History YMMV / BraveNewWorld

* VindicatedByHistory: While it always had its supporters, ''Brave New World'' had mostly a mostly mixed-to-negative reception when it was first released, with detractors finding the novel {{too bleak|StoppedCaring}} and offensive in its anti-authority message. Over time, it would come to be viewed as a classic, one of the best pieces of dystopian literature, and terrifyingly accurate in its prediction of the future.

* MisaimedFandom: Some hedonistic fans don't view the Brave New World as all that bad and agree with Mond's belief that happiness should be prioritized over goodness, completely missing the point of the book, which is that happiness without goodness--such familial bonds, free-thinking, moral values, respect for others, and love--is shallow, unfulfilling and destructive.

* MoralEventHorizon: The painful conditioning of Delta babies against books and flowers.

** One of the newer printings says this on the back cover, and Huxley himself constantly championed the book's increasing relevance in interviews conducted near the end of his life.

* {{Narm}}: Late into the book, John is wrestling with guilt over his sexual attraction towards Lenina and begins having a sexual fantasy about her. So he throws himself into a thorn bush and then beats himself with a whip. Even if you believe in chastity, this is a hillariously over the top reaction.

* ValuesResonance: One of the newer printings says this on the back cover, and Huxley himself constantly championed the book's increasing relevance in interviews conducted near the end of his life.

''Literature/NineteenEightyFour''- the fear is not that the government is suppressing the truth and crushing resistance, but that the truth is out there and nobody cares about it because they're too complacent to resist.

* {{Squick}}: In the casually promiscuous society in which the book takes place, it is considered healthy - even endearing - for young children to sexually experiment with each other; if the pertinent chapter ''isn't'' the single most disgusting and horrifying thing you've ever read then there's something seriously wrong with you (or you haven't grown up sheltered your whole life and realize that there are far worse things in this world than some kids playing Doctor). There is also a [[FanDisservice memorable]] passage pointing out the more Freudian aspects of breastfeeding, and the descriptions of John's mother.

** As the 21st century has rolled on, some analysts have suggested that ''Brave New World'' is becoming a far more accurate prediction of the future than the more well-known and regularly-invoked ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour''- the fear is not that the government is suppressing the truth and crushing resistance, but that the truth is out there and nobody cares about it because they're too complacent to resist.

4** Are the people in the civilized world exploiting John by parading him around like a rarity or are they showing their hospitality the only way they know how and trying to introduce him to the ways of their world? Huxley would probably argue the former. [[DeathOfTheAuthor The real answer]] is more likely [[InnocentlyInsensitive they aren't exploiting him intentionally]], but John (more or less rightfully) sees it that way because of his different cultural outlook.

* {{Squick}}: In the casually promiscuous society in which the book takes place, it is considered healthy - even endearing - for young children to sexually experiment with each other; if the pertinent chapter ''isn't'' the single most disgusting and horrifying thing you've ever read then there's something seriously wrong with you (or you hacen't grown up sheltered your whole life and realize that there are far worse things in this world than some kids playing Doctor). There is also a [[FanDisservice memorable]] passage pointing out the more Freudian aspects of breastfeeding, and the descriptions of John's mother.

** Are the people in the civilized world exploiting John by parading him around like a rarity or are they showing their hospitality the only way they know how and trying to introduce him to the ways of their world? Huxley would probably argue the former. [[DeathOfTheAuthor The real answer]] is more likely [[InnocentlyInsensitive they aren't exploiting him intentionally]], but John (more or less rightfully) sees it that way because of his different cultural outlook.

* {{Squick}}: In the casually promiscuous society in which the book takes place, it is considered healthy - even endearing - for young children to sexually experiment with each other; if the pertinent chapter ''isn't'' the single most disgusting and horrifying thing you've ever read then there's something seriously wrong with you. There is also a [[FanDisservice memorable]] passage pointing out the more Freudian aspects of breastfeeding, and the descriptions of John's mother.

** For hedonists, the society of the World State isn't seen as bad as moralists see it, and that it's dystopian only because the book clearly wasn't written by a hedonist. But the option of going some place with no rules whatsoever if you don't like the World State's brand of hedonism comes off as a completely acceptable option.

** For Hedonists Brave New World has undergone a transition from misguided understanding of hedonism to a better alternative in comparison to the heavy moralist worldview being pushed by social reformers. Which is going to be ValuesDissonance to people confused about the BlueAndOrangeMorality but Mond's points about John failing to understand a worldview that prioritizes happiness over goodness is very accurate to this debate. Sometimes somebody's Utopia is another persons Dystopia.

* WhatAnIdiot:
** Mond not sending John to an island, as he requests, because he wants to see if John can survive in this utopia as an anomaly who belongs nowhere. It eventually leads to John's suicide.
** John violently spurned Lenina for wanting to have sex with him without earning it; he said he wanted to win her over fairly, so their relationship would mean something. So what does she do? Seeks him out in exile with a bunch of other pleasure seekers after John has chosen self-exile. John has a whip, and a tendency to beat up anyone encroaching on his penance. He not only whips her into a quivering blob, but starts a riot among the others.

** For Hedonists, the Brave New World society isn't seen as bad as moralists see it. The contention there is its dystopian because the values that went into it clearly weren't written by a hedonist. But the option of going some place with no rules whatsoever if you don't like the World State's brand of it comes off as a completely acceptable option.

