This quarter, we have looked at the dystopian societies found in George Orwell’s 1984 and Huxley's Brave New World. However, “massive dehumanization, totalitarian government, rampant disease, post-apocalyptic terrains, cyber-genetic technologies, societal chaos and widespread urban violence” are not the realm of literature alone (Snarkerati, 2007): These are also some of the common themes in dystopian films.
Below you will find a truncated list of films I lifted from Snarkerati’s Top 50 Dystopian Movies of All Time. Your assignment is to choose one of the films below, view it (preferably with a group of your peers and tubs of popcorn), and then post a "meaty" comment which analyzes how each of the governments/ruling classes keeps the people under control in Brave New World, 1984, and whatever film you chose to view. Your comments must address all three and must be thorough. Do not choose a film you have already seen.
Your comment posts are due by Tuesday, January 3, 2012. (the day we return from break). If you want to read annotations for the films listed below to get an idea of what might interest you, go to http://snarkerati.com/movie-news/the-top-50-dystopian-movies-of-all-time/.
(I put the movies in order: my favorites on top!)
The Matrix (1999)
Equilibrium (2002)
Dark City (1998)
Twelve Monkeys (1995)
Minority Report (2002)
Escape from New York (1981)
Total Recall(1990)
The Island (2006)
Gattaca (1997)
They Live (1988)
Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984)
The City of Lost Children (1995)
21 comments:
The movie I watched was A Boy and His Dog. This movie appealed to me, because it a dystopian story about a young man stuggling to survive in a world after World War IV...yes I said four. It was basically a story of every man for himself. This young man and his dog were living in the United States after World War IV, where basically life and civilization was destroyed. The only sign of life were small groups of migrating men, trying to live off anything left on the land. Basically guns, scraps of food and/or canned goods that they stole and sometimes killed each other for, was all that was left.
There were hardly any women existing, so these men were also sex deprived. If anyone found a woman hiding, the men would fight each other to get her, and then rape her and beat her like an animal. They did this because they were basically limited to their animal instincts, deprived of food, real human contact, happiness, or sexual pleasure of any kind.
However, later in the story the young man fights off a group of men for a pretty young girl that he plans to rape. After making love, he starts falling for her and follows her to an undergound civiliztion, where a limited amount of survivors created their own civilization after the war. These people preserved their old way of life, but it was also a very strict Christian society. All the people wore simple, similar clothes, and were controlled by a small group of leaders who made sure everyone lived morally right. Like 1984 or Brave New World, the leaders use loud speakers that produce hypnotizing propoganda all day. These loud speakers spoke about different parts of the bible and how to live life in the way God expects them to, but its similar to 1984 and Brave new World. They play these repetitive commands and brainwashing messages, to contol the inhabitants.
In this society they control reproduction, also found in Brave New World. The leaders send girls to seduce and bring men from the outside world, with perfect health and characteristics to have sex with their women and reproduce. Each man has to impregnate 35 girls, and then he was killed. They do this because their postwar population was starting to decrease, and they needed their women to start reproducing again. The way they select the men is similar to the conditioning found in a Brave New World. The doctors conditoned the egg in the bottle to adapt to certain conditions and to obtain certain characteristics, and the people in the underground civilization searched for men with perfect health, strength, and physical features. These dystopian societies basically industrialized reproduction.
Anyone who went against authority, tried to escape, or did anything that went against their Christian based rules were basically terminated, and their absense was covered up by a story. They would use an excuse such as death from a heart attack; something believable and common so that the inhabitants wouldn't suspect anything. Just like the dystopian societies in the books we read, these people did whatever possible to make their society look perfect and peaceful. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, they were killing people and brainwashing everyone with lies. It was not a perfect society, if anything it was corrupt.
The young man in this story was seduced by the girl that he made love to, to follow her into this world so he could be used for sperm and boosting up the population of their society. He was brought into a dystopian society that lived by strict, religious rules to create a perfect society. The leaders used brainwashing methods such as loud speakers everywhere, with repetitive bible verses and commands. They also controlled reproduction to create a perfect society. Similar methods from Brave New World and 1984 were used in this society to control civilization.
The movie I watched was “Escape from New York.” I watched it because it was one of the only movies that were available on Netflix. This dystopian society is similar to the new Batman game, Arkham City. A section of the U.S., specifically Manhattan Island, is cut off from the rest of the country. It becomes a dumping ground for dangerous criminals. There, they may do as they please.
