Homosocial Desire in the Films of Kevin Smith :: Essays Papers

Homosocial Desire in the Films of Kevin Smith In present society, any man who loves another man is labeled a homosexual. If a man is not a homosexual, then he is not allowed to display any form of affection for another male. If a man does go beyond the boundaries of showing affection for another man, that man runs the risk of being labeled a homosexual. However, there are those who see the error of this and want to change this societal viewpoint. Two examples of individuals who have strikingly similar views on this issue believe that there can be a balance between homosexuality and heterosexual male bonding. In relation to this balance, the term â€Å"homosocial† describes bonds between persons of the same sex. Even though these two individuals come from completely different ends of the spectrum, they both agree that â€Å"homosocial desire† allows desire between two men to exist in a form that incorporates love between men without sexual attraction. Writer Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick and film director Kev in Smith both display through different types of media that homosocial activity can evolve from male bonding to exist in the same range as homosexuality. Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick writes about the term homosocial desire in her book Between Men. The word homosocial is used in science to describe social relationships between persons of the same sex. While it shares the same prefix â€Å"homo† with the word homosexual, homosocial has different connotations in present American society. Kevin Smith uses film to express his ideas about homosexuality and homosocial actions. Smith’s first film, Clerks, was shot in black and white and lacked talented actors and good cinematography. However, Smith’s smartly written script and flare for humorous storytelling soon turned this low budget, independent film into a cult classic. The movie revolves around the lives of two best friends, Dante (played by Brian O’Halloran) and Randal (depicted by Jeff Anderson). Dante works in a convenience store while Randal works across the street as a video rental store clerk. Their friendship is filled with stereotypical male bonding practices such as playing hockey together and reading issues of Playboy behind the store counter. However, while the two exhibit many jocular actions, their relationship is a good example of the notion of homosocial desire.

The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man- in †the Moon Marigold

Dominik Laszczkowski 11/12/12 Test Essay In The Effect of Gamma rays on Man- in – the Moon Marigold by Paul Zindel, Beatrice, the single mother of Tillie and Ruth, has multiple internal and external conflicts which present barriers to living a normal life. A single mother whose life has gone awry, she copes with it through  self-hatred,  cynicism, and  drug abuse, and by verbally (and at times physically) abusing her two daughters But she finds other ways to sustain herself.There are many internal conflicts reflected by personality and inner issues, as well as external conflicts which inhibit her ability to function normally in society, including family dynamics and environmental factors. Beatrice faces many internal conflicts because, first off, she is a crazy women! She is completely nuts. In the story Beatrice asks, â€Å" Do you want me to chloroform that thing right this minute? † ( 10) This shows her insanity because she wants to kill a rabbit that has not d one much harm to her or anyone else.Eventually her insanity drives her to the max and she ends up killing the per rabbit. Another problem Beatrice has is her life style, its not healthy at all. She sustain herself with alcohol and cigarettes and by creating illusions. Creates an illusion to escape problems by drinking but then having a drinking problem because she is always drinking. Because Beatrice was crazy and had a bad childhood she is know as â€Å" Betty the Loon†. In the story Ruth says, â€Å" Miss Hanley said her nickname used to be Betty the Loon. † ( 71) Thus everyone remembers her and how much of a weirdo she is.And Beatrice does not have a lot of nice to clothes to wear because of how poor they are so she never want to go out in public, or anywhere in general. Not only does her internal conflicts cause problems, so does her external ones. Beatrice has many external conflicts that cause her a lot of trouble too. She is very anti-social, stays home a lot be cause she wants to hide from people. Beatrice does not like being judged in anyway. In the story when yelling at Tillie she says, â€Å" I have no clothes, do you hear me? I'd look just like you up on the stage, ugly little you! (61) This shows how poor they area and that she knows that people are going to laugh at her because of their poverty. Beatrice is also husband- less because he left thus making it extremely hard being a single mother as she needs to do everything herself. Another external conflict is that she gets paid very little weekly and she needs to take care of very old people, people that are almost-died. She struggles a lot to make it through life. Beatrice has bad memories from her childhood which still taunt her now in her life and she does not want people to remember her.Beatrice has dreams that she wishes to come true and uses them as illusions. She wants to turn the closed shop that part of her home into a tea shop. Beatrice is also looking into buying a real e state so that they can move into a new big home. In the story Beatrice says, â€Å" Four- family house. Six and a half and six and a half over five and five. Eight garages. I could really do something with that. A nursing home†¦ † ( 22) This shows her illusions by thinking about buying expensive stuff in the future, but she does not have that much money to pay something like that because of her low paying job and poverty.Her routes of escape is drug abuse. She drinks a lot when there a problem she doesn't want to deal with and as well as smoke a lot of cigarettes too. As the play's main character, Beatrice is mainly  narcissistic and  lethally short-tempered, which is only worsened by the drugs. However, her plight is  sympathetic, as her past reveals a life spiraling steadily downward, leading her to  self-destruction. Thus being able to create illusions for herself she can sustain herself a little and not have to face the problems for a little.

