Here are the words I placed on the screen today. I'm sure they came from somebody specific once, but some of us others have tampered with the original language, so I'm attributing them to nobody…and to me:
The most provocative aspect of Brave New World might just be the suspicion that many, perhaps most—perhaps you—would like to live in such a society.And I'll add something to it: we're already living, at least in some aspects of our lives, in such a society, and we're enjoying it, too!
For this blog, consider the little diagram in the upper corner of this post. Today we discussed the feelies and I suggested that Huxley described something eerily like a computer-generated effect designed to titillate the senses. Cast your net over some of the features he included in his Brave New World and find their specific parallels in popular culture today. In other words, identify the green area of intersection between what he observed and foresaw and what we, for better or for worse, are.
Please be specific: if it's "consumerism" you wish to discuss, find its point of origin in the text before you cite the parallel.
38 comments:
In the third chapter of Brave New World, the director is taking his group around on their little tour when a nurse passes by pulling a boy. The director inquires what's wrong and the nurse replies that "It's just that this little boy seems rather reluctant to join in the ordinary erotic play"(32).
I thought this was an interesting parallel to today's society where there is a certain amount of desensitization to questionably moral behaviors that is expected, and to set one's moral standards above that is to seem prude, snobbish, or irregular.
For example, in school there are occasional instances where it is just expected that students are okay with doing things such as watching violent "educational" movies or reading graphic, "yet quality, literary works." These instances require the student to stand up against the crushing power of conformity and open themselves up to ridicule from their peers in order to abstain from something they feel to be wrong, like that little boy. I wonder how many in Huxley's world set their standards where they did only because they were afraid to stand out? How many in our world?
As we had discussed in class, many can easily, perhaps too easily, see ourselves living in the society that Huxley created, and enjoying it. As readers well aware of how the ethics and moral values in Brave New World clash with the ideals of today, we may frown upon that society with distaste and disgust. Yet, the carefree life, the eternal happinness, and the stability is what people strive for in our world, through their hard work. Perhaps, as with the people in Brave New World, we declare the book "shocking" and "horrid" as a way of trying to conform to the expectations of our own society, when in truth the Brave New World could be viewed as very similar to our own - only perfected, and happier.
One of the parallels I found was between the much used soma the people depended on, and a mixture of ecstasy, drugs in general, and antidepressants, which we are all familiar with. As indicated in the book, soma is a type of cure all, whether it be for stress, anxiety, or plain unhappiness. When Benito saw Bernard looking especially glum, his first reaction was to pull out a bottle and say "What you need is a gramme of soma!" (47). For the United States especially, as the country with the most diagnosed clinical illnesses, medication is an answer to everything. We have medication for depression, anxiety, stress, headaches, upset stomachs (just pop a pill, and you're good to go!). Anyone who distrusts or refuses medicine would be labled as an oddity, just as Bernard was when he refused the soma.
It wouldn't be too far of a stretch to say that giving up the right to mild pain and depression is just one step away from giving up the right to unhappiness. As a matter of fact, a innovation like soma in our world would be met with immense popularity. The drug ecstasy is already so well received, why not soma - the same pleasures, for a longer period, and without the side effects and high risks?
There has been one parallelism between Brave New World and "real life" that has been the most prominent in my mind: the sensation of pleasure. Whether it be the deviation from suffering--the lack of pleasure--or acceptance, even heavy emphasis, on sexual stimulation, the idea of pleasure is rather blatant in Huxley's utopia. Citizens of the Brave New World visit Feelies; dwellers of Earth secretly watch pornography, or publicly R-rated films involving explicit sex. In Brave New World, even children engage in sexual games and the pursuit of similar pleasures; unfortunately, sometimes this occurs in real life as well, as middle-schoolers become pregnant and high-schoolers brag of past “experience.” Huxley’s world isn’t that far from ours.
Less obvious, yet still apparent, is the pleasure derived from not thinking, from being flippant. Lenina, in particular, is constantly found in a state of mindless contentment. When Henry Foster tries to fathom the depth of death, encouraging Lenina to follow, she tries to shut him out with a conditioning-created aphorism, “everybody’s happy now” (Huxley 75). Not thinking about “bad” or undesirable things can be a derivative of pleasure. Further into the story, Lenina acts similarly when Bernard tries to express his odd feelings, using the exact same quote, “everybody’s happy now.”
But how does this relate to modern life on Earth? Denial and incomprehension are two strings tied to the mask of happiness, a mask that many in the real world wear. Instead of facing reality, people often focus on things of triviality or fixations beyond their realm to ignore the facts. In my observations, I have seen people try to compensate at school with popularity and friends, while in reality their family life lies in shambles. Keeping up with celebrity news is another example. Humans of this world like to mock the failures of others, often just to avoid their own.
And do I think Brave New World is provocative in that I might want to live there myself? My answer is no. I already feel I’m living there and still feel out of place, perhaps disgusted. My idea of pleasure is vastly different then both, analogous worlds.
