Civil rights then and now Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Civil rights then and now - Essay Example That victory of moral persuasion by Martin Luther King, Jr was translated into the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the law that prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, or sex in employment, public accommodations, and federally funded programs. The ideals of a jaundiced Constitution have deep historic roots in the first principle of freedom the proposition, as Lincoln called it that all men are created equal, and that this equality forms the basis of inalienable individual rights. It was to vindicate this principle that Americans ratified the Thirteenth Amendment abolishing slavery, as well as the Fourteenth Amendment guaranteeing "the equal protection of the laws" to all citizens. And it was to vindicate this principle that, beginning in the 1930s, the lawyers for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund embarked upon a litigation strategy designed to end public school segregation. However, it is the principle of equal treatment under law without regard to race that for 125 years constituted the unvarying goal of antislavery crusaders and civil rights advocates. The most distinctive legal claim of the American civil rights tradition has been the principle of nondiscrimination, above all a claim for equal treatment by the government without regard to race. Despite the legal mandate of equal treatment, for the past several years many of Americas educational institutions have blatantly violated the law in the name of "affirmative action" and "diversity." In reality these terms are extremely misleading euphemisms for the practice of gross racial discrimination. In the undergraduate school, applicants for admission were simply sorted into different pools with lower admission standards if they identified themselves as African-American, Hispanic, or Native American, and higher standards if they identified themselves as white

“Romeo and Juliet” and Act 4 Scene 1 of “Much Ado About Nothing” Essay Example for Free

â€Å"Romeo and Juliet† and Act 4 Scene 1 of â€Å"Much Ado About Nothing† Essay In this essay I will focus on the relationships between father and daughter in both Romeo and Juliet and also Much Ado About Nothing. As in both RJ and Much Ado both father and daughter were in a family conflict on the same debate of romance. I will focus on the 4 different aspects on about both of these plays such as the social and historical influences on display in the scene, the cultural historical traditions, the effects of character actors and finally the layers of meaning, idea’s and themes. Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy as the two star crossed lovers die in order to for the Capulet’s and Montague’s reunite and put an end to being enemies towards each other. On the other hand Much Ado About Nothing is a romantic comedy, whilst this genre does generally contain a potentially disastrous conflict which threatens harm to the characters, the conflict is resolved by the end and all ends happily so this conflict is much more minor than the conflict in Romeo and Juliet. In both plays the girl’s conflict with their fathers comes as the central crisis point of the play Romeo and Juliet Act 3 Scene 5, Much Ado About Nothing Act 4 Scene 1. It is the key moment of crisis in each play after which they both head in very different directions. Lady Capulet proposes that her daughter has a â€Å"Careful father† which exposes things like how Lady Capulet expresses the feelings that she is supposedly to have towards her daughter and her husband. Instantly the audience senses that Lady Capulet may entirely be terrified of her husband although it isn’t actually shown in the play. Most parents ask their daughters/son to get to know the person who they could marry, however Lord Capulet demands that Juliet marries Paris and also if she disobeys her father’s orders than Lord Capulet would disown her. On the other hand Lord Capulet has gone behind his daughters wishes and consent by securing the marriage with Paris. Shakespeare doesn’t conclude this so he infests a seed into Juliet’s mind. Shakespeare does this by emphasising Lord Capulet’s reaction when Juliet disagrees to follow his rules. Juliet understands that both her parents are in this â€Å"deal† with Paris therefore this has to play in favour for her father. Juliet immediately introduces the idea that her father isn’t doing this for his daughters well being but he is only doing this for his own benefit. However â€Å"culturally† this is Lady Capulet’s job to make sure her daughter marries Paris, this is because she is the wife and also the mother of her 13 year old daughter. The audience comprehends that culturally and socially this would be outrageous for her to do so. Shakespeare cunningly makes Lady Capulet distant herself in such a way that nobody notices apart from the audience. This backs Juliet into a corner where she than decides what she has to do next. In this case she patently decides to fool everyone into thinking that she has died a horrible death.

