Representation and textual analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Representation and textual analysis - Essay Example In fact, in contemporary studies, the ideology receives little headway in terms of historical importance. Much of the recent developments in technology and the consequent implications of mass media are credited with the invention of the celebrity culture as complemented by the metamorphosis of the public sphere, when in reality, the societies of age also exhibited the celebratory mechanisms as far back as the 18th Century. The use of the word celebrity can be traced as far back as then, finding its roots in languages other than English. Celebrite is a French iteration of the word (which when converted into English translates to either fame or celebrity) found numerous usage throughout the late 18th century (Lilti, 2008, p.55). As the usage grew, the notion of celebrity was etched in the minds of the audience as distinct from fame and reputation since the latter two were restricted to the knowledge of one’s presence amongst relatively immediate acquaintances as opposed to compl ete unknowns. Thus, the ideology is not restricted to modern times, granted the contemporary face of celebrity is much more fierce and enveloping in nature due to the presence of mass media and stardom. The growth of notoriety amongst people was only possible on a large scale with the advent of modern publishing and a rise in general literacy (Lilti, 2008). In addition, what is evident is that with each era the altering celebrity culture is reminiscent of the changing social beliefs and values. The concurrent discussion will consider the ideology of modern celebrity in conjunction with semiotics by analyzing the cover of an issue from the acclaimed fashion magazine Vogue. It will be seen that the success of a celebrity in respective audiences requires a textual analyst to address their â€Å"demographics and psychological needs and provide them with products that embody characteristics which match and meet them† (Gamson, 1994, p. 68). Semiotism Semiotism is a study of signs ( Lidov, 1999) which includes analogies, symbols, metaphoric representations etc to relate a text with an object. It is the process of deriving meaning from textual representation which could be understood by utilizing the modern version of the explanation coined by Ferdinand de Saussure. Saussure purported that signs comprised of two individual notions, the signifier which related to any representation made in any language that related to that which was signified (Lidov, 1999, p. 26). This approach was in consonance with Roland Barthes’s theory on semiotics, which also purported the use of signifiers which relate to the signified, but with the added second order sign of connotations (Redmond and Holmes, 2007). According to Barthes, the signifier denotes simple meaning with regards to that which it signifies but may also connote an ideological translation that is based on the prevalent understanding of the signifier in the particular culture (Redmond and Holmes, 2007, p. 16). F or instance, a picture of a bottle of wine for the French as the signifier in essence signified an alcoholic beverage, but for the bourgeoisie also connoted a rejuvenating and relaxing experience. This identifies that the context within which the representation is made is also of critical importance in textual represent

