The Importance Of Ideology In Science Fiction

Utopia, according to Google, is defined as an imagined place or state of things in which everything is perfect. The biggest concept to understand as a person analyzing literature is that a utopia cannot ever exist, there is always going to be flaws and they will often be destructive. In Brave New World, Aldous Huxley uses the utopian society archetype to show that the citizens give up their identity and give into conformity. Through this, Huxley reveals that in any society we assimilate to the social norm of society to be happy, thus compromising our identity for happiness.

Utopia is usually defined as a place of ideal perfection, an ideal world; although this concept is rather ambiguous and is widely debated in contemporary society. The notion of an ideal world originated from More’s text Utopia, in which Hythloday describes his ideal world, although More disagrees. This leads to the conceptualisation of utopias being subjective, as people are influenced by their respective texts, cultures and values when they envisage an ideal world. Ray Bradbury’s There Will Come Soft Rains (1950), part of his anthology The Martian Chronicles, demonstrates the influence of technology and nature on mankind, and how it has contributed to our perspective of future utopias. The context of the use of destructive technology in World War II, especially the atomic bomb is used

“Utopia” has a section entitled The Travels [And Trade] of the Utopians and within this section, there are some ideas that have to be present within these past few months. First off, “anyone who wants to visit friends in another city, or simply to see the place itself, can easily obtain

Popular fictions texts expressing views of the future educate audiences about current issues and the dystopias that develop from them. Texts such as the film ‘Gattaca’, directed by Andrew Niccol and novel ‘Fahrenheit 451’ by Ray Bradbury explore futuristic societies and the implications that become of their innovation. Although entertaining, texts such as these are didactic and must be taken seriously, as they communicate messages to audiences regarding prevalent concerns and possible futures based on society’s choices.

The idea of a ‘Utopia’ is captivating to many people. Utopia is defined as a “perfect society”, where there exist no flaws between relationships, economic standards, political standards, and more. Many stories feature caricatures of utopias, such as Harrison Bergeron.

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

Several conflicting frames of mind have played defining roles in shaping humanity throughout the twentieth century. Philosophical optimism of a bright future held by humanity in general was taken advantage of by the promise of a better life through sacrifice of individuality to the state. In the books Brave New World, 1984, and Fahrenheit 451 clear opposition to these subtle entrapments was voiced in similarly convincing ways. They first all established, to varying degrees of balance, the atmosphere and seductiveness of the “utopia” and the fear of the consequences of acting in the non-prescribed way through character development. A single character is alienated because of their inability to conform – often in protest to the forced

Speaker: Who is the speaker? Is he or she a trustworthy source? How do you know? Provide proof.

Over time many texts have been created which depict future societies and the governmental systems that may exist. Generally due to the nature of the sci-fi genre, these texts portray a utopian or dystopian world. These texts provide what we may see as extreme portrayals of certain issues or events and what role humans play in the future

The formative years of the 1900’s, suffered from communism, fascism, and capitalism. The author of the Brave New World, Mr. Aldous Huxley lived in a social order in which he had been exposed to all three of these systems. In the society of the Brave New World, which is set 600 years into the future, individuality is not condoned and the special motto “Community, Identity, Stability” frames the structure of the Totalitarian Government.

The science-fiction film genre serves as an excellent medium for examining shifting power structures, social paranoia and Cold War politics during the 1950s. A number of films released during this period, including: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), Them (1954) and Attack of the 50ft Woman (1958), are particularly symptomatic of the social and political atmosphere of the time. These films navigate not only narrative based issues such as the threat of aliens and science experiments gone wrong; but also wider issues of the time, such as the Cold War, changes in the US film industry, urbanisation, politics, the growing power of women and most significantly, social concern about nuclear energy.

On the bright side, ideology is a good thing because it is necessary for a government to run smoothly. The four things ideology provides are all healthy components of living in a civilization. A sense of identity brings people together and make it easier for them to align themselves with the mass, while a sense of history lets people know where they come from and where they are going. Having a moral structure creates a scale for people to measure what is right and wrong, while demanding action ensures that when things are not going properly, people will have the tools necessarily in order catalyse change. Ideology is politically beneficial, although it does sometimes translate into feeding the public lies. However, this lies are not aimed toward keeping people in the dark. They are used to gently ease the public into understand truths, rather than presenting the truth to them all at once. Ideology is beneficial to the government while simultaneously keeping the citizen’s best interest in mind. Ideology is not something that should be feared, but rather something that should be accepted and appreciated because it hold civilizations

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.

Moreover, the positive messages embedded in science fiction works can have powerful influence on the audience and the society, both locally and globally. In particular, most of the messages embedded are prompted by the past events of world history or by the contemporary social phenomena, and

From its preface, More expends a substantial amount of effort to persuade readers that Utopia is real. He layers facts into the text, with his initial ‘letter’ to Peter Giles, his use of real life references (Amerigo Vespucci (10), John Morton (15), Giles and More himself), and his conversation with Raphael Hythloday amidst an actual visit to Antwerp for diplomatic business. His indefatigable attention to detail, such as when he struggles with the length of a bridge over the Anyder (5), and his microscopic descriptions of Utopian society, serve to reinforce his credibility, and its authenticity. By going to such lengths to create a vivid and realistic Utopia, More wants readers to believe that Utopia can exist, and approach it as a serious piece of work.