Most Orwellian Experience of the Year

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guitarbuddha

Posts: 2970
Joined: Jan. 4 2007

Most Orwellian Experience of the Year

I thought that as a bunch of mostly crotchety young middle aged and old fogies it might be fun to have a round up of our top Orwellian/Kafkaesque (wow the spell checker recognised Kafkaesque but doesn't recognize recognised !!) experiences of the year.

I'll set the ball rolling.

I was in a hospital waiting room for an appointment with a specialist (and thank you for your concern but everything is fine). It was a large modern hospital and the waiting room had seating for maybe forty people.

On the wall facing the seats was a giant TV screen with more than adequate volume and on it was playing the Jeremy Kyle show. Words simply fail to describe the truly horrible and disgusting nature of the show but a Judge once had an admirable attempt when he labelled it 'human bear baiting'. This mind you during a trial concerning an assault which occurred during the show.

So in short sickening and demeaning to the human spirit. And worse still for me terribly ugliness in the presenters voice, like Tony Blair at the end or the inestimable James Goldsmith when cornered.

I told the receptionist that I would wander up and down the corridor to avoid the feelings of rage and impotence that being force fed this uncleaned offal was inspiring. She commented that she wished she had the opportunity to sit down and enjoy 'the TV'. Clearly I was an ingrate then as all time watching 'the TV' regardless of volition was in her view a gift.

The corridor was short (no more than say 60 yards) but divided by maybe three sets of doors. I returned after each and every lap to pass by the desk with the receptionist I had spoken to. At maybe the third time of passing I asked for my position in the queue.

'What is your name ?', I told her ..... again. 'Ah you missed your appointment as you weren't here.'

And so I was placed at the end of the queue.

(Note this is not the worst medical story I have been involved with in the last year. Far far worse was the case of the father of my friend who had chosen private health care. He threw away tens of thousands of pounds after being blackmailed by his doctor into choosing the newer of two actually indistinguishable cancer medications which preserved his life by not one moment. Still I guess somewhere in a cupboard there are a set of shiny golf clubs or some photos from a well deserved hotel conference trip).

D.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 12 2013 14:30:22

Miguel de Maria

Posts: 3532
Joined: Oct. 20 2003
From: Phoenix, AZ

RE: Most Orwellian Experience of the... (in reply to guitarbuddha)

That sucks :(.

Most Orwellian thing I've seen this year:

Having dinner with some relatives. Two twentysomething girls at the next table, sitting facing each other. They've got their plates in front of them. Lying neatly on the table to the right of their napkins, arranged as carefully and formally as their silverware, are their smartphones. As I was irresistably drawn, periodically, to their vignette by its gruesomeness, I gauged that by far most of their time "together" was spent compulsively checking their Facebook or whatever "social media" disease they had recently caught. If they ever looked each other in the face or spoke to each other, I didn't see it.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 12 2013 15:43:13

Arash

Posts: 4495
Joined: Aug. 9 2006
From: Iran (living in Germany)

RE: Most Orwellian Experience of the... (in reply to guitarbuddha)

I had never heard about this "jeremy kyle" show you mentioned, so i thought i would have a look in youtube and typed
jeremy kyle show and the first result was a video with the title "my mom forced me to become a prostitute" (and no i didn't click on it).
But maybe that was the receptionist girl.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 12 2013 16:36:27

Leñador

Posts: 5237
Joined: Jun. 8 2012
From: Los Angeles

RE: Most Orwellian Experience of the... (in reply to guitarbuddha)

quote:

the Jeremy Kyle show.

Wow! I'm glad the Brits don't escape the shame of having their own Jerry Springer. LOL we've got a Los Angeles specific one called Jose Luis Sin Censura, it's sad. Even sadder I grew up with more then one person that's been on.....

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 12 2013 17:53:55

keith

Posts: 1108
Joined: Sep. 29 2009
From: Back in Boston

RE: Most Orwellian Experience of the... (in reply to Leñador)

jerry springer is such a bizarre dude--born in a london tube during a bombing run by the nazis, busted when he was in politics for paying for prostitute with a check (it bounced) and has been offering trashy television for a couple of decades. you gotta love it.

i would say the most orwellian experience of the year was the bogus interpreter who reports hullucinating while standing within feet of the world's leaders. the guy supposedly has a history of violence and no one in the south african deaf community know of this guy.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 12 2013 18:45:34

BarkellWH

Posts: 3459
Joined: Jul. 12 2009
From: Washington, DC

RE: Most Orwellian Experience of the... (in reply to guitarbuddha)

Although it has nothing to do with me, my vote for the most Kafkaesque occurrence this year of which I am aware is the newsworthy trial currently underway in Montana of a woman who married her husband on June 28, and then pushed him off a cliff eight days later where he fell 200 feet to his death. The emerging details suggest that on that fateful day the husband told his new bride he was going kayaking but changed his mind after she told him she had a "surprise" for him. After driving to Glacier National Park, they were at the edge of the cliff and she blindfolded him. It is unclear what he expected, but she then pushed him off the cliff. Talk about Black Widows!

