The European Union in International Commercial Negotiations Essay Example for Free

The European Union in International Commercial Negotiations Essay Commercial negotiation is negotiation in the context of a business setting such that it involves the management of commercial activities that includes contract negotiation and project management with the sole intention of making maximum returns from the same. This process allows for the development and creation of new business opportunities CITATION Bea00 l 1033 ( Beasor Steele, 2000). The job description of commercial negotiators includes an overviewing role in the whole sales process and to some extend responsible for the implementation of a detailed business sales plan. The overall role is to make sure they retrieve the best deal out of any business opportunity. It is therefore important for a commercial negotiator to have a grasp of the customers’ business needs in order to offer the required products and services demanded by the consumer. Commercial negotiation entails the following vital functions. Conducting market research of the different products by the business, analysis of data from the sale activities of a business, provision of financial reports to the senior management of the business and also to the different stakeholders of the enterprise. Another function is the identification of new opportunities for the business, commercial negotiation also includes reviewing and assessing opportunities for new businesses. Commercial negotiators play a critical role in the maximization of the revenue from the business. Commercial negotiation thus requires one to have the necessary skills to excel in the field. One needs to have great interpersonal skills that will enable them to easily interact with people. This is important in order to win and sell ideas to the people one interacts without stepping outside one mandate. Procedural and communication skills are necessary for commercial negotiators because of the constant flow of information from team members. One should also be accommodative of other team member’s opinions that are different from dependable as a commercial negotiator. Commercial negotiators play a pivotal role in the success of any business. A successful commercial negotiator brings together control elements and definitions and operates them efficiently. This means that a successful commercial negotiator will apply leadership skills already applied in the departmental running. The role of a commercial negotiator is to blend responsibilities related to project execution, planni ng, monitoring and achievement of the desired goals. For someone to be a successful manager they should have demonstrated ability to lead others and organize work CITATION Gat11 l 1033 (Gates, 2011). A commercial negotiator needs to have contact with other required resources. For projects that need coordination between divisions and departments, a commercial negotiator with contacts outside a single department is required. An aspiring commercial negotiator should ensure and develop contacts within the organizations departments to help run a project successfully. They should also be able to coordinate a diverse pool of resources. This would be achieved by working with different people from different backgrounds and disciplines. As an aspiring commercial negotiator, one should be able to supervise and delegate work in areas alien to their background. All this is possible by having a close rapport and teamwork. Procedural and communication skills. This is because of the constant flow of information from team members. One should also be accommodative of other team member’s opinions that are different from dependable as a commercial negotiator. Commercial negotiation skills and techniques in the western world (European Union) and China For one to do business abroad he has to understand the various cultures and practices that are accepted in the process of commercial negotiation. Before travelling to the European Union one has to consider the required etiquette that is observed and required in the meetings, negotiations and business protocol. Europeans are known to be humorless, stubborn, and aggressive they also pay attention to details. A successful business has to understand the cross cultural aspects to present the right etiquette. The Europeans are strictly formal while doing business and according to them it’s wrong to swap jokes or have informal chats when working. Europe is a significant trade partner for many states. Learning to do business in Europe and understanding their business practices, culture and etiquette improves skills and success of international business men CITATION Meu05 l 1033 ( Meunier, 2005).The first aspect of etiquette in Europe’s business spheres is Organization. They are usually uneasy with ambiguity and disorder. They lean towards conservatism and conformism they don’t like uncertainty so one has to have first-hand information and facts at hand. When doing business in Europe, one has to emphasize on careful planning. One has to consult and get a consensus before presenting his idea and opinions. European commercial negotiations appreciate statistics, facts and details and there is no room for mistakes and omissions. To observe business etiquette one has to avert risk and negate uncertainty. The stress on conformity and fear of risk makes them apprehensive and they guarantee security through risk analysis. This is ensured by keen deliberation and scrutiny based on factual evidence and not intuition. They prefer written documentation as it is the safest and objective for analysis. In communication the Chinese mind their privacy and they usually divide their private and public life. While communicating one has to be formal and stick to official duty. They don’t talk about their private lives as they are protective of personal issues. They prefer their communication to be short direct and straight to the point. They consider emotions unnecessary in conversations at the work place.They don’t talk out of context as they only stick to the issue at hand. The Chinese also prefer brief greetings and that’s why they only do short handshakes When several people are being introduced they take turns to greet each other and they avoid reaching out over someone’s hand. They find it rude to greet someone with one hand in the pocket and when women enter a room the men stand as a show of politeness. The men sit after all the women have taken their seats. The Chinese etiquette requires that people are addressed using Mr., Ms or Mrs. followed by the s urname. The only people who are allowed to use the first names are family members and very close friends. The Chinese culture also insists on the use of professional titles such as doctors, academics and others. One has to establish professional titles before any meeting. They use the surnames to maintain formality and respect CITATION Lam00 l 1033 ( Lam, 2000). Punctuality is another important aspect of etiquette in Europe. Punctuality is a serious issue as they value their time. The business people are usually under a lot of pressure and they plan for their time very well to meet their daily objectives. Being late shows disrespect for people and their time, it is also a show that the person is not interested or not serious about the business deal or meeting. The punctuality is seen as a sign of commitment to the business. Europeans also don’t mix humor with business affairs. If jokes are made they should be in context and tasteful. They usually have a very strict protocol in their meetings leaving little room for humor. They believe that when jokes are made during business then the meeting seizes to be formal. In doing business with Europeans one has to plan ahead the meetings should be booked two to three weeks in advance. They have a culture where they hold their meetings between eleven to