1984
In George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, the citizens of the province Airstrip One (which actually is Britain) in Oceania (the location of Americas, Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and southern Africa below the River Congo, according to the novel) were under the totalitarian rule of the authoritarian Party , resulting in an oligarchical collectivist society.
Authoritarianism solely refers to a form of government which places a strong emphasis and importance on the authority of the state, monopolizing political power, which at the very least exercises limited pluralism, leaving the people with a greater sense of freedom; whereas totalitarianism, a genre of political system, will be generally known as a more extreme kind of authoritarianism, it limits even the ideologies of the population, molding their morals, ideas and their private lives as well.
Hence, groupthink will be the consequences of a totalitarian state, without a choice. The Party was being led by Big Brother, and posters of him were pasted everywhere, with the caption Big Brother Is Watching You.
Well, they literally meant it. Telescreeens (2-way television) and hidden microphones were being installed in every public corner to monitor the lives and moves of everyone in the city. Through the telescreens, they enforced their propaganda upon the ideologies, behavior and actions of the people. (self censorship)
The protagonist Winston Smith worked at the Ministry of Truth (Minitrue). Smith's job (similar to mind-guards) scope required him to rewrite history, so that they would tally with the Party's party line (According to Wikipedia, in politics, the line or the party line is an idiom for a political party or social movement's canon agenda, as well as specific ideological elements specific to the organization's partisanship.) Through this Smith started having second thoughts about the importance of transparency and began rebelling against it.
Other deviants, who did not conform to the illusion of unanimity had to undergo severe punishment, death included (pressure on dissenters), enforced by the Thought Police. Thought Police has informers to spy potential Thoughtcrime criminals. Deriving from the name itself, though crimes are crimes that are not performed physically, instead they are negative opinions, which might jeopardize the Party, on Big Brother and the Party.
At the end of the day, Smith was apprehended by the Thought Police, who puts him through a series of tortures (pressures on dissenters). Eventually he was being brainwashed and thrown back into the society. This was how they ensure that their shared stereotype does not get challenged.
In 1984, Mac came up with their own video based on Orwell's novel for introducing Macintosh in the same year as the novel, 1984. IBM were deemed as the oppressors, with Big Brother flashing on the telescreen. A girl athelete (representing Mac) then comes in and destroys the screen, signaling an end to their regime.
However, even recently DoubleTwist did a remake on Apple's commercial, and this time on Apple's themselves. Steve Jobs was depicted as Brother Bear, screening a talk to clones of iPod listeners. It is a shot-for-shot remake of the advert, however the female is an animated version. After the hammer was swung and the screen smashes (exactly the same as the original), it flashes on he screen, “On October 6th, doubleTwist brings you.. Choice.”
DoubleTwist has invented a new media player, it is able to sync with a variety of gadgets (as apposed to iTunes which only syncs with iPod). Clearly, this is a smart pun on Apple, simultaneously depicting the end of their dominant rule on iTunes sync function.
Despite being in a democratic society. I feel that symptoms of Groupthink is still prevalent. Unlike the Party, groupthink occurs more often when we are in our own cliques or social circle of peers. It does not matter if share stereotypes are enforced, in lieu of acquiring idiosyncrasy credits, one has to conform to the ideologies and believes of the group, depriving the chance of individualism. This results in an illusion of unanimity. Through this however, the member loses its own independent thinking and creativity. Insteady, his or her mental framework will be subconsciously moulded to simply follow the flow of thoughts of his or her peers, or face the peer pressure of being discriminated and frowned upon. Moreover, opinions changes overtime, one is thought to be wrong in the past can be considered as a norm the next day.
Groups conform to what majority of the society believes in, for fear of being ostracized or being old-fashioned. Individuals in the group then take on these believes as well. Individuals gradually loses their own thinking.
Authoritarianism solely refers to a form of government which places a strong emphasis and importance on the authority of the state, monopolizing political power, which at the very least exercises limited pluralism, leaving the people with a greater sense of freedom; whereas totalitarianism, a genre of political system, will be generally known as a more extreme kind of authoritarianism, it limits even the ideologies of the population, molding their morals, ideas and their private lives as well.
