Brave New World

Title: Brave New World

Author: Aldous Huxley

In the year AF(After Ford) 632, which would be an equivalent of the year 2540 in our calendar), men and women are no more born with natural abilities. Instead, in the dystopian World State city of London, kids are genetically engineered in artificial wombs where their abilities are handpicked according to the need to the world. The childhood is one closely monitored and led on the lines of requirement of the different classes they were engineered to belong to- the intelligence class and the labour class, with a clear establishment of hierarchy between the two. 

The society no longer has happy citizens, rather undergoes a mandatory feeding of the soma drug by the State to keep it's citizens peaceful. While the State tries to establish this Utopian system, Bernard Marx, a psychologist and sleep-learning specialist, raises his criticisms in his own arrogant, fearless way about the State's wrong methods of ensuring peace and calm. The story is of this one man, an individual, who questions and challenges the wrongness of the need-based, engineered production of humans thrown into a hierarchy based on intelligence, and the advancement in psychology and sleep-learning put to the negative use of manipulating citizens, and many more in that world that seems a nightmare to him. 

Is it utopian? Is is dystopian? I think it is the dystopian version of utopia, where men start claiming their 'right to be unhappy'. At the end of the day, where there isn't natural choice or selection, there is a dystopian angle to it- be it happiness or sadness. Huxley gives a mind-blowing science fiction- and the scariest part is it is not really much of a science-fiction anymore. True, it is still an exaggeration from some of the events that happen now, but probably our AF 632 isn't really far off. Take anything, from mood stabilizing pills to genetic modifications and designer babies, Huxley was bang on about literally every development that we have to. And, to have such a foresight, by whatever means, is just plain crazy. 

 It's a book that feels half-true, and the other half seems like a prediction. It's unputdownable, building the  ultimate dystopia in utopia. It's impossible not to marvel when you read this book. It is not entirely dark, it presents a perfect picture above that is yet to be tainted. Yet, it is all about knowing all the while that you read it- that it is tainted. 

It is a masterpiece! I absolutely loved it. It is a must-read!

Fahrenheit 451

Title: Fahrenheit 451

Author: Ray Bradbury

In a dystopian future American society where books are banned, Guy Montag works as a fireman, whose job is to burn down the books when there is an alarm intimation that somebody possesses copies of outlawed books. In this dystopian culture, people do not read books, do not enjoy nature, do not spend time alone, and don't think individually or have meaningful conversations. Instead, they drive really fast, watch large quantities of television on wall-sized sets, and listen to the radio on "Seashell Radio" sets that are hooked to their ears. It is also a time of impending war on the society, and destruction.

Montag's views about his job is in for a change when he unintentionally strikes a conversation with his seventeen year old neighbour Clarisse McClellan, who pushes him to question his own idea of happiness, and whether books and their perceptions really warrant burning. A series of troubling events further make Guy Montag resolute about the goodness of books. His wife attempts suicide after constant TV watching. Clarisse dies in a car accident. And, when the alarm blares for the firemen to burn down the stocks of books with an old lady, Montag is assigned the duty. He reaches the old lady's house to find out that she has an old, secret collection of literature. The old lady asks Montag to burn her also along with her books, in a teary-eyed hopeless state. Montag exits the house without burning.

The rest of the story follows Montag as he rebels against the senseless laws, gets into a habit of reading secretively until the day his own wife betrays him and sounds the alarm of books at home. After an adventure of hide and seek with the police officers that come to arrest him, Guy Montag meets a group of people who read and memorize the literature in the hope that they can reprint them in circulation some day. A war plane drops bombs recklessly across the city, and it brings the city down to shambles. Guy Montag and his group set out to look for survivors, and build a civilization where there will be books again.

It is an extremely weird, dystopian novel. But I really liked it. The pace of the story, and the sequence hooks you to it. If you are wondering why were even books banned in the first place, a monologue by Guy Montag's boss in the fire department, somewhere in the middle of the book, gives you a background to the main story line.  

