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After completing this unit and reading all of the works that we have, my knowledge on the topics of war, power, education, survival, and rebellion has greatly expanded. The topic that I now best understand out of these five is war. Before completing this unit, I saw war as a common topic that many pieces of literature are based on. In these works, war was often portrayed negatively. Now I realize that there is much more when it comes to the topic of war. Some things that I learned about war includes how war is often created by people in power to benefit themselves at the cost of everyday citizens. This idea is extremely clear in the novels All Quiet on the Western Front and Persepolis. From the videos we watched, it is also evident that harms innocent people. In many of the songs that we have seen, they convey the idea that people need to be united and stop fighting each other. These songs try to persuade people to make an attempt to unite themselves with others by showing images of little kids who are negatively affected by the war. This indicates that as long as we have wars, people will suffer. I now also understand that war can be fought over just about anything. As long as there is a conflict, there is a potential for war. The idea of power is another idea that was common in the works that we have seen and read. When it comes to this topic, many of the ideas I knew prior are still intact such as how people wage wars to stay in power. However, one new concept about the idea of power that has been made clear is that having power is not necessarily a bad thing. It only becomes a bad thing when it falls into the wrong hands. From the readings that we did, one things that stood out to me when it came to education was that education is power. Those with the most knowledge were usually the people in control as well as the people at the top of the social ladder. It was also clear that education is one of the ways people can improve their status. Education proves to be one of the most important and vital aspects of a human's life. Some concepts that I took away from the topic of survival after reading all of these works is that people will do anything to survive. In a life or death situation, the only thing on a human's mind is to survival, and they will do anything to make this a reality. Finally, my knowledge also expanded on the concept of rebellion. From reading these novels, especially Persepolis, my knowledge concerning rebellions also expanded. I was able to learn and understand that rebellions occur after a growing frustration in the population. Eventually, the level of frustration will be so high that people will begin to take action in hopes of change. I also learned that there are two sides to a rebellion. One side is not necessarily correct, due to the fact that people have different opinions. However, one side can be more morally correct than the other.

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This video was an extremely eye opening video. It focuses on the life of a girl who lives in an area where there is an active war and has had multiple traumatic life experiences including the death of her two friends in front of her as well as being raped by a man whose job is to protect the people. The purpose of this autobiography is to help people that experienced similar situations realize that they are not alone. It also emphasizes the importance of releasing bottled up emotions and having someone to talk to.

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In Michael Jackson's song, Man in the Mirror, he conveys the idea that people should try to make a change in the world instead of relying on others to do it. He first starts his official music video with videos and images of less fortunate people that are extremely malnourished. These visuals are used as a way to show the extreme hardships some humans face and motivated people to help them out. Michael Jackson uses the lyrics, "I've been a victim of a selfish kind of love it's time that I realize that there are some with no home, not a nickel to loan, to emphasize that people in societies where they are better off are not grateful and focuses a great deal on their own problems. These problems that they worry about are extremely minute to the problems that these less fortunate people face. He uses these lyrics to put a perspective on more fortunate people so that they can realize that they need to be more grateful. He goes on to use the lyrics, "If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself, and then make a change." These lyrics show that in order to make a change, the change must first happen within the person. People shouldn't rely on others to start the change, and should instead take inniative and start it themselves. All in all, Michael Jackson's song, Man in the Mirror, focuses on the unfortunate circumstances that people face and it tries to motivate people that hear the song to make a change.

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Michael Jackson - Man in the Mirror LYRICS HQ

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In Michael Jackson's "Heal the World" it starts off with a world where there are a lot of wars and fighting. The world is portrayed as evil and shows the negative effects that war creates. After showing these scenes, Michael Jackson goes on to sing, "Heal the world make it a better place for you and for me and the entire human race." These lyrics are essential in showing that Jackson is trying to portray the message that there are problems in our world, but they can always be fixed and that people should fix them for the overall benefit of mankind. This song was created as a way to motivate and inspire people to do what's best for mankind. Towards the end of the music video, there are children that are able to run around and soldiers that are beginning to put down their weapons. This goes to show that this video was created as a way to encourage peace and unity. Michael Jackson wants to end wars due to the pain and suffering they cause.

