What Does George Orwell’s ‘1984’ Mean in 2024?
Edmond O’Brien and Jan Sterling during the filming of a 1956 adaptation of George Orwell’s 1984 Harry Todd / Fox Photos / Getty Images In recent years, some conservative American groups have adopted the slogan “Make Orwell fiction again,” a line that suggests the dystopian depictions of totalitarianism, historical revisionism and misinformation found in George Orwell’s 1984 are now reality. Liberal groups may agree with some of those concepts—but would likely apply them to different events. Seventy-five years after its publication on June 8, 1949, Orwell’s novel has attained a level of prominence enjoyed by few other books across academic, political and popular culture. 1984’s meaning has been co-opted by groups across the political spectrum, and it consequently…
