The History and General Overview of Gay Marriages Research Paper

The History and General Overview of Gay Marriages - Research Paper Example Thirty eight states in the US have adopted provisions that prohibit same sex marriage. This is achievable through the adoption of the â€Å"defense of marriage† provisions in the US constitutions. Universally, marriage means a legal union between a man and woman. The couples become husband and wife in the institution of marriage. There are various states known to ban same sex marriages and gender (Samar 54). In the twenty states of US, they have placed this language when it comes to their state constitutions. An additional ten states have legislative language that adopts the restrictive language. This does not include Washington and Maryland as of this year (2012) they adopted laws that allowed same sex marriages. Currently, there are also six states and the District of Columbia permits marriage by persons of the same sex. The highest courts in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Iowa ruled that the state's constitution did recommend same sex partners to be accorded similar rights as the opposite sex. In DC, New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire, their legislative organs have passed legislative changes to allow same sex marriage (Samar 55). The above mentioned states perform same sex marriages. ... Marriage in different states is a secular activity, and the government should not start making laws just because religion demands (Samar 55). Marital Benefit Gay couples deserve to enjoy the benefits other married couples do enjoy. Such benefits will include shared ownership and having the decision making capacity. Marriage is more than just a legal status. The legal status is instrumental in regards to the subject of tax, ownership of property, benefits from the insurance, and agency laws. It can also affect serious medical decisions (Samar 55). Medical decision includes instances of personal incapacitation or surgery. Gay Marriage as a Lifestyle In the today world, homosexuality has become a situation that is acceptable, and there is biological evidence that one been gay is in their DNA. Homosexuality been seen as a deviant sexual behavior for a long time. There are history books and psychological research that supports these allegations. The term lesbian originates from a Greek is land Lesbos (Samar 55). At the same time, there are biological reasons to support homosexuality and the issues of it been genetic are yet to be fully proved. Discrimination of Minorities The foundation of America embraces majority rule, however, a greater deal of protecting the rights of minorities. The Bill of Rights supports the need to protect the rights of minorities, anti slavery, and protection of the equal amendments (Samar 55). This contributes to the opinion that denying gay couples to be married is the same as denying marriage among Hispanic and Black Couples. Should Gay Marriages be supported (NO)? Religion considers it to be Sin Homosexuality is a cardinal sin among various religions around the globe. The basic or societal morals state that homosexuality and gay marriages are

Global Green Case Study Essay Example for Free

Global Green Case Study Essay Throughout the world people are always talking about global warming and how the world has become so polluted. People often want to do something about it, they just don’t know what. That’s where Global Green USA comes into play. Global Green USA is a national environmental organization. The mission of Global Green USA is to foster a global value shift toward a sustainable and secure future. In order to do this the organization must understand if they have the right strategy and culture to perform as a highly innovative organization, potential conflicts within stakeholders, and positive impacts they can have on the natural environment. Positive impacts and sustainability often separates companies from success and failure. With that being said, Global Green USA has many activities and initiatives which appear to make a difference optimistically for the environment. One of the ideas that Global Green has going for them is the way they use celebrities to help get their points across. For example, they collaborated with actor Brad Pitt, who acted as jury chairman. By using a famous actor it draws more attention to the company and people are more likely to buy into the idea. In other words, Brad Pitt speaking out for the company is going to draw a lot more attention and success then if I were to get up and speak. This is just a simple idea that helps make a difference for a company like Global Green USA. More importantly, Global Green is rebuilding destroyed homes affected by natural disasters. At first glance people may think, big deal they are building something up that could have been done by any other company. The reason they are different is because they rebuild houses a certain way, the green way. This has such a positive impact on the community because not only are they saving people money, but they are helping clean up the environment with regards to toxic waste like carbon dioxide. In addition to rebuilding houses, Global Green has also done much work on local schools. After completing the Silver Wilson School, a project where they used non-toxic materials and solar panels, 4,500 people have come to Global Green looking for ways to improve energy efficiency in their own homes. People have seen what Global Green can do and want to translate that into their own personal homes. Finally, if New Orleans was rebuilt according to the green standards, residents would save $38 to $56 million in energy bills every year. This would also eliminate over a half million total tons of carbon dioxide; the equivalent to taking 100,000 cars off the road. To put in the simplest terms, Global Green USA is doing many things that are creating a positive impact on the natural environment. With just a glimpse of the evidence provided above I would say it is very safe to say that Global Green USA has