Frankenstein, By Jeffrey Jerome - 1704 Words

In Jeffrey Jerome Cohen’s Seven Theses, thesis number seven (â€Å"The Monster Stands at the Threshold of Becoming†) describes monsters as â€Å"our children†. Monsters exist, for Cohen, not because we want them but because we need them, because they not only reflect who we are but influence who we will become. This is the case in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, where the namesake scientist discovers the secret to life and creates a real life monster. Throughout the novel, the common thread is the parent-child relationship between Frankenstein and his monster. The relationship shifts between the two, in favor of the creature. Frankenstein, even as the monster’s creator and ‘parent’, is ironically powerless to prevent any of creature’s actions and becomes more paranoid and manic, as the creature grows in power over him. But by the end of the novel, both are parent and child; Frankenstein and the creature live only for each other. The relationship between Frankenstein and his creature begins as an attentive parent and beloved child. Frankenstein labors over his creature for two years, piece by piece constructing the creature s body. He works with one anatomical feature at a time, from raw materials supplied by the dissecting room and the slaughter-house (55), which he then brings to life using an unspecified process. However, the moment the creature comes to life, he is repulsed and horrified by its grotesque appearance. He had dreamed of the creation of a beautiful and kind beings,Show MoreRelatedFrankenstein: Science and the Industrial Revolution1212 Words   |  5 PagesFrankenstein: Science and the Industrial Revolution Frankenstein, written by author Mary Shelley, was a romantic based story written in Europe during the eighteen hundreds. During this time period, Europe was experiencing many social and economic changes. Many of these changes were a product of the industrial revolution of Europe. This time period can be defined and era of exploration, discovery and industrialization in which ideas were pushed to the limits. Victor’s creation of Frankenstein isRead MoreFrom The Beginning Of Time, Humans Have Struggled To Make1030 Words   |  5 PagesFrom the beginning of time, humans have struggled to make decisions. With each decision comes a consequence and it is our job to decide what is right and what is wrong. We must see the difference between good and evil. Victor Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll were unable to see the difference between good and bad. These men were selfish and wanted to gain for themselves, rather than avoid the evil. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson is a prime example of humans havingRead MoreThe Harbinger Of A Category Crisis1157 Words   |  5 PagesVictor Frankenstein: The Harbinger of a Category Crisis Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus partially follows the narrative of Victor Frankenstein in his journey of mental and moral deterioration. Victor’s attempt to unnaturally create life through unorthodox methods is his metaphorical attempt to play with fire; he explores a realm beyond human capability by using a power only known to God. This novel leaves readers with a dilemma that makes them question who in fact is really the

Leadership Assessment Free Essays

Leadership Assessment Leadership is defined as the process of influencing others to understand and agree about what needs to be done and how to do it, in order to accomplish what you set out to do. People often assume that anyone in a management position is a leader but I find that statement to be false. To be considered a leader, you must have very strong beliefs, and to work hard at your goal and stay focused. We will write a custom essay sample on Leadership Assessment or any similar topic only for you Order Now A Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is the highest ranked executive manager in a corporation and in my opinion one of the most important. A CEO can range from being the founder of a company, the owner of a business, or they have a great significance within the corporation. A CEO’s responsibility can vary depending on how involved he or she is within the corporation. Although there are many tasks at hand in which a CEO bears, such roles can include significant responsibility, accountability, and authority within the organization. CEO is also response for making sure that the vision, mission and overall direction is being followed through properly. Demonstrating these roles is vital to make sure that the organization’s mission is successful. At my previous employer, I worked for a company call Florida Light and Power (FPL) and although I only met our CEO on a few occasion his name was Armando J. Olivera, and his leadership style impacted me greatly. Mr. Olivera’s leadership style was charismatic style and he did it very well. He was always known as a person who had such an enthusiasm attitude and was always positive minded. Mr. Olivera always wanted to give back to people and teach people something new (Salisbury, 2011). His attitude made me want to come to work each day. Mr. Olivera started with the company with back in 1972 as an engineer trainee and became the CEO back in 2003. The CEO would always adhere to the standards and rules and he really set an example of how he expected his employees to act. He always projected himself in a businesslike manner, and conformed to the rules. He was never the type of person to leave early just because he was the CEO or to take holidays off while the rest of the employees worked. He personally impacted me in a positive manner when I first started. The training period is an intention training that involves several classes that included videos to watch, and during those videos Mr. Olivera was actually in the videos speaking and explaining his vision and what he expects and his story of how he started out. The story really made me look at the company differently and because Mr. Olivera was all about how to make the customer happy and the great lengths that he would endear to make sure that that happened. In order to ensure that FPL employees were always on the right path the CEO would produce training videos for team development that displayed such qualities like integrity, drive, consideration, and self confidence. The CEO always made sure that his expectation was made to be clear and the vision and mission statements were followed through properly. FPL vision statement states as followed â€Å"we will be the preferred provider of safe, reliable, cost-effective products and services that satisfy the electricity related needs of all our customer segments† (â€Å"Fpls commitment to,†). Divisional