Thursday, January 30, 2020

Hollywood main stream cinemas treatment of gender in the 1980s Essay Example for Free

Hollywood main stream cinemas treatment of gender in the 1980s Essay To what extent is Rambo: First Blood Part 2 typical of Hollywood mainstream cinemas treatment of gender in the 1980s? Action films in the 1980s reflected the changes and insecuritys within American society. There had been a rise in feminism meaning that the masculine form and dominance was being undermined and white working class males did not know where their place was in society. It was also in the immediate time after the Vietnam War and confusion and anger still lingered. The Vietnam War divided the American nation as a whole because, as it has been in recent times with the war in Iraq, people didnt fully understand why America needed to impose their presence in a country where they felt they had nothing to gain. The action film in the 1980s introduced a hero that differentiated masculinity and femininity using the form of the body as a way of ensuring power, dominance and self-respect. Rambo: First Blood Part 2 is a typical film of this era in terms of masculinity and the ways in which men and women are portrayed. In the film Rambo: First Blood Part 2 Sylvester Stallone portrays a typical action hero of the war film genre in the 1980s but also an outcast of society after the Vietnam War. He is a veteran of Vietnam and came home to find that everything he had known had changed and he was no longer considered an honourable soldier but more as a war criminal. Rambos mission in this film is to go back to Vietnam and see if he can find a camp that he is told has many POWs. If he finds the men, he can only take photographs but he has a problem with this and risks his own life to save them. He is very strong and muscular and is able to defeat the soldiers, Russian and Vietnamese, single handed. Douglas Kellner states that the film; Follows the conventions of the Hollywood genre of the war film, which dramatizes conflicts between the United States and its enemies and provides a happy ending that portrays the victory of good over evil. (Kellner, 1994, p.10) This means that America always won no matter who the enemy was. In reality this is something that America could not accomplish. There was no happy ending and there were no immediate heroes. Rambo is allowed to bring glory upon America and diffuse a situation that could have cost the American military even more respect and dignity. America had lost some of its power within the world and they strived to get it back. It had lost its first war and it had become important to remasculinize America. There was a growing fear of communism in the country and displaying male heroes which went against the communist regime was their idea of establishing the ideal throughout the world by a means of globalization. Globalization had been taking place throughout the history of cinema by a means of film that was imported and exported to places around the world. In effect most of the action films set in Vietnam, and other films which hold a strong view of patriotism and heroism within America in the 1980s, can be seen as propaganda films against the rise of communism. The purpose, with or without the knowledge of the audience, was to get the idea across to a mass audience that communism was against the principles of the country. In Rambo the evil characters are the Vietnamese and Russian soldiers and ironically, it turns out that the greatest threat to Rambo is not the Vietnamese, although they do pose a strong force, it is the Russians. The Russians are shown as being extremely strong, relentless, and willing to put a man through torture to get what they want. Nevertheless, whatever the Russians do you cannot beat a man with as much physical and mental strength as Rambo. This follows a pattern throughout action films in the 1980s. One film that is suggestive of this is Rocky 4. Rocky 4 (1985) also stars Sylvester Stallone but this time he is a boxer. He is fighting against a strong Russian fighter named Ivan Drago. Drago is very tough and stands at over 6ft tall. The Russian crowd all stand behind their fighter but when the final fight is over and Rocky defeats him with all of his strength the Russians begin to show support for Rocky and boo their fighter. This is the film industrys way of evoking patriotism and the ever-growing fear of the communist regime after the Cold War. Philip L. Gianos states that; The advent of Vietnam in film provided an opportunity for filmmakers who were denied an actual shooting war: a parallel, surrogate setting in which cold war themes could be played out. (Gianos. 