What
Huxley describes in his novel “Brave New World” as the “savage” reservation, to
me is far from that. Civilized life in London is nothing compared to what I consider
civilized. Constant drug abuse, and the views on sexuality are far from what I consider
civilized. The savage reservation in the book refers to a settlement of people
that still live in the ways of the past. They have children and age naturally, they
experience pain, and are not conditioned to think “properly” according to the
Government. Its obvious to me that the people in London were the true savages. A
culture simply based on consumerism and pleasure. Not ever having felt pain or
loss, and the inconsideration to human life and individualism is what made them
the savages. In my opinion we are more in danger of becoming like this society
every day. Yes its controlled but its making us into the real “savages” as
well. Neil Postman, renowned educator
and author, gave a speech at a 1984 Frankfurt Book fair which was the bases for
the essay, “Amusing Ourselves to Death.” In this speech he explains why a
population with this social mentality is so dangerous.
In
this essay Postman argues that even though in the Western part of the world we
do not fear oppression, as described in Orwell’s novel “1984”, that is an
oppression over a population using force and fear, we still are falling victims
to a different form of subjugation, the type of control and oppression as described
in Aldous Huxley’s novel, “Brave new World,” the fear being realized that we
now live in a strictly consumer based society. Postman demonstrates the
differences between the two different forms of subjugation described in these
novels, and warns how Huxley’s idea of control is far more dangerous, “As
Huxley saw it, people will come to love their oppression, to adore the
technologies that undo their capacities to think.” (Postman 1) He goes on to point out that T.V. has become
the Soma of the United States and countries like it, numbing us and taking away
our intellect. He explains the many dangers of Television in this modern
society, and how it is being used to control an entire population. Postman’s
Huxleyan nightmare and fear of technology can be summed up in one line, “But
what if there are no cries of anguish to be heard? Who is prepared to take arms
against a sea of amusements? To whom do we complain, and when, and in what tone
of voice, when serious discourse dissolves into giggles? What is the antidote
to a culture dying of laughter? I fear, ladies and gentlemen, that our
philosophers have as yet given us no guidance in this matter.” (Postman 5)
Work Cited
Postman, Neil. ""Amusing Ourselves to
Death"" The Way of the Wisdom (2010): 1-5. Print.
Huxley,
Aldous, and Aldous Huxley. Brave New World: With the Essay "Brave New
World Revisited" New York: Harper Perrenial Modern Classics, 2010.
Print.
Efrain, great post! You make a lot of great points. However, in my opinion, the "savage reservation" is just as savage as the "civilized" life in London. You commented on the savage reservation as being a "settlement of people that still live in the ways of the past". But we have to remember that they are still savage. People are dirty, they abuse men (as a ritual) till they are dead, the women are abusive to people who threaten what they consider theirs. I would consider both societies as savages. I do agree with you on how we are becoming more and more like the individuals in London. Due to our technology and resources it is easier for us to achieve that kind of lifestyle than the one on the "savage reservation". How do you think people today would react if the government came and decided to control every part of everyones life? Would you accept if they promised you to never feel pain or loss?
ReplyDeleteI think this all comes down to once a again the individual's perspective of a utopian vs a dystopian society. One man's savage society may be another man's paradise. When you grow up only know one type of normal, any other way of life will seem wrong and savage even. Brandi- I think that in today's society, especially a free country like America, people would rebel against the government very forcefully. I think that America is to advanced of a nation to ever be brainwashed in this kind of way. But then again, how did the society in London experience this extreme transition to begin with? When and why did the government decided that it was time to start per-programming and brainwashing our population? I would never accept it because I want to be able to experience my emotions freely. Just because they promise no pain or loss doesn't mean that they can promise true happiness.
ReplyDeleteMichelle I completely agree with you. It comes down to what others perceive as a utopia. And on the other side people do not always see things as a utopia. Rituals that are sacred to those who practice them are strange and scary to the outside world that may not necessarily understand the true meaning of them. Brandi- I think that you are right in your statement that each society is savage, savage in their views of the outside worlds, savage in the rituals that they carry out, and savage in the sense that their lives do not revolve around themselves. Both societies that we had the opportunity are entirely self centered. They do not think about those around them, they are not concerned with what they do. This is how I perceive it, what do you guys think?
ReplyDeleteOo I didn't even catch that Brandi said that. I I completely agree that every society is savage in there own way. This may be completely out there but would it be correct to apply "one man's trash is another man's treasure" to this situation? Like one man's utopia is another man's dystopia? Brianna- I feel that the London society is too brainwashed to the point that they don't have enough control over there thought processes to seriously consider the others around them.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Efrain! In response to Brandi's question regarding how people today would react if the government decided to try and control every aspect of our lives, I believe that our society has been so conditioned on the concept of individual freedom since birth that if we recognized that they were trying to take away our privilege of freedom that we would rebel against the government. That being said, it depends on how the government would initiate the control. As Michelle pointed out, I would also like to know how the society in Brave New World transitioned into what we experienced in the book. Do you think that they began the transition through force or by the illusion of safety? We could assume that the society in the Lottery was taken over by force due to the violent nature of the their tradition. What are some clues or assumptions we could make about the initial progression of the society in Brave New World to provide insight and comparison to our own society today?
ReplyDelete