the right strategy and culture to perform as a highly innovative organization. When it comes to the culture it is clear they are in the right place doing the right thing. For example, when Hurricane Katrina struck the people of New Orleans were devastated. They lost cars, homes, and even loved ones. While you cannot replace some of those items Global Green stepped in and attempted to return the safety net of a house that was secure to their family and them. They drew support not only from the people’s houses they built back up, but people from all across the country and nation. They opened the eyes of many people and showed them what they can do for a community/culture. Switching gears, Global Greens main reason for being around is to help clean up the environment and make houses and buildings safer for people to live in. By using the correct equipment, they are helping protect children from respiratory and other diseases. As a direct result from green schools being opened, thousands of students are now attending classes in healthy classrooms in energy- and water-saving buildings. According to the article, these greener schools are helping raise students test scores, reduce sick days, and save money. In my opinion, if this isn’t considered the right strategy and good enough reason to perform as a highly innovative organization, then many organizations will not and should not be around. With many other strategies and the choice of a proper culture, I believe Global Green USA does indeed have the ability to continue performing as a highly innovative organization. Within an organization there are often times many different stakeholders. First of all we must understand that stakeholders are persons, groups, and other organizations that are directly affected by the behavior of the organization and that hold a stake in its performance. This is true for Global Green USA. Global Green USA major stakeholders are many of the bigger energy plants along with various climate solutions. If I were to be an advisor of CEO, Matt Petersen, there would be a few things that I would point up as possible conflicts to the different stakeholders. The first one would be the choice of homes you are choosing to rebuild. It said that over 50,000 homes were rebuilt in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina; this is definitely a positive gesture but what might some people think if you choose not to rebuild their house. Sure you are doing a great thing by helping out people that need it but what about the people you couldn’t help out. These people could have a lot of anger and influence a lack of support on the organization. More in depth, if there are multiple natural disasters and different places in the world are you going to treat them both equally. More importantly, are you going to use your idea of a greener place and help both populations? Next, Global Green says they are working on the issue of Sea-dumped chemical weapons. This is a nice idea but do they have a plan on what to do with the weapons once they remove them from the sea. You do not want to clean up the pollution in one area and put it in another. There are many other possible conflicts, but the best way to deal with them is to make sure all stakeholders stay involved and informed on what is going on with the organization. On the whole, Global Green USA is continuing to improve lives, educate masses, and help live up to their mission set out by CEO Matt Peterson. Even to this day Global Green is taking steps into making as many building as possible live up to the green standards set by the design and competition. They remain inspired and are constantly coming up with new ideas on not only ways to improve houses and buildings, but motorcycles and automobiles as well. Best put, Global Green USA is an organization that has sustainability on the environment and is constantly thinking of new ideas to remain a highly innovative organization.

Sense Perception Essay Example for Free

Sense Perception Essay Maurits Corneluis Echecher (1898-1972) is one of the most famous graphical artists. He used to use maths in his art to trick peoples senses. Some of his paintings are used for atmosphere ideas in movies, for example inception. Magicians also play with our senses and trick us. The method they use is known as smoke and mirrors. The expression smoke and mirrors has now entered our everyday language in English it refers to deceptive behaviour, actions or information. What does red mean? Love, dangeretc. But it can also be a corporate symbol (vodaphone), a political symbol (like communist flag) communists were called the reds. Red can also be an artistic symbol, symbol of danger, sports team, red can take the significance of health (red cross). Iconoclastic when you cannot have use any religious symbols, like in Islam. In the mosque there are no statues, just quotes from the Koran. Whenever we perceive something the meaning changes depending on the context, the meaning depends on the context. What makes up this context ? * The history of the people. * The culture of the people. * The political views of the people. * Emotions. * The environment surrounding us (if were in a museum, class etc.) John Locke was the founder of the school of Empiricism he said that the human mind is born as a tabula rasa (clean slate). He believes we are born with nothing and no skills, he thinks that we gain ideas, skills and knowledge throughout our lifes. This means that context that provides the meanings to the things we perceive is not something were born with, but something we learn. Gestalt psychology (school of thought), it argues that we shouldnt understand perception as an individual phenomena, but as a whole because the result is more than the part of it. This theory may be applied to many things ex. a movie or a painting. This applies to the way we interpret other individuals and human actions, this is what we call social perception. Social perception is also related to the we dress up. Social perception also leads to racism, think of Germans and Jews.

