The civilization depicted in the novel Brave New World has banished traditional religion such as Christainity in favor of a religion in which Henry Ford is a god and the crucifix has been trimmed to a "T" in honor of the Model T.
What is the significance of deifying Ford? What values does this "religion" espouse? What is the novel telling us about these values (is it critiquing or endorsing them)? What is the point of all this Ford worship?
Henry Ford is worshiped as a god in Brave New World due to the societal values of stability and efficiency. Ford was an American industrialist and businessman. He founded the Ford Motor Company, and was a pioneer in making automobiles more accessible to middle-class Americans. In our society that is all he was, but in the society of Brave New World, he is revered as a god. Their society is built on efficiency. People’s roles in society are chosen for them by the government, and they are conditioned to love their careers no matter what at birth. People are assigned different roles to better society depending on their social class. This means that the people of lower class who are assigned to be factory workers actually enjoy working, making society more efficient. Because of Ford’s implementation of assembly lines and standardization in factories, he is seen as the face of industrial efficiency, making him a god in the eyes of the government who value efficiency more than much else. In addition, the government removed every other religion from society as religion threatens stability. It requires commitment and time; time that could be better spent working the factories or mining coal. Religion could also lead to other unfulfillable desires or expose people to ideas that the government deems dangerous. The government would much rather have its people idolize a pioneer of efficiency and stability rather than a god in religions such as Christianity or Islam as it will inspire them to be more like Ford.
ReplyDeleteThe civilization in Brave New World is centered around stability, efficiency, and homogeneity, all of which were advanced by Ford’s numerous inventions. His assembly line enhanced efficiency by allowing workers to specialize in one task, allowing for mass-produced items. This idea has been taken to the extreme in Brave New World, where each person’s entire life (at least for the lower classes) is spent training and perfecting one task. The civilization in Brave New World uses assembly lines to produce almost everything, including new human beings. Descriptions of assembly lines can be found throughout the novel, such as “Only the yellow barrels of the microscopes…, streak after luscious streak in long recession down the work tables (Huxley 1)” and “The bulging flanks of receding row and tier above tier of bottles glinted with innumerable rubies. (Huxey 11)” Ford’s Model T was one of the first mass-produced products, turning automobiles from a luxury into something any middle-class household could afford. Mass production meant each car lost the differences in craftsmanship that made it unique, similar to the people in Brave New World. Bokanovsky’s process, hypnopaedia, and other conditioning methods have effectively led to the mass production of humans, removing any differences between individuals. This has led to a homogenous population, which can be seen when dozens of people all react in the same way to a given stimulus. This occurs during soma distribution to deltas, as they respond: “‘Oo-oh!’ said all the hundred and sixty-two simultaneously, as though they were looking at fireworks. (Huxley 209)” It also occurs after John tries to attack Leina with a whip, where the citizens’ conditioning causes them to dance and sing. Since Ford’s inventions of the assembly line and Model T highlight the core values of the civilization in Brave New World, it is no wonder that they see him as a god.
ReplyDeleteThe civilization in Brave New World swapped out their center on religion, with a more self propelling society. Henry Ford wasn't just a car maker, but he revolutionized production in factories due to his successful method “the assembly line”, which can also be seen in the novel as producing humans. Ford's legacy is referred to by presenting him as a “god” or important figure. Their religious symbol is a T, as we referred to in class by showcasing the letter that was front and center on millions of Model T’s. There is a major significance upon the Ford worship, his success wasn't simply based on cars, it was focused on productivity. The World State applied Ford's ideas to their own society. Ford plays a role in this novel by emphasizing on the fact that he molded society and manufacturing. Brave New World refers to the values of avoiding unhappiness, stability, and the conditioning they experience. For example, in the society of this book people are subject to believe that being sad is wrong, although their solution tends to be soma. The novel proves that these values are a form of endorsement, as they are supportive and prove his ways to convey major stability and order. Progress and succession isn't as simple as we think, though sometimes there are consequences we must reconsider due to the actions we make. In all, Ford's worship acts as an implement for controlling society, while helping keep everyone in line. It enforces what the world state wants those to believe and do, as well as make humans feel as though they belong in their certain society.
