Christian Elements In Beowulf Essays - Beowulf, Geats,

Christian Elements In Beowulf Christian Elements in Beowulf The praised epic poem, Beowulf, is the first great heroic poem in English literature. The epic follows a courageous warrior named Beowulf throughout his young, adult life and into his old age. As a young man, Beowulf becomes a legendary hero when he saves the land of the Danes from the hellish creatures, Grendel and his mother. Later, after fifty years pass, Beowulf is an old man and a great king of the Geats. A monstrous dragon soon invades his peaceful kingdom and he defends his people courageously, dying in the process. His body is burned and his ashes are placed in a cave by the sea. By placing his ashes in the seaside cave, people passing by will always remember the legendary hero and king, Beowulf. In this recognized epic, Beowulf, is abound in supernatural elements of pagan associations; however, the poem is the opposite of pagan barbarism. The presentation of the story telling moves fluidly within Christian surroundings as well as pagan ideals. Beowulf was a recited pagan folklore where the people of that time period believed in gods, goddesses, and monsters. It's significance lies in an oral history where people memorized long, dense lines of tedious verse. Later, when a written tradition was introduced they began to write the story down on tablets. The old tale was not first told or invented by the commonly known, Beowulf poet. This is clear from investigations of the folk lore analogues. The manuscript was written by two scribes around AD 1000 in late West Saxon, the literary dialect of that period. It is believed that the scribes who put the old materials together into their present form were Christians and that his poem reflects a Christian tradition. The first scribe copied three prose pieces and the first 1,939 lines of Beowulf while the second scribe copied the rest of Beowulf and Judith. In 1731, a fire swept through the Cottonian Library, damaging many books and scorching the Beowulf codex. In 1786-87, after the manuscript had been deposited in the British Museum the Icelander, Grinur Jonsson Thorkelin, made two transcriptions of the poem for what was to be the first edition, in 1815 (Clark, 112-15). Beowulf is a mixture of pagan and Christian attitudes. Heathen practices are mentioned in several places, such as vowing of sacrifices at idol fanes, the observing of omens, the burning of the dead, which was frowned upon by the church. The frequent allusions to the power of fate, the motive of blood revenge, and the praise of worldly glory bear testimony to the ancient background of pagan conceptions and ideals. However, the general tone of the epic and its ethical viewpoint are predominantly Christian . There is no longer a genuine pagan atmosphere. The sentiment has been softened and purified. The virtues of moderation, unselfishness, consideration for others are practiced and appreciated. Beowulf is a Christian reworking of a pagan poem with ?a string of pagan lays edited by monks; it is the work of a learned but inaccurate Christian antiquarian? (Clark, 112). The author has fairly exhaulted the fights with Grendel, his mother, and the dragon into a conflict between powers of good and evil. The figure of Grendel, while originally an ordinary Scandinavian troll is conceived as an impersonation of evil and darkness, even an incarnation of the Christian devil. Grendel is a member of the race of Cain, from whom all ?misshapen and unnatural things were spawned? (Kermode, 42) such as ogres and elves. He is a creature dwelling in the outer darkness, a giant and cannibal. When he crawls off to die, he is said to join the route of devils in hell. The story of a race of demonic monsters and giants descended from Cain. It came form a tradition established by the apocryphal Book of Enoch and early Jewish and Christian interpretations of Genesis 6:4, ?There were giants in the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God had relations with the daughters of men, who bore children to them? (Holland Crossley, 15). Many of Grendel's appellations are unquestionable epithets of Satan such as ?enemy of mankind,? ?God's adversary,? ?the devil in hell,? and ?the hell slave.? His actions are represented in a manner suggesting the conduct of the evil one, and he dwells with his mother in a mere which conjures visions of hell. The depiction of the mere is the most remarkable because it is a conceptual landscape made fearsomely realistic

It could happen to us...

It could happen to us... "When you talk with a couple that had divorced, what question might come into your mind at once?" The researcher believes that the first question that might popped-out in your mind is "why did they divorce?" The answers for that question are varied; every couple that takes a step to divorce has different reasons why they want to divorce. A financial difficulty is one of the problems that might cause divorce. Changing personalities in both or either wife and husband can also cause divorce. It is very hard, because every human being changes in time; to avoid divorce by this reason, a couple needs to understand one another to avoid misunderstanding in personalities. "Are there many other reasons?" Yes there are many other reasons, such as abusive action on either wife or husband or even children. In this case, the victim should tell the police for their own safety.Marriage and divorce rates in New ZealandThe researcher put a question on this, and 54.5% of the respondents think that the main reason which causes a person to feel tired of her or his marriage are arguments between wife and husband. Seventeen out of twenty two respondents agree that the tiredness, which caused by too much arguments between the husband and wife, makes either or both parties fall into a love affair. And what is the result an affair? It often leads to a divorce."Now we know that an affair is the main reason that causes divorce, but what is the definition for it?" Most people know what an affair is, but they don't know what the exact definition for it is. Affairs are devastating to the trust that is the foundation of relationships. In Letter to Karen, the author clarified that "It's not about gender. It's all about that assumption; I can do...

