The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas free essay sample

There is a huge difference between utopia and dystopia. Utopia literally means a place that does not exist. It describes an imaginary world; it is paradise; a place of pure bliss where nothing goes wrong. Dystopia is literally the opposite. It is a world that was once functioning but ends up horrible. Instead of the skies being clear and blue like in a utopian world, they are dark and dull. The cities are in ruins and the people are annoying and unfriendly. At first, it seems that utopia exists in Omelas. Ursula Le Guin starts the short story off with a beautiful description of the city, filling your mind with happiness and joy. She explains that in the city everything is perfect and everyone is happy. They had no slaves, no war, and no problems. They had â€Å"religion but no clergy† (3). They didn’t need it; just like they didn’t need soldiers because she explains that â€Å"the joy built upon successful slaughter is not the right kind of joy†¦ it is fearful and it is trivial† (3). They could surely celebrate courage without soldiers. There is music and dancing and laughter. There is no guilt in Omelas. Although, they weren’t actually aloud to feel guilt in Omelas. In order to be happy and for them to not feel guilt, someone must suffer; there were terms to follow in order to have happiness. It actually turns into somewhat of a dystopian world in the end. There were times when a boy, girl, man or woman would go see the suffering child in the cellar and go home in silence: if they even went home at all. If they went home, they left soon to â€Å"walk down the street, alone, and out of the city of Omelas† (7). They walk into a dark path and do not come home. 2.The narrator has compassion for the people in Omelas. Le Guin explains that â€Å"all the people of Omelas know it [the suffering child] is there. Some understand why, and some do not† (5). They understand though, that their happiness; the cities beauty; the friendships; and everything good depend on the child’s suffering. They know that there is â€Å"no vapid, irresponsible happiness† that â€Å"like the child, [they] are not free [either]†. The compassion they have is because of the existence of the child. It is because of that child that they have knowledge of that existence and the reason why â€Å"they are so gentle with other children†¦ that if the wretched one were not there sniveling in the dark†, there would be no happiness anywhere else. Le Guin reasons, â€Å"to throw away the happiness of thousands for the chance of the happiness of one: that would be to let guilt within the walls indeed† (6). Le Guin seems to find dilemma in Omelas. She says the few that leave, they go out into the street alone; â€Å"they keep walking, and walk straight out of the city of Omelas†¦ the place they go towards is a place even less imaginable to most of us† (7). She explains that she â€Å"cannot describe it all†¦ but they seem to know where they are going† (7). Her opinion is that it is too much to ask for everyone to just be okay with ones suffering for everyone else to be happy. The child locked in the dark cellar is what the people of Omelas claims to be the reason for their happiness and guilt free life. The child sits in his or her own feces in a small, dark, foul-smelling room. He or she is feeble-minded, unhealthy and â€Å"there may not even be a kind word spoken to the child† (5). The fact about this child is explained to children when they are young but able to comprehend. Most those who go to see the child are young people; sometimes adults, but â€Å"no matter how well the matter has been explained to them, these young spectators are always shocked and sickened at the sight† (5). It may take months or years, but they will come to accept the torture of one for the benefit of the many; that if they did anything to save the child, â€Å"all the prosperity and beauty and delight of Omelas would wither and be destroyed† (6). The child symbolizes the evil within everyone and everything. Some people cannot handle the knowledge of the child in the dark cellar and they walk away forever, unwilling to bear the guilt, and others come to terms with the fact that the child â€Å"is too degraded and imbecile to know any real joy† (6), and so they think it’s justified. 4.There is an implied criticism of those who do not accept moral responsibility. We have a bad habit of â€Å"considering happiness as something rather stupid†. We are taught that only â€Å"pain is intellectual, [and] only evil is interesting† (2). We are brainwashed into thinking that someone must suffer in order for other people to be happy. In a utopia everything is filled with perfection and beauty. In a real utopia nothing needs to be rescued; it is in fact a real fairy tale. No princesses need to be rescued and no dragons need to be slaughtered. It is not necessary to let others hurt just to feel happiness. No technological wonders can provide happiness when our thinking is collectively flawed. You can be happy and peaceful without being passionless and naà ¯ve which is what society has lost touch with. The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas free essay sample In The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas author Ursula K. Le Guin uses the utopian society of Omelas to symbolically highlight the ugly and unsavory state of the human condition. This story delves into this idea of ethics and morality and concocts a set of solutions that one can consider when contemplating ethics and morality. People and societies often struggle with morality while facing dilemmas with what is right or wrong. Within this, a moral dilemma exists as the story depicts a utopian perfect happy place where everyone is in a state of euphoria. People were described in this story as a cheerful community celebrating a summer festival. This insinuates how Omelas is very much like a utopian place where everyone relishes in infinite happiness. Nevertheless, all these comforts are made permissible in exchange for an unfortunate condition: that a child shall endure isolation and suffering, locked up in what appears to be a cupboard in an unspecified room within Omelas. We will write a custom essay sample on The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The salient descriptions used to express the child’s predicament gives an image of a deprived, unloved, and underfed being. Le Guin embodies a society which follows consequential ethics where the majority of the people assume that the treatment of the child is correct, equitable, and ethical since it garners the benefits of happiness to the rest of the city. Moreover, only one is adversely affected while the majority gains the greatest share of happiness. Therefore Omelas is the quintessential of utilitarianism. According to this doctrine, all people endeavor to be happy and strive to satiate themselves. The problem lies in the fact that the bulk of