Free Essays on Amusing Ourselves To Death

In Amusing Ourselves to Death Neil Postman declares â€Å"we are a people on the verge of amusing ourselves to death.† The decline of the Age of Typography and the ascendancy of the Age of Television have generated a great media metaphor shift in America, with the result that much of our public discourse has become dangerous nonsense. â€Å"Our politics, religion, news, athletics, education and commerce have been transformed into congenial adjuncts of show business, largely without protest or even much popular notice.† The time period from the early-eighteenth century until the mid-nineteenth century is identified by Postman as the Age of Exposition. During this period the printing press governed discourse in America. As he believes the form in which ideas are expressed affects what those ideas will be, discourse was generally coherent, serious and rational; unlike the shriveled and absurd discourse generated by television. Postman argues that typography amplified many of the characteristics we associate with mature discourse: â€Å"a sophisticated ability to think conceptually, deductively and sequentially; a high valuation of reason and order; an abhorrence of contradiction; a large capacity for detachment and objectivity; and a tolerance for delayed response.† Postman points to the middle years of the nineteenth century as the time when the telegraph and the photograph came together and laid the foundation for the Age of Show Business. The telegraph saw to it that space was no longer an inevitable constraint on the movement of information. It â€Å"erased state lines, collapsed regions, and, by wrapping the continent in an information grid, created the possibility of a unified American discourse.† Unfortunately, according to Postman, the telegraph also attacked typography’s definition of discourse, introducing on a large scale â€Å"irrelevance, impotence, and incoherence.† â€Å"To the telegraph, intelligence meant knowin... Free Essays on Amusing Ourselves To Death Free Essays on Amusing Ourselves To Death In Amusing Ourselves to Death Neil Postman declares â€Å"we are a people on the verge of amusing ourselves to death.† The decline of the Age of Typography and the ascendancy of the Age of Television have generated a great media metaphor shift in America, with the result that much of our public discourse has become dangerous nonsense. â€Å"Our politics, religion, news, athletics, education and commerce have been transformed into congenial adjuncts of show business, largely without protest or even much popular notice.† The time period from the early-eighteenth century until the mid-nineteenth century is identified by Postman as the Age of Exposition. During this period the printing press governed discourse in America. As he believes the form in which ideas are expressed affects what those ideas will be, discourse was generally coherent, serious and rational; unlike the shriveled and absurd discourse generated by television. Postman argues that typography amplified many of the characteristics we associate with mature discourse: â€Å"a sophisticated ability to think conceptually, deductively and sequentially; a high valuation of reason and order; an abhorrence of contradiction; a large capacity for detachment and objectivity; and a tolerance for delayed response.† Postman points to the middle years of the nineteenth century as the time when the telegraph and the photograph came together and laid the foundation for the Age of Show Business. The telegraph saw to it that space was no longer an inevitable constraint on the movement of information. It â€Å"erased state lines, collapsed regions, and, by wrapping the continent in an information grid, created the possibility of a unified American discourse.† Unfortunately, according to Postman, the telegraph also attacked typography’s definition of discourse, introducing on a large scale â€Å"irrelevance, impotence, and incoherence.† â€Å"To the telegraph, intelligence meant knowin...