Hence, groupthink will be the consequences of a totalitarian state, without a choice. The Party was being led by Big Brother, and posters of him were pasted everywhere, with the caption Big Brother Is Watching You.
The protagonist Winston Smith worked at the Ministry of Truth (Minitrue). Smith's job (similar to mind-guards) scope required him to rewrite history, so that they would tally with the Party's party line (According to Wikipedia, in politics, the line or the party line is an idiom for a political party or social movement's canon agenda, as well as specific ideological elements specific to the organization's partisanship.) Through this Smith started having second thoughts about the importance of transparency and began rebelling against it.
Other deviants, who did not conform to the illusion of unanimity had to undergo severe punishment, death included (pressure on dissenters), enforced by the Thought Police. Thought Police has informers to spy potential Thoughtcrime criminals. Deriving from the name itself, though crimes are crimes that are not performed physically, instead they are negative opinions, which might jeopardize the Party, on Big Brother and the Party.
At the end of the day, Smith was apprehended by the Thought Police, who puts him through a series of tortures (pressures on dissenters). Eventually he was being brainwashed and thrown back into the society. This was how they ensure that their shared stereotype does not get challenged.
In 1984, Mac came up with their own video based on Orwell's novel for introducing Macintosh in the same year as the novel, 1984. IBM were deemed as the oppressors, with Big Brother flashing on the telescreen. A girl athelete (representing Mac) then comes in and destroys the screen, signaling an end to their regime.
However, even recently DoubleTwist did a remake on Apple's commercial, and this time on Apple's themselves. Steve Jobs was depicted as Brother Bear, screening a talk to clones of iPod listeners. It is a shot-for-shot remake of the advert, however the female is an animated version. After the hammer was swung and the screen smashes (exactly the same as the original), it flashes on he screen, “On October 6th, doubleTwist brings you.. Choice.”
DoubleTwist has invented a new media player, it is able to sync with a variety of gadgets (as apposed to iTunes which only syncs with iPod). Clearly, this is a smart pun on Apple, simultaneously depicting the end of their dominant rule on iTunes sync function.
Despite being in a democratic society. I feel that symptoms of Groupthink is still prevalent. Unlike the Party, groupthink occurs more often when we are in our own cliques or social circle of peers. It does not matter if share stereotypes are enforced, in lieu of acquiring idiosyncrasy credits, one has to conform to the ideologies and believes of the group, depriving the chance of individualism. This results in an illusion of unanimity. Through this however, the member loses its own independent thinking and creativity. Insteady, his or her mental framework will be subconsciously moulded to simply follow the flow of thoughts of his or her peers, or face the peer pressure of being discriminated and frowned upon. Moreover, opinions changes overtime, one is thought to be wrong in the past can be considered as a norm the next day.
Groups conform to what majority of the society believes in, for fear of being ostracized or being old-fashioned. Individuals in the group then take on these believes as well. Individuals gradually loses their own thinking.
Sad, isn't it.
posted by cheryl at
3:24 PM
28 Comments:
Hi Cheryl!
Orwell's literary novel does depict groupthink at work in an extreme manner. In fact, in reality groupthink is still seen in its extreme mainly in communist/authoritarian countries like North Korea and Cuba. People there are restricted from expressing their opinions for fear of consequences and social rejection.
I agree that groupthink is prevalent in Singapore in the aspect of cliques and social networks, but I would have to say that this is more evident in people of younger ages like 16 year olds. Groupthink is especially evident in the style of these teenagers, people belonging to the same clique or network tend to dress in the same way, style their hair in the same way and lust over the exact same things as one another. This might be due to them trying to 'fit in' and conform to the norms of their group. It makes me wonder if they judge me for not adhering to their social standards of good fashion. People belonging to older generations tend not to participate in groupthink as much. For example, we are all good friends but yet we have our own individual style and are not afraid to voice out our opinions even if it contrasts everyone else's in the group. I suppose with the older generations, the impression of 'clique' members matter less as we develop a more individualistic way of thinking.