National Identity In Chinese Cinema Film Studies Essay

National Identity In Chinese Cinema Film Studies Essay Upon studying cinematic allegory Chinese cinema helps create a national identity through reconstruction of the past. Using Deleuze`s theory of time and space in cinema the deconstruction of space and time with in Chinese cinema and the role of the imagined past create an allegorical film about national identity. Through the film `Hero` directed by Zhang Yimou I will be discussing the role of time and space through and the allegorical meaning of the films through the dissections of particular scenes mentioning cinematic techniques and what eaach scene represents. Firstly we must understand how a Chinese cinema reconstructs a sense of identity. A part from the obvious such as martial arts and traditional costumes the political, historical significance of China is very important in reconstructing the national identity. During the time of ancient China various Dynasties have taken control of China. Each ruling having different ideologies and concepts towards the nation. There were many historical moments that was perceived as inhumane or tyrant like such as the eradication of clans with different ideologies who oppose the dynasties, however in order to successfully tell a historical event and is common in Chinese cinema is to use nostalgia as the primary source to reconstruct history. Most traditional Chinese cinema retell historical events in a artistic and aesthetically pleasing manner and therefore films such as Hero can be analysed allegorically and historically in an essence of the reconstructed identity. The film Hero a Chinese film directed by Zhang Yimou produced in 2002 was an international success. The film stars Jet Li and in terms of authenticity unlike Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon which was produced by Hollywood, the directors were more careful of the language and sequences used in the film. The films main ideology or belief is peace between all factions of mainland China due to the ruling of King Qi. This clichà © use of the theme peace and resonance attributes to the whole notion of allegorical film. In doing research on King Qi and the Zhou dynasty it appears that King Qi outlawed Confucianism to maintain stability in China and killed and buried alive the scholars. This dark moment in history was not really depicted in the film and was definitely not shown in the film as a positive impact. E.g the killing of the clan that specialise in calligraphy; therefore we can get a sense that nostalgia is a strong form of the reconstructed nation. One of the reasons why Mainland Chi na has distributed historical martial arts movie is because of its political discourses that has alienated Chinese culture. Political discourse experienced by China with the Westernization of China and also influence from the Japanese may have lead to the idea of an imagined nation. These Radical political phenomena witnessed around the world may have caused the catalyst for spreading the territories to those engaged in the post colonial struggles of the era (Crofts 1988 pp 385). With the rapidly changing cultural significance and China becoming more open to the world through globalization there was not a wide variety of tradition and culture to work with due to Western and Japanese influences so ultimately China needed to observe the past embracing what Mainland China was once like. For the audience that viewed this movie the political struggles and a lack of exaggerated and artistic historical reflection does not really affect in the way of national identity due to the fact that a lthough idealized audience are able to experience the basic cultural tradition. This idea of playing with politics with in the film works as an allegory for communism and the rebellion against it. King Qi represents the ideology of communism and is very well resembled in the film. For example in the scene where he states that he will unify the character of the sword into one rather than have nineteen different characters. The film does deliver in terms of traditional practices and culture and the cinematography of the film is also a key element in representing the idea of the reconstructed nation. The traditional and rhetorical practices that have been seen throughout history books gave theories a chance to connect memories with a sense of identity (Dickinson 1997: 2). The film definitely captures the notion of memory (the historical events and retelling of the events occured) and connects it with identity (Mainland Chinese culture such as martial arts and calligraphy). With the ext ension of images and sequences of the hyper-real a sense of not being able to forget the past is heavily emphasized. Ever since the film was used as a medium to promote globalization and culture nostalgic values were needed in an attempt to break the stereotyped view of certain ethnicity and also introduce some of the traditions and lives of ancient imperial China. The director Zhang Yimou was obsessed with symmetry with in his films. The scene when Nameless goes into battle with Sky at the temple for playing chess is symmetrical in terms of the architecture. The colours were unified between the background, foreground and costumes. The calligraphy room is also symmetrical and so was the library. This obsession with symmetry and unified colours reflect the reconstructed identity of national Chinese cinema. The sense of the imagined gives the film a very artistic and beautiful personality. Deleuzes theory of the exploration of a network of time and space is evident throughout the film. When Nameless retells the epic battles with the 3 legendary warriors the first battle that Nameless retells contains the complex weaving of time and space. Throughout this scene there are many quick sword battles between Sky and the officers and also Nameless as well. The scene runs for quite some time and throughout the scene sound effects of water droplets consta ntly dropping can be heard. This water droplet sound effect is the key feature in this scene. Firstly when Sky is fighting King Qi`s officials the fast paced sword clinging sounds gives the scene a sense of speed. However by inserting the water droplet sounds constantly the films rhythm is intentionally forced back to the peaceful flowing motion. This juxtaposition of the use of sounds creates the effect of the reconstructed nation as the sense illusion and reality are connected through the droplets of water. The retelling of the story V.S the truth behind the story told. Also the water droplet sound effect acts as the deterrent to keep the real sense of time with in the film. In