Classical culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Classical culture - Essay Example Thus, this paper considers even further if Christian influence positively affected European history as it is expected or if it did more harm to the nation than good. Christianity speaks about love, justice and humanity. These are important considerations not only socially but also politically. Therefore, for people in the past and today, this is expected to have a good influence in individuals and in groups of people as well. Quite profoundly, Europe’s history shows the actualization of this Roman Catholic doctrine as the patriarch did his best in making warring nations come to friendly terms. At a time when the nations were at war, it has been a good thing that the Roman Catholic Church was there to advocate peace and brotherly love, an act which cooled down arguments and put some sense in the heads of hot-tempered leaders. The rise of Christian power also opened the way to the arguments about equality which nearly led to the abolishment of slavery in Medieval Europe. Such liberal thoughts consequently resulted to scholars and studies which has become the foundations of modern researches. This means that Christianity did not only affect the political realms of Europe but it also influenced its economic and educational advancements. Nevertheless, despite the positive changes Christianity brought along to the nation, it has affected it negatively as well. The world has become familiar about the information on European Christians who used their membership to the church to exploit non-Christians. There were several deaths that occurred in the name of Christianity, considering the victims as evils who were doomed with their religion and cultural backgrounds. Once again, they re-lived the lives of ancient Biblical accounts of wars and claimed that it is but right for them to kill non-Christians as popular characters in the Bible have done. This is also perhaps the reason why

Time and the Clocks Essay Example for Free

Time and the Clocks Essay Introduction It is well known that technology is very important aspect in human life and Critical Engagement with Technology class held lot of concepts and theories with regard to how to look at and understand technology that helped in changing some of the previous understandings. The class helped in developing the skills to be able to evaluate different approaches and ways of thinking in regards to understanding technology. Also to know the issues that impact the management of technology and how the technology influenced managers’ abilities to provide better management of both resources and people. The class also examined the drivers and factors that impacted technology implementation such as social, political, economic, among others. The new way of thinking about the technology and how it is driven was presented in class through several topics that was introduced such as: â€Å"Nothing New Under the Sun†, Historical Perspective on Technology The Industrial Revolution Technology as the Context for and Product of Human Endeavour Technological Determinism Social Shaping of Technology Management, Power and Technology The course further gave us the opportunity to pick a technology and ably what we learned in the class. Our case study that we picked talked about the clocks and how the society shaped the way of measuring time throughout history. The clock nowadays are technology that has been taken for granted. The focus of this case study is to show the importance of time measurement and how our life nowadays revolves around it. By going through history all the way from using the sun and stars to the development of clocks that neither lose nor gain one second in 200 million years to show how humanity searches for more accuracy by developing the tools to measure the time. Literature Review As mentioned earlier, the course provided us with lot of concepts and theories with regards to technology that in turns helped in understanding and facilitating of our case study. Concepts such as Technological Determinism and Social Shaping of Technology helped in carrying out our research and that is why it is important to define them. The idea of that technology development affect and shape the society is called Technological Determinism and it implies that the technology changes by following its own logic and come from outside society. Hard technological determinism which lays on simple cause-and-effect and not considering other factors such as economic, political, cultural, among others is considered as an oversimplified theory for the technological change. This was the common way of thinking that encourage the passive attitude toward technology change. It is worth mentioning that new technology are developed from an existing technology or a combinations of several existing technologies through a gradual change. Therefore, the social shaping of technology theory critique the technological determinism theory and suggests that society has more active attitude toward technology development in the since that society decides what and how to use it. Also the social shaping of technology theory consider other factors mentioned previously that affect the technology wheel of development (Mackenzie and Wajcman, 1999). Having said that, the distinguish between the two theories among the other topics learned in this course open our minds as well as provided us with better understanding of technology development. The Beginnings of the Clocks The movement of earth and its moon gave the indications for the year, month, and day. Human invented the hours, minutes and seconds as smaller units for the time. Middle East ancient civilization divided the day into 24 hours with 60 minutes an hour and 60 seconds a minutes. At the beginning there were the sundials and the water clocks that didn’t give exact time but rather represent the flow of time (Franz, 1978) (Dale, 1992). Before the mechanical clocks, people had many attempts to find a tool to measure time more accurately. The candle clock which was basically a candle with the hours marked on it was one device. Another device was the hourglass or sandglass that was used at sea and it required someone to stay next to it to flip it because each flip was counted as half an hour or an hour. Although both devices were used at night and that helped in solving the problem of the sundial that depends on the sun, another problem came to realization which was that these devices didn’t give the time of the day rather they only measured periods of time (Dale, 1992). People of ancient China, Babylon, and Egypt discovered the link between timekeeping and the positions of stars due to the fact that stars changes position in a regular pattern. This link motivated people to find new ways to measure time more accurately especially at sea (Dale, 1992). Pope Sylvester II invented the first mechanical clock in year 1000 and they spread among European cathedrals by 1300. They were used to inform people about the time they should go to church and that was the early use for them. Some of these clocks gave astronomical information and others had bells to call people (Sherman, 2005). It is interesting that an old mechanical clock that was built in 1386 is still working in England in Salisbury Cathedral. The small clocks didn’t come along until after the invention of mainspring and those clocks were built for wealthy people where they were considered as valuable possessions that they show off with. Marine Navigation When the magnetic compass were invented, it was used by sailors to steer the ships in an accurate direction, but compasses weren’t steady enough in rough weather and hence deciding the direction based on them was difficult. The Sextant was the next invention and it was the instrument used to measure the heights of the sun in order to calculate the ship’s latitude (May, 1973) (Cotter, 1977). All these instruments solve part of the problem because there were no means to measure the longitude and the position of the ships on the latitude was purely based on the sailors’ guess (Cotter, 1977). The speed of ships is measured by knots and it is based on an old method called the ‘Dead Reckoning’. After plotting the course using the compass, a rope with several knots on it with a log at the end of that rope were thrown overboard. Then a sandglass was used to measure the period. When it was time the rope was pulled and the knots were counted. Using this method sailors were able to calculate the distance they sailed (May, 1973) (Gould and Dyson, 1976). The compass, astrolabe and the dead reckoning were the only methods used by the great explorers like Ferdinand Magellan and Christopher Columbus and what is more interesting is that they didn’t have a particular destination when they discovered the new lands. These discoveries provided the opportunity of trading but another problem of navigation came up. No one was able to know how long the trip going to take or how much food they should take with them to feed the crew of the ship. Fresh food rotted before they reach their destination along with other problems caused by the poor navigation at that time. Knowing the longitude and better timekeeping was the answer. Cotter (1977) stated that the difference between the time readings in two different places will help in calculating the longitude. For this calculation to be possible a standard time was needed. Since Britain was the leading seafaring nation in the 17th century it decided to take the Royal Observatory at Greenwich as the standard time and the longitude passing through Greenwich became 0 degrees. At that time other countries took different places as mark 0 degrees. When the radio were used as the mean of communication between ships, Greenwich system was used internationally in 1884. Mechanical clocks provided more accurate measurement of time than candles or sandglasses, but still they were not accurate enough because the swinging of the pendulum was upset by the motion of the ships. The early mechanical clocks needed to be checked against other clocks or against the sun on a frequent bases. Sailors knew that they needed a clock that keep the accurate standard time even under that challenging conditions of the sea. According to Gould and Dyson (1976) the British government was alarmed by the fact that lots of ships both merchant and naval were lost due to the hazardous conditions of the Atlantic Ocean. And that is why the government announced a competition in 1714 with a prize of ? 20,000 for a chronometer with specific criteria. The British government wanted an accurate chronometer that gives the correct longitude reading within 55 kilometres after six weeks of sailing. In order to be that precise, the new chronometer must not loss nor gain more than three seconds per day also it should be able to cope with the conditions of the sea such as the salty sea air and the temperature and humidity changes. At that time no clock was able to achieve that accuracy and it was a big technical challenge. In 1759, John Harrison, who was a clockmaker, succeeded after three previous attempts in inventing the perfect chronometer. The chronometer was tested by Harrison’s son William when he sailed to Jamaica two years after the invention came to light. Harrison’s chronometer passed the test. It only lost an average of 2. 7 second a day and it was able to give an accurate longitude reading within 30 kilometres. It is worth mentioning that chronometers were not used generally until 1800 and this is because it was very expensive to build one. Navigation problems were solved by using the clocks and the seas became busy highways at that time (Gould and Dyson, 1976). Railways Time The industrial revolution was powered by the steam power as well as the revolution in transport where the railways spread quickly at that time. The main purpose of the railways was to transport coal although it was used to transport passengers too. By making the transport easier people’s lives has changed. In the early days of railways public clocks weren’t synchronized and there wasn’t a single standard time. The trains were separated and spread along the tracks using time intervals system and that caused problems for travellers as well as posed a safety hazard. With the introduction of railways time that used Greenwich Mean Time the public timekeeping has changed and that solved the problems of railways. Moreover, the demand for more accuracy in daily tasks were influenced by railway time. It is worth mentioning that it took the government 40 years since the introduction of railways time to legislate the standard time for Great Britain and that was in 1880 (Schivelbusch, 1986). The Industrial Revolution Commodities and industries were made in a different way in Europe after 1780 and that is why historians gave the name the industrial revolution. In this revolution, cheaper and faster machines replaced the costly and slow manual crafts. For example, cotton industry changed a lot, at first cotton was woven manually and it was considered as luxury but with the industrial revolution and the introduction of the new cotton mills, the production become faster and that caused the price to drop drastically for the product. Moreover, this movement puts lot of people out of work and the only thing that they could do at that time is to work in the mills. This movement also introduced many people to the important of time. Factories’ machines were kept running for long time during the day for the investors to gain the best return and it was important that workers arrive on time. Workers who came late were usually punished with a fine deducted from their weekly