What influenced BNW’s partying culture?
After WWI there was optimism for the future. The concept of utopia was in style. The arts flourished and this was seen through jazz music and dance, architecture and art.
Huxley’s family background
He came from a family of scientists. His grandfather championed Darwin’s theory.
Marxist key terms
Aristocracy: The upper classes - long standing rich.
Bourgeoisie: The middle classes - business owners/management.
Proletariat: The working classes with no means of production of their own.
Alienation: The process where the worker is made to feel foreign to the products. In capitalism, the worker is exploited and alienated from their product, as it belongs to the capitalist.
Hegemony: The process where dominant culture maintains its dominant position through the use of institutions, bureaucracy or political systems. Also all of the ways the population are influenced / controlled through education, advertising, publication, etc…
Modes of production: According to Marx and Engels, the mode of production is “a definite form of expressing their life. As individuals express their life, so they are. What they are, therefore, coincides with their production, both with what they produce and how they produce it.”
Superstructure: The ideologies that dominate a particular era, all that “men say, imagine, conceive.” For Marx, the superstructure is generally dependent on the modes of production that dominate in a given period.
What is post-modernism and how does it relate to BNW
A variety of cultural artistic, and philosophical movements that emerged in the late 20th century as a reaction against or departure for modernism. It’s satirical and likes to poke fun at larger powers and issues.
BNW’s focus on science, technology, consumerism, and much more is a critique of what these were, rising issues. This makes it a foundation for later postmodernist text.
Lenses to look at BNW and 1984 through
- Marxist
- Femenist
- Postcolonial
- Psychoanalytical
- Political (socialist, communist, totalitarianism)
What does a postcolonial lens reveal about BNW
A postcolonial lens will reveal that the novel explores themes of power, dominance, and cultural identity, mirroring colonial relationship dynamics. The World State’s control over its citizens including their minds and bodies can be interpreted as a form of psychological colonialism.
John the Savage, and to some extent, Linda, can be seen as marginalised figures, representing the colonials and challenging the dominant ideology of the World State.