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Sony Music Entertainment Michael Jackson

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Michael Jackson Lionel Richie Cindy Lauper

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Michael Jackson - Heal the World (official video, version 2)

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In loving memory of the King of Pop. Michael Jackson (1958-2009) Rest in peace. 'In a world full of hate, we must still dare to hope. In a world full of anger,we must still dare to comfort. In a world filled with despair, we must still dare to dream.

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This video displays a girl that is forced to go to a concentration camp during the time of the war in Syria. When she goes to the concentration camp not only her life but also the life of her family completely changes. She says that before the concentration camps, her siblings would never want to do any work or play with their hands. Now that these kids are stuck in these concentration camps they have nothing but themselves and each other to entertain themselves. These kids even resort to doing chores. This goes to show the type of conditions that were endured by people at concentration camps. They didn't have anything that could have made their life easier or more enjoyable. The kids didn't have toys to play with and they all had to sleep on a thin mat on the floor. These conditions show that families in concentration camps have the bare minimum. Although concentration camps are negative, the person recording the video makes it clear that it could have some positive effects. The experience of the concentration camp made everyone more grateful as well as forcing them to get out of their comfort zones. For the kids, they were forced to find other forms of entertainment, and for the recorder, she was forced to get over her fear of the dark and being shy. She also explains in the video that she regrets dropping out of school. She left school in 8th grade and now that she is in the concentration camps she realizes how important education is. She hopes to teach her siblings so they don't make the same mistakes.

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Khomeini was the face and architect of the Iranian Revolution. He wanted to serve the people and was not after power. The Revolution would have a wide range of impact on the region and would create an era of conflict between Iran and the West. Khomeini raised the issue of saving Islam and Iran. He saw that we needed to overthrow the Pahlavi Dynasty. He continuously attacked the Shah. Khomeini was against the wide range of reforms, "White Revolution", that changed the laws on land ownership and gave women the right to vote and American Military Personnel in Iran were granted freedom from persecution. Khomeini was exiled but continued to attack the Shah's. He gained a large following that supported the overthrowal of Iran's elite. Everyone saw him as a humble and honest man the didn't care about power. He found sanctuary in Europe. The world was witnessing a first. The leader of an oil-rich country allied with the west was on the brink of being overthrown by revolution led by a quiet simple leader. Communists and socialists began to join the revolutionary movement. The Shah was forced to flee in January 1979. The Revolution had been won. The constitution was written around Khomeini's philosophy which believed that no law would be greater than gods. This idea led him to be a supreme leader. In the beginning, the government was a democracy, but soon Khomeini had the final say in everything. He took pleasure in gaining power and did not care for freedom. In November 1979 university students stormed the American Embassy and took them hostage. They believed they were spies. Khomeini gave his blessings to the embassy attack and because of this, it created tensions. He was villainized by western media. He kept the hostages for 444 days. Because of this Iran was hit with harsh economic and political sanctions. In 1980, with the support of the U.S. Iraq invaded Iran. Khomeini engaged in the war and because of this over a million lives were lost. The Iran and Iraq war lasted for eight years. In 1988 there was a cease-fire. One year after that he passed. Many people believe Khomeini gave identity to Muslims all around the world. Even though he has passed he is still present in Iranian life today.

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The Middle East and North Africa continue to boil in the aftermath of popular uprisings - revolutions that continue to shape Libya, Tunisia and Egypt after the fall of the strongmen running the show.

How the autocratic/theocratic dust settles remains to be seen, but the one revolution in the region that signalled an indisputable sea change was Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, whose 35th anniversary will be celebrated on February 11.

Just how major was the impact of the revolution that saw the ouster of Iran's king, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and the instalment of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini as the supreme leader of the Islamic Republic?

To start with, anyone puzzling over the close relationship between Hezbollah and the Syrian regime needs to look no further than Iran and its role in that arena over the past decades.