payments. At that time only few people had clocks to tell them the time other used the ‘knocker-up’ who was someone walking around and waking people to go to work (Cardwell and Cardwell, 2001). The method of workers payments changed due to this movement too. Before works used to earn fixed payments for a day of work but when the factories started to use the shift system workers started to be paid using hourly rate. This was possible with the invention of a machine that kept record of how many hours the worker actually worked. The worker had to stamp a card using that machine that showed the time of start and end. That process was called ‘clocking on-clocking off’ (Cardwell and Cardwell, 2001). Time Control Reeves and Duncan et al. (2001), Webster and Davies et al. (2011), and Borst (1993) agreed upon that ‘Time and motion study’ which was developed by Frederick Taylor in 1880 helped in studying different factories operations to speed them up by identifying what is really needed and that in return helped manufacturers to use their workers and machinery more efficiently. The concept of saving the time became an important one when the awareness of time increased. That concept pushed lot of technologies to be invented especially after the invention of electricity to replace the boring and routine tasks such as cleaning, washing clothes, among others. Another form of time control was the use of time switches which were basically a clock combined with a switch that enabled automatic turning on and off for the devices. More accurate clocks Wagner (2008) said that the work of most specialists such as engineers, physicists, among others depends heavily on precise time measurements. Nowadays, 300 atomic clocks at different laboratories are used to calculate global time. But researchers are pursuing more accuracy in time measurement and the results will replace the process of averaging the data from the atomic clocks. Researchers developed optical clocks that capture and measure the frequencies of strontium atoms (a chemical element with atomic number 38) by using the lasers. With the ability of the new clocks to measure the oscillation at higher frequency ranges, the results are clocks that measure time more accurately. Also these new clocks are expected to measure time in intervals much smaller than what the atomic clock that will help in giving the clock that ability to neither lose nor gain one second in a period of 200 million years (Wagner, 2008). Methodology Before us as a group decided on the topic in hand we had lot of discussions with lot of topics to talk about. After we reached an agreement we distributed the work and each of the members had to research a specific period in time to find out more about time and clocks. It was an interesting task that expanded my knowledge about the subject. After each member focused on the topic assigned our group met to share the findings. Comments were exchanged to further address the subject from different angles. The researches were done using books, online articles, and journals. The group met for the second time with the new findings and slides for the presentation. The presentation was put together and rehearsed. We didn’t have to meet as much because we used methods such as blogs and dropbox to share our work and discuss further. I was assigned with the topic regarding the marine navigation and the early problems and I found out that different resources agreed and have the same facts about the subject. Also I was able to dig deeper and find interesting facts with regards to other topics in this document that in turn helped me gain immense knowledge about the theories proposed as well as provided me with the comprehensive understanding I was seeking. Findings and Discussion I was able to carry out this case study and research with most open mind and with referring to the theories and topics learned in class. I found out that the clocks is considered as one of the oldest inventions in history and also how humanity is continuously seeking for more accuracy in regards to time measurement even nowadays. Also I found out how the concept of time measurement affect and pushed other technologies to emerge and how it was used in the industrial revolution era. It is clear that throughout history human had the same idea which was the important of measuring time. What differs was the development of the devices that measure the time in a more accurate manner. It is also observed that the development of the device depends on the same concepts of the previous ones but with better ways of doing it. Early sailors used land marks and stayed close to the land in order to find their way and to know their position. Then sailors become more adventurist over time and started to find new ways to help them navigate in the open sea. Methods such as astronomy observation helped in calculating the ships’ locations to work out the directions and set the course of the ship by using an instrument called the astrolabe. The astrolabe was the tool used by the ancient Greeks, but the biggest default was it needed a clear sky and it was only used at night. With the invention of the chronometer that solved the marine problems I felt that it was one of the breakthroughs in the world of clocks that help in measuring the time more precisely. It showed that the need of the accuracy in the time measurement was a social need to solve the problems rather than resulting from technological determinism. It is hard nowadays to find someone who doesn’t care about time. This is showed by the fact that everything in the modern life had something to do with time and clocks. For example, the personal computers where the clock is installed as a ship in the heart of the device to regulate the electrical signals (Borst, 1993), the use of the timer in the microwave, setting the alarm to go to work or school, transportation timetable, among other examples. Clocks is everywhere but as mentioned before, it is a technology taken for granted. Conclusion. The clocks development throughout history showed a true evident of the society shaping the technology changes with the need of finding ways to measure time more accurately. Also the history showed that the clocks came a long way and the development and researches for more accurate clocks is still going on. The clocks began with using the sun and the stars. Then they were used to count periods using water clocks, candle clocks, and sandglass clocks. After that mechanical clocks came to light with the use of gears and motion. And with the need for a clock to per the sea conditions and to give accurate longitude readings, the chronometer came about. Finally, reaching to the atomic clocks that we use nowadays to measure time and for the future the use of optical clocks that measure time with smaller intervals than ever. With the development of the clocks we can observe how people lives changed. Not forgetting about the disadvantages where some people suffer from something called ‘time stress’ and this is because we want to do lots of things and the clashes among them caused by the time constrains lead to stress. References Borst, A. 1993. The ordering of time. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Cardwell, D. and Cardwell, D. 2001. Wheels, clocks, and rockets. New York: W. W. Norton. Cotter, C. 1977. The elements of navigation and nautical astronomy. Glasgow: Brown and Ferguson. Dale, R. 1992. Timekeeping. New York: Oxford University Press. Franz, M. 1978. Time. New York: Thames and Hudson. Gould, R. and Dyson, F. 1976. The marine chronometer. London: The Holland Press. Mackenzie, D. and Wajcman, J. 1999. Introductory essay: the social shaping of technology. The social shaping of technology, pp. 327. May, W. 1973. A history of marine navigation. New York: Norton. Reeves, T. C. , Duncan, W. J. Ginter, P.M. 2001, Motion study in management and the arts: A historical example, Journal of Management Inquiry, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 137-149. Schivelbusch, W. 1986. Railway journey. Berkeley: University presses of California. Top of Form Bottom of Form Sherman, J. 2005. How do we know the nature of time. New York: Rosen Pub. Group. Wagner, C. G. 2008, New Clocks: Its About Time, The Futurist, vol. 42, no. 3, pp. 10. Webster, J. , Davies, H. , Stankiewicz, M. Fleming, L. C. 2011, Estimating the Time Involved in Managing the Unoccupied Bed: A Time and Motion Study, Nursing Economics, vol. 29, no. 6, pp. 317-22.

Mise-en-scene is the language of films

Mise-en-scene is the language of films It is vital to understand the meaning of Mise-en-scene before describing it in any movie. Mise-en-scene is basically a French word, which in English means; putting into the scene. In short, Mise-en-scene is the language of films through which the viewer is able to gather and extract relative information. It helps in showing the viewer, about what is going on in the film, the motives, and most importantly it helps conveying the film makers message. Tim Burton however, has a very distinctive style in filmmaking, considering the use of various elements of Mise-en-scene in almost all of his films, especially Edward Scissorhands in 1990. Tim Burton has his own imagination of good and bad people, which have nothing to do with appearance, for him they could be very misleading. In Edward scissor hands, after looking at Edward one can easily mistake it with a horror film and that Edward is some cold blooded monster, just because of his leather garments and his scissor hands, his appearance is deceiving. Behind the clothes, the pale face full of cuts, long sharp scissors and messy hair, there is a child with genuine goodness who can be trusted. Jhonny Depp, who played the character of Edward in Edward Scissorhands, has remarkably carried out the roll, just as Tim Burton would have wanted him to. Due to his acting skills, the viewers were able to sympathize with the character. His expressions showed the viewers how innocent and well mannered Edward was. Behind that horrible attire there laid a heart, which needed some love and care. Whereas, Tim Burton, in order to give the audience the right idea of the main character, other than the acting skills, costume and make up, has competently used the camera angles, lighting etc. But that completely depends on the role that has been chosen for the actors. For instance, in Sweeny Todd, again Jhonny Depp, who played the role of Sweeny Todd himself, was white, pale and lacked a lot of sunlight. Other than sunlight, just after one glimpse anyone could easily tell that he is deprived of life and something terrible has had happened with him. In this movie, he lived up to his getup; He looked evil, and he was evil. The way Tim Burton makes Jhonny Depp dress up, wear his costume, and the makeup itself is Mise-en-scene, which is very either fascinating or unexpected. It is always a mystery after looking at the character, what the movie would be about or what role would the actor be playing. When it comes to manipulating the audiences attention, Tim Burton is always one step ahead. Furthermore, Tim Burton usually uses contrasting colors. Colors also play a high role in his Mise-en-scene which he easily uses for manipulation. For example, in Edward Scissor hands, the mansion where Edward lives and the mountain on which the mansion is are set in a dark grey shade with black clouds above, which strongly contrasts to the pastel colors of the suburb below. This is also seen in the dress code of the people. Edward wears black leather clothes and even later he dresses up in black and white while the others dress up in soft pastels and look too colorful. Since black is denoted for evil, at first glance the viewers mistake Edward for being evil, his Scissorhands complimenting his image. If Edward was dressed up in pastel colors too, the image would have never been able to be achieved. The manipulating part comes in, like already mentioned the suburbs were of pastel colors and so were the people, which are very harmless colors yet the people living in there were more malevolent than the black and white, monster like looking Edward with his terrifying scissor hands. The colorful people kept on taking advantage of Edward and as soon as they had enough of him, the abandoned him. Moreover, the contrast between residents of the suburb and Edward is maintained throughout the movie, denoting every time no matter what Edward does, he shall always remain an outsider. Similarly in Sleepy Hollow, again the colors have enhanced the mood of the film, straight away hinting the viewers what kind of a movie it would be. Tim Burton was able to keep his audiences engaged by the way he was able to create dramatic effects by desaturated colors, using dark colors with splashes of grey, red, white and other bold colors. Which immediately felt oppressive and created a feeling of tension and anyone could tell that the movie is going to be quite unpleasant. In the film, the town of Sleepy Hollow is shown gloomy, dark and lifeless. Even the colors of trees and the landscapes are shown in a cool grey color. That represented the people living there, and how they were feeling with the mishaps going on in their hometown. In fact, the clothes worn by many people in the town are also oppressive and dark except for the Van Tassel family, who rather believed in wearing refined and elegant clothes. The eye- catching part were the clothes Katrina always wore, mostly bright colors perhaps, reflecting her youth and innocence which could not be seen anywhere else in the town. I believe by using bright colors on Katrina and using contrasting backgrounds against her, Tim Burton was able to catch the viewers interest.