Agreeing with Katie, I believe that the emphasis on “sensation of pleasure” that prevails in Huxley’s world is eerily similar to the world we live in today. Sex scenes are not only prevalent in pornography and R-rated films, they regularly appear in PG-13 movies as well, which many children start to watch well before they turn 13. Compared to the 1930’s, what is shown on our television and movie screens is probably as profane as what Huxley thought of the feelies. People have become much more accustomed to watching sexual content in movies and on T.V. Even a good number of publicly broadcasted shows include sexual references and content. People draw towards these shows for the “feely effects” in the same way that people in BNW are drawn towards the feelies (167).
We are shocked by the early exposure of sexuality to young children in Brave New World; however, young children in our society are not much more protected. Advertisements for clothing lines are constantly sending out sexual innuendos, such as those Abercrombie and Fitch billboards that show human models barely covered by the product they are selling. Even fast food chains like Carl’s Junior use sexy women in bikinis to entice people to buy hamburgers. In Brave New World, the World State believes that sex is what people want, so they encourage it with scheduled “Solidarity Service days” (78). In our world, the people in entertainment and advertising believe that’s what sells, so they expose us to more of it.
Used to our freedom and moral standards, many in this class prefer the society we live in now. However, I agree with Grace that what people work exceedingly hard for in our society (happiness and stability) is handed to the people of Huxley’s world on a silver platter. Would we really not prefer having our ultimate goals without enduring the long and hard processes of life that has no guarantee that we’ll ever obtain happiness or stability? But then again, how much of our freedom and our way of life can we sacrifice for that guaranteed happiness and stability?
I honestly do believe that, if given a choice, to choose between the world I live in today or to be born into the utopia that Aldous Huxley created, I would choose the Brave New World. A society that does not necessitate persistent hard work in order to move along the status quo; a world where I know nothing else other than to take pleasure in the job I am given; a sanctuary where all my fears, worries, and stresses are wiped away, and if by any chance an accidental “alcohol in [my] surrogate” forces me to digress from the norm, a simple displacement to an island, to join those who are different, will satisfy my nag to be an individual. Born and raised in such a world would lead to a fascinating life, but to switch my lifestyle at this point along my personal journey would be catastrophic. Upon viewing the world from the outside in, the place is seemingly oppressive and inhabitable.
The moment this book becomes striking is the revelation that if a third party were to have the omniscient view point of our society, they would find Brave New World a eerie reflection of present day living.
As a student walking into the school cafeteria, it is a likely to witness more than two people wearing identical clothing, backpacks, or even the same flavor of gum; that is mass production for you. Although Huxley takes it to another level with “mass production at last applied to biology (7),” he is able to show how the concept has helped simplify life; the eradication of hand crafted products eliminates extra time wasted. We have become dependent on the assembly line to manufacture our everyday objects so we are able to fill our schedule with more important chores, like playing golf.
Another aspect of Brave New World that may be creeping into the typical lifestyle is the urge to go to a movie (feely) to establish some connection to reality rather than to settle down with a book in hand. The public weighing whether to view something with their eyes or to wander somewhere with their mind has caused some degradation in our “understanding (219).” The screen play of the finest books are never as detailed and “the new ones are so stupid and horrible (219),” but to the ever rising younger generation Channing Tatum and Amanda Bynes are easier to picture than Duke and Viola in Twelfth Night. The World State has rid their society of knowledge from books, but we have not, we simply choose to ignore them.
As some the previous post-ers described, our modern day society, youth in particular, is desensitized to sex due to its pervasive presence in the media. This parallel to the World State, where sex has been stripped of emotion or meaning, is an eerie connection that Huxley foresaw. Another comparable aspect of the two societies is instant gratification. The World State uses instant gratification of any want or anxiety to control society. The lives of the World State citizens are simple and straightforward, with clear options and constant satisfaction. The main instrument of instant gratification is, of course, soma. The wonderdrug is used to vanish any apprehension or unhappy thought. “A gramme is better than a damn,” Lenina repeatedly echoes, and then takes soma automatically. In contemporary society we hungrily desire instant gratification, exemplified by instantaneous text messages and the exasperating delays of slow computers, TV commercials, and long lines. Many characteristics of our modern world can be seen as parallels of the World State.
However, in Brave New World, unlike our world, there is no disease, no suffering, no war, and no social conflict. But it is also a society with no emotions, no love, no family, no science, no art, and no religion. Everyone is “happy”, but it is a false, conditioned, ignorant happiness. As John observed, they “got rid of everything unpleasant instead of learning to put up with it” (238). To most of us, it is not worth it. While the pleasure filled world is tempting, from today’s perspective we can see what their lives are missing, and are appalled. Additionally, even though some aspects of World State society are observable in ours, just that we are discussing it shows we are not as blissfully ignorant as they are, and I would prefer to stay that way.
Our society is not as close to decanting children from bottles as we are to a lot of other aspects that Huxley compares the world state to in our present lives. But, I do see a similarity between the caste system and stereotypes in our own society. We label people of different races, religions, and classes. We do not give individual people a chance to show us who they really are before we label them as less than we are. Just as the Deltas had no chance to be anything other than a Delta because that is what they were born to be.
On a different note...I'm sure that if I was born into the World State I would be perfectly contented just like everyone else, well, because I would be "happy." There surely are aspects of that life that I would not mind having.. but I would have to agree with John when he says, "I dont want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin." and "I'm claiming the right to be unhappy." These are all aspects of our lives that we would be missing if we chose the life of the World State. Because we are born with all these things, and seeing their advantages and ability to teach us, we are appalled at the idea of someplace where they do not exist.
