Fahrenheit 451, will knowledge save us?

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Published by Dario Dongo on 14 January 2020

The censorship of knowledge and art

Ray Bradbury (1920-2012) is one of the pioneers of science fiction literature, to which he has dedicated numerous short stories in addition to the book in question and some others. The gracefully drawn dystopian scenarios describe a society enslaved by a totalitarian regime. With a characteristic and dominant trait, the imposition of a single thought that must guide the minds and actions of all citizens.

The denial of dignity and freedom of thought had been observed by the Author both in the book fires of Nazi Germany, and in the investigations of the 'Anti-American Activities Commission' towards US filmmakers suspected of communism, at the dawn of Cold War.

Fahrenheit 451. Forbidden Culture

The book Fahrenheit 451 it is set in an unspecified future where the possession of books is a crime. Citizens must spend their free time following exclusively the entertainment methods provided by the regime. Interactive home screens occupy everyone's head, preventing any autonomous synapses. The stupefied and perfect stillness, so that nothing changes beyond the appearance.

'Always burn, burn everything. The fire shines and the fire cleans' (Fahrenheit 451).

The 'fire militias' where the protagonist Guy Montag works, like his father and grandfather already, they seem equipped like firefighters. But instead of putting out the fires, the regime militias set the houses and buildings on fire. Along with the books of those who hold them illegally. A doubt however creeps in the protagonist, following the observation of a fleeting teenager who shows a different sensitivity, some pale color notes on the gray background.

The rebellious thinking

The forbidden books, the denied culture, what do they contain? Why does the regime prevent it from being read, what do citizens not have to think about? And why do their keepers risk their lives to ensure its preservation? The irresistible curiosity forces '451' - this is the number on his helmet - to steal some texts from the houses condemned to the stake. To hide them from themselves and finally read them. But a sharing of the reading with her wife and friends - all dazed, as a matter of course - is enough to activate the repression against him too.

Leakage of the protagonist with an elderly keeper of knowledge and books - the old man F (from Latin MANUFACTURING, build) - is an uncertain fraction of the tragic ending, the nuclear holocaust. The H bomb, which in the days of Fahrenheit 451 as today it is even more envisaged which one concrete threat to the survival of the human species.

1953-2020, the prophecy of Fahrenheit

Fantasy by Ray Bradbury turns out to be a prophecy, almost seventy years later. Regime entertainment is now in our pockets and our lives through it smartphone, Alexa and 5G, 6G on the way. The regime's pseudo-information - controlled by a single center - censors and drowns any news on the web that does not respond to its false narrative. By darkening the pages and profiles, sui social networks, of those who dare to spread uncomfortable truths or opinions. (2)

'There is only one good, knowledge and one evil, ignorance ' (Socrates)

Citizens and/or consumers, dazed by irrelevant news, they stop reading and thinking about what is really essential to life and society. (3) In this way they let the abominations that are perpetrated, far from the spotlight, even in their name flow. From wars of interest disguised as lies, in Libya as in Iraq, to the legitimacy of the coup leaders in Ukraine. In the broader scenario of abuse e injustices on peoples and ecosystems.

Will knowledge save us?

Dario Dongo

Note

(1) Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451 (Mondadori, Milan, 1st edition 1961). Oscar Moderni, 163 pages, € 10,20

(2) Just these days Instagram and Facebook are removing and blocking account demanding justice for the cowardly murder of Qassem Soleimani. V. https://edition.cnn.com/2020/01/10/tech/instagram-iran-soleimani-posts/index.html?fbclid=IwAR20iPjKUTs59k_twnoZERBsjzBh_TA771KEhYMzUmyxbp5RQDfYw6nekr8

(3) The data on the closure of over 2.300 bookstores in Italy between 2012 and 2017 is significant, reported by the president of the Italian Booksellers Association (ALI) in Avvenire on 13.12.19. See https://www.libraitaliani.it/news/401-l-appello-dell-ali-per-salvare-le-librerie

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