Two Minutes Hate

In the dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) by George Orwell, the Two Minutes Hate is the daily period during which members of the Outer and Inner Party of Oceania must watch a film depicting Emmanuel Goldstein, the principal enemy of the state, and his followers, the Brotherhood, and loudly voice their hatred for the enemy and then their love for Big Brother.[1]

The political purpose of the Two Minutes Hate is to allow the citizens of Oceania to vent their existential anguish and personal hatred toward politically expedient enemies: Goldstein and the enemy super-state of the moment. In re-directing the members' subconscious feelings away from the Party's governance of Oceania and toward non-existent external enemies, the Party minimises thoughtcrime and the consequent subversive behaviours of thoughtcriminals.[2]

  1. ^ Orwell, George. Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) in George Orwell (1980) pp. 750–751.
  2. ^ "Nineteen Eighty-four, by George Orwell : chapter1.1". ebooks.adelaide.edu.au. Archived from the original on 19 April 2017. Retrieved 10 September 2017.