this scene Nameless and sky imagines their battle with their minds however the water droplet sounds connects the real time with the imagined time acting as the alarm to snap into reality again. The notion of time is explored in this film with the use of slow motion between the fights and the representation of the stories in the past. This complex layering of time with in time creates a sense of duel and parallel sequences of multiple pasts and present to move the story forward. Thus replacing the action image into optical and sound images (Deleuze, 1985 pp 7). The water droplet is there for you to notice but as subtle as the action image is being analysed by the optical. In a Deleuzian sense the theory of neo realism where the use of wires create a natural feeling movement yet defies gravity throughout the battles creates and conquers the optical space within the film and the blending of real time, slow motion and real time for the actual audience is bent into a `u` shape where the illusion seems as reality and the reality seems as the illusion. Both ending in the same conclusion where Nameless becomes the Victor. Also the singing voice in the film represents Skys defeat as the climax of the battle comes near the singing voice acts parallel with Sky as he is struck by Namelesss sword. The voice that is not built within the sound of the shot but an external sound added aafter the filming creates the unifies the film and time. This outer and inner film work is also a manipulative tool to fortell, start and end sequences. The director`s use of colours can be also noticed. During the calligraphy scene the whole scene had a theme of red. Allegorically the scene can be depicted as the last resistance from the movement of communism. The red representing the blood lost from the clan of Zhao and their calligraphy. The Chinese character representing sword is the symbol for the connection between the spirit of the eradicated clan and the swordsmanship or the fighting spirit from the warriors who attempted to protect the clan. At the end of the scene where flying snow and Moon have their battle for revenge against the murder of Broken sword the scene is shot in an area where autumn leaves were falling. This scene is a representation of the final fall and death of the clan and allegorically the resistance against communism and unification which had failed. The red emotionally representing lust and rage also tie in with the scene as betrayal and revenge is a key emotional theme explored in the scene. Flying snow murdering Broken sword for the lust that had been created between him and moon and the rage created from the death of a master. Multiple stories depicting the fall of Broken Sword and Flying snow are each represented by a different colour. The scene that is shot in white where Nameless attempts to convince the warriors to assassinate the King the colour white symbolizes the ideaology of Broken Sword. Near the end of the film Broken Sword reveals that he does not intend to kill the King but to unify the kingdoms for the greatest prosperity. Peace. Broken Sword mentions his answer to the world. `By uniting all under heaven`. The colour white is the representation of Broken Swords philosophy and ironically Broken Sword arch enemy of King Qi was the only one who understood the true intentions of King Qi. The rebellion against the communist regime has now completely disintegrated. However there is a contradiction beteween the use of symmetry and obsession with unification of the colours as it contradicts to the idea of freedom and resistance against communism. The communist ideal is to unify. Like King Qi he states that by eradicating the different characters for one word it will be much easier to comprehend. However the unification and symmetry does not connect to the idea of rebelling against communism. Perhaps this is done purposely to state that the unification process of communism has already spread and the characters involved were fighting an unwinnable battle. While in the topic of national cinema and reconstructing identity it is also interesting to note that hybrid forms of national cinema are beginning to appear in film. Although most of the films are Hollywood directed films and not classified as world cinema such as The last Samurai, Lost in Translation and Babel bring hybrid forms of national identity to the audience. These films introduce traditional and contemporary forms of culture to the audience. For example in Lost in Translation a contemporary, modern day structure where pop culture is heavily introduced such as Karaoke bars, bright neon lights at night etc. This reference to pop culture and how life in Japan is illustrated would be a more accurate form of national identity. This is because it illustrates contemporary culture and practices and the audience will gain a deeper engagement through the viewing and the practices and the display of a different culture is much more accurate unlike nostalgic films of the past. The reco nstruction of national identity is therefore a more artistic representation which means a realistic form of national identity are rather woven in through the use of cinematic allegory and cinematic techniques. These new hybrid forms of cultural diversity in film is the new era in sustaining the essence of national identity. Thus it should be stressed that since national cinema attempts to promote the culture of one nation by reconstructing it making it appealing to the audience and in doing so it deliberately hides or bends parts of historical evidence. The national discourses and history has shaped the national state into what it is and perhaps that is the main reason why national cinema has become the subject of narcissism as history hides the true self of a nation only portraying the viewers with knowledge and fragments of history as evidence. As nations tend to be ideological constructions, it leads to nations bending and erasing the history that may have a negative impact. (Hay ward 2000: 89). In conclusion the film Hero works as an allegorical film because of the political statements and issues are brought forward with the use of cinematic techniques such as colour, unification and symmetry. In a Deleusian sense the sequences of flashbacks (with different perspectives of the story) the complex layering of time to drive the sequence in a forward motion can be directly tied to the cinematic allegory as the representation of the rise of communism using different time spectrum to reveal the symbolism for communism. The two theories creates a network of complex yet unique insight into the film and therefore the film becomes a reconstructed identity.