The society of Brave New World focuses on stability and the happiness of the people. In a seemingly perfect world where there are no diseases or war, the denizens of the World State are all content. Whenever people want something, they can get it. As Mond claims, “The world's stable now. People are happy; they get what they want, and they never want what they can't get. They're well off; they're safe; they're never ill; they're not afraid of death; they're blissfully ignorant of passion and old age” (198) As for the United States, companies are striving to create better products that people will want to get. Ipods, new cars, better computers, faster travel—all for the sake of a more efficient and effective society that fills consumer demand. By far the greatest invention of the society in Brave New World is the great drug Soma. It provides people with an escape from unpleasantness into their own happy world. As Grace mentioned, it reminds us of our current society’s drugs and medications whose sole purpose is to provide gratification to the people.
In such a world, it may be hard to reject, if not for the loss of morals and important factors such as relationships and religion. However, if I had not been born in this modern world and instead the society in Brave New World, I am sure I would be terrifically content. There are no diseases, no pain, no problems, none of the unhappiness we have today. Even now, a world of pleasure and happiness seems hard not to want to live in.
"Ending is better than mending, ending is better than mending, ending is better than... (49)” Manufactured obsolescence drives many consumers to buy new even if the object is still functional. Keli Zhou considers mass production the trade-off for more luxury time. Mass production is successful because individuals do not know how, and do not want to repair what has been made by machines; they rely on the assembly line for replacements. It scares me that I feel frustration when I have to fix something. I’m enjoying easy access to the brand new, even though I’m completely aware of the environmental costs. Perhaps the need to eradicate a love of nature in the World State doesn’t come solely from its lack of productiveness, but also from the guilt people could feel from ending instead of mending. Extending Tess Cauval’s analysis of a world without emotion, denial of environmental consequences “is a false, conditioned, ignorant happiness.”
When first looking at Brave New World the society there seems absurd and wrong. When taking another look at what is going on in the society more connections can be made between Brave New World's society and ours. In the United States the dependence on drugs and medication for happiness is increasing. This relates to soma in Brave New World. On page 120 of Brave New World the desperation, power, and addiction to soma is evident. "Her tears began to flow again.’I suppose John told you. What I had to suffer-and not a gramme of soma to be had.'" Linda who use was a part of the society before she got lost related pain to soma and that soma was the only way to be happy. This is often like what we see with Americans today with drugs and alcohol, if you had a bad day have a drink, or a pill. Grace previously stated that we have medicine for nearly ever illness or displeasure. Though, advances in technology and medicine can be a great thing, it can also lead to addiction and later more pain. In Brave New World the after affects of drugs have been eliminated but in our world it is one big cycle between pain, drugs, and then the consequences of the action which leads deeper down the path.
While some my frown upon Brave New World as an immoral, mindless society that functions solely to consume and please, I think many here, myself included would argue that, for the most part, the World State is a prime example of what our world is becoming-- we just can't bear to look at ourselves the mirror.
First of all, the World State has defined what its citizens should feel like, and should anyone fall from what is socially acceptable, there is soma to restore them to the "normal" state. Today, our society also has standards for what is considered "normal" behavior and there is a drug to correct nearly condition that deviates from it: bipolar, schizophrenia, depression, you name the personality "disorder" and there's a drug to treat it. Not to mention the myriad of other drugs, legal or illegal, that so many people use for a short-term fix to place their minds in a more pleasant state.
As the director explains while guiding the boys through the factory, consumption is an essential part of the World State. Nothing is enjoyed without something being consumed, as in his explanation for why nature is taught to be instinctually disliked. In the U.S., everyone, no matter what their age, is bombarded by advertisements, whether they be on the radio, billboards, or the hours of television that Americans spend watching every day, to coerce them to buy, buy, and buy some more. There are hardly any activities today that do not require some form of consumption. The U.S. economy revolves around this mentality, and it should come as no surprise that Americans consume nearly 25% of the world's energy and yet constitute only 5% of its population.
Promiscuity also plays an important role in the stability of the World State. There is no such thing as sexual morality, in fact, when Lenina appears to show some degree of such consciousness, Fanny frowns upon her for her having of only one partner. Children frequently participate in erotic play, Solidarity Services demand that citizens are promiscuous and, as is evident in the feelies, sexuality is a prominent part of the World State's entertainment. Similarly, sexuality has slowly crept into a more and more prominent role in U.S. culture. No, American society is not quite to the point of mandated orgies or unscrupulous sex that are so nonchalantly performed in the World State, but nearly everywhere you look-- magazine covers, advertisements, music, even PG movies-- are sexual references or provocative images. Slowly, but surely, our society is being desensitized to sexuality as it is detached from the moral dilemmas that used to censor it.
While these aspects of similarity between cultures may sound critical, the direction American society is heading is exactly where we want it to go. I think that most people would agree that the idea of endless consumption, instant happiness on demand, and the ability to lead a completely immoral life without any consequences sounds pretty darn good, even though we may not like to admit it. But who says its just an idea? We're already far into making Huxley's fiction a reality, for better or for worse.