ReplyDeleteHenry Ford is treated as a god and a form of religion rather than a person because he is the creator of the new world, the pioneer for mechanical evolution, and the idea of the perfect human. His revelations were so otherworldly that the people of Brave New World saw him fit to be an idol. He was responsible for the industry's stability and overall efficiency. Ford was a natural person and a very famous businessman. He founded the Ford Motor Company and created the first cars. Henry Ford was treated like a god but did not receive the usual religious practices. In the book, religion doesn’t hold any significant role as society is built on efficiency. The government has control over all the citizens since they manufacture them. The director runs the Hatchery industry, where they code DNA and shape people to like specific tasks. Factory workers are a priority, and the world revolves around assembly line work. Ford was the pioneer of the industry, and that’s why he was so important. Since he is “god,” phrases like “oh my god” are now replaced with “oh my Ford.” The world had left behind the old ways of religion since it was not crucial for their society and could threaten efficiency. Ford’s role in the book is to play the role of a modeler for the world and emphasize the fact that he was the one who created it. The book removes everything that could inflict conflict and cleans people of sadness. People enjoy what they do not because of fundamental human consciousness but because of the programming they receive before birth. Religion doesn’t increase productivity, but it can hammer the fact that the new world doesn’t need the freedom of religion but only productivity.
ReplyDeleteIn a society where there is no religion, Henry Ford's framework has made him into a godly figure for the members of the new civilization. With the society having no religion the people have no one to look up to. “Call it the fault of civilization. God isn't compatible with machinery and scientific medicine and universal happiness. You must make your choice. Our civilization has chosen machinery and medicine and happiness." due to the conditioning in every one's life, this society has no room for god. Every worker needs to like their job and think this is the dream, this is the goal that's how you keep the assembly line moving. Even in the way this society creates children, mirrors Henry ford's assembly of the automobile. This speaks to the values of society keeping a loop of workers to not think for themselves. “This man,” he pointed accusingly at Bernard, “this man who stand before you here, this Alpha-Plus to whom so much has been given, and from whom, in consequence, so much must be expected, this colleague of yours—or should I anticipate and say this ex-colleague?—has grossly betrayed the trust imposed in him. By his heretical views on sport and soma, by the scandalous unorthodoxy of his sex life, by his refusal to obey the teachings of Our Ford and behave out of office hours, even as a little infant,” (here the Director made the sign of the T), “he has proved himself an enemy of Society, a subverter, ladies and gentlemen, of all Order and Stability, a conspirator against Civilization itself.” The whole point of Henry Ford's worship is not only to mirror his assembly line but to create a society where individuality is seen as a threat. For example Bernard was known to skip out on lessons of ford since a child. this was used against him, to throw him out of society to keep the loop of workers moving
ReplyDeleteThe society in Brave New World is based around efficiency and stability leading to the religious deity that is worshiped being Henry Ford. Henry Ford is known for his many inventions, but most importantly he is remembered for his creation of the Ford Model T, the first mass produced automobile on the market that was affordable for not only the upper class but the middle class as well. This turned the automobile world from being seen as a rich person activity to being used in day by day life. He was able to sell these cheap cars because of his revolutionary idea being the assembly line, a process where workers would be skilled in one specific part of assembling a product, in this case cars. Before the assembly line, a few workers would work on an entire car causing lots of learning to be necessary, but with the assembly line, cars could be built much more efficiently and required a lot less of a learning curve as the workers only had to learn the one specific area they needed to build a car. The assembly line and mass efficiency and production is what makes Henry Ford the deity he is in Brave New World. The society is run around efficiency and everyone having one job and being a professional at one job. They are conditioned from a young age, even a fetal stage, to love their jobs and be the most skilled and the most efficient at their jobs. The entire world that is “in society” in Brave New World believes in Fordism as there is no room to not be efficient in this society, and efficiency and liking the job on the mass assembly line of producing everything, leads to stability in society with no room for other religions such as Christianity as that doesn’t give the idea of efficiency that Ford does.
ReplyDeleteThe dynamic of the society in the story Brave New World is significantly different from that of contemporary society today but surprisingly, there are many overlapping characteristics in the novel implemented from our historical past. One of these additions are the ideas and philosophy of Henry Ford, and how he is revered in our society. The community in Brave new world has forgone present day traditions of religions, and has instilled the ideals that Ford is god. The citizens frequently express these ideals through phrases such as “Oh My Ford!” which is a play on a common American expression derived from origins of christianity in reference to worshiping a higher power. The likely intent of the author with this expression is to signify that Ford and his ideals are to be held up as the standard of society. The story even goes as far with this claim as cutting the top off of the crucifix to form a capital T, in reference to the Ford T model car. The idealization of this model comes from how Henry Ford changed the way that factories assembled their goods to promote a very efficient linear production system. This very method is what the society in the novel uses to systematically grow and develop manufactured embryos into members of their society. The contraption requires multiple stations and pieces that the embryos are cycled through in order to grow and shape them into the perfect, ideal, cookie cutter models of citizens for this society. This model was developed off of Henry Ford's innovative way of efficiently assembling cars by moving the parts through different stations to create the exact same car every time. Overall, this society has utilized and idealized many aspects of Henry Ford’s work.
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