A Seprate Peace

"Hatred comes from the heart; contempt from the head; and neither feeling is quite within our control." -Arnold SchopenhauerHate is what we have in all of us; it will always be there. There is no way of taking it out of us, it is how we were created. To hate someone with a certain athletic ability or for the death of another sibling is what we have to accept. We have to go and work hard to be a gifted athlete or we must learn to get over a death in the family. To take it out over a friend or a family member can have serious side affects. Gene caused Finny to ever go into the Olympics and Conrad tried committing suicide over his brothers' death. Hate is the issue between the book A Separate Peace and the movie Ordinary People. Gene, a boy from an all boy preparatory school during World War Two hated Finny. Phineas, more often referred to as Finny, was his roommate who was good at sports and talking his way out of anything. In Ordinary People Conrad's mother hated him for death of his brother Buck. Conrad's mother favored Buck more than him. In a Separate Peace Gene hated Finny for his athletic abilities and his way to smooth talk people. Gene wanted to be Finny, "I lost part of myself to him then, and a soaring


The teacher bought it and Gene was amazed how he got out of trouble. sense of freedom revealed that this must have been my purpose from the first: to become a part of Phineas" (pg. There are times when some like you or me will hate someone for their abilities or how good they are in their academics. Conrad said because they don't communicate well. We must talk or think thoroughly on what the outcomes maybe. Then she tried to avoid getting the picture by saying, "why don't we get all three men together and I'll take the picture. To go and shake a tree limb all because we hate someone for what his or her certain abilities are, to hate a son or daughter for the death of another sibling is wrong. Conrad's mother had all of his trophies and medals that he had won still in his room after his death, when Conrad came home and saw his mother in Bucks room, he told her that he was doing good on the swimming team and as she was going into her room, Conrad said, "I got a 74 on my Trig quiz. He said, "I want to take a picture of Conny and his mother". You must accept the death and move on and help the other sibling. There always will be a dad or mother that will have a favorite son or daughter.

Analyze A Movie Using Sociological Perspectives: The Scarlet Letter

The film "The Scarlet Letter" (1995) depicts the drama of Hester Prynne, a young Puritan woman living in New England who is condemned to forever wear the label of adultery upon her clothing, in retribution for transgressing the bonds of her loveless marriage with Roger Chillingsworth. Hester Prynne commits the act with an initially unknown man, the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. At first, Dimmesdale seems like an apparently blameless member of the strict, Puritan society of early America. But Dimmesdale is just as guilty as Hester. The evident societal labeling of Prynne, which is rendered explicit by the enforced wearing of the scarlet letter upon her breast seems to reinforce the idea, as advanced by some sociologists, that a community needs to self-consciously create deviant persons or outsiders to uphold its own sense of order. Social labeling arises when a society wishes to define itself as essentially normal, upright, or moral against so-called deviant influences. By making a spectacle of Prynne, the morality of the members of the so-called perfect, ideal Puritan community is implicitly reinforced. Prynne becomes a figure who is spat upon on, openly mocked, and hated. The more other people ostracize her, the more their own


One of the foundational concepts of social labeling is that labeling is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Instead, they initially try to remove her from her mother's so-called corrupting influence at first in a misguided effort of kindness towards the child, as they think they are trying to save Pearl's soul. This meant that they created a community under strain, an artificial set of rules that were unrealistic and continually at war with natural impulses. The best and most effective prescription a sociologist would offer the community would be to change the letter of the laws and make morality a personal rather than a legal and community concern, rather than to adopt a new symbolic system regarding sexuality. It also explains Chillingsworth's hatred of his wife's potential transgressor, and his obsession with finding the man. Differential association might be another possible way of analyzing what transpires over the course of "The Scarlet Letter. " If one accepts that the treatment of Hester is criminal, in a moral if not in a strictly legal fashion, one could postulate that the elders and the common members of her society mistakenly 'learn' to construe sexuality as deviant, and treat Hester as such, not because they are lacking in desire, but because society has taught them that abstinence is the only 'correct' way of life. In other words, they do not try to continue to create another deviant example, in the form of Pearl. Labeling Hester as evil with a scarlet letter is supposed to act as a symbolic moral lesson or example to others, but Hester's personal interpretation makes this letter a badge of pride. The elders who condemn her, moreover, do not validate social labeling theory by saying that Pearl, the child, must be bad because she is the product of Hester's adultery. After all, one could argue that "The Scarlet Letter" is primarily about a culture, namely Puritan culture. Even viewed in a negative fashion, Puritan society places a high priority about being open and confessing one's sins to the community. The problem with applying social labeling theory to Prynne, however, is the idea that labeling produces, inevitably, more deviant behavior.

