Ape Land

The world that we live in can have many challenges; such as, the censorship in media or the ongoing war in Iraq. Imagining a world in a worse state than the one we live in today is to imagine a world that has many problems. Boulles Planet of the Apes is a world that has Apes rule over Humans. The book is a science fiction novel that mirrors our own society. Crucial topics are presented in this novel: the role language plays in our society, social behavior from interaction, power and authority in culture and the inevitable fate of man. The dystopia of apes ruling over humans depicted in Planet of the Apes made such an impact in literary history because it is a reflection of our own society that moves us towards change. The novel addresses issues that society deals with in relation to government control to the inevitable fate of humanity that is developed in language and social behavior; a mirroring that ultimately empowers its readers towards change. This type of empowerment is not depicted in Disney movies such as; The Little Mermaid, Pocahontas, and Cinderella.

Language in American society is a key element in communicating with one another. The ability to communicate through speech is a strong distinction between humans and animals which differentiates the level of intelligence between humans and any other species. In Planet of the Apes, Ulysses has to learn the language of the apes to be able to create a connection with Zira (female ape who helps Ulysses). In the original film, Taylor is not able to speak because of an injury and then after healing from the injury connects with Zira through speaking English. It is this language and this form of intelligence that allows both Ulysses and Taylor to communicate to the apes; showing the apes that he is a human who is unique from the other humans who cannot speak. Ulysses states, “I have found in Nova and that I now saw in all others: a lack of conscious thought; the absence of intelligence” (41). Just like in our own world, intelligence is key and often times are represented by language. Ulyssses/Taylor learns how to communicate with the apes as he fights to have his voice heard.

In The Little Mermaid, Ariel is a mermaid who turns human to pursue her love interest. By turning human, Ariel loses her voice and has to find a way to communicate with the humans. She has to connect with Prince Eric before her time is up or she will forever be imprisoned. At the end, Ariel does not connect with Prince Eric but is saved by her father’s love and lives happily with her true love. Here, language is also essential in communication as we see Ariel’s character develop in the movie. However, after Ariel fails her goal to win over Prince Eric she is saved by her father and this differs from the real world since there are serious consequences when the lack of communication occurs. As in Planet of the Apes, if Ulysses did not learn the language of the Apes he would never had to opportunity to deliver his message across. And in the film, if Taylor did not fix his injury the apes would have stil regarded him as an ‘animal’. Language is an essential part of being human. Ariel is stripped of her voice and does not regain her voice to win over Prince Eric but instead of suffering the consequences, she is saved by her father.

The villain Ursula tells Ariel, “Now, here's the deal...Before the sun sets on the third day, you've got to get dear ol' princey to fall in love with you.” Here, it is declared that there is an agreement being made and as part of the agreement, consequences will occur if not fulfilled. As mentioned, Ariel does not fulfill the agreement, but instead of facing the consequences, she instead is saved by her father. In real life, consequences do occur and people learn from their mistakes as a way to be better and stronger. Ariel thinks to herself, “But without my voice, how can I...” Here, we see that Ariel does hesitate before making the agreement with Ursula but ultimately makes the decision to trade her voice to be human. At the end, Ariel is saved by her father and her father banishes Ursula and turns Ariel permanently human. In contrast with Planet of the Apes, Ulysses/Taylor fights to have that forum to convey to the apes that he has the abaility to speak and therefore is an intelligent human being.

Planet of the Apes also uses language as a way to identify self. Taylor states, “I'm a seeker too. But my dreams aren't like yours. I can't help thinking that somewhere in the universe there has to be something better than man.” Here, Taylor thinks about other possible beings that are better than man. In our world the exploration of the universe is to find other life forms out there. There are other ways of identifying “self” in American society. The general public defines themselves through the media and this becomes a problem when the media is not always accurate. The Federal Communications Commission regulates what is seen and what is heard in the media. Censorship is portrayed as a way to keep the public under control in eg. emergency situations. But sometimes censorship can lead to lack of information that causes adverse effects. This relates to the Planet of the Apes because as Taylor tries to communicate with the Apes he goes through a whole process, only to find out that Dr. Zaius has known all along about mankind’s capabilities. Dr. Zaius purposefully censors this information to shelter the other apes. It is important that accurate knowledge is brought out so that the public can make consciously driven actions. People seek the truth in order to push towards change and in Planet of the Apes having a the voice to speak is key to being free from imprisonment. Developing language is one way to socially interact with people and the world around us.

