What's wrong with Brave New World, a dystopia that has lost its philosophy of the book

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

The authors tried to shoot their "Wild West", but got confused in the genres.

A series based on the famous novel Brave New World by Aldous Huxley has started on the new Peacock streaming service (in Russia - on KinoPoisk HD). The book has long become one of the best dystopias. And much, described in it, has already come true.

However, the authors of the adaptation decided to focus not on philosophy, but on plot twists. And in the end, they lost all the ideas of the original, replacing them with only a bright picture.

Modernized version of history

The action takes place in the world of the future, in a city called New London. All inhabitants are born artificially and even before birth are divided into castes: from "alphas" in leadership positions to "epsilons" performing mechanical black work.

The very construction of society excludes personal attachment to anyone, everyone belongs to everyone, even sexually. Any anxieties and experiences are suppressed by the synthetic drug "Soma", which has no side effects.

In the center of the plot - "alpha" Bernard Marks (Harry Lloyd), who, unlike the others, loves solitude, and "beta" Lenin Crown (Jessica Brown-Findlay), who came under suspicion of the leadership due to attachment to one partner.

Together they go to an amusement park where "savages" live - people who live according to the old order. They get married, are jealous, give birth to children. And at the same time they arrange showdowns and even shootouts for visiting guests. And there the heroes encounter John (Alden Ehrenreich), after which not only their lives, but also society as a whole, change.

The very plot of the plot differs markedly from the book. But this is not bad, because the dystopia that came out almost 90 years ago is largely outdated. And "Brave New World" is very much undergoing updates.

In the world of the future there is a common network "Indra", which allows not only to communicate, but also to observe each person. Special lenses immediately assess the status of a new acquaintance. In the novel, it was determined by the color of the clothes - a clearer but harsher move. And the idea of showing the "savages" not by representatives of ancient Indian tribes, but by our contemporaries makes the plot more poignant.

In general, the authors had every chance of creating a modern history that was consistent with Huxley's theses. Moreover, Owen Harris, who worked on several episodes of Black Mirror, was responsible for the production of the first two episodes. And heredity is felt: the director shows augmented reality and futuristic technologies well. Sometimes only special effects fail.

Brave New World - as opposed to, say, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury - would look great in a revamped version. But the trouble is that the authors removed the ideas of the original, and instead showed the most standard dystopia, which is not remembered by anything.

Total control instead of universal happiness

Alas, the creators of the series Brave New World decided to rely not on a story about society, but on the dynamics of the plot and unexpected turns. Therefore, Huxley's ideas are forgotten from the very first episodes. The main difference between the novel and Orwell's 1984 and other popular dystopias is that the author showed a world where everyone is really happy. This is not a society of suppression: no one, except for a couple of exceptions (for example, Bernard), even thinks that you can be dissatisfied with your life.

In the screen version, everyone seems unhappy. Downed epsilons suffer constantly, and even alphas and beta regularly question it. The heroes are reprimanded for offenses, and "Indra" provides total control. In conversations, everyone constantly humiliates the subordinates, and even within the caste, competition reigns.

The ideal society has been turned into a banal history of suppression. And this immediately excludes the line where only Bernard understood: happiness was artificially laid in them.

Huxley's openness in sex also appeared for a reason. He showed that in a world where only carnal pleasures are important (this is typical for a consumer society), other things can become intimate and obscene. For example, the heroes blushed at the mention of the words "mother" and "father", but easily discussed their sexual partners. And this is in many ways similar to modern society, where personal information is more valuable than candid photographs.

The series shows sex in the same sacred, just group and maximally perverted - the flattest interpretation. The mention of family ties, childhood and many other clearly forbidden topics does not bother anyone at all.

Worst of all, the series simply forget about the very idea of a consumer society, where even sports games depended only on expensive equipment. A couple of times they repeat the famous phrase “Than fix the old, it's better to buy a new one”, but nothing confirms it.

Detective in the "Westworld"

In order not to let the viewer get bored, many genre elements are added to Brave New World. In the very first episodes, a detective line appears, clearly referring to stories like “I, a robot”. This again destroys the very feeling of an ideal society, where everything is in its place. And the plot again does not fit into the mindset of the characters: they even have to explain the word "virus", but everyone perceives suicide, albeit with horror, as something obvious.

Finally, the plot falls apart when the characters enter the amusement park. The very idea that "savages" do not just live in an artificial environment, but work for the amusement of the public, can be treated in different ways. There is a certain irony in this. Moreover, they manage to ridicule both the passion of modern Americans for sales, and the controversial moments of classic marriage.

The trouble is that all of this is too similar to "Westworld", except perhaps without the androids. The "savages" repeat the same performances day after day, and the visitors treat them with contempt. And if at first it seems that the claim is far-fetched, then the subsequent plot twists openly copy the famous series-predecessor.

All this further emphasizes that the shown world is as rude and unhappy as possible. New Londoners enjoy watching suffering and humiliation (in the book, Bernard and Lenin were shocked to see the bloody ritual of the "savages"); the inhabitants of the park are constantly angry and hate others.

The only plus is that Alden Ehrenreich does not resemble his image from "Han Solo" and the new image suits him very much. And Demi Moore, in the role of his mother Linda, appears in a very unusual role for herself and instantly draws all attention. It is a pity that it is shown a little.

Melodrama and misery

The opposition of the ideas of two worlds in the novel by Aldous Huxley allowed us to look at the shortcomings of both one and the other society. No wonder Linda was poorly received among the "savages", and John felt uncomfortable in New London.

The contrast between a sincere attachment to one person, to which Lenin initially gravitated, and universal accessibility itself vividly reflects the author's idea. But the screen version finishes it off with stories of love at first sight, loyalty and other clichés.

And from the story, which served only as a background in the novel, they make almost the main intrigue of the first episodes, leading to an unnaturally pretentious and tragic turn.

And this again creates the feeling that they tried to cover up the lack of an idea with an overblown melodrama and universal suffering. It's just that a lot of dramas have already been filmed in a futuristic setting, so that this one will at least catch something.

Obviously, for a bright start, the Peacock platform needs a big name hit. And in today's world, dystopias seem to be more and more relevant. But Brave New World missed all the important points. He copies other plots and retells the original a little, but too superficially, having lost at least some individuality. As if the series was shot by heroes from the world of the book, who are not used to thinking about the true meaning.