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The Island of Dr. Moreau shows a way knowledge can be withheld in order to maintain power, in this instance by an individual. However, unlike the Fables comic, in this instance the indidvidual in control of knowledge seems to be withholding it for sinister reasons rather than the greater good. Dr. Moreau, is a scientist who more concerned with the scientific implications of his vivisection experiments rather than his moral wrongdoings. He is a brillint man, who is all-knowing and thus all-powerful in his environment, taking his fields beyond what people believed possible by creating his Beast-men. An outsider, Edward Prendick, comes onto the island and as time passes he discovers the darker side of these experiments; realizing how tortured these animals have been and how they live in fear or Dr. Moreau, wanting to become equals but not knowing how. Prendick come to realize that these creations are actually captives of their creator, and he lashes out against Moreau, leading to a violent chase and scuffle between all parties, and the eventual the death of the Dr. Moreau at the hands of the Beast-men. This creates a multifaceted arguement as to whether Dr. Moreau can rightfully keep his creations trapped on the island, because he created them and believes they could possibly present a danger in the real world, but they are also fully-sentient creatures who want freedom, so it is hard to say what the correct way to handle them is.

Related: Ex Machina, Fables: Legends in Exile

Fables is one of the few stories discussed in which knowledge is withheld for the greater good, rather than individual gain. Bigby Wolf keep many of his discoveries secret while investigating Rose Red’s murder case, until his grand finale when he gathers all the fables and reveals that Rose Red faked her own murder.

This panel of the comic comes from Snow White’s brief confrontation with Bigby during his reveal, when she lashes out as him for not letting her know that her sister was still alive. He soon informs her that he was unsure whether Rose was still alive until just several hours prior, and he didn’t want to inform Snow that her sister was still alive and turn out to be wrong. Everything he has kept secret from Snow and the larger fable community was so that he could finish his investigation without conflict or interruption. His secretive tendencies somewhat mirror those of Dr. Moreau is the beginning of the Island of Dr. Moreau, however Bigby’s motives are eventually revealed to be beneficial rather than somewhat sinister.

Related: The Island of Dr. Moreau

Primary Sources:

• 1984: Orwell, George. 1984. London: Signet Classics, 1949. Print.

• The Blazing World: Newcastle, Margaret Cavendish. The Description of a New World Called The Blazing World. London: A. Maxwell, 1668. Print.

• Ex Machina: Ex Machina. Dir. Alex Garland. Perf. Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander. Universal Studios, 2015. Film.

• Fables: Legends in Exile: Willingham, Bill, and Lan Medina. Fables: Legends in Exile. New York: DC Comics, 2002. Print.

• The Handmaid’s Tale: Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid’s Tale. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1985. Print.

• The Island of Dr. Moreau: Wells, H. G. The Island of Dr. Moreau. New York: Dover Publications, 1996. Print.

• V for Vendetta: Moore, Alan, David Lloyd, Steve Whitaker, and Siobhan Dodds. V for Vendetta. New York: DC Comics, 2005. Print.

Secondary Sources:

• Pettersson, Frederik. “Discourse and Oppression in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale.” Diss. Linnaeus U, 2009. Web.

The author of the text covers many aspects of the novel very in-depth, however he most closely addresses the ideas I explored in the section “Truth Re-defined”. He addresses how anything the government says will become true, specifically how the inability of a woman to become pregnant when having intercourse with a sterile man is blamed on her, leading her to become an “unwoman”. He also draws a connection here to 1984, another novel I discussed, comparing this ability of the government to redefine truth to Winston’s torture scene where he looks at O’Brien’s hand and suddenly sees that two and two does make five, just as the Party says. This source would be helpful in research as it addresses a breadth of topics, beyond just what I chose to analyze.

• Corliss, Richard. “Ex Machina: Can Two Wily Men Outsmart a Gorgeous Robot?” Time Magazine. Time, 10 Apr. 2015. Web. 5 Dec. 2016.

