Fact vs. Fiction: The Media in Literature and Real Life

Abstract

This project explores the similarities and differences between the media as it is portrayed in literature, and the media as it is portrayed in real life. Using the novels Brave New World, 1984, The Hunger Games, Catching Fire,and Mockingjay, as well as several articles from both liberal and conservative news sources, I explore who the people are that create the news and narratives for the public, as well as the motivations they could have for withholding certain newsworthy information from the general public. I also explore the impact of modes of public control through the media. This includes the responses to methods of control, as well as the ways in which individuals respond to being controlled by rebelling against the society and people who attempt to control them. I also touch upon the idea of propaganda, and how it is used in news sources, whether fictional or real. In doing this, I analyze and distinguish propaganda from genuine news in each fictional world as compared to propaganda created in real life. This helps me to find out what forms this propaganda, or even resistance to the propaganda, takes. In order to combine my studies in literature and journalism, my aim is to find the extent that the message of each book is a cautionary tale, a reflection of reality, or both.