In 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the coast of New Orleans, leaving 80% of the city underwater, almost two thousand dead people and thousands of families without homes.
In seminar class we watched a movie about this lamentable event. It's a short movie called "Glory at the Sea".
The movie is narrated by a child and it's about a guy who is suddently pulled out from the bottom of the sea and since that moment he starts trying to go back into the water to reunite with his loved one. At the same time, everyone in the town joined him to reunite with their loved ones.
You can watch it here.
It isn't very important that you understand all the movie because you can define the end just as you got it.
In the movie I understood something like the story of some ghosts of New Orleans. They tried to find the way to reunite with the people that they love.
For me it was a happy ending despite the fact that they were ghosts; they did what they wanted. Except for the reverend, he just was so attached to his church that when he lost it, he just lost everything.
We were talking and deepening about the issues between Obedience and Authority at Seminar classes in recent weeks and made a presentation about this topic in our class group.
We made difference between the "power" of the authority and the "captivity" of the obedience. It was a pretty good experience working that way because we realized that the authority is almost everywhere and the obedience isn't always fallowing it. Also we could analyze a cultural and personal point of view about the material we covered.
At the time that I been working on it, my ideas about my way to follow rules were changing. Maybe it was because I've never think so deeply about it.
Before we started to talk about this topic, in my group, we started to see some defects in our way to see the things. We started to talk and the ideas just came. It was interesting because everyone has another point of view. So that was the "special thing" in our presentation.
I've watched the movie "Cool Hand Luke" (1960) in my Seminar class. In my english level I have to admit that I didn't understad it all. But the story was clearly explained along the movie.
I don't consider that the screenwriter's intention was to make Luke to looks as a Christ figure at all time. Maybe he just wanted to make a comparison with other kind of "known heroes" in some parts of the movie.
I consider him like a hero. Not a social hero, but a kind of hero in the jail and specially for radical people. He was always defending what he felt as the real good way to do the things. I think that he could saw the things that were wrong about authority and law. So he just revealed himself against the authority.
I appreciate the way he just consider to "fight until dead" and protect his principals of liberty. He believes in humans as free beings.
One failure in communication in the movie was the accent. I'm not sure if it was an southern accent but the english of the characters was pretty hard to understand at all.
Anyway, HEREyou can buy the DVD if you haven't seen it yet.
And because I'm in a good mood, here's the best part of the movie. Enjoy it!
Band: Ska-p (Like mixing the ska style and the word "escape")Song: Vándalo (Vandal)
A todos los caídos, a los detenidos, a los que resisten en pie
A todos mis hermanos que nunca han callado, que no se han dejado vencer
Los que han sido humillados, a los que han golpeado las fuerzas de seguridad
los que siempre han sabido que hay gato encerrado en este sistema global
Vándalo, te hacen llamar vándalo, peligro social, vándalo
rebelde insurrecto, preparado para la batalla
A los que se dejan la piel, a los que nunca ha podido entender
cómo cayó en la red de la codicia todo el poder
A los insurgentes que contracorriente exigen justicia social
Y me da igual de dónde sean, no hay distancia, no hay fronteras
a una conciencia firme nada puede parar
Llegará, llegará, llegará, la balanza se equilibrará
Llegará, llegará, llegará
Ah, Ah, Ah, el redil es nuestro patíbulo
Alarma, neoliberalismo es hambruna, muerte y terrorismo
Alarma, neoliberalismo, prepárate
Por los oprimidos, desfavorecidos, a los que se deja morir
sus barrigas hinchadas, la muerte en sus caras por un interés mercantil
Y ahora tú debes de meditar ¿Quién es el vándalo en realidad?
Terrorismo de estado, opulento y armado, decide quién debe vivir
Vándalo, te hacen llamar vándalo, peligro social, vándalo
rebelde insurrecto, las cosas no se cambian desde tu sillón
Llegará, llegará, llegará, la balanza se equilibrará
Llegará, llegará, llegará el día de la victoria
Ah, Ah, Ah, el redil es nuestro patíbulo
Alarma, el neoliberalismo es hambruna, muerte y terrorismo
Alarma, el neoliberalismo, prepárate.
To all the fallen, prisoners, those who resist standing
To all my brothers who have never silent, that they are surrendered
Those who have been humiliated, who have beaten the security forces
those who have always known that there is something fishy in this global system
Vandal vandal make you call, social danger, vandal
Rebel insurgent, prepared for battle
Those who leave the skin, which has never been able to understand
how all the power fell in greed's web
To those insurgents who countercurrent demand social justice
And I do not care where they are, no distance, no frontiers
To strong consciousness nothing can stop
It will come, it will come, it will come, the balance will be balanced
It will come, it will come, it will come
Ah, Ah, Ah, the pen is our scaffold
Alarm, neoliberalism is famine, death and terrorism
Alarm, neoliberalism, get ready!
For the oppressed, disadvantaged, who are left to die
their distended bellies, the dead in their faces by a commercial interest
And now youmustthinkwhoistrulyvandal
State terrorism, armed opulent, decide who should live
Vandal vandal make you call, social danger, vandal
Rebel insurgent, things do not change from your couch
It will come, it will come, it will come, the balance will be balanced
It will come, it will come, it will come... The day of victory!
Ah, Ah, Ah, the pen is our scaffold
Alarm, neoliberalism is famine, death and terrorism
The first topic of this blog will talk a little about obedience influenced by some kind of authority. First we have to talk a little more about those things.
What do I understand about obedience?
The obedience from my own point of view, is the way that we just follow some kind of instructions or orders from a figure of authority.
An article that I've read talks about the soldier's case along the history. It's a very good example the nazi soldiers's case that they said "they're just following orders" when they made those atrocities.
Reminds me of a movie "The Reader" that talks about the same thing. I recommend to you.
Here's the trailer.
I have also read about the experiment of a two psychologists. One in particular captured my attention. The Milgram's experiment. We talk about this experiment at classes. Is from the 60's and it's about a group of people that are submitted to gradually cause pain to other volunteer by the scientist order. "The experiment request you to continue" was the scientist said. But the real experiment was to make a difference from the people that continue with the experiment and the people whose not.
Here's a real recreation of the experiment.
In conclusion, i think that the suffering of society today, is a consequence of the combination of a exaggerated obedience wich cause some people to think, "do I have to follow all the laws/orders?" then they just stop following them.
I'm not considering myself a very obedient person if we talk about very big responsibilities, but I try to obey my obligations like citizen, student, and correlative with other people.
(1960) in my Seminar class. In my english level I have to admit that I didn't understad it all. But the story was clearly explained along the movie.
" that talks about the same thing. I recommend to you.