I loved TimBen's invocation of 1984 in his comments on the changes to Council's Norms & Procedures document under discussion at tonight's City Council.
It spurred a literary flight of fancy in my mind last night and this morning.
What would the SCV be like under Ingsoc, or English Socialism, the type of Government detailed in Orwell's Masterpiece? This doubleplusgood thought experiment took me in many directions, and since I don't have anything smart to say about the actual changes to the Norms and Procedures, I figured I'd write it out.
First, let's start with the name. Dispense with the Santa Clarita Valley, which is far too complicated and individualistic, and let's call this place Strip Mall One.
Now let's think about the geography of Strip Mall One. Where, for instance would the free-but-impoverished Prole part of town be? Without a doubt, it'd be Newhall, that last Strip Mall One bastion of non-conformity just south of the Valencia Master Plan. It'd be pretty easy to wall off everything south of Lyons in order to form a perfect seal between the subhuman Proles of Newhall and the enlightened residents of Stirp Mall One.
The Master Plan would, no doubt, be home to the party heiarchy, & some of the institutions of government, perhaps MiniTrue (propaganda), Ministry of Peace (war ministry), and the Ministry of Plenty (rations and supplies). I nominate Canyon Country to be home of the Ministry of Love, where Winston ends up being tortured. Saugus, in my rewrite, would be a wastleand beyond the city's gates.
It would shake out like this: Winston Smith, when he was done editing yesterday's newspapers at the MiniTrue (on Creekside), would venture south to slum with the proles and get a taste of freedom in Newhall. Of course there'd be Thought Police waiting to trap him, as there was in the book. So ultimately he'd end up in Canyon Country at the MiniLuv being tortured almost to death until he betrays the woman he loves.
But that's not enough. As Orwell taught us, a subjugated and brainwashed population needs an enemy, or perhaps, more than one enemy, to focus its rage on. I propose SanFernandia as enemy number one this week. Strip Mall One has always been at war with SanFernandia, you see, unless it serves Strip Mall One's interests to be at war with Palmdalia.
Even better, under Ingsoc in Strip Mall One and with Newspeak fully implemented, it wouldn't even be possible to criticize the City Council (the Party Heiarchy). Newspeak eliminates the very possibility of thoughtcrime.
The followers of the shadowy and elusive Emmanuel Goldstein (TimBen Boydston) wouldn't even be able to criticize the City Council in thought; the closest they could come would be to call something ungood as there is no word for bad in Newspeak.
I'm having trouble identifying who would or what would play Big Brother and O'Brien, the supposed Ingsoc rebel who turned out to be its most powerful Thought Police; maybe you can help? Email me at jeff at scvtalk.com
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