American Beauty - Hot Article

The movie was a satire that poked fun at our way of life. As thedivorce rate continues to creep over fifty one percent in this country, ourworld has come to accept divorce as the norm. In other words, this storydoes reflect the ordinary world. Ironically, no matter what problems maycome into our lives, we can take a little bit of time to realize life's"beauty." Our hero was able to accomplish something that very few of uswill ever able to do; the hero got to smell the roses while his peers hadto go to work which made his dieing bitter sweet. The ordinary world is where the movie begins. The hero in this moviefinds his conventional thinking and beliefs challenged. The ordinary worldsetting of the movie has our hero Lester Burnham, played by Kevin Spacey,in a funk. The first scene is a testament to his frustrations as he isrevealed in the shower masturbating and providing an explanation that thiswould be the high point of his day. The source of his frustration is madeobvious very quickly. He has a spouse and child but he has not had sex inquite a while with his wife who appears obsessed with decorating. But the appearance of their marital happiness only exposes a bigger


Ironically, nomatter what problems our lives contain, we should follow Lester's lead andrealize life's "beauty. Lester does not make it though the Threshold a secondtime. This realization propels him backinto the midlife reasoning zone by helping him understand that a youngLolita was not in fact who or what he wanted. Frnak is disgusted with a gay neighbornamed Jim, played by Scott Bakula, his wife Barbar, played Allison Janneyand his drug dealing psychotic son Ricky, played by Wes Bentley. It was when Lester was forced to cross the threshold again that thestory took a bigger twist. But,before moving on the final stage of the journey, Lester discovered aThreshold. He crossesthe threshold in his own mind. His new lifestyle provides the various tests of allies and enemies. Inthis case, the neighbor has a recent graduate from a psyche hospitalselling drugs next door to Lester. The next door neighbor confronts Lester aboutthe apparent affair with the neighbor's son but Lester does not comprehendhis imminent danger. The supreme ordeal was presented in a way to make the viewerrealize that we live in a life of illusion. The film provides the hero with plenty ofopportunities to bring himself the elixir of life but in the end he justends up dead. " Our hero was able to accomplish something thatvery few of us will ever able to do; the hero got to smell the roses whilehis peers had to go to work which made his dieing not such a bed way to goin the end. We think we want this or thatand it turns out that is not the case at all. Lester's daughter who happens to be themost lucid in the family finds happiness and beauty in the boy next doorand through his camera.

Almost Famous: Features Rock Music Culture During the Early 1970s

"Almost Famous" was a critically-acclaimed film directed by Cameron Crowe and produced in 2000. The film features rock music culture during the early 1970s and actual bands like Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath are mentioned in the film to provide context. The protagonist of the film is William (played by Patrick Fugit), a teenager who aspires to be a rock journalist. He is unusually driven for a boy his age, and follows his dream passionately. When William gets the opportunity to cover a band called Stillwater, he jumps at the opportunity. Although the film is about his budding career as a journalist, "Almost Famous" is also about the way William comes of age. He learns many of life's tough lessons while on the road with Stillwater. William falls in love with Penny Lane (Kate Hudson), who breaks his heart. William also learns how to persevere through obstacles and stick to his principles. William succeeds because of his persistence, courage, and integrity.

Instead of pandering to her fears, William continues to follow his dream. For example, he is nothing but honest with Penny Lane. William's mother, played by Frances McDormand, worries about her son continually throughout the movie because of the heavy partying and drug use that she knows surrounds rock music culture. For instance, he had the guts to stand up for himself in front of what could be an intimidating cast of characters from a rock band. He is an admirable character who is not only persistent and courageous but ethical as well. Also, William demonstrates remarkable courage when he sticks up for Penny Lane towards the end of the movie. Most of all, though, William's willingness to tour with a rock band at his age shows tremendous courage. Instead of walking away in defeat, William sticks around the side doors and sneaks into the backstage area with some groupies. Thus, William's persistence is not based on stubbornness but on courage. He hangs around the local radio station knowing that Lester Bangs will be there. Throughout all the events that transpire during the movie, William maintains his integrity. Yet his ambitions, dreams and desires do not detract from his personal integrity. He only treats Penny Lane with love and respect, showing more maturity than any of the adults he hands around with. Both in his personal life and professional life, William acts with enormous courage.