A Sociological View of Rastafarianism

A Sociological View of Rastafarianism Essay Organized religion is a duality between the religion and the church which represents it. Sometimes the representation of the religion is marred and flawed to those who view it because of the bureaucracy contained within. Unknown to those who gaze upon the dissolved morals and values of what is perceived to be the contradiction known as modern religion, it was never intended to be this way. Most religions started off as a sect, a minor detail on the fringes of the society it never wanted to represent. Rastfarianism is such a sect. The differences between Rastafarianism and a normal mainstream religion are numberless, including: no set membership, no authoritative leader, no offices of authority, no trained clergy and no involvement with the world as a whole. Rastafarianism is based upon an underrepresented minority which needed hope in the face in utter demise. According to Max Weber, religion emerges to satisfy a social need. In treating suffering as a symptom of odiousness in the ey es of gods and as a sign of secret guilt, religion has psychologically met a very general need (Weber 271). Rastafarianism emerges in the slums of Kingston, Jamaica in the 1930s to meet the needs of the poor, unskilled black Jamaicans who needed a hope. The social situation which was emerging in the 1930s which called for this need was as follows. Jamaica was a commonwealth of the British Empire. It had recently, around 1884, received a write in clause to their constitution which stipulated if the new government did not succeed and the economic life of Jamaica were to suffer because of it, the political constitution would be amended or abolished to meet new conditions. Black Jamaicans had a taste for power in their mouths and in 1938, this erupted in labor riots and violence. This act did nothing for their cause. It would still be 30 years until Jamaica received its independence. Blacks in Jamaica were the victims of social stratification which left them at the bottom rung of the la dder. They had menial jobs such as field worker or an attendant at the sugar plant, if they had jobs at all. The blacks were suffering as a people and as an organized group. Ethopianism had been introduced to Jamaica in 1784 by George Liele, by adding it to the name of his Baptist church, hoping to graft itself onto the African religion of Jamaican slaves. But the movement to embody the Ethiopian ideology par excellence was the Back to Africa movement of Marcus Garvey (Barret 76). He saw African civilization as anterior to all others and used bible verses which were easily interpretable to portray Africans as the chosen people mentioned in the bible, as in Psalm 68: Princes shall come out if Egypt and Ethiopia shall stretch forth his hands onto God (Barret 78). Garveys persistence culminated in the crowning of Ras Tafari as Negus of Ethiopia. He took the name Haile Selassie and added King of Kings and the Lion in the Tribe of Judah, placing himself in the legendary line of King Solo man, and therefore, in the same line as Jesus Christ of Roman Catholicism. Out of this came Rastafarianism which took over Jamaica at a time when it was in a low tide economically and socially. Socially, people experienced the brunt of the Depression as well as disaster due to a devastating hurricane. Politically, colonialism gripped the country and the future of the masses looked hopeless. Any doctrine which that promised a better hope and a better day was ripe for hearing (Barret 84). Weber analyzed conditions such as these as a theodicy of suffering. One can explain suffering and injustice by refrying to individual sin committed in former life, to the guilt of ancestors . . . to the wickedness of all people. As compensatory promised one can refer to hopes of the individual for a better life in the future of this world or to the for the successors, or to a better life in the hereafter (Weber 275). In other words, those who are disadvantaged in a situation (the poor, hopeless, black Jamaicans) will be rewarded. The poor people have a decided advantage in the Rastas view, since they are forced to look into themselves and confront the basic reality of human existence and only there can God be found (Owens 173) Their negative situation will be turned into a positive one (transvaluation) because they are the truly righteous, or so they believed. Rastafarianism was more than a religion to the people of Jamaica, it was a hope. It was their escape from the the rational e veryday world. This theodicy of suffering, in which the underprivileged and underrepresented Jamaicans believed, was compensation for the deplorable state in which they found themselves. The Rastafarian way of living and their everyday activities began as a deviant social behavior, but rather was a routinization of the masses into one cohesive unit, following the same general creed under different principles. This point can be seen most specifically in the modern Rastafarian hairstyles. In traditional Rastafarianism most Rastas do not cut their hair but allow it to grow naturally long matted strands or locks. These locks are in accordance with the Leviticus 21:5: They shall not make baldness upon their head (Johnson-Hill 25). But in todays Rastafarianism, their are men who will not grow facial hair or locks in accordance to their position in the work place and in society, but still believe in the faith of and consider themselves a part of the Rastafarian religion. This process of electing points on a subject in which a followers ideas converge with is called elective affinity, as