Friday, January 31, 2020

The Inglorious Bastards would make glorious movie stars Essay Example for Free

The Inglorious Bastards would make glorious movie stars Essay Nothing sells like a movie on the Holocaust, especially if the Jews win this time. The film tells of two separate plots to annihilate the Nazi Germany political leadership during the Second World War era. The plots are made by two completely different parties, whose plans eventually converge by the end of the movie as fate would have it. One party is a tribe of American-Jewish warriors with a strong desire to kill as many Nazis as they can. They go behind enemy lines and straight into a Nazi occupied territory in France to carry out this plan and de-scalp a hundred Nazi heads for each of them. The other party is a young lady who grew up hiding as a Frenchwoman after she survives the massacre of her Jewish family. She grew up seeking refuge in a cinema in Paris which eventually becomes the venue for the culmination of the movie, and of the seemingly undefeatable Third Reich. With the said plot of the film, one would expect that the setting of the film would be on a concentration camp or a depressed war zone. However, this film would go beyond what most war film goes for: Inglorious Bastards will not capitalize on state-of-the-art cinematic effects and the tension brought about by violence and dead, bloody bodies. While most war movies depict only the violence of war in combat zones, this film would shed light on what other war situations mostly ignored. The film would present the ironically quiet life of learning to live with the war in a Nazi-occupied territory of France, intermeshed with the regular routine of everyday life without the bomb explosions. What would build the tension would be the fear felt, as tangible as it could be, by the oppressed people inhabiting this area and living in a country thousands and miles away. Needless to say, the film would centralize on extreme patriotism, the fight for freedom, and yes, even the concept of revenge. The epic history of the Nazis’ hunt for the total obliteration of the Jews would never get old for moviegoers. For one, no other event in history could compare to what the Jews went through during the holocaust. The sufferings of colonized countries within hundreds of years of oppression would stale in comparison to the cruelty and injustice this particular race went through. Witnessing the triumph of a plot against the reigning tyrants presented on a silver screen would surely bring about a sense of united victory among people from different races. The background and experiences of the characters are already films in themselves, but what the characters would actually carry out throughout the film to achieve their goals would bring a lot more to the table. Although, some may argue that the concept of revenge would promote terrorism or violence. That is how the treatment of the film would come in to actually reverse that assumption. As mentioned in the preceding paragraph, this film would not show multiple and never-ending scenes of war veterans exhausting all their ammunition to end up as victors of a war. On the contrary, majority of the scenes of Inglorious Bastards would be quiet conversations. This way, the audience would not only see the mechanics of war, the psyche of the characters would also be understood. Take the case of the antagonist for example, who holds a high position in the Nazi hierarchy. He is more terrorizing than Adolf Hitler himself, but only a few instances in the entire film would the audience actually witness him in a fit of rage. He delivers his orders calmly, which is more effective and would elicit more fear from the characters and audience. Having Quentin Tarantino as the writer and director of the film would make it more interesting than it already is. Tarantino is known for introducing a new genre in the field of filmmaking in Hollywood. His incorporation of the pop culture, which proliferated in the 1970s, in the narration of his movie’s plot brings the audience to a new world. With the non-linear narration of the film, the movie is set to arouse the interest in every moviegoer. With the non-predictability feature of his films, the audience would not fall into a hazy daze but rather explode with excitement with every second and scene that goes by. In the case of Inglorious Bastards, Tarantino actually labored for at least a decade in the production of the movie’s script. Taking into consideration Tarantino’s unique writing style and the amount of labor exerted on this script would prove the quality of the script. His non-linear process of narration is not necessarily unique to him, but his choice of language and words known for his style would increase to the kindled interest of moviegoers everywhere. Knowing Tarantino and the meticulous attention he pays to details, we would be sure he would not get any cinematographer who just happens to be available during the production months. For the production of the movie, the same cinematography Tarantino has been working with for his other previous films would be the same person in charge for Inglorious Bastards. In the previous movies, we can see that the unconventional cinematographic style veers away from simply choosing between a wide angle or a close-up shot. This method of cinematography would complement Tarantino’s unique way of doing movies and would add to the cohesiveness of the film. Similar to the cinematography, the soundtrack of the film would not be what a professional in the industry would expect. The usual orchestra playing a melody in the background would not supplement the fear element in the movie; nor would it use songs from modern day rock bands. To maintain the simplicity of the film, the practice of using background music used in the previous decades. This is also done to create a comic-book feel translated in the movie. The uniqueness in all of the tonal elements in the movie is employed to achieve an ultimate end of the movie, which is to aestheticize violence. Marketing objectives for the film The majority of moviegoers’ age for this movie type would range from age 18 up to, possibly, 50 years old. However, for this particular film, the target market would consist of a wider demographic. Initially, males of different ages would seem to be the most obvious and only target market for the film as it is movie on war. Most people would say females would have no interest on this particular genre. Considering the treatment of the film, however, would make one think otherwise. Since the focus of the story is not mostly on the technicalities of war, but on the anguish, suffering and revenge of the abused, the female demographic is also included. Aside from this, the film would also get the attention of the youth. As young professionals already have the purchasing power, majority of this particular demographic would surely spend on entertainment. What the youth prefer, this film delivers: the film leans towards the unconventional and unpredictable genre, it shows just the right amount of action without capitalizing on blood and gore. When we say youth, we also include younger teenagers probably from 16 years of age. This particular age group would be old enough to understand the concepts of violence and war in the film, and is the most avid audience of upcoming movies. As stated in the earlier paragraphs, the film would be positioned not as a war movie, but as one which tackles the heavy concept of war and revenge in a lighter, less violent manner. It is a movie of reclaiming freedom and honor. With the positioning of the movie stated, we can then say that the tempered violence in the movie would serve as one of the strengths of the movie. The tempered violence throughout the film would allow different profiles on an international scope to be included in the film’s target market. Therefore, the projected net profit for this film would be more than enough to cover production expenses. Aside from this, since this is a story about the Nazi occupation, this film would turn many heads once the publicity of the movie would start. People from different nations would be interested in watching a movie on such a historical event. It would not be one of the movies which end up spending more than they earned. Also, the strength of Tarantino as a writer and director would quiet any raised eyebrows, for his skills and talent as both writer and director is undeniable as can be proven from his previous movies. Having him direct the film and write the screenplay would actually attract more audience for the film.