Conformity in the 1950s Essay -- American Culture History Conformity E

Conformity in the 1950s During the post WWII period in America, the face of the nation changed greatly under the presidency of Truman and Eisenhower. America underwent another era of good feelings as they thought themselves undefeatable and superior over the rest of the world. Communism was the American enemy and American sought to rid the world of it. Because of the extreme paranoia caused by Communism, conformity became an ideal way to distinguish American Culture from the rest. Conformity became a part of every American Life to a large extent. It became evident through the medium of culture, society and politics throughout the era of the 50s. When WWII ended, Americans were left in the hands of Harry Truman. Known as an aggressive Cold War fighter, he led Americans against...

Examining Pascals Argument for God Essay -- Religion Pascal

There have been many responses to Pascal’s proposition. British humorist Terry Pratchett cleverly summed it up in one of his books with a story of a philosopher who said, â€Å"Possibly the gods exist, and possibly they do not. So why not believe in them in any case? If it's all true you'll go to a lovely place when you die, and if it isn't then you've lost nothing, right? (Pratchett 51)† To the average person, it seems as though there are two choices of religion; to believe in God or not to believe in God. Pascal’s theory is that it is better to believe in God, even without reason, because in so believing, you lose nothing, whereas if you do not believe, you stand to lose significantly. On the surface, this wager seems to make an adequate amount of sense, but upon further examination, the argument begins to break down. Pascal states, â€Å"According to reason, you can defend neither of the propositions. (Pascal 444)† He does not think that reason is sufficient to prove God’s existence, nor is there solid evidence one way or the other. â€Å"There is an infinite chaos which separates us, (Pascal 444)† Pascal says, meaning that if there is a God, humans cannot comprehend Him or His actions. This is to say, even if God exists, humans could not possibly know enough about Him to prove His existence by proof or reason. This, Pascal says, is why the wager is necessary; we cannot know if He exists, we must decide to either believe or disbelieve based on logic. Pascal says that the choice is between several sets of human qualities or characteristics: the true vs. the good, reason vs. will, knowledge vs. happiness, and error vs. misery. He theorizes that the believer who turns out to be correct in his belief will have true good, agreement with rea... ... of belief that have been created around the deity by humans. Even if there is a God and belief in Him is founded, there is no way to know if He will or will not bestow rewards upon His followers. Pascal’s theory would make sense if it were based on anything other than religion. Theology depends more on personal motivations than a desire for some unknown reward that may or may not exist. Pascal seems to be merely covering his own ass with this wager, telling himself that he is believing in anticipation of his eventual reward. This is not a satisfactory justification for believing in a God for which one has no evidence. Works Cited Pascal, Blaise. â€Å"The Wager.† Philosophy of Religion: Selected Readings. William L. Rowe and William J. Wainwright, ed. Harcourt Brace, Orlando, FL. 1973. Pratchett, Terry. Hogfather. Harper Prism, London, England. 1996. Examining Pascal's Argument for God Essay -- Religion Pascal There have been many responses to Pascal’s proposition. British humorist Terry Pratchett cleverly summed it up in one of his books with a story of a philosopher who said, â€Å"Possibly the gods exist, and possibly they do not. So why not believe in them in any case? If it's all true you'll go to a lovely place when you die, and if it isn't then you've lost nothing, right? (Pratchett 51)† To the average person, it seems as though there are two choices of religion; to believe in God or not to believe in God. Pascal’s theory is that it is better to believe in God, even without reason, because in so believing, you lose nothing, whereas if you do not believe, you stand to lose significantly. On the surface, this wager seems to make an adequate amount of sense, but upon further examination, the argument begins to break down. Pascal states, â€Å"According to