"The emergence of Hezbollah in Lebanon, the moral boost provided to Shia forces in Iraq, the regional cold war against Saudi Arabia and Israel, lending an Islamic flavour to the anti-imperialist, anti-American sentiment in the Middle East, and inadvertently widening the Sunni-Shia cleavage, are for me the most important by-products of the Iranian revolution," said Mehrzad Boroujerdi, professor of political science at Syracuse University, when asked for the top five geopolitical events set off by the Iranian revolution.

Regional heavyweight is born

Aside from ridding the country of the monarchy, Iran's revolution also set off a series of events that triggered several conflicts in the region, starting with Iraq's attack on Iran.

"Everything played itself out. There was no way that the spirit of the revolution would have fizzled out inside Iran nor the eagerness of the people for revolutionary change could have been dampened," said Haleh Esfandiari director of the Woodrow Wilson Middle East Program in Washington, DC.

"But then there was Saddam Hussein's invasion of Iran in 1980, which, ironically, strengthened the revolution and fed Iranians the determination to carry the revolution outside Iran's borders," said Esfandiari.

With time, the Islamic Republic's influence reached far and wide.

"Iran's creation of Hezbollah in Lebanon altered Lebanese politics forever, and opened a second front against Israeli ambitions, which had not been imagined," said New-York-based journalist Hooman Majd.

"So undoubtedly Iran has gained influence and strength, and as a nation with an ideology independent of East and West, has to now be considered in any Middle Eastern issues. That in itself is a change in global geopolitics, where before the fall of communism you had an East-versus-West scenario everywhere, including the Middle East, with players lining up on either side, and now you have Iran in the mix."
READ MORE: The Arab, the Iranian, the revolutionary
Had the revolution not taken place, "We'd be looking at a different Middle East," said Gary Sick, former National Security Council analyst on Iran and a professor at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs.

"Basically, the Iranian revolution was an enormous shock to the system, especially in the Persian Gulf... The fact that you had this power coming in with really revolutionary objectives, including an objective to try and overthrow the monarchies - they don't talk about that any more - that scared them to death," said Sick.

That fear set in motion conflicts and alliances that, 35 years later, still shape the region.

For example, Iraq's attack on Iran not only rallied the population around Khomeini, but also served to galvanise a network of those who opposed the Islamic Republic.

"And the Arab world's support of Saddam all the way through, and Saddam's attack, and the spread of that war through the Persian Gulf, and the oil lines in particular, gradually drew the United States into the Middle East," added Sick.

And this too had its consequences: It invited the US as a major military force into the region.

New geopolitical chessboard

Even to those who weren't tracking regional changes, the hostage crisis - where revolutionaries took 52 Americans hostage for 444 days in the barricaded US embassy in Tehran - signalled the start of major hostilities between the US, its allies, and Iran, resulting in, among other things, decades of sanctions.

"It is fair to say that Washington was beginning to get worried about the anti-status-quo messages of the Iranian revolution even before the hostages were taken, but the hostage crisis was a game-changer," said Boroujerdi.

The sanctions that for decades jeopardised Iran's economy and wreaked havoc with the world's oil markets can be traced to the hostage crisis.

"The American political class has never recovered from the shock and humiliation of the hostage crisis. It cast Iran as the face of evil in many American hearts," said journalist Stephen Kinzer, author of several books on US-Middle East relations.

"This anger is the main reason why the US has been so unrelentingly hostile to Iran over three decades," said Kinzer.
READ MORE - Iran: Friend or foe of Arab regimes?
Beyond the anger and humiliation, Majd said one of the seismic results of the Iranian revolution was that it forced the US into building a military presence in the region.

"Up until the Iranian revolution, the United States had been very reluctant, under [President] Jimmy Carter, to create a base in the Middle East... The revolution changed their calculus," said Majd.

And how.

The US had almost no military presence in the Gulf area until about 1986. Now it has a base in almost every country in the region.

"[Increased US military presence] started with the Iran-Iraq war, and stepped up when Saddam Hussein made the incredibly stupid mistake to invade Kuwait in 1989, and that drew the United States in a major way and we never stopped maintaining our presence there," said Sick.

The US troops he drew into the region, said Sick, ultimately played a role when the US decided to invade Iraq in 2003.

