![]() ![]() The marching workers are automatons, their bodies move mechanically as if they have been programmed by the droning voice, incapable of thinking for themselves. In one shot, the prisoners’ heads are cut off from the frame, as is the technologically mediated 'talking head' which controls the body of the collective (Stein, 1997). The ‘ technopanic’ addressed here is dehumanization: as computers become more like us, as extensions of the human mind, we become like them and our bodies will become obsolete. It does so by speaking to the prevalent theme of technophobia: for instance, through images of disembodiment. So what was Apple trying to say? In a not-so-subtle manner, the ad is using Cold War imagery associated with the Soviet Union and displacing it onto rival company IBM (‘Big Blue’), which then dominated the computer market. And you will see why 1984 won't be like “1984”." Fade to black the Apple logo appears. Black letters appear onscreen as a male voice says: “ On January 24th, Apple Computer will introduce Macintosh. We hear the sound of the wind, as if an outside reality is unlocked. We see the shocked audience as the white light washes over them, mouths agape in astonishment. As the tyrant shouts “ WE SHALL PREVAIL,” the screen explodes with a flash and lots of smoke. She makes a final sprint and cries out as she forcefully releases the hammer, which hits the screen in slow motion. We can even discern the drawing on her top: it is the famous Apple logo, an apple and keyboard. Framed by huge marble columns, we now see the woman in full, guards on her heels. An alarm sound announces her approach she is chased by four helmeted cops. With her short blonde hair, red shorts and shoes, and white sleeveless top, she stands out from the greyness of the rest. In a flash, we see a female athlete running towards the screen, sporting a large sledgehammer. We hear his voice, belting out Orwellian ‘Newspeak’ about information, purification, a “ garden of pure ideology” and the “ Unification of Thoughts.” The top and bottom of his face are cut off by the frame, his words appear onscreen in white typeface. ![]() On the screen, a middle aged 'Big Brother' figure performs a speech. They enter a monumental hall and march towards an enormous screen a hybrid between a movie theatre screen and a computer screen with code displayed along the borders. They are seated on benches facing it. The men are pale, their heads shaven, with grey uniforms that make them look like prisoners. The setting is industrial and dystopian, its color scheme made up of blues and greys, the air hazy with smog-evocative of the opening scenes of Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, although we also recognize Scott’s style from Alien and Bladerunner. “1984” opens with an extreme long shot of a line of male workers marching through a long tunnel in tandem, monitored by a line of TV-screens on the wall. In this article, I point out some of these intertexts-from the aesthetics of fascism to Plato to The Truman Show-and discuss what I call the video’s ‘aesthetics of immediacy.' The 1984 ad Referencing Orwell's 1984, its ostensible message is rather on the nose. Yet, if we take a closer look at the aesthetics of this ad with a duration of only 45 seconds, we see that many other intertextual links can be made some of which not necessarily intended. The TV ad “1984,” directed by Blade Runner’s Ridley Scott, introduced the Apple Macintosh PC to the world for the first time. ![]()
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