Walter Benjamin: Thesis on the Philosophy of History

The passage that I choose is the following:

The true picture of the past whizzes by. Only as a picture, which flashes its final farewell in the moment of its recognizably  is the past to be held fast. “The truth will not run away from us” – this remark by Gottfried Keller denotes the exact place where historical materialism breaks through historicism’s picture of history. For it is an irretrievable picture of the past, which threatens to disappear with every present, which does not recognize itself as meant in it. 

My interpretation is that history tends to fade away with time, and  it can take precious details and key pieces of the account. In history there will always be a big gap between who lived it and who told it. History tends to get distorted by many different reasons like political views, creed or even moral standards. 

There is an old saying that says "History is written by the winner" often use to reference war history and this is another big problem, which can distort and hide important facts about historic accounts.

I chose this quote because every moment that we live in the present is a chance we have to make our own history without distorting our own truth. Although, someone may try to distort it with their personal point of view and/or opinions (this being out of our control). This is what Benjamin referenced to.

Walter Benjamin: The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Production

The passage that I choose is the following:

Around 1900 technical reproduction had reached a standard that not only permitted it to reproduce all transmitted works of art and thus to cause the most profound change in their impact upon the public; it also had captured a place of its own among the artistic processes. For the study of this standard nothing is more revealing than the nature of the repercussions that these two different manifestations – the reproduction of works of art and the art of the film – have had on art in its traditional form.

To my interpretation this quote is saying that film and art have changed so much during the 

years, that it has taken a turn that no one had imagine. Art has become so important among 

people that is has transformed from a simple ritual to work of art, during the mechanical

reproduction. 

This quote relates to media today in the way that people are so inspire by art and film that

some dedicate their lives to it. It has changed so much that people are even trying to come up

with their own ways to make people fell in love too. 

The film The Great Dictator is being compared to dadaism in a way that it shows how 

people are being forced to what to do. In the film they stand to something different, out

of the ordinary. 

On Pain: Passage

The passage that I choose is the following:

Our children’s tales close with passages about heroes who, after having overcome many dangers, live out their lives in peace and happiness. We hear such assurances with pleasure, for it is comforting for us to learn about a place removed from pain. Yet, in truth, life is without any such satisfying end, as is evidence by the fragmentary character of most great novels, which are either incomplete or crowned by an artificial conclusion. 

My interpretation of this passage is that we think of life as a fairytale, full of happiness and peace, but
the sad part is that life is not unfortunately not like that. We must suffer in order to laugh. Those who
at one point of the lives had to suffer because of the circumstances, eventually they will overcome those
fears and learn to live life in peace and happiness. Life can definitely have happy endings, to some people,
but in reality there is no such thing as happy endings, that only happens in novels, and soap operas.

I chose this passage, because Junger is basically telling the story of our lives. We all have to experience
pain and happiness in our lives. We must have pain in order to understand what others are going through
because you will understand better the pain of others and comprehend. I mean it's always a good
feeling when you think of your life as a fairytale, and that everything is going to be alright and it's going
to have a beautiful ending, but we must be real, life is not what you always hope it would be.

Nazism

We are faced with totally two different films, and below I will give my point of view of the two
films.

The first film it's call Triumph de Willens, a film basically based on how Hitler wanted the entire
country to believe in him and in everything he was promising to them. I was amazed to see how
people were treating him, like a god, just wanting to hear him speak, dying to shake his hand.
People were cheering for him, women wanted to touch his hand, man wanted to follow his orders,
and everyone seem happy about everything that he was saying and promising.
Hitler wanted to another side of him, a humble side of him that not everyone knew he had, he
didn't wanted to waste any opportunity he had and shake people's hand to show them he wanted
to protect them in a way.
He wanted to show his country that he wanted unity and peace, and that everyone is there to protect
Germany, and if they die, they die protecting their country. For example, he said "Work will no
longer be a divided concept, but one that unites all", meaning man and women will work equally.
He also said "We want to see no more class divisions", meaning everyone is going to be united
no matter what, and that's what he wanted for his country.
I didn't know this side of Hitler, the side that wanted peace and love for his country, no I always knew
the bad guy. The guy that everyone hated, but I guess at the beginning he needed to convince
everyone to believe in him, and then when he accomplished that, then he changed.