Film Reviews Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Film Reviews - Research Paper Example The documentary is also punctuated by various statistics that detail Americans diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in the epidemic’s earlier years. The documentary relates and narrates the lives of Dr. Tom Waddell, who founded Gay Games, a young hemophiliac David Mandell, Robert Perryman who got AIDS by injecting drugs, Jeffrey Sevcik who was gay, and David Campbell who was a veteran in the US Navy. As well as their personal stories, the film documents the delayed response to AIDS by the Reagan administration using archival footage of government officials (Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt), reactions by medical practitioners, and the initial attempts by gay men to use the AIDS issue to organize the community. The documentary clearly brings into focus the AIDS era, although it does not break any new ground that has not already been covered. However, what makes this film important is that it creates and documents a historical era during which hysteria on AIDS and its relation to the g ay community was starting to turn to compassion for those who were infected. It seems to tell that this only occurred at the end of the Reagan administration, which, from the film, considered the disease to be a moral issue and not a public healthcare issue. The film narrates how AIDS broke barriers between middle class families of heterosexual leaning and the gay community in finding a common ground. One touching moment was when the Mandell family asserted they were middle-class Americans who, when it came to AIDS, found out that there was no Middle America as everyone who was affected clung to one another. Every story in this documentary is well narrated by those who survived the victims and who are on the quilt. The film draws sympathy as Sally Perryman talks about Robert, her husband, and the way he struggled to end his drug addiction until he died of AIDS. There is heartbreak when the Mandell family takes the viewer through the pictures and videos of their son, as he became sic ker, while their struggle with prejudice from their community shows how stigmatizing the disease still was in the 80s. The film also discusses the life of Vito Russo, who originally wrote The Celluloid Closet prior to his death from AIDS in his prime. However, the story, which is most revealing is Tracy Torrey’s, whose partner David Campbell died, as he also is. He is shown on his bed dying with lesions and unable to rise from his bed. This film is a chilling look into how AIDS affected the entire country without discrimination. Silverlake Life: The View from Here (1993) This film documents the experiences that TOM Joslin, a film professor at UCLA, and his partner Mark Massi after Tom’s AIDS diagnosis (Silverlake Life: The View from Here). The film traces his struggles as he tries to cope with an AIDS diagnosis, especially their trip to New Hampshire for a Christmas celebration that Joslin believes is the last with his family, which has refused to accept his partner fo r the last 22 years. As the documentary progresses, the filmmaker makes it clear that the love between the two partners is what has made the disease bearable for Joslin. The filming continues after Tom’s demise, showing the manner in which the undertakers and other people handle his body through the filming work of Peter Friedman, his friend, who chronicles Massi’s acceptance by the family following Joslin’s demise. This documentary does not have overt political statements and acts only as a record of the experiences of two lovers as one of them dies from an incurable disease. The first-person diary style used to shoot the film enables the viewer to see the intensity of

To what extent should pupils become fully competent in the various Essay

To what extent should pupils become fully competent in the various aspects of science process skills before being introduced to ICT as a means of performing lab - Essay Example much exposure and competence the pupils must have on certain science principles before they are exposed to ICT as a means of performing labourious, repetitive or more complex tasks is a challenge for educators of today. The schools and all education stakeholders must however understand that the use of ICT tools are advantageous both to teachers and pupils. Results of several studies conducted throughout the world revealed that the use of ICT greatly increased the level of learning and understanding of the pupils on the scientific principles being studied (Betts, 2003, Mistler-Jackson & Songer, 2000, Hogarth et. al, 2006). In fact the ICT tools can even be use to demonstrate science principles in a safer way. For instance, teaching electricity principles to pupils can be both interesting and dangerous. But the advent of computer hardwares and softwares has made it more motivating and rewarding minus the hazards. Primary knowledge and skills about how electrical circuits work, how much power is required for certain types of lights, and others can be learned through simulation and not in actual exposure to real electrical circuits. To determine if ICT is really needed for primary science education and understand when is the proper timing of its introduction into the learning process it is proper to understand first what ICT applications are necessary and how can they be integrated into the learning systems? What are the advantages and disadvantages of its applications? The use of ICT in teaching science for primary education came in various forms. Review of schools’ science teaching modules show the use of ICT hardwares and softwares to obtain and use science information, encoding of data, and creating presentations. Science information materials can be obtained from CD-ROM based encyclopedia and other e-books, journals, and articles, through a wide variety of Internet locations, and through local and international electronic library networks. There are a lot

Making an out line of essay.(Cinema studies) Essay

Making an out line of .(Cinema studies) - Essay Example Thus the inner emotions and desires of a lesbian spectator can be made visible to the audience through the movies. The main concept underlying the idea of cinephilia is fetishism. The author discusses a number of video artists, photographers and filmmakers who utilizes glamour photography, film clips and stories and myths from the stars. The essay highlights the idea of fetishism, lesbian culture, cross-dressing and composite portrait, all of which contributes towards making the lesbianism in cinema more vivid. The exploration of the idea of lesbian spectatorship unfolds several sensitive facts that usually do not come out to the forefront but the artists mind can read into all kinds of perversion, which is not confined, only to the gays. The idea here is to emphasize upon the fact that the heroine Bette Davis would prefer something special and not the usual heterosexual intimacy, which is apparently rejected. Ultimately it is desire that the Hollywood relies upon. The celebrities came out in the 1990s self-identifying themselves with the lesbian audience and previously it was thought of losing their credibility in the process. However time has proved that many lesbian audiences do buy tickets. The female homosexuality has contributed to the appeal of the star system mainly to women. However, the lesbians in the society were not really conspicuous but the lesbian fandom has been extensively documented. Works on spectatorships emphasizes on the need for privileged relationship between the women audience and the female stars. The works also focus on the crushes on female stars and how they represent their relationship with the stars, which goes beyond imagination. The lesbian audience identifies their desires through the stars in the movies. This section discusses about the works that explore lesbian adolescents’ views on their favorite stars. The teenager lesbians are interviewed and the idea is mainly to deal with the adolescent awakening rather