1998, P.159) The first response from the film industry during this time was a set of anti-communist films to respond to the changing political environment. The villains are almost always portrayed as foreign internationals such as Russian, German, and sometimes English and they are usually a communist operative. They are never American in these films because the hero is American. He is fighting for his country and if it were another American he is fighting against he is effectively fighting against America. Other action films that were released at that time include, The Terminator, Rocky, Predator, and Die Hard. Millions of people worldwide, mainly consisting of young males went to see these films at the cinema. They gave them a chance to latch on to big, muscular, violent men as cinematic heroes. (Katz, 1994, p134) These heroes gave the audience the chance to gain self-respect and security as it represented a masculinity that was unaffected by the rise of feminism. Gender roles had been reversed due to the growing rise of a feminist movement that showed women were increasingly moving into the workplace rather than staying at home. The displaying of the male physique and the physical torture it goes through to enable glory and victory over evil is further suggestive of masculinity in crisis and the gain of global respect. Women could not gain this kind of respect because they could not attain that degree of physical strength and endurance so therefore this was one thing that they couldnt take away from men. The female role in the action film of the 1980s appears at first glance to be on equal footing with the male. However, there are some differences in the ways in which they go about their missions. In Rambo: First Blood Part 2 the main female character, Co Bao, is strong, resourceful and a very capable fighter. She is Rambos contact in Vietnam and later becomes his love interest. During the film she cautions Rambo to follow his orders and when she goes to save him from the Russians in the POW camp she uses a different technique than Rambo. While Rambo attacked her captor from behind and overpowered him she sneaked into the camp as a prostitute. Therefore the issue of strength and power is present in the male character but in the female character it is more about subtlety and intelligence. Rambo is the definitive male of 80s cinema and was joined by characters such as John McLain (Die Hard) and Rocky Balboa (Rocky). In these films the main action centres around one hero and the female character is usually the love-interest or accomplice. In previous war/actions films and Vietnam films the veterans were seen as either psychopaths, such as Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver, or tragic characters, Bob Hyde in Coming Home. In the films of the 1980s, however, the hero fights back. In Rambo Part 2 Rambo can be seen as an anti-hero because of his rebellious behaviour by going against his orders to leave the POWs and by telling Murdock that he will come and get him when he gets back from the jungle. This makes his character more dangerous and exciting to the audience as you dont know what he is going to do. He has many people after him in Vietnam but he also has enemies at home. He has to deal with home-grown discrimination because of the war and in effect he is no longer fighting for his country. He is doing it for the comrades that he fought with; In these films the enemy is not the enemy in a war that is officially over but rather the civilian and military leadership that failed to win the war (Gianos. 1998, p.166) After Co Bao is killed Rambo channels his emotions into retaliation and thus becomes a fighting machine that is only out for revenge. Before she was killed he was ready to leave after finding that Murdock sent him out just to get free of him and stem reports that there were POWs still in Vietnam. The style of the film helps to build the perception that he is a god and that he is invincible. The use of lighting and camera angles are used to enhance his physique and the fast paced editing in the action shots are used to show that he is fast, strong and practical in the ways he attacks his enemies. Rambo shows us the ideal, very well-built muscular body of the white male in a place where he appears to belong. Commonly used iconography for Vietnam films included dense jungle, camouflage equipment and hi-tech weaponry. He uses the jungle to an advantage and appears to know it better than those who live there. He uses his initiative and intelligence in the jungle and is able to use it to gain the upper hand in a battle. One example of this is the scene in which he attacks a US soldier after he hides in a bank of mud with his eyes being the only thing visible. The male body in these films constructs the white man as physically superior, yet also an everyman, built to do the job of colonial world improvement (Dyer, 2002, p.269) The fact that the superior build of the heros body establishes him as an everyman means that it is something that any man can attain as long as you are white. Black men are rarely portrayed in this manner and if they are they are usually the villains of the movie and end up being defeated. In conclusion, the gender representation in the film is an effort from the United States to fulfil the growing need of remasculinizing American society, in particularly, in the dominant white majority of the working class. With the rise of feminism, fear of communism, political scandals and the Vietnam War, it became imperative for America to try and rebuild the image of men in a positive light. Rather than focusing on men as a collective these films focused on one individual and therefore a view of machismo, strength and determination became the norm. The films of the 1980s became a kind of vessel of the ideal and most of these films are still popular in todays society and may still be what some men aspire to be. If you were like these men you were considered to be manly and if you werent you were understood