Dystopia In Brave New World

How far does the film reflect the dystopian concerns of the selected novel?

We selected Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. Brave New World’s world is one of eternal artificial happiness. In a way, the world is a utopia, a place where everyone is contended. However, when one digs deeper, seeking further understanding, one would realise that pseudo felicity is the only form of joy offered. Happiness is created through a strict control over art, science and religion, along with a ration of happiness-inducing drugs and an abundance of sex. Four characters stand out, able to see past the lies. Bernard Marx, an unorthodox human in this dystopian world. Helmholtz Watson, the perfect man in the eyes of just about everyone in this world, who is unable

In this scene, John and Bernard, who both hate what the World State (The organisation that Mustapha works for) stands for, clash with Mustapha in Mustapha’s office, each trying to convince each other why their own ideologies are better. The film explores two of the three elements that the World State controls, art and science. John tries to explain why Shakespeare is still relevant despite its historic age while Bernard argues that science is everything. Bernard is subsequently exiled to an island while John surrenders to the hopelessness of the dystopia and takes his life in the most cruel way possible, with his own hands, he hangs himself and dies from

Furthermore, we excluded the debate over the relevance of a higher being as it is of lesser importance than the two other elements. Despite the film cutting several aspects from the original story, we firmly believe that the overall message is still retained; John and Bernard loses to Mustapha, civilisation being conquered by dystopia. However, the retention of the overall message does not mean that the adaptation can be watched individually. Reading the novel is still necessary, without it only a glimpse of the main message of the story is able to be received. By watching the adaption only, the audience is only getting a fraction of what the novel has to offer. Additionally, as the adaptation jumps directly into the climax of the story, the tension of the scene is downplayed severely. In the book, this is the moment where the light of civilisation is given the chance to purge the darkness of dystopia. The book has had the reader experience 15 chapters of artificial happiness. This scene is the literal definition of capturing the reader’s attention. This scene is the moment where a chance of breaking free from the shackles of the dystopian world. Naturally, the verbal battle between John and Mustapha creates a tense atmosphere. However, the adaptation forgoes the tension and excitement of the scene. Reading the book is