled by the members of the community in a direct democracy fashion.
Polycube I recommend reading the social contract from J.J Rosseau for this issue
adolfo manzur Rousseau's solution is somewhat antiquated and in favour of a ruling class, a centralized authority controlling people's lives. A decentralized anti-authoritarian governance structure could be used in its place, such as in Libertarian Socialism (which Orwell supported).
Does power really corrupt or is the average human simply lacking the power to exercise his initial corruption?
I wouldn’t consider myself like George but I have had the exact same ideas, discussion, and debates about my world from politics to everyday life. I’m almost done with university and focusing on politics and it’s nice to see that someone else before me although dead has thought the same things as me. As I finish up school I have had endless debates and discussion about what Orwell talked about in his life and other topics also I have dreaded and thought of dropping out cause my professors have disagreed with me and thought of me as crazy. I have just discovered Orwell and I feel re-energized about standing strong in my beliefs about the world and my country and state politics.
this guys voice....truly mesmerizing
Thank you SOL, as always, great work. Probably the best youtube channel.
I love his books!
Fantastic summary of a great writer's life. Thank you. I learned a lot from that.
wow, I already admired the guy. I love him now
I'm a tad confused that his quote "Every line of work that I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism and for democratic Socialism, as I understand it" (from the piece Why I Write mentioned in the video) was omitted from this. I understand that this was an intellectual breakdown of his thoughts, but when you go into how he thought of writing and political writing at that, I view it as a tad dishonest not to inform people about his political thought. As a Socialist and devout reader and lover of Orwell, I find the lack of mention of his political school of thought to be a large fault, if not an outwardly mendacious one. You might wonder why I seem to be so worked up about it, but you must understand that Orwell is oftentimes used as an example of ANTI-Socialist thought by the Right, due to the general thought that the Soviet Union was Socialism and the fact he criticised it. I think it is crucial, when we break down the Great Political Thoughts of the past, to acknowledge where they lied, ESPECIALLY when those very thoughts are commonly maligned. So, for the knowledge of everyone who bothers to read the comment section, George Orwell was indeed a Democratic Socialist who wrote to further its thought.
Believe it or not this is still a huge turnaround for the School of Life which often carries a very neoliberal message and is vocally dismissive of far left ideologies. People have been asking for an Orwell video for ages, and I wondered how long it could just be ignored, because as you said Orwell is inherently socialist in a way that brings the lie to the conflation of all socialism with the Soviet Union. I'm glad SoL swallowed their pride and did a video, but I'm not surprised at the result unfortunately. It is however, still far superior to other channels who double down or do not correct themselves, so I will retain my subscription.
billhicks8 I have realised it is oftentimes fond of NeoLiberalism and even NeoConservative policies in many cases, but their video on Marx wasn't awful. I believed it closed off by saying "To some degree, we should all be Marxists" (of course, like NeoLiberals, they refused to go even nearly far enough to ensure Freedom and Equality are inherently guaranteed). I was hoping for better mention of Orwell's Socialist idealism in this, perhaps to complement their video on Marx. Of course, I was let down spectacularly in this respect. A shame too, that we need be the ones discuss Orwell's true ideals rather than the video that claims to educate us upon them.
Harrison Darby
Indeed and I just rewatched their Marx video and although it kind of generalises surplus value and other concepts it isn't actually too bad at all. However I then saw a response "debunking" video in the sidebar by someone called Steven Crowder that was so awful that it removed all other reasonable discussion I could contribute. But yes, people should be discussing the values of Democratic Socialism (Libertarian Socialism, or anarchism) as part of a viable, non-authoritarian alternative for a future system as it has been ignored for far too long.
billhicks8 Oh dear God Steven Crowder is utterly moronic. He's one of the worst debaters and Conservative media figures ever to curse the Earth. He really says nothing at all reasonable and tries to silence any opposition with countless fallacies and false assertions. It's all bollocks. Regarding the latter, I whole heartedly agree. Democratic Socialism, Libertarian Socialism, and Anarchism are three ideologies often overlooked and pushed down by the Right-Wing and Centrist Media. I am given hope, though. Actual fighting forces for Democratic Libertarian Confederalist Socialism in Rojava, Mélenchon pulling in numbers in polls for the French Presidency (though I fear he will fall prey to moderation with the Socialist Party candidate, who always tend to be far more moderate), and Corbyn galvanising and inspiring the young masses of the UK. I do so hope it isn't squandered by the power-loving status quo-maintaining Elitists who are currently in power, both in Government and the Media.
Harrison Darby
Do you have any decent article about Mélenchon? I need to learn more about this situation. I mostly use the term Libertarian Socialism because I believe it says a lot about the requirements for a functioning society that reflects the human condition. We are individuals that need to be seen as such, that come into contact and extend our powers, talents and creative capacities through the community of others, a good allegory for this would be improvisational jazz works which rely on the individual's free association over the agreed upon communal aspects of the loose structure of the beat and chord progressions.
George Orwell predicted Dead Or Alive: Beach Volley Ball
haha, this comment made my day
XTREME
Speaking of George Orwell... I've never looked up anything about George Orwell online or watched any Orwell documentaries or done any google searches on him or his books yet youtube somehow knew to recommend this channel to me and 1984 is my favorite book I've ever read. I can't think of a more ironic or Orwellian set of circumstances in life. Don't know whether I should play the lottery or turn off all my electronic devices and hide under my bed.
