# Significance of the year "1984" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 29, 2006, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/significance-of-the-year-1984/362568 "2006-06-29T00:14:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2006, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/significance-of-the-year-1984/362568/21 "2006-06-29T01:33:59Z")
[QUOTE=Lamar Mundane] Who was the guy who wrote “Animal Farm”? [/QUOTE] George Orwell of course, he also wrote 1984. 1984 was significant as the year AT&T was broken up. The famous “Where’s the Beef commercial”. Wendy’s most notorious campaign. The first Mac was sold. Ghostbusters hit the theatres A beserker killed 21 people in a San Ysidro McDonalds. \* Vanesa Williams became the first Miss America to resign when her wonderful nude photos were published. 😉 1984 Summer Olympics of course in LA. In the Bronx Bernie Goetz gets hailed as a vigilante hero for gunning down 4 would be muggers. (He later went to Jail) Jim {What Exit? graduates from High School.} - I ended up living 2 miles from the location in 1988. It was a park by then. ---
**Author:** ![Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alive_At_Both_Ends)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2006, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/significance-of-the-year-1984/362568/22 "2006-06-29T09:01:05Z")
[QUOTE=KGS] …the book was written in 1948, and Orwell merely swapped the last two numbers to come up with the year. Had he published the novel a year later, we’d be talking about “1994” instead. 😉 [/QUOTE] Had he suffered from writer’s block and not finished until 1950, he’d have had a problem! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2006, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/significance-of-the-year-1984/362568/23 "2006-06-29T09:27:35Z")
> [@](#): > > Had he suffered from writer’s block and not finished until 1950, he’d have had a problem! Many people don’t realize Orwell’s original plan was to write a historical novel _1905_ - instead of Big Brother, Oceania would be ruled by Teddy, a sinister figure with a moustache and pince-nez glasses. The protagonist, Winston Smith, would be in charge of changing history books to say that Panama had never belonged to Columbia and Cuba had never belonged to Spain. And of course Russia had always been at war with Japan. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2006, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/significance-of-the-year-1984/362568/24 "2006-06-29T10:37:55Z")
1984 is very often mentioned when the topics of surveillance and loss of privacy come up, but in fact the book wasn’t really about either of those things (although both themes feature in it) - it’s about control; control of society through control of people’s minds, through control of information - it’s more about propaganda than surveillance. ---
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2006, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/significance-of-the-year-1984/362568/25 "2006-06-29T11:07:38Z")
[QUOTE=Diamonds02] I hear people mention this year quite often. What is the significance of this year? Is there more than one? [/QUOTE] There was only one 1984, I believe. (Unless, of course, you count 1984BC). 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2006, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/significance-of-the-year-1984/362568/26 "2006-06-29T11:13:02Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] 1984 is very often mentioned when the topics of surveillance and loss of privacy come up, but in fact the book wasn’t really about either of those things (although both themes feature in it) - it’s about control; control of society through control of people’s minds, through control of information - it’s more about propaganda than surveillance. [/QUOTE] It’s also about language, and the idea that you can use the destruction of language to make thinking itself impossible. Briefly, Orwell had observed in his lifetime the power of clichés and canned responses to let people say absurdities and ignore atrocities. This is explained quite vividly in one of his essays, [Politics and The English Language](http://www.netcharles.com/orwell/essays/politics-english-language1.htm): > [@](#): > > In our time it is broadly true that political writing is bad writing. Where it is not true, it will generally be found that the writer is some kind of rebel, expressing his private opinions and not a “party line.” Orthodoxy, of whatever color, seems to demand a lifeless, imitative style. The political dialects to be found in pamphlets, leading articles, manifestoes, White Papers and the speeches of under-secretaries do, of course, vary from party to party, but they are all alike in that one almost never finds in them a fresh, vivid, home-made turn of speech. When one watches some tired hack on the platform mechanically repeating the familiar phrases—bestial atrocities, iron heel, bloodstained tyranny, free peoples of the world, stand shoulder to shoulder—one often has a curious feeling that one is not watching a live human being but some kind of dummy: a feeling which suddenly becomes stronger at moments when the light catches the speaker’s spectacles and turns them into blank discs which seem to have no eyes behind them. And