The Wall

The Happiest Days of our Lives

  The title of this song is without any doubt an irony when we read and listen to the lyrics. They tell how harsh was growing up to be surrounded by a system that humilliated and repressed them, as well as manipulated, mainly by their teachers at school.

  Moreover, we can think of the title literally as well, taking into consideration that life after school, as adults, was much harder. Grown up people had to face the system in other aspects than children had and it may have been more difficult, as they had tools to raise against it if they did not agree with it but they knew if they did they had to brook the consequences.

Another Brick in the Wall

  The song "Another Brick in the Wall" was successful in between 10000 students in South Africa in May 1980 as they found their voice in what the song was claiming: 'we don´t need no education', to express their dissagreement with the inequiality in their education system. They took advantage of Pink's challenge to the intimidation made by teachers and rose a national strike.

  By banning the song and the album, the government was ignoring the problem. The issue that was being claimed was not created because of the song, it already existed and people just saw the opportunity to raise their voices against inequality as they felt identified with the song's message.
  It is true that in Argentina we rely on education or the lack of it as the cause of many social problems. I personally believe education is not what people acquires in school, but in their homes. An educated person is the one who  knows how to live peacefully in society, how to relate with others, a person who has values. What is learnt in school has to reinforce and corroborate what is learnt at home, but cannot replace it or introduce it, as it has no sense trying to teach something that is not applied everyday as an example for children.
  The ones who rose in the strike knew they had to fight for equality and not to conform with the repression and injustice existent in their education system, as they knew from what they believed from outside education institutions that intimidation and discrimination was and is not correct.

Dead Man Walking

 The movie "Dead Man Walking" questions the capital punishment from the very beggining to the end and as a spectator, I am sure that capital punishment, although it is said to be a way of justice, is just the idea of it, not the solution.

 Mathew was responsible for killing a couple of teenagers after having raped the girl, and of course the victim´s parents wanted him to pay for that as their son and daughter were taken away from them because of him, so they claimed for execution. The thing is that their child won't be back from death with them whatever desition they make, so taking another life away won't make any difference rather than to calm the desire of releasing pain and anger. Killing him would probably add more pain to them, as they would have to carry the weight of the responsibility of depriving someone from living.

 Parents seem to believe in the Retributive Theory of punishment: as he killed their children, he has to be killed. Does it sounds logical to kill a murderer for that reason and in that way becoming one? If they kill Mathew, they would be now the ones who decided to take someone's life away, leaving aside the fact that they would take that desition because they believed Mathew deserved it while their innocent children don't.

 While the sister was getting to know Mathew and when he was regreting his actions, the victim´s relatives were seeking for revenge demanding the capital punishment on him. Mathew was not going to have the possibility of "paying" for what he has done as he would no longer exist. He would get a punishment that won't be understood by himself as he would be dead.

 The punishment to be applied has to be severe, as he killed a boy and raped a girl who was later killed too, but making him die is not fair and is not punishment enough. He has to live with the guilt and everyday try to compensate for what he did.