Cheers,

Bill

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And the end of the fight is a tombstone white,
With the name of the late deceased,
And the epitaph drear, "A fool lies here,
Who tried to hustle the East."

--Rudyard Kipling

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 12 2013 20:37:44

Miguel de Maria

Posts: 3532
Joined: Oct. 20 2003
From: Phoenix, AZ

RE: Most Orwellian Experience of the... (in reply to BarkellWH)

Bill, when I think of Kafka, I usually think of some sort of bureaucratic nightmare, not a psycho-thriller.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 12 2013 21:32:40

BarkellWH

Posts: 3459
Joined: Jul. 12 2009
From: Washington, DC

RE: Most Orwellian Experience of the... (in reply to Miguel de Maria)

quote:

Bill, when I think of Kafka, I usually think of some sort of bureaucratic nightmare, not a psycho-thriller.

You are, of course, correct, Miguel. But I could think of no other event or occurrence that might fit GuitarBuddha's labels of being either Orwellian or Kafkaesque that was half as interesting. Could I redeem myself by calling it "Hitchcockian" (as in "Alfred")?

Cheers,

Bill

_____________________________

And the end of the fight is a tombstone white,
With the name of the late deceased,
And the epitaph drear, "A fool lies here,
Who tried to hustle the East."

--Rudyard Kipling

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 12 2013 21:50:38

guitarbuddha

Posts: 2970
Joined: Jan. 4 2007

RE: Most Orwellian Experience of the... (in reply to keith)

quote:

ORIGINAL: keith

jerry springer is such a bizarre dude--born in a london tube during a bombing run by the nazis, busted when he was in politics for paying for prostitute with a check (it bounced) and has been offering trashy television for a couple of decades. you gotta love it.

You guys obviosly haven't checked Kyle out.

Think of Jerry as a kindly guide taking you round the zoo and pausing to make fun of the monkeys as they masturbate. It is all in a very little bad taste but the passage of time has made it charming.

One day Jerry is ill and Kyle the underkeeper is charged with the tour. At the monkey cage he demands that the group throw sticks and stones 'Harder, harder' he screams. Then he picks the weakest monkey and holds him fast 'Sh1t on him SH1T ON HIM' he screams at the monkeys brother.

When things have calmed down Kyle moves in, while spitting and cuffing the poor animal about the head and face. 'Apologise.....APOLOGISE.......you know what for
YOU KNOW WHAT FOR '. The apology delivered Kyle issues his final demand 'Eat it up'

So there we have our choice.

D.

The crucial element to my story was the fact that I was very nearly denied services because I was not loyal to the TV. This is reminiscent of 1984 with the screen and has been reimagined many times since by the likes of Orson Scott Card and Philip K. Dick and recently our very own Charlie Brooker. Certainly the institutional setting and pointless impersonality is reminiscent of Kafka and oft copied by the likes of Alistair Gray. The loyalty oath at the canteen in Catch 22 also sprang to mind.

The expectation that I should cow tow to this angermaking filth was appalling to me. Worst of all the fact that this is now all public waiting places must be invigilated aggressively from the screen.

But of course I welcome both Mr Bean and Hitchcock here.

Any personal reflections are most welcome.

Regards to all.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 12 2013 22:02:32

guitarbuddha

Posts: 2970
Joined: Jan. 4 2007

RE: Most Orwellian Experience of the... (in reply to BarkellWH)

quote:

ORIGINAL: BarkellWH

Could I redeem myself by calling it "Hitchcockian" (as in "Alfred")?

Damn it Bill you beat me to the punchline by a hair, damn my terrible punctuation.

D.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 12 2013 22:03:55

Miguel de Maria

Posts: 3532
Joined: Oct. 20 2003
From: Phoenix, AZ

RE: Most Orwellian Experience of the... (in reply to BarkellWH)

Bill, I want to say Dashiell Hammet or something along those lines.

D, my analysis of your story is more prosaic. The clerk didn't like you, so she "lost" your ticket. (Why she didn't like you, you didn't confrom to her ideas of social norms). Another far from uncommon occurrence in bureacracy. Today I happened to have to go to court to file a lawsuit and a subpoena (not personal business!). I did chat with the clerk about her kids after she commented about them to a coworker and gave me an engaging look. Can't hurt to be friendly....