Investigate an aspect of Western Society Term Paper

Investigate an aspect of Western Society - Term Paper Example There is a contradiction and conflict within ‘liberalism’ between those who maintain that less government and more freedom are the correct course of action, against those who think that the government ought to play a stronger role in areas such as the enforcement of equity or affirmative action. Therefore, while Liberalism can be said to be a core value in Western Civilization, it is also responsible for some of the most deeply embedded conflicts in the West too. It will be argued that the central conflict in liberalism, is the role of the state in individuals lives. It is difficult to pinpoint an absolute juncture for the origins for liberalism. However, it can be said that the origins of liberalism are inseparable from the beginning’s of the modern form of British Parliament. By this, what is referred to is the revolution in England in the mid to late sixteen hundred’s which culminated in 1688 [Walsh, 1997: 14]. During this revolution, what was fought ove r, was the fact that there was a growing number of bourgeoisie land owners, who could not gain representation in government. In short, this rising middle class contested to the government that as significant property holders they had a significant stake in the countries politics, and as such, they argued that Parliament should represent those who were not simply aristocrat’s, but any other land owner as well [Dickerson and Flanagan, 1994, p. 94]. Thus, liberalism is coextensive with democratic politics to some extent in its origins, and further, its origins can be found within those who fought for greater representation in the British Parliament in the Seventeenth century [Goodwin, 1992, p. 41]. What is important about the origins, is that it is essentially coextensive with market capitalism itself. The central protagonists in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century of liberalism, were figures such as John Stuart Mill and Adam Smith, and further, the American Fathers of the Constitution [Garry, 1992, p. 49]. Thus, although it can be said that liberals are interested in making changes within the system, and indeed, liberals have been key in various political reforms in almost all Western nations, it can also be said that the history of liberalism is a history that has little part in any attempt to actually change the system itself -- that is, market driven capitalism. This said, more must be said about both the history of liberalism on the one hand, and the central tenets of this political philosophy, or ‘ideology’, depending on whether one agrees with liberalism or not. As mentioned in the introduction, one of the key figures of liberalism is John Stuart Mill, who was a philosopher and also the son of a philosopher named James Mill, who was also a close friend of Jeremy Bentham. Mill’s central works were On Liberty, Utilitarianism and his major treatise on Political Economy. In many respects, Mill might be argued as a good e xemplar of modern or contemporary liberalism. By this, it is implied that he was interested in the following aspects which remain as general concerns. First, he maintained a certain primacy for individual freedom, and in particular, he thought that aspects like the absolute right to free speech was an unquestionable cornerstone of liberalism. At the same time that he expressed a concern for the lack of government restraint on the individual, he was also a champion of

Examples of Discipleship Essay Example for Free

Examples of Discipleship Essay I believe that Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Christian Aid are two prime examples of discipleship in this century, Bonhoeffer as an individual and Christian Aid as an organisation. Bonhoeffer was a German preacher born in 1906 to a medical professor and his wife in Breslau, a small town. From an early age he wanted to serve God, and so he studied theology at university and taught and preached in both Germany and America. He returned to his homeland in 1933 to protest against the newly elected Nazi party, and joined the new Confessing Church, having rejected his previous Protestant church for bowing to Hitlers demands. He worked in a secret training centre for new pastors, run by the confessing church, for four years, as the Gestapo closed it down in 1937. After that, and with the signs of the oppression soon to be felt by the German people becoming clearer, Bonhoeffer took a more active role in his campaigning against the Nazis, eventually leading him to a cell in a prison and the hangmans noose in 1945. One of the main tenants of Christian discipleship is Jesus teaching on the mountain: pacifism and love for enemies. Bonhoeffer was an avid believer in these ideals, and wrote his still-relevant book, The Cost of Discipleship, based around those thoughts. He interpreted the maxim of If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also as a call for pacifism and working out disagreements by reasoning rather than force. But Bonhoeffer was forced to challenge his own morals when the news of the violent anti-Semitism ignited by Hitler spread and several of his friends joined the German resistance. Most of those opposed to the Nazis saw that the only way to end the suffering caused by Hitler was to kill him. Public meetings were banned, and the press were heavily censored. The huge propaganda departments of the government would not allow any attempt by Bonhoeffer to spread his Christian teaching. So Bonhoeffer felt that he could be quiet, and wait until the war finished, and congratulate those that ended it, or he could play an active role in a plot to kill Hitler. Firstly he helped smuggle Jews out of Germany, but was caught and forced to give up any legitimate teaching. Forsaking any hope of reaching a peaceful end to the conflict, Bonhoeffer helped the bomb plot to assassinate Hitler. When it failed he was incarcerated, and he contemplated his deviance from Christian law. Bonhoffer had to make, on his own, one of the main questions that hangs over all belief systems: Whether the moment dictates what a person should do, or if people should always keep constant what they believe in. In his case it was between fighting evil and helping those in need or staying true to his pacifist roots. He chose to take a drastic step against some of Christs teachings to implement others, leading to his arrest and execution. This inevitable question still hangs over the church, and a viable answer has yet to be suggested. Christian Aid is a charity funded by numerous churches in the UK and Ireland. Although it is funded and staffed by Christians, Christian Aid will support any people in need, regardless of religion or race, and does not attempt to convert those it helps to Christianity. Although it combats poverty and need immediately and continually in global trouble areas, it also tries too stop poverty at its root, and was a large part of the Jubilee 2000 campaign to abolish third world debt. Christian aid has interpreted Jesus teaching on Discipleship and concentrated on the aid and help parts of his teaching. It would look to examples from his life: When the sun was setting, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying hands on each one, he healed them (Luke 4:40) This sort of passage, frequent in the gospels, shows that Jesus cared greatly for the needy, rejecting the idea that they somehow deserved their punishment, and was not afraid to get dirty and ritually unclean to help. In the same way, Christian Aid was set up by Christians who do not judge those they help, and will go to any lengths to re-enact Christs good work. They also follow the teaching laid down by Jesus in his parables, such as the parable of the Good Samaritan: He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own Donkey, brought him to an Inn and took care of him. (Luke 10:34) The idea of this parable, where one man steps in where others fear to tread, inspires Christian Aid a lot, as they are physically helping the needy of the world while other members of society just stand back and watch, sometimes nodding approvingly. They see this following of Jesus as being true to one of Jesus main teachings, Love your neighbour as yourself And seek to harmonise the lot of people around the world by abolishing suffering through war, poverty and disasters. As Christian Aids motto goes; We believe in life before Death, Christian Aid is rejecting the traditional view of the churches preaching yet not acting, and are playing an active role in the reduction of suffering. They see Jesus message not just as an instruction to put up with life until you die, but also as a chance to help the needy, and prove before God their faith as Christians.

