George Orwell’s final literary work, 1984, is arguably best known for its depiction of the coming years: “If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—for ever.”
Set in a futuristic and fictional version of the year 1984, the novel covers subjects such as totalitarianism, mass surveillance, propaganda, and many more increasingly pertinent topics. It also heavily explores censorship, which can be seen as slightly ironic, as it remains one of the most challenged and banned books of all times, particularly due to its inherent political nature.
Initially intended as a sort of warning, the novel has become somewhat of a prophecy. In the age of mass media, facts seem to have lost the ability, or even the right, to be rooted in a tangible reality. The idea of objective truth has become blurry, clouded by selective reporting and altered storylines—a prominent theme of the novel that has been studied for decades, yet somehow, something that continues to go unnoticed by many.
Whilst not without its limitations, Orwell’s 1984 cautioned its readers of where the world was headed when it was published back in 1949, and continues to do so in 2025. Heading into the new year, the similarities of our current world to Orwell’s Oceania are striking: distorted information, language control, political manipulation are just a few that come to mind.
Despite being published over half a century ago, 1984 remains one of the most relevant novels to this day. Its not-so-subtle warnings should be taken very seriously, or we might all find ourselves having a boot stamping on our faces—forever.
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