The book '1984' written by George Orwell and the music parody 'NSA is Coming to Town' created by the American Civil Liberties Union both explore the dystopian element of life under constant surveillance leading us to the theme that an overprotective government leads to a lower quality of life for its citizens. In '1984', Winston is living in a world where being under constant surveillance seems to be the norm. He seems to be the only person challenging the notion that being under constant surveillance is right and the best thing for society. Orwell makes sure to highlight the struggles of day-to-day life in Oceania and commonly implies the ‘Party’ as the reason for those struggles. He does this to highlight the danger of an overly powerful government and highlight an example of a society where its government is always watching and overextending its reach. This is evidenced by Winston’s pursuit to escape government supervision while he wrote in his journal in Victory Mansions, an apartment building where “...the hallway smelt of boiled cabbage and old rag mats.” (Orwell 5) Winston found a place where he appeared to be safe from government supervision. “By sitting in the alcove, and keeping well back, Winston was able to remain outside the range of the telescreen” (Orwell 9) The amount of strategy needed to avoid getting in serious trouble simply for writing in a journal paints a picture of the amount of constant surveillance the people of Oceania are under and how it affects their day-to-day lives. Contrarily, the parody of ‘NSA is Coming to Town’ highlights the dangers of being closely watched by the government. For example, the lyrics go like this...“ you better watch out, you better not Skype, you better log out, you better not write. The NSA is coming to town.” The NSA, meaning the National Security Agency, has recently come under fire for allegations that it violates citizens’ privacy rights for the sake of national security. The video was created as a response to those allegations and to imply that we may end up like the society in '1984' if we give our government enough insight and access into our own personal lives. Essentially, the parallel drawn between '1984' and the recent NSA Scandal is strong because it points to an ideology in which a government with too much surveillance and not enough freedom will lead to a poorer quality of life.