I agree with adeline on groupthink is prevalent in Singapore as well especially the aspects of cliques and social networks. Looking at the Idols of the marketplace, we all follow trends and fashion uncritically. Back in the days, Macdonalds came up with the "hello kitty plush toys" Everyone from different ages went to queue up every single week just to get their hands on the plush toy. Then came the Tamagotchi craze, where tv commercials, working class adults etc. went gaga over raising their virtual pet. Then came the bubble tea! Pearls and red/green tea with fruity flavored drinks became the hot drink for everyone. Hence, I would say groupthink can be seen in every country, not only communist/authoritarian countries like North Korea and Cuba.
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While i agree with Adeline and kandidkester that fashion trends are heavily influenced by groupthink, i do not agree that older people are less influenced by groupthink unlike the younger generation. On the contrary, i think that as you get older, groupthink becomes more prevalent.
This is especially so out of convenience of fear or conflict. Sometimes you have an opinion, but you do not voice it out or do anything for that matter, because you are just plain lazy, or you don't want to get into trouble. That phenomenon is probably better known as "kiasi" scared to die. How ironic, don't you think? We are scared to lose out "kiasu", but we don't want to do anything about it because we are "kiasi". I guess that's how the term NATO was coined about ourselves - no action talk only.
Sometimes i personally get irritated with people who like to sit around and complain and not take action. It's not that they do not have the ability to do so, it's that they cannot be bothered and are just nonchalant. In Singapore, everyone likes to sit around and talk about the Government - how it's too dictatorial, how the citizens have to pay more tax, how the education system is too competitive.... etc. People forget to put themselves in the shoes of the other party and hence lack understanding and become quick to judge.
Even in a micro level, in school, students complain all the time about anything and everything - from the school system, to the professors, to the students association... I'm not saying it's wrong to complain as everyone has the right to do so. But if you were to be in their position, maybe you wouldn't be able to do their job as well!
I guess that's the reason why I like to run for executive positions and be always active in the decision making process. It is because if i start complaining, people will then turn to me and say "then why didn't you run for that position?" or "then why didn't you volunteer to lead?". And i can't say i disagree with them.
Well, in a sense there's no escaping the ideological structure (groupthink) we're in. But a certain level of it is necessary for social stability; we can't have every norm questioned and broken down, can we?
The post-modernist world we live in today kinda encourages us to break things down at an abstract level so much so that we become cynics. Has deconstruction become an end in itself? Shouldn't it be a means to a better quality of life?
And Singapore's hardly considered a democratic country.
The advertisements are largely ironic because they aim for people to use their products collectively. There is nothing non-conformistic or individualistic about that. Hence, they just proved Orwell's point further. Collectivism is something we can't escape from.
No man is an island. The media presents that very heavily as it plays a lot on ideals that people want. Many want to be rich, many want to be slim and many want to be loved. These are often the themes in media, and it once again shows the collectivism of human society.
Instead of ranting on how the government and "groupthink" influence the masses to adopt their brains, instead of blaming them for our identity today, we should grow a backbone.
The difference between having our own consiousness, and adopting the consciousness of an author, a government, a "groupthink", is the conscious effort of the critic; where we take a step back and compare influences from the both and decide which one we are more inclined to. Everyone asks us not to smoke, but some people do, and some people don't.
Adeline : Hi Fatty, the citizens in a communist country are subjected totalitarian state as their voices are being oppressed. Likewise despite the fact that minor parties are allowed (such as Korean Social Democratic Party, Workers Party of Korea) they are still technically a de-facto one-party state to put on a front of illusion of invulnerability of other politics and forces upon a shared stereotype.
True, personally I also feel that groupthink is more pronounced when we are at a younger age. I guess it's the whole puberty and insecurity issues (like how our peers view us) that causes us to conform to the norms and standards within our group. Also the small social circle of friends are the people we are "stuck" with, hence we have no choice but to try to fit in all the same. As we mature, we realize that having our own say is more beneficial and speaks of a more true self.
kandidkester: I think we had this conversation before and it was Idols of the Theater! besides, I personally don't see following fashion trends as Groupthink syndromes! But true.. I guess Singaporean just hop on the bandwagon for the sake of following something blindly. Think it's just us being "kiasu" whereby we do not wish to lose out to the rest, especially when something is the hype, everyone will just perceive it to be so popular that they must have it, reason being that others are acquiring it so it should be something good and worthy!
