Huxley and mass media

Foreword Aldous Huxley wrote Brave New World in 1931. This is no coincidence he wrote such a dystopia at that time. Indeed, capitalism and mostly mass culture were booming in Europe: culture was becoming more and more accessible and affordable to everyone. To... Lire la suite

Hypnopedia In Brave New World, Huxley depicts a society in which people are totally manipulated. To create such a controlled world, media play a key role in the story. One of the means used to control people in the dystopia (meaning here an undesirable fictional... Lire la suite

Propaganda Propaganda is a way to influence and manipulate people’s opinions, to make them think as one wants them to. Propaganda messages are mainly broadcasted thanks to media or advertisements. Although a neutral term in its original sense, it has acquired since... Lire la suite

Thinking is useless Thinking is useless, or that is, at least, the way people in Huxley’s Brave New World “think” (if we may use this term, considering the fact that we just said that they don’t). If people have such an idea of the act of pondering, it is precisely because... Lire la suite

Communication: a science Television, newspapers, radio, songs, internet: all of these are mass media present in today’s society. Everybody has access to them and is inevitably confronted to them in everyday life. As a consequence, everyone is influenced. Their effects on the... Lire la suite

Standardization of thinking Having an opinion on something means having access to various different sources of information, in order to think about it, and form a judgment. In the past, not so long ago, there used to be a diversity of points of view and ideas in mass culture. But... Lire la suite

Unity of thinking The “World State’s motto” in Brave New World is the most relevant and obvious example of the existence of a unity of thinking in its society. Indeed, based on the French “Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité” (“Freedom, Equality, Brotherhood”), Huxley creates... Lire la suite

Imposing by exposing In his essay Brave New World revisited, Huxley gives a strong definition of dictatorship, of manipulation, and above all, sheds light on the contrast between two types of mass control. This is a quite important point of the study as long as it gives us... Lire la suite

Uniformity and over-population Our contemporary Western society, in spite of its material, intellectual and political progress, is increasingly less conducive to mental health, and tends to undermine the inner security, happiness, reason and the capacity for love in the individual;... Lire la suite

From the baroque era to bbc news The phenomenon of mass attraction exercised with Hollywood, the Marilyn Monroe Lady in Red among other things is a "deja vu" kind of mass seduction, even if, in our time and especially in the 20th century, it takes another pattern, wearing the coat of... Lire la suite

Foreword

Aldous Huxley wrote Brave New World in 1931. This is no coincidence he wrote such a dystopia at that time. Indeed, capitalism and mostly mass culture were booming in Europe: culture was becoming more and more accessible and affordable to everyone. To...

Lire la suite
Hypnopedia

In Brave New World, Huxley depicts a society in which people are totally manipulated. To create such a controlled world, media play a key role in the story. One of the means used to control people in the dystopia (meaning here an undesirable fictional...

Lire la suite
Propaganda

Propaganda is a way to influence and manipulate people’s opinions, to make them think as one wants them to. Propaganda messages are mainly broadcasted thanks to media or advertisements. Although a neutral term in its original sense, it has acquired since...

Lire la suite
Thinking is useless

Thinking is useless, or that is, at least, the way people in Huxley’s Brave New World “think” (if we may use this term, considering the fact that we just said that they don’t). If people have such an idea of the act of pondering, it is precisely because...

Lire la suite
Communication: a science

Television, newspapers, radio, songs, internet: all of these are mass media present in today’s society. Everybody has access to them and is inevitably confronted to them in everyday life. As a consequence, everyone is influenced. Their effects on the...

Lire la suite
Standardization of thinking

Having an opinion on something means having access to various different sources of information, in order to think about it, and form a judgment. In the past, not so long ago, there used to be a diversity of points of view and ideas in mass culture. But...

Lire la suite
Unity of thinking

The “World State’s motto” in Brave New World is the most relevant and obvious example of the existence of a unity of thinking in its society. Indeed, based on the French “Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité” (“Freedom, Equality, Brotherhood”), Huxley creates...

Lire la suite
Imposing by exposing

In his essay Brave New World revisited, Huxley gives a strong definition of dictatorship, of manipulation, and above all, sheds light on the contrast between two types of mass control. This is a quite important point of the study as long as it gives us...

Lire la suite
Uniformity and over-population

Our contemporary Western society, in spite of its material, intellectual and political progress, is increasingly less conducive to mental health, and tends to undermine the inner security, happiness, reason and the capacity for love in the individual;...

Lire la suite
From the baroque era to bbc news

The phenomenon of mass attraction exercised with Hollywood, the Marilyn Monroe Lady in Red among other things is a "deja vu" kind of mass seduction, even if, in our time and especially in the 20th century, it takes another pattern, wearing the coat of...

Lire la suite