Thursday, January 23, 2020

The Independent Artist in The Awakening and Narcissus and Goldmund :: comparison compare contrast essays

The Independent Artist in The Awakening and Narcissus and Goldmund  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   One of the great themes of the modern Western literary tradition is that of the artist's independence. Writers throughout history have struggled with this problem in their own lives. Often coming from the upper classes, they may decide to give up a life of relative comfort and financial security in order to explore the wilds of the human spirit through literature. They must choose between financial and emotional satisfaction. This is the decision made by the protagonists of both Hermann Hesse's Narcissus and Goldmund and Kate Chopin's The Awakening. In both of these novels, the protagonist leaves mainstream society behind in order to become an artist, perhaps mirroring the lives of the authors themselves. But it is not the mere physical departure from mainstream society that is the most important factor in these novels. What is most important is the emotional and mental distance that Goldmund and Edna place between themselves and their respective cultures. In both of the se novels, the artist is portrayed as a renegade spirit, leaving behind the strictures of their cultures of birth in order to pursue art. These cultural strictures come in a number of forms. First, the artist attacks intellectual conformity, choosing art over all other means of self-expression even though it is not widespread in his or her society. Though it is not explicitly stated - and is perhaps even subconscious - the artist chooses art over either academe or high society. The artist questions society's customs, making this choice explicit in their daily actions. The artist rejects ostentatious displays of wealth and the cultural emphasis on money, replacing it with a frugal simplicity more conducive to authentic experience. Finally, the artist calls into question the cultural construct most important to any understanding of human interaction - the binary conception of gender. Attacks on conformity In Narcissus and Goldmund, Goldmund begins the novel at a medieval cloister, a bulwark of classical - that is, Greek and Roman - culture against the backdrop of a backward Europe. Hesse emphasizes the unchanging nature and relative permanence of the cloister and its population: "Generations of cloister boys passed beneath the foreign tree... There were always newcomers; and the faces changed every few years, yet most of them resembled one another, if only for their blond and curly hair" (3-4; ch.

