Orwell Day
Dorian Lynskey and Jordi Puntí
The Present Relevance of "1984"
Debate
Free
The cultural journalist Dorian Lynskey will speak with the writer Jordi Puntí about the influence of the book 1984 in the contemporary cultural imaginary and its impact in the new generations.
1984 is probably one of the most influential books of the twentieth century. George Orwell did not write a political tract but an essay on the human condition, Lynskey says in The Ministry of Truth: A Biography of George Orwell’s 1984, which has recently been longlisted for the Orwell Prize of Political Writing. Maybe this is why 1984 has had such a constant resonance in very different societies and historical moments. Considered to be at once a critique of totalitarianism and of the dangers of invasive technology, and a defence of truth as a basic element of democracy, Orwell’s book has inspired writers like Margaret Atwood, musicians like David Bowie, filmmakers like Terry Gilliam, and series like Black Mirror. Expanding authoritarianism, censorship, and surveillance around the world has also led to a steep rise in the book’s sales in recent years. How has 1984 modelled our interpretation of the present? How have the new generations appropriated it?
This conversation has been prerecorded in order to guarantee its technical quality. It will be broadcast simultaneously on the CCCB and The Orwell Foundation websites.
The Orwell Day is an initiative developed since its beginnings with the Orwell Day Collective and that is celebrated in collaboration with the PEN Català and The Orwell Foundation.
Participants: Jordi Puntí, Dorian Lynskey
This activity is part of Orwell Day 2020, Orwell Day
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Dorian Lynskey and Jordi Puntí
The Present Relevance of "1984"
The cultural journalist Dorian Lynskey speaks with the writer Jordi Puntí about the influence of the book 1984 in the contemporary cultural imaginary and its impact in the new generations.
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