Social interactions are pertinent to human and ape interactions. In Planet of the Apes, a type of social interaction is apparent through science experiments and through imitation. When Ulysses encounters Professor Antelle in a cage, he discovers that Professor Antelle has adapted to the other humans as a non-intelligent being and states, “I watched him while he was doing this, and there was nothing in his attitude to reveal his true nature” (160). At this point, Professor Antelle imitates the other humans and behaves unlike his true nature. The same way the apes have imitated our own world by putting humans in a cage is the same way Professor Antelle imitates being an animal in this dystopic world. In these excerpts, it is hard for Ulysses to reach a connection with Professor Antelle and this struggle makes it difficult for him to reach a form of connection with his former friend. Ulysses, further states, “My self-respect notes with satisfaction that apes have invented nothing, that they are mere imitators” (217). Here, it is pointed out that the apes in this planet have imitated what they have seen in the past from human behavior. This is similar to infants who imitate language from their surroundings and parents. At the end of the book Nova learns from Sirius how to speak, Ulysses stating “today Sirius talks fluently and Nova almost as well” (264). Ulysses is proud of this moment when Nova develops language. In our own society, an infant’s first words are also a proud moment. More so, Ulysses finds himself feeling a sense of gratification after Nova starts to socially interact and after all his hard work he has a sense of connection with Nova.

In Pocahontas, Pocahontas is part of an Native American tribe who is visited by settlers and amongst these settlers is John Smith. The settlers want to take over the land and push Pocahontas' tribe away. At the end Pocahontas succeeds in teaching John Smith to respect the land, trees, and animals. Here, we see that if nurtured properly we can understand each other and respect one another. In Planet of the Apes, Professor Antelle is changed to have lack of intelligence while he is caged like an animal. Ulysses struggles with losing his former friend and continues his search to find a human connection. In Pocahontas, John Smith does gain understanding towards the land of the Natives American Tribe, and with the help of Pocahontas develops a better understanding. However, often times in our society through misuse of power, this type of understanding is never accomplished. Here, we see it is easier to reach an understanding between Pocahontas and John Smith.

John Smith states, “We've improved the lives of savages all over the world.” Pocahontas questions his use of the term "savage" and John Smith defines the word "savage" as people who are uncivilized. Later he learns to respect the trees and animals under a new perspective. And through this new understanding, peace is created between the settlers and Indian Tribe. Pocahontas states to her father, “I won't! I love him, Father... This is where the path of hatred has brought us.” Pocahontas is also challenging her father to choose a path that is more peaceful instead of a path that is violent. Here, we see that with two opposing sides there needs to be understanding. In our own world it is important to be knowledgeable of both sides and fight for the change that is best for the overall well being of society. However, it is often a hard and rigorous path to reach understanding. John Smith states, “They're not savages. They can help us. They know the land. They know how to navigate the rivers.” Here, John Smith changes his view on what the word "savages" means. It is doubtful that he would have changed his view without the influence of Pocahontas. So in this sense this is a good thing yet not realistic. In Planet of the Apes, both Taylor and Ulysses have to strive on their own and although they have help from the female ape Zira, both characters still go through many obstacles as they fight for their freedom and existence.

Taylor also talks about a sense of social interaction, “Imagine me needing someone. Back on Earth I never did. Oh, there were women... Lots of love-making but no love. So I left, because there was no one to hold me there.” At this point we see that Taylor does not develop any bonds with people on earth so he travels. In Disney movies love is the key element in the plot. But love does not always provide all the answers. In Planet of the Apes, Taylor meets Nova as his potential companion but still is not able to communicate with her. He is able to communicate with the female ape Zira. Similar to real life we also have various types of connections. And we find ways to connect through social interacttion and this creates better understanding and the push to change. In American history, the colonists took over the lands of the Native Americans and broke any type of relation. In Planet of the Apes we see Taylor/Ulysses character try to connect with Nova and Zira; he finds more of a connection with Zira although Nova is the human. Whereas in Pocahontas, we see that Pocahontas and John Smith’s love is ultimately what helps them develop a type of understanding quicker. In our own society, we go through several struggles with our fellow mankind; the same struggles that we see Ulysses and Taylor go through. These struggles and challenges is what helps push towards a better world. The misuse of power can create a road block in this road towards change; however, this misuse of power never stops eventual change from happening.

