The 1984 Show!

George Orwell's book 1984, is a dystopian novel depicting a world where the government, or 'big brother' has complete control over the way citizens live their lives. The majority of the population blindly follow, but any dissenters are quickly eliminated. The Truman show, is a 1998 motion picture starring Jim Carrey as Truman Burbank, an ordinary man living and working in a town called Seahaven. But what he doesn't realize is that his entire life is televised as a form of entertainment for the rest of the world.
Winston Smith, the protagonist in 1984, and Truman Burbank, the protagonist in 'The Truman Show" are both victims of an oppressive lifestyle, and the two stories are both about the main character breaking and trying to escape from their current lives. Truman is trying to escape the domed town of Seahaven, while Winston is trying to escape the oppressive Big Brother. Both are also aided by female characters who encourage and assist them. For Winston is it Julia, a cunning, brave government worker who uses her sexuality as a form of rebellion. And for Truman it is Silvia, his high school sweetheart who mysteriously disappeared, and is encouraging him to break out of Seahaven from outside the dome.
In The Truman Show, Truman is afraid of water because his father died in a boating accident years ago. This is representative of his fear to escape and learn the truth. In 1984 it is a little more obvious that Winston is afraid to learn the truth due to a likelihood that he would be tortured and killed if he tried to discover the truth. In both cases however, both protagonists to learn the truth about their situations, Truman eventually escapes, while Winston unfortunately does get tortured and eventually killed.

Telescreens and The NSA

One issue that really stood out to me while reading George Orwell's Dystopian novel 1984, was the unrestricted surveillance of citizens through 'Big Brother's' use of Telescreens. In the novel, Telescreens are similar to today's TVs but Telescreens have the ability to watch and listen to anybody throughout all hours of the day. This struck a chord with me because it sounds somewhat similar to the National Security Agency's un-warranted search of American's phone calls and emails.  In the novel the main character Winston gets caught and captured by the government through secret use of telescreen surveillance because Winston was plotting to rebel against the government. This can be paralleled in today's society to the NSA listening to American phone calls in search or anything that may arouse suspicion. Now while the NSA is not as extensive or obvious as telescreens, it is still a scary precedent that the government has the ability to do this to citizens. 
While in 1984 the citizens could not do anything against the surveillance, in today's society many people are outraged that the government can use unrestricted surveillance, and steps are being taken to restrict the NSA's ability to use unwarranted searches of American phone calls and emails.

The world of Doublespeak

Doublespeak is used in today's society to make an uncomfortable or unpleasant topic more likable. For example, in the military world, if civilians were killed in a military operation, they are considered 'collateral damage'. Surrendering is renamed a tactical retreat, and in the US army, killing someone is considered 'servicing the target.'  According to an article titled, 'Involuntary Conversions, Preemptive Counterattacks, and Incomplete Success: The World of Doublespeak' there are four kinds of doublespeak. The first being Euphemism, a pleasant replacement for a harsh or unattractive word of phrase. The second type of Doublespeak is 'jargon', a simplified language used by doctors, lawyers, or other professionals. Jargon is a verbal shorthand designed for only people in specific fields to be able to understand. The third type of Doublespeak is 'bureaucratese'. It is a form of speaking used by politicians, and business executives. It is used by piling eloquent sounding words and phrases on top of each other until the true meaning of the sentence is lost, in a way to confuse and overwhelm the audience. The final type of Doublespeak is language to make the un-ordinary seem extraordinary. Using trumped-up language to make something unappealing or distasteful seem incredible or impressive. For example a used car being called an 'experienced car.'  
In conclusion, Doublespeak is a way of speaking that pretends to convey a message but really does not and simply misleads and confuses the audience.

Propaganda pros and cons

"Are there any benefits to propaganda? When and why?"
The entire basis of propaganda is appealing to their audience by making it seem like the message is talking specifically to you. Propaganda comes in many different forms, it can be used to encourage people to smoke cigarettes, it makes you feel left out if you are the only one without the new IPhone, it can give the public a figure to direct their anger toward. We see propaganda everyday in our lives, TV commercials, billboards, or even in the daily newspaper. It is slipped under our noses into our lives without us knowing. Propaganda does have benefits in some cases though. For example, the United States used propaganda during World War II to sell war bonds, collect scrap metal and help reserve food. Propaganda was used for the good of the country and also it wasn't hurting anyone. However propaganda can be used for evil. How do you think Hitler persuaded an entire country to rally behind a despicable cause? Propaganda. He made Germany believe that their cause, what they were doing, would benefit the entire world, and they would be crowned heroes. 
In the end, propaganda can be beneficial, it tries to convince us to buy a new product, vote for a candidate, or support the war effort. But in the wrong hands, propaganda can have a profound effect on a population, and the world.

Utopian Vision

My vision of a Utopia is a country without war, starvation or violence. All conflicts are dealt with reasonably and calmly. The country is an island, surrounded by ocean, a large circular island with enough land for all citizens to own farms if they’d like, or citizens can live in the cities. All cities send representatives to a congress once every year to discuss pressing issues threatening the utopia. A leader will be elected by representatives from different states, or counties. The leader serve three year terms and is only able to run for election once. The leader will ensure that all citizens have adequate food and shelter.  No citizens are greedy, or corrupt in the Utopia. That allows for equality for all citizens.  A farming system will be set up so that an surplus will be produced to make up for any crop failures in other cities or states. Trade is lightly regulated by the government, just enough that the trading stays honest and running smoothly. Religion is wholly up to the individual, no person is required to believe in a specific religion or any religion at all. Any criminals will be judged by a jury of peers, and instead of jail, criminals will be put to work and do public service for the duration of their sentence. All children are required to go to school from ages 7 to age 15, then once 15 years old, they will choose a career and go to 4 more years of schooling to learn their chosen career.