This necklace has a central pendant, which is long, oval and shaped in a cylinder like golden holder. The necklace is suspended in a cylindrical ring, which is decorated with triangles that are made of granules. The necklace is a true classic feature of the Phoenician arts and crafts whose influence borrows heavily from the lifestyles of the people of that time who lived in the Eastern Mediterranean.
The necklace has other four pendants that are shaped with wire borders and surrounded by several granules, which are all linked to the pendants through the wire suspension.
The necklace has a pendant, which draws attention because of its flattened granule, which has a collar that attaches it to the suspension ring (Gowing 37). The length of the pendants is 1.5 centimetres while the width is 1.3 centimetres, with the total circa of the necklace being 20 centimeters.
The necklace has pendants that consist of two golden sheets with a suspension, which is incised. There are fifteen cornelian beads that are connected together within the necklace, which have diverse shapes and different positions from each other.
Some of the beads are spherical, others are cylindrical and others have the shape of a double cone (Gowing 41). All these shapes are joined together to create an art piece, which is not only authentic but it also communicates deep cultural aspects of the Phoenicians and the practices they carried out in the ancient times.
It is thought that the time period when the necklace was made must have been from the 7th C BC to 6th C BC. This is because of the dominant aspect of the gold and amber minerals, which are used in the design of the necklace.
The Phoenicians were prominent in their trade and through these interactions; they borrowed aspects and cultural influences of other cultures they met and adopted them as their own (Pater 88).
This infusion made the Phoenicians to be well known for crafts that were done in ivory, glass, wood and precious stones, which were mainly produced out of the various items of trade that the Phoenicians exchanged with the people they traded with.
The art pieces had a significant place within the culture and practices of Phoenicians as the artisans were concerned about the level of visual appeal an item of art was able to sustain.
These art pieces served religious, trade, funeral or other symbolic festivals, which had a lot of meaning in the cultural significance of the Phoenicians during that era. These art pieces were meant to communicate various messages either to the departed or to the supreme spiritual figures regarding the nature of the ceremonies that were conducted at that time (Pater 89).
The known forms of art that tell a story about the Phoenicians are mainly those related to funeral and burial rites. The jewelry, amulets, scarabs, amulets, ivory boxes, terra cotta and cosmetic items, were all objects, which signified a higher rank and status within the society. All these were accompaniments during funeral ceremonies and they must have had a higher level of significance within the Phoenician society.
Some of these forms of art have been found in ancient temples and tombs and most of the art found was mainly in form of small items. Phoenicians must have had a habit of adorning such items whenever they could be going for social or private functions (Pater 90).
Phoenicians interacted a lot with the Greeks, Egyptians, Iberians and Assyrians in the past and as such, the art and crafts that they came up with must have been influenced by these interactions.
These interactions were mainly in form of trade from which the Phoenicians borrowed some trends in art and crafts from their counterparts who hailed from other lands. The art had a distinct feature of being conservative given that the motifs and decorations were reproduced in a similar pattern for a period of several centuries.
The Phoenician art borrowed heavily from Egyptian, Assyrian and Greek designs, which were similar in color, tone and appearance. There was imitation in some of the works where the artists reproduced the art forms that they had seen in the other societies that interacted with them.
The artists focused on the appearance of object and visual appeal was the main motivation for each artist in the area (Pater 94). The decorative forms were in the form of an ibis or a swan, which made objects have a high-quality design.
The jewelry and scarabs at the time were mainly decorated through floral art and at times with the use of representational art. The representational art was mainly in form of plants, ants, animals, people or even divinities.
Some of the crafts were mainly inspired by Greek icons of religion and other religious symbols, which were reproduced by artists of that time, especially in the 5th century BC.
The artistic symbols were mainly used and reproduced after interactions of trade, war and travel. The necklace of five gold pendants and twenty one stone beads captures the essence of the Phoenician spirit and cultural attitudes in its overall design.
Works Cited
Gowing, Lawrence. A History of Art. London: Borders Press, 2002. Print.
Pater, Walter Horatio. Greek Studies: A Series of Essays. Middlesex: Echo Library, 2006. Print.
Precious has a number of features that a peculiar to the MTV filming style. First, specific attention should be given to the dynamic movement of the camera and the accompanying sound tracks. Some of the scenes are deprived of fluid and smooth movements of the camera, as it is presented in the art film style.
In particular, the picture is more focused on motionless presentations of close-ups that are rapidly changed by dynamic scenes. Specific attention requires the scene when Precious takes an exam and when she attends the classes. The scene of fighting with another girl is represented by means of various camera movements from different angles.
In contrast to art film style, it seems that no digital editing systems have been applied to the shooting process. In particular, the editor does not select sequences of shots to create a finished product. In contrast, the movie is presented as a set of randomly chosen cuts, which contribute to its dynamics.
In the movie, there are also flash frames that interchange with still scenes. Specifically, at the very beginning, there is a scene that depicts the heroine sitting in her bedroom and looking through the old album and her mother dancing in another room in front of the TV set.
Finally, the film movie style lack continuity, which is another feature of MTV movie style. Hence, the director does not introduce subsequent shots from various angles. There is a scene when each scene is accompanied by photos. This approach is used to emphasize the importance of the heroine’s memories about her family. It also allows the readers to combine reality with Precious’s illusionary representation of the world.
Works Cited
Precious. Ex. Producer. Lee Daniels United States: Lionsgate, 2009. DVD.
The problems depicted in movies often reflect the most important and problematic issues which are characteristic for the definite society or period of time.
The Hours (2002) directed by Stephen Daldry can be discussed as the movie in which such a controversial moral issue as suicide is presented with references to three main characters who commit or think about committing suicide.
Although the problem of suicide is discussed from the point of different philosophical movements and visions, there is no single idea according to this controversial moral issue.
