Group A #1
Although the distopias of Orwell's Oceania and Niccol's not to distant American city are in many ways similar in the sense of totalitarianism. The systems of control are quit different. Orwell's world seems to be an overbearing socialist police state where as, the world in Gattaca is almost total control by science. The two pieces were written decades apart from one another, but both the film and the novel send a clear message; to enjoy the social mobility and freedoms of modern life and to be aware of how fragile they are.
Both Orwell's and Niccol's worlds are dependant upon a class or cast system to divide the powers and freedoms of the people in their respective worlds. Oceania as far as we can tell has three maybe four classes. The Proles are the group of people who hold the worst of the jobs within Oceania. They work as laborers and as prostitutes but their idle time is spent like many undergrads in the modern world; listening to music, drinking beer, and fornicating.
English: Grave of Eric Arthur Blair (George Orwell...
The square in Barcelona renamed in Orwell's honour
Orwell's former home at 77 Parliament Hill, Hampst...The second and arguably the lowliest of Orwell's classes is the outer party, to which our main character Winston is a member. The outer party is subjected to all the evils of the inner party. Their inner most personal thoughts and feelings are monitored by the thought police and even the slightest inclination of disloyalty is punished by being vaporized. They work mostly as desk jockeys, and their free time is to be spent doing activities for the party. The inner party is closely related to an upper management class within a perverted militant socialist world where all business is run by the state. Compared to the outer party the inner party does seem to enjoy a few more modern comforts but, they are...