The Necessity of Violence in Native Son by Richard Wright Essay

In Native Son, Richard Wright uses characterization and symbolism to underscore his theme of how American institutionalized oppression of blacks creates human tragedy for those oppressed. Yet, the novel is not an attempt to merit our sympathy or empathy for the condition of repressed blacks, it is to illustrate how the nihilistic attitude of blacks like Bigger Thomas is the direct result of white repression of differences in non-white cultures. In other words, Bigger's only option is death because the society which has created him has given him nothing else to care about, nothing he can call his own, no chance to explore any of his potential. Thus, he turns to violence as an expression of identity which is what his reaction to reading the newspaper expresses. When he reads the article in the paper, he exclaims to his mother, "No! Jan didn't help me! He didn't have a damned thing to do with it! I - I did it!" (Wright 283). His act of violence is his only affirmation of sel f in a society that represses any other form of self-affirmation and he desperately clings to it. Even the alarm clock that rings in the beginning of the novel is a symbol. It is a symbol Wright uses as a "wake up" call to a society that remains locked in illusions regarding its creation of race relations that makes Bigger always someone who is "following a strange path in a strange land" (Wright 127). This is why Bigger's communist lawyer tells the court that Bigger is incapable of killing because he is already dead as he is forced to exist in a society that refuses him any affirmation of life. Bigger is a displaced person because the society into which he is born allows him no place. He is Ellison's "invisible man" who is destined to fall be... ... of modern American society's institutionalized oppression. WORKS CITED "Richard Wright." Chapman, R. (ed.) Black Voices. New York, Penguin Books, 1968: 113-114. "Richard Wright Biography." http://www.math.buffalo.edu/~sww/wright/wright_bio.html March 20, 1999: 1-5. "Richard Wright; Homegrown: Bigger Thomas as a Product of His Environment." http://www.loras.edu/~ENG/faculty/fretz/Page12.html March 20, 1999: 1-2. "'Without the Consolation of Tears': Richard Wright, France, and the Ambivalence of Community." Gilroy, P. (ed.) The Black Atlantic: Modernity and Double Consciousness. Mass., Harvard Univ. Press, 1993: 146-186. Wright, R. "How Bigger Was Born." Chapman, R. (ed.) Black Voices. New York, Penguin Books, 1968: 538-563. Wright, R. Native Son. New York, HarperCollins, 1993.