The plot of The Hours is organized within three time perspectives. Thus, the audience can observe the peculiarities of Virginia Woolf’s life during one day in 1923 when she starts writing her novel Mrs. Dalloway, suffering from a mental disease.
Then, it is possible to observe Laura Brown, a pregnant housewife from Los Angeles, who is preparing for her husband’s birthday, but she thinks only about committing suicide. It is the year of 1951. The next story is about Clarissa and her friend Richard who suffers from AIDS.
They live in 2001. These characters are connected with the help of Virginia Woolf’s novel Mrs. Dalloway. Woolf is depicted while writing the novel, Laura Brown reads the novel, and Clarissa is discussed as the embodiment of the novel’s main character.
However, one more issue which connects all these characters is the issue of committing suicide. Thus, the act of suicide is presented in Mrs. Dalloway, the frame of the movie is associated with Virginia Woolf’s committing suicide in 1941, Laura Brown thinks of suicide because of her unhappy marriage, and Clarissa’s friend Richard is inclined to commit suicide to find the relief from his sufferings caused by AIDS.
The question of suicide is one of the most controversial in philosophy and ethics. According to the Natural Law, the people’s task is to preserve their life. That is why, the concept of suicide can be discussed as contradicting to the main principles of this theory.
The Natural Law prohibits committing suicide as the act of breaking its main principle. Immanuel Kant discusses the human actions as moral or not with references to the other people.
Thus, the idea of suicide is in contrast to the idea of humanity that is why people should not commit suicide if they do not want the other people could imitate their actions. It is impossible to universalize the act of suicide as ethical.
The philosophy of Utilitarianism is based on the actions’ consequences and on the idea of the personal well-being.
These two concepts influence the discussion of the issue of committing suicide which can be considered as unethical when it has the negative consequences for the other people, but it is possible when it satisfies the personal needs and can help relieve from sufferings.
The principles of the Social Contract depend on the fears, and the fear of death is basic. Moreover, according to the theory, people should preserve their lives, and the act of suicide is immoral.
The approach to committing suicide discussed in relation to Utilitarianism can be considered as relevant for analyzing the problems depicted in the movie with references to Woolf’s position when she speaks about the right to live the life according to her own desires and visions.
Nevertheless, when persons can experience the same issues they should remember about the unethical nature of this act in relation to their own life and its consequences for their close people. From this point, the reaction to the issue should be based on the Natural Law’s principles and the people’s obligation to preserve their life.
The problem of committing suicide is one of the most controversial moral issues, and it depends on the necessity to discuss the question from the perspective of the consequences of the act for the person and for the other persons, including relatives and close people.
The representation of the problem in The Hours allows discussing the issue from all the points.
Both James River exhibitions: ‘The James in the Civil War’ and ‘The James in the period 1880-1920’, are quite different, however have much in common. Two pictures: ‘View of the Port of Richmond Virginia’ in the Civil War and the ‘Evacuation of Richmond’ in the period 1880-1920, have been analyzed.
The first image is in black and white tones. The values are transitional and smooth, and gently move from light to dark (Studio Codex, 2006). In some areas the broken values are used in order to emphasize the texture. Light value is used to underline the major themes on the picture: the moon light, calm river.
Even though the second image is colored, the tones are very cold. Similar to the first image, the values are changed from light, which is closer, to the dark, which is further. The emphasis is made on the dark values, as the image has negative background. Both images are rich for lines.
The second has many horizontal lines, which show the river character, as well as many vertical lines, which are used to describe the boats. The lines are not very thick; they create the light atmosphere of the image. The first image has more vertical lines. The main accent is made on fire. Another line is the bridge, which divides the image into two parts.
The lines on the other side of the bridge are horizontal, they are observed in the river and on the both shores. Both images are three dimensions, but the space solution is different (Elements and Principles of Design, 2012). Thus, the image is organized, as almost every single part is filled. Free space is used only at the beginning. Another image is divided into two parts.
One part is filled of events, the main theme of fire and disastrous is shown on it. Other part shows absolutely different atmosphere. It is not occupied by many objects: calm river, the shores, and some buildings on the background (The James River, 2003).
The first image presents symmetrical balance in comparison to the asymmetrical second one. The black and white picture represents radial symmetry: the major theme of the night is observed in the centre. The asymmetrical balance of the other picture is viewed out of the contrast of tones, values, inactive and active areas (Researching Art, 2012).
Nevertheless, both of the pictures represent the same James River region, their content differs a lot. Both images are historical and describe the events from the past: James River in the period of the Civil War, and James River in the period 1880-1920. ‘View of the Port of Richmond Virginia’ and ‘Evacuation of Richmond’ are not very rich for symbols (Coski,1996).
The primary context of the image is to show the river in the night, and the marvelous overview of the many boats. However, the secondary content of the images is to show historical facts. The first picture shows common James River for the period of Civil War: people are trying to escape (Sears, 1992). It is deep night, as we can see the moon, but there are many boats.
The atmosphere is calm. Even watching the image, we can hear the noise of the oars, but nothing more (McFarland, 2009). The major difference on the second picture is that it doesn’t have the primary content as showed events are obvious. The invasion clearly showed on the left part of image. Here “what you see” is equal to “what you understand”(Belton, 1996).
To conclude, the images exemplify their content very different. The first image has a double content. It is very hard to discover the main theme without knowing the historical background of the image. The second picture is more open, as here the author underlined the major topic by colors, techniques, and tones.
Bibliography
Belton, Robert. Art History a Preliminary Handbook. 1996. Web.
Brown, Robert. View of the Port of Richmond Virginia. The Countries of the World: Being a Popular Description of a Various Continents, Island, Rivers, Seas, and People of the Globe. Vol.2, London, Paris& New York: Cassell, Petter, Gaplin& Go., 1876, p.160. Print.
Coski, John M. Capital Navy: The Men, Ships, and Operations of the James River Squadron. Campbell, California: Savas Woodbury Publishers, 1996. Print.
