RSA animate/ Brave New World

There are lots of parallels i noticed in the video that were similar to Brave New World. Several of which were very strong congruencies:

First, there was the idea of ADHD being an epidemic in America. Sir Ken Robinson points out that there is not really an epidemic and that children are being medicated carelessly. they are given Ritalin and Adderol so they can be focused in school. a non-medical problem is being cared for with medication. this strongly resembles the Somma in Brave New World. if someone isnt happy, they simple take Somma, and suddenly theyre content again. This reliance on drugs is a parallel between Huxleys novel and Sir Robinson's video.

Next, i noticed the similarities between how our education system puts children in groups by age and has them taught to think that there is only one answer. Robinson points out how students are taught linearly instead of divergently. this standardization of education reflects the caste system in Brave New World and how each caste is conditioned to be only able to do the job their caste demands. each caste is conditioned through hypnopaedia to to only think one way, this resembles the culture of our education system and how  students are taught to think only in terms of if one score high on tests, one is intelligent and will have a good job and if one scores low, the person is unintelligent and must have a laborous job.

Another significant thing i noticed was the similarities between the "production line mentality" of America's education system, and the biologically mass-produced citizens of the World State in Brave New World. The students in America go through this process of classes organized by age, yet as Robinson elucidates, age does not necessarily dictate a students aptitude or discipline with a certain subject. This parallels the caste system in the novel and how everyone is conditioned from pre-birth to maturity to only be intelligent enough for their caste's jobs.

Brave New World- Chapter 3: an examination of collectivism and inverse morality

"Wheels must turn steadily, but can not turn untended. There must be men to tend them, men as sturdy as the wheels upon their axles, sane men, obedient men, stable in contentment."
this quote encompassed the industrial and economic systems in Brave New World. The lower castes of this society are simple workers; multitudes of drones and one-task thinkers. the mass production of human life is key to the economic structure of this society. but there is another factor that goes along with the workers. not only are the workers created for the purpose of a simple life of servitude, they are also conditioned to enjoy such a meager life. they are content with this lifestyle in every sense, and therefore, they are stable. like biological machinery. constantly working working working and satisfied with every minute of their day.


family, monogamy, impulse, feeling, desire? 
these are concepts that are no longer established in the Brave New World. family is an extinct concept replaced with the communistic principle that "everyone belongs to everyone else." humans are grown not birthed and the exclusive nature of family has been expanded to a society of free love. the morals of this society are not that one person belongs with one partner (as it is today) but instead the morality of the culture lies in multiple partners. the idea is that if a person only has one emotional outlet that they become unstable. by introducing multiple partners a person has multiple outlets and therefore is more stable. in the novel the character Mustapha Mons makes an analogy of a person being like a pipe. if one hole is punctured then it would spray out a jet stream of water. however with many holes, the pipe would merely leak from them all. Thus, stability is reached.


impulse and desire is extinguished from the culture. these are dangerous, unstable emotions which threaten the structure of the society. by conditioning the ideology of collective love and property into the minds of the people, they lose the opportunity for emotions such as jealousy or envy or desire which can inspire or be inspired by impulse and desire.


"'stability,' said the Controller, 'stability. No civilization without social stability. No social stability without individual stability.'"
As can be seen in the quote the goal of the society is to create a world where the peoples are emotionally stable and ultimately happy with their lives. by doing this a utopia-esque social structure can be created where the industrial and economic aspects of the society reach a state of near-perfection. which incidentally can be related to the previous quote, and the efficiency of "sane men, obedient men, stable in contentment."

The Tempest essay preparation

In discussions of postcolonialism, one controversial issue in the Tempest has been whether the dominated culture -in this case the character Caliban- is wronged or the domineering Prospero maintains justification. On the one hand, George Will argues this is an unjustified political response. On the other hand, Stephen Greenblatt contends (with evidence) that Shakespeare deliberately wanted to explore this concept. He connects Shakespeare's research and interest in imperialism with his purpose in The Tempest. Others even maintain that it was his main purpose in writing The Tempest. However, my own view is congruent with Greenblatt's. I feel Shakespeare's main interest in writing this poetry was to call question to the concept and he pulled his interest from the colonization of the native americas.

In my essay i plan to discuss the concept of postcolonialism and then pull into view the contrasting views on Shakespeare's intent with the concept in The Tempest. First i will use Bressler's discussion of it. Then I'm going to use the literary debate we covered in class between Greenblatt and Will as well as the ideas in A Tempest and how aime cesaire further developed ideology in The Tempest. After discussing the the ideas between these sources and contrasting them as well as comparing them, i will synthesize my own opinion into the essay. 

Im going to attempt to use a large context for my discussion and possibly some outside research beyond what we have done is class. Yet for now, my outline consists of mainly the literary debate and how the views expressed in it as well as my own mesh together. All of this discussion will be preceded with postcolonialism arguments. Then in the end, i will connect these discussions together and use the concepts expressed to sum up a final point i want to make about Shakespeare and his writing pursuits on postcolonialism and how the authors in my essay relate and differ. 

Will/Greenblatt literary debate

George Will believes there is too much political interpretation. He argues that by over criticizing literature, it devalues the piece and it devalues the authors as well. He maintains that there is all sorts of political responses which can be derived from a literary work, however all these criticisms are overdone and sometimes done with the intention of making political statements. And such statements may not be congruent with the work. In his essay he states "This ideology radically devalues authors and elevates the ideologists -the critics- as indispensable decoders of literature, all of which is, by definition, irreducibly political."

Stephen Greenblatt argues that Will's essay is unfounded. He states that there is some interpretations that are obviously meant for seeing. The colonialism and its political ties in The Tempest were very deliberately put forth by Shakespeare. He argues that Shakespeare is an art and being so, it is supposed to be widely criticized. He argues all of Will's points and nearly plays the devils advocate towards his statements. He says in his essay "A love of literature may help to forge community, but it is a community founded on imaginative freedom, he play of language, and scholarly honesty, not on flag waving, boosterism, and conformity."

I identify much more with what Greenblatt has to say. I think when authors write a work, especially a poetic one, they are hoping for their work to be analyzed and criticized. The most famous works are the ones with controversy. Although i do see Will;s point in the sense that political responses can most certainly be overdone. Yet i side much more with Greenblatt and his idea that "poets cannot soar when their feet are stuck in social cement."