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Cole David
ENG 20803
1 March 2017
The film Fahrenheit 451, released in 1966 and directed by Francois Truffaut, depicts a
dystopian society that takes place many years in the future, where firemen burn books and the
masses are tightly monitored by their totalitarian-style government. The film, a representation of
Ray Bradburys novel, uses symbolism to convey many warnings to society about the dangers of
socialism, state-based censorship, and technological advancement. These warnings created the
foundation for the themes Truffaut attempted to portray throughout the film. These themes match
those described by the Southern Illinois University Board of Trustees, in their academic journal,
Explorations in Utopian and Dystopian Fiction, such as the freedom of the mind, the
evocation of the past; the integrity of the individual; [and] the allurements and traps of the
future (SIU, 1983). Through these themes, as created by Bradbury, Truffaut creates an effective
Historical Context
World War I and II, the most globally influential and devastating events of human history
played a large part in a monumental shift of human ideology at a global level. In the 1930s, the
Nazi Book Burnings were a very eye-opening event that occurred in Germany (Zipes, 2008).
People all over the world witnessed a totalitarian government literally burn their citizens
freedom of speech to the ground. Truffaut made this reference clear to the audience when the
film showed the burning of Hitlers autobiography Mein Kampf (Harrison, 2001). The Nazism
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and conformist ideology of WWI and II led to a global division of communist and democratic
societies. This division caused extreme tension between the communist USSR and the
democratic United States leading to an era known as the Cold War. During the Cold War, there
was a global movement of support for communism and the idea of a utopian society, that
communism. This conflict, combined with the spark of too rapid and pervasive technological
change [within a tradition of] humanistic conservatism, created the criticism Ray Bradbury
wanted to portray to society when he wrote Fahrenheit 451(SIU, 1983). He wanted to portray all
the potential outcomes that could come from these movements and conflicts. A utopian society
seems like a positive aspiration, but would only work if individual thought was taken from the
people. All human innovations and advancements were created with the guidance of individual
thought. Bradbury reminded his audience the importance of this through his portrayal of a true
utopian society. Bradbury also wanted to send warnings about the severe reliance on
technology that came with this progressive, technological, era. With this era of rapid
where it came from and not lose the sense and direction that has been laid out for them by their
ancestors.
Throughout the film, Fahrenheit 451, Truffaut effectively used many symbols to represent
the destruction or evocation of the past. The film begins with very suspenseful music and a scene
that depicts many firemen on their way to put out a fire. The shot then shifts to a man casually
smoking a cigarette in his living room where he answers the phone to a young womans voice
demanding that he leave immediately. The audience assumes that this man has committed a very
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bad crime because of the suspense created by a zoom shot and then a quick cut to the man
running away. The firemen enter the home and begin rapidly searching for books that, ironically,
they plan to burn. After the firemen found several books they walked outside and set them on fire
with a blow torch in front of large group of citizens. There are several cuts to expressions of
people watching this event, even one showing two children fearfully watching from their
window. Truffaut effectively portrays several of Bradburys main themes during this scene. The
main symbol present in this scene, fire, lays a foundation for Truffauts intended ideological bias
by establishing the theme, the evocation of the past. This theme is exemplified when the main
character, Montag, masks himself, representing the blindness of society, and took aim at the pile
of books with a blazing flame thrower. The flaming books are symbols for the destruction of
history. People study history because there are invaluable lessons that come along with the
knowledge of historical events that allow for the advancement of society. Historically, people
always strive for more freedom and prosperity. If the community within the film were to read
and learn of this history, then they wouldnt be as oblivious to their mistreatment. This complete
and utter destruction of the past closes a gateway towards individual and personal thought, which
brings attention to Bradburys next theme portrayed by Truffaut, the freedom of the mind.
Throughout the film, the government used many tactics to prohibit society of individual thought.
One of these tactics was the use of giant television screens as the main source of information
channeled to the citizens. Montags wife, Linda, obsesses over the screen and feels a personal
connection to The Family, the host of the programs shown on the screen. As stated in an
academic paper by Jack Zipes, Bradbury want[ed] to get at the roots of American conformity
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and point a finger at the complicity of state and industry for using technology to produce
television programs to block self-reflection (Zipes, 2008). Truffaut and actress Julie Christie
do an excellent job portraying Linda as an ignorant and oblivious character and also a symbol for
Bradburys theme. Clarisse, another character used to establish this ideology, ironically, is played
by the same actress, Julie Christie. Unlike Linda, Clarisse is the character that brings this issue to
light and recognizes the distractions as a prevention of people being alone with their own
thoughts (Zipes, 2008). We can infer that Truffaut purposely casted Christie in both roles to
blatantly establish this theme from two different perspectives. To contemporary viewers of today,
this theme sparks interest because of the accuracy of Bradburys portrayal of the future.
Bradbury knew what was to come from this issue and Truffaut effectively portrayed this to his
audience. They were both calling for a social/political change in society that encourages freedom
government redefined a societys moral principles and codes. The oppression of all outspoken
individual thought led to a society oblivious of their mistreatment, with a new perception of right
and wrong. In one scene from the film, Linda was spending time with her friends and Montag,
having a new perception created by his books, finally recognized the lack of individuality in his
society. In an outburst of emotion, Montag read these ladies a passage from one of his books, in
hope of opening their eyes to their lack of integrity for themselves and their society. The women
perceived this action as disrespectful and degrading, leaving in tears having listened to nothing
Montag read. These women are not at fault for their ideology, the fault solely falls on the
oppressor of their thoughts and individuality. The government discretely implemented an idea of
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conformity into the entire society and convinced all that If youre a thinker in the world of
objects, youre a heretic; if youre different, youre an enemy (Crisp, 1972). All of these themes
created by Bradbury and conveyed by Truffaut in the 1966 film led to the establishment of the
main social and political ideology that was meant for the audiences interpretation, The
Like many of the novels written during this era, such as George Orwells 1984,
Fahrenheit 451 was Bradburys perception of the future. He created it as a warning to society
about the potential consequences of their ideologies in the near to distant future. During the 20th
century, a time of rapid technological advancement, the focus of society shifted more to the
future and less to past. Anticipation for wonderful innovations that seem to raise the quality of
human life began to overtake the importance of historical events. Bradbury wanted to reiterate
the importance of a knowledge and understanding of historical content when a society meets a
time of exponentially progressive innovation. Truffaut effectively portrayed this idea through the
depiction of the Book People a society that memorizes books as a way of preserving history,
Conclusion
strongly stated, clear ideological bias at both a political and social level. Bradburys novel held
several powerful themes that gave Truffaut a solid ideological foundation for this film. Truffaut
was successful in establishing these themes through active and effective use of symbolism. He
displayed many unmistakable, and rhetorically appealing ideas that warned his audience of the
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dangers of oppression of the individual and their mind, destruction of history, and the trap of the
future.
Zipes, Jack. "Mass degradation of humanity and massive contradictions in Bradburys vision of
America in Fahrenheit 451." Bloom, Modern Critical Interpretations (2008): 3-18.