A BOUT DE SOUFFLE- AN IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS

If you thought A bout de souffle is remembered for its uniquestoryline or its powerful performances, then you are probably one of thosewho have heard about it but haven't yet seen the movie. This is because hadyou watched the movie, you would have never connected it with thetraditional ingredients of a great film. For one the film, which is known,as Breathless in English speaking world doesn't have a distinctivestoryline to begin with. But still it is one the best movies to come out of1950-60 decade and is remembered as a great milestone in the history andevolution of French cinema. Why, you may wonder' To answer that question,you really need to study the film from various different angles whiletaking into account its historical significance. Before we conduct an in-depth analysis of the film, let us firstunderstand that genre and movement that the movie belonged to. It is aromantic thriller that was made under the influence of Nouvelle Vaguemovement in France. Nouvelle Vague or the 'New Wave' movement in France wasprobably the most influential of similar movements in other parts of theworld and it affected every form of expression. But its impact was felt


This is exactly what makes these movies unique andoriginal even if the basic idea is vague or cliched. It is therefore important to read between the lines andseize the real intent of the movie by interpreting the dialogues inhistorical context. She turns to Michel and asks for his opinion. The heavyweights of film industry dismissed itas 'a too-ordinary attempt' by a 'kid' who had no idea what camerawork wasall about. Every film despite the director'saggressive jump cutting and his fascination with American cinema was infact original enough to be termed a personal statement by the filmmaker. New wave filmmakersmust be commended for their effort to bring a fresh perspective to simpleboy meet girl stories. Instead of capturing everysingle movement of his characters, he would jump from one scene to another,linking two seemingly unlinked sequences, thus urging the viewers to fillin the gaps with their own imagination. This originality emerged from a keen desire tobreak free of conventions in filmmaking and highlight the importance ofpersonal expression. The movie may have an ordinary Americanized storyline involving agangster, a less than perfect girlfriend and few cops, but it is pricelesswhere camerawork, direction and depiction through symbolism are concerned. In one scenefor example, Patricia quotes Wild Palms, "Between Grief and nothing I willtake grief". However that very 'kid', Jean Luc Goddard, turned into thegreatest directors of all time just because of this movie. f filmmaking where a group of highlycreative directors gave a new direction to the industry.

A controlled versus an uncontrolled narrative perspective Early German v. Early Russian Filmmaking

The primary difference between the early Russian films of the firsthalf of the 20th century, and those films that exemplify the artistic ethosof the German Expressionist movement is that of the significance given tonarrative and to expressing a singular and coherent ideology for theviewer. While Eisenstein's "Battleship Potemkin" has a clear narrative andideological gloss, German Expressionistic films such as "The Cabinet of Dr.Caligari" encourage viewers to accompany the director through a series ofimages that take him or her on an internal, expressive journey within himor herself, creating subjective associations within the unconscious that The way this effect is accomplished is through, in the case of Russianfilmmakers such as Eisenstein, through what is termed an "associativeprocess" of narrative interaction with the audience. In other words, thenarrative and descriptive sequences of the film are manipulated over thecourse of the film to invest particular images and aspects of the film withgreat importance. The viewer remembers these images as important narrativemarkers, and also invests such images with an associative ideological