to be weak and not the typical American male. The male hero in these films was put there to win. America needed a hero and they found him in these films. The masculine form was in crisis and the wholesomeness and fearless heroes could make an impact on the male audience who would then seek to be like the characters they watched on screen. Bibliography Gianos P.L (1998) Politics and Politicians in American Film, London, Greenwood Press Dyer, R, (2002) The White Mans Muscles in Adams. R and Savran. D (eds) (2002) The Masculinity Studies Reader Oxford, Blackwell Publishers Jeffords S. (1989) The Remasculinization of America: Gender and the Vietnam War Indianapolis and Bloomington, Indiana University Press Kellner D. and Katz. J (1994) in Dines G and Humez J.M (eds) (1994) Gender, Race and Class in Media London, Sage Publications

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Clarification of Payscales and Regional Differences Essays -- Engineer

Clarification of Payscales and Regional Differences A world without engineering would be a world without cities, highways, cars, or industry. Engineers play a very important role in our society. They are involved in virtually all fields of industry in one way or another, and create the products and solve the problems that make it possible for everyone to enjoy the day-to-day conveniences Americans take for granted. In America, approximately 2 million people are engineers (College of Engineering, 1998). There are various fields of engineering: aerospace, agricultural, ceramic, chemical, computer, construction, electrical, industrial, mechanical, metallurgical, and civil. Civil engineers are probably the most important field of engineering to the public. Encyclopedia Americana(Okay, we are in college now--no more using the encyclopedia or the dictionary as openings or definitions. Find stronger sources.) (1998) enlightens ones' knowledge of civil engineers: Civil engineering is one of the most diverse branches of engineering. The civil engineer plans, designs, constructs and maintains a large variety of structures and facilities for public, commercial, and industrial use. These structures include residential, office, and factory buildings; highways, railroads, airports, tunnels, bridges, harbors, channels, and pipelinesÉ as well as sewage and waste disposal systems that add to our convenience and safeguard our health. (p. 762) Civil engineering has been a part of our history since the beginning of civilization. The pyramids of Egypt and the ruins of ancient Rome and Greece are classic examples of early civil engineering. Civil M.D. Morris (1974) suggested that "Civil Engineers are creators; Innovators for the commonwealth... ... The civil engineering handbook. New York: CRC Press. College of Engineering. (1998). Civil engineering. ISU college of engineering online: [http://www.eng.iastate.edu/about/info/civil.html]. Available ISU online: Directory: The atlantic monthly online: Home page: Departments. Engineering. Tell me about the college of engineering. What do engineers do? Civil engineering. Engineering Career Services. (1998). Engineering career services: [http://www.eng.iastate.edu/ecs/employers/Spring201998%20Salary.html]. Available engineering career services online: Directory: Engineering career services: Home page. Services to students. Full-time employment. bachelors. Spring 1998. Morris, M. D. (1974). Civil engineers and the world around us. New York: American Society of Civil Engineers. Petroski, Henry. (1997). Remaking the world. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. Clarification of Payscales and Regional Differences Essays -- Engineer Clarification of Payscales and Regional Differences A world without engineering would be a world without cities, highways, cars, or industry. Engineers play a very important role in our society. They are involved in virtually all fields of industry in one way or another, and create the products and solve the problems that make it possible for everyone to enjoy the day-to-day conveniences Americans take for granted. In America, approximately 2 million people are engineers (College of Engineering, 1998). There are various fields of engineering: aerospace, agricultural, ceramic, chemical, computer, construction, electrical, industrial, mechanical, metallurgical, and civil. Civil engineers are probably the most important field of engineering to the public. Encyclopedia Americana(Okay, we are in college now--no more using the encyclopedia or the dictionary as openings or definitions. Find stronger sources.) (1998) enlightens ones' knowledge of civil engineers: Civil engineering is one of the most diverse branches of engineering. The civil engineer plans, designs, constructs and maintains a large variety of structures and facilities for public, commercial, and industrial use. These structures include residential, office, and factory buildings; highways, railroads, airports, tunnels, bridges, harbors, channels, and pipelinesÉ as well as sewage and waste disposal systems that add to our convenience and safeguard our health. (p. 762) Civil engineering has been a part of our history since the beginning of civilization. The pyramids of Egypt and the ruins of ancient Rome and Greece are classic examples of early civil engineering. Civil M.D. Morris (1974) suggested that "Civil Engineers