Week One
While reading Fredrick Jameson’s “The politics of Utopia” I discovered many issues that arise with the Utopian idea. Jameson defines Utopia as a weakening of the sense of history and of the imagination of historical difference which characterizes post modernity is paradoxically, intertwined with the loss of that place beyond all history. From Jameson’s definition I was able to get a better understanding of what Utopia is and the consequences it could bring us by affecting various aspects of our lives. One factor of the Utopian idea would be getting rid of the root of all evil, which would be a dream to many of us because we all want to live in a peaceful world. Although that would be nice it would also be bad because without evil people can’t see the good that surrounds them.

Having full employment around the world is another factor that caught my attention because in the recession we are living in today it is something I would like, because like many families my family and I are being affected by the lack of employment. The Utopian idea to me seems unrealistic because it hides away all the imperfection in this world, and all the evil that let us appreciate the good. I feel that the Utopian idea makes us weak, materialistic and dull people. Sometimes the wishes we wish aren’t always the best because we don’t always think about the effects they can cause on the long run. Most of our wishes are spur of the moment. Utopia is a great example of why we should be careful for what we wish for. I agree with Jameson because I too believe Utopia bring forth a fear in us. This article was a great insight of what our future can look like if we rely on the material and meaningless things and let them define us.

Week Two
After doing the reading I was reminded of a utopian society. The thought of dying of a disease and living in a society where we are all separated into different groups and our life is controlled scares most of us. Living in a society where our freedom is taken away and our every move is being controlled is not what I picture as the American Dream. When I read about others deciding what is “best “ for us, it scares me because we all have different interest and what might be best for one person is not always best for another. I agree with O’Flinns’s essay because mentions how society and literature influence each other. Many of our decisions are based on literature we read for example the bible, and political literature, and also morals instilled in us by our family members, and the media. Our views of life are changed constantly by the literature we read. Furthermore, Foucault’s article is very interesting he catches my attention from the beginning when he mentions “strict spatial partitioning”. The fact that our lives can end and change like it has in the past with the plague is frightening because there are many things that can and have been happening in our society. For example, the swine flu is a disease that is spreading across the world. The past is creeping up on us and some of what we read today as fiction is becoming non-fiction. Living under a surveillance camera and having our privacy taken away is not as far as some us think, because all our conversations are heard and read by a legal government wire tapping agency. We are losing our privacy, our decisions are controlled by laws, what are we going to lose next?

Week Three
I enjoyed reading Irving Howe’s 1984 Utopia Reversed because it analyzed key information about George Orwell’s 1984. I enjoyed how Howe integrated ideas from other authors, and society groups. I agree with many of Howe’s opinions. One of the things I agree with Howe is about 1984 being Orwell’s imagination. I agree because Orwell depicts what he believes can happen in the future, if our society turns into a Utopian, Orthodox society where nobody has control of there own self and can think for themselves. Furthermore, I believe Orwell exaggerates in 1984 to scare us and show us what in his imagination our society can be in the future. The good socialist, the “good people” as Howe mentions, should inform the rest of the dangers like Orwell. We need to be observes, socialist analyze and try to fix what can lead our society to a Utopia. Like Howe I feel that Orwell’s work on 1984 was written on observation and is written from a socialist point of view rather than a novelist. I found Howe’s text very informative; I was drawn in from the begging to end. The text highlighted essential details of Orwell’s observations. In addition, it made me question many things about our society and how close we actually are to a Utopia and becoming Orthodoxy.

Week four
After doing this week’s reading many emotions filled my heart. Reading about how Genetics will be used as an excuse to discriminate against the handicapped to save money, made me really upset. It makes me sad because I know that some people are influenced by doctor’s advice and others, and choose not to have a baby that will have some type of disability. Who are we to deny the life of a human being and decide their future? No matter what disability it might be, everyone deserves the right to live because perfection does not exist. There is nobody perfect in this world.
I personally have family members that have disabilities and my family and I feel blessed to have them with us because they brighten up our day. Although they are not able to do many things like others, they have feelings, they eat and breathe just like everybody. My aunt was told a couple months back that my little cousin Edder would not make it to his 8th birthday because his disability and epilepsy was getting worse. My little cousin Edder turned 8 on May 13 and we feel so lucky and happy that he is still with us. We will do everything in our power so we can share many birthdays with him.
Having family with disabilities I just can’t imagine how somebody can have the heart to deny them the right to live. The situation people are facing in China is very depressing for the reason that people are told that they can only have one child and it has to be perfect. The Chinese would not be able to determine which babies will be born with disabilities without the new genetics and prenatal diagnoses.
New genetics are not always being used with good intention.
Week Five
It was very interesting to read Boulle’s Planet of the Apes because many things came to mind about our own government. While reading the book I was able to see the resemblance between the society in Planet of the Apes and our society today. The possibility of having Apes take over our country is something I never thought of until today. Many times we hear that the closest animal we can be related to are apes, Chimpanzees, and gorillas because they are very smart and physically similar to humans. In this book we the humans were the slaves to apes. It was interesting to be put in a position where we put animals every day.
In the Planet of the Apes the structure of society was very similar to ours because the most privileged and wealthiest control the government system. My favorite part was reading about the rebellion of the human slaves with the help of Ari because they fought over what the rights and power they felt they deserve. I personally don’t believe anyone should be forced into slavery for any reasons. Everyone deserves to be treated with respect even animals.

