If the video doesn’t load please try refreshing the page. If the problem persists make sure you have the latest version of the Flash player or watch the videos on our RecAPP iPhone and iPod application.

Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley, is a dystopian novel. Which means that the society in Brave New World is incredibly messed up—though it’s disguised as being wonderful and perfect. But as in any society where freedom has been sacrificed for 100% order, the disguise can’t hide the truth for long…

Video Transcription:

Dys-topia. It’s like a u-topia (a place where everything is perfect) except that everything’s not perfect. In fact, in trying to make everything perfect, things have gone horribly, horribly wrong.

Kind of like the society in Brave New World. Let’s take a look.

If you haven’t read a dystopian novel before, here’s a heads-up. Any time a book is set in a world where everything is supposed to be super-perfect, you’d better believe that that world is actually incredibly messed up. And you’d also better believe that your main character is going to be the only person—or one of only a few people—who recognizes just how messed up things are.

That’s what happens in Brave New World. In the novel’s society, no one has to feel pain or be afraid of death or deal with anything even the slightest bit uncomfortable. Everything’s extremely stable. And there’s lots of sex and drugs to keep people happy—or totally oblivious.

Sounds great, right?

Well, not exactly. Because what Brave New World wants you to realize is that when you sacrifice liberty for 100% order, bad things happen.

This book asks the question: What would happen if we could control everything—right down to a person’s genetic makeup? What if we could control what they thought and what they bought? What if we could get rid of God and art and emotion?

One word: Dystopia.