Birth of a Nation: Art or Propaganda Essay

Mankind, engaging in war, driven by whatever instincts guide him, seeks to keep the defeats and victories of battle in his memory and on his conscience. To accomplish this men have used paint and canvas, ink and paper, or instrument and song in their effort to communicate the tragedy and glory of war. Never, before the career of D. W. Griffith had anyone attempted to bring the subject to film. The result of his efforts, weaknesses aside, mark a change in attitude towards film as a media. Perhaps audiences previously going to a picture expected emotional manipulation. After all, years before the film Birth of a nation, makers of film employed techniques to evoke pathos from viewers; whether through the use of a sobbing mother, a frightened child or what have you. In this respect the film was not a ground-breaker; However, through its effective use of devices such as symbolism, foreshadowing and allusions, as well as building on and arguably perfecting film techniques such as continuity editing, intercutting and close-ups, he transformed film from mere entertainment to art and propaganda. To present and explore a theme, symbolism is used everywhere in literature. Whether the image is subtle or obvious it is regardless a sign of considerable calculation and effort. In Birth of a nation Griffith places symbols everywhere, in doing this he merges literary devices of written works with his own visual works. For instance, the parched corn symbol in the scene where the southern army is eating symbolizes their desperation in the face of defeat. This imagery proves that Griffith wasn’t just presenting actors and a plot, he intended to dig far deeper than that, into the realm of a clever storyteller. Another example of his unique style is the use of foreshadowing, another literary device now commonly employed in film. The most prominent example of this is the scene where two gentlemen are talking, and as the camera pans down, we see a puppy struggling with a kitten. This is another strong example of symbolism; however, even more importantly it foreshadows the coming war. It is expertly placed to add to the building tension between sides which the audience already knows results in confrontation. Its placement reflects Griffiths desire to advance the complexity and diversity of film beyond entertainment to higher levels in society. To manipulate his audience’s emotions, he first had to draw them into the story and in turn into the stories underlying theme. He accomplished this by using numerous virgin film tools, much as an artist uses his own tools to create a believable painting. Among these tools he uses panoramas to illustrate setting, to paint, if you will – a moving picture. To show the swell of heated gunfire on a crowded battlefield i. e. the scene of the battle of Petersburg, or to bring across image of the delicate beauty of his native southern land to those who had never been there or seen a picture of it. This was the substance that transformed film into a genuine art form. Once he had the attention and anticipation of the audience, as well as their almost guaranteed acceptance of his word, he merely had to feed them a easily grasped, recognizable message to sway their emotions his way. This method of classic propaganda was used to fuel the audience’s already considerable ill-founded hatred of blacks. It comes in the form of a rebel black group who terrorizes the Cameron family, the film’s main characters. By placing blacks in this position it isn’t difficult to imagine the reaction of an average theatre goer. The film spawned riots, fired up racism, built stronger the negative stereotypes of blacks. It portrayed them as lazy, as illustrated in the black parliament, where a man rests his bare feet on a desk, alluding to uselessness in the employment environment. More horrifyingly than that it portrayed them as ultimately evil with the seizing of the Cameron’s home and the attempted rape of one of their daughters. The obvious bias presented, although appalling, demonstrates just how effective Griffith was at utilizing film not with the intention to merely entertain, but to spread propaganda and affect the perceptions of society itself. Griffith exploited his audience, he turned them against minorities and themselves. The film Birth of a nation exemplifies ignorance and hate at its worst. Although it stands for something that today is looked on as morally wrong, it proves by this very reaction that the film is not just mere entertainment, but something with a far more serious purpose. Since Griffith was the first to accomplish something of this nature, Birth of a nation therefore marks the transformation of film from pure entertainment into art and propaganda.

