Pain

We  find ourselves in a situation where we are still capable of grasping what is lost; we can still sense the destruction of values and how the world is becoming more shallow and superficial. New generations are growing up far removed from all our inherited traditions, and it is an amazing feeling to see these children many of whom will live to experience the year 2000. 

In this passage, Junger can be referring to the lost in humanity in Nazi Germany and in saying how the world is becoming more shallow and superficial. I agree completely with this statement because of the heartless events currently happening in Baltimore. To know you are destroying a community and continue doing what is getting you nowhere seems unreasonable to me. New generations are growing up experiencing this violence and will use it as example in the future getting us nowhere.

Max Weber

Assignment Due 4/18 Choose a passage from Weber, write out the passage. Then explain the meaning of it, and then explain why you chose this passage.

Organized domination, which calls for continuous administration, requires that human conduct be conditioned to obedience towards those masters who claim to be the bearers of legitimate power. On the other hand, by virtue of this obedience, organized domination requires the control of those material goods which in a given case are necessary for the use of physical violence. Thus, organized domination requires control of the personal executive staff and the material implements of administration.

In this passage, Weber describes how the politically dominant powers manage to maintain their domination. According to Weber, staying in power requires control over society in a way that makes it evident who is in charge. I chose this passage because it reminded me of what we discussed in class today about governments lowering the value of their currency rates. Even if this devaluation helped the German government in covering its debts after the Great Depression, their society were highly affected by this action. At the end of the day, Germans suffered the consequences incapable of doing anything about it. 

Weimar Constitution

                           

Article 1The German Reich is a republic. State authority derives from the people.

Article 7The Reich is responsible for legislation in the areas 1. civil law 2. penal law 3. jurisdiction including the execution of sentences as well as judicial assistance between government offices 4. passport affairs and the registration of aliens 5. welfare for the poor and the migrants 6. press, clubs, assemblies 7. population policy, motherhood, baby, children and youth welfare 8. health care, veterinary affairs, protection of plants against diseases and parasites 9. labour legislation, insurance and protection of workers and employees as well as certification of employment 10. the establishment of institutions representing occupations within the Reich territory 11. welfare for combattants and their surviving dependants 12. the law of expropriation 13. the nationalization of natural resources, of economic enterprises, of the production, distribution and pricing of merchandise for the social economy 14. trade, measurements, the distribution of paper money, construction and stock markets 15. the sale of food as well as other goods of daily consumption 16. industry and mining 17. insurances 18. merchant shipping. ocean and coastal fishing 19. railways, inland navigation, motor vehicle traffic on land, water and in the air, the construction of overland roads, as far as these serve general traffic and national defense 20. theatres and cinemas

Article 114The rights of the individual are inviolable. Limitation or deprivation of individual liberty is admissible only if based on laws.

Article 118Every German is entitled, within the bounds set by general law, to express his opinion freely in word, writing, print, image or otherwise.

Article 137There is no state church.

The Weimar Constitution is very similar to the U.S Constitution bill of rights in which represented a democratic government. In the Weimar Constitution, the democratic system of proportional representation for elections allowed minor parties to get members into the Reichstag by getting enough votes. This system allowed the minor parties to disrupt democratic proceedings by making the party in power (democratic)  look incapable of maintaining power in its very seat of power. Even though the Weimar Constitution goes more in depth, both documents protected the rights of the individual. However, these rights of freedom were later lost when the Nazi party disrupted the democracy system as a result of the proportional representation. The reason I chose these articles and added similar rights from the U.S Constitution is to show how two governments can have similar fundamental principals but can have different outcomes.

                                                  The U.S Constitution Bill of Rights 

Article the third... Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Article the sixth... The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Article the twelfth... The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

Due 3/21

Rosa Luxemburg

"Gone is the euphoria. Gone the patriotic noise in the streets, the chase after the gold-colored automobile, one false telegram after another, the wells poisoned by cholera, the Russian students heaving bombs over every railway bridge in Berlin, the French airplanes over Nuremberg, the spy hunting public running amok in the streets, the swaying crowds in the coffee shops with ear-deafening patriotic songs surging ever higher, whole city neighborhoods transformed into mobs ready to denounce, to mistreat women, to shout hurrah and to induce delirium in themselves by means of wild rumors. Gone, too, is the atmosphere of ritual murder, the Kishinev air where the crossing guard is the only remaining representative of human dignity."