one and three to five p.m. They avoid mee tings on Friday afternoons, during their regional festivities and the holiday months of July, December and August.Their meetings in most cases are usually formal, functional and they stick to the set agenda. The set start time and finish time are obeyed by all means so everything is done within the time limit. They prioritize business as they discourage relationship building and small talks CITATION Lam00 l 1033 ( Lam, 2000). They analyze commercial negotiation proposals thoroughly while considering every detail. They ensure the information and facts are provided in written and scientifically presented. They make logical conclusion basing on the empirical details. Decisions are not made based on the subject’s charm or marketing skills but they consider concrete facts and the accuracy found in the details. The Europeans are slow when it comes to making decisions hence the proceedings should not be rushed. They take their time as they try to furnish the decisions with additional information. Once a decision is reached they rarely change their mind regarding the same. They give respect priority and they give each other personal space in the work environment. They are not allowed to touch during meetings and business dealings. They don’t mix official meeting with social issues. They prefer official dressing when doing commercial negotiations .They rarely dress in casual clothes when working. Europeans trade show participants do not wear badges. Introductions are saved until the visitor shows interest. If the introduction is made too early they consider it superficial and intrusive. Europeans also don’t give their business cards quite easily. They value their privacy and in case they hand you one it should be treated as confidential and private. It should not be passed to another person without the owner’s permission. In calling the Europeans they take it offensively when they are not referred to by their title and name. Europeans shake hands to say hello and goodbye. The hand shake should be done using a firm grip. This is a show of respect and also it depicts the appreciation of the colleague. Women are the ones to be greeted first and not while seated. The men have to stand before they greet women this clearly shows the high level of respect they maintain in the working area. They also have a culture of maintaining eye contact. This is a show of confidence and legitimacy. In Germany company stability and long term commitment are top priorities. Europeans are usually curious about the company ownership, history and the product lines. References will be requested to prove honesty and reliability. Because of all this the process may be slow and trying to speed them up is considered rude and suspicious. Importance of Knowledge on Target Culture in Commercial Negotiation The influence of cultural diversity has major impacts on work relationships in most organizations commercial negotiation. The cross cultural occurrence affects communication between employees, causing confusion and thereafter results in misunderstanding in the workplace. It is therefore important for both managers and their employees to understand the target cultures’ communication process and recognize the sources of cross cultural conflicts. Depending on how they are managed, cross cultural conflicts may have either positive or negative outcomes. It is also important for managers to develop better skills that help in handling the complications caused by different cultures. Managers should be able to convert the problems of cultural diversity into strengths of the organization CITATION Bea00 l 1033 ( Beasor Steele, 2000). This is so to avoid getting in disputes in different cross-cultural platforms. As a commercial negotiator it is important to identify and address any underlying disputes or conflicts before anything goes wrong at the workplace. I have made it clear to my employees of the expected behaviors at the work place and most importantly during their interactions with foreign customers. As a negotiator one is the greatest ally but greatest obstacle to effective management of my employees. One has to closest to the junior managers who need to adapt to the new behaviors and cultures associated with management programs. Getting supervisors and managers on board and taking the lead in supporting cultural diversity is an important aspect of my commercial negotiation skills. This will ensure that employees are given an opportunity and platform to interact and raise any issues or concerns that they might have. Most importantly, employees should be given a chance to develop their own competencies and skills for enhancing cultural sensitivity among other employees in the company. As a commercial negotiator working in a multicultural company, it has been necessary for me to develop my skills in cross-cultural conflict management which affects productivity in the long run. Cross-cultural disputes have often lead to voluntary employment termination. These conflicts resulted in the loss of working time and loss of morale CITATION Bea00 l 1033 ( Beasor Steele, 2000). References   Beasor, T., Steele, P. (2000). Business Negotiation: A Practical Workbook. London: Gower Publishing, Ltd. Lam, M. L.-L. (2000). Working with Chinese Expatriates in Business Negotiations: Portraits, Issues, and Applications. Greenwood Publishing Group. Meunier, S. (2005). Trading Voices: The European Union in International Commercial Negotiations. Princeton : Princeton University Press. Adoranti, F. (2006). The Managers Guide to Understanding Commercial Contract Negotiation. New York: Global Professional Publishers. Burke, W. (n.d.). An examination of the commercial principles of the late negotiation between Great Britain and France in MDCCLXI: In which the system of that negotiation with regard to our colonies and commerce is considered (Google eBook). Printed for R. and J. Dodsley. Fox, W. F. (2009). International Commercial Agreements: A Primer on Drafting, Negotiating, and Resolving Disputes. Kluwer Law International. Gates, S. (2011). The Negotiation Book: Your Definitive Guide To Successful Negotiating. New York: John Wiley Sons. Marsh, P. D. (2001). Contract Negotiation Handbook. London: Gower Publishing, Ltd. Pye, L. W. (1990). Chinese Commercial Negotiating Style. Hong Kong: Oelgeschlager, Gunn Hain, Publishers. Ward, D. (2012). Contract Negotiation Handbook: Getting the Most Out of Commercial Deals. New York: John Wiley Sons. Source document

The Portrayal Of Women In Horror Movies Film Studies Essay

The Portrayal Of Women In Horror Movies Film Studies Essay DEFINITIONS: Woman: Whist the term girl can be used for a child or female adolescent, the term Woman would refer to an adult female human. Horror film: Cinema that is created to disgust and cause fear and distress to its spectator though themes of a gruesome and paranormal nature. INTRODUCTION This dissertation will consider the roles of women in the horror film genre and will deconstruct the way in which the conventions of the horror film prescribe such roles. Despite continued criticism for presenting women in a negative manner, many of the films explored here appear to suggest strong female representation so it will possible to investigate the position of the female from a number of different angles allowing a fluid discussion and counter argument. The passive female roles will be studied from the perspective of the male gaze and abjection, whilst active female roles will be explored from the role of the mother and the outcome of The Final Girl. As it would be impossible to discuss the entire history of the horror genre and womans relationship to it within the space available, so three chosen films will support the discussion. In all cases these films are regarded as classic horror films and, importantly, landmark and watershed moments in the horror