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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not quite Orwellian, but close, August 30, 2004
This review is from: 2+2=5 (Apparel)
After Winston Smith was put into Room 101 in Orwell's classic, "1984," he was first forced to recite that 2 + 2 = 5 and after enough torture, he actually believed the equation was a possibility, irregardless of what his logic told him.
In our modern culture where even grandmas need to do some coding once in a while, we find that we have to be perfect with computers, but they don't have to be perfect with us.
Sometimes we get precarious results, but after hours of coding, we're willing to accept that sometimes 2 has a higher value than normal.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
My most questioned shirt., April 20, 2009
This review is from: 2+2=5 (Apparel)
I've had this shirt for a few years along with many other quizzical ones and this by far gets the most comments by people. I've had people shout from across the street "no it doesn't!" Be prepared to explain why because people will want to know. If you prefer to avoid human contact don't buy.
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8 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Radiohead goes Orwellian with 2+2=5, December 17, 2005
This review is from: 2+2=5 (Apparel)
This line "2+2=5" is the name of the first song on Radiohead's album "Hail to the Thief". The line is drawn from Orwell's book 1984 to illustrate the extent to which a totalitarian government can control, warp, and alter what the society holds as "truth" in order to serve its own interests. Even something as obviously untrue as "2+2=5" can be twisted, in this case with the caveat "for very large numbers of 2". Even Winston Smith, an intelligent man who had vowed not to break, ends up doing just that (under physical and psychological torture). By the end of the book he gives up trying to resist the lies and is transformed into just another brainwashed automaton of the State.
Reading the song lyrics of 2+2=5 (the alternate title of which is "lukewarm") I see them as a dialogue between a lukewarm type who is well-intentioned but wishy-washy, and a more radical type who is trying to get the former to pull the wool off his eyes. So you have the first line (the brainwashed one talking to the radical):
"Are you such a dreamer? / To put the world to rights? / I'll stay home forever / Where two & two always makes five"
In this way he is stating, as Winston found out, that life is so much more easy and comfortable if you stop challenging the lie. You must lose your idealism and honesty, but you don't have to think for yourself. All you have to do is accept and repeat the ever-changing party line.
The radical then replies later on:
"It's the devil's way now/ There is no way out/ You can scream & you can shout / It is too late now /Because You have not been paying attention"
The radical then reminds the conformer the price he has paid for his complacency. He has allowed the government to become so fraudulent and powerful that there's no turning back. Instead of being a watchdog to the government, he allowed himself to be distracted and now he will pay the price. The last line is not just a statement, it is an accusation.
As to whether or not this song is not-so-subtely aimed at the current US administration, that is for you to decide. The slogan "Hail to the Thief" was picked up by opposition after the dubious 2000 election which won Bush the presidency. Thom York has denied that the album title is directed at Bush. Who can say...
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