American Friendships

Americans are probably perceived this way because we are more individualistic. We tend to be more independent. However, saying that American friendships do not grow is not always true. Our friendships are just different from other cultures', so they're perceived differently. Many Americans do turn to their friends for help and advice.

This Land is Your Land

1. When first listening to this song, it sounds collectivist because of all of the group references to "you and me." When you think about it more, it is actually more individualistic. It is about personal rights and freedom. It is also individualistic because Woodie Guthrie puts out an individual opinion by questioning the country and government, rather than conforming to the completely happy view of America.

2. This song is anti-government. It talks about freedom and how nothing can stop his freedom. The part that said the blank side of the "No Trespassing" sign was better implies that he doesn't want to be oppressed or controlled.

1984 Part 2

Winston is having a hard time buying in to what The Party and Big Brother are selling because he is extremely paranoid about what they do, which makes him question what they do. His job emphasizes his viewpoint, since he himself witnesses the lies and forgery of The Party. I also think the people that are against The Party were born curious and suspicious. Winston has vague memories of the time before the Revolution and occasionally gets glimpses of his childhood, but this is not that case for all of those against The Party. Winston's acts of defiance are acts of protest, but they are also just acts of personal belief. When talking to O'Brien, it was made clear that Winston was protesting The Party and wanted their power to fall. However, his acts such as sneaking around with Julia also have a personal benefit and go along with his beliefs of personal rights.

There has been some controversy over the Tea Party Movement in our society. Members of the Tea Party want less government control and more personal freedom. This can be directly compared to the Brotherhood in 1984, which is a group that opposes The Party, wants The Party's control to cease, and wants more personal freedom and rights. This shows that we are shifting more towards Orwellian society in some aspects. The Occupy Wall Street protests can be contrasted with Winston's rebellion. The protesters want the government to control and take care of everything. This is exactly opposite of Winston's viewpoint, however it is very comparable to the viewpoint of those loyal to The Party. They are content with The Party's full control. I found an interesting article that compared texting lingo such as "LOL" and "OMG" to the language Newspeak in 1984. They both shorten words and having variations such as "ROFL" and "LMAO" for texts, and "ungood" and "double good" in Newspeak.

It seems to me that our society has some Orwellian elements that have developed and are still developing, however we are nowhere close to the unbearable, controlling society in 1984.

Collectivists vs. Individualists

1. Collectivist societies prefer traits such as loyalty, consideration, and group-orientation. Individualistic societies value independence, competitiveness, assertiveness, and self-reliance.

2. Individualistic societies value status more because they want their successes to be attributed to themselves, not to a group. Status focuses more on one person and what he does, which is an individualistic element.

3. If a teacher moves from a collectivist to individualistic city and assigns a group project, the kids will not react well because they will want to do it themselves. The teacher giving the students this project causes an external conflict. Their personal and opposing views are internal conflicts.

4. An acquaintance is someone you know, but you don't know them very well. I think "acquaintance" has a negative connotation because it's sort of demeaning when used, such as, "He's not my friend, he's just an acquaintance."

2+2=5 by Radiohead

1. The lyrics are talking about things not being the way they should be and being trapped under authority.
2. The music sounds really mysterious and creepy which pushes things not being right. Also, when it says, "Don't question my authority," the tempo speeds up to push entrapment under this authority.
3. It's an allusion to 1984 because in the book it's said that if The Party told the people 2+2=5, they would believe it without any question.

Yale Video - Globalization

1. The conflict is globalization and opposing cultural viewpoints, which is external. The conflict was coming from the Western people who don't approve of her headdress or culture.

2. Globalization causes conflict because not all values are ideal for all cultures, and everyone has different views. She says it's one-direction because it mostly comes from the west and that is the dominant viewpoint. She means that other parts of the world don't really get their say in.

3. The benefit that she mentions is that better role models are created.

4. The two sources she mentions are the Quran and the Constitution. 

1984 Part 1

In a utopia, it is necessary to make everyone equal or seemingly equal. After reading the first section of 1984 by George Orwell, this concept is very prominent. Equality is enforced by The Party and its leader, Big Brother. Everything a person does is monitored by The Party through devices called telescreens, and there are signs all over the place that say, "BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU." Everyone is expected to follow the same beliefs, such as being dedicated to the Party and Big Brother, and having a hatred of Emmanuel Goldstein. They follow the same rituals, such as the Two Minutes Hate. There are people called Thought Police who identify anyone who may commit "thoughtcrime", or any thought against The Party or Big Brother. These immense restrictions also clearly deprive these people of their right to choose, which is another concept necessary in a utopia.

The Party goes to extreme efforts to control the people and eliminate conflict. For one, they are trying to get rid of the sexual instinct. Many people have sworn to chastity, and some refer to any sexual activity as their "duty to The Party." If people who requested marriage showed any signs of physical attraction to each other, they were denied. In the society of 1984, a person didn't have "friends", he had "comrades." The Party is clearly trying to eliminate relationships. There is no mention of religion so far, however the devotion to The Party and Big Brother is strong and enforced in everyone, and many people worship Big Brother and refer to him has a "savior". Throughout all of these restrictions, The Party does make people think they are happy for the most part. No one questions the way of life enforced by the party, and if one does, he is "vaporized".

It is clear that even with all of the effort The Party goes through to make and maintain a utopia, the society is 1984 is a dystopia. There is no such thing as a utopia or "perfect" society, but even if there were, this society in 1984 is far from it. The Party tries to restrain from problems and maintain equality, however their approach is defective, and has caused a prominent fear throughout the society.

Utopia

A utopia is a place where there is no bad, suffering, or sadness.

My ideal world is a place where there are no problems and everyone is happy and nice to each other.

The sound track would be any happy, peaceful music that doesn't have lyrics. Lyrics often emphasize problems, but there would be no problems in this world.