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Author Topic: Amusing Ourselves To Death: Huxley vs Orwell  (Read 1801 times)

roo_ster

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Amusing Ourselves To Death: Huxley vs Orwell
« on: June 10, 2009, 12:13:08 PM »
I heard about/read Orwell long before I heard about/read Huxley.

Orwell: High School, mentioned by public school teachers
Huxley: College, mentioned by no instructors, no one I knew, just National Review magazine

I can't begin to paste the following into a post, just urge you to mash the link, posthaste:

http://www.recombinantrecords.net/docs/2009-05-Amusing-Ourselves-to-Death.html
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Regards,

roo_ster

“Fallacies do not cease to be fallacies because they become fashions.”
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mtnbkr

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Re: Amusing Ourselves To Death: Huxley vs Orwell
« Reply #1 on: June 10, 2009, 01:05:50 PM »
Sad, isn't it?

Hey, American Idolatry is on.

Chris
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Racehorse

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Re: Amusing Ourselves To Death: Huxley vs Orwell
« Reply #2 on: June 10, 2009, 02:27:50 PM »
Who cares about that stuff? What I really want to know is the latest scoop on Brangelina.
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Uncle Bubba

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Re: Amusing Ourselves To Death: Huxley vs Orwell
« Reply #3 on: June 10, 2009, 05:42:03 PM »


Dishearteningly prescient, both of them.

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MicroBalrog

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Re: Amusing Ourselves To Death: Huxley vs Orwell
« Reply #4 on: June 10, 2009, 06:36:31 PM »
Most books are actually banned in the Huxley universe as well, as otherwise the Alphas would read them. All the elements of oppression that you see in Orwell are present in Huxley as well.
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Jocassee

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Re: Amusing Ourselves To Death: Huxley vs Orwell
« Reply #5 on: June 10, 2009, 07:20:01 PM »
Ah yes, the crushingly relevant Neil Postman.

http://www.amazon.com/Amusing-Ourselves-Death-Discourse-Business/dp/014303653X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1244675860&sr=8-1

And another book of his which I found very informative, How to Watch TV News, which looks at why some things are news, others aren't, why that is so, and the subliminal effects present in TV news presentation.

http://www.amazon.com/How-Watch-TV-News-Revised/dp/0143113771/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1244675860&sr=8-8
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makattak

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Re: Amusing Ourselves To Death: Huxley vs Orwell
« Reply #6 on: June 12, 2009, 09:30:00 AM »
I would add Fahrenheit 451 to the list of apocalyptic books to read.
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I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.

So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world, Frodo, besides the will of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the Ring. In which case, you also were meant to have it. And that is an encouraging thought

S. Williamson

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Re: Amusing Ourselves To Death: Huxley vs Orwell
« Reply #7 on: June 12, 2009, 10:17:06 AM »
Quote from: makattak on June 12, 2009, 09:30:00 AM
I would add Fahrenheit 451 to the list of apocalyptic books to read.
It is one of the few books I have ever owned more than one copy of at once.  One to read, one to lend (or gift), and one hidden away.
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"The chances of finding out what's really going on are so remote, the only thing to do is hang the sense of it and keep yourself occupied. I'd far rather be happy than right any day."
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makattak

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Re: Amusing Ourselves To Death: Huxley vs Orwell
« Reply #8 on: June 12, 2009, 10:24:05 AM »
Quote from: Dionysusigma on June 12, 2009, 10:17:06 AM
It is one of the few books I have ever owned more than one copy of at once.  One to read, one to lend (or gift), and one hidden away.

My personal favorite Ray Bradbury short story is part of the Martian Chronicles: Usher II.

It's connected to Fahrenheit and MOST satisfying.
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I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.

So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world, Frodo, besides the will of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the Ring. In which case, you also were meant to have it. And that is an encouraging thought

Jamisjockey

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Re: Amusing Ourselves To Death: Huxley vs Orwell
« Reply #9 on: June 12, 2009, 10:34:01 AM »
Maybe we could form a culture police to make sure that all forms of media contribute to society....

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JD

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S. Williamson

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Re: Amusing Ourselves To Death: Huxley vs Orwell
« Reply #10 on: June 12, 2009, 11:09:36 AM »
Quote from: makattak on June 12, 2009, 10:24:05 AM
My personal favorite Ray Bradbury short story is part of the Martian Chronicles: Usher II.

It's connected to Fahrenheit and MOST satisfying.
It's odd that I'm actually in Martian Chronicles.  The story where a rocket lands back on Mars long after most have left and comes across the family that hasn't aged?  I'm apparently the guy who finds the cemetery.  I want to travel in space, my last name's the same, and I'll be 43 that year...  =)

Quote
Maybe we could form a culture police to make sure that all forms of media contribute to society...
They already "contribute." How would you word it so that they contribute in a constructive and positive manner?
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"The chances of finding out what's really going on are so remote, the only thing to do is hang the sense of it and keep yourself occupied. I'd far rather be happy than right any day."
"And are you?"
"No, that's where it all falls apart I'm afraid. Pity, it sounds like quite a nice lifestyle otherwise."
-Douglas Adams

Jamisjockey

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Re: Amusing Ourselves To Death: Huxley vs Orwell
« Reply #11 on: June 12, 2009, 10:01:19 PM »
Quote from: Dionysusigma on June 12, 2009, 11:09:36 AM

They already "contribute." How would you word it so that they contribute in a constructive and positive manner?

However the thought police say will work.
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JD

 The price of a lottery ticket seems to be the maximum most folks are willing to risk toward the dream of becoming a one-percenter. “Robert Hollis”
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