Reflecting on imagination through the lenses of “1984” and “Brave New World”
What are we without imagination? Who are we? What would our world look like without our collective imagination? Would we still live in societies? Or would our lives be wild, resembling those of monkeys and wolves? Maybe that wouldn’t be so terrible. Speaking of terrible, would our lives instead be controlled by something, or someone, greater than us? I don’t mean an omnipresent benevolent force, but something that only wishes to control and repress and reign over us.
In an age of technology increasingly doing everything for us, these questions are more important than ever. Machines wash our dishes, clean our floors, and brainstorm for us. We are nearing an era where we won’t have to do anything — but is that what we want? Don’t we want a say in what our world looks like?
In many ways, we are the creators of our world — especially when we work in harmony with nature. When we combine our talents, utilize our imaginations, and work in congruence with the natural world, we become deities. This is how we create the world of our dreams.
We can see the impact of imagination in our technological advancements. Imagination allows us to see a problem and envision new solutions. Everything man-made that is now in our lives, once existed in someone’s mind before it materialized. Think smartphones and automobiles and computers. The mind is a powerful creator.
We know what imagination is, to a point. The problem is most people associate it with children’s play and fictional stories. And that’s such a shame. Imagination is greater than that — it is fundamental to our existence as humans, throughout our entire lives, beyond childhood. Our imaginations shape our reality.
Imagination allows us to partake in the creation of our lives, of our shared world. Creative thinking drives innovation. It allows us to not only generate new ideas, but also to feel empathy, which helps us to understand and relate to other beings. That is why it’s so important to recruit leaders who harness their empathic imaginations. Leaders who are creative and empathetic thinkers are more likely to create a future that improves the lives of the people as a collective. Imagination isn’t a child pretending to stitch her wounded teddy bear — it’s the key to creating a world we actually want to live in.
Imagination is essential to a healthy society, so why is it not taught in schools? We’re taught to memorize the date of this war and the name of that man and to do long division in our heads, but we are not taught to think creatively, to think critically. Knowing the importance of imagination, we should have entire courses dedicated to the art. Albert Einstein said it best, “imagination is more important than knowledge”. Knowledge can work like bricks to build a foundation, but imagination is what allows us to soar. To imagine things greater than what we currently have is how we evolve.
Now, what would our society — our world — look like without imagination? For a glimpse, we can look to works of literature such as George Orwell’s “1984” and Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World”. These works both present a dystopian society experiencing the consequences of reality without imaginative thought and individuality. Each society depicts a different method of societal control — fear in “1984” and pleasure in “Brave New World” — but they both represent what happens when higher powers suppress imagination in order to maintain power. This deficiency of imaginative thought leads to dehumanization in both societies. Without freedom and creativity who are we? What are we left with?
The leaders in George Orwell’s “1984” used extreme measures such as surveillance, propaganda, and language manipulation to stifle creative thinking. Fear is how they controlled the people. The constant threat of violence ensured that the people didn’t dare to envision another reality. When deprived of their ability to think critically, they became compliant. This led to a fearful and stagnant society. Imaginative thought wasn’t just discouraged, but dangerous.
To further explore the message of “1984”, I’ll leave you with this quote from Chuck Palahniuk’s “Lullaby”: “Old George Orwell got it backward. Big Brother isn’t watching. He’s singing and dancing. He’s pulling rabbits out of a hat. Big Brother’s busy holding your attention every moment you’re awake. He’s making sure you’re always distracted. He’s making sure you’re fully absorbed. He’s making sure your imagination withers. Until it’s as useful as your appendix. He’s making sure your attention is always filled. And this being fed, it’s worse than being watched. With the world always filling you, no one has to worry about what’s in your mind. With everyone’s imagination atrophied, no one will ever be a threat to the world.” With this in mind, maybe being watched shouldn’t be our greatest fear, but being distracted. If we’re not careful, the constant media that we consume will steer us into a reality void of imagination and individuality. We’ll become mindless — no greater than brainless blobs floating through the world.
In contrast to “1984”, the leaders in Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World” used pleasure to control the people. Happiness was a product that could be manufactured through consumption and superficial relationships. Hedonism was heavily promoted, with widely available drugs promising an escape from reality. In addition to that, the absence of genuine emotional connections killed any potential for authentic, imaginative thought. Overindulgence caused them to give their lives over to comfort and sacrifice their imaginations in the process. Their culture became one devoid of depth and true meaning. Immediate gratification became their god.
Imagination is imperative to a healthy society. It’s not this cute luxury of children and fiction writers — it is how we preserve our individuality and freedom. Like a muscle that can atrophy, if we don’t use our imagination, we’ll lose it. Without imagination, we face the risk of stagnating as a collective. And as we know, change is essential in nature. In nature, stagnation means death.
Not only that, but we risk dehumanization. We risk losing everything that makes us real. Imagination can be a shield against oppressive forces. Once we’re aware of our power and what we have to lose, we can work together to protect our creative freedoms. We can give it everything we have — like our lives depend on it. Because they do.
