- People have no parents
- Freudian ideas and mindsets are fully expressed
- People are like the the gritty reboot cylons from Battlestar Galactica (there are many copies...)
- People are bred to a certain job and education level
- There is world peace
- There is no commitment to any one person relationship wise
- no marriages
- no one will grieve your death
- death is not feared as much or in most cases at all
- Henry Ford attained a god like status
- complex though tis almost non existent
- there is no progress socially, economically, or otherwise that could make any radical changes in life
Monday, January 10, 2011
Things different in Brave New World's society Vs. Our current one
My Thoughts on the Book
This was one of the more thought provoking reads I've had ini a while. It made me think about the many philosophical implications that are prevalent in most futuristic totalitarian societies that are in books and media in a way I've not thought of before. In Brave New World, the society takes on a very sexually active and more liberal and free way of life compared to most other literature of this type but in a way so that Freudian logic and Fordian mass production methods has the people having no social attachments whatsoever and keeps them pacified and easy to control by the ruling upper class.
John's character in the story is that of a complete contrast to everything in society. He therefore has two options, spread his thoughts and ideas so he wont be alone, or be consumed by society and let his moralities either accept it and he'll live or reject it and die. His death shows me a more Darwinistic ending to the novel that I picked up on in throughout the novel.
John's character in the story is that of a complete contrast to everything in society. He therefore has two options, spread his thoughts and ideas so he wont be alone, or be consumed by society and let his moralities either accept it and he'll live or reject it and die. His death shows me a more Darwinistic ending to the novel that I picked up on in throughout the novel.
Comparing Brave New World to other books
When I first read this book, I found it similar to other books I've read like 1984 and Anthem. These books all deal with a future where all of the people are under the rule of some sort of untouchable upper echelon that is seen by the lower classes as infallible.
All of these books deal with some sort of social structure that creates a form of unity and stagnation in the general population. Yet, unlike all of the examples I gave, this book gave a much more Freudian look on the future as sex is socially acceptable unlike the other books where sex is merely for procreation purposes. Also, unlike in the other books, there is no true protagonist that questions and rebels against the society they live in in Brave New World. In both 1984 and Anthem protagonist reevaluates the position they are in and rebels against the status quo which leaves them to ultimately fail (1984), or escape "civilization" (Anthem). Brave New World has an outside character, John the Savage, that comes in from the Indian reservation and is a stark contrast to all of society with his moral code and knowledge of illegal literature.
All of these books deal with some sort of social structure that creates a form of unity and stagnation in the general population. Yet, unlike all of the examples I gave, this book gave a much more Freudian look on the future as sex is socially acceptable unlike the other books where sex is merely for procreation purposes. Also, unlike in the other books, there is no true protagonist that questions and rebels against the society they live in in Brave New World. In both 1984 and Anthem protagonist reevaluates the position they are in and rebels against the status quo which leaves them to ultimately fail (1984), or escape "civilization" (Anthem). Brave New World has an outside character, John the Savage, that comes in from the Indian reservation and is a stark contrast to all of society with his moral code and knowledge of illegal literature.
Comparing Brave New World to Movies
This book has influenced many movies I've seen such as movies like Equilibrium and Gattaca. Both of these movies has taken parts of the book's societal structure and magnified it to become a major part of the society in the movie.
In Equilibrium, the society has shunned works of art and literature like in Brave New World and very few in both societies are able to see or are privileged to see them. In Brave New World, only the "savages" and the world leaders have access to things like Shakespeare. In Equilibrium, the people who have access to these works are the rebels who safeguard the works, the clerics who destroy them, and their one and only leader figure although this is unknown to the public. Also, in both book and movie, a theme presented is the lack of emotions in the people. In Brave New World, there are emotions but only simple emotions like happiness and sadness but no lasting complex emotions like love and grief that can be fully expressed. It is shown in Lenina Crowne's character that the people in the story can't relate to each others emotions as the only way she can express her "love" for John the savage is through sex. There is no grief with another's death as there are no families or any sort of personal relationships. Equilibrium takes this a step further by suppressing any form of emotion entirely as the people take emotion blocking drugs to not feel emotions for anything or anyone, even their own family members.
Gattaca focuses on the class separation in the society as the normal born citizens become second class to genetically altered humans that are made to be superior. Just like in Brave New World, normal born people are conditioned to feel inferior to the genetic superiors although not in the same way as the indoctrination that is shown in Brave New World. Unlike in the novel however, the protagonist in Gattaca is able to fool the system into believing he is a superior human while this is physically and mentally impossible for the people in Brave New World
In Equilibrium, the society has shunned works of art and literature like in Brave New World and very few in both societies are able to see or are privileged to see them. In Brave New World, only the "savages" and the world leaders have access to things like Shakespeare. In Equilibrium, the people who have access to these works are the rebels who safeguard the works, the clerics who destroy them, and their one and only leader figure although this is unknown to the public. Also, in both book and movie, a theme presented is the lack of emotions in the people. In Brave New World, there are emotions but only simple emotions like happiness and sadness but no lasting complex emotions like love and grief that can be fully expressed. It is shown in Lenina Crowne's character that the people in the story can't relate to each others emotions as the only way she can express her "love" for John the savage is through sex. There is no grief with another's death as there are no families or any sort of personal relationships. Equilibrium takes this a step further by suppressing any form of emotion entirely as the people take emotion blocking drugs to not feel emotions for anything or anyone, even their own family members.
Gattaca focuses on the class separation in the society as the normal born citizens become second class to genetically altered humans that are made to be superior. Just like in Brave New World, normal born people are conditioned to feel inferior to the genetic superiors although not in the same way as the indoctrination that is shown in Brave New World. Unlike in the novel however, the protagonist in Gattaca is able to fool the system into believing he is a superior human while this is physically and mentally impossible for the people in Brave New World
Sunday, January 9, 2011
facts about Brave New World
- The author Aldous Huxley was in contact with George Orwell and commented about the philosophical implications of both Brave New World and 1984.
- Brave New World shows an anti-utopian society that shocked the readers of the time it was published.
- Science fiction things in the book, namely the artificial fertilization and cloning, become science fact or at least theoretically possible and testable in later decades.
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