Of Scandal and Censorship

Brave New World

                 By Alduos Huxley

 

 

     The novel, Brave New World, is the story of what happens when a society has

 

become so over-run with pleasure and entertainment that its citizens become

 

unquestioning. The characters in the novel are trained from birth through subliminal

 

messaging as they sleep that they should enjoy certain things and behave a

 

certain way. As each person belongs to a specific part of this caste structure, they

 

are programmed not to desire anything more or anything less than they are allowed

 

to have. The truly frightening part of this is that knowledge that they are brainwashed

 

and manipulated is not hidden from these citizens at all it is simply lost amongst the

 

constant flow of information. The society in this novel functions on a very controlled

 

economy where people are more focused on celebrities and clothing than they are on

 

any political problems that may need to be addressed. They do not seek out anything

 

on history or science because they would rather focus on trends and popular culture. Through the use of ‘bread and circuses’ the population feels no need to rebel

 

or change the status quo, in fact any one who displays non-conformist behavior is banished form society. The people and individuals of this dystopia feel no

 

aggression as their lives are spent in the pursuit of pleasure. Who would attempt to change a government that encourages its citizens to have sex, drink alcohol

 

and watch television? Unlike a similar story by George Orwell, 1984, few people ever even think of their government as overrun or too powerful because they do not

 

feel oppressed. They are trained from birth to believe that it is a necessary and important part of their daily lives. This can be seen today as many people do not

 

become interested in politics or other important issues and are becoming more focused on celebrity award shows and other pop culture phenomenon. The text of

 

Brave New World attempts to showcase how important information can become lost amongst trivia and other less needed knowledge. It is important that people

 

continue to focus on what matters and not to simply become swept up in the constant flood of useless information.