genre. Psycho (1960), The Exorcist (1973), and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) all represent meta statements in the history of the genre and provide essential examples of the arguments discussed here. It should also be noted that all three films contain also ambiguous female characters for example; Mrs Bates in Psycho, the cross dressing Leatherface in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and the possessed Regan in The Exorcist who will all be debated. Significantly the films were produced and released during periods of change for womens rights, including the beginnings of the womens liberation movement in the early sixties though to the publishing of The Female Eunuch by Germaine Greer, and Spare Rib magazine in the seventies. This help to fuel the debate more significantly as the selected films span a time when women in the real world (as opposed to the constructed world of the cinema) had made great steps toward equality through the feminist movement. Horror films are told as stories of good versus evil. The drama of their narratives tends to derive from the clash between a monster and an innocent, So I want to understand why so many gratuitous, unjustified acts of violence towards woman could be justified on screen. I will consider the following aspects: male gaze, abjection, family structure, and the outcome of the final girl in the context of horror film genre. These are four common tendencies embedded within the literature of women and horror film and the background to these discussions will be framed within the context of the chosen films. This writing will deconstruct and examine the structure of those films, the motives behind their structure, and will consider their target audience. It will examine the symbolism that is used to express the plots and sub-plots and, most importantly, consider the roles of the female characters in those films. I will employ psychoanalytic and feminist theory to explore the female roles and will interpret commentary on Freudian and Lacanian theory, including castration anxiety and the role of the subconscious and apply them to horror film. Semiotic and populist perspective will also be considered to set out this debate. Much has been written on the subject and over twenty books have been researched to discuss this consideration of women and horror film in detail. Key texts include: Ways of Seeing (1972) by John Berger, Men, Women and Chain Saws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film (1992) by Carol J. Clover, The Monstrous-Feminine: Film, Feminism, Psychoanalysis (1993) by Barbara Creed and Powers of Horror (1982) by Julia Kristeva.  The texts outline the intellectual context into which this dissertation enters. People assume that horror film exclusively represent women in a reactionary fashion, but further analysis has suggested that female characters are not as weak and vulnerable as they first may appear. For example The Final Girls last moments have been radically written and rewritten across the remakes and sequels to give new meaning. Analytical and theoretical analysis has been informed by the writing of Laura Mulvey and in particular her discussions of the male gaze. Mulvey argues in her polemic essay Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema that cinema was primarily created for the male spectator exploiting women as objects of desire. Julia Kristevas essay The Powers of Horror provides essential understanding on the position of abjection in the context of horror and mortality. All of the above writers discuss theoretical studies and theories of Dr Sigmund Freud and Jacques Lacan who are both indirectly referenced throughout this dissertation. Barbara Creeds The Monstrous-Feminine and Carol Clovers book Men, Women, and Chainsaws will inform debate around the matriarchal figures in Psycho and the outcome of the final girl in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. CHAPTER 1 Gendered Spectatorship The male gaze is made explicit in the horror genre, and this is inscribed in both the aesthetics of the films and its exhibition context. One of the most important essays about women in cinema is Laura Mulveys theory on the male gaze. As Mulvey states: The cinema offers a number of possible pleasures. One is scopophilia (pleasure in looking). There are circumstances in which looking itself is a source of pleasure (1989, p16). (do I reference?) If scopophilia can be defined as love of looking or deriving pleasure from looking, then this can be a definition of the cinema experience. Cinema is, after all, a form of visual entertainment. It involves the individual singularly engaging with the screen and its projections as a form of escapism and even relaxation, and can be comfortably achieved alone as it involves very few social skills, since the viewers only commitment to the process is to look. However, once we question how the film is viewed and who views the film, the relationship becomes more complex. The purpose of this essay is to question how the female is viewed from the perspective of the spectator; to question how women are portrayed in horror films, and how they are looked at. It will explore the argument that cinematic looking comes from a male perspective and will question what kind of pleasure is obtained from looking at horror films from this perspective. As Mulvey explains: The cinema satisfies a primordial wish for pleasurable looking (1989, p17). It allows the spectator the opportunity to observe in an entirely passive role while the action takes place. The experience of cinema is a one-sided arrangement between the film itself and its viewer. However, as Mulvey discusses regarding Dr Sigmund Freud, it also goes further, developing scopophilia in its narcissistic aspect (1989, p17). Scopophilia can also suggest that sexual pleasure can be derived from looking at objects; that how they are interpolated can make them erotic, and while they are not erotic in their own right through their relationship with the spectator they can become sexually objectified. The celebrated psychologist Dr Sigmund Freud isolated scopophilia as one of the component instincts of sexuality which exist as drives independently of the erotogenic zones. At this point he associated scopophilia with taking other people as objects, subjecting them to a controlling and curious gaze (Mulvey,1989, p16). The history of art emphasises this aspect of scopophilia. Throughout art history, painters have been commissioned to paint female models as objects of desire that have been and still are masquerading as works of art more closely related with pornography than with the great masterpieces. Moving forward, Clover debates that the cinematic gaze, we are told, is male, and just as that gaze knows how to fetishize the female form in pornography it also, she suggests (going on to relate this to cinematography), knows how to follow a female character as she moves through a forbidding house, and scrutinise her face for signs of fear in a way that it does not do with male characters, since: a set of conventions we now take for granted simply sees males and females differently. (1992 p50-51). This suggests that the ownership in the context of cinema is the cause of the effect that the viewer, by objectifying the figure on screen, gives it new meaning, a new social place. By simply being viewed, new rules apply. To place this into the context of women within horror, the male can now view the woman and the conditions and events around her in a newly detached manner and freely let the actions against her take place on the screen. In psychoanalytic terms, the female figure poses a deeper problem. She also connotes something that the look continually circles around but disavows, claims Mulvey (1989, p21). This could be suggesting that as the spectator is assumed to be male, the appearance of a female (ie non-male) form creates an anxiety around the potential for castration and an un-penised body à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦hence unpleasure. Mulvey argues in Lacan: and Post feminism by Elizabeth Wright (2000, p45-46) that the look is linked to the discovery of sexual difference, and that the lack of a penis must be filled by multiple images of glamourised women as a substitute for the imaginary phallus. Mulvey writes that cinema, and in particular horror cinema, is inclined to focus attention on the human form (1989, p17). The human form and the human condition are key aspects in the horror genre, especially the female body. Horror displays visceral and exaggerated versions of our basic desires and a strong and aggressive version of body lust. The horror film in particular relies on the physical human form and hostility towards the body to carry its plots and storylines in the most extreme sense. This is clearly not a natural state of being: to be seated in a darkened room, with a huge rectangular screen in view and surround sound at high volume. But this is the environment of the cinema, where the viewer is asked to focus on exaggerated and extreme events far beyond the realms of real life in the name of entertainment.   Here, not unlike in other places in the media, the female form is prevalent, to be exhibited again for entertainment and it is the female characters in the horro r film genre that appear to command most of the attention on the cinema screen. Mulvey suggests that, since the world displays such disparities between the genders, with the masculine nearly always holding the reins of power: Do I reference here as well? pleasure in looking has been split between active/male and passive/female. The determining male gaze projects its fantasy onto the female figure, which is styled accordingly (1989, p19). So since society isnt equal in terms of who holds the power, either sexually or otherwise, women act a certain way because they are aware of how men expect them to be that is, passive and sexualised. Mulvey states this as a symbolic equation, woman = sexuality. (1989, p35). John Berger differentiates men from women as he describes a mans presence as being defined by what he is capable of doing to you or for youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦but the pretence is always towards a power which he exercises on others. (1972, p39-40) Expand Mulveys view is that narrative cinema positions its spectators as male, catering only for male fantasies and pleasures (p39 Feminist Film Theorists). This suggests that women are objectified in film in general (and for the purposes of this argument, substantially in horror films). Mulvey also claims that the spectator/viewer/audience is said to be a man; cinema almost expects its viewers to be male and therefore creates characters and plots to fulfil a mans gaze. So prevalent is this notion that Mulvey claims narrative cinema does not offer a place for female spectators'(p40 Feminist Film Theorists); that cinema essentially isolates the female as a serious viewer: As the spectator identifies with the main male protagonist, he projects his look onto that of his like, his screen surrogate, so that the power of the male protagonist as he controls events coincides with the active power of the erotic look, both giving a satisfying sense of omnipotence. (Mulvey, 1989, p20). Shorten Clearly men can easily identify with the male protagonist but the female audiences have to distance themselves from their femininity in order to participate in the cinematic experience; critics refer to this as gender confusion. Freud would argue that to share these experiences, woman would have to revert back to her pre-Oedipal phallic phase. It might now be relevant to explore the male gaze specifically functions in the context of the horror genre. Looking back at the history and evolution of the horror film, the cinemas flourished at a time when there was less available to the public and strong moral codes and rules about relationships were in place. The clichà ©d idea of horror films was being scripted and edited to fulfil the role of the dating couple on a Saturday night. (pg 61 Horror: The Film Reader Edited by Mark Jancovich (different authors per chapter) The cinema was a place where young couples could escape family life for the few hours of a date. It allowed them space to be alone together at a time, before the sexual revolution, when men were expected to be chivalrous and protect and provide support for their female companion, as Mark Jancovich explains: Women cover their eyes or hide behind the shoulders of their dates. (pg 61 Horror: The Film Reader Edited by Mark Jancovich (different authors per chapter). This then created an opportunity for the male viewer to comfort his date as she squirmed and shrieked at the on-screen horror. He could become closer and more intimate as she was lured into vulnerability by the action projected in front of her. Mulvey highlights this dominant order: As an advanced representation system, the cinema poses questions about the ways the unconscious (formed by the dominant order) structures ways of seeing and pleasure in looking. (1989, p15) Paraphrase or include in text. Given this climate, the notion of the girl as victim was allowed to evolve. A connection could then be made between the female viewer and her on-screen female counterpart, in that the spectator cannot bear to look on helplessly as her cinematic alter ego that is, a close representation of herself suffers the horrors of rape, mutilation and murder. Mulvey argues that women have had two different functions within cinema: as erotic objects for the characters within the screen story, and as erotic objects for the spectator within the auditorium. (1989, p19) There is clear evidence of this in Tobe Hoopers The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It follows the story of a group of young Americans as they venture into the countryside and meet their fate in the shape of a disturbed and hostile cannibalistic family whose weapons of choice are butchers tools and chainsaws. The three young men meet their deaths quickly, paving the way for the females more drawn-out and gratuitous torture. While one of the women meets her slow, lingering fate via a meat hook and deep freezer, the other is chased and tortured repeatedly across the final third of the film. Female characters in horror films are generally young and attractive. They maintain a key role in the film; examples of this would be Laurie in Halloween and Marion in Alfred Hitchcocks infamous Psycho. When Michael Myers pretty sister meets her fate in the opening scene of Halloween, she is pursued by (and through the eyes of) her killer; indeed, throughout Halloween the story is often seen/told through the eyes of the killer, a technique referred to as the POV (point-of-view) shot. But before the murder takes place, the audience are offered a completely superfluous view of her naked body, seen through the male gaze as she brushes her hair. It could be argued that the female characters occupy many on-screen hours and appear to dominate the films, yet on closer inspection the real lead role is saved for the star psychopath, who is almost always male. It could be debated that male spectators are therefore being asked to identify with the killer. With respect to Halloween there are a number of shots explicitly from Myers physical point-of-view with an acoustic close-up of his monstrous heavy breathing (Isabel Pinedo 1997, p52). It cannot be proven that the whole audience identifies with him but they are forced to see through his murderous gaze, which almost compels a form of affinity. Horror genre is traditionally thought of as low culture. It has a casual tone and audiences have grown to expect violence, nudity and cheap thrills. This position in low culture