Elle Learning Journal

 In our class discussion today, I enjoyed talking about the self vs the other. It made me really think about the way I view my own life. This weekend, I went to go visit my brother in Washington DC! He is a freshman at Georgetown University and I got to go see my mom for the first time since the summer, I really missed her (and I guess my younger brother to hahaha). I had only been to DC once when I was about 15, I think I've really changed since then, and so did my memory of the city. I loved getting to walk around, shop, eat, and explore the city he calls home. Some of my favorite activities I did in my short trip there was visit the Native American museum, the Library of congress, and see all the monuments. I go to go to the steps of the Supreme Court which was especially cool because this semester I am taking judicial politics, which is a whole class on the Supreme Court. I liked getting to see what I learned about in textbooks with my own eyes, because to be honest, that class...

 This week, after the rainy period, I am looking forward to some better weather! It was my partner Lauren and I's turn to take on the presentation this week. I thought all my classmates before me did an excellent job and I knew I had to have some big shoes to fill-- they were all great and interactive. Personally, I loved watching The Talented Mr. Ripley. I told my mom I was doing the presentation and she mentioned it was one of her favorite films, I can see why! I thought the cast was great and the Italian scenery was magnificent. It made me really want to go. The plot was also super interesting and the whole movie was super engaging. I thought it was thrilling enough without it being scary.  It was intriguing to analyze Tom Ripley as a character and connect it back to the class relating to truth and scamming. It was hard to hate him as a character even after he did many messed up things.  I also had a great time meeting with my partner Lauren, she is really great! We bo...

 I found the Werewolf articles quite interesting. During Halloween time, when the weather starts to get cold and rainy like today, and I watch the Twilight movies, I always think of werewolves, but never the 4,000 year old history behind them. I think that the werewolf became a legend and a terror because during the time, people lived in a world shaped by superstition, political clashes, religion as a source of fact, violence, and a belief in things like the devil. I think this relates to the witch trials because when things happen mysteriously without an obvious reason or when bad things happen in general, people need a cause or a reason to blame others for the problem. Similarly, legends of werewolf superstitions led to a witch hunt, and I thought the idea of Bisclarvet was interesting. Just like the "witches" in Salem, accused werewolves such as Pierre Burgot, Michel Verdun, Giles Garnier, and Peter Stumpp were tied to magic. I had no idea 30,000 people  were executed as w...

 The Wave (Die Welle) was the most interesting film I have seen (well at least clips of) in a very long time. I have always been curious about history of Germany (I have taken World War II history classes in the past because of my interest). It is different to think about how other countries teach about and discuss this sad part of history. The question we talked about in class is, can this happen again? I hope not, but after watching The Wave, it was so easy for a group of people to follow similar characteristics in such a short amount of time, blindly, without realizing the harm that they were doing. This film really offered a unique perspective on how we as a global community need to be careful so that history never repeats itself. I also thought this film connected to scamming in a way because those that were vulnerable were more susceptible to joining. The ending of this filmed completely shocked me. I thought it was thought provoking and unique. This is a film I haven't stopp...