Basically the film Modern Times deals with social and industrial issues and problems in the United Kingdom in 1936. This film describes life between unemployed and employed people. The most interesting part in this movie is that it shows audiences a written language although it is a silent movie. It normally happens to lead, join stories or to highlight something important part in the film. For instance, Charlie Chaplin goes to jail, but he gets free from jail soon. In this point, a written language happens and Chaplin says he wants to stay there more. This written language is meaningful because it shows most unemployed people have no place to live and no food to eat. So, as unemployed person, for Chaplin, jail is even better than outside. Like this, most language are written to highlight, but there is an exception.

Some parts in the film are used with a spoken language. For example, from the factory in the film, when the president orders steps for working, it is spoken. It describes power between rich and poor people and it also shows how much employees work hard. By ordering of the president, speed and steps of working among employees gets faster or slower. So, it represents power between rich and poor people and time and steps of working.

Written and spoken languages are significant in this film, but silent pantomime is also important as it describes everything, in particular social and political messages. Although actors and actresses mostly do not speak in the film, they show their feeling and social problems through their facial expression and motion. For instance, after Chaplin gets free from a hospital, he goes outside, there he meets people who have no job and who are fighting for jobs and police men come there to arrest them. There is no language at all. But, it represents how many and how people have to struggle with a society and the government for their survival.

Overall, this film is very funny, but it is a very significant movie.

The story The judgment by Franz Kafka basically deals with the relationship between Georg and his father based on the author’s life story. The main character Georg has a fiancee named Frieda Brandenfled from the author’s real fiancee’s name.

In the story, Georg and Frieda talk about sending a wedding letter to Georg’s friend, who is in Russia. For Frieda, as she wants to meet all his friends, she insists on sending the wedding letter to the friend in Russia, whereas Georg is disinclined to send the wedding letter to his friend in Russia for the friend’s given life-style that he goes to Russia ALONE and for Goerg has succeeded his business, but his friend has almost failed with his business in Russia. Georg, however, respects his fiancee’s opinion and he decides to send the wedding letter to his friend. Before he sends the letter, he meets and tells his father for sending the wedding letter to his friend in Russia. From discussing with his father, an issue comes out. Before his mother’ death, Georg and everything were controlled by his father. After his mother’s death, however, his father who is strict, strong, and patriarchal has lost power than before and his father feels this. From this moment, Georg probably surpasses and controls his father and the business. His father also feels that from their conversation. So, he questions the existence of Georg’s friend in Russia because the friend in Russia is actually his friend, not Georg’s friend and he accuses Georg of deceiving him of the happenings of the business. Georg’s father claims that Georg wants him dead and he is being selfish as well. So, his father condemns him to death by drowning and he realizes everything is an illusion by conversation with his father and then he just follows his father’s order for his family’s happiness.

As I mentioned before, this story is based on the author’s life. So, here, Georg’s father represents the author’s father who was strict, strong, patriarchal and big like Georg’s father. The author’s father also operated business too. In general, Russia is regarded as extremely cold country among the public. For the author, his youth and life were like Russia and Russian because he was in cold and lonely condition under his parents. Also, At that time, because of social, political, and economical conditions in Europe, the author’s parents supported him to write literature which meant he was under his parents. So, here, Georg represents the author himself, his friend in Russia represents literature and Russia (?), Georg’s father represents the author’s father, I think.

MINJI KIM

Our group presented about the history of African slaves in the U.S. The story All Gods’ Chillen Had Wing and other poems explain African slaves’ hope (freedom) in the U.S. They were exploited and treated as like animals than human itself under WHITES in the U.S. It is quite similar to Hawaiian folktale The Despotic Chief Of Kau that describes that Native Hawaiians were exploited as servants by their greedy chiefs.

Both of African slaves and Native Hawaiians were in difficult conditions by their chiefs and societies and have no freedom. Without any income or freedom for themselves, they had to work for what their chiefs wanted. In the story All Gods’ Chillen Had Wing, for instance, African slaves work in a very hard condition. They have no time to take a break and whether they are sick or not, they just go to work like animals and nothing is given to them as rewards. Likewise, in the story The Despotic Chiefs of Kau, Hawaiians go fishing or carry food for their chiefs, but there is nothing for them as rewards. Both of African slaves and Native Hawaiians are regarded as animals or servants, not human to their chiefs.

From the hard condition, both African slaves and Native Hawaiians seek freedom and make freedom by themselves as a revenge. At the end of the story All Gods’ Chillen Had Wing, African slave fly up from the ground they were in and they were animals than human by Whites to heaven that means their freedom and revenge against Whites. The story The Despotic Chiefs of Kau shows similar story too. In the Halaea of The Despotic Chiefs of Kau, for instance, a greedy chief named Ha-la-e-a order his fishermen to go fishing and bring fish to him every time. His fishermen follow his order for several times, but later they get mad at that situation and they carry and put all fish to the canoe to the chief. And, it causes the canoe to sink. By this revenge, they have freedom.

