Category: Art

Introduction

Rene Magritte’s paintings are profound and breathtaking. In the paintings, emotional feelings come out in an explicit manner. On the same, there is the use of irony, wit, and intelligence to put points across. The artworks, together with their titles, bring out the intended message clearly.

Most of the artworks are ideas from the experiences that Magritte had during his life. The experiences include the death of Magritte’s mother, the World War I and II, and the post war period.

In addition, the marriage experiences with Georgette and the attachment with a surrealist influenced his paintings. This research paper consists of Magritte’s background, artworks, ideas behind the artwork, and the way they relate with people’s lives in contemporary times.

Rene Magritte Background

Rene Magritte was “born in Lessines, in the province of Hairnut, in Belgium, in 1898” (Calvocoressi, 1990, p.6). He was a surrealist artist, and well known for his provocative paintings. He began his practical lessons of drawing in 1910 (Calvocoressi, 1990, p. 117).

Later, on 12 March 1912, his mother committed suicide and her body was found along the river bank. The face of the corpse was covered with a cloth, and other parts were not clothed (Spitz, 1994, p. 29). This influenced Magritte’s works such that, most of his works were faces covered by clothes and female naked bodies lying on the ground.

His earlier oil paintings were impressionist, in style, and most of them were finished in the year 1915. Between 1916 and 1918, he joined Academic Royale dex Beaux-arts, in Brussels. He found the studies uninspiring and thus he quit.

The works “that he produced between the years 1918 and1924 were influenced by futurism and offshoot of cubism, which was practiced by Metzinger” (Sylvester, 1992, p. 235).

In 1922, Rene married “Geogretta Berger whom they met when he was a child” (West, 1996, p. 103). Between 1922 and1923, he worked as a draughtsman and a designer of posters and advertisements. Later, in the year 1926, he released his first surreal oil paintings, “the Lost Jockey” (West, 1996, p. 103).

After his first exhibition, in Brussels, people criticized him together with his works, and full of frustration, he moved to Paris where he joined a surrealist group.

Even after Germany invading Belgium, during the World War II, Magritte remained in Brussels. Consequently, he had a feeling of discrimination and alienation, which made him have colorful painterly style.

Later in the year 1946, “he renounced his early work of violence and pessimism, and joined other Belgian artist to sign the Surrealist manifesto” (Meuris, 1991, p. 27).

In the period between 1947 and1948, he did his paintings in provocative, crude, and Fauve style. During this period, Magritte earned his living by the production of fake Picassos and notes during the post war period.

His works were exhibited in the USA, in 1936, which was followed by other exhibition, in 1965 and 1992, which were in the Museum of Modern Art, and Metropolitan Museum of art, respectively (Sylvester, 1992, p.107).

Unfortunately, Rene Magritte suffered from pancreatic cancer and passed on, in august 1957. His body was entombed in Schaerbeek Cemetery, Brussels.

Rene Magritte Artwork

As aforementioned, Rene Magritte followed surrealist standards, which made his paintings have unrealistic objects that provoked the thoughts of the viewer to the extent of questioning them. The paintings had familiar physical appearance of real objects. On the same, they had other factors that are taken for granted, which include scale, gravity, and relationship of inside out.

In his earliest work of “La trahison des images” (The Treachery of Images), in of 1929, it is unique in the sense that, it meddles with other factors of the paintings like space and scale, but the painting remain normal. A pipe seems to be suspended on the space, yet it has features of a world object.

There is also some “shade on the pipe, which the viewer could intuitively question the source of its light” (Calvocoressi, 1990, p. 108). In addition, the pipe is extraordinarily large, and the viewer regards the image as both an object and subject of painting, with both art and reality (Levy, 1997, p. 20).

When the viewer sees the image, it occurs into the mind that, the painting is a pipe. As a result, the viewer falls into pitfalls of perception because; at the bottom, the painting is inscribed, “Ceci n’est pas une pipe”, (this is not a pipe). Following this, the viewer is liberated to explore the imagination that brings the real and true interpretation of the image.

The other fascinating work that Magritte had is “the Lovers”. In this one, there are two people; a male and a female, whose faces are covered with a cloth and they seem to be kissing one another, through the veils (Roisin, 1998, p. 116). The two figures are in a room with a dark side and ceiling.

The sidewall is brick red, while the ceiling is white with a decorative trim along the border of the red wall. The male figure is in a white suit, with striking white tie, and embraces a woman in red sleeveless garment (Spitz, 1994, p. 118). The figure shows that, the two people are deeply in love and are expressing it by kissing.

The red color, for the woman clad, means passion or love, while the black suit, for the man, means death. The whitish or grayish color of the veil means that the love is fading away from the two lovers (West, 1996, p. 112). Therefore, it is particularly appealing to see how this basic picture is used to show different meanings and provoke thoughts and ideas that vary.

On the same breath, there is also a painting named “Son of Man”,” which was a self-portrait; the painting shows a man, in suit and bowler hat, standing in front of a small wall beyond which there are blues skies and a sea” (Sylvester, 1992, p. 12).

An apple blocks the man’s face, but his left eye is seen over the edge of the apple. Magritte commented on the painting by saying, “at least it hides the face partly” (West, 1996, p. 20).

There is always an interest of what is hidden than what is visible, and this understanding can take different forms of feelings such as love, passion, hatred, and curiosity, which can drive the concerned party to do all what it takes to reveal the concealed.

Another breath-taking image was the “Les Mal du Pay” (homesickness) painting. This painting displays a lion and a certain male with wings over it. The lion seems relaxed; conversely, the man is leaning on the wall looking over the wall and appears decidedly unsettled.

In addition, a bulb is positioned to the left of the man (Meuris, 1991, p. 35). This painting was done when Magritte had unsettled moments back at home because the Germans had invaded his home country, Belgium; moreover, he had marital issues.

“Madame Recamier de David” is another brilliant artwork from Rene. In this image, a coffin is shaped, in an absurd way, with a gown beneath it (Allmer, 2009, p. 43).

This painting is the first coffin painting that Rene did. Rene made numerous paintings by replacing the original objects with the coffins to depict the theme of death and fear, which stands conspicuously in this painting.

“The Seducer” is another perplexing painting by Rene. In this painting, a ship floats on sea, and it is covered Sylvester, 1992, p. 56). Thus, in daily lives, people should take lessons from the experiences that come over their way rather than just pass them blindly.

Magritte works also had the theme of dominion of the light. He once told a friend that, light and night coexist together. In the paintings, most of the lessons are not learnt by observing the objects that are visible, but are provoked by the thoughts after observing the painting.

Thus, in daily lives, people should take lessons from the experiences that come over their way rather than just pass them blindly.

Magritte works also had the theme of dominion of the light. He once told a friend that, light and night coexist together. In the paintings, most of the lessons are not learnt by observing the objects that are visible, but are provoked by the thoughts after observing the painting.

The evocation of night and light brings both delight and surprise (Spitz, 1994, p. 105). As a result, in day-to-day living, people are supposed to be expectant of surprises that accompany the night, and delightful moments that come with the daylight.

On the same, Magritte’s works also explored the theme of discrimination and alienation. In the painting titled “Homesickness”, Magritte is provoked to paint such an image, by German invasion on his hometown, and the upheavals that rocked his marriage (Roisin, 1998, p. 87).

People, regardless of their origin or location, face discrimination and alienation based on different elements. Moreover, people can be discriminated because of their age, gender, tribe, size, or religion.

In addition, Magritte’s artworks unravel the theme of passion, love, and desire. In “the Lovers” painting, where two people are kissing, the theme of love comes out explicitly. The two figures are expressing their feelings of love (Meuris, 1991, p. 110).

On the same, the grayish fading veil is an indication that their relationship is on the rocks. The painting “the Seducer” indicates a dream because Magritte did not have any experience of the ship or sea. On the same token, it indicates uncontrolled desires that probably lie deep in man’s heart. In this painting, the person seeking pleasures may be riding on the painted ship (Levy, 1997, p. 113).

On the same, a sense of uncertainty accompanies this painting because; the sailors, on the ship, may either get to their destination or capsize in the sea.