Power and Authority are also portrayed in Planet of the Apes, as in our own world through government. Ulysses while trying to connect with the apes states, “But there was nothing I could do to convince the orangutan” (103). Here the orangutan does not want to believe that Ulysses really is an intelligent being. In the book and in the film the orangutans want to preserve 'apehood' and are not open to humans potential capacity of having intelligence because they are afraid of humans taking over. In our own society, the government also keeps certain information away from the public as a form of control. Not knowing information may be helpful so the public will not go into chaos especially in emergency situations. But overall it is best to be aware of all forms of knowledge because this is the only way to know the truth no matter how harsh. Taylor/Ulysses works hard to fight the powers that be, the Orangutans.



In Cinderella, Cinderella has two step sisters and a step mother. The step mother abuses her power and treats Cinderella like a slave instead of treating her like a daughter. Luckily, Cinderella has a fairy godmother who creates for her a beautiful dress and glass slippers so she can attend the ball. At the end, Cinderella is stripped of her magical apparel and is left only with the glass slippers. The wicked stepmother prevents her from being involved with the Prince but is saved by the glass slippers. In our own society, government does have a control over the country and as seen in the Planet of the Apes, power can be abused by authority. In Planet of the Apes, Ulysses has to leave and Taylor is shunned away; they both have to work hard to find refuge. Cinderella does not work hard to gain her happy ending, instead she is saved by her fairy godmother.

Fairy godmother states, “Nonsense, child… If you'd lost all your faith, I couldn't be here. And here I am.” Cinderella loses her faith and the fairy godmother helps cheer her up. In life people do obtain support to get back from their mishaps; however, it is through our own efforts that really make that difference. Taylor in the movie makes a public speech to convince the Orangutans about his intelligence. In Cinderella, the Fairy godmother states a limitation, “You must understand, my dear: On the stroke of twelve, the spell will be broken, and everything will be as it was before.” Here, there is a limitation that is in the magic spell; however, Cinderella still gets to keep glass slippers. The glass slippers ultimate lead Prince Charming back with Cinderella. Ulysses in the book gets to travel back to Planet of Earth only to discover that the apes are more advanced and is left with another predicament. In life there is always a type of harsh reality to face and is not as simple as Disney films portray. Disney perpetuates an acceptance of inaccurate realities; whereas, Planet of the Apes shows more of a precise reality in reflection to our own.

In the Planet of the Apes, Taylor has a hard time with power and authority, more specifically with Dr. Zaius who states, “You are right, I have always known about man...He must be a warlike creature who gives battle to everything around him, even himself.” Here, we see that Dr. Zaius is aware of man all along but see that human’s emotions rule over his emotions and is ultimately doomed to his own demise. There is this struggle in Planet of the Apes. And in Disney films there is this struggle seen between Cinderella and her step mother but Cinderella is saved by her godmother. In Planet of the Apes Taylor has to find a way to get through Dr. Zaius and does not have such an easy path. In current times, Obama is trying to create change, as he tries to send troops back home or tries to improve the quality of healthcare. Obama would benefit from seeing Planet of the Apes versus Cinderella because he would see power and authority as a mirror reflection similar to our society. Whereas, in Cinderella he would only see that Cinderella’s problems are easily fixed for her. Making changes in our own world takes a lot of time and energy and Planet of the Apes gives a better interpretation of this process towards change. The idea that we must work hard in order to challenge the status quo is the idea towards being proactive.

The inevitable fate of man is an interesting topic both in the real world and in the Planet of the Apes. The real world has the potential to go towards self destruction through for example, pollution or to engaging in war. In the film Taylor acknowledges that humans destroy themselves as he discovers he has been in earth all along. In the book, Ulysses travels to another planet only to encounter more advanced apes. In the film the discovery that humans destroy civilization causes the rise of the apes. And in the novel, that apes eventually rise to the higher form of society, leaving humans even more inferior. The irony here is that although man pushes towards change, the inevitable fate of man is self destruction.

In Beauty and the Beast, the Beast is turned into the Beast to be taught a lesson since he was not kind. Belle is imprisoned by the Beast; the Beast hoping that Belle would fall in love with him so the spell would be broken. At the end, Belle does fall in love with the Beast and the Beast is then turned back into the Prince. Again we see a happy ending. In contrast, in the Planet of the Apes, we see the endings being either the discovery of a world of Apes that are more developed or a world that is actually earth. The “beast” in human nature is harder to overcome than depicted in the movie Beauty and the Beast; sometimes love is not enough. Although this implication has its own ironies similar the ironies of man destroying themselves.

