The Current State Of Culture And Society

Take a ponder about this: think about all of the books that are revolved around ideas of the future, and all of its preposterous features that are involved with the general topic. Considering this is a very popular topic there are copious amounts of books with the same topic, but to me, there is one that sticks out the most, and that would be 1984 by George Orwell. In this book, George Orwell writes about these ideas in an intriguing way that helps gives us a divergent idea of what life would be like if some of our daily enjoyments were completely forbidden. As the book can be a bit puzzling at times, Orwell used literary devices such as aphorisms, foil, and juxtaposition to help us understand the true meaning behind of it.

American culture has been referred to as a “melting pot.” Different cultures have added their own distinct aspects to society, making America a diverse country. Despite the plethora of cultures, certain norms, mores, and folkways are evident in American society. These ideas are vital to the function and stability of America. They provide guidelines for what is acceptable and not. In virtually every society, there are people who engage in deviant behavior and do not abide by the values that the rest of society follows. Theorists have debated if people are socialized into acting this way and if it is a social or personal problem. The sociological study of culture focuses on norms, mores, and folkways.

Projections that have been made about how today’s society and culture will look in the coming years, decades, and centuries, all have yet to be seen in how valid they are. If you look in any sort of media: television, social media, or radio/music, you will see people giving their interpretations of what will become of our world down the road. Yet, few people look to see how our the current state of culture and society reflect the projections made by people in previous years, decades, and centuries. In looking at the visions of the future presented by both novelas, The Time Machine by H.G. Wells, and The Machine Stops by E.M. Forster, each story presents aspects of society that prominently appear today. Written during the Industrial Revolution, a time where technology and human innovation was at one of its highest points in recent history, both stories explore the possible effects of the machinery that was becoming evermore present. Both authors present aspects such as omnipotent technology, decaying human independence, and destruction of real communication, to create the artistic statement that complacency is rising within the human race, and that complacency will eventually lead to the fall of mankind. In both stories, the authors speak against human complacency and deference to technology, warning that it will lead to the creation of weaker people and society that will ultimately destroy the human race, yet that complacency is present in today’s culture and due to the

Both novels can be seen as a “warning” sign for the upcoming generations; warning them about the ramifications of uncontrolled

Everyone wonders how the future will be. What will change, what will stay the same? Everyone has their own views and scenarios on the future just as Brave New world and Divergent do. Brave New World and Divergent both take a look at the theme of social stability by analyzing setting, perspective and control. They both depict the future to be divided into five factions or castes where everyone is designated to a specific one. However, that may not always be the case as these two works show.

In our society now, our way of life is changing and it is not what it use to be back then. Our society is becoming more attracted to all of these new technologies in our lives, people are beginning to talk more on the phones and not in person. Music is becoming a problem, where people uses it to block out the world around them by using earbuds. The internet is causing people to be less responsible in their daily lives and make stupid decisions. As well people use the internet to blame other people for their own troubles or the nation’s troubles, which is ruining our society. Almost everything is changing in our society, and Ray Bradbury predicted all of this in his book, Fahrenheit 451. His predictions on how people act in our society now are mostly correct, but the most notable are about technology affecting interaction, responsibility, and marriage.

When most people think of the forthcoming, they think of the evolution of technology. Yet, the novel Anthem by Ayn Rand contrasts your thoughts of the impending. This future date in the story is a dark age where technological advancements are planned out and individuality is nonexistent. The protagonist, Equality 7-2521 is a noble an independent young man who challenges the rules of the Society, who is the antagonist of the novel. Being that Society opposes self freedom and voice, Equality 7-2521 is in a constant battle to hide his true feelings throughout the plot. Equality 7-2521 progresses the plot by showing the readers how he chooses to deal with the Society's rules. Also demonstrating how he decides to break away from the Society when it becomes too overwhelming.

You will hardly come upon your first view within the pages of this book without realizing that you have been brought into contact with something altogether new, something new and at variance with the traditions of other days. If you are like most of us, you will wonder if the future is to look like this, and, if it does, what your place is to be in it.

In E.M. Forster’s short story “The Machine Stops”, he portrays a dark dystopian society that is encapsulated by the Machine in which they all worship; this is analogous to society today being so attracted to technology. The story takes on a very dark and dull tone to help convey his purpose of pointing out that society is too dependant on technology. Forster develops his dystopian society by showing their social norms and what happens when the said technology fails them. He connects dystopian factors in the story to common day things. For example, he alludes to God, satirizes society’s dependence on technology, and shows the effects technology has had on humanity to help emphasize society’s reliance on technology.

At what point will society place a dependence upon technological advancements rather than the curiosity and interactions of mankind? With the constant acceleration of improvements within technology and any piece of information readily available many authors, artists, and individuals question the natural world as each generation more elaborately explores the innovative approaches towards science and technology. E.M. Forster’s short story, “The Machine Stops,” is based upon a fear of the technological revolution, and it introduces the audience to a utopian society facing multiple forms of isolation as a result of his society reaching complete dependence upon the technology of the Machine. The society’s reliance upon the Machine creates a divide between those who display an adoration and worship towards the Machine versus citizens who prevail and fight for their individual freedom. E.M. Forster illustrates the role he foresees technology to play in the end of human civilization through an exaggerated vision of the effects that technology leaves on our lives, which helps the audience to better understand our present day society properly.

The year 1932, nearly a hundred years prior to now, Aldous Huxley published his insurgent science fiction novel Brave New World. In the novel he foretells of the impending baby boom that comes nearly a half century later, he tells of a government that drugs its citizens in order to keep them in line, and of advancements in technology, that at the time were unheard of. They divided everyone up among social class (alpha, beta, etc.… just like they do in today’s world. Middle class, poor class, etc.). Aldous Huxley changed the science fiction genre by accurately predicting the future nearly as far as half a century due to his intellect.

Throughout time numerous individuals have attempted to predict what the future holds for our society. If one was to narrow their focus on the past century they would see the works and predictions of Aldous Huxley and George Orwell. Both Huxley and Orwell, as one could infer, composed novels that describe future societies and their inner workings. Aldous Huxley, author of Brave New World, where members of society originate from a lab and who’s lives are pre-determined by the controllers. The controllers of Huxley’s futuristic society’s fundamental goal is to create an ideal community where every member achieves optimal happiness through the lives that are chosen for them and through the use of a euphoria inducing drug named Soma. The main

In many cases when you read a novel you may find comparisons between the "fictional" society and your realistic one. The author may consciously or unconsciously create similarities between these two worlds. The novelist can foresee the future and write according to this vision. In Brave New World, Adlous Huxley envisions the future of our society and the dangerous direction it is headed in.

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.

Throughout this semester our literary material dealt with themes of technology, modernization, the imponderable bloom, human nature, and truth to name a few of the most overarching. Each text has woven an impression of the possible near future for humanity if the patterns we are creating continue at an exponential rate. Patterns such as consumerism, neglecting unpleasurable emotions, using drugs, and controlling the environment for our short term benefits will write an unsavory and inevitable future. Science Fiction often reflects on society by exaggerating their negative characteristics and advancements to seem far-out, but often it is ironic how close many aspects of the fiction are a direct reflection of the present condition. Even now, the possibilities of utopias and dystopias forming are not so out of reach. The ability of our culture to control an entire population with a self-satisfied culture of vices outfitted with technology is less and less science fiction as the years pass.