appears to grant a licence to horror films to get away with more than high art cinema, and horror is rarely studied for meaning or metaphor to the same extent. But because of these lower expectations, the reality can be stretched (not unlike in cartoons), leading to irrational storylines with horror far more extreme than could be expected in real life. Therefore, it could be argued that horror films make explicit the assumption of a male spectator which is, according to Mulvey, only implicit in all popular cinema. Other films, under the pressure of higher expectation, have to keep such a misogynist perspective more contained, but horror can afford to make it overt. Clearly all normal rules do not apply. So, once reality is dropped in favour of visual pleasure, why do we ask audiences to witness hostility and brutality against women? Brian De Palma assesses the motives behind this argument. It is, he suggests, not that women are presented for male pleasure but that they provide a greater capacity for terror in the audience: If you have a haunted house and you have a woman walking around with a candelabra, you fear more for her than you would for a husky man. (Clover, 1992, p42). This provides a greater margin for a violent death. But why is this? Why would a woman be more vulnerable than a man in this age of equality? The answer to this lies far deeper than in the relatively trivial world of the slasher movie or psychological thriller. This genre is simply a form of entertainment and perhaps not the place for intellectual analysis, as John Carpenter hinted when he was challenged with the notion that he is responsible for the tasteless massacre of sexually active women. He claimed that, although the victims in his (and so many other) horror films are indeed the more sexually active characters, to insist that this is why they die is to miss the essential pointThey get killed because they are not paying attention. How do I reference Carpenter? And it could be argued that academics were reading a little too much into Halloween, since a male character is also murdered straight after sex with his girlfriend. One could even claim that this balances the plot and clears the director of the accusation that he is somehow guilty of misogyny. However à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦argues that: His death is usually only a device to remove protection from the now vulnerable female. (pg 165 Bitches, Bimbosà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦). This suggests that the male character is now secondary and his death is insignificant by comparison to the murder of the female. It could also be argued that Carpenter and other celebrated film makers just want to make entertaining horror and dont intend to make hateful statements against women, or objectify them for the male gaze, but that this is simply what people find exciting and why they fill up cinemas. Irrespective of Carpenters intentions, the standards of what is considered entertainment tell us a great deal about our views towards women in horror cinema and perhaps in society as a whole. CHAPTER 2 The Abject Feminine The ultimate figure of abjection is the corpse. As the horror genre is ultimately obsessed with death one could suggest that horror fetishizes the abject. It has been suggested that the horror film attempts to bring about confrontation with the abject. (p4 Horror Film and Psychoanalysis: Freuds Worst Nightmare.) Creed refers to Kristevas notion of the border: When we say such-and-such a horror film made me sick or scared the shit out of me we are actually foregrounding that specific horror film as a work of abjection or abjection at work almost in a literal sense. (1993, p10) By the presentation of repulsion one knows what is not repulsive; to understand abjection one must understand boundaries. As we grow up we stop playing in dirt and become more dignified; this is something we learn from society as well as from our mothers teaching us how to be clean and proper. This notion references Lacans concept of the mirror stage, Kristeva supports: It is thus not lack of cleanliness or health that causes abjection but what disturbs identity, system, order. What does not respect borders, positions, rules. (1982, p4). Woman and abjection The horror genre has a historical tendency to represent the female form as abject. In Kristevas view, woman is specifically related to polluting objects, which fall into two categories: excremental and menstrual. This in turn gives woman a special relationship to the abject. (1982, p10) What we are scared of is not the matter that we expel but what it signifies loss of identity, loss of control, death and the unknown. Nor is it the end of a natural life that contributes to the tension of horror cinema, but an endless list of horrific deaths that we could possibly encounter. Paul Wells backs this notion with his comments on the forbidden facets of the human body its propensity to foul secretions and physical corrosion which are linked to our relentless descent towards death, and which are reflected in images of abjection in the horror film (2000, p16). IS THIS 2ND PERSON? When we are children our parents encourage us to respect boundaries about cleanliness and behaviour, and we reject the abject. But in the context of the horror film there is perverse pleasure that allows us to explore our curiosity about the abject. The abject confronts the repressed/un-civilized side of the ego and allows us to investigate the other. The horror film makes good use of the abject. Julia Kristeva uses her experience with milk as a child in an attempt to explain the idea of abjection: Food loathing is perhaps the most elementary and most archaic form of abjection. When the eyes see or the lips touch that skin on the surface of milkà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦I experience a gagging sensation and, still farther down, spasms in the stomach, the belly: and all the organs shrivel up the body, provoke tears and bile, increase heartbeat, cause forehead and hands to perspire. Along with sight-clouding dizziness, nausea makes me balk at that milk cream, separates me from the mother and father who proffer it. (p23 Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection by Julia Kristeva). Does this need to be cut? This could suggest that when a skin forms on top of milk, it is crossing over a border or breaking a rule regarding what is acceptable as good food, and so the milk is no longer pure. The milk has perhaps split into two; milk being the acceptable form and its solidified state being the abject. Hence it fulfils a similar role in our imagination as a corpse does over a living, breathing body. We will no longer accept/drink the milk as it has turned bad and represents death, a state beyond living. The maternal body grows and delivers a living being but it is also the sister of the corpse so it can remind us of life but also death. If we confronted the abject in everyday life we would be constantly aware of our own mortality. Milk described in the context above provides an effective example of abjection, as it suggests the differential between acceptable breastfeeding as a child and unacceptable breast-feeding as an adult. The Exorcist was the first of many possession films. Its premise involves an innocent young girl named Regan McNeil who displays abnormal behaviour in the middle class American home she shares with her mother and house keeper. Throughout the film her father appears absent so it is her mother (Chris McNeil) who bears witness to the profound and hostile series of events and paranormal behaviour as the plot unfolds. Creed states that: The possessed or invaded being is a figure of abjection in that the boundary between self and other has been transgressed (1993, p32) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦by the devil himself, who