There are many speculations and theories on how World War 1 started, and in this post, I will be sharing my own theories. I believe World War 1 started because of nations’ desire for more power and wealth, and the arms race which they had to enter into to build their empires and then to protect them. I believe the war had begun even before the first gunshot had been fired.

From 1891 to 1914 countries across the world were all trying to expand and make their empires bigger, but to do this they needed the best military. New innovations in ships, guns, tanks, and chemicals fed the ego of aggressive countries. Nations invested a lot of money into their military so they could grow and defend their territories, and this together with extreme nationalism created an explosive environment in Europe.

Kaiser Wilhelm said in a speech: “We have conquered for ourselves a place in the sun.   It will now be my task to see to it that this place in the sun shall remain our undisputed possession, in order that the sun’s rays may fall fruitfully upon our activity and trade in foreign parts…   The more Germans go out upon the waters, whether it be in journeys across the ocean, or in the service of the battle flag, so much the better it will be for us.”

This quote shows the extreme nationalist point of view held by the German chancellor in 1901.

To support our thesis each person had to create a visual, I chose to make mine with a group. This is a short comic and a visual skit we made about the about the leading factors towards WW1:

After we showed our videos in class, we received feedback from our peers and teachers on what was good, and what we could improve on. Overal the feedback was pretty positive. Using the feedback given I have made a list of all the things I could improve on, and things I should continue doing to make my movies better.

1. Audio: The audio recordings and voice-overs could have been clearer. To do this, I could have borrowed a mic to record with, and I could have used the audio room in Seycove. This would help make the video sound more professional, and it would make it easier for the listener to be more interested and engaged in the film.
2. Filming: Some clips were shakey and the lighting could be improved. To fix this I could have used a camera stand to have a still shot or video. I could have implemented this in the running scene in the video.
3. Length: The length of the video helps the lister from becoming bored. It’s a short video and its straight to the point.
4. Script: There is a lot of information given throughout the video, but I think the length of the video and the fast clips help the video move smoother.

This is all for me today, thanks for reading.

-Michael