coined by Max Weber. This elective affinity concerning Rastafarianism was spurred by cha rismatic prophets of the belief system such as Marcus Garvey, Haile Selassie, and Samuel Brown. All of these men preached to the negatively privileged strata which existed in the Jamaican slums and the impoverished Jamaican parishes. The underprivileged strata became a status group in a sociological point of view when they selected Rastafarianism and Haile Selassie as their god. This annunciation and promise led these impoverished blacks into a status group known as Rastafarians. This elective affinity between underprivileged Jamaicans and Rastafarians was seen most directly in a change in diet to follow Kosher food laws, a change in hair style, the use of a different language, and a the use of a holy weed; ganja. These highly visible symbols served as a solidification of a persons elective affinity and a public statement of their beliefs. To become a member of the Rastafarian status group was to embrace the lifestyle and the conceptual livity of a personal relationship with nature, in a pure organic way (Johnson-Hill 25). The Rastafarian lifestyle, at its early core, was based upon responses to social actions cast forth by the Jamaican bureaucracy. These actions exist on the guise of a messianic hope which is generally known as Ethiopia or Africa (Barret 117). The first reaction is aggression, which was exemplified by the social struggles for equality or even acknowledgment by the economically challenged island residents. The second reaction is acceptance. This ambivalence toward the situation is more of a standstill than anything else. The act of accepting ones own unfortunate situation negates the aggression and action of the previous step. This is where the Messianic values began to seep into the Rastafarian watershed. With these people and this clear-cut fashion only among them and under other very particular conditions, the suffering of a peoples community, rather than the suffering of the individual, became the object of hope for religious salvation (Weber 273). Rastafarian men and women began to forget their own individual struggles and rely on the preaching from Haile Selassie to comfort them as a group. Individuality is looked down upon in the Rastafarian religion. The status group or strata will suffer as a whole, not as individual pieces of a puzzle. Every Rastafarian considers himself an authoritative spokesman for Selassie. It is consequently unthinkable that one of the brethren should assume special prerogatives in speaking for the Emperor (Owens 43). READ: Education Starts at Home EssayThe third and final response to social action by Rastafarians is avoidance. This act is predominated by the view that Jamaica is Babylon and Ethiopia is Zion. This metaphor implying hopelessness in Jamaica acts very much, in Marxian terminology, as an opiate. This outlook on everyday life does not produce action, rather it reduces it. Another example of this can be seen economically. The Rastafarians generally represent the lowest segment of the Jamaican social class . . . This level of Jamaican society represents the largest body on unemployed and underemployed and the greatest number of unemployables . . . (Barret 115). This fact is well known among the Rastafarians and it is partially why many are in the religion, acceptance into a social class which is higher than their own. They have mostly given up on employment besides that of home produced items which are pawned to tourists or others within the Rastafarian movement. Their is no motivatio n to produce economically because most of the industry within Jamaica during the early Rastafarian period was controlled by the British land owners. Working for these British men would have been a direct violation of their religious creed; The white person is inferior to the black person (Barret 104) and The Black person is the reincarnation of ancient Israel, who, at the hand of the White person, has been in exile to Jamaica (Barret 104). This ties into Webers Theodicy of Suffering because to suffer economically is to suffer through all aspects of ones life. But, many times, as previously illustrated, an ambivalence to end suffering leaves one still in the same peculiar situation. Without a motive to change, there is not change in a cultures motives. So, the early Rastafarians suffered not from a theodicy of suffering which was merely and only forced upon them by the white Jamaican bureaucracy; but rather a self- imposed and self-induced level of their suffering. This way of viewing Rastafarian all changed as time passed. Social strata are decisive for the development of a religion (Weber 282) and as the social strata which embodies this religion began to change, the religion changed proportionately with it. This can be seen in contrasting the previous three social reactions just stated: aggression, acceptance and avoidance. As the general body of Rastafarianism began to grow old and pass away, so did many of their ideas and rationalitys concerning the religion in which they were a part. These views were handed down to the new, younger members of the Rastafarian religion and updated substantially to concur with the new time period and the new state of Rastafarians in Jamaica. Largely, there is no need for one to use aggression to prove equality in Jamaica. The modern Rastafarian, rather is a symbol of the Jamaican lifestyle and one can almost mistakenly assume all Jamaicans embody the Rastafarian way of thinking and lifestyle. The newly indep endent Jamaica uses aspects of the traditional Rastafarian to promote its tourism industry: such