Under the Iron Curtain, Aldous Huxley's Brave New World
Under the Iron Curtain, Aldous Huxley's Brave New World
Imagine what the world would be like if we were all "under the iron curtain." In his foreword to the novel Brave New World, Aldous Huxley envisioned this statement when he wrote: "To make them love it is the task assigned, in present- day totalitarian states, to ministries of propaganda…." Thus, through hypnopaedic teaching (brainwashing), mandatory attendance to community gatherings, and allusions to prominent political dictators, Huxley bitterly satirized totalitarian propaganda and political technique to point out the problems of a dystopian society.
The way the fascist and totalitarian regimes used mass propaganda techniques to brainwash their people was nearly identical to the way Huxley described the hypnopaedic teachings in his novel. He also thought, however, that the present-day totalitarian states' methods were still "crude and unscientific." For example, in the novel the different classes had been brainwashed since birth to believe that they all contributed equally to society. Therefore, the people wouldn't go against the World Controllers because they had never been trained to think anything differently. In addition, they didn't have any knowledge of a society which they could compare themselves. This was evident in the saying "History is bunk." Similarly, the totalitarian dictators attempted to control but failed because they weren't able to persuade the entire world to think like them. In addition, Communism attempted to rewrite history, but the society in Brave New World took the next step and forgot aboutt history altogether. The only people who had access to any knowledge of the past were the ones who had the power: the World Controllers. Thus, they were able to create a stable society.
Since the hypnopaedic ideas in the society were continuously repeated throughout one's lifetime, mandatory attendance to community gatherings, such as the Solidarity Service, were strictly enforced. The main purpose of the Solidarity Service was to promote social stability. The people were driven to this idea by singing songs like the First Solidarity Hymn, which began, "Ford, we are twelve oh, make us one." During this time, people were also consuming soma rations, which drugged them and caused them to get swept up in the service. Consequently, at the end an orgy took place, which brought them together as one being. In comparison, the political rallies Hitler and other fascists held served a similar purpose. Just as people would chant "Hail Hitler" at these mass rallies,...