Brave New World 1998

I enjoyed watching the 1998 film version of Brave New World. All the visions I had of the World State’s appearance was completely different from what I pictured it to be. The biggest difference between the film and novel was Bernard’s character. In the novel Bernard was the outcast of the World State, he was ugly and much different from the other Alpha Pluses. Bernard didn’t associate with the other Alpha’s. In the film it seemed as if Bernard was popular and well liked. Bernard’s big change was a major part of the novel, but I feel like its okay that Bernard’s change was left out of the film. There was already so much going on in the film that if Bernard’s change was shown the film would probably be three hours long. Another difference between the film and novel was that in the film Bernard and Lenina weren’t shown as the two main characters but more like two regular, ordinary citizens.

In the film it was shown that everyone goes to a club and its where they are promiscuous. The novel doesn’t mention a club, so I’m thinking the club is where they have the “orgy porgies”.

One of the similarities between the film and novel is how much control the World State has over it’s citizens. “Everyone belongs to everyone” is constantly broadcasted in the World State, all the citizens repeat that phrase whenever its played. In the film Lenina says “promiscuity is a citizens duty”. The World State has all the same values in the novel and film except one of the most important parts, Ford. Ford was the religion of the World State, all the citizens would make the sign of a “T”. In the film Ford was not shown. I thought that it should have been shown because of the significance it has in the novel.

In both the film and novel Lenina and Bernard take a trip to the Savage Reservation. In the novel the Savage Reservation was in a village called Malpais. I pictured the Savage Reservation to be like a village where people lived outdoors, almost like the Indian reservations there are in real life. I pictured the people to look like how they were explained in the novel. The Savage Reservation in the film was like a trailer park in an industrial area and nothing like a village. Bernard and Lenina’s experience at the Savage Reservation in the film and novel were completely different. In the film Bernard and Lenina’s helicopter is riding over the Savage Reservation and the people are throwing things at the helicopter. Their helicopter then crashes and the Savages begin to attack Bernard and Lenina. Their experience in the novel was much different, it was a good experience for Bernard and they weren’t attacked by anyone.

In the film when John is being conditioned “kill Bernard Marx, will harm society” was repeatedly shown. I thought this was strange because Bernard’s character in the film was shown as a normal regular citizen, not someone who has enemies or someone who should be killed. I think this would have made more sense in the novel because Bernard was a menace to the society and he brought problems to the Controller by bringing John and Linda to the World State.

All in all, I enjoyed both the novel and the film. I think that even though the film was much different from the novel it did portray the World State properly and how it functions. The viewers of the film without reading the novel can definitely understand the values of the World State.

 

Book beats the 1998 film of Brave New World.

While watching Brave New World the 1998 version, I was felt a little disappointed since I noticed a lot of changes and felt as if the book was a million times better. The first difference that I noticed, and that took me by surprise was that Bernard Marx is never really seen as a complete outsider. He is seen as a “normal” citizen and is somewhat recognized and it his transformation is never shown. In my opinion I felt as if this gave a whole new outlook on the movie. Bernard in the book is immediately portrayed as an outsider and different especially physically, and when we focused on his transformation it felt more dramatic and shows his character on both ends of the spectrum. Sadly in the movie due to him not being portrayed this way caused him to be more of a supporting character instead of the main character. We are never shown the internal complexities and issues which Bernard faced in the book and this also causes the plot to become malleable since there is less importance to everything in the movie.

There were also other major absences such as the presence and mentioning of Ford and Helmholtz Watson. Not mentioning Ford was a huge difference since the whole purpose of the society was with the presence/belief of Ford. Yet in the movie he was not even mentioned once, although we were shown the assembly line in the film. In the film there was no religious belief and this deviated from the book since Ford was one of the underlying important focuses of the book. By not having Ford in the film there is an absence of how the society has progressed and how their belief in Ford is centered in their daily lives, actions and beliefs. Meanwhile by Helmholtz also not being present in the film also does not show how a law-abiding citizen could also change so drastically and show how the World State was facing many issues. Helmholtz was a troubled character which internally knew that he was different and this aspect allowed us to see many issues with the World State, yet due to his absence in the film we never had a chance to observe the inside works of the World State.

I also feel as if the Savage Reservation was never really shown into detail or explained in the film. We are shown a small glimpse but it is not enough for the viewer to really know how it is used to show the difference between the advanced and intellectual World State versus the primitive people of the Savage Reservation. By Aldous Huxley having this in his book, it allowed for the existence of the dystopia and showed how the World State was great and almighty when compared to the savage and primitive people of the Reservation. This setting was also great since in the book we were able to gain a better understanding of Linda’s and John’s life and roles there and also served as a point in which we would be able to see their change once they went to the World State. Yet all of this in nonexistent since the Reservation was never a focused setting in the film, therefore it causes us not to question the World State and the whole cast of characters.

There were various differences between the book and the film such as John having a last name in the film (copper), Lenina becoming the main character and her being receptive to trying and learning new things from John the savage. Overall I think I will stick with the book, I enjoyed it much more and it was richer in detail compared to the 1998 film version.

Two extra credit opportunities (movie versions of ‘Brave New World’)

As we discussed last class, I am offering two extra credit blogs based on two different movie versions of Brave New World (please categorize appropriately). For each blog, you should provide a response based on a comparative analysis of the novel and the film (this response can also include your thoughts on/opinions of/reactions to the film). Remember, your goal is not to simply list your observations (for example: these are the things than are different in the film) but to critically analyze these differences (how do omitted/added/revised characters, plot details, conflicts, etc. change our understanding of the text?).

Here are links to the two versions of the film:

*Blogs are due W night (5/14), & there are only two grades for these extra credit blogs (100 and 0). If you watch the films & blog your responses/reflections completely (in terms of length and content) and thoughtfully, you will receive 100% (an “A”) for the assignment. If you do not turn in the assignment (or if it is too short/not fulfilling the purposes of the assignment), you will receive a “0.” Don’t forget to take notes during the films, so you can include concrete details from the events in your blogs.