Rather, the viewer is overwhelmed with copiousquantities of shapes, objects, and lines, but all of a similar nature, thusgiving meaning to and emphasizing an audience's response. For instance, in "Battleship Potemkin," the audience's experience ofdifferent members of the crew washing dishes, and cleaning the ship, allwith circular motions, give a sense of continual, labored business. From the verybeginning a sense of officers vs. sword iscreated, the Marxist class reading of the relationship of the individualson the Potemkin is eerily representative of the supposedly incongruousrelationship between official religious leaders and the independent Maid ofOrleans in the other film. Within the Russian cinema there is also a tendency to force theviewer's gaze upon one image, creating through this process a kind ofsocialization or impressments into a singularity of vision. This film of Eisenstein isquite linear in its story and its ideological building of action, climax,and focus. This structured also translates into the relationships of theindividuals on the ship, in terms of their class dynamic. Caligari" famously takes place subjectively within the mindof a madman, and the perspectives of the film are incongruous with theviewer's fashion of apprehending reality outside of the filmed narrative,rather than creating a seamless sense of reality. It structured around five episodes, introduced by titles: Menand Maggots, Drama on the Quarterdeck, An Appeal from the Dead, The OdessaSteps, and finally cumulating with the Meeting the Squadron. It should bestressed that this does not mean that German films are without ideologicalintent, such as "Metropolis" horrific vision of a mechanized future, andeven "Caligari," one might say, contains an ideological argument about thesubjectivity of madness and the perspective of who is sane or not sanewithin the societal construction of the madhouse versus the supposedly saneoutside world. Even when a fast-paced editing process takes the viewer fromthe apparently unrelated image of a bedroom of a pregnant woman about togive birth, to a beach, to the inside of a mine, there is a sense of anideological narrative or singular focus being imposed in this choice ofimagery, rather than the viewer being allowed to judge on his or her own. But the German cinematic eye of expressionism does notbombardment of the awareness of the viewer, creating a narrow range ofimpressions from the camera's eye as a guiding apparatus. Thecomposition of scenes and the apprehension of scenes all at once creates asingularity of emotion and intent regarding the action, as opposed to asustained scene where the viewer is able to consider the image and come tohis or her own conclusion regarding the events that are transpiring, as ina miens-en-scene or middle of the scene approach, as was to become sopopular in postmodernist and post-structuralism critiques and filmanalysis. Much as in "The Passion of Joan ofArc," where a clear ideological juxtaposition of the cross vs. Of course theoverwhelming circularity of the 'business' montages on the "Potemkin," forinstance, are not necessarily true to life, but the impressions theseimages create are an attempt at a realistic portrayal of class dynamics, asopposed to the stark surrealistic vision of expressionism in "Caligari,"which seems calculated, in its emphasis upon dreams, to dispense with aviewer's security that what he or she is witnessing is real.

A Comparative Study of John Carpenter's "The Thing" and Howard Hawks' "The Thing from Another World"

The director John Carpenter entitled his 1982 remake of Howard Hawks 1951 "The Thing from Another World" simply "The Thing." Carpenter's new, shortened title significantly eliminates the alien origin of the protean monster that terrorizes the human characters of the film. This suggests that what is so frightening about Carpenter's Thing is not that it is an alienbut that it is formless and nameless. Most horror films force the viewer to confront some concrete horror, from a thing that goes 'bump' in the night to a blood-sucking vampire. Hawks' concrete version of horror threatens truth and the American way of life by attempting to infiltrate human society. However, Carpenter's more subtle rendering of the socially destabilizing force of "The Thing" compels the viewer to confront the ultimate horror of all-namely the formless and undefined nature of his or her own identity. Hawks' Thing, in contrast, is merely a being that provides a focus of hatred for the human race to unite against and ultimately triumph.Essentially, Carpenter's creature dwells perpetually in Lacan's mirror stage of infant development, whereby the infant, in a search for a stable self in an unfamiliar world, mimics other persons. The unstable identity o


If it takes us over, then it has no more enemies, nobody left to kill it. It'll fight if it has to, but it's vulnerable out in the open. This illustrates not simply the need for men in white hats to triumph over darkness and the unknown and alien, but also the fact that these heroes represent the ultimate authority of men in white coats, or the security of scientific understanding and research combined with military prowess, both of which has the ability to provide stable and lasting answers as to what constitutes identity. Ultimately, the being from another planet is no match for the secure identities of the intrepid scientists and military leaders. The sight of a more powerful ideal always creates a sense of rage and hostility within the formless Thing, as it seeks out more powerful beings to 'become. The Thing strikes people who are alone, so when you see someone again, you cannot be sure if you are seeing the Thing or the actual person. The characters, because of this security thus get along much better in Hawks' version, seem more likeable and kind as they rally together against the extraterrestrial being from another plane. "The infant identifies with the image, which serves as a gestalt of the infant's emerging perceptions of selfhood, but because the image of a unified body does not correspond with the underdeveloped infant's physical vulnerability and weakness, this imago is established as an Ideal-I toward which the subject will perpetually strive throughout his or her life. "Trust is a tough thing to come by these days," says one of the still-human characters, the helicopter pilot MacReady, whose identity has not been subsumed by the Thing as the alien takes upon the image of every human person it kills. Hawks film suggests that a threat of destabilized identity can be easily solved. As astutely observed by another character, the creature is so horrifying, not just because of its existence but what it does to the stable homeostasis of identity and relationships that existed before the group of characters came into contact with the Thing. But if people remain together, then the question of who is the Thing now is answered. First, the Thing is uncertain as to what creatures dominate the new planet, hence it takes upon the guise of a dog, because of the dog's perceived power to attack, bite, run, and rip things apart. Alone, the question of 'who am I' in relation to a vast sea of people becomes much more challenging.