National identity in music: The Beatles

National identity in music: The Beatles Evaluate depictions of Britishness in the songs of the Beatles and 1990s Brit pop groups and discuss the relation between politics and music. A feature that is evident in the music of the Beatles from 1966 on wards is the way in which they use representations of everyday British cultural life. Such representations are not contained to the latter of the Beatles work but do take on a much more important role in the way the music is formed and words are written. Tracks like Eleanor Rigby, A Day in the Life, Penny Lane and Polythene Pam are all connected by their distinctive British sound and context. The Small Faces and the Kinks were also bands that had a keen eye for writing about different aspects of the lower to middle-class British peoples lives in the 1960s. A resurgence of this type of writing appeared in the 1990s with such Brit pop groups as Blur, Pulp and Oasis portraying an ever-changing view of Britain. I will begin my discussion by briefly looking at what it means to be British and discuss the connections between music and national identity. I will then analyse how the Beatles developed a distinctly British sound by looking at their influences and then give examples of this sound by referencing the bands music. National Identity in music and what it means to be British What does it mean to be British? Freedom? Democracy? Trial by jury? Freedom of speech? Acceptance? Tolerance? White? It would seem that politicians were unaware of what it meant until it started to fall away from us and deteriorate. The national flag, the Union Jack or Union Flag, is not a proud flag that we as one nation unite under as the Americans do with the Star-Spangled Banner. A regulation was previously in place across government that meant the Union Jack could only be flown 18 fixed days a year on government buildings (The governance of Britain green paper 2007). A regulation now waved. The government for specific forms of the military reserves the flag. It is used by the Royal Navy and as a way to display the rank of admiral of the fleet, which is the reason why it is still illegal for a civilian ship to fly it. In war time Britain we were defined by our one nation joining together to fight for a common purpose. The common man was out fighting against an evil dictatorship. We had one of the most advanced Naval forces in the world bringing technology in Britain to the forefront and an outs tanding air force, which repelled an overwhelming German attack at the Battle of Britain. But in the 64 years since the end of world war two Britain has seen many changes in its cultural make up. America has had a very powerful influence over the music we listen to, the way we dress and eat and we seek to replicate their dominant cultural traditions (Mundy 1999). We have seen an influx in the number of immigrants coming to Britain to live and work. Injecting a little of their culture into our own. Furthermore, the industries such as the ship building in Glasgow and Liverpool, the shoe factories in Northampton and the steal works in Scunthorpe and Sheffield have all but disappeared. The traditions that shaped the country and gave it international acclaim and recognition have been lost to overseas countries that have the technology to produce it cheaper. I will revise the sociological aspects of our changing culture later and analyse whether British society has changed over the years and if this has made Brit Pop differ from music of the 1960s. For now I will touch upon music and national identity and the reasons for national patriotism. Music has long been a fundamental tool in the study and assembly of national identities. Its intricate framework has been studied in great depth. Possibly one of the most obvious ways in which music is amalgamated with national identity is the national anthem. It provides an opportunity for people to obtain a state of deep heart felt emotion towards their country and is used in Britain before various sporting events, before the Queens Christmas Message and in the event of a royal announcement or death. Perhaps the oldest form of national pride is found in folk music, commonly described as an accurate look at a way of life as it was or a life about to fade away. Richard Middleton explains the real meaning of folk music well. The Romantics, who originated the concept, often thought of the people in the sense of a national essence. Or and this later became more common they thought of a particular part of the people, a lower layer, or even class. Middletons thoughts therefore could be applied to Brit Pop. With the eighties at an end, Margaret Thatchers government leaving record unemployment rates of 3 million unemployed, factories closed and there were cuts in spending. Things looked bleak and it was hard for young people to get a job. In the nineties Brit Pop, backed by this 60s inspired form of pop/rock with the qualities of folk music, exploded onto the scene. Artists such as Damon Albarn from Blur were writing songs that echoed issues regarding the lower classes and once again music was recognizable as being British. It is vital to understand what this British sound consists of and more importantly where it came from and who pioneered it. I will now go on to discuss the Beatles development as British artists and their everlasting footprint on music. The Beatles developing a British sound The Beatles were the first of a selection of bands from the 1960s to start a movement called the British Invasion. The name British Invasion was invented by the press to describe British bands that travelled to America and made a name for themselves. This all began in 1964 with the appearance of the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show but was continually used to describe many British bands who made a huge impact on the American music market. Namely the Rolling Stones, The Who, The Small Faces, The Yardbirds and The Kinks with the Beatles making the largest impact. The Beatles cannot be so neatly categorised as the archetypal British band, as their style is so eclectic and borrows from many different cultures. Early on in their career, the band had been mainly focused on writing songs about love and the loss of a love with not much indication of Britishness in the lyrics but there were a few facts that made their style stand out from their American competitors. One such fact is the accent the group sang with. In the early 1960s, radio was populated with simple two-minute pop songs from American artists like Elvis Presley and British artists who sounded American like Cliff Richard and the Shadows. However, Lennon and McCartney were singing songs like I Wanna Hold Your Hand with a British accent. The Beatles were different, fusing exciting melodies with classical harmonies and a guitar sound that was full bodied and dominant. This brand new sound was one that defined the British sound of the sixties. When one says sound of the sixties it really m eans the period from 1963-1970, the Beatles era. Between 1955 and 1963 would be described as the sound of the fifties (Zarecki 2007). The Beatles changed music to a point that a child growing up in the 60s would call the records of the 50s oldies, a word still used today to describe the same records (Wald 2009). The musical education the Beatles received can be traced back as far as the mid 1930s when Robert Johnson, kindly named the Grandfather of Rock n Roll, was recording the blues/rock tracks which would be an inspiration for artists like the Memphis born B.B. King who in turn was greatly admired by another king, Elvis Presley. Elvis forged the rock n roll sound of the fifties that the Beatles loved. They covered many songs by Chuck Berry and Little Richard during their time in Hamburg in the early 1960s. John Lennon is famously quoted as saying, Nothing really affected me until I heard Elvis. If there hadnt been Elvis, there would not have been The Beatles But there was more to the Beatles sound. Although most of their influences came from America, they were not a band trying to replicate the American sound. Harmonies that the band integrated into songs were reminiscent of early Motown records and the Everly Brothers provided a strong influence when it came to producing close harmonies, a technique where the notes of a chord are sang within a narrow range. Influences of the Beatles were not confined to what had come before them. Throughout their career they continued to remain open to new influences. Paul McCartney sites one of his favourite albums as the 1966 album Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys and talks about its importance over the idea for creating the Beatles 1967 album Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. It was Pet Sounds that blew me out of the water. I love the album so muchthat, I think, was probably the big influence that set me thinking when we recorded Pepper The Beatles were at the vanguard from 1966 onwards when music began to progress from the pop/rock love songs into something altogether more experimental and risky. Looking at the memoirs of Kate Paul (2000) makes it clear the significance art school training had on new artists, fashion and music. It was becoming more common for teenagers to attend Art School and this training is said to have shifted the thinking behind the writing of many bands and change British music forever. As musical ideas were changing so was the way people were thinking about art. Music and art were becoming more abstract and new and radical thinking was being poured into both. In 1961, a group of artists graduated from the Royal College of Art including David Hockey and Patrick Caulfield. This pair along with other young artists put the Pop Art style on the map. The style quickly became very popular and the artists involved in its production became fashionable celebrities receiving much notification in the pr ess. By 1968 for the very first time in the Twentieth Century, London had risen to become the world focus in art and Britain the focus for new and innovative art and music. Pop Art was not solely the reason for the popularity of the art scene in London. It was very diverse, and more artists were turning their hand to abstraction, which involved more gestural marks, block colours and interesting shapes. Sculpture also went through a great transformation in the sixties with sculptors such as Anthony Caro, whose interest in shape and colour came straight from America. Gone were the days of bronzed statues on plinths, now it was all about sheet metal and plastic arranged on the floor in amazing shapes. This environment