Date
Privacy@Michigan hosted a free screening of the 1984 film adaptation of George Orwell’s 1984 at the Michigan Theater on March 6, 2024. Admission and popcorn were free and the screening was open to the general public.
About the Film 1984
Based on the classic George Orwell novel, director Michael Radford’s version of 1984 was released during the book’s titular year. The Criterion Collection describes Radford’s 1984 as “The definitive film adaptation of George Orwell’s prophetic literary classic, starring John Hurt and Richard Burton. This masterly adaptation of George Orwell’s chilling parable about totalitarian oppression gives harrowing cinematic expression to the book’s prophetic dystopia. In a rubble-strewn surveillance state where an endless overseas war props up the repressive regime of the all-seeing Big Brother, and all dissent is promptly squashed, a profoundly alienated citizen, Winston Smith (thrillingly played by John Hurt), risks everything for an illicit affair with the rebellious Julia (Suzanna Hamilton), defiantly asserting his humanity in the face of soul-crushing conformity. Through vividly grim production design and expressionistically desaturated cinematography by Roger Deakins, Michael Radford’s 1984 conjures a bleak vision of postwar Britain as a fascistic nightmare — a world all too recognizable as our own."
A U-M Faculty Panel discussion followed the screening.
About the Sponsors
The University of Michigan’s Privacy@Michigan organizes events to raise awareness, promote best practices, and provoke thought and conversation on privacy topics relevant to the university and society at large.This event is presented by Privacy@Michigan and is sponsored by U-M’s Information and Technology Services (ITS) and the University of Michigan School of Information (UMSI).
This screening is also presented in partnership with the Michigan Theater, Ann Arbor's beloved historic theater since 1928.
Speakers
U-M Faculty Panelist
Christian Davenport is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Michigan as well as a Faculty Associate at the Center for Political Studies and Research Professor at the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO). Primary research interests include political conflict (e.g., human rights violations, genocide/politicide, torture, political surveillance, civil war and social movements), measurement, racism and popular culture. He is the author of six books: The Peace Continuum with Erik Melander and Patrick Regan (2017, Oxford University Press); How Social Movements Die (2016, Cambridge University Press); Media Bias, Perspective and State Repression: The Black Panther Party (2010, Cambridge University Press) – winner of Best Book in Racial Politics and Social Movements by the American Political Science Association; State Repression and the Promise of Democratic Peace (2007, Cambridge University Press); Repression and Mobilization with Carol Mueller and Hank Johnston (University of Minnesota Press. 2004), and Paths to State Repression: Human Rights Violations and Contentious Politics (Rowman & Littlefield, 2000).
U-M Faculty Panelist
Barbara L. McQuade, BA '87, JD '91, is a professor from practice at Michigan Law. Her interests include criminal law, criminal procedure, national security, data privacy, and civil rights. From 2010 to 2017, McQuade served as the US attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan. Appointed by President Barack Obama, she was the first woman to serve in her position.
McQuade also served as vice chair of the Attorney General's Advisory Committee and co-chaired its Terrorism and National Security Subcommittee. As US attorney, she oversaw cases involving public corruption, terrorism, corporate fraud, theft of trade secrets, civil rights, and health care fraud, among others. She also serves as a legal analyst for NBC News and MSNBC. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, Foreign Policy, Lawfare, Just Security, Slate, and National Public Radio, and she has been quoted in The New York Times, Time, Newsweek, Politico, and other publications.