The entire plot of the movie is about an ex soldier named Snake Plisken. He is forced to save the President, who has crash landed in a pod after Air Force 1 was hijacked, before the World Summit ends and before bombs inserted in his arteries explode.
This movie, although a dystopian society, was hard to compare to our two books.
Like in 1984, the U.S. is now run through fear; a police state, run by the United States Police Department (or agency, I can’t remember), has been set up. Important figures, such as the President, are now simply figureheads. Basically, power comes from those in charge of the Police Force, like those in charge of the ministries in 1984 and the World Controllers in Brave New World.
Snake is like a combined version of Bernard and John from Brave New World.
He hates the way society has become AND rebels about it. Therefore he can also be compared to Winston. However, because he is not a member of the ruling party actually is a criminal who has been sentenced into this prison, he must work with the system, as corrupted as it may be.
Although nothing about the controlling of child birth is ever mentioned throughout the film, one can conclude that criminals are all being placed way from civilization in order to eliminate them as bad influences in society. It can also be concluded that perhaps the creator of the film believes that man’s genes cause one to do bad deeds. By eliminating the people with these genes, one eliminates the bad genes.
It is also obvious that the men in this movie are also sex deprived. There were TWO women seen throughout the ENTIRE movie; the first one was completely ugly and the second one was alright. Like in the two books, the majority of rebels were men, with the exception of a couple of women.
The movie I decided to see was Equilibrium. I watched it because Egan was raving about how good this movie was. The whole movie takes place in a post-World War 3 era called Lybria, where any form of feelings, artistic expressions, or individual expressions are banned. This was very similar to both 1984 and Brave New World. The government controlled the people by constantly playing propaganda on TV’s and putting up posters of “Father.” This was very similar to 1984 where Big Brother was the ultimate ruler and in the movie Father was the ultimate ruler. The government also gave out a drug called Prozium to suppress their emotions. The government also controls the children, like in 1984, to control the parents and basically tell on them if they have feelings, or commit the crime of Sense Offense. Unlike Jason and Marissa’s movies there was not a lack of women or control of sexual reproduction.
The movie was based on a character, John Preston, a grammaton cleric, which is the pinnacle of law enforcement and trained in the martial arts of gun kata. Preston to me is more like Winston from 1984 because he is accepted in society and has access to material from the inner party and has plans to rebel against society even though his peers are not like that but Preston actually goes through with his plans. One day Preston does not take his daily dose of Prozium. Preston ends up having trouble suppressing his feelings and does not take his daily dose again. Anyone that does not follow orders were to be shot immediately or incinerated. There is also a resistance party known as “the Underground” has emerged to bring back society to its old values and preserve any emotionally stimulating material. This is similar to 1984 where the Brotherhood was the secret group against society. Preston ends up arresting a woman that committed Sense Offense but begins to fall in love with her because he can’t suppress his feelings. He then starts to work with the resistance movement to attempt to kill Father and take over Lybria. Unlike 1984, this movie ends with the killing of Father, destroying of all propaganda machines, and the resistance party taking over, bringing society back to their old values.
The movie I watched was The matrix. This movie appealed to me because I just think that Keanu Reeves is so fine! The movie is about a computer hacker who is looking for another world that can only be seen by those who are "unplugged". "The Matrix" is just a mind simulation that were created by these machines as a cover on the actually world of 2199. In reality, "The Matrix" is the world that you and I live and breathe in today.
If you have seen the movie, it starts off in our world in the year of 1999; in my mind all I could think was, "How is the a dystopian society?" As you keep watching and soak in the weird, mind-boggling scenes of the Matrix, we see the world within our world.
In 1984, the government controls its people. They monitor everything they do through telescreens. In the Matrix, the "agents" do the same; they monitor those who were "unplugged" by detecting their sounds through the eyes of regular humans - is that not creepy at all? I must admit, the technology and capability of the agents is waaaay beyond the technology from 1984, but the purpose is dead on: to watch those who will stop at nothing to suppress them! In both 1984 and The Matrix, the higher class uses torture to get the information they need. To them, information is the only thing that matters; a person is useless unless they are willing to give up their moral dignity to join their side.
Brave New World and The Matrix both have similar story characteristics. Brave New World has two worlds just like the Matrix - The World State and the Reservations. In both works, it is a group of people who control only a certain group of people: The caste system in the first and the "unplugged" in the latter. Both works also have the protagonist that rises above the rest to try and end the power of the higher above. John (Brave new World) and Neo (The Matrix) are very different then the people around them: John is an outsider from the Reservations and Neo is "The One" to free his people from the agents. Another parallel feature is that both protagonists cannot stop the government/agents from controlling their world. Unfortunately for John, his efforts end when he commits suicide; Neo still as two more movies to try and kill and end the agents.
