Throughout the novel, there are many different aspects of the dystopian World State that resemble elements of modern society. Aldous Huxley uses these similarities in a satirical manner to provide a social commentary on various aspects of modern society. One of the most prominent aspects of the World State and its populace is the use of a drug called soma. Soma is a type of recreational drug citizens use to cure any type of unhappiness. In the World State, happiness and comfort are paramount. Lenina continually uses the drug while John initially refuses to take any because he prefers to experience unhappiness. Soma is similar to popular selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, also known as SSRIs, which are some of the most commonly prescribed antidepressants that millions of people take on an everyday basis.
The various types of entertainment in the World State are eerily similar to modern technology. In Huxley's novel, citizens go to the feelies, which are interactive movies that allow people to experience the sensation of touch. In modern society, three-dimensional movies and gaming are popular and gamers can experience the feeling of touch via their controllers. The consumer culture of the World State is also similar to modern society's materialistic culture, where spending money and contributing to the economy are essential aspects of life.
Huxley also portrays society's reliance on technology in the World State, where everything is automated and programmed. Modern society is slowly transforming into a technologically reliant culture run by advanced computer systems. In today's society, nearly everything is automated and it would be hard to imagine life without the internet or modern technological conveniences.
With the passage of time, American society's similarities to that of Brave New World seem to increase.
In the area of genetic engineering, there are no babies made in hatcheries such as in Huxley's narrative; however, genetic modification has been accomplished in laboratories and is used in the agricultural areas. For instance, cloning has been successful with animals. In Huxley's novel, the drug soma, "euphoric, narcotic, pleasantly hallucinant" (Ch. 3), gives a dream-like quality to life and is used by the residents of the dystopian world whenever life becomes too stressful. For instance, Lenina becomes very stressed by her experiences at the reservation and feels that she must take soma. Similarly, in today's world, opioids are used by people to ease their pain and stress.
It is estimated that between 26.4 million and 36 million people abuse opioids worldwide, with an estimated 2.1 million people in the United States suffering from substance use disorders related to prescription opioid pain relievers....(https://www.drugabuse.gov)
Consumerism and materialism are promoted in both Huxley's New World and today's society. Also, the Solidarity Service has replaced religious services in the New World; this service is a parody of large evangelist services in today's world. Another parallel between the New World and modern times is the attitude that "everyone belongs to everyone else." This attitude is reflected in the commonplace nature of sexual partnering and sexual "freedom" in many societies today. Also, in Huxley's dystopia, no one appears to age. Nowadays, with various treatments, people can retain a youthful appearance. Finally, the media harassment of John, who simply wants to be left alone, mimics the paparazzi of contemporary times.
One similarity between the society of the World State and our own is high levels of consumption: these are both consumer societies. In the World State, children are conditioned from earliest youth to throw things away and replace them rather than repair them. Linda, for example, thinks the people on the Savage Reservation are crazy for fixing and mending things rather than throwing them out. She says:
Besides, it never used to be right to mend clothes. Throw them away when they’ve got holes in them and buy new. ’The more stiches, the less riches.’ Isn’t that right? Mending’s antisocial. But it’s all different here. It’s like living with lunatics.
In our society, our tendency is also to get rid of things when they break or get damaged. How many of us will simply discard a piece of clothing or appliance that is damaged because it is cheaper to replace it than to fix it?
Both societies also tend to depend on drugs to solve problems. While our drug use is not as all-encompassing as the use of soma in the World State, we also depend on many different drugs to make us feel better and cope with life, from serotonin regulators to oxytocin. In fact, we are currently concerned about the "opioid epidemic" in our society, in which too many people are addicted to prescription pain killers.
Generally speaking, the societies of Brave New World and our world are very different but, on closer examination, there are some similarities.
Firstly, the ability to reproduce artificially is a similarity between both of our worlds. In Brave New World, this gives the government the ability to control the population, while in our society, it is primarily used to allow infertile couples to have children.
Secondly, drug use is another area of similarity since the people of both societies use recreational drugs to relax. In Brave New World, the drug of choice is soma which has the same destructive qualities as recreational drugs in our society. We see this most clearly through the character of Linda who becomes addicted to soma and dies as a result.
Finally, both societies feature an invasive media presence. In our society, the paparazzi stalk and photograph celebrities and other people of interest. This also happens in Brave New World where John the Savage becomes a celebrity figure and suffers frequent harassment from the media.
No comments:
Post a Comment