I think the most obvious way to respond to this question
is by looking at the impact of the media on Mildred and her friends, and how Montag
despairs of the impact it is having on his wife. Clearly, by the way that Mildred talks
about her "family," we see that the media in this dystopian world is being used as a
substitute for human experiences that are either deemed as being too dangerous or
subversive by the government or are slowly being bred out of humans as they seek to fill
their empty lives with something to try and cover up the void. The media is as life like
as possible, with huge screens covering every wall. Yet Montag is painfully aware that
these are fake emotions and feelings that are created that are not real and do not have
any existence in the real world.
Note the following
questions that Montag asks Mildred that highlights the limitations of the
media:
"Mille? Does the White Clown love
you?"
No answer.
"Millie,
does-" He licked his lips. "Does your 'family' love you, love you very much, love you
with all their heart and soul,
Millie?"
Millie ignores and
evades this question, saying it is a "silly question," but the fact remains that Montag
has exposed the substitute relationships and emotional interaction that Mildred is
receiving from the media, and what pale substitutes they actually
are.
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