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A democratic government is a government of the people, or the people and by the people. In order for this to happen, both parties need to work together to it to be effective. This however requires communication. This is where media comes into play. Media act as a catalyst for democracy and development, helping to make public participation meaningful. If media is honest and committed in its job, democracy is bound to function more efficiently, and the loopholes present in any democratic system can certainly be plugged to the fullest satisfaction of the people. On the contrary, if media is biased, corrupt and favors only a party or few individuals, it can prove to be very dangerous for the smooth functioning of democracy. The media has the responsibility to always be professional and authentic. In doing this, they are responsible to make sure that extensive research is conducted without any bias.
Get original essayThe way media portrays sport personalities is mainly driven by for their own pocket. Thus, the media tends to adapt a story or truth in a way that attracts its viewers/readers to react to. The media is often the public’s only source of information, with regards to topics such as sport personalities. Therefore, society is led to believe only what media outputs. This can create a false image of certain sport figures. For example, the media can portray positive or negative behaviors, which in turn can influence its viewer’s opinions. On the positive side, through broadcasting on television viewers get to not only understand the rules of the game, but also see successful role models that inspire them. However, media does not only broadcast positive information, sportsman’s negative aspects are often exposed, which too can influence viewers to negative views about that sportsman.
In today’s society, media is part of our everyday life and we heavily rely on it. It has also become increasingly accessible with the help of technology rapidly advancing. Likewise, there are an increasing number of media companies developing, which creates a stronger competition. This can lead to media companies manipulating their information to gain support. Sport stars are more often than before being put in the spot light and being exploited. For example, athletes such as: Herschelle Gibbs, Oscar Pistorius and Caster Semenya. The media is constantly exploring for controversial topics to expose.
This was the case for Herschelle Gibbs, who used to be the Proteas opening batsman. In the year 2000, on the 7th of April, the Delhi’s crime branch police had revealed a recording of a conversation between the Proteas’ captain Hansie Cronjie and Sanjay Chawla, who represented a betting organisation, over match fixing. Among the captain, three others were found to also be guilty, including Gibbs. According to the recording, Gibbs was offered fifteen thousand dollars to score less than 20 runs. Gibbs, however, reportedly declined the offer and scored 74 runs thus only being fined and banned for 6 months. However, seven years later, Gibbs is found to have made racial comments during a test match. His comments were captured through the stump microphone and were played to the world. Following his actions, he had to face initially a two-year ban, however, that changed to only being banned for certain games. Gibbs reported that his comments where only for his own teammates and was directed at a section of the crowd that verbally abused his teammate, Paul Harris.
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Herschelle Gibbs’s rights were abused through focussing on his banning, his involvement in the match fixing and by portraying him as a racist. The media changed the perception of Gibbs by choosing to highlight the scandal instead of all his claims and apologies about his actions. Because of the negative media attention, Gibbs would possibly avoid the public in fear of being judged. Even his future could be affected, for example, if he would want to branch into coaching, he would most likely be boycotted due to his reputation given by the media.
On the 14th of February 2013, Oscar Pistorius shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp at his home in Pretoria. Pistorius acknowledged that he had shot Reeva but claimed that it was a tragic accident as he mistook her for an intruder. His trial lasted for over 7 months, after which he was found not guilty. However, the following year, the court had overturned the original case and found Pistorius guilty of murder. The case was taken to the high court of South Africa, where the case was followed by thousands of South Africans. Thus, the media had a huge influence in how Oscar would be perceived as.
Both attorneys from either side agreed that this case would most likely be decided upon how the media would play it out, as they ultimately determine the verdict of the public.
Pistorius was a South African Paralympic sprinter, who competed in the 2012 Summer Olympic games held in London. His girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, a model, was portrayed as an innocent victim of her boyfriend’s murder. Although the media never released bias content, they managed to highlight Pistorius in a negative way, which affects the publics’ opinions. The media emphasized Pistorius as an aggressive and controlling athlete who was frustrated with his disability. He was born with fibular hemimelia, which is the term given to those born with a fibula in their lower leg. When he was eleven years old, both his legs below his knees were amputated.
Oscar Pistorius’s human rights were violated as he was portrayed by the media in a negative light. This took his right in allowing to show people what type of person he truely is. Those that followed the media and never knew him personally, would assume based on the media’s reputation of him that he was an aggressive and cold murderer. Because of the negative media coverage, Pistorius would have most likely have avoided the public’s judgement. As a result, his freedom would be restricted. Pistorius also tried to take the murder conviction to the Constitutional Court, but it also refused to hear the matter. He is currently serving his jail sentence of thirteen years.