Context and History of Conflict Paper Essay

This essay will discuss the issues between two people, Robert and Denise Patton, along with how these issues affect their two children. To enable an understanding of the problem a summary of the nature and history of the conflict has been given. In addition, a look at the interaction of interests, goals, and the power of each party allows an understanding of each person’s position and role in the conflict as well as personal attempts at resolution of the problem. In working to resolve this conflict there will be strategies discussed which, if Robert and Denise are willing to apply, could help them resolve the conflicts that they are facing in their marriage. Summary of the Nature and History of the Conflict The Patton Family case study has different types of conflict inside it. The summary of the conflict starting with the family dynamic gives a look of what is happening with the family from an outsider looking inward. To an outsider the family is in shambles; they fight regularly, and it seems that the parents have concern about one child only. In the beginning, the parents were happy; they both were on a path that looked successful. They both were in college and had great jobs after college. Once they started a family things changed for the couple. The mother wanted to be a part of the children’s lives more, so she quit her job and found another that worked with her schedule. The parents fought frequently about the youngest child and how to parent him. Since the parents were not getting along for a while the husband finally had enough. He decided to leave the house and tell his wife he wants a divorce. The husband and wife blame each other for the failed marriage, and the youngest child blames himself for his father’s leaving. â€Å"Without an apology or other form of resolution, the trust on both sides is compromised, and may not know what to expect from this person in the future† (Scott, 2011 p. 2). When the father left he never sat down with his children or wife to explain why it had come to this. The father finally had enough with his wife, but he did not explain his reasoning. Context of Conflict The context of the conflict is that two parents have separated after a long marriage resulting from arising conflicts in the marriage. The couple has two children; one who is almost an adult, and the other is a young child who seems to have trouble with his energy at home and at school. The conflict started to occur more frequently and more harshly as their second child started having problems in school. One parent, the mother, believes that there is something wrong with him and that he requires special attention with him all the time. A child with these kinds of behaviors would become costly and would require significant attention. The other parent believes that his son is just spoiled and requires normal attention and discipline. He further believes that these luxuries have left his son vulnerable with a lack of awareness for his surroundings. Whether or not the parents are splitting, they were a team trying to provide for their two children. â€Å"When managing conflicts, collectivist cultures place more emphasis on the avoidance and accommodation of conflicts because collectivists value harmony, security, and conformity† (Hong, 2008). Interactions of Interests, Goals, and Power The interests, goals, and power of both parents are that they cannot stand each other and need space in to function. One believes that he does not receive enough attention from his family and wife, and that they show no gratitude for his hard work. He has been working for many years and has primarily been the sole wage-earner in the family. The wife feels that her family does not appreciate her. She feels that she has lost her active role in the environment of her oldest child and husband. Her focus has been her young son who has been having these troubles at school and home. This amount of pressure has shut her out of everyone’s world except her son, who does not know what is going between the two split parents. According to the text the â€Å"conflict above may be substituting for intimacy and connection, or it may serve as a launching pad for problem solving† (Hocker & Wilmot, 2011). Attempts Made at Conflict Resolution There are competing family goals regarding Arnie (Wilmot & Hocker, 2011). Robert believes lack of discipline is the cause and wants Arnie to be held accountable whereas Denise believes there is a neurological basis and believes Arnie should be tested and treated according to his perceived needs. Though both parents have expressed ideas for dealing with the problem they have not agreed on a method, nor given significant consideration to the other’s opinion in this matter. The conflict has evolved and in the process a couple of resolution tactics have been used. Early in the conflict, aggression and competition were used, with each attempting to use power of position as a tool to win the battle. Rob made the money and determined it would not be used for mental health treatment; Denise was primary care-giver and as such was responsible for seeing that Arnie’s needs were met. Screaming matches to coerce the other into submission failed and eventually gave way to avoidance (Wilmot & Hocker, 2011). Withdrawal from the conflict equated to withdrawal from the relationship as the couple slept apart and ceased communication (Wilmot & Hocker, 2011). The interactions that did take place were interpreted based upon past events, setting the paradigm for what each could expect from the other, likely feeding into rather than helping to resolve the conflict (Coltri, 2010). Robert’s final act of avoidance was for self-protection; he moved out to protect himself from further emotional harm (Wilmot & Hocker, 2011). Personal Initial Reactions or Strategies for Resolving this Conflict Personal Initial Reaction The initial reaction to the conflict between Robert and Denise is that they should agree to mediation as a mean of solving their disagreement. Denise relies on Robert for complete financial support for their family. The problem here is Denise does not want to work because of their son’s neurological condition. Robert believes differently about Denise not wanting to work and feels that Denise is using Arnie’s condition as an excuse. Robert and Denise seek legal consultation, after Robert leaves the home. Strategy for Resolving this Conflict Legal consultation has it advantage but mediation would be better in this situation. Most lawyers discuss with clients if they should choose mediation based on their situations. Mediation would give the couple the opportunity to explain their side of the situation in privacy. Attorneys are contacted for legal advice but mediation is for solving issues and helping the couple to make the right decision. An attorney represents only the client who has retained his or her service and not for solving the problems. A mediator has a neutral part and only help in resolving the issues. Mediation taken place in courts is not private and the judge makes decision on the case. In the case of Robert and Denise, mediation would allow them to decide the outcome. The best thing for Robert and Denise is to have a mediator presence to help settle property, child support, and custody issues. According to Divorceinfo (2013) â€Å"The mediator remains neutral between the husband and the wife. That means the mediator can’t give advice to either party, and also can’t act as a lawyer for either party.† Conclusion Robert and Denise Patton seek legal consultation as a mean of finding ways of settling their conflicts. Legal consultation provides the couple with advice on the best avenue to take in solving their problems. Once the two meet with their lawyer, the couple is told if they should have a mediator there with his or her lawyer. Mediators do not represent either of the couple, only the individuals’ lawyers do.