as the reggae music which originally symbolized the suffering of black Jamaicans, the dread locks which represented the I-tal way of organic living and the artifacts and cultural productions of such Rastafarian artisans. Rastafarians no longer accept their status as a constant; an unchanging fact which merely misrepresents them in popular culture. They have began to work on their economic status within the Jamaican community. Rastafarians now occupy enviable positions in Jamaica. There are Rasta physicians, pharmacists, professors, journalists, pilots, teachers . . . to name only a few of their trades and professions (Barret 243). They are willing to educate their children to become productive citizens of the country, which is evident in the formation of Rasta primary and secondary schools and the possibility of a Rasta university within Jamaica. Rastafarians now have control over their own destiny within the scope of mass media and their ultimate portrayal. With the advent of educated and world minded Rastafarians, the Rastafarian movement has proliferated out of Jamaica and into the mainstream of the world, including both the United States and England. The final large change concerning Rastafarians is avoidance. Instead of avoiding the problems in Jamaica and praying for a magical repatriation to Ethiopia, they have first decided to repair the problems which exist in Jamaica before they leave for Zion. This new brethren is focused on change and one way they have decided to accomplish this is through political action. Rastafarians are traditionally apolitical; they do not vote. Their word for politics is politricks, which sums up their perception of the political game (Barret 220). With the election of a pro Rastafarian prime minister, Michael Manley, Rastafarians were encouraged to use their constitutional rights and vote. There is no way of telling how many Rastafarians voted or continue to vote, but their role in Jamaican culture requires them to be addressed and noticed. The act of being spoken to and about in a public forum is just aspect in which indirectly they have traversed out of the avoidance stage. Rastafarians also no l onger avoid the media. Rather, they embrace it and use it to their advantage. This is evident is the many quotes and passages contained within Leonard Barrets book and the relative ease of access he obtained many on these passages. The Rastafarian culture is moving toward the future, and as Weber stated, changing with the social strata, which is changing with the times. It can then be inferred Rastafarianism is a constantly updated and evolving entity, modernizing as the world does so as well. But this evolving modern entity did not always keeps its modernity defined. Many of the actions of Rastafarianism worked against modernity and favored a complete stand still in all actions of life. In effect, the pain of the poor black Jamaica strata directly led into a form of ambivalence which militated against social and economic change; in essence, the status group of Rastafarians and their beliefs acted as an opiate against socioeconomic change. Religion is the opium of the people (Marx 54). This opium like quality leads directly into a state of false consciousness, which ties in directly with Webers theodicy of suffering. Both of these militate against socieconomic change by giving a check of approval to a negative situation. In this way, Marx and Weber are showing the flaws in the Rastafarian system. The inherent flaw of giving false hope or false consciousness to a people based on a system (Rastafarian) which at its base complies with stagnant situations and life styles. At t he same time, Marxism can be interpreted as a direct conflict with itself. The Rastafarian movement occupies not only an opiate status, but a status of opposition as well. The Rastafarian movement was founded originally as an opposition to the bureaucratic ways of the ruling class. The religion modeled greatly an American democratic way of thinking: by the people for the people. The people are the underrepresented and under appreciated blacks of Jamaica. In comparison with a Weberian sociological thought process, they both agree upon Rastafarian as basically an evolution. This plays more into Marxs favor because of the direct correlation between themselves. Like the Rastafarian evolution, in which they retreated on many of their former beliefs and creeds, Marx also did the same according to the time he was writing in. So, a direct comparison can be made through the evolution of Marx and Rastafarianism; both occur because of the rise of modernity and culture around them, directly eff ecting the person or group in question. READ: Theories on and Analysis of Information Management in KFCMarx and Weber also collide in beliefs on the idea of theodicy of suffering. Weber believed religion emerges to fulfill a social need. The poor, black, Jamaicans needed hope, and with their economic status, suffering was a major part. Taken on a face value then, the Jamaican culture can be divided into two distinct classes: theodicy of suffering and theodicy of good fortune. The former group, those who indirectly believe in a theodicy of suffering, are alienated from the latter group. Within the suffering group, there is alienation among members due to separation from product. The product, in this case, is their religion. Now all of the members of the Rastafarian status group belong to Rastafarianism as a whole, but there are sects within the sect, which are different from each other. For an example, the emergence of the uptown Rasta which differs in belief system from Rastafarianism as