A Comparison of Brave New World and Blade Runner Essay

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley depicts a future world that has mechanized and removed all sense of life to being human. In this world, people work for the common good of the community and are conditioned to dislike what, today, we would consider common and healthy relationships with people and environments. The story follows a man, John, not born into the culture and his struggle with the unfamiliarity with the “Brave New World”. Published in 1932, Brave New World often leaves roots back to the world Aldous was in when he was writing the novel. I believe the genius of Huxley’s writing was his ability to effectively select the traits of 1930’s society that would later become a staple for Americanism in the coming century and, in time, allowing for a relatable story to the modern day while giving us warning to the future.

Both the film Gattaca (directed by Andrew Niccole) and the novel Brave New World (written by Aldous Huxley) are of the dystopian genre and explore the notions of mass control and freedom; or lack of freedom. Both societies are controlled by a totalitarian dictatorship that push their suppressive ideologies- genoism in Gattaca, and the complete eradication of viviparous births and the implementation of a caste system in Brave New World. Characters in both dystopian worlds challenge the rules and expectations of their societies. In Brave New World, Bernard Marx and John Savage rebel against the World State, albeit to different extents. In Gattaca, Vincent Freeman and Jerome ‘Eugene’ Morrow oppose their society ruled by genoism.

In the novel, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, Huxley includes allusion, ethos, and pathos to mock the wrongdoings of the people which causes physical and mental destruction in the society as a whole. The things that happened in the 1930’s plays a big contribution to the things that go on in the novel. The real world can never be looked at as a perfect place because that isn't possible. In this novel, Huxley informs us on how real life situations look in his eyes in a nonfictional world filled with immoral humans with infantile minds and a sexual based religion.

     1984 and Brave New World, written by George Orwell and Aldous Huxley, respectively, are both books that reflect the authors vision of how society would end up at the course it was going at the time of the writing of the book. Both books were written more than fifty years ago, but far enough apart that society was going in a totally different direction at the time. There are many ways to compare these two books and point out the similarities. On certain, deep levels they are very much the same, while at first glance, on the surface, they are very different. One point that in some parts is the same and some very different, is the governments in each of these books method’s of control.

Contrastingly, the modern, technologically driven world of Blade Runner conveys man’s usurption of nature caused through his arrogance and desire for dominance. In this contrastingly industrialized, scientifically grounded world, nature has been relentlessly exploited and commodified, as man has attempted to ‘penetrate into the recesses’. The allusion to the Promethean myth through the symbolic use of fire is seen in the opening scenes of shooting fire, intercut with close up shots of an eye, symbolically representing fire as having the potential to both nurture and destroy life. The ignorance and metaphorical blindness of man, is highlighted through the self-imposed destruction of humanity, as nature is obliterated in favour of ‘commerce (being our) goal”, symbolically representing the destruction of our natural

A Comparison of the Themes of Blade Runner and Brave New World ‘Humanity likes to think of itself as more sophisticated than the wild yet it cannot really escape its need for the natural world’ Despite different contexts both Aldous Huxley within his book Brave New World and Ridley Scott in the film Blade Runner explore the idea that humans feel themselves more sophisticated than the natural world, yet are able to completely sever relations between humanity and the nature. Through various techniques both texts warn their varied audiences of the negative ramifications that will come from such disdainful, careless opinions and actions. All aspects of the ‘New State’ within Aldous

Ridley Scott’s film Blade Runner reflects some of the key themes seen in Mary Shelley’s classic novel Frankenstein. For one, both the sources touch on the necessity of creators taking responsibility for their creations. Another key theme established in both works is the idea that emotional complexity and knowledge, over memory and appearance, allow people to be defined as human beings.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner, whilst separated by 174 years, feature very similar content which can be seen by comparing the two side by side. Coming from different contexts, they both express their anxieties about technology, which is shown through a man made creature, and they both exhibit a strong valuing of nature. However due to their different contexts, these ideas are represented differently. The medium of production is clearly different, as is the representation of the creature and whether or not they are able to assimilate into society. In both texts the responder

