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Grayson Eady
Mrs. Taylor
AP Language
5 January 2017
Postmans Assertion
George Orwell and Aldous Huxley are renowned for their work with dystopian novels.
1984 and Brave New World still line the shelves (and screens) of high school English classrooms
today. I read 1984 in Advanced Placement Language, and my brother read Brave New World in
Advanced Placement Literature. It is clear that both of their work remains relevant, but whose
vision is more relevant? Although George Orwells 1984 touches on major themes of the 21st
century in regards to surveillance, Huxleys Brave New World more accurately and relevantly
predicts aspects of the digital age in which humans live today because society experiences some
of the effects of being over-fed information thus making Postmans assertion correct.
In Orwells novel, Winston Smith lives out a life of quiet resistance, constantly
concerned about the telescreens surveilling his every move. In 2001, Congress passed the
PATRIOT Act, which among other things allows the United States of Americas National
Surveillance Agency (NSA) to have further access to information such as phone records and
internet traffic without a subpoena. Following Edward Snowden, former NSA Analyst,
whistleblowing about seemingly immoral surveilling practices within the agency, concerns about
privacy in America have increased over the past few years. In terms of the Big Brother is
watching you idea on which 1984 is based, the Orwellian novel is highly relevant and serves as
a valid cautionary tale for Americans and other citizens of large, powerful nations that may lead
them to reconsider how far they will go for the sake of security.

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However, the debate over security and freedom does not hold as much weight in a
country such as our own that was founded on the basis of individual freedoms. If the 2016
election cycle taught the United States anything, it is that too much information can drown out
facts and valuable information. Postman comments that Huxley feared those who would give us
so much information that we would be reduced to passivity and egotism. In many ways, that is
the world in which we live. Social media outlets are the main distributors of news for modern
Americans, myself included. With companies like Facebook undergoing massive fake news
scandals, surely some real news is lost. People thrive off of information, and there are entire
industries built around this truth. Personally, I read at least ten political articles on my phone per
day. Though I enjoy reading books, I have little need for books when information is a Google
search away. This reality is what Huxley feared and Postman declares to be true.
Not only are people turning to social media instead of books, this practice manifests itself
as the intense passivity that scared Huxley. Social media activism in the form of likes and
shares takes precedence over real actions because people see the next post long before
emotional draw to an issue occurs. The internet infinitely distracts us, and Huxley predicted this
concept of perpetual distraction in Brave New World. False news sources and dog pictures on the
internet have consumed Western society. While Huxley may not have known the exact source of
the information flood that was to come, he predicted one. Postman correctly realizes this
parallelism that exists between Huxleys dystopia and modern culture. Brave New World does in
fact relate to more pressing societal issues of today. Perhaps, due to the information craze among
humans, what we love will ruin us.