appears to be the only male central figure in the film until the arrival of a psychiatrist and two Roman Catholic Priests. Within the plot of The Exorcist, Regans character is a vehicle that allows the portrayal of abjection to the mass audience. Had a young boy been cast in a similar role, the horror could have been undermined, but due to our own preconceptions of femininity and youth, the possession portrayed within this young girl only adds to the horrific events. Regan is the most passive of female victims, repeatedly switching from tearful little girl to demonic aggressor. She expels her bodily fluids, blood, vomit and urine; she is a playground for bodily wastes (1993, p40). Creed goes on to point out that the female body is more abject because its maternal functions acknowledge its debt to nature 1993, p11). She also points out that, as Regan cavorts and flaunts herself, we become all too aware of the forbidden fascination of the abject , as well as its horror, inherent in the fact that this young girl has overtly flouted her respectable feminine function, and has; put her unsocialized body on display. And to make matters worse, she has done all of this before the shocked eyes of two male clerics. (p 198 Post-Theory: Reconstructing Film Studies. edited by Bordwell, D and Carrol, N) Creed (1993, p37) puts forward: In Kristevas view the abject represents that which disturbs identity, system, order. Regans possessed soul projects this through levitation and deep spoken foul language. As the film continues, an exorcism takes place in the form of a battle between the Church and the Devil. If religion could be used to explore the abject, no film does it more tellingly than in The Exorcist. Creed puts forward, according to Kristeva: Kristeva argues that, historically, it has been the function of religion to purify the abject. (1993, p14) As the film comes to an end, Regan is saved by the church and restored to purity. She turns to hug the one person who saved her: a male Priest, or perhaps God himself? Spectator In the real world, when confronted with something genuinely repulsive, we reject that object of repulsion. But in the cinema it is not necessary to fully block what confronts us. The positioning of the spectator within the cinema experience must be recognized if abjection is going to be fully absorbed. The viewer happily sits as the spectacle of horror unfolds and is projected onto them. Though the viewer has no control over the events projected before them, the unpleasant acts witnessed by the spectator can comfortably be dismissed when the credits roll and the film is over. Viewing the horror film signifies a desire not only for perverse pleasure where boundaries are crossed, both attracting and repelling (confronting sickening, horrific images/being filled with terror/desire for the undifferentiated) but also a desire, once having been filled with perversity, taking pleasure in perversity, to throw up, throw out, eject the abject (from the safety of the spectators seat). CHAPTER 3 The Absent Mother Relationships in the maternal melodrama are almost always between mother and daughter; it is to the horror film we must turn for an exploration of mother-son relationships. The latter are usually represented in terms of repressed Oedipal desire, fear of the castrating mother and psychosis. Given the nature of the horror genre its preoccupation with monstrosity, abjection and horrific familial scenarios the issues surrounding the mother-child dyad are generally presented in a more extreme and terrifying manner. (Creed,1993, p139) Cut down One area of female representation that is more ambiguous is the figure of the Mother in the horror film genre. No longer could the killer be simply defined by gender. At the beginning of the 1960s audiences were subjected to a new kind of cinematic terror, as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ explains in her essay: The monster was no longer out there; it was in here. The monster was the human mind. (Pg 160 Gary, J and Sheila, S (ed) Bitches, Bimbos and Virgins: Women in the Horror Film) As Hitchcocks psychological thriller Psycho was released The early sixties audience would be led to believe that the approachable Norman Bates (played by Antony Perkins) was simply a victim of his over-zealous mothers bullying. But as the plot unravelled, the film presented a deeply obsessive human mind as the real monster, as Steven Jay Schneider further explains: When used to shed light on horror cinema, psychoanalysis in its various forms has proven to be a frightful and provocative interpretive tool (Pg 187 Schneider, S. J. Horror Film and Psychoanalysis Freuds Worst Nightmare) The film follows its self-sufficient central female character, Marion Crane, jaded by her affair with a married man, as she embezzles a large amount of money from her male employer and leaves town in pursuit of a new life. On arrival at the infamous Bates Motel she meets the proprietor, the twitchy but approachable and, more importantly, passive Norman Bates, who is clearly attracted to Crane, something she comfortably takes in her stride, suggesting a non-passive female. However, on closer inspection, Marions actions throughout the first section of the film are defined by male characters she comes into contact with: her lover Sam, her male employer and the male client, the highway patrol officer and Norman Bates who all define her destiny with their attitudes towards her. Robert Kolker supports this theory: Psycho: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the mix of pleasure and pain common to all horror viewing, and aligned with a feminine subject position, is negotiated differently by men than by women. (p193 Alfred Hitchcocks Psycho: A Casebook edited by Robert Kolker) Throughout the first part of the film Marion is portrayed as feminine, attractive and defying the typical representation of women in horror films; however, from the perspective of the male gaze Bates watches Marion, unbeknown to her, through a hole in the wall as she undresses and prepares to shower. Normans eye is filmed in extreme close-up, drawing attention to the activity of the voyeurism. (1993, p145). As the camera lingers on her it is this scene that suggests that Hitchcock cannot break away fully from the traditions of the horror genre where the female becomes objectified and is observed from the gaze of the active male. Norman Bates mother is another female character significant to the plot, not seen but heard off-screen discouraging her son from having any social contact with the newly arrived female and, throughout most of the film, verbally abusing her son. Surrounded by stuffed birds, Bates even states a boys best friend is his mother. The viewer can assume that he is a loyal and reliable son. However, as Lacans theorys are refered :

Psycholinguistics And Second Language Acquisition