a whole. The alienation comes in the fact that the people, not as one unified group, but as a large organization of individuals are single entities and none speak for the religion. Criticism of this can be found in a previously mentioned Joseph Owens quote (see page four, first paragraph). Although each member is a spokesman for Selassie, is unthinkable to assume each member of the brethren might have something different to say? This leads to alienation among those within the same sect. The previously stated belief contrasts with a Weberian point of view as well. In a Marxian view of thought, the poor should try to revolt against their ruling bureaucracy. This appropriation is further determined by the manner in which it must be effected. It can only be effected through a union, which by the character of the proletariat itself can again only be a universal one, and through a revolution . . . (Marx 192). There is a flaw under the question: how can a society revolt through Marxism and still be prone against change, an opiate in Marxian view, to their own standing within the community? Karl Marx would see this as a complete oxymoron. Rastafarianism should benefit the social group, not allow it to stop progression and merely graze the lips of those who chose it, giving them a short and unsatisfying taste of what is available to them. This yearning for more should lead the people into a full economic and political revolt against this bourgeoisie. While relatively similar to a Marxian point of view, Durkheimian sociology sees Rastafarianism as a social entity. This religion was originally associated as Jamaican poor and the term Rasta and poor, black Jamaican could be used interchangeable. And with this association, Rastafarianism emerged to regulate the desires of the Jamaican poor. It brought about a solidarity among the lowest status class which served as a jumping point into embracing their situations. Thus, the religion is inseparable from the groups which contain it. This occupies the ideas of Weber in that if the religion is inseparable from the groups which contain it, then, the religion will indirectly evolve as the group evolves. This basically complies with the Weberian point of view that religious beliefs change along with the strata which embody them. Also, if Rastafarianism is a social entity, it therefore must have risen out of the need for a social set of values, complying with the Weberian ideal of religion em erging to satisfy a social need. This Durkheimian point of view also crosses paths with the views of Karl Marx. If religion brings about solidarity among a status group which happens to be underprivileged, revolution is a possible following steps. One person may revolt, but one needs masses along the same ideals to successfully revolt. By integrating society, one brings the society or group on the same consciousness, although it may be a false consciousness. No matter rational or irrational, the motives exist and can be accomplished with aid of a charismatic prophet, in this case, Marcus Garvey or Samuel Brown. To update this idea, there is a popular t-shirt which states Never underestimate stupid people in large groups. The same could be applied to a Marxian and Durkheimian point of view. Their t-shirt might say Never underestimate the power of alienated oppressed on the same intellectual level.Durkheim and Weber do disagree on some levels. One of them being the role of individuality within religion. A Durkheimian point of view toward individuality could not characterize the Rastafarian movement because it believes one should embrace all the exists, but do not include each other. This directly violates the Rastafarians belief in an I-n-I mentality. This implies a three-fold relationship between any individual self, Jah God, and other selves (Johnson-Hill 23). Max Weber sees religion as a unification of a people, which is evident in his distinction between strata and status. Rastafarianism is a status group, individuality is left behind at the strata before seemingly advancing into a higher level of consciousness, complete with its own symbols, language and customs, especially marijuana usage. Although the beliefs of a religion change, the essence of the religion does not. This is supported by Weber with the idea that changes in a decisive stratum lead to a change of beliefs. This is opposed by Durkheim stating a religion as a whole has lasted because it performs a social function; it integrat es those involved within it. The falsity is what people believe. So, if people change, the religion changes with the people, not necessarily minor beliefs within it. It is a cycle which includes the transfer of old gods to new gods, completely changing the religion with society. Rastafarianism has not faded away, and in fact has spread its brethren among many areas of the world. The Rastafarian movement is no longer a mere revolutionary movement; it has become a part of the establishment, a part of officialdom (Barret 245). Rastafarianism may have started on the fringes of Jamaican society, but it now a representation of what it considered hell. In terms of an outsider, Jamaica is no longer Babylon, it is now Rastafaria, a step on the way to utopian Zion. Rastafarianism is now an integration of all of Jamaican society rather that just one social strata. Its changes have moved along with the changes of Jamaica as a nation. The people of Jamaica are interchangeable with Rastafarianism. It is ironic which a group so hating of their own environment would become such a force as to represent it to the world. Rastafarianism is truly by the people, for the people.