The meaning of this passage can relate to any political conflict around the world after a war. By reading this passage, it becomes clear that no country ever "wins" a war. If a ward ends its either because one side its already completed destroyed unable to fight again or because they found some sort of agreements to end it. In both cases, all countries involved in the war get affected no matter what. If there's only one side left able to fight, it gets to control somehow the other country(ies) that have been annihilated or rendered completely. However, once a war begins its most likely to always end in how Lexumberg described Germany in her essay. 

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Assignment: Due 3/14

Assignment: Due 3/14 Choose a scene from M and interpret the scene and explain why you picked this scene.

My favorite scene from the movie is when the blind man helps them to catch the murderer by making one of his friends mark an M when he hears him whistle. It shows that there are still good-hearted people willing to help. I picked this scene because even though its admiring, it wouldn't happened in real life. On the contrary, people would take out their phones and record the serial killer get chased. It has gotten to the point where the topic come out on the news everyday. However, there's hope that at least one person has a good will to help just like the blind street vendor. 

Assignment Due 2/28: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

Assignment Due 2/28:  Choose a scene from the film and describe the scene. Then write your interpretation of the scene and the meaning of it. After that write why you chose this scene and how it relates to the class.



As I watched this silent horror movie for the first time, I couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. The reason of this is because of the way the movie was portrayed. I chose the scene when Cesare was ordered to kill Jane. However, when he was going inside the bedroom, Cesare  found himself unable to stab and kill Jane. Instead of stabbing her, he reached in to touch her face because of her beauty. But because Jane panics, Cesare kidnaps her instead. However, he falls over from exhaustion and dies and Jane is released. I chose this scene not only because it terrified me when Jane panicked, but also because in this moment Cesare the Somnambulist was under control of his own desire by not killing her as Caligari had ordered. This scene was very powerful because of how it was directed including the colors and the movements of the characters. Expressionism in this film is portrayed through the characters and their facial expressions as well as their nonlinguistic cues. Just by noticing in this scene Cesare's character, it relates to themes covered in class. How Cesare's moves, I feel as if his body language drew attention to the set and shows his internal emotions. Also, the lighting as well as the makeup and clothing contributed in showing gloom and fear in the film. 

Assignment Due 2/21

From the last chapter of the book, when Siddharta was the only ferryman by the river,  Siddhartha spoke with great wisdom explaining the  flaws of Govinda's life as a seeker: 

"When someone is seeking,” said Siddartha, “It happens quite easily that he only sees the thing that he is seeking; that he is unable to find anything, unable to absorb anything, because he is only thinking of the thing he is seeking, because he has a goal, because he is obsessed with his goal. Seeking means: to have a goal; but finding means: to be free, to be receptive, to have no goal. You, O worthy one, are perhaps indeed a seeker, for in striving towards your goal, you do not see many things that are under your nose." 

In this passage, Siddhartha is telling his childhood friend, Govinda, the reason why he has not been fulfilled is because he remained a follower  instead of experiencing the world by himself. Govinda decided to gain knowledge from teachings instead of experiences and because of this, his mind and emotions remained closed not being able to become part of the world and see the unity of things. The reason why Siddhartha did not find Nirvana at the beginning of his journey is because he got in his own way by seeking it. He became so focused on his search that his obsession over reaching wisdom  turned into the only obstacle between him and his inner self/goal. One of the lessons Siddhartha's journey offers is that seeking a goal can distract one from finding that goal. This can be a perfect example when one seeks for love. Love, just as wisdom, is not a concept but an action, a manner of living and a capacity. One can't seek for a manner of living because we don't know what we are looking for and so do not see it even if its under our nose. To look for something, its necessary to know what exactly we are looking for. In Siddhartha, Siddhartha spent most of his journey seeking wisdom, a manner of living, when no one can tell you where to find it; it simply comes when you are ready to receive it. This passage can relate to any individual who strives to reach a goal in life and that's why it stands out from the rest. Personally, It is important to have goals in life but there are events beyond a person's control. This is why goals that become obsession do not get fulfilled. When we stop fighting our fate, that's when we either receive what we are seeking for or move onto better things. In Siddhartha's case, he stopped suffering about his failures and finally gained wisdom and became one with the world.