Comparison of the Two Scenes

In this blog post, I am going to compare the two opening scenes in the two Romeo and Juliet movies (1968 and 1996). I've already watched the 1996 version's opening a long time ago, and after watching the 1968 version, I realized that there is a huge gap between the two. The two movies, with about a 30 year difference between their produced date, were drastically different. The 1996 version of Romeo and Juliet was quite obviously a lot more modern and realistic in all aspects such as events, clothing, cars, locations, etc. compared to the 1968 version of Romeo and Juliet. Although the 1968 one was much more logical (at least according to me), because it was old-fashioned and includes sword fights and old-fashioned clothing and that seemed to match up more closely to what one might imagine when reading the script. The 1996 version of Romeo and Juliet on the other hand was a lot more modern seeing as the the sides wield guns instead of swords and they actually have the fight at a gas station and then they blew it up (BEST PART OF THE MOVIE...). I personally liked the 1996 version better, because it's original, and much more relateable for a young person like me. The action in the 1996 version is also much more advanced and exciting compared to the 1968 version, where you just see a horde of people wielding swords around and you can't actually see who dies. I would not change anything if i were the director of the 1996 version, but I would definitely show people actually dying if I were the 1968 version's director (but I'm not sure if that was allowed in films at that period of time...)

Animal Farm Double Blog Post

What could any of the animals besides Napoleon have done differently, that would have made a difference in the outcome?

The animals could have led rebellion when they realized something has gone amiss like when a lot of them are starting to realize how corrupt Napoleon is and also when they realized that Boxer has been taken to a torture place. If they had risen up and voiced their opinions, then they may have been able to overthrow Napoleon and take back control. Snowball could also have fought harder and stood up to Napoleon's evil little tricks, and take control instead. In fact, if Snowball had taken control instead of Napoleon then the animals may have had a better life and their lives would most definitely have been improved seeing as Snowball, unlike Napoleon, had actually wanted to improve Animal Farm and he was a muct better leader even though he is still a bit corrupt. Other animals, especially animals like Benjamin, who actually knew much earlier than all the other animals that the things Napoleon had been doing are actualy pretty terrible and also that they were quite purposefully bad, they should have told the other animals aout what they have observed and they should really share their thoughts. If they had shared their opinions with everyone, then they could have maybe figured out how to overthrow Napoleon and been able to regain freedom. They also ould have probably asked the other farms to help them and get them out of communism and become democrats just like in actual history which happened just like that I think. They could also just have killed Squealer since he was the one that was always spewing lies and lying to everyone about ridiculous things that the animals actually do believe.

Privacy Debate Reflection

I think this debate was really fun and interesting for me. I think I did a pretty nice job and some great things such as making a lot of analogies and also attacking the points the opposition team proposed. However, I think I could have included more specific examples and also incidents that happened like the opposing team with Amanda Todd. Thankfully, though, I knew about Amanda Todd and was able to argue about that succesfully. Another great thing that I'm very proud of not doing (and pleasantly surprised that I did not do) was that I did not stutter and add things like "um" and "like" in my speeches! I also used some pretty long and complicated words which I'm very glad of doing. My team was awesome, I mean the teammates. They were confident and pointed out all the important points and we also cooperated perfectly, everyone contributing actively and sharing their opinions and everyone's voices were heard. However, we definitely could have researched more and not just base our evidences on general things and instead focus on providing statistics (we only had 1).

Is Privacy An Illusion?

I absolutely agree that my privacy is in peril. There is no such thing as privacy in this world anymore. What with Facebook and Google and surveillance cameras and recorded cell phone conversations. Everything can be recorded and everything you every do, write, or say can be used against you. All phone calls are recorded and can be given to the government if they requested so, in fact, every conversation is being monitored and scanned for potential threatening words. Skype chats can be retrieved and your account can't be withdrawn. A lot of email sites sell your private information to others who are willing to pay the price. Google can track every single search you have ever typed into the searching engine. There is no such thing as privacy in the modern world anymore! Always be careful and never let anything or any word that you don't want to be responsible for saying!