The author this Time magazine article explores how Ex Machina draws parallels not only to The Island of Dr. Moreau, but also to Frankenstein and the short story “The Most Dangerous Game”. One of the article’s focal points in Ava’s evolution throughout the film, as her personality grows and adapts during her interactions with Caleb, gaining the information she needs from her to eventually grant herself freedom. It takes the textual inter-connectivity I explored and expands it to a much further extent, making it not only relevant to my discussion of knowledge but also useful for further research into how the film mirrors many other works of science fiction.

Images:

• 1984: Orwell, George. Big Brother Is Watching You. Digital image. Nineteen Eighty-Four. Wikiquote, 23 Nov. 2016. Web. 6 Dec. 2016.

• V for Vendetta: Moore, Alan, David Lloyd, Steve Whitaker, and Siobhan Dodds. V for Vendetta. New York: DC Comics, 2005. Print.

• Fables: Legends in Exile: Willingham, Bill, and Lan Medina. Fables: Legends in Exile. New York: DC Comics, 2002. Print.

• The Handmaid’s Tale: Hulu. The Handmaid’s Tale. Digital image. First Look: Elisabeth Moss in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’. BBC America, 5 Dec. 2016. Web. 6 Dec. 2016.

On this site I want to explore the idea of knowledge in science fiction and fantasy literature and film, particularly the many connections between knowledge and power seen throughout the genre. In the world-building portion of many dystopian science fiction novels it is established that whatever ruling power is at play has somehow found a way to control the information given to the general public. I think the repetition of this concept, especially in science fiction novels, is important; the heavy interconnection of knowledge and power is indicative of how this connection is viewed in our world; people fear the control of knowledge, because it could lead to the control of thought and a total seizure of power from the average citizen. This concept is addressed exceptionally often in science fiction, because as the government’s ability to monitor their citizens grows so does the concern that this technology could be used nefariously. This is not the only context in which knowledge has been explored in the genre, as knowledge is also often withheld by and individual for their own benefit, keeping secret any information that could prove detrimental to their plan or lifestyle. It is very infrequently that knowledge is granted openly, and I think this has a direct correlation to the idea that knowledge is power. In many of the narratives discussed here, those with the most information rise to positions of power, and in order to maintain that power they are willing to deny others knowledge. Theoretically, this lack of information would make the average individual much easier to control, and easier to indoctrinate into systems of life or government by being convinced by those in charge that it would serve to benefit them, while the reality may be the opposite.

If anything Ex Machina is a reimagining of the Island of Dr. Moreau for a new generation, in which the idea of artificial intelligence grows closer to becoming a reality every day; Nathan in Ex Machina is very similar to Dr. Moreau, both being scientists who are more concerned with the scientific implications of their experiments rather than their own moral wrongdoings. Both begin as men who are all-knowing and thus all-powerful in their environments, taking their fields beyond what people believed possible. An outsider comes into their world and as time passes they discover the darker side of these experiments; they come to realize that these creations are actually captives of their creators, and the façade of paradise begins to fall apart, eventually resulting in the deaths of the creators at the hands of their creations. In the case of Ava, the AI in Ex Machina, she asks Nathan if “it[‘s] strange, to create something that hates [him]?” demonstrating how much she wants to be free of him and this facility she’s spent her entire life inside. This idea mirrors the real world in the sense that many people view their children as their creations; in recent years there has been controversy over whether things like spanking your child or refusing to have them vaccinated before they have the knowledge to make these decisions for themselves could actually be considered child abuse. It is difficult to determine whether in these cases it is right for parents to make decisions for their children that much of the world views as detrimental to their well-being, in the same way that is it difficult to say whether Nathan and Dr. Moreau can rightfully keep these creations trapped in their current environments.

Related: The Island of Dr. Moreau

The Blazing World demonstrates a unique relationship between knowledge and power, and is one of the few texts covered in this course that allows widespread dispersion of information. Rather than being an all-knowing figure or someone who is restricting others’ access to knowledge, the Lady-turned-Empress is entirely ignorant to the functionalities of this new world. However, she uses her new found power to “[erect] Schools, and [found] several Societies” (9) so that the various native peoples of this world can go out and attain knowledge for her either through philosophical thought or scientific study. This is one of the few texts studied so far that would not be considered a dystopia, which is logical considering it closely mirrors real-world systems of government. While Emperors and Empresses are no longer a widely practiced form of power, it is very common for governments to fund research in fields they want to more thoroughly understand or make progress in.

