Ten Days that shook the world

https://youtu.be/dYixkU0dA2M?si=qp3quzKzqu7QHZAv

1. What was a function of the peasant commune that I mentioned? 

2. What does “emancipation” mean in the context of this lecture? 

3. Based on what I told you about the peasant mir, if you were a farmer in a peasant commune, would you want to improve your land every year? 

4. if you were the head of the village assembly in charge of sending villagers to the Russian army, who would you send? 

5. What are the basic elements of Marxism that I discussed in the lecture? 

6. What were some of the different political parties based on Marxism that I discussed, and how did the Bolsheviks manage to take credit for the revolution in the end?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQ9GCi4Gjso

Discussion board 

How does this film portray war? What are some examples of images or scenes that back up your perspective? Consider the point of view that the film is coming from: the party that won the war is now in power and has a certain amount of say in the art that gets made about it. How might that influence the film’s portrayal of the war/revolution?

Respond to this in 3 sentences, agreeing or disagreeing. 

The film October: Ten Days That Shook the World by Sergei Einstein, focuses on portraying war as a relentless force that pushes the working class to revolution. This is the perspective that the movie has showing the Bolshevik victory. In the film we can see the cost of life in many casualties and food shortages, this lead for the workers to protest. Scenes of the workers complaining and the growing discontent showcase how this anger within the people give birth to revolutionary ideas. 

During the film Kerensky the leader of the provisional government is portrayed as a very comical this tries to show and undermine his character, because the situation in which they were managing the war was inadequate. They show how the Bolsheviks rose and took advantage of the government lack of order, and so promised peace and relate to the working class. Since this film producers were Soviets, they are proud in emphasizing revolution and winning against their oppressors. The storming of the Winter Palace is a big turning point of the revolution when the working class unifies, at this moment we can see the strength and the determination of the proletariat.

Even though the film doesn’t grand battles, its focus is on showing the everyday struggles of the people under the weight of war. After all the main key points to acknowledge are that because of the war the drive of the revolution was ignited. The Bolshevik victory is the overall win and represent that the war is now over and so is the misery of the working class. The film manages to showcase war as a factor to criticize and diminish the old regime and commemorate the new one.

Revise one of your discussion posts into a 3-5 page double-spaced 12-pt font essay. Make sure to cite some of your classmates’ points from the discussion board, either to bolster your claims or to provide a counter point. Use as much material from class as you want.

Toussaint Louverture and Napoleon were alike as they shared similarities. Toussaint and Napoleon both led successful revolutions; I would consider both revolutions as archetypal. Both leaders fought against inequality and injustice. 

There were social, economic, and political issues in both places at the time. There was high taxation on the majority of the poor population, kings had the divine right  to rule and the third estate had no representation in France. On the other hand, there was slavery and oppression on the island of Saint Domingue. Both leaders were successful in leading revolutions that brought about periods of change. Other nations were inspired by the success of these revolts. Saint Domingue/ Haiti became the world’s first republic whereas The French Revolution led to the fall of monarchy.

In my opinion the statement “A lot of people didn’t know what freedom was supposed to look like. No one had really even theorized or imagined this before.” is logical as people had been conditioned to the environment of slavery. Saint Domingue was the sugar capital of the world, they relied on slavery to produce sugar for trade. For many years, people had been working on plantations and carrying on duties for the whites; that was the only life they knew. The people of Saint Domingue were not used to having rights, so they had no idea what it would be like. Jean Claude Martineau, a historian, even said it was dangerous because the country was based on slavery.

Classmate to refer to 

George Washington, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Toussaint Louverture lived during similar historical periods and were involved in their nations’ revolutions. Haiti gained independence mainly due to the efforts of Toussaint Louverture, who organized the revolution against French colonial rule. His figure shows his struggle against colonial oppression and slavery. The French Revolution brought fame to Napoleon Bonaparte, a politician and military leader from France. Having a profound effect on European history. During the American Revolution, George Washington played a significant role as the country’s first president. As one of the founding fathers, he was instrumental in establishing the United States and is well-honored. These three individuals were well-known in various settings and areas during the revolution. While Napoleon concentrated on extending French dominance through military conquests throughout Europe, Toussaint concentrated on the Haitian Revolution against slavery. And Washington on the American battle for independence. Each significantly influenced the history of the countries and areas they called home. But Toussaint was different from Napoleon and Washington because he was a former slave who fought for the abolition of slavery and the establishment of an independent Haiti and climbed to positions in both military and political power during the Haitian Revolution.