In Beauty and the Beast, the Beast is helped by Ms. Potts to win over Belle, “Be gentle, Be sincere.” Throughout the movie Beast does end up changing into someone gentler. The beast ultimately changes to be a better person, irregardless of Belle helping him. The Beast in this sense ends up finding his gentler nature. As in Planet of the Apes, when Taylor sees the Statue of Liberty, the discovery of mans own self destruction is revealed. In Beauty of Beast, the happy ending is that through the hands of love he changes and becomes more human. Belle states, “I love you” and ultimately saving the Beast from himself and this breaks the spell. In real life there is this type of support and care that saves us from our own selves. And although this change is not as simple as what is being depicted in Disney films, through hard work, sometimes love does triumph and love does conquer.

“You Maniacs! You blew it up! Ah, damn you! God damn you all to hell,” Taylor proclaims. This is when he discovers that man has destroyed Earth into oblivion. The inevitable fate of man is towards destruction. Irony is displayed here, in a sense that although people push for change, the inevitable result sometimes is towards a worser state. There is always a push for change under new leadership, yet history tells of repeated mistakes. Time and time again humanity repeats the same mistakes. Change is necessary to have a better world and humans are capable of doing good and with the book Planet of Apes, it gives us an awareness that we need to push for change. However, the inevitable fate of man is seen in our world as we continue to pursue war. In our history we have seen the destruction that war creates, yet nations still pursue war. It seems that in this sense humanity is doomed to repeat the same mistakes and in Planet of the Apes, this is ironic in a sense that although humans push towards change it results in ultimate demise.

Overall, language is essential in identifying self in both our world and in the world in Planet of the Apes. Social interaction is important criteria as a way to have a type of connection with one another. Power and Authority are in all aspects of any formed civilization. And the fate of man is dependent with the will of man. The will of man is not depicted accurately in Disney. Disney movies portrays unrealistic realities, leaving its viewers satistied to accept the status quo. In the Planet of the Apes the dystopic world is presented as a mirror reflection of our own world; which motivates people to be proactive and fight for change. Although the fate of man may still lead to ultimate destruction, the will to change gives a sense of hope.

Works Cited
Boulle, Pierre. Planet of the Apes. France: Livre de Roche, 1963.
Dir Schaffner, Franklin. Planet of the Apes. 20th Century Fox, 1968.
Dirs Gabriel, Mike and Goldberg, Eric. Pocahontas. Walt Disney Pictures, 1995.
Dirs Trousdale, Gary and Wise, Kirk. Beauty and the Beast. Walt Disney Pictures, 1991.
Dirs Geronimi, Clyde and Luske, Hamilton. Cinderella. Walt Disney and RKO Radio Pictures, 1950.
Dirs Clements, Ron and Musker, John. Little Mermaid. Walt Disney Pictures and Buena Vista Distribution, 1989.
“Memorable Quotes for Pocahontas.” Pocahontas (1995) – Memorable quotes. 9 Dec. 2009,
“Memorable Quotes for Beauty and the Beast.” Beauty and the Beast (1991) – Memorable quotes. 9 Dec. 2009,
“Memorable Quotes for Cinderella.” Cinderella (1950) – Memorable quotes. 9 Dec. 2009,
“Memorable Quotes for the Little Mermaid.” The Little Mermaid (1989) – Memorable quotes. 9 Dec. 2009,
“Memorable Quotes for Planet of the Apes.” Planet of the Apes (1968) – Memorable quotes. 9 Dec. 2009,

Cyborg as a Metaphor

A cyborg is an organism that is a self-regulating integration of artificial and natural systems. The boundaries that are transgressed via this metaphor are that a cyborg cannot fully be artificial and cannot fully be natural. Although a cyborg can sort of have the best of both the human experience and machine capabilities- it can neither be fully human or machine. “The cyborg is a matter of fiction and lived experience that changes what counts as women’s experience in the late twentieth century. This is a struggle over life and death, but the boundary between science fiction and social reality is an optical illusion (Haraway, 1). Here, when I think of the experiences of women there is an illusion in a sense that some experiences are from under societies own labels on women roles and the reality of these experiences stems from these labels. Labels such as- women having to stay home to take care of children are now changed to a new movement for women to also work outside the home. The decision to be a stay at home mother or to be a working mother should be a decision made by the woman. Yet under a capitalistic society the pressure to make money has to fall on someone and sometimes the decision becomes the lost relationships in family ties due to both parents working outside the home.