The book stresses on the monotony induced by constant TV, and how they dumb down our brains. Ray Bradbury's other short sci-fi stories also promote the ideas of enjoying nature, thinking deeply, reading books, connecting with people, and being the social beings that humans are even in the world of technology. Even though the book is set in a highly dystopian and fictional society, somewhere we feel that it is that much closer to reality that it would have been 20 years ago!

It was a good read. I really liked it!

The Last Chance

A neat, lean, thirty-ish, crisp looking Indian lady in formals, walked up the podium. The auditorium fell silent as she switched on the mic. 

“Esteemed scholars, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 25th International Conference on Human Survival. It has been a privilege for India to host this important and urgent SOS conference. Without further ado, I would like to call upon Mr. Devesh Kesari to break the news. Thank you. Mr. Kesari, you have the floor for the next fifteen minutes.”

*

Humans are weird creatures. They know how to think, to communicate, to invent and innovate. But best of all they know to live. To survive through hardships. To sustain and establish themselves. Till date they are the most intelligent living terrestrial species. 

Humans are weird creatures. They do not have any enemy. So, they play enemies among themselves. They go on a war to establish peace. They divide themselves to create harmony. They invent guns to protect. 

But humans are also stupid. Not because they don’t know nature is always more powerful than themselves. But because they know it full well and yet exploit it. They are stupid, not because they don’t know there is a limit to their atrocious behaviour, but because they don’t change their behaviour even when they know they are crossing the limits. 

Earth survived the twenty-first century. But the trouble brewed up early in the twenty-second. And, then, man realised his mistake. But he continued to be stupid. When he realised that he cannot sustain longer, he just wanted to make the most of it and swindle as much pleasure he can from the time he has. 

But it can’t be entirely said that man didn’t try. He did. But the situation had gone beyond his ability to frame a solution. Man tried to invent machines. But machines were not useful. In fact, some were counter-productive. And, man didn’t know how to make anything other than machines. Things that have life. 

‘It can’t be saved anyway. I would rather enjoy myself than try to make changes,’ he thought. 

Well. man is so immature. But nature is not. 

Mother Nature is sweet as ever. And there, she passed on a boon, to the earthlings- her very own children- to save them from decline and herself from destruction, that she had gotten from the Gods, as a last chance for the intelligent earthlings to learn and mend their ways.

And what is this venom that we talk about that man invented unaware that it could endanger himself? 

Plastic.

Well, man can’t invent living things to consume plastic. But, God can. And, that, Mother nature graciously passed on to her children with the hope that they learn. 

There is our chance to use it wisely and save ourselves. Our one last chance.

Nature has provided us with the best chance- a tree that can degrade the polymeric structure of synthetics and plastics. In simple terms a tree that feeds on plastic, with a lifespan of exactly 80 years.

*

Dev hadn’t spoken a word about the actual statistics of human destruction and survival. Nor did he need the full 15 minutes to make the speech. He thought that if statistics could help, it already would have. Humans, when provided with statistics, only looked forward to manipulating it and fooling themselves. Thus, he had ended his statement on a human note, as a sincere appeal to all of the humanity that was left on this Earth.

Big Hero 6

Movie: Big Hero 6

Genre: Fantasy, Sci-fi, Animation

Directed by: Chris Williams

Produced by: Roy Conli

Based On: Big Hero 6 by Steven T. Seagle

Music by: Henry Jackman

Hiro Hamada, a fourteen year old and an expert robot builder, gets crazy about “bot fights”, fighting with robots. His brother, Tadashi Hamada, takes him to the Nerd Laboratory in the University, and shows the work of his nerd friends. Hiro gets stunned by the projects that Tadashi’s friends were working on. Finally, Tadashi shows Hiro the project he has been working on. He introduces Baymax, the healthcare robot, who can identify emotions, pains and feelings, and keep people away from danger. Hiro loves all these projects!

