--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Whoever controls the image and…" description: "\"Whoever controls the image and information of the past determines what and how future generations will think; whoever controls the information and imag..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/312/george-orwell-57_command_whoever-controls-the-image-and-informati_1487751.jpg" --- # Whoever controls the image and information of the past… ![“Whoever controls the image and information of the past determines what and how future generations will think; whoever controls the information and images of the present determines how those same people will view the past." "He who controls the past commands the future. He who commands the future…” quote by George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/312/george-orwell-57_command_whoever-controls-the-image-and-informati_1487751.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/312/george-orwell-57_command_whoever-controls-the-image-and-informati_1487751.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/312/george-orwell-57_command_whoever-controls-the-image-and-informati_1487751.jpg) > “Whoever controls the image and information of the past determines what and how future generations will think; whoever controls the information and images of the present determines how those same people will view the past." "He who controls the past commands the future. He who commands the future conquers the past.” [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Control of narratives shapes collective memory and future thought; past and present information are powerful tools. **In simple terms:** Narratives shape future thinking. Key Takeaway Guard against manipulation of information. Themes power media history propaganda Mood critical reflective Type philosophical political When to use this quote - political campaigns - education - media consumption - historical analysis Key Concepts information control collective memory Questions to Reflect On - Who controls the stories you hear? - How do you verify information? A Different Perspective Absolute control is rarely possible; multiple voices persist. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Future generation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future-generation/) [Generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generations/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/who-controls-the-past-controls-the-future-who-controls-the-present/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [He who controls the present, controls the past. He who controls the past, controls the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/he-who-controls-the-present-controls-the-past-he-who-controls-the/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Who controls the past controls the future.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/who-controls-the-past-controls-the-future/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Who controls the past now controls the future Who controls the present now controls the past Who controls the past now controls the future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zack-de-la-rocha/who-controls-the-past-now-controls-the-future-who-controls-the/) [Zack de la Rocha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zack-de-la-rocha/) > [He who controls the past controls the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/he-who-controls-the-past-controls-the-future/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Your past determines your future unless you’re clearly moving past your self and responding to what you know in your heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/your-past-determines-your-future-unless-you-re-clearly-moving-past/) [John de Ruiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-ruiter/) > [He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/he-who-controls-the-past-controls-the-future-he-who-controls-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [On the environment and climate change, I suspect that future generations will think there was too much timidity, too much fear of upsetting business.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-mulgan/on-the-environment-and-climate-change-i-suspect-that-future/) [Geoff Mulgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-mulgan/) > [“Who controls the past,” ran the Party slogan, “controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/who-controls-the-past-ran-the-party-slogan-controls-the-future-who/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“If the Party could thrust its hand into the past and say of this or that event, it never happened —that, surely, was more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/if-the-party-could-thrust-its-hand-into-the-past-and-say-of-this-or-2/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed—if all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-if-all-others-accepted-the-lie-which-the-party-imposed-if-all/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“But the past determines who we are, and it has led to this sartling future.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristine-kathryn-rusch/but-the-past-determines-who-we-are-and-it-has-led-to-this-sartling/) [Kristine Kathryn Rusch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristine-kathryn-rusch/) > [Nothing is meaningless it's how we assign meaning to the past that determines how we experience the present, and future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-crawford/nothing-is-meaningless-it-s-how-we-assign-meaning-to-the-past-that/) [Bill Crawford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-crawford/) > [We think that the world is limited and explained by its past. 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I wouldn't want to suggest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/the-past-as-you-suggest-is-absolutely-present-at-all-times-and-the/) [Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) ## More by George Orwell > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [It was given out that the animals there practised cannibalism, tortured one another with red-hot horseshoes, and had their females in common. This was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/it-was-given-out-that-the-animals-there-practised-cannibalism/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“The actual writing would be easy. All he had to do was to transfer to paper the interminable restless monologue that had been running…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-actual-writing-would-be-easy-all-he-had-to-do-was-to-transfer-to/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [He felt as though he were wandering in the forests of the sea bottom, lost in a monstrous world where he himself was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/he-felt-as-though-he-were-wandering-in-the-forests-of-the-sea-bottom/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“if you took 1 Corinthians, chapter thirteen, and in every verse wrote 'money' instead of 'charity', the chapter had ten times as much meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/if-you-took-1-corinthians-chapter-thirteen-and-in-every-verse-wrote/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Happiness can exist only in acceptance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/happiness-can-exist-only-in-acceptance/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed—if all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-if-all-others-accepted-the-lie-which-the-party-imposed-if-all/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Whitman himself "accepted" a great deal that his contemporaries found unmentionable. 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Branscomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-m-branscomb/) Browse all 1,694 Command quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Whoever controls the image and information of the past determines what and how future generations will think; whoever controls the information and images of the present determines how those same people will view the past.\" \"He who controls the past commands the future. 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