Above, Anne Francis as Dr. Edward Morbius’s daughter, Altaira.
The title of Aldous Huxley’s novel, Brave New World (written in 1931 and published in 1932) derives from Miranda’s speech in William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Act V, Scene I:
O wonder!
How many goodly creatures are there here!
How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world,
That has such people in’t.
– The Tempest, Act V, Scene I, ll.
Whilst Huxley took some of Shakespeare’s words for the title of his novel, Nicholas Nayfack took the certain aspects of the plot of his Sc-Fi movie Forbidden Planet (1956) from the same work.
Both works of fiction are significant works, the novel the more so however.
Novels, plays and films can and do have significant impacts. Which is why so many of them are banned in various countries! The rulers in these states feel that such works present a challenge and a threat to their established order. Often, they are not wrong!
This is why we state that Huxley’s novel is more significant than Nayfack’s movie, which will be fondly remembered by many of us who were teenage boys when we admired the charms of Anne Francis.
This illustrates one aspect of Holywood and the US society generally: they are unconcerned about titillating teenage lads but are very concerned with ideas that challenge the established order. The result is that follow on US Sc-Fi offerings such as the “Star Trek” series don’t challenge any political sensibilities, their storyline essentially is contemporary to the day in which it was made in terms of socio-politico mores but dressed up and showcasing imaginary future technology.
Why is this?
Because the US entertainment industry is primarily financed by US business and big business is not interested in challenging the political order!
Getting some teenage lads somewhat aroused by having Anne Francis dress up in a revealing outfit is not going to upset the apple-cart on Capitol Hill.
However these politicians and their fellow politicians the other side of the pond in “Dear Old Blighty” ARE going to find that certain developments WILL challenge the established order. These developments will not be novels, plays and films but will be technological developments which will challenge the established order fundamentally.
This is because they will impact upon one aspect that big business and politicians alike have a mutual interest: money!
At the end of the day, much of politics is about money. The spending of it and the raising of it. This is NOT new! Money, taxation and provision of services were prominent when the Good Lord was on Earth.
Today, one of the principal concerns is health. In the USA there exists an insurance based health care system. In the UK we have the NHS.
We are NOT going in this article to debate the pros and cons of either. Instead we will mention one FACT:
“Prevention is better than cure.”
That is to say, the cheapest and most effective way of preventing a person from dying of smoking related lung cancer is to see to it that that person does not smoke in the first place!
This strategy can of course be applied “across the board” so to speak. Inherited conditions such as Huntington’s chorea can already be dealt with by genetic screening and “PGD” (Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis).
Pope John Paul II, in his encyclical letter, Evangelium vitae, 63: AAS 87 (1995), 473 disapproves of this. Herewith his argument: https://sites.sju.edu/icb/does-preimplantation-genetic-diagnosis-violate-the-catholic-churchs-teaching-on-the-dignity-of-the-human-person/
The British Gazette’s Editor however is firmly of the opinion that techniques such as “PGD” when applied to ensuring a child is not born with such a serious condition is something to be approved of. Not only for the alleviation of suffering in an individual family but also that avoiding the birth of such a child not only avoids suffering but avoids the spending of health care resources than can be directed elsewhere.
However, “PGD” is only the start of the Roman catholic churches worries. There is a whole lot more coming down the track!
You see, “PGD” merely selects which embryos can reach full term and become healthy new born babies. There is of course the “genetic engineering” made famous by Sci-Fi (including Brave New World) where individuals are “bred” for desirable characteristics. It’s ancestor, eugenics was seen in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as the future humanity should follow – until a certain Adolf Hitler came along.
Eugenics in effect means treating human kind like pedigree dogs with breeders selecting one or more characteristics which they and their colleagues deem desirable. Of course, Roman Catholics are fond of pointing this out to bolster their argument of non intervention. Namely that the Almighty created the wolf. Man then went and created the bulldog!
However, eugenics or selective breeding is limited insofar as with humans it can only be applied to those yet to be born. It does cannot be applied to those of us who already are here!
However, DNA resequencing can be so applied.
DNA resequencing is not currently possible. When – not if – it becomes possible it will involve gene therapy applied to a living person to alter – at the genetic level – a human being. In other words – if we descend to the puerile and vulgar – those emails, gentlemen offering an extension to certain parts of anatomy could result in an actual change.
Now, whilst the above was made as a comical aside, there is very much the aspect of human sexuality that can be addressed by this coming technology.
There is a very informative and interesting article about human sexuality here. There is no doubt that the technology could be applied here. However whereas the comedic situation of a man wishing to have a larger member is clearly a case of an adult making a decision about his own body, correcting the gender malfunctions described in the link below involve applying the technology to a new born baby. This means that the parents or authorities taking the role of the parents make the decision.
The British Gazette’s opinion?
Overall, we would approve. Gender problems cause an person misery and suffering throughout their lives and causes them to leave stunted and unfulfilled lives. If this can be prevented, it should be. Thus this organ would have no objections in looking forward to a world where to put it crudely, “the men are men” and the “women are women” – with nobody left in between.
We realised that in this article we will have achieved a minor miracle by united the right wing “Pro Life” Jacob Rees-Mogg with the politically correct left wing Caroline Lucas. But then this is the task that the British Gazette sets out to do!
GOTO: https://medium.com/s/story/your-default-brain-is-female-7481f8ae7827
Speaking the Truth unto the Nation