Caster Semenya is a South African Olympic middle-distance track runner, especially in the 800 meters and 1500 meters events, where she has achieved multiple gold medals. In 2009, at the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) Berlin World Championships, she was put into the spotlight when she took gold. But it was not the positive attention the country had hoped for. The IAAF reported that they had to investigate Semenya after she made improvements in both her 800 and 1500-meter times by 8 seconds and 25 seconds respectfully, improvements in performance that usually arouse suspicions of performance enhancement drugs (PEDs) use. At this time, the IAAF also tricked Semenya and performed a gender test without her permission, something she confirmed during an interview with NBC before her Olympic race in London. Semenya stated that she knew she was being tested for PEDs, something she was used to, but did not know she was going through a gender test until the testing became more of a violation, poking and probing in areas she knew were not part of any PEDs test she had ever been through. The media portrayed her controversial manly appearance and excellent performance as a reason to doubt her right to compete as a woman.
The media thus undermined her achievements through questioning her gender in aiming to attract more viewers and readers through using this controversial topic. They further emphasized that fact that she had a female partner, to reason with the debate, despite no definite proof. Semenya is known to be a very private person, however, the media abused her privacy and made false assumptions. Because of this, her freedom had been jeopardized.
There are certainly different methods that media companies could use to sustain unbiased, transparent and reliable coverage of sport personalities. Sports stars are always monitored by the media, whether they are doing well or poorly. It is only until they do something negative that they are then thrust into the limelight where the media blow the matter into something much bigger than it really is. They could rather balance the positives and negatives, instead of always highlighting the negatives. In doing this though, the media companies would need to be consistent throughout, otherwise the standard subsides and becomes unreliable. In it is correctly executed, it would prevent controversial and prejudice headlines from occurring. This in turn would allow for the public to view a neutral perspective and allow their own opinions to form based on their reasoning and interpretation of that sport star. In addition, the media could avoid interfering with the sports star’s personal and private life, unless permission is granted, as every person has their right to their privacy and it must be respected.
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Get custom essayFreedom of media is vital to the maintenance of a democratic system because it allows for communication to occur that inform the people of relevant issues that may affect them. People also have the right to know about ongoing situations and happenings of their country and the world. Media monitors famous and political figures, which create a transparency and ensures that those remain lawful and honest. Freedom of speech, which is essential in a democratic society can be exercised on a platform through media, however, within limitations that do not harm any other person’s beliefs or views. This protects sport personalities by limiting the media’s coverage on a specific view, generally negative. They should remain, respectful and fair towards the sport star. Reporters thus need a permission to enter the sport star’s property, for example. Lastly, media companies cannot promote any forms of violence or use information to threaten national security. Sport stars are in the spotlight and therefore cannot be put in a dangerous situation caused by the media’s actions.
Both Present-day and in the Past, one truth becomes evident. That is that a nation’s power and or influence stems from their financial status or wealth because it allows a country to properly defend/attack against other foreign countries. In the past countries used the term Mercantilism which is a system in which a country tries to amass wealth through trading with other foreign nations. This is achieved when a country exports more than it imports while also increasing supplies of gold and other precious metals. In other words, a nation's “real” wealth is determined by its supply of gold and silver and thus creating a trade surplus as opposed to having a trade deficit. One way this is achieved is through tariffs (taxes) in which countries protect their own domestic products and drive up prices to imported foreign goods. In a general sense mercantilism had various economic benefits to countries such as England which lead to the colonization of the U.S. colonies by the British. This as a result lead to an economic boom and made the British Empire even wealthier.
Get original essayAs a whole mercantilism was the primary driving force for countries to expand and colonize unclaimed lands for a chance to make profits and grow wealthy. Colonies were seen as existing for the sole purpose of benefiting their home countries through exporting raw materials to be used for domestically made products. As a result almost no trade existed between other colonies or nation’s but rather only existed with a colonies motherland. An example of this would be if a colony would like to open trade with another nation besides their homeland, then their homeland would have to approve it, which thus allowed for the collection of taxes (tariffs) from all revenues. Also, mercantilism played a key role in early exploration and colonization because countries wanted to become more wealthy so as a result they sent explorers to chart new land in search of natural resources which would be sold for money and thus increase a nation’s power.
In terms of the Americas, more specifically the United States, England had colonized most of the East Coast. These colonies have become known to be the Original 13 Colonies of the US, all of which were founded by Englishmen in search of riches or economic growth. In terms of location the colonies ranged from Georgia to New Hampshire. Reasons for the colonization of the “New World” is mainly because of economic reasons, but also because of religious freedoms. Although this may be true, the British government only cared for one thing, and this is monetary gains. For the simple reason they could heavily tax exports such as cash crops or other resources from their own colonies. These new colonies provided many new resources to the British. The first is having suitable soils for growing crops and feeding livestock, the second and third ones are abundant forests to provide lumber for shipbuilding, and wildlife for an upcoming fur trade.
