Picture this: society has fallen to pieces, replaced by a bleak world of machinery and totalitarianism. Technology dominates, and books are burned. Mindless addiction to electronic gadgets replaces face-to-face interaction, and society values conformity over creativity. There is no individuality, no freedom, and no intellectual thought. There is only consumerism and hedonism. The mantra is simple: keep the masses happy, and don't stir up conflict.
Sound like a futuristic, dystopian novel? This type of society forms the basis for Ray Bradbury's novel "Fahrenheit 451." While it was futuristic when published in 1953, this novel hits close to home for many modern readers. In fact, many have raised the question: are we living Ray Bradbury's nightmare? Has modern society become what he envisioned (and feared)?
As a work of speculative fiction, "Fahrenheit 451"tries to answer the question: what if? What if people stopped reading books? What if a paste-pudding norm replaced thought and creativity? What if television dominated people's lives?
This certainly sounds like modern American culture. What if we really are living a dystopian future? Is there any hope? In a word, the answer is yes. To halt the spiral of disaster, we need to heed Bradbury's warnings and halt our self-destructive tendencies before it's too late.
Historical Context
Ray Bradbury wrote his thought-provoking novel in response to the trends of his time (the 1950s). After the despair and carnage of World War II, Americans witnessed a golden age of wealth and technology. The population exploded, and the economy boomed. The average family income tripled, meaning more people could afford a more affluent lifestyle.
With this increasing wealth came an increasingly materialistic culture. Comfort and consumerism became keywords of the era, as more and more people craved new gadgets and luxuries. In particular, television sales skyrocketed.
The television had already been around for a decade, so this wasn't a new invention. However, it was only in the 1950s that it became affordable to the general public, not just the wealthy, privileged, few.
The 1950s quickly became known as “The Golden Age of Television." As television became a popular form of entertainment, networks catered to mass audiences with their shows and advertisements. This programming was often bland and designed not to offend anyone. Eventually, television became people's main recreational activity, showing their desire for a more amusing, pleasurable lifestyle.
Bradbury's Fears
Drawing on what he witnessed in the 1950s, Ray Bradbury wrote about a society where technology, particularly the television, dominates people's lives. Since the television was just emerging in the 1950s, it was not particularly advanced. However, Bradbury wrote about color televisions that take up three full walls – eerily similar to modern flat-screen televisions.
Basically, Bradbury exaggerated a cultural norm of his day (reliance on television) to express his fears about where this could lead humanity. Even though books are illegal in the story, Bradbury wasn't attacking government censorship. Nor did he see technology as inherently evil. Instead, he feared that people's desire for instant gratification, which is often fueled by reliance on technology, would create a world devoid of meaning and deep thought.
Today, we live in a world of ease, speed, and technology. These may seem wonderful, but Bradbury helps us see why we shouldn't abuse these blessings – and how we have the responsibility to stop destroying the very things that give life meaning.
Modern Parallels
Our world is frighteningly similar to Bradbury's imagined dystopia. We live in a society saturated with technology, and many of us cannot imagine life without the comfort, convenience, and speed that come with owning gadgets. Unfortunately, this has its downsides.
As Bradbury warned, the misuse of technology has created social alienation, as smartphones and computers replace meaningful human relationships. Modern inventions like the Internet can (and often are) used for communication, but even this use limits physical, face-to-face interaction, which is often crucial in forming strong relationships.
Furthermore, like the society Bradbury envisioned, we live at a breakneck pace of life and often don't take time to slow down and recharge. People today live hectic lives filled with constant entertainment, such as parties, clubs, and sports. Oftentimes, whatever leisure time we do have is filled with electronics that inundate us with messages, games, advertisements, and news.
None of these things are bad in a limited amount; however, they can potentially rob us of the time to slow down and appreciate the beauty of the world. Too often we choose passive sensory stimulation from technology over experiencing and contemplating the beauty of the real world and nature.
In essence, we live in a culture obsessed with seeking instant pleasure. This has certainly impacted our human relationships and time to refresh. However, Bradbury's chief concern was the loss of time and motivation to think deeply.
Much as Bradbury feared, modern America has witnessed a growing anti-intellectual movement. Basically, we have resorted to a form of digital literacy that discourages the patience, focus, and critical thinking skills needed to read more substantive material than merely text messages and social media posts. We don't want to think since true thinking is difficult and counters our desire for ease and speed.
In this culture of intellectual complacency, we are also living out another of Bradbury's fears: that a desire for peace will destroy all controversial views. This especially reveals itself in our obsession with political correctness, particularly on college campuses. Instead of encouraging students to think for themselves, colleges often ban anything that is deemed potentially hurtful to someone else. Controversy is discouraged since we don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. As a result, we aren't being taught to rationally evaluate controversial views; instead, we avoid them altogether. We aren't being taught to think for ourselves.
A Call for Change
As Bradbury warned, we are destroying those very things that make life worth living. We are throwing away our intellectual ability and are heading on a fast track toward completely destroying who we are. The problem isn't technology; it's how we choose to use it, and the fact that we often pursue pleasure above all else. If we are to halt the path to destruction, we must become good stewards of what we have and take back our humanity.