Consumerist Society Essay

What are the pros and cons of living in a consumerist society? Our world is one big shop. Everyone run, buy and scream every day for things they don’t even need. People become on big stampede which don’t care about anything else except goods. The most obvious advantage of living in consumerist society is better living standards. Consumers circulate turnover and that is how our standards of living is increasing. Another advantage is that people have wide range of products to select from. Everyone can compare price, size, color and anything thing else they want personally to fit their needs. Another important point is that shopping provides recreational activity for the whole family. They can get to the supermarket and spend there all day in recreational activities and shopping. As for the disadvantages of consumerist society that rich people gets richer and poor – poorer. While rich people enjoy their lives and don’t care about others, poor people get more and more into debt. Greedy employers exploit workers and make a huge profit. An even stronger argument against is that major production and consumption causes a lot of waste and pollution problems. From trash our planet started warming and it caused giant problems all over the world which are bigger than consumption. To sum up, I want to say that consumption is good if the people are not forced to buy what they don’t need. Everyone has a right to choose what they need. People shouldn’t be used as cheap work energy. Machines are created for that.

Discussion# 1 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Discussion# 1 - Assignment Example ce entails integrating individual clinical expertise with the best available external clinical evidence from systematic research (Sackett et al, 2010). Essentially, the evidence based medicine requires that each clinician upholds their duty to stay in touch with the research literature and to implement best practice as a part of all clinical decision making (Sackett et al, 2010). The critiques of sackett defination of evidence based practice argue that Systematic research is the best quality research but it is not always available. For instance, the Nursing care, particularly in mental health, remains under researched. In addition, they argue that Patients should be involved in decisions about their care. Therefore, they say that Muir Gray definition on evidence based health care is the based. He defined it as an approach to decision making in which the clinician uses the best evidence available, in consultation with the patient, to decide upon the option which suits the patient (Muir, 2009). In my opinion, these definitions stress on facilitating decisions about assessment and intervention that are deemed effective and efficient for a given direct stakeholder On the other hand, the American Psychological Association defines EBP as the integration of the best available research with clinical expertise in the context of patient characteristics, culture and preferences (Gambrills, 2011).  Finally, another definition advanced by Schlosser and Raghavendra suggest that EBP is the integration of best and current research evidence with clinical expertise and relevant stakeholder perspectives (Schlosser, & Raghavendra, 2010). Notably, all the definitions stress three bases, which are the research evidence, educational expertise, and relevant stakeholder perspectives that are relevant and need to be integrated through the EBP process. Gambrills, E.   (2010).  Evidence-based practice: Implications for knowledge development and use in social work.   In A. Rosen & E.

Organizational Structure Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Organizational Structure - Term Paper Example Therefore, top managements give particular importance to their organizational structures while planning and implementing business strategies. This paper will analyze the organizational structure of Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) with specific attention given to its organizational functions and organizational design. Toyota: Organizational Structure Toyota has a unique organizational structure that has assisted the company to dominate the automobile industry throughout its corporate life. As Borowski (2010) points out, the General Meeting of Shareholders is the governing body of Toyota and the shareholders have a voting right in the General Meeting if they hold a minimum amount of shares. Toyota’s executive body is its Board of directors consisting of 26 members. The company’s Board of Directors comprises of the chairman, the vice chairman, the president, 8 executive vice presidents, 13 senior managing directors, an honorary chairman, and a senior advisor. In addition, t here are four committees that belong to the director board, including the Labor-Management Council, the Corporate Philanthropy Committee, the Stock Option Committee, and the Toyota Environmental Committee. The Toyota headquarters manages and coordinates 229 divisions (pp.3-4). Market analysts indicate that Toyota’s organizational structure greatly assists the company to facilitate effective strategic implementation. Referring to the views of Moore (2011), long term-thinking is central to the company’s organizational philosophy. The company management promotes the long-term thinking sometimes even at the expense of short-term financial gains. The author opines that this strategy has significantly benefited the organization to make potential management decisions and to enhance organizational learning (pp.141-143). Toyota’s strong organizational structure aided the company to earn $16.7 billion in profits and 6% sales growth in 2009 in spite of global financial cri sis 2008-09 that had severely hit the global automaking industry. Recently, the TMC has announced some noticeable changes to its organizational structure. As Bloomberg (March 6, 2011) reports, appointment of outside board members is one of the major changes declared by the company. Business unit organization is another change announced. Through this structural change, the company’s automotive business will be split into four distinct units namely Lexus International, Toyota No. 1, Toyota No. 2, and Unit Center. The company believes that this change would well define operations and earning responsibility and would fasten decision making. The TMC has also announced the reorganization of region groups in order to improve its products and services in growing markets. While comparing the organizational structure of General Motors to that of TMC, it seems that GM’s organizational structure is very weak and this issue ended up in the bankruptcy of the GM, the world’s s econd largest automaker. The company delivers its products and services through the seven divisions including Buick, Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC, Opel, Holden, and Vauxhall. It is identified that the company’s operations are not well coordinated and there is no proper communication mechanism to facilitate up and down information flow across various management levels. As a result of a weaker organizational structure, the GM failed to address operational flaws in a timely

