1984 + Rewriting the Past

First, in response to Soda Jerk's "The Anarchivist Manifesto," I feel like it's important to dissect the title before I begin analyzing the work in itself. The title is a pun by combining the words "anarchist" and "archivist". An anarchist is an individual who rejects hierarchies deemed unjust and advocates for their replacement with self-managed, self-governed societies based on voluntary, cooperative institutions. In addition, an archivist creates and maintains an archive, essentially controlling the past. The title pun hints at the crux of Soda Jerk's argument which emphasizes not only how much power images have over the past, but also even more so, how much power the individuals wield that derive the accepted narrative from those images.

In response to this concentration of power, Soda Jerk advocates for the complete dissolution of this, by trying to stir a "rebellion" of the masses through the active interception, rejection, and questioning of one established narrative, effectively weakening it. However, the Internet has only complicated the relationship that we have to images; Soda Jerk states that complete anarchism is the best response to the overwhelming nature of the Internet because no one person or group can completely control its vastness. However, with the appearance of the Internet, the past is now more than ever prominent in the present. Thus, a "radical historicism" needs to be developed that stresses how certain images have become imbued with certain "codes" over time and how that can be subverted.

All the while I was reading this essay, I kept thinking of Orwell's 1984 and the power that the Ministry had because it controlled the dominant narratives of that dystopian society. What would Orwell say of our current present? Are we truly free from governments or other groups controlling the narratives we encounter on a daily basis? Does the Internet provide as much diversity in thought as Soda Jerk hints at? Are we really receiving all facets of the truth?