Wednesday, January 15, 2020

Minoan Civilization Overview

The island of Crete, which lies in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, has been heavily contested by differing civilizations over the past three-thousand years. But before first conquests for the island began, a civilization developed on the island to such an advanced degree that it would become Greek legend. These first civilized inhabitants of Crete have become known as the Minoans, named after King Minis. In the two-thousand years of the Minoan people, they rose from simple farmers to a great civilization that came to a tragic end. The island of Crete provides a unique environment that is well suited for unman civilization.Its location in the Mediterranean provides its inhabitants with a central location for trade and military operations between Greece, tally, Egypt, and the Middle East. The sea itself is rich in resources, the lands of the Cretan plains are fertile, and the southern coastal areas, with their massive cliffs, provided a natural barrier against invasion. The island 's climate is very mild, much like the coastal areas that surround the Mediterranean. Although the island has no major rivers and experiences long periods of dry weather, springs are overly abundant.These springs, which have decreased in umber, were a reliable source of fresh water for inhabitants of Crete. Another major advantage of living on the island was the large forests that used to cover the landscape. The first people of Crete came to the island during Neolithic times. These settlers may have brought crops and domesticated animals with them to Crete. It is unknown where these settlers originated from but archeological evidence suggests areas near Turkey or Syria. The first inhabitants spread quickly across the island, living in natural caves carved from the limestone rock that made up the island or in villages atop small hills.These Neolithic inhabitants developed many of the tools that other people living near the Mediterranean used, such as stone axes, obsidian and cheer b lades, sickles, bows and arrows, and stone maces. They also developed techniques for weaving wool into cloth using looms. As the Neolithic people of Crete began to move into villages on the plains and coastal areas by the middle Neolithic era, caves took on the role of burial sites for everyone from village leaders, to children, to the common resident.As the Neolithic age came to a close and the Bronze Age began, Crete experienced a period of turmoil that seems to indicate an invasion that triggered technological and cultural developments, such as bronze working, advancements in pottery and tombs. Evidence from Greek myths suggests that these invaders were refugees from lands in the north of the rising Egyptian Empire. It is possible that King Manner, the man who united Egypt, is the reason these people fled north into the sea. The period following invasion is thought of as the beginning of the Minoan Age, around BBC.During this period, the Minoan people began to form large cities w hich typically acted as independent city-states. Competition and inflict between these cities is not heavily evidenced, but it is known that during this Early Minoan age many immigrants from the mainland areas surrounding the Mediterranean came to Crete to seek refuge, much like the original invaders. This period lasted until approximately 2200 BC, after which the culture of the people of Crete shifted away from the independent nature of the city states to a more centralized society with power collecting in a few major cities that were spread across the island.During the Middle Minoan Age, kingdoms began to develop and the first Minoan palaces were constructed in cities such as Knossos and Patios. Minoans began to develop colonies on nearby islands, some of which are well recorded in Greek legends. These colonies may be a sign of over-population on the island of Crete, which was a consequence of the Minoan civilization's rapid decent down the slippery slope of farming.It is through these colonies that the Minoan culture would begin to show signs of influence as far away as mainland Greece and possibly Egypt In the later portions of the Middle Minoan Age, the Minoan civilization began to reach its peak. It is also at this point in time that seismic activity on and near Crete begins to show its tangentially dangerous nature to the Minoans. Several times during the Middle Minoan Age, palaces Were destroyed by the earthquakes or fire that may have been caused by earthquakes. It was around this period of destruction in BBC that the Greek's began to settle on Crete, but their presence was minimal at best.The Minoans would recover from these natural disasters and the civilization would continue to flourish until the Late Minoan Age, which began around 1550 BC. Around BBC, the volcanic island of There, only seventy miles north of Crete, exploded immediately following a series of earthquakes. The Minoan colonies on the island were buried under thick layers of volcanic rock and tsunamis caused major damage to coastal areas on the north of Crete and caused extensive crop damage on the eastern portion of the island due to ash. The inhabitants of Crete recovered, but the kingdoms were left in a weakened state.More earthquakes would strike the island potentially changing the landscape of the coastal areas. Some Minoan coastal cities on the eastern and northern parts of Crete lie below several feet of water, and in the Western parts of the island the coastal landscape actually appears to be much higher than it was in early Minoan times. The earthquakes may have also disrupted the supply of fresh water to Minoan cities. Wells, springs, and underground clay pipes all suffered damage due to the severe seismic activity. Knossos would grow to become the only major power on the island while other cities fell into decline.By BBC, the great city of Knossos, the last Minoan seat of power, was ravaged by war and conquered by the Greeks, ending the Minoan civiliz ation. During the nearly 2000 years of the Minoan civilization, their culture grew to influence other people in Greece, Egypt, and the Near East. There are several aspects of this culture and the most influential and historically important Of these are Minoan religion, architecture, gender's role in society, and crafts. The Minoan government was theocratic, with both the king and queen having prominent parts in religious and political affairs.The gods of the Minoan people, the most important of which were solar gods, would only communicate their will through the royal couple, who acted as the high priests and carried out religious ceremonies and political events. The kings and queens were also rated as divine beings following their deaths since they were considered to be the adopted children of the gods. It was also common for commoner and lower priests to experience a euphoric event by coming into contact with a sacred object such as a tree or a rock.Through these euphoric experien ces, they would simply see the face of their gods or see messages that were delivered in natural form by animals or plants. The architecture of early Minoan cities consisted of simple earth, mud bricks, stone, clay, and wooden buildings, with religious, political, or elite building being of generally higher laity. The home of a commoner was usually a small, rectangular room with a fire-pit in the center and a raised stone platform for sleeping in a corner. As time passed, these homes became larger and some had multiple rooms that could have acted as storage or private quarters.As for royal palaces, they Were typically constructed from stone and wood with the quality of workmanship varying from site to site. Whenever a palace was destroyed (typically by natural disaster) the new palace would be built directly atop the ruins of the destroyed structure. Dcord inside these complexes included culture of religious icons, murals, frescoes, and furniture that was designed to show the divine nature of royalty. These palaces also served as temples for the gods, which is evidenced by the close association between the king and queen and their patron gods.Almost all building would be covered in a limestone-based plaster and some would then be painted with a red compound. An aspect of Minoan culture that breaks the norm for other civilizations at the time is the importance of women in society. In almost all of the Minoan art work recovered from the ruins, women are shown in important political and religious roles. Many other cultures from this time period simply depict women as being responsible for raising children. This difference in views can probably be attributed to the significance of the female solar gods in Minoan society.It is also thought that the common Minoan woman shared equal social status as her male counterparts, which was quite different from other Mediterranean cultures, who placed most social importance on the men. When the Greeks wrote of the ancient civ ilization of Atlantis falling below the sea after a devastating earthquake, it is entirely possible that they were actually talking about the Minoans. The genealogy, complex social structure, and wondrous cities that the Minoans developed could easily be the source of inspiration for the tale of Atlantis, which was written 600 years after the collapse of the Minoan civilization on Crete.

