Barbara Ehrenreichs Pathologies of Hope Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Barbara Ehrenreichs Pathologies of Hope - Essay Example The purpose of  Ehrenreich's essay is to convince her readers that hope is being marketed as a glorified cure-all for every trouble in contemporary society. She aims to destroy the myth that hope is the key to happiness. Ehrenreich argues that hope has negative effects and advocates a more realistic attitude towards life. Ehrenreich’s criticism of hope as a universal remedy for life is valid, but her stand may not be applicable to every individual. Ehrenreich categorically declares, â€Å"I hate hope.† She regrets that the marketing of hope has become a major â€Å"self-improvement industry† in America, with self-help books, life-improvement coaches and motivational speakers establishing an increasing â€Å"Cult of Positivity.† Positive psychology takes on academic credentials with the emergence of courses in reputed college campuses. Ehrenreich concedes that the maintenance of an overtly positive attitude is all for the good of social interaction. However, she objects to the irrationality of clinging on to optimistic thinking, irrespective of the actual gravity of the situation. She equates such unwarranted hope as being out of touch with reality. She criticizes the pressure to hold on to a positive attitude â€Å"whether or not it is justified by the actual circumstances† (Ehrenreich). Ehrenreich points out that even the academically credentialed positive psychologists admit that â€Å"a healthy dose of negative thinking† is necessary for some situations, such as piloting an airplane. They also concede that their rules do not apply to people living under extreme conditions of stress, such as poverty of war. Ehrenreich extends these examples to other instances, such as car driving and child rearing. She disputes the validity of studies which claim to prove â€Å"the health-enhancing effects of positivity† and its contribution to happiness or success at the workplace.

The Effect of Media Type on the Message of Pakistan and the United Essay

The Effect of Media Type on the Message of Pakistan and the United States - Essay Example The story has seen widespread coverage across both newspaper and television media. This report will examine one television presentation and two newspaper presentations of the story and analyze how these differ in the way that they portray the information, the impressions they give, their focus, and the effect of the medium itself on the content. The television report was aired on CBS news, titled Terrorist cell phones link Pakistan to attacks. The two newspaper treatments were by the New York Times and USA today titled Pakistan’s spy agency is tied to attack on U.S. Embassy, and Admiral accuses Pakistani agency of backing terrorists respectively. Neil Postman was an American critic as well as being an author and media theorist. He produced a number of books, with several concerning the idea of mass communication being used to share ideas, how this has declined and the role that television plays. Finally, the results will be compared to the claims of Neil Postman, who proposed that different media had the potential to shape the news that we see. He argues that the method in which news is communicated can substantially impact what is communicated, and that television news is not an effective method of providing information, as it does not provide a complete or informative picture of what is happening. The results from my comparison agree with this, with the television news producing a more sensationalized picture that left out some key information, while the newspaper reports went in to more detail about the causes and effects of the event. The Television Perspective The CBS broadcast of the story was titled Terrorist cell phones link Pakistan to attacks, however the cell phones were mentioned only at the start of the three minute report. The attack on the US embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan was carried out by a group known as Haqqani, who have ties to the Taliban. While all those involved in the attack were killed, information from their cell phones, includi ng calls made and times, was able to be recovered. This led to the determination by US intelligence that both before and during the attack the cell phones were used to call Pakistani intelligence. This discovery has lead to Mike Mullen claiming that the Haqqani network acts is a ‘veritable arm’ for Pakistani intelligence As a consequence of this link, the US claims that all activities of the Haqqani network, which includes a string of high profile attacks, has been connected to the Pakistani intelligence, with them both protecting and funding the group. They claim that the Haqqani network, which has several thousand fighters, operates from within Pakistan, and is involved in raids that cross into Afghanistan. Furthermore, Pakistan uses the network to sell violence in an effort to prevent Afghanistan from becoming a stable and strong country. The CBS story also has a large focus on a truck bombing attack that occurred a few days prior. The truck was involved in the injur y of more than 70 American soldiers, and was known about prior to entering Afghanistan through an intercepted Haqqani transmission. The commander of US troops in Afghanistan General Allen called the commander of the Pakistani Army, General Kayani, asking him to head off the attack. Kayani promised to make a call, but the truck made