this is not altogether fanciful. A speaker who uses that kind of phraseology has gone some distance towards turning himself into a machine. The appropriate noises are coming out of his larynx, but his brain is not involved as it would be if he were choosing his words for himself. If the speech he is making is one that he is accustomed to make over and over again, he may be almost unconscious of what he is saying, as one is when one utters the responses in church. And this reduced state of consciousness, if not indispensable, is at any rate favorable to political conformity. [(quote taken from the second page)](http://www.netcharles.com/orwell/essays/politics-english-language2.htm) The entire essay is worth reading. His notion of Newspeak is an exaggeration of all the ideas outlined in the above paragraph, a language reduced to automatic sounds sprayed as if from a machine gun. ---
**Author:** ![Oswald\_Bastable](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oswald_bastable/32/214_2.png) [@Oswald\_Bastable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oswald_Bastable)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2006, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/significance-of-the-year-1984/362568/27 "2006-06-29T13:04:13Z")
I believe 1984 was two years after the release of ‘Rio’ by Duran Duran. OB ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2006, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/significance-of-the-year-1984/362568/28 "2006-06-29T13:26:11Z")
**Diamonds** and **Lamar** Just curious - if you don’t mind, how old are you and what is your education level? Just asking because as someone who read 1984 when it was set in the future, I pretty much assume every HS grad is familiar with 1984 and AF. It is always a little surprising to learn that the general curriculum has changed so significantly. Of course, back then pretty much all we studied were dead white men, with an occasional invisible man tossed in. ---
**Author:** ![minlokwat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minlokwat/32/2844_2.png) [@minlokwat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minlokwat)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2006, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/significance-of-the-year-1984/362568/29 "2006-06-29T13:51:02Z")
It’s also a pretty decent song by _McCartney and Wings_. It’s off the **Band on the Run** LP and its got a nice piano riff. ---
**Author:** ![Diamonds02](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5a626/32.png) [@Diamonds02](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diamonds02)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2006, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/significance-of-the-year-1984/362568/30 "2006-06-29T14:19:15Z")
[QUOTE=Dinsdale] **Diamonds** and **Lamar** Just curious - if you don’t mind, how old are you and what is your education level? Just asking because as someone who read 1984 when it was set in the future, I pretty much assume every HS grad is familiar with 1984 and AF. It is always a little surprising to learn that the general curriculum has changed so significantly. Of course, back then pretty much all we studied were dead white men, with an occasional invisible man tossed in. [/QUOTE] I’m in college. I do not recall reading this book in HS. I might have and forgotten. I hated almost every book we had to read in literature class. I’m not a fan of fiction books and never was. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2006, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/significance-of-the-year-1984/362568/31 "2006-06-29T14:20:55Z")
[QUOTE=Dinsdale] **Diamonds** and **Lamar** Just curious - if you don’t mind, how old are you and what is your education level? Just asking because as someone who read 1984 when it was set in the future, I pretty much assume every HS grad is familiar with 1984 and AF. It is always a little surprising to learn that the general curriculum has changed so significantly. Of course, back then pretty much all we studied were dead white men, with an occasional invisible man tossed in. [/QUOTE] I did not have to read 1984 as a high school book. Or college. I was born in 1975, FYI. I read it on my own, from the library.. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2006, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/significance-of-the-year-1984/362568/32 "2006-06-29T14:27:02Z")
_1984_ was the single most depressing book I have ever read. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2006, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/significance-of-the-year-1984/362568/33 "2006-06-29T14:35:44Z")
[QUOTE=Dinsdale] **Diamonds** and **Lamar** Just curious - if you don’t mind, how old are you and what is your education level? Just asking because as someone who read 1984 when it was set in the future, I pretty much assume every HS grad is familiar with 1984 and AF. It is always a little surprising to learn that the general curriculum has changed so significantly. Of course, back then pretty much all we studied were dead white men, with an occasional invisible man tossed in. [/QUOTE] The book was mandatory for all students in English class during my sophomore year in high school. Not coincidentally, I’m sure, that was in 1984. (We also read _Lord of the Flies_, _Of Mice and Men_, _Catcher in the Rye_, etc.) I later read _Animal Farm_ on my own. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2006, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/significance-of-the-year-1984/362568/34 "2006-06-29T14:38:32Z")