Tuesday, January 7, 2020

A Brief Biography of Jackie Robinson - 673 Words

Jackie Robinson was one of the most historically well known people in the civil rights movement. So as the first man to integrate major league baseball, Jackie Robinson had a game changing impact on the way the game was played. Having the courage to fight for what is right, Jackie broke the imaginary color barrier that has covered major league baseball for years. Through his resiliency and tenaciousness in the face of seemingly unconquerable odds, Jackie Robinson set the course for African Americans to continue the expansion for equality and true freedom while he was becoming one of the greatest Major League baseball players in history. In 1919, Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born in Cairo, Georgia. His family being sharecroppers, Jackies mother, Mallie, raised Jackie and his four other siblings.(JackieRobinson.com) Being the only black family on the block, his family faced discrimination and racism from neighbors all around. From a humble beginning, Jackie was an outstanding athlete.(larrylester42.com) Jackie was promoted from Washington Junior High. Later, he entered John Muir High School after his junior high career. Recognizing his athletic ability, Robinsons older brothers inspired Jackie to pursue sports.(Jackierobinson.com) Robinson attended Pasadena Junior College after high school. That is where he continued his athletic career. He played on the football team, baseball team, and he broke school broad-jumping records. Most of Jackies teammates were white. In 1938,Show MoreRelatedJackie Robinson: A Brief Biography724 Words   |  3 Pages Jackie Robinson Brave, courageous, daring, bold, these all describe the baseball legend Jackie Robinson. Jackie was the first African American major league baseball player. (Jackie Robinson official website) Things were not always easy but he had many supporters and motivators to keep him going.( Britannica encyclopedia) Since Jackie never gave up through all of the harsh comments and criticism as he carried on being the first African American baseball player, African Americans are now allowedRead MoreEssay on A Brief History of America’s National Pastime1708 Words   |  7 Pageslarge contributor to American culture. As the popularity began to grow in the mid-1800s, the equipment has gone from very humble beginnings to what is used today. The baseball itself has changed since the game began. According to the article â€Å"A Brief History of the Baseball†, the standard ball in the mid-1850s had a 8-11 inch circumference and weighed 5.5-6 ounces. The home team had the option to use more rubber in the core and wind the string tighter, or use less rubber and wind the string looselyRead More Korean Players in Major League Baseball1588 Words   |  7 PagesLeague Baseball, in this case, for Choo’s team. Compared to previous Korean players, like Chan-Ho Park, or other foreign players, like Jackie Robinson, Choo absolutely earned nothing until 2008 where he successfully settled in Seattle Mariners. In addition, His first official salary was $43,626 as a 1950s price to calculate the dollars, where Jackie Robinsons’s best season salary was $36,000 in 1950 (Chin-Soo Choo†). Choo’s talents for baseball rapidly raise his salary higher than any otherRead MoreIs Sports Just A Proxy For Politics?1886 Words   |  8 Pagesother cheek to abusive political viewers. Jackie Robinson was definitely the right man for the job. Robinson battled discrimination throughout his life. Growing up in a white racist neighborhood, he had to prove himself constantly. After college, he entered the still-segregated Army during World War II. Stationed in the South, Robinson was arrested for refusing to go to the back of a bus. Since black players could not play in the major leagues, Robinson started his baseball career in the Negro leagues