Lesson Plan

Decoding the Dystopian Characteristics of Macintosh’s “1984” Commercial

Curated and Reviewed by Lesson Planet

Known as one of the most iconic advertisements of the 20th century, Macintosh's "1984" commercial has become more of a social statement. Present the ad to a new audience of viewers with a lesson focused on identifying dystopian characteristics, and comparing the video to other works set in a dystopian world.

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CCSS: Adaptable
Instructional Ideas
  • Show before your novel unit on George Orwell's 1984 or Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 
  • Encourage learners to use their observations from the commercial in comparison to another book or movie with a dystopian setting
  • Use in a computer science or technology class to prompt discussion about the commercial's message toward technology in the 1980's
Classroom Considerations
  • Provides a list of works of literature you could use with the ad, ranging in reading level
Pros
  • Includes links to background information, lists of symbols to discuss, and comprehension questions
  • A great example of non-print text for an informational reading unit
Cons
  • None