structure was the type of organization structure at FPL. Since FPL was such a large company with over 10,000 employees in the state of Florida, we operated in a wide geographic area and targeted difference areas with difference specialized groups. This was a huge advantage to our company because it helps meet more rapid demands and is able to handle a larger division. This also helped the company move into other forms of energy sources that they could provide to customers. Within the organizational structure at FPL there are levels of hierarchy that distribute the responsibility within the organization. Divisional structure at FPL allows common culture to build and contribute to a higher and better knowledge of the company and its services. (Gillikin) Ethical conduct refers to an organizations moral standards concerning the action of individual members and also the decisions of the organization as a whole. At FPL the CEO has placed this responsibility on to Human Resources to ensure that all employees were following the code of conduct and conducting themselves in the upmost professional manner; no employees including the CEO were exempted from this. As their ethical practices have become an economical benefit for the company, it also prevents disrespectful behavior, bullying between coworkers, prevention between personal phone calls at the companies expense, improper use of company equipment, and excessive sick days etc. The code of ethical conduct has greatly effected the way business is properly conducted. FPL strives to not only do the legal thing but the ethical thing as well in order to ensure our customers with satisfactorily service. FPL has a public image to obtain as they are the largest energy provider in the state of Florida. Also unethical business can not only hurt a companies reputation, but it can prevent prospective employees from choosing to work for FPL. (Vossos) There are many ways to motivate employees, and may different techniques that seem to work better than others. First off the most motivating thing in the work place is money, so offering employees bonuses for reaching a mark or being the leader in sales with a nice bonus will encourage all the employees to work harder and better for the extra money. Many large companies do this to motivate such as google and Microsoft use this technique. Another way to motivate is offer extra time off or paid time off for the employee that has preformed the best for each quarter. The third way to motivate employees would to add some perks for them while they are at work such as child daycare or pay for any food they might want or have free drink machines. These are just a few ways to make the work space more enjoyable and move appealing for employees. The Hawthorne studies in the early nineteenth century examined and studied how managers can motivate employees to work more efficiently, with quality work at the maximum rate of return. One of the areas of information derived from the Hawthorne studies was that something more than pay incentives was improving the employees’ output within work groups. Researchers found that there was improvement in the work due to the fact that employees felt important because someone was studying them at work. One of the concepts that leaders can derive from this historic discovery is that leaders must find ways to motivate and reward their employees besides the perceived rewards of being employed and having a pay incentive. (Cook) Companies today are faced with a host of issues, which may cripple their functionality, or in some extreme cases render the organizations obsolete. For example Kodak once a leader and innovator in the photo industry but they fell behind and had to file for bankruptcy. These challenges are dependent on the nature of operations of the company, these challenges face a large amount of different organizations. Technological advancements today are on the increase more than in the previous century. Technology changing creates a problem for businesses because when technology changes the company has to stay up to date with the technology so they would have to teach all there employees how to run the new programs and buying the new technology can be very costly. Another problem companies face generational gaps have created a difficulty in determining consumer behaviors, yet most companies are investing heavily in customer behavior analysis to determine the most appropriate way of matching a customers’ needs. Once again times change and so do customers taste and opinions change and businesses need to stay current with the changes if not they will end up like Kodak. A problem that we can all relate to as of lately is unstable economies and currencies are another factor causing constant instability in the running of corporations. Though this has of late been caused by other external factors such as exchange rates, amount of exports and imports and political factors. There has been a relatively high incidence of economic instability in the recent past. The national economies are recovering from a global economic meltdown today, most organizations have been negatively affected by the meltdown leading to massive layoffs. There are many more challenges that many companies and leaders encounter when managing. Diversity can help organizations compete in global markets by having a plan of other ventures that will bring new technology or and item to the market when a company has more than one option to make money successfully will make the chances of that company higher for them to succeed. or example lets look at Fuji film they diversified there company by making lcd screens and medical companies just to name a few things fuji film did to keep there companies head above water. An effective business strategy to address these challenges such as the change in technologies, generation gap, and unstable economies. The first step would be to build a good tech team that can stay on top of the technology an help keep the companies technology up to date. Then the generation gap a company hat has developed great ways to bring in new generations would be google they have done a many things to keep young talented employees to continue to come work for them for a few reasons they build a different environment that draws the new generation in. They also make the work environment more relaxing and stress free. A good way for a company to tackle this issue would be to listen to younger employees ideas and add some relaxing eliminates such as a gym, swimming pool or shona which employees could relieve stress before or after work. Then prepare for the unstable economies there is a few things that can help with this first being diversifying the companies assets look