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 13 2013 1:25:54

guitarbuddha

Posts: 2970
Joined: Jan. 4 2007

RE: Most Orwellian Experience of the... (in reply to Miguel de Maria)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Miguel de Maria

(Why she didn't like you, you didn't confrom to her ideas of social norms).

I think you are right Miguel.

If pigs and cattle can be herded through chambers filled with excrement. Surely any decent human can do the same.

Why there were nearly forty drones that very day silent and eyes facing the screen.
So maybe I should have had more respect for her as an individual and copied them.

It is strange though because in most situations I find it easy to converse with people. I am a big fan of woman of a certain age and usually enjoy my time at the supermarket checkout, the post office, the DVLA. The office staff in high schools were always more entertaining than the denizens of the staffroom. I usually get on well with some gentle flirting and the odd corny joke.

Perhaps your own story would have been more vivid if you were gagged and a phone was pressed into your hands. And maybe some effluent placed on your plate and pudding witheld should you fail to consume it.

So............. once again I get carried away. But you see I was genuinely distrurbed. I used to enjoy hospital rooms and found them relaxing and egalitarian like a leisurely train journey. I would sit smiling reassuringly at my peers, usually a child would be there bringing joy to all as they became the focus of an ever so gentle attention.

I would pick up a pamphlet or meditate or strike up a conversation with a woman who knew my uncle and guesses that she met me in 1980 because I look exactly now as he did then. And darn me if she doesn't get the name right and I find out that once had a crush on her daughter and for a brief time the mother and I are friends.

I find the intrusion of aggressive media into public spaces demeaning in general and intolerable in this instance. I think Orwell had a point.

I haven't had a TV set in any home where I have lived for twelve years now. Not that I mind it but for the same reason that I don't keep an open bottle of whisky on the desk in front of me. When visiting others I generally leave shortly after the TV is switched on. And if I am with family and cannot escape altogether I go to another room and maybe smoke (which is a thing I rarely do sober) or practice go for a walk or a run.

For sure there are some shows that I can tolerate. Usually the ones my mother and I can both tolerate could all have the same title 'Patriarch and the Right Wing Oddballs' whose role is to convince people of the omnipotence of either medicine or forensics or the legal system.

I sit and admire the cheek of technique and the relentlessness of the repetition, I groan at the 'science' and then when the guy who is supposed to be smart speaks a little part of me dies. So I leave the room and have another cigarette and mourn liuetenant Columbo's passing.

D.

Oh and maybe more Jim Thompson than Dashiel Hammet. I always found Hammet's characters to be motivated by straight forward greed. The kinky whimsical character of the sociopathic killer I think Chandler nicked from Thompson and Hitchcock from Patricia Highsmith.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 13 2013 2:05:03

hamia

Posts: 403
Joined: Jun. 25 2004

RE: Most Orwellian Experience of the... (in reply to guitarbuddha)

quote:

ORIGINAL: guitarbuddha

The expectation that I should cow tow to this ...

The word you are looking for is kowtow coming from the chinese kou tou (bow head).
Cow tow is another beast entirely.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 13 2013 4:35:05

guitarbuddha

Posts: 2970
Joined: Jan. 4 2007

RE: Most Orwellian Experience of the... (in reply to hamia)

quote:

ORIGINAL: hamia

The word you are looking for is kowtow coming from the chinese kou tou (bow head).
Cow tow is another beast entirely.

Ah now I see.

With a smarter spell checker the world would be perfect.

Well that's something to hope for.

And all the rest will sort itself out.

D.(bows head.....or should that be KNOCKS ?)

Here is a quote from a blog you may enjoy. I did not.

'This is not a political blog, so I am not going to get into a discussion of their opinions or arguments, but I will say that because they (and the other examples I read) used the spelling cow tow, I have no idea what point they were really trying to make and remember nothing else that they wrote.'

Terrific eh ? Should you find this agenda worth pursuing then here is the link.

http://i-stand-corrected.blogspot.co.uk/2009/10/so-sorry-im-too-busy-towing-my-cow.html

But in this spirit. If a cow tow is another beast entirely then what is the other beast to which you refer ? And is a cow tow really a beast and not a machine or construct ?

D.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 13 2013 4:43:56

guitarbuddha

Posts: 2970
Joined: Jan. 4 2007

RE: Most Orwellian Experience of the... (in reply to guitarbuddha)

Barely an episode of Monty Pythons Flying Circus was free of the influence of Kafka.

And surely these two are amongst the mostly openly worshipful fans of the above mentioned.

Here they are illustrating the worth of pedantry. Whenever I need to have my own personal, if lazy, penchant for pedantry affirmed or indeed if I find my faith in its omnipresent value waning then I review this clip.