In general, Mercantilism is the measure of a nation’s “real” wealth through the use of gold, silver, or other precious metals. In other words, a country must export more supplies than it imports in order to create a trade surplus as opposed to a trade deficit. However, a country can implement certain precautions, such as a tariff (tax) to ensure this happens, in such a case a country would purposely drive up prices from imported items to ensure domestically made items are more affordable. Mercantilism thus became the sole driving force behind the era of exploration and colonization in such a way that countries seeked to expand and colonize unclaimed lands for a change to profit and become even more wealthy. An example of a county who implemented mercantilism in order to profit off the resources of unknown lands would be England. Here they sent people to the East Coast of the U.S to colonize and export resources back to England. Resources included cash crops, livestock, and lumber for shipbuilding. Finally, a way in which England handled the colonizes from trading with other nations/colonies, the English implemented a system where all trades would first pass through them, a middle man, where they would then be able to collect taxes from their total revenue.
This week’s paper ‘From Atoms to Traits’ describes modern science’s explanations for historically significant experiments. Specifically focusing on: passages from Darwin’s origin of species, Mendel’s pea experiments, and comments on Watson and Crick’s DNA model. The author took fundamental questions proposed by historical research and answers them with modern observation and data.
Get original essayMaize and teosinte are related, teosinte is the “wild, weedy ancestor” of maize and they share some of the same genetic characteristics and gene sequences as. Many of the structural differences between these plants can be traced to a few specific areas of the chromosome. Here, events called mutations occur that would alter the displayed characteristics of the teosinte and its phenotype would be altered in the slightest way. Mesoamerican farmers would leave the most desireable plants that had the most favorable characteristics to plant and breed for next year's crop. This selection of desirable traits actually lead to the selection of single gene mutations that eventually altered the genotype of the plants and developing modern Maize. Traits such as bush shape and a central stalk were caused by mutations in the regulatory area of a single gene altered the patterns of the cells division, and a mutation of the similar fashion but in a different area of a gene with a different purpose caused teosinte’s less desireable seeds into the softer, easier to harvest seeds of maize today.
Sticklebacks are a fish species where mutations have produced many anatomical changes to the population, leading to drastic diversification. Dispersal from the of melting from the last ice age introduced the species to a variety of new environments and left isolated communities of fish. these isolated communities found unique realized niches where mutations increased the fitness of individuals eventually leading to these inherited traits to appear throughout the community. due to gene regulators in certain chromosome regions as seen in maize.
Lactase is an enzyme produced by humans that facilitates digestion of lactose, the primary sugar in milk. the production of lactase in humans regularly is halted before adulthood which is the cause of lactose intolerance, the inability to digest lactose. The majority of people will become lactose intolerant by adulthood, there is a mutation in the human genome where in some individuals lactase is produced throughout the individual’s life. The origin of this mutation has been traced back to an event that occurred somewhere in europe, where culture and necessity dictated people regularly continue consuming quantity of milk throughout their lifetime. though many communities see populations of individuals that display lactose tolerance throughout their lifetime, research shows that different populations show separate genetic mutation pathways leading to the same phenotypic variation.
The mutations that occur in organisms such as the sticklebacks, maize and teosinte, and humans are due to physical damages or mistakes while DNA is copied before the cell divides which cause altered or abnormal sequences. These errors include substitutions of a single base pair for another, deletions of a section of base pairs, duplications or insertions of new base pairs, and inversions and translocations of base pairs that are already present in the nucleotide sequence of the DNA. Other means for spontaneous variation that were not described by Watson and Crick include physical damages or mistakes caused by radiation, x-rays, and carcinogens.
Last week’s paper was a published study, including experimental information on the functions of DNA in the cell. Its destined audience is to aimed for it to be read by students or researchers; those in the scientific community who are used to reading papers about more specific scientific studies, such as someone who is actively studying information on the structure and function of DNA as a molecule.
Being that this paper is constructed around the idea of making it accessible to the general public, it uses a lot of commonly known vocabulary. One way to present this article to a scientific community rather than to the general public is to use language that is not generalized for common knowledge. Most likely your audience in the case of scientific community will understand more sophisticated language. When using language that is sophisticated that is generalized between a direct audience, allows for you to reflect more information that can go into greater detail. For example, the previous weeks article used sophisticated language that the general public would not normally know, which allowed for that article to deliver a lot more information; they knew their target audience would understand it, there wasn't wasted space used for defining terms.