Overall, "The Matrix" is a great movie to watch about dystopian society. The movie also does a good job showing similar parallels between 1984 and Brave New World.
Good, Sheffin...but did you like the movie?!?
Nice work, Marissa and Jason. No women...definitely dystopian...
The movie I chose to watch was "Equilibrium." The story in this movie was like the stories explained in "1984" and "The Brave New World." In all three stories the government ruled over the society. This movie was awesome!
In the story of "1984" the government took over the world and changed history. Although, technology was around it was limited & unexplored. They had a hate week. The government's inner party was called, "Big Brother." The society was beaten to the point that they forgot the past. If anyone rebelled they were beaten over and over again. A group of people attempted to resist the laws. Two members (Winston & Julia) got caught and were beaten until they forgot everything. The government published this quote, "Big Brother is watching you." It was advertised all over. The people were being watched. Children could report what was going on in the house. If the parents made a mistake in the home the children could call the authorities and send their parents to prison. While in prison, the parents were taken to room 101 where their nightmares became reality.
In the story of "Brave New World" the society had advance technology. The government had a Director as the leader. The society believed the Ford car company was so advance that they praised the Ford owner, T.Ford as god. The government sectioned the society according to their skin color and intelligence. The government began teaching the toddlers not to have any emotions. Toddlers were given a plant and a book. As the toddler attempted to touch these items they were shocked. This pattern continued until the emotion was gone. The plant represented the beauty of nature while the book represented knowledge. If someone had strong emotions they were sent to the savage lands. The government wanted to build a society of people with no emotions. If anyone developed emotions they were given a drug called "Soma." This was a stimulant drug that made a person feel good for a time period and then made them feel depressed.
In the movie, "Equilibrium" the government had a leader named, "Father." The government and he wanted to reshape mankind. All the things mankind had such as art work (Mona Lisa) and music (record player) were burned. Father rebuilt them but according to his thoughts. When burning these important history facts the government forced the society to lose their emotions. The government handed out tranquilizers to the society so they can inject themselves when emotions were getting stronger. If caught with any emotions the person would be killed. The society was taught to believe that the Father was the leader and the authorities are watching you.
Oh yeah lol it was a really good movie!
The movie I decided to watch was the matrix. In this movie the dystopian society was created by a program called the matrix. This program was designed by robots to keep humans at bay while they used humans for energy. This world that was created is identical to our world today and most inhabitants suspect nothing wrong with their world. But those who have been unplugged, see the true nature of the world the robots have avidly tried to keep secret.
In the novel 1984, the dystopian society was created by the brainwashing big brother and the party administered to the common people. Anyone who even thought of rebellion was thrown in prison. In order to maintain stability, the party had police officers called the thought police. This is similar to the "program" released into the matrix to destroy the resistance. Also like The Matrix torture was used to extract information from subjects.
In the novel Brave New World, the dystopian society was established by the genetic engineering of each human. It was decided which class each individual would be placed into, and in order to ensure that they fit into the class, they brainwashed and created their genetic code to fit into that specific class. Like The Matrix, technology was a main component in creating the dystopian society. Unlike both 1984 and The Matrix the methods they used were not kept secret. The one thing all three works have in common, was the fact that although their methods worked, they were flawed because resistance to the government was still able to form.
I watched The Island, i wanted to watch it at first because Scarlett Johansson starred in it and i absolutely love her!! The movie basically revolved around the main character's struggle to fit in a world where the "truth" is questionable. Similar to Winston (1984), and Bernard(Brave New World), Lincoln Six Echo struggles to fit into a strict society controlled by higher powers. In all three works each character lived in an isolated community strictly controlled, regulated and watched. Also curiosity was ultimately eliminated, this enables control over the whole population. This is prevalent in 1984, Brave New World, and The Island.
In 1984 by George Orwell, Winston lived in Oceania, where telescreens watched the citizens every move. The telescreens serve as a technological way to enforce control. Constantly being watched Winston soon grew rebellious and was in search for the truth and purpose. One way to keep the proles and lower classes in check the government used doublethink and changed history often. The constant lies and deception by the government and "Big Brother" led Winston into a downward spiral and ultimately to his torture.
In Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley, Bernard also struggled with his identity and fitting in with the people of World State. Citizens of World State were not exposed to any other culture other than the World State. Bernard constantly strived to find a deeper meaning in life. Through conditioning and by Bokanovsky's process, power was secured and no one got out of line. Their tactics weren't 100% effective since a person like Bernard existed. He was looking for something beyond the World State and being sent into exile was probably the best thing for him.
