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The times have changed, and with them, the customs. Generations of Americans, each with unique cultural influences and identities, have risen and aged over the course of America’s history. The latest generation, in particular, is the product of the past generation’s reforms in civil and individual rights. The Millennials are vastly different from past generations and they are also markedly unalike each other. The conduct of the 21st century contrasts sharply with the lifestyles of the 80s and the 90s, never mind the decades before those. This conduct is the product of innovations in technology that have also led to a heightened sense of both security and insecurity, and therefore have led to a new mentality that is set to the tune of control and regulation. Both George Orwell’s 1984 and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World predicted similar futures, with Orwell emphasizing militant suppression, Huxley emphasizing social engineering, and both authors emphasizing totalitarianism. As fictional as the two books are on paper, modern society still has much to fear from those pages. In the shadow of prophecy, America now sees itself stuck in a sorry state caused by digitalization undermining society and law enforcement exploiting the public’s behavior, thus exhibiting horrors of both Oceania and the World State. Age has not softened the implications of these theories on society—it has strengthened them. In the realm of modern privacy, nothing is sacred. The right to privacy is more of a luxury that is present in everyday life, but also subject to retraction by way of a committee’s decision. When officials dismiss some rights for the sake of the common good, the people themselves must protect those rights. In the case of the council of St. L... ... middle of paper ... ...elements of such a society are slowly creeping in. However, it is not clear which type of government would be more likely to dominate, as only subtle clues have supported either argument. However, as things stand with technological advancement, it would not be unjustified to say that this and the past decade are precipitations of Huxley’s fears. Nevertheless, the more troubling fact is that elements of both the fictional nightmares have come to pass, and it is likely that neither 1984 nor Brave New World alone will prove to be prophetic. Instead, America should be wary of a mix of the two dytopias. Since times inevitably change (and with them, the customs), a healthy sense of dissent is never bad, and will never prove to be, as America will need to understand if it is to have any hope of preventing further descent into a Huxleyan or Orwellian domination of the mind.
The novel, 1984, written by George Orwell, gives readers an insight to a possible frightening future where one government has complete and definite control of the people. But “control” might not be the term to describe such a rule. The Party dominates every aspect of life. There is not a single thing that is not under the Party’s rule. Feelings, history, language, statistics, and even human nature are submissive to the Party. They corrupt the mind so much that there is no longer a line that separates truth from a lie. Slogans are repeated through telescreens on a daily basis so the people are gradually forced to believe in illogical statements. Upon first glance, it may seem that a 1984 society is not even imaginable in the world we live in currently. But is it really logical to make such an assumption so quickly? Do we know that what we see on the news and read in our history textbooks is completely accurate? The Internet is one of the most powerful technologies our world has, consisting of an insurmountable amount of information, which is not always what it seems. Ultimately, there are so many things that we do not know, some of which is being held a secret from us. Modern day society shockingly has evidence of a transformation into a menacing 1984 society because of similar government actions and abuse of advanced technology.
To conclude, Postman's analysis that Huxley's vision of the future has become more of a reality than that of Orwell's. Although the present day is not exactly how Huxley had envisioned it, our society will soon reflect the one created in Brave New World if it continues to progress as it had in the past few decades. Orwell's prediction does not hold much relevance in today's society. Our government is not constantly watching over us, they have more important difficulties to overcome. Government is not concerned with the actions of individuals; they base their decisions on the opinions of the masses. Huxley's travesty holds far more relevance than the prestigious social theory of Orwell.
“In every age it has been the tyrant, the oppressor and the exploiter who has wrapped himself in the cloak of patriotism, or religion, or both to deceive and overawe the People.” A quote by Eugene V Debs in his speech in Canton, Ohio, on June 16, 1918. Enter dystopia. In a universe already tarnished by future time and changing, pessimistic ideals or unconventional social standards, tyrants have the tendency to act as the main antagonist who enforce the moral laws of their worlds upon the innocent. And in George Orwell’s 1984 and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, the authors explore the ideas of dystopic tyrants though antagonists O’Brien and Mustapha Mond, who portray their ability to control through their individual societies’ extreme ideals
According to Neil Postman’s Amusing Ourselves to Death, Orwell’s 1984 and Huxley’s Brave New World both predicted that society would eventually be governed by a global totalitarian system; however, the key difference between both their predictions is the method by which society’s cognizance would be undermined. Orwell claimed that contemporary society would be controlled by overt modes of policing and supervising the social hierarchy, whereas Huxley stated that society’s infatuation with entertainment and superficial pleasure alone would be enough for the government to have absolute control over the public. Unfortunately, today’s society is not an Animal Farm. All jokes aside, Postman’s assertion of Huxley’s theory, “what
When George Orwell’s epic novel 1984 was published in 1949 it opened the public’s imagination to a future world where privacy and freedom had no meaning. The year 1984 has come and gone and we generally believe ourselves to still live in “The Land of the Free;” however, as we now move into the 21st Century changes brought about by recent advances in technology have changed the way we live forever. Although these new developments have seamed to make everyday life more enjoyable, we must be cautious of the dangers that lie behind them for it is very possible that we are in fact living in a world more similar to that of 1984 than we would like to imagine.