Haraway would rather be a cyborg than a goddess. To this I can see how being a woman who has the woman experiences and also being a woman who is needed in the work field is more ideal than being a woman who is just idolized.

Iron Heel

I just wanted to comment a little about Ernest Everhard’s character.
Upon reading a few chapters- I can see how Avis is captured by him.
Ernest challenges the upper class and looks from the view of the working class. He states towards the great thinkers, “You are sincere… But should you change your belief to something that menaces the established order, your preaching would be unacceptable to your employers” (London,22). Here, Ernest understands that the capitalist class is sincere and pushes to do the best under capitalistic eyes but not under the view of a working class. It is interesting to me because it makes me question power and authority. How can change occur when the main people in control are those that cannot relate to the people that are in need of benefiting from the proposed changes? I think that when thinking about who we choose to lead- we should push to put in charge someone who has experienced what he or she is trying to change. Then, change can be beneficial to those that need it the most and the “employers” will have to accept a new order- one that has the everyone’s best intentions.

Premodern Moral Order vs. Modern

Taylor’s understanding of premodern moral order to modern moral order has to do with Plato’s premodern pursuit of excellence by being virtuous as an ideal versus the modern pursuit of security and prosperity, helping ourselves which in turn helps others. For Plato, the highest forms of reality are those that are non-material that philosophers can only understand (9). In the premodern moral order perspective, I can understand that when a hierarchy is endangered it is revealed because it threatens the natural order of things. At present time, Taylor points out that “security and prosperity are now the principle goals of organized society (13). In addition to this perspective, as individuals prosper, in turn others also benefit from their prosperity. In Taylor’s modern moral order I observe in daily interactions that life is based in the pursuit of success. The view that, if I succeed then my family who supported me succeeds and it is this security that will ensure prosperity for those around me. The mentality of having good work ethics and working hard to have a good life is important to ultimate success. I do think that there are other virtues that are important; for example being helpful towards a friend in need or helping out the community. However, sometimes there is no time for these virtuous acts- there is no time to help the community in need especially if one has to work or go to school to earn more money. And as this type of modern moral order continues the outlook of our future will continue to be a push for success through capitalistic eyes.

Social Imaginaries

When reading “Social Imaginaries” it made me question where my practices come from? Do they come from my own personal beliefs or do they come from the practices that already exist in my normative life? Taylor focuses on, “imagination” as a way that people see their world and these social imaginaries are not told in theories/doctrines but are told in stories and legends (23). I recall that when growing up education was a major influence as far as shaping my own self-discipline to do well in school, yet the practice of having good work ethics was already established before I went to school. I can’t recall a time in my life that having good ethics was ever officially taught to me, I have always known it as a skill to be developed. Practices are passed down from generation to generation and the “economy” we see today comes from our own ways of seeing the world around us. Taylor states that “the new practice, with the implicit understanding that it generates, can be the basis of the modications of modern theory, which in turn can inflect practice” (30). As a point to this, I grew up under the Catholic tradition which was passed down by my family’s beliefs and although there is a part of Catholicism that I still hold on to, I started inquiring about other belief systems and explored the religion of Buddhism (even read a book that looked into the benefits of both religions). The way I live my life is to be good person and at the same time to be a mindful person, these types of practices comes from the beliefs of two already existing religions which has transformed for me over time from family traditions to my encountering of my own atmosphere.

Consumers and the Public

For the most part, I can see where Adorno is coming from when he states, “The triumph of advertising in the culture industry is that consumers feel compelled to buy and use its products even though they see through them.” Today there is a lot of pressure to be a certain way and teenagers to young adults of varying ages all want to fit into an ideal. We buy products to be like movie stars or models we see in television or in movies. And our society facilitates this through advertising and this way of being is deeply rooted in our culture. However, there are those rare occasions where television steps away from the ideal; for example, plus size models who are confident and strong and talk shows that converse about inner beauty and the importance of being a secure individual.Next, I can also see where Benjamin is coming form when he states, “The public is an examiner, but an absent-minded one.” The public attends a movie to be entertained or to relax and with all the special effects the audience engages in the movie but often times does not play close attention to details on what the movie is portraying or the message beyond the technology. Although, I have often seen films that from a critical point of view have had meaning, purpose and a message to say about current times. I have also spoken to individuals about there own views of certain films and individuals who really took the time to dive into the artistry of the film. So in some cases, the public is an examiner and at the same time fully attentive to the sequences of the film.

