Brave New World #3

Will a utopia ever succeed in human society, despite the speculation from novels such as 1984 and Brave New World?
When John seemed to love Lenina so much, why would he hang himself?
How close is our society to that of Brave New World and how easily could ours follow it?

Brave New World #1

In Brave New World, there are 5 social groups, so to speak. In each of those, depending on your rank (Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, or Epsilon), you are given a set color to wear and from the beginning of your life you are raised to learn and live that your group is the best to be in. There is a nursery where people are created. By this time, relationships and sex are no longer thought of as something for adults to do. In fact, the words "mom" and "dad" are taboo. Kids are allowed to "fulfill their sexual desires" when they are very young. New people are conceived in a lab. From birth, children are conditioned to do this and do that and like this and hate that. Deltas are conditioned to hate flowers and books. This causes harmony and reduces conflict -- since they use things to teach children while they sleep, the children know who they are when they grow up, and thus have no reason to want anything else. They also have soma to defeat all negative feelings. This society had every intention to be a utopia, and it got very close, but human nature is to seek happiness, not to "experience" it from birth. They aren't happy, and they can't know what happiness is until they learn to think for themselves.

1984 #3

Big Brother has definitely won. Throughout the entire book, Winston is fighting to go against Big Brother, but Big Brother brings him down in the end, penetrating and infiltrating his mind. One State is too strong to be brought down. No mass has the capability to bring them down because the State has so many ways to manipulate the minds of the citizens of Oceania. In the end, I think Winston goes back to loving and accepting Big Brother the way every other citizen seems to -- being brain washed and mindless.

1984 #2

Winston is having trouble believing what Big Brother is saying because he has begun to think for himself and realizes that there is more to life than what Big Brother has set out. He knows that he is being lied to, even in his job he experiences the lie every day (his job is to rewrite the past). His small acts of defiance are a form of protest only for himself. They are silent ways for him to rightfully think for the first time in a long time. His protesting is similar to Occupy Wall Street, but it is nowhere near the extent that Occupy goes through. They are alike as they are both fighting against the government and fighting towards more rights and freedom. The mass sees Winston's protests as dangerous and ridiculous, while the mass finds Occupy's protests as less of a threat, more misinformed than dangerous. In a sense, we have not become as Orwellian as you can get. We are much more free than Winston ever thought he could be.

1984 #1

1984's society has created conformity and equality in many ways. Everyone is forced to wear the same clothing and has the same rations of food. Their living conditions are equal. They have created conformity through thoughts due to the thought police and everything of the like, because of the BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU signs. In a nutshell, Big Brother is trying to create a society full of close-minded people who do not think for themselves and don't question a minute of it. To reduce conflict, the government has eradicated almost all traces of religion and has put an end to relationships being a natural part of life. Thus, they have ended conflict. This society is a dystopia. The Party had every intent to create a utopia, but utopias have no capability to exist in human nature, therefore The Party's intended utopia would not have happened.

"Communist Utopia" by Thomas Hornung

1. The parts of this painting that indicate communism are the eyes (The government watching you), the brick coming through the grey paint (freedom trying to break through), as well as the redundant coloring (communism is basically where everyone is equal in everything).
2. The artist's view of communism is that it is bad. He views it as dark and lonely to anticipate/attempt to rebel against it.
3. The title means that it is a communist's utopia. Everything is the same and equal and is constantly being watched. However, it is also an oxymoron. With communism, you can't have a utopia.

"Don't You Want Me?" - The Human League

1. The subject matter is conflicting sides of a relationship when people involved are much better off alone.
2. The girl wants to leave the boy. ["The five years we have had have been such good times / I still love you / But now I think it's time I lived my life on my own / I guess it's just what I must do"]. The boy wants to stay with her and is trying to convince her that she should be with him.
3. I side with the girl. Although the boy has a good point, he seems controlling and demanding, while the girl seems wise and independent.

"Love Language" short film

1. I assumed that she was deaf because the norm is to remove your headphones while someone is talking to you, which she did not do.
2. It is not a cultural conflict.
3. An external conflict is the boy vs. the girl because he can't understand her.
4. An internal conflict is the girl wanting to hear but not being able to, or the girl not wanting to tell him that she was deaf.
5. The girl agreed to let him "listen to her song" and therein told him she was deaf. He still thought she was beautiful.

"This Land is Your Land" by Woodie Guthrie

1. Guthrie's message is collectivist. The second-to-last stanza proves this. "As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking / is this land made for you and me?" It is also individualist. Although he acknowledges collectivism, it is also very individualist. He is speaking about what he is doing on his own and is also addressing our American people. We are free and individual and ourselves as well as together and dependent and reliant on each other.

2. I find this song to be anti-government. He seems to be questioning it and criticizing it. In the second-to-last stanza, he is appaleed at the hungry people and why no one has done anything about it.

Utopia

A utopia is an ideal place that is perfect in every way and satisfies every person living in it.

My ideal world is a world with no fighting, no inequalities, and no injustice. In all honesty, a utopia for me would be filled with intelligent and interesting people who appreciate art and various other things of the sort, as pretentious as that sounds.

The soundtrack to my utopia would be filled with chill and relaxing music.

2+2=5 by Radiohead

This song is talking, lyrically, about a world where everything is wrong. It has changed for the worst and has become a dystopia. No one paid attention to the change because they were crippled by some desire.

The music helps push the message because it is sinister, crazy, and has an out-of-control sound. The message is pushed through this because it makes you feel as if you are crazy as well.

2+2-5 alludes to Winston's statement that they had changed so much and made people think this or that and soon they'll say that 2+2=5, and people will believe it.