Elements and Principles of Design. 2012. Web.
McFarland, Kenneth M. “The James River During the Civil War.” Encyclopedia Virginia. Ed. Brendan Wolfe. Virginia Foundation for the Humanities. 2009. Web.
Researching Art. 2012. Web.
Sears, Stephen W. To the Gates of Richmond: The Peninsula Campaign. New York: Ticknor and Fields, 1992. Print.
Studio Codex. 2006. Web.
The Evacuation of Richmond, Va. Hand-colored postcard. Richmond, Virginia: Southern Bargain House, 1913. Print.
The film, Coffy, intended on defying stereotypes about depictions of African American women as sapphires; however, it ended up creating a new stereotype. Pam Grier was a refined version of the whore stereotype.
Coffy played a sexy woman who used her attractiveness to get what she wanted. This portrayal hypersexualized black women and reduced them to sex objects.
Depictions in the film
When Coffy meets with a sex-crazed drug dealer (Arturo Vitroni), she first appears as a non-threatening, if not an unintelligent, woman. The white mobster spits on her and asks her to crawl towards him.
One immediately realizes that he is a racist who only perceives black women as sex slaves. The individual even hurls insults at Coffy in a crude and disgusting manner. The scene is quite uncomfortable to racially conscious viewers as it conjures up images of the dark days of slavery.
At this point, Pam Grier fights back by unleashing a gun from under her bag. However, Vitroni’s bodyguard prevents her from using it and forces Coffy to tell him who sent her. Grier uses this moment to get back at the unforgiving pimp – King George – by naming him as her boss.
Coffy thus punishes King George for being a cause of her sister’s addiction. Her aggressiveness and ability to fight against injustice endear her to audiences.
Therefore, Pam Grier uses the role of a prostitute to disguise her vengeful ways. Additionally, this role is a depiction of camp comedy because it mocks submissive women.
One must look beyond this disguise to get to the symbolic meaning of the scene as well as the movie in general. When Coffy used her body to lure her enemies, she was doing more than just exerting revenge; Pam was representing black women.
We should note that, in the 1950s and 1960s, movie executives repressed or erased black women’s sexuality, as seen through images of the Sapphire and the Mammy. In the 1970s, however, the society exaggerated black women’s sexuality, and Coffy was the typical depiction of such exaggeration.
Black feminists often argue that white women may sometimes appear as sex objects in film; nonetheless, producers often give white women a greater range of characters to depict than black actresses.
This narrows down the portrayals of African American women in films to two possibilities: sexy temptresses or matriarchal nurturers. Producers of the film, Coffy, were reducing African American women to this narrow characterization.
Stakeholders in the film industry have an enormous burden that they must bear; their choices affect how members of other cultures perceive the represented group.
These distortions of what black women are all about hurt their image. It causes members of other races to perceive African American females in a stereotypical fashion without the complexities and dynamics that make them authentic.
Conclusion
One must give credit to the film’s producers as they tried to portray African American women in an empowered fashion. Coffy is tough and will stop at nothing in order to exert revenge on society’s oppressors.
However, the use of a hypersexualized female as the message carrier neutralized this noble goal of black empowerment.
The producers of the film had a series of roles that they could give their main character, but they settled for a degrading one. This says a lot about what society perceived as an acceptable role for black female characters.
“The Rocky Horror Picture Show” is a 1975 movie that was meant as a parody of the 1940s horror and science fiction movies. The film is an adaptation of the British musical stage play known as “The Rocky Horror Show”. This movie is a story about love, creation, hate, sex, and adventure. The story is set in Ohio where a recently engaged couple consisting of Janet Weiss and Brad Majors is on a road trip.
The couple’s car develops mechanical problems in the middle of a rain storm. They are then forced to seek refuge in Doctor Frank-N-Futer’s castle. Doctor Frank refers to himself as an alien from the Transsexual planet of Transylvania galaxy. In the castle, they meet several other characters.
The others in the castle include Magenta, Riff Raff, and Columbia. Their arrival coincides with the birth of Rocky Horror, a personal creation of Doctor Frank. At night, Doctor Frank seduces both Janet and Brad. The next morning a doctor by the name Scott shows up in the castle only to discover a dead body in the freezer.
In the ensuing commotion, Frank turns Brad, Janet, and Scott into stones after suspecting they were all working against him. This event is interrupted by Riff Raff and magenta’s revolt. During the revolt Frank, Rocky, and Columbia all end up dead. Janet, Brad, and Scott’s all survive the encounter. After this, the narrator concludes the movie.
“The Rocky Horror Picture Show” gained audience at a slow pace until it eventually attained a cult status. This film has also remained in cinemas from 1975 to date. Comparatively, the film is of lower quality than the original stage show. The reason for this seems to be the fact that the film makers decided to include a lot of in-jokes for the fans of this genre. Even the music used in the film is mostly meant for the genre’s fans.
The two main characters Brad and Janet are refreshingly boring and they are completely overshadowed by other characters like Doctor Frank and his hunch-back assistant Riff Raff. The costumes used in this movie also turned out to be quite significant. When the movie started showing on midnight cinemas, fans would turn out dressed as characters from the film.
The costumes used in this film are very similar to those in most Hammer Horror films. They resemble most of the costumes that were used in Frankenstein films. The costumes and the make-up for the original stage play were usually conceptualized by the actors.
However, the makers of the film specifically designed the costumes and the make-up for all the characters. The set of the film is also designed to resemble that of most Frankenstein movies in the 1950s.
A lot of the graphics used in the movie are in black and white as well as color red to signify blood. Most of the scenes interchange from black and white to color.
This is due to the fact that the film was meant as a parody of both science fiction and horror films. Most science fiction films were in black and white while red was the dominant color in most horror films. Commercially, the movie was a huge success. The film has managed to gross over one hundred and thirty million dollars from an original budget of around 1.2 million dollars.
