Postmodern Consumerism and Zombification in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World

Abstract

This interdisciplinary qualitative research investigates how postmodern consumerism induces a state of zombification in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World (1932), positioning the novel as a prophetic parallel to contemporary society. Employing Marxist criticism, postmodern and psychoanalytic theories, and discourse analysis, the analysis reveals how institutionalized consumption and technoscientific manipulation commodify humanity. The study demonstrates that the novel’s systemic control mechanisms erode identity, individuality, agency, and autonomy, reducing individuals to passive, obedient subjects. The resistance embodied by characters serves as a counterpoint to social homogenization and consumer culture. Additionally, an intertextual reading of George Orwell’s 1984 reveals the shared dystopian warnings against the manifesting zombification across literary criticism. Ultimately, this study asserts that Brave New World is both a diagnosis and a cautionary tale about the consequences of prioritizing mindless consumption that blurs the lines between the living and merely existing.