Terry Gilliam's inspiration: George Orwell's "1984"

“Brazil” was the second movie of a trilogy. The first one was “Time Bandits” (1981) and the last one “The Adventures of Baron Munchausen” (1898). The three of them have the same theme: The struggle for imagination and free thinking in a world constantly suppressing. These three films show us the progression of life: Childhood, Middle age (“Brazil”), and Old Age.

This movie was inspired by George Orwell’s novel “1984.” Actually, the first name of the movie was “1984 1/2.”

We can notice some similarities between “Brazil” and “1984”. First of all, both protagonists live and work in a bureaucratic Government. Even though, they think their jobs are monotonous, they love them and none of them want to be promoted.

The protagonist of “Brazil”, Sam, and “1984’s” protagonist, Winston rebel against their own government since they fall in love with two women. Both couples are captured in a bed under the same circumstances. Finally, the two of them are dealt in a similar way by their governments and are betrayed by the men they admire.

In terms of government, both stories have a bureaucratic government that has everything under control, everyone is watched by it. Nobody is totally free.

A movie of “1984” was made in 1984 and it has some similarities with “Brazil” which was made in 1985. For instance, the setting where films were released and the use of technology that represents the future. It is good to have in mind, the year these movies were released and the technology they used to create these films.

As a conclusion, Terry Gilliam was strongly influenced by “1984” in terms of the use of technology to refer the future and the bureaucratic governments in which the protagonists live.