reason, you can defend neither of the propositions. (Pascal 444)† He does not think that reason is sufficient to prove God’s existence, nor is there solid evidence one way or the other. â€Å"There is an infinite chaos which separates us, (Pascal 444)† Pascal says, meaning that if there is a God, humans cannot comprehend Him or His actions. This is to say, even if God exists, humans could not possibly know enough about Him to prove His existence by proof or reason. This, Pascal says, is why the wager is necessary; we cannot know if He exists, we must decide to either believe or disbelieve based on logic. Pascal says that the choice is between several sets of human qualities or characteristics: the true vs. the good, reason vs. will, knowledge vs. happiness, and error vs. misery. He theorizes that the believer who turns out to be correct in his belief will have true good, agreement with rea... ... of belief that have been created around the deity by humans. Even if there is a God and belief in Him is founded, there is no way to know if He will or will not bestow rewards upon His followers. Pascal’s theory would make sense if it were based on anything other than religion. Theology depends more on personal motivations than a desire for some unknown reward that may or may not exist. Pascal seems to be merely covering his own ass with this wager, telling himself that he is believing in anticipation of his eventual reward. This is not a satisfactory justification for believing in a God for which one has no evidence. Works Cited Pascal, Blaise. â€Å"The Wager.† Philosophy of Religion: Selected Readings. William L. Rowe and William J. Wainwright, ed. Harcourt Brace, Orlando, FL. 1973. Pratchett, Terry. Hogfather. Harper Prism, London, England. 1996.

The Boy Next Door and the Psycho Killer: Producing Society’s Extremes E

The Boy Next Door and the Psycho Killer: Producing Society’s Extremes Two boys walk down the corridor of a friendly, residential, public high school. As they approach, the crowd slowly parts as its bystanders just stare at the boys. The boys walk with a certain aire about them, as their trench coats swing from side to side and their gloomy faces meet the eyes of the rest of the students. They are pointed at and called names such as fag or freak-- for they are members of the infamous trench coat mafia. These two boys can also be described as the murderers in the Columbine High School shootings. Somewhere across the country in another friendly, residential, public high school, a good looking boy of the same age walks down a similar hallway, and has a similar effect on the crowd. Instead of being laughed at or called a fag, this captain of the football team, Corey Johnson, gets a few " good job at the game yesterday" or hellos from people that have only heard of him and wished to actually know him personally, for he is notorious for being "cool". Rather t han being called a fag as walks down the hallway no one even suspects or even contemplates the fact that he is a homosexual. These individuals are alike in various aspects; age, sex, surroundings, and others, but yet have managed to be labeled and categorized so differently and so harshly. So what are the social conditions that have allowed such opposing figures to take shape in our culture? What is it that forces youth to be successful at being normal or unsuccessful and weird? The answer is the confining and forceful methods that our society has used to produce its norms. These two particular cases are just representations of many types of kids who are forced into two very dist... ...nes, ads, schools—the devastating effect is one that is constantly making deviants the outcast. These outcasts take on labels that usually have a negative connotation of a freak. Should these deviant groups stride to fit this "normal" expectation and assimilate into a culture that has rejected them or rather try to gain strength to add to their uniqueness? Each individual has a role on how he is perceived. This "role" is not control but rather a path that can be taken to control their position according to the norm. It is debatable if Corey Johnson’s face to the nation as an icon was an action to make the gay race seem more normal, or to show that there are exceptions to the rule within the gay name. No matter the standpoint or path a group in society chooses take, there will always be one outstanding central ground: With your norm, you’ve always got your deviant.

