Communication Breakdown

Brave New World

1984, Atlas Shrugged, Clockwork Orange, Fahrenheit 451, We. All novels of similar futuristic settings, based on a satirical exaggeration of a trend in the author's present. Brave New World is not unlike these three, questioning the sexual rigidity and birth of industry of Huxley's 1930s.

Somehow, sex has lost it's reproductive power to the artificiality of industry. Humans are manufactured from a single ovary, and several sets of twins are developmentally controlled to occupy certain caste characteristics, leading to particular occupations. This seems to be motivated by maximizing the citizen's happiness: sex is no longer monogamous, people are brainwashed into their careers, and everyone is constantly sedated by a drug called soma, which is something like alcohol without the after effects.

At first, this world seems like paradise. Then we meet our protagonist, Bernard Marx. (On the instance of naming, many characters have famous first names and surnames even when they cannot see the significance because the historical names have lost their connotation). Bernard protests the idea of community through what he comes to see as being humane. An Alpha plus, he has been bred to be of the highest caste, prepared for intellectual and weighty work. As a result, he deals openly with his own emotion. On a trip to impress a girl, he goes to the only world in New Mexico where this communal nature remains kept at length.

The introduction of John, a "Savage" because he was conceived in what is to be considered the normal way for contemporary readers opens up questions of what is normal and what is atypical. His familiarity with Shakespeare allows him to draw connections between what he understands as his natural world, the new world which he is visiting, and the behaviors and traditions of the past. Would consistent happiness really be the answer to all humanity's problems? Could there be art, literature, music, film, or other expressive mediums without the forces of tragedy and frustration?

I think the most compelling part of this novel is the technology. Written in the 30s with the birth of the mass produced automobile (Ford is akin to God), the innovation of mass production touches all elements of technology. Although computers have not been imagined, individuals travel by helicopter and rocket ship back and forth to both work and vacation destinations. All manufactured goods, especially leisure games such as golf, suggest some sort of digital elements. However, the fertilization process is all carried out by hand. Perhaps this suggests a faith in humanity to always have a part in their own growth, or maybe it adds fallibility to the equation, in direct imitation of the act as we know it today. 

Take Back the Night

I watch a lot of crime shows. Probably more than is considered normal.

All three CSI types (the original in Vegas, Miami, and New York), Law and Order, Criminal Minds, Fringe (science fiction crime?) and even parodies like Psych.

In all of these shows, I have become obsessed with cracking the case based simply on my knowledge of the script and its typical components. For example, with CSI, generally the perpetrator ends up being the first or second person they speak to about the crime at the scene, when they are gathering general information about the incident. At first, these individuals appear to be innocent bystanders, but later the evidence reveals them for their true selves. Similarly, Criminal Minds cast members will always present a profile of their unidentified subject within the first 15 minutes of the program. About 45 minutes in, they will realize that they are missing one critical clue to unlock the profile, or they have made a grave mistake. The action unravels quickly from there. Clearly, I have studied this form to the utmost extent, as I hope to write at least one script someday, potentially a thriller. In any case, I felt knowledgeable and prepared to face any of the scumbags of the world, fictional or otherwise.

With my addiction to crime shows, I have become so desensitized to human violence in real life. Criminal Minds had an episode with a missing girl. I was able to predict that she had probably been molested in the past, and the wife of the molester has kidnapped the girl in order to redirect her husband's physical attention away from the girl and to herself. This is a very gruesome situation, but I take it at face value. It's all fiction, right? They are following a very strict narrative formula.

Last night, I went to a Take Back the Night rally at UC Irvine. One of my friends is involved in a peer counseling group, and so I went to support her and see what it is all about. I have never been a victim of sexual violence, rape, or sexual harassment aside from the occasional catcall or ill-timed pickup line. Nor did I think that I actually knew anyone who had borne an experience such as this.

My attendance resulted in an almost complete mental shift in attitude toward these women, and the events of my beloved crime shows. Things like this happen in real life, and hundreds upon thousands of people around you hide them for fear of what the world may say. It is mind blowing to even compare one form of sexual harassment with another; from the 15 year old girl who didn't know how to tell her boyfriend no, to the senior in high school who has no one to turn to when her new stepfather watches her in the shower.

This event provided a personal face, and breathed a very intimate life into the characters and victims of my crime shows. No longer do they occupy the formula, somewhere between the rising action and the plot twist. If anyone ever has the opportunity to attend an event such as this, I would sincerely recommend it. You might leave confused, saddened, or shaken, but it offers a clear dose of reality.

After all, art imitates life... so why not face the difficulties which life has dealt to so many people?

The Turn of the Screw: Seriously Scary Children

 Many would say at first glance, children can't be scary; they are so innocent, pure, and incorruptible. However, just think about any truly scary movie. Although I would consider myself a fan of suspenseful psychological films, rather than gore, there are some children that are just not right. For example, The Ring, or The Grudge: both have the haunted little girl. Or The Shining, when the small child repeats "redrum...redrum". Have you ever wondered where the archetype of scary children came from?

This must be a 1900s idea, because The Turn of the Screw features some seriously scary children. As far as plot goes, you are introduced to a new nanny who is to be a governess for a young girl, and a young boy who is dismissed from school for making trouble with his teachers and classmates. At first, everything seems to be going well, until she discovers that these children have been gallivanting with the ghosts of two former workers: Miss Jessel, a former governess and Quint, a former valet. The relationship between these two characters is not entirely clear, but somehow they became companions of these children in the afterlife.

My first impression of this text seemed to be from the point of view of a disturbed governess, that is, the narration seemed to me that all of the events were constructed in the mind of our main character. However, there are some exchanges and unexplained events between the boy, Miles, and our narrator. I personally am still concerned as to why the child was dismissed from school. I understand that the technique of mystery allows him to create an ethos of terror, but then again, that is also an unlimited vehicle for supernatural activity that I hope the author utilizes later in the text.