Many people have said that our world is becomming like The Brave New World. In ways that is true but really the world we live in today can not really get any more like Brave New World. Societies today would not allow for conditioning like Brave New World nor "producing" people how Brave New World does. Societies today have morals that they are not really ready to let go for happiness or stability. In others ways like technology and science our worlds are more alike. Some people posted earlier in their blog how many people today take medication to relieve pain, depression, illness and so on and in that way our worlds are alike. Technology is also a parallel. Like BNW has feelies we also have something like feelies. At Disney World/Land we have those 3D theatres where we also sense what is happening in the movie. When it comes to things like these we can see more of it in the future and that is how people can see themselves in a world like BNW. Yet, when we try to see the morality of BNW and picture ourselves thinking the way they do it seems impossible and in reality it is. In one way we are already like BNW and in another we will never be.
Something that really stands out to me in the Brave New World is their treatment of religious affairs. In Part 2 of chapter 5, Bernard attends a 'solidarity service'. This ceremony is a fallacy, and is a drug-induced orgy, not a religious service.
The United States today is known for it religious tolerance, but with tolerance there comes a loss of tradition. While the United States was based upon the Church of England, the vast majority of the population does not attend religious services regularly. What is even more alarming is the vast majority of young adults who experience a falling out with religion and begin to lead completely different lives. While Huxley exaggerates the dumbing down of religion, our society is indeed on track to this end. I also agree with everyone who wrote about the Feelies and consumerism.
I definitely would live in the Brave New World. While I disagree with some of the morals intellectually, I agree as a teen. The teenage mentality is to serve self before others, and that is a large part of the Brave New World.
I am not afraid to admit that I would enjoy living in a society like the one portrayed in Brave New World. Who wouldn't want to live in a world without disease or old age? Where one can forget about unhappiness and unwanted thoughts with a single dose of soma? Where there is no murder, no suicides, no violent crimes like there are today. Looking at our society from the perspective of the society in BNW, our society today almost looks like a dystopia. Unhappiness is everywhere. Polls of people that are truly happy seem to plummet year after year. So many people every year fall victim to crime and disease. Almost everybody knows at least one person who has had cancer.
Although the society that Huxley portrays and the one we live in now are different, there are also eerie similarities. Just look at religion. Near the climax of Brave New World, John asks Mond what society has given up for happiness. "'Well, religion, of course,' replied the Controller" (230). This is not true. Religion might not be as widespread as it is now, but it is still there in the World State. Ford is not their idol, their god, and what once was the cross that symbolized the crucifixion of Christ is now the T that symbolized the Model T that Ford invented. They have "Solidarity Service days" that mimic going to church and singing hymns. Huxley writes of song about "Greater Being" and the people during the Solidarity Service days believe that they can hear "the feet of the Greater Being--oh, they heard them, they heard them, coming softly down the stairs..." (83). The people of the World State have a conception of God and religion as well.
Another parallel is how people in Brave New World do not care about death. Death, to them, is just another part of life. With all of the violence on TV and in video games today, we have a similiar feeling towards death. Society today hears about death all the time, and we have been accustomed to death. We don't really care anymore. "There was another murder today," the television blares in a business-like voice before moving on to other news. Families continue chewing their food at they watch the news, unaffected by the fact that somebody has died. Even the most horrific crimes, most of the people now would think about it for a few moments then toss it aside, unforgotten in the clutter of their own rather insignificant problems. Continuing down the road that society is walking along now, we will inherit all the problems and vices the World State contains without collecting the good things as well.
One of the parallels I found between BNW and our society is the preoccupation with time efficiency. In Ch.4, when a rocket arrives from New York seven minutes late, Henry remarks, “These Atlantic services—they’re really scandalously unpunctual.” In BNW, people are so afraid of “wasting” precious time, whether it be waiting seven minutes for a rocket or spending an evening watching the moon instead of going to the feelies. Every minute must be occupied by some “productive” activity. In Ch. 6, when Bernard declines to go to the Electro-magnetic Golf with Lenina because he thought that was a waste of time, Lenina, astonished, asks him, “Then what is time for?”
Our society is similarly obsessed with time efficiency. Not many of us spend our free time just talking, reading, and contemplating nature. Most of us go on vacations, go to the movies, or have parties with friends. What we consider “quality” time often involve some sort of modern contrivances: a massage in a luxurious spa, a family vacation at a resort complete with a water park, mountain climbing with all sorts of fancy gears… If we are not taking advantage of the extravagances made possible by modern technology, we are not spending our time efficiently. A few people in our day might even agree with Lenina, saying, “Time is for waterskiing, time is for 3-D concerts, time is not to be carelessly wasted on talking and walking!”
Another parallel between BNW and our society is the abundance of passive information, which in BNW takes the form of hypnopedia. In our society we are surrounded by news and advertisements; they are on TV, on the Internet, on billboards on the streets, and on everyone’s tongue. Information is drilled into us whether we want it or not. The similarity between propaganda in our society and hypnopedia is chilling: just think of how unforgettable commercial jingle like that of “Sleep Country USA” and phrases such as “Main Street against Wall Street” are after so many repetitions over the media. Our reliance on medications and on mass produced products, as pointed out in previous posts, are perhaps direct results of these subtle propaganda, as the reliance on soma and faith in stability are direct results of hypnopedia in BNW.