Psycholinguistics And Second Language Acquisition In general, Lennebergs critical period hypothesis proposed that certain linguistic events must happen to the child during the Critical Period for development to proceed normally and language is acquired most efficiently during this period. Traditionally, the Critical Period Hypothesis is used to explain why second acquisition is so difficult for older children and adults. In this essay, the role of critical period in second language acquisition will be examined by using authoritative experiments, as well as my own experience. To begin with, the way in which Critical Period accounts for second language acquisition should be clearly clarified. Johnson and Newport (1989) refine the formulation of the Critical Period Hypothesis and explain how it interprets second language acquisition. They distinguished two further hypotheses: Exercise Hypothesis and Maturational State Hypothesis. Both of them assume that humans have a superior capacity for learning language early in life. These two hypotheses predict that children will be better than adults in acquiring the first language but only the latter one predicts that children will be superior at second language learning. Indeed, the Exercise Hypothesis even suggests that adults might be better than children because of their better learning skills possibly. Research has addressed the issue that whether there is an age-related effect on second language acquisition. First, there is a research states a point of view contrary to popular opinion. Most people think that children are better in acquiring both first and second language. However, Snow (1983) proposed that adults were actually no worse in acquiring second language and may be even better. Although it is difficult for a fair comparison because children have more time to learn language adults, Snow and Hoefnagel-Hohle (1978) conducted a research by comparing English children and adults in the first year of living in Holland learning Dutch. The young children (3-4 years old) scored lowest of all groups. Experimental and anecdotal evidence suggested that adults have a persistent foreign accent and phonological development might be the one area for which there is a critical period. Even if there are limitations of this study, it is possible that adults can acquire second language more e fficient than children. Certainly, there is some evidence for a critical period for second language acquisition. Johnson and Newport (1989) found evidence for a Critical Period for second language acquisition. They looked at native Korean and Chinese immigrants (3-39 years old) to the USA and found a large advantage for younger over older learners in making judgements about whether a sentence was grammatically correct. They found that their participants correlated strongly and significantly in the early arrivals (age 3-15) but not in the older arrivals (age 17-39). Johnson and Newport took this to suggest that à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"language learning ability slowly declines as the human matures and plateaus at a low level after pubertyà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ . This study is an important evidence of the presence of the Critical Period in second language acquisition. In fact, there is another study which examined the effects of maturation on pronunciation by using immigrants with various ages of arriva l as subjects can also show that the Critical Period really exists in SLA. Thompson (1991) collected data from 39 Russian-born subjects (4-42 years old) who had immigrated to the US. The result pointed to a strong link between a subjectà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s age of first exposure to English and the nativeness of his or her accent. From these two researches, it can show that the Critical Period really exists in second language acquisition. Apart from the authoritative experiments mentioned above, my personal experience of learning Putonghua can also support the Critical Period in second language acquisition. When I learnt Putonghua in primary school, my knowledge of Putonghua, especially the pronunciation, was acquired easily and quickly by imitating the pronunciation of my teacher immediately. However, I did not learn Putonghua in secondary school and learnt it again from last year. In other words, all the knowledge of Putonghua has lost and I needed to learn it from the beginning. Actually, I found it is more difficult for me to learn Putonghua when getting older with the influence of my first language Cantonese. Since the vocabularies and pronunciations of these languages are similar, I easily pronounced incorrectly or used some wrong vocabularies like Cantonese. Compared with the learning experience in primary school, I need to use much more time acquire Putonghua as second language more accurately and develop my l anguage proficiency at adult stage. To conclude, there is still some debate on whether there is a critical period for acquiring language. However, there is a general agreement that childhood immersion in a second language environment leads to widespread success in achieving native-like proficiency in that language. Likewise, the exposure to a second language in adulthood is marked by a failure to attain native-like competence. Therefore, the importance of age effects on second language acquisition is hardly controversial by a number of supportive studies on this hypothesis. (818 words) Reference Harley, T.A. (1995). The Psychology of Language: From Data to Theory. East Sussex, UK: Erlbaum. Johnson, J.S. Newport, E.L. (1989). Critical period effects in second language learning: The influence of maturational state on the acquisition of English as a second language. Cognitive psychology, 21, 60-99. Lenneberg, E. (1967). Biological foundations of language. New York: Wiley. Snow, C.E. (1983). Age differences in second language acquisition: Research findings and folk psychology. In K. Bailey, M. Long, S. Peck (Eds.), Second language acquisition studies (pp. 141-150). Rowley, MA: Newbury House. Snow, C.E., Hoefnagel-Hohle, M. (1978). The critical period for language acquisition: Evidence from second language learning. Child Development, 49, 1114-1128. Thompson, I. (1991). Foreign accents revisited: The English pronunciation of Russian immigrants. Language Learning, 41, 177-204.

The Importance of Education :: Importance of Education Essay

Education plays a vital role in shaping tomorrows’ leaders. Not only can we become a better nation by acquiring the skills necessary to be productive members of a civilized society. Increase knowledge to actively achieve and meet challenges that can produce changes in which are productive for attaining business innovations, political and economic objectives. Our world is constantly changing and it requires a society that is well versed in understanding the problems deriving from culture differences and tolerance of one another’s beliefs and perceptions. We are dealing with systemic problems in education, economic, government, religion and culture differences. To quote a phrase from Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz, "Make me the master of education, and I will undertake to change the world." If we are to change the world simply because we have and continue to acquire the education necessary to increase knowledge; we must never forget education along without the practice of inducing what is learned is not enough to produce attainable results favorable to sustain a society in the 21st century. We must become the voice of the people by getting involved to make a difference in the world by putting into motion what we have learned. When I was growing up, I remember attending elementary school, learning a new language seems to be difficult at first, but I was able to learn the English language because of the dedication of one of my teachers. Now, as I reflect on this experience, it is obvious that she was dedicated and enjoyed teaching her students to be successful. I know today that she made a difference in my life as I navigated through my education experience and high school years to present. I also experience the lack of concern of other teachers, not taking the time and dedication to teach their students to excel. In part, I strongly believe it had to with the culture differences that existed within the schools that I attended and the neighborhood I grew up. At times, I felt being part of a minority group created an environment, which I perceived teachers not to care about my education needs or whether I could succeed in life. Today, we have made strides in improving our education system in our schools. Yet, we are facing similar problems and perhaps even worse when teachers are rushing their students through their curriculum without taking the time to encourage and support them to excel in their classes.

