Subject: Review: Brave New World (1998) (TV)

From: [email-masked] (Ram Samudrala)
Date: 30 Apr 1998 04:27:03 GMT

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			 Brave New World (TV)
		    A film review by Ram Samudrala
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/Brave New World/ is a TV movie based on the Aldous Huxley novel of
the same name.  While I'm reviewing one particular movie adaptation my
comments probably apply to other adaptations, and to the book, as well.

"Universal happiness keeps the wheels of society steadily turning."

The movie/book is a about a society of people who, through eugenics,
have been bred in specific ways, ranging from the Alphas, who are the
politicians (calling them "thinkers" would be incongruous, even though
they are supposed to be the most intelligent), to the Deltas, the ones
that do menial labour (at least in the movie version; in the book
there are five classes).  It's a caste system of sorts, and besides
the genetic programming, the people are further psychologically
conditioned to accept the "caste" that they belong to and be happy
about it.  As a final means of control, the citizens of the brave new
world are also addicted to an intoxicating drug, Soma, which keeps
them in a constant state of happiness.

"Unorthodoxy threatens society."

In this Utopia, there also exists a Savage Reservation where people
who've chosen to not live this lifestyle exist.  The story begins when
a Shakespeare-quoting Savage, John Cooper (Tim Guinee) and his mother
Linda (Sally Kirkland), are brought into the civilised world by two
Alphas, Bernard Marx (Peter Gallagher) and Lenina Crowne (Rya
Khilstedt). Even though it's obvious they're brought in as novelties
to be gawked at, Cooper enters the brave new world with hope and
excitement. He is soon disillusioned by the superficial lifestyles and
the lack of passion, and starts encouraging disobedience and violation
of the Utopian rules.  This gives the Director of Hatcheries and
Conditioning (Miguel Ferrer) reason to put Marx's employment in the
Hatchery on the line.  However the Controller, Mustapha Mond (Leonard
Nimoy), supports Marx's decision especially after being presented with
compromising information about the DHC.

"Promiscuity is a citizen's duty. Everyone belongs to everyone else."

Marx, however, is not satisfied with being a conformist Alpha. In his
heart, he really cares about Crowne, but neither are able to express
their love for each other because of their conditioning.  Further
complicating the mix is that Cooper, with his Shakespearean notions of
love, is unable to communicate his ideas to Crowne, who he falls in
love with.  When Cooper's mother dies from overdosing on Soma, he
seeks refuge in an abandoned lighthouse. Meanwhile, Crowne realises she
is pregnant, and Marx is the father. They eventually both leave Utopia
just as Marx is about to be promoted to the position of the DHC, so
they can raise the child together, thus overcoming their conditioning.

The ending here is a bit different than the book, and a bit of a cop
out, but that detracts only slightly from the messages.  Otherwise
the movie remains fairly faithful to the book.

"62,400 repetitions make one truth."

Like with Orwell's /1984/, this story illustrates the problem with
totalitarian control.  While Huxley's story, which preceded World War
II, is far more generous and shows a system with genuinely benevolent
intentions, the superficial happiness is achieved not only at a cost
of great individual liberty, but also sacrificing science, art, and
philosophy, and rewriting history.  As the movie tries to show, no
amount of conditioning can extinguish the human spirit to live and
think freely. Cooper, Crowne, and Marx leave behind their legacy in a
young boy who is attracted to their viewpoints.

The acting in the TV (1998) version is decent. One of the sole reasons
I even bothered to watch it was the presence of Leonard Nimoy, who
once played Spock from /Star Trek/, one of my favourite characters on
TV, and he doesn't disappoint (hearing him laugh at the end is awkward
for more than one reason). As is obvious, the movie isn't about plot
or characters, but really about the concepts presented, and highly
provocative ones at that.

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