Imagine a society in which its citizens have forfeited all personal liberties for government protection and stability; Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, explores a civilization in which this hypothetical has become reality. The inevitable trade-off of citizens’ freedoms for government protection traditionally follows periods of war and terror. The voluntary degradation of the citizens’ rights begins with small, benign steps to full, totalitarian control. Major methods for government control and censorship are political, religious, economic, and moral avenues. Huxley’s Brave New World provides a prophetic glimpse of government censorship and control through technology; the citizens of the World State mimic those of the real world by trading their personal liberties for safety and stability, suggesting that a society similar to Huxley’s could exist outside the realm of dystopian science fiction.
George Orwell’s novel, 1984, depicts a dystopian vision of the future, one in which its citizens thoughts and actions are controlled by Big Brother government. This novel relates the ruthless surveillance and lack of privacy of the citizens to government actions today. Totalitarianism, surveillance, and lack of privacy may all be common themes in Orwell’s novel 1984, but are also prevalent in modern day society and government. Many people today have and will continue to dismiss the ideologies mentioned in 1984 as unrealistic predictions which could never occur in the democratic run system they live by today. But, are Orwell’s ideologies completely implausible, or have his predictions already played a hidden role in society?
Brave New World is an unsettling, loveless and even sinister place. This is because Huxley endows his "ideal" society with features calculated to alienate his audience. Typically, reading Brave New World elicits the very same disturbing feelings in the reader which the society it depicts has notionally vanquished - not a sense of joyful anticipation. Huxley's novel presents a startling view of the future which on the surface appears almost comical. His intent, however, is not humor. Huxley's message is dark and depressing. His idea that in centuries to come, a one-world government will rise to power, stripping people's freedom, is not a new idea. What makes Huxley's interpretation different is the fact that his fictional society not only lives in a totalitarian government, but takes an embracive approach like mindless robots. For example, Soma, not nuclear bombs, is the weapon of choice for the World Controllers in Brave New World. The world leaders have realized that fear and intimidation have only limited power; these tactics simply build up resentment in the minds of the oppressed. Subconscious persuasion and mind-altering drugs, on the other hand, appear to have no side effects.
In 1984, George Orwell explores the many facets of a negative utopia. Orwell seems to focus on the measures that the government takes to maintain a public of plebeians who have no personality or identity and believe that they are not unique individuals, but instead are part of a greater senseless mob of people who constantly work for a hostile and oppressive government which is involved in incessant wars. These people are taught to love. They then learn to fear their government because they believe all of the propaganda that is constantly instilled into their minds. They willing follow their government without contest for the duration of their meaningless lives. The government controls all forms of the media (thus denying the people the basic right of free speech) and use it to personify the government (known as “big brother”) .The government therefore seems omnipotent, or all knowing and always correct. Forecasts are changed from one week to the next always proving the government was correct. As was mentioned before, many of the rights that present day Westerners take for gran...
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
The word “privacy” did not grow up with us throughout history, as it was already a cultural concept by our founding fathers. This term was later solidified in the nineteenth century, when the term “privacy” became a legal lexicon as Louis Brandeis (1890), former Supreme Court justice, wrote in a law review article, that, “privacy was the right to be let alone.” As previously mentioned in the introduction, the Supreme Court is the final authority on all issues between Privacy and Security. We started with the concept of our fore fathers that privacy was an agreed upon concept that became written into our legal vernacular. It is being proven that government access to individual information can intimidate the privacy that is at the very center of the association between the government and the population. The moral in...
The fight for privacy rights are by no means a recent conflict. In fact, there was conflict even back in the days before the revolutionary war. One of the most well-known cases took place in England, ...
These futuristic societies show what can happen if we follow governmental rule without questions. Huxley shows us that this can be a “possible shape for things to come” in America’s society if we keep doing what we are doing (Schmerl 38). This can even occur if people stop thinking critically and just follow along. Instead of people choosing their own pursuit of happiness and freedoms, they have the governments choose it for them.
When people predict the future, they usually foresee events or advances that they want to experience, such as world peace or flying cars. This is the case in neither Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World nor George Orwell’s 1984. In both novels, Huxley and Orwell extract their fears from their own minds and place them into a futuristic society. Social critic, Neil Postman, contrasts both of these author’s fears. In his contrast, Postman determines that both Huxley’s fears and representation of a future society are more prevalent in modern society than those of Orwell’s. What makes Postman’s assertion true is the acceptance of oppression and the effects of technology which Huxley’s society and the modern United States share over Orwell’s society in
The values of past generations have been very self-centered. Yet “Generation D”, as it is called, believes in equal rights for all and a strong connection with family and friends. Yet they are so materialistic that the older generations see them as “floozies with credit cards.” This is one of the reasons why there are so many equal rights activists today. Never before has there been such a range of reasons to stand up for ones right. For instance, there are so many organizations to stop violence against people; race, creed, sexuality, gender, nationality, etc., are irrelevant. Today’s youth is acquainted with many different people, but they only share close connections with a select few. A person of this generation will know many people and be friendly with them, however the personally association is only present with the people that have been known for an extended period...