the society are habituated to comply to the social norms. Such a case is elucidate in Omelas through â€Å"the misery of the child is good†¦everybody tolerates it†¦it was tolerated ever since† for they are influenced by culture and tradition. After some time, they tend to move on and â€Å"their tears at the bitter injustice dry when they begin to perceive the terrible justice of reality, and to accept it (Omelas 122). Nonetheless, there is a minor segment of the society who refrain from succumbing and formulate their own perception of what is right and wrong i. e morality. However those who do contend against the ethics leaves to find a society that is better suited to their train of thoughts. This notion is exemplified in Omelas through the quotation â€Å"They go on. They leave Omelas, they walk ahead into the darkness, and they do not come back (Omelas 123). † where some people disgusted by what they have seen decide that departure is the best solution. The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas is a short story based on the pursuit of righteousness; in order to be truly happy, one must stand up for what is right, even if it means letting go of the familiar. Omelas is a place that seems like an ideal place to live. The people who live in Omelas have the perfect life with no worries. The problem is you cannot achieve complete happiness without some sacrifices. Which the people of Omelas had to make a sacrafice, they had to deal with the sacrifice of a small child being neglected to achieve their ultimate happiness. The residents of Omelas had the choice to ignore a suffering of a child who is held captive in a cellar, or fight for what’s right and essentially leave their homes. What would one prefer: allow an innocent child to suffer certain death, or rid themselves of their comfort and leave their precious city of Omelas? Some of the citizens did not agree with the way the child was being treated and chose to leave Omelas and not be a part of something that was so wrong. This raises the question â€Å"Is Omelas really the best place to be with ultimate happiness? † When you have to treat someone so poorly to achieve your happiness, this is not the way to live life. Within this, it is an easy choice to walk away from the Omelas. So are the people that walk away more compassionate towards the child or is it equal to the people that are staying? Me personally, the ethical thing to do if I was living in Omelas is to walk away, if there is nothing you can do to help the child. People that choose to walk away from Omelas have morals and cannot deal with living a life of happiness.

Immigrants in Singapore free essay sample

Name: Clara Soo Wen Lin (4) Class: 2E History Holiday SEQ Assignment Question 1(a) Immigrants came to early Singapore due to push factors such as famines and droughts as well as natural disasters and starvation, and the desire to seek protection and safety. India was overpopulated and the immigrants faced many droughts and natural disasters in their homeland. After droughts wiped out their crops and resulted in famine, many would be forced to find jobs in the city in order to earn a living to feed their families. However, jobs were scarce which caused many of them to seek employment outside of India. With the prospect of finding jobs outside, this would at least give them a chance to survive. Similarly in China, with famines and droughts being a common occurrence, accompanied by the shortage of fertile land for crop cultivation, a huge portion of the population who worked as labourers or farmers resulted in starving. We will write a custom essay sample on Immigrants in Singapore or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Furthermore, there was much disorder and unrest in China as the people were trying to overthrow the corrupted Qing government, resulting in many Chinese seeking protection and safety outside China. On the coastal areas in the Malay Archipelago, pirate attacks were frequents; in war-torn areas in Sumatra, Java and Malaya, life was extremely unsafe, which was why many Malays were pushed to leave their homeland. Therefore, the first reason why immigrants came to early Singapore was because of push factors such as famines and droughts as well as natural disasters and starvation, and the desire to seek protection and safety. Pull factors which brought many immigrants to Singapore was because Singapore can provide more job and business opportunities as well as better living conditions, the free immigration policies and not to forget that Singapore was a free trading port. As news of the founding of Singapore spread to neighbouring countries and even the countries as far away as India and China, many traders and shippers were attracted to Singapore where they could enjoy freedom of trade, which meant that they did not have to pay any customs duties or taxes on goods they brought into, or out of, Singapore. Singapore also served as a efficient trading centre where the British traders could sell their goods to people throughout Southeast Asia. Large numbers of people from the Malay Archipelago, Southeast Asia, India, China and other parts of the world flocked to Singapore to trade or to look for work because of the free immigration policies which meant that the immigrants were allowed to come and go as they pleased. As there was no warfare in Singapore then, it provided the Malays with a peaceful and safe place to settle down into. In this manner, Singapore in the 19th century was like a magnet which attracted many immigrants due to the many pull factors such as free immigration policies, freedom of trade, more job and business opportunities as well as better living conditions. Question 1(b) I agree to a large extent that the success of Singapore as a prosperous trading centre depended solely on the contributions of the migrant workers who came to Singapore in the 19th century. To shape Singapore into what it is today a successful and prosperous trading centre was mainly due to the presence of trade activities and revenue earned. However, it did not depend on the immigrants solely as Farquhar and Raffles were key figures in solving the problems brought about by the migrant workers along with their contributions to Singapore. The Malays contributed to trade by bringing in straits produce like coffee, birds’ nests, spices and rice from the East Indies to Singapore. Straits produce are the products that are grown in the East Indies. These Straits produce helped to widen the variety of goods being traded between Singapore and other countries. Therefore, trade was enhanced. In the aspect of education, some Malays who were educated worked as journalists or teachers. One famous example is Munshi Abdullah who could speak many languages and also wrote books about the early Singapore. Malays were also expert boat-builders. Besides making boats for traders, they also served as sailors and officers on the ships. Others worked as