Boulle

Week 5

Boulle’s Planet of the Apes has a resemblance to our own civilization. This is most likely the reason why readers can relate to Planet of the Apes more than 1984. In Planet of the Apes, there are various topics explored; such as, Social Behavior, Self Identity, Power and Authority. And in the original film there are similarities in the book that are addressed and there are also differences.

Social Behavior and Self Identity are key topics in our own society because we are conscious beings that have the need to analyze why we behave the way that we do and the need to figure out our own existence. In Planet of the Apes, the apes experiment on humans to identify social behavior. At this point of the book, I wonder to myself if experimentation is the only real way to identify behavior? In my own interaction with people- I’ve experienced that we can also identify characteristics of behavior through friendships and ties built over time.

Power and authority are also huge topics in our own society. In Planet of the Apes, the Gorillas, Orangutans and Chimpanzees have a certain type of power. Power and authority makes me think of how all civilizations need to have some sort of control to be able to run a certain way. And with this notion- I think that types of labels will be put into effect because there is always going to be a need for someone with authority to lead and others to follow.

The Planet of the Apes book has one key difference to the original film that I’d like to address. In the book Ulysse still needs to learn the language of the apes to communicate while in the film Taylor talks English which is the same language the apes use. This is probably due to a limitation of the film perspective but I think is important as the complexity of language is used for communication. Overall, language being key factor to what makes us dominant from life forms that are not able to talk or speak.

Eugenics

Week 4

There many questions we need to ask ourselves with regards to Eugenics and New Genetics. The idea of perfection evolves over time. Sciences boost up plastic surgery and our need to reach perfection. Although with Science comes inventions that can also be advantageous for humans. For example, the invention of hybrid cars that are environmentally friendly. It is important to acknowledge the part of science that is beneficial and the part of science that is not as beneficial. I do agree that acceptance of our own selves is important when judging what is important to change about ourselves and what is best to leave in its original state. Overall, we live in a type of society that will always push to be greater and grander. What is important is to know is what is valuable and hold on to this value regardless of what is found new.

Utopia reversed- Howe

Week 3

I think that sex and sexism will never go out of style. I also think that sexism is always going to be controversial because the sexes have differing roles and personalities. And ‘speaking of the mind’ happens with controversy especially when self-interests are put into play. As far as the future, I also hope that sexism or racism is less of an issue. However, it will take a lot of awareness and consciousness amongst peoples in various societies for the issue to decrease. And I’m sure there will be another issue to tackle if it’s not the issue of racism or sexism. It is a good point that being a “housewife” used to be a style and now women have careers. Although women still get paid less than men in the corporate world. Back to my previous point, that there will always be something that we need to tackle as changes in trends occur over time. Overall, I do agree that it’s important to take into account history so we can all have better mind sets in present time. And although there will always be challenges to overcome- we as society I think learn something important for the future from generation to generation.

A Type of Writer

Week 2
Upon reading O’Flinn on Orwell I contemplated about the kind of writer/poet people choose to be in a society. People either choose to be the kind of artist that reflects the current events in a society or the kind of artist that expresses the conflicts they may be going through in a society. I would like to believe that artist, writers or poets choose to express themselves on what they have experienced from society and at the same time reveal any challenges that he or she maybe facing in a society. The artist or poet who conveys the current events of a society is a poet that depicts a subjective historical point of view. This type of writing reveals the feelings and emotions of what he or she is experiencing at that given time. From this perspective it maybe one-sided to the experiences of the poet; nevertheless, still can be useful to the understanding of an individuals experiences of that time. The artist or poet who conveys the conflicts of a society also provides some sort of context to the reader because he/she is giving an insight on the experiences that has occurred. For example, if a poet is to write about economical problems that occur at present day- he/she may express about the difficulty of keeping a job and reveals the economical status of people in current society. At close, a poet can express occurrences of a society and the conflicts he/she is experiencing- and can be valuable to the reader because it provides awareness on past societies and individual experiences. Overall, poetry and literature is influences by a society one way or another.

