George Orwell - BBC Documentary

I watched the BBC Documentary, George Orwell - A Life in Pictures, today to try and learn more about the author of Animal Farm and 1984. These are the notes I made. 

A list of Orwell’s likes and dislikes were read at the beginning of the documentary and it was clear that he enjoyed traditional things. His dislikes were linked to new inventions and a world that was progressing - it was clear that he didn’t like the direction in which the world was progressing. 

He described writing as a ‘horrible, exhausting struggle’ and he was ‘driven by a demon’ to write what he did. I think George Orwell saw it as his duty to the world to let people know what was happening and what would be in store for them in the future. 

I think the bedwetting situation at boarding school was a key point in Orwell’s life because it was the moment he realised that he would continually be punished for something out of his control. He says he realised he was living in a world where even though he was trying, it was impossible to be good. 

I think living in poverty and residing with the poor brought him back down to earth from his self confessed snobbery at Eton. Living with proletarians and sort of becoming one himself has heavily influenced his later works. 

When working for the BBC ministry of information in the war, he was a voice for radio propaganda. This is something which must have heavily influenced 1984 because of the telescreens and the constant watching of and messages to the public by Big Brother. 

He wanted to fuse politics and art to get the message out there. I think this was to target all classed rather than just the upper classes who were more commonly associated with politics. 

It is clear that Orwell didn’t like the way that the world was changing as he described the future as a boot stamping on the human face. 

I did find this documentary very interesting and realised that George Orwell did more than just write, he was a lot more active in trying to make a change than that. He seems like an unusual yet extraordinary man who was more than willing to put himself out there and stand up for what he believed in. Although all of these thoughts are going through my head are very much in support of George Orwell, I am struggling to think of ways that this could become visual. Politics and history are not my strengths and although I would be willing to learn about them to further understand Orwell, I don’t think I would find this aspect too enjoyable.