policemen, fishermen and watchmen. The Chinese also made many contributions from middlemen to merchants and planters. Some Chinese businessmen acted as middlemen between the British and the non-English speaking traders. They bought straits produce from the Asians and sold them to the British. Most of the middlemen were Peranakans. Among them were Tan Kim Seng and Tan Tock Seng. Some Chinese were shopkeepers who sold daily needs like cloth, medicine and provisions. Hoo Ah Kay was a shopkeeper who supplied ships with bread and vegetables. He also owned a bakery and an accessories shop. He owned a large gambier plantation and he was the first businessman who produced cash crops in large amount. Other than the above mentioned, Chinese also served as skilled labourers like carpenters, barbers and goldsmiths. Those who were unskilled worked as hawkers, servants, coolies and rickshaw-pullers. In terms of business, North Indians became milkmen who sold milk to other Indians or Europeans. They reared cows, goat and buffaloes to get their milk. Others were shopkeepers who provided daily needs like food, cloth and laundry services. Besides these, The Indian Muslims served as moneychangers and also moneylenders. Lastly, we also have the Sikhs who were good policemen and watchmen because of their strength and body size. The thieves were scared of their Beards and turbans. Europeans had the knowledge of trade and commerce. They setup companies, which had connections with Europe with their capital. They sold the goods that were made in Europe and shipped the goods that they bought from Asia back to Europe. Among them were Alexander Guthrie and Edward Boustead. The European merchants gave their opinions and pointed out the weaknesses of the government here. Some of them volunteered to be unpaid judges. They helped to maintain law and order in this way. Even though the immigrants played a significant role in contributing to Singapore to aid her development, they also created many problems for the settlement. Singapore became a lawless society, where secret societies were rampant because many of the Chinese who voluntarily joined were lonely in a new settlement and sought for friendship, protection as well as help and assistance that they believed the secret societies could provide them with. These people committed many crimes, from gang robberies to obstruction to justice and even to the extent of murder. They were a powerful group of people as the inefficient police force was ill-equipped in the 1800s and they could not understand the language of the Chinese secret societies. This resulted in insecurities of the residents in Singapore and may result in traders doubting the security of Singapore and not coming here to trade. This would implicated our port prosperity and bring down our revenue earned. Other key figures such as Raffles and Farquhar also have to be credited for their share of contribution to the development of Singapore. Raffles drew up a Town Plan during his visit to Singapore in 1822 as he found that the settlement had grown in a most disorderly manner. The town was divided into different areas for government, business and residential. Different races also settled in different areas of town, which could help reduce conflict between the different races who practised different cultures. Farquhar, on the other hand, firstly helped to get the traders from the places nearby to come to Singapore and trade as not many people knew about the settlement in Singapore. He invited the immigrants from Malacca to come and trade and stationed an office at St. John’s Island to inform the trading ships passing by about the settlement in Singapore. Apart from setting a stable foundation for the trading port, he also took care of problems such as the lack of building materials, food, tools and other necessities, the pests that roamed all over the settlement and also tried to solve the problem of common occurrences of crimes and robberies by setting up a small police force. Therefore, in conclusion, I agree to a large extent that the success of Singapore as a prosperous trading centre depended solely on the contributions of the migrant workers . The migrant workers contributed in different areas, mainly building the settlement, promoting trade, working for the government and also serving the community. Their contributions went a long way in helping the people and improving their lives in the long run. Without the hark word of these migrant workers, the fact that Singapore became a successful port would not have been made possible. On the other hand, I would have to disagree that success of Singapore was only due to the immigrants contributions. Other key figures such as Raffles and Farquhar played a significant role in guiding Singapore through, hand-in-hand with the immigrants.

Tap Water in 42 States Contaminated by Chemicals

Tap Water in 42 States Contaminated by Chemicals Public water supplies in 42 U.S. states are contaminated with 141 unregulated chemicals for which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has never established safety standards, according to an investigation by the Environmental Working Group (EWG). Tainted Tap Water Used by Millions of Americans Another 119 regulated chemicals- a total of 260 contaminants altogether- were found by the environmental group in a two-and-a-half-year analysis of more than 22 million tap water quality tests. The tests, which are required under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, were conducted at nearly 40,000 utilities that supply water to 231 million people. Pollution Threatens Tap Water Quality According to a report by the EWG, the top 10 states with the most contaminants in their drinking water were California, Wisconsin, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, Texas, New York, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Illinois- in that order. EWG said the biggest sources of contaminants were agriculture, industry, and pollution from sprawl and urban runoff. Utilities Need More Enforceable Standards for Tap Water EWGs analysis also found that almost all U.S. water utilities comply fully with enforceable health standards once they are developed. The problem, according to the environmental group, is the EPAs failure to establish enforceable health standards and monitoring requirements for many tap water contaminants. Our analysis clearly demonstrates the need for greater protection of the nations tap water supplies, and for increased health protections from a number of pollutants that are commonly found but currently unregulated. said Jane Houlihan, vice president for science at EWG, in a prepared statement. Utilities routinely go beyond what is required to protect consumers from these contaminants, but they need more money for testing, and for protection of vital source waters. Additional Information: Why Is Chlorine Added to Tap Water?Does Fluoride in Tap Water Improve or Harm Your Health?