Hiro gets convinced that he somehow has to enter the University, and asks his brother the procedure. Tadashi explains to Hiro that to join the University, he would have to create something really awesome and display it in the exhibition while Callaghan is there.

Hiro thinks he can easily do that, but his mind is dry of ideas. Tadashi helps his brother, at that point, by literally “shaking him up” and asking him to “see in a new angle”. Just then, Hiro gets a brilliant idea. Tadashi and his friends also help Hiro gain confidence and prepare him to go on stage. The big day arrives. Hiro goes up on stage and presents his idea about “microbots”, tiny robots that work through the controller’s thoughts.

Hiro’s idea becomes a huge hit, and a man named Krei pushes Hiro to sell it to him. But Hiro refuses. He gets selected to go to the University. As they all celebrate, a fire breaks in when Callaghan is still in. Tadashi rushes in to save him, but the whole thing bursts into flames. People mourn for Tadashi and Professor.

Hiro gets depressed, and doesn’t go to the University even after the classes start. One day, while he takes he accidentally drops something on his toe, Baymax emerges from Tadashi’s room after hearing a cry of pain! Baymax attends to Hiro, and tries to improve his emotional status. While all this happens, Hiro finds out that somebody is misusing the microbots! Hiro and Baymax find out that a masked man is doing so!

Tadashi’s friends join Hiro to catch the man. They learn, to their shock, that it is Callaghan, the man whom they thought was dead!

Together, Hiro and Baymax, along with Tadashi’s friends from Nerd lab, catch Callaghan, find out the cause and solve the problem! They become the Big Hero 6!

I loved the movie! It was F-A-N-T-A-S-T-I-C! Actually, none of the characters are evil, and there is no real villain! The characters are totally lovable, and huggable! I loved Baymax, Fred(one of Tadashi’s friends), Tadashi and of course Hiro. They are all cool. The climax was really awesome.

Big Hero 6 is a movie that is a must-watch!

ET- The Extra-Terrestrial

Movie: ET- The Extra-Terrestrial

Genre: Sci-fi

Directed by: Steven Spielberg

Produced by: Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy

Story by: Melissa Mathison

Music by: John Williams

Cast: Henry Thomas(Elliott), Robert MacNaughton(Michael), Drew Barrymore(Gertie), Dee Wallace(Mary), Peter Coyote(the man with the keys), K. C. Martel, Sean Frye and C. Thomas Howell(Michael's friends Greg, Steve and Tyler)

Some aliens land on the Earth to collect plants, and while doing so, they encounter humans. Terrified, they all get back to their spaceship and take off, leaving one of its kind behind. The lonely alien hides in the storage room of a house near the garden. Meanwhile, Elliott, a small boy along with his brother Michael and his friends- Greg, Steve and Tyler, party in Elliott’s house. While coming back to the house from the storage room, Elliott meets the alien and gets terribly scared. But no one believes him when he reports this to his brother and friends. He decides to take on the alien himself, and lures the alien inside the house using food. Elliott becomes good friends with the alien. He calls it ET. He shows the alien to his brother Michael, and his five year old sister, Gertie. They protect ET and do all kinds of playing with it. The ET even learns to speak English when Gertie tries to teach it.

Meanwhile, some government agents try to capture this alien because of its abnormal powers. Therefore, Elliott , Michael and Gertie try to save the ET. They develop a communication device so that ET can ‘phone home’. During a ride in the forest with Elliott, ET successfully calls his fellow-aliens for help.

When people try to capture ET, Michael, Elliott and his friends transport the alien to its spaceship safely. ET bids goodbye to Michael, Elliott, Gertie, Mary(the mother of Elliott) and goes back home.

I liked the climax very much. I also liked the part when Gertie dresses the ET like a girl and teaches it to speak English.

The movie is very nice. I liked it very much.