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"Mature Content Warning!" |
| NOTE: This page is only for Big Brother's characterization in The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism, considering the canon counterpart was not voted Near Pure Evil. Therefore, only the in-universe version's info and crimes should be listed here. |
| “ | Big Brother is watching you! | „ |
| ~ Big Brother's infamous maxim for controlling the masses. |
| “ | At the apex of the pyramid comes Big Brother. Big Brother is infallible and all-powerful. Every success, every achievement, every victory, every scientific discovery, all knowledge, all wisdom, all happiness, all virtue, are held to issue directly from his leadership and inspiration. Nobody has ever seen Big Brother. He is a face on the hoardings, a voice on the telescreen. We may be reasonably sure that he will never die, and there is already considerable uncertainty as to when he was born. Big Brother is the guise in which the Party chooses to exhibit itself to the world. His function is to act as a focusing point for love, fear, and reverence, emotions which are more easily felt towards an individual than towards an organization. | „ |
| ~ Emmanuel Goldstein's thoughts on Big Brother. |
Big Brother is the main antagonist of the book The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism, an in-universe book of the late George Orwell's popular dystopian novel 1984.
He is an all-powerful dictator, ruling the people of Oceania with an iron fist. He keeps the entire population in check using a massive surveillance system, and even despite him never appearing once in the novel, his presence is still felt through his subtle but constant propaganda.
His Evil Ranking[]
What Makes Him Close to Being Pure Evil?[]
- Although he claimed that English Socialism would lead to a hierarchy-free utopia, this was shut down by Emmanuel, as all human societies had three classes divided by poverty, middle class, and aristocracy.
- Furthermore, the goal of INGSOC and other socialist movements was to promote inequality and unfreedom. Rendering any possibility of virtuous extremism null.
- This debunked all kind of extremism INGSOC could represent, as it had only changed the names of social classes and actually caused more people to fall into poverty (as Proles, the poorest society class, living in extreme poverty and was neglected by the government made up 85% of Oceania's Society). It's mentioned in the book that half of Oceania's population couldn't afford shoes.
- Upon merging the United States and the British Empire over Oceania, he brainwashed the masses into obeying his whims. Some propaganda tactics he used to keep them in line were:
- Hanging posters stating how he was watching the public.
- Replacing the English lexicon with "Newspeak" means getting rid of controversial, provocative, and nuanced terminology (double speak).
- Censoring any media criticizing INGSOC and him.
- Holding "Two Minute Hates," two-minute sessions of loathing Big Brother's enemies.
- Having Oceanians share their "Love of Big Brother" by disturbingly whispering "B.B." slowly (with a space between the Bs).
- He stalked the entire population using telescreens in his surveillance system, making sure any threat to his rule was extinguished immediately.
- When a "thought criminal" was detected, the Thought Police (thinkpol) took them to the Ministry of Love where they were horrifically tortured, starved, and shown their worst fear. This process could only conclude if the victim renounced their anti-INGSOC ways and was rid of their "political insanity", robbing them of all thoughts that weren't approved by the party before eventually having them shot anyway, ensuring that even in their final moments they died loyal to the party, devoid of any hatred for their soon-to-be executors.
- He engaged in permanent, limited warfare with Eurasia and Eastasia, even though this would lead to pointless causalities.
- This was made even worse by the fact that neither superstate served any threat to him, and he was simply doing it for the sake of inciting nationalism in the minds of Oceanians.
- Although the other superstates were implied to be just as bad as Oceania, their ways of government weren't explored in-depth enough for them to stand out, so Big Brother passed the heinous standards.
What Prevents Him from Being Pure Evil?[]
- As heinous as he was, he ultimately suffered from insufficient characterization, as he never made a physical appearance in the book and was only ever described, to the point that it's ambiguous if he's even real or just a propaganda figure.
Trivia[]
- The actual canon of Big Brother can't count as Near Pure Evil, as it's heavily implied that he is just a symbol fabricated by INGSOC and doesn't even exist as a real human, (when Winston asks if Big Brother will ever die, O'Brien simply says, "Of course not. How could he die?"), therefore he doesn't have moral agency. In The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism, though, he is treated like a human with a defined motive and personality, so he can count there.
External Links[]
- Big Brother on the Villains Wiki
- Big Brother on the Ultimate Evil Wiki