Management of Human Resources class discussion wk5 Coursework

Management of Human Resources class discussion wk5 - Coursework Example The inventory is useful because for storing specific data of jobs under analysis (Jackson, Schuler & Werner, 2012). This approach is not only used when measuring the main job tasks, but also used for identifying needed competencies I would prefer to use the customized approach when conducting job analysis because it provides more information about a job. These particulars are crucial when it comes to creating a feedback system that gives details on a potential employee’s performance (Jackson, Schuler & Werner, 2012). It is also useful for coming up with training programs useful as a tool for motivating employees (Jackson, Schuler & Werner, 2012). It would be more important for an organization to standardize its jobs and competency analyses so that each potential employee gets treated the same way. Fair treatment at workplace for all is more advantageous than when people are treated

Personal Development Plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Personal Development Plan - Assignment Example This personality type compels individuals to be responsible and punctual. They tend to go great lengths to do things they believe in. This includes helping in any way to benefit their loved ones: family or friends. ISFJs’ hate confrontation but will stand up against anyone who hurts those they love. Following tradition is vital, including respecting authority. Practical, these people act according to the stored information shaping their mindset. This differs only when they deal with people who cause them to replace sensibility with feeling: concern and values.If you feel that this result does not portray your personality adequately – suggest what you think your personality is. State which parts of the result you agree with most and those you don’t. For the answer below only right about the traits you agree with.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I agree with most of the traits of my personality. It is true that I would do anything in my power to protect the ones I love and keep th em happy. My family considers me a good caretaker, especially when someone falls ill. However, it’s also true that I am sensitive to the smallest of things. This overtly sensitized me ends up hurt because it’s impossible for me to confront people. A stout traditionalist, I am very aggravated when an authority is challenged. I am also very paranoid under stress and can think the most horrific outcomes of my decisions. Also, a strong belief system makes people with ISJF to respect authority while maintaining their practicality. Weaknesses associated with this personality type are: ISJF compels some individuals in developing certain data, which they refuse to question when rushed into decisions. This rigidness often causes them to make wrong judgments. ISJFs’ need appreciation for what they do; if their contributions are unacknowledged they become bitter and aggrieved. It can also lead to severity while supporting authority which can create problems if the hierarchy makes a wrong decision. These individuals are very aware of the outcomes of situations and do not function well under stress by imagining overly negative outcomes, without realizing the ramifications for those around them. 2. Learning preferences. (Honey and Mumford) Activist 3 Reflector 12 Theorist 18 Pragmatist 10 What are your relative strengths (in terms of learning preference?) I am better at being a theorist. I believe in following facts and figures that have been long established. There are rigid facts that have to be followed and if their complexities can be solved it ensures that my decisions are perfect. What are your relative weaknesses (in terms of learning preference?) My weakness would be in being an activist. I am incapable of allowing experiences to shape and dominate me. Also, I believe in following a strict regime while learning and am not open to a lot of brainstorming. Suggest three things that you could do to develop your weaknesses 1. I could try to enjoy what I am doing instead of constantly concentrating on the outcome. 2. Instead of working alone I could choose a group which would open me up to new ideas 3. I should stop trying to perfect everything I learn because life is

Portrayal of Women Changed in Horror Films Since The 1920s

Portrayal of Women Changed in Horror Films Since The 1920s Portrayal of Women Changed in Horror Films Since The 1920s Introduction: Fear is the most powerful emotion in the human race and fear of the unknown is probably the most ancient. Youre dealing with stuff that everybody has felt; from being little babies were frightened of the dark, were frightened of the unknown. If youre making a horror film you get to play with the audiences feelings. The main purpose of horror films is to entertain, frighten and to invoke our repressed worst fears, in a terrifying and shocking way, while captivating and entertaining us at the same time. Horror films feature a wide range of styles, from the use of shadows and mise-en-scene within the early classic horrors films to the psychotic human serial killer and CGI monsters and aliens present in todays horror movies. The horror film genre is nearly as old as cinema, with the first silent short film directed by Georges Melies in 1896: Le Manoir du Diable. It only lasted for a few minutes and the audience adored it and it left them wanting more due to the way he made supernatural events the main aspect of this film. German filmmakers started to produce horror films and the first feature length vampire horror film was F.W Murnaus Nosferatu released in 1922. However it was down to the genius work of Robert Wiene director of The Cabinet of Dr. Calligari released in 1920 that lead the way for the serious horror films. In the early 1930s the Universal studios created the modern horror film genre and brought a series of successful gothic-horror including Dracula directed by Tod Browning and Frankenstein directed by James Whale and both were released in 1931 followed by numerous sequels. In the 1950s the horror film genre shifted from gothic to more modern horror. Aliens and monsters threatened to take ov er the world and humanity had to try and overcome the threats of these invasions. In the late fifties horror films became gorier which saw the remakes of traditional horror stories such as Edgar Allen Poes The Fall of the House of Usher The Raven which starred the iconic actor Vincent Price. The early 1960s took the audience much deeper into the world of horror films, with the release of Alfred Hitchcocks Psycho in 1960 which used a human as the monster and killer instead of a supernatural one to scare audiences. According to Prince (2004), the deeply disturbing admission, which undermines the audiences belief in rationality, with an existence where terms can be controlled or at the very up-most understood. With its savage attack on the audience and belief system, Psycho provided the path for modern horror and for our contemporary sense of the world. It seems that Monsters today are everywhere, and they can not be destroyed. (Prince, 2004.p. 4) The psychological aspects that this can cause on the viewers is it can allow them to find their Dark, unnatural, hidden self. (Skal, 1993, p.17).This is because: So much of our imaginative life in the twentieth century has been devoted to peeling back the masks and scabs of civilisation, to finding, cultivating and projecting nightmare images