Conservative Resurgence in the United States in Reagan Era Essay

Conservative Resurgence in the United States in Reagan Era - Essay Example This essay presents one of the best examples of the analysis of the reasons behind the rapid shift in policies of the US government, following the election of the President Reagan. It also aims to critically assess the effectiveness of the new conservative policies, employed by the Reagan administration. Prior to the 1970s, conservatism was not really an issue of much concern and republicans could only ascend to power by choosing a moderate president like Nixon or Eisenhower. However, the rise of conservatism in the 1970s through 1980s was basically a response to many different situations both in this period and in the earlier years of the 1960s. It was generally felt that liberals had exceeded limits and taken things a bit too far. As a consequence there was a general call for a resurgence of conservative policies which subsequently followed. As a result various policies came into play on the social, political and economic fronts. It is certainly imperative to realize the manner in which conservatism resurged in the 1970s and 1980s. Several major events in much of this period actually contributed to the highly conservative climate that was thereby realized. In the United States, the Reagan era was characterized by several cuts in the social programs and major anti-regulation policies that were geared towards most American companies. On the economic front the 1970s had some of the worst recession since the Great Depression and some of these conditions actually recurred in the 1980s . In this regard, there were various calls and campaigns as people sought for the reemergence of the conservative ways of operations in order to address the situations. In the same way, the hard economic times made people to adapt to the more conservative spending habits which subsequently contributed to the conservative resurgence. In a way, the 1970s and 1980s were characterized by several events in the American situation. The rise of conservatism was basically a reaction to the several events of that period which forced the people to turn away from some of the more liberal policies of the time. The economic stagflation that plagued the United States had many effects on the people. The Vietnam War had many political and economic effects on the people as they felt it was basically a loss. In this regard, most people began turning away from the liberal policies of the Democratic Party and turned into republican policies as was realized in the 1981 presidential elections when Reagan w as elected. The Reagan era nevertheless became unpopular on certain grounds due the various policies that put into place address the situation. In foreign policy, the United States sold arms to Iran and used much of the money to support the left wing rebels in Nicaragua. However, this was in violation of the congressional budget authority and the Boland Agreement. This act caused a much drop in the popularity of Reagan despite the many economic reforms the administration had put into place. Earlier on during Carters administration, the Iran hostage crisis was a symbol of the failed presidency of Carter due to the then unpreparedness of the United States in addressing emergency situations. The republican administrations of Nixon and Ford were majorly characterized by conservative policies especially in economic intervention. This was mainly achieved through the use of price and wage controls. However Ford’s decisions of pushing the detente policy with the Soviet Union did not go down well with most conservatives. Following Carter’s election in 1974, different thoughts emerged on the whole subject on conservatism. In a way, the Southern Baptists felt that Carter was too liberal while the mainstream of the Democratic Party felt he was too conservative and was thus incapable of addressing American foreign affairs programs. In any

Operations Management Principles Examination Essay

Operations Management Principles Examination - Essay Example On account of unexpected load of materials from distributors, this results in impact on resource, space, and spares and inventory. b. "Repair parts that are controlled by Charleston facility are out of control". Following are the outcome of analysis related to this problem area: Absence of procedure for replacement of spares The probability of manual handling of spares. Lack of check, if there exists a possibility to reuse defective spares by conducting necessary rectification. Poor inventory system used. c. "Purchasing department is double checking and validating every single purchase request that comes from the inventory department" Purchase procedures do not appear to exist. Failure to adopt process of for every purchase, three vendor quotes to be obtained and compared in terms of cost, quality, delivery and payment schedule. Lack of trust on persons raising requests for purchase Absence of systems, that confirm replacement of spares being used. Absence of audit mechanism, which can be one of the measures for checks and balances. d. "Purchasing department operating a five year old EOQs (Economic Order Quantities)". Systems used on inventory and ordering cost outdated. Absence of technology oriented systems to meet the supply demand Failure of being in line with new technology. Data used, appear to be out-dated e. "Personnel department tired of obtaining trained (or trainable), temporary workers, decided to set permanent staffing levels" Lack of overview of the periodic surges in workload. Poor Resources management, resulting in loss to the organization. Absence of strong employee benefits schemes, binding employees to the organization. IV. Conceptualized conclusions, recommended solutions: Having identified the... Having identified the problems with Charleston, SC operations, and further analysis of problems analyzed, what clearly has been brought to light as outcome of the analysis is lack of control on the overall "operations management". vi. Human resource to obtain from other departments the peak workload periods, and train employees, ensuring supply on demand is available, rather than having unutilized resources on organization permanent rolls. 4. Styles: Management styles help in maintaining the entire process. Each department head should have a style in managing his team/resources/ material, which would ensure success and eliminate problems. a. Human Resource which handles the vital aspect of resources, should introduce employee retention, employee benefit schemes, having people employed on a contract mode, where employees are ready to join keeping in mind the benefits the organizations offer. 6.

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. 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