On 08/31/2013 08:32 PM, s3raph...@yahoo.com wrote:
Re "Jones' rants get funny though.": I'm in favour of funny.
Re "Elysium was a racist film": I haven't seen it yet, Basic plot
appeals though.
Re "Another is that Brave New World was an instruction manual. He
actually plays a clip of Huxley and fails to realize Huxley was
warning of the dangers of a technocracy not endorsing the idea.": One
of my all-time favourite books. Be aware though that initially Huxley
set out to write a satire of the dangers of technology but as he
became engrossed in his creation he was also attracted by the appeal
of the 24/7 hedonistic lifestyle he portrayed. That ambiguity is a
major part of what make the book so tantalising. What a true work of
prophecy that novel turned out to be. I've never been able to decide
if the society portrayed in Brave New World is a paradise that I would
have been truly happy in, or, on the contrary, would have been a
soul-destroying nightmare. Whichever side you come down on you must
admit that in the western world we are moving ever closer to Huxley's
vision.
Yesterday I went to Walgreens to rent a DVD from the kiosk outside. I
hadn't been in the store for awhile so went inside to see what they are
selling these days. I have a bit of background in corporate retail and
it's always interesting to see what the latest scam is. I had also
noticed for a holiday Saturday that there were a lot of customers. Most
of them lined up at the pharmacy counter to refill prescriptions.
Definitely were have moved into a drug dependent society.
When I went to high school "Brave New World" and "1984" were both
assigned and no one ever thought that either book was selling those
dystopian societies as a solution for the future.