Aspects of Marriage Present in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen :: Jane Austen Pride and Prejudice Marriage Essays

Aspects of Marriage Present in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen There are lots of aspects of marriages in Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice. There are marriages of love, convenience, physical attraction and mercenary. The marriage between Mr. Wickham and Lydia is partly due to physical attraction and mercenary. The marriage between Elizabeth ad Mr. Darcy and Jane and Mr. Bingley are due to love. The marriage between Mr. Collins and Charlotte Lucas is base on convenience. The Marriage between Mr and Mrs Bennet is also due to physical attraction. The novel was set in 1796 and was published in 1813. The England during this period of time was far more class conscious. The main characters in this novel come from a class called gentry; this is the class above the emerging professional class and below aristocracy. Class was more to do with breeding than with wealth. Rules were set for everything, rules for dressing, rules for travelling, rules or introducing yourself to others and rules for behaving. In this period of time women were not allowed to work. However they could become governesses. They could not inherit wealth from their father, and the Bennet sisters were no exception therefore Mr. Collins was their heir to Mr. Bennet’s property. The marriage between Mr. and Mrs. Bennet was based on physical attraction. You can see that they do not understand each other. There is a contrast between both of their character. Mr.Bennet is intellectual and likes to spend time reading in the library while Mrs. Bennet is loud, hasty and likes to spend her time gossiping and trying to finding husbands for her daughters. Mr. Bennet enjoys mocking his wife â€Å"†¦ I have respect for your nerves they are my old friends†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . Mr. and Mrs Bennet also have different opinions and ideas of their daughter’s future â€Å"†¦ Your mother will never see your face if you do not marry Mr. Collins, and I will never see you again if you do†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . You can tell that this is a marriage based on physical attraction because Mr. Bennet advises his daughter not to make the same mistake that he did my marring Mrs. Bennet â€Å"†¦I know that you could be neither happy nor respectable to your husband, unless you truly esteemed your husband†¦. My child, let me not have the grief of seeing you unable to respect you partner in life†¦Ã¢â‚¬  he is in a way hinting that he cannot respect his wife. Mrs. Bennet is unaware of this as she dose not know her husband very well. Mrs. Bennet’s character is very similar to the character of Lydia. Both like officers and both act loud and hastily.

