One aspect of this video that I found compelling would be the commentary discussing Orwell and Huxley's predictions for the future of society in regards to media. Orwell's believed that society would become "deprived of information," and would be overcome by an externally imposed oppression, like a dictatorship. Huxley believed that society would be deterred from the truth by having the media be filled with fluffer stories and material that would captivate societies attention by searing them away from the true problems occurring. Huxley believed that society would “be drowned in a sea of irrelevance.” In this vision, no Big Brother is required to deprive people of their autonomy, maturity, and history. As he saw it, people will come to love
With the power hungry Party and the most acknowledged face of Big Brother watching and monitoring everybody, the story of “1984” by George Orwell expresses the utmost control over their people and have the absolute power with their country Oceania. The Party believes that Big Brother will live on forever, because of the constant removal of those who are unfaithful and the rewriting of history. However, with the example of the main character showing disobedience against the Party, there is a chance for this type of ruling to fail and be destroyed by the people. The main possible cause of the fall of Big Brother is most likely the underestimation of the power of the people.
Huxley’s Brave New World is a perfect depiction of twenty first century’s societal conditioning. Although Huxley envisioned his theory coming to fruition more than five decades forward, we can identify many areas in our society that Huxley speaks about. In today’s society media is the most important role in conditioning our society. How can one keep their individuality secure in a world that doesn’t allow for one express their individuality? Huxley’s extreme use of satire helps develop the idea that, Society has some how adopted this false illusion of psychological happiness through media and propaganda.
The juxtaposition of Big Brother in George Orwell’s 1984 with our present day government and social media presence in the United States demonstrates the imminent danger of imposing figures who control both the actions and thoughts of its citizens. Throughout the novel, the narrator depicts Big Brother as a controlling force that takes technology and surveillance of the citizens of Oceania too far. Similarly, in today’s society, we are constantly bombarded with new technology by the government and social media that demands and records our actions as well as our inner thoughts. As Winston navigates his dangerous and dilapidated world, one can uncover parallels between his relationship with Big Brother and our relationship with the government
Totalitarianism diminishes the idea of individuality and destroys all chances of self-improvement, and human’s natural hunger for knowledge. In George Orwell’s famous novel, “1984”, totalitarianism is clearly seen in the exaggerated control of the state over every single citizen, everyday, everywhere. Totalitarianism can also be seen in the book “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley, in which humans are synthetically made and conditioned for their predestinated purpose on earth. The lack of individualism will lead a community towards a dystopia in which freedom is vanished by the uncontrolled power of the state.
Who is God? As both an existential and conceptual force, God exists as an median between birth, life, and death as a way to either provoke or stifle the human spirit.
As man has progressed through the ages, there has been, essentially, one purpose. That purpose is to arrive at a utopian society, where everyone is happy, disease is nonexistent, and strife, anger, or sadness is unheard of. Only happiness exists. But when confronted with Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, we come to realize that this is not, in fact, what the human soul really craves. In fact, Utopian societies are much worse than those of today. In a utopian society, the individual, who among others composes the society, is lost in the melting pot of semblance and world of uninterest. The theme of Huxley's Brave New World is community, identity, and stability. Each of these three themes represents what a Brave New World society needs
Can Big Brother decide what is real and what isn't? Yes, they can. They torture people until they are hallucinating and they see what Big Brother wants them to see. He controls the past by restricting the constituents(the people) from keeping a record of what they go through daily. Any form of the past is thrown into “memory holes” located all around Oceana, thus enabling Big Brother to control the past, present, and meir future.
In George Orwell’s 1984, he describes a dystopian universe under the control of the all-powerful Big Brother. Winston Smith, an ordinary man and member of the Outer Party, works in the Ministry of Truth department where he alters documents and rewrites history as a way for the government to maintain control. Winston begins to realize the issues that come along with Big Brother, and the totalitarianism government that is running Oceania. He begins hating Big Brother and the Party and begins to secretly search for the rumoured rebellion group, the Brotherhood. While doing so, he falls in love with Julia, who hates Big Brother as much as he does. Together, they seek out O’Brien, whom they believe to be a member of the Brotherhood. He is their
In conclusion, it is safe to say that Huxley 's utopia went about achieving its status in the wrong way. Mankind has lost its free will to the controlling powers of a system. This system cannot be called government, as it is more akin in characteristics to slavery. Man no longer has freewill and order is kept not through respect and intellect, but via degeneration and conduct. The former sections of this essay present strategies and techniques used to maintain order in a society of individuals. Finally, it may be argued that the Brave New World protects society by locking them in a cage of ignorance; however, this is at the cost of freedom, and this is unacceptable. Mankind needs be free in order to progress as has been explained. Protection is all well and good but not at the cost of
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley depicts a future that seems happy and stable on the surface, but when you dig deeper you realize that it is not so bright at all. People almost autonomously fall in line to do what they have been taught to do through constant conditioning and hypnopædia. Neil Postman’s argument that Huxley’s book is becoming more relevant than George Orwell’s 1984 is partly true. Huxley’s vision of the future is not only partly true, but it is only the beginning of what is to come.
“Community, Identity, Stability.” -- The motto that shapes and defines the entire civilized world. Civilians like Lenina believe that the motto has given them their individual freedom. “I am free. Free to have the most wonderful time. Everybody's happy nowadays.” (Page 79) Ironically, Huxley was trying to convey the exact opposite message. The motto really speaks of a heavy price paid -- freedom in exchange for collective happiness. Freedom to feel, freedom of identity, and the freedom to know and create. It is too heavy a price, perhaps, because freedom is never dear at any
This essay aims to note the various ways in which our modern times share, although diluted, notable aspects central to the dystopian cities in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and the setting called Oceania in 1894 by George Orwell. In both novels the reality of its citizens have been sculpted by a direct effort from the residing government. Their aim is principally at controlling the one facet that guides and motivates humans, their seeking of pleasure. Their approaches are extreme and are complete opposite from one another, yet strangely enough, both authors predicted and warned about a future that, scary enough, has common aspects that are easy to point out in our own society.
As many author’s and directors do, the novel Nineteen Eighty Four by George Orwell uses many different symbols to portray individual messages for the reader. This consists of the association to Big Brother, the diary used by Winston, the gin and cigarettes that always happen to be available and the character of Goldstein.
Imagine living in a world where you could not make your own choices, or be your own person. In the novel 1984, this is exactly what happened. In a place called Oceania where there is no such thing as privacy and personal freedom (Roelofs), the main character Winston Smith, is living a strict life under the demanding party known as Big Brother. Winston decides that he wants his life back to normal and tries to rebel against the Party. Meanwhile, he is thought to be a lunatic because he is living his life how a normal person would, but everyone else is now living under what is thought to be a utopia society. Throughout the book Winston strongly disagrees with the fact that every second he is being keep under surveillance. Though at some points he believes he is being discrete, in reality someone is always watching. In 1984, George Orwell depicts the lack of privacy and loss of individualism which affects the characters and the society as a whole.
I consider both Orwell and Huxley’s opinions. The concepts they put forth are intriguing, but Orwell’s demonstrates more relevance. In our modern 21st century, information is effortlessly kept from the public. The government decides what material is to be shown to the public and what is not. Who is to say how many scandals the public are unaware of due to the constraint from the government(s)? We don’t even receive the very little information we deserve as to what conversations the President of the United States is having. With this in mind, anyone who objects the government, especially through literature, is undoubtedly considered militant despite them only wanting necessary awareness.