I just had an Epiphany! Well, sort of...

When I completed reading both of the summer books, I tried to look for a connection between the two. Just how do a controlled society and entertainment go hand in hand? It's simple. If you understood both books, then answering this question is easy.

In Amusing Ourselves to Death, Postman talks about how the entertainment business controls us. We are like their puppets. One of the main goals of television is entertainment. They want to appease us. Why should they care if we are entertained? Well, they don't. While we are watching these shows that turn our brains to mush, they are controlling what we do and when we do it. There is a new episode of the popular show Degrassi on t.v. tonight and I know that many of my friends will be watching it. Do you see that? They just got us to turn on the t.v. and watch their show exactly when they wanted us to do it. Yes, we are all guilty of it, there is no doubt about it. When there is something that entertains us, we really don't care if we are being controlled. That's when the connection between Postman's book and Huxley's book becomes apparent.

Throughout Brave New World, the citizens are given soma to keep them relaxed and to appease them. There it is. Just as television controls us in our world today, soma controls these people in their world. Just as we don't know or don't care that we are being controlled, they don't care that their every move is being dictated either. It must be something about the human being that makes us so easily distracted that we forget what is really happening and that is just what the people at the top are taking advantage of. It's like giving a baby his favorite food. Make him happy, and he won't care what happens next. Television, soma, and anything that pleases us are all distractions. I'm not saying these things are bad, because I love them too. I'm just making sure that we are all aware of what is going on so that there can be no questions asked. No one can say "I didn't know television controlled us!" You're right, because neither did I until I began to read these books. So I've found the answer to my question. The connection between these two novels is appeasement as a form of entertainment. Now my question to all of you is: What is your opinion on appeasement in the entertainment industry? Do you think there is another connection between these two books? I am interested to hear what you guys think.