Usually the first thing that comes to someone’s mind when they think of dystopia is the opposite of Utopia which means happy. Many people live in a world of modern dystopian tradition in that their country may be under communism, some type of cruelty, forced to believe a specific way, or just live in a strict world in general. In a dystopian world, such as Anthem, people are raised and must live by extremely harsh rules with forced beliefs and a world of forced happiness but overall internal unhappiness.
Social commentary and Dystopia relate to each other in that a lot of people advertise dystopian societies or universal issues by using social commentary. A billboard of corporate funding companies with devil wings shoveling stacks of dollar bills in a pit of fire next to a anorexic sick child, a true example of social commentary advertising a dystopian issue. Fahrenheit 451, Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? , and American Oxygen, are all examples of how people use social commentary and style within advertisement. Part 1: The Style and Social Commentary within Fahrenheit 451 I.
Social Commentary is all over the Fahrenheit 451 that people may not even realize. An example of censorship as a social critique in Fahrenheit 451 is “The others would walk off and leave me taking. Or threaten me. No one has time anymore for anyone else” (21). This is an example of censorship as a social critique because it tells the audience about how dangerous the society is and that people should be careful in fear of damaging relationships. Another example of censorship as a social critique states, “We get these cases nine or ten a night” (13).
What this means is that the government controls the people’s thinking so bad that they drive them to literal suicide without the person knowing. Another example of censorship as a social critique is how everything in Fahrenheit’s dystopian world is the opposite of what it is in the real world. Wynny from Blogger. com states, “In the futuristic world of Fahrenheit 451, firemen start fires rather than extinguishing them. People of this society do not think independently nor do they have meaningful conversations.
They don’t even have an interest in reading books. This is evidence to the claim because firemen are supposed to kill fires, not start them, a different perspective of firemen from two different worlds. (http://f451whatyouneedtoknow. blogspot. com/2010/08/themecensorship. html) The fact that Bradbury chooses reading and books as the example of free thinking is part of his own romantic relationship with books and reading. Bradbury chose to write Fahrenheit 451 because he liked the idea of free thinking and using books as an example of that. He himself loved to read books. During the holocaust, Hitler burnt books that went against ideologies of the Nazi’s.
This connects to fahrenheit 451 because their version of firemen burned books in general because it was illegal to read. Believe it or not, social commentary is still relevant in modern day. A commercial of a sad looking, injured dog behind a cage, a billboard of an “X” through the word abortion, and a dying child in africa advertised on TV are all examples of how social commentary is still relevant in modern day. The message behind the injured dog is to donate money to help an ASPCA unit find dogs loving homes, the X through the word abortion is supposed to help people stop killing their babies.
This is important in modern day because it sends a message to it’s audience just like in Fahrenheit 451. III. In order to paint a shocking world without books, Ray Bradbury relies heavily on character development and imagery. Bradbury states “Do you know why books such as this are so important? Because they have quality. And what does the word quality mean? To me it means texture. This book has pores. ” This is evidence of character development with Montag’s love for books because before he hated books, but now he loves them.
Another jam packed imagery quote with character development states, “Her face was slender and milk – white, and in it was a kind of gentle hunger that touched over everything with tireless curiosity(5). ” this is evidence because He is starting to feel differently about Clarisse than before. Another example is how Montag thought of everyone as “torches, blazing away until they whiffed out” (8). This is evidence because he critiqued people slipping away from reality with torches. IV. Bradbury uses complex syntax. An example of how Bradbury uses complex syntax is his use of fragmented sentences. The quote states “One drop of rain.
Clarisse. Another drop. Mildred” (15). This is showing that Montag’s literal thought process and reveals his discomfort with the way people treat each other in his society in contrast to Clarisse’s family. Part 2: A comparison of Social Commentary and Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? An example of Social Commentary and Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? Is the government’s way of putting things. “Emigrate or degenerate! The choice is yours! (Dick, 5)’ This is evidence because it is the government’s tag line for encouraging people to emigrate from earth to Mars. Another example is to be the question of survival or defeat.
The quote states “… ultimately, the empathic gift blurred the boundaries between hunter and victim, between the successful and the defeated. ” This is evidence because one of the novel’s major themes revolves around the question of what traits make something human and what trait ensures survival or defeat. Another example is how is connects back to reality. The quote states, “There’s the First Law of Kipple… ‘Kipple drives out nonkipple. ( Dick, 63)” This is evidence because Kipple is worthless, but it is also dangerous because it builds on itself and it encourages and causes everything around it to degrade as well.
Part 3: The Social Commentary and Style in American Oxygen by Rihanna Rihanna uses social commentary and style in her music video American Oxygen through a message. Rihanna’s point in creating American Oxygen and the style of the video is to let people of America ( and other people in different countries) know what America is about. Natalie Kalin from Huffpost states that, “The video continues to switch between clips of Rihanna singing—with that old red and blue continuing to wave behind her—and rather engaging shots of what most Americans would define as “America. By transitional phrases and her lyrics, it shows what America is about. Rihanna wrote the song because she wanted to address the overall American Dream that everyone claims to be.
This factor is relevant to modern day because even today in 2017, immigration is very popular. One of Rihanna’s lyrics in her video is, ” Oh say, can you see, this is the American Dream? Young girl hustlin’ on the other side of the ocean. You can be anything at all in America, America. I say, can’t see, Just close your eyes and breathe. Not to mention that she practically started out the line with her own twist of the American National Anthem, but the lyrics themselves tell an immigrant’s story and what they could be thinking. II. Rihanna uses s. c and style in her video by repetition Rihanna uses repetition in her song American Oxygen to connect to the visual aspect of her video.
She continuously says, “We sweat for a nickel and a dime, turn it into an empire”,”Oh say can you see, this is the American Dream”, and “Young girl hustlin’ on the other side of the ocean. While she sings these lyrics, faded video clips of hard working people connect to them working for their money, fast clips going back and forth of a young girl who wants to come to America in hopes to achieve the American Dream and your typical white American family living their everyday lives. She uses repetition because it helps the audience understand her message through out the song. Furthermore, Rihanna also uses social commentary through clips and videos within American Oxygen.
Rihanna’s clips (short videos) in her video AMerican Oxygen include her walking on he steps of an American city hall with a giant American flag and soldiers faded in the background, former president of America, Obama, being sworn into office, soldiers hanging up an American flag, what looks to be a protest, a middle class white American family, Martin Luther King’s civil rights movement, a front view going down a road with hundreds of American flags, an immigration protest, a train carrying immigrants to or away from America, a sea bound us marines ship shooting at an enemy, soldiers in combat, two African males raising fists in a victory, a young American toddler saluting, two American girls dancing on a street, immigrants from another country trying to come to America on a very small boat, a video of Bob Marley singing, a concert, a trail of astronauts, a rodeo, a veteran saluting, a motorcycle gang, the statue of Liberty, factories, an American rocket ship going into space, a huge American flag on Wall street, an occupy wall street protest, money being made in a factory, a homeless veteran, a (what was supposed to be peaceful) violent protest, sports games, fourth of July, the twin towers being burnt down, and Martin luther King’s memorial service. All of these clips represent the basic American Dream.
When people listen to this and watch the video, they get a sense of what America is actually about through her use of repetition as well. Throughout her song she uses the same set of lyrics but the first half of the video is what everyone from different countries makes America out to be and the typical idea of the American Dream but the second half of the video is how Americans see America and how it actually is. This gives the audience the idea of persuasiveness because Rihanna expresses both views with the same way of words, showing support for both sides.
