As I continue to read Brave New World, I am reminded of the manga Gundam Seed Destiny. In this manga, the people of earth and the space colonies desire an end to war. There are two sides to this war, the Coordinators and Naturals. Coordinators had their genes tampered with before birth so that they have enhanced physical ability as well as mental ability. The Naturals did not have their genes tampered with. One of the leaders, Chairman Durandal, chooses this time to bring out the Destiny Plan. The Destiny Plan bases one's future on their genes. If a person's future is determined purely by their genes, they would be able to work at their full ability and war would be unnecessary. This plan would not have been accepted at a different time because people would disagree with basing their future purely by their genes, but in a war-weary world, it would be easily accepted by civilians as a quick end to all war. This plan is stopped by the crew of the Archangel and Kira Yamato who believe that a person's path should not be chosen, they should have the freedom to choose.
(For info on the basic plot of Gundam Seed Destiny go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gundam_Seed_Destiny)
In Brave New World the embryos are conditioned to prepare them for their jobs. They do not get to choose their future for it is chosen for them through their conditioning and caste.
Gundam Seed Destiny takes place in a war-weary world and the Destiny Plan is brought forth. Huxley's prediction of the future shows a version of the Destiny Plan in action and his thinking could have been brought forth because of the World Wars during his time.
I wonder. If the conditions of an extremely war-weary world with few options for peace were to arise, with the easiest of the options being that of the Destiny Plan and a similar lifestyle as in Brave New World, would we choose to have our futures chosen for us to bring about peace or would we try to take one of the harder paths and continue to choose our own paths for the future?
Some quotes from the Gundam Seed and Gundam Seed Destiny series
“It’s often harder to take the path of peace than the path of war.” (Gundam Seed Destiny Vol.2, Chairman Durandal)
“People must know their own abilities and use them well to find happiness in their lives.” (Gundam Seed Destiny Vol.3, Chairman Durandal)
“We fire, they fire back, so on and so forth. It’s endless.” (Gundam Seed Destiny Vol.4, Kira Yamato)
“Someone’s killed for killing another. Then that guy is killed for killing him. How is that kind of twisted thinking ever gonna bring us peace?!” (Gundam Seed Ep.31, Cagalli Yula Attha):
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
8 comments:
Ha I can totally see the connection you made with that manga and Brave New World.
The last paragraph before you listed the quotes from the series, you asked a question, that at first I didn't understand, but here's my answer: I think we would have our futures chosen for us to bring about peace.
-Alyssa Kocon
Good connection with the manga and Brave New World Ano. But there is one major difference between your manga and Brave New World. In your manga there are two heros, Archangel and Kira Yamato, who have come to save the day. But in Brave New World they don't have anyone who is there to save them from the hole they have dug themselves into. They are stuck in an endless cycle that a person like John the savage or even Bernard can't get them out of.
Ano, are you familiar with this storyline through the television series or through the manga novels?
I'm more familiar with the series through the manga but I plan on watching the anime series as well.
I can see how you connected the manga to the book. I personally have a slight negative view of the world, so I think people would have their futures choosen for them. Not just to end war but because its easier and more convienient to have it done for you then stuggle and persevere to get what you want. Of course not everyone would go along hence the naturals in Gundam seed and the savages in Brave New World. But if propagandized properly then a good amount of people would go along with it.
I get where you're coming from with this Ano. Like Sam, I agree that one of the differences is that in the manga there is a hero to get them out of their predicament and in Brave New World the protagonists were unable to change the norm.
Another difference is that in the manga they are given the choice to choose this path. The citizens of the Brave New World know nothing of their creation and their pre-designed future.
Wow. It's kinda neat how you made that connection with Gundam. I too am familiar with the series so I can kind of understand where your coming from. As the others said before me, a major difference is that there is no Kira or Cagalli to save the world. In BNW, the people are conditioned well to prevent any problems and to keep a relatively peaceful place free of war and disease. As opposed to people in Gundam world, where there are people who choose to take the path of war than the path of peace.
Freedom is ultimately considered to be a postive thing in the world, but in away, isn't also a dangerous thing? The freedom to hate and kill is available in Gundam while in BNW, people are conditioned to act in a way in which there is peace. I don't think that there is never going to be a correct path for our world to take because there will always be people who will be there to oppose peace for their beliefs. While taking away the freedom to choose is also wrong like in BNW, what other alternative do we have but to keep people on a leash to prevent such things like war? Is there ever a right way to handle things? Or will we just have to keep on fighting for a world that might never be?
Unfortunately, I must say that I believe true peace cannot be obtained unless each and every person in the world were to work to obtain it. As long as there is hatred in anyone in the world, that hatred will simply breed more hatred in an endless cycle. I don't want to ever be kept "on a leash" but it could seem that that is the easiest possible way to bring stability while keeping the majority of the people content.
Post a Comment