into other business ventures easier said then dont also expand the company into different economies. A company that has multiple, unrelated businesses. Unrelated businesses are those which require unique management expertise, have different end customers and produce different products or provide different services. One of the benefits  of being a diversified company  is that it buffers a company from dramatic fluctuations in any one industry sector. However, this model  is  also less likely to enable stockholders to realize significant gains or losses because it is not singularly focused on one business. Reference Cook, J. (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://thinkingleader. hubpages. om/hub/How-Google-Motivates-their-Employees-with-Rewards-and-Perks FPL’s commitment to quality. (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://www. fpl. com/about/quality/fpls_commitment_to_quality. shtml (â€Å"Fpls commitment to,† ) Salisbury, S. (2011, December 19). Fpl’s ceo to retire after 40 years; successor named. The palm beach post. (Salisbury, 2011) Gillikin, J. (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://smallbusiness. chron. com/advantages-dis advantages-divisional-organizational-structure-611. html (Gillikin) Vossos, T. (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://www. ehow. com/info_8660312_ethical-conduct-within-organization. html (Vossos) How to cite Leadership Assessment, Essay examples

Causes and Outcomes of Revolutionary War free essay sample

This is what led them to the American Revolution. We will write a custom essay sample on Causes and Outcomes of Revolutionary War or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Sugar Act The sugar act was passed in 1764. The Sugar act was when the British placed a tax on wine, sugar. This was done because the Britain needed more money to help them with the security for the colonists. The idea was to force the many colon sits to sell the goods to Britain instead of other countries. The Sugar act made colonists very angry. This lead to a lot of protesters against the sugar act, lots of violence against the British and eventually lead to the American Revolution.Stamp Act The Stamp Act was passed by the British in 1765. The Stamp Act was a tax that was placed on printed paper such as; licenses, newspapers, and anything hat was printed. The purpose of this tax would be to help pay for the protection of the American frontier. The Stamp Act concerned the colonists, about the intent of the British parliament and lead them to the American Revolution. Townsend Acts The Townsend Acts was a series of laws in 1 767 which placed taxes on lead, paints, glass, tea and paper. These laws upset the many colonists and raised many concerns Of the colonists. The Townsend Acts passed in 1 767 made colonists angry, caused lots of violence between the colonists. This eventually after time lead them to the American Revolution. Tea Act The Tea Act was a tax that was passed o the American colony on tea that was brought in the port including the Boston Harbor. Colonists were mad about not being consulted first before they were taxed on the tea brought over.This caused animosity between the colonists and lead us to the revolutionary war. Intolerable Acts This was a series of laws passed by the British. Impartial Administration of Justice Act which allowed the governor of the colony to move a trial to another colony if they did not feel that the colony they were in would judge the case fairly. Massacre guests Bay Regulating Act all of the law officers may eave to meet with the governor, and everyone had to have approval by the governor to have town meetings.

The Price Of Vengeance Essays - Salem Witch Trials, The Crucible

The Price Of Vengeance Authority. Can it be abused? Abagail and the other girls in the play, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, strongly abused their position of power. Through the authority of the girls in the court, the Witch Hysteria came about in Salem. Because of the Witch Hysteria, false accusations of witchcraft were placed on members of the community in a form of vengeance from previous misunderstandings. Vengeance was seeking itself in Salem. ?Mary, why do you send your spirit on me The Witch Hysteria in The Crucible was the cause of all the problems, which will be further examined in the very near future. Abagail and the girls began to cry ?Witch? after Reverend Parris discovered them dancing in the woods early one morning with a fire and a kettle full of some sort of brew. As dancing was strictly forbidden, especially around a fire, a subtle thought of witchcraft was aroused in Salem. Reverend Parris was ecstatic about losing his ministry because he believed he was not well liked by the town's people. Parris was enraged at Abagail for her and the girls' actions in the woods as his daughter Betty lay in bed, so called ?witched?. Abagail and the girls dancing is discovered (Abagail is a servant who is in love with her former employer, John Proctor, who is married to Elizabeth. John Proctor committed adultery with Abagail. She was released from the Proctor home soon after). False accusations all begin at that point, a critical point in the play. As Abagail accuses Tituba of making her dance and drink blood, and revealing whom Parris and Hale think is the link to the Devil in Salem, Abagail is given a very extreme power, a power that will be greatly abused. Abagail and the girls begin accusing innocent people of witchery for their own personal gains. Vengeance and desire, not witchcraft, are the causes of these false accusations. Reverend Hale and John Proctor state this throughout the play, numerous times. Men and women of the town such as Ann and Thomas Putnam are seeking vengeance through the Trials, Goody Putnam for her lost children and Thomas for the children and his land disputes with Giles Corey. The girls are in love men and boys of the town, and that is what they are trying to gain from these inaccurate accusations. As these false accusations are made, Dansforth and Parris believe the girls, despite Reverend Hale and John Proctor's objections, but Dansforth does not want to reverse his previous guilty verdicts, because it could tarnish his name as a court judge in a sense. As a result, Proctor is accused of witchcraft, and is sentenced to hang unless he confesses. He refuses to confess to lies. As a result of the hysteria of a town, false accusations came about, vengeance was carried out and 19 people were hanged, all because power was put into the wrong hands. John Proctor and 18 other people lost their lives, their freedom, the common rights of man because authority refused to believe the truth and was caught up in the hype.

