Culminating Activity 5

Find, watch and comment on at least one video relevant to AF, 1984 or DOAS frfrom another site.



I found this video from the Youtube.This is adorable propaganda in North Korea because you can see everything is controlled by government here, and also can see plenty of Soviet and Chinese cultural and political influence. Kim Jung Il is the one who has the same power as O'Brien who is creating strongest power by own government. Every citizens has to follow his rule in the North Korea and must obey him. For those, the North Korea is totalitarian country on modern today that I consider.

Culminating Activity 4

How have blogs/twitter/facebook been used to resist a totalitarian state?

Everyone can write their opinions or anything that is in their heads with freedom, if their using facebook/blogs/twitter/ or any social networking site that is one of ways to resist a totalitarian state. I am thinking for myself, that shows independence of thinking. Totalitarian is being in full control of everything, recognizes no limits to its authority and strives to regulate every aspect of public and private life wherever feasible. They can take us away from expressing ourselves in this form of social networking sites because for sure a lot of people will see what  we had said or posted online. The government can use that against us to harm/vaporize us because they know we are opposing our rules and they will not like that. There is a way to get away with them if we are the really good hackers and we can play with technology. For sure they will have a hard time finding us but if we are the good hackers, there will  be a better hacker all the time so keep that in mind. If they can not find people, the government will make a way to crash/block our blog/anything that you posted online.

Culminating Activity 3

Where are three modern day countries that are considered to be totalitarian? what are five "things" that makes you consider them "totalitarian"?

The three modern countries that are considered to be totalitarian are Cuba, Iran and North Korea. I think there is more but I want to make them be the examples to show there some countries still are totalitarian regime in modern today. Trade, family life, employment, religion, property, organization, travel, communication that all are subject to state approval or disapproval. I treat them as totalitarian, because the country is running with only on political party. The government can prevent people from doing anything including leaving the country. They control who goes in and out the country. That means the governments control everything and if anyone refuse to follow the rule they make they will get abused or get killed. It means that the population is excluded from the political process, and anyone has dissent that is met with force. They have no choice except to follow the rules. 

I feel I am so lucky!

Culminating Activity 2

What are four other totalitarian leaders? Identify them and describe why you consider them for this post.

 Adolf Hitler was an Austrian- born German politician and the leader of the 

National Socialist German Workers Party ( commonly known as the Nazi Party). Hitler is most well known for his central leadership role in the rise of fascism in Europe, World War II and the Holocaust. Hitler joined the precursor of the Nazi Party in 1919, and became leader of NSDAP in 1921.

In the 1920s, Adolf Hitler gained control of the Nazi party, a nationalistic, anti-communist, anti Semitic organization. Hitler won popular support by blaming Jews for Germany's defeat in World War I and for its economic troubles. He claimed that the German people belonged to a superior "Aryan" race that was destined to rule the world. As the Great Depression caused unemployment to rise in the early 1930s, many desperate people found hope in the Nazi party. In 1933, Hitler used the threat of a communist uprising to gain power. He then moved against all opposition parties and set up a fascist state in Germany. Hitler used many of the methods to build a totalitarian state in Germany. The Nazis preached the need for hard work, sacrifice, and service to the state. The Gestapo, or secret police, arrested anyone suspected of opposing Nazi rule. The Nazis used the press, schools, and even churches to glorify their goals. They also waged a violent campaign against Jews, sending many to concentration, or prison, camps. To end unemployment and improve the economy, Hitler launched vast building programs, banned strikes, and placed strict controls on wages and prices.
He is the representative of totalitarian regime, and he is a famous totalitarian leader in the world.

After Lenin's death in 1924, Joseph Stalin gains control of the government. Stalin was determined to transform the Soviet Union into a powerful industrial state. In 1928, therefore, he launched his first five-year plan. The plan included two goals: rapid growth of heavy industry and increased farm production through collectivization of agriculture. In a series of five-year plans, Stalin poured the nation's resources into building steel mills, electric power stations, and other industries needed in a strong modern state. He also forced millions of farmers to give up their land and work on collective farms, large, government-run enterprises. Many farmers opposed the change, and millions of them died in Stalin's brutal crackdown.

After World War 1, Italy was suffered by economic and political problems. Workers went on strike in the cities, while in the countryside, landless farmers seized the property of wealthy landlords. The unrest made the middle class fear a socialist revolution. An ambitious politician, Benito Mussolini, used the turmoil to gain power. Mussolini founded the Fascist party. Fascists glorified the state, supported aggressive nationalism, and condemned democracy because they believed rival parties divided the state. They also opposed communism and defended private property. In the early 1920s, Mussolini and his followers, known as Black Shirts, won the support of many Italians by attacking communists and socialists. Then in 1922, Mussolini led a "March on Rome" supposedly to prevent a communist revolution but in fact to frighten the government into naming him prime minister. Once in office, Mussolini increased his power by appointing Fascists to top offices, censoring the press, organizing a secret police, and banning any criticism of the government. He controlled the army and the schools, urging Italians to accept the slogan: "Everything in the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state."

