From Modernism to Post-Modernism

Context influences the way in which a responder will interpret a text, or the way in which a composer will interpret their artistic environment. The change in context between composer and responder is crucial to understand when studying a text. This is particularly the case in Brave New World, where the responder's context is a direct response to the composer's original context.

Brave New World was composed in 1932, as Modernism was beginning to infiltrate the culture of the post war era. While dictatorships were emerging promising convenience and easy lifestyles, mass production, globalisation and monopolistic capitalism were beginning to evolve, shifting people from their traditional Victorian values, towards a loss of individuality, detachment from nature and an increase in corporate loyalty. Aldous Huxley witnessed the change in values, interpreting the movement of monopolistic capitalism and the birth of globalisation, creating Brave New World, expressing his fears as to how the world would appear in the future, and possibly to caution future generations against the current Post-Modern culture.

Henry Ford, the father of mass production is discussed as a deitised figure in Brave New World, a direct response to the growing world of American capitalism. The introduction of mass production also increased the leisure industry due to reduced working hours, used as a distraction and controlling agent throughout Brave New World. The emergence of mass production also infiltrated the culture, producing a wave popular culture on a grand scale, removing the individuality of the population. This extensive popular culture also allowed some degree of control by producers and the media, deciding what particular expressions of freedom, for example music, was acceptable at different times. This is addressed in Brave New World as the citizens are told which entertainment they are allowed to enjoy, but must not stray from the activities provided.

The modern responder views Brave New World from Post-Modernist context, which is a direct response to the Modernist culture. Due to multiple factors, including technological advances and changes in social morals, Brave New World increases in meaning as society accelerates towards destruction of its natural environment and progressively begins to resemble Huxley's Brave New World.

In modern society, the effects of mass production are more prominent and globalisation has become a dominant social issue. Mass produced popular culture has become a major industry, most obvious is the creation of plastic pop music, though it has been widely critised by musicians and people striving to establish their individuality. American culture has overpowered the majority of modern cultures to become the dominant cultural establishment, further enhancing the importance of Brave New World in modern society and increasing its meaning.

Technological context is an important issue when examining texts. While the scientific issues, and hence the moral dilemmas associated with them, discussed in Brave New World were merely science-fiction in the 1930s, but today are more pertinent as science is expanding to include such areas such as genetics, in-vitro fertilization (similar to the Bokanovsky Process and decanting in Brave New World) and cosmetic surgery. Resembling the characters in the civilized society of Brave New World, modern society strives to eliminate the majority of physical ageing through chemicals and cosmetic surgery. To some degree, people are disgusted by ageing, but not to the same, violent extent as the citizens of Brave New World.

The society in Brave New World holds similarities to the modern social structure. The large breaks in the social structure and order of Brave New World is reminiscent of present society; the few small groups of well educated and highly paid individuals maintain social stability, while there remains a large division between the elite and the majority of civilization. Globalisation, a recently united Western Europe and the American Empire creates a similar controlling regime as explored in Brave New World and which was existent during Huxleys life.

Social conditioning is evident in Post-Modern society through the use of media and marketing campaigns. While the condemnation of individuality and the driving of particular forms of entertainment are more subtle then that in Brave New World, it remains in modern society, allowing the responder to question their role in their personal choices. Today, there is evidence of a removal of emotion, though less obvious then that explored in Brave New World. This is most noticeable in relationship breakdowns and the abandonment of the traditional family structure. While the loss of emotion is not used to completely prevent rebellion as in Brave New World, it is used to control the population to some extent.

Modernist texts such as Brave New World relied on the author presenting their issues in an easily accessible format, creating a sense of authority for the composer and emphasizing their thoughts, creating strong themes. Although Modernism allows freedom of thought, the majority of responders interpreted the texts in similar ways, generating accepted meanings that were widely taught. As Post-Modernism evolved, the emphasis of interpretation shifted towards the responder, making the responder interpretation more influential than the composers original interpretation. The shift in importance from composer to responder coincides the objective of Post-Modernism; that there are only possibilities, no set definitions or boundaries for interpretation, though some authors believe the emergence of Post-Modernism removes the ability of individuals to rebel against the conformity of society, as the concepts addressed by the composer can lose some meaning in the interpretation by responders.

This current Post-Modern context, a rebellion and response to the Modernist culture, allows freedom in interpretation and removes much of the authority of the composer. The multiple perspectives and interpretations due to differing cultural contexts deplete the strengths of the prime issues, partially removing the intended meaning of Brave New World, and thus reducing the impact of the text. This is particularly noticeable when studying the character John. While in a Modernist society John was considered a heroic personality, presently he is considered to be as faulty and weak as the civilized characters, substituting Shakespeare for Ford, leisure activities and solidarity services.

Context can influence the interpreted meaning of a text dramatically, depending on certain social factors including technology, morals and environment. This broad social context can be further influenced by the responders personal context, and create multiple meanings and interpretations to a single text.

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