Nineteen Eighty-Four

Nineteen Eighty-Four (sometimes written as 1984) is a classic dystopian novel by English author George Orwell. Published in 1949, it is set in the eponymous year and focuses on a repressive, totalitarian regime, lead by the dictational leader "Big Brother". Big Brother and the party rule over the state of Oceania and are in a constant, perpetual war with opposing state Eurasia. The story follows the life of one seemingly insignificant man, Winston Smith, a civil servant assigned the task of perpetuating the regime's propaganda by falsifying records and political literature. Winston grows disillusioned with his meager existence and dreams of rebellion, and begins a secret affair with his colleague Julia. The two make contact with the Brotherhood - a mysterious resistance group - but are eventually captured, tortured, and psychologically conditioned to plege allegience to Big Brother.

The novel has become famous for its portrayal of pervasive government surveillance and control, and government's increasing encroachment on the rights of the individual. Since its publication, many of its terms and concepts, such as "Big Brother", "doublethink", "newspeak", "2+2=5", "Room 101", and "Thought Police", have entered the popular vernacular. The word "Orwellian" itself has come to refer to anything reminiscent of the book's fictional regime. The book has also been adapted into various mediums, most notably a 1984 film adaptation starring John Hurt.

Influence on Muse

Matt Bellamy has stated on many occasions that Nineteen Eighty-Four is one of his favourite books and has been the source of inspriation for many Muse songs. Most notably, numerous songs on The Resistance were inspired by the book. For instance, United States of Eurasia (which was additionally inspired by The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy And Its Geostrategic Imperatives by Zbigniew Brzeziński), makes reference to the state of Eurasia and the effect of perpetual and meaningless wars, and Uprising reflects Winston's desire for rebellion and hatred of the party. Resistance was also heavily inspired by the book, with the song more or less acting as a direct retelling of the relationship between Winston and Julia (made more obvious by the name dropping of the "thought police" in its lyrics).

Fans have also speculated that Citizen Erased may have been inspired by Nineteen Eighty-Four as well, given the lyrics (namely the final verse) deal with themes of people's identities being erased and being unable to process any emotion or feelings.

In 2024, Matt collaborated with composer Ilan Eshkeri to create the score for the Amazon Audable audiobook adaptation of Nineteen Eighty-Four. The score includes reworkings of Uprising, Resistance, and Exogenesis: Symphony Part III (Redemption), alongside new material, such as Hanging in Victory Square.