Blog Reflection

Using a blog to channel my ELA writing has been a blissful experience for me this year. I personally believe that doing assignments online is much more efficient and helpful than traditional techniques. I also believe that I learn and perform better online. This steams from my generation's dependency to technology that some people view as harmful but in my opinion is vital to the growth and improvement of our society. For instance, writing online is much quicker and efficient than scribbling thoughts in a notebook. When you write online, you also have the rest of the world right at your fingertips that can improve your writing, including important tools such as a dictionary or an online encyclopedia. However, writing online can also have negative effects on your quality of writing. For instance, your computer or tab can suddenly/accidentally close and cause you to lose your work. This has happened many times to me before for assignments varying from blogging to typing lab reports. Also, you can get more distracted writing online. Just as an online dictionary can be available a click away, so can distractions like Facebook and tumblr. can. However, in spite of these downfalls, I still strongly believe that online writing is much better than traditional assignments. To add on, blogging for ELA has inspired me to start my own tumblr. blog. I hope to write about many social problems involving women like misogyny and reproductive rights on it to raise more awareness and bring justice to these issues.

Keeping a blog for writing in the 8th grade has improved my literary and computing skills in many great ways. It has also helped me learn from my peers and evaluate their writing as well. I hope to have more assignments like this in the future and eventually grow into an even better writer, a critic, a thinker.

The Matrix- Extra Credit

The Matrix is an American science-fiction film produced in 1999 by The Wachowski Brothers, starring actors Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne and Carrie-Ann Moss. The film depicts a computer simulated world named The Matrix, where its human inhabitants live off completely oblivious to the nonexistence of their surroundings and dominating machines use the real bodies of its citizens as an energy source. A rebel squad, assembled to destroy these machines who cause the decline of human population, embark to crack the tyranny with the leadership of a computer hacker Neo, born and raised in the Matrix, who the squad believes is "the one". The story ensues with the squad doubting Neo's prophesy all while powerful Matrix agents threaten to kill the rebellion. Symbols such as fate, freedom and reality play strong roles in the plot, causing some of the major problems and dilemmas in the story.

 One member of the rebel squad, Cypher, betrays them to the agents in exchange of getting back to his life in the Matrix. He reports that his old life was much more comfortable than the one in the real world, and claims that "ignorance is bliss". Cypher shows that he'd rather live in utmost oblivion than work in hard conditions to regain real freedom. This reminded me of the theme of freedom we covered in class, where I recant that Goethe once stated, "none are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free". This quote applies to the situation in The Matrix. Cypher is so manipulated by the false comfort the Matrix gives that he would rather sacrifice his knowledge for oblivion. Cypher, along with potentially the other inhabitants of the Matrix, are so controlled and manipulated by the Matrix programmers that they believe they have freedom, when they clearly don't. When that oblivion turns into utmost ignorance, like what happened to Cypher, it proves the strength of the control, or "enslavement" enforced by the existing order (like the Matrix).

 While Cypher is trapped in the control of the Matrix and prefers ignorance over knowledge, the rest of the squad are thankful for their acknowledgement and know that their hard work will result in real freedom. This is scary to think about because it could happen to anyone; you either have to be strong enough to face reality and fight for your own good or retreat to "enslavement" to reside comfortably in ignorance.

V for Vendetta- Getting Philosophical

V for Vendetta by Alan Moore is a graphic novel set in fictional totalitarian Britain in the late 1990s haunted by a vigilante who calls himself "V", accompanied by the naive Evey Hammond. The story develops as V rescues Evey from a pack of government agents as they attempt to rape her and the two embark on a journey of vengeance while slowly falling in love. The story is full of symbols and great opportunities for philosophical dwelling, which I will explore in this blog post. 

On one of our Socrates Cafe discussions with my philoso-family, we came across an important philosophical dilemma in the book. While I argued that V was fighting for justice partially because of selflessness, my friend argued that he did it completely out of revenge for his unfair treatment at Larkhill. I believed (as I still do) that some parts of V's fight for freedom was empowered by the feeling of leadership and compassion for the manipulated citizens of the country. I also acknowledge that V was mostly just looking for revenge that had nothing to do with selflessness. However, I believe that if his actions were solely powered by this, he wouldn't had made his rebellion so public. V believed that the more he demonstratedrevolution in   front of the public, the more aware and empowered the public would become. And this shows how we used his drive for revenge to improve everyone's lives, not just his satisfaction. 

Another question my philoso-family formed recently was whether we considered V to be a hero or not. We weighted all the things V did that could be called 'heroic' against his actions that weren't nearly as noble. I realized that V was neither, because while he fought against unjust oppression, he also did this in ways that could be considered ethically wrong. One big indication that lead me to make this point was how almost all V's actions were out of revenge. For me, a hero never sought revenge by inflicting the same damage to whatever hurt them. A hero would always show the enemy compassion and never "stooped down" to their level. On the other hand, V's unjust actions to seek revenge also helped many other people ruled by the government. His violence inspired others to open their eyes and claim their rights. Because he benefited so many people because of his actions, I cannot make the statement that V is not a hero. However, because of all the other unethical things he does, it would not be fitting to call him a hero. The right thing to call V would perhaps be a vigilante; someone that seeks rightful revenge and fights for freedom with punishments and rules set by themselves and themselves only.