Representation Of Morocco In Western Cinema

Representation Of Morocco In Western Cinema Morocco, its people and culture, has tickled the fancy of westerners long times ago, even before the colonial era. With the western industrial revolution under the advocacy of the imperial inclination, different generations of western writers and film makers have depicted Morocco according to the colonialist requirements and desires of the moment. The Anglo-American literary and mediatic productions as a scion and legatee to the ideology of European colonies in general, turned their gazing gawk on another Arab space of North Africa, mainly Morocco. The original outset of the Anglo-American interest in Morocco can be traced through the successive genres of travel narratives, novels, essays, etc. which took Morocco as their subject of writing and setting of shooting films. Going back to some historical reviews of the literature written about the representation of Morocco in the Anglo-American cinema and literature, we find that political, economic, and religious motivations are various pretexts that legitimize the western representation of Moroccan people together with their different cultural aspects. In Belated Travelers, Ali Bahdad has shown that westerners from the early travelers to modern tourism have defined the other including Moroccan people as savages, child like, sexually thrilling, etc. From the early British literature led by Daniel Defoes Robinson Crusoe(novel film) to the American writers led by Paul Bowles The Sheltering Sky(novel film), Morocco has been presented in the western imaginary as a land of jinns, dervishes, harems, all darkly promiscuous, sly and inscrutable. The film in its turn as an extension of narratives has sustained the same discourse of novelists. Most films shot in Morocco present the Moroccan space -desert and kasbah- as a dangerous setting. Through such representations, film makers seem to seek an identity through military, economic and sexual adventures, in which the Moroccan other is continuously cast as inferior and the dark element of the night. Babel, The Sheltering Sky, Legionnaireà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦remain major films where film makers insist on the alienating forces of the Moroccan cultural threats, in which the pure nobility of the white character must defy. It is rarely that we see some fair characteristics displayed by actors, showing the real image of Moroccans. The favourable setting favoured by film makers is most of the times dirty and shabby districts. The film makers always try to find places even far and may cost them more money just to find a place that can cast Morocco as inferior and uncivilized lacking the basi c requirements of life. Traditional and orientalist writings about Morocco are indistinguishable texts and images affixed and engrafted onto the modish mode of films. From the early talkie, Morocco (1930), the classic Casablanca (1942), road comedies Road to Morocco till Five Fingers (2006), Morocco becomes a confining other space and a penal complex for the recalcitrant Anglo-American heroes. The Muslim and Arab gears of prevalently fixed stereotypes are applied likewise to portray Moroccans and supply the requisite background rapscallions, dickhead and wilful, etc. Such representations persevere to inhabit the imaginations and thoughts of the western audience largely and hardly to be changed. Edward Said has clearly identified the function of Arabs in western cinema: In the films and television the Arab is associated either with lechery or blood thirsty dishonestly. He appears as an oversexed degenerate capable (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) of cleverly devious intrigues, but essentially sadistic, treacherous, low. Slave trader, camel driver, money changer, colourful scoundrel: these are some traditional Arab roles in the cinema. (Orientalism, 286-87) Unfortunately, Morocco is geographically situated within two antagonist streams of the west as an Arab and African, uncivilized parts of the world. All types of stereotypes given to Arabs, Muslims and indigenous black Africans are also used identically to describe Moroccans. Throughout history of the Anglo-American cinema, Moroccan characters (Arab Africans) have served as the quintessential other in foreign cinema. Moroccans have been consistently represented as inferior to the west orally, intellectually, culturally and politically. In the post 9/11 world and London bombardment, where some Moroccans were found guilty and involved in terrorist acts, Moroccans are perceived as antagonistic to western values and a threat to the western stability. In Babel, the film maker clearly shots this belief to show that all Moroccans are against the American presence in Morocco including tourists who are bulleted by a small Moroccan child in the mountains. CNN reports and considers this event a terrorist attack. In this conjunction, Woll and Miller argue that the Arab image has stalked the silver screen as a metaphor for anti-western values. The movie Arabs, and the television Arabs, have appeared as lustful, criminal, and exotic villains or foils to western heroes and heroines (Ethnic and Racial Images in American Film and Television, 79). Across the films under study, Anglo-American cinematic productions seem highly obsessed by stereotypical images of Moroccans. Arabs and Africans in general and Moroccans in particular are cinematically constructed to possess a wide array of loathsome characteristics: they may be backward, wild, cruel, blood thirty, crude, sex-crazed, stupid, dishonest conniving or menacing. Year after year and decade after decade, hundreds of films have flooded the market with a large number of unfavourable Arab and African depictions. In his book, Reel bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People, Jack Shaheen has studied more than one thousand films with major Arab themes and settings, about 40 of which are about Morocco. In his latest book, just after 9/11, Guilty: Hollywoods Verdict on Arabs after 9/11, Shaheen has studied again more than one hundred films about Arabs picturing them as responsible for what is happening now around the