The Development Of British Horror Films Film Studies Essay

The Development Of British Horror Films Film Studies Essay One aspect of the argument is that British horror developed around certain themes and key moments, the effect of imported horror will also be considered, in light of industrial cultural and social elements. It will also argue that the amount of development that took place did not develop or evolve enough to enable the genre to survive the 1970s foreign onslaught. The main thrust of the essay will consider the cultural and social background, including cinema audience and some industrial aspects. These are often linked as fuller employment generally leads to more disposable income for leisure purposes. Horror films are exploitation movies made for commercial gain not artistic endeavour, therefore winning formulae are often milked dry and copied by others . Prior to the advent of television, video tape, DVDs and more recently digital downloads, which provide an additional source of income, the product was made to be watched once and (discounting possible re-runs on minor circuits, or as part of double bills) expected to make its returns on the first release, and therefore needed to appeal to the target audience necessitating constant development and evolution. The investigation took the form of viewing cinematic texts to determine central themes in light of period conventions and audience. Various literate texts were also consulted to review the validity of the conclusions reached . It became apparent during the investigation that a key factor of British horror was its tendency towards being insular and local, unlike American and European horror which tended to lay great swathes of population and/or country to waste. A common element of the genre involved innocents, generally outsiders, being drawn into, or stumbling upon, a web of deceit, corruption and exploitation. This local theme was also a financial consideration, as it enabled production costs to be controlled and kept to a minimum as British horror was generally produced by cost conscious independent companies or studios. In a similar vein to the interpretation of the horror film, assessing the development of horror is by nature quite personal as aptly summarised by Dilys Powell: one mans frisson is another mans guffaw . Therefore, in order to minimise bias a large cross section of texts were consulted in order to present a balanced view . Horror has changed over the years as alien invaders, mad scientists and spectral creatures, challenging to both the individual and society, have gradually been superseded by killers and sadistic scientists, both often psychotic. British horror has classic attributes such as blood, death, the afterlife, a fear of the unknown and tends to be constructed around themes of Science-fiction, Gothic, Occult, Psychological, Historical / Mythological, or Medical . These attributes, combined with a local, claustrophobic, insular setting usually manifest as innocents being drawn into danger in a variety of imaginative ways, such as: location, being drawn into cultic rituals, or falling prey to outside influence . With the exception of psychological horror, the evil in the above is generally personified and usually recognisable. This is not normally the case with psychological horror, which often concerns the evil within where a normal facade hides a murderous psychotic nature. The 1950s saw increasing prosperity and the evolution of a youth culture with its own music, meeting places, high employment and disposable income along with a rebellious streak that challenged authority. This new youth culture saw the emergence of movements such as Beatniks and Teddy Boys, the latter associated with violence and racism, seen as being commensurate with the rising levels of upheaval in 1950s society . There were definitive attitudes to gender and roles, with men being seen as brave and women as helpless, this attitude would prevail until well into the 1970s. Increasing cinema admission prices, gritty realistic films and horror, which played on the new X certificate introduced in 1951, did not make for family viewing and consequently sounded the death toll for the family cinema outing. This was partially responsible for instigating the decline in cinema attendance that would continue in succeeding decades . This change in film production values made television an acceptable alternative to the older generation who stayed at home, happily sacrificing the shared audience experience of cinema viewing. They were replaced by the younger, more rebellious audience that demanded different films, a pattern that is still prevalent today. The British film industry struggled for finance, leading to a reliance on American backers who were tempted by lower production costs, funding and allowances put in place by the British government to try and bolster the ailing industry . In order to secure some of this finance many companies entered into joint productions with other parties, e.g. Hammer and Robert Lippert who distributed Hammers films in America. A requirement of this type of deal was often the use of known, though fading, American actors in lead roles to generate American interest. The V2 rocket and the atom bomb heralded the space and nuclear age, resulting in a welter of science fiction films. These involved alien invasions or creatures created by exposure to or feeding on radiation which supplanted the classic creatures of Americas first horror cycle which had begun with Dracula (1931) but had ran its course by the end of the 1940s. British production companies were not slow to jump on what they saw as a lucrative, potentially low cost, bandwagon. Hammer entered the fray with a mix of science fiction and gothic elements in The Quatermass Xperiment (1955) , set against the stark, scarred landscape of WWII and maintaining its local feel. This also commented on the changing nature of society as it emerged from the privations and horrors of war during the prosperous 1950s. The production was in line with their safe bet policy , on release it was vilified by the critics but loved by the audience. Audience surveys revealed that the horror element was responsible for the films success which resulted in Hammer embarking on their very successful gothic horrors, beginning with The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) and Dracula (1958) which contained amorality, graphic violence and gore in glorious colour assuaging the audiences senses within the boundaries of prevailing censorship. Colour enabled them to dispense with the moody shadowy world of monochrome horrors, which rather than the crafted tension to assault the audiences imagination with unseen horror. This allowed more direct depictions of violence, gore and smouldering