** The FantasticCasteSystem in the book is very similar to the social Hierarchy that some people on the internet nowadays believe in, what with the "sigma", "alpha" and "beta" males.

** The FantasticCasteSystem in the book is very similar to the social Hierarchy that some people on the internet nowadays believe in, what with the "sigma" and "alpha" males.

** The FantasticCasteSystem in the book is very similar to the Social Heirarchy that some people on the internet nowadays believe in.

** If you want further proof, just look at [[http://i.imgur.com/Pfmur0u.jpg this]] (illustrated version of part of the introduction to ''Amusing Ourselves To Death'' by Neil Postman, which can be read [[http://www.serendipity.li/jsmill/post_1.html here]] in full).

* TooBleakStoppedCaring: The sheer soul-crushing hopelessness of the story combined with the utter depravity of the CrapsackWorld it portrays can cause depression in some readers. In fact, the novel was chastised by critics for precisely this reason upon its initial publication in 1932, and Huxley himself later regretted not [[TakeAThirdOption offering John the Savage a way out of his dilemma]].

* SoBleakItsBoring: The sheer soul-crushing hopelessness of the story combined with the utter depravity of the CrapsackWorld it portrays can cause depression in some readers. In fact, the novel was chastised by critics for precisely this reason upon its initial publication in 1932, and Huxley himself later regretted not [[TakeAThirdOption offering John the Savage a way out of his dilemma]].

* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: The sheer soul-crushing hopelessness of the story combined with the utter depravity of the CrapsackWorld it portrays can cause depression in some readers. In fact, the novel was chastised by critics for precisely this reason upon its initial publication in 1932.

* ClicheStorm: The more negative reviews of the 2020 TV series adaptation generally hold this view, as the book has inspired so many other dystopian works that the series doesn't feel like anything new.

** Are the Brave New Worlders exploiting John by parading him around like a rarity or are they showing their hospitality the only way they know how and trying to introduce him to the ways of their world? Huxley would probably argue the former. [[DeathOfTheAuthor The real answer]] is more likely [[InnocentlyInsensitive they aren't exploiting him intentionally]], but John (more or less rightfully) sees it that way because of his different cultural outlook.
** John's confrontation with Lenina can be read a few different ways. Is Lenina a sexual harrasser born of a culture with little concept of consent and John righteous in his refusal of her? Or is John's insistence on chastity a toxic neurosis that leads him to unjustly attack Lenina? The language he uses ("whore," "strumpet") can make the scene feel less like John is fighting off a sexual harrasser and more like he's slut-shaming and abusing Lenina. John's framing as being in opposition to the dystopia might suggest that we're intended to see him as bieng in the right, but his prior behavior--creeping into Lenina's room while she was sleeping to ogle her--casts even this into doubt.
** Part of the reason John [[spoiler: committed suicide]] seems to be not just that this world he has been introduced to is so horrible, but also the realization that he does not belong in it any more than he belonged in the reservation. He may have felt that there was no place where he could go and truly be himself without ridicule or pressure to conform.

* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: The sheer soul-crushing hopelessness of the story combined with the utter depravity of the CrapsackWorld it portrays has been known to cause severe bouts of depression in readers. In fact, the novel was chastised by critics for precisely this reason upon its initial publication in 1932.

* AccidentalInnuendo: At one point, in discussing Bernard, Lenina and Fanny comment that he is "so ''small''" (emphasis in original). Of course, in context, it is clear that they are discussing his height. To some readers, it can appear that they are talking about [[TeenyWeenie a different kind of size]].

* {{Squick}}: In the casually promiscuous society in which the book takes place, it is considered healthy - even endearing - for young children to sexually experiment with each other. There is also a [[FanDisservice memorable]] passage pointing out the more Freudian aspects of breastfeeding, and the descriptions of John's mother.

* TimeMarchesOn: John's views of extramarital sex seem antiquated after it has been destigmatized several decades later, and his views of the Brave New World's sexual mores have transformed somewhat from OnlySaneMan to a more personally-oriented FreudianExcuse as the source of his horror and revulsion of Lenina's propositioning him for sex.

* AccidentalInnuendo: At one point, in discussing Bernard, Lenina and Fanny comment that he is "so ''small''" (emphasis in original). Of course, in context, it is clear that they are discussing his short stature; however, to some readers, it can appear that they are talking about [[TeenyWeenie a different kind of size]].

** For Hedonists, the Brave New World society isn't seen as bad as moralists see it. The contention there is it's dystopian because the values that went into it clearly weren't written by a hedonist. But the option of going some place with no rules whatsoever if you don't like the World State's brand of it comes off as a completely acceptable option.

* HardToAdaptWork: This book has traditionally been regarded as far more difficult to adapt than ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'' and other famous dystopian novels. Not only is the book more focused on building the setting than on plot or characters, but that setting also features extreme sexuality, even between minors. An accurate adaptation would verge on vanilla pornography, if not worse. It did get two {{Made For TV Movie}}s (both with large changes to plot and characters) and a series adaptation on NBC's Peacock streaming service.

** For Hedonists, the Brave New World society isn't seen as bad as moralists see it. The contention there is it's dystopian because the values that went into it clearly weren't written by a hedonist. But the option of going some place with no rules whatsoever if you don't like the city's brand of it comes off as a completely acceptable option.

** For Hedonists Brave New World has undergone a transition from misguided to a better alternative in comparison to the heavy moralist worldview being pushed by social reformers. Though a good chunk of the people saying this would probably pick the reservations over the city.