In The Island, the Overseers control every aspect of life. Lincoln Six realizes that the government is part of wrongdoing and repetitively lies to the residents. One thing i found cool was that like Winston, Lincoln also has dreams that are important to the story's overall plot. Lincoln soon finds out that his entire existence is a lie and he and Jordan embark on a journey to meet their makers.
Well the movie i decided to watch was They Live. As Jason already said it was one of the only movies on Netflix also. In this movie a drifter only referred to as "Nada" finds sunglasses that allow him to see the world as it is. These sunglasses allow him to see them subliminal messages embedded in ads, and all forms of social media. Bill boards and magazines say things such as Obey", "Consume", "No Independent Thought", "Marry and Reproduce", or in the case of money, "This is your God." An alien race has landed on the planet, and is blending in to society while brainwashing the populace. The people of society are bombarded every second of the day with this messages which drive their existence. The world of They Live bears a stark resemblance to both 1984 and Brave New World. Like the party in 1984 the population is constantly shown messages which dictate their lives, but in They Live the controllers used subliminal messages so the people don't even know they are being influenced. There are also some aspects of Brave New World are also present in the movie. The aliens in the movie send propaganda over the radio waves to influence people, just like the hypnopedia used on infants. The aliens used messages in everyday life, and their prominent positions in society to bend the public to their will. Overall this movie was a great, and had some pretty memorable quotes.
The movie I watched was The City of Lost Children. I'm not gonna lie I really didn't like this movie and I was a little confused about the plot.
In this movie Krank, the monstrous man who is tormented because he can't have dreams, and his henchmen of cyclopes kidnapped children from their homes and brought them to an island where he could use dream draining machine. His inability to dream causes him to age faster. He's a tragic because he feels like he can live off of the young children's dreams. However, when he does use his machine he only receives nightmares because all of the children are scared of him. Fear was one of the main aspects used in this movie in creating a controlled environment. However because Denree, a captured child, has his older brother looking for him, we learn of the other characters that are not under this dystopian society.
In 1984 by George Orwell, the idea of a "Big Brother" was established in order to maintain power over all of the people in the society. Telescreens and thought police were also used to keep order. They definitely used violence as a result of punishments which we all know is a huge factor to stabilizing order.
In Brave New World, they used specific conditioning methods in creating the perfect person while they were still an egg. Some were made to be lazy while others were tricked into thinking they were smarter then the rest. These people did not only grow under control, but were actually born into it.
Btw loud speaker announcements had great influence on all of people under a dystopian society because it used constant brainwashing, propaganda, and much repetition.
The movie I choose to watch was Minority Report( which was amazing by the way). In this dystopian society people were punished for crimes prior to even committing the crime. The government used "precogs" in order to know what crimes were going to occur. Through the precogs the government was able to take out murder completely within their society. Their explanation for this use of precrime was that people were GOING to do the crime, so it made more sense to arrest prior. In this way, 1984 is similar due to "thought crime" where people would get arrested for their thoughts of wrong doing. In Brave New World they also took control prior to crimes occurring. The government would condition each person into a certain class, making life too perfect for any flaws what so ever.
In 1984, the government took control though various things such as Big Brother, "thought crime", and telescreens. People were constantly under watch by the government. "Big Brother" was seen as a leading heroic figure which you would hope to not disappoint in your actions. You commited "thought crime" if you even THOUGHT anything against the government. And at all times telescreens were watching and listening to all conversations. People were constantly in fear of being sent to the Ministry of Love.
In Brave New World the government eliminated the option to choose the life you wanted to live. From the start they conditioned you to live a particular life style. There were classes: alphas, betas, gammas, deltas, and epilsons. The Alphas were in every way conditioned to be superior. Through conditioning the government managed to take away any past flaws experienced in society. They were now living in a life were it was nearly impossibly to experience real emotion. The government fooled the people into thinking they were actually happy.
In all three dystopian societies the government tries to establish what they believe is the best for the people. In doing so they eliminate various freedoms and also force happiness.
