Need help coming up with supporting arguments for my essay on Fahrenheit 451

[Quad]

just wondering if anyone could help me out

i'm trying to show how the ideas of censorship presented in F451 are reality in today's world. two of my supporting arguments include:

1) government involvement in censorship (where this is seen in today's world, and how its similar to the control that the government in f451 exhibits)

2) the social impact of censorship (how some people are more drawn to technology as a result, and shelter themselves from human contact)

but i'm having trouble coming up with a 3rd. any ideas? any criticism on my current points?
thx in advance

 

[mithrandir2001]

The SSSCA (Security Systems Standards and Certification Act). That's a biggie.

 

[wQuay]

Hm, tough question. You might explore how electronic media is more vulnerable to monitoring and censorship. Perhaps censorship in a society destroys faith in the truth and reality? That's the biggest thing that struck me in that book. People were living through electronic entertainment, and were therefore unwilling to face the world and accept consequences for their actions.

Good luck.

 

[Platypus]

How about the effect of technology on human behaviour good and bad. For example, the televison's impact on the world has been a double-edged sword because it brings news, but also loads of rubbish along with it.

Very comparable to the book. Also be sure to include the phoenix allusion because not only does it rock, it gets the good grades from the literary teachers.

 

[Quad]

One thing that would REALLY help me is some ideas on how television is a tool for social control............how authorities (governments, large corporations) are able to influence or control the ideas of people through television.

thx in advance

 

[Platypus]

<< One thing that would REALLY help me is some ideas on how television is a tool for social control............how authorities (governments, large corporations) are able to influence or control the ideas of people through television.

thx in advance >>




One word: MTV

Think about the pop culture and how ideas are cultivated in the minds of the young through this channel.

 

[CrazyHelloDeli]

Is that the Ray BradBury book with the metal dogs? I forgot...

 

[Braves]

quad: u wouldn't happen to live int he bay area would you? i have to read F451 this quarter for my quarterly bradbury book. Can't help you yet because i haven't read it but if u still need help in about 9 days gimme a ring

 

[Quad]

lol
thanks braves, but i'm not in the bay area
i'm finalizing my arguments now, and will update in a bit

 

[xirtam]

How about the way mass media unites people for a common cause or a common way of thinking?

I.e., the "unity" craze going on right now because we had a few buildings blown up.

I.e., the reeducation camps?

I.e., <ahem, alt-tab, check location of boss>employee training<ahem, click "reply to thread" button fast!>?

 

[BaliBabyDoc]

One thing that would REALLY help me is some ideas on how television is a tool for social control............how authorities (governments, large corporations) are able to influence or control the ideas of people through television.

Political campaigns . . . pols swear money doesn't matter but it's the only reason GWB is president. TV in particular allows an individual or group to project an unfiltered POV. It doesn't matter if it is true or not. The ideas are now out there . . . Compassionate Conservatism doesn't need meaning just repeating.

Most people say commercials don't affect their purchasing decisions . . . then again people also give this whopper . . . if there was a drug that made you feel good and had no side effects but was illegal would you take it? 70% said No. Do you think your neighbor would? 94% said yes.

Anyway, in one study the simple act of turning off the TV resulted in a significant reduction in the number and type of toys children asked for.Cutting down on kids' TV time may relieve parents of their little ones' toy demands. New research suggests that the fewer commercials children see, the less materialistic they become.

For decades, there has been concern about the number of television ads American children are exposed to. Since the 1970s, the average number of commercials a child sees in a year has doubled, from about 20,000 to 40,000, according to a report in the June issue of the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. And since half of ads geared toward children hawk toys, the situation is helping to drain parents' wallets.

Cutting TV time by 1/3 reduced toy requests by 70%.

 

[cdan]

I really didn't like that book.

 

[xirtam]

I agree. The government should not allow people to read it, as it would be a waste of time.

 

[BaliBabyDoc]

Do you remember the healthcare couple (dodo & Louise; whatever I don't remember)? Lamenting how the Clinton health plan would raise costs and reduce choice . . . financed by a consortium of insurance companies and HMOs. What do we have now? Dramatic increases in costs and fewer choices; but at least the market made the decision not liberals trying to run your life.

War in Afghanistan . . . we've got incredible fotage from essentially every conflict since the invention of film . . . except this one. How often did the US government provide pictures of a home destroyed by US munitions? Do you remember Ari Fleischer's comment . . . 'people should watch what they say' basically referring to the press. ABC cancelled a show called Politically Incorrect b/c . . . the host said something that might have been true but was politically incorrect.

GWB alone is a study in how media influences public opinion. The public is staunchly supportive of the War on Terror and our President's execution. In part, b/c he's been anointed as a good war time prez, although we aren't actually at war and what conflict is going on we know little about but still endorse writing a blank check to carry out an uncertain campaign against amorphous enemies for an indeterminant amount of time. An argument can be made that media has not done it. But if the same little Afghan girl from the cover of National Geographic (anachronistic, I know) was lying in a pool of her own blood with a Made in the USA munition cratered in what was left of her home . . . do you think we would be more sympathetic?

 

[chrisjor]

BaliBabyDoc


You would recommend that he change the arguments in his paper from f451 to political rantings about our current President? Or do you just like to spout off in every thread available to you? He asked for help on a paper, not your political views!

 

[Quad]

Just another question.

Where in F451 does Bradbury illustrate that the government censors history and only conveys historical information that it deems appropriate? i'd like to use this point, but i'm not sure where in the book this is made clear.

thx in advance

 

[Platypus]

<< Just another question.

Where in F451 does Bradbury illustrate that the government censors history and only conveys historical information that it deems appropriate? i'd like to use this point, but i'm not sure where in the book this is made clear.

thx in advance >>




Were you asleep when you read the whole thing? How about the burning of books? The whole story is based upon the fact that they were censoring history....

 

[Quad]

hehe
allow me to rephrase

i meant, where is it illustrated that the government conveys a modified version of history?
i realize that they were destroying all knowledge of true history by the book burning....but does the government teach society a changed version of history?

thx again

 

[Platypus]

Ah ok, sorted.

How about the showing of the perfect family on television all day long, influencing people to purchase more video walls so they can be part of the family...