Sam: HI QT, you are the one who's always so "kiasi" and you are super "kiasu", one of the finest examples I have seen to date. You're right. People just love to complain and they do nothing about it. Since I am one of these people, I have to stand up for myself , and them. Sometimes complaining is just as outlet to whine. We rather conform to the status quo then to put in the effort to bring about a change which we feel is not worth the effort. Hence, we basically complain to let steam off and that is it. On the other hand, Singapore is such a small country and we are being fed by the government the whole time. The government has so much control within our lives that we do not dare to make our individual voices known because we know we can never ever overthrow anything, which is why we decide to keep our voices down. We only complain because we know that we are powerless and we rather to live in comfort of conforming than to bring about a revolution that will never happen
Jasonzli.com: Hey Jason, I have no idea who you are and how you got here by hey, OK, thanks for the comment! Well Groupthink is not merely as simple as not rebelling but a more extreme sense of conforming whereby they are actually forced to conform to everything, and not having a say in anything if not they will be faced with undesirable consequences and being outcasted. I think its a very subjective issue here. Skepticism isn't totally bad, it helps to guard oneself instead of believing everything that is presented to it. It also helps to shape an individual's character and that's how we stand out from the rest. Deconstructing ideas does not necessary lead to negative shift in issues, it might help to open up new notions that hasn't been considered about and provide better alternatives too. And Singapore is technically considered a democratic society.
Seen4believing: Collectivism is predomint in Singapore given it's small population and high context way culture whereby people work with a synchronic view of time. Thus you're right collectivism is something we cannot escape from in our society. However, the issue here is Groupthink which is an extreme form of collectivism whereby any voice contrary to the upper tier/ big brother figure is being suppressed and everyone is forced upon a shared stereotype. Thanks for sharing anyway! :>
*predominant
caineng: Hi handsome thanks for your generous comment (ha). You're point is like Sam's, to put it in a simpler way. No Action Talk Only. We have had forums and congress to resolve problems which we deem fit from our point of views. However, what I brought about was on the symptoms of Groupthink on a more micro-meso level, which is within our cliques and circle of friends. However, I have to agree with you on the latter point, which is taking the side which we favor better, yet we cannot deny that there are some ideologies which are being forced on us and we can do nothing about it but to accept it or face being outcasted/ostracised.
Gosh I love this book!!!
Groupthink hmm somehow it can be related to sociology.. renown Emile Durkeim illustrated the different levels of integration to society. To pick 2 namely egoistic and altruistic where the latter suggests that individual goals will not be considered important and may even die for country in extreme cases. e.g. suicide bombers. So yeah all people do want to feel integrated but over-integration in a society is not favourable -stifles creativity.
Collectivist.like they say if you wanna punish an american kid, GROUND him. If you wanna punish an asian kid, lock him out of the house..(and that has happened to me before -_-)
Hey Cheryl,
Yes, groupthink will always be prevalent in the society. We will always try to conform to our groups so as not to be "left out". However, I feel that we should have our own thinking and not just always following other people blindly. Afterall, who knows what is right/wrong? As for the Apple and Doubletwist commercial, I guess it is just competition in the industry as they would always want to be superior than the other.
Breda
Hey Cheryl!!!
In a authoritarian society groupthink will definitely occur because no one is even allowed to be a devil's advocate to challenge the authority's thinking! I think it is very sad that the people's sense of individualism is lost due to this. That being said, a certain level of conformity is always needed for a country to progress and develop in one clear direction, and I think that in any society there should be a balance of both conformity and individuality.
P.S. >> The Ministry of Truth sounds like a pretty cool organisation to work for!
Well Cheryl, I think that in general, no matter what form(democratic/communistic) a nation is subscribed to, groupthink is always prevelant.
Besides, Groupthink isn't all that bad, really. It is a aftermath of something good, which is great unity and harmony of a group. It that light, unity IS a good thing for a country.
Also, it isn't all that sad that people conform. As social beings, that is somewhat a innate system in us to follow the trend(be it political or fashion). But, thankfully, humans have the ability to discern to.