Two Film Techniques Used in essays

Two Film Techniques Used in essays The composer of the film, Witness, uses various film techniques to illustrate the contrast between the English world and the Amish way of life. Two techniques that stand out from the rest in this film are the dialogue, and the camera angles from which every scene is taken. The dialogue between the actors is an essential film technique because without it, it would be impossible for the audience to understand the films plot/theme. In this film, the dialogue is used to reveal little details about the Amish way of life, so that even some audiences who are not aware of this group of people will learn something new about the Amish. We discovered that the Amish are different in that they are very religious and they take every word of the Bible literally. We hear Rachel Lapp and Eli telling John Book to adjust to their way of life while he is living with them. We also witness the indifference displayed by the English in the scene where a group of disrespectful teenagers were harassing the Amish. We hear one of the teenagers saying Watch out, hell hit you with a bible. This clearly shows their prejudice towards the Amish. How the actors recite their lines also helps to show the difference between the English and the Amish, we would not hear Rachel or Eli or Samuel swearing or using slang words as they seem to be very proper and honest. Half-body shots are used throughout the film to allow us to generally observe how the Amish act around people from inside and outside their group. From here, we see that the Amish do not believe in violence, they will try as hard as possible to solve any arguments with a possible mutual agreement. Close up shots are used to show the expression of the Amish when they are surprised, happy, etc. These shots are usually followed by half-body shots or full-body shots to reveal what it is that cause them to have such expression o ...

Biblical Christian Influence on American Films

Biblical Christian Influence on American Films Essay One of the most interesting and probably the most important and influential books ever written in Western history is the Holy Bible. No other book has come close to having had such a profound influence on the religious, intellectual, philosophical, political, military and cultural life of society throughout the world where western civilization has penetrated. Some people believe its the best work of literature ever written; others believe that is the word of God written by Him alone through mortals chosen to carry His message. Some believe that the very thought of changing a single word of this book deserves severe punishment even death. Most western religions treat it as holy words from their creator and savior. Historians value it as a great encyclopedia of ancient cultures of the Near East. Artists continue to be inspired by and find material from this book for their paintings, novels, poems and other expressions of art. Architects have used information and actual plans found in the Bible as to how the ancients built their magnificent temples and cities as reference to build modern structures as well as replicating the old. The Bible has been used as a great source for scientists and researchers in identifying diseases and other maladies that plague modern societies. Doctors have found actual cures for some diseases that were passed on to them through the Bible. Politicians very often use words or passages from this book to rationalize their policies or actions. Moralists have set the doctrines expressed within its pages as the basic rules a good citizen should follow. Priests base sermons on their own interpretations of the holy words to inspire followers and to convert non-believers. How powerful the book is! Bible translation led to the study and literary development of many languages. Luthers translation of the Bible in the 16th century has been called the birth of modern Germany. The Authorized Version (English) of 1611 (King James Version) and the others that preceded it caught the English language at the blooming of its first maturity. Since the invention of the printing press (mid-15th century), the Bible has evolved to become more than a translation of an ancient Oriental text. It is not perceived as a foreign book. Certainly it has become the most available, familiar, and dependable source and arbiter of intellectual, moral, and spiritual ideals in the West. Its English translations form the shape of modern English and many writing styles. It has given birth to many masterpieces of art. Miltons Paradise Lost, Rubens Christ On The CrossIt has caused pain, suffering and conflict between various individuals and societies who interpret the book differently such as the Hebrew, the Moslem and the Christian. No one can deny the astronomical deaths heaped on western society through wars and other forms of murder perpetuated in the name of truth found in the pages of the Bible. It is the foundation of most western moral concepts and cultures. It is read daily by millions throughout the world No one can ignore or deny the place the Bible has earned. Numerous academics have studied its influence on western culture and society. I dont wish to repeat or quote what has already been said more eloquently. What I want to emphasize here is I believe that it is quite impossible to discuss the Bible and its influence over the Western World without considering the influence of different religious interpretations. What I hope to do here is to confine this discussion to the impact of the Christian interpretation of the bible on American Entertainment, specifically American film and the film industry. The Christian Bibles Effect on the American Film Industry Most Chinese audiences have no doubt: America is a nation of complete artistic and personal freedom. How is it possible then that America is under the influence and even controlled by one book? Even I would have to admit it seems true for the present there seems to be unlimited freedom in U. S. entertainment. Violence, crime, pornography, politics, drugs, etc. all have been adapted into screen. It seems there are no rules for the film industry. Filmmakers can and seem to make whatever movies they like. The truth is that until recently the film