This article contains major spoilers for Silo season 3.One of the greatest lines in the history of dystopian fiction is from George Orwell’s 1984, and Apple TV’s Silo seems to perfectly capture its hard-hitting meaning in season 3’s early moments. The quote in question is as follows:
“He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past.”
With just two sentences, the Orwellian line examines the very nature of psychological control and authoritarian propaganda. It highlights how history is never factual. It is constantly rewritten and reaches through archives and books to match whatever the current political agenda demands. The more it is changed, the more it alters the course of one’s future.
As a result, the more one’s future is altered, the more they forget the truth about their past. The past controls the future, and the present eventually controls the past. By introducing a memory loss plot in its early moments, Silo season 3 perfectly captures the essence of the Orwellian quote, which makes its dystopian drama even more immersive and relatable.
Silo Season 3 Brilliantly Honors An Iconic Quote From George Orwell’s 1984
Silo‘s previous seasons have established how everything from books from the past to seemingly trivial relics has been banned in the central Silo 18 to ensure the authorities have full control over the present. In season 3, the Apple TV sci-fi show digs deeper into this theme by unfolding two timelines: the past and the present.
In both timelines, characters who learn a little too much about the overarching powers’ true motives are eventually silenced using memory-suppressing drugs. In the past timeline, Charlotte ends up losing her memories after she gets a glimpse of what lies behind the curtains of a global conspiracy. Suppressing Charlotte’s memories ensures that the overarching powerful forces remain in control of the future.
Similarly, in the present timeline, Juliette returns home and seems to be on the verge of starting a massive rebellion. However, suddenly she experiences memory loss after secretly being drugged with the same memory suppressant that was given to Charlotte. Through Juliette’s amnesia in the present timeline, the secrets of the past are secured by the higher authorities.
Memory loss plots can often seem forced and unnecessary in shows and movies because of how conveniently they erase characters’ knowledge to prolong a mystery. In Silo season 3, however, the memory loss story holds immense significance and perfectly honors George Orwell’s iconic quote from 1984.
While only time will tell where Juliette’s story will head from here, it is interesting how another great quote from George Orwell’s 1984 perfectly captures how the silos’ rebellions have been suppressed for decades in the past by carefully erasing the past:
“The past was erased, the erasure was forgotten, the lie became the truth.”
George Orwell’s 1984 Is One Of The Books That Inspired Silo’s Original Author
It is no coincidence that Apple TV’s Silo shares so many themes with George Orwell’s 1984. In an interview (via Light Speed Magazine), the original Silo books‘ author, Hugh Howey, explicitly mentioned books like Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451, and 1984 as his key inspirations. Silo season 3 has made its parallels with 1984 all the more evident. However, the similarities between the two have existed since season 1.
Similar to 1984, Silo unfolds in a bleak world where the people of an establishment are forced to comply with the rigorous rules of totalitarian government. Everything from childbirth to the use of technology is constantly under surveillance and anyone who dares to break these rules faces severe punishment.
Like 1984‘s main character, Silo‘s Juliette starts her quest for freedom when her curiosity gets the best of her. This, in turn, paves the way for a massive rebellion that threatens to dismantle the nefarious overarching system. It would be interesting to see how these parallels between Silo and 1984 will potentially become even more evident as the Apple TV show will progress in season 3.