In people’s lives, love is a necessity if not an obligation. People, who feel unloved, live an empty life, and they can easily commit suicide. Every moment people are presented with an opportunity to love others. In addition, either positive or negative desires drive people towards achievement of a given goal (Kaplan & Gilbert, 1982, p. 21).

Uncontrolled desires may lead to destruction; therefore, people should keep their desires under check. Lastly, people face uncertainty in virtually everything they do in this life (Fragola & Roch, 1995, p. 123); for instance, those in business risk, by investing their savings in business ventures, without having the assurance that they will plow back the benefits. Moreover, people start a family without the assurance that the family will work out for them.

Finally, from Magritte’s artworks, the viewer learns that, people can use ordinary objects to create masterpieces (Allmer, 2009, p.200). In the paintings, there was no use of complex objects, or statements, to convey message (Calvocoressi, 1990, p. 157). This means that, people do not need sophisticated objects, to be creative or innovative. Innovation can be initiated from the familiar objects that people use in day-to-day lives.

Conclusion

Magritte artworks were collection chefs-d’oeuvres, in their own class. The paintings did not only capture the eye of the viewer, but also provoked the thoughts at deeper levels. Every painting has a hidden meaning, which can only be revealed by evocative thinking, by the viewer.

In addition, the bewilderment, in Magritte’s paintings, left both visual and mental influence, on the viewer. Moreover, when the viewer peers beyond Magritte’s works, it becomes a reality that, the paintings are symbols or parables that carry a deeper meaning.

In a recap, Magritte achieved significantly in the art world, and his masterpieces remain relevant in the contemporary times, due to the rich message they carry.

References

Allmer, P. (2009). René Magritte – Beyond Painting. Manchester: Manchester University Press.

Calvocoressi, R. (1990). Magritte. New York: Watson-Guptill.

Fragola, A., & Roch C. (1995). The Erotic Dream Machine: Interviews with Alain Robbe-Grillet on His Films. New York: SIU Press.

Kaplan, W., & Gilbert E. (1982). The Graphic Work of René Magritte. New York: II Editions.

Levy, S. (1997). Surrealism: Surrealist Visuality. Edinburgh: Keele University Press.

Meuris, J. (1991). René Magritte. Cologne: Benedikt Taschen.

Roisin, J. (1998). Ceci n’est pas une biographie de Magritte. Brussels: Alice Editions.

Spitz, E. (1994). Museums of the Mind. New Haven: Yale University Press.

Sylvester, D. (1992). Magritte. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd.

West, S. (1996). The Bullfinch Guide to Art. UK: Bloomsbury Publishing.

‘Gone with the wind’ is identified as one of the most phenomenal movies of the early 20^th century. It was especially categorical in the definition of the movie industry in regard to cultural and historical productions.

Being one of the best works of producer David O. Selznick, it is identified as a historical piece of art work that has managed to survive through the decades and still maintain its viability.

Its fame has grown over the years to a point where it is used as a point of reference by modern film scholars and other stakeholders in the industry (Mitchell and Conroy 7).

This paper seeks to analyze the famous “Frankly dear, I don’t give a damn” scene from the movie ‘Gone With The Wind’ that was released in 1939, in a bid to understand the setting of the scene as well as the producer’s motives and success when making it.

The particular ‘I don’t give a damn’ scene is set in a lavish setting where affluence is identified as a matter of necessity. This is negated by the whole premise of the film as neediness is portrayed to emanate from companionship rather than affluence.

This scene depicts the capturing of hope in a picture that captivates the viewer to a point where he or she accepts the spectacular moments even before trying to understand them. A number of movie critics, scholars and authors have tried to explain this particular aspect through their examination of the societal trends throughout history.

The movie expresses a buildup of romance in a volatile period where the particular affluence of individuals didn’t matter much (Boyer, Clark, Kett and Salisbury 483). The particular characters played by Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh captivate the viewer to a point where one is forced to stop thinking and just marvel at the pictures though the story.

While the viewer may be aware of the historical events during the time that the movie is set in, there is very little in the public domain that explores the societal position on an individual level.

The political events of the time are identified to thrive on a backdrop of rich social activity and domestic turbulence. The cinematic display of romance in this movie is exceptional and has been pointed out as the basis of the success of the movie at a time when Hollywood was just defining itself.

The realism of the movie in general, lies in the fact that it is a story about the real lives of individuals in a historical period that most viewer are aware of even if most may not have experienced it.

The fact that the director of the film was able to eliminate intimations of self-deception makes the film even more real to a point where it provokes empathetic feelings in the viewer in the shower of romance. The scene is set in a domestic setting where Scarlet O’Hara portrays the deep hope in a romance that may be deemed dead (Mitchell and Conroy 271).

The lying at the foot of the staircase depicts the helplessness that she suffers even with her strong character as an actualized woman. The humbleness of romance is identified to brush off of her while her lover portrays a rough scorned lover who has no belief in the romance that she has so much hope in.

This hope is a contrast to the societal position during a time of political turbulence and inevitable warfare. The producer of the film succeeds in highlighting the social challenges faced by individual who try to build romantic relationships in a domestic setting through the use of realistic real life constructs.

The scene tends to strip romance to its basic tenets where the affluence as well as political situation of a society has nothing to do with the orientation of different genders in regard to romance and relationships.

It gives the viewer an idea of an actualized society in the early 20^th century and the particular worries of such a society in regard to the different genders. This actualization is not only based on the characters’ social standing, but also their personal aspects.

While the premise of the film may be based on romance and its thriving in an affluent society, the film tends to negate this premise until the end. Critics have identified it as the birth of feminism where Scarlet rejects her admirer for a huge part of the film even though his intentions are clearly identified through his modest actions towards her.

In the last scene, when the gentleman has given up all hope of a reasonable relationship the lady gives in only to find out that it is too late. The relationship between affluence and feminism in a situation where actualization is strong is used to identify the conflict between self-awareness and basic human tendencies that constitutes their humanity.

The producer builds up a lot of pressure through his use of suspense only to kill it through an unfortunate end where Scarlet gets rejected by her admirer (Boyer, Clark, Kett and Salisbury 76).

The use of music in the different scenes is quite articulate as it smoothly transfers the viewer’s feelings and moods from one setting to another, despite the conflict between the different scenes. This ensures that the story flows smoothly, which ensures the success of the production.

This also domesticates the scenes to a point where the viewer is able to connect and associate his or her personal life with that of the characters in the movie (Mitchell and Conroy 524). The producer manages to cascade the scenes in a progressive style while still providing room for soliloquies and flashbacks.

In the particular ‘I don’t give a damn’ scene, there is the inclusion of recollections from Scarlet’s father that reassure her of a positive future with her object of desire even though he had just rejected her.

This is identified as a point of weakness for the strong feminism that the film builds up in the previous scenes (Boyer, Clark, Kett and Salisbury 347). The poetic acts serve to emphasize the romance that exists in the domestic setting where external aspects of society seem to be blocked out to enhance the feelings of the characters.

The world that is constructed around the characters has been identified to emphasize the timelessness of the movie even though it is built around a historical setting.

This also emphasizes the timelessness of romance and this has been reiterated by modern film critics who identify it as the motivation behind the film’s success even in the modern world of film. Despite the fact that historical premise is boundless, the producer still manages to limit the storyline to a domestic context with a number of influences from the society.

Works Cited

Boyer, Paul, Clark Clifford, Kett Joseph and Salisbury Neal. The enduring vision: a history of the American people, Volume 2. Upper Saddle River: Cengage Learning. 2007. Print.

Mitchell, Margaret, and Conroy, Pat. Gone With the Wind. New York: Simon and Schuster. 2007. Print.

Introduction

This paper presents a critical analysis of the movie “Elizabeth I “produced by Shekhar Kapur, 1998 in UK (Kapur 2005). The film is also known as “The Virgin Queen”. It is imperative to note that the movie portrays the early years and reign of Queen Elizabeth I (Kapur 2005).