Issues That Plague Law Enforcement Personnel Essay

In the criminal justice career path many problems can arise. Stress from the job can create problems in the work field as well as in the personal and social areas of one’s life. Job stress can also tie into fatigue and alcohol and/or drug abuse. Fatigue gives us tired cops and tired cops can be a bad thing in the criminal justice field. Alcohol and drug abuse plagues cops everywhere. There are many suggestions for programs and treatment ideas for these problems that plague our law enforcement officers. Job stress can’t be avoided in any job field. It especially can’t be avoided in the field of law enforcement. Job stress can come from many sources. Having to exercise prudent discretion all the time, the threat of using violence and having violence used against them, and isolation from the rest of society are the major causes. It can lead to negative attitudes, burnout, loss of enthusiasm and commitment (aka cynicism), increased apathy, divorce, substance abuse and health problems, and many other social, personal, and job-related problematic behaviors. Work place support, training officers to cope with the effects of stress, stress management, and stress training are things that law enforcement are currently doing to lessen job stress. Stress training includes diet info, biofeedback, exercise, relaxation, and meditation. I believe that all law enforcement personnel should have to undergo psychological and fitness evaluations every three to six months. Fatigue is a growing problem in law enforcement today. Lengthy shifts with unpredictable hours can cause for a major loss of sleep for law enforcement personnel. It can cause officers to act inappropriately or become injured on the job. It can cause car accidents or officers to fall asleep at the wheel. It can also cause officers to miss important details of a case; sometimes a few hours of sleep can mean the difference between life and death. Administrators should pay attention to scheduling, adopt policies placing limitations on second jobs, and giving officers a voice in work-hour and shift-scheduling decisions can help lessen the fatigue problem that plague our law enforcement personnel. The sad part is that alcohol and/or drug abuse plagues law enforcement  personnel and ties in with both job stress and fatigue. They are both major contributing factors to the start of alcohol and/or drug abuse. Counseling and self-help classes can help tremendously for personnel who admit they have a problem and seek help. If law enforcement personnel were to undergo psychological and fitness evaluations every three to six months we might be able to combat these problems before they start. If measures are taken and new programs implemented for combating the issues of job stress, fatigue, and alcohol and drug abuse we can lower the health risk that these problems pose to our law enforcement personnel. Job stress, fatigue, and alcohol/drug abuse are common problems. If we make our personnel aware of these major problems they may realize they have a problem or wish to avoid these problems taking over their lives. The hope is that they come and ask for help. Administrators also need t o know how to spot a problem to get personnel help before the problem affects their lives, jobs, or anyone else’s lives.

Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Wife of Bath’s Tale - 1379 Words