industry is subject to and has to follow, directly or indirectly, the rules set out in a kind of Production Code, which was originally written by a Catholic priest, Father Daniel Lord in the 1920s when complaints of moral abuses in Hollywood expressed through the new and powerful medium of film forced the industry to protect itself against local or national censorship and establish the Hayes Commission to investigate and make suggestions that would calm the fears of the moralists and organizations that were fearful of Hollywoods influence on their memberships. Later the Hayes Commission gave birth to what is today known as Motion Picture Association. This quasi-government organization is still headed by its first appointee and is supposed to help the motion picture industry set and follow a voluntary code of ethics by warning audiences of the content in each film through a rating system. After the birth of the Hayes Commission, in April 1934 the Catholic Church formed its own investigating commission. A committee of bishops was formed to make suggestions and determinations as to what Catholics could and could not view coming out of Hollywood. It was called The Legion of Decency. These Bishops make determinations as to the moral content of each film and how the Church wanted its priests to handle their parishioners. The priests would then pass on this information to the parishioners. Through sermons, booklets, letters, and media releases the Church let it be known what movies were acceptable for viewing and which were not. For more than three decades the Catholic Church, through its Legion of Decency enjoyed the power to control content in much of what Hollywood produced serving as a moral guardian for the American public. From 1934 until the early 1950s staunch lay Catholic, Joseph I. Breen , rigorously enforced Lords code at the Production Code Administration (PCA), often over the protests of studio executives, producers, directors, and screenwriters. The PCA, the industrys own censorship board worked hand in hand with the Legion of Decency to keep the movies from exploring social, political and economic issues that it believed were either immoral or a danger to the Catholic Church. The PCA, represented only the first step in the process of purification that all Hollywood films underwent during the Legions reign. After receiving a Production Code seal of approval, films were shipped to New York for duplication and distribution; but before that process could begin each film was submitted to the Catholic Legion of Decency for a final review. If they didnt like what they saw, word would be sent to the producing studio that negotiations were in order. A letter or a telephone conversation would detail the Legions objections. The offending films would be either altered to suit Catholic tastes or waiting for condemnation. A Legion condemnation shook Hollywood to its core because Catholics, some twenty million strong, were theoretically forbidden, under the penalty of mortal sin, to attend the condemned film. Any theater that exhibited a condemned film was targeted for boycott by Catholic organizations. Rather than risk a loss of income or challenge the Legions authority to censor their product, producers bowed to the pressure and cut the offending material from all prints exhibited worldwide. In reality, then, the Legions view of sex, politics and moral issues reached an international market. The history of the relationship between the Legion and Hollywood, of a religious organizations censorship of a mass medium entailed a cultural war between the Legion, which believed it spoke for the moral values of the American public, and the movie industry, which foughtoften rather meeklyfor freedom of the screen. From the mid-1930s until Otto Premingers release of The Moon Is Blue in 1953, no Hollywood studio seriously challenged the right of the priests to censor their films. From 1953 until the establishment of the current ratings system, only a handful of independent producers, foreign or domestic, refused to submit their films to Legion censors. The Catholics thought that strict control over the content of the movies would prevent the movies a new, popular and powerful recreation from changing the positive values of Anglo-Saxon ideals was adopted by progressive reformers. What Daniel Lord drafted as a Catholic movie code emerged a fascinating combination of Catholic theology, conservative politics, and pop psychologyan amalgam that would control the content of Hollywood films for the next three decades. Lord and his colleagues shared a common objective with Protestant film reformers: they all wanted entertainment films to emphasize that the church, the government, and the family were the cornerstones of an orderly society; that success and happiness resulted from respecting and working within this system. Entertainment films should reinforce religious teachings that deviant behavior, whether criminal or sexual, cost violators the love and comforts of home, the intimacy of family, the solace of religion, and the protection of law. Films should be twentieth-century morality plays that illustrated proper behavior to the masses. Therefore, the basic premise behind the code was that no picture should lower the moral standards of those who see it. Recognizing that evil and sin were legitimately part of drama, the code stressed that no film should create a feeling of sympathy for the criminal, the adulterer, the immoralist, or the corrupter. No film should be so constructed as to leave the question of right or wrong in doubt. Films must uphold, not question or challenge, the basic values of society. READ: Adolescent Mental Health Facilities EssayThe sanctity of the home and marriage must be upheld. The concept of basic law must not be belittled or ridiculed. Courts must be shown as just and fair, police as honest and efficient, and government as protective of all people. If corruption was a necessary part of any plot, it had to be restricted: a judge could be corrupt but not the court system; a policeman could be brutal, but not the police force. Interestingly, Lords code stated, crime need not always be punished, as long as the audience is made to know that it is wrong. What Lord wanted films to do was to illustrate clearly