As I was taking a closer look into the overlying principle of advanced technology and its prevalence in Brave New World, I considered the implications of the word "Ford" in the novel. Phrases such as "Our Ford" and "Day of our Ford" have an uncanny resemblance to religious chants and phrases. In a society launched and functioned under Fordism-like constructs and institutions, the Ford seems to carry a status of a deity. Alongside this, those on the reservation, who contrast in lifestyle as compared to the World State, are seen as primitive and despicable people, people who have not adapted to the more modern, technologically-dominated domain of the World State.
I found that this carries a stark similarity to our society. It is irrefutable that people spend much more time on a various form of technology, be it cell phones, televisions, or computers, than in a church, mosque, or temple. We do not see Crusades and religious conflicts in the frequency that they occurred in before. Although the war on terror can be seen as a Crusade-like conflict, it is the only significant example, and the nine Crusades alongside conflicts that arose with the Protestant Reformation and the Age of Exploration easily outclass the war on terror in terms of frequency and severity. Technology is taking over the time spent for religion. If it is natural to say that we are to dedicate time, love, and faith to those we worship, is it too much to say that technology is becoming a sort of "god" in a way? Whether for better or worse, we have transitioned from an age where religious texts and laws dominated society to an age where technology and Neo-Fordism prevails.
- Simon Ketema
If technology were truly to become something similar to a religion in our world, it would need a form for the religion to be projected onto. In my opinion, technology will be impossible to worship if there is not a person who is seen as a representative of it. Like how in Brave New World, Ford is worshipped because he's the one behind setting up that world's current society. Humans need something to focus on, and something as vague as technology, without clear ideals and rules, would defininitely be hard to worship as a "religion." Although, if we see "religion" or "god" as something that binds us to a specific lifestyle and control our activities, then technology could as well become our "god."
ReplyDeleteYou can see technology as being a "god" but it definitely doesn't make it a religion. In a religion there always needs to be a spiritual belief, such as an after life. We make technology therefore we shouldn't see it as magic or a miracle sent by the divine heavens. Also I wouldn't even say Ford is a religious figure. They just really liked his ideals so they celebrated his goals and achievements. It's like how an atheist could say, "Oh my God." And not believe in a god. They say "Ford" but it doesn't mean they think he's a god.
DeleteMy intent here was not to strictly or literally claim that technology is becoming a religion, but to point out that the time and dedication toward devices parallels the time dedicated to worshiping a god in older times. I also believe that secular ideals that are spread through technology have overtaken fundamentally religious nations. I'm simply painting technology in the book as a sort of "pseudo-religion".
DeleteSimon has absolutely made a valid point here that technology is becoming some form of "God" and masks the application that is put towards religion. Although, Mason Cross states that, "it definitely doesn't make it a religion," I do not think that that was the perspective that Ketema was taking. Technology is becoming the norm of everyday life, if not already is, and with the attention that people are applying towards it, resembles the amount of dedication that people have for a "god" or simply a "leader." People have actually skipped their religious days for worship because their favorite movie was going to play on television at that time or it was simply Super Bowl Sunday. Technology is most definitely slowly being prioritized over religion, but is not actually taking a form of religion. On a similar note, this relates to Neil Postman's, Amusing Ourselves to Death, because he says that as religion is being televised, it is shown for a means of entertainment. People get to listen in the comfort of their homes, without religious scenery. Religion is gradually becoming a lack of interest and it could be all due to the "power" of technology.
ReplyDeleteWell I'm sorry for my ignorant post earlier, thank you for correcting me. I can guarantee that the decreased interest in religion is caused by technology. Let's just push the whole idea of entertainment out of our heads for a second. Technology that we use today has given us more information than we could have ever accessed in our life time then any human in the past could experience. Miracles begin to be explained scientifically, weird and terrible religious practices are exposed, etc. People used to go to church all the time to talk to neighbors and friends. With communications furthered and cities larger, the people you know can be far way. So you're most likely not going to see them at church. So my question is why go to church when no one you know are there, when you've never witnessed a real miracle in the thousands of videos you've scrolled through, and the chatter of all these things on online forums? It makes you really wonder doesn't it? From an entertainment standpoint,yes, church can be extremely boring and technology can be whatever you want it to be.
DeleteI agree that religion is steadily losing its influence in the modern world. In general, the number of Millennials involved in social institutions is less than any other previous generation. Like you have mentioned, as people spend more time using electronic devices, the amount of time they spend practicing religion decreases. The percentage of Americans that are religiously unaffiliated has also increased in recent years. Nevertheless, I don't think that technology will be able to replace religion anytime soon, because people cannot pray to their cellphones when they are about to die.
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