One of the main motivations, which prompt people to read fiction-novels and to watch movies, which contain the motifs of otherworldliness, is the fact that, while being exposed to these literary and cinematographic works, individuals are being often able to confirm the validity of their unconscious anxieties, as to what accounts for the true essence of a surrounding reality.
In its turn, this usually helps people to attain the sensation of an ‘existential wholesonmess’ – when they come in a close touch with a number of socially suppressed truths about what may be considered the actual significance of their life-experiences.
The Freudian concept of ‘uncanny’ comes in particularly handy, when it comes to discussing the significance of fictitious representations of otherworldliness, “An uncanny experience occurs either when infantile complexes which have been repressed are once more revived by some impression, or when primitive beliefs which have been surmounted seem once more to be confirmed” (Freud 57).
Therefore, it makes a perfect logical sense to discuss these representations as such that are being reflective of the workings of people’s unconscious psyche. In this paper, I will aim to do just that, in regards to the motifs of otherworldliness, which can be found in George Lucas’s 1977 film Star War: A New Hope and Steven King’s 1977 novel The Shining.
The foremost aspect of how the unworldly reality is being depicted in Lucas’s movie is the fact that, while being exposed to it, viewers are being prompted to establish dialectical links between what they get to see on the screen and what accounts for the essence of their socialization-related experiences, in a real life.
The validity of this statement can be well illustrated in relation to the film’s scene, in which the characters of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness) end up confronting aliens and mutated humans in the bar, on the planet of Tatooine (00.46.37).
There can be few doubts as to the fact that there are strongly defined motifs of the Freudian ‘uncanny’ to this particular scene, because it relates to the White viewers’ unconscious fear of multiculturalism.
After all, it does not represent much of a secret that even many open-minded Whites in Western countries, where the policy of multiculturalism had attained an official status, do not exhibit much of an enthusiasm, while being required to take an active part in the ‘celebration of diversity’.
Hence, their tendency to prefer residing in a racially secluded ‘white suburbia’, as opposed to residing amidst the representatives of racial minorities in ethnic ‘ghettos’.
Therefore, while exposed to the scene, in which the alien-looking representatives of an ‘intergalactic scum’ are picking upon the characters of Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, many viewers confirm the validity of their rationally suppressed fear of venturing in places, where ethnically diverse individuals can be found in particularly large numbers.
There are two mutually exclusive aspects of how people experience the ‘uncanny’ – they are being simultaneously encouraged and discouraged to rationalize their unconscious anxieties, in regards to the potential dangers of the unknown.
Apparently, Steven King was well aware of it, which is why he used to say that it is being in the very nature of just about every individual to expect that even thoroughly conventional settings conceal subliminal horrors.
Therefore, it does not come as a particular surprise that King’s novel contains scenes, in which Danny’s otherworldly daydreaming becomes ‘uncanny’ to an extent that readers simply cannot help but having their attention solely focused on the plot’s unraveling – quite contrary to the fact that they do realize that what they are about to read may well scare them to death.
For example, there is a memorable scene in the novel when Danny is having a vision of streams of blood starting to pour down on the floor out of the elevator doors (King 161). This scene’s ‘uncanny’ appeal is being concerned with the fact that the author was able to take a certain advantage of the readers’s subliminal tendency to associate the color red with blood.
Therefore, even though readers do get to experience a certain horror, while being exposed to this scene, on an unconscious level, they nevertheless do not perceive the concerned plot’s twist as being thoroughly unrealistic. This is because, prior to having this vision, Danny stared at the red-colored elevator doors for a long time. Yet, the prolonged staring at ominously looking red doors can never bring any good – people’s unconscious psyche never ceases being aware of it.
The fact that the portrayal of otherworldly spaces in movies serves the purpose of prompting viewers to come to terms with their fear of the unknown can also be explored in regards to another scene in Lucas film, in which Luke Skywalker, Princess Lea (Carrie Fisher) and Han Solo (Harrison Ford) find themselves trapped in the Imperial spaceship’s garbage-compartment (01.21.43).
While there, they realize that is a some kind of dangerous creature is lurking underneath the murky water. Yet, even though that a good part of the concerned action involves all three characters trying to figure out what they are being faced with, the creature never shows itself.
The only part of this creature that viewers get to see is its tentacle. This, of course, results in the intensification of viewers’ fears of the unknown even further, because it is specifically the unknown types of danger, which people tend to perceive as being particularly dangerous.
It appears that by exposing viewers to this particular scene, Lucas was able to strengthen the acuteness of their ‘uncanny’ experiences, which in turn increased the film’s cinematographic appeal rather dramatically – in full accordance with Freud’s outlook on the subject matter.
The same can be said about the scene in King’s novel, in which Danny realizes the fact that his nightmares of being chased by a person with an ax in his hands were bound to come to reality, “It was the place he had seen in the midst of the blizzard… The place Tony had warned him against. It was here. It was here. Whatever Redrum was, it was here” (69).
The clearly ‘uncanny’ undertones to Danny’s earlier mentioned realization are being thoroughly apparent, because the author made a deliberate point in emphasizing the unknown subtleties of Redrum, which in turn increased the extent of this scene emotional intensity.
Apparently, King wanted readers to remain in the state of suspense, for as long as possible. This is the reason why, every time the novel’s characters come in a close touch with the emanations of otherworldliness, they can never they can never grasp the true significance of their experiences, in this respect.
The manner in which Freudian ‘uncanny’ is being explored in movies that contain strongly defined otherworldly motifs, often serves the purpose of allowing viewers to experience the sensation of Déjà vu. In its turn, this strengthens the extent of their commitment to perceiving the plot’s unraveling as such that does in fact relate to their own positioning in life.
For example, there are a number of scenes in Lucas’s film, in which Imperial officers act in a particularly cold-blooded manner, while refusing to consider other people’s feelings. These scenes, of course, were meant to trigger in viewers the same set of emotions that they get to experience, while reflecting upon the historical legacy of Nazi Germany.