sexuality requiring little imagination and virtually dispensing with the need to spend time on characterisations. The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) heralded a new period in the history of horror that was not fully realised until well into the 1960s, as it combined dangerous science with blood, gore and sex. Apart from disregarding the proper order of things by usurping God and indulging in immoral activities it also replaced the more familiar happy restoration of order with death, sowing seeds of doubt that the evil had truly been eradicated. Thus was born the quintessentially British brand of gothic artificial horror, set in an ambiguous somewhat mythological past, but still incorporating the brave men and helpless women gender definitions of the decade and the dominance of the male. This was a monumental step in the development of British horror as it pushed the boundaries of censorship, providing the cinema audience with a new viewing experience that was depicted with the deadly seriousness which would become a trademark of many British horrors. These first steps, resulting in some two decades of British domination of horror, were quite a gamble as major Cinema chains such as Rank and ABC were reluctant to screen British horror, or X, films until 1960 and 1956 respectively confining their release to the more minor circuits. A further gamble involved finance and co-production as Hammer stood their ground in refusing to cast American actors in the lead roles, much to the consternation of their American partners . This re-definition of horror encouraged other producers including Amicus, AIP (American International Pictures), Anglo Amalgamated, Tigon and Tyburn to jump on the bandwagon Hammer had set rolling resulting in British horror rampaging through national and international Cinema until the mid-1970s. This depiction of horror was so new that there was no template to work to, it would generally fall to Hammer to develop it by trial and error with others following their lead. This was a double edged sword as in the early days it enabled British horror to steal a march on world horror but by the late 1960s the lack of further development on Hammers part for various reasons, especially finance, would eventually result in a stale and outdated commodity that did not suit the audience. The portrayal of science in the 1930s and 1940s was populated with overzealous, totally committed, scientists whose work to benefit man had unfortunate side effects. By the 1950s and beyond the image of science had become more sinister and threatening as the power of mass destruction and side effects, which could result in mutants and monsters, invaded public consciousness. The mystique and charm of the earlier mad scientists was rapidly being replaced by the cold, calculating, although often charming, scientists who would stop at nothing to achieve their goal. Horror in the late 1950s and early 1960s was not all gothic. Regal/Triads The Flesh and the Fiends (1958) journeyed into medical horror while Columbia/Sabres Night of The Demon (aka Curse of The Demon) (1957) conformed more to the prevailing moral standards along with a more sedate blend of occult and psychological horror combined with a reserved approach to violence and sex. This was similar to the subtle RKO horrors that had provided a counterpoint to Universals contemporary gothic, providing an alternative to gothic horror. Psychological horror such as Insignias Cat Girl (1957) was also beginning to make its presence felt, but it would not become more prevalent until the 1960s, promoted in part by censorship issues and the success of Shamleys Psycho (1960). Even considering the gore, violence, sexuality, eventual nudity and lesbianism British horror generally operated within a moral framework, focusing on the struggle between the spirit and the flesh, science and superstition, good and evil and using symbols of Christian belief, crucifixes and bibles, as weapons rather than contemplation and prayer until its demise in the 1970s. The late 1950s and 1960s would see the look of the inhabitants of 1930s and 1940s horror such as vampires, werewolves, zombies and psychotic scientists updated for the modern audience. The 1960s saw the advent of protest marches, the seeds of Womens Liberation, the Hippie movements free love and living culture all of which were seen as challenges authority . Society saw violence on the increase as the mods and rockers indulged in pitched battles at coastal resorts and the Skinhead and National Front doctrines and practices of racist violence. The cinema audience was also changing as the first phase of the baby boomers who, like the previous young generation had their own music, high levels of employment and disposable income joined their ranks. As with the previous decade this new section of the audience expected different types of film more in line with their standards and values. British film finance, along with the rest of the entertainment industry, would experience another boom and bust decade. In the case of film this would be closely linked with American finance, which reached an estimated 90% by 1967 . Americas determination to dominate the film industry and maximise profits led to them reducing the quantity of output to finance blockbusters, which would ultimately prove detrimental to their industry. This enabled British companies to fill a niche as this reduction in output resulted in a shortage of product for the cinema, leaving the door open for the independent producer. This fact was not lost on British based companies such as Anglo Amalgamated and Independent Artists who, as AIP had been doing in America since the 1950s, put their house in order to fill the gap in horror production which could, to a large extent, be accomplished with low budget productions. The closing of the 1950s and the dawning of the 1960s saw developments in sadistic violence with offerings such as Herman Cohens Horrors of The Black Museum (1959) which, along with Anglo Amalgamateds Circus of Horrors (1960) and Peeping Tom (1960) , formed a trilogy often termed sadian, but more properly Selwynian , movies. The first of these updated Grand Guingol theatre with its catalogue of gruesome crimes while the second turned to medical horror with a sadistic, megalomaniac plastic surgeon murdering his creations when they challenged his authority. Unlike the first two which can be seen as more violent takes on conventional themes the third film was a new development that centre staged the psychotic killer, the human monster hiding behind a faà §ade of normality. This was a comment on the paranoid fear of communism, perceived as the enemy within that had been growing since the mid-1940s. The films contemporary setting would lead to it being vilified by