Akira Kurosawa An Auteur Film Studies Essay

Akira Kurosawa An Auteur Film Studies Essay Since the term auteur was applied to film directors by the cahiers du cinema magazine in the 1950s,there has been much debate by film-makers and critics as to what makes an auteur and how accurate the term is when applied to some directors. Federico Fellini, in a 1966 interview, said that Akira Kurosawa was the greatest living example of what an author of cinema should be'(Cardullo,2006,p.49) and in this essay I would like to explore the accuracy of this statement based on Kurosawas period films and how meaningful the term auteur is. In his article, Notes On The Auteur Theory In 1962, Andrew Sarris (interpreting the Cahiers various articles on what became known as auteurism)describes the auteur as a director who is technically proficient, whose personal style is clear in the way a film looks and moves and who creates an interior meaning from the tension between a directors personality and his material. This last statement, Sarris admits, is ambiguous. Susan Hayward in her book Cinema Studies: The Key Concepts (1996) sheds more light on what the cahiers meant by auteur by defining the interior meaning as the mise en scene and the personality of the director. She also describes the total author'(p.33), a director who writes their screenplays. Because of the sheer amount of debate surrounding what an auteur is I will base my argument on both Sarris and to a lesser extent Haywards explanation of the term auteur. A large part of being an auteur, based on what Sarris defines as an auteur, is the ability of a director t o imprint their mark onto a film in spite of the limitations brought on by studio control. This would have had great meaning in Hollywood at the time the article was written but not necessarily in the film industries of the wider world, particularly Japan. For Kurosawa in there far fewer limitations in how he made films in comparison to his Hollywood counterparts. Kurosawa was the principle writer on the majority of his films and those which were based on other stories would be adapted by him for the screen. He would often quote his mentor, Kajiro Yamamoto, in interviews saying if you want to become a film director, first write scripts (Kurosawa, 2008, p.10). In this respect Kurosawa was quite literally the author/auteur and originator of his films and so would appear to fit into the total author mould. Where the gray area exists as far as being an auteur is in Kurosawas use of collaborators in the screenwriting process such as Shinobu Hashimoto who was involved in the writing of Seven Samurai (1954), Throne Of Blood(1957) and The Hidden Fortress (1958) to name but a few. This would arguably prevent him from being considered a total author. Another area where Kurosawa has total control is editing. In the introduction to the book Akira Kurosawa: Interviews , Bert Cardullo calls Kurosawa an auteur because he edited or closely supervised the editing of all his films (p.10). I am inclined to agree with Cardullo that this would add to the degree of authorship on a film as Kurosawa will have the final decision on exactly what the cinemagoer will see. This could be seen as technical proficiency however Sarris article bases technical proficiency on directing skills, editing skills are not even considered. Overall it seems that the level of control Kurosawa had over non-directorial aspects of his films would remove the impact of his autuerism because so much of what makes an auteur is the ability to push through industrial control to have your own voice heard. With Kurosawa it was his own voice from the beginning in the writers room and it would end as his voice in the editing room with no real struggle involved. Because Kurosawa wrote the script it was all uniquely personal to him which is one of the key elements of auteurism. In Notes On The Auteur Theory In 1962 Andrew Sarris had said that a director spends most of his life on one film. For Kurosawa that one film could be the period film, something he worked on time and time again. The backdrop of medieval Japan was the preferred setting for Kurosawa and something which was very personal to him: Kurosawas intense feelings for pre-modern Japan, his perceptions of himself and his family in these terms, disclose a view of the past as a living sensuous reality (Prince,1999,p.203) His father was of samurai descent and Kurosawa himself romanticised the past in many ways, finding solace in it where there was none in the present. The early samurai films show his youthful exuberance with films such as Seven Samurai and Yojimbo(1961)showing a positive vision of the past heroism has been transformed into acts of everyday charity (Prince,1999,p.241). In stark contrast to the positive nature of these films the later samurai films are significantly more bleak in nature. These films followed years of depression, attempted suicide and struggles to find finance. For example Ran(1985) Kurosawas last samurai epic, the title of which translates as turmoil or chaos, is a downward spiral of misery from start to finish with almost all characters having distinctly negative traits. Prince describes the period of both ran and the earlier Kagemusha(1980) as defining a period of melancholy and bitterness and a questioning of youthful idealism (p.293). Further examples of Kurosawas o wn beliefs and personality lie in the themes of the films. When asked what he felt were the common themes in his films Kurosawa replied the only theme I can think of is really a question: why cant people be happier together'(Kurosawa, 2008, p.162). In many ways the real recurring theme of Kurosawas films is humanism, he regularly explores human