In the short story, “How Much Land Does a Man Need” By Leo Tolstoy, Tolstoy employs Pahom, the protagonist to endure a fatal flaw of excessive greed and power that leads to his downfall. It touches upon the human nature that we are bound by and must resist for the sake to become interconnected and be one with the universe. Tolstoy challenges people in differing social classes in relation with their morals and approach to life, which is in the same sense, their approach to death. Acknowledging that it is similar to a fable, it is assumed that it is designed to enlighten the reader with a moral. Although the moral can be perceived to indicate the false relation between money, or more specifically land and contentment, Tolstoy complicates this with the inclusion of the devil in the story, fostering the story to contain a religious or symbolic interpretation rather than a literal one. While the devil may represent the human condition and weakness which is greed and power, Pahom portrays the human soul and free will that is challenged with decision making. Acknowledging that there are many references to the Devil and many to God, he underlines the presence of evil that we may be unaware of. At the same time, Tolstoy emphasizes the necessity of God and spiritual needs within one’s lifetime even during times of materialistic indulgences. The demise of Pahom is brought forth from abandoning his home, and without realizing it, his own life and God as he creates his own fate by overlooking everything he once had as a landless serf.
Get original essayThe story is opened up with a conversation between an younger sister, who is the wife of a farmer, Pahom and an older sister, who resides in the city, wealthy and indulges in the materialistic way of life. They debate over whether they prefer the city life or peasant life. The elder sister boasts of her better clothing, fine foods, entertainment, and generally that she had a more comfortable, luxurious lifestyle. However, the younger sister appears to be grateful for hers even if it is a lowly one that is near the farms. She mentions the many risks of the wealthier lifestyle like losing all they may earn and indulging in such temptations and engaging in nonsense. The younger sister further supports her stance that while the peasants do not live as comfortably, they are “free from anxiety” and do not lust after materialistic goods and essentially, will not indulge in the temptations of the Devil. Pahom, overhearing the conversation comes forth to agree with his wife that the peasants are piled with work and thus, have no time for nonsense. However, he exclaims that their only trouble is that they don’t acquire enough land. He states, “If I had plenty of land, I shouldn’t fear the Devil himself!” The Devil is first introduced when he is recognized to be inferior by a mere serf. The juxtaposition of Pahom’s contradiction of his greed for land and acceptance of the peasant life challenges the Devil to tempt him of his desires. Eavesdropping Pahom’s weakness from behind the oven, the Devil takes this opportunity to tempt a ‘satisfied’ peasant with land. “We will have a tussle. I’ll give you land enough; and by means of that land I will get you into my power. ” The Devil wanted to challenge Pahom and provide him land that was necessary, but he knew that Pahom would only lust for more. The series of unfortunate events for Pahom begins as the plot moves forward. Soon after, Pahom acquired 40 acres from a small landowner with an estate of 300 acres. He was well-contented, but then the neighbouring peasants’ animals began to wander among his meadows. After forgiving them multiple times, he finally lost his patience and started to fine people and complain to the District Court. Even though Pahom gained more land, he also gained more problems to deal with, engaging in nonsense he didn’t deal with before his acquisition of more land. While Pahom assumed that getting more land would provide him security and protection, it was the complete opposite. The peasants do not have time for nonsense because they are piled with work to keep them busy, but since the higher classes already acquire their basic necessities for survival, they shift their focus towards things like temptations, pleasures, and even, profit without realizing that the more they earn, the more they can lose.
The Devil attempts to lure Pahom after providing him with the necessary land he had asked for earlier. After hearing rumors that people were migrating to different areas, Pahom decided that it was good news since he’d be able to expand his estate and live peacefully. A peasant passing through the night tells Pahom that many people have migrated to beyond the Volga, where there are 25 acres of land for each settler as he further explains how thick and high the rye sown grew. Compared to the land he ‘owned’ now, Pahom desired to start afresh and hopefully, obtain even better land there. The Devil, unsatisfied with Pahom’s decision of staying is disguised as a peasant to tempt him to migrate and as he’d know that Pahom would be unable to employ his free will and resist the materialistic indulgences. Although Pahom should’ve been content with his 40 acres of land as he’d previously noted, problems arose and his greed for more land grew to be even greater, luring him into the Devil’s realm and straying him away from God. Pahom’s obsession with ownership of land and wealth precipitates him to move and eventually forget about a place he calls ‘home’ to settle. Little does he realize, Pahom begins to abandon his possessions and eventually, learns to abandon God for his land. Alike Tolstoy abandoning his home because he couldn’t endure his luxurious lifestyle, Pahom abandons his peasant lifestyle even if it may lead to his demise.
