Brave New World of propaganda

The first time I read Brave New World was this summer as part of my quest to read all of the great Western literature. I was astonished by how much I enjoyed it (I love science fiction, but I've never gone much for dystopias), and was excited to read it again for better comprehension.

The thing that has struck me most this time around is the conversion of Henry Ford to a god-like figure. I find this interesting because we have seen this use of the state or the economy as an iconic figure several times this semester. By turning Ford into God, the World State has inextricably linked perfection and the production line that has become the foundation of society. They have simply replaced the values that once governed the world with the values of mass-production and interchangeable individuals. 

We can also see this link between religion and the state in V for Vendetta. The English state complete aligns itself with the Christian religion, creating double the amount of faith and righteousness. To be a good citizen is to be a good Christian, and the state is God.

Another place we saw this imagery was in our study of Soviet Russia. With the outlaw of religion, the state needed to invest people's faith in something else. They used similar styles and colors such as red in their propaganda so that the Russian people would associate with the images of the Orthodox Church. Saints and other religious icons were replaced with charismatic leaders like Lenin and Stalin.

V for Vendetta, Part 1

This is not the first time I have seen V for Vendetta. The first time I saw it was shortly after its release on DVD, at the behest of one of many friends who insisted that it was "the greatest movie ever." I shockingly, found it to be terribly overrated. 

I suppose this was a result of my general distaste for anarchy, or, more likely, my distaste for anyone who expresses a fondness for anarchy (also known as a significant percentage of the under thirty demographic). I was less than excited to watch the movie from an ideological standpoint. 

While I continue to find the enthusiasm for anarchy less than engaging, I am intrigued by the dominating rhetoric about rhetoric. V is extremely forward about the power of words to persuade people, even though he aims to do just that. His message is even more engaging because of this - he treats the people as his equals rather than as children, as the government and the BTN choose to do.

I also find the portrayal of the government's spin tactics and BTN very interesting, just because it is so depressingly accurately. While our media is not directly censored by the government, the close ties between media owners and politicians are tantamount.