Week six
Watching the movie clockwork orange was interesting and disturbing at the same time. Alex’s rude abusive actions towards people made me very upset. Seeing Alex his droogs take advantage and hurt the poor old homeless man got to me the most. It reminded of how our government and society many times forgets about the poor and old and instead of helping and providing more help, they lose benefits. Many of the actions portrayed in the movie can be related to present day actions in our society. After all the killing and abusing Alex the leader of the droogs committed Alex was sent to jail for the murder of a woman. After serving two years in prison he was able to enter an experimental rehabilitation program called "the Ludovico technique". It amazes me how society believed that Alex’s violence could be cured through the program just like in our own society everything is seemed to be repairable. Furthermore, It caught my attention the fact that while Alex was being “cured” his loved for classical music turned into something he couldn’t tolerate at all. Besides, the disturbing scenes it was a good informative movie.

Week seven
Every day of our lives we are surrounded by the media industry and have some type of media influence in one or more of our decisions. Whether it be food, TV, or clothing wise we are influence by society. While reading both Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer’s article “The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception” and Walter Benjamin’s “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” I was able to examine the negative aspects of the media in our society.
To start off, I learned that many of the movies we watch today do not have an important social message. The movies made now are made for us to use less and less of our imagination. The fantasy, drama, and horror we see do not convey a realistic message about the problems in society today or inform us about something useful we didn’t know. I agree with Adorno and Horkheimer when they state “All they do today is to confirm the victory of technological reason over truth. For example, people are most likely pay to watch a comedy movie with a famous comedian than a documentary that will inform them about the injustices that are happening around them.
Technology has become more powerful than many of us believe it to be. In the article “The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception” it mentions that the culture industry perpetually cheats its consumers of what it perpetually promises. For instance, many times the movies people see are not quite what they expected or what the movie trailer said to offer. Also, many of those “as seen on TV” products do not do what they promise. I have learned through Benjamin that although there are some good things the media has to offer we have to dig very deep to find them before spending our money on something that will not benefit us.

Week Eight
Today we are surrounded by media and its influence; many people don’t read books because they rather watch television. Although it is sad that many don’t get to experience the beauty of literature, many don’t feel that they deserve to give books too much importance. In the dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451by Ray Bradbury, Guy Montag does a great job of showing the importance of reading books. While reading the novel I tried putting myself in the situation of the characters and being banned completely from books but I couldn’t because it would be miserable to live without great literature. It would be terrible not to be able to be able to read books or even publish any of my ideas and work for others to read. It was interesting to see the firemen in the novel seen as protectors and heroes because they would burn the books that they believed disturbed people and made them anti-social. Furthermore it disturbed me to know that the firemen felt a pleasure to burn books. What some people see as pleasure is for others pain and agony. Television has taken away the interest of reading for many people because they think it’s more entertaining and easy to press a button and let the entertainment industry take over you. Without books people would become tools of the media and society. Furthermore, in the schools our kids would be limited in their education. What would we read to our kids before going to bed? How are we going to learn about history? Why shouldn’t we have the right to write down our experiences, discoveries, and ideas? There are many reasons why books are important because without books we are prone to become illiterate and dull.


Week ten
Fahrenheit 451 is a great story that helps us appreciate some of the things that we take for granted like books. The saying “you don’t know what you have until is gone” comes to mind with Fahrenheit 451 because the books are not appreciated until they become forbidden and people are submerged into the norms of society. Furthermore, without the existence of books individualism disappears. I enjoyed the novel more than the movie because I feel that the presence of Faber is essential and the changes in the movie don’t portray the novel like Ray Bradbury does in his novel. This novel helps us acknowledge how the media is taking over the way we communicate. We have changed the way we interact with others because of new technology developments. People are too busy trying to keep up with technology that they forget about the most important things and lose their sense of individualism. I truly enjoyed this book because I can say with certainty that the most important things in life are priceless. The knowledge I acquire is something nobody can take away from me.