After Pahom settles at the Volga, he realized that the rumor was true, eventually acquiring 3 times as much as his previous home and is 10 times better off than he was. In the beginning, Pahom was rather pleased, but as he started to get used to his wealth, he realized that he still hadn’t enough land. Having fulfilled his necessities, he realized that it was infuriating to rent other people’s land every year and decided that he wanted be the ownership of his land and become independent. He encountered the Devil again, this time disguised as a dealer, that told him he’d acquired 13, 000 acres of land, all for only 1000 roubles from the land of the Bashkirs. Abusing his free will yet again to the temptation of the Devil, he reached the land and the Bashkir tribal chiefs agree to offer as much land as he wanted a day for only 1000 roubles. In this case, the Baskirs were essentially paying Pahom to be apart of their community rather than for the land, but Pahom’s view and intention was different from theirs, indicating how distant he has disconnected from God. However, there was one condition to the deal as he had to return to his original spot before sunset, otherwise, his money shall be lost. The night before he would mark his territory of land, he had a dream. He dreamt that Baskir chief was outside his tent chuckling at him, only to see him transform into the dealer, the peasant, and then finally, the Devil. Before the Devil was a dead man prostrated on the ground, only to realize it was himself. Completely blinded by wealth, Pahom was unable to perceive this dream as a final warning from God. His subconscious was aware of the Devil’s temptations whereas his conscious self only concerned land. Therefore, Pahom overlooked it as an everyday dream instead of a foreshadow to his demise. Acknowledging Pahom’s greed, it can be assumed that the human nature is greedy and only blinded by wealth. They are never satisfied with what they currently possess because they’ll only desire more. This pertains to Adam and Eve and ever since that incident, we are all considered to be sinners at birth that must seek redemption to be forgiven. The human condition is explored and it’s inability to never be satisfied especially if one is enslaved to materialistic values as opposed to those who focus on external values that are permanent. “The grass is greener on the other side” is the mindset of Pahoms’ as the Devil makes him undergo the series of events that eventually lead to his demise. While the peasants are happy and empty, Pahom and the wealthy are not empty, but simply dissatisfied.
Pahom over calculates how much land he is able to mark and as the end of the day approaches, he realizes it is too late. The theme of abandonment reappears as he is abandoning his possessions and clothing in order to officially claim his land. With this, he runs to his original spot with only his scalpel and he just makes it. As he approaches death and truth, his possessions only hold to be temporary. In addition, the distance from his original spot exemplifies his isolation from the community due to such temptations. The readers recognize that he barely makes it back, indicating that the Devil has won him over as even “his legs were giving way as if they did not belong to him”. Pahom’s greediness gets the best of him and makes him fall to death from exhaustion. Ironically, the scalpel he uses to mark his ‘ownership’ of the territory is used to dig his grave, bringing the readers the answer to the title. “Six feet from his head to his heels was all he needed. ” Tolstoy hints that land shouldn’t be entitled and owned to anyone, except the creator of it, which is God. The fact that Pahom wants ownership of land exemplifies his desire to not only obtain wealth and power, but to essentially be God. Even after claiming his territory, the only territory that he now truly ‘owns’ is the land he is buried deep within. This is important because asking that question, how much land does a man need assumes that a person has a greedy mindset so they must realize their limit. Pahom acquired so much land that he almost couldn’t see it beyond his own eyes. The peasant having the same, similar deal only took as much land as they needed. If everyone was like Pahom, there would not be enough land to go around and people would have to pay just to roam the earth. This being, people would be left working for the land that the greedy people have acquired for their own profit. Rousseau mentions that civilization was a corrupting influence because we fine people on property that we don’t even own ourselves. Even though he was able to mark a great amount of territory, he didn’t recognize that it was only temporary. When Pahom is alive, he’ll never acquire all he needs, but when he’s dead and buried, he has finally acquired all he needs. “I’ll never reach that spot” The human nature is that if we are focused merely on materialistic values, we will never be satisfied with what we have as the saying goes, it is good there where we are not. Tolstoy places the ownership of land in juxtaposition with God because he is essentially the true creator and owner. To claim land is to claim to be God. By fostering Pahom to his death, it represents that we belong to the land, not vice versa alike how the one who gives life, takes it away. In a constant battle with time and truth, the Devil tempted and lured him out of time before God was able to help him seek the truth because he abandoned the spiritual aspect in his life. Although God is rarely mentioned in the story, he is always present whenever the enemy, Devil is mentioned. As Pahom is walking back to his original spot, he fears that his body may not allow him to live on much longer. He exclaims, “I’ve plenty of land now, but will God let me enjoy it?” God is the ultimate being that may decide his fate. Despite whether or not Pahom halts to follow the Devil, it is up to God whether he lives or dies despite that he’s gifted humans the opportunity of free will.
To finalize, a simply story was made complex with the inclusion of the Devil. Not only shall we acknowledge and fear the Devil, but we should recognize the excessive power he can exert as God is just as ‘real’ as the Devil. Since Pahom abandoned all spiritual aspects including the Devil during his progression of acquiring luxurious land, he was unable to analyze his dream as a divine warning, his free will was abused, and his human soul was essentially, led astray by the Devil’s temptations. Even though Pahom had the free will to make his own decisions, God is significant in that they decide his ultimate fate whereas the Devil plays a factor in altering the decisions of the human. God gives Pahom the opportunity of free-will, but the Devil attempts to change the moral decisions that is made through his free-will. Pahom abandoned all aspects of his life for wealth, isolating himself from the interconnection to become one. Not only did he abandon God when indulging in materialism, but he failed to recognize the Devil as well.