Therefore, it is not a pure coincidence the Imperial officers’ uniforms resemble those that used to be worn by Nazis – especially riding breeches, as seen on the screenshot below.
Apparently, the director did strive to prompt viewers to construct their attitude towards the representatives of the ‘dark side’, in regards to what accounted for the discursive significance of Imperial soldiers’ physical appearance and the qualitative essence of their psychological inclinations.
In its turn, this explains the popularity of this film’s most otherworldly character – Darth Vader. Even though that, throughout the movie’s entirety, Darth Vader rarely talks, viewers nevertheless are able to get a good clue, as what kind of an individual he really is.
The reason for this is quite apparent – despite the character’s otherworldly appearance, people can well recognize him as a person who represents currently suppressed (due to considerations of political correctness), but discursively legitimate masculine virtues of loyalty and cold-heartedness.
Essentially the same line of reasoning can be applied, when it comes to discussing the significance of Déjà vu–invoking scenes in King’s novel, concerned with otherworldliness. The scene, in which the character of Jack Torrance walks in the ballroom, filled with the ghosts of people that were alive during the Great Depression, exemplifies the point.
This is because, the appearance of these ghosts (or mental constructs, which existed solely within Jack’s brain) cannot be discussed outside of the fact that the era of the Great Depression has been traditionally associated with the notion of moral depravity, “A woman in gauzy harem pants and a rhinestone-sparkled brassiere, a man with a foxhead rising slyly out of his evening dress, a man in a silvery dog outfit who was tickling the nose of a woman in a sarong with the puff on the end of his long tail” (405).
What it means is that, even before Jack turns into a bloodthirsty psycho, the earlier mentioned scene provided readers with an unconsciously-felt indication that this eventual development was indeed bound to occur.
Apparently, while being prompted to construct images of fancifully dressed people drinking and laughing, readers get to experience a Déjà vu sensation that there is something utterly short-lived about these partying individuals.
After all, on an unconscious level, we all know that the intensity of a particular sensual pleasure corresponds to the extent of this pleasure’s lengthiness in a counter-geometrical progression. Thus, the portrayal of an otherworldly space in this particular scene was meant to confirm the validity of readers’ growing suspicion that Jack was actually on the path of a mental self-destruction.
Works Cited
Freud, Zigmund. The Uncanny, London: Penguin Books Limited, 2003. Print.
King, Steven. The Shining, New York: Gallery Books, 2002. Print.
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Ex. Prod. George Lucas: 20th Century Fox. 1977. DVD.
The issue of planning in cities is on the rise as far as the urbanization process is concerned. Urban development trends are closely associated with suburban sprawl phenomenon leading to overuse of territories. In order to solve the planning issue, two challenges might arise.
On the one hand, the sprawl problem can be solved by means of building skyscrapers, but this decision threatens the loss of rural territories. On the other hand, although urban development consumes land in a more reasonable way, it still produces senseless planning of the areas, leading to the loss of community and social development.
Inadequate planning is especially characteristic for large cities with dense population. Similar issues are indirectly concerned in the movie Julie and Julia where the main heroines are overwhelmed with the business routine and city conventions.
At the beginning of the movie, Julie Powell is meeting with her friends to discuss the routine problems they face in everyday life. They are concerned with the inconveniences of urban life, as well as the decisions about suburban development. One of the characters also inclines to the decision of demolishing the rural area and building skyscraper as an optimal urban solution.
The theme discussed in the movie correlates with the statement that “to [people] [sprawl] is the means of owning a house on a large lot and enjoying the convenience of one-stop mega-mall shopping” (Macionis and Parrillo, 2000, p. 110). Emergence of traffic and finance problems, as well as the necessity to move from area to another, creates social challenges to the community as well.
In addition, loss of rural areas, along with the construction of new skyscrapers and city centers, leads to the destruction of historically important heritage in the city. Extreme business of urbanized communities, however, lessens the importance of cultural heritance and, as a result, fewer people are concerned with the problems of socialization.
In the movie, Julia Powell works as an operator of a call-center at Lower Manhattan Development Corporation’s, and her primary responsibility lies in meeting the needs of the citizens. However, people suppressed with routine problems fail to understand the needs and problems of each other, which is the result of urbanization and lack of cultural importance assigned to the cities.
With emerging sprawl problems in urban communities, the question of urban planning comes to the forth. On the one hand, the urban community can be considered as a self-regulated polis with independent residents. On the other hand, the routine of daily life makes the citizens of modern cities helpless instruments and faceless forces.
Such a statement appeals to the discussion of the concept of urban power and control (Mollenkopf, 1992). In fact, the planning issues should be closely connected with social values and meet concerns of individuals, as it has been presented in the movie.
In particular, the main heroine Julia Child confronts the stereotypes about women as the members of the urban society. The protagonist breaks the prejudiced attitude and enters the male-dominating world.
The necessity for introducing social dimension to an urban setting is vital. In particular, the reasons for social disorder are partly rooted in city organization and development. In the movie, Julia Powell faces a challenge when she and her husband had to move to another apartment to be within easy reach from her husband’s work.
They need to confront the social pressure and change their lifestyles to meet the demands of urban community. According to Southworth and Eran (2003), “…inevitable social disorder would be controlled best by improving the environment” (p. 62). In this respect, the importance of residential philosophy is indispensible to shaping the social paradigms of suburban life.
What is more important is that the development of functional zones for citizens can allow them to strike the balance between work and pleasure and arrange their daily activities in the most efficient way. Before introducing city reforms, it is purposeful to discuss what problems a modern urban area faces.
This is of particular concern to time management, transport, and working office location that have a potent impact on the welfare of an individual as a member of community. As Southworth and Eran (2003), attention to roads and transportation systems should be enhanced because it influences the community networks organizations, as well as their effective functioning.
