The dichotomy between a utopian society and a dystopian society is a fine line. The aspects of utopian/dystopian societies can in many ways be very similar yet there are also contrasts. In Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World as well as Michael Bay’s The Island, the elements of a traditional utopian society are examined closely and finally result in the facade of a utopian society being torn away to reveal a dystopian world. Furthermore, the film and the novel examine what an “ideal” society actually is, what factors support or destroy a society’s fabric, and when is it good for a society, group, or family to change.
In Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, people are controlled by pleasure. The government distributes massive amounts of soma (a drug that induces pleasure), promotes the consumption of resources, and conditions children to be the perfect citizen, all in the name of keeping a stable and ideal society. However, what is it that makes this society “ideal”? The one defining characteristic that makes the Brave New World society “ideal” is that the majority of the population is perfectly content and happy with their lives. Linda is the personification of contentment within the Brave New World society, as we can see from this quote. “Linda looked on, vaguely and uncomprehendingly smiling. Her pale, bloated face wore an expression of imbecile happiness.
Every now and then her eyelids closed, and for a few seconds she seemed to be dozing. Then with a little start she would wake up again-wake up to the aquarium antics of the Tennis Champions, to the Super-Vox-Wurlitzeriana rendering of “Hug me till you drug me, honey,” to the warm draught of verbena that came blowing through the ventilator above her head-would wake to these things, or rather to a dream of which these things, transformed and embellished by the soma in her blood, were the marvellous constituents, and smile once more her broken and discoloured smile of infantile contentment” (P. 136 BNW).
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The amount of activities that induce pleasure is so massive that society is literally controlled by this need for pleasure. This one characteristic is what makes any society ideal. Similarly, in Michael Bay’s The Island, the population lives in what appears to be a wonderland. There is free food, free health care, and minimal amounts of work. Everyone is content with their lives and wish for nothing more that that. Although there may be a few that are discontent, following the doctrine of utilitarianism, the most ethical action is the one that produces the most amount of happiness for the most amount of people. Therefore, sacrificing the happiness of a small amount of people for the happiness of many others is indeed ethical and thus makes a society ideal. However, as shown in both Brave New World and The Island, this ideal society can eventually break down due to certain factors.
Any society can be “ideal”. What is important are the factors that cause these ideal societies to break down and become dystopias. The major factor is the increase of self awareness among one or many citizens. A society is only ideal if the majority of the population is content. Yet when the population becomes self aware, people start to question things. As depicted in The Island, The entire fabric of the society broke down when one person questioned as to why there was a bug (bugs were apparently “extinct” according to the controlling forces) in a building. This questioning caused him to uncover a huge revelation, that they are all clones and are used to keep the rich alive. This knowledge completely destroyed the illusion of a perfect world and bred discontent among the citizens. Correspondingly, a character (John) questions the policies of the government and attempts to start a rebellion.
Furthermore, “A mental excess had produced in Helmholtz Watson effects very similar to those which, in Bernard Marx, were the result of a physical defect. Too little bone and brawn had isolated Bernard from his fellow men, and the sense of this apartness, being, by all the current standards, a mental excess, became in its turn a cause of wider separation. That which had made Helmholtz so uncomfortably aware of being himself and and all alone was too much ability. What the two men shared was the knowledge that they were individuals” (P. 45)
This clearly shows that because these two men do not fit into society’s standards, they are ostracized. However, the difference between Brave New World and The Island is that the government in Brave New World had sufficiently conditioned the population into accepting whatever the government told them. This key difference caused a massive discrepancy between the fate of the two societies, with The Island society collapsing and the Brave New World society surviving. However, we must also note that strict rigidity within the society is not always the best policy and occasionally a society, group, or family must change for the benefit of everyone.
Rigid governments rarely stay in power. We can see this in history (1968 protests in France) as well as in Brave New World and The Island. In order to keep an ideal society, it must be flexible and be able to change and adapt to any difficulties it may face. Obviously, if the society is not ideal anymore (the majority of the population is discontent) then things must change in order to make things ideal once more. If the society does not change, then it will eventually collapse, as we can see in The Island.
The clones were not content with being pigs waiting to be slaughtered and wished for that to change. However, the corporation refused to change anything and thus, the clones revolted and freed themselves. Furthermore, it is also wise for a society to change in order to preemptively prevent possible problems rather than to just wait for those problems to materialize. Examples of this can be found in Brave New World such as hypnopaedia, the complete removal of historical artifacts, and watered down pieces of art. This preemptiveness prevented many problems that could have arrived in the future. Therefore, we must see that societies must change when it is no longer ideal.
Brave New World and The Island both exemplify what an ideal society is, what factors may cause the society to break down, and when a society might need to change. Though an ideal society may not the one we as Americans consider just, and ideal society is one in which the majority of the population is content and happy. Rather than defining a society as a utopia or a dystopia, it should be defined as whether or not a society is ideal. After all, a utopia/dystopia is just a matter of perception.
