English Speech

“How do 1984 and ONE related text of your choice
represent the complexity of human experiences?”
Humans by default are individuals that are capable of perpetuating harm

AND be beacons of kindness. These variations and inconsistencies reveal
the human experience to be complex, and cannot be readily defined nor
justified. This notion is explored through George Orwell’s 1949 novel “1984”
and Amma Asante’s 2018 film “Where hands touch” which highlight the
complexity of both individual and collective experiences through the
portrayal of disempowerment, love, hatred and fear.
George Orwell’s 1984 represents the complexity of the individual experience

of disempowerment, through the suppression of autonomy and the subduing
of human agency at the hands of a totalitarian regime. The complexity is
explored through the protagonist’s desire to utilise human agency to exercise
the cathartic power of the written word through the possession of a diary.
Orwell employs sensual visual imagery of, “smooth creamy paper, a little
yellowed by age” to highlight Winston’s desire to possess the diary in a
society dominated by juxtaposed images of “no colour...except the posters”
in conjunction with high modality to highlight Winston as a societal anomaly,
due to the inconsistency of his individual experience in relation to the
totalitarian society of Oceania. As a result, Orwell can evoke a perplexed
reaction from the readers, effectively enticing the audience to question their
perspective on the world they live in. Furthermore, Winston’s
disempowerment is further epitomized through the prohibition of human
agency in a totalitarian society, as “Nothing was your own except the few
cubic centimetres inside your skull” signifying through the vivid visual
imagery and hyperbolic language used, the apparent dangers of having
individual thoughts. Effectively providing a valuable paradox as a role of
government is to organize and protect the people not oppress them.
Amma Asante’s 2018 film “Where hands touch” represents the complexity of
love through the innate desire to achieve an authentic relationship of love
and fulfilment despite the vigorous political power of the Nazi’s. This is
epitomised through the development of Lutz, a nazi soldier and Leyna a
German of African descent’s forbidden intimacy. The individual experience of
love catalyses the restoration of hope for the audience as despite Lutz being
forced to conform to the Nazi higher regime, Lutz becomes an anomaly within
society as he loves a biracial German. Through the employment of an eye-
level shot in conjunction with light backlighting on an elevated contrast
range, Lutz’s figure is adherently focalised. Asante employs dark background
colours to portray the environment as both melancholy and oppressive.
Asante utilizes light backlighting to distinguish Lutz from the dark
background, symbolising to the audience Lutz represents a sense of hope.
This results in Lutz becoming a societal inconsistency. Asante further
employs mise en scene to alter the composition of the shoot with Lutz being
positioned at a higher angle, symbolising his authority over the prisoners,
resulting in a paradoxical character as despite being in a position of power he
refuses to use it.
Orwell conveys the complexity of hatred in the two minutes hate as the
collective is powerless to resist the psychological indoctrination of the party.
As for Winston “. chanting always filled him with horror. Of course he chanted
with the rest: it was impossible to do otherwise…”. Orwell utilized Winston's
paradoxical motives to reveal to the audience he reluctantly conforms to
societal expectations in order not to be found as a societal anomaly.
Furthermore, Orwell represents the complexity of hatred as “A group of
people broke into rhythmic chants of ‘B-B!...B-B!’—” Orwell’s utilisation of a
collective pronoun evokes an inclusive symbolism of the collective, whereby
high modality diction coupled with the truncated repetition of ‘B’ symbolises
the rhythmic pattern of a beating heart, signifying the unity of the collective.
Orwell further employs the paradox of through purging hate for Goldstein,
love and admiration for Big Brother has resulted. This results in the audience
understanding the manipulative methods of control used by totalitarian
governments and the individual's inability to resist.
In the 2018 film “Where HAnds Touch” the instillment of fear through the
dictation of the higher Nazi regime, reveals an ostensible complexity of the
collective human experience. Asante utilises mise en scene to represent the
contrast of an obese male soldier and vastly malnourished women to
demonstrate the imbalance of both power and status.
Additionally, Astane utilises an eye-level shot to emerge the audience into
the scene, ultimately engaging the viewer with the slow rhythm music
establishing a rigid atmosphere. The composition of the scene, with the
solider looming condescendingly over the women, representing how the
Nazi’s look down upon the Jews as well as to reveal to the audience the
maximal intimidation of fear the soldier is instilling in the women effectively
representing a paradox as soldiers are meant t protect and serve the people
of their country, not ferocious slaughter them. Despite the soldier instilling
fear in the collective, the women refuse to follow dictation and decline to
conform to the soldier’s orders and instead stand they as a collective.
Furthermore depicting the collective as paradoxical as despite them being
marginalized by the greater german society, they abide by their moral
standings and stand as a collective essentially creating an inconsistency in
the prisoner’s behaviour.
In conclusion, the exploration of individual and collective experiences of

disempowerment, fear, hatred and love, in George Orwell’s 1948 novel 1984,
and Amma Asante’s 2018 film where hands touch, effectively convey the
complexity of human experiences as individuals and collectives can be
inconsistent, paradoxical and can contain analogies. Ultimately, enticing the
audience to challenge their assumptions and adherently deepen our
understanding of human motivations and behaviours.

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“How do 1984 and ONE related text of your choice

represent the complexity of human experiences?”

Humans by default are individuals that are capable of perpetuating harm

George Orwell’s 1984 represents the complexity of the individual experience

In conclusion, the exploration of individual and collective experiences of

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