Fahrenheit 451–Group 2

“Dad’s like a kid again when Bill and Bobby bring out their construction set. And Mom and Betty can’t resist a little “experting” on the sidelines. At all family affairs 7 up is a welcome part of everybody’s fun. 7-Up the all family drink-is a good friend of youngest and oldest alike. Be a fresh family…every member can be a 7 Up steady.” Vintage 7-Up advertisement 1949 (Ad from envisioningtheamericandream.com)

In the slides, I suggest that while Bradbury’s book attacks intellectual and social conformity, Fahrenheit 451 also gives us a complicated vision of the idealized nuclear family of the 1950s.  In what way, if any, does the novel seem to welcome the vision of family in this 7 up ad?  In what ways might Bradbury find the ad appalling? You don’t have to discuss everything about the family pictured, just one or two details.

6 thoughts on “Fahrenheit 451–Group 2

  1. Thea Noun

    While I think that Bradbury would scorn the blatant consumerist lie that 7 up brings families happiness, I agree with Graham and the slides that he would take for granted the hierarchy presented in the ad. Based on the role of women in the novel from Clarisse to Mildred and her friends, it strongly suggests women occupy a role on the sidelines. The way Clarisse is set up as an alternative to Montag’s wife might also suggest that Bradbury envies the happiness expressed in the ad. Clarisse sparks an awareness in Montag that his life is missing genuine happiness, furthermore the attempted suicides of his wife and the fact that he tries so hard to get her interested in the books he is stashing but the inevitable failure of that action plays into the idea that individual males are the intellectual driving force in Bradbury’s novel, women are sacrifices to imagery.

  2. Graham Rainsby

    As Professor Newbury points out in the slides Mildred, Montag’s wife, represents what we would expect a dystopian housewife to be. She seemingly spends all her day at home mindlessly watching TV, while still being an active consumer trying to spend all of her and Montags money on more TV walls. Bradbury may have some social commentary in his book, but he does still put women into gendered roles. This Advertisement above certainly does the same thing. The two females in the picture, Mom and Betty, are described as not being able to “Resist a little ‘experting’ on the sidelines.” This Advertisement is truly the epitome of playing into gender roles. All females in a “7-up family” are assumed to be waiting on the sidelines of their male counterparts. Dad, Bobby, and Bill actually participate in the building, while Mom and Betty just watch. It is ludicrous how 7- up portrays ideal family time by clearly enforcing gender roles.

  3. Adonis Luna

    The novel may seem to relate to this ad, as the dystopia looked to diminish and prevent any variance to the status quo through the burning of books and censorship of any challenges to the status quo. We receive the message that any form of original thought is threatening to society and everyone is encouraged to remain in their predetermined stereotypical lifestyles. Similarly, the 7up ad depicts the stereotypical nuclear family comprising of a husband and wife along with their children living in a suburban home. The husband evidently appears to be the worker of the family because of his attire, while his wife appears to be dressed comfortably as to pertain to a housewife lifestyle. The daughter seems to watch from a small distance while the sons appear to be the more hands on and curious ones. The ad looks to strengthen the already embedded stereotype of the nuclear family while also cementing the presence of this drink along with it. In both cases, stereotypical lifestyles are highly encouraged to be followed and the populace has become victim to it.

  4. Joseph Levine

    In Fahrenheit 451, children are almost entirely absent. The only time children appear is in Clarisse (who is almost an adult), the kids who nearly run over Montag when he is fleeing from the city, and the children mentioned by one of Mildred’s friends. Thus, in addition to purging access to literature, it appears Bradbury’s world also seeks to rid itself of children. I don’t mean to say that the society necessarily discourages having children, but it seems that material and physical pleasure are paramount, and take precedence over other human desires. I wonder why Mildred’s friend would even seek to have children in the first place given her similar attitude to Mildred; I suspect it would be in response to a superficial reason rather than an intrinsic one.

    In relation to the advertisement, I would guess that Bradbury would be both enthusiastic and disheartened. The ad encourages families to spend time to together, for parents to nurture their relationships with their children during their spare time. It envisions a world in which families are loving and wholesome. On the other hand, the ad seeks to commodify this sentiment by using it to sell a soft drink. Mildred’s “family” is an example of how Bradbury sees commodification taken to the extreme, in this case where buying a television screen provides validation and homeliness. I am curious about what Bradbury’s opinions on real-life advertising are more specifically, but his Denham’s Dentrifice ad in the story makes me believe he thinks low of it.

  5. Samuel Rinzler

    To me this picture directly contradicts much of Bradbury’s story in “Fahrenheit 451”. The 7 up family pictures an ideal nuclear family, laughing around the husband, while the children grin with glee and the wife looks happily on from the back In reality the only connection that exists between this photo and the nuclear family Bradbury depicts is the fakeness that exists in both worlds. In the case of Montag he listens to his wife superficial surface talk with her friends about husbands and war and then they were back to being enthralled with another television program. Similarly, in this picture the family looks almost too happy, to the point where it is almost creepy. The whole conformist perfect picture is never the case and both Montag and this ad depict that.

  6. Anthony Petrosinelli

    This novel, Fahrenheit 451, is an incredible story about how appeasing all of society can end up destroying life’s creations. In this case, the issue of having conflicting opinions is what set the world in a tail spin, and publications that allow authors and individuals to express themselves has to be destroyed. What the book wants to do is allow for uniformity throughout society and give all people an equal playing field. This is similar to the ad. This ad puts each member of the family into different societal bins/stereotypes. The dad looks like he just got home from a long day of work and is helping the kids learn how to build/engineer toys. Meanwhile, the mom looks like a housewife, who is observing and allowing the husband to take control of this activity. The two boy children are following their father’s lead, eagerly learning how to build the toys. Meanwhile, the daughter is sitting right by her mom’s side, merely observing. By creating these stereotypes, 7-up is effectively calling a “Fresh-Up” family one where they abide by societal norms and customs. Fahrenheit 451 wants all people to fall within their stereotype—very few (if any) woman firefighters, men leading the charge, and there is no ability for individuals to push society’s norms/boundaries. Instead, all individuals must follow their role “to a tee”. I think is is a way for the dystopian government to maintain absolute control over the individuals, and not have anyone push the boundaries and create change.

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