The dichotomy between a utopian society and a dystopian society is a fine line. The aspects of utopian/dystopian societies can in many ways be very similar yet there are also contrasts. In Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World as well as Michael Bay’s The Island, the elements of a traditional utopian society are examined closely and finally result in the facade of a utopian society being torn away to reveal a dystopian world. Furthermore, the film and the novel examine what an “ideal” society actually is, what factors support or destroy a society’s fabric, and when is it good for a society, group, or family to change.
In Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, people are controlled by pleasure. The government distributes massive amounts of soma (a drug that induces pleasure), promotes the consumption of resources, and conditions children to be the perfect citizen, all in the name of keeping a stable and ideal society. However, what is it that makes this society “ideal”? The one defining characteristic that makes the Brave New World society “ideal” is that the majority of the population is perfectly content and happy with their lives. Linda is the personification of contentment within the Brave New World society, as we can see from this quote. “Linda looked on, vaguely and uncomprehendingly smiling. Her pale, bloated face wore an expression of imbecile happiness.
Every now and then her eyelids closed, and for a few seconds she seemed to be dozing. Then with a little start she would wake up again-wake up to the aquarium antics of the Tennis Champions, to the Super-Vox-Wurlitzeriana rendering of “Hug me till you drug me, honey,” to the warm draught of verbena that came blowing through the ventilator above her head-would wake to these things, or rather to a dream of which these things, transformed and embellished by the soma in her blood, were the marvellous constituents, and smile once more her broken and discoloured smile of infantile contentment” (P. 136 BNW).
The amount of activities that induce pleasure is so massive that society is literally controlled by this need for pleasure. This one characteristic is what makes any society ideal. Similarly, in Michael Bay’s The Island, the population lives in what appears to be a wonderland. There is free food, free health care, and minimal amounts of work. Everyone is content with their lives and wish for nothing more that that. Although there may be a few that are discontent, following the doctrine of utilitarianism, the most ethical action is the one that produces the most amount of happiness for the most amount of people. Therefore, sacrificing the happiness of a small amount of people for the happiness of many others is indeed ethical and thus makes a society ideal. However, as shown in both Brave New World and The Island, this ideal society can eventually break down due to certain factors.
Any society can be “ideal”. What is important are the factors that cause these ideal societies to break down and become dystopias. The major factor is the increase of self awareness among one or many citizens. A society is only ideal if the majority of the population is content. Yet when the population becomes self aware, people start to question things. As depicted in The Island, The entire fabric of the society broke down when one person questioned as to why there was a bug (bugs were apparently “extinct” according to the controlling forces) in a building. This questioning caused him to uncover a huge revelation, that they are all clones and are used to keep the rich alive. This knowledge completely destroyed the illusion of a perfect world and bred discontent among the citizens. Correspondingly, a character (John) questions the policies of the government and attempts to start a rebellion.
Furthermore, “A mental excess had produced in Helmholtz Watson effects very similar to those which, in Bernard Marx, were the result of a physical defect. Too little bone and brawn had isolated Bernard from his fellow men, and the sense of this apartness, being, by all the current standards, a mental excess, became in its turn a cause of wider separation. That which had made Helmholtz so uncomfortably aware of being himself and and all alone was too much ability. What the two men shared was the knowledge that they were individuals” (P. 45) This clearly shows that because these two men do not fit into society’s standards, they are ostracized.
However, the difference between Brave New World and The Island is that the government in Brave New World had sufficiently conditioned the population into accepting whatever the government told them. This key difference caused a massive discrepancy between the fate of the two societies, with The Island society collapsing and the Brave New World society surviving. However, we must also note that strict rigidity within the society is not always the best policy and occasionally a society, group, or family must change for the benefit of everyone.
Rigid governments rarely stay in power. We can see this in history (1968 protests in France) as well as in Brave New World and The Island. In order to keep an ideal society, it must be flexible and be able to change and adapt to any difficulties it may face. Obviously, if the society is not ideal anymore (the majority of the population is discontent) then things must change in order to make things ideal once more. If the society does not change, then it will eventually collapse, as we can see in The Island. The clones were not content with being pigs waiting to be slaughtered and wished for that to change.
However, the corporation refused to change anything and thus, the clones revolted and freed themselves. Furthermore, it is also wise for a society to change in order to preemptively prevent possible problems rather than to just wait for those problems to materialize. Examples of this can be found in Brave New World such as hypnopaedia, the complete removal of historical artifacts, and watered down pieces of art. This preemptiveness prevented many problems that could have arrived in the future. Therefore, we must see that societies must change when it is no longer ideal.
Brave New World and The Island both exemplify what an ideal society is, what factors may cause the society to break down, and when a society might need to change. Though an ideal society may not the one we as Americans consider just, and ideal society is one in which the majority of the population is content and happy. Rather than defining a society as a utopia or a dystopia, it should be defined as whether or not a society is ideal. After all, a utopia/dystopia is just a matter of perception.
