Final Post!!

Part A:

1. http://ge110f14tristenwi.blogspot.com

2. Tristen’s blog was drew my interest because he had a lot of important information on his blog and he actually seemed interested in it.

3. He showed a lot of interest because he included many pictures and the information was legit and fun to read about.

4. I would give Tristen a 4 because his blog was generally great, the only thing I would do is add a background or change it up a bit to intrique the viewers to want to read it.

5. A 5, because everything is legible to read because the background is white with a black text.

6. I’d rate our blogs about the same because although I do have a background, he has more information, so I think they should be rated the same.

1       1. http://ge110f14chanaepe.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2014-12-10T11:41:00-06:00&max-results=7

2     2. Chanae’s blog drew my attention right away because of the colorful background and fun font that was used throughout the blog.

       3. She seemed interesting in each of her blogs because she researched a lot of topics that she liked to learn about and presented useful information.

4     4. A 5, because she included everything on her blog, even has a few videos too that makes it a lot more fun to read through.

5     5. 5, everything on blog is legible.

6   6. Blog was good, the different colors really made it a fun blog to read.

1     1. http://ge110tabithak.blogspot.com

2    2. Tabitha’s blog drew my interest right away because there are tons of pictures in each blog along with all of the information provided.

3    3.     Good! This was my favorite blog because of the many pictures, not many people included pictures in their blog.

4    4.    5, I enjoyed everything about Tabitha’s blog.

5    5.  5, everything was legible, had no problem reading blog.

6    6. I think her blog was overall awesome because it is a very informative and visual blog.

Part B:

I have learned many things in this introduction to German culture course. For example, the different states in Germany and the history/story behind each of them. We also learned about the different cultures, cuisine, landmarks, and famous people. There was also plenty of wars that took place including WWII and everything that Adolf Hitler and his followers did.

I thought the class was overall very good, I just wish we could have learned alittle more from you rather then doing the research ourselves or in groups. Not everyone is a fan of group work and as I’m sure you could tell, not many of us were into doing it every week. But other then that, I enjoyed the topics we went over and the different movies we watched. It made me a lot more interested in visiting Germany someday. I also really enjoyed hearing your stories and what you had to say about your home. You made the class very exciting whenever you mentioned your thoughts and knowledge of things. Once again, everything in class worked for me other then some of the group work, I would’ve enjoyed hearing you talk more and learning more from you, rather then doing most of the research ourselves. However, thank you for interesting class and I hope you have a great semester break!

The Baader Meinhof Complex

This film takes place in Germany in 1967, “The children of the Nazi generation have grown up in the devastation their parents created. They vowed fascism would never rule again, in their fight for freedom they lost themselves in the cause and ignited a revolution around the world.”

This film was made in 2008 and was written and produced by Bernd Eichinger. It tells the story of four Germans who carry out the fire bombing of a department store that was responsible for the death of a protestor. The young protestor was killed because he was against the ruling of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the leader of Iran. The group was then put on trial for the bombing and were defended by a lawyer who shared the groups beliefs. After each of their prison sentences were finished, the group had become more appealing to young Germans; they became known as RAF. The RAF describes themselves as a communist and anti imperialist urban guerilla group engaged in armed resistance against what they viewed a fascist state. Members of the RAF generally used the Marxist-Leninist  term"Faction" when they wrote in English. The German Government considered RAF a terrorist organization because they were for responsible for nearly 300 bomb attacks and murdered many people without reason from 1973 to 1995.

http://www.baadermeinhofmovie.com

German Industries & Labor Conditions/Industries & Inventions (Sorry its uploaded late)

During these centuries, German was one of the leading economies of industrialization in Europe. German constructed their first textile factory in 1784. By the end of the 19^th century, Germany was leading in steel, mechanical, electrical, and chemical industries. Life outside of work was separate from industrial times, but living conditions were sometimes worse if it was provided by the factory you worked for. Employees were paid barely enough to support their families because there was no law against giving minimal salaries in this time.

In the 18^th and 19^th centuries, labor conditions were very poor. Many mining employees worked in cruel conditions including polluted air and lack of safety precautions. Because of this, Bismarck later promoted laws that aimed to protect working conditions

 and social insurance.

In the 20^th and 21^st, Germany invented quite a few things that most people assume is made in China or the United States. Below are a few inventions that I did not know about and thought was interesting.

1928: Antibiotics were invented by Alexander Fleming

1937: Jet engine was invented by Frank Whittle and Hans von Ohain

1938: Ballpoint pen was invented by Laszlo Biro

1946: Microwave oven was invented by Percy Spencer

1956: Videocassette recorder was invented by Ampex

1960: Laser was invented by Theodore Harold Maiman

1963: Computer mouse was invented by Douglas Engelbart

1968: Video game console was invented by Ralph H. Baer

1973: Personal computer was invented by Xerox PARC

1983: Camcorder was invented by Sony

1990: World Wide Web was invented by Tim Berners-Lee

2001: Digital satellite radio

The Berlin Calling: Questions About Film

What do drugs mean to Ickarus?


1. Ickarus uses drugs to help him make better music because he thinks that is the only way to do it. It has turned into a daily routine for him and it is a lifestyle that is hard to get out of.


Why, when, and how are his fans taking drugs, and which drugs do they take?


2. The youth culture Ickarus is in is all about taking drugs to have a good time at the clubs. Ecstasy, cocaine, and LSD are some of the main drugs taken in the party scene life because they stimulate your body to feel, see, and experience things in a more vibrant way then you would feel being sober. For example, the lights on the dance floor will be more appealing, people dancing around you will stimulate your brain even more, and the music playing will be more moving and fun to listen/dance to. Many fans either take ecstasy/LSD pills or snort cocaine in bathroom stalls or on table tops; not very sanitary.