Man, love your channel. Always enlightening! Congratulations!
2016 is the new 1984.
even Orwell couldn't imagine how far they have gone.
How so?
no. 1984 is the ideal american society
it's a dystopian world, how can a dystopia be an ideal society?
jay fawn Have you even read the book? The world is in a technological stagnation fighting wars only to make prosperity caused by automation disappear.
History is rewritten to the point where nobody even knows what really happend before the revolution.
The people are kept from reading the best books in order to prevent them from thinking for themselves and getting the best out of what they can do.
Meritocracy is the most fair type of government. An oligarchy is the exact opposite of a meritocracy.
Come on, how can you do a video essay about Orwell and not mention that how was a socialist (democratic, not communist)?
Is that a dirty word still?
And the fact that he fought in the Spanish civil war for his belief in socialism and against fascism, was in my view crucial to development of his later beliefs.
I know it's a short time and so many things to say, but at least a mention would be warranted.
By the way, not to just complain, I highly recommend the complete collection of Orwell's essays. It's a great window into his thinking.
+dankiel memelife he described himself as a socialist and said that everything he wrote after the Spanish civil was against Authoritarianism and for Democratic socialism as he understood it.
I'd say he was the most anti-communist socialist that I know about.
Michal Toman he wasn't anticommunist, he was antistalinist, he fought with the POUM party at the Spanish Civil War, also my granduncles fought in the same political party.
Comical how in China the works of this great Socialist thinker is being removed even as we speak 😂
Yes there is
His collection of essays, Animal farm & 1984 are great works. I plan to read his " Burmese days" .
I did a speech on Orwell's "Why I write" essay in 10th grade, two years ago. It's very interesting for me to watch videos like this.
Listening to a summary of 1984 is like listening to a summary of today’s society, the future is not bright for our children
I don't think we live in an Orwellian nightmare
We are in a Brave New World
It depends on one's perception, interests and environment.
For the typical apolitical first world middle class citizen, it would seem more like BNW.
For someone obsessed with politics and especially it's dark side and conspiracy theories, it would appear more like 1984.
Valter Sarajevo Who knew we'd actually get both at the same time?
It looks like the worst of both, a lovely place indeed.
I have red animal farm and 1984 when i was 16 years old and i was in another country far far from England,i loved these tow books of him and i was very very sad that he passed away at young age. i have seen his house in London and i wish he was alive now. he is a great writer of ordinary people.
Thank you - profoundly for this service
No mention of his time in Spain (Homage to Catalonia was great), or his socialist beliefs/ethics? Bummer.
Also, the interpretation of 1984 is a bit off in my opinion. The people of Oceania aren't lulled by entertainment, but are driven by fear of a brutal, violent state and an understanding that this can be avoided by conforming into the social orthodoxy.
For a better literary example of authoritarian societies that use entertainment for control read Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, or Huxley's Brave New World (though this is more drugs, sex, and conditioning).
All of these societies require a population that has been brutalized (through war, sensory overload, traumatic upbringing) to a point where it will accept a false reality in preference to actual reality.
The (unmentioned) text excerpt at the end does say that he considers private property to be 'an obstruction'. But yes, that would be a really interesting point, seeing as his opposition to Stalinism might be misconstrued as opposition towards socialism.
"Animal Farm" is one of the most terrifying books I've ever read.
@May Day if you think ussr was socialist, you clearly didn't pay attention to the book.
@@alex_flynn You really trying to tell a citizen of the former USSR what socialism is and what isn´t? Damn. Also, you are german and we all know how East Germany built a wall to keep their people in.
@@adidoki dude, i am from czech republic, a post "communist" country. Maybe actual marxists and socialists know more about their ideology than people who never read a single page of leftist theory. Country is not communist just because it calls itself communist. Is DPRK democratic?
@@alex_flynn Oh I did read leftist theories and as the name implies, it's a theory. A dream. It's impossible to achieve, because it goes against the very human nature. But sure buddy, Marx a man who has never worked his life and lived 200 year's ago is right. Tell me brother, how many people did communism save from poverty and how many people did capitalism save? As for DPRK, it's an obvious dictatorship, but they do hold elections albeit with only one choice.
Animal Farm was not intended as indictment of communism. He was using what was a contemporary example to lament the gradual corruption of the revolutionary. His intent was to warn future revolutionaries, not warn against revolution.
I had imagined the screen playing as it does at 8:17 and Alain de Botton speaking like he does at 8:17 ("Orwell is known primarily for two books") for so many days.
And now Aldous Huxley. I have already started imagining de Botton saying these lines with a green background: 'Huxley is sadly remembered for writing only one sole dystopian novel...'
I watched this because I need an inspiration for sociological theory and his advice on how to write well is on point.
Its not a possibility that if one believes in high ideals he may betray them.
Its an inevitable consequence.
The righteous always believe that good and truth is on their side, so they never hesitate even for a second to smite their enemies into oblivion, often in the most cruel ways possible.
Dudley Benson No wonder we're racing towards extinction.
make one about Hanna Arendt
Finally! A video on George Orwell. Thank you School of Life for granting my wish.
Should've mentioned Homage to Catalonia as well. I think it is the first book in which the core ideas of his two most famous books are appeared that clear because of his experiences in Spanish civil war. One of my favorite books of all time.