From State Oppression to Corporate Domination: A Comparative Study of Power and Control in Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell and Cold wire by Chloe Gong

Abstract

This study offers a comparative analysis of dystopian power structures in Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell and Cold wire by Chloe Gong. It investigates how representations of surveillance, authority, and control shift from classical political dystopia to contemporary technological and corporate dystopia. Orwell’s novel presents a totalitarian regime in which the Party maintains absolute control through constant surveillance, ideological indoctrination, manipulation of truth, and linguistic restriction through Newspeak, thereby erasing individual autonomy and reshaping reality. In contrast, Cold wire reflects a cyberpunk dystopian vision where power is decentralized and exercised through corporate dominance, artificial intelligence, and immersive virtual reality systems that blur the boundaries between the physical and digital worlds. Using a qualitative comparative approach, the study employs close textual analysis to examine themes of surveillance, identity formation, construction of truth, and resistance in both novels. The findings indicate that while both texts critique oppressive systems, the mechanisms of control have evolved from visible state repression to subtle, technologically mediated, and often voluntary forms of surveillance. This shift reflects broader transformations in contemporary society shaped by digitalization and corporate influence. The study concludes that dystopian literature continues to evolve while maintaining its central concern with human freedom, thought, and identity in changing socio-political contexts.

Keywords Dystopia, Surveillance, Power, Identity, Digital Control, Corporate Domination, Comparative Literature, Orwell, Cyberpunk Fiction