"The irony, in turn, is that the United States invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan eliminated Iran's two biggest rivals in the region [the Taliban and Saddam Hussein] and left Iran as the most important player, which is why the Arabs are so scared. And yeah, all that started with the revolution."

Arab Spring legacy?

So far, there is no indication that any of the uprisings in the Arab countries will follow the Iranian model, even though, as Boroujerdi puts its, "The lasting impact of the Iranian revolution was the empowerment of Islamic groups which could now begin to envision themselves as rulers, rather than merely the opposition."

Esfandiari rejects any assertion that Iran has become a model for other revolutions in the region.

"What Iran did was give a lot of inspiration to the people on the streets for three decades before the Arab Spring started... because the Islamic Republic stood up to the United States and stood up to Israel, and doesn't shy away from expressing its views, over the years, on Saudi Arabia, on Jordan, on the Persian Gulf countries," she told Al Jazeera.
READ MORE - Iran: Paranoid or under siege?
But things changed after the Iranian government's harsh crackdowns on the opposition Green Movement in wake of the disputed 2009 presidential elections , which saw Mahmoud Ahmadinejad take his second term in office.

"I think after 2009, this changed among the people. I think the people in the region who watched the brutal suppression on the streets of Iran were taken aback and changed their minds.

"After that, nobody wanted to imitate Iran."

From revolution to 'evolution'

Looking at the ever-shifting sands in Iran, it is only logical to wonder if the constant struggle to define the Islamic Republic means what started decades ago is still rolling towards either a more moderate or conservative state.

"No, I don't believe this revolution is yet complete. The formation of a theocracy was both novel and anachronistic, and it will take more time for its ramifications to play themselves out," said Boroujerdi.

"The revolution has upgraded the level of political sophistication of the citizenry and it has given birth to new institutions that are still in their early stages. Iranian politics has become 'real' as a result of the revolution and this permanency has become the new 'normal', which we need to get used to," he added.

Sick said Iran's revolution is unusual in that it has gone from a revolution to an evolution - "that is, from ultra-radical positions that they took in the first two, three or four years to a much more moderate, pragmatic position. With this recent agreement on the nuclear issue... this is their effort to become a normal country that actually participates in the world", said Sick.

"But look... revolutions take a long time. They change things, they throw things up in the air - and then things begin to settle and you never know how it's going to settle and how things will work themselves out."
Follow D. Parvaz on Twitter: @dparvaz

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Iran 1979: the Islamic revolution that shook the world

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The Middle East and North Africa continue to boil in the aftermath of popular uprisings - revolutions that continue to shape Libya, Tunisia and Egypt after the fall of the strongmen running the show.

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The Iran Revolution began in 1979. These revolutions were aimed at getting rid of the Pahlavi Dynasty. The 1979 Revolution didn't start out to create an Islamic state. It was a typical uprising by dissatisfied Iranians to overthrow a government that they perceived as corrupt and unresponsive to their needs. They were dissatisfied with economic inequality and political repression and a corrupt regime. The first part of the Iranian revolution was relatively peaceful protests followed by a government crackdown, followed by more protests the eventually led to the collapse of the monarchy. Many historians believe these protests were over the discontent over living conditions, pay cuts, and the threat of unemployment fused with the general disillusionment and anger with the regime instead of over Islam. The new Islamic Republic of Iran was based on Khomeini's idea about what an Islamic government should be. Khomeini is an Iranian politician that led the 1979 Iranian Revolution and overthrew the last Shah of Iran. It was based on a principle he called velayat-e faqih meaning a sharia law scholar would have ultimate authority because he was the most knowledgeable about the law. There would be a legislature and a president and a prime minister, but any of their decisions could be overturned by Khomeini, the Supreme Ruler. Iran is not a democracy. Khomeini was giving supreme power.

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Iran's Revolutions: Crash Course World History 226

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Allegories in Nursery Rhymes like Animal Farm

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Allegories in Nursery Rhymes like Animal Farm

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Three Little Pigs, Humpty Dumpty, Little Red Riding Hood, and Ring Around the Roses are all nursery rhymes that convey a lesson.

