WebCT Posts

Week 1

In my opinion, Jameson's utopian ideal of "full employment" does mean that you have to give up capitalism. Capitalism is funded on competition; it runs not on a laissez-faire system but continues to exist thanks to forces which, quite literally, force it into existence. There is no half-way point between Marxism and Capitalism, in my opinion, so in order for this "full employment" idea to come into existence, Capitalism will have to go. To be employed in a capitalistic world literally means that you, as an individual, beat out someone for said employment. In other words, to be employed (in the context of Capitalism) means that someone else is not employed. Jameson is arguing for this essentially Marxist notion of "full employment" where there is no need to beat out or compete against another for a job. It is an interesting notion.

Week 3

This article was a good read for myself, as well. It was an interesting point Howe made when he drew the parallel between Orwell's death after writing 1984 and Orwell's passion which went into the novel.
I wonder if Orwell's goal, to make the rest of us more aware (as Howe states) of ultra-modern slavery, was realized but went (for the most part) unheeded. "Orwellian" language is completely commonplace in our society. The last time I heard someone say "Orwellian" outside of talks about 1984 was when I was listening to a report on NPR on how Florida is refusing to install red-light cameras on street lights. 1984 has made a definite impact on our culture; we can look to the first Apple commercial which parodies the reality Orwell painted. People who have never read 1984 still know and understand the totalitarian universe Winston is forced to live in.
It is clear, then, that we have definitely listened to (and have been impacted by) Orwell's fear and message...yet arguably, we are still headed in that scary direction.

Week 4

Thanks for sharing that story, Greg. Appreciate the parallel.
I agree with you when you state the obvious flaws with "new genetics" and past eugenics. There is a disturbing lack of concern for The Other's freedom. While the scientists quoted in the article seemed to be very much aware of their own freedom (freedom to study, to probe, etc.), when it came down to abortion and behavioral genetics, there was no individuality given to their subjects. It's a blurry area which is, for me at least, extremely hard to navigate.

Week 5

I agree with your film/novel analysis completely. Boulle created a universe in which we are given various ways to analyze the situation at hand. You can take the animal rights stance, the critique on humanity stance, and effectively come up with your own interpretation of "Planet of the Apes." The film, homever, was simply an adventure ride with the twist at the end: "It was earth all along!"
The scientific element of "Planet of the Apes" was one of the things I really enjoyed...the opening, with Jinn & his wife exploring space drew me in immediately. It's a beautiful concept, in my opinion.

Week 6

I thought that Martin's article, "A Clockwork Orange," and Althusser's essay all hit a coherent point. When Martin brought up the point about the war on drugs/low test scores/terrorism/etc., it reminded me of Althusser's argument of how when the State (whether it be government, the legal system, etc.) decides to "war" on something, it is because it serves those who belong to the dominant class...or at least, those with access to the means of production (seeing as he does use Marx & his "German Ideology" as examples). Ideology for Althusser is not historical, nor philosophical. One of the ideolog*ies* present in "A Clockwork Orange" was the concept of changing a convict's conviction for violence. Above the surface, the treatment presented in "A Clockwork Orange" would serve society at large: a world where criminals are brainwashed and forced to act "good," least they shrivel in pain for hours. I think Martin and Althusser would question who, or what class/group, this treatment would really benefit.

Week 7

"Film making is probably the most unique of all artistic mediums out there because it is open only to a select group of people that deemed artistically competent enough by the people with the money to back film productions."
Interestingly enough, I know a few people who use that exact reasoning to argue why filmmaking, in a general sense, isn't a "true" art--it's not art for art's sake in Hollywood, it's entertainment.
"If there is an audience for it, companies, magazines and TV shows will keep serving the gossip dish."
I think you hit on what a lot of other posts didn't. It's pretty easy to blame media/pop culture/etc. for the lack of sincerity when it comes to art...but what about us, the consumers ? We choose what we consume. And it's not like the quote masses have no say in pop culture. If the masses don't like it, it's not popular. "Deliberately produced rubbish" is deliberately consumed by us, despite the fact we all know it's rubbish.

Week 9

The poem speaks to me in a very different way, but I too agree that the use of Dover Beach during that particular scene in Fahrenheit 451 was poignant and not without a sense of irony.
To sum it up, the speaker of the poem reflects on the calm, everlasting waves of the ocean. These waves are not chaotic, not unpredictable...merely flowing, calm; "tremulous cadence slow." S/he is reflecting upon the inherent sadness of the world. The speaker even namedrops Sophocles who is infamous for sad epics. & as seen in the second stanza: sadness does not end. The loss of any kind of spirituality, any kind of faith in the world itself, reflects this in the third stanza.
What makes the entire situation ironic--the fact that Montag is reading THIS poem to these women, these women who can't remember their attempts at suicide, their desire for nothing more than parlor walls--is the reflection the speaker has on sadness.
Amazing, still, is that only one of the women seem to even grasp the emotion trying to be communicated through this poem. The notion that the world is sad merely passes over everyone else. "Everyone else" being those who have learned to read lips because they are too busy listening to the buzz of something else, who have to take sleep lozenges least they be insomniacs...
Anyway. The poem is a tragic reflection upon one of the various conditions laid out by the universe for us humans, and Ray Bradburry made it even MORE tragic by using it in this scene.

Week 11

I also really related to this quote. I can remember back in the 2008 election, various candidates spoke on behalf of the middle class. Society's perception of middle class is very different from the "hard numbers" about middle class which Congress provides. According to a BusinessWeek article which was published last year, the Congressional Research Service put out a report on the 2005 census...they claimed that middle class consists of "households with incomes between $19,178 and $91,705" (link). Interestingly enough, the public sees middle class as a range from $20,000 to $1666,000.
That sociological concept you introduced makes a lot of sense, considering the fact that the "middle class" has no definition in itself...anyone can assume they are middle class and technically be right, dependent upon who they're talking to.
I think 1984 portrays the concept of a two-class system (based on individuals assuming there is a middle class) interestingly. Winston, who is a member of the party, is still living in these horrible conditions. All of the Outer Party members seem to assume they live in the middle class, although their conditions are not dissimilar to the proles.