Language is more than simply words. It shapes the way we think. In the appendix to 1984, Orwell tells us that Newspeak is a language deliberately designed to limit the range of people’s thoughts and to make certain ideas unthinkable. It can be argued, however, that all languages, like Newspeak, limit the range of ideas that it is possible for people to understand.
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Photo by Sarah Grochala
Ideology
Ideology shapes the way that we think and behave as members of society. An ideology is a set of conscious and unconscious ideas and beliefs that a group of people hold about the way that the world works. These ideas shape their sense of what is right and wrong. They shape their sense of what is normal and abnormal behaviour. They define their ambitions and their goals. At a deeper level, they shape their sense of reality.
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How We Made the 1984 Digital Double Mobile App
People often refer to the idea that we are living in 1984, but to what extent is that a valid observation about contemporary society? If Big Brother is always watching, how is he watching us now? And to what end? In recent months, revelations about the NSA's PRISM programme have complicated our love affair with digital technology. Our mobile phones have been transformed into the equivalent of Orwell's telescreens, watching us as much as we watch them.
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