Women in Bollywood

Film is somehow a depiction of real life. The movies produced reflect a nation’s culture and the interplay of its citizens within the society. Such interplay is the role of a man and a woman in India. Cinema in India is the largest productive movie industry in the world. Known as Bollywood, Indians are able to make films which portray the Indian’s way of life, promote their sense of identity, and their nationalism. By looking at Indian films, one can have the general idea of the Indian society. Women, in particular, are clearly portrayed in Bollywood.There are notions of what a ‘good’ and a ‘bad’ woman is. The actions of women depicted in the films also create norms on how women are placed in the society. Just like films from other countries, Bollywood have mostly projected women in a standardize character (Mishra, 2002, p. xix). Though the Indian culture evolves in accordance with modern times, women representation in films somehow has been ty pified within the norms. Two of the best-selling Hindi movies that made its mark on Bollywood Cinema have women as the main character.Mother India (1957) and Hum Aapke Hain Kaun (1994), both are notable works in the Indian film industry. The former being a dramatic movie and the latter, a romantic comedy combined with musical. These two films presented women who are bounded by the traditions of the society and how they reacted to it. Both of the films pertained to the concept of India’s ideal woman. As heroines from the two movies revolved around different environment and time frame, they were depicted as the women molded into the traditions of Indian society. These traditions lead to the films’ depiction of India’s nationalism.As what Thomas mentioned in her essay (1989) about India’s struggle for freedom in the form of films: Since it first emerged in the context of colonial India’s fight for independence, Indian cinema, for a number of reasons, has been concerned with constructing a notion of Indian cultural and national identity. This has involved drawing on concepts such as â€Å"traditions†. (p. 11) Mother India is a film that has a heavier plot than that of the Hum Aapke Hain Kaun. Radha, the female protagonist faced a lot of moral and social struggles as the story progress.Her personal role as a mother conflicted with her public responsibility as a woman. As a young woman who married the man she loves, she was encapsulated in the dutiful role of a wife. Radha fulfilled the traditional wife duties as her husband’s companion and helper at work. Radha is one of the most dynamic characters in Bollywood. Her change in attitudes in the course of the film was necessary as dramatic situations occurred in her story. The changes that happened in Radha’s character are two opposite personalities of a woman.From the shy, newly married young woman she transformed into a self-dependent single mother who worked h ard to uphold the dignity of her children and their standard of living. Her marriage with Shamu made her a committed and devoted wife to him. She is always at his side especially when working. However, as tragedy followed Shamu getting handicapped resulted into his decision to leave his family, Radha’s role as a mother has to be emphasized. Her timidity turned into a strong, courageous woman who built her family within dignified moral grounds.With this kind of dynamism, Radha was depicted as a powerful woman. The character of an empowered and independent woman was very rare in Indian cinema at the time Mother India was released. This kind of portrayal brought Radha with goddess-like features because of enduring so much struggles and overcoming tribulations. Radha was one of the few fictional female characters depicted in a heroic manner. The flow of Radha’s story is quite similar with the goddess Sita. Radha who endured the hard work together with her husband just like what Sita did when she gave up richness to join her husband in exile.Both of them endured the hardships of raising their children alone. Though both of them may have been portrayed as frail and timid, they exude strength especially in the most challenging aspect of their lives. The loyalty and chastity of the goddess can be seen on the scene where Radha refused Sukhilal’s offer of marriage. Upholding her chastity meant maintaining the dignity of their family despite their situation of poverty. Radha always reminded her sons to live a life within moral principles and to serve as good citizens of their village.The chastity was not only for her but for her family’s name. Her sons became the extension of maintaining that purity despite their strife in life. Another goddess associated with Radha is the goddess Kali. The goddess is described as the â€Å"fierce, passionate goddess of both life and destruction† (Thorner, Raj & Trust, 2000, p. 97). The fierceness of th e goddess can be witnessed when Radha aggressively declined Sukhilal’s seduction and almost caused havoc inside his house. The characteristic of Kali’s destruction can be identified in the event when Radha shot her favorite son.There was a struggle within Radha to be a good mother or to be a law abiding citizen. Birju failed to uphold what his mother have instilled to them and because of this, Radha decided to end his life to maintain the honor of the family. The association of Radha with Kali has been further justified by Rosie Thomas. Focusing on the experiences of men closer to Radha, Thomas indicated Radha’s goddess feature of punishment. Her depiction on the film holding heavy axe and shovel that she uses for farm work portrayed her as a strong woman that is capable of punishing if things does not go right (Thomas, 1989, p.17). The mere association of men with Radha caused the men on the film to be somewhat destroyed. Thomas described this destruction as an attribute to Radha being compared to Kali: She kills her favorite son; her husband loses both arms (and implicitly his manliness)†¦the villainous Sukhilal end up covered in cotton fluff, cowering like a naughty infant as she beats him with a big stick†¦Thus, she is both venerator of men and venerated by them as devi (goddess) and maa (mother), and she is, in turn, in need of men’s protection and a protector and destroyer of men. (p.16) The character of Radha can be quite the contrary for the depiction of Nisha in Hum Aapke Hain Kaun. This is a romantic comedy family-oriented film. If Mother India mostly portrayed the role of the woman in a society, Hum Aapke