critic and public alike, with a general reaction of repulsion and disgust. Not only did it reflect the violence that society was more aware of due to news reports and the exposure of the seedy world of Soho (tolerated but swept under the carpet) it also portrayed the taboo subject of mental instability in the community. Unlike other movies it struc k home as its style implicated the audience in the voyeuristic pleasure that was derived by the killer, making them feel a part of the crime. This was not the unreal, detached, gothic horror they were used to viewing, this was more realistic and the vitriolic reaction that ensued would lead to the censor taking a harsh stand for the next four years . This tightening of censorship would in effect almost bring the development of horror to a halt from which it would never fully recover. There is not much doubt that had this not been the case it would have rightly assumed the mantle of father of the slasher/stalk and slash movie, bestowed on Psycho (1960), that would come to dominate 1970s American horror. The censors stand, combined with Psychos (1960) success, saw many production companies turn to developing the low budget psychological horror such as Hammers Maniac (1963) concerning a psychotic killer and Compton/Teklis Repulsion (1965) which traced a womans descent into madness culminating in violence. Despite this Hammer still continued to try and develop the horror theme by exploring new ideas such as sadistic violence in The Stranglers of Bombay (1960), veiled lesbianism in The Brides of Dracula (1960), Voodoo in The Plague of The Zombies (1965) and science fiction with The Damned (1963). Apart from the lesbian theme, which they would not re-visit until the 1970s, they did not pursue these ideas any further. This may have been for several reasons but it coincided with a time that they were concentrating more on their psychological horrors which were likely to be more lucrative. In doing this they missed out on future survival opportunities as the discarded themes eventually gained prominence in the late 1960s into the 1970s. They did challenge the accepted 1950s gender convention in The Gorgon (1964) giving a nod of recognition to Womens Lib by making a strong woman the central character (and the monster), something they would not repeat until the 1970s, beginning with Countess Dracula (1970) but that Tigon would pursue with The Blood Beast Terror (1968) albeit not with great commercial success. In general there was a lack of development due to lack of audience appeal as demonstrated by the commercial failure of Danzigers The Tell Tale Heart (1960). This was an attempt to enter Edgar Allen Poe territory and a challenge to the extremely cost conscious AIP who had cornered the Poe market in America. AIP in turn ventured into Britain in 1965 to continue their successful Poe series with a story of obsession / possession in The Tomb of Ligeia (1965) and also take excursions into horror themes that had been experimented with by British companies such as Voodoo in The Oblong Box (1969) and medical horror in Scream and Scream Again (1969), the latter being a joint production with Amicus. 1964 saw Amicus enter the frame who, with the exception of single features like The Deadly Bees (1966), concentrated more on the portmanteau format. This enabled them to incorporate several themes within a single framework, linked by a central thread, which would have a wider audience appeal. Their tongue in cheek approach and contemporary settings were very different to the period horrors of the time, allowing them in effect to incorporate more gore, so much so that they stole a march on Hammer as Dr. Terrors House of Horrors (1965) got a release on the horror shy ABC circuit. Apart from The Skull (1965) which chillingly charted possession and a descent into madness, they also incorporated Voodoo elements in the majority of their portmanteaus. Amicus did not really add to the genres development, as much of their material was taken from the American EC comics and partially Anglicised for the British audience. A further development was the depiction of some parts of societys willingness to accept extreme violence, both to subdue strong women to mens will and also as an acceptable means of restoring order. This was the subject of Tigons Witchfinder General (1968) which also challenged the current moral framework of British horror as the defeat of evil did not produce a clear winner and only resulted in madness. This is an important moment in horror as good does not really triumph, an idea that would re-surface in George Romeros horrors. The late 1960s and early 1970s saw British horror under attack from a resurgence of American horror which would eventually come to dominate the market. George Romeros Night of The Living Dead (1968) took the slow moving, brainless zombies of American Securities White Zombie (1932) and the British Plague of the Zombies (1965) endowing them with more fluid movement and a hunting instinct with a craving for human flesh. Just as Hammers The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) and Dracula (1958) had redefined horror in the 1950s he laid the seeds of a new type of horror, where the line between human and monster became blurred as infected humans themselves became the monster. More chillingly, these zombies were not Voodoo creations, but victims of an unseen infection that could spread uncontrolled and had no motive of any sort. The true horror, the disease, cannot be reasoned with or eradicated and was not personified as was the case with gothic horror. This change in American horror was not taken on board by the British producers, who were probably under the opinion that they were almost unassailable and were happy to rely on the old guard. Where this was not possible they came to expect too much of younger talent that they had to turn to in order to minimise costs, who had not been given the guidance, nurturing and development it needed. Not only would they struggle with their basic product, but more importantly they were no longer a source of new ideas, consequently resulting in their loss of audience. The British studios would carry on remaking the same scenario over and over again either little realising or refusing to accept the fact that the audience found it old fashioned and stale. This was something that would really come home to roost as the end of the Hays code in 1969 gave American producers the freedom to depict things and scenarios that had previously been the province of British and European producers meaning that Am erican money could be invested in their own horror productions. The 1970s saw great changes in the social and economic sense. Britains 1960s sexual revolution accelerated as women demanded more and more equality and sexual