The Dystopian Elements of Brazil
A squashed fly gets jammed in a printer and makes a typo on a document. Tuttle to Buttle.
Yet, this surreal and unexpected incident serves as a catalyst for the events of Terry Gilliam’s acclaimed 1985 film, Brazil. The typing error in the Ministry of Information results in the incarceration and accidental death of the innocent Archibald Buttle, who was convicted of being a suspected terrorist, rather than targeting the actual renegade, Harry Tuttle.
This event, however, only makes up the surface of Brazil, being based off George Orwell’s dystopian novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four, according to Scraps from the Loft. Gilliam seamlessly combines the Orwellian elements of surveillance, propaganda, authoritarianism and repression, alongside his own use of black humour and the satire on bureaucracy and capitalism to create a credible illustration of the near future. I even consider Brazil to be a more accurate representation of our imminent future than Nineteen Eighty-Four, as the light-hearted, but dark approach Gilliam employs throughout his movie and his satire on consumer capitalism is more plausible, realistic and applicable to us currently. This is in comparison to the overtly grim and serious atmosphere illustrated in Orwell’s novel.
The film is centred around Sam Lowry (Jonathan Pryce), a low-level bureaucrat who previously worked in the Department of Records, is generally unconcerned about moving up in the bureaucratic system and is arguably, the sanest and most individualised character in the film for most of its entirety. Through Sam and the plot events of the movie, Brazil demonstrates the omnipresent use of propaganda directed by the bureaucracy, primarily in the form of posters, slogans and television. Some examples of propagandistic slogans found in the film are: “Be Safe: Be Suspicious”, “Don’t Suspect a Friend, Report Him”, “Loose Talk is Noose Talk” and “We’re all in this together”. The slogans found in Brazil mainly relate to reporting suspicious activity and the pervasive use of these types of slogans are meant to depict rebels and renegades, such as Harry Tuttle and Jill Layton (Kim Greist), that act against the bureaucracy as enemies of society and “terrorists”.
The use of propaganda, as well as the effect of the bureaucracy in Sam’s society has also influenced many citizens to behave almost like zombies; they are unconscious of their surroundings and generally maintain a sense of uniformity, even in response to external stimuli. This is further reinforced by citizens sometimes being called by numbers, rather than names, especially towards inferiors in the higher bureaucratic ranks. This is illustrated when Sam first arrives at Information Retrieval and is addressed by his employer as DZ-015, rather than “Lowry”. Propaganda is even projected towards citizens in the outskirts of urban areas, as shown in the below image:
The above image illustrates the theme of deception and surveillance. Despite the propaganda posters showing images of lush, pristine landscapes, which have been successively placed to further reinforce the idea, the landscapes, in reality, significantly contrast those in the posters. They bear similarity to dreary, barren wastelands, whose quality are hampered even more by the air pollution, which is clearly evident through the wide camera shot taken. Furthermore, the depth of the camera shot shows a continual succession of the propaganda posters, blanketed by the vehicle and smoke. This could hence symbolise how the government can always control our thoughts and experiences to a certain degree using propaganda and the manipulation of words, even while we are outside of their immediate reach.
Regarding the accidental and unexpected death of Mr Buttle (Brian Miller), no work department wants to admit that they wrongly killed Mr Buttle. Instead, they use euphemisms to obscure the truth, commenting on the subtle manipulation of language in society to prevent subsequent warnings and punishments, which can be observed in the below image:
Moreover, when Sam stated to Mr Kurtzmann (Ian Holm) that Mr Buttle “[was] dead”, we can get the impression that it shocked the latter, by observing the sudden pace of dialogue between the two characters, which was originally quite fast and then, abruptly stopped. The statement would have also shocked us but to a lesser degree, as the implied meanings of the shown euphemisms would have been clear to us, as people who have not been subject to or willing to listen to the messages of propaganda.
Like the audience, Sam seemed to be quite certain that Mr Buttle was dead, without being deviated by the manipulative language used by the bureaucracy. This is unlike the incompetent Mr Kurtzmann, who was genuinely surprised at what had happened. The above image, which shows this scene, emphasises Mr Kurtzmann’s uneasy expression when told of his death, as everything else within the frame, including Sam, has deliberately been blurred out. However, he does not feel, nor express sorrow, only complaining how “[they’ll] never get rid of the damn thing now”, referring to Buttle’s refund cheque in this case. This references how the emotions of citizens are deliberately being repressed by the government through propaganda and language, as one’s lack of emotions suppresses their individualism in the process, which is what the government ultimately wants to achieve to every citizen.
According to Consequence of World, it could also be argued that the names for the state departments are cryptic, monotonous and foreboding, which describes the society of Brazil in a nutshell. For example, Information Retrieval is actually a euphemism for the interrogation of citizens for information, which can result to torture, if necessary. This description can be juxtaposed with the significant role of the bureaucracy in society. In contrast, according to Cinephilia & Beyond, the Department of Records bears a more monotonous name, it being correlated to the monotonous work bureaucrats must complete in that department, alongside monotonous, (at times) dysfunctional machinery and the monochromatic, sombre tones and colours in sight. This description can be compared with the dehumanised, almost emotionless citizenry in society, which also pays homage to the oppression they must endure.
Most people would definitively agree that Brazil investigates certain elements of dystopian fiction, which makes us contemplate of our imminent future in the process. Our present-day society is already amassed with tools of surveillance such as CCTV cameras and through social media platforms, the manipulation of language (especially in politics), as well as subtle forms of propaganda in our media. Hence, we cannot consider our world to be at an optimal state. Else, our futures are only going to become more dictated by the government, with the investment of more surveillance equipment to spy on our every move and language being used to persuade or even control us, as wonderfully depicted through Brazil.
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