are creators; Innovators for the commonwealth... ... The civil engineering handbook. New York: CRC Press. College of Engineering. (1998). Civil engineering. ISU college of engineering online: [http://www.eng.iastate.edu/about/info/civil.html]. Available ISU online: Directory: The atlantic monthly online: Home page: Departments. Engineering. Tell me about the college of engineering. What do engineers do? Civil engineering. Engineering Career Services. (1998). Engineering career services: [http://www.eng.iastate.edu/ecs/employers/Spring201998%20Salary.html]. Available engineering career services online: Directory: Engineering career services: Home page. Services to students. Full-time employment. bachelors. Spring 1998. Morris, M. D. (1974). Civil engineers and the world around us. New York: American Society of Civil Engineers. Petroski, Henry. (1997). Remaking the world. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Things Fall Apart: Okonkwo’s Perspective

Autoimmune had been with our family for three years, so I really didn't count on things changing. When Queued told that the oracle ordered him dead I was shocked. I didn't know what to do. I thought maybe Beriberi would know what to do, but I was even more confused after leaving his compound. How could I let someone Just kill this boy who called me father, but I wasn't willing to let anyone call me a coward. So I did what had to be done, I told Autoimmune that he was going home.I knew that Autoimmune had mixed emotions about this situation, I too had mixed emotions but it was time for him to go now. I knew Known had looked up to Autoimmune, but I didn't think he would take It this hard. Although I saw nothing, I could sense that Known was very hurt by this decision, and the way he looked at my face told me that he knew what was to happen to this boy, whom he called a brother. The day that we got rid of Autoimmune was a day that I will never forget. The men all came to my compound. We were all dressed up In our finest cloths.The men brought palm-wine, which Autoimmune was to carry. We started that the journey with everyone talking to with one another. We walked and it seemed like with every step I got even more nervous. It was too late to chicken out. Everyone would think that I was a coward if Autoimmune was not killed. I was sweating just thinking about it. How was I supposed to do such a horrified act? Autoimmune was like a son to me and for me to Just all of a sudden break that bond was the hardest thing I ever had to do. But it was the only choice I had.I was not about o be ridiculed and called a coward or womanly. My father was a failure and I refuse to be one, just as he was, so I had to kill Autoimmune. When it came to the time to kill Autoimmune one of the men coughed. As soon as he did this Autoimmune was forced to look straight ahead. Autoimmune knew something was not right. The demeanor of the men had changed. Within minutes the man who coughed had s truck Autoimmune and he had fallen down. At this point I didn't know what to do but to continue. As Autoimmune called out for me, I burst through the men and killed Autoimmune.As I struck him he fell and blood ran from his body as if it were running from a water fall. I could only continue as I heard him call out â€Å"father†. Nevertheless, I was a man for doing what the oracle told me to do and for doing something for my people. I didn't realize what I had did until it was over. It was as if I as In a haze when the killing occurred. I Immediately felt guilt and remorse came over me. I couldn't believe what I had done. I had killed a child. I had killed a child who once called me father.I was sad, but I could not let this control. I had to hide my emotions and act as a man, strong, fearless and emotionless. I had to move on. Things Fall Apart: Ginkgo's Perspective By megabyte really didn't count on things changing. When Queued told that the oracle ordered him dead I was shoc ked. I didn't know what to do. I thought maybe Beriberi would know Autoimmune, but I didn't think he would take it this hard. Although I saw nothing, I loud sense that Known was very hurt by this decision, and the way he looked at my came to my compound.We were all dressed up in our finest cloths. The men brought We started that the Journey with everyone talking to with one another. We walked sweating Just thinking about it. How was I supposed to do such a horrified act? Refuse to be one, Just as he was, so I had to kill Autoimmune. Coughed had struck Autoimmune and he had fallen down. At this point I didn't know was in a haze when the killing occurred. I immediately felt guilt and remorse came I couldn't believe what I had done. I had killed a child. I had killed a child who once

Monday, January 6, 2020

Timeline of the Russian Revolution of 1905