world. Within these bundles of stereotypes, one can wonder about the reasons behind all these biased descriptions. As a response to such questions, many scholars like Churchill agree that it seems necessary to alter realities to assume the maintenance of empire (Fantasies of the Master Race, 38). Churchill goes on saying that mere conquest is never the course of empire in the achievement of mission can only be attained through the productive utilization of captured ground (34). Within the same line of thought, Pieterse writes that the legacy of several hundred years of western expansion and hegemony, manifested in racism and exotism, continues to be recycled in western cultures (White on Black: Images of Africa and Blacks in Western Popular Culture, 9). Coming to mediatic representations, we find that Brzezinki in Out of Control: Global Turmoil on the Eve of the 21st Century, Naylor in Cultural Diversity in the United States, and Shohat and Stam in Unthinking Eurocentrism all agree that Hol lywood cinema promotes Eurocentric representations in order to further an economic and political propaganda. In the present time, which is characterized by terrorism, we see that the movie discourse of the First and the Second World Wars repeats itself and continues to endorse and legitimize the imperial vision of the white mans burden. Buschbaum asserts that as early as the First World War, many western governments recognized the propaganda potential of film (Left Political Filmmaking in the West: The Interwar Years, 26), in the Second World War, in Rosss words, the movie industry and its key personal exempted from military service (Cinema and Class Conflict, 82). Many scholars like Martin, Hoberman and Shaheen claim that the best movies of the 1930s promoted colonialism, neo-colonialism and imperialism. These films include Marta Hari, Shangai Express, Tarzan the Ape Man, Flying Down to Rio, etc. During the 1950s, this imperialistic agenda was furthered in films such as those starr ing Ronald Reagan- Hong Kong, Tropic Zone, Prisoner of War- all uphold the idea of the United States domination of the third world countries and were often made with the government assistance. Passage to india: british cinema Although these biased representations within the commercial films have moderated somehow over years, we can say that the visual image of the other Arab and Moroccan in particular is still very poor. Jack Shaheen in his interesting documentary Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People (YouToub Video), explores that the 20th century witnessed a large number of films degrading and distorting the image of Arabs including Moroccans. Anglo-American film industry is now theorizing and supporting wars through different scenes that the audience seems to take for granted. Due to this grave impact that such films have on the targeted viewers, Hoberman finds it very necessary to assign these Eurocentric films a new genre called war-nography (Vulgar Modernism, 227). Many films unabashedly affirm traditional Anglo-American values and institutions and negate everything anti-western. Among these movies, we can mention Kingdom of Heaven, Black Hawk Down, True Lies, The Mummy, Raiders of the Los t Ark, The Stone Merchant, to name but a few. In my thesis, I will study and attempt to prove that the films made about Morocco: Babel, Casablanca, Hideous Kinky, Five Fingers, The Road to Morocco, A Night in Casablanca, Legionnaire, The Man Who Knew too Much, The Sheltering Sky, Our Man in Marrakesh, Man of Violence, Unveiled, and some others fit within the aforementioned category as well. In Hideous Kinky, despite some short instances where fairness manifests itself, Moroccans are targeted for stereotypical representations within British films. As Varsey succinctly states: the British influence in general, and its impact in the area of colonial relations in particular, had far reaching implications for Hollywoods depiction of ethnic difference (Foreign Parts: Hollywoods Global Distribution and the Representation of Ethnicity, 699). She concludes that Hollywoods representations of ethnic and national difference and the movies modulation of these stereotypes were informed not by the personal psychologies of individual production, but by the economic imperatives of global distribution. Shome in Race and Popular Cinema: the Rhetorical Strategies of Whiteness in the city of Joy, and Young in Fear of the dark: Race, Gender, and Sexuality in the Cinema have all concluded that racial representations within cinema exemplify how the discursive productions of whiteness is often complicit in the practices of neo-colonialism. Religious representations are equally as stereotypical as other cultural portrayals within films. According to Newcombe, film images of people associated with religion typically represent widely shared level(s) of popular cultural expressions of religious attitudes that are safe neutral, and often used because of their immediate visual qualities (Religion on Television, 33). These religious representations also serve to support neo-colonialism since they frequently ritualize the values, beliefs, in Schultzes words, and even the sensibilities of a people (Television Drama as Sacred Text, 5). Moroccan religion or Islam in general has been the victim of representations that pre-date the movies dual purposes of religious loathe and economic exploitation. In this conjunction, Rose elaborates: There are Muslims who are of different origins, while most, like the majority of Palestinians, are Arabs, the followers of Muhammed are found in parts of the world. There is the dominant religion in such non-Arab states as Bosnia, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, Malaysia, and Indonesia. (They and We: Racial and Ethnic Relations in the United States, 58) However, in the films under study, the Moroccan Muslims are often depicted as dark Arabs and nomadic heathens because black becomes the colour of the devil and demons. While watching the movies, the majority of Moroccans remain cinematically either part of the movie backdrop or totally invisible. In addition to this stereotypical account, another representative feature that portrays Moroccans