of the secret self (Skal, 1993, p.18) This means that changing and developing the monster into a psychotic killer, externalises the viewers fear as the murderer could be anyone they know, right down to the person sat next to them in the audience in the cinema or at home. It makes the film seem more realistic and that it could actually happen to them. Tudor 1989, uses key words to explain how the viewer is feeling and shows how they move from an external threat, monsters are not real, so this wont happen to me, to an internal threat, the killer seen as a human and could be anyone they know. This moves them from a sense of security to paranoia. In 1975 a young Steven Spielberg directed Jaws, which became the highest grossing film to that time period. In the late Seventies filmmakers started to produce disturbing and gory films such as Texas Chainsaw Massacre directed by Tobe Hooper in 1974. This saw humans being ripped a part by other humans who have psychotic tendencies. Women seem to be portrayed within these horror films as merely sexual damsels in distress who usually get murdered within the first few minutes of the film. This is clearly demonstrated in the film Jaws, directed by Steven Spielberg in 1975 where a young drunken girl goes skinny dipping in the sea and gets eaten by the great white shark that haunts the waters of Amity Island. Scream shows a blonde, naive young girl (played by Drew Barrymore) who is home alone with no neighbouring houses near, wearing only a jumper and pyjama bottoms. The killer sees this as a weakness due to the girl being at her most vulnerable and uses it to ring and terrorise her. She is unaware of his intentions and talks back to him on the house phone until he tells her he wants to know her name so he can know who he is looking at! She is the perfect horror victim because she is defenceless and weak and the attack is unexpected. She continually screams at the top of her lungs for someone to rescue her when she is confronted by the killer, but who is she screaming to? No one is around her or within hearing distance of her cries for help, so they seem wasteful, useless and unnecessary even though in a situation where your life depended on it, It would seem necessary and practical that you scream helplessly for your life no matter if anyone could not hear or help you; it is a part of our survival techniques. This girl does not clearly demonstrate any survival techniques or skills. Instead it takes her a while to hang up the phone. When she eventually does she doesnt phone anyone she knows for help or comfort, like family or friends or even the emergency service who would be reliable sources of help and survival. Instead she chooses to scream and run around the house and garden where no one can hear her as a better option for survival, which it is not, as it ends abruptly with her hanging from a tree with her internal organs hanging out. The film/scene portrays women as being merely weak and incapable as she struggles to run for her life in order to get away from the killer. She falls over constantly and trips over her own feet. The character also portrays the image of the dumb blonde as well being stupid and incapable of looking after her self. Horror films rarely seem to feature women in a non- exploitative way. Even in modern movies such as Jennifers body directed by Karyn Kusama, released in 2009 and exploits women in a sexual manner, as it shows Megan Foxs character Jennifer as a loose sexual canon who is thirsty for men, but with a murderous twist. With all this in mind this dissertation intends to look at how the portrayal of women has changed in horror films and if it has at all. This dissertation intends to look at some of the films listed in this chapter to see if the portrayal of women in horror films has changed or developed over time from some of the first horror films to present day. In chapter one I intend to look at early horror films and the portrayal of women within them. I will analyse Tod Brownings Dracula 1931, Rob Reiners 1990 Misery with the award winning Kathy Bates, Bride of Frankenstein, Murnaus 1922 Nosferatu and Robert Wienes 1920 The Cabinet of Dr.Calligari and explore the way in which women are portrayed and represented within these films. Then in chapter 2 go on to look at more recent films such as Alien, Scream, and Psycho and see whether or not any changes have taken place or if women are still portrayed in the same way. This dissertation intends to explore and find out about the role of which women where and are portrayed in within horror films. This dissertation seeks to developed the depiction of whether or not women were or are now being treated fairly within the film industry and If there are any changes in the portrayal of them and if not why not. Chapter 1: Early Portrayal of Women. A horror film in which isolated psychotic individuals (usually males) are pitted against one or more young people (usually females) whose looks, personalities, and/or promiscuities serve to trigger recollections of some past trauma in the killers mind (Hutchings, 2004, p. 194). The stylish, imaginative and eerie 1920 film The Cabinet of Calligari explores the mind of a madman, set against an evil doctor who falsely incarcerates a hero in a lunatic asylum. Robert Wienes clever framing means the audience is never quite clear who is mad and who is sane. Wienes distorted take on reality is a disturbing experience, heightened by the rugged and harsh asymmetry of the mise en scene. If viewers were to watch this film nowadays they might find the pace slow, with long takes and little cutting between scenes. This is because the diegetic world is entirely artificial. The film takes the audience on a twisted, dreamlike tale, where all the scenery and objects take on a menacing new shape. It is not reality, and the stylised performances reflect that. Nosferatu the first successful adaptation of Dracula is the first vampire movie, and presents Bram Stokers novel, Dracula. Murnau changed the main character name to Count Orlok. He did this because the studio could not obtain the rights to the original novel. The Count is grotesquely made-up, with long curling fingernails that can curl around the limbs of his helpless victims. Nosferatu gives us a far more frightening movie than any other of its time by using an early mastery of lights and shadows along with the stop motion special effects which created a very eerie and haunting film for its audience and for its time period. In both of these movies the female character is portrayed as merely a weak, dependent individual, who constantly runs for her life but in the direction that will lead her to the villain/ killer, and when she is confronted with what she was running from she faints. Instead of running in the opposite direction and trying to save her own life it is as if she just gives up. This is showing women as weak, unintelligent and incapable of looking after themselves. It seems that all they are capable of doing is running, screaming and falling down: In our culture men are taught the need for dominance and competence while women are taught warmth and expressiveness. The reciprocal stereotype thus develops that men are competent and assertive while women are submissive, and that women are warm and gentle while men are cold and rough (McKillip, DiMiceli, Luebke, 1977, p. 82). It seems that the female characters within these early classical films do not seem to be able to think critically and/or logically when it comes to trying to solve their problems, even