â€Å"The Wife of Bath’s Tale† in The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer is a story about a widow who took a pilgrimage to the town of Canterbury with an array of dynamic characters whose diverse backgrounds allowed them to share their stories with one another to make the long journey more interesting. The widow named Alison in the The Wife of Bath’s Tale told the tale of her experiences with her five past husbands and a story about a knight and a witch. She truly believed that for a woman to have a happy life she would need to gain dominion over a man; however one could assume this was programmed into her by her influential mother and her own religious doctrines. Accordingly, Alison argued that the woman must control everything in order†¦show more content†¦By God! on earth I by his purgatory, for which I hope his soul’s in Paradise† (Chaucer, 231). The fifth marriage meant the most to her because she felt the most attraction and love for him. In order to entice him into being with her, the widow Alison offered all the property and money she possessed. Although she was twenty years older than her fifth husband the scholar, he dominated their relationship by restricting her actions and hoarding the finances, while also physically abusing her on a regular basis. The widow explains, â€Å"That, though he’d beaten me on every bone, how quickly he could win my love again! I think that I loved him the best, for he was ever chary of his love for me† (Chaucer, 232). Furthermore, the fifth husband would continuously ignored his wife in favor of books on the actions of wicked women. By the fourth and fifth husband her relationship with men had changed and she was in the place her first three husbands had been with her. In relation to the matrimonies the widow had with her previous husband’s, the tale told by her on the pilgrimage to Canterbury was about how dominance played a key role in the outcome of the Knight and a Witch. A knight in the court of King Arthur committed the unspeakable crime of the rape on an unsuspecting young maiden by the side of the road. As a punishment, KingShow MoreRelatedThe Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer Essay1115 Words   |  5 Pages The Canterbury Tales is a set of stories written by Geoffrey Chaucer in the fourteenth century. The stories were told by a group of pilgrims traveling to Canterbury Cathedral, in hopes to see a shrine of Saint Thomas Becket. To make time go by the host recommended each pilgrim tell a tale. The tale that each character gives, reveals that person’s background and life. Some pilgrims matched their stereotype of that time but most do not. The Prioress, Madame Eglentyne, and Wife of Bath, Allison, areRead MoreChaucers The Canterbury Tales1381 Words   |  6 PagesThe Canterbury Tales serves as a moral manual in the Middle Ages. In the tales, Geoffrey Chaucer portrays the problems of the society. For instance, Chaucer uses the monk and the friar in comparison to the parson to show what the ecclesiastical class are doing versus what they are supposed to be doing. In other words, it is to make people be aware of these problems. It can be inferred that the author’s main goal is for this literary work to serve as a message to the people along with changing theRead MoreCanterbury Tales Character Analysis981 Words   |  4 PagesCanterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, the reoccurring theme of social status is not blatantly obvious. Upon further reading, however, it becomes apparent that it in fact plays large role in most of the aspects of the tales. In both the Wife of Bath’s Tale and the Nun’s Priest Tale, social status plays a role in the plot, characters, and themes in order to mor e effectively portray the messages Chaucer is trying to get across. 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Through this piece of literary work, Chaucer provides powerful commentary the church, socialRead MoreWilliam Chaucer s The Wife Of Bath1347 Words   |  6 PagesBritish literature begins to introduce a new archetype for women that writers follow in stories by describing them with motherly characteristics and taboo ideas in texts, such as the epic poem, Beowulf, Geoffrey Chaucer’s â€Å"The Wife of Bath’s Prologue† and â€Å"The Wife of Bath’s Tale† in The Canterbury Tales, and the play named The Beggar’s Opera, which brings forth the idea of what is morally acceptable charac teristics for women in literature and why writers portray women as antagonist or protagonist withRead MoreThe Wife of Bath: A Literary Analysis Essay1093 Words   |  5 PagesGeoffrey Chaucer’s â€Å"The Wife of Bath’s Tale† is an important part of his most famed work, The Canterbury Tales. One of the most respected highly analyzed of all of the tales, this particular one is important both for its character development and its prevailing themes. It seamlessly integrates ideas on society at that time with strong literary development. This work stands the test of time both because of its literary qualities and because of what it can teach us about the role of women in late MedievalRead MoreThroughout History, It Has Generally Been Accepted That1327 Words   |  6 Pageswhole, a noteworthy difference in reference to other works. The first literary work that will be examined is The Wife of Bath’s Prologue, written by Geoffrey Chaucer. Throughout this work it is clear that the focus is that of the plight of a woman. The Prologue begins with the story of a woman whose name we later find out is Alisoun, before that however, she is simply referred to as the Wife. When Chaucer was planning out this particular character, he â€Å"drew upon a centuries old tradition of misogynistRead MoreThe Wife Of Bath s Prologue By Geoffrey Chaucer1324 Words   |  6 Pageswhole, a noteworthy difference in reference to other works. The first literary work that will be examined is The Wife of Bath’s Prologue, written by Geoffrey Chaucer. Throughout this work it is clear that the focus is that of the plight of a woman. The Prologue begins with the story of a woman whose name we later find out is Alisoun, before that however, she is simply referred to as the Wife. When Chaucer was planning out this particular character, he â€Å"drew upon a centuries old tradition of misogynistRead MoreSexual Relations in Wife of Bath Essay1008 Words   |  5 PagesSexual Relations in Wife of Bath Sexual relations between men and woman have created issues of life and death from the beginning of time. In most classic Western beliefs it began when Eve with the help of the Devil seduced Adam thus leading the downfall of humanity into an abyss of sin and hopelessness. This issue arises in all literature from Genesis, Chaucer and into modern day. Authors, clerks and writers of all types have aided stereotyping women throughout history and Geoffrey Chaucer is not