Hain Kaun showed women’s place within the structure of the family. Indian traditions are clearly emphasized on the film especially in the engagement and wedding ceremonies (Hirji, 2005). Though the plot in the movie consists of light drama, the underlying role of the women in a typical Indian family conn otes how women are in real life.The women in this film are bounded by family traditions which meant that every decision in the family should come from the male member of the family. The arrangement that was made between Mr. Kailashnath and Mr. Siddharth for Pooja and Rajesh’s wedding made it very clear. This scene proved that family decisions should rule and the rule comes mostly from the male members. Women in Hum Aapke Hain Kaun are portrayed as dutiful and obedient. Nisha, the younger sister of Pooja, is the woman who is given focus on the film. She is portrayed in the film as a playful prankster and cheerful woman.As every woman in India, she is deeply attached with her family and it is seen in her relationship with her sister whom she’s closest with. Eventually, Nisha’s relationship with Prem will be greatly affected by her relationship with her family. Like Radha, Nisha experienced a transition within her character. Though Radha is a bit more complex, Nish a’s transition can be seen from being a happy-go-lucky girl to a woman that has to fulfill her family’s traditions. This is more evident when Prem and Nisha sacrificed their love so that she could marry Prem’s brother after Pooja’s death.The woman is seen to give up her own wishes and desires to abide her duties in her family. This aspect of women in Indian culture provided similarities with the goddess that was compared with Mother India. Aside from being loyal and upholding her chastity, the goddess Sita is a devoted and dutiful woman to her sons and to her husband. This feature is apparent on the easy acceptance of Pooja with the arrangement of marriage with Rajesh. The marriage was arranged by two of the highest male authorities of both families and the film portrayed that the decision to marry was a final thing to do.Shedding off whatever attraction that may have happened when they were introduced, an objection for the marriage from either Pooja or R ajesh did not exist for the sake of their fathers. On the other hand, Nisha – despite her feelings for Prem – decided to marry Rajesh for the sake of her nephew and her dead sister. Though it was against her will, she decided to take the route of being married to her brother-in-law. This event, as part of her change, showed Nisha becoming an ideal woman who sacrificed and obeyed her family.Like the goddess Sita who allowed Rama to exile her, Nisha complied with her family’s request even if it entailed to give up her love for Prem. This film showed the Indian traditions viewing Nisha as a heroine who â€Å"would never put her own dreams ahead of the aspirations and desires of her family or men† (Ghose, 2006, p. 5). The conservative woman who considers her self as a second priority is what appeal as an ideal woman. Nisha is a good woman with a generous heart that can be compared to the dutiful goddess Sita who is the epitome of how Indian women are raised.O n the contrary, the opposite of the good or ideal woman is revealed in the character of Mamiji. Nisha is portrayed as the simple conservative girl while Mamiji is depicted as â€Å"selfish, mercenary, and vain† (Ghosh, 2000, p. 86). Her being vain is symbolized as being self-centered which opposed Nisha’s character of selflessness. The fact that Mamiji does not have a child of her own makes her what she is. The lack of motherhood in her personality diverted her attention solely on herself. The concept of a ‘bad woman’ in the film can be compared to the struggle that India has been experiencing after the colonial period.Somehow, the qualities of a ‘bad woman’ in the image of Mamiji such as going to the beauty parlor can be seen as a modern type of woman. As Rosie Thomas mentioned, Indian films are mostly in the context of struggling for independence by showcasing nationalism through tradition (Thomas, 1989, p. 11). The depiction of the scheming Mamiji as a modern woman in oppose to Nisha or Pooja as the traditional women of India; say much about India’s effort to promote its culture rather than the practices that are left by their invaders.Taking all of these into account, somehow it can be determined that an ideal woman within the Indian society is someone who is submissive and selfless. Both films are able to portray those traits. Mother India and Hum Aapke Hain Kaun are perfect depictions of women who are bounded by Indian traditions whether in society or in the family. Though both women differ in strength and with the way they are portrayed, Radha and Nisha are both subjected to the responsibilities that they have as women leaving no room for their own will and personal desires.The portrayal of women in films having goddess-like characteristics, symbolizes the nationalism of India. India regarded many female gods in their religion and they attributed these deities as an example of how a female should behave in the society. Emphasizing traditions in Bollywood is their way of promoting Indian nationalism. One effective way of showing these traditions would be in the form of a female as both of these films have been considered as icons in the Indian film industry.These female characters that were associated with Hindu goddesses transcend into society to be emulated and to uphold the culture. For Indians compare their country to a female that nurture its people and unselfishly gave her land for them to nourish and to raise a dignified India. References Ghose, A. (2006). Of Names of Women in Hindi Cinema. Retrieved October 30, 2008, from Esocialsciences . Ghosh, S. (2000). Hum Aapke Hain Kaun: Pluralizing Pleasures of Viewership. Social Scientist, Vol. 28, p. 83-90.Hirji, F. (2005). When Local Meets Lucre: Commerce, Culture and Imperialism in Bollywood Cinema. Carleton University. Retrieved October 30, 2008, from http://lass. calumet. purdue. edu/cca/gmj/OldSiteBackup/SubmittedDocuments/Fall20 05/graduate/Hirji-%20Refereed. htm. Mishra, V. (2002). Bollywood Cinema: Temples of Desire. New York: Routledge. Raj, Maithreyi. K. , Thorner, A. & Trust, S. (2000). Ideals, Images, and Real Lives. New Delhi: Orient Blackswan. Thomas, R. (1989). Sanctity and Scandal: The Mythologization of Mother India. Quarterly Review of Film and Video, Vol. 11, 11-30.