satisfaction via the Womens Liberation Movement. Continuing aspects of the hippies freedom culture were counteracted in part by the Punk Rock movement of the late 1970s. The full employment enjoyed in the 1950s and 1960s began to disappear as 1971 saw 1 million unemployed which, combined with price rises and higher inflation, would culminate in industrial unrest . This resulted in less disposable income for leisure, which became a factor in the further decline of cinema audiences. Another major factor of the decline was the lack of investment in cinemas fabric, which had become shabby and undermined the quality viewing experience that the audience had come to expect along with cinema closures . Financial problems once more plagued the British Film Industry and the boom and bust pattern of the early 1970s was similar to that of the 1960s. By the early 1970s American studios had withdrawn the majority of their finance to try and prop up their own ailing film industry, the aftermath of their blockbuster phase. The period following the release of The Exorcist (1973), which had reinvigorated the general publics interest in horror, proved difficult for British Horror. It struggled as it failed to adapt to the mix of innovative special effects and brutal violence of films such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974).More importantly, as in The Night of The Living Dead (1968), this horror was contemporary not gothic, which had formed the backbone of British horror. The British horror industry reacted by fragmenting in many directions instead of developing their own generic product. They attempted, generally unsuccessfully, to ape the American satanic worship / possession based output, usually with low budget offerings such as Unicapital/Ranks I Dont Want to Be Born (1975) and Monumentals Satans Slave (1976) and some bigger budgeted affairs like Hammer/ Terra-Filmkunsts To the Devil a Daughter (1976). Although the latter incorporated the current satanic vogue it sacrificed its quintessential British style and placed an American actor in a lead role, a last gasp attempt that could only result in box office failure. British horror would not learn the necessary adaptation techniques until a younger breed of filmmaker emerged in the 1980s and beyond. By the mid to late 1970s the popularity of British horror was in decline which, to a large extent, was the fault of the production companies. Instead of trying to develop the more traditional forms of British horror to suit the changing, diminishing audience they, as in the 1960s, basically sat back on their laurels. There were some half-hearted attempts to transplant Dracula in the modern world as with Hammer/Warners Dracula AD72 (1972) but all it did was confine him to a gothic setting in a modern world that was more related to the previous decade in language and style. Hammer had become a shadow of itself, desperately trying to engineer the survival of its particular brand of gothic horror by spicing it up even more with sex and violence. Amicus was no different as they found that their more tongue in cheek approach was not compatible with the developing product of possession, gory, psychotic and often sadistic violence, sex and nudity. This enabled smaller companies such as Benmar and K-L Productions to come to the fore with a fresh approach ranging from zombie bikers in Psychomania (1972) to cannibalistic descendants in Death Line (aka Raw Meat) (1972). Even the return to science-fiction with TCF/Brandywines Alien (1979), which harked back to the Quatermass series of the 1950s with its mix of gothic type settings and horror, was short lived and was not really picked up as providing the shot in the arm or development lifeline that British horror desperately needed at the time. The relaxation of censorship and the desperate fight for finance and box office returns pulled the horror film towards sexploitation with films like Noteworthys Horror Hospital (1973), and the incorporation of more nudity and graphic violence in Gothic based fare of Hammer/AIPs The Vampire Lovers (1970), the first of the Karnstein Trilogy which played on the viewer being attracted to the lesbian act in a voyeuristic way. The lesbian vampire not only intruded on society, with her unnatural desires capable of undermining its authority, but also intruded into male dominated sexual territory as the erotic act of drawing blood emphasised what society deemed an unnatural sexual, non-procreative, pleasurable practice, further compounded by it depleting the victims body of blood, possibly affecting menstruation and a direct challenge to human reproduction. The theme was continued with Essay/Fox-Ranks Vampyres (1974) with the added twist that the lesbian couple used a bisexual relationship to satisfy some of their desires and need for nourishment. This formed a part of the 1970s movement that saw female sexuality become more aggressive as sex driven vampires and witches which, coupled with other offerings of invasion, bodily or otherwise, by supernatural beings or alien life-forms posed a threat to the secular world and highlighted what was being viewed by many as the decline of the males dominant role in society. It is worth noting that 1970s America saw pornographic films like Deep Throat (1972) make the transition from the adult into main stream, a further indication of the changing tastes of the cinema audience and giving a nod to the feminist movement as it showed a woman willing to take charge in satisfying her needs, rather than be a pawn to mens desires. More importantly the relaxation of censorship opened the door for the adult soft core pornography and sexploitation producers such as Pete Walker , Antony Balch and Tony Tenser to enter mainstream horror. They brought their extensive experience of making films on shoestring budgets and distribution networks to bear. They were happy to provide offerings of sadism and sex in films like Heritages The House of Whipcord (1974), which commented on societys view that girls who were just out for a good time should reap just punishment. They attacked established religion by having a murdering, non-celibate, Roman Catholic priest in The House of Mortal Sin (aka The Confessional) (1975). They also offered large doses of sex and horror in a combination of schlock and art-house style and stomach churning sadism in productions like The Secret of Sex (aka Bizarre) (1970) and mad surgeon horror, tinged with a perverse sexual desire in Horror Hospital (1973) generally appealing to an audience that had, or would, embrace the sexploitation market. Although operating in the blood soaked and grotty end of the market with their mix of sex and violence, which presaged the future American domination of the market, that had been so frowned upon by the censor in