Francisco Franco born 4 December 1892 died 20 November 1975. he was commonly known as Franco. He was a Spanish military general and head of state of Spain. As head of state, Franco used the title Caudillo de España, por la gracia de Dios, meaning Leader of Spain, by the grace of god. He also developed a reputation as a cruel and vindictive military leader. It is estimated that an estimated 200,000 political prisoners died as a result of starvation, overwork and executions. July 18, 1936, Franco, a nationalist, led a rebellion against the government, which got him support from Hitler and Mussolini.

Spain has been swept by debate on the legacy of Franco-era teaching by a new book that shows how generations of youngsters were told that women should not read books about war, that liberty led to anarchy and that Jews were spies.

Those four people are the totalitarian leaders who are very famous all over the world during the World War II. 

Culminating Activity 1

How the police services use electric device/ media to track people on the modern day?
In the modern society today, the technology develops very fast and well. The electric device makes people feel more convinience than before, such as smart phone, GPS, Facebook and so on.
The GPS is a good thing for everybody. With it, you won't be afraid of getting the wrong way and feel confident and comfortable to drive anywhere. It  provides location and time information in all weather, anywhere on or near the Earth, where there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites.
In fact, everybody love it because it is very useful in our lives; however, the police services use this electric device to track our moves.
Police can sneak onto your property in the middle of the night, put a GPS device on the bottom of your car and keep track of everywhere you go. This doesn't violate your Fourth Amendment rights, because you do not have any reasonable expectation of privacy in your own driveway — and no reasonable expectation that the government isn't tracking your movements.
That is the bizarre — and scary — rule that now applies in California and eight other Western states. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which covers this vast jurisdiction, recently decided the government can monitor you in this way virtually anytime it wants — with no need for a search warrant.
That is very terrible. We are monitored to our every moves. We don't have any privacy and freedom. The technology gives us convinience, and also makes us feel we have to be careful our every step, but I believe if we don't do anything wrong, nothing the police can track!

After learn the Hamlet in my Grade 12 English Class

I have never done any play with Shakespear before in my personal experience. Actually, the Hamlet I am watching right now it is my real experience with Shakespear.

When I was in high school in China, of course, I heard Shakespear, but we don't need learn  much about him and his dramas. Maybe we do have different culture with him. He was in western and I am in eastern. I would read his book by optional.  I read The Hamlet book by myself when I was in China at summer time,  but it went through very quickly so that I couldn't remember anything about it and I didn't know I touched with it when I was in school. I lost a lot of chances to learn about Shakespear.

This time, from The Hamlet which is the first connection between me and Shakespear is making me happy, because I learn a lot in this play.

I realize even we have different culture; we have different first language and I can not understand what exactly the actors said in the movie, The Hamlet, I know what are they playing about, because we are human beings, and depends on their expressions and actions I can guess what they are doing and what they want to show me. That is the important reason for me to learn from the movie which is my teacher Chesser showed to me better than the text book!

I think that is a nice beginning and awesome method that is movie my teacher showed to me for me to learn Shakespear and be interested in his plays. This is a nice start! In Shakespear's play, there are lots of old and difficult words, and makes me feel so upset, but fortunately, we have the movie to watch that is the very helpful way for me to learn Shakespear's drama.

Cultural Revolution in China in 1966- 1976





Mao is watching you!

 After read the book 1984, I feel something happened before in my country. Maybe that is not my real experience, but I heard from my grandparents before and learned from the books too. That was called the Cultural Revolution which was lanched by Chinese Communist Party chairman Mao Zedong. During 1966 to 1976, those ten years is his last decade in power to renew the spirit of the Chinese Revolution. He wanted to develop along the  lines of  the Soviet model and concerned about his own place in history, Mao threw China's cities into turmoil in a monumental effort to reverse historic rocesses underway.

 He is a great and intelligent person. He liberated China and established the Repulic of China in 1949. In his life, the Cultural Revolution is the only mistake he made, but it is a huge mistake which makes China go back at least 20 years.



The Red Guards is made by Mao. They  splintered into zealous rival factions, each purporting to be the true representive of Maoist thought. The Red Guards can grab people to ask them questions about Mao or people have to remember and recite the Quotations from Chairman Mao Zedong that called the Little Red Book by the weatern, if they can't answer, maybe would be arrested or physically abused. Mao also encouraged the Red Guards to attack all troditional value and "bourgeois" things and to test party officials by publicly criticizing them. During that time he shut down school. That means everybody didn't have free thought and you must remember also only remember Mao's book. That is the real brain wash and thought wash.



Red Guards = Thought Police



Mao encouraged youth to go back to the countryside. We called Down to the countryside movement. My mom told me at that time who handed in the test empty and got the zero that would feel very proud, so that's the reason why that generations didn't learn in the school.

I just give some examples I heard here. It's real like 1984, the totalitarian regime.

 For now nobody talk about those things any more. Maybe they forget or they are indifference. I still think most people still remember, but they just don't want to recall or even right now they have freedom thought and freedom speech, if they really talk about like Dixie Chicks, nobody knows what gonna happen.