A technician in dystopian Oceania discovers a forbidden dictionary that awakens him from the mental prison of Newspeak, leading him to confront the horrifying reality of his world and commit a desperate act of rebellion that ultimately changes nothing.

SYNOPSIS:

"1985" takes place one year after the events of George Orwell's "1984" in the totalitarian state of Oceania. The story follows a technician, designated only as 8008132, who repairs and maintains the technology that keeps the regime functioning.

The film opens with a dreamlike quality, representing the disconnect between reality and perception under INGSOC's control. The technician moves through the dilapidated halls of an Inner Party building to repair a glitching telescreen in Party Leader Theta Delta's office. While fixing the screen, Theta Delta asks him to repair a malfunctioning "memory hole" shredder. In the process, 8008132 removes a clogged dictionary and absently tosses it into his cart.

Later, in his equipment room, 8008132 discovers the dictionary and compares it to the approved Newspeak dictionary. This discovery begins to break the dreamlike state that has kept him docile. He starts to see the world as it truly is – crumbling and failing.

In a subsequent scene, 8008132 encounters a younger technician struggling with a repair, revealing how the newer generation has been further mentally constrained by Newspeak and lacks even basic problem-solving skills.

The next day, 8008132 receives an identical work order to fix Theta Delta's screen again. His growing awareness allows him to recognize the repetitive nature of his tasks and the lies of the Party. When confronting Theta Delta with questions about the dictionary and the untrained replacements, he realizes the Party leader doesn't understand his fully formed sentences.

In a moment of clarity and rage, 8008132 articulates his hatred for Big Brother and the system, acknowledging his unique position as a technician who must retain some critical thinking to perform his duties. In a final act of rebellion, he murders Theta Delta.

The film ends with the disturbing revelation that Theta Delta's office is simply marked "Vacant" and his corpse remains in the chair, beginning to rot – suggesting that in this system, even murder goes unnoticed and individual rebellion changes nothing.

1985: NO ONE WINS