Ring Around the Roses is a nursery rhyme about the bubonic plague. It uses lines like, "Ring around the Rosie" and "Pockets full of Posies" to show how the people would deal with the disease by using plants to either treat the disease or mask the disease and the people that died to it. The lines "ashes ashes they all fall down" are meant to show how everyone died to it and when they did die the bodies were burned. This nursery rhyme was composed to keep a lookout for the plague.

Little Red Riding Hood is a story of coming of age and this is seen through how Little Red Riding Hood leaves her home and goes through the forest. This story is about the sexual relationship between women and man. In this story, the wolf represents man and how women should be wary of man. They are expected to be chaste.

In the Three Little Pigs, the author used this nursery rhyme to convey the messages of being smart with your resources, planning ahead, not trying to cut corners, because in the long run cutting corners will come back and hurt you. It is also a twist on the "Parable of Prodigal Son" in the Bible. In this story, the old man gives his money to his three sons. Two of the sons were very smart with their money whereas one of the sons waste all his money and returns home in shame. When he returns home his father welcomes him back because he knows that his son knows his mistakes and regrets it.

Humpty Dumpty about this idea of civil war. It shows how we can wreck our nation and once Humpty Dumpty breaks it is hard to put everything together again just like how when a country is united it is hard to reunite it.

People use nursery rhymes that are seen to target kids to teach morals, and historical events in a new way. In this different style, it is more complex and has a much larger impact.

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War, Power, Education, Survival, and Rebellion in Animal Farm

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War, Power, Education, Survival, and Rebellion in Animal Farm

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Overall the out of these five topics Orwell is critically advocating for education. He tries to show the necessity of education. It's not just education, but as well as the ability to think critically and the skill to hold people accountable and question them.

War - One key idea that surrounds Animals Farm is the idea of war. Throughout the book, there are many battles between the animals and the humans to represent the wars. The idea of war is further shown through having the character represent well known Russian dictators that gained their power through wars/battles like Trotsky through Snowball and Stalin through Napoleon. George Orwell even goes as far as showing how war exploits the civilians as they were the ones that had to fight the battles.

Power: Power is another key topic in this story. This story focuses on the power struggle between Napoleon and Snowball and how Napoleon goes to great depths to force Snowball out to establish himself as the sole leader. Orwell uses the power struggle to emphasize man's great desire for power and the lengths they are willing to go to achieve it.

Education - Although education is not the main point in Animal Farm it is still quite prevalent. All the animals have the chance to get an education and those that have the highest level of education are the pigs. The pigs use their education to assert their power, whereas those that don't have a great education blindly follow those with an education. This is key in showing that those with an education and are intelligent have the most power.

Survival - Survival is discussed in Animal Farm through how the animals blindly follow the pigs. They listen to everything the pigs say because they are persuaded into thinking that the conditions they are currently living in are much better than the conditions they lived in when Mr. Jones was in charge. They are also influenced to believe that if they don't listen then Mr. Jones will come back. Orwell uses this to explore the idea that when people's lives can be affected negatively they will do anything to prevent it from happening.

Rebellion - The idea of rebellion is what starts Animal Farm, but the emphasis on it soon disappears and is instead replaced by the ideas of war and power. The idea of rebellion is seen at the very beginning where Old Major encourages the animals to overthrow Mr. Jones. Orwell uses this to represent the Communist Revolution in Russia and how they overthrew the Tsar. Through the rebellions in Animal Farm Orwell conveys the idea that as conditions worsen, eventually it will reach a point that is unbearable forcing people to do whatever is necessary to improve their conditions.

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What message is conveyed through the song/lyrics?

Through this song, the Black Eyed Peas convey the message that we have to unite ourselves as one regardless of race and class, because we are all people. Fighting each other does us no good. One of their lyrics is, "But if you only got love for your own race, then you're gonna leave space for others to discriminate." These lyrics are crucial in showing what was happening at the time the song was created. During this time there was a lot of racial segregation. The African Americans felt that they were targeted and being treated unfairly. The people would support their own race and hate on the opposing races. The Black Eyed Peas are saying that if people are able to support all races and groups than there wouldn't be discrimination. When the Black Eyed Peas sing, "Black lives not now, Everybody matter to me," it is clear that they want people to unite with one another and not be separated by their race. They are trying to convey that black people should not only support other black people, but as well as other races and groups. These groups shouldn't discriminate against the African Americans either.