Essay on Aristotles Concept of Tragedy Applied to Hamlet

Aristotle’s Concept of Tragedy Applied to Hamlet Aristotle’s concept of a well written tragedy is that it is â€Å"†¦an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude, in language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament, the several kinds being found in separate parts of the play, the form of action, not of narrative, through pity and fear effecting the proper purgation of these emotions† (McManus). According to Aristotle, the plot is the â€Å"soul† of the tragedy from which the other parts such as characters, diction, thought, spectacle, and melody stem (McManus). Shakespeare skillfully applies Aristotle’s concept of tragedy, to Hamlet in various ways, dramatizing what may happen or â€Å"what is possible†¦show more content†¦(Shakespeare 1.5.40), as he realizes the deception, betrayal, and his painful present and future. This marks the beginning of the cause and effect chain that turns into catastrophe with the death of Polonius and Ophelia, w hich eventually leads to the â€Å"tying up† or the final â€Å"scene of suffering† with four dead bodies on the stage. Another anagnorisis within the plot is when Hamlet receives confirmation that what his father’s spirit told him was true as he observes his uncle’s reaction while watching a band of actors performing a crime scene similar to that of his father’s murder. This scene would not only prove to be important only to anagnorisis, but would also intensify Hamlet’s misery and further the development of his tragic flaw. Once more meeting the expectations of Aristotle’s theory of tragedy. Every Aristolian tragedy must contain â€Å"a protagonist of high estate who falls from prosperity to misery through a series of reversals and discoveries as a result of a tragic flaw† (McManus). Hamlet, the prince of Denmark, is born into nobility. This position in the social hierarchy would definitely qualify as one â€Å"of high estate.† Shakespeare also made Hamlet’s intellectual capacity apparent. Hamlet often debates many theological issues, thus revealing his superior mind and education.Show MoreRelatedOthello is Not a Tragic Hero Essay1481 Words   |  6 PagesOthello is â€Å"Why is Othello a qualification for a tragedy?† Most readers are aware of the many famous deaths or acts of death within the Shakespearean plays. And when the main characters die in Shakespeare’s plays, indeed, the readers would categorize the play as a tragedy. The problem with any tragedy definition is that most tragic plays do not define the tragedy conditions explained or outlined by Aristotle. According to Telford (1961), a tragedy is a literary work that describes the downfallRead MoreCleanth Brookss Essay Irony as a Principle of Structure9125 Words   |  37 Pagespremise here is the belief that in Marx’s theory and method the true method by which to understand society and history has finally been discovered. This method is historical through and through. It is self-evident, therefore, that it must be constantly applied to itself, and this is one of the focal points of these essays. At the same time this entails taking up a substantive position with regard to the urgent problems of the present; for accordi ng to this view of Marxist method its pre-eminent aim is knowledgeRead MoreQuestion and Correct Answer7042 Words   |  29 PagesCorrect Answer: |   Ã‚   Sanctuaries and cemeteries | | | | | ï‚ · Question 10 2 out of 2 points | | | What is the Greek concept of arà ªte?Answer | | | | | Selected Answer: |   Ã‚   Being the best one can be | Correct Answer: |   Ã‚   Being the best one can be | | | | | ï‚ · Question 11 2 out of 2 points | | | Why can Hellenistic sculpture be equated with Aristotles idea of catharsis?Answer | | | | | Selected Answer: |   Ã‚   Both aim to elicit viewer emotional response | Correct Answer: