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conceptualizing a new idea...suggestions?

Comikkaze

Comikkaze

I have helped now on a few short extremely no budget films mainly as a writer (although I did do other things because we had no crew :lol:) and I have decided to try writing something of my own again.

I have been reading Brave New World and I have really been brainstorming about what the world would be like if BNW was real. Here's my concept. Also, I would like some background on how to set up a dystopia/different world in a short film/webseries (not sure if I want to make a longer film and release in a few stages or write it as a webseries with shorter parts). This is essentially Brave New World with a twist

CONCEPT: Communism took over Europe in 1930 and America shortly after. Asia was conquered in the early 40s. In Post Revolution America, it is the year 82 P.R. (2012...P.R. being post revolution). Technology basically advanced the same way that it had IRL and nothing is different externally about the society. The citizens are conditioned through the same hypnopedic messages that they are in Brave New World. To promote social sharing, everyone is encouraged to spend money and add to the community wealth pot. 7 World Controllers enforce the different continents and feed propaganda to teach younger children that history was all a lie and all fake.

the older citizens that would remember a time before the revolution are dying off and now with new generations of citizens, the story starts. Sarah is a heavy reader. Her grandparents have stories from 1920 B.R. and before. Reading is illegal however because it encourages free thinking. John knows that she reads but hypnotic messages have conditioned him to find it uninteresting so he doesn't do it himself. Sarah is caught reading and apprehended. John enlists the help of his brother Jeffrey to get her back either through diplomacy or force.

Brave New World is set in like 600+ A.F. (after ford) so this takes place way before the society becomes as extreme as it does. It is more during the transition period between America and the brave new world.
 
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Dude, what makes you think you're not part of the BNW? Privacy is a thing of the past when companies can require you to have a FB page then fire you based on your posts. You're email providers index your words to selectively target market to you. Commercials use sophisticated languaging/imaging patterns to influence your behavior. Computers now grammar and spell check. We don't need maps because of car GPS systems. Students rely more on Wiki-based sources than printed materials. If you look at Yahoo banners, their 'breaking news' is "Teen's Yearbook Prank", "Sharpie Mustang Art", "Kardashian whatever"--definitely life changing! And if you look at corporate complaints, most of our science and technology leaders and teachers are not US citizens originally. Honestly, despite all the name calling, the democrats and republicans follow a consistent agenda irregardless of ideologies.

Not to be too cynical, but you'd have to make it very dysfunctional to make it look different what contemporary American society has become. I mean, my grandfather fought in WWI and relatives fought in WWII, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. And the more modern Iraq Wars. In WWII, the Geneva Convention was established to protect combatants from torture. Somehow, Guantanomo and other US detention centers have dispensed with those protections. Waterboarding, prolonged stress/strain, sensory deprivation are 'acceptable'--as long as you've never experienced it. These reality shows that require horrendous acts of self-deprecation would certainly not follow in the same aspect as gladitorial games, especially given the WWF.

With surveillance cameras on every street corner and cell phones which can be set to listen in on you remotely or display your location, we live in an era of '1984' and 'Brave New World' and don't even recognize it. The extension of the Patriot Act provisions continually reduces the protections granted by the Constitution. The Lucas' Star Wars study of Palpatine's rise is a direct parallel to the American mass' surrender of their rights because of fear. I saw a baby's sippy cup with apple juice taken by a TSA agent. Apple juice is hazardous? Really? Now I have to listen to the kid screaming. And the wonderful excuse--"I'm just following orders." That has justified a lot of actions.

Now some reading this will disagree. They won't see a problem. And that's my point. In writing a BNW as contemporary, I'm not sure your audience will see the problems. It will be impossible to make reading illegal and still have a technology. More likely, as in 'Fahrentheit 450' printed books prior to 80 PR would be illegal to own. The government will control what is 'fact' versus 'fiction'. Oh wait, didn't the Texas School Board just ban some classroom books:
www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11402606
http://articles.cnn.com/2010-03-18/opinion/czitrom.texas.textbooks_1_texas-board-history-textbook?_s=PM:OPINION

And the idea that you're over the hill once you hit 30 is inane. But that's important or someone might value older insight. It's one thing to pursue healthier habits. What a sad world that we have people trying to live by unrealistic standards. And now boys are developing eating disorders so they can be thin. Overtanning.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mzian2rpVTQ

I think our society has gone to far beyond that point. It will either come across as a documentary or people will find it unbelievable. Anyway, good luck with series.
 
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knightly said:
I like it! So did Ray Bradbury and Francois Truffaut :) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060390/

It's a fantastic premise that perhaps needs some illumination now so people start looking at the loss of knowledge, free thinking, and art again.