While Russia had a revolution in 1917 (in fact two), it nearly had one in 1905. There were the same marches and vast strikes, but in 1905 the revolution was crushed in a manner that affected how things unraveled in 1917 (including a great deal of fear things would repeat and a new revolution would fail). What was the difference? World War One had not acted as a magnifying glass for problems, and the military mostly stayed loyal. January †¢ January 3-8: 120,000 workers strike in St. Petersburg; government warns against any organized marches. †¢ January 9: Bloody Sunday. 150,000 striking workers and their families march through St. Petersburg to deliver a protest to the Tsar  but are shot and ridden down on multiple occasions by the army. †¢ Reaction to the massacre spreads across neighboring regions, especially the industrial centers which experience spontaneous workers strikes. February †¢ February: The strike movement spreads down to the Caucasus. †¢ February 4: Grand-Duke Sergei Alexandrovich is killed by an SR assassin as protests grow. †¢ February 6: Notably large rural disorder, especially in Kursk. †¢ February 18: Reacting to the growing troubles, Nicholas II orders the creation of a consultative assembly to report on constitutional reform; the move is less than the revolutionaries want, but it gives them impetus. March †¢ The strike movement and unrest reaches Siberia and the Urals. April †¢ April 2: The second National Congress of Zemstvos again demands a constitutional assembly; the Union of Unions formed. May †¢ Embarrassment for the government as the Baltic Fleet is easily sunk, having spent 7 months sailing round to Japan. June †¢ June: Soldiers used against strikers in Lodz. †¢ June 18: Odessa is halted by a large strike. †¢ June 14-24: Sailors mutiny on the Battleship Potemkin. August †¢ August: Moscow holds the first Conference of the Peasants union; Nizhnii holds the First Congress of the Muslim Union, one of many groups pushing for regional - often national - autonomy. †¢ August 6: Tsar issues a manifesto on the creation of a state Duma; this plan, created by Bulygin and nicknamed the Bulygin Duma, is rejected by revolutionaries for being too weak and having a tiny electorate. †¢ August 23: Treaty of Portsmouth ends the Russo-Japanese war; Russia has been beaten by an opponent they were expected to easily defeat. September †¢ September 23: Printers strike in Moscow, the start of Russias first General Strike. October †¢ October 1905 - July 1906: The Peasant Union of the Volokolamsk District creates the independent Markovo Republic; it survives, 80 miles from Moscow, until the government crushes it in July 1906. †¢ October 6: Rail workers join the strike. †¢ October 9: As telegraph workers join the strike, Witte warns the Tsar that to save Russia he must make great reforms or impose a dictatorship. †¢ October 12: Strike action has developed into a General Strike. †¢ October 13: A council is formed to represent striking workers: the St. Petersburg Soviet of Workers Deputies; it functions as an alternative government. The Mensheviks dominate it as the Bolsheviks boycott and similar soviets are soon created in other cities. †¢ October 17: Nicholas II issues the October Manifesto, a liberal scheme proposed by Witte. It grants civil liberties, the need for Duma consent before passing laws and a widening of the Duma electorate to include all Russians; mass celebrations follow; political parties form and rebels return, but acceptance of the Manifesto pushes the liberals and socialists apart. The St. Petersburg soviet prints its first issue of the newssheet Izvestia; left and right groups clash in streetfights. †¢ October: Lvov joins the Constitutional Democrat (Kadet) party, which includes the more radical zemstvo menmen, nobles, and scholars; conservative liberals form the Octobrist Party. These are the people who have led the revolution so far. †¢ October 18: N. E. Bauman, a Bolshevik activist, is killed during a streetfight triggering a street war between the Tsar supporting right and the revolutionary left. †¢ October 19: The Council of Ministers is created, a government cabinet under Witte; leading Kadets are offered posts, but refuse. †¢ October 20: Baumans funeral is the focus of major demonstrations and violence. †¢ October 21: The General Strike is ended by the St. Petersburg Soviet. †¢ October 26-27: The Kronstadt mutiny. †¢ October 30-31: The Vladivostok Mutiny. November †¢ November 6-12: The Peasants Union holds a conference in Moscow, demanding a constituent assembly, land redistribution and political union between peasants and urban workers. †¢ November 8: The Union of Russian People is created by Dubrovin. This early fascist group aims to fight against the left and is funded by government officials. †¢ November 14: The Moscow branch of the Peasants Union is arrested by the government. †¢ November 16: Telephone/graph workers strike. †¢ November 24: Tsar introduces Provisional Rules, which at once abolish some aspects of censorship, but introduce harsher penalties for those praising criminal acts. †¢ November 26: Head of the St. Petersburg Soviet, Khrustalev-Nosar, arrested. †¢ November 27: The St. Petersburg Soviet appeals to the armed forces and elects a triumvirate to replace Nosar; it includes Trotsky. December †¢ December 3: The St. Petersburg Soviet is arrested en masse after Socialist Democrats (SD) hand out weapons. †¢ December 10-15: The Moscow Uprising, where rebels and militias try to take the city through armed struggle; it fails. No other major rebellions take place, but the Tsar and the right react: the police regime returns and the army sweeps across Russia crushing dissent. †¢ December 11: Russias urban population and workers are enfranchised by electoral changes. †¢ December: Nicholas II and his son given honorary membership of the Union of the Russian People; they accept.