Two Minutes Hate - 1984 - Opening Scene

The film 1984’s first scene opens with a giant movie theater, full of silent and attentive people. Called ‘Two Minutes Hate’, this is a daily period in which members of Oceania’s Ministry of Truth are forced to watch a film showing their enemies: Emmanuel Goldstein, Eurasia and Eastasia, and express their hatred for them.

  We see Winston Smith, a man who secretly hates Big Brother and a “thoughtcriminal”, sitting quietly for awhile among his coworkers. 

As the film calls for yelling and screaming, almost every person in the entire crowd participates, including Winston a few seconds behind the others. The purposes of this daily display of hatred are to minimize individualism at the start of workers’ days through crowd psychology, and to redirect frustrations and negative feelings towards Oceania’s enemies through brainwashing.

Crowd or mob psychology studies how people succumb to this mob mentality and how their behaviors can often turn violent, as seen mildly in the film where Julia throws something at the screen. 

According to South University, “When people are part of a group, they often experience deindividuation, or a loss of self-awareness.” This was evident in the majority of the crowd immediately, and I believe this is the goal of the totalitarian government of Oceania. Because thinking for oneself is outlawed in this nation, the loss of self-awareness every morning is quite a good tactic for minimizing individualism. Additionally, “Groups can generate a sense of emotional excitement, which can lead to the provocation of behaviors that a person would not typically engage in if alone.” When Winston Smith had just arrived, he was not participating. However, by the end of the short film, he was participating along with the rest of the crowd, ritualistically chanting “B…B”, meaning Big Brother. The power and high energy of the crowd overwhelmed him, and for a brief period it seemed as if he truly agreed with the film. 

              Another purpose for this brief, daily display of hatred is also for brainwashing purposes and redirecting pent up negative emotions. Because citizens of Oceania are so controlled in this film and novel, the government knows they are frustrated. The totalitarian government is completely aware that by outlawing individualism, the ability to think for oneself, and the ability to do what one wants instead of what one is told to do, the citizens are not exactly content. However, by forcing them to watch this film at the start of every day, they are able to redirect these emotions towards the country’s enemies. 

I believe this scene was a great opener to this unforgettable film. The forces of the totalitarian government in the film can even be seen today in our world, which is extremely frightening. So many people in the world believe anything they read on the internet or see on TV, when more often then not the entire story is not being told. The ‘Two Minutes Hate’ film plays on the audiences fears, which is something that very well happens today as well in all forms of media. It is imperative that we learn from this to think for ourselves, and question the media, as Winston Smith and Julia did until they got caught. 

Source: http://source.southuniversity.edu/examining-the-mob-mentality-31395.aspx