People believe that those who create this form of sexual entertainment are only feeding the violent urges of those individuals and making it more acceptable. Altman would argue that the pornography was doing the exact opposite. Those who watch violent pornography can be fulfilling those urges which in turn would make them less likely to act out those depictions in society. If violent pornography is seen as a danger to society and the wellbeing of others, then who is say that violent movies are not? Andrew Altman would argue that if there
A form of civil disobedience that both individuals and a group of rogues practice, reading appears as a subversive act capable of undermining the social order. Thus, for those who fight the totalitarian government seek the healing of the nations and an end to oppression and mass ignorance. Rather than bear arms, they bear books. As a work much like Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience/' which calls for blatant challenging of the status quo, Fahrenheit 451 challenges the institutions that encompass our lives and demonstrates literature's ability to cultivate human autonomy. Criticism of Bradbury's works, specifically Fahrenheit 451 can easily be divided into two categories: criticism of the work as literature and criticism of the work as science fiction.
Fear for ones safety, for ones loved ones and for ones nation can make any individual act. With this, it is no surprise that politicians use fear as a political strategy for their own purposes. Barrack Obama once stated “We have been operating under a politics of fear: fear of terrorists, fear of immigrants, fear of people of different religious beliefs, fears of gays that they might get married and that somehow that would affect us," (“Begley”). Fear has been used in politics to manipulate the people’s views and ideas. The government is meant to protect its citizens, so naturally if that government were to scare citizens and offer a solution to that fear, they would be more likely to supports its efforts.
This is also seen today as our own governments try to control us by political propaganda and fabricated news, which is also seen in the novel. They censor what we see, what we believe, our past and our future. They misinform the public by manipulating and tweaking the truth to support their own personal agenda. Just as the Party lied about how the war against Eastasia and Eurasia was going, our media lies about similar subject
To what extent do anarchists agree about the nature of the future stateless society? For Anarchists the state is oppressive and represents the few who seek to oppress the many. The state is also charged with taking away our freedom through subjecting us to its laws and controls that are artificial, offending the basic principle of individual sovereignty. Furthermore the state is seen as corrupting to those in power, those who come into government may do so with good motives, but inevitably lose their idealism and become exploiters themselves. It is for these reasons that all traditions within Anarchism wish to advance human kind through the removal of the state in society.
In society today, it is often that the powerful individuals retain their power by manipulating the masses and keeping them ignorant. In George Orwell’s 1984, the Party has used tactics which suppress the rights and freedoms of the Outer Party and the Proles. In order to keep their ruling status, the Party promotes ignorance and fear among its peoples. In this case, Oceania’s citizens can be compared with modern individuals who are immersed with propaganda-generating media which releases biased news because the government or intellectuals want citizens to stay ignorant in order to stabilize their power in society. There are similarities between the telescreens used in 1984 and modern-day propaganda because both have a similar purpose which
Matthew Arnold suggested that popular culture among the new working classes would lead disruption. He feared revolution and believed a strong centralised state was needed to counter the new barbarism of the working class and their culture. Also we have Q.D. Leavis who like Arnold, believed that mass culture would lead to anarchy as the traditional power was seen to be under threat. They believed that this mass culture led to a passive audience John Fiske’s evaluation of popular culture varies from what has been stated by others who have commented on the topic including the Frankfurt School, widely known for proposing the theory of mass culture.
In a futuristic dystopian society, the World State uses genetic engineering as its most powerful tool to gain control over its citizens. Furthermore, the novel explores some of the other means used in order to eliminate the concept of genetic personality amongst the members of society. The most foremost example of this can be seen through the overuse of the drug soma as well as the encouragement of high levels of sexual activity. Their methods of social engineering and conditioning begin at birth; citizens of society are stripped of their individuality through the ‘Bokanovsky’s Process’ (Huxley. 7) Primarily this concept is meant to emphasize social stability in society.
Intentionally or otherwise, entertainment condones violent behavior and downplays its significance. Modern entertainment lays sex and violence on dangerously thick. By excusing brutality and equating promiscuity to beauty, it distorts the moral values of society. Additionally, it encourages a personally dangerous lifestyle. STDs, fighting fatalities and injuries, and jail time are real threats to those who choose to live in the false grandeur of a Hollywood life.
“At the moment, there is a myth in circulation, a fable that goes something like this: Radical terrorists will take advantage of our fussy legality, so we may have to suspend it to beat them. Radical terrorists mock our namby-pamby prisons, so we must make them tougher. Radical terrorists are nasty, so to defeat them we have to be nastier.” (Applebaum). This is the story being used for validating of torture. There is no proof that this story has any truth.