the 1950s, 1960s and part of the 1970s, they toyed with acc epted scenarios and added more chills in contemporary settings. It was not all sex and gore as Tyburn desperately tried to return to the gothic style that had once been a successful mainstay of British horror. Although they opted for higher budgets with films like The Ghoul (1975) and The Legend of the Werewolf (1976) they were doomed to box office failure, as they could not generate audience interest considering the prevailing contemporary horror climate with their efforts almost destroying the company. Films from the more recognised horror producers such as AIP and Hammer were laced with more sex and violence as they, like the sexploitation producers, challenged peoples beliefs as well as commenting on societys attitude that almost anything goes in the 1970s, especially in the search for truth or the restoration of order. This determination to Americanise, or even orientalise British horror as with Hammer/Shaws Kung Fu based The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974) robbed it of its quintessentially British touch, often resulting in pleasing neither one market nor the other. By the late 1970s the torrent of early independent 1970s horror, that had one eye firmly focussed on the American market, had slowed to a trickle eventually becoming a downward spiral that by the 1980s would prove almost terminal and it was becoming crystal clear that British horror would never again see the heady dominating days of the 1950s and 1960s. From 1978 onwards the horror film had moved on again as Gothic had had its day, partially the fault of the producers as their sequels which were remakes of the original offered little re-imagination, being replaced by the stalk and slash movie in the form of Halloween (1978) and Friday 13th (1980) to satisfy audience requirement for more gore and psychotic, senseless violence. The films of the 1970s had really become a combination of sex and violence which also set out to challenge the accepted sanctity religious beliefs as in Tigon/Chiltons Blood On Satans Claw (aka The Devils Skin) (1970) where the leader of the coven tries to seduce the local priest and also included a violent, graphic rape scene. This theme of gratuitous nudity, sex and violence would be a factor in many British horror films of the 1970s, a good demonstration of this gratuity are the opening sequences of AIPs Cry of the Banshee (1970) and in challenging conventional beliefs British Lions The Wicker Man (1973) wit h its survival of strong pagan beliefs involving animal and human sacrifice being depicted as the only course of action due to the failure of science. It can be seen above that the changes in the 1950s and 1970s were the most influential in British horror development. The 1950s saw the emergence of productions that not only pleased the audience but in doing so pushed against the existing boundaries of censorship and making full use of the adults only X certificate introduced by the BBFC in 1951. There is no doubt that this would have continued into the 1960s but for two crucial events. The first being the vitriolic reception to Peeping Tom (1960) which put the censor on the back foot, in a harsh clampdown until 1964. The other was the success of Psycho (1960) which had a two-fold effect. Firstly it was seen as the father of the slasher movie, which would gain prominence in the 1970s, secondly it provided a life line to British producers, who were having difficulties with finance and the censor in the early part of the decade, enabling them to realise revenue by developing their low budget psychological thrillers, which would be made in monochrome to reduce the effect of gore and be more acceptable to the censor. It also emerged that the development and production of British horror was subject Boom Bust cycles which occurred in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s due to their dependence on foreign investment. Also there was a continuously changing and declining, due to the proffered viewing experience and lack of investment in cinema fabric, audience that by the 1970s it had failed to evolve with. The most costly event in the development of British horror was its failure to monitor and adapt to changing audiences and looking to the future by developing new talent during the good times to enable them to keep up with changing trends. Many of the producers stuck with the old guard and virtually remaking the same film again and again with little imagination and the odd tweak to their characters behaviour, mistakenly believing that drenching it in more violence, nudity, sex and lesbianism would save the day. Even these embellishments could not hide the same old formula from the audience. They had not realised that they were heading towards times of the rejection of religious beliefs and acts of faith. The religious symbols from the 1950s-1970s defe

Free Canterbury Tales Essays: The Knight and the Wife of Bath :: Wife of Bath Essays

The Character of the Knight of the Wife of Bath  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The knight from the "Wife of Bath's Tale" is not a very likable personality. His actions suggest he is just an abstract character, a receiver of the actions, who is used to give the tale's plot a meaning. Neither he nor other characters in the story are even mentioned by name. However, the traits of his character are very real and do exist in the real world. Brought together, they create an un-exciting personality of a man without a purpose in life. The knight is not very smart; he does not think about the consequences of his actions. Raping the girl is one example. In this act, he is guided only by his desires, without considering how right they are. But he doesn't think about the punishment either. The knight lives only for the present moment. Another example is the rash promise that he gives to the old hag. He agrees to do anything she wants in return for hearing the answer he is looking for. True, if he doesn't get an answer, he will lose his life. However, he doesn't think about the possibility that what the hag will want may turn out to be even worse, considering the fact that honor and personal integrity were valued more than life in those times. A thoughtful person, such as Sir Gawain from Morte Darthur, would have inquired more about the woman's wish, before making such an agreement. The knight is also an ungrateful person. The hag saves him from a certain death and then requests that he marry her. In light of the events, the knight should be grateful to escape death, but instead he views the marriage to his savior as another form of the same punishment. He agrees only because he is bound by the promise, and the chivalric code forces him to keep it. In addition, the knight's thoughts are easily influenced by other people. Apparently, he recognizes the fact that he is often wrong and listens to the opinions of others. But he adopts those opinions without thinking them through for himself. This happens when the old hag says she knows what women most want; the knight doesn't question that knowledge. However, by the time he meets the hag, he has listened to many other women who weren't very consistent in their suggestions.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson Essay -- Jekyll Hyde