Compare And Contrast Martin Luther King And Malcolm X

Civil Rights Leaders Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X were very huge leading figures during the Civil Rights movement. Though they had many differences, they had some similarities. Both men’s fathers were preachers and both men were religious preachers themselves. Dr. King and Malcolm X were around the same age and they were both assassinated. Coincidentally, both men had the same number of children and eventually they had the same ideologies for the Civil Rights Movement. However, Dr. King and Malcolm X were different in ways such as Malcolm X wanted black supremacy and Dr. King wanted equality, Malcolm X saw violence as an option to achieve his goals if peace did not work and Dr. King believed in complete nonviolence, and Malcolm X†¦show more content†¦This supports Dr. King’s idea of equality and unity and contradicts Malcolm X’s idea of black supremacy, showing how the two men have contrasting ideals. Malcolm X used violence as a way to get more b lack rights and to hopefully lead up to black supremacy. Dr. Martin L King Jr used non violence protesting as a way to symbol that people standing up for their rights are not wrong or barbaric, but the people who are stopping these nonviolent protests look bad because there is no physical harm being done. Malcolm X states, â€Å"This is why I say it’s the ballot or the bullet. It’s liberty or it’s death† (The Ballot or the Bullet). This describes Malcolm X warning that if black people are not allowed suffrage and other rights, then there is going to be violence and death involved to have those rights granted. Malcolm X is showing that he is not afraid to have a violent revolution if there has to be one. Dr. King however states, â€Å"We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must ride to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force† (I Have A Dream). Martin Luther King Jr is t rying to persuade others that a violent protest will only hurt, not help in getting equality and that a peaceful, powerful protest will ensure smoother integration and peace. Dr. King is promoting the opposite of Malcolm X by saying peace is power whereas Malcolm X is trying to bring forth theShow MoreRelatedCompare And Contrast Martin Luther King And Malcolm X1101 Words   |  5 PagesMartin Luther King and Malcolm X were two greatest leaders in the fighting of the Civil Rights Movement. Contrary to most American belief, King and Malcolm X were not perfect opposite to each other. However, they do have distinct method to achieve social and economic equality. Malcolm X and King were both civil rights leader during 60s. They had the same goal, which was to achieve social equality for African Americans and Black people. Malcolm X was born in a extremely poor family, which led MalcolmRead MoreCompare and Contrast the Work of Martin Luther King Jr Malcolm X923 Words   |  4 PagesM artin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X were very significant during the Civil Rights Movement. Both were excellent speakers and shared one goal but had two different ways of resolving it. Martin Luther King Jr. chose to resolve the issues by using non-violence to create equality amongst all races to accomplish the goal. Malcolm X also wanted to decrease discrimination and get of segregation but by using another tactic to successfully accomplish the similar goal. The backgrounds of both men wereRead MoreComparing Martin Luther King And Malcolm X917 Words   |  4 PagesBrian Graichen - HST 325 - 06/17/2017 Q3: Compare and contrast Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X were both civil rights leaders during the 1960s, but had different ideologies on how civil rights should be won. Both men were also deeply religious, but followed different religions and paths. The Great Depression never ended for African Americans; while others enjoyed an economic recovery, Black unemployment rose. Martin Luther King says that economic inequality in AmericaRead