"I really do think you ought to be careful. It's such horribly bad form to go on and on like this with one man... And you know how strongly the D.H.C. objects to anything intense or long-drawn."
This was spoken to Lenina by Fanny Crowne in chapter 3 on page 41. What Aldous Huxley has Fanny showing here parallels our world in two ways.
(1) In Brave New World, it is expected of people not to be with one lover, but have several with no attatchments. In our world, as young adults, if one is in a serious relationship, they are still encouraged to get to know others. However, this is in a social way. (2) In our world, it is expected in a relationship that partners be faithful and loyal to one another. Aldous Huxley sheds light on the problem of unfaithful behavior that many in our world exhibit.
The BNW is a society structured by “community, identity, stability”, is a place where many of us would be content to be. A place where no one is alone. A place where pain ceases to exist. A place where people no longer argue. Yet I cannot help but feel it is a place I would not want to live. I enjoy solitude, and thinking, being alone with a book. Pain is a necessary part of my existence. Disagreements and suffering are part of life. Then again how much would I give to be allowed an existence where I would no longer worry, anxiety free, floating on in a dream-like "fun" filled state? The dilemma is puzzling.
Growing up in our society a child is bombarded by hypnopaedia. When watching television, bright, flashy commercials filled with smiling kids and catchy jingles come on, making the child associate candy with the the “fun” commercial. Growing up the child will be give Barbie and G. I. Joe dolls for birthdays and Christmas. Subversively, it will give the child a false, unrealistic image of body, women should be skinny and blond, men macho and tough. When in school, the child will discover conformity and rules. If not listening, or doing something “bad”, the child will learn of punishment, but also social norms. The child will want to be like their friends, who all just want to be like the characters they see on Disney channel. Although our society is supposedly so far from being BNW’ s , it is clear the brain control of hypnopaedia exists all around us, and influences our choices whether we are conscious of it or not.
What is the price for happiness? I enjoy the ability to think freely. To ponder about more than who is pneumatic. The liberty of being creative. However, I’d be happier still in the World State. No matter the caste happiness is abound. No more weekend homework or war; no more sickness or famine. Just as our society has conditioned me to be disgusted at the eroticism of “Brave New World,” in the World State I’d be conditioned to enjoy it. And what happens if in spite of all of that I am not content? If I want to be truly free? The Thought Police don’t throw me into Room 101. I would be sent to a tropical paradise, an island, of like-minded people. Assuming I was born there, I would be happier in a Brave New World than I am now.
The most glaring aspect of “Brave New World” is the glue that holds the World State together: a genetic caste system. We are approaching a means to mirror such a system. In vitro fertilization has been discussing in class, but the issue goes beyond that. The Human Genome Project was completed nine years ago, providing us with a map of human genetics. Most of it has been interpreted already, and the remainder is soon to follow. The ethics of such a feat continue to be debated thoroughly. Mond states, “every discovery in pure science is potentially subversive; even science must sometimes be treated as a possible enemy.” Yes, we can cure disease and know who is at risk for a heart attack, but what is the cost of such knowledge? Does a health care provider have the right to know your genetic predispositions and charge you more for it? Should your employer be able to screen you for violent tendencies? Will the deal-breaking question on your first date be what genes you’d pass onto potential children? We are able to perform genetic engineering on rats and flies, altering them for scientific study. When this power is unlocked for humans, how broad will its use be, and what will be the price? Is it ethical to remove a disposition to Huntington’s? Will those with means be able to determine how strong, how smart, and how talented their children will be, while those who can’t afford to pay $20.00 per allele be forced to have a child society deems inadequate? The possibilities for where to draw a line are as large as our genome.
The one aspect of Brave New World that I see most relevant in todays society is the behavior and thought processes of the population as a whole. It has become a society obsessed with pleasure and entertainment, and the two have seemed to become one to the point where just watching a movie is not good enough anymore, but you have to feel it too, like the random need for every other new movie now to be in 3D (all of which I would not consider even being close to cinematic brilliance or even call them "art"). Not only are the feelies relevant, but also the "games" the children play. Now it is no longer good enough to have a ball and an open field to have fun, but children need the newest $300 gaming system, and it may come to the point where no longer will there be basketball hoops in school yards, but giant metal towers for centrifugal bumble-puppy. The sexual promiscuity is not so far fetched either, in todays society it seems like everything is fueled by a never ending obsession with sex, every other thing that comes on tv is either about sex or violence, but in a world completely free of violence like Brave New World, society is left with sex as it's only real interest. I can not say if it is the thought processes of society as a whole or the extreme pressure put on us as consumers but society is changing, will it become like the Brave New World? probably not, but is it possible? yes.
Many people above have stated that they would rather live in the Brave New World opposed to the world we live in now and although I could understand the reasoning, I would rather live in our world where at least I could express a full range of emotions and really know what it's like to live as a human. Our world may be infested with disease and crime, but for a lot of us going about our ordinary lives, we will never truly know what it's like to suffer anything beyond the average disappointments that comes with life. Our world is not a dystopia, in fact we might be closer to the utopia in Brave New World than we think. Much like how the Alphas and Betas never mind the perpetual suffering of their Delta and Epsilon counterparts, many of us never stop to think about the countless others who are going through horrors beyond our imagination. This blissful ignorance provides most of us with the utopia that is so desired.