of such an eclectic mix of artists and so much competition would have forced students to think in an original way. Just as artists were using new materials to create their work, musicians like the Beatles were using new instruments such as the Indian Sitar and using new t echniques like playing tape recordings in reverse to create never before heard sounds. George Martin often said that John Lennon would enter the studio every morning with the intent of sounding different to yesterday. John Lennon attended Liverpool Art College with friend and short term fifth Beatle Stuart Sutcliffe. John was always a disruptive pupil and continued to be through art school. Although John failed an annual exam and eventually dropped out of art school before his final year the impact it made would stay with him, encouraging him to push the boundaries and keep his music inspirational and contemporary. John always had a devoted interest in the art world, even deep into the Beatles experimental career. Their use of orchestral scores accompanied only by voice, three part harmonies and psychedelic arrangements would stand to become a major influence to Brit Pop bands. This entwined with the shifting context of the Beatles lyrics would shape the music of the late 60s and pr ove to be the very essence of what Brit Pop came to embody. The most noticeable example of this experimental and contemporary writing is found in the album Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. Released in June 1967 Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band was a groundbreaking album that combined revolutionary engineering and musical techniques. It is believed to be the first concept album and also the first album to print the lyrics to the songs on the sleeve. All the songs on the album except possibly George Harrisons experimental Within you without you either lyrically or musically express a sense of British culture. Sgt Peppers is steeped in images of brass bands playing in bandstands, Punch and Judy, cream teas, donkey rides and naughty postcards. In When Im Sixty four, Paul McCartney gives us a description of what life can be like growing old in Britain. He talks of going for a drive on a Sunday, doing some gardening and renting a cottage in the Isle of Wight, If its not too dear. Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite arouses clear images of the great British past time of the circus and also creates a joyous atmosphere with the merry go round sound playing along with the main organ melody. This effect was created when producer George Martin told engineer Geoff Emerick to splice up old Victorian tapes of organ music and throw them into the air. He was then ordered to piece the tapes back together in a completely random order to create an energetic looping sound (Martin 2008). The images Lennon and McCartney present in a lot of their songs make it hard for the listener to fully understand the content. Their writing would often stumble into the surreal, and perplexing words would be used to compliment the music. Some of their music however, seems to be more clear in the way it comments and often ridicules observations of ordinary British cultural life. In the final track on the Sgt Pepper album, A Day in the Life, this trait seems to be evident. The lyrics were inspired by two newspaper articles and contain many haunting but also some quite comical images. Within the song Lennon mentions three distinct British places, The House of Commons, Blackburn in Lancashire and the Royal Albert Hall. In the first verse John talks loosely about the death of Tara Browne the Guinness heir who died in a car crash. Lennon said, I didnt copy the accident. Tara didnt blow his mind out, but it was in my mind when I was writing that verse. The Line Theyd seen his face before/N obody was really sure if he was from the House of Lords refers to the British public turning what should be a solemn moment into some cheap excitement. Some people in the crowd may know the individual involved in the car crash as a face on television or in a newspaper but he is no more than that. The second verse came from a newspaper article concerning the state of the roads in Blackburn which Lennon jokes could fill the Albert Hall. This type of ironic and sarcastic view of Britain was commonly found in John Lennons writing. Andy Bennett writes, Tracks like A Day in the Life, are clearly meant to be seen, in part at least, as satirical commentaries on aspects of British society. Lennons descriptions of the slavish counting of the holes in the streets of Blackburn, andto the double life led by politicianswould appear not merely to poke fun at British society but also to criticize it. On the other hand, the song Penny Lane doesnt appear to criticize British culture but instead runs like a commentary of what can be seen. Penny Lane was written by Paul McCartney and released alongside Strawberry Fields Forever as a double-A side single in 1967. It was common practice to release singles that were not on the album at the time. George Martin always believed it wasnt fair to the public that singles should come from the album. The title Penny Lane came from a street in the bands hometown of Liverpool. Lennon and McCartney would often meet at Penny Lane Junction to catch a bus into the centre of town and had met up with friends around the area as teenagers. Penny lane is a study of the humdrum lives of people, evoking feelings of blissful memories and describing the ordinary sights and sounds of a suburban British neighbourhood. Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes/There beneath the blue suburban skies. During this line a brass section plays a small musical fill couple d together with McCartneys quaint English tone to create an altogether exultant sound. This song, different from A Day in the Life, has a strong feeling today of harking back to a happier and simpler Britain now lost and forgotten. The man who has popped into the barbers for a shave, the fireman who carries a picture of the queen in his pocket and the standard procedure of carrying an hourglass now seem long-gone. Its a song that takes the listener on a ride and brings up various emotions ranging from nostalgia to a pride of Britain during the piccolo trumpet solo and to laughter at the sexual slang of the time A four of fish and finger pie. The qualities found in both these Beatles songs can also be found in songs from other British bands from the 1960s. The Small Faces song Rene tells the unpleasant tale of a woman parading the quayside every night to welcome sailors from Kuala Lumpur who have docked with plenty of readies (ready money) to spend at the pub having a good time. Whil e Lazy Sunday rebels against the neighbours that complain when Steve Marriott and his friends play their music loud. The Small faces songs Rene and Lazy Sunday are both sung in ridiculously thick Cockney accents and seem almost to make fun of their London ancestry. The same examination can be made in the music of The Kinks who gave us their keenly observed satires A Well Respected Man and Dedicated Follower of Fashion (which lampooned the characters of Carnaby Street in swinging London). The contrast of Britpop In the early 1990s Britpop emerged fusing new British ideals with the pop music of the 1960s. The two main aims of Britpop were to drown out the electronic sound of the eighties and to react against the grunge sound of Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Britpop made British alternative rock mainstream and formed the foundations for a larger British cultural movement called Cool Britannia. This phrase, a pun on the patriotic song Rule, Britannia, was first used as a song title by the Bonzo dog Doo Dah Band in 1967. It emerged in the 1990s as the name of one of the company Ben and Jerrys ice cream flavours. The name came about through a competition the company were running. An American lawyer living in London named Sarah Moynihan-Williams won with her suggestion and recipe for Cool Britannia, which was in relation to the New Labour era. The media quickly picked up on this term, and seeing a young Prime minister in power and the fashionable nature of London at the time gave the idea new scope. Looking now at the representations of Britishness in the music of Britpop bands from the 1990s presents a different argument. The Beatles and other bands from the same era such as The Kinks and The Small Faces heavily influenced Brit Pop. Musical pioneers of the nineties such as Blur, Pulp and Oasis completely dropped the synthesizers and the electric drums of the eighties and began creating music with full guitars and raw drumming. The orchestral and brass band instruments were introduced once again to achieve the complete British sound of the 1960s. An example of this resurrection can be established through the Blur song Sunday Sunday. The song featured on the apt 1993 album Modern Life is Rubbish, features a trumpet solo that could easily have been found on any later Beatles track. The lyrics in the first verse read much like a social commentary with lines such as You read the colour supplement, the T.V. guide and Together the family round the table. Both bring to mind visions of a quiet ordinary Sunday at home with the family. The second verse however mentions a walk in the park where the writer meets a soldier who fought in both world wars and says, The England he knew is no more. Quite unlike the interpretation of a British Sunday morning the second verse takes a nostalgic look back with a conceivable chance of the soldier appearing as a metaphor for a Britain that used to be. Britpop resonated with a sound of the past. Singers and back up singers were producing exciting harmonies like the ones found on the Oasis record Cast no shadow. Artists were being commended for their song writing abilities and musical talent unlike the dry and dreary song-writing period of the eighties, which featured Duran Duran, Gary Newman and Depeche mode. The mod subculture of the 60s also became popular again. People began growing their hair with the Beatles various styles in mind. Jarvis Cocker from the band Pulp used to wear suits which echoed the mod style. The Whos manag er Pete Meaden famously described modism saying, Modism, mod living, is an aphorism for clean living under difficult circumstances Not everyone believed that Britpop reminisced of a past idea of Britishness. Some suggested that bands crafted an entirely new image altogether, focusing on an attitude based not on a nostalgic Carry On Mr Kipling Britain, but a Britain that you will recognise as the one you live in (Jones 1994). Undoubtedly the song Girls and Boys which is performed in front of a club 18-30s holiday backdrop with its subject matter of casual sex is one which is more contemporary rather than the wistful longing for old England found in Sunday Sunday. Also, Oasiss accounts of throwing up on a Sunday and their wild views that cigarettes, alcohol and drugs are a remedy for a dull, ordinary life may have appealed to the young generation of the 1990s but it was miles apart from the Beatles idealized and glamorized version of Britain. It appears that this type of topical writing is in the minority and more songs relate to similar representations conjured up by the Beatles in the 1960s. There is another are a that is imperative to study when analysing depictions of Britain and that is the view created through the music video. The Beatles and the Birth of the Music Video One main important difference in the way in which music is presented in the 1990s is the availability of the music video, which further enhances depictions of Britishness. The Birth of the music video may to some be credited to the band Queen. In November 1975 due to tour commitments they could not appear on Top of The Pops and so produced a video to promote their new single Bohemian Rhapsody. But as much as a decade before, the Beatles were generating videos to be broadcast on television shows all over the world. In 1996, with the release of the Beatles Anthology film box set, George Harrison received an interview and in relation to the promotional video made for the song Rain he made the statement: So I suppose, in a way, we invented MTV Now that the music video is fast becoming an art form in itself it is interesting to analyze how Lennon and McCartneys influence on the British social commentary style of writing transposed into video format. I will begin by analysing the reflection of Britain the Beatles achieved through their use of video and the reasons for them depicting society in this way, then I will compare this to the music videos in the 1990s. The first Beatles film was released in 1964 entitled A Hard Days Night. With prospects of an accompanying soundtrack album, the film was released as a way to make more money from the bands growing success. As Bob Neaverson said: The project was initially envisaged by the American-owned company as little more than another low budget exploitation picture which would capitalize on the groups fleeting success with the teenage market No matter which way it is looked at, the decision to release a Beatles film came about because of a money making business deal. Although it turned out much more was achieved than simply money. Director Richard Lester broke rules that had been associated with the pop music format since the 1950s. To begin, one of the opening scenes is filmed in an unconventional train carriage, a setting with no musical connection. His use of free hand documentary filming not only added excitement and energy but also made the viewer feel as if he or she were in the film closely interacting with the band. This made the Beatles able to be shown as the guys next-door, seemingly unaffected by fame, instead of fictional characters. Whereas realism had already been established in British films through the working class genre known as kitchen sink drama with films like The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962) and A Taste of Honey (1961), A Hard Days Night was the first music video to incorporate thi s into its style and content. This working class image was an important factor that shone through the films of the Beatles. In a time when all well-known artists were predominantly imported, any British act doing significantly well was a joy. The bands natural working class attitudes coupled together with their down to earth, oblivious out look on fame only endeared them to the British public who Neaverson says, upheld them as symbols of the new social mobility and classlessness of sixties Britain. In this sense, this approach broke down barriers and was vital to the modernization of British national identity in the 1960s. Having looked at how the Beatles became symbols for a cultural shift I will now investigate how music videos in the 1990s adapted the skills that Richard Lester put into practice and decide if the substance of the video is similar to that of Lennon and McCartneys writing. One such video that involves strong British connotations is Park Life by Blur. It is a song that lyrically documents parts of British life with examples including being wakened by the dustmen, cups of tea and feeding the pigeons. Although these are very banal actions the visuals found in the video take on a different, more contemporary feel. In the video actor Phil Daniels plays a creepy door-to-door double-glazing salesman driving around in his Ford Granada Coupe Mk1. It seems at times that the video is not related to the song until the rapid images of British life the row of terraced houses, the red post boxes, the arrival of the ice cream van and the playful nature of the band meeting up with friends in 90s style attire spinning each other in a trolley crop up. In many ways the video resonates with a feeling not to dissimilar from Penny Lane, which I mentioned earlier. This parallel is continued through the use of characters in the video the man with the four King Charles dogs, the fat man in the shirt and braces, the jogger and the couple sprawled across their sports car with their names printed above the drivers and passengers window. These are visually very interesting characters and like McCartneys fireman; banker and nurse could easily be fantastic characters in a book of British cultural life. The Park Life music video is obviously based around actual everyday encounters experienced by Damon Albarn that have been tweaked to appear more surreal much the same format as the lyrics take on in the song. Using Pop Music to Promote Political Interests Popular music has long been associated with showing dissatisfaction or opposition with the government and the government has always shown an interest in securing for itself a stake in the management of powerful bands. Conversely, today in China, leader Hu Jintao has spoken out frequently about building a harmonious society. He has great power and influence over the media, mainly monitoring everything that is broadcast on the radio. The governments ideas to create harmony are through censorship of the media. All music heard on Chinese radio consists of love songs or upbeat ballads. These gentle songs are not damaging to Chinas image of a stable and harmonious country. Pop and Pop/Rock songs where politics, rebellion and casual sex are the themes are disregarded for fear of a revolution. The state cannot completely censor music they find harmful, although they do have complete ownership of all broadcasting media giving them a loophole through which they can have the majority rule. Chin ese people believe the popular music they hear on the radio all sounds the same and if youve heard one song you know them all. Even musicians asked to submit songs for the Olympic games in Beijing were too worried to write anything with fear of going against the state policies. In this example the state is controlling the music. They are keeping a lid on the pot of society to prevent the revolution inside over spilling. In addition something that is so carefully prohibited may incite curiosity within youths of any culture and a notion to rebel will ensue. An example of this use of music to revolt was apparent in Germany during world war two. If music can be said to be associated with nationalism and national identity then it can also be criticized for supposed destabilization of the nations culture. During world war two, young German music fans sought after the British and American way of life and defined themselves through the music of Swing. Although they were not an organised political opposition group, they refused the culture of National Socialism. The group made such an impact in 1941 that the Gestapo violently repressed them and police ordered anyone under the age of 21 to stay out of dance bars (Whiteley, Bennett and Hawkins 2005). Whether a connection is made as a shared goal for public popularity or a way to manipulate or even to revolt, music and politics have a bond. Throughout the 1960s and again in the 1990s political groups created a connection with pop stars of the time. In 1965, current Prime Minister Harold Wilson showed he was in touch with the younger generation by awarding the Beatles with the honour of an MBE. It proved a popular move with young people. This move did however spark some controversy. Protestors and picketers who had received the award for military service showed their displeasure towards Harold Wilson but there were too few of them to make any real impact. Attackers thought it a clever and crafty plan to solicit votes for the next years general election but defenders argued the fan base of the Beatles were generally under the age of 21, too young to vote at the time. In any case, bestowing an MBE on the Beatles showed that Harold Wilson was a modern leader willing to embrace new ideas and be part of a contemporary Britain that culturally, the Beatles were helping to shape. A year later George Harrison would write the song Taxman as a retort to the 95% super taxes introduced by Harold Wilson and even included a harmony within the song incorporating his name. John Blacking argues that, Cultural politics, the use of culture and the arts to promote political interests, invariably exploits and contains the power of music to restrict political argument. It diverts attention from the real political issues or simply asserts the hegemony of its promoters (Blacking) On the other hand, not all people would agree with John Blackings statement. Some believe that in the right hands music can open up avenues and make people pay attention to various issues. Khaver Siddiqi would argue that, In an era where politics uses as many avenues it can to reach the people, it is ultimately the words of song and rhyme that will attract the attention more, than speeches ever will. (Siddiqi 2009) This thought can be put into practice if we look at the issues of race in the 1960s. In 1968 James Brown wrote a song called Say it Loud (Im Black and Im Proud) that become a very successful black power anthem. It was a racially chaotic period during the 1960s and this song filled black Americans with pride. This elevated Brown to the status of icon and also made him the face for a movement that shaped the 1960s. In 1997, after a period of predominantly conservative power in Britain, a new Prime Minister was elected, Tony Bl