when it comes to a matter of life or death. Its seems instead they rely on their emotions to guide them rather than their logic. They often choose to run into dark rooms and hide in places where the killer can easily find them or get to them. Even when there is a large group of people that could help them they seem to run in the opposite direction, which results in their ideas for salvation failing and makes them come across as damsels in distress who cannot think for themselves. In the early years of filmmaking, movies that were produced seemed to operate under a social value system to control and monitor womens sexuality. It seemed that the female roles were to be kept as virgins for men to use them for pleasure and to dominate them. They were merely there to serve the male desires. Feminists identif ied the way that women were portrayed in film as sexual objects, a concept called male gaze. The male gaze is in some aspects the power that men have over women. This is very much a male dominated profession, directors, camera person, and runners are mostly male. It seems that without knowing and meaning to be, they are being sexist. They do bring the male gaze by making assumptions about what the audience want to see which female directors may not do or may do differently. It can also be classed as a form of visual harassment where men can watch women and fantasise over them in private or in public. Women in early films used to wear tight fitting corset dresses which clinched them in at the waist giving then an hour glass figure, giving them curves in all the right places, whilst also lifting and bringing together their bust making their assets seem much bigger and thus drawing the main focus in on them. It allows the male viewers to fantasise about what lies under her clothing and what it would be like to be with and have a woman like that. The appearance of the female remains youthful, angelic, beautiful, thin, sexy, well-groomed, neat and nicely-dressed throughout the film even in the moments of their death or final struggle with the killer. They even seem to wake up looking beautiful, not a single hair out of place or a bit of their make-up smudged. They look and seem perfect, their clothes are not ripped or tarnished, and they do not sweat during strenuous activity. In the original 1933 version of King Kong, directed by Merian. C. Cooper and Ernest. B. Schoedsack. The character Ann Darrow, played by Fay Wray, Clearly shows the passive female who is constantly screaming to be rescued by her male associates. It seems she is incapable of escaping from the grasp of the monster; she has to call upon the assistance of the stronger male sex. She is symbolised as a sexual object throughout the film for the monster and heroic male characters when her white dress is ripped and torn by the monster, revealing more of her flesh. This allows men to fantasise over her and her body and imagine what is under what little is left of her garments. Tod Brownings 1931 classic, Dracula, starring Bela Lugosi has a similar representation of women. Near the start a male character speaks about Dracula and his wives implying there is more than one and no one seems to be fazed by the comment as if it is something of the norm. Women within the film are heavily made up with make-up, especially around their eyes. Its seems they have tried to make their eyes more bigger looking to make them more eye catching to the opposite sex as it is a well known fact that men are attracted to and like women with big bright eyes. They even go to bed and sleep in full heavy make-up and their hair looks immaculate with not a single strand out of place. The way they lay in bed, in a vulnerable position, one arm above their head, their neck fully on show just invites a vampire to bite down on their sweet fragrant neck. It is no wonder that the role of victims go to Female characters if they leave themselves carelessly open and vulnerable to the killer. Fema le characters clothing is long and floating but fitting around the waist to bring attention to the chest and outline of their upper body. Their hair is kept out of their face so that their facial features can be seen and the vampire women have an eerie persona around them and a not to be trusted atmosphere with there large staring eyes. They do as they are told and instructed to do so by Dracula in order to please and satisfy him. There seems to be not a lot of camera focus or time given to female character roles, except showing them in distress, worry and being vulnerable. The main female role, Mina, is not even taken seriously. She tells her fiancÃÆ'Â © and his associates about a dream she had the previous night and how scared she was and still is. They tell her to forget it, saying it was not real. They do not seem to want to believe her or her thoughts and worries; they dont seem to be valued or cared about. She is then advised by her father, whilst in the middle of speaking t o Dracula that she is to go to her room and to bed immediately and then is said to be crazy by her fiancÃÆ'Â ©. Male characters always seem to interrupt a female character in mid-sentence or in mid-thought as just shown. All major professions in the film seem to be run by men, for example all the doctors are male with female nurses to assist them and the servants and maids are female showing them running around after people and keeping things tidy as if it was a womans job to do so. Women faint and scream at the slightest thing and go to the male characters for comfort, reassurance and safety. Mina screams to be rescued and saved by what has happened to her (being turned into a vampire by Dracula) and cries to show her vulnerability and inability to cope and look after herself in strenuous situations. Women are looked upon as being ditzy, crazed, vulnerable, and unable to look after themselves and needing to be cared for, everything is ok because Im here spoken by Minas fiancÃÆ'à ‚ © in Dracula. This statement shows Minas fiancÃÆ'Â © to believe everything will be alright because everything will be stable and safe when a male figure is around because they are the main source of protection, security and without them women would not be able to cope or be able to live. Its as if women are under a spell or some power as they are attracted to Dracula, sending out the message to the audience that men have a hold and power on women within the film. At the end of the film when Dracula is being killed, Mina is sexualised as she starts to hold and caress her body showing she feels Draculas pain which is giving the male viewers a chance to fantasise over her. James Whales 1935 sequel The Bride of Frankenstein portrays women as either servants or sat around an open fire sewing, which is a stereotypical view of women. They wear long floating floor length dresses that nowadays look as if they are something you would wear to a special occasion not everyday just lounging around the house. This shows that a womans appearance in early horror films was very important. The dress is fitted around the waist and chest area and their hair is swept up out of their face to allow their facial features and expressions to be seen. Women are also seen to do what is right by their man in order to please them; they wont leave their mans side unless they are told to do so by him. They are also represented as being clumsy, careless and unaware and seeming to not have a clue of what is going on around them. For example this can be seen when a young women is faced with Frankenstein the monster