Huxley / Utopia
2007 09 04 | journal
The other day I made mention of the 1940 film production of Pride and Prejudice starring Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier. What I forgot to mention, then, was who wrote the screenplay. Believe it or not, it was Aldous Huxley. Yes, that Aldous Huxley.
He had also apparently written on the scripts for Madame Curie starring Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon - which I recall seeing many years ago and liking immensely; and a film version of Jane Eyre starring Joan Fontaine and Orson Welles - which I've never seen, and the thought of which fills me with a dread I cannot quite describe, given that I think Orson Welles was somewhat of a carricature of himself in later years. Huxley participated in the preparation of many of his own works to film versions as well, including: Brave New World, Point Counter Point, Eyeless in Gaza, and Ape and Essence.
I read his last novel, Island, a couple of years ago, and loved it. If one could create a utopia, and actually have hope of it working, this might be the way to go about it. Pala was a place where all things seemed adaptive, rather than all things being enslaved to, for, or by something. It parallels Brave New World in many ways, but takes an opposite (of sorts) stance to certain key elements; use of drugs (enlightenment/mollification), communal living (for the sake of the individual/to force elimination of individuality), the protagonist struggling to be part of the new society in which he finds himself (becomes part of it/cannot cope with it), assisted birthing/contraception, existence of sloganising (parrots/loudspeakers), and others. The use of parrots in Island is worth considering, given that freedom of being is a major raison d'être for the various philosophies espoused on Pala.
It would be worth it, I think, to give some thought to a society that combined the Buddhistic utopia of Pala in Island and the anarchic community of The Dispossessed by LeGuin.
Also, regarding the end of Island; does he suggest that a utopian existence is utterly impossible (or, at least impossible under such modern terms as we currently reside); or, does he, in true Buddhist fashion, suggest that the real utopia is within? Or, more precisely, that if we cannot find it within, we are never going to find it without.
I can't go into a more lengthy post about this, because it's been too long since I've read either book. I don't feel certain about my long-term memory, especially as it pertains to minute details.
If you've never read Island or Brave New World, I highly recommend you do so. Read BNW first, though, as it was written first. Also, LeGuin's The Dispossessed is very much worth a read as well; give an eye towards the Eastern influences you'll find there.