Another piece of research for you might be Idiocracy.
Click to expand...

yeah I've read Fahrenheit 451... I thought it was good. I don't want to take it in that direction though. Maybe I could change the crime from reading to something else. Maybe she spoke out against the government in a seriously public way. actually I have an idea I really like. I will make a social commentary about how people don't pay attention to the loss of knowledge. a world scenario in which something like the Kony 2012 campaign is going on and everyone is made to believe that they are helping a cause when they are actually contributing to it
 
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It's important to realize they are the same. It all comes the Pleasure/Pain Principle. It didn't originate with Freud but he was its principle elaborator. However it was his American cousin, Edward Bernays, who took it and created the mass marketing we know today.
http://www.createliberty.com/edward-bernays-sigmund-freud-bbc-documentary/418/

What we know today from brain studies of addiction and mental disorders is that a central portion (limbic area) of the brain runs by the pleasure circuit (connecting emotion to reason) and the release of dopamine. While drugs can lead to an immediate release, psychological addiction can also occur. The brain scan of gambling addicts and porn/video game addicts show the same changes as illegal drug users. Freud's beliefs come in part from his own forays into cocaine. But to the point, if you create a strong negative physical or psychological pain and provide a 'positive' or 'pleasurable' alternative, people will pursue the pleasure and believe they do so of their own free will.

Negatives: Fear, Scarcity, Inadequacy, Socially Undesirable, Presumed Deficiency
"Imagine what would happen when the liberals/conservatives run congress!"
"Act now before it's too late! This offer won't last long!"
"How come everyone else seems smarter/sexier/skinnier/... than you? This product has been shown to safely ..."
"Saying that the US shouldn't be involved in foreign wars is something a Communist/Socialist/Sith Lord/Jedi would say." implies you might be a communist, socialist, sith lord or jedi
"Why don't you tell us how/why you did X. Tell us and you can go home otherwise you're going to be stuck in this room answering questions. It's really that easy."

What is meant by "a seriously public way"? Like the college student who was at the airport and stopped because he was studying Arabic for his college class? The House Republican leader in Wisconsin who authorized the police force to round up Democratic representatives from their homes to force a vote which they morally opposed? What level of negative messages are needed to motivate 'positive' (directed) behavior?

"If you see someone acting odd s/he may be a terrorist/criminal/communist/Nazi/Sith. You're community and family will be safer/proud of you for acting/being a good citizen/neighbor and save countless lives/property by being vigilant."

The back and forth portrayal of Zimmerman and Martin is an example of both sides telling you why you should 'fear' each of them and find 'comfort' in supporting the other. Life isn't always simple, though the media and others attempt to persuade us otherwise.

I agree with Knightly that it's a fascinating topic. Another thread talked about the social psychology of convincing someone to change their core beliefs to one that is opposed to the mainstream. Social psychology and 'mind control' (marketing, persuasion, image management) are very real tools used daily on a largely ignorant public. These sophisticated techniques often work even with highly educated people.

The brain's limbic system, our emotional core, comes hardwired for sex, aggression, hunger, socialization, fear, pleasure seeking and pain avoidance. Tap into those, as Freud suggested and Bernays applied, and you have lots of control. Study hypnosis and neurolinguistic programming (NLP) and it opens up vast areas of persuasion. Are there subliminal messages inside ads? Now why would I even suggest that?

AD:
"People say X is sexy, dominant, attractive. It says something using/wearing/driving an X. Others like you have been waiting for something like it for a long time. For a limited time, you can get a significant deal on having an X. See how much others enjoy quality/prestige/safety of moving up to an X from a Y. Can you imagine the look and feel of using/wearing/driving X? Now you can if you take full advantage of this limited time offer. Of course, you could always settle for Y, but now you can have all X has to offer."

PHONE CONVERSATION:
"Like, duh, you're not on FB/Twitter/WoW/Farmville/...? Do you like wear aluminum hats to keep people from reading your mind? I mean, it's SO-O-O easy my kid sister can do it. Of course, I have a LOT of friends now. And now that they're like public stock, I don't know if it will be free if you're not already a member. It helps me keep up on the things important to me--my family, TV programs, and the news. Just the other day, there was an video link to these cute kittens! And my friend got this friend request from an old high school buddy. My mom doesn't get this new technology, but she's old. I did get her to get a new phone though! Of course she also voted for Z, so you KNOW what that means. Look, I gotta go, I have another twitter. OMG, someone saw Kim K having lunch with W. Yeah, I know, Jen's dating that guy who's so creepy. He looks like a terrorist or something. I need to go but you need to get on FB/Twitter/WoW/etc. so we can stay in touch! What? You're thinking of getting a Y? They say X's are so much better. Anyway, gotta go!"

What strategies do you spot? Where's the pain (Orwell) and what leads to the pleasure (Huxley)? There are other strategies hidden that I didn't mention. I'm sure you're clever enough to find them.

Seeing Derrin Brown in action is more impressive than trying to understand the intricacies of how he accomplishes his feats. Social control isn't so much of a plot as much as the story dynamics. How your protagonists alter the system and relationships by using or revealing them is the major story theme. You might check out the movie "Brazil".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjueOXCy3OMhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEpdTZGfxCQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdZBzKfp3Lk
 
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