The Handmaid’s Tale and V for Vendetta take place in similar dystopic visions of the future, in which the government has taken full control of knowledge. In these worlds, most books, movies, and music have been taken and destroyed by the government, and anything that remains is considered highly illegal. Language is heavily controlled in Gilead, the dystopic vision of America created in The Handmaid’s Tale; this is demonstrated by many things, including the hushed conversations between Offred and Ofglen, and the utmost secrecy that must be maintained regarding something as small as a game of Scrabble. Offred also belongs to a class of women known as handmaids, whose only job is to bear children.

This image comes from the upcoming show based on the novel, and likely depicts the Commander who essentially owns Offred either before or after one of their “ceremonies” in which he tries to get her pregnant. The woman on the bed is probably his wife Serena Joy, who is always present for the ceremony. Using the looming threat of imprisonment or death as their power, the government has turned an entire class of women into reproductive vessels. All information distributed to citizens is controlled, because “knowing was a temptation. What [they] [didn’t] know [wouldn’t] tempt [them].” (233, Chapter 30) By doing this the government has also turned society against those who dare to speak out against them and taken almost total control of the lives of their citizens. The government control of language, and the indoctrination of citizens to report each other to the authorities are concepts heavily mirrored in George Orwell’s 1984.

Related: V for Vendetta, 1984

1984 by George Orwell is set in a dystopic version of Great Britain; the world has been divided into Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia, who are constantly at war with one another in some combination. A governmental system known only as the Party has taken control, led by a man referred to as Big Brother.

Above is an imagination of one of the massive posters depicting the face of Big Brother, which are plastered in every public space to remind citizens that they are constantly being watched. From birth citizens of Oceania are trained to love Big Brother and the Party, and to denounce any criminals who dare speak out against them, controlled what they are allowed to watch and read both during and after formal education. Even language is being slowly dwindled down so that eventually no one will even know the words to use to criticize the Party. When reading V for Vendetta and especially The Handmaid’s Tale, I frequently reminisced on the world of this story, noticing many similarities between the three. The telescreens reminded me of Fate’s cameras in V for Vendetta, while the indoctrination of society to love the government that opresses them was similar to The Handmaid’s Tale; 1984 and The Handmaid’s Tale were also both societies in transition, in which some of the older citizens remembered a life from before, a life of freedom, leading to Winston and Offred’s personal rebellions against the system. When people still have the memories of knowledge and freedom they will put their own lives at risk for the possibility of getting them back.

Related: V for Vendetta, The Handmaid’s Tale

V for Vendetta takes place in a dystopic vision of the future, in which the government has taken full control of knowledge. In this vision of England, most books, movies, and music have been taken and destroyed by the government, and anything that remains is considered highly illegal. The Norsefire party has taken control of the nation, and uses the computer Fate to monitor society through her system of microphones and cameras.

This image comes directly from V for Vendetta, and although there are many panels in this story that explore knowledge and especially its control, this moment is particularly revealing. It shows that V has had inner knowledge of the government throughout the narrative, and is yet another secret that he has been keeping from Evey. The government’s control of information is in direct opposition to V’s view that “knowledge, like air, is vital to life. Like air, no one should be denied it” (218), and he has therefore taken control of Fate from the outside as part of his mission to destroy Norsefire. Throughout this mission he has often had to withhold information from Evey, but would argue that it was being done for her own safety.

The only aspect in which laws in this country are almost surprisingly lenient is in regards to things like friendships, love, and sexual relationships; this is why Helen Heyer can have sex with a man that isn’t her husband in direct view of a camera, something that would be punishable by death in Gilead, the version of America portrayed in the Handmaid’s Tale. After controlling media and all access to knowledge, Norsefire feels less of a need to control the day-to-day actions of their people than the government of Gilead.

Related: The Handmaid’s Tale, 1984