Biblical and secular perspectives on the causes of dysfunctional turnover

Biblical and secular perspectives cause a dysfunctional turnover in business. A dysfunctional turn over refers to the kind of turnover where good performers leave the company. Many employees and especially high performers will leave their work or positions if their sincerely held religious believes practices and observances requested are not adhered to by the company managers. Religious observances include praying, attending worship services, displaying of religious objects wearing of religious symbols and adhering to specific dietary rules.Determining whether a kind of practices is biblical or religious does not depend on the nature of a particular activity but on the motivation of the employee. This same practice might be engaged in by one person for biblical purposes and another person for specifically secular reasons. For example an employee might observe specific dietary restrictions for religious reasons while another employee will adhere to the very same dietary restrictions j ust for secular reasons. This might call for a reasonable accommodation if it is just for religious reason.Many employees do not feel good when their secular or religious believes are assumed by their employers and they will therefore end up leaving the work place. For example according to Christianity the bible says that every seventh day is a Sabbath day and therefore every one should rest. Someof the Christian employees hold this biblical saying with a lot of regard and therefore if an employer disregards this day then they may quit their jobs for no other reasons other than that. Dysfunctional turn over is also facilitated by secular reasons.For example some of the employers will want to have increased salaries, holidays, promotions nay many other worldly things. If the employee fails to provide this then many employees will end up quitting jobs. Secular employees are very hardworking and committed to their careers and puts God aside from their job. There are various strategies for increasing the retention of high performers. One of the strategies is the hiring of the right person. This is because the correct candidates are quickly in adopting the strategy referred to as â€Å"train for skill hire for fit†.The other strategy is integration for success. This is because turnover can be brought down by the implementation of a thorough and well orientation program. The other strategy is phase training. This can be achieved if employees are provided with basic training at the outset but as the employees build time and experience with the company then further training can be offered according to the recognition of their growth. The other strategy is the provision of growth opportunities.This is because the more the employees feel that they have the ability to grow and even become more marketable then the more they are likely to stay. Nowadays employees are taking ownership of their carriers by recognizing the need to continuously upgrade and refine their skills. Employers who offer easily accessible and relevant kind of training tends to have a declined turnover. The other strategy is the alignment of aspirations with contributions. This can be achieved through the matching of interests and skills of the employees and their respective work assignments.This can be possible only if the employers provide an environment where employees have the capacity to make necessary adjustments so that they can be effectively aligned with what the company needs them to do and what they are talented and what they find to be enjoyable. The other strategy is the motivation of the troops; this can be done through the assessment of the underlying motivators for work beyond the paycheck or salary. The main factor in the motivation of employees is through the creation of the sense of affiliation within the company. This creates a two way kind of relationship based on the meeting of the mutual needs.Employees must be motivated to feel the sense of their pu rpose in the organization. The other strategy is the making of the rewards count. This strategy can be achieved through making all the employee rewards immediate, appropriate and personal. For instant employees find the receiving of a bonus check at the end of the year less or smaller compared to frequent payouts. The other strategy is the enlistment of problem solvers. This strategy can be achieved if and the employers invite the employees when solving the company problems. This is because a shared problem approach creates a deep ownership for employees in the company’s triumph.Many companies with formal retention and succession plans tend to show low costs per new hire and also lower cost of separation per employee. This helps the human resource professionals in validation the retention costsuch as expensive benefits package which are vital to successful employee retention. High performing employees are always concentration on their work if they are given proper treatment a nd this leads to increased performance at work and reduced cost of production thus resulting into increased return on investment (Gardner, 1).

Gender discrimination in society and the workplace Essay

In recent years women have been making gains toward equality in the workplace, but still there is a pay gap that separates men and women. It is interesting to note that women are consistently compensated less than men who fill similar positions. Discrimination is blamed for the salary disparities. My guess is as long as there are differences between people, there will be discrimination in one form or another. That may be only a general thought about discrimination, but men and women are always going to be different. How are we affected by such forms of gender discrimination? Well obviously those who are directly impacted negatively can feel the effects, but undoubtedly society and the economy are impacted as well. It may be difficult to determine in what ways they may be affected however. It seems that through the years, there has never been a time where women have been as well compensated as men. Just because its something we may be used to, does that mean it’s right? Some people would argue that women shouldn’t even be working as it is. Many people think that a woman’s place is in the home. Perhaps that is the ideal in many societies. It would seem beneficial to have at least one parent in the home caring for children rather than placing them into a daycare facility. Traditionally the husband has been the breadwinner of the household, but with inflation rates skyrocketing, it is increasingly necessary to send the wife off to work as well. Of course women should be treated as equals and be paid the same that a man would be if he were filling the position. One way or another this problem should take care of itself or it could be speculated that there will be an increasing amount of animosity among members of society. Long-term effects of gender discrimination are not clear, but why should we continue to place barriers between different people? The government has seemed to be cracking down on equal opportunity and anti-discrimination laws, as they should be. The United States is a place of equality and equal opportunity, and while we may be huge steps ahead of other countries, gender discrimination is still a factor that must be dealt with.