The second film it's call Night and Fog, a total opposite film of Triumph de Willens. In this film we
see a more dark, violent side, a film that shows the liberation of the Nazi Concentration camps.
It's very disturbing to see in what conditions they were having captivated this innocent people,
with no water, being torture, barely no food, and in horrible sanitized conditions. People were taken
to these camps for no reasons at all, and they were treated like animals, nonstop working in climate
temperatures were they couldn't resist and die.
I knew about the concentration camps, but this film has opened my eyes in the way that we are
very lucky to be in the place that we are today. This people suffered so much especially during
the Holocaust, and we have no idea what is like to live in those conditions.

Max Weber: Politics as a Vocation

The passage that I'm choosing is:

The administrative staff, which externally represents the organization of political domination, is, of course, like any other organization, bound by obedience to the power-holder and not alone by the concept of legitimacy, of which we have just spoken. There are two other means, both of which appeal to personal interests: material reward and social honor. The fiefs of vassals, the prebends of patrimonial officials, the

salaries of modern civil servants, the honor of knights, the privileges of estates, and the honor of the civil servant comprise their respective wages. The fear of losing them is the final and decisive basis for solidarity between the executive staff and the power-holder. . There is honor and booty for the followers in war; for the demagogue's following, there are 'spoils'--that is, exploitation of the dominated through the

monopolization of office--and there are politically determined profits and premiums of vanity. All of these rewards are also derived from the domination exercised by a charismatic leader.

I think what this quote is trying to say is that the company itself its hold off by its staff

members, they are the ones that maintains the company on float. Obviously, people 

are working not just to be part of that organization but for other reasons, such as, to 

earn money in a decent way, to better themselves, and to learn from others. Organizations

sometimes take people for granted, but when they see themselves in a situation that

they are not replaceable they don't like it because it makes them too dependable on

one person. 

I chose this quote because it makes a lot of sense, especially in today's economy where

employees are not being treated the way they are suppose to be treated. People just want

to better themselves, and organizations sometimes do not let them move forward. I

sometimes feel like at my work place, like I'm not going anywhere and the best thing

for me to do is to leave, but jobs are very hard nowadays to find and they don't want me

to go. 

The Weimar Republic

The two articles that I'm going to interpret are:

Article 42 The Reich President, when taking his office, swears the following oath : I swear to devote my energy to the welfare of the German people, to increase its prosperity, to prevent damage, to hold up the Reich constitution and its laws, to consciously honour my duties and to exercise justice to every individual. The addition of a religious formula is acceptable. To me this article is very important, because every country needs to feel that somebody is going to protect them. By saying that the Reich President swears to increase prosperity, prevent damage, and honor its duties, it all sounds very good, but it's also really good to see it happening. These type of devotions are important to humanity because without them we wouldn't trust the president. This one is not 100% protected in the present. Presidents are always promising a lot, but they don't always meet what they promised, and it's very sad. Article 113 Reich communities speaking a foreign language may not be deprived by legislation of their national identity, especially in the use of their mother language in education, in local administration and jurisdiction.

This article is interesting, because it's basically saying that there should be no discrimination to those that comes from a foreign country. What is 

trying to say is that Reich communities are not going to discriminate

those are not from the community. This is very important to humanity

because it shows that everybody is equal, and they have the same

rights and no privileges are given. They are somewhat protected in 

the present, but there are still people that discriminate against others,

and it's sad because we are all humans and we all come from the sample 

place, even if you speak a different language, or you are a different

color.   

The German Revolution of 1918 and Spartacus 1919

The passage that I choose is the following:

"One thing is certain. The world war is a turning point. It is foolish and mad to imagine that we need only survive the war, like a rabbit waiting out the storm under a bush, in order to fall happily back into the old routine once it is over. The world war has altered the conditions of our struggle and, most of all, it has changed us. Not that the basic law of capitalist development, the life-and-death war between capital and labor, will experience any amelioration. But now, in the midst of the war, the masks are falling and the old familiar visages smirk at us. The tempo of development has received a mighty jolt from the eruption of the volcano of imperialism. The violence of the conflicts in the bosom of society, the enormousness of the tasks that tower up before the socialist proletariat – these make everything that has transpired in the history of the workers’ movement seem a pleasant idyll."

Luxemburg emphasizes the radical break with the past this crisis has created. This is an important nihilistic theme while also suggesting the necessity to adapt and to change tactics, in part to prepare for even greater disasters that might come after.

I think this passage is explaining how the world is changing and how the war has make

our lives so different. Luxemburg is trying to make a point that the conflict between society and socialists it's what is making things so difficult. To think that in order to survive a war, basically must hide in order to avoid being killed. After the war everything goes back to what it was, and I don't think life should be like that. Life is about to express what you feel, but not in that way of killing people. The time of war was a time of deciding between life or death. Those were hard times.