In conclusion, it should be stressed that the planning issues closely correlate with social welfare of the urban community. Indeed, the inconveniences of urban life cause significant problems in terms of communication and social interaction. As a result, large cities can hardly be associated with self-regulating communities and a well-structured organization.
This is of particular concern to sprawl problems leading to destruction of rural areas and emergence of skyscrapers. In addition, urban problems also lead to unhealthy social response to city organization is in part the reasons for lack of good organization and effective time management.
Poorly organized systems of transportation do not contribute to public welfare and, as result, most of the city sectors cannot function properly.
References
Macionis, J. J., & Parrillo, V. N. (2000). Cities and Suburbs of the Twenty-First Century. In J. J. Macionis and V. N. Parrilo (Eds) Cities and Urban Life. (pp. 108-115) New York: Prentice Hall.
Mollenkopf, J. (1992). How to Study Urban Political Power. In. J. H. Mollenkopf (Eds.) Phoenix in the Ashes: The Rise and Fall of the Koch Coalition in New York City Politics. (pp. 220-228) US: Princeton University Press.
Southworth, M. & Eran, B.-J. (2003). Street Standards and Shaping of Suburbia. Journal of the American Planning Association. 61(1), 65-74.
Mirroring the everyday reality has always been an uneasy task, and the invention of cinema has made the creative process a tad easier. However, even in movies, one of the most graphic ways to portray everyday reality and convey certain ideas to the public, the messages can get quite mixed up on their way to the audience.
One of the most memorable movies about Irish people has offered a perfect interpretation of the modern controversy concerning homosexuality and the related issues, yet has completely failed to develop any believable settings for a typical Irish place.
Despite the fact that Goldfish Memory is flawed in a very basic way, it still offers a topical issue to discuss and approaches it in a very innovative and cautious way, making it obvious that the movie portrayed the Irish life as claustrophobic urban one instead of open rural life, while the major gain concerned mostly the innovative ways in which Ireland was represented, thus, sending the audience a wrong message about the country.
However, it is necessary to keep in mind that McLoone’s opinion might be not the only possible statement concerning the movie settings. Perhaps, once some more details of the movie are considered, the latter will show its true colors, and the implications which Gill was trying to convey with the help of the specific messages in the movie were, indeed, successful.
Once analyzing carefully the settings and the ideas which the movie is trying to get across, one can possibly suggest the proper interpretation of the settings and make sure whether McLoone was correct in his statement of the movie’s settings and the purposelessness of the latter.
Watching Controversial Issues Cross: Political or Social Issues?
Goldfish Memory is one of those movies that never speak about one and the same issue; swinging from topic to topic, it touches upon a number of things, which makes the movie actually somewhat engaging.
The first and the foremost, the movie is completely about the controversy of homosexuality, the social isolation which homosexuals are often trapped in, the complexities in communication with the opposite sex, the difficulties in personal life, etc., which sets the movie in a rather grim mood – with the only exception that the characters are rather cheerful, with little concern about their being different from everyone else and the overall lightheartedness of the movie.
While telling about relationships and the way these relationships develop, the film, however takes the audience to where all events are supposed to take place, i.e., Ireland; hence are the problems, since the Ireland in Goldfish Memory is not actually the everyday Ireland which is a part of our sad reality.
Thus, it is obvious that the movie offers a lot of food for thoughts, not only concerning the ideas which it misses, but also for the ones which the film actually manages to pin down in a rather impressive manner. On top of that, there are a lot of issues crossing in the movie.
There are points in the movie when one might think there are too many issues to consider. Talking about the relationships between homosexuals, it then switches to the conflict between the homosexuals and the society; finally, the movie offers the audience to consider key problems of the Irish society in the light of the above-mentioned homosexual issues and the relationships crisis.
Altogether, the problems considered in the movie make it look much like a mess of really good concepts. Therefore, Goldfish Memory makes its way in the middle between a really bad movie with some grain of reasonable argument and original approach in it, and a so-so Indie movie with a couple of worthy ideas and their poor implementation.
Nevertheless, the issues which manage to factor in seem extremely engaging, which means that Goldfish Memory is worth seeing.
When the World Is Falling Apart: The Key Loss
No matter how weird that might sound, Goldfish Memory fails not because of a certain detail which the director got wrong, or because one of the actors failed to deliver a better performance; the movie’s key fault concerns some of the basic facts about the country in which the plot is taking place.
Showing a movie which was supposed to nail down not only the romance details, but also some of the most topical issues of the Irish life, the movie disregarded such an important aspect as settings, thus, failing to deliver basic trustworthiness.
Therefore, it seems that there is one basic problem with the way in which the Irish world is portrayed. Being mostly agricultural and, therefore, having mostly rural scenery as a background for the plot to unfold, Ireland should have been viewed as a rural place, whereas in the movie, the country is depicted as a place with mostly urban backdrop.
While the scenes with the urban flair and urban scenery could have worked as a contrast to the ones which portray a typical rural setting, the scenery in the movie does not offer anything substantial for the imagination, since it is focused on the city life. According to what McLoone says, “Instead of spacious outdoor vistas, Goldfish Memory offers spacious interiors, filled with natural light.
The film’s characters, including students and bartenders, live in modern spaces in hip areas of town” (McLoone, 14). No matter how bitter it can sound, the movie distorts the typical Irish settings, taking them to the most disproportionate level.
The Way Movie Portrays It: In the Twists of the Plot
As a matter of fact, the half-baked scenery in Goldfish Memory has had its impact on the actors and the plot. While the characters of the movie are well-rounded and three-dimensional, they seem to be chewing the scenery in the movie, since the latter does not offer sufficient foil for them to develop.
Indeed, as Wyndham explains, the given kind of movies are not supposed to represent Ireland to the rest of the world, for the latter can easily have a perverted idea of Irish culture: “These films celebrate and even glorify a certain kind of urban style, one that revels in the signifiers of contemporary global youth culture and is populated by “beautiful people” (Wyndham 154).