Although African slave were exploited in other country, not their homeland and Native Hawaiians were exploited  in their own homeland, Both had no freedom under their greedy chiefs and societies, but they were regarded as just servants.

Historically, men and women had set roles. Men were hunting and women cooked and collected fruits. Back then these roles were naturally inevitable; however, even today that survival is not an essential part of daily life to most societies anymore, many women are still disadvantaged at workplace or oppressed by their husbands. This reality of men still holding the predominant role in family and society limits not only their opportunities, freedom, and independence but the potential of our civilization.

MINJI KIM

Enlightenment and History of the Peloponnesian War

Enlightenment was occurred by French who wished to smash old, traditional and subordinate hierarchical social structure and create a new world that everyone is born free and equal. I believe all human beings must be born equal and free even though that is not easy. When generations have changed, societies have been changed by revolutions or by times too. When a society is changed from old to new, the purpose and reason why the society is changed are well maintained at first time, social structure will be eventually made in that new society again, people dissatisfy on the situation and protest against the situation, it has repeatedly occurred from ancient times to today. The book “History of the Peloponnesian War” by Thucydides shows this situation.

The book “History of the Peloponnesian War” basically tells about the Peloponnesian war that Sparta and Athena had battle with divided Greece. I’m not going to talk about the whole story, but I’m going to talk about this book’s certain part called “The Debate at Sparta and Declaration of War”: Corinth and Corcyra have a serious war because Corcyra doesn’t respect its mother state Corinth as Corcyra is an independent state than other state from Corinth. For Corcyra doesn’t respect Corinth, Corinth is mad at that and it doesn’t respect Corcyra too. When both states are fighting, Athen supports Corcyra although Athen and Corinth are in alliance as Corcyra’s suggestion was more attractive than Corinth’s suggestion to Athen. In this war, Corcyra with Athen wins against Corinth. After this war, the allies Sparta, Corinth and other states are in have a meeting to discuss about preparing war. Here, they debate why they, especially Sparta, should prepare and have wars and why they shouldn’t prepare and have wars. This part is very interesting related to Enlightenment. The side that opposes against having wars insists that human being’s INSIDE be nature and it be the best. On the other hand, the opposite side that supports for having wars claims that they should have wars because they can show their power and honor to other states and enemies by wars and the empire can be stronger by wars and the empire is human nature. What they mean is that the empire is supporting security, honor, and self-interest like money and the empire is also built with those three security, honor, and self-interest. For the empire and for keeping safety of each state, security, honor, and self-interest are very important and mandatory and it is human being. If so, when I compare this part to Enlightenment and revolution, hierarchical (social) structure is needed to keep safety of a society and a country or social structure must not exist because it is from nature.

Modern society and countries are tangled up in each other. Within international relations, politicians make more laws and intensify it in order to protect their countries. Citizens elect representatives who are stronger and wiser than them to keep their countries safe and strong. In this process, social structure is naturally made again. If so, can you criticize or support your society and social structure? Without my will, social structure has been made continuously by human beings and you are used to it. People, in particular poor class dissatisfy their status now since they have no power and there is nothing they can do. So, they say the society must be changed and they will be better leaders or representatives of their countries if they become new leaders instead of leaders now. To be honest, they, however, will be exactly same leaders like politicians now because this is human’s nature. Of course, the society must be changed and all human beings must be equal. Though, if all men are born equal and have equal right, the society can be different and better than now? Basically, in this modern society, being born equal is very difficult since when you are born under a certain home, your status is already given by your family’s status. Of course, by your efforts, you can be a better person than your given status. However, that doesn’t mean the society is changed, you change your status by yourself putting a lot of efforts. And, when you have a high status like other representatives in your country, keeping your original thoughts and attitude won’t be easy although you try to be a person who you want because you will be also interested in honor and self-interest like your own property and you’ll do your best to keep your country safe and strong like other politicians. So, my point is that all human beings, of course, must be born equal and free, but being born equal is practically impossible, social structure will be made anyway because you are human who has desire. If so, having social structure is better for a better society.

MINJI KIM
IMMANUEL KANT-What Is Enlightenment?
According to the article, he argues about Enlightenment. He says humans need to have courage to use their own knowledge so as to struggle with a society and a hierarchical society and for enlightenment. And then he criticizes religion’s interference that many things like free are limited by religious matters.
I have a same idea with Kant for men need to have courage to use their own knowledge. You nowadays prefer staying safe than challenging to new things as you are used to stay safe by a society. Some parents and teachers at schools in some countries in the world even discourage their kids from trying to new things that have possibility to lead chaotic in the society. You are educated to make a better society. If you accept a given regulation and norm made by authorized organizations and states without your free will, then you do not need to have an education and you are just a stuffed pig because the stuffed pig has no ideas after being fed by its owner or its guardian and it just stays in one location until being fed by its owner or guardian again. In this point, if you just accept a given society made by authorized powers, then your power will be limited to complain something in a society to governments. However, if you attempt to change the given one to a new one, then you will have a power that is possible to change the society although there will be many trials and errors in a process. By many trials and errors, you can be a real human. A human is a thinking and practical animal, not the stuffed pig.