Blogging Around

Duece's blog dealt with Neo's choice between the blue pill (not finding out about the matrix and going back to his previous life) and the red pill (proceeding to be unplugged from, and learn about, the matrix). He also discussed the nature of memory, and the difference, or lack thereof, between "real" and "fake" memories.

Deuce,

I thought your perspective was interesting. In The Matrix, it is more or less taken for granted that Neo made the right choice by taking the red pill. In fact, the only character that expresses even an inkling of doubt or regret about not taking the blue pill is Cypher, the bad guy. You disagree with the movie's point of view, saying (more eloquently and less cliche-y) that ignorance is bliss. You also discussed the significance of our memories and how we could possibly know if there is such thing as "real" memories, and, if there is, whether or not they are necessarily superior to "fake" memories. I agree that just because a memory is real doesn't make it better than a "fake" one, though I'm not sure that I agree with your hypothetical pill selection. Your post was intelligent and interesting, and it really made me think about myself and how much I would want to find out about reality if I were given the chance.

Brandon


Jamie's blog was about the discussions we had in English two weeks ago. She talked about the value of these discussions and how good the collaboration was.

Jamie,

I agree with your opinion of our discussions in English. The most meaningful class discussions are always ones where input is spontaneous and where people build on each other's comments. Some of the discussions we have had in other classes have been so structured that they stifle creativity and valuable comments. Regularly, I can go a whole discussion with out saying a word, for the simple reason that I haven't thought of anything important enough to contribute. On the occasions that I do think of something good, I'll say it. However, when my grade depends on how often I contribute to a particular discussion, rather than the value of my contributions, I tend to say whatever comes to mind, intelligent or not. I do realize, however, the need for making sure everyone is engaged in the conversation, so I can see where teachers are coming from when they mark down participation points. I liked how you also talked about the future benefits of discussions like the ones we had in English about the short stories. I agree that these skills will be important later in life, so it's good that we can hone them now while we're still in school.

Brandon

Best of Week: Story Fragments

Going into the process of writing our short stories, I was a little intimidated. The last time I wrote a story was in seventh grade, and it was about a time-traveling psychic rodent who had to save the world from an evil army of Roombas. The highlight of the story was an epic chase scene between hero Speedy Gonzalez, who was driving a golf cart, and evil mastermind Curious George, who was driving a souped-up tractor. While it came very close to winning a Pulitzer, I realize that Mr. Allen might be looking for something a little more sophisticated this time around. Never having written a short story in the style of Cathedral or the slightly more disturbing style of Boys, I was at a loss for ideas (other than my awesome screenplay idea, which is too complex to fit into a short story).

When Mr. Allen told us that we were to write a "story fragment", I initially thought that it was a waste of time to write things that would probably not even be in my actual story. However, when I sat down to write it, it was surprisingly easy and useful. I think it's a great technique to just put down ideas and not worry about how good they are. This allowed me to keep my thoughts flowing and write the whole thing in less than an hour. If I had tried to write a good (or even decent) short story the first try, I would have had to stop and edit myself so many times that I probably would have strangled my own creativity. Next time I have to write a short story (or maybe even a different kind of writing), I will be sure to utilize this technique to help avoid writer's block.

What If?: The Matrix

In English the last couple of weeks, we watched The Matrix and read Heart of Darkness. Both of these, but especially The Matrix, got me thinking about the fact that our world could be totally fake and we would have no way of knowing it. In the movie, everyone stuck in the matrix thinks that it is all there is, that it is the "real world". Only Morpheus, Neo, and the rest of the people on their ship know that it is a hollow substitute for real life. They are the only people that know it is just a computer program designed to imitate the real world. What the world as we know it was really the matrix? How would we know?

The answer I came up with is a simple one: We wouldn't. Unless we were shown from the outside, like Neo was in the movie, we would have no idea that the world as we know it was, in fact, nothing more than lines of code. This possibility is a little unsettling, but I also have no reason to suspect that it is true. For the sake of my own mental well-being, for now I think I will look at the world from an empirical point of view and decide that The Matrix is a nonfiction movie.

Connection: Heart of Darkness and Iraq

While reading Heart of Darkness, I noticed that Conrad was injecting many pointed criticisms of colonialism into Marlow's narrative. Even things that Marlow doesn't directly condemn, Conrad seems to completely despise. This made me think about what Conrad's opinion would be about the United States invasion and subsequent quasi-colonialization ("occupation") of Iraq. Though more humane and altogether less oppressive, the occupation of Iraq draws striking parallels with the Belgian colonialization depicted in Heart of Darkness.

For one thing, Marlow's disgust at the incompetent mismanagement and overall ineffectiveness of the Company could just has easily been a scathing critique of our government. The way the Company seems lost and confused in the Congo parallels our apparent strategy (or lack thereof) in Iraq, at least at the beginning of the occupation. Furthermore, Kurtz's self-serving exploitation of the natives for his own profit mirrors certain American businesses taking advantage of the chaos in Iraq to reap abundant monetary rewards.

If any lessons can be taken from Heart of Darkness and applied to our world, I think that the evils of colonialism is an important theme that is extremely relevant in modern times. Though we are not as blatantly imperialistic in our motives, the result in Iraq is the same as what happened in the Congo such a long time ago. Perhaps if those who made the decision to go into Iraq had read Heart of Darkness, the world would be a better place. Actually, there's no way George Bush would have made it past page 5.