Hey
I've finished the draft for my essay now.
It would be great if you can get me feedback before Friday
I'm looking for specific feedback on the conceptual structure and the way I've embedded the concepts. If there are breakdowns in reasoning etc. I'll edit this with questions I have if I come across anything.
Politics illustrates the ultimate powerlessness of ordinary people.
To what extent is this view represented in your prescribed text and ONE other related text of your own choosing?
Dystopian texts are an hyperbolic representation of the state of political affairs in contemporary society. Composers of such texts utilise the conflicting human ethics of a dystopic society with the goal of exposing the disturbing ideas of human manipulation in order to depict the underlying powerlessness of the citizens. By ascribing the ideology of power and control to an applicable medium, composers can creates a world space that allows the audience to understand the concealed truths behind political actions. Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World (1932) deeply investigates the dystopian themes of inculcation, dehumanisation and totalitarianism while Oliver Stone’s biographical political thriller Snowden (2016) depicts the modern political agenda of being omnipotent and manipulative. Both texts explore the effect of advancing technology and exercises the similar themes of power and manipulation to create a totalitarian and dystopic society where individuals are stripped of their intrinsic autonomy.
Politicians endeavour to deprive the intrinsic individuality of the citizens in order to create a conformist state as a response for their insatiable desire for power. The World States thirst for power to control and manipulate the population is revealed through hyperbole of the production line which represents the relationship between technological advancements and politics. Huxley exaggerates the impact of consumerism on society with the religious parody “Sign of the T” and the recurring substitutes for profanity “Oh Ford”. The satirical remarks signify the quixotic nature of the populace by juxtaposing the divine with a consumerist parody which resonates with the dystopic nature of a totalitarianistic society whereby individuals are uneducated about true divine beliefs. Huxley appeals to the audience by challenging the ethos of the 1930’s through the complete inversion of values in the New World such as the ubiquitous encouragement of promiscuity. Huxley’s jargon when describing children “ Barring a little surreptitious auto-erotism and homo-sexuality -- absolutely nothing” contrasts the dissolution of values and diminishes the intrinsic innocent nature of children in order to create an atmosphere that exemplifies the World State’s idealistic visions of control and autocratic rule to create a capitalist consumerist world space where predetermination and powerlessness is promoted. By capitalising on the ethos of the 20th century Huxley unveils the ultimate power of the conditioning process in the technocratic paradigm of the World State and accentuates on the limited freedoms of it’s citizens.
Individuals often deluded into trusting the word of politicians but in a society where political collusion is prominent it is crucial to distinguish between the phantasmic political ideology of security and actions taken to meet said ideologies. Snowden captures the central ideas of manipulation, dramatising them to demonstrate the abuse of power in intergovernmental organisations, evoking a conscientious understanding of the ineffectual position of citizens. Oliver Stone depicts the impunity of the Government through the extreme closeup shot of the CIA Director telling Edward “your girlfriend isn’t sleeping with that photographer friend of hers” which portrays an abuse of authority and a clear invasion of privacy clearly contradicting the quintessential American Civil Liberty of the right to be secure, promoting the autocratic power of the state in order to construct a conformist society. The subsequent low light closeup of Edwards despairful expression is an aesthetic representation of his powerlessness after having his human rights violated and reiterates his ethical conflict of data collection with the state’s actions. Stone capitalises upon the innocence of citizens through Edwards dialogue “ which people?, the whole kingdom Snow White”. The intertextual reference and closeup shot of Edwards conflicted expression alludes to the intrinsic innocence of Edward and reinforces the supremacy of the state through their phantasmic promotion of national security as a service to the people. Stone appeals to the ethos of the 21st century by meticulously exposing the duplicitous dichotomy of national security and privacy uncovering the States ubiquitous manipulation of the people.
As society slowly regresses into a nihilistic perspective, the fundamental humanist values of life dissipate. Huxley inverts the values society clings heavily upon and explores the twisted nature of the lust for axiomatic rule over the people and desensitises the actions to which the world state executes to obtain power. Huxley furthers the inversion of the value human life through the idiosyncratic imagery “ where the Alpha’s and Beta’s remained bottled” completely disregarding the intrinsic worth of an individual by associating inanimate objects with the sacred rite of birth. The world leaders further emphasise the lack of inherent value of their citizens through blunt phrasing “ you might decondition…” highlighting objectification of human life illustrating the loss of human values. Similarly Stone’s use of sinister music while Edward is shown the capabilities of PRISM, (a government spyware) depicts the inherent evil nature of illicit data collection and the relationship between the government's ideology of security and the clandestine actions taken accentuated through the dark lighting in the computer room alluding to the implicit violation of the rights of citizens. Both composers utlise appropriate thematic mediums to convey the nihilistic ideals which determine the states actions and illustrate the ways the people have their human rights violated.
In order to achieve the ultimate goal of a dystopic society where the government yearns for axiomatic rule over the people, clandestine actions are taken in order to acquire the desired result. Huxley opposes the traditional approach of oppression to obtain control by exploiting the happiness of the citizens by subverting the connatural structure of human life through scientific means such as embryonic conditioning and bokanovsky process leaving the citizens in a vulnerable state, whereby the state inculcates capital consumerist ideologies such as the cliche “ignorance is bliss” implying if one is not educated they are unable to be troubled. The ideology of ignorance is reflected in the hypnopaedic conditioning phrase “a gramme is better than a damn” furthering the consumerist ideals of the state. Stone proposes the Government exercises similar ideology of ignorance through the extreme closeup of Edward's distraught face when saying “ what’s keeping you safe is that you don’t know anything” which contrasts the Huxleyan idea of exploiting the innocent. Stone further displays the Governement dogmas of control and manipulation through the cameo appearance of Obama juxtaposed with the political satire poster “Big brother is watching you” which seeks to exemplify the sensationalist nature of political journalism. The intertextual relation to Orwell’s 1984 alludes to the Government’s oppressive nature and its approach to attaining control through fear which Stone reiterates in the low angle shots of Edward when he converses with his superiors signifying his state of powerlessness whilst under the government’s control. By understanding the differing evocative mediums of representation and contrasting the Huxleyan approach to control of ignorance against Stone’s technological crisis the audience is able understand the oppressive nature politics.
By acknowledging the complex nature one’s approach to representation individuals are enlightened to the differing perspectives offered by the composer. When comparing both the Stone and Huxleyan interpretations of political control, one is exposed to the dark thematics of a dystopian society where a lack of autonomous desire overrides the populace. Both composers share effective an authorial desire to evoke the audience in order to explore the conflicting perspectives of an dystopic world space.
Cheers
Wales~
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Topic: English Advanced Essay Marking (Modules Only) (Read 799644 times)