You’re not seeing double. We’ve just moved from music to books and movies.

George Orwell’s 1984 is one of the most misunderstood great books ever. It was a dystopian novel but not sci-fi. For the title, Orwell flipped the last two digits of the year in which he wrote it, 1948. Orwell was a man of the left, not the right. But his experiences during the Spanish Civil made him loathe Stalinism. Big Brother is “Uncle” Joe Stalin.

Here are three vintage paperback covers, which convey Orwell’s vision in emphatically different ways.

Next up the movie posters:

I prefer the 1956 version; partially because it’s in glorious black and white notwithstanding the poster. But Edmond O’Brien and John Hurt are equally good as protagonist Winston Smith.

In lieu of two movie trailers, here’s the legendary Apple ad that ran during the 1984 Super Bowl: