Contrast-comparison essay. Alisa Demina.

"Fahrenheit 451" and "Brazil"

   Dystopia is a prominent genre in cinematography adaptations. “Fahrenheit 451” and “Brazil” illustrate two different attempts to visualize totalitarian society and escape from it. While having similar social issues they are entirely unlike from aesthetical point of view.

   Both of the movies are based on classic sci-fi dystopian books. “Fahrenheit 451” was meant to be direct screening of the novel, however with notable changes. Sci-fi elements were almost completely removed, while the love story was prolonged. “Brazil” is more like free variation on the theme of Orwell’s “1984”. We can even perceive it’s screenplay as a self-sufficient work created by brilliant Terry Gilliam and Tom Stoppard. But most of all it’s a postmodern compilation of existing dystopias and “Fahrenheit 451” could be one of them. At least they both introduce main character as middle-aged man, system-servant, which suddenly fall in love with short-haired rebellion girl and it puts him against this whole system. So we will consider these movies independently, taking their literature source out of the brackets.

   As most of dystopias, “Fahrenheit 451” and “Brazil” are focused on social problematic. They show us possible versions of totalitarian society and first of all abyss between consumerist life-style and soullessness of these worlds. If we look aside from what the term “totalitarianism” means in itself, “Fahrenheit’s” attention directed particularly on the importance of literature. “They make people unhappy…” therefore – antisocial. Paper raises the personality. On the contrary, in “Brazil” personality disappears in the papers. It is a bureaucratic dictatorship where even the smallest mechanical misprint in the name of a convict can cost a life of an innocent person. The main heroes of both movies finally find an escape from the state machine. Guy Montag discovers a community of “book people” and becomes one of them, while the destiny of Sam Lowry is not such fortunate as he sank into a complete catatonic dream. But point is still the same: imagination is a key to freedom.

   These movies can be vivid embodiments of their decade: 60s and 80s. They hardly pretend on science fiction rank. Strictly speaking we saw upside down railway in “Fahrenheit 451” and wire oversaturation in apartments of “Brazil”, but it cannot be more than futuristic hints. The streets of the first one are typical suburbs. And everything, from the dresses of housewives to the colorful furniture, refers exactly to that time. “Brazil” is more sci-fi-like due to its neo-noir shade which was trendy in 80s films, especially after breathtaking “Blade Runner”. Romantic urbanism and “high tech, low life” cyberpunk formula make this film aesthetically perfect for representation of classic dystopian world. So both movies were seen by their authors as “neither future nor past, and yet a bit of each”1.

   “Fahrenheit 451” and “Brazil” were filmed, as most of the dystopias, in countries which have never experienced totalitarianism. They show us existent sins of the society (and it doesn’t matter if it is socialistic or capitalistic), but in hypertrophied form. And even looking from contemporary perspective we can see them as footprints of their time, but at the same time as an eternal work of art, which has to be the main goal of every film. 

1. <http://www.criterion.com/current/posts/2578-the-evolution-of-brazil>