“War is peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength”, These are the moral codes and social conventions citizens of George Orwell's 1984 live by. With high level surveillance and publicly inflicted ideologies that promote the governing force puppeteering its nation, 1984 shares shocking similarities with increased security, political power and technology seen in today's world. In the same vein, Ridley Scott's dystopian futuristic thriller Blade Runner, set in an overpopulated, corrupt, corporation governed world can be compared to the world of today in terms of the rapid development in technology and the political influence large corporations can have on governments. Both texts create a futuristic world that is able to form connections with its audience to varying degrees. But how do George Orwell's 1984 and Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner depicted futuristic worlds specifically relate to the audience of today?

Bound by different contexts, authors often use a popular medium in order to depict the discontent of the ideas of society. This is evident in the module Texts in Time; as Blade Runner, having been written more than one hundred years after Frankenstein is still able to reflect the ideas proposed in the latter. Blade Runner by Ridley Scott deals with the effects of globalisation and consumerism during 1980’s. Alternatively, the epistolary novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley deals with the kinship to the natural world set in the Romantic Era and enlightenment period. However Blade Runner, although subjected by a different context, also portrays a similar idea to Frankenstein; the fear of science and technology coupled with the value of the definition of a human. Through this commonality, we are able to utilise the values of Blade Runner in order to truly understand Shelley’s purpose.

The central theme of Bladerunner is the relationship between humanity and nature. More specifically it has a purpose in showing how science can negatively influence this fragile relationship. Set in Los Angeles of 2019 we see the decadence of western society into an inhumane harsh impersonal, technology-dominated realm. The inhabitants who fight for their daily survival are in desperate want for nature, contact with which is denied to them by the unrestricted scientific progress and the consequent exploitation of the natural world conducted for the sole purpose of profit. Humanity is also losing touch with it’s own nature. The compassion, the empathy, the love and the emotion are all rare or absent. This ailing relationship between

In order to achieve false happiness; they used technology and drugs to make the society a perfect “heaven”. In the Utopian society, people are assumed to be in a world of sunshine and bluebonnets, and not care what lies beyond their Ford society. Technology is the mastermind in producing the perfect society, and the people are their lab rats. Drugs are used to hallucinate things, make us happy, and live a dreamlike life. Is having false happiness the best thing, do we need to forget what makes us humans, or do need to be robots and follow the Ford’s commands?

Both Brave New World and Blade Runner echo and challenge the classic understandings of what it means to be human; but both challenge the classic understandings from Gregory of Nyssa, Pico, and John Locke more than they echo them. Each dystopian perspective characteristic of science fiction gives us unique warnings for us to take responsibility for our shared human future. With Blade Runner warning us more about advancement of technology that becomes more and more self-aware, while also bringing large concerns for the wellbeing of the planet. Where Brave New World, gives us to extremes of predicted ways of living control but happy, and primitive and free, while also, showing concerning side of technological advancements in human reproduction.

Our society has several issues that have yet to be resolved. In the novel Brave New World, the author Aldous Huxley advocates a variety of changes in (relatively) modern society by depicting a dystopian world. Written in 1932, many of the book’s themes are still relevant today.

In the novel, Brave New World, comparison and contrast between the brave new world and the real world, which they refer to as the old world, is very direct in their terms of both worlds. The section of annotations I chose brings an important minor character, named Mustapha Mond. Mond has views on both the new world and old world conveys the biggest theme, in which is the brave “new” world in better than the “old” world. Mond explains how the “old” world is worse than the “new” world. He refers to the “old” world’s negative conflicts, such as wars and the use of nuclear and chemical bombs, and weapons. More specifically, the Nine Year’s War and how the economic collapse. Along with that, is the stress that comes with war, such weapons, economic