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Get custom essay“What if I’m too late?” From the very beginning, he was unable to perceive the power the Devil is able to exert over him and by the end, he was completely within the Devil’s realm. Perhaps, Tolstoy provided a fable-like story with multiple morals for the sole purpose that a general audience can read and comprehend within their own terms. However, it can be perceived that Tolstoy may have read it in both the social good and religious sense. Pertaining back to Rousseau, he can very much agree with the younger sister of the story. Paradise is not conquer, separation and wealth. He argued that civilization was a corrupting influence and those who lived within nature were much purer and healthier due to the simple life. This being, Tolstoy would too, agree that the peasants live a spiritual life, free of temptations, luxurious goods, and most importantly, free of the Devil and closer to God.
Summer vacation can be fun or it can be very boring. There are so many things you can do without stressing about school or other things but in reality there will be things that get into the way of your fun. Two years ago, during the summer my friends and I decided to have a bonfire. Although this day turned out bad for me, it was a good experience and taught me a lesson.
Get original essayComing up with the idea of having a bonfire, we had to plan everything out accordingly and it took us a while because everyone was so busy. Finally coming up with a date, we all agreed it would be at my friend’s house who lives in the country. We all planned to arrive early to set everything up.
Around 6:30 pm., as I was about to leave the house I heard a sudden cry in my brothers room. Dashing towards their room, my little brother sprinted out of the room in tears.
“What did you do? What happened?”
In silence, my other brother ignored me and went back to playing his games. Angry as ever, I got my little brother dressed and took him with me to the bonfire. The ride there was 30 minutes away from Wausau, and my little brother got on my nerves as he wailed about how long it took to get to the bonfire. All these emotions going through my head, I felt a sudden carelessness. As I almost turned back around to head back home, I heard my phone ring.
“Hello?”
“Hey, are you coming yet? We’re all waiting.”
“I’m going back home. I don’t think I’m up for it tonight.”
“WHAT?! Come on, just come! It’ll be fun and it’ll relieve some stress.”
“True you’re right… I’ll see you in a bit then.”
As I drove into the driveway, my brother was heavily asleep. Trying to be as quiet as possible, I grabbed the soda and a bag of chips from walmart and brought them inside. As I was heading back to the car to grab my brother, he was gone. I began frantically searching in the back seat and behind the car seeing if he was playing hide and seek. Rushing out of the car, panicking and shivering, I went to get help. Suddenly, I heard my brothers laugh in the distance. Sprinting to the backyard where I last heard his laugh, I saw my brother going down the slide playing with other little kids. In relief, I took a deep breath and sat down and watched my brother carefully.
At 8 pm., everyone started to arrive at the bonfire. Not hearing my brother screeching all the time, it made me feel relaxed. As everyone was laughing, making s’mores, and playing games I felt a vibration in my back pocket. It was my mom.
“Hello?”
“Where is Mason?”
“At the bonfire with me.. Why?”
“Why is he there? Why didn’t you leave him home with your brother?”
“Because he wasn’t watching him and so I just took him. Sorry. We’ll be home in a bit.”
“You better be home in an hour or else you’re going to be in big trouble,” she screamed and hung up.
It was almost 9 o’clock and while I was packing the leftovers, I notice my brother was nowhere in sight. Quickly dumping the food in a ziplock bag, I ran to the playground to see if my brother was there. NO ONE WAS THERE. I checked inside the house, NOTHING. I checked the garage and in the bathrooms, NOTHING. In terror, I ran back outside to ask my friends if they saw my brother at all.
“Nope, the last time I saw him was when he was at the playground.”
“No, I haven’t seen him but we can all go look for him.”
All of a sudden, a crowd rushed towards us.
“Have you guys seen my brother?” they asked us.
“No.. Your brother is missing too? I can’t find mine either!”
“I didn’t know but I saw a group of other boys go into the woods and said they were gonna go play. I thought they were just messing around.” exclaimed a short brown curly little girl.
Grabbing a bunch of flashlights, we all headed into the woods. As scared as I was, I had to find my brother. Hearing my phone go off every second, I knew I couldn’t answer it or else I’d be dead by my mom so I turned it my phone off and hid it into my jacket. I didn’t care how long it’ll take, I had to find him. After 10 minutes of searching, I had heard echoes of laughter and a light from a distance. The light was going back to the bonfire area. While I ran, almost tripping on roots and twigs, I saw my brother heading back to the playground. In relief again, I grabbed his things and without saying goodbye, I left with him.
I had to ask myself an interesting question. What is something that I am certain of? It seemed simple at first glance, but grew more complicated the longer I looked at it. I am positive that everyone makes their own decisions. I know that I am confident and strong enough to do anything. I know that when push comes to shove, I can stand up for myself and protect those around me. But all of those things were specific traits, and the not the answer to this question. I had to look deeper.