Therefore, it can be considered that, mainly because of the issue with the settings, the movie loses its touch with the traditional Irish values, shifting into the sphere of the international ideas. The latte, doubtlessly, contributes to shaping a wrong idea of Ireland in the eyes of the foreign audience.
As Wyndham clarifies, the movie characters “are Irish, but they epitomize a kind of transglobal ‘cool’” (Wyndham 154). Hence comes the concern raised by McLoone – the movie does not offer an honest portrayal of Ireland and the Irish people, making both generic and taking all the challenge out of the theme of the movie.
Through the Mirror and What Audience Saw There: The Scenery
However, even with his harsh and critical review of the movie, McLoone still offers an alternative interpretation of why the movie director changed the Irish scenery so much; as a matter of fact, he explanation provided by McLoone covers a lot of white spots and even contributes to a better understanding of the movie:
“The spaces being looked at-being discovered and indulged-are both “queer” spaces and feminine spaces or they are the formerly hetero-masculine spaces of discursive Dublin that are now being opened up to the previously disguised and dispossessed” (McLoone).
A unique interpretation of the purpose of the movie scenery, the given idea actually makes a lot of sense. Indeed, tying the uncomfortable topic with an uncomfortably unusual setting, one will be able to get the specific atmosphere of oddness which the leading characters must have felt throughout their entire lives.
In the given context the annoyingly unsuitable urban stylistic choices which the movie director has made start falling into their places. It seems that the whole movie can be summarized with one single question asked by Isolde: “How do we know each other?” (Goldfish Memory), and the settings add to the awkward feeing considerably with their cheerful and yet somewhat cold urban flair.
Therefore, it can actually be suggested that the setting in the movie does add to the atmosphere and serve as the foil for the characters and the events. While McLoone focuses on the inconsistencies which the setting presumably has and the difference between real Ireland and the fake cartoonish Ireland which Gill is trying to portray, there can be more to the specific settings than meets the eye.
It seems impossible that Gill could be making a movie without actually knowing the specifics of the characters and their lifestyle (McDougall).
Anyway, at the first glance, the urban settings do not play to the film’s advantage. While the setting adds to the overall cheerful tone and helps to handle the controversial issue in an easier way, it still turns the whole perception of Ireland upside down, which is an obvious flaw.
The Questionable Gain: What Goes on Since 1916
Taking into account the above-mentioned, one can hardly believe that there actually are some aspects which make the movie look good and even make it worth watching; however, there are, and, as a matter of fact, they are even stronger than the negative ones.
To start with, Walsh did manage to represent the Irish youth in the most graphic and, perhaps, true manner possible.
One could argue, though, that the basic features of youth as they are portrayed in movies are practically all the same no matter the prospects of what country they are shot from; however, in the given case, one can claim that the author has stayed true to the source material and managed to see that certain something in the youngsters of the Irish Republic.
The Characters and Their Relationships
As it has been mentioned above, the settings can possibly set the mood for the movie instead of offering an account of its geographical location. It can also be suggested that the choice of the landscape was predetermined by the characters of the movie.
If the settings were any different from the traditional it-can-be-anywhere background, the characters would have faded into the background, which was quite undesirable, since the focus on the characters was the movie’s key purpose. As McLoone emphasizes,
The framing device in the mise-en-scene makes the characters’ relationship to the landscape self-conscious. When Clara and Isolde pause in the gallery, the camera positions them in the foreground, with a framed picture of a rural area under construction in the near background. (McLoone)
Once making the scene look any tad brighter and the elements of the backdrop any more distinct, the movie director would have shifted the focus from the characters to what is going on in the background, which would have made the movie look completely different.
Moreover, the given change would have made the characters less meaningful. Despite the fact that at present, it seems that the leading cast is desperately chewing the scenery, it would have looked much worse once the backdrop would have been given the maximum attention.
Reading between the Lines: Concerning Ireland
It can be considered, though, that the above-mentioned settings have been chosen for a reason and that the movie director has implied a specific meaning into the idea of a completely commonplace sunny Dublin. Indeed, with a film of such rank, the issue of settings cannot be possibly overlooked by the director; neither can it be a mere slip of the scriptwriter’s pen.
Perhaps, what McLoone considers a serious flaw of Goldfish Memories can be considered a specific viewpoint of the movie director, or even an attempt to make the cosmopolitan issues prevail the national ones. Moreover, the idea of cosmopolitanism as the effect of globalization could have been a deliberate attempt at drawing attention to the topical issues in the Irish society.
As Gillespie put it, “I do not take these features as distortions of contemporary urban middle-class Irish life. Quite the contrary, they seem to capture it quite well, a circumstance that highlights an integral element of the problem of identity” (76).
Therefore, it seems that McLoone’s position can also be considered rather one-sided. While the absence of the typical Irish settings in the movie can be considered as a flaw, it should be also viewed as an attempt to convey a specific message.
As a resident of Ireland, Gill should know what the place looks like and, therefore, make the movie settings remind of the Irish ones. Turning these settings into something that seems almost surreal for Ireland, gill must have implied a specific message, and it is the task of the spectators to guess what this message is.
Looking at the settings of the movie from a different perspective, one can suggest that there is a specific hidden message conveyed with the help of the urban atmosphere. Indeed, it hardly seems possible that a movie was based on such a huge misunderstanding.
Therefore, it can be considered that there are certain issues implied in the “wrong” settings. Among the most obvious choices for the settings interpretation, the idea of new Irish generation and its new problems can be considered.
As Lardon explains, the key idea behind the settings might be the fact that the place becomes completely bland and that the key plot points “are set in the hitherto cinematically invisible affluent, guiltless Dublin” (Lardon 220), the city “inhabited by nonchalant, prosperous young Irish urbanites” (Lardon 220).. Thus, the audience can relate to the characters easier and get more invested into the movie.