Our society now is based around the idea that there must be constant and more complex forms of entertainment present in our lives every moment of every day. Similarly to Brave New World where the recreational games range from Centrifugal Bumble-puppy (ch. 3, pg. 30) to Scent and Colour Organs (ch. 5, ph 76), we have the need to be entertained incessantly by activities like laser tag and 3-D movies to pique our interest as well as our senses. We want the synthetic to be more real, the clarity of our televisions to be as high-definition as possible in the same way that Lenina and others in the BNW enjoy the feelies for the realistic images and physical titilation (ch. 11, pg. 160).
One of the interesting similarities I found between Brave New World and today's society is the class system. Obviously, we are not quite as rigid in our standards of what a person from one class can or cannot do, but there are similarities. While not a rule, it is still generally expected that a person from a higher class would go to college, graduate and have a successful career in engineering, business, medicine and so on. One would not expect a person of such high ranking to mow lawns, sell gas, or become a garbage man. Society views these job as meant for the "lower" class. It is the same in Brave New World. Mustapha Mond says, "It's an absurdity. An Alpha-decanted, Alpha-conditioned man would go mad if he had to do Epsilon Semi-moron work-go mad, or simply start smashing things up" (151). A man brought up in the World State's high society, raised to do high society things would hate doing menial tasks. Wouldn't most people of today's middle to upper classes feel the same way? We are slowly being conditioned to live our lives the way our class dictates it to be.
Because of how our society has been raised up, we would never allow anything to happen like they did in Brave New World. Brave New World seems like a place none of us would like to be, but also, a place where we can see ourselves at. There are some things about the society that appeal to us, but also we look down upon. I personally would never want to live in the BNW society, even though our society now is full of bad things. In a way, we are already like the BNW society, and in some ways we are not like them yet. As much as we do become like them--or not--we'd never be able to realize and admit it.
“Universal happiness keeps the wheels steadily turning; truth and beauty can’t… [The World State’s control] hasn’t been very good for truth, of course. But it’s been very good for happiness,” Mustapha Mond explains to John in his study (205). This “brave new world” that Huxley depicts centers around happiness: making certain that each individual is created to be happy doing the work that he or she must do, taking soma when one feels essentially anything other than happiness, encouraging promiscuity in order to promote happiness, and wasting time playing senseless games like electro-magnetic and obstacle golf to make people, you guessed it, happy. Happiness, however, is an emotion; it’s something that one feels, and as a result, happiness is both transitory and fleeting. While we may read Brave New World and disparage the importance placed on happiness in the society, we fail to recognize the colossal impact that happiness has on our current society. We do so many things for the simple purpose of happiness: watching movies, eating at restaurants, reading books, going shopping, playing games, going online, buying material things, and listening to music. Although the purpose of doing these activities may not always be because of happiness, many times it truly is and we simply do not want to admit it. In our current society we spend less and less time on the more important things in life: searching for truth, contemplating the meaning of life, and sincerely loving and caring for one another. Now most of the things we do we do for pleasure and temporary satisfaction. Maybe the pursuit of happiness is not the freedom we should really desire. Maybe the “brave new world” Huxley describes is not as outrageous with its happiness-centered society as we may have thought.
I do not see the point of living in the World State society. You are born as a result of science for the purpose of doing insignificant work. There are no real relationships, no real love, no real truth; everything is trivial and meaningless. I do not see a good enough reason to live in such a society. Although, of course, I am only saying this because of the life I have been able to live in our current society. If I was born into the World State, I would be completely ignorant and thus be happy with my life there. But it would only be because I would be deprived of the freedom to know truth.
I agree with the original quote posted by Mr. Duncan. That is, that there are aspects of Brave New World found in today's society. I think perhaps the most eerie correlation is found between both World's final goal. In BNW citizen's achieve happiness through "Community. Identity. Stability." It is achieved through hypnopedia, erotic behavior, and Solidarity Services. They don't really have any goal except to do their job and have fun. They are happy. I think in America we have a similar goal. We strive for happiness through the media, relationships and religion; but at the end of the day we are still striving.
I think that is the most intriguing aspect of BNW, that it is expected of the citizen to be happy. This is seen throughout Bernard and Lenina's awkward date to the wrestling arena. On the helicopter ride back Bernard starts to express his desire for freedom and real happiness. Lenina stops him saying, "I don't know what you mean. I am free. Free to have the most wonderful time. Everybody's happy nowadays" (91). This last phrase is what sets the World State and today's world apart. In America we are not expected to be happy, and by no means can I say that 'Everybody's happy nowadays". However, I can say that each person has the right to pursue happiness. I can work, create, sing, dance or run, if that's what makes me happy. I know that these things make me happy because of the saddness and anger I have felt at other times in my life.
I believe that without saddness and work we would not know true happiness. This philosophy is also expressed in BNW. When John relates the time he made pots with Mitsima he tells Bernard how he "worked all day, and all day he was filled with an intense, absorbing happiness" (134). This absorbing happiness can not be felt through soma or a feelie, but through the hard work and trials people endure through today to reach their triumphs. This is why I prefer to live in today's world. A world where I can fall and get back up, even if it means I'm destined to fall again. A world where I can pursue true happiness.