to audiences that evil is wrong and that good is right. Therefore Going My Way couldnt pass the censor: they thought priests in a bad light. In Inherit the Wind the whole premise of the film could not be accepted originally because it supposedly slammed Christianity and portrayed the minister as the villain in the movie (parish the thought no pun intended). Sunset Boulevard was rejected because Normas crime of shooting Gillis went unpunished. In 1968 the censorship system was replaced by the rating system. In this system the movie will not be changed only given a letter to represent the content of the movie. One cant help but wonder what movies would have come without the Hays committee. And the truth is that though the influence of this Production Code is fading nowadays, Catholics can see all the movies they like, most of the producers see the code as at best a general guideline for movie morality. In 1995, the Pontifical Council for Social Communication identified forty-five films produced in the United States, Europe, and Asia that, it said, possessed special artistic or religious merit. The list was prepared as part of the Vaticans contribution to the hundredth anniversary of the cinema. For the average moviegoer there were many recognizable films: The Vatican council cited, among others, Fred Zinnemanns A Man for All Seasons, William Wylers Ben Hur, Gabriel Axels Babettes Feast, Frank Capras Its a Wonderful Life, Louis Malles Au Revoir les Enfants, Victor Flemings The Wizard of Oz, and Steven Spielbergs Schindlers List. They are all great works representing Christian morality and values. Christian moral rate is still an important standard for audience to judge a film. It still plays a central role in filmmaking. Though the Catholic censorship system has been replaced by the rating system, its shadow is still hover over the films. It may not be so obvious but subtle. Even though they try to expose the dark side of Catholic Church or priests, theyll simply pick up a role that did something wrong then confessed and changed himself into a good man again later. They will be only shown as the smallest minority among the larger Christian family and cannot represent Christians as a whole. Even this kind of subject is very difficult to find in the film library. Christian society also has its own film companies, TV programs and own many radio and TV stations. What they express in the films, videos, DVDs, etc all focuses on converting secular citizens and reinforcing followers belief. Whereas what they produce are not only simple teaching materials, but are entertaining. The movies they have shot are good examples, which mix Christian doctrines with exciting secular plots. For example, Apocalypse, Revelation and Left behind, these three movies are among a series film that contain the message of Revelation. I dont want to describe scenes from these films but rather discuss here the Christian impact on commercial films, the films that are not made by Christian producers. According to their different style of expression, I separate the films into three groups for the conveniences sake: one is viewed from their stories to discover the secret of using or adapting Christian stories in a film; one is sensed from their themes to probe how Christian ideas and values dominate the American society through the media of film, the most attractive, powerful entertainment; the other is analyzed through films structure to see their connection with the Bible. This separation may not be accurate and thoroughly considered. But I hope it to be a guideline to understand this cultural phenomenon. Commercial movies also put biblical stories on screen. However unlike pure Christian films, they dont quite follow what has been written in the Scriptures. They will adapt the scenes or create a plot according to the need of a smooth story. This kind of films always reveal Christian doctrines and teachings openly and are very persuasive. Among the AFIs one hundred greatest films of all time for the celebration of the birth of film, Ben-Hur, Jesus, and The Ten Commandments are this kind of movies. Ben-Hur was released in 1959. Based on the famous novel, it tells the story of Judah Ben-Hur, a wealthy Jewish prince living during the time of Christ who is wrongly accused of murdering the Roman governor. The governor, however, is not killed during the incident of the falling tiles. He recovers. This is important because it means Judah is sentenced to die in the galleys not only for an accident, but for an accident which does not even result in permanent injury. Judah, his mother and daughter are imprisoned for the crime by Judahs childhood friend, the Roman Masala. Judah is sentenced to be a galley slave and swears revenge on Masala. As Judah works to exact his revenge, a young carpenter begins his ministry. The films story dovetails into a climatic confrontation between Judah and Masala, until finally Judah learns that love triumphs over hate, becoming a follower of Jesus, the crucified carpenter. Jesus is not the central role in this film. However the main plot develops around him and around what he did according to the Bible. His sermon on the mount, his performing miracles, the great plague of leprosy, his crucifixion, death and resurrection, etc. are all depicted in the film. At the end of the film, all the lepers were cured, all the blasted grasses were awaken, the dry rivers regained flowing water: everything was being refreshed and gained its second life, people threw away their hatred and followed their Messiah. The whole movie presents a great biblical epic and punctuates the message of peace and love through salvation in Christ, which is the core of the New Testament and the most important value that the Christians believe. Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord. Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you. for love is of God not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Jesus (1979) is one of the most accurate Bible dramas ever produced with a script taken entirely from the book of Luke. The story begins with the angels announcement to the virgin Mary of the impending birth of Jesus, visually depicts the main events of Jesus life and ministry, portrays a painfully realistic crucifixion, and then ends with His ascension through the clouds. As of July 1, 1997, this film has been translated into over 406 languages and is used as and evangelism tool throughout the world. Different from above two concerned the story of Jesus Christ, The Ten Commandments (1956) projects the panorama of Moses life: his mother putting him into the bulrushes to be found by Pharaohs family, the early Egyptian career and exile to Midian; the call from the Burning Bush; the plagues and the Red Sea; the giving of the Law. Unavoidable, there are many details added which are not found in the Scriptures and some events are altered or merged. These three films are all Hollywoods productions under the domination of Legion of Decency. They cannot be named perfect from a strict point of view of Christians (some violence and revision of the Scripture), They are still the most impressive interpretations of biblical stories that ever seen in the Hollywood film industry. In recent years, we could hardly find this kind of films on the screen until 1998 DreamWorks SKG did a film with brilliant animation also about the story of MosesThe Prince of Egypt. The films introduction states it is true to the essence, values and integrity of the story. There are still divergencies against the book of Exodus: Moses is not reunited with his mother as an infant, he speaks flawlessly and therefore does not need Aarons eloquence, he kills the Egyptian by accident rather than murdering him, Aaron is reluctant to support Moses and discourages him from speaking to Pharaoh Even so, despite the many textual inconsistencies, the films central theme is clear. In the words of Dream Works principal Jeffrey Katzenberg, A man has an experience with his God which forever changes his life, his perceptions and his peoples history. READ: Health Insurance and Health Care in America EssayThey vividly show the burning bush of Gods image stating I Am that I Am, and the plagues on Egypt and the parting of the water of Red Sea are also very graphically impressive with the wonderful combination of the songs I Will Get There and If You Believe. You may not find biblical stories or themes in most of the films. However since the Christian ideas and values have sunk into the deep part of the American culture. Almost every film will come down to moral issues or reveal directly or indirectly something from the Holy Bible. They have woven the preset values secretly into the films. Pay It Forward, a newly released film is a good example. An eleven years old boy Trevor McKinney, a seventh grader challenged by Social Studies teacher Eugene Simonet in an extra credit assignment to change the world, he comes up with a plan to impact the lives of three people. If they accept, it is their duty to continue the idea of paying it forward by impacting the lives of three others. Instead of each one reach one it is each one reach three. Eventually the results can change the world. It doesnt work out so successfully, but he did try. His effort was not in vain. More and more people get to know it, more and more people stretch their hands out to help. Trevor helps his mother out of alcohol and helps Eugene regain his faith in love. He is knifed by two rascals who are bullying a kid after his deed has been screened on TV. Many people come to mourn on his death and Pay It Forward is being spread out all over the country. Though this boy doesnt have a Christian background, the screenwriter provides him the most shining characteristics of a Christian. In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. Trevor is put in the position of solving all the problems in Las Vegas, including but not limited to heroin addiction, alcohol abuse, strip bars, child abuse and homelessness. And he is transformed into a Messiah figure at the end. Seven (1995) as another example is completely different from Pay It Forward. The title refers to the seven deadly sins, which a serial killer is using to brutally murder seven people in seven days. A fat man is punished for his gluttony, a lawyer for his greed, a model for her pride, and so on. The murders are apparently intended as a series of medieval sermons, a wake-up call to a civilization that doesnt know its become utterly corrupt. The murderer finally receives his punishment. The Seven Deadly Sins never occur as a formal list in the Bible, but summarized from the Bible against the Seven Heavenly Virtues. The seven sins are pride, envy, anger, sloth, covetousness, gluttony and lust. Each of the Sins was associated with a specific punishment in Hell: like pride, broken on the wheel; envy, put in freezing water; anger, dismembered alive, and so on. The film exposes the Seven Deadly Sins through the clue the detective follows to find the killer. And the Bible becomes the key to the answer: the evil will finally get punished. There is also another group of films having relationship with the Bible. They borrow the stories from the Bible to construct their own. This kind of movie always offends the Christian community, like Bless the Child and Warlock. Most of these movies are concerned with Apocalypse which means revelation, unbiding. It reveals the true meaning of events or their outcome, or the heavenly reality behind or beyond earthly appearances. It opens the imagination to strange worlds and dreamlike visions. Now the LORD is about to lay waste the earth and make it desolate, and be will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitantsThe earth shall be utterly laid wastefor the LORD has spoken his word. There are two areas of cosmic imagery in the visions of apocalypse in the Bible. One is cosmic catastrophes: the sun darkened and the moon turned to blood in Joel 2:31; the sky rolled up and the stars fell in Isaiah 34; earthquakes and floods in Isaiah 24:18,19. There is also social disintegration and conflict: deception, betrayal, murder in Daniel 11:32,33 and 2 Peter 2, etc. The other is pictures of cosmic renewal: a new heaven and a new earth in Isaiah 65:17 and 2 Peter 3:13; the rapture when Gods glory replaces the lights of Heaven in Isaiah 60:19, etc. In Bless the Child (2000), an unusual little girl is a symbol of returned Christ. And she has tremendous power to retrieve the dead to life. In order to take charge of the whole world before the coming