How is this relevant to what we are studying/this unit?

This is relevant to our studies of war and survival because this song focuses on spreading love and uniting people rather than hating other groups and fighting them. The novels we have been reading revolve around the concept of war and the consequences of it. This song conveys the idea that war doesn't get us anywhere.

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The Black Eyed Peas - Where Is The Love?

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Through his social political references and events what is he saying?

Throughout this song Billy Joel makes multiple references to wars, dictators, and scientific discoveries. After these allusions he goes on to say "we didn't start the fire." I think Joel is trying to imply that wars, dictators, and scientific discoveries have begun ever since humans were created. Although these ideas were really common during his time, he understands that this is not necessarily human's fault. Joel is implying that these ideas are a part of human nature and that they will continue long after his generation passes.

How is he using the social political references?

Joel is using social political references to highlight key parts in history such as war, important figures,  new scientific discoveries, etc. Joel covers almost everything in society including political figures, scandals, movies, actors, science, sports, athletes, etc. He highlights all of the big things in society from 1950's to 1990's.

What is critical about the refrain that we didn't start the fire (chorus)?

The refrain is critical, because it connects the song and through it, it is able to convey a message.

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"War is Peace"
"Ignorance is Strength"
"Freedom is slavery

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Previous Understanding on War, Power, Education, Survival, and Rebellion

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Previous Understanding on War, Power, Education, Survival, and Rebellion

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War:
- War is often fought because of a conflict in ideas.
- War is often portrayed in literature.
- In almost every literature war is portrayed as something that is bad and the themes that are portrayed in these works have to deal with the idea that people shouldn't get involved in war.
- Military is one of the most powerful industries worldwide.
- The idea of war is important, because it is a crisis that relates to the real world, and from war many lessons can be taught that prove to be beneficial to society.

Power:
-  The idea of power and the struggle for power is a common idea in many works of literature.
- People fight over power because they want to be in control
- It can become a corrupting influence.

Education:
- When I think of education my mind focuses on the education of kids and how education can be used as a way to rise up in the social status.
- Everyone should have an education.
- An education is required to be a key member of society.
- Need education in order for innovation
- There are positive and negative effects to innovation.

Survival:
-  "Survival of the fittest" and "Every person for themselves"
-  The only thing that is on a person's mind is to live
- When people have the survival mindset, they are willing to do anything. They are desperate to live and are willing to break any laws do anything just to get by.
- This instinct kicks in when a person's life is in danger.

Rebellion:
- When I think of rebellions I think of two sides with one side having a lot more power than the other side.
- The weaker side is usually oppressed and eventually they get sick of it and try to better their situation by overthrowing the stronger side.

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Depeche Mode - People Are People Reflection

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Depeche Mode - People Are People Reflection

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1. What is the song about? What message are they trying to convey?

This song is about the hatred a person feels from another person. The person receiving the hate doesn't understand the reason for him getting the hated on and he wants to get along. Depeche Mode is trying to convey the message that people should attempt to get along with people and there is no good reason to hate someone. They use the lyrics, "People are people so why should it be, You and I should get along so awfully" By using the word "should" it implies that people did not get along with each other. These lyrics are used to inspire people to attempt to get along with each other because they are all humans. Depeche Mode also use the lyrics, "I can't understand What makes a man Hate another man Help me understand." These lyrics provide a negative connotation on the hating of other people. They use these lyrics to encourage people to not hate one another.

2. In what way do you think this song is relevant today?

I think this song is extremely relevant today, because currently a lot of people are receiving hate due to their ethnicity and religion. One group of people that has received a lot of undeserved hate recently are Muslims. They are hated on because of the actions of a minute percentage of their religions has commited.  This song connects to this situation, because it can encourage people to get along with and not hate on others.