nature whether its an individual taking up arms against the corrupt (Yojimbo), people working together for the greater good (Seven Samurai) or the hopelessness of war (Ran). All suggest that the world would be a better place if we all got along. These films show the personality, thoughts and feelings of the director during their production which I would argue is a prime example of what an auteur is, someone whos films reflect them. Kurosawa was a highly visual film-maker. In his youth he had wanted to be an artist and its clear from the composition of many of his shots that he retained the sensibilities of an artist. From the interviews conducted over the years in Kurosawa: The Interviews it is clear that Kurosawa maintains as much control over every shot as possible from composition to choice of camera. Stephen Prince describes the technical knowledge of Kurosawa and his reliance upon telephoto lens and techniques of multi-camera filming'(p.18) as well as his use of anamorphic frame in later films such as Kagemusha. Kurosawa knew how to get the best images out of every scene even if it meant using unconventional techniques and new technology. He lives up to the level of technical expertise Sarris had believed was vital for a true auteur. This did not however mean that Kurosawa was his own camera operator, indeed he couldnt be because from Seven Samurai onwards he stuck to using multi-cameras no matter what kin d of scene was being filmed. He believed this meant that actors would be less conscious of acting to a camera and instead would have to put on a good performance that could be seen at all angles. Kurosawa did his utmost to ensure that his vision was achieved and would regularly take control of his own camera however he described the process of getting others to achieve shots: I explain the desired image in detail not only to the cameraman but also every member of staff and have them do their utmost to produce the best possible likeness to it (Kurosawa,2008,p. 27) So even with his knowledge of camera lenses there was still a collaborative issue as far as using a cinematographer and indeed Kurosawa had several regular cinematographers such as Asakazu Nakai who worked on films such as Seven Samurai and Ran. Kurosawas technical proficiency is also very clear in his framing decisions. For example in Seven Samurai Kikuchiyo is clearly the outsider of the group which Kurosawa emphasizes by how the framing consistently isolates him from the rest of the samurai who are clustered together as a group'(prince,1999,p.214). The way battle scenes are shot in Kagemusha with huge amounts of troops at either end of the screen is a sight to behold, all the more so in the way Kurosawa manages to retain a sense of beauty in the battle. Francis Ford Coppola on the making of Kagemusha described the way Kurosawa presented fight scenes and violence as almost poeticstunning and dramatic and embodying the moment that was supposed to be expressed. The stylistic nature of the battle scenes became a trademark for the director from Seven Samurai onwards. His ability to use camera and edit techniques to portray violence in a thrilling, heroic way were part of the style and something that could be recognised as part of a distinctly Kurosawa film. Not only that but the introduction of colour only to improve his vision of battle with Kurasawa frequently choosing drab backgrounds'(Ebert,online) to show of the colourful costumes which effectively stand out from the background and clash together in battle. Another noticeable K urosawa technique is the use of cutting between similar shots to emphasize drama,Kurosawa loved to intercut two or three shots whose compositions were exactly aligned with the axis of view established in the initial camera position (Prince,1999,p.299). Examples of this exist in various Kurosawa films. In Seven Samurai it is used on the flame engulfed house following the initial bandit attack and the broken lock in Yojimbo which is used by Sanjuro to avoid the kidnappers. This technique focuses the viewer on the dramatic or emotional element and creates a tension. With so many more stylistic calling cards than could possibly be named in a single essay, Kurosawa has a clear style and so fits into the auteur theory. The auteur theory however clearly has many failings even when applied to someone who appears to cover all the bases (writing, directing, editing) of what makes a film-maker an auteur. Many of these failings have already been discussed but in essence they all come down to one thing, film is a collaborative work. Would Kurosawa be able to achieve the shots he did without the work of some of the worlds best cinematographers? Its highly unlikely. Did he write all of his screenplays alone? Certainly not. Would many of his films have been as enjoyable without some great acting from the cast, particularly frequent collaborator Toshiro Mifune? No. In an interview Kurosawa discusses the collaborative nature of his work with Mifune, particularly the distinct walk Mifune has in Yojimbo,Mifunes walk is his own invention. In order to stress it, I carefully selected camera framings and lenses. This seemingly insignificant example is a snapshot of all that is wrong with the auteur theory. The secon d a director claims a film is all theirs they are disrespecting the great people they have worked with. As for Kurosawa being an auteur,even ignoring the flaws in that theory, Mutsuhiro Yoshimoto in his book Kurosawa: Film Studies and Japanese Cinema says: Kurosawas films are too worldly and historical to be approached as mere aesthetic objects where his personal vision is inscribed or as a structure or textual system that reveals his unconscious desire (p.239)

