Brave New World and the Island

Brave New World and the Island

The Need for a "Way Out" in Brave New World and the Island

The future looks grim for mankind in the dystopian novel Brave New World and the film The Island. In both works, a terrible dependency upon technology and "science" has caused mankind to lose its "soul" and forget the transcendental values that make life worth living. Both works are effective in displaying the negative aspects of this sort of dystopia. But neither offers an effective alternative to such a future: John the Savage hangs himself in despair, and the heroes of The Island merely go boating (on what appears to be a permanent holiday). This paper will explain the satirical points of both and show how each is only partially effective in communicating a moral/social message that can elicit people to think and change.

E. Michael Jones states that the only life worth living is the moral life that focuses on man's ultimate end goal. He calls that goal the exercise of the "free use of the will" in union with the divine source of all life (Jones 6). This message, although not explicitly stated in Huxley's novel or Bay's film, is implicitly acknowledged in a number of ways. The first way it is acknowledged is in the drive of the central characters to seek a way of life outside the "status quo," self-centered, closed-off, non-transcendental mode of existence.

In Brave New World, the central character is John the Savage. He is an outsider to the world of soma and World State ideals. He has grown up under the guidance of the works of Shakespeare, which contains real representations of humanity and divine assistance. John's problem is that he does not fit into the World State, when he is introduced into it. In this way, Huxley satirizes the emptiness of modern society, which has rejected the old world values represented by Shakespeare. Lenina, whom John likes, thinks he "spoils everything" when he criticizes their "base" entertainments (Huxley 114). He tries to wake others up to the fact that they live shallow, superficial, self-centered lives. He throws their soma out the window. But he ultimately fails to do any good. Even he cannot escape his desires, and in an act of puritanical despair, hangs himself. John the Savage represents the moral voice of the novel -- but all the voice can do is express its outrage at the shallowness of its contemporaries and their inhumane dependency upon technology and drugs.

In The Island, Lincoln is a clone who learns that he has been lied to about the truth of the world. Lincoln comes to realize that he has been raised in a colony where clones are harvested for organs. He escapes with Jordan, a young woman who is also a clone. Lincoln manages to find his human counterpart and then with some cleverness assumes his counterpart's life. Then he frees the rest of the clones in the colony. He and Jordan sail off into the sunset. In this way, director Bay satirizes the complacency of the modern world, which thinks it is untouchable because it has wealth. Lincoln represents the moral voice of the film -- but rather than identifying a deeper moral about the ultimate end goal of life he is content to boat away with Jordan. This is an acceptable conclusion for most audiences as Lincoln, having assumed the role of his counterpart, is now rich beyond one's wildest dreams. Being wealthy is one of the greatest goals that contemporary society can think to have. But it says nothing about the inner life or transcendental spirit. Even as it satirizes modern society, it falls for its trappings.