millennium, a Satan captures her and attempts to turn her away from her faith on right and wrong and thus away from her commitment to God and worship him instead of God. He takes her to the top of a skyscraper and asks her to throw herself down from there saying, Throw yourself down from here, for it is written, He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you. The girl replied exactly what Jesus answered to Satan, Do not put the Lord your God to the test. Later he tries to scare her by burning a poor homeless man in front of her. He fails and has to kill her. But the evil is not the rival of this little Messiah. She saves the world from being controlled by the evil. The screenwriter engrafts the story of Jesus on the little girl. God and Satan warring against each other and Gods ultimate victory are also adapted and woven into Warlock: the Armageddon. Satans only son the Warlock is born through a woman without pregnancy. His mission is to free his father from the fiery chains that imprison him and unleash Satans wrath upon the world. The prophets of Christianity foresee the coming war and get ready to train two young warriors who are the only ones can prevent complete world destruction. They alone possess the supernatural powers to challenge the Warlock and stop the inevitable Armageddon. Finally they outsmart and defeat the Warlock before the prophesied eclipse, sending Satan and his son back to Hell. These two mentioned above remain the frame of biblical revelation and are easily identified. Others like Star Wars series, The Matrix (1998), Twelve Monkeys (1995), Independent Day (1996), etc. throw away the meaning of the Revelation, but focus on the eschatological part of apocalyptic texts mingling with science fictions and not on the revelation of Gods sovereignty. In these films humans are able to change their future, and are not simply spectators to the divine unfolding. Actually Biblical or Christian shadow is not only cast over these three aspects. Some titles of films are from the Bible; many of them contain Bible-related dialogues or direct quotations from the Scripture and biblical figures, images or actions. Here I will not discuss the others in detail. The Bible is one of the two main sources of Western civilization; the other is the culture of Greece and Rome, or classical civilization. Of the two, the Bible is several centuries older. Its contents affected Western values and the way westerners act and think. As a production of industry and technology and combination of various kinds of Arts and an instant mirror of the society, films cannot escape the influence of the Bible and Christianity. Western societys symbols and values affected by the Bible shape the films, which on the contrary attest to the Bibles role in shaping the ways in which westerners tell their stories, mold their heroes, understand their experience, imagine their future, and explain themselves to themselves, no matter how the filmmakers do a film, to copy a biblical story or to borrow a biblical structure or embed Christian values into a film. United States is the best stage to show this story. First, the Bible has exercised a profound influence on the history and values of the United States. The early history of America is a history of the Pilgrims and other early European settlers seeking their new Israel that Gods promised to his newly chosen people. And the values the Americans cherish mostly originate from the Bible, such as the idea of equality, freedom. Second, though two French brothers first invented film, the blooming of this new form of arts and industry is achieved in America. It represents a new popular culture. And its an influential educational tool ever since it was born. In 1930s American society was experiencing the gloomy Depression. Not only economy but also moral standard decayed. The episode of Legion of Decency in American film industry is actually a self-defensive action of a biblical culture preoccupied society towards non-protestant values since they have noticed the power this popular cultural tool has to influence its audience. Through pulling film industry back to its right track, Christianity also consolidates its role in the American society. This is the point that we should pay attention to.

REading Response of NAECY Read and Write article Essay

REading Response of NAECY Read and Write article - Essay Example Teachers for children are required to undergo a comprehensive training to be equipped with the requirements of early literacy and the best teaching practices for early childhood education. The desirable features of children’s classrooms include manageable class sizes, low children to teacher ratios and varieties of learning materials. Additional policies meant to enhance children’s learning include promoting proper methods of assessing children, access to proper healthcare, and rallying for the public to assume collective responsibility in investing in high quality education for children. This article has really changed my mindset towards children’s learning. The paper has made me realize that children demonstrate their desire to learn when they are at early stages through grasping and gazing at objects. I have also realized that children’s teachers are not supposed to be anyone who knows how to read and write; however, teachers need training in order to understand the psychology behind developmental stages of children so that they can effectively care for them. I also learnt that we all have the responsibility of ensuring high quality education for our children through cost sharing to hire enough teachers and buy the required resources to boost children’s learning. The first teachers who handle children largely determine their future life and academic success (Herr & Libby-Larson, 2009). Teachers are required to remain attentive to children’s needs of learning and handle them in the best way they can. Teachers should expose children to a variety of learning objects and allow them to manipulate these objects in their quest to understand the world. Traditionally, people believed that children’s learning requirements are not demanding and can be met with any adult. This perception has changed since teachers must understand the requirements of children at each age and satisfy