and walks backwards off a small cliff resulting in her being vulnerabl e to the monster and having to scream to be rescued by a male passer by. This gives the message that women are incapable of looking after themselves and need to look to a man for protection. The Bride of Frankenstein is very clumsy in appearance; she falls over her own feet and sometimes over nothing. Her balance is very off so she seems unstable and needs to be supported by men and her facial expression is vague. This film portrays women as clumsy, vague individuals who just would not be able to function properly without the help and supervision of a man. This chapter has argued that women had no real main part or position within early horror films, only to be there to act as the main prize for the male leading role that happens to save her life and at the same time look good and give the male audience something alluring to look at. Chapter 2: The new view? Female characters do seem now to be receiving a more positive representation and women can be routinely seen to defeat male villains and showing strength and intelligence, moving from victim to heroine. It seems that women are coming into their own and showing that they are as strong as men and are not just sexual objects tshat they once used to be perceived as, through more strong assertive roles in films such as Ridley Scotts phenomenal and classic film, Alien, released in 1979. This film reverses the traditional role of women from the passive and powerless heroine who is constantly screaming for her life in order to be rescued by the dominant male figure, to an active and more powerful feminine character. The role of the main character Ripley, who happens to be a female despite having a male associated name, is an authority figure on board the ship, whose main task is to guide her seven crew members to a nearby planet to answer an SOS. All the terror and action unfolds around her and she ends up being the only survivor, out-living all the male characters. The male characters are represented as being weak and naÃÆ'Â ¯ve which is shown by the mistakes they make and the failures to properly do their duties and tasks which consequently results in their brutal deaths. As with women in early horror movies these males deaths occur comparatively early in the film. Ripley is the only one who outlives what is trying to kill her and her crew due to the fact that she makes the best judgements and thinks about her actions and plans out her escape. Due to the early deaths of Ripleys crew members, most of the main action of the film is based on and happening around her, making Sigourney Weavers character, Ripley the star and hero of the film as she is the only survivor at the end, along with her cat. The somewhat passive, fearful, and dependent female role figure is continuing to slowly disappear from our screens within horror films with a few exceptions: or has it? Wome n are still being shown as merely an object of desire that needs to be saved and protected by a male figure. This dissertation argues that the role of Ripley is still a female sex icon for the male audience, she seems to be placed there to fulfil the male sexual needs to have a half naked, toned female body strolling around on screen in order for them to enjoy the film more. Has mens taste in women changed? To some extent it may have. There is a media generated image now which sells the idea of healthy toned sexuality. This is partially replacing the previous curved and voluptuous body. Take Marilyn Monroe for instance. She use to drive men wild with her size 12/14 curves, however nowadays some men just dont find this attractive. It seems that men prefer to see slimmer women in films because it allows them to look at and fantasise over another womans body that is maybe different to the one that they have in their own life, be it their wife or girlfriend. This could be why women are concerned with their physicality because it also allows the female audience members to dream and fantasise about the perfect body, which they too could have. The old horror films looked at female and male relationships and it seems that in nowadays horror films there is a new way of seeing these relationships but is it a new way? At the end of the film Ripley strips down to her underwear and wears a tight fitting top with no bra. Her compromising moves and her hot sweaty and toned body gives the male viewers something interesting to look at and fantasise over. It seems to comply with and fulfil all male audiences requirements; it has aliens, fighting, guns, bloodshed and, of course, the hot female who gets semi naked. So has the role of women actually changed or have male expectations of female behaviour changed? Do men find sexually aggressive women attractive in our world? Do men secretly love to be dominated by the opposite sex or does it make them feel inferior? Or is this a tru thful picture of the sexualised feminist role model of our age? According to Lehmann womens lives were dominated by their sexual reproductive functions (Lehmann, p.9) (http://psychology.about.com/od/sigmundfreud/p/freud_women.htm. 20th November 2009) FrFeud believed that women envied men for having a penis; penis envy. He suggests that during the phallic stage (aged 3-5) girls distance themselves from their mother; as they blame her for the lack of a penis and due to this devote their affections to their father. (Budd, Susan .2005. P.142-143) This could explain why the writer wants Ripley to surround herself mostly with a ship full of a male based crew because the writer wants to show the envy women have over men. What the male crew members have and what Ripley is missing and also other females, women may start to become to see it as a disability. Perhaps it is because Ripley starts to realise that because of this disability, she is still able to be one of them and like them if not better. This could be argued that it is proven at the end of the film by outliving all the other male crewmembers. In a paper entitled The psychical consequences of the anatomic distinction between the sexes written in 1925, Freud wrote that: Women oppose change, receive passively, and add nothing of their own. (Freud, 1925) (http://psychology.about.com/od/sigmundfreud/p/freud_women.htm. 20th November 2009) (Budd, Susan .2005. P.142) The slasher film genre involves a repressed male killer who stalks and brutally murders his victims in a graphic and random manner. The unfortunate victim tends to be a teenager or young adult who lives in the middle of nowhere away from any type of civilisation, meaning there is no one around them or there for them to call upon when they need help. These types of films tend to begin with the murder of a young helpless woman and ends with the heroic female character surviving by managing to out smarten the killer after having some sort of life- depending struggle and being psychologically victimised for an extended amount of time by the killer, forcing her into an uncontrollable stage of paranoia and terror. However usually the killer doesnt die or someone else takes over from where the last killer left off resulting in several sequels. The director has a tendency to introduce at the beginning of the film the main heroic female character as being resourceful and determined even thoug h throughout the film she finds her friends and relatives dead. This could almost be the plot summary of what happens in the 1996 teen horror Scream directed by Wes Craven and released in 1996. The main character that just so