Is Utopia Possible?

Week 1

After reading The Politics of Utopia by Jameson- I find myself asking if Utopia is really possible. Utopia is defined as a perfect place. The world we live in is not close to perfect. We have emotions such as- anger, sadness and jealousy that lead to quarrels and misunderstandings. Overall, I think that people are too different and it is too difficult to find a "perfect state" with so many differing views. I actually think that living in a world with so many different people makes the world that more interesting. If everyone was the same then it would be an uninteresting and mundane world with no excitement. Of course I would always push towards world peace and harmony but having people that have no emotions or choose to have no knowledge on political views would be boring. In the movie Sleeper- this is mundane way of life was depicted. The characters represented a life with the need for instant gratification and a language that was simple and dry. I think Utopia is not possible because there are too many different people in the world and if it was ever to be a reality- it would only cause a dreary way of life. Utopia is a good ideal that we can all strive for but never really achieve.

The Dystopia of Apes

The world that we live in can have many challenges; such as the budget crisis in education or the economic recession. Can you imagine a world in a worse state than the one we live in today? Boulles Planet of the Apes is such a world that has Apes rule over Humans. It’s a science fiction novel that mirrors our own society. Crucial topics are presented in this novel; such as, the role language plays in our existence, to behavior that is learned through interaction, power and authority in all forms of culture and the inevitable fate of man. I pose that the dystopia of apes ruling over humans depicted in Planet of the Apes made such an impact in literary history because it is a reflection of our own society that addresses issues that we are faced with in relation to government control to the inevitable fate of humanity that is developed in language and learned behavior.

Language in our own society is a key element of communication with one another. In a lot of ways what makes humans different from animals or other living beings is our ability to speak and the level of intelligence that it takes to articulate language. In Planet of the Apes- Ulysses has to learn the language of the apes to be able to create a connection with Zira (female ape who helps Ulysses). In the original film, Taylor is not able to speak because of an injury in the beginning and then after healing connects with Zira through speaking English. It is this form of intelligence that allows both Ulysses and Taylor to communicate to the apes and shows the apes that he is a human who is different from the other humans who cannot speak. Ulysses states, “I have found in Nova and that I now saw in all others: a lack of conscious thought; the absence of intelligence” (41). Just like in our own world- intelligence is key and often times are represented by language.

Nature and nurture has been questioned time and time again. Do we learn what we learn through nurture (our own environment)? Or are we born with what we know (through nature)? In Planet of the Apes, a type of learned behavior is apparent through the science experiments and through imitation. When Ulysses encounters Professor Antelle in a cage, he sees that Professor Antelle has adapted to the other humans as a non-intelligent being and states, “I watched him while he was doing this, and there was nothing in his attitude to reveal his true nature” (160). At this point, Professor Antelle imitates the other humans in this Planet and behaves unlike his true nature. I find this disturbing in a sense that the same way the apes imitate our own world by putting humans in a cage is the same way Professor Antelle imitates being an animal in this dystopic world. Ulysses, further states, “My self-respect notes with satisfaction that apes have invented nothing, that they are mere imitators” (217). Here, it is pointed out that the apes in this planet have imitated what they have seen in the past from human behavior. This is similar to infants who imitate language through their surroundings and parents. At the end of the book Nova learns from Sirius (her son how to speak), Ulysses stating “today Sirius talks fluently and Nova almost as well” (264). Ulysse is proud of himself and sees Nova developing language as a miracle. In our own society, an infants first words are also a proud moment.

Power and Authority are also seen in Planet of the Apes, as in our own world through government. Ulysses while trying to connect with the apes states, “But there was nothing I could do to convince the orangutan” (103). Here the orangutan does not want to believe that Ulysse really is an intelligent being. In the book and the film the orangutans want to preserve ape hood and are not open to humans being intelligent because are afraid of humans taking over. In our own society, the government also keep certain information away from the public as a form of control. I think that sometimes not knowing may be helpful so the public will not go into chaos especially in emergency situations. But overall I think that it is best to be conscious of all forms of knowledge because this is the only way to know the truth no matter how harsh.

