Cultural Perspectives In Philip K. Dick's The New World

Cultural perspectives differ over the relative importance of the individual in comparison to the needs of the community. If you were in a small village in China, for example, the needs of the community far outweigh the needs of the individual. For example, it would be outrageous to deny your neighbor food, even if you are short of food yourself. More Westernized perspectives tend to take a different approach. Individuality is celebrated; it is considered better to create one’s own path in school, the workplace, or social life, than to fit the mold that one is given. There can arguably be benefits and downfalls to both perspectives, and such is argued in literature.
The television series modeled after Philip K. Dick’s novel, The Man in …show more content…
The other half of the continent, ruled by Nazi Germany, shows evidence of the deterioration of community. During the first episode, “The New World”, Ron Rogue appears briefly as a character of symbolic commentary. As a previous American soldier, he shows obvious dissociation through comments such as, “I don’t even remember what we were fighting for.” (“The New World”) During this same encounter, he explains that the Nazis have continued burning cripples and the terminally ill at local hospitals. While this might seem only the violation of certain individuals to benefit the Nazi understanding of a pure society, the actual benefit for society is questioned in later episodes, especially when it is revealed that Hitler has developed Parkinson’s Disease and Obengrüber Heir Schmidt’s own son has a degenerative disease as well. The integration of different races, ethnicities, and the intermingling between disease and society, all things that the Nazis opposed, is shown to be such an impenetrable part of society that, by attacking these things, they attack society itself. Furthermore, those whose individual needs the Nazi party intended to benefit are shown to be disadvantaged through this model of …show more content…
Led by the ‘Man in the High Castle’, the Resistance is an underground effort to uncover the ‘true’ outcome of the war and unite what is left of the U.S. Through working for the resistance, the heroes sacrifice their lives and needs to rebuild civilization. Jules is forced to give up her boyfriend, her family, and the possibility of raising a family while Joe is forced to give up his position as a successful undercover officer for Nazi Germany. The show, being directed towards an American audience, is likely already going to be swayed towards the existence of their solitary civilization rather than the two civilizations that began to rule in its place. This sort of patriotism, the sacrifices made by the main characters, and the setbacks for the community as a whole, make the needs of the community important to the target audience, even though the main characters’ needs are