*Cue eerie organ music*

I think it’s safe to say that everyone enjoys their privacy. People don’t just go around blurting out their every thought or opinion for the world to hear—that what secrets are for. Especially in our society, we love privacy. That’s why we put fences up around our property and use privacy settings on Facebook. That’s why bathroom stalls have doors. So imagine your life without such privacy. Every bit of it is made public, or at least somebody else knows everything you do. It’s really creepy to think about, isn’t it? But what if our society was like that and privacy ceased to exist?

Ah well, you’re in luck! Privacy doesn’t exist in 1984! Although there is seemingly a sense of privacy, that is false. The government may allow citizens to live in their own houses and think their own thoughts, which we would assume means privacy, but this is a lie. A LIE, I SAY.  The only purpose really of a telescreen is to keep an eye on the Party members. People come home perhaps to escape the prying eyes of patrol members in the streets. Well, guess what? They can still see you even when you can’t see them.

Likewise, with the presence of Thought Police, even the inside of people’s head has no privacy. Winston says that the only thing he truly owns is the few inches inside his skull, but even that’s a stretch. He may control his mind, but there is no privacy there. The Thought Police can somehow read minds or whatnot and know exactly what he’s thinking. They can’t allow even the freedom of thought because they must know of any rebellious ideas before they are acted upon. Privacy? Not even close.

In the Truman Show, a similar concept arises. Truman’s life is public. Every move he makes is broadcasted and watched by millions of viewers. Every single day. Every. Single. Second. While nowadays we have reality TV that shows us inside people’s personal lives, it’s nothing compared to the Truman show. He is kept in the dark about the whole thing and unlike 1984 society, he assumes that when he enters a “safe” place like his house, he has privacy. Little does he know that thousands of cameras track him. However, Truman still has the privacy of his own brain. As he says when he discovers the truth- “You don’t have a camera inside my head.”

Both the book and the movie show us that perhaps in the future, privacy will become obsolete and die out. Maybe we’ll get to the point where no aspect of our lives is personal or private, as in 1984. Maybe we’ll place cameras around to track certain people’s moves. Maybe we won’t. Only time will tell how privacy will evolve, but even if it fades, I hope there will still be doors on bathroom stalls.