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I know this is probably the most insipid possible point to raise over an interesting video, but why is everyone always telling us George Orwell's real name? Other authors don't seem to get the same treatment. In the world of pop music it's Elton John (whose original name was actually Walter Sloppycock or whatever it was), in literature it's George Orwell. Or they'll casually mention some fact about a certain Eric Blair and then pause to not so subtly observe your reaction.

It doesn't seem to me to be a very important thing to know. Like the occasional debate over who actually wrote Shakespeare's plays - probably this bloke called William Shakespeare, but maybe not, who knows - someone did it, and a jolly good job they did of it, and that person we call Shakespeare. The body of work is what counts, and good lord but Orwell had a hell of a body of work. Sometimes the bodies of actual fascists.

There are four lights.

What an eye opener! I hope this guy does another talk about other weird words, like 'Shakespearean'! I hear it thrown around a lot, but where does it come from? What does it mean? How do it do? I bet it has something to do with George Orwell!

Or Voltairian. Why can't we use that word anymore?

I fancy a good satirical polemic, especially in regards to flippant condensers of classic literature, who hide behind simplistic animations aflutter of Lovercraftian connotations. Such balderdash! Give me a Byronic hero any day, over the snide Youtubian objectivist...

Finally, about time someone explained this properly, I also loathe how the term "Big Brother" is thrown around whenever there is talk of any kind of surveillance. Every time I'm like "THE BOOK IS NOT ABOUT FUCKING SURVEILLANCE YOU FUCKING MORON!!" in my head.

It's not only about the surveillance, but it's not NOT about surveillance, the television screens that watched everyone were part of it, as much as the rewriting of history by the ministry of truth and the rewriting of language that was newspeak.

People really seem to have taken to Jacob Levich's quote that 1984 was supposed to be a warning, not an instruction manual. I expect that the large number of people who have seen his quote on a t-shirt but haven't read the book will only increase the problem.