Yes it is sad that we lose ourselves in groups sometimes because of fear of being ostrasized. Most of us are not used to being all alone and thus, may succumb to the clutches of groupthink at times.
I agree with you that individualism is lost at times when we engage too much in a group and are subject to peer pressure. The fear of speaking up is what triggers of this loss of individuality the most because we would slowly retreat into ourselves and accept the group's beliefs even though it may not be unanimous.
However, don't you think stating that Singapore is an example of groupthink is a little extreme? Yes, our government is controlling but the people do voice their views and not just keep quiet and stand for it all the time. This can be seen through the media. For example, Jack Neo's films are almost ALL about complaining about the government. He speaks up for the common Singaporean about issues that we discuss but may not be heard by the government in the ivory towers. Also, even though controlled by the government, newspapers have forums where people voice their views about issues today. What's more there is always the Internet where Mr Brown was banished to after his column was removed from The Straits Times. So maybe Singapore isn't as groupthink as it seems?
people who engage in groupthink could possibly want to be included in the group and not be a deviant. the want to be included gives them a sense of identity and this could probably lead to the lost of individualism (not wholly) due to the pressure to conform to the group's beliefs. perhaps there is no pressure to conform but the individual does so out of convenience (as mentioned by sam). And undeniably, many of us feel that if we voice out a differing opinion, we might be outcasted instead of making a change to the group's thinking. so why bother? this could be them lacking in apathy too.
what mahatma gandhi said,"be the change you wish to see in the world." - could start being our personal mantras.
ps. how if there is minimal groupthink? will that lead to the destruction of the social fabric (harmony)?
Hi Cheryl!
It's good to see that you are able to analyze groupthink in detail in 1984! You have definitely demonstrated your knowledge in groupthink and even helped me understand groupthink better!
I agree with you that groupthink is prevelant even in our very own lives, whether we realize it or not. Like you mentioned, our own cliques can sometimes possess some form of groupthink, although usually mild. We could think that our clique is the "best" and that other groups are not as good as us. Or perhaps we will even hate people who seem to be "against" us and hate a person even more if they "leave" the clique for another! Haha
Nice entry!(:
Valerie T: Poor girl, nevermind can always go over to Tim's. Well, cultural differences in punishment! That is something I didn't pay attention to! I think American's culture is based more on sanctions, while Asian's is more like threats which instill fear into the children. ie: You better not do this, if not I will cane you, or like get locked out for instance.
And well yes, too much conforming and suppressing of opposing thoughts inevitably hinders other opinions and point of views on the matter which might spur greater advantages out of the debate!
blacksticks: True, however at times if one was to speak up their own ways it might risk them of losing their membership within the group as they lost their idiosyncratic credits. i guess end of the day it depends if their moral conscience outweighs their need to be part of a group identity.
Rachel Lim SY: Well, groupthink in this instance is not developed from an excessive amount of group synergy but it was forced upon them instead. There is nothing wrong with conformity but too much of something is never ace!
O dear you are being brainwashed. Go read the book!
rocknstone: group synergy is good, but Groupthink is like an overplay of group synergy, viewed in a negative connotation! But yes I feel that especially in Singapore, we are always conforming to ideas, the deal is, we have so much to oppose but no one really actually does anything to it. Are they eventually afraid of the government? This can be seen how much power our government actually hold in this "democratic" nation.
sundaytv: I mentioned Groupthink within our peer groups, not our society as a whole! But even if Mr Brown has his own outlets and there are many ways which voices can be heard, nothing is being done at the end of the day. Everyone agrees to the differing opposing views but noone is doing anything about it. In this way, the government gives on a pseudo impression, but in actual fact end of the day everything is still done by their way.
wini: I think you were directing more at Group Synergy than Groupthink.. Conformity is crucial when it comes to how the society should work together in general. Needs of the group before the needs of the individual should be well balanced, however, Groupthink occurs when they are forced to conform, not because it is morally correct to do so, or for any greater good, but merely to conform to the group's stereotypes and beliefs. In this instance, should they go against because of a different thinking, they would face pressure of dissenters.
Valerie Chua: hello Val, glad it helped in some ways! yes this is the instance for in-groups which has lead to the occurrence of out-groups because of this!
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