What If Everything Is A Lie?

So I borrowed 1984 from a guy on my floor (Nader, and yes, his dad's name is really Ralph Nader), and finally finished it today. It's one of the most horrifying books I've ever read -- I don't mean graphically or the nuances of the plot, but the simple idea behind it is truly terrifying. What if man was to become so subordinate to the ruling class that he cold be told bold, outright falsehoods, things which he and every other person knew to be false, but would still believe them? There's a part where the main character Winston writes in his diary (in itself an act punishable by torture and death) that, "freedom is the freedom to declare that two and two make four," yet by the end of the book he is so broken that he says two and two make five, if that's what the Party (the ruling class) wants him to think. The scariest part is the idea of "doublethink," which is to both believe something is true and false at the same time. It's best embodied in the Party slogan which is plastered everywhere:

WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH

Winston's tormentors tell him what the future will be like: "You want a picture of the future? Imagine a boot stomping on a human face, forever." It's a world where the past does not exist -- if someone is sent to the Ministry of Love (where torture and killing occurs), they are totally wiped out of all records and past newspapers, etc. They never existed. Alright, done being morbid for now.

Update: The person about whom the "somebody hates me" post was written still has me blocked on IM, even after I called and apologized for my childish jokes. All this over an argument about vegetables....Also, I am shocked and amused by the vast differences in my readership and the vicious hatred which spewed forth on the comment page, which is now about 3 times longer than my original post.

In other news, I finally found someone who likes Sealab on [adult swim]. Jeff, a member of the jazz band, actually declared that I was a fool for not liking Sealab, which is possibly the most idiotic (more so than Aqua Teen, even) show on television. Speaking of visual entertainment, I really really want to see Sin City and am strongly considering making the pilgrimage to the movie theater (it takes about an hour on foot to get there) to see it -- if only there weren't four movies coming out that I really really want to see -- Sin City, Kung Fu Hustle (screw you it looks hilarious), Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and of course Episode III. Not having a car sucks sometimes. By the way, have any of you seen Sin City, and would you recommend/not recommend it? Bottom Line: Read 1984, stop hating each other, and watch Sin City (not Sealab).