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson This novella, although unapparent, is intertwined with many allegorical undertones. Stevenson uses the book to criticise Victorian society and its hypocritical existence. The most significant thematic concern of the novella is the continually revisited theme of the duality of man and the camouflaged evil that lies deep within the human race. Stevenson was writing before the period in which the great psychologist Sigmund Freud was researching the human mind, so in some ways Stevenson was ahead of his time in resolving the 'mystery of the mind'. Stevenson's novella, after being added to by his wife on the book's revision, contained much evidence of these theories of the human psyche. Armed with this weapon, Stevenson used the novella to attack the hypocritical ways of the Victorian society he lived in. The theme plays on the idea of a part of the unconscious, the 'id'. The id is the Hyde part of a human, which is of course repressed, undeveloped and primitive, with the taste for hunting and sex. Then on the other hand is the 'superego', your conscience and morality, with the "floater" between the two, the 'ego'. Jekyll stresses that, "man is not truly one, but truly two." This all links to the theme of hypocrisy in Victorian society. Jekyll admits, "...and it was as a secret sinner that I at last fell before the assaults of temptation." Stevenson tries to reveal the double lives that were being lived around this era. Some critics believe that this is a self-confession of Stevenson's sinful past. Jekyll is the perfect representation of hypocrisy, as he is described as the "spotless Jekyll" yet continuously lying to Utterson and one could argue, soci... ...en to partake in his, "scientific balderdash". One more symbol is apparent. The key to the laboratory is a symbol of power and authority and in this case, the key holds satanic power, therefore Hyde is the one who has the power to change back into Jekyll. When Utterson and Poole search for the key and fail to find it, they cannot overcome evil. This also means that they do not have access to evil, as they are sinless in the story. It is clear that Jekyll started with selfish intentions when he strived for a better self, this is why the experiment only stripped Jekyll of the Jekyll veneer, leaving the Hyde interior. And that Jekyll is in fact a host for the constant bombardment of metaphors, especially with hypocrisy as Jekyll represents hypocrisy and the Victorian society itself. "In Hyde, you have no Jekyll but in Jekyll, you always have some Hyde"

The Yanomamo of the Amazon Basin Essay -- essays research papers

Yanomamo Paper Assignment   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Napoleon Chagnon has spent about 60 months since 1964 studying the ‘foot people’ of the Amazon Basin known as the Yanomamo. In his ethnography, Yanomamo, he describes all of the events of his stay in the Venezuelan jungle. He describes the â€Å"hideous† appearance of the Yanomamo men when first meeting them, and their never-ending demands for Chagnon’s foreign goods, including his food. There are many issues that arise when considering Chagnon’s Yanomamo study. The withholding of genealogical information by the tribesmen, and how Chagnon was able to obtain his information is an interesting and significant aspect of this study. Why did Chagnon feel that this genealogical information was important? And was Chagnon’s choice to study the Yanomamo, despite their hesitancy to cooperate, a wise and ethical one?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Chagnon spent his first five months collecting what he thought was an intricate and elaborate table of genealogical information, marriage relationships, and kinships within the Yanomamo village of Bisaasi-teri. He knew from the beginning that it would be difficult to obtain the actual names of the tribesmen because it is a symbol of honor, respect, dignity, and political admiration. The less your name was spoken in public within the village, the higher you were regarded. And it was considered an extreme taboo to discuss the names of the deceased as well, which made it exceptionally difficult for Chagnon to trace family lineages to the past. Chagnon would interview villagers asking for the names of all members of their community, including the deceased. He recounts many situations in which the interviewee whispered a name into his ear, made him repeat it aloud and then the person whose name he was supposedly calling would cry out in anger while others laughed. It w asn’t until five months into his development of a genealogical chart, on a trip to another Yanomamo village, that he discovered the name he had for the village headman translated into â€Å"long dong† and that all of his names were in fact ridiculous and, of course, incorrect. For months and months to follow Chagnon would have to be incredibly strategic and smart in choosing who to interview and what to ask them. He began to only interview in his hut in private, where distractions from other village members could not in... ...ission. The Yanomamo seemed to be quite hesitant in accepting Chagnon, and even now he recounts events where they try to take advantage of him and the things that he brings. This is part of their culture, but what is the global importance of his research? I’m sure there is an answer because his study is widely accepted and taught, hence this paper, but I have not been able to understand the purpose of such projects other than fascination. In general, the â€Å"ethics† of something is an issue that must be decided by those involved in the situation. The opinions of the Yanomamo as to whether or not Chagnon’s genealogical study was ethical are just as important as the western scientists’ opinions. And if language presents a barrier to communicate and agree on a study taking place, then maybe that study just was not meant to happen. Not everything and everyone in this world is open to be analyzed, photographed, interviewed, etc. by western scientists. So was it ethical for Chagnon to go to Bisaasi-terri, drop his bags and start working? I say no. Was it really that important for Chagnon to go there and study people who didn’t come out and announce their welcoming of outsiders? I say no.