Neil Postman Brave New World Essay

Write an essay explaining the extent to which you believe the export of American popular culture has proven Postman right or wrong. Refer to at least three sources.

A brave new world is emerging as America paves the way for globalization. And with it comes new changes that spur new visions for the future. From visions of an oppressive, totalitarian government as painted by George Orwell’s 1984 to portrayals of a homogeneous society created within Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, many warn about the dangers large change can bring. Media critic, Neil Postman, suggests that the state of the world resembles Huxley’s vision more than Orwell’s, and his claim is not unfounded. With the advent of globalization, Postman’s suggestion that the world

is heading toward Huxley’s portrayal of society is seen in America’s influence on the world through its domination of cultural presence, the appeals of its ideas and way of life, and its exertion of soft power.
To begin with, America’s cultural domination in other countries suppress the identity of other cultures.

In the Middle East, many Arabs hold the opinion that American media is a threat to their Muslim identity by portraying them as terrorists and indoctrinating their youth with American influences (Havrilesky). Huxley’s Brave New World holds the theme of suppressing the truth by “drowning it in a sea of irrelevance” which America does with its widespread media. In 2006, over ⅔ of the movies in Europe were American and further its cultural dominance through its mass spread of written text (as an example, nine English-language books are translated into German for every German book translated into English) (Joffe). The export of American culture has given new identities to pre-existing cultures by stereotyping them into a general category and blots out the media of other cultures by burying it with their own. Like the World State in Brave New World pushes society to be uniform, America does the same by pushing other cultures to be like it. The idea of globalization to just be an extension of American influence is how it is perceived by other countries as seen in a Japanese newspaper referring to globalization as “The American-Instigated Globalization” (Friedman). There’s so much of America being spread across the globe than other countries that it seems more like Americanization rather than what globalization was supposed to be: a contribution by the entire world. This process

of Americanization has extended to the point where other cultures desire to be American at the cost of their own identity.
In seeking a more Americanized culture by other societies, Huxley’s fear of becoming a trivial culture with its own desire being its downfall comes to life.

Many people desire American media to the extent that they will break the law to attain it in countries where that content is illegal to be broadcast (Straughan). American culture is loved by many, but it’s not just its media that’s attractive but its way of life as well. In Jerusalem, the opening of a simple McDonald’s was significant enough to be put on the news and attract thousands of people (Friedman). At the sight of an American fast food chain, many Israelis were eager to grab a bite of Big Mac in a nation rather than try to protect their holy city from American influence. The number of new opportunities brought about by globalization are attracting youths of different societies who not only lack interest in their culture but also have a desire to escape it in favor of the “American dream” (Appiah). When given the chance to embrace American culture, many choose to accept it even at a cost to their own culture. American movies, T.V shows, and fast food places are the modern equivalent to the feelies and centrifugal bumblepuppy in Brave New World. People are more preoccupied with the American life than they are with preserving the life they came

from.
Huxley’s theme of government control through satisfying the needs of the citizens in Brave New World is seen in modern society through America’s use of soft power, getting what you want through attraction, to make Americanization desired. The process of America adopting the use soft power has been called for by many American thinkers and even by the Defense Secretary of the U.S (Nye Jr). The World State in Brave New World did not rely on violent methods such as torture or the secret police to control its population such as in 1984 but instead made its citizens so happy, soft power in a sense, that they didn’t care about their loss of freedom. America utilizes the same methods by investing more into its use of soft power through its politics and culture and less into its military as a means to be more influential within the world. In fact, America has gained so much soft power through its cultural presence into ubiquity that other European countries cannot displace its control without adopting American culture itself. (Joffe). Even with the intent of opposition, foreign nations find the American model valuable and will imitate it which furthers the process of Americanization. And the citizens, who are already infatuated with the American world, will wholeheartedly accept this change and not have a desire to leave. If a more attractive culture should ever arise, the roots that make up American culture will still remain, and the idea of a uniform society draws ever closer.
Ultimately, the cultures of other societies seem so trivial in comparison to the amount of American culture that has been spread across the globe, yet its alluring prospects makes it all the more desirable by the cultures being suppressed. The effects of American-led globalization goes hand-in-hand with the themes of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. From the suppression of individualism with the influences of American media to the preoccupation of the citizens with pleasurable Big Macs, movies, and T.V shows, the world embraces the American change. As Neil Postman suggested, a brave new world is coming.