wot happened on the 24th January 1984?

The first ever apple Macintosh advert aired on the 24th January 1984 during a break in the third quarter of the super bowl. The ad showed an unnamed heroine running through an Orwellian world to throw what looks like a sledgehammer at a TV with what seems to be an image of Big brother, this is then followed by an audio visual message which says “On January 24th, Apple Computer will introduce Macintosh. And you’ll see why 1984 won’t be like 1984” after this the ‘rainbow bitten apple’ logo is shown on a black background.

This advert is now considered a “watershed event” and a “Masterpiece”. The unnamed heroine is used to represent the coming of the Macintosh which is indicated by the clothes she is wearing as a means of saving everyone from “big brother” these images were from George Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, which described a dystopian future ruled by a televised “Big brother” this novel in itself has become famous for its portrayal of surveillance a increasing invasion on the rights of individuals, since this book was published terms like “big brother” and “Orwellian” have been used more commonly to describe this.

This advert showed people what was happening the “big brother” effect, where people were being watched and controlled using technology and that Macintosh were different they were there to stop the “big brother” effect and give people back there freedom. I think that this advert tries to show people that change can happen if they help it to happen and do something about it. I think this advert really did achieve something when it was aired and you can still see some of the effects today.

The book (Nineteen Eighty-four) in some respects has come true. In this day and age everyone everywhere is continuously being watched by CCTV which is put there to protect us or to watch us? This is the “Big brother” effect that Orwell mentions in his book.

Technology is a massive part of everyone’s life, without it where would we be? But some argue that it’s taking over, we have become to dependant on it, which in a sense is true, what would you do if there no phones, computers, internet, televisions? It is hard to imagine a world without them and a world without them wouldn’t be the same. Some people also argue that the internet is another form of watching us, but personally I see it as a gateway to the rest of the world without even taking a step which when you think about it is amazing.

Personally I am obsessed with technology, and try to keep an eye on what is being developed and created because it is getting more and more advanced and I don’t give much thought to this “big brother” effect because I see it as protecting me instead of watching me, but I will agree that some are just there to watch, but most do have a purpose.