Ray Bradbury and Fahrenheit 451 Inspiration and ideas

Ray Bradbury and Fahrenheit 451 Inspiration and ideas behind the book

The Life of Bradbury § Born August 22, 1920 in Illinois § As a young boy, he wrote short stories on butcher paper § Graduated from a LA high school in 1938 § Sold newspapers on street corners until 1942 § Spent his nights reading in the library and would write between news printings § After completing his first story in 1942, he pursued writing full-time § Met his wife in a bookstore where she worked, married in 1947 § Secured his reputation as a writer in 1950 with the publication of The Martian Chronicles § Published Fahrenheit 451 in 1953 § Began to worked in the film and radio industry, though he still wrote and published numerous plays, poems, and essays § Developed his own TV series, Ray Bradbury Series, which ran from 1986 -1992

Bradbury Interview We are going to watch about 4 minutes of an interview with Ray Bradbury. As we watch, listen for his inspirations behind Fahrenheit 451 http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=FL_y 6 gtx. Lv. Q Watch from 2: 33 – 7: 03

Mc. Carthyism § Period of time in the early 1950's when Senator Joseph Mc. Carthy attempted to expose suspected Communists § Blacklists § Mc. Carthy warned that there were communist traitors in American government and society that were threatening to destroy the United States. § Being named as a Communist = Blacklisted § Often those who did not conform to Mc. Carthy’s ideals (Actors, Writers, Politicians, etc. ) § Created a mass culture of complacency and conformity § Bradbury and the Policeman

Book Burnings § WWII Germany (Hitler) § Wanted to bring German arts and culture in line with Nazi ideals § May 10, 1933: University students burned appr. 25, 000 volumes of “un-German” books, presaging an era of state censorship and control of culture. § Soviet Union (Stalin) § The communists burned “objectionable” books, authors were often exiled or imprisoned § As part of efforts to stamp out Jewish culture in the Soviet Union, Stalin burned the Judaica collection in the library of Birobidzhan § USA, 1950 s: Librarians were often charged with being communists if they bought certain books or allowed certain

Technology (Television) § Mid-1930’s: Limited number of TV-sets in the hands of the public § WWII: Production of television sets stopped, nearly all television broadcasting worldwide § Post WWII: Families had accumulated savings during the war years & wanted to purchase luxuries denied them during the war. TV sales skyrocketed from 1948 -1949. § 1950’s: 1950 was the year that television became a truly massculture phenomenon in the United States, color television and remote controls launched § Bradbury on television § “Today's audience knows more about what's on television than what's in life. ” § “I'm always amazed that people will actually choose to sit in front of the television and just be savaged by stuff that belittles their intelligence. ”

Your Thoughts on Television § We all know that television is quite popular in today’s society § Weigh the pros and cons…