The Natural :: Essays Papers

The Natural Iris vs. Memo, the everlasting battle of Good and Evil, Good Angel vs. Bad Angel. In The Natural the Angels take the form of women that interact with Roy. Iris the â€Å"Good Angel† has nothing but a positive influence on Roy and cares about him deeply. The exact opposite of Iris is the â€Å"Bad Angel† Memo who cares just about what she can get her hands on except poverty. To her nothing or nobody matters. The reason Memo’s able to sneak in with Roy so easy is that she uses her body, her looks. She makes Roy a â€Å"toy† to her. She wants money so badly, that’s why she’s always with people like Gus or the Judge, because they are the rich people who like to spend a lot of money. Memo has always been mean to Roy: She hadn’t treated him right. For a while things had looked so good†¦ but no sooner has he gone into a slump when she began again to avoid him. Had she been nice to him instead, he’d have got out of trouble sooner (165). Iris is really â€Å"laid back† when it comes to Roy. Iris isn’t as attractive as Memo, but she looks past the dollars and sees what she likes. Each â€Å"Angel† has a different effect on Roy both being on and off the field. Roy goes out with Memo ignoring Pop’s warning â€Å"†¦She is unlucky and always has been and I think that there is some kind of whammy in her that carries her luck to other people† (136). Roy goes into a bad slump. Everything he does fails until one game in Detroit. The lady in the stands hesitantly rose†¦ She was an attractive woman, around 30, maybe more, and built solid but not too big†¦ A reporter approached her and asked her name but she wouldn’t give it to him, nor would she, blushing, say why she was standing now (159). The woman standing is Iris and she is standing because she believes in Roy, and wants him to regain his confidence by showing her support.

Anthropology interview

My uncle is the oldest son in his family. His name is Long Do and he is forty years old. He is a businessman and he owns the liquor store. Mr.. Long is a successful person in the family that everyone in the family admires him. He was born in Vietnam so he is Vietnamese. Mr.. Long came to America when he was twenty-one years old. His major was Business Administration and he went to De Anza College. He came to Northern California with his family and his siblings. HIS family and he was the first one that came to the United State.The reason they came here because they didn't want to live in Vietnam because the life over there was hard and deficient of all necessities. My uncle's father who is my grand father had to work for extremely hard and got poorly paid. His parents, my grandparents, decided to come here so that my uncle and his siblings could have a better life, better education to archive their goals easier. According to what my uncle said, † It was a difficult and tough tim e when I first come here. I didn't know any English and It was very hard for me to communicate with other people.Also he shared that he had to help his parents take care all the paperwork and take after his younger siblings since his siblings were very young back then. So he was the only one who was mature and knowledgeable enough to take care of the whole family. I can see that language is his first challenge that he has to overcome. Mr.. Long said that when they first come here they TLD have a lot of money so that everyone In the family had to work to make money. Mr.. Long had to work two Jobs and he had to go school at the same time. He started out with SSL class iris, then English class later on.He shared that it was a hard time when he first attended to college because at that time he didn't know any English and going to school was something that made him really scared of. He always nervous in his classes because he didn't understand what his teacher were saying and he totally lost In the class. At night, when he got home he always turned on the radio to listen to FM or AM, he tried to listen how American people talked and he learned from there. His parents and his siblings also had to go to the SSL classes as well because hey didn't know how to speak English at that time.He shared his tip to learn English that you should make friend with native speakers because you can learn very fast. His advice is also similar to what I did when I first came to America. I tried to make friend with native speaker so that I could learn English faster and it was really help me to Improve my English skill. HIS family and he also had to learn how to adapt to is freedom. Everyone has his or her own freedom in religion or politics. As time passed by, he gradually learned English very fast and he could speak and monomaniac with his teachers and friends in his classes more fluently.He says that the more difficulties that you go through in your life the more you become a stronge r and a better person and you will be successful in your life. They still keep in touch with people from Vietnam by phone and they go to Vietnam whenever they have a chance because they are now very busy with work. He said that he like talking to people from different ethic groups because he can learn new things from them. Even he used to suffer a hard time, he says that his life wouldn't be like this if his Emily and he stay in Vietnam.So being here is a better off for his family. They can earn money and help his relatives in Vietnam. The global process economic and politics have planed out in his family life. It was a wonderful time interviewing my uncle. I can see that he is a very successful man due mostly to his hardworking characteristics. I want to be like him and I have learned that there is nothing easy in life so I have to try hard in order to be successful like my uncle. The more you try the better off you will get later in your life.