Righting the Wrongs: There is Still something Left to Hope for
Staying true to the source material – the Irish settings in the given case – is one of the key responsibilities of a movie director; there can be no possible doubt about that. However, once the movie is out of its proportions and the reality has been distorted to the nth degree, it is quite peculiar to analyze the director’s choices.
After all, there might be some rhyme and reason to the surprisingly welcoming tones of the movie and joyful colors. According to McLoone, “highly stylized Dublin that was shot originally on digital video and then considerably enhanced through postproduction computer imaging” (McLoone) is what makes the movie so unrealistic and, thus, misrepresents the Irish atmosphere. Following McLoone’s train of thoughts,
This postproduction process suffuses the final film with enhanced colors-oranges, soft blues, and warm greens. This creates an almost subliminal sense of well-being, a visual “feel good” factor that makes the city of Dublin appear uncharacteristically bright and attractive. (McLoone)
Because of the excessive use of colors and the abuse of bright tones, the movie director made it look unrealistic, as if carved from a cartoony virtual reality and placed in the real world.
Conclusion: Watching Memories Slowly Fade Away
Therefore, despite the fact that Goldfish Memories does offer certain generalizations and cannot be considered a precise representation of reality, it is still clear that Walsh offers a couple of important issues for the Ireland to consider.
Likewise, the representation of the present-day Ireland and its inhabitants cannot be considered fully accurate. On the surface, the movie focuses on the relationships between the confused young people and tells about their life, and does so in a romantic-comedy manner.
If looking a bit deeper, however, one is likely to discover that the film can be viewed as an allegory for the modern Irish society, with its uncertainty and doubts, slowly disintegrating into mess. Hence, the movie can also be viewed as an attempt to portray and even solve the social conflict which is going on in Ireland at the moment.
Hence the issues of loss and gain can be derived. On the one hand, the movie obviously makes the audience dive deeper into the current Irish conflict. Moreover, the film challenges the viewers to take the issue to an even higher level, asking them whether building relationships in the modern world has become a problem. Finally, the movie raises the issue of trust, which is also essential for the modern public.
The sincerity which the movie approaches to the controversial issues with is truly a gain and is definitely worth appreciation. When it comes to describing the elements of the Irish reality, the movie obviously loses, though, and the above-mentioned fact should be considered a major flaw.
Though compelling and thought-provoking, Goldfish Memories does not stay true to the realities of the Irish less-than-urban lifestyle, which sets the movie several steps back in the impression it is trying to make.
Works Cited
Gillespie, Michael Patrick. The Myths of an Irish Cinema: Approaching Irish-Themed Films. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press. 2008. Print.
Goldfish Memories. Dir. Elizabeth Gill. Perf. Sean Campion, Fiona O’Shaughnessy and Fiona Glasscott. Wolfe Releasing, 2003. Film.
McLoone, Martin. “Cinema, City and Imaginative Space: “Hip Hedonism” and Recent Irish Cinema.” 2007. Microsoft Word File.
McDougall, Heather. Genre and Cinema: Ireland and Transnationalism. PDF file. n.d.
Wyndham, Andrew Higgins. Re-Imagining Ireland. Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia Press. 2006. Print.
Blood Diamond is a political war film which acquired its title from the diamonds mined in the African war torn areas. The starring in the movie is Leonardo DiCarprio. The movie also features Jenniffer Connelly and Djimon Hounsou. The movie is directed and produced by Edward Zwick.
There are many themes in the movie. The title introduces the main theme in the movie. From its title, it becomes clear that the diamonds mined in Africa are used to finance conflicts. The film ably depicts a conflict between the government soldiers and the rebels. The direct effect of the said conflict to the citizens is witnessed. Ordinary citizens are terrorized and forced to harvest diamonds by the rebels.
The most striking part of the film is portrayed when Solomon Vandy discovers a piece of diamond and hides it. His life changes from that moment. His family is taken away from him, and he is detained. His hope to see his family rests on his ability to locate where he buried the diamond.
His son becomes a child soldier under the command of Captain Poison. The movie indicates that the armed conflict in African states is funded by diamond companies. The lives of citizens in those countries are adversely disrupted by the conflicts.
In Blood Diamond, Solomon’s son becomes a child soldier hence missing a chance to get basic education. Poverty is evidenced which is aggravated by the endless conflicts. The movie shows the role played by developing countries in financing armed conflict in African countries.
How the book relates to the movie
The book, Bottom Billion by Paul Collier, directly relates to the events seen in the movie. The book focuses on the economic situations in Africa. Collier draws a distinction between the developing and the developed countries. The author argues that developing countries have experienced a growth while developing countries have been affected by poverty.
His book points out that developing countries have become poorer than they were in the previous years. In relation to the movie, Collier discusses the four traps that the developing countries face. He argues that natural resources in developing countries are used to facilitate conflicts.
Collier avers that developing countries experience distortions which target their natural resources. His research shows that armed conflict is a key economic impediment in developing countries. He vehemently denies the argument that conflicts in developing countries are caused by poverty.
According to him, civil war is a trap which hinders economic growth. He also examines the role played by natural resources in encouraging conflicts. He states that armed conflict is inevitable in developing countries. Collier argues that natural resources generate a lot of money, and developing countries under poverty traps are unable to manage the said income.
They use the proceeds of the resources to finance civil wars. This has been witnessed in the movie, Blood Diamonds. Collier observes that developed countries play a role in the said conflict. For economic reasons, poor governance has been encouraged by rich governments in exchange for natural resources.
Conclusion
The movie summarizes the causes and effects of armed conflict in African states. The role of mining companies in the said conflict is explained. Collier’s arguments present four traps, which developing countries go through.
The said traps include poverty, poor governance and armed conflict. He observes that there are developed countries which finance and benefit from the armed conflict. The same arguments have been evidenced in the movie, Blood Diamonds.