The author of this movie portrays the Queen as a character who has remarkable skills in leadership. On that note, this paper will examine how effective leadership has been portrayed in the movie. Through a careful review of literature and reflection from the movie, this paper will also seek to portray how a chosen leader should demonstrate effective leadership.

A critical analysis of the movie

The film “Elizabeth I” is visually interesting as it unfolds by portraying the creation of the Virgin Queen. This makes the movie to appear more fictitious rather than one that highlights the history of Queen Elizabeth (Schumann 2012, p. 24). In the movie, the events began in 1554 during the reign of Elizabeth’s half sister. It commences by exhibiting excellent performance whereby Elizabeth is portrayed as a real woman ready to face impending challenges to establish her reign.

Notably, the author develops other characters such as William Cecil and Francis who were the Queen’s main protectors (Schumann 2012, p. 30). These characters help her to struggle to power. Notably, the author of the film uses other characters to enhance historical accuracy and, to develop themes such as romance and melodrama within the scene (Kapur 2005).

As the plot develops, the author portrays huge divisions that existed in the 16^th century in Europe (Gillett 1999, p. 2). These divisions result due to religious differences and wealth. Therefore, Queen Elizabeth is being portrayed as a pragmatic leader due to her performance regardless of the religious and political divisions. As a ruler, she faces numerous challenges including a chronic coup plotted to overthrow her reign.

It is important to note that the movie depicts dramatization of how the Queen succession took place and also captures the adventures that occurred some years after her reign (Schumann 2012, p. 34). Several years after her reign, the Catholics and Protestants were in conflict, a factor that made the Queen to be excommunicated. At this time, she allows Judaism though it was outlawed by the realm where the largest proportion of the population England was Catholics (Gillett 1999, p. 13).

It is evident that the conflicts marked a turning point for the Queen where she tireless influenced the Roman Catholic leaders to allow religious settlement (Kapur 2005). From this point, one can argue that the Queen was very liberal and opposed religious prejudices.

Still in the scene, the issue of marriage has been addressed. Notably, most individuals perceive it as a preoccupation for success (Schumann 2012, p. 34). In the movie, the Queen deals with numerous marriage proposals though she fall in deep dilemmas on whom to be in love with. For instance, she could not get married to a foreigner since she would end up handing over her country’s rule to the foreigner (Kapur 2005).

She even feared that if she got a local lover as her husband, he might have turned into a de facto king (Gillett 1999, p. 17). Therefore, she declined the issue and kept it to herself. She claimed that she was married to England (Kapur 2005). Notably, one can deduce that the Queen is a determined public servant who is boundless dedicated to serve her country.

Needless to say, the movie has its legacy on the art and flexible development of politics and religion (Schumann 2012, 40). The reign of the Queen was engulfed by tremendous changes such as rise of new social class, conformity to state and religion. Nevertheless, the Queen emerges as a complex person, an individual with high level of intelligence that scholars could regard as a ruler in post modern monarch (Schumann, 2012, 50).

A critical analysis of effective leadership as portrayed in the movie

Gutted (2011, p. 27) argues that effective leadership begins with self-leadership. This implies that before any leader can think of leading a thriving enterprise, he must first possess and master self-leadership skills. Subtly, self-leadership employs premeditated plans in advance to ensure that the right action takes place at the desired time. Notably, some leaders are more naturally disciplined than others (Gutted 2011, p. 27).

For this reason, there are those that struggle to boost their effectiveness in order to promote their professional will. Needless to say, self-discipline refers to the ability to control your time, resources, thoughts and emotions in such a way that you remain focused on the targeted goal. Hence, effective leadership is crucial in enhancing that leaders achieve the desired ends (Gutted 2011, p. 28).

In line with this, is imperative to note that there are numerous ways can be used to assess the effectiveness of leadership portrayed by a chosen leader. For instance, one can evaluate the cognitive abilities of a leader to determine whether they can make a good leader (DuBrin 2010, p. 71). It is evident from the movie that the Queen was an effective leader. This claim can be supported by the fact that she is able to think and act rationally for the good of her country.

For instance, she stands against religious conflicts and appeal to the Catholic Bishops to allow religious freedom in England (Gillett 1999, 12). On the other hand, personality can be used to assess whether a leader is effective. It is imperative to note that a leader should be impartial yet flexible (DuBrin 2010, p. 106). For instance, the Queen is able to silence her opponents though we find that she have got advisors.

Needless to say, an effective leader can be determined by his or her passion to perform a particular task and the flow of experience (DuBrin 2010, p. 141). Notably, one can deduce that the Queen had a passion to serve the country and had a good flow of experiences. For example, she declines getting married to both foreigners and local lovers in order to protect her country. Moreover, as the film ends, it sets a legacy on the Queens ability to safeguard the monarch to an extent that it can be considered as one of the post-modern (Gillett 1999, p. 14).

That notwithstanding, the Queen demonstrates her ability to desert traditional thinking and employs creative strategies for the good of her country. Consequently, she breaks the culture that certain religious doctrines are unacceptable in the realm. Therefore, it is arguable that she has passed the test as an effective leader.

It is imperative to note that there are several attributes that one can learn from the movie on effective leadership. For instance, when considering whether leadership is effective or not, it is important to recognize who holds the power. For example, Queen Elizabeth was born in power. Moreover, during her time, the society she grew in upheld traditional values including monarch (Kapur 2005).

Therefore, once she reigned into power, she modeled the impending values perfectly. In fact the film had demonstrated her ability and commitment to execute duties while upholding traditional values. It is definite that she successfully follows the rulebook with sober personality a factor that makes her to beat all odds. Succinctly, it is arguable that an effective leader should possess a sober personality (Willets 2011, p. 5).

Moreover, effective leaders should have virtues that will enable them to interact with the subjects. These virtues include courage, wit, truthfulness, right ambition and good temper (DuBrin 2010, p. 173). In the movie, the queen is able to interact well with her protectors and other colleagues in parliament. After her reign to power in England she emerges as a mediavel Godfather who understands the nature of her power (Kapur 2005).

She uses political machinations to bring everything in control regardless of few restrictions which engulfed her. As a leader, she finds herself trapped between religious conflicts among Protestants and Catholics (Schumann 2012, p. 30). Nevertheless through her wit and support from the council member she is able to solve impending conflicts. From this analysis if is essential that effective leaders should be gentle but hardy in order to achieve stability.

This will also help them to exert authority effectively and become self-imposed. That notwithstanding, it is essential to note that the Queen possess practical wisdom that enables her to effectively reign and enhance the wellbeing of her people regardless of challenges (Kapur 2005). Inline with this, effective leaders should have moderate temperance in order to ensure that they take reasonable risk for the good of the subjects.

Moreover, integrity is a virtue that builds trust and encourages people to consider ones leadership as legitimate (Willets 2011, p. 5). In line with this, it is imperative to note that virtues, values, morals are the sum total of an effective leader. Nevertheless, scholars argue that these aspects often remain elusive since cannot be defined but they can be demonstrated (Willets 2011, p. 5).

In addition, it is essential to emphasize that competence and commitment are key ingredients that make a leader effective. For instance, competence determines what a leader can do. Contrastingly, commitment determines what an individual wants to do. Furthermore, combination of the two concepts influences the effectiveness of a leader. Needless to say, character or personality is also a key element and plays a central role in influencing leadership (DuBrin 2010, 202).

Researchers argue that character influences what leaders reinforce, notice or value in the immediate environment (Willets 2011, p. 5). Moreover, character is crucial in making effective decisions. Research has shown that most mistakes committed by leaders have their roots on poor character development. Nevertheless, it is apparent that there is no perfect leader when it comes to character development (Pater 2011, 58).

Evidence can be derived from the fact that majority of them end up making inappropriate decisions probably due to overconfidence. Some aspects in their characters bide their minds to an extent that they fail to consider important contextual variables. In this case, they are led by emotions that hijack their self-control, a factor that results into wrong decisions. Pater (2011, p. 58) argues that even good people can be fallible. Furthermore, there are traits or behaviors that influence the effectiveness of a leader over time.

Examples of common traits include extroversion, neuroticism, conscientiousness, agreeableness and openness to experience (DuBrin 2010, p. 302). Notably, out of the five major domains there are other traits that are worth consideration. These include perfectionism, dominance, rigidity, impulsivity and persistence.

Research has shown that all effective leaders have their own personal style of executing their roles in leadership (Endersbe, Wortmann & Therrien 2012, p.8). Nevertheless, there are specific aspects which they share. For instance, effective leaders have commitments geared toward making their roles effective.

This implies that they use the aspect to enhance teamwork, increase productivity and build cohesiveness in their respective areas. According to Endersbe, Wortmann and Therrien (2012, p. 8), commitment in effective leadership entails three components namely clarity, rhythm and stability.

According to Pater (2011, p. 58), leaders hold certain values or belief which they find essential to enhance their leadership. Research has shown that such values influence decisions and individual’s behavior. Common values that act as a guidelines in the movie include harmony, equality, non-violence and freedom. It is notable that the Queen is interested and determined to see people living in harmony regardless of their individual differences.

She fights against religious violence to ensure that every individual has equal chances to determine their fate without being prejudiced. Moreover, these values influence the queen’s emotion and her behavior towards numerous aspects such as religion, politics and social life as depicted in the scene (Schumann 2012, p. 25).

It is notable that as a leader, there are certain times when events take place unintentionally or unexpectedly. For this reason, a leader should employ effective leadership style to deal with uncertainties (Pater 2011, 58). As a matter of fact, the movie portrays how leadership can influence people’s reactions. In the movie, the Queen represents the establishment of aspects that were perceived as dignified, old fashioned and preserved.

Nevertheless, the author uses her wit to establish significant changes in the society such as Judaism that was regarded as offensive by the realm in England. In this case, the Queen emerges as a leader who represents freedom and modernization.

In a shift of focus, leadership style is an important factor to consider while assessing the effectiveness of a leader. Most of the styles adopted by leaders reflect their altitudes and ability to contribute to change (Nielsen & Daniels 2012, p. 383). It is imperative to note that certain styles of leadership also influence the level of motivation and commitments among leaders. In line with this, different situations require dissimilar styles of leadership in order to increase competence, productivity and the well-being of those who are being led.

Notably, one of the common and most accepted styles of leadership is transformational type of leadership (Nielsen & Daniels 2012, p. 383). One can argue that the Queen was a transformational leader who strived to transform her country. Additionally, an effective leader should be transformational and work towards positive change whenever deemed necessary. Research evidences have revealed that effective leaders using transformational style have high levels of commitment and motivation.

Moreover, they are envisioned to elicit trust and loyalty to the subjects. This is evident from the movie whereby the Queen opts to remain a virgin to devote her loyalty to England (Schumann 2012, p. 37). Notably, by the time she was interacting with her lovers from the foreign country, she could have been influenced to change her mind. Nevertheless, she remained focused and motivated despite the fact that the men were noble and strong-willed to marry her.

Another lesson that one can learn from the movie is the essence of encouraging dialogue and sharing information. An effective leader should be able to initiate dialogue and listen to constructive feedbacks from the subjects (Pace 2011, p. 64). Research has revealed that dialogue has intellectual stimulating effects and often leads to creative problem solving. From the film, the Queen is being advised by Walsingham on how to deal with her opponents.

Consequently, the Queen takes ruthless action to wipe out any form of opposition against her reign. He warns the queen that sometimes she should take unpalatable decisions which he refers to the “removal of head” (Schumann 2012, p. 30). In this case, the Queen does away with tedious political machinations and opt for lucrative strategies to wipe out her opponents.

Nielsen and Daniels (2012, p. 383) point out that intelligence in leadership is displayed in the manner in which a leader depicts maturity in relationship skills. Intelligence emerges in the movie to be very important in leadership maturity because it aids the establishment of solutions to complex situations. Additionally, the aforementioned authors further describe intelligent leaders as those who influence others and inspire through their words, competences and actions.

The article by Endersbe, Wortmann and Therrien (2012, p. 8) points out that intelligent leadership is key in modern society as it embraces core components that hold the society. These include horizontal components and the vertical components. The authors of the article exemplify that the vertical element of intelligence is placeless, timeless, divine, sacred conscious and of high power.

The horizontal element of intelligence embraces the understanding that leaders must be of service to human beings and everything else in the world. The best description that can be given to the leadership of Elizabeth as reflected in the movie is definitely placeless.

From a careful review of literature, it is apparent that leaders’ behaviors influence the environment which they operate and the relationship they establish with their counterparts (Pace 2011, p. 65). In this case, leaders’ behavior affects effectiveness in the various roles being played. One can argue that the Queen had used classic styles of leadership behavior. This made her to be recognized as the Godfather of the medieval era.

For instance, one can note that to some extent, the Queen was authoritative though liberal. In this case, she retained her responsibility and authority. Needless to say, the fact that she was a protestant, she faced strict opposition by the Catholic nobles after ascending to power. Nevertheless, it is imperative to note that the nobles were horrified by the Queen’s reign in power to an extent that they began plotting against her (Schumann 2012, p. 44).

However, the queen does not appear vulnerable but determined to hold power for good measure at all cost. In this case, the queen did not care about the magnitude of the public’s reaction to stop her opponents from ascending to power. She asserts her strength and authority to silence them.

The ability of a leader to have great focus, articulate professionalism in his or her duties, and maintain high ethical orientation that generates both local and international preference act as some of the most important traits for an all time leader. Perhaps, the best description that can be used for Queen Elizabeth is that of a leader who lived well beyond her time due to her peculiar view points and leadership skills that have increasingly become the driving force to many.

While the notion of democracy by most leaders has often been considered indifferent in the public realms, the depiction of high democratic ideals by Queen Elizabeth in the movie is quite moving. To rhyme with modern scholars’ consideration of Queen Elizabeth, Pace (2011, p. 64) cites her ability to maintain a clear future focus that facilitated his ability to transcend from level to another.

From a leader’s perspective, Queen Elizabeth was perhaps one of the best learners, a consideration that greatly facilitated her ability to curve new leadership trends. As Schumann (2012, p. 44) indicates, situational leadership requires highly sensitive people who can relate the existing trend with the core demands in the society. A leader should be able to demonstrate the ability to assimilate change and continued improvement.

According to Pace (2011, p. 64), leaders should be able to see and create visionary outsets that can effectively guide their subjects for the sake of sustainability. As reflected in the movie, leaders also need to express willingness to take key responsibilities. One of the greatest considerations that 21^st century leaders can learn from Queen Elizabeth’s operations is her willingness and ability to take responsibilities.

This was depicted by her devotion to achieve desired results for every citizen. Besides, she was persistent in search for ethics. According to ethical theories, a leader must be able to pursue what is good even when the chances of winning are very slim.

Queen Elizabeth also demonstrated immense levels of cooperation and support for unity of purpose. In her leadership, she indicated that the need for cooperation and unity is very critical in achieving goals.

During her leadership as presented in the movie, her roles yielded successes which were only possible through cooperation with other people. The important lesson here is that the ability of a leader is to be endowed with great focus, articulate in terms of effective leadership skills and also the ability to maintain high ethical orientation.

In summing up, it is imperative to note that another classic style that makes a leader effective is the democratic aspect that enables one to delegate duties while retaining much of the authority (Rus, van Knippenberg & Wisse 2010, p. 992). Research reveals that democracy in leadership promotes collective participation. According to Nahavandi (2006, p. 57), democracy in leadership fosters effective decision making skills.

In most cases, this allows downward and upward flow of communication. From the movie, it is notable that the Queen had master spies who were her advisors. In this case, she could delegate certain activities to Walsingham and were done regardless of whether they were good or bad (Schumann 2012, p. 33).

Nevertheless, it is important to note that past performance is likely to affect the effectiveness of the present and future leadership. In this case, an effective leader should employ traits that are likely to foster cohesiveness, responsibility and motivation (Pater 2011, 58).

Case analysis table

Recommendations

On analyzing the case in the film, the following is a list of recommendations that can be used to boost the level of leadership performance.

1. One should evaluate the level of self-leadership in a leader. This should be determined by the nature of professional skills.
2. One should also analyze the level of personal efficacy and discipline to determine the leader’s effectiveness. Notably, the major benchmark in the analysis determining one’s ability to control time, thought, emotions and other resources.
3. It is also imperative to consider and analyze both the external and internal factors. In this case, one should analyze their benefits and how they are likely to influence leadership.
4. Moreover, one should consider the source of power for any given leader.
5. Understanding and critically analyzing the group members’ initiatives and their individual potential.
6. Needless to say, one should identify and analyze the qualities and traits held by a particular leader. By so doing, it will give room for further improvement.
7. One should also try to understand how certain virtues, values and morals affect leadership
8. It is also vital to examine the professional will, goals and objectives of a leader.

References

DuBrin, J. 2010, Leadership: Research Findings, Practice, and Skills, Cengage Learning Inc., Mason.

Endersbe, T. Wortmann, J. & Therrien, J. 2012, ‘Three Commitments’, Leadership Excellence, Vol. 29 no 4, pp. 8-13.

Gillett, K. 1999, Elizabeth: Too Much Fiction in This “Historical” Tale. Web.

Gutted, G. 2011, ‘Great Leadership Starts with Leading an Organization of One’, Agency Sales, vol. 41 no. 11, pp. 27-29.

Kapur, S. 2005, Elizabeth I. Web.

Nahavandi, A. 2006, ‘The art and science of leadership’,Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.

Nielsen, K. & Daniels, K. 2012, ‘Does shared and differentiated transformational leadership predict followers’ working conditions and well-being?’ Leadership Quarterly, vol. 23 no. 3, pp. 383-386.

Pace, A. 2011, ‘Leading development solutions for today’s leaders’, T + D, vol. 65 no.12, pp. 64-67.

Pater, R. 2011, ‘12-Step Leadership’, Occupational Health & Safety, vol. 80 no. 11, pp. 58-67.

Rus, D., van Knippenberg, D. & Wisse, B. 2010, ‘Leader power and leader self-serving behavior: The role of effective leadership beliefs and performance information’, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, vol. 46 no 6, pp. 922-932.

Schumann, H. 2012, ‘Elizabeth – Film and History’. Web.

Willets, A. 2011, ‘How you can become a better leader’, Public Relations Tactics, vol.18 no10, pp. 6-8.

Chosen for the analysis works are two statues from MFA. The Colossal statue King Aspelta is an ancient Egyptian stone. Hercules is the bronze figure of early Imperial period of Roman.

Both of them Hercules and the Colossal statue King Aspelta are the figures of strong, idealized, muscular men and this is only one similarity between two works, the differences between two works are more important due to the different origin, meaning and values of each work for its cultural background.

The bronze sculpture of Hercules is a figure of strong nude man of middle age who has a skin of a lion or tiger on his left shoulder and hand. He holds his right hand to the people.

He has a beard on his face. However, it is impossible to see his eyes, there are only two hold instead of them. The scientists say that originally Hercules’s eyes were made from the different material and have been left during the centuries.

It is a complete work of art, not a part of some scene or ensemble. Such sculpture can be used as a part of interior decorations in the home of the rich Roman or in one of the various temples.

The Colossal statue King Aspelta is a typical artifact of the ancient Egypt made from stone. It is a figure of man who looks quite young. Perhaps, he was middle-aged man. He looks not so muscled or strong, but his figure seems proud as it should be in case of ruler.

The present sculpture was a part of the decorations from the King’s tomb. Therefore, it is possible to say that this sculpture should be used together with other artifacts from the tomb.

For the ancient Egyptians, every sculpture had a sacral meaning and was made in order to emphasize the divine origin of king and help him to join the gods after the death.

This is one of the fundamental differences between two sculptures. The figure of Hercules did not have any sacral sense, although he was a hero of the myths, had a divine origin being a son of the major Roman god Jupiter and had a list of the outstanding characteristics.

For the Romans, the sculpture did not have such sacral meaning as the Colossal statue King Aspelta for the ancient Egyptians.

Conditions of the works are quite good. It is obvious that condition of Hercules should be better due to its age and material from which the statue is made. Probably, when Hercules was produced it had looked more bright and light.

As it was produced in order to honor this famous hero of the ancient Greece and Roman Empire, the figure looks proud and majestic. Today, the bronze is dark. However, the statue still looks good, although there are several cracks on the body.

Condition of the Colossal statue King Aspelta is very good in spite of the age of this work. Made from stone, the Colossal statue presents an ancient Egyptian King. Instead of Hercules, King Aspelta was the real historical person.

The destination of this statue was the honor of the King, presentation of his power and divine origin. Thereby, the figure, as well as Hercules, looks proud and confident. At first glance, it is clear that this man was King who governed the great Empire.

It seems that this stone will never be damaged. It is just impossible to destroy such statue which had been saved during a few thousand years.

Although there are several cracks on the statue, it makes it look more interesting, old and mysteriously. I think that, without those cracks, it would be difficult to believe that this work of art has such a long history.

As it was mentioned before, Hercules was an ancient Greek and Roman hero. According to the legends, he was fighting with a number of evil creations in order to help people, to protect them and to make the world fairer.

The statue represents the strong and muscular man who really could fight against the various enemies. His muscles are strained like the springs. He holds his hand to people trying to help them. It seems that Hercules wants to say, “Don’t worry, I will protect you”.

In spite of Hercules, the figure of King Aspelta represents another kind of man. He was a ruler; perhaps, he was cruel or maybe fair and kind. It did not matter for the sculptor.

The ruler should look strong, intimidating the enemies of his land and emotionless, emphasizing the divine origin and denying his human side. However, it is possible to find kind of smile on the face of King. However, this smile does not seem kind; it is more mocking than kindly.

The way two sculptures carve the parts of body is a good demonstration of the degree to which they both value the accurate depiction of human body. Thus, the figure of Hercules is absolutely natural.

It is possible to see his muscles and even veins under his skin. It is well-known fact that the Roman paid an attention to the natural depiction of every part of human body.

As most of the Roman sculptures, Hercules is nude. On the other hand, the figure of King Aspelta as an example of the absolutely different culture is not so natural.

The King is dressed in the traditional costume. As well as Romans appreciated the idealization of human body, the Egyptians tended more toward the idealization of human qualities and, in case of kings, it was necessary to emphasize their connection with gods.

Comparing the faces of two figures, it is necessary to notice that both men have the different facial expressions. Thus, Hercules looks emotionless. Perhaps, it is caused by his beard.

However, I suppose it was the author’s goal to show exactly this face. The citizens may consider Hercules’s mimicry as the sympathetic and helpful, for the enemies, this face should demonstrate the readiness of the hero to fight.

The face of King Aspelta looks sarcastic. However, at the same time, such expression may be considered as the merciful and kind. However, according to main idea and meaning of such sculptures, this expression should indicate such qualities of king as pride, divine origin and disengagement from the earthy things.

Concluding, it is possible to say that although both sculptures are the figures of men of the same age, there are much more differences between them due to the different cultural background, traditional way of depiction of human body and sacral meaning of the Colossal statue King Aspelta.

Two statues were made in order to praise the hero and King, however, the statue of Hercules emphasizes his human sides, while the statue of King Aspelta indicates his divine origin.

Of all the ways to learn about the culture of the people living centuries ago, analyzing their visual art must be the most exciting and at the same time the most deceptive one, with a constant threat of making a misinterpretation. However, when it comes to something as exotic as the Tatanua masks, it is not the context but the bizarre shapes that one notices instantly. Taking a closer look at the Tatanua mask, one might find out why these artworks arrest people’s attention immediately.

I selected the given work because of its specific authentic look. In contrast to the rest of the artworks, this one bears the air of the ancient civilizations, even though the real Tatanua culture is not that old. It was the unusual, almost frightening, atmosphere of something alien to the European culture that made me pick the Tatanua mask to discuss in the paper.

One of the first things that fall into the eye immediately is the fact that the mask is made of quite different components that one can hardly think of mixing. For example, the wooden basis of the mask, in which the intimidating face is carved, contrasts quite sharply with the shuck which the skull is made of.

However, the painted shell which the eyes of the mask are made of looks rather natural together with the rest of the elements. Creating a distinct tribal effect and adding to the air of a lost civilization or an ancient tribe, the Tatanua mask makes quite an impression.

However, the most distinct and recognizable element of the Tatanua mask is the cast of colors. The Tatanua mask is generally of a rather mild, faded-out tint of grey and brown, which looks rather natural and adds the ethnic flavor to the mask.

Nevertheless, the bright red color and the use of black makes the entire artwork look rather weird and reminds of the “call of the wild,” the element that addresses the beastly part of human nature. The sharp teeth add to the overall impression, and the prolonged ear lobes make the Tatanua mask look absolutely exotic, filling it with all kinds of tribal legends.

It is important to add that the Tatanua mask is the work of art belonging to the Malaysian culture and being a part of a very specific tradition of one of the Malaysian tribes. The key function of the Tatanua mask is to serve as one of the necessary elements of a death rite, the custom which was aimed at paying the tribute to the diseased. Worn during the performance of the death rite dance, the mask was further on to be destroyed, thus, symbolizing the unity of glory and death.

One of the most exotic elements of the modern world of art, Tatanua masks definitely offer more food for thoughts than any connoisseur can think of. Comprising the elements of different styles and at the same time bearing a distinct authentic air, these masks make one think of the ancient traditions and beliefs, any of the Tatanua masks immediately set the atmosphere of a mix between a wilderness and the wisdom of the centuries. An artwork truly worth appreciating, the Tatanua mask is another mystery yet to be solved.

Still life paintings were common in Netherlands in 17^th century. Artists made these paintings with specific intentions and objectives. Dutch people have loved flowers since time in memorial. Artist took an initiative to represent various flowers in paintings. Flowers were in a sub-genre of still life which was highly regarded and well paid in Middleburg, Amsterdam and Utrecht cities in Netherlands. This encouraged them to make aesthetically attractive paintings.

According to Haak and Willems-Treeman (1984), artists depicted flowers in impossible arrangements to strengthen attraction to people who viewed them. The main reason for making these depictions in Amsterdam and other Dutch cities was to provide a cheaper way of having flowers in people’s homes.

The Dutch valued flowers so much and only the rich could afford banquets. Ordinary people were forced to buy depictions rather than real ones. Artists painted the pictures to look as real as possible. Various flowers were meant to represent certain believe held by residence of Dutch republic. Some flowers represented religious believes while others represented feelings.

We are all expected to make judgments on these pictures. Like other sub-genres of still life paintings, flower depictions had moralistic messages. However, some messages would not stand the test of time. Most of the paintings were for religious purposes. For example, the Madonna lily was used to represent Virgin Mary because of its unique features.

The white iris represented Virgin Mary’s purity, while the rose was a sign of her love. We can as well judge the artists for just depicting what was expected of them by people instead of expanding their own ideas (Haak & Willems-Treeman, 1984).

The judgments are epistemological since depictions occurred and they represented flowers from different seasons in ancient Dutch. More so, they represented existing flowers which were grown in gardens or banquets in vases. Some depictions were combination of flowers from different seasons painted on one surface.

The pictures of flowers depicted on surfaces were appealing to people who bought them. They were considered a substitute of real flowers for people who did not afford banquets. Some artist did them on tableware which was found to be appealing by customers. However, some flowers were depicted from species seen in foreign places and people could not relate them to anything until later. Tulip was brought from Asia; however, it was not popular until later in 17^th century.

Most flowers represented class while others represented religious believes. Sunflower was believed to represent the love of God yet in modern days it is used to manufacture food products (Haak & Willems-Treeman, 1984). The image of flowers shows us that the Dutch have loved flowers since time in memorial. This is reflected by the current per capita consumption of commercial flowers which rank Netherlands at the top.

Because of flourishing painting business, depictions from Dutch republic were sold to countries in South America and Indies. Later on, other countries around the world bought the pictures too. This increased demand for flowers which were cherished by Dutch in other countries. This contributed to the current demand of flowers all over the world.

Still life paintings in Netherlands varied and included breakfast pieces, flowers, flowers and fruits, vanitas paintings, curtain paintings, pronk and Trompe L’Oeil. Still life paintings came up because of flourishing trade and introduction of exotica. The first still life paintings in 17^th century were flowers encouraged by introduction of tulip from foreign countries.

It then included flowers with fruits, breakfast piece and then banquet piece which was influenced by increased wealth among people. Influence of calvins led to vanitas paintings in the mid 17^th century. Trompe L’Oeil emerged after vanitas as a result of the Dutch’s need for humor. Trompe L’Oeil is a French phrase which meant ‘deceive the eye’ and it blended well with the Dutch’s needs.

Towards the end of the 17^th century, tastes of consumers changed which led to emergence of pronk sub-genre. This represented the beginning of ostentatious. The pronk sub-genre was as a result of change in colour taste which in turn led to more baroque artistic paintings ((Haak & Willems-Treeman, 1984).

Jan Davidsz de Heem was a known painter of flowers in Netherlands. His work has stood the test of time. He combined fruits, lobsters, butterflies, moths and flowers in his paintings. He also drew several vases of flowers in his time. His work improved gradually as the time went by. His 1640 chased tankard had several elements on a marble table.

They included lemon, bottle and a silver cup. His 1648 masterpiece comprised of grapes, flowers and wheat sheaves which showed that he had mastered the art of painting by the time. The painting is in Belvedere Vienna. In 1650, Jan Davidsz de Heem proved that he could harmonize bright colors on a large scale painting than before.

The difference in the 1640 chased tankard painting and the 1650 Madonna masterpiece shows clearly that there is a big difference in aesthetic. Jan Davidsz de Heem improved his artistic skills gradually to reach the standard he was when he painted the Madonna (Haak, 1978).

Works Cited

Haak, Bob., & Willems-Treeman Elizabeth. The Golden Age: Dutch painters of the seventeenth century. New York: H.N. Abrams, 1984. Print

Haak, Bob. The Golden Age: Dutch Painters of the Seventeenth-Century: Part I, Still Lives. New York, 1978. Print.

Appendix 1

Vase of flowers painted by Dutch artist

Appendix 2

Vase of tulip with insects. Painted by Jan Davidsz de Heem

Introduction

Cinematic materials have played very important role in the lives of many people in the society. For many decades, film making and the content of the films have been of significance importance to the society through the delivery of a range of ideologies and key concepts to the people.

From observations, it is vivid that there has been a general use of cinematic paradigms well design either for universal usage or for a specific delivery of a particular message, idea, opinion or suggestion to the people. Depending on a several factors of purpose, composer’s competences and level of technology among others, the intended message may be passed across to the targeted audiences through simple or sophisticated means.

It is however very crucial for the cinematic producer to ensure that the audience receives the intended message in the right way without missing any key point or part of message in the film. It is from this point of view that we are interested in analyzing the film “American Soldier” by Rainer Werner Fassbinder in this paper.

The analysis of this paper is specifically based on the last part of the film, where we try to reveal how the message of social interaction and masculinity depicted in the society, and through which we also explore different aspects applied in the art of film production for the purpose of perfecting the film work.

Influences of Identity

In the United States, the art of cinematography has very vital role in the course of transforming the society’s view of the concept of gender, especially in the area of masculinity. This has further been linked with the issues of relationship leading to recognition by the society and the state in which one live in.

The film industry has over the decades endeavored in showing such ideological attachments as well as the engagements of the people from the community. Masculinity and social interactions in diverse cinematographic works have been depicted as issue major concern.

This has contributed mainly through the indications that social interactions together with masculinity issue had been major problems not restricted within the American society, but such problems are being realized on many other societies all over the globe.

Though the root cause of these problems may not easily be stated, cinematic producers believe that there is close linkages and influence from the field of politics as well as societal change in the view of male and female identities.

Society& social interactions

In short, while social interactions are key factor to societal identify, controversial anti-social conducts may lead to confusion in individual’s identifications. Similarly, there are certain situations the arise in the society leading to failure or proper identification under gender factor, which is termed at the general aspect of identification for the advanced evolved organisms including man.

The Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s cinematographic work developed in the years of 1970s had many of the gender issues of identity and social interactions brought to the surface of the community. Some appeared to be acceptable while other identity and social interaction aspects were unaccepted, as they apparently appeared to be against the norms of the traditional practices of the society.

Acknowledge the diversity of idea exploration by cinematographic content developers, the last scene of the American soldier focuses on the complex ideas of violence, and other closely related ideologies such as masculinity and social interactions of the people of the society.

The part on focus is a scene which I feel that it bring out the feelings of being mixed blessed individual. At the beginning of the scene, there is a revelation of tragic event happening, which involving a shooting of one the trouble makers in the society.

However, the painful scenic event does not last for a long period of time before being cut short by two men embracing in hug style on one another, who rolls for very long duration as though they were showing a kind of love or feelings of joy on one another.

While acknowledging the vital role of Ricky in his representation of the state in the Vietnam war, his engagement at high level of war representation apparently appear to have changed his ways of behaving. In the first place of his encounter with home based security men at Munich indicates that he is more empowered and experienced than the other three men.

On his encounter with the three local police officers, they plot to enter into a contract of providing security to the local community. The idea comes from the fact that there have been heated gangster attacks within the community, but the efforts of the three police officers have been fruitless.

That means local police officers have been defeated to eradicate the rising robbery activities going within the area. In this case, we find that identity is indicated by the level of responsibility associated with individual.

Ricky is thus being identified as a special person in the community duty to the accomplishment and achievements from the Vietnam’s war.

Indeed, all the persons involved in the dealing of the contract are men, which to some extend leads to assumption that men the only individual employed to under the work of providing security both at the community levels as well as at the inter-state struggles or attacks.

State’s Role &responsibility

On focusing the identity and gender issue by the role of the characters, the above particular scene showed blurred indication of how the community shared its duties and responsibilities. This raises some kind of controversial situation on which individuals of the same gender category and parties being identifies with the same kind of responsibility may work and perform differently.

The local security officer seem to fear the gangs paralyzing the people from the local communities, but with the contracting of the job to someone who has an international experience gained from the Vietnam war fight, a great shift is realized as portrayal of the men being more masculine than the local police.

Even though Ricky’s attack against the gangsters at his home town may be as show of being more oriented to men character behavior than female, the judgment cannot be taken as an exhaustive comparison due to the consideration of other factors including education and substance abuse, which might have been major influences of the way he acted or behaved.

Furthermore, there are other things which must be considered in the process of making judgment of issues concerning behavior which depict an individual’s identity or behavior. From the watch of the last scene of the American Soldier film, the behavior of the local police officers would show that they ended up fearing the gang people who they were supposed to rule and have control over their lives.

Knowing that the police had not travelled outside their country, it is possible both the gangs and police had similar skills of attacking their opponents, which implies that none was able to show more powers over the others.

Thus, the similarities of the power potentials among the two kinds of groups might have led the police officers to succumb to the orders or demands of the opponent security group of gangsters.

On the same issue, the lack of show of greater powers of the local police over the gang group might have been caused by the state regulatory order, which prevented ruthless killings or deprivation of live without following the right established channels of justice and legal systems.

Based on the same kind of thought, Ricky who has been exposed to guerilla type of war is likely to carry out ruthless killing of any person found guilt of any crime without following the justice channels. It is apparent that due to life experiences and the exposure to certain situations/ environments of power and authority, one would appear to impose power on other people than others do.

Friends & family recognition

The act of requesting for a girl from a clerk is a good indicator of showing male powers over the female counterpart. It may be argued that, Ricky did not intend to hold talk with, or any sort of negotiations with a female. In his frustrated kind of life, Ricky takes on the defensive kind of behavior which is generally a type of behavior that was adopted by men as show of individual’s masculine character.

Certainly, it cannot be said that this is his original way of conducting considering the various environments which he has gone and which might have influenced him in one way or another to change his persona.

From the basic point of view of the situation, Ricky’s adopted defensive kind of behavior might specifically been triggered in response to sense of alienation and vulnerability to the ant-social conduct of the people from his community. While he ruthless gets associated with his friend’s girl friend, he finds his mother as emotionally insensitive.

Normally, mothers and females are believed to have high emotional sense and every one from the community expects to receive comfort from mother in case his/her life is bruised from outside world. However, Ricky’s visitation to his father’s own home portrayed lack of emotional response to the hurt life by his mother. This further indicated the corrupted ways of gender identity in the society.

On the scenic visit of Ricky to his father’s home, we also learn of his father’s character, which depicted him as being ineffectual father. This gives more understanding of role attached to the fathers living in the country, and it goes on to portray what lead to gender identification on the basis of gender roles.

Ricky feels that his brother is fond of jealousy and he hate being unforgiving for any mistake committed. He does show that these are character behaviors for the female child, which then can be used for the purpose of gender identification and determination of masculinity within the Germany community.

Hector Berlioz is renowned as one of the best and highly gifted composers of symphonies. He was well appreciated and desirably honored amidst a galaxy of other top and skilled composers. He composed many songs on top of the classical literature works which he did during the period between 1840 and 1870. Although he was nurturing his works in a period when there were other famous symphonies, he managed to remain outstanding in his compositions and was eventually a pillar of symphony history.

Berlioz was born on11^th December 1803 in France. He did magnanimous musical and literature work. He had specialized in the composition of romantic symphonies. For instance, Grande messe and symphonie fantastique are the most famous romantics which earned him exemplary credit (Bloom ‘Berlioz Studies’ 67).

In addition, Berlioz parents were Louis-Joseph who was a physician while his mother Marie Antoinette was a renowned scholar. His father was an atheist who was liberal in his religious life while his mother was a strong Roman Catholic follower (Bloom 71). Berlioz graduated from Grenoble high school and had no interest in further professional studies. He actually disregarded his parents’ efforts of making him study medicine in Paris (Bloom 73).

Berlioz Symphonies

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Out of the diverse scope of symphonies by Berlioz, symphony fantastique is considered to be the most outstanding among the rest. This symphony drew a lot of fame across the world. History reveals that this work made a great debut when it was launched in 1830 (Cairns 146).

This was after the deaths of other famous composers such as Beethoven who had died 3 years earlier and Schubert who had passed on some 2 years back. This symphony was distinguished by the fact that it had huge innovations of programmatic symphony. It was a story that related to Berloiz himself which had been attributed in his autobiography (Cairns 149 ).

In addition to this symphony, Berlioz had composed other thrilling orchestral compositions which included symphony dramatique, Romeo et Juliet and legend dramatique (Cairns 447). These were both large scale productions specifically meant for orchestral and mixed voices.

Berlioz had also come up with the popular concert ante symphony which was both violas and orchestral. The two compositions remained popular for a long period since they were found enjoyable by the lovers of musical symphonies (Bloom 135). Berlioz composed numerous concert overtures which were enduringly famous.

They included le corire and le carnaval romain (Bloom 300). He had also a great skill in making pure vocally oriented songs. Major examples include son cycle les and oratorio Christ which have had an enduring appeal. In addition, some of the remarkable songs by Berlioz also included grande messe morts and litergical te deum.

The music of Berlioz was unconventional in the sense that it did not agree with the normal opera scene and concert arrangements (Goepp 400). He used to formulate his own social performances by booking and paying for himself. He did it throughout his music career although it was an optional financial burden he had imposed on himself (Bloom ‘Berlioz Studies’ 302).

His works involved many performers and this minimized the financial gain which he realized. Therefore, Berlioz paid keen attention to his part time job of being a journalist to support himself financially. Berlioz admited that in composing his works, there were times he had to follow the example of Shakespeare and Weber. It is noted that he deployed broad characteristics of Beethoven in his world of music.

Berlioz artistic work as it has been noted earlier, had a specialty in orchestra. His symphonies contained different episodes which followed sonata principles. He composed tonals which had movements to and from the sonata. He developed musical productions which had variety of melodies and dynamics (Tyroll 678).

His music would be performed using a variety of instruments. This included both stringed and wind instruments. In general, his music would use any suitable assortment of instruments. This was one of the major aspects which made his music be highly adoptable.

Many musical researchers describe Berlioz symphonies as classical masterpieces which have been able to stand the test of time. It has been revealed that the musicological techniques employed by Berlioz have remained valid even in this digital age (Tyroll 800). Moreover, the works of Berlioz have been celebrated across the world although critique of his work has been inevitable.

The scholars of literature and music have keenly analyzed and evaluated the worth of his symphonies. Several experts term his works as unnecessarily too detailed and with too much information.Berlioz had been severally accused of poor diction especially when displaying variety of emotions.

However, it is also important to note that Berlioz had demonstrated exceedingly abundant consistency in his literature despite few professional strains which were evident. Besides, Berlioz had demonstrated great skills of adapting to all kinds of environment in his musical productions. He had been able to illustrate the inherent beauty of literature through making symphonies which brought reality in drama.

The ability of a musician or a poet to be relevant depends on his or her capability to bring out a complete picture of what human life entails (Tyroll 800). Music in itself is a complete tool that is supposed to impact the entire audience either consciously or subconsciously. Findings have shown that great works of past ages are loosing their validity as time passes by (Goepp 450). This may not necessarily because they lacked the right composure to remain appealing in this generation. Their inability to remain relevant in the current extremely dynamic society disqualifies them.

Berlioz symphonies in the broad area of romance have recorded the highest performance for reasonably long time. This has been attributed to the fact that when he noticed his special ability to intrigue the delicate emotions of people, Berlioz effectively and successfully decided to major in romantics.

His romantic symphonies have been the choice of his fans. Berlioz achieved success in building the true picture of absolute and rational romanticism (Tyroll 124). He managed to inspire many other writers who had shown exemplary skills in romantics. He asserted that as result of his involvement with great and famous people like lord Byron, Walter Scott and Thomas Moore, he was able to enrich his ideas or symphony composition (Cairns 235).

To wrap it all it critical to give Berlioz the praise, admiration and honor he deserves. He was and has remained to be an icon in the competitive and dynamic music industry. His music has continued to move variety of audiences across the nations of the world. Finally, what he did when he renounced his carrier in medicine was a true show of his passion. Truly, Berlioz is a legend who has been able to create an undisputable legacy through his amazing music career.

Works Cited

Bloom, Peter. Berlioz: Scenes from the Life and Work. New York: University of Rochester Press, 2008. Print.

Bloom, Peter. Berlioz Studies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Print.

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Introduction

The film plays a big role in exploring one’s spirituality. This is mainly because it conveys spiritual transformation that is usually witnessed in religion. Henrich Harrer undergoes spiritual transformation as well as enlightenment in order to set a side his ego and narcissism. The protagonist abandons his pregnant wife for a mountain climbing expedition in Nanga Parbat.

However, this expedition fails. This is followed by World War II, in which Harrer is imprisoned at India’s POW camp (because he is an alien enemy). However, Harrer escapes to Tibet (Holy city of Lhasa) where he meets the young Dalai Lama who ends up transforming his life.

Unfortunately, the Chinese army invades Tibet and kills its peaceful people before signing an agreement that deny them sovereignty. At the end, he returns home a changed man after undergoing a life changing experience with Dalai Lama. This reaction paper will describe a segment of the film that was emotionally powerful as well as analyze meaning of the film (Brussat and Ann 1).

Emotionally powerful segment and why

The most emotional part of this film starts when Harrer agrees to teach Dalai Lama western ways in exchange for lessons in compassion, slowing down as well as humility. This emotional segment is further stirred by the invasion of Tibet by Chinese army that kills peaceful people. Interestingly, little resistance is observed from the peacefully principled Tibetans.

These events soften Harrer’s heart as he sympathizes with the Tibetans and their reaction to invasion. Moreover, he starts to long for his unseen son and wife, after abandoning them earlier. This shows a huge transformation in his life. The segment is quite emotional because Harrer was known to be an egocentric man with focus only to himself. However, an interaction with the young Dalai Lama transforms him into a loving, sympathetic and caring person.

Analysis

Harrer abandons his wife and unborn son for egocentric motives to achieve mountain climbing dreams. However, he comes back a changed man with a longing for his wife and son. Moreover, he comes back as a gentle and transformed person. This is quite strange given that such expectations were unimaginable.

Clearly, this shows that human heart can be transformed. Moreover, this can transpire in his actions. His ego and pride diminishes after an emotional as well as tragic experience in Tibet. This happens after he fails to achieve his dream of climbing Nanga Parbat of the Himalayas. From this, it can be seen that once a source of pride is taken away, one is denied the outright opportunity to pursue his/her ego. Added to this, Harrer’s imprisonment turns his situation into desperation.

Moreover, when peter falls in love with Pema, he becomes lonely and longs for his family. At this state, he finds peace in his young friend Dalai Lama who teaches him the ways of peace, compassion and humility. Besides, he is astonished and sympathetic to the Tibetans who are invaded yet they are peaceful. All these events work to transform him into a peaceful man.

Conclusion

Harrer is transformed into a gentle, humble and compassionate man after witnessing all the events in Tibet. His relationship with Dalai Lama is also seen to be the turning point of this transformation. However, for this to be achieved, he is first denied the source of his pride and compassion (mountain climbing and friends). It can therefore be seen that egocentric people need to be denied their source of pride to slow them down and transform them into gentle ones (Brussat and Ann 1).

Works Cited

Brussat, Fredric and Ann, Mary. Spirituality and practice: Seven years in Tibet. 2009. Web.

Kundun is the movie which portrays many themes and raises many problems. Generally speaking, Kundun is a chronological discussion of life of Dalai Lama who was the inspirer and the religious leaders of Tibet. The whole story is the episodic description of the life of this prominent person in the life of Tibet and its people.

The movie starts with the discussion of Dalai Lama’s mother about his father, his family and his place in the world. However, the Tibetan leaders got to know about Dalai Lama who was considered to be the chosen, the special person even though he was born in the family of simple workers.

Therefore, trying to check whether Dalai Lama deserves the attitude and position many people want to assure him with, lamas administers decide to check Dalai Lama with the test to get to know whether he is really selected or not. It should be stated that the main idea of the test was to offer Dalai Lama several things and his task was to guess the properly of the previous Dalai Lama. The boy easily passes the test and he goes to Tibet.

Being too small, there are cases of fear new Dalai Lama suffers from, however, Reting tells him a story about previous Dalai Lama trying to encourage the boy. He manages and after the death of Reting Dalai Lama begins to take part in the political and religious life of the country more actively.

When the Communist China tries to impact on Tibet, Dalai Lama goes to Chairman Mao Zedong to try to settle the situation. Even though that he seems to agree on the problematic issues, it appears that Dalai Lama failed to agree with the communist leader.

After the consultation with oracle, Dalai Lama decides to go away believing that Tibet is going to live better without his impact as being a religious leader he could not refuse from his convictions, while Mao Zedong was sure that religion is evil. Being away from the native land Dalai Lama is sure to returns home some time.

Watching this movie, I was fascinated by Tibet, its culture and traditions. I suppose that having selected Dalai Lama as a character for the movie, the director wanted to show the audience customs and traditions of such great and mysterious place as Tibet. The audience is given an opportunity to see the most impressive and sacred sides of the place.

Tibet is full of mystery and customs which may never be seen by other people. However, the chance to see the hidden part of this place is the main idea of the movie. Of course, the posture of Dalai Lama is important, however, the director wanted to make sure that people would be able to understand some cultural peculiarities of Tibet through Dalai Lama.

Of course, Dalai Lama is chosen not by chance. Having selected a religious leader, the director of the movie tried to show that religion plays an important part for the citizens of Tibet. Presenting the period of time since 1937 to 1959, the film creators wanted to show Tibet and the development of the idea.

I suppose it is possible to notice that the attitude to religion has not changed. Thus, the message of the film was to show the audience what Tibet is and what place religion plays in life of Tibetan people. The director managed to reach the main purpose of the movie.

Works Cited

Kundun. Prod. Barbara De Fina. New York: Touchstone Pictures. 1997. DVD.