harry potter :: essays research papers

Book Report 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  My book report is on Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling.2. The setting of this book takes place at Hogwarts, a magical school for wizards that Harry Potter attended the previous year. The story doesn’t exactly have a date in which the story takes place but it’s in modern times.3. The plot of the story is about Harry and his adventure in trying to find out the mystery of the chamber of secrets hidden somewhere in Hogwarts. 4. A.Harry Potter is the main character of the story. He’s a twelve year old boy with messy hair and glasses who became famous within the wizard community. He often finds himself in dangerous adventures but always lives to tell about it. B. Ron is Harry’s best friend at Hogwarts. He’s tall with red hair and is from a respected but poor family. Ron uses experience and a process of trial and error to solve most mysteries. 5. A. One major conflict that had happen in the story was how Harry thought he couldn’t go to Hogwarts because his aunt and uncle wouldn’t let him out of his room. This conflict was solved however because Harry’s friend Ron came in a flying car and picked him up out of his window. B. Another conflict that happened in the story was how Ron’s sister started acting strangely weird and kept being put under these trances. She somehow disappears and is missing. This conflict was resolved by Harry finding the chamber of secrets and looked for her. He eventually found her. C. One more conflict that happened was who was causing all the mischief at Hogwarts. This conflict was resolved when Harry found the chamber of secrets and fought Tom Riddle. 6. The story ends by Harry going into the chamber of secrets and finding Tom Riddle there with Ginny’s still body. Tom summons a giant snake. Harry fights the snake and defeats it. Harry then sticks one of the snakes’ fangs into the diary and defeats Tom.