Get original essayI have been through a lot of hardship in my life, especially when I was younger. Days were filled with uncertainty of what the future would bring, and my life was always on the line. And yet, here I am today, steadfast as ever. I focused on this specific perspective of my life because if I find the one thing that drives me through difficult situations, I will find my answer to this question.
When faced with a situation filled to the brink with danger and darkness, I rely heavily on my abilities. I can fight through any danger, and talk myself out of any rough situation. I am strong enough to save the day by myself, which is empowering to know. I am not a damsel in distress who needs someone to swoop in and save me from the dangerous perils of the world. I will fight for what I believe in, even if everyone tells me that I am wrong. I trust in my morals to show me the way. There is nothing that can get in between me and my goals. I live by my own rules, and not the ones the world makes for me. I can stand on my own two feet.
After some thought, I finally realized that the one thing I am most certain of is that I can rely on myself. When the world grows harsh and cold, and the only things leading me are my morals, I know that it will be okay. When I have to fight to protect the people I care about, I can trust my abilities to get me through. It is a beautiful thing, confidence. It gives you the freedom of not needing anybody else. There is nothing exactly like that in the world, the knowledge that you can do anything. What I found out when I sat down to write this statement was that I don’t need anyone else to lead my story. If I put my mind to it, anything is possible. I am strong enough to protect myself and those around me, and save the things I hold closest. I am brave. I am undeniable and uncompromising. I can trust that this will never change.
When I looked inside myself, I saw that my confidence drives me. I am confident in my abilities, which makes me even stronger. I am a powerful enemy by myself, but paired with the knowledge that I can do anything, I am unstoppable. The world will tell you that you are worthless, and that every ability you have is a curse. It will try its best to set you back and throw you down. But, in the end of the day, you just have to get back up again. I know that in any situation, I can do my best. The world cannot get me down because I won’t let it. I could rattle the stars if I wanted to, regardless of the world trying to hold me back.
I am grateful that I found this question because it taught me something about myself. I am not afraid to show who I really am, and prove that my strength can accomplish anything. I can walk through life empowered. I believe in myself. That’s enough to get me through anything.
We are connected to our surroundings by five senses: Sight, smell, taste, touch and hearing. Hearing is more than sounds, it is a biopsychosocial process. There are sounds, with specific features, that can damage our hearing causing Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL); a problem increasing worldwide. It has negative effects that could be avoided, but hearing impairment is not as prioritized as it should be.
Get original essayHearing is a complex process. It involves diverse connections and procedures, some visible and some others that are still an enigma. The ear is divided in outer, middle and inner ear. Each of them with specialized organs to complete a function that generates (auditory and balance) information transmitted through specific nerves to our brains. Cochlea, located in the inner ear is the main hearing organ. It is composed by sensitive cells known as outer and inner hair cells.
Sound is processed to reach the Nervous System through mechanoelectrical transduction in the Organ of Corti. A theory describes the possibility of an NIHL caused by a not proportioned production of oxidants and antioxidants within the inner ear that can damage hair cells.
Sight, smell, taste, touch and hearing: five senses. Senses connect us to our environment, from keeping us secure to enriching us. We live in a world that gives us the opportunity to experience a wide range of sounds. From nature sounds to machinery; from a conversation to music; from enjoyable to undesirable noises. Hearing keeps us aware and allows us to communicate. Hearing interacts with conscious and unconscious functions. (Graham and John M. Baguley, 2009) (de Sebastián, 1999)
Some sounds can disturb our nerves and some others can be even harmful. Noise pollution may deteriorate hearing, gradually or suddenly. Sounds, mainly over 85 dB (Lonsbury-Martin and Martin, 2010), can damage the sensitive structures of the inner ear causing noise induced hearing loss (NIHL). Unfortunately, this problem is underestimated; there are no physical manifestations that we can perceive, until a frustrating communication problem arises. Hearing impairment is a health issue to which we are all exposed, reflected in a growth in incidence and prevalence. Hearing loss has negative effects on individuals, people who interact with them and even educational or socioeconomic aspects. Highlighting, NIHL is preventable. To understand how do loud noises can damage hearing ability we need to know the normal function of this process. (Haggard, 1982)
To sum up, three tasks are needed to hear a sound:
Labyrinth: Bony (perilymph) and membranous (endolymph). Semi-circular canals + Cochlea. Cochlea: Hearing portion of the ear. Receptive cells. Divides sounds according to frequency to activate specific auditory nerve fibres. Non-linear action: amplitude compression of sounds to help auditory nerve codify for various intensities. Active process: records around 50 dB of ear’s sensitivity. (Møller, 2013) Coiled
(2.5 turns) tube, formed by three chambers filled with fluid. Connected at helicotrema à Scala tympani and vestibuli: perilymph Scala media: endolymph (high K+) Oval window: produces pressure wave that travels through scala vestibuli à scala tympani à causes vibration of round window. Scala media: part of membranous labyrinth. Also known as cochlear duct. Contains blood vessels of stria vascularis (producer of endolymph). Embodies Organ of Corti: primary receptor of hearing. (Mala, 2006) Organ of Corti: transforms physical energy into nervous energy –transduction Vibration of structures causing displacement of cochlear fluid à movement of hair cells à electrochemical signals. -Components: key sensory cells (inner and outer hair cells, both with stereocilia at apical surfaces), pillar cells (for rigidity and building the tunnel of Corti that separates inner and outer hair cells) and supporting cells (Deiter’s and Hensen cells). (Graham and John M. Baguley, 2009) (The Open University, 2017)
The receptive cells of the inner ear are known as hair cells. Their name comes from the cilia and stereocilia (or kinocilium, a longer hair) that project from the apex of these cells into the cochlear duct. The apexes of the cilia have protein filaments, which connect to adjacent cilia, associated with ion channels that open with tension.