MoreMartin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X1491 Words   |  6 Pagesinfluence of this period. Two strong leaders from this era were Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Martin Luther King Jr. made a bigger impact on the population than Malcolm X because of his speeches, beliefs, direct and peaceful activities, and the effect his death had on the population. Martin Luther King Jr.’s belief was that people of all colors, including both blacks and whites, could live in eternal peace and equality. King believed that â€Å"an unjust law is no law at all† (Dinar, par.12)Read More Differences Between Martin Luther King and Malcolm X Essays1146 Words   |  5 Pageswhite run American society in which they lived. Malcolm X, James Baldwin, Martin Luther King, and Stokely Carmichael all blamed the whites for the racism which existed. However, they agreed that it was up to the black society to end this problem. Using the black society, each of the authors had their own idea of how racism could be stopped. Unfortunately, for some, such as Malcolm X, this involved the use of violence, while others, such as King, favored the non-violent approach. This paperRead MoreRhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King Jr s Letter From Birmingham Jail1831 Words   |  8 PagesPersuasive writing is most effective when all three rhetorical appeals, Logos, Pathos, and Ethos, come together to form an indisputable argument. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X are two of the most influential figures of the past few decades; similarly, their work is summarized as some of the most persuasive and controversial of all time. The audience of both of their pieces, â€Å"Letter from Birmingham Jail† and â€Å"The Ballot or the Bullet† include oppressed African Americans and the white oppressorsRead MoreThe Backgrounds Of Uplifting Speeches1844 Words   |  8 Pagescountry, nation, and world are often the ones who do. Civil rights activists Martin Luther King Jr., and human rights activist and an American Muslim, Malcolm X are two great examples of people who thought they could make a difference in the world, and eventually did. This two great activists wanted to change the status quo, but in different ways. Martin Luther King Jr. used peaceful protests to accomplish his goal; Malcolm X believed in meeting violence with violence. Both of this great leaders wantedRead MoreMartin Luther King : The Civil Rights Movement1900 Words   |  8 PagesFrom 1955 to 1968, Martin Luther King was a major leader of the Civil Rights Movement in America. Brought up in the midst of traditional Southern Black ministers, King’s childhood was surrounded with the strong racial prejudices of the South. As a middle class southerner, he built an armour of righteousness and equality around him and it was these strong values that influenced his decisions in life. We judge significance in various ways - how important a person is to us, how important they wereRead MoreDr. Martin Luther King Jr.1096 Words   |  5 PagesDr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Huey P. Newton stood up and fought for justice, equality and freedom for our p eople in this country. Huey Percy Newton was born February 17, 1942 and died August 22, 1989. He was an African-American political and urban activist who, along with Bobby Seale, co-founded the Black Panther Party for Self Defense. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born January 15, 1929 and died April 4, 1968. He was an African-American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-AmericanRead MoreBible Versus the Toran12356 Words   |  50 Pages PAGE 24-28 VII. FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM COMPARED TO THE TEN PAGE 29-34 COMMANDMENTS VIII. COMPARING THE LIFE OF TWO AFRO-AMERICANS (1) MALCOM X - ISLAMIC MUSLIM/QURAN PAGE 35-43 8 (2) MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. - CHRISTIAN/BIBLE PAGE 44-48 9 (3) BOTH MENS POLITICAL VIEWS ON VIOLENCE AND PAGE 49-56 CHANGE IN SOCIETY (4) THE STRONG CONNECTION BETWEEN