Brand Update: Cadbury Dairy Milk For Shubh Aarambh Essay

Cadbury’s Dairy Milk has recently launched a new campaign † Shubh Aarambh† ( meaning Auspicious Beginning ). The campaign is the refined version of the earlier Payday campaign which evoked mixed response from the Ad analysts and consumers. The Shubh Aarambh campaign reinforces the occasion based positioning of Dairy Milk. The brand has been trying to position itself as a symbol of enjoyment and celebrations. Indians have the tradition of sharing sweets on auspicious occasions and also when one initiates a venture/activity. Whether the activity is small like writing an exam or huge like starting a company, sharing of sweets is an integral part of the event. The belief is that good things happen when one starts a venture on a positive note ( like sharing sweets). Dairy Milk very cleverly captured this tradition and incorporated into its brand story. The new campaign takes the brand to the center of this tradition linking Dairy Milk to Sweet and Auspicious Beginning. While the previous PayDay campaign was a narrow interpretation of the occasion based positioning , Shubh Aarambh has given the brand a broad playing ground. In my opinion, the brand has hit upon a really great Big Idea. The concept is very much Indian and offers huge opportunity for creatives to weave great stories for the brand. Watch the launch ad here : Shubh Aarambh The concept also gels with the brand’s tagline † Kuchch Meetha Ho Jaye â€Å". The launch campaign is targeted at younger generation and hence the brand added a little humor and twist into the campaign. Shubh Aarambh is a great idea for this great brand. It will be interesting to see how Dairy Milk milks this idea to the fullest.

The letter box Essays

The letter box Essays The letter box Paper The letter box Paper John Searles Chinese room argument attempts to explain the difference between working machines and the human mind. Let us imagine that an English speaking man who knows no other language has been put in a small room. On the wall is a letter box and on the floor is a book of rules and a note pad. Every so often a piece of paper with Chinese writing is passed through the letterbox. The rulebook explains how to process the writing, it tells the man to copy certain characters onto the note pad. Thebook gives a code informing the man what should be written according to what is on the paper initially sent through the letter box. Once he has decoded the message he sends the reply back through the letterbox as an answer to the questions he received, obeying the rules contained in the book. As time goes by the man becomes more and more accomplished at his job. To a Chinese onlooker it would seem that the person in the room was a fluent Chinese speaker. Searle compares the activity of this man to the activity of a machine or computer. The man did not need to understand the Chinese to be able to give a perfect answer. In this way the computer does not understand or comprehend what it is doing, it only processes information. Searle said that the man (and hence machine) lacked intentionality and possessed only a syntactical ability as opposed to a semantic one. This means that the machine is unable to be aware of the meaning of the information it processes even though it uses correct grammar to communicate with. Simply producing output in response to input according to certain rules does not constitute human thought. Searle uses this argument to refute the so-called Strong Artificial Intelligence position of some thinkers who believe that computer language does more than just represent human thought (via programming); rather, it really is human thought. A thought experiment arguing against Searles reasoning and supporting Strong AI is the Turing test. Alan Turing, who helped develop the first modern computers, claimed that in future years it could be possible to create a machine that had a mind. Turing imagined the following: There is an interrogator, a machine and a person. The interrogator is positioned in a separate room to the machine and the person. The person and machine are labelled either x or y, the interrogator is unaware which is x and which is y. The interrogator must ask x and y questions, his aim is to guess which is the machine and which is the person. The aim of the machine is to make the interrogator guess that the person is in fact the machine; the objective for the person is to help cause the interrogator to guess correctly. Turing believed that in the future it would be quite conceivable for a machine to trick the interrogator more than seventy percent of the time. Turing believed that this proved machines were capable of thinking. The problem with this argument is that just because the computer is capable of fooling the interrogator into believing it is human does not directly correspond to the conclusion that the machine is a thinking thing. It seems more likely that the computer has merely been programmed with the correct answers to use and in reality has no understanding of what his answers actually mean. Professor Jefferson argued, Not until a machine can write a sonnet or compose a concerto because of thoughts and emotions felt, and not by the chance fall of symbols, could we agree that machine equals brain-that is, not only write it but know that it had written it. No mechanism could feel (and not merely artificially signal, an easy contrivance) pleasure at its successes, grief when its valves fuse, be warmed by flattery, be made miserable by its mistakes, be charmed by sex, be angry or depressed when it cannot get what it wants. 3 Having awareness and knowledge of the content and meaning of thought is what Searle describes as intentionality and is a feature of human thinking which machines could never replicate because of their very nature as fabricated, artificial entities. In conclusion, I feel that it seems impossible for machines to ever have minds. The mind appears to be a purely metaphysical thing that could not be transplanted into a machine. Furthermore the process that a machine goes through is not thought but programming. Everything the machine knows comes from the maker. To say that machines have minds is like saying that even if an evil daemon controlled and planted every thought in our heads, we would still be free thinking beings with conscious minds. Personally I find it hard to conceive the monist approach, though some attempts are made to explain the mind from a monist perspective, which nonetheless gives the mind a special position that could not merely be recreated by fabricated, artificial machines. Such an approach is taken by those who see the mind as an emergent property of the physical composition of the body (specifically brain). A single molecule of water could not be wet or hot or cold; it is only on combining with many millions of molecules in a complex bundle that properties emerge that we associate with water. So with the mind our freedom and intentionality emerge from the very complex arrangement of our organic bodies, which are unique to humans and animals and could not be shared by machines. For most people using an argument from common sense it feels that our minds are free and unattached to our physical bodies. I therefore conclude that a purely physical man-made machine can never have a real mind of its own. And thus in reality it would make it impossible for James the Red Engines thought4 and emotions to actually exist.