There are two types of hair cells: Inner Hair Cells (IHC) and Outer Hair Cells (OHC). (Mala, 2006)
About 3500, arranged in one row beneath the tectorial membrane (not attached). Cylindrical shape Sensory transduction. 90-95% of afferent nerves are connected to IHC, providing information about sound stimulation (auditory data) from the ear to the brain (neurotransmitter: glutamate). Steady internal potential: - 45 mV (Owen, 2003b) (Møller, 2013)
Approximately12000 organized in three to four rows (W or V formation). Located near the centre of basilar membrane. Action depends on sound intensity. Mediate active process of the cochlea à “Cochelar amplifier”.Connected to tectorial membrane by stereocilia. Stereocilia: detect vibrations within the cochlea, composed from actin filaments that generate cross-links between rows. Stereociliary bundles: they open ion channels for K and Ca à converting mechanical into electrical energy. Electromotility: Depolarization leads to contraction in response to mechanical stimuli using prestin (the motor protein). OHC adjust the movement of basilar membrane (amplitude) modifying the stimulation received by IHC, increasing frequency selectivity.Olivocochlear efferent innervation (neurotransmitter: acetylcholine) provides the ability to “fine tune” auditory stimuli. Steady internal potential: -70 mV (Brownell et al., 2018) (Mala, 2006) (Owen, 2003) (Møller, 2013)
When perilymph stimulates the stereociliary bundle towards the kinocilium it leads to a depolarisation and a propagation of action potential à release of neurotransmitter vesicles
Hearing loss: an incerase in tresholds over 25 dB. Type: conductive, sensorineural or mixed. Degree: moderate, mild, severe, profound. Configuration: high/low frequency, bilateral/unilateral, symmetrical/asymmetrical, progressive/sudden and fluctuating/stable . (WHO Media centre, 2014) (American Speech Language Hearing Association, 2016). Sensorineural hearing loss: damage to the inner ear (cochlea) or nerve pathway (Vestibulocochelar nerve CNVIII or Central Nervous System). Causes: illnesses, medication, genetic, aging, congenital or loud noises. (American Speech Language Hearing Association, 2016) (Kari, Wilkinson and Woodson, 2013)
Noise Induced Hearing Loss - damage caused by (loud) noise exposure. It can be the result of regular or single events. It can be permanent or temporary. (Neeraj N, Vardhman and Guru Gobind, 2012) Generally occurs at: frequency of 2-4 kHz (American Hearing Research Foundation, 2012) and intensity 85 dB or more. (American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery., 2017) Hair cells are not capable of regenerating. (University of Texas, 2014)
Since the theory of free radicals modifying cell cycle emerged it has been used to explain several issues within human illnesses. This theory has been used to propose an explanation of how loud noises impact our hearing. The most relevant characteristic of this idea is that the production of oxidant substrates can cause injury in hair cells, which are unable to regenerate once they are death, either by apoptosis or necrosis pathways. Nevertheless, further research and information is needed to apply this knowledge in useful therapies to prevent NIHL.
Reviews and studies show research and data on the relationship between oxidative stress and NIHL; they were conducted in the last five years. All of them were supported by referencing recent resource. Arguments are presented encouraging the idea of an inner ear damage by an imbalance in oxidants and antioxidants production. There was just one experimental study, the rest of them analysed information that was already available on how free radicals can damage the hair cells producing hearing impairment.
In fact, all this scientific observations enforce the theory of a disproportion of oxidant and antioxidant substrates production in vulnerable patients with an important exposure to loud noises to end up showing hearing loss.
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http://american-hearing.org/disorders/noise-induced-hearing-loss/.
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4. Brownell, W. E. Et al. (2018) ‘How the Ear Works’, Baylor College of Medicine. Available at: https