in the Anglo-American cinema is that they are doubly misrepresented as Arabs and Africans. Hoberman concurs that the misrepresentation of the Other in general has achieved a state that had surely blistered the paint and the chrome of the American dream machine. Why should anyone want the facts? Shared fantasies are what hold a people together (Vulgar Modernism, 328). Within this religious representation, Moroccans could not escape the Hollywood machine through its films about Morocco, mainly The Five Fingers, which depicted Morocco as a place of terrorist groups and savage terrorists. What makes this religious representation very perilous is the audience who take things presented through the motion picture for granted may be throughout their lives. In a study conducted by Schaefer, the American sociologist, about school children who watched D.W. Griffiths Birth of a Nation, he found that watching the movie made them more favourably inclined towards blacks for five months when children were retested (Racial and Ethnic Groups, 80). So if school children could not forget the image of blacks presented in The Birth of a Nation, how adults of world audience could overlook the Moroccan image in Babel, Five Fingers, Casablanca, etc., especially if we consider that most people take images as truth based. The audience gameness to believe whatever images th ey see in the movies is clearly explained by Contreras in Practical Consideration for Living and Working in Contexts of Diversity: Most individuals are quite capable of forming opinions without adequate prior-knowledge, thus forming a prejudgement either for or against a group, idea, or person. For example, after learning about the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma, how many people immediately thought the explosion had been the work of Arab terrorists? (Cited in Naylors Cultural Diversity in the United States, 330) Similarly to what happened during the evens of Oklahoma, moviemakers have tried to instil the idea of Arab terrorism in the minds of the audience either through special effects or real military victories. Balio, Barder, Bordwell and Thompson, Shohat and Stam and Hoberman all concur that the movies have influenced virtually every human activity, from politics and warfare to sexual behaviour and dreaming. It is true that after the events of 9/11 for example, the movies have turned Americans as Hoberman notes into Bob Hoskins in Toontown, real people wandering around delirious mental landscape of special effects, feel good fantasies, and militaristic spectacles (Vulgar Modernism, 334). Method This thesis is a cultural studies-based inquiry into the politics of Moroccan representation in the Anglo-American movies and the role they play in deepening the abhorrence and misperception of Moroccan cultural aspects by the west. This thesis will also re-articulate a way of understanding the links between the representations of Moroccans in the Anglo-American films and the unleashing of violence and insolence towards Moroccans and Arabs in general. The primary research questions guiding my research are: In what ways have Moroccans and Moroccan land been represented in the Anglo-American movies? Is it possible to describe a new specifically Anglo-American form of Orientalism that is distinct from old European forms? How is the identity of Moroccans articulated in opposition to an Anglo-American identity? To investigate these questions, the thesis relies on a range of data sources: primary and secondary analysis of films, scholarly books and articles, reviews of films, etc. that can help to contribute to a better understanding of how cultural domination can work upon the minds and practices of filmmakers to act around the Moroccan character in a large sample of movies. To decode the movies messages, I find myself in a situation where every component in the film must be analysed critically as Martin says in his book, Hollywoods Movie Commandments the critic must consider both the way in which the action is portrayed and the effect on the audience (91). Plot, character, theme, point of view, and setting are all typical areas upon which analysis should concentrate. Because of the films peculiar visual qualities, each of these areas takes on additional dimensions. Character, for example, is not only written into the screenplay, but also interpreted and portrayed by the actor. Even more im portantly, many of these traditional elements of narration are staged through mise-en-scene. When the action is being filmed, the shot, speed of motion, tonality, sound and special effects become also important interpretive factors within a film since cultural representations within a film can be depicted or influenced through these elements. In this research, I will shell out more concentration to issues raised in the different films and to what they say about Moroccan society and its values. The research relies on cultural studies and the postcolonial theory as its main theoretical and methodological approaches to interpret and analyse the selected films. I will make use of the literary critique of the elements of narration together with the ways in which these elements are portrayed visually. I will use the elements of narration as a guide to discuss the cultural representations across the scenes. Through the postcolonial theory, I aim at re-examining the Moroccan reality with the process of redefining Moroccan identity presented in the Anglo-American cinema. Thus the Moroccan voice will be raised with the promise of giving optimism to the silenced Moroccans in the films. Three native Moroccan movies will be employed in this research as a postcolonial means to describe people, things and values that live or relate to the geographical locations of the Moroccan society. These films are: M. Abdderrahman Tazis Badis, Farida Belyazids A Door to the Sky (Une Port sure le Ciel) and Laila El Marrakshis Maroock. Through Moroccan third cinema, Moroccan filmmakers led by Abderrahman Tazi define themselves and participate in the discursive processes that rule their destiny. It is true that A. Tazi remains the leader of the third cinema in Morocco which is manifested in his films Badis, Looking