Free Essays on The Use Of The Supernatural In Macbeth

In the play "Macbeth†, there were many interesting sections that could be concentrated on due to the suspense and the involvement of the supernatural. The use of the supernatural in the witches, the visions, the ghost, and the apparitions is a key element in making the concept of the play work and in making the play interesting. Looking through each Act and Scene of the play, it is noticed that the supernatural is definitely a major factor on the play's style. The use of the supernatural occurs at the beginning of the play, with three witches predicting the fate of Macbeth. This gives the audience a clue to what the future holds for Macbeth. "When the battles lost and won" (Act I, Scene I, l.4) was said by the second witch. It says that every battle is lost by one side and won by another. Macbeth's fate is that he will win the battle, but will lose his time of victory for the battle of his soul. After the prophecies of the witches' revealed the fate of Macbeth, the plan in which to gain power of the throne is brought up. The only way to gain power of the throne was for Macbeth to work his way to the throne, or to murder King Duncan. Murdering the king was an easier plan since the motivation in his dreams urged him on. Lady Macbeth also relied on the supernatural by her soliloquy of calling upon the evil spirits to give her the power to plot the murder of Duncan without any remorse or conscience (Act I, Scene V, ll.42-57). The three sisters are capable of leading people into danger resulting in death, such as the sailor who never slept (Act I, Scene III, ll.1-37). Lady Macbeth has convinced her husband Macbeth to murder King Duncan. On the night they planned to kill Duncan, Macbeth is waiting for Lady Macbeth to ring the signal bell to go up the stairs to Duncan's chamber. He sees the vision of the floating dagger. The interest of the dagger is that it... Free Essays on The Use Of The Supernatural In Macbeth Free Essays on The Use Of The Supernatural In Macbeth In the play "Macbeth†, there were many interesting sections that could be concentrated on due to the suspense and the involvement of the supernatural. The use of the supernatural in the witches, the visions, the ghost, and the apparitions is a key element in making the concept of the play work and in making the play interesting. Looking through each Act and Scene of the play, it is noticed that the supernatural is definitely a major factor on the play's style. The use of the supernatural occurs at the beginning of the play, with three witches predicting the fate of Macbeth. This gives the audience a clue to what the future holds for Macbeth. "When the battles lost and won" (Act I, Scene I, l.4) was said by the second witch. It says that every battle is lost by one side and won by another. Macbeth's fate is that he will win the battle, but will lose his time of victory for the battle of his soul. After the prophecies of the witches' revealed the fate of Macbeth, the plan in which to gain power of the throne is brought up. The only way to gain power of the throne was for Macbeth to work his way to the throne, or to murder King Duncan. Murdering the king was an easier plan since the motivation in his dreams urged him on. Lady Macbeth also relied on the supernatural by her soliloquy of calling upon the evil spirits to give her the power to plot the murder of Duncan without any remorse or conscience (Act I, Scene V, ll.42-57). The three sisters are capable of leading people into danger resulting in death, such as the sailor who never slept (Act I, Scene III, ll.1-37). Lady Macbeth has convinced her husband Macbeth to murder King Duncan. On the night they planned to kill Duncan, Macbeth is waiting for Lady Macbeth to ring the signal bell to go up the stairs to Duncan's chamber. He sees the vision of the floating dagger. The interest of the dagger is that it...

Pros and cons of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards Essay

Pros and cons of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards - Essay Example In accordance with the issues discussed in the paper one of the benefits of extrinsic and extrinsic motivations is the increased performance. Extrinsic motivations may take the forms of rewards. This contributes a lot towards making the individuals to dedicate more of their efforts, skills and time in completion of certain take. Rewards, both tangible and psychological always lead to increased performances and high quality outcomes. In classroom setups, both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations may lead to increased competition since each student may want to be rewarded at the end of it all. This boosts academic outcomes and shapes the students towards excellence. There are several demerits of both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. In classroom setups, extrinsic motivations may be viewed and argued as aspects of discriminations against the students. This follows that it always leads to some form of academic barriers and stigmatizations. Some students who may not get the rewards as regular may be perceived incompetent by other colleagues. This demeans and belittles those students. In addition, in many cases, the rewards are always given out based on the person who leads but not the one who has shown tremendous improvement in an area. In most cases, such always lead to some forms of discriminations. The same may also apply to the workplaces. As such, it is important to note that rewards may be demoralizing at times.

The Role of Tracking in American Schools Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Role of Tracking in American Schools - Essay Example He further explains that tracking may take place within a specific grade, as well as extend to grade levels. To illustrate the former, Loveless talks about eight graders who can hardly read and students who enjoy Shakespeare plays being placed in different English classes. The latter may be well illustrated by the practice of students’ assignment to math courses starting with fundamentals and ending with abstraction of calculus (Loveless, 1999, p. 1). Theoretically, the purpose of this practice is grounded on the belief that tracking promotes learning thanks to its provision of a good fit between the instruction level and needs of students regarding their learning. The tracking theory asserts that tracking allows tailoring the instruction according to students’ ability levels (Hallinan, 1999, p.79). This is thought to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the overall instructional process. These claims, however, have been widely criticized by opponents of tracking , who mention a number of negative effects of tracking on students’ academic, social and emotional development, thus questioning the relevance of this practice to the school setting. For example, Jenny Oakes, a professor from University of California at Los Angeles, believes that among other aspects, tracking practice is related to racial segregation in modern American school (Oakes, 1994, p.91). My goal in this paper is to discuss the role of tracking in modern American school. To achieve my goal, I have divided the essay into four parts. The first one aims at highlighting the historical background of tracking in American schools. The second section discusses the positive effects of tracking on school practice, focusing on the proponents’ views regarding this phenomenon. The third part of this paper looks into criticism of tracking by its opponents and possible negative effects tracking has on the school practice. Finally, I conclude my paper with the fourth part whic h sums up the role of tracking within an American school. Historical Background of Tracking The history of tracking within American school system can be traced back to the turn of the 20th century. Since that time, believes Oaks, schools have used tracking â€Å"to address social, personal, and workforce needs, as well as cognitive ones.† (Oakes, 1994, p. 86). In Rubin’s research â€Å"Detracking in Context: How Local Constructions of Ability Complicate Equity-Geared Reform†, it is stated that tracking with a variety of its modifications has been one of the major organizing practices typical for American public schools for nearly a century (Rubin, 2008). Tracking started to come into use at the beginning of the 20th century when G.Stanley Hall’s notions about the inclinations and emotional peculiarities of adolescents were taken as the theoretical ground for implementing a non-scholarly curriculum at American school. At the same time, at the outset of the previous century schools were known to enroll lots of immigrant kids.In this respect, the statement made by Lewis Terman should be mentioned that despite the fact immigrant pupils could not be expected to develop mental abilities that allowed mastering abstractions, they could be enrolled to separate classes, which might help them become well-qualified workers. This is how tracking became a means of sorting out children who were noticed to have limited preparation or