A parallel I found in BNW is religion. In today’s world, many turn to religion because they are afraid of death—of what happens after death. Because of this fear that, one they die, it may be the end, they want to believe that there is some sort of after-life. It is a natural human tendency to want more—to want to think that there is something greater; some greater purpose to their lives.
Another parallel I found is the lack of commitment in relationships. In BNW, monogamous relationships are highly discouraged—in fact, they encourage “promiscuity”. In earlier years, marriage was considered much more important than it is today. In our society, people marry, divorce, then remarry, then divorce, than marry again. And as in BNW, many remain good friends with one another.
As far as parallels go in this novel, there are many! In fact, I read the blog last night and decided to sleep on it to figure out how to articulate the parallels I noted most. First off, I also though about our life revolving in temporary happiness. Like in class we talked about the slow eradication of literary "types," people today seem to do things more for simple amusement and instant gratification. I though about the video Lenina showed John about the "mad black man" (p. 169). That video was a sort of cultural amusement for Lenina, so of course John couldn't understand and didn't think she "ought to see things like that." He was brought up different, and intellectually, so he seemed to understand a deeper meaning in the things he absorbs. It's like in today's society, many people are brought up watching movies for entertainment. Simply as entertainment, usually without anything to be gained from the two or three hours spent watching. For example, a movie about zombies-- however entertaining-- doesn't usually impact our view of the world or face us full on to an ethical or moral dilemma. Unless, of course, the movie is paradoxical, ironic, or filled with metaphors. But as I was continuing to think, with our values of happiness and entertainment-- maybe we don't question the nature of films. Everything is sort of blurring into a gray area, people are losing focus of the possibility for deeper meanings beyond entertainment. As I thought about how great literature seems to have become more and more obsolete, I start to understand why-- the true parallel to Brave New World. People, are less and less likely to want to actually spend time analyzing and questioning the things they are made aware of. Reading, watching TV, and conversing with someone becomes more and more about entertainment and less and less about understanding unknowns and finding deeper meanings. I think about how Huxley had the section of the Epsilon elevator boy saying "Roof Roof... Isn't it beautiful?" (p. 58) It was like a quick image of a character in the book analyzing something that fascinated him. Almost a passion, that in a perfect "Brave New World," wouldn't have happened at all.
Alphabitten- Megan Aldridge.
Sorry, I forgot to conclude my thought with my name
A parallel I noticed was feelies. Many movies are now being released in 3-D, and in some theaters, the chairs move and vibrate to make the experience seem that much more real. And the plot of 'Three Weeks in a Helicopter' seems absurd, and we laugh at the thought of watching it, but really, are that many of the movies we watch today really so much better? Take a look at the premise for "Transformers": Aliens who can transform (hence the name) into cars and machines descend to Earth and live among humans undetected. They're looking for a special cube and after dramatic music, making out (on the part of Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox), lots of giant robot wrestling, and many, many explosions (this is, after all, a Michael Bay movie), the good robots save the world, destroy the cube, and defeat the bad guys. Then Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox make out some more. After that, "Three Weeks in a Helicopter" almost sounds plausible.
The way we discipline our children agree with the early conditionings applied to the children of the World State, which include roses and electric shocks, and hyponopaedia. We tend to associate the action with a follow-up consequence in order for the child to understand what he/she did wrong. It is evident that long-night repetitions also use this method to condition the future-citizens of the World State. "Now turn them so that they can see the flowers and books...From the ranks of the crawling babies came little squeals of excitement, gurgles and twitterings of pleasure...there was a violent explosion. Shriller and ever shriller, a siren shrieked. Alarm bells maddeningly sounded...Books and loud noises, flowers and electric shocks-already in the infant mind these couples were compromisingly linked..." (13). After two hundred repetitions of this horrid lesson, the children are bound to associate flowers and books with loud noises and electric shocks. This is similar to the way parents force children into corners, giving them time to "think" about what they did wrong. Some parents may use other tactics, such as spanking, speaking in a loud tone, or anything that would catch the infants' attention through their senses.
Our society greatly depends on the youth to bring hope for future generations and their well-being. Living in the Brave New World certainly leads to an easier lifestyle, seeing that people are given an identity right from the start without having to determine their own future. The citizens of the World State enjoy their jobs and don’t wish to change. One of the qualities of the World State that we happen to greatly envy is their ability to eliminate “temptation.” We get tempted into lying, stealing, and resorting to other sins that we know are wrong. Temptation is a just another one of our human traits that affect our everyday happenings. Also, the terms that Huxley uses for “Brave New World” reflect some of the names of our popular sources, such as “facebook.” These terms are direct, literal interpretations of what we do.
Even though the World State thought that they would benefit by giving up science, art, and religion for community, identity, and stability, our modern society has a strong grip on these three subjects in which we base our inspirations on.
One of the paralles i found really striking was the dependency on "happiness" drugs by both the World State and our culture. We fear and hide from our feelings or emotions by just popping one pill. We don't have an all healing drug like Soma, but we are getting close with the multitude of drugs flooding the market. As we as a society get further away from communication of inner thoughts we get closer and closer toward the extreme.
