Film Courage: [George Orwell’s] In Nineteen Eighty-Four, you said it was a book that would
be one of the five books you would take with you if you couldn’t read any other books,
I’m curious why?
Bill Duke, filmmaker/actor/author: I’m going to get in trouble for this but Nineteen Eighty-Four
is something we’re living today…George Orwell…it was one of my favorite books at
the time but when I’m looking at the film and reading the book since this last election
and it has a section about the thought police.
Have you guys ever read Nineteen Eighty-Four?
Film Courage: I know parts of it but have not read it entirely.
But I’ve heard the whole concept about the thought police.
Bill: The thought police in Nineteen Eighty-Four, you are not allowed to do anything without
the permission of the thought police and they determine your reality.
They create this war that is not really a war that is happening at all.
But they have these soldiers marching and all this stuff…blah, blah, blah, blah.
You’re not allowed to have a relationship without their permission.
You can’t just fall in love.
You have to have their permission go through them.
So Richard Burton is the head of the thought police [“O’Brien”] and John…[John
Hurt] he is a citizen and he and this woman fall in love.
They keep meeting secretly at her place and his place and are running away.
One day they are caught by the thought police and the helicopters come and the soldiers
come and take them to the police headquarters and John [John Hurt as Winston Smith] is lying
on the table of the thought police headquarters and there’s a spotlight on the table and
he’s lying there naked with his hands tied and his feet tied and this electrical force
comes through the table with a switch where if you turn the switch on it electrocutes
you and there is water coming down.
And so there’s a guy near the button and Richard Burton is sitting there and John is
saying “I’m so sorry.
I was wrong.
I did it.
I should have never, ever seen her.”
And then an image of Burton says “Well you know, she said that you started it.”
“I don’t know, I’ll never do it again.
Please forgive me.”
And Richard Burton says “Shhh, it’s okay.
I just want to trust but verify.”
So he says to John “How many fingers am I holding up?”
And John says “Four.”
Richard Burton nods to the guy with the button “Ahhh!!”
[Bill imitates John crying out].
Richard Burton says “Stop.”
“What did I do wrong?
What I do wrong?”
“How many fingers am I holding up.”
“Four.”
[Bill imitates Richard Burton and nods to begin shocking John].
“Ahhh!!”
“What did I do wrong?”
“Shhh…how many fingers am I holding up?”
“I don’t know, I don’t know?”
[Repeats process of shocking him]
John cries out.
“How…many…fingers…am…I…holding…up?”
“Three?
Three?”
“I’m holding up as many fingers as I tell your a$$ I’m holding up.
Because it’s got nothing to do with your eyes, nothing to do with your intellect or
your mind.
When I say it’s three fingers, how many are there?”
“Three!
Three!”
“Good boy.”
Alternative facts…isn’t three an alternative fact?
[Holds up four fingers].
You will believe what we tell you to believe, nothing to do with your perspective at all.
Okay…not me…what can
I say?