happens to be female but has a male associated name, Sidney watches as one by one her high school classmates and friends start to be killed off in a sadistic manner. This links in with Ripley in Alien. They both have male associated names and watch whilst the people they care for and those around them are killed and they are left to try and defend for themselves. However, even though Sidney is the only one who outlives the killer(s) and ends up in all the Scream sequels she is still portrayed as a slightly weak female who requires help and comfort from the friends she still has and from those who have not already been mutilated. Where as Ripley relies on her own knowledge and survival skills to save her self from death. Rob Reiners 1990 Misery, starring the award winning Kathy Bates, shows Kathys character, Annie Wilkes, as a very caring and kind women at the start of the film as she rescues a novelist called Paul Sheldon by pulling him free out if his car in the middle of a blizzard storm. As she is a nurse she nurses him back to health by re-setting his legs as he has a compound fracture of the tibular in both legs and the fibular in the right leg is fractured as well. He also has a dislocated arm which she manipulates back into place. Se shaves him, feeds and waters him and also baths him, which shows her taking on the mother role of wanting to take care of and look after him as if he was an incapable child and not a grown man. The audience also learns at the beginning of the film that she is a fanatic fan of this author and that the blizzard prevented her from taking him to the hospital as it has caused road blockages. She starts to become slightly scary when she tells Paul that she would follow him to his hotel where he was staying and stare up at his window and wonder what he would be doing and that is how she found him in his un-conscious state in his car down the side of an embankment. The audience then start to learn that Annie has a very sort temper when she reads his new novel and is upset by the profound language he has used and starts shouting and ordering him to change it but then snaps back into being all nice and apologies, making the audience think nothing else about it. However as an audience when we start to realise that she is very unstable when she informs him that no one knows that he is there with her as she hasnt informed anyone like she says she has and that the roads and telephone are not blocked and that he better hope that nothing happens to her because if she dies then so will he as he will have no one to look after him. Again this is showing her unstable and psychotic side. As the film goes on we realise she is living her life through one of the c haracters within his novels and eventually the film ends with her killing the sheriff who becomes suspicious of Annie and investigates her house and eventually finds Sheldon. Annie kills the sheriff by shooting him and then plans on killing herself and Paul so they can live together in peace without anyone trying to find them and interfering in their lives. However it doesnt end with a happy ending for Annie as she and Paul get in a fight to the bitter death which results in Paul hitting her over the head with his type-writer that Annie bought for him and surprisingly doesnt kill her or knock her out. She attacks him and they end up in a locked fight on the floor leaving the audience in suspense on who is going to win. Eventually Paul manages to grab one of Annies large ornaments that just happen to be lying near by and smash it into her head which eventually kills her leaving him to get free. Misery portrays women as weak, unstable; reliable on men as Annie, who throughout the film always asks for reassurance from Paul along the lines of Am I doing it right? Other women in the film such as the sheriffs wife, works for her husband and does what he tells her, its as if it is expected of women to do what ever is told of them from a male character, as if it is the male characters who hold all the authority. They are also portrayed as being crazy, unsuitable and able of being on their own and looking after themselves. This is shown in the film when the audience become aware of the fact that Annies husband left her (however later on in the film we are lead to believe she may have killed him) which could be because he didnt want to be with her anymore and she couldnt deal with the fact of being on her own not through a choice of her own but that of a mans. Annie becomes suicidal and starts telling Paul she is thinking of killing herself when she gets depressed because of the rain or other reasons or factors that are out of her control, which makes her seem as a cont rol freak who needs to be in control of everything and have things going her way otherwise she is unable to cope and becomes unstable. So let us return to the question of whether the portrayal of women has changed. It may be thought that the role of women within horror films has somewhat developed and changed. There still are movies that wish to show the female sex as weak and insignificant figures within society. This can be seen in the Scream films which show the main female and so-called heroic character screaming to be rescued and looking for comfort by male companions or from those around her. Are the female character roles in films slipping back into the old way of how they were portrayed? Is this a reaction against the up-front controlling woman that was emerging in films such as Alien. Are men reasserting their status? It has been found that men tend to reduce women in television and film to three basic categories: homemaker, professional and sexual object. It has also been found that men tend to fell threatened when certain subgroups, of women, such as feminists or female athletes, express non-stereotypic behaviour in the media. These two subgroups of women in particular can threaten mens economic success and physical strength. ( DeWal, Altermatt Thompson, 2

Pride and Prejudice Essay -- essays research papers fc

Throughout Jane Austen’s novels she suggests marriages that are for wealth are more common as those for love. This idea is revealed in the course of her novels by the examples of marriages she provides. One example is Willoughby and Miss Sophia Grey in Sense and Sensibility, married not because of love, but because it was the choice that promised financial security. Edward’s sister, Fanny Dashwood, opposed Lucy Steele and Edward Ferrars’ marriage because Edward came from a wealthy past, which Lucy was not familiar with. However Austen also illustrates that some marriages occur due to a deep love between two characters. Within Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice there are marriages that occur because of strong passionate love. First the most obvious marriage for love was between Jane Bennett and Charles Bingley who instantly fell for one another. Although some opposed and actively tried to keep them apart, the love they had for each other brought them together in the end. The marriage between Elizabeth Bennett and Fitzwilliam Darcy, although their connection started out in a negative light, both finally realized, in their own time how much they cared for one another thus leading to their marriage. The marriage between Lydia Bennett and George Wickham, although no love between them existed, the love that Darcy felt for Elizabeth made him pay off Wickham’s debt. In turn this forced Wickham to marry Lydia to save the Bennett family name. This novel just goes to show how love can ...