The savage satire of `1984′ still speaks to us today (1999!)

WE ARE not very good at celebrations in this country. Back in 1967, no one thought of organising public celebrations for the Reform Bill of 1867, despite the fact that this (not the more famous Bill 1832, which simply rationalised a property franchise and was praised by Hegel) was the beginning of a movement towards a democratic franchise. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the publication of Nineteen Eighty-Four might not, I admit, be thought of as the cheeriest of occasions; but it should be the man we celebrate.

Does Nineteen Eighty-Four still speak to us? We got through the year, didn’t we? But that is not the point. It was not a prophecy, though many think it was. Nineteen Eighty-Four is part sardonic, part savage Swiftian satire. Some of the themes of the satire take their main meaning from the context of the immediate post-war world. But others still speak to us directly.

via The savage satire of `1984′ still speaks to us today – Arts & Entertainment – The Independent.