While we can see that his drug habits get him ill and into a psychosis, and while we witness his relapse and inability to work successfully, why does the subculture Ickarus belongs to focus on drugs?


3. The subculture Ickarus belongs to is people who always love to have a good time by listening/dancing to techno, drinking, and taking various drugs. After watching this movie, I believe this group consider this as a healthy lifestyle; because they enjoy always being on the go and do not know what normal like anymore.




Compare the standards you know from your home society with the people you see depicted in this movie. Which are the stark differences and contrasts?


4. The standards of my town aren't too much better then people depicted in this movie. All sorts of drugs are sold and taken by people all around town. This was not surprising to me because I have dealt with situations similar to this movie all of my life not only because of my friends getting into drugs and causing trouble, but a lot of the same stuff happened in my family too. The only difference would be is that in my town, techno isn't too popular and there are no parties hosted like that in my hometown.




Germany is considered a strong industrial nation the world over. Do you think that the youth culture as depicted here could change that? How about work ethics of Ickarus and of Alice, the label director who fires and then re-signs him?


5. This movie only shows one type of youth culture from Germany that lives and breathes for the party scene. I believe that there are many other young people in Germany that can keep it a strong industrial nation, but I also think that people who are into the party scene will grow out of that rebellious phase of their lives and will be able to work at a job that will continue to make Germany's industrial nation stronger. Also, although Ickarus loved to party and do drugs 24/7, he was very compassionate and dedicated to his music! People can have fun and still be motivated to succeed in life, but only if they want to. I personally don't think Alice or the label director have very good work ethic because they both gave up on their client for one, but shortly after they just went back to working with Ickarus when he was getting better and thought his new music was going to be successful. Sounds to me like they were using him rather then helping him.




Which similar "cult movies" of US origin have you seen, if any?


6. I can't say I have seen any US cult movies similar to this movie. However, I really did enjoy this film.




In this film, the only thing that really jumped out to me is how open everyone is about taking drugs. In the United States, taking any drug is frowned upon and their are consequences if people are caught taking or having them. Although no cops were shown in movie, I feel like the people don't care what is legal or not. People were also very open to affairs, and that isn't shown in too many U.S. films, so that was definitely surprising to see that the couples didn't seem to care about being cheated on.

Anthroposophy Research

Anthroposophy

is a human oriented spiritual philosophy that reflects and speaks to the deep spiritual questions of humanity, to our basic artistic needs, to the need to relate to the world out of a scientific attitude of mind, and to the need to develop a relation to the world in complete freedom and based on completely individual judgments and decisions.

Quote by Rudolf Steiner:

"Anthroposophy is a path of knowledge, to guide the Spiritual in the human being to the Spiritual in the universe. It arises in man as a need of the heart, of the life of feeling; and it can be be justified only inasmuch as it can satisfy this inner need. He alone can acknowledge anthroposophy, who finds in it what he himself in his own inner life feels impelled to seek. Hence only they can be anthroposophists who feel certain questions on the nature of man and the universe as an elemental need of life, just as one feels hunger and thirst."

The main organization for Anthroposophy is now known as the national Anthroposophical Societies.

Developed by Rudolf Steiner at the end of the 19^th century

It is also an impulse to nurture the life of the soul in the individual and in human society.

Steiner designed thirteen building that were very unique using organic-expressionistic architectural style.

Here are two of his designs for the two Goetheanum buildings in Dornach, Switzerland. 

 image

http://www.rsh.anth.org.uk/pix/goetheanum2.jpg

resources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthroposophy

Paul Baumer

I am Paul Baumer. I am no war hero, I am just an ordinary guy who likes to drink beer and think about girls. While occasionally writing plays on the side; known as Saul.  Over my time of being a soldier, I have transitioned into a great judge of character and “a force for gentle kindness in a world engulfed by brutality.” I was a family man before, but after many terrifying experiences in the war, I feel like I don’t belong anywhere else but the war. I have lost all feelings. After killing Gerard Duval, I realized that the people we are fighting are the same as us. I felt guilty for killing him although it was my duty and I will have to live with it for the rest of my life.

Chapter 4: Summary

The men are sent on a mission to lay barbed wire at the front before they approach the enemies. They are embraced by the front and fear is no longer a feeling; only to rookies.  Three shells land near them and the earth feels like its quaking. On there way to the front, they pass shell holes on their walk, and shortly have to put cigarettes and pipes out because they were close to the enemies. Out of nowhere, the sky lights up with bombs and fire and the bombardment begins.  While the soldiers are crawling under heavy fire, they pass bodies; some dead, some terrified and alive. Paul discovers that one of the rookies had went to the bathroom in their pants and kindly tells him to throw them out and not to worry. Paul was not going to be uptight and obnoxious like the other soldiers such as Himmelstoss. The men come across a loose coffin lid and throw out the body and hide in the coffin for protection. The shelling had stopped Later on, Paul sees a rookie walking around without a mask and tears his off too. The men find a wounded soldier who was the rookie that had went to the bathroom in his pants earlier.  They come to realize that this soldier will more than likely not make it through the night, so they decided together to take him out of his misery. They were just about to shoot and then other soldiers arrived on the scene. They know he will now die a long and painful death. They think about those who have fallen before them as they carefully drive home through the wired areas for defense.