for my Wifes Husband, Lalla Hobby, etc. in these films, he tries to avoid shooting scenes that seem a kind of fetish for the west (cited in Beyond Casablanca, 66). A. Tazis wakefulness of the subjective representations of western movies is developed during his work with Anglo-American filmmakers who came to make films in Morocco. In his interview with the American anthropol ogist, Kivin Dwyer, A. Tazi recounts one of the bad experiences that demeans his pride as a Moroccan working with a Hollywood film maker John Derick while filming Bolero (1984). John Derick says to A. Tazi while facing a problem in one of the shots: what the hell am I doing here in this country? Why didnt I go to Israel, where people are more civilized, where people are less like-savages (Beyond Casablanca, 44). It is hoped that the postcolonial approach which allows for and respects different narrative voices will provide an apt method for looking at the different histories and values reflected in selected Anglophone movies. It is also my hope that the postcolonial method will enhance an understanding of different approaches used by various filmmakers as they attempt to disengage the Moroccan identity from the imperial syndrome. Rationale for the corpus The studies of the history, criticism and analysis of these films about Moroccan people and culture are significant in many ways. These films are sampled across the British and American film productions. The selection of the films is based on certain criteria. Since Im dealing with the representation of Moroccan identity in the Anglo-American cinema, I tried to choose only films that have been shot in Morocco and taking Moroccan culture as the main theme. The films are also selected according to the messages they transmit to the audience about the Moroccan religion, politics, culture, space, geography, women, traditions, etc. in Babel, for example, we see the filmmakers representing Morocco in unfair way; we see very old women in black smoking, even young children attacking American tourist- an action which seems to present that all Moroccans young or old hate the American people. In the same movie, we notice again the same old story of sexuality reiterated in the acts of presenting the Moroccan characters sexually thirsty even to their brothers and sisters. In the Sheltering Sky and Hideous Kinky, again, we see stealthy figures appear and disappear without intimating whence they come, nor where they go. These figures seem wearing turbans as big domes standing in shadows waiting to mug a western passer-by. In this film, we also see presentations of the Moroccan Kasbah as a labyrinth where western people are doomed to death. In Five Fingers, Islam, main religion in Morocco is associated with terrorism and denunciation of western spectrum. Legionnaire is the film where Moroccan space is divided into two: a dangerous desert from which no western visitor can escape, and whore streets for sexual pleasure for soldiers. All the films selected for this study are those that narrate Moroccan experience from an imperial eye. This presentation of course affects the Moroccan individual and society. The films continuous impact on identity and culture leads us to study some indigenous films productions shot by Moroccan film makers. The Moroccan films would serve a counter discourse to question and rectify the ideological representations imposed by outside cinematic productions.

The Characteristics of a Sandy Shore at Pallarenda Beach, Townsville, North Queensland :: essays research papers fc

The characteristics of a sandy shore at Pallarenda beach, Townsville, North Queensland. Introduction: The sandy shores of beaches can be considered as a very harsh environment to live in (Ted Klenk, 1999). Survival in such a habitat requires an organism to withstand strong wave and current action, tidal rise and fall, unstable substrate, heavy predation and wide variations in salinity and temperature (The Otter Island Project). Any organism found in this type of harsh environment is specialized and highly adapted (The Otter Island Project). Fine, sandy beaches often occur in areas with light wave action (California's Ocean Resources, 1995). While a more coarse sand is found with heavy wave action (California's Ocean Resources, 1995). The slope gradient of a beach also helps determine the grain size of the sediment (Bascom, 1959). The steeper a beach is, the larger the sand particles (Ted Klenk, 1999). The water retention of coarse sand is quite low allowing temperatures to rise easily at low tide (MB2050 lecture notes). Any organisms on a coarse particle beach will not only have to deal with the very unstable substrate but also the real danger of desiccation (MB2050 lecture notes). Fine sediment areas do not have much water moving through the particles (MB2050 lecture notes). Therefore any oxygen available is used up quickly by burrowing organisms (MB2050 lecture notes). There comes a point beneath the substrate where there is insufficient oxygen for organisms to respire, this is called the anoxic layer (MB2050 lecture notes). The anoxic layer is therefore much deeper under coarse sediments then fine (MB2050 lecture notes). The fish community of a surf zone is largely controlled by three factors (Robertson & Lenanton, 1984). The form of primary production input to the surf zone, the water movement pattern, and the geomorphology of the sandy beach (Robertson & Lenanton, 1984). Fish such as anchovies, herrings and mullets often inhabits surf zones around the world (The Otter Island Project). The aims of this experiment were to examine physical features and sediment-related characteristics of Pallarenda beach and the influence of these characteristics on the occurrence and distribution of the intertidal taxa. This experiment also aimed to describe the fauna in the surf zone region of Pallarenda beach. Materials and Methods: The beach studied during this experiment was Pallarenda Beach just North of the city of Townsville in North Queensland. The co-ordinates of the location were 19o11.8’S, 146o46.6’E. The beach experiences a tropical climate, the experiment was carried out on the 4th of March in the year 2000 after much rainfall.