I'm not really into of these futuristicy movies but I ended up watching Equilibrium. Honestly, I'm just a big Christian Bale fan and the story seemed pretty cool. The movie had aspects of both 1984 and Brave New World in it. Like Sheff said, it's set in a post World War III world, in the dystopian city of Libria. A world where pretty much everything from our present day society is changed and made illegal. The whole movie is based on the repression of any sort of feelings or emotion. The presence of emotion is seen as the cause of all human misery; the only way to advance as a people is to eliminate it. Equilibrium is about John Preston, a Grammaton Cleric's, straying from the status quo. It's ironic because within the first couple minutes of the movie, he kills his partner for doing the exact same thing. Preston's job is to go around and destroy anything and everything that is against the law, in this case it means artwork and pretty much anything with a personality of its own.
The government in 1984 is extremely oppressive, attempting to control the actions and even thoughts of the citizens of Airstrip One. The telescreen was a major part of how the government got control. In Orwell's 1984, the telescreen played Big Brother's motto and was used to observe the people. There is a similar screen in Equilibrium which plays propaganda videos of the Father. The Father is like Equilibrium's version of Big Brother. However, the Father was an actual person while Big Brother was just a way for the government to personify its ideals. One of the best scenes showing the telescreen is when Preston's son is at home watching it. It shows that the ideas of the government are planted in the minds of the citizens at a very young age. The son seems to be more concerned with helping the government than Preston is, but in the end he finds out it was just an act and the kids stopped taking their intervals a while back. Similar to 1984, the Libria government uses force to put an end to the resistance. Preston, the Grammaton Cleric, is the prime example. The Grammaton Clerics seek out any sort of contraband, incinerate it and kill the owners. The government also arrests people who they believe to have feelings just like Airstrip One's thought police.
In Brave New World, Soma, a drug used to bring about a sense of ecstasy for its users was a crucial part of society. For example, one of the main characters, Lenina took advantage of this whenever she was in an uncomfortable position, like when she was on her date with Bernard. In Equilibrium, Prozium is the drug forced on the people by the government to repress all feelings. This allows there to be more control over the behavior of the citizens. It prevents feelings of rage and concern which would threaten the government and aid the resistance. The citizens of Libria are also brainwashed from the beginning. Though their ways aren't as intense as shocking and terrifying babies like in Oceania, they are still pretty effective.
Overall, the government does an ok job at preventing the citizens from feeling. But not that great considering one of the most esteemed clerics goes rogue. Like 1984's Winston, John Preston has a high position in the government. However, Winston ended up being brainwashed even more when he was caught. Preston just kills anyone that threatens him with his Gun Kata skills and strengthens the resistance. And the movie was alright, not my favorite, but I was fine with it considering I get to look at Christian Bale for 2 hours :-).
The dystopian movie that I had decided to watch was Equilibrium. This movie was really interesting and i enjoyed watching it. The main reason I picked it was because I have always been interested in what things would be like for humans if there were to be a World War III.
This movie relates very much to 1984 and Brave New World. The movie takes place in the city-state of Libria after World War III which devastated the earth. Libria is now a dystopian society just as World State and England were. It is controlled by the leader called "The Father"just as "Big Brother" was in 1984. The movie stars a character named John Preston who is an enforcement officer just as there were the Thought Police in 1984. Just as Soma was given out to give "happiness" to everyone in Brave New World, there was also a daily dose of Prozium to suppress any emotions. The government also targets control upon the children. In 1984 the government used the children as junior spies which even their own parents feared and in Brave New World, hatred for books and flowers and beautiful things were greatly instilled in them as infants. There is also great use of propaganda placed on televisions and posters worshiping The Father. However, unlike 1984 and Brave New World there is no real suppression of sexual intercourse or reproduction.
John Preston in my opinion reminds me completly of Winston because although they work closely with the fascist government they ironically are the ones to "rebel" or realize the horrors of what there society has become. However, unlike Winston, Preston takes action against the government after missing his dose of Prozium rather than just talking or thinking about it. Due to Preston not being able to control his emotions as the government obligates you to, he ends up falling in love with Mary O'Brien just as Winston falls in love with the "dark-haired" girl.
In all three works strict and dire consequences are done in order to instill fear and show superiority towards the citizens. In Equilibrium there was a resistance group known as the Underground which possessed the goal of reviving emotional values just like The Brotherhood was a resistance group in 1984. Unlike the books we have read with unfortunate endings, this movie ends in success with the killing of the Father, the resistance taking control, and restoring the peoples emotional values.
Overall, the parallels to Equilibrium, 1984, and Brave New World were definitely shown. However, the only major difference between these works was that the movie ended in overcoming the governments fascist ways rather than a disappointing ending like that of the books.