Political Potential of Citizen Journalism Essay

Political Potential of Citizen Journalism - Essay Example In such circumstances when reporting from the place affected by crisis becomes valuable and essential, those who earlier were simple observers take roles of journalists with the help of modern technologies. It makes professional journalists face a serious question about the future of their profession as information is becoming more available and easier to generate. A possibility to disseminate news within a click of a mouse is turning the whole process of information production into a tool of political influence and democracy establishment, and historical events in Eastern Europe and in Arab countries can serve as bright examples of the statement.   However, it is necessary to define what the concept of citizen journalism means as it has appeared quite recently and is still shaping. According to Bowman and Willis, citizen journalism is defined as the media content produced by citizens who take an active role in â€Å"collecting, reporting, and analyzing information and news† (2003, 9). Reasonably, it is the Internet that has played a crucial role in emerging citizen journalist phenomenon. Moreover, technological evolution and fast spread of innovations were important for accidental journalism emergence. A great variety of devices that are charged and plugged rapidly and connected to the Internet within seconds permitted almost every citizen to create some content from posts on Facebook to videos on YouTube. It allowed many people sharing their information instantly and also gave a chance to find the right auditory for this information. And the combination of these two factors: instant and relevant content and those wh o consume it was the primary factor in the phenomenon emergence (Bruns, 2005, 1).   The appearance of citizen journalism is closely connected to the introduction of digital culture.

Compare and Contrast Looking For Work and An Indian Story Essay

Compare and Contrast Looking For Work and An Indian Story - Essay Example Ethnic minorities give new insights into the notion of the family. In both stories the protagonists do not live in a traditional nuclear family setting. There is no father in the home or he does not play an active role in the life of the main character. The role of the head of the family is played by women: mother and aunt Greta. Soto’s mother impersonates the absent father by acting strict and feigning â€Å"a stern posture† (Soto 29). Mother’s authority in the family becomes evident when the author chooses her to share his ideas about the fist steps in family improvement, i.e. eating turtle soup. Soto’s mother tries to dissuade the main character by indirectly and repeatedly reminding him of his Mexican origin: she switches languages while talking to her son, calls him â€Å"a crazy Mexican† (Soto 29). Thus the family structure in the story is a traditional one since female-headed families are common in Mexican society (Kanellos 69). Aunt Greta, i n her turn, helps solve the problems second marriage of author’s father caused. She adopts her nephew since Indian concept of a family relies on bloodline not wedlock. She plays the part of the head of the family by educating the mind and the heart of her nephew. Basically the family types depicted in both stories are matriarchal. In both stories the choices made by the main characters are influenced by the family considerations. Gary Soto wants the best in life not for himself, but for his family. He dreams of wealth â€Å"that would save us from ourselves† (Soto 27). He talks about being invited to white people’s homes and front gardens as the prospect for all members of his household. Roger Jack’s decision to attend college is influenced by his aunt. She does not press or push him giving him time to â€Å"rest his brains† (Jack 58). His choice of college is based on its proximity to his home and in his first years he frequently goes home. No mat ter how similar the family structures in two stories seem to be, household atmosphere appear to vary. In "Looking for Work" Soto portrays dissatisfaction with his way of life. He is attracted to the polished TV image of quiet, unhurried family routine. The unknown lures the nine-year-old away from the world of scolding, beating, away from commonplace talks and belly laughs at the table. Instead of comfort and understanding, the protagonist witnesses beating and family rifts. Buttered toasts, mashed potato and turtle soup are substituted by the diet of beans and tortilla. The dessert has to be retrieved from the neighbors’ gardens. Soto’s desires and wishes have no impact on his family, he is mocked by his elder brother, and mother makes no attempt at understanding him. Roger Jack, on the contrary, lives in the world of carefully preserved and cherished traditional values. He believes that we â€Å"emulate those we love and care for† (Jack 52). He is taught to ta ke pride in his ancestry; spiritual side of his culture fascinates him. Knowledge is traditionally passed from the elders in the family to the children (Sandoval 73). So aunt Greta plays the part of the educator taking her nephew on trips to the places connected with Indian culture and pow-wows. She is dignified unhurried manners, which makes Jack value her and his culture. Families may differ in the expectations placed on children and parents. In Soto’