Homestead Act Essay example -- essays research papers fc

I THESIS STATEMENT   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Homestead Act of 1862 made surveyed lands obtainable to homesteaders. The act stated that men and women over the age of 21, unmarried women who were head of households and married men under the age of 21, who did not own over 160 acres of land anywhere, were citizens or intended on becoming citizens of the United States, were eligible to homestead. This paper will show how the Homestead Act came to be enacted, who the homesteaders were and the effects of the Homestead Act on the pioneers. II WHAT EVENTS LEAD TO THE HOMESTEAD ACT? The distribution of Government lands had been an issue since the Revolutionary War. Early methods for allocating unsettled land outside the original 13 colonies were chaotic. Boundaries were established by stepping off plots from geographical landmarks. As a result, overlapping claims and border disputes were common. The Land Ordinance of 1785 finally implemented a standardized system of Federal land surveys that eased boundary conflicts. Territories were divided into a 6-mile square called a township prior to settlement. The township was divided into 36 sections, each measuring 1 square mile or 640 acres each. Sale of public land was viewed as a means to generate revenue for the Government rather than as a way to encourage settlement. Initially, an individual was required to purchase a full section of land at the cost of $1 per acre for 640 acres. The investment needed to purchase these large plots and the massive amount of physical labor required to clear the land for agriculture w ere often insurmountable obstacles. According to all available indexes of growth, the United States grew enormously between 1840 and 1860. The continental limits of the nation were reached, with the exception of Alaska, by 1854 through the acquisition of the Mexican Cession territory and the Gadsden Purchase. The population continued its upward spiral, moving from slightly over seventeen million in 1840 to over thirty-eight million in 1860. New canals, steamboats, turnpikes, and railroads knit the nation together into an integrated economic unit. Hundred of thousands of people crossed the Atlantic to take up residence in the dynamic nation, while other hundreds of thousands moved into the Western regions of the country.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Legislative efforts to improve homest... ..., September 8). New Homestead Act would help rural America. Grand Forks Herald. Potter, L. A. (1999). The Homestead Act of 1862. Cobblestone, 20(2), 4. Red River Valley Genealogical Society (n.d.). Time passages, genealogy of the Dakotas. Retrieved from, Web site: http://www.fargodigital.com Schaetzl, R. J. (n.d.). Settlement of the new frontier: The Homestead Act of 1862. Retrieved from Michigan State University, GEO333: Geography of Michigan and the Great Lakes Region Web site: http://www.geo.msu.edu/geo333/ South Dakota Department of Tourism and State Development (n.d.). Prairie Pioneers. Retrieved from South Dakota Department of Tourism Media, Web site: http://www.mediasd.com/ facts/pioneers.asp US Department of Education ERIC (2003, January 14). The Homestead Act of 1862. Retrieved from US National Archives & Records Administration Web site: http://www.archives.gov/ digital_classroom/lessons/homestead_act_1862/homestead_act.html U.S. National Archives & Records Administration (1995, 1998). Homestead Act (1862). Retrieved from Teaching with Documents: Using Primary Sources From the National Archives Web site: http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?doc=31

A Person Who Made an Impact on My Life

Dominique Eley 11/1/12 Ms. Conway It was late July, the summer of 2006 to be exact. I was in Chicago spending the summer with my father at his new house. My mother called my dad and me and said I was going to be a big sister. I was only in the 6th grade, but I knew I was going to have to be more responsible and mature. I did not know whether I was going to have a little sister or brother. I was so excited I couldn’t wait to get back home to see my new sibling. I was finally older than someone in my family and could actually be the boss of them.When I found out it was a boy I was so excited, I had so many dreams and a planned out future for him as soon as I laid my eyes on him. He was so tiny with dark brown skin, silky black hair, brown eyes, and dimples. His name was DeBron Samuel Eley. As he grew older I noticed that he had an old man personality and was very wise. He was becoming a mini me, he did everything I did and followed me everywhere I went. I realized that I needed to change my behavior and the things I did because I knew that he wanted to be just like me, and I did not want him to grow up and make bad decisions like I did.I treated my little brother like my son; anytime I bought myself something I would buy him something as well. This little boy really made me turn all my negatives into positives and get more active into school and be a better person. I was on the basketball team in the fall and during the spring I was on the baseball team. DeBron had become my pride; I was more motivated in school and made the honor roll all four quarters in middle school, because I knew that my hard work would inspire him. Fall 2012 he started Kindergarten.The first thing he said when he walked into his class was â€Å"I’m going to be the star student like my big sister. † I knew he would make me proud due to all the dedication and hard work I put into him and myself just for him to grow to be a better person than I am. Every day he would come home with stars and 100’s on his homework and classwork, right along with a good phone call home and a story about how he helped someone in class today. He had a high self-esteem level and didn’t let his pride get in the way of anything.His first year of kindergarten was my senior year of high school, so we both were graduating in June 2012. This little boy made an impact on my life because I would hate to lose another one of my brothers to the streets. He made me look at life from a different perspective and I got to see the brighter side of more things. When I moved away to start my college life he automatically wanted to come to college and that’s what my future goals are for him. Not a lot of people plan to go to college in first grade Someday when I have a son; I’m going to raise him the same way I did my little brother.

History Since 1500 Essay

Modern history began in the end of the 15th century, which witnessed the beginning of Reformation and the discovery of the new continent. In the following five centuries, many historic events (such as the two world wars and the cold war) have fundamentally changed our world in the fields of politics, economics, and culture. Political Systems in Europe after the Thirty Years’ War The Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) refers to a series of wars intermittently fought chiefly between the Roman Empire and the Protestant principalities with which French allied. Theses wars were fought for religious, territorial, dynastic, and commercial reasons (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2009). After the Thirty Years War ended with the Peace of Westphalia, European states were divided into different political regimes. For the five most important ones, Spain, Portugal and France remained absolute monarchies, while Holland and England became a republic and a constitutional monarchy respectively. The political differences significantly affected these countries’ performance. While being the first European counties to start colonial enterprises, Spain and Portugal’ rejection of new ideologies and new political thinking rendered them weaker day by day. There is no doubt that ideological change plays an important role in political change. That is to say, the Reformation made those Protestant states much easier to adopt more democratic political forms: a republic or a constitutional monarchy. It is worth noting that the defeat of the Spanish Armada happened in 1588, almost three decades before the start of the Thirty Years’ War. It is safe to say that Protestantism was one factor that brought Capitalism, which requires a more democratic political system. Among the five nations, only the Dutch Republic was as enlightened and democratic as England, and even more so at times. For instance, the Pilgrim Fathers took refugee in Holland before settling in the Plymouth colony. For another, the constitutional monarchy in England was made possible by the Dutch invasion during the Glorious Revolution. However, the Dutch Republic was too small to be a colonial superpower for a long time. The lack of manpower and resources led to Dutch defeats in the four Anglo-Dutch wars, and â€Å"when the last war ended in May 1784, the Dutch were at the nadir of their power and prestige† (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2009, par. 4). In sharp contrast with the Dutch Republic, the French Bourbon Monarchy was then a much larger country than England and the most powerful European state in the early 18th century. However, its backward political system made it unfit for the global competition with Britain. After defeating France in the Seven Years’ War (1756–1763), England became both the dominant power in North America and the global superpower in addition to the naval supremacy it had maintained since 1590s. The Causes of World War One Before the First World War, a great many wars had been fought in Europe for various reasons: such as the thirty years’ war, the Anglo-Dutch wars, the Anglo-French wars, and the Napoleonic wars. Of the wars mentioned above, some were fought on a big scale. For instance, the Seven Years’ War between Britain and France were fought both in Europe and in American colonies, bearing some resemblance to the First World War. However, we can not deny that World War One was far more catastrophic than any previous war. Thus, what was it about the modern world that caused such a catastrophe, and let people doubt the virtues of progress in its aftermath? The immediate cause of the Great War was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria on 28 June 1914 by a Serbian nationalist. However, the incident itself was not worth a total war; there were other deep-rooted reasons. Undoubtedly, national state (nationalism) was one of the main causes. Since 1850s, a number of national states, such as Germany, Italy, and Japan, arose from across the globe, trying to unify and centralize their nations. There were also some failed attempts, such as the Hungarian Revolution (1848) and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom (1851-1864) in China, both struggling for national independence from their foreign rulers. However, these nationalist movements were quite problematic and troublesome themselves. First, these nations intended to build up unified and centralized states for themselves, but denied equal rights to ethnic minorities within their boundaries. For example, while unifying German states in central Europe, Prussia never considered the self-determination of the Polish population. Second, during the unification, these national states failed to solve territorial disputes with their neighbors peacefully. For instance, territorial disputes over Alsace and Lorraine were one of the main causes of the Prussian French war, which started the lasting hostility between Germany and France until the end of the World War Two. Moreover, because modern national states were more centralized and got more so during the war period, World War One became both the first â€Å"total war† and the first â€Å"war of attrition†. In addition to national states (nationalism), interdependence and modernization also played a role in causing this catastrophe. Machine gun and trench were two embodiments of the First World War. Machine gun and heavy artillery made the army a much more efficient killing machine; the well fortified trenches let the massacre on the western front continue for over four years. New technologies can also shorten the war and thus reduce the casualties, such as the German blitzkrieg on the western front in World War Two. But in World War One, they only greatly prolonged the stalemate. European industrialization and commercialization in the 19th century made them more dependent on each other and on oversea colonies: they needed raw material, market, and capital from outside their own territories. Therefore, each country paid more attention to alliance and navy to protect their market, resources, and trade routes. The diplomatic maneuverings and the naval competitions obviously heightened the tensions between individual states and between deferent blocs. The Cold War After World War One, the Soviet Union and the United States were two superpowers along with Britain, France, Germany, and Japan. However, the Soviet Union and the U. S. had larger territories and populations than other nations. After the Second World War, the defeated Germany and Japan lost all their colonies, so did Britain and France in a much longer period. As a result, Russia and America became the only two post-war superpowers—Japan and Germany were no longer military powers while Britain and France were too small to qualify. It was this bipolar state made the cold war possible: the two superpowers could incorporate smaller nations into their camps to fight a long lasting war of ideology, politics, and economics. The cold war era refers to an unpleasant yet less painful and bloody period compared to the two world wars. Yet, this definition was from the two opposing military groups’ (NATO and WARSO pact countries) standpoint; for those former colonies (quasi-colonies), this view can not be farther from the truth. During the cold war, NATO and the WAWSOW did not confront each other in order to avoid a nuclear war, which could annihilate both the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. Yet, the collapse of the colonial system offered them a distant and relatively safe battlefield—the newly independent former colonies (quasi-colonies). Conflicts there had made the cold war nastier, bloodier, and more suffering. For many third world countries, the cold war era is the most painful period in modern history as they served as pawns in the ideological war between Russia and US. In the cold war era, the two biggest wars were fought in Korea and Vietnam; Cambodia saw the biggest massacre after World War Two; China experienced the greatest famine (1959-1961) in human history and the Cultural Revolution almost wiped out this 5,000 years old civilization. However, these events themselves did not decide the course of the cold war. The communists fought to stalemate in Korea, won the Vietnam War. However, several months after Chinese communists crushed peaceful protesting students and civilians with tanks and armed vehicles and firmly controlled the situation, communist regimes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe quickly collapsed. Since 1500, human being has made breath-taking progress in government, technology, business, education, health care, etc; it has also suffered a great deal from wars, national rivalries, epidemics, environmental damages, natural disasters, and all kinds of discriminations while living standards have been steadily improving. Since technology and productivity can be double-edged swords, it is urgent for the current generation to learn the lessons from the past five centuries.