The Matrix is appealed to me due to the franchise’s massive success. Even those who haven’t seen the actual movie before probably have heard of the title. In all seriousness, who hasn’t seen that bullet dodge? Anyways, beyond all the action the viewer learns of the complex Matrix and chronicles of Neo. This computer genius becomes entangled with a “terrorist”. Morpheus awakens Neo to the real world. The world Neo previously believed in is just a façade and is nothing more than a lie supported by the Matrix. The Matrix imprisons minds within an artificial reality. Neo and Morpheus attempt to strip down the lies in order to free society from the technology crippling them.
As Gloria previously mentioned, the Matrix is pretty much an all-in-one device. Far beyond the technology mentioned in 1984, the Matrix has the ability to crush those who resist society’s conventional practices. However in 1984 the government’s power is absolute; there is no choice of participation. In the Matrix people are controlled by the machines. You lose your free will: you are plugged in and your energy is absorbed to run the state. However, this is an exchange. By giving up your ability to make decisions you are rewarded a safe "life" in the Matrix. Even though the choice of leaving the Matrix is available, who would want to risk their life by venturing out into the daunting real world?
The most obvious parallel between Brave New World and the Matrix are the technological advantages. Science is used to exploit the people. The masses are programmed to fit the needs of society and are genetically mutated to perform the job they are assigned to. Although, in Brave New World the people of the World State are fully aware of this genetic manipulation and conditioning they undergo. They accept it because it keeps society balanced and functioning. The people living within the matrix aren’t aware that their world is false.
Free thinking is absolutely necessary in order for society to thrive. When the ruling party becomes oppressive, people are bound to rebel as illustrated in 1984, Brave New World, and the Matrix.
The movie I watched was the matrix, and I have to say it was awesome. It's about this dystopian society in which people live pretty similar to our world. However this world they live in is nothing more that a simulated reality generated by a program called the matrix. In reality the world is much farther in the future where everything is destroyed and humans are grown in pods which are used as a energy source for machines. Pretty much humans have become batteries and these machies use the millions of these batteries. War has raged between humans and machines in reality. No one in the simlulated reality knows this however unless they are informed and get unplugged from their pods by the rebellion forces. The movie is about one man, Neo who was prophesied to have the power the cotrol the matrix, and the journey he takes to uncover his powers in order to end the war between man and machine and set the humans free. The matrix generates "agents" that attempt to control the people who know or are close to discovering the truth by erasing the memory and replacing it. These are geerally the unplugged people or they later become uplugged.
The book 1984 is about a dystopian society controlled by a figurehead know as "Big Brother". He was the abolute authority that had to be feared, loved, and respected. In this book there are thought police similar to the "agents" in the movie, who contol any thoughts of rebllion againist big brother while the agents controll the unplugged. Also there are different ministries that control different aspects of society like how the matrix controls the virtual reality. To be more controlling the government put up telecreens that can see everything that happens all the time like how the matrix sees all by using the humans themselves that reside in the virtual reality. The matrix and the agents use the sight and hearing of every human in their efforts to stop the uplugged.
Brave new world is about another dystopian society known as the world state, where humans grown and raised to be part of specific castes and each caste had different tasks with which they were happy to do. The higher the caste the higher the intelligence level had to be in the grown humans. Some humas where even purposely made less intelligent for their caste. This was all to have a society where work could be done and each person was happy doing their job whether it was a good one or a bad one. Brave new world is similar to the matrix in that humans are grown. Also their are two differet socities in each, the matix has the virtual reality and the real world and brave new world has the World State and the reservations. The first in each is the created dystopian society and the second shows how society really is. In this book there is also people that control the rebellions like the agents in the matrix and the thought police in 1984, but they're just know as police.
In all three of these, the societies are flawed giving way to rebellion uprising.
The movie I chose to watch was Equilibrium. It turns out that Mr. Egan was right; it was a great film. It takes place in the near future, in Libria, the only place with civilization after World War III. The war had taken an enormous toll on humanity, and the leaders felt that mankind wouldn't live past another war. In order to avoid further conflict, they attempted to repress the source of war: emotions. They outlawed any form of emotion; art, poetry, literature, and music were all banned. The government, or the Tetragramaton Council, is spearheaded by a single figure, Father. The government uses a drug called Prozium to suppress human emotion limit the abilities of the people.
However, there is a constant resistance movement in which people within Libria and outsiders from The Nethers, ruins from the war, continually attempt to destroy the Tetragramaton by destroying the Prozium distribution centers, or the Equilibrium. If they succeed in doing this, the people will begin to feel again and overtake the Librian government. Conversely, clerics, or the highest ranking law enforcers, crush these "sense offenders" and protect the government through the use of Gunkata, a special form of martial arts the enables the cleric to predict its opponents moves. The highest ranking cleric, also the films protagonist, is John Preston, played by Christian Bale.
One day, Preston accidentally breaks his bottle of Prozium and misses a dose. He begins to feel "emotion" and starts to sympathize for the Resistance. He chooses not to kill a dog in the Nethers, kills Librian policemen after they find the rescued dog, and refuses to kill resistance members. These actions make his partner, Brandt, very suspicious. Preston finally sides with the Resistance and plans to assassinate Father in order to create enough confusion so that the rest of the Resistance members could destroy the Prozium supply. Brandt turns Preston in to the Vice Council DuPont, who is later revealed to be the new Head of State after Father had died years before. Preston goes berserk breaks out his inner Batman by using Gunkata to kill both Brandt and DuPont, along with a number of armed policemen. The Resistance then destroys the Prozium supply, the Librian government comes crashing down, and everybody lives happily ever after.
This film greatly resembled the dystopian societies in both 1984 and A Brave New World. Preston greatly resembles Winston. Both were government agents that suddenly "awoke". Also the Brotherhood in 1984 strongly mirrors the Underground, or the resistance movement, in Equilibrium. Also, in both societies, the government uses harsh and oppressive tactics to keep their people in check. Lastly, in 1984, Big Brother was seen as a figure head. Whether is was really a person or just a representation of the entire government, it resembles Father in Equilibrium.
Equilibrium slightly resembles a Brave New World. Just as emotion had been taken away from people in the film, emotion is taken out of many things in the book, such as sex. Also, the use of a drug, Prozium, reflects on the use of Soma, to repress people and put them under the government's control. Overall, I would say that this was a great film.
Like most dystopian societies, that found in the Matrix can be described with a few words; advanced, surreal, vast, and above all dangerous. It encompasses a wide array of futuristic devices (well as of 1999) that although may seem impossible, really aren't that far off from our own technology.
What really appealed to me about this particular film is that it placed our own world, exactly as it is in its entirety into this futuristic dystopian society. Unlike George Orwell's 1984 or Aldous Huxley's Brave New World where people are blind to their oppression in a physical sense, The Matrix plays the same game but on a much more mentally in-depth level. The basic plot is that Neo an (for the most part) ordinary human like you or me, is awakened by Morpheus, the head of the rebellion, so that he can see the REAL world for what it actually is, a completely obliterated wasteland inhabited by a carnal race of machines. Where it gets dystopian is the real mind blowing aspect of the film. This race of machines lives off the physical energies of humans themselves leaving only their mental consciousness which is placed into a highly realistic computer program which resembles society called the matrix.
This plot offers a much richer and intellectually satisfying concept than say 1984 where it is pretty straight forward, the party members, through use of technology, watch over everyone else and if they pose a threat to the party, they torture them. Simple, easy, to-the-point. Even the World State Brave New World which was slightly more advanced than Oceania (they do their brainwashing without fear, before birth) does not compare to the mind-blowing complexity of the matrix.
Also, the concept of the rebellion, lead by Morpheus, is an idea common to dystopian worlds. They are the few people who realize the atrocities of the government/race of machines that controls them. They are the very essence of the plot which can either be resolved in: the crappy ending of 1984 where Winston gets tortured into submission, the sad ending of Brave New World where Bernard gets exiled and John commits suicide, or the awesome ending of The Matrix where Neo accepts who and where he is and kicks agent Smith's ass.
In other words, dystopian books/movies are all based on the same concept that there is some elite group of people (or machines) that is controlling everyone else. However, it is how the author/director chooses to present the topic that will either make the audience, first of all enjoy the piece, but also think about where their world is headed because if you think about it the ideas presented in all these stories are not really that far fetched. Telescreens have been around for years, we know them as cameras, soma is very similar to present day depressants and controlling people before birth, look at what science has already come up with: what sex do you want your child and even what color do you want their eyes? As for The Matrix, do i really think that a race of robots will one day take over the planet, probably not. However, virtual reality simulations and animation graphics are inching ever closer to creating a cyber reality.
Okay second time I have to post. This always happens to me man... Anyway, I watched Rollerball. Rollerball was a very violent sport that consisted of many other sports that we play today: hockey, baseball, rollerblading, and motorcycle racing. Corporations were in charge, and there was a corporation in charge of each particular region. Rollerball was a way for players to let out their anger and hostility, hence why it's such a bloody sport. Which, was also similar in 1984. The Party let the Proles drive themselves to their own ruin by letting them have sex, and letting them drink alcohol. The more violent and aggressive a player was during a rollerball game, they would be praised not only by their team, but by the leader of the corporation. The whole government system resembles Brave New World because instead of a corporation leader being in charge, a Controller was in charge of a certain region. Like in Brave New World, the corporations are in charge of everyone's future, and decide how things will go in the society. That's what the Controller's did with their mass production of humans. Anyway, in Rollerball, people start popping pills and they call them "aphrodisiacs." It takes the feeling away and leaves them high, much like soma in Brave New World. John, the protagonist, resembles Winston, because John was asked to retire from rollerball, and he feels something is fishy with the corporation leaders. Winston suspected something was wrong with the Party, and well it kind of got him killed. Clee, or the black mentor to John, resembles O'Brien. Clee wants to help John find out why the corporation wants him to retire, but at the same time he feels that it wouldn't do him any good. That's why O'Brien said all of the things he did to help Winston along, but crush all his dreams in the end. Like in Brave New World, sex isn't frowned upon. Everyone's sleeping with everyone regardless of their living situation. Like good ole Big Brother, the corporations are ALWAYS watching. In this society, people are giving luxury cards every year to enjoy the things they desire, minus sex.
A dystopian society is a society in which it’s in a controlled state, usually seen as utopian to the inhabitants.
The movie I decide to watch was The Matrix. The movie is about this guy, Thomas Anderson, which has like an alter ego: a computer programmer by day and a computer hacker by night. Already this reminds me of Winston from George Orwell’s 1984 because Winston is a record “editor” by day but by night he secretly has sex with Julia and plots revenge/a revolution against “Big Brother” and it’s so called government. Also, in the book there are telescreens and Junior Spies watching people’s every move, the movie has agents doing the same job, watching the “unplugged” people in the “Matrix World”. By the end of the movie, machines end up taking over the society in the real world and therefore Neo has to go back to the Matrix and, much like Winston, attempts to but some sort of order to the society. Sadly Winston fails.
Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley, also has similarities to the dystopian society displayed in The Matrix. Like soma makes people in the World State feel content with everything, the blue and red pills and the “Matrix” world makes people feel like they’re in a better place, full of “fun” and adventure.
Well at first I didn't know which movie to watch but I watched They Live. At first I chose to watch it because it had the wrestler, Rody Piper in it but the beginning seemed to be boring so I wanted to chose another one but at the end it was actually interesting. It was pretty interesting how the government or the "high class people" controlled the world. This movie has aspects of both the books we read which were 1984 and Brave New Word. In all these three worlds the people are controlled by some type of government. This is how people were brainwashed and controlled by certain "parties". In the movie, They Live the people lived blind and could never see what was actually going on. Some said that they were being treated as "Slaves". The main actor in this movie was Rody Piper and he was the one who broke out the word "Rebellion". What I mean by this is that he shouted out what was really going on and he acted on his own. He killed the police who were always following the rules to benefit themselves. He realized something was going on was when the police killed and destroyed the people. Also when the guy who was blind was getting beat and the other man who kept interfering with the tv service also. Once he tried those sunglasses things were completely different. There was a new world behind those glasses and he found it. The government must have used these to keep them controlled. The posters, magazines, billboards and signs were filled wtih words and phrases like "Obey", "No independent thought", "Watch Tv", "Stay Asleep", "Don't Question Authority", "Marry and Reproduce" and "Consume". Also "This is your God" was on the currency the guy was holding. This was all scary and
creepy. Some people were shown as aliens and skeleton
faces. These people held watches which helped them get in contact with the police when they saw someone acting different. I almost forgot about that girl Holly, she was a weird actor in this movie I didn't really understand which side she was on until she killed Frank who was Nada's friend and partner in crime. :) She just wanted to help the "government" to capture Nada !
This movie compares to 1984 because people were controlled as well with copying phrases and saying things over and over again. There were taperecorders that were almost like telescreens as used in 1984. Also individualism was taken away from people in both books 1984 and Brave New World.
This movie also compares to Brave New World because the people were controlled by much technology and were used as a factory or business. All this society cared about was consumerism and their economy. The wealthy got everything and in Brave New World the high level ones like Alphas had most control. The aliens also had their way of communicating which was like radio waves like Isaiah said which was the same as the children's hypnopedia.
The movie as well as both books showed best illustrations of the dystopian society.
After getting to watch this movie I felt that it was pretty good but I still want to watch the twelve monkeys.
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