The Influence of Gangs in Teenagers

Gangs are a violent reality that people have to deal with in today†s cities. What has made these groups come about? Why do kids feel that being in a gang is both an acceptable and honorable way of life? The long-range answer to these questions can only be speculated, but in the short term the answer is easier to find. We must find ways and means to effectively implement the various strategies to end gang violence. I believe that three important institutions play a vital role in our struggle to fight gang violence. Some believe that gangs are caused by peer pressure. Many teens in gangs will pressure peers into becoming part of a gang by making it all sound glamorous. Other teens will use money as a crucial factor. A kid is shown that they could make a couple of hundred for small part time gang jobs. This includes selling drugs and robbing other people. In other areas like Bronx or the very worst case, Compton, children will be beaten and robbed if they do not join gangs. This is one reason why teens in these areas have to have friends in order for them to survive. Poor parenting also play†s a role why teens turns to gangs. Imagine in poor families with many children or middle-class families where parents are always working, the children will often feel deprived of love and attention. Parents often feel that putting food on the table is enough love. Children of these families may often go to the gang firstly out of boredom and to belong somewhere. As time goes on, a form of love develops between the gang members and the child. It is then that the bond between the kid and the gang is complete because the gang has effectively taken the place of the family. Most parents do not have enough time to talk and listen to their kids. They do not spend any social activities with their children. Even teaching their kids the right values is jeopardizes. Most of the time, parents do not know what their children are doing for two reasons. First, most of the parents† lives is outside the local community, while the children†s lives are lived almost totally within. Second, in a develop community, the passage of relations gives every parent, in a sense, a community of guards who can keep him informed of his child†s activities. In modern living-places, like cities or suburbs, where such a network is abused, he no longer has such sentries. Last but not least is the poor educational system. A lot of students are deprived of basic educations, which includes good skills in reading, writing, and arithmetic. If the educational system somehow ensure that each student actually does have access to equal opportunity for a quality education, then perhaps we will find these kids have a better future that holds something more than quitting school, hanging out in the â€Å"hood†, and making money at selling drugs. This is why gangs are more predominant in public school than private school. I am interested in this issue because I want to find out the best way I could prevent my kids from joining gangs. I do not have any experience growing up in this type of environment. I grew up in a place where gang affiliation is unheard of. This is why this is a major concern for me. These are the major factors why most of the teenagers turn to gangs. I believe that proper parenting plays the major role in preventing kids in joining gangs. Everything starts at home; from teaching your kids the right values and helping them develop self-esteem. Parents should teach their kids to value education because this is their key to better future. Parents should serve as a role model to their children. They should do everything possible to involve their children in supervised, positive group activities. Parent need†s to praise their children when they are doing well and encourage them to do their very best, to stretch their skills to the utmost.