1984@75 – The Lottery

The first of Off-Guardian's short videos marking the 75th anniversary of George Orwell’s 1984 and, they hope, a timely reminder it is much more than the famous memes of Room 101, Big Brother, Doublethink or Newspeak.

Firstly – The Lottery.

"The Lottery, with its weekly pay-out of enormous prizes, was the one public event to which the proles paid serious attention.

It was probable that there were some millions of proles for whom the Lottery was the principal if not the only reason for remaining alive.

It was their delight, their folly, their anodyne, their intellectual stimulant.

Where the Lottery was concerned, even people who could barely read and write seemed capable of intricate calculations and staggering feats of memory.

There was a whole tribe of men who made their living simply by selling systems, forecasts, and lucky amulets.

Winston had nothing to do with the Lottery, which was managed by the Ministry of Plenty, but he was aware (indeed everyone in the party was aware) that the prizes were largely imaginary.

Only small sums were actually paid out, the winners of the big prizes being nonexistent persons."