Transcript Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

A satirical
piece of
fiction, not
scientific
prophecy
ELF
40S
Ms.
Van
Den
Buss
A Utopia is a place or
society that appears
perfect in every way.
The government is
perfect, working to
improve societies
standards of living
rather then their own,
social aspects of the
community run
perfectly.
Dystopia came from the
term Utopia.
It defines a place or society
which is in complete chaos.
The citizens are all suffering
and are miserable.
Often times in novels what
appears to be a Utopian
society it first by the visiting
protagonist is actually
revealed to be a dystopian
society.
Dystopian Films
HISTORICAL TIMELINE
Historical Context : Major new fields/
ideas, goings-on of the time.
----Psychology and the subconscious
----Industrial Revolution/ Mass Production
---- Public Relations/ Advertising
----- Eugenics - is the belief and practice of improving the genetic
quality of the human population (Originated in US)
-----Pharmacology/Drugs
Conditioning and conditioned
Response:
Pavlov’s Famous Experiment
Henry Ford &
THE FORD
MOTOR
COMPANY
THE MODEL-T
AND THE ASSEMBLY LINE
THE MODEL-T
AND THE ASSEMBLY LINE
Setting: 2540 AD; referred to in
the novel as 632 years AF (“After
Ford”), meaning 632 years after
production of the first Model T
car
Narration: Third-person
omniscient
Point-of-View: Narrated in the
third person from the point of
view of Bernard or John, but
also from the point of view of
Lenina, Helmholtz Watson, and
Mustapha Mond
"This is rather alarming that you're being persuaded below the level of choice and
reason... Advertisement plays a necessary role but the danger of it to a democracy is this:
a democracy depends on the individual voter making a rational choice for enlightened
self-interest. What these people are doing [advertisers] when their purpose is selling
goods, what the dictatorial propagandists are doing, is to try to bypass the rational side of
humanity and to appeal directly to these unconscious forces below the surface--so that you
are in a way making nonsense of the democratic procedure which is based on conscious
choice on rational grounds... Today's children walk around singing beer commercials and
toothpaste commercials."
Huxley on advertising, the media, and propaganda
BRAND ALPHABET
 This novel is as applicable today than it was in 1932. This is a time
of:
propaganda,
censorship,
conformity, genetic
engineering, social
conditioning, and
mindless
entertainment.
• This was what
Huxley saw in our
future. His book is a
warning.
Consider the number of ads
for prescription drugs, which
are permitted only in the
United States and New
Zealand
Doctors and consumer
advocates believe these ads
drive up health-care costs and
seduce millions into asking
their MDs for drugs they don’t
need for diseases they had
never before heard of, like
restless leg syndrome
 Nature of Happiness
Nature of Freedom
Collective vs. Individual
Applied Science (Technology) and what it does to
Human well-being, culture, and happiness
Distractions vs. Higher art and thinking
DHC – Director of
Hatcheries and
Conditioning
Henry Foster – works
at hatchery
Statistician,
efficiency engineer
Social hierarchy: Alpha,
Beta, Gamma, Delta,
Epsilon
 Bokanovsky Process:
causes an egg to divide,
“bud”
 Podsnap’s Technique –
quickened the “ripening”
of the embryos
 “Decanting” Humans are
grown in bottles meant to
emulate Uteri
Technology Survey
1. Complete Technology Survey and reflect on the
data.
2. Talk with your neighbors and compare what you
have to say about that.