Movies and Sex

A movie that had quite a bit of influence on me was "Youth in Revolt" in the movie the protagonist develops an alter ego so that a certain girl will like him more. He does this in hopes that the girl will eventually have sex with him. Although the movie is a comedy it kept stamping sex, sex, sex over and over into my head. The movie basically made me feel like i had to have sex and soon. This connects with the "feelies" in Brave New World because they are around to make the people feel like they have to have sex, it is common and natural and disliking them the way John does is considered queer and antisocial. Both these movies make the watcher feel like sex is something that must be achieved and that not acheiving it is a failure.

Media and our behavior

In Brave New World the citizens are encouraged to play sports such as obstacle golf. It is deemed as socially normal to play obstacle golf and anyone who doesn't play obstacle golf is anti-social, and marked off as odd.This is the case with Bernard Marx; he doesn't enjoy playing obstacle golf and because of that is labeled an outcast and a nuisance. In Brave New World the citizens are conditioned to like obstacle golf and are taught that the more apparatuses required in order to play a game the better, that's why they enjoy obstacle golf which is a very elaborate game which requires lots of different equipment.
Now, let us take a look at our own society and what it encourages. I'd like to mention specifically the play 60 tv add. It attempts to encourage children to go outside and engage in some physical exercise at least sixty minutes everyday, the organization hopes that if children play sixty minutes everyday the obesity rate in children will decline, and the average health of children will increase.
The two examples I used are on two completely different ends of the spectrum, while one encourages specific behavior the other disproves of certain behavior, but both show how the media and our society's attitude towards things affect our decisions. In the case of Brave New World not playing obstacle golf is discouraged and for that reason people play it because they don't wish to upset the "natural order" of things. In the case of play 60 children are encouraged to do a certain thing because it's ultimately better for them.

To Be Alien.

"Hence the laughter of the women to whom he made proposals, the practical joking of his equals among men. The mockery made him feel an outsider; and in feeling and outsider he behaved like one, which increased the prejudice against him and intensified the contempt and hostility aroused by his physical defects. Which in turn increased his sense of being alien and alone."(Huxley Pg. 65)
Throughout Brave New World Bernard Marx struggles with the conflict that he feels alone and alien, as if he does not belong in this society. He feels as if everyone around him criticizes him for who he is and because of this he acts more and more like an outsider. I too feel like an outsider at times. Although I'm sure that it is nowhere near as bad as what Bernard puts up with in the book. None the less I do find myself being alone and on my own most of the time.

Everyday Conditioning

“The swiftest crawlers were already at their goal. Small hands reached out uncertainly, touched, grasped, unpetaling the transfigured roses, crumpling the illuminated pages of the books. The Director waited until all were happily busy. The, “Watch carefully” he said. And, lifting his hand, he gave the signal. The Head Nurse, who was standing by a switchboard at the other end of the room, pressed down a little lever. There was a violent explosion. Shriller and even shriller, a siren shrieked. Alarm bells maddeningly sounded. The children started, screamed; their faces were distorted with terror.” (Huxely 20-21)
This is how the community in Brave New World “conditions” the newborns. In this particular instance the babies are given electric shock therapy. They are presented with flowers and books and once they begin to play with the books and flowers they are shocked, this process is repeated many times so that the lesson is imprinted into their minds.
Today in the real world we are also conditioned, although it is nowhere near as extreme. We are conditioned in the sense that we are lead to believe that money is essential. We are told to do well in school so that we may make more money. How smart we are is shown in our grades which in itself aren’t an accurate representation of intelligence. We are told that in order for us to make lots of money we have to go to a good college. College cost money, so once we finish college we owe someone money, and the only way to pay off that money is to spend the majority of your life working. Even if someone doesn’t go to college they might buy a car or a house. Either way the average person owes money. In this sense we are conditioned.