O tempora o mores! How we are Amusing Ourselves to Death in a Brave New World
Humanity today exists in privileged times. As we approach the end of the first decade of the twenty-first century we have seen the astonishing effects of technology on society. The rise of Internet 2.0 (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, Youtube), the introduction of the iPod, smartphones, and the reformatting of televisions has now allowed individuals to have the extraordinary ability to connect with one another throughout the world. Instead of venturing out into the world we now have the ability to bring the world to us. Yet, despite the ingenuity, there exists a gloomy reality hidden under the veneer of these technological advances. It may seem that society is progressing towards admirable goals, but at what cost? What is the price of blissful happiness for all? What is the price of progress when all that is progressing is the degeneration of the human spirit?
Artwork by Austin Rovenstine '10
Two novels that are considered among the most influential of the twentieth century are George Orwell’s 1984 and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. Both predict a dystopian future, but the similarities between the two depart from there. As Neil Postman illustrates in the foreword of Amusing Ourselves to Death, “We were keeping our eye on 1984. When the year came and the prophecy didn’t, thoughtful Americans sang softly in praise of themselves. The roots of liberal democracy had held…But we had forgotten that alongside Orwell’s dark vision, there was another – slightly older, slightly less well known, equally chilling: Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. Contrary to common belief even among the educated, Huxley and Orwell did not prophesy the same thing. Orwell warns that we will be overcome by an externally imposed oppression. But in Huxley’s vision, no Big Brother is required to deprive people of their autonomy, maturity and history. As he saw it, people will come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think. In short, Orwell feared that what we hate will ruin us. Huxley, however, feared that what we love will ruin us. In brief summary, he believes that our oppressors are not in the physical form of the jackboot to the face, but rather in the mental form, for our minds are being subdued by a culture of trivial information which attempts to satisfy “humanity’s infinite appetite for distractions.”
If one seems to doubt this claim I would encourage you to turn on the television and watch the misnamed “reality” shows. These so called “reality” shows are devoid of what the common individual does in everyday life. Rather, these shows offer a window into another world, one of trivial randomness, allowing us to participate with the members of the show without actually being there on the set. We can experience living on a tropical paradise for 30 days trying to outwit, outlast, and, outplay on Survivor; we can experience living amongst seven strangers on The Real World; we can experience losing weight on The Biggest Loser. Yet, all of these “reality” shows offer nothing more than an hour of entertainment, offering a glimpse into a the lives of others in order to experience what it is actually like to be there. The recent case of the death of Farah Fawcett offers a great example. The former sex symbol and star of Charlie’s Angels had a two hour special on NBC, chronicling her painful experience with terminal cancer. It gave the world a chance to experience the life and death of another person with cancer—on television. Another example is the popular show American Idol, a show which saw more Americans vote in the 2004 season than in the 2004 presidential election. Why care about how your country is run when you could be singing along with your favorite idol on television?
Televised news is also being degenerated from its original purpose. Instead of actually reporting events that are worthy of the brand “news,” networks such as MSNBC and FOX are reporting opinions on incidents such as President Obama killing a fly to Paris Hilton’s tenure in jail. Talking heads with opinions have replaced the substance of what used to be considered news and in between the pundits’ opinions are the commercials peddling useless products such as the Snuggie or Shamwow.
Despite the limited mobility of a television set, the introduction of portable devices ranging from smartphones, iPods, and laptops have allowed easy access to the World Wide Web. A plethora of information exists out there in cyberspace, allowing individuals to seek the information they desire in order to satisfy their beliefs. The internet itself is a medium of communication that constantly redefines itself in terms of how people view information in its entirety. Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube are some of the newest applications that offer individuals the ability to communicate en masse. Whether this is a good thing or not depends on the method of use. During the Iranian elections during this past summer, Twitter was swamped as Iranian dissidents sent 140 character newsfeeds reporting to the world what was happening as the regime cracked down. Yet, the same application is used by millions of individuals who are “following” celebrities such as Ashton Kutcher.
What also should be a cause for concern is how our materialist and individualist society is turning everything into a commodity. Religion, for instance, has taken on a free-market persona in which individuals under the moniker of “follower of Christ” or “nondenominational” pick and choose what to believe, devoid of any ecclesiastical hierarchy. Sex has been devalued for recreational purposes and is being used constantly in advertisements to promote this idea of a blissful paradise on earth. Marriage has become a relic of the past, sought only for the tax and legal benefits offered by the state.
Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World seeks to remind us that the chains of bondage need not be the physical wrought iron. The chains of apathy, ennui, passivity, and egoism can serve as instruments of bondage as well, and can arguably be more effective. It may do one well to turn off the television for a few hours, log off the internet, and sit back and enjoy a good book.
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