Introduction
George Orwell is one of the most prominent figures in world literature of the twentieth century. Two personal qualities helped him achieve this status. The first one is his innate writing talent, and the second one is his unwavering commitment to his ideals of equality and justice. He himself and his works are a reflection of his era. He has witnessed two World Wars, several bloody and destructive revolutions and civil wars, and the most authoritarian regimes in history. That is why his works are more than stories; they are a message to each new generation. It is safe to say that one reading Orwell’s work will inevitably begin to reflect on topics such as totalitarianism, society, civilization, equality, and the future. This work will explore similar issues or, to be more precise, what values the new generation lacks that the previous one had.
Respect for the Opinion of an Ideological Opponent
One of the things that the new generation lacks and that the old one had is respect for the opinion of an ideological opponent. Over the past few years, public discourse has become significantly politicized, and adolescents and high schoolers are no exception. One of the negative aspects of it is that people stopped discussing topics and statements that contradict their worldviews. Nowadays, people with different views are being canceled or even doxed by the prevailing crowd forcing them to leave social media. This behavior is similar to the methods of suppression of dissent by the Thought Police from 1984. According to Orwell, “only the Thought Police would read what he had written before they wiped it out of existence and out of memory” (36). What is more dangerous is that fictional INGSOC and Thought Police were created by the state, while the cancel culture came naturally from Western society.
The rise of cancel culture shows that Generation Z, for the most part, has no respect for the opinion of their ideological opponents. Romano notes that canceling means to “effectively end their career or revoke their cultural cachet, whether through boycotts of their work or disciplinary action from an employer.” This socio-cultural phenomenon may result in several negative implications in the future when Generation Z takes control.
One of the possible negative implications is total censorship. Cancel culture could turn into something like INGSOC or Thought Police from 1984 (Orwell 3). It would not be a government organization but a social institution, which means it would be less controllable. Cancel culture could also be the forerunner of absolute control over people’s personal lives in the future. Social media and other digital applications already collect people’s data. Together, these two things can become a tool for controlling speech, lifestyle, and even thoughts. There should be room in society for freedom of speech. People should have the right to voice contradictory statements without getting canceled. Such ideas should be debated to show the ideological opponents the wrongness of their philosophies. Canceling them will only convince them that they are right.
Respect for Previous Generations
What the current generation lacks else is respect for previous generations. Although it is natural that each subsequent generation denies some of the ideals and principles of the previous one, only today the disrespect and denial of connection with the earlier generations have become almost absolute. Recently emerged memes about boomers, doomers, and zoomers indicate it. It has to be noted that such hate has its rational reason. According to Spector, “the reason “OK boomer” exists is that many Gen Z and millennials feel that they are not being heard or acknowledged.” The sad thing about it is that they are only the culmination of, one can say, the reflection of the cultural patterns that have been growing for a long time, and both sides did not pay attention to them.
It is obvious that this cultural trend could result in something more harmful and horrible. Denying continuity and connection with the previous generation could lead to rewriting history to blame previous generations for all current troubles. The writer noted that “who controls the past … controls the future: who controls the present controls the past” (46). Another negative implication is a possible age-related restrictive policy. Generation Z could apply them to other generations when they reach the age when they can hold positions in power structures and directly influence the various social processes. The most frightening result would be open and widespread confrontation and intergenerational civil war.
Conclusion
This work examines the shortcomings and negative socio-cultural patterns of the new generation, or, simply put, Generation Z through the prism of George Orwell’s 1984. It was found that the new generation is intolerant of the contradictory statements and positions of their ideological opponents. Moreover, Generation Z does not respect and even denies previous generations, especially the so-called boomers. It is noteworthy that this work is supported by both citations from 1984 and two recent news articles related to described cultural phenomena. Potential outcomes of these negative cultural trends have also been provided there.
Works Cited
Orwell, George. 1984. The Write Direction Inc., 2004. The Complete Coradella Collegiate Bookshelf.
Romano, Aja. “Why We Can’t Stop Fighting About Cancel Culture.”Vox, 2020.
Spector, Nicole. “’OK Boomer’ Is Dividing Generations. What Does It Mean?”NBC News, 2019.