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"Brave new world" vs "1984"

Your preffered distopia

  • Brave new world

    Votes: 8 88.9%
  • 1984

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • I can't decide

    Votes: 1 11.1%

  • Total voters
    9
Neither
No vote
I live not in fear
Maybe I am too stupid to live in fear
There should be a "other" choice, but then the OP would lose control.
"preffered" = ???
 
Why is Brave New World a distopia? There's no war, no capitalism, everyone has a role to play in society and everyone is provided for. And there's no Victorian sexual oppression and sexual closed-mindedness.
 
Why is Brave New World a distopia? There's no war, no capitalism, everyone has a role to play in society and everyone is provided for. And there's no Victorian sexual oppression and sexual closed-mindedness.

Good point. :) From the encyclopedia:

Huxley referred to Brave New World as a "negative utopia" (see dystopia), somewhat influenced by Wells' own The Sleeper Awakes (dealing with subjects like corporate tyranny and behavioral conditioning) and the works of D. H. Lawrence.
 
Both were rather horrific, IMO, but for very different reasons.

Brave New World: a drugged existence for most, little opportunity to better your circumstances, love and true intimacy discouraged in favor of casual and meaningless sex without long term relationships, no family life, a stale and stagnant culture.

1984: Mind-numbing oppression, constant surveillance, arrest and torture and "re-education" for the slightest hint of dissenting THOUGHT, etc.


Of the two though, it is no contest that Brave New World would be a lot less disagreeable to live in, if you HAD to choose one or the other.
 
I vote for "We" by Yevgeny Zamyatin.

Since Huxley borrowed so many of his themes and all.......
 
Of the two though, it is no contest that Brave New World would be a lot less disagreeable to live in, if you HAD to choose one or the other.

Well, it is a contest - I would choose the Brave New World 100 times before 1984. :peace
 
I vote for "We" by Yevgeny Zamyatin.

Since Huxley borrowed so many of his themes and all.......

"We" is an interesting read, if for nothing else, it's history as an early example of the dystopian novel. But I remember it being a pretty tedious at times.

PS wasn't the accusation that both Huxley and Orwell based their books on "we"
 
"We" is an interesting read, if for nothing else, it's history as an early example of the dystopian novel. But I remember it being a pretty tedious at times.

PS wasn't the accusation that both Huxley and Orwell based their books on "we"

Oh, yeah. As a literary work, it left something to be desired. As a generator of ideas, though, it was something of a landmark, even if obscure.

That these two writers so often mentioned in the same breath both borrowed from the themes indicates its importance.
 
Oh, yeah. As a literary work, it left something to be desired. As a generator of ideas, though, it was something of a landmark, even if obscure.

That these two writers so often mentioned in the same breath both borrowed from the themes indicates its importance.

Doing a bit of research (wikipedia), it seems "we" and "The Iron Heel" are considered the first major examples of the genre. And that while Huxley always denied the influence "we" had on his work, Orwell was pretty open about it.

*if anyone is interested, here is a free and legal download for "the iron heel"

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1164

"We" is easily accessible as an online doc on scribd, but I am not sure about it's legality and copyright status
 
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Wait....don't they eat babies in Brave New World?
 
Between a totally meaningless existence in which you're at least free to do as you please, or a totally meaningless existence in which Big Brother controls everything... I'll take the former thanks.

It seems to me modern society is evolving into a kind of blend between the two dystopias.
 
While 1984 may have a much more oppressive existence, the populace still retains their faculties. The lower castes in brave new world are mentally and physically retarded at birth to keep them compliant and not question their role in society. There is hope that a tyrannical government could be overthrown, but pre-natal brain damage is irreversible. I'd rather have the cognition to be able to suffer the dystopia rather than embrace it in ignorant bliss.
 
"Orgy-porgy," the dancers caught up the liturgical refrain, "Orgy-porgy, Ford and fun, kiss the girls…"
 
Why is Brave New World a distopia? There's no war, no capitalism, everyone has a role to play in society and everyone is provided for. And there's no Victorian sexual oppression and sexual closed-mindedness.

I think Brave New World shows how any utopia is really a distopia in disguise. No free will, everyone just does as they are told.
 
I'd rather have the cognition to be able to suffer the dystopia rather than embrace it in ignorant bliss.

Wow, you want to suffer full-scale? I'd rather smoke joint if. I am allowed to. :)
 
I think Brave New World shows how any utopia is really a distopia in disguise. No free will, everyone just does as they are told.

Not sure about that. Take for example some classical utopias - Plato's "State" and "The City Of The Sun" by Tomasso Campanella. They are not meant to be "free will"-free.
 
A choice between a round turd and a square turd. Ya' gotta' go with Brave New World.
 
Not sure about that. Take for example some classical utopias - Plato's "State" and "The City Of The Sun" by Tomasso Campanella. They are not meant to be "free will"-free.

Hence why they qualify as distopia's in my book.

The human experience isn't about everything being perfectly laid out in front of you and perfectly harmonious.
 
The human experience isn't about everything being perfectly laid out in front of you and perfectly harmonious.

That's correct but this is an ideal to strive for, not a daily life. :)
 
A Prol in 1984, with the occasional chance of being bombed, it doesn't seem too bad.
 
I've often considered this and the my answer is always the same. 1984. And then, with my immense mind control powers, I'd overthrow The Party and Big Brother. I'd pwn O'Brien.
 
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