The power of an advertisement

The power of an advertisement lies on its ability to provoke interest from its audience. The moment the audience sees the ad, it should have the capability to lure its audience into becoming its willing consumers and this charm must be strong enough to create a loyal market. Nowadays, however, this has become increasingly difficult to do. With the consumers getting wiser and more critical of what they perceive in society and the environment, advertisers must create more innovative ways to reach them.Advertisements today need a more global reach in such a way that they have to touch every aspect of daily life making new forms of address more essential. The ad by the clothing company Diesel cleverly attains this. At first glance, it immediately demands the attention of the consumer. The mere idea of a young man kneeling to pray evokes a sense of conscious reflection. In a world where everything seems to point to materiality and gratification of worldly desires, it is an ingenious idea to use faith to capture attention.The young man, in casual Italian Diesel jeans and shirt having that look on his face indicating that of an intent plea, creatively portrays a notion of spirituality or probably the ironic lack of it. It appeals to its audience and highlights the role that faith play in society; its importance and meaning. At closer look, the man is apparently praying while on the treadmill. This adds to the intrigue because it symbolizes the culture of the youth and society in general. The words â€Å"live fast† on the bottom, with text effects and all, enhances the appeal of a fast paced world.The fact that the man wears a watch also assumes the idea of a society where time is important and critical use of it must be employed. The identity that the ad has established is easily assumed and related. Combined together, the ad exploits the irony between the fast moving lifestyle of people and the slow realm of reflection and prayer. It is rather difficult to rec oncile engaged prayer into a world that essentially inhibits it. With a lifestyle that seems to promote only stop and go, as to be seen carefully from the â€Å"pray runner† treadmill, the option of pausing for a moment in prayer and faith is unlikely.This striking image attempts to stand out among all the confusion that advertisements bring, and it succeeds. Jacobson et al discusses that most often, â€Å"ads speak directly to our innermost, unarticulated needs, proffering ineffective palliatives for real social and personal problems† (Jacobson et al, 1995). Ads may turn out to be ineffective solutions for real problems but the idea behind it is to create an avenue for deep thought and contemplation, a mode to capture the consumers’ inner reflections and influence and direct them towards the brand. In this the Diesel ad does well.The idea implied in the ad may be seen as to provide a social criticism while introducing a lifestyle geared towards consumerism. The idea commercial appeal and introduction of conflict creates a space for difference and being able to make the two meet means being able to conquer more diverse markets. As Giroux points out, those that shock people have become the most effective means of getting to the consumers. (Giroux, 1994) Moreover, as the ad is intended to promote to consumers its online stores; it effectively relays that fast lifestyles need fast ways of consuming.Thus, through the internet, Diesel provides the conveniences of â€Å"high speed shopping†. It works effectively as a target specific ad but it may be seen as an ad aimed for the general public as well. The impact that it implies and associates with the brand will linger on in the minds of its consumers, and it would not matter whether they purchase online or at the stores. The ad inculcates the idea of living fast on its audiences and thus the modern lifestyle of people today is held in close association to the brand.The ad strives to creat e a sense of relation, a connection to the modern consumers and it reinforces the idea that advertising ingratiates itself to the daily functions of modern life. (Vanderbilt, 1997) In all, the Diesel ad employs an ingenious way to address the consumers’ search for the meaning of public truths. It effectively captures the attention of its audience by creating an image directly intended to evoke human feelings of morals and principles.The ad uses irony to question society and the lifestyle that people currently have. It reminds people of their faith, values and inclinations but does so in a way that is not negative and condemning. At the same time it suggests a solution geared towards complimenting the fast paced world of society, successfully creating an impact for the Diesel brand. The ad becomes a powerful tool for Diesel to connect to its consumers and instill on them an enduring influence that would last even if the ad’s idea of prayer and faith had not.

How to Reduce Cars Number On Campus Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

How to Reduce Cars Number On Campus - Case Study Example Transportation emissions accounts for about 10% of the total emissions generated on campus and this emission have contributed to environmental problems. The significant aspect for campus is to reduce its own impact on the environment; thus the most fundamental contribution of campus is to contribute to the wellbeing of the society. The aim of this recommendation is to provide sustainable ways of reducing transportation emissions through reducing car numbers on campus in order to achieve sustainability in campus. Q. 1 The low parking fees at campus have been one of the primary issues for increased cars at campus. The current parking fee, which is too low almost offer many people the incentives to drive their cars to campus. The low parking fees has become one of the causes for increased cars on campus and this is one of the main causes for increased greenhouse gas emissions resulting from single occupant vehicles (Martin and Samels, 2012). Another issue is poor bus services, which is complicated; thereby contributing to increased cars on campus. The process of obtaining carpool passes has conventionally been complicated and this allows single car users to continue using single occupant vehicles on campus. ... However, this requires better planning and community design in a manner that can enable people to make effective transportation choices since poor choices have profound effects on sustainability. Martin and Samuels (2012) argue that each travel option is associated with environmental impacts; thus making effective travel choices can contribute to sustainable transportation. Employing sustainable transportation means is vital because sustainability is associated with meeting the present needs of people without compromising with their future needs (Makower and Pike, 2009).The efficient transportation modes can be described using transportation hierarchy and this hierarchy attempts to illustrate that sustainable transportation is the one that have a low impact on environment such as walking and cycling. This transportation mode requires little equipment; thus they have a less impact on environment. Q.3 Wilkin can strategically adjustment parking prices such as raising the parking fee in order to discourage single car users to campus; thereby reducing cars on campus. Successful management programs of incorporating incentives for commuters to switch from the use of single occupant vehicles require effective and strict formulation of policies at campus. For instance, organizing staff meeting and bringing the issue of raising parking fee with an aim of reducing single occupant vehicles in campus is vital. Although achieve this strategy is not an easy task, there is a need to offer car park permits, which can either be paid through lump sum payment or salary sacrifice scheme through monthly salary deduction. There is scientific consensus that human caused carbon dioxide emissions are