Also the manipulation of the mind by the governing body in Huxley's world comes terrifingly close to the mass advertising by major corporations. Everywhere you look you are immersed in persuasive ads that assauge your distintive personality to get you to consume.
Oops, I forgot to answer the second part of the question.
I'm not actually vehemently opposed to living in the Brave New World. It would be admirable to say that I would never give up free thinking for health and peace, but what if I or someone I love were diagnosed with a terminal illness? Would I still choose free thinking over life and health? If I were given the choice of being born in the World State or being born here, I really don't know which I would choose, and that is what scares me.
Part 1: Whether or not I would want to live in such a society as Brave New World depends on how I come into the World State. Obviously, if I come into the World State as a conditioned caste-assigned person, I would be perfectly happy to live a happy, somaful life. However, transitioning from this life to this Utopia would be extremely difficult. I view it as John views it: I want to be able to “claim the right to be unhappy” (240). As much as I despise being depressed or angry or jealous or put-down, it is what makes me human. To be able to have free will, the ability to choose what I want, is a tremendous privilege to have. By living in the World State, I give up that right, which means giving up my individuality.
Part 2: Brave New World is a novel foreshadowing the direction that our world today is heading towards. Even though it is an over-exaggeration of how Huxley saw what this world was becoming, it was a pretty accurate prediction of the future. Two parallels that struck me were the World State’s obsession with consumerism and hypnopaedia.
The World State has eliminated everything that would be considered as “non-consumerist.” As such, the World State conditioned people to fear nature and flowers (things enjoyed in one’s free time) because people are not able to consume the market if they are too preoccupied with nature. This parallels to how our world is obsessed with buying the latest gadgets, accessories, and clothes. Furthermore, we go into war in order to consume. War induces factory production, which induces consumerism. Although the World State has eliminated war, the idea of consuming at any expense is one that can be seen in both worlds.
Hypnopaedia plays an important role in the World State because half of what its citizens know are phrases implanted in their subconscious. Phrases such as “Every one works for every one else”, “everybody’s happy now,” and “…Alpha children wear grey. They work much harder than we do, because they’re so frightfully clever. I’m really awfully glad I’m a Beta…And then we are much better than the Gammas and Deltas… I’m so glad I’m a Beta” are conditioned to children at a very early age (74, 75, 27). These repetitions can be found in the advertisements that we watch on television or in a magazine. The most common and easily remembered advertisements have a catchy jingle, which is often implanted in your memory. Another are the clichés and metaphors that we use simply because they are popular phrases, not because we know how to use them correctly. It is automatic that we go to them as it is with the people in the World State.
Everyone is the result of their conditioning. The conditioning is extremely obvious in Brave New World, but no less important in our own world. From what our parents say to what we see our friends do, we are the result of conditioning. This is the crucial intersection between the two worlds. Our belief in capitalism proves this. We love capitalism for no other reason than we grew up with it. The fact that some Americans dismiss the idea of nationalized health care on the basis of socialist associations (not based on merit) demonstrates how many in our society have not broken through the wax of our capitalist conditioning. We think of socialism as a bad thing not because it isn’t useful but because we have been taught that it is bad. As Huxley describes, “It had made them accept, not merely as true, but as axiomatic, self-evident, utterly indisputable.” (Chapter 3) There are numerous examples of this in our current society. Our value systems are based on our conditioning. We think that the sexual promiscuity in BNW is immoral because our society tells us that it is immoral. Our society decides what is right and wrong and most of us follow society unquestioning. If we had been raised in BNW we would accept it as readily as we accept our own society. The crucial difference between the two worlds is the possibly of change. In BNW, those who seek progress are sent to islands but in our society, they actually have a chance of transforming society. This change derives itself on the basis of reason. We can use logic to undermine conditioning because subjective stability. Mond censors the young scientist’s paper in BNW because he thinks it could upset stability. He realizes that when our training confronts reason, the confliction upsets us and allows us to disregard our conditioning.
The divorce of the concepts of sex and reproduction is happening now. Prolific use of birth control, the institution of abortion, and sterilization (not necessarily bad things) could potentially lead to a world not unlike that shown by the World State. Compounding the problem is the inevitability of the destruction of monogamy, or rather -gamy, or marriage/life partnerships, in general. Without the age old fear of children to divide us there is very little standing in the way of sexual promiscuity. And without the love of children to connect us, "love" of one another will soon die out as well. Thank God for STDs as long as they exist.
The world we live in now does have some common aspects from BNW. Millions of dollars are spent on how to effectively make people buy products they don't really need and unfortunately the world wouldn't work if we didn't consume and buy the way we do. People need to make money somehow, and some people's job is to sell things. I believe things are good in moderation.
A parallel I noticed between the BNW society and today’s world is the dependence on soma as compared to the casual abuse of prescription drugs for those who don’t really need them. That connection makes itself pretty evident when Bernard and Lenina go to visit the savage reservation. When they return to the hotel, Lenina is so devastated by the “traumatic” events that she decides to take three soma pills. Perspectively; in today’s society when something upsets us, instead of trying to solve the problem we rely on drugs to mask them.
Another parallel I noticed was between BNW’s hyponopedia and today’s hypnotism. The story about Ruben Rabinovich and how he memorized the facts about the Nile river while is slept is not dissimilar to those who listen to tapes to help them memorize facts and speeches.
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