The inevitable fate of man is an interesting topic both in our own world and in The Planet of the Apes. I often reflect in our own world that we are doomed to create our own self destruction through our own pollution of earth or our own need to go into war for whatever reason deemed appropriate. In the film Taylor sees that humans destroyed themselves as he sees the Statue of Liberty and knows that he was in earth all along. In the book, Ulysse travels to another planet only to encounter more advanced apes. In my own opinion both endings bring up interesting perspectives. In the film the perspective that humans destroy civilization causes the rise of the apes. And in the novel, that apes eventually rise to higher level and humans in this sense are not the lower being. Here, the reflection of our own world makes me think of how we treat animals. We find reasons to do experiments when in another dystopic worlds apes can have that possibility of being the higher form of intelligence.

At close, language is key in identifying self in both our world and in the world in Planet of the Apes. Overall, I do think that we do learn through our environment; either through imitating each other or through learned behavior in interacting with others. Power and Authority are in all aspects of any formed civilization. And the fate of man is dependent in the will of man.

The Authority to Condtion Goodness

Ideology has no history, which emphatically does not mean that there is no history in it (on the contrary, for it is merely the pale, empty and inverted reflection of real history) but that it has no history of its own (Althusser, 34). In A Clockwork Orange, the narrator Alex is imprisoned for 14 years after murdering the lady with the cats. While he is in prison, he reads the bible and thinks to himself how he would be one of the people torturing Jesus. From an outside point of view it looks like Alex is really trying to be good but we see through his narration that he is still bad (or at least what is deemed as bad). Here, the ideology of Alex’s character having no history of its own is due from Alex coming from a good family and background. The reality of it is that Alex is his own twisted individual despite growing up from a good background. And from a cultural perspective he is deemed as being bad and an individual who is in need of transformation to fit into the ideal. Goodness initially comes internally and the environment from authoritative factors plays a part in the management to be good.

In A Clockwork Orange, the government maintains a new treatment where they take bad individuals and make them good. Alex is picked to do the treatment. He is drugged and is forced to watch several films that have bad acts (for example, rape, Hitler, etc) and every time he experiences these bad acts Alex is conditioned to feel sick. After the treatment Alex is deemed cured and anytime he has thoughts of being bad he gets sick. I pose the question is Alex really cured or is he just prevented to do bad acts because he is conditioned to get sick? I think that Alex is not really cured and has no real choice to be good or bad.

Those capable of embracing it, investors all, would be the managers if not masters of their own lives. Those who could not would be cast as populations “at risk,” and be the targets of all manner of domestic wars (Martin, 2). In the beginning of the film Alex does bad acts with his friends at night. In one scene these ‘friends’ decide to take over and deem George as General over Alex. Alex plays along at first but then shoves George over and cuts him down. In the article Martin talks about the population that is able to control their own lives are masters of their own lives and those that cannot are considered “at risk.” In A Clockwork Orange, I observed that power and authority were really important and for Alex to survive he had to take control of his life. Although it was his own friends who left him to be caught by the detectives, Alex does try to take control of his own life by always being the one in charge.

More so, one of the lasting impressions I obtained from A Clockwork Orange is that there is always some higher authority that do acts for personal gain. As an example, the treatment for Alex was supposed to be for his transformation towards becoming a better person. Instead, he ends up at a worst state and at the hands of other powers who takes advantage of his condition.

"Book-Film-Idea" Group Project

Planet of the Apes

Overall, working with my group was an experience that helped me understand both the book and original film in its full contexts. How I contributed? In the beginning- I shared my thoughts on how to approach the activity and was always one of the first group members who responded to the email conversations. As the conversations grew, I contributed in the discussions during meetings- on what film clips should be shown and what passages from the book should be used. I also helped construct the PowerPoint that will be shown in class- from the order of the slides to the overall presentation, main body and final last impressions that needed to be included. This was certainly a group effort and everyone played a part. Why? I personally did what needed to be done to facilitate the best communication with everyone in the group and to develop a better understanding of the book and film with my peers. Another reason is so that the class would have an enjoyable time during our presentation and also learn from what we present.
The experience as mentioned before was a good experience, even though, there were times when it was hard to get everyone together. The positive was that a few group members took the lead and made everything possible. It was a learning experience and an enjoyable one when everything came together at the end. Planet of the Apes is such an astonishing book from the topics that includes: Social Behavior to Self Identity, Racism to Sexism, Book versus Film, Science to Experimentation, and Power to Authority. All these topics are important to our own society and I think is the main reason why most readers are able to relate to the Boulle’s- Planet of the Apes.