[QUOTE=robby] The book was mandatory for all students in English class during my sophomore year in high school. Not coincidentally, I’m sure, that was in 1984. (We also read _Lord of the Flies_, _Of Mice and Men_, _Catcher in the Rye_, etc.) I later read _Animal Farm_ on my own. [/QUOTE] Now that you mention it, we did read the first three. And that stupid, stupid book Old Man and the Sea. So just no Orwell.. I wonder why that was? I read Animal Farm on my own, too. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2006, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/significance-of-the-year-1984/362568/35 "2006-06-29T14:52:25Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] George Orwell wrote a dark novel called 1984 that predicted a bad future for society by that year. [/QUOTE] And he published that book in 1948. He simply transposed the last two digits. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2006, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/significance-of-the-year-1984/362568/36 "2006-06-29T14:58:37Z")
[QUOTE=Dinsdale] **Diamonds** and **Lamar** Just curious - if you don’t mind, how old are you and what is your education level? Just asking because as someone who read 1984 when it was set in the future, I pretty much assume every HS grad is familiar with 1984 and AF. It is always a little surprising to learn that the general curriculum has changed so significantly. Of course, back then pretty much all we studied were dead white men, with an occasional invisible man tossed in. [/QUOTE] I was in college in 1984. I have read both books. I was just having a little fun with the OP due to the multiple identical responses. I thought that was obvious. ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2006, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/significance-of-the-year-1984/362568/37 "2006-06-29T15:06:15Z")
[QUOTE=minlokwat] It’s also a pretty decent song by _McCartney and Wings_. It’s off the **Band on the Run** LP and its got a nice piano riff. [/QUOTE] Actually this catchy tune commemorated the next year – it was titled **Nineteen hundred and eighty-five**. I first heard it played on a jukebox–it was the B-side of the “Band on the Run” single. ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2006, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/significance-of-the-year-1984/362568/38 "2006-06-29T15:11:35Z")
[QUOTE=What Exit?] George Orwell of course, he also wrote 1984. 1984 was significant as the year AT&T was broken up. The famous “Where’s the Beef commercial”. Wendy’s most notorious campaign. The first Mac was sold. Ghostbusters hit the theatres A beserker killed 21 people in a San Ysidro McDonalds. \* Vanesa Williams became the first Miss America to resign when her wonderful nude photos were published. 😉 1984 Summer Olympics of course in LA. In the Bronx Bernie Goetz gets hailed as a vigilante hero for gunning down 4 would be muggers. (He later went to Jail) Jim {What Exit? graduates from High School.} - I ended up living 2 miles from the location in 1988. It was a park by then. [/QUOTE] And I was born. Don’t forget that. ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2006, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/significance-of-the-year-1984/362568/39 "2006-06-29T15:15:29Z")
You can read _Nineteen Eighty Four_ [here.](http://www.online-literature.com/orwell/1984/) ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2006, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/significance-of-the-year-1984/362568/40 "2006-06-29T15:20:14Z")
Hey, no sweat. Like I said, I was just curious. A recurrent consideration of mine involves the extent of “common knowledge/references.” I have learned that there are precious few cultural/historical references that I can assume are shared near-universally. Within the last month I was in Baltimore for a conference attended by lawyers - so they are all at least 25 with a post-college education. The local grocery store was named Wegman’s. When one attendee said she could never remember the name of the store, I said, “Just think of photos of Wiermeraners (sp?) dressed in clothing.” My suggestion was met with complete blank looks. None of the 5 other people in our group had heard of William Wegman, tho when I explained it, one or two had a vague memory of his work. I HATE it when I make a minor little quip/reference, and end up coming off as pompous as a result. I guess I just assumed 1984 and AF were on a relatively short list of literature that “most folks” - at least HS/college grads - had some awareness of, even if they hadn’t read them. The way you should know Proust and Joyce wrote some famous long books, whether or not you ever read (or tried to read) them. How about a couple other books similar to 1984 that I would have put in the same category: Future Shock? A Brave New World? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/significance-of-the-year-1984/362568.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/significance-of-the-year-1984/362568.md?page=3)