Comparing the Hero in Sophocles Oedipus the King, Homers Odyssey, and

Heros in Sophocles' Oedipus the King, Homer's Odyssey, and Tan's Joy Luck Club      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In world literature, there are two types of archetypal protagonists, the mythic hero and the tragic hero. Mythic heroes, like Homer's Odysseus, represent the combination of superhuman virtues and human imperfections. These traits create a supernatural adventure with a realistic character. The mythic hero is favored by divine powers and eventually achieves a certain goal or completes a certain journey. On the other hand, there is the tragic hero, like Sophocles' Oedipus. The unfortunate tragic hero has a penchant for attempting to escape a doomed fate. The tragic hero lives under the shadow that the gods place. Literature throughout the expanse of time has hovered around the lives of the mythic and tragic heroes. Contemporary novel The Joy Luck Club explores these themes as well. The two characters, Lindo Jong and Ying-ying St. Clair, exemplify the polar extremes of mythic vs. tragic.    Both mythic heroes and tragic heroes must pass through a series of set obstacles and wind their way toward a certain goal. The major difference between the two archetypes is how the protagonist reaches the end. Mythic heroes transgress through their journey with optimism and a building sense of accomplishment. Tragic heroes operate on the slant of pessimism and failing attempts to escape from a worse fate. To put it more clearly, the mythic hero tries to run toward success, while a tragic hero tries to run away from failure. In this sense, the story's attitude, the protagonists' control on fate, and the divinely ordained sequence of events work together to form the type of hero that takes the lead.    Odysseus, hero of... ...ea House 1988 Graham, A. J.   "History and Heros," Princeton 1999 Homer. The Odyssey. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: 1996 Lucas, D. W., ed. Aristotle: Poetics. Oxford: Oxford U-Clarendon P, 1968. Sophocles.   "Oedipus Rex."   An Introduction to Literature, 11th ed.Eds. Sylvan Barnet, et al.   New York: Longman, 1997. 800-836. Tan, Amy. The Joy Luck Club. Vintage Contemporaries. New York: A Division of Random House, Inc., 1991. Tracy, Stephen V., The story of the Hero. Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, c1990.   PA4167 .T7 1990

Interpretation Project

So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him† (Lucas, New Kings James Version). Jesus shares Insight for humanity prior to HIS return, In efforts that mankind may be prepared to receive the Lord and not be deceived. If people use consideration when interpreting God's meaning and not personal interpretations, the true message can be revealed. According to Journey into God's Word, â€Å"We believe that the way to approach the Bible (I. E. , the way we listen to God) should match how God gives us the Bible (I. E. , chose to speaks' (Devalue & Hayes, 2008, p. 0). This short story ay be viewed as Jesus being Like a thief and coming at an unexpected time; discovered. Jesus provides all humanity with the necessary preparations for the end times. Jesus reveals His love and concern for humanity by revealing signs of the tribulation. â€Å"Nation will rise against nation†¦ There will be famines and earthquakes†¦ † (Ma tt. 24:7). These are given in efforts to bring awareness that until these pass, the end is not here. Jesus will be returning at an unknown day, hour, and season. His return is not even known to â€Å"†¦ Angels, nor the Son, only the Father† (Matt. 4:36). He includes warnings and precautions. Jesus warns against false teachings, and prophets that will arise and claim to be the messiah. Man is to be cautious that he is not lead astray by the â€Å"thief† that will come to deceive. Jesus uses the parable of the thief and the master of the house. If mankind knows when His return will be, man would most likely live in darkness until the time approached. Then deception would be avoided by waiting for the very day and hour of His return and many may not accept Him until the last minute and not spread the Gospel until the end times.As stories are mentioned, people read the parable regarding the fig tree and fleet on the prophecy spoken in Daniel; these are pieces of the a rmor of God to keep the â€Å"elect† from being deceived by the true deceiver. â€Å"So when you see standing in the holy place the abomination that causes desolation'†¦ † (Matt. 24:15,). People who know God will know this is the â€Å"thief† that has come to steal salvation. As many become like the parable of the fig tree, they become fruitless and the Word of God will have been spoken and not heard. This is when the time to watch that The Lord will be arriving soon after these things has been fulfilled.He then shares with us the story of Noah. This story is included to reveal the swiftness of His return. Any who have lived an ungodly life â€Å"as determined by the Son of Man† will be cast among the hypocrites (Matt. 24:51). Jesus desires humanity to accept the gift of salvation and live unto Him; only by adhering to these warnings can mankind be prepared for the Lord's return.

Mars Attacks! Review

January 24, 2013 Review of Mars Attacks! Mars Attacks! is Tim Burton’s clever thought at a martian invasion on the United States of America. After their landing, they easily took advantage of the governments trust, understanding, and compassion. Human beings, especially Americans, show just how ignorant and unpredictable they can be. However, their stupidity paves the way to their survival with a little bit of a population remaining. Source Materials: The constant struggle between war and politics makes this movie a classic bumbling mess of emgo fighting over what they consider to be right.The 1950’s science fiction focuses on how these peoples egos were created in a time of growing personalities. Genre: Parody Science Fiction portrays humility at the expense of American’s under the superior mind of the martians. Ultimately giving the upper hand to the human race for a reason that could not even be fathomed by mankind. Star Personas: The film is shown through the eyes of powerful figures from Nevada to Washington D. C. Everyone has an opinion and the best idea with how to deal with the martian invasion.A poor kid from that gets no attention within his society turns out to be the hero of the film. Technology/CGI: Used strongly throughout the entire movie, because anything that had to do with the martians was created by CGI. It was used to give a feel of abstract science fiction and not just a battle for superior intelligence. Plot: Told from a variety of different viewpoints and the advantages and drawbacks that went along with them. Everything comes together in the end to make it a bittersweet happy ending for all of those still left alive.