My initial intent was to
type out a specific quote, but found myself wanting to reference the
entire page. Please excuse the mild
obscenities.
"Cram them full of noncombustible data, chock them so damned full of 'facts' they feel stuffed, but absolutely 'brilliant' with information. Then they'll feel they're thinking, they'll get a sense of motion without moving. And they'll be happy, because facts of that sort don't change. Don't give them any slippery stuff like philosophy or sociology to tie things up with. That way lies melancholy. Any man who can take a TV wall apart and put it back together again, and most men can, nowadays, is happier than any man who tries to slide-rule, measure, and equate the universe, which just won't be measured or equated without making man feel bestial and lonely. I know, I've tried it; to hell with it. So bring on your clubs and parties, your acrobats and magicians, your daredevils, jet cars, motorcycle helicopters, your sex and heroin, more of everything to do with automatic reflex. If the drama is bad, if the film says nothing, if the play is hollow, sting me with the theremin, loudly. I'll think I'm responding to the play, when it's only a tactile reaction to vibration. But I don't care. I just like solid entertainment."I have numerous thoughts that have been invigorated by this text, but haven't a wish to discuss them at this point. For now, I revel in the poignant statement that Ray Bradbury is illuminating through the entirety of his book. This paragraph is just a glimpse at the sad future described in Fahrenheit 451. I start to wonder if it could turn prophetic with the current trend of our society and the obsession with "feel-good-entertainment". Food for thought.
