NOTE: I originally published this article in 2005. I’ve tried to keep it updated, but the rapid changes in our media and culture have made that difficult.

Beyond Censorship: Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451

by Reg Harris

I wasn’t worried about freedom. I was worried about people being turned into morons by TV…Fahrenheit’s not about censorship. It’s about the moronic influence of popular culture through local TV news and the proliferation of giant screens and the bombardment of factoids. All the popular programs on TV…They don’t give you anything but factoids. They tell you when Napoleon was born, but not who he was.

Ray Bradbury

Four Contemporary Themes

Ray Bradbury wrote Fahrenheit 451 in 1953, toward the end of McCarthyism and at the beginning of the escalation of the Cold War. The theme for which the book is most famous is censorship. While censorship is one of the book’s key themes, there are three other themes which are equally important to our students today. These themes are, perhaps, more relevant today–in our world of technology, entertainment and “alternative” facts–than when the book was originally published. More importantly, these themes deal with forces that have a significant impact our students’ ability find and follow their individual Hero’s Journeys. Along with censorship these themes are:

~ ENTERTAINMENT: Fahrenheit 451 is mostly about the impact of technology, entertainment and virtual reality on us and our children.

~ POLITICAL CORRECTNESS: Bradbury (through Chief Beatty) explores the the impact of political correctness taken to the extreme. The culture in F451 didn’t want to offend anyone or any minority (which is just about everyone in one way or another), but they took it to the extreme, and

~ HAPPINESS: According to Beatty, the goal of the government is to make everyone happy, even if it means removing anything which might cause people to think critically.

The impact of technology and entertainment is perhaps the most important theme we can cover with our students. As I wrote in my unit on teaching Fahrenheit 451 as a Hero’s Journey:

In many ways, our culture is like the culture of Fahrenheit 451. Technology and the media exploit our needs and fears. This is particularly true of our youth, who are the object of intense marketing that strives to influence their thinking, instill brand loyalty and create an undiscerning, compliant population. In terms of the Hero’s Journey, students are being steered into the same kinds of “pseudo” journeys of compliance and consumption that we see in Fahrenheit 451. As teachers, we can use Montag’s story to help students see how such “media-induced” journeys draw them away from their own, genuine journeys, journeys that could help them build strong self identities and discover their potentials.

While I don’t focus on this theme here, I strongly suggest teachers explore it with their classes. In this article, I’ll explore briefly these four themes as Bradbury presents them, and I will suggest a number of classroom activities which will tie these themes to our modern society and to your students’ lives.

Theme One: Censorship

Censorship is a key theme in Fahrenheit 451 (F451),  and is, perhaps, the theme for which the novel is most famous. When we think of censorship, we usually think of a person, group or government that is trying to control what people read. That is not the case in F451. In the world of F451, books are burned because they trigger thought and discontent, two things which are unwelcome in this “happiness oriented” society. In fact, in F451 censorship seems to have originated with the people. According to Captain Beatty,

There you have it, Montag. [Book burning] didn’t come from the Government down. There was no dictum, no declaration, no censorship, to start with, no! Technology, mass exploitation, and minority pressure carried the trick, thank God. Today thanks to them, you can stay happy all the time.

Apparently, people were unhappy, so the government acted to remove the sources of their unhappiness and to enhance their lives with activities which would prevent them from thinking and, thus, being unhappy.

Censorship in many forms continues to be a part of our lives, though not so blatantly or extensively as in F451. Schools across our country are subjected regularly efforts to censor what is read and taught. Media, too, is often censored, sometimes by the same groups which attempt to censor schools, but more often by the corporations that own media outlets or that advertise on them.

Activity 1: Have students compare news from two sources: the most popular commercial outlets (broadcast and print) with independent media (e.g., Democracy Now, The Thom Hartman Show or The David Pakman Show on television or Politico, The Institute for Public Accuracy, The Huffington Post or Truthout on-line). Have them explore which stories are given most attention from each source and which stories are covered in one source and not the other. Have them explore why many important stories are simply not covered at all. They might also make a historical comparison. For example, they might compare the lack of visual coverage given the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with the images shown during the Vietnam War. They might ask themselves, “What did the government and establishment learn from Vietnam that the government in F451 already knew?

Activity 2: In 1983, 50 companies owned 90% of the American Media. Now, fewer than half-a-dozen companies control of 90% of the American media. Discuss, in class or in groups, the impact of so few companies controlling so much of what we see and hear, especially in the area of news. For example, how might these companies control the news to distract us from other important issues? To make the theme more relevant to your students, you could discuss the battle for on-line ownership. For example, how does ownership of search engines affect our ability to find information or how will it dictate the kind of information we can find. (This activity could also be done as a research and writing assignment or broken apart as a group assignment.)

If you don’t want a man unhappy politically, don’t give him two sides to a question to worry him; give him one. Better yet, give him none.

Captain Beatty

The censorship we experience now, though more subtle, results from the same motivations explored in F451. For example, one reason that Bradbury’s firemen burn books is that the ideas in the books offend “minorities.” Note that the word “minorities” in F451 refers to more than just racial or life-style status. It includes just about everyone. Any group of people with a common interest or background is considered a minority, even teachers. When everyone is classified as a minority (and is sensitive to that fact), anyone can easily be offended. In other cases, books are burned because they make people think and, thus, unhappy. As Beatty told Montag, “If you don’t want a man unhappy politically, don’t give him two sides to a question to worry him; give him one. Better yet, give him none.”

Exploring examples of censorship and attempted censorship (current and historical) is another excellent activity for students reading Fahrenheit 451. Here are some ideas you might adapt to your classroom.

~ Have students research current incidents of censorship, both direct and indirect. Include efforts by groups to pressure schools and others into removing objectionable materials (e.g., Harry Potter or The Things They Carried). For example, several years ago in our area, a local fundamentalist religious group objected to a liberal religious column being run in a large area newspaper. The newspaper refused to remove the column, so the group organized a telephone campaign. They worked in shifts, for three days. Members of the group would call and hang up immediately when someone answered, making it impossible to trace the calls and stop the harassment. They kept the lines tied up and effectively shut down the newspaper’s ability to gather news and conduct business. The newspaper eventually had to remove the column.

~ Have students research the groups or types of individuals most frequently advocating censorship. Have students examine their techniques, their reasons, and any support they get from organizations.

~ Have students explore which books and films have been the most frequent targets of censorship. Have them report on why are these books and films most often attacked, who attacks them most often and why they are attacked. For example, fundamentalist religious groups frequently attack Harry Potter books and films for their witchcraft theme.

~ Research efforts at censorship in your own community, both in school and in the media. What complaints have teachers, administrators and editors most often encountered? How are these complaints handled?

~ Create a collage of a censored book(s) and/or film(s). Perhaps do the collage in the form of a mandala or a poster, where students use symbols and quotes to explore both side of the issue.

~ Examine censorship in the music industry and the industry’s efforts to self-regulate. Again, look at the most frequently attacked music and why it is attacked. Deal fairly with both sides of the issue.

~ Examine how books are reviewed and approved in your school district. How do officials decide if books are fair and worthwhile? What process do people follow if they object to a book and want it removed from the classroom? What safeguards are in place to prevent a small, vocal group from using censorship to force its own views on the whole school population?

Theme Two: Entertainment

Thirty-five years ago, New York University professor Neil Postman wrote his prophetic book Amusing Ourselves to Death (reviewed here). Postman’s book has once again risen to the public consciousness (much as Fahrenheit 451 has taken on new life). Focusing primarily on television, Postman writes, “Television has by its power to control the time, attention, and cognitive habits of our youth gained the power to control their education.”

Now the focus is on social media and how it is literally controlling thought and behavior, not just of students, but for the population in general. The question now has become, “Is our obsession with social media destroying our ability to think critically and act independently?” (This theme is explored thoughtfully in an article from Public Discourse.)

Amusing Ourselves to Death began with a presentation Postman gave while on a panel discussing the contemporary relevance of George Orwell’s 1984. In his presentation, Postman suggested that Aldous Huxley’s classic Brave New World might be more relevant because in 1984 society was oppressing itself with its addiction to entertainment rather than being oppressed by the government, as is the case in Orwell’s novel.

This theme of “self-oppression” is also at the heart of F451. Beatty, the fire chief, lectures Montag on this subject at length early in the book. He explains the value of entertainment, including sports: “More sports for everyone, group spirit, fun, and you don’t have to think, eh? More cartoons. More books. More pictures. The mind drinks less and less.” Later he says,

If you don’t want a man unhappy politically, don’t give him two sides to a question to worry him; give him one. Better yet, give him none. Let him forget there is such a thing as war. If the government is inefficient, top-heavy, and tax-mad, better it be all those than that people worry over it. Peace, Montag. Give the people contests they can win by remembering the words to more popular songs! Cram them full of non-conbustible 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.

Beatty’s comments suggest several interesting activities:

~ Everywhere we go, we see people engrossed in their smart phones, even as they cross busy streets, ride bicycles or walk through parking lots. Programmers and designers use sophisticated techniques to keep people “engaged” (some programmers call this “brain hacking”). Have students watch Tristan Harris’ interview on 60 Minutes. Then have them discuss how programmers hack into our neural systems to keep us entertained or engaged. What are the dangers (see Larry Rosen’s comments near the end of the 60 Minutes segment). You might ask students if schools should be teaching students how their obsession with technology opens them to propaganda and manipulation. (NOTE: For an indepth–and frightening–look at how social media is warping our culture, watch The Social Dilemma on NetFlix.)

~ Have students read some of Postman’s writings (or other critiques on entertainment) and draw parallels between them and Fahrenheit 451. What are Postman’s main concerns or observations? What dangers does he see? Are there examples or statistics to support his observations?

~ Beatty suggests that meaningless entertainment can weaken or destroy the mind. Is there evidence of this? Examine research done on the effects of different forms of entertainment on our ability to think, learn and comprehend.

~ Related to this, have student explore our current “addiction” to technology. For example, brain research shows that texting can be addictive because it stimulates certain chemicals in our brains. With cell phones now, we can watch movies anywhere at any time or get the latest news from anywhere in the world. How does universal access to entertainment affect us or our culture? How does it, or will it, affect our health (i.e., eye problems, hyperactivity, finger and joint problems, obesity, and brain development).

~ Have students look at the importance of entertainment in their own lives or in the lives of their friends (what sorts of entertainment do they enjoy, how often.) Another critical concern is that entertainment is replacing other activities: reading, current events, direct social contact, children playing together or physical activity.

~ Look at how entertainment is marketed to us and how marketing techniques affect us: our self image, our view of others and our view of the world.

~ Examine the money paid to entertainers (television, film, sports, etc.), both as salaries and for endorsements. Why are they paid so much? Who makes the most? How much money is spent on endorsements? Where does that money come from (for example, how much extra do products cost us because of the endorsement)?

~ Research how commercials and advertisements are produced to be both entertaining and convincing. What psychological and coercive techniques are being used (i.e., switching images rapidly or propaganda techniques)?

Theme Three: Political Correctness

One of the key reasons books are banned in the world of Fahrenheit 451 is that books offend minorities, which means any group with a common link of some kind. With the current climate in our country where virtually anything can be considered offensive to someone, the world of Fahrenheit 451 may be more real than we would like to imagine. Here are some ideas for students along the lines of political correctness.

~ Research examples of government regulations (or government harassment) of private businesses and individuals for “unfair” labor practices (that is, practices which discriminate against minorities).

~ Examine lawsuits filed for discrimination in hiring or promotion to find out what the most common complaints are and how the suits are resolved. Why do people need to resort to lawsuits? Are the lawsuits justified?

~ Look at recent examples of advertising or media stories being attacked or pulled because they offended one group or another. For example, several years ago, the sombrero-wearing chihuahua in the Taco Bell commercials was attacked as being demeaning.

~ Read the letters-to-the-editor in several newspapers for a week or two, looking for concerns about political correctness. Collect examples and draw conclusions.

~ Interview people on both sides of politically correctness issues locally. Interviews might include members of minority groups that are often the object of ethnic slurs, as well as people who must be sensitive in their work to issues of political correctness (politicians, editors, publishers, writers, etc.)

Theme Four: Perpetual Happiness

In Fahrenheit 451, Faber tells Montag that people need three things to make them happy:

~ Quality information with substance and depth

~ Leisure time to digest the information and think (leisure time, not free time

~ The right to act based on what we learn from the interaction of the first two (quality information and time to reflect)

The happiness theme ties into the theme on entertainment. Are we really happy when we are kept occupied or amused? Here are some ideas you might have students try:

~ Look at Beatty’s talk with Montag (pages 53-62). What techniques does Beatty advocate for keeping people happy? What parallels do you see between Beatty’s ideas and our own modern society, especially in the area of occupying people’s minds with trivia? (Remind students that this book was written before computers, the Internet, cell phones, video games and digital technology.)

~ Examine each of Faber’s three necessities for happiness. Does our culture provide them? Look, also, at the increasing number of hours of work required to live (For example, about 30 years ago a loaf of bread cost about 10-15 minutes of work at the minimum wage; today, the same loaf costs about 40-45 minutes of minimum-wage work). What implications does this have on the time we have to learn and reflect on what we learn?

~ Examine stress, pressure and speed in life and how they affect us. (Look, for example, at “road rage” and other phenomenon.) Do addictions (drugs, alcohol, television, entertainment, etc.) relate to stress and pressure?

~ For one week set aside 15-30 minutes each day of quiet time: no television, no music, no cell phones, no reading, no talking, no activity. After each session note how your mind reacted and what you thought. Did you find it difficult to sit without doing something? Were you able to still the flow of images, thoughts and emotions? Keep a journal after each session to record your impressions.

~ Examine meditation techniques of various kinds. Are there similarities between them? Are they effective and, if so, why? Why do people practice meditation?

Fill them with “non-combustible data”

These four themes are more important today than they were when Ray Bradury wrote Fahrenheit 451 in 1953. They also ensure the book’s timeless relevance. Exploring these themes as they study the book will help students become more aware of how (at times) the government, corporations and media try to control how we think and act. Understanding the techniques involved will help them make decisions based on their own needs and desires, on their own life journeys, rather than a manufactured need for entertainment or technology, or on “pseudo” journeys being created to manipulate and control them. It’s worth closing by repeating Fire chief Beatty words to Montag:

Let [people] forget there is such a thing as war. If the government is inefficient, top-heavy, and tax-mad, better it be all those than that people worry over it. Peace, Montag. Give the people contests they can win by remembering the words to more popular songs! Cram them full of non-conbustible 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.

One final point for discussion: Could the current push toward standardized curriculum and testing be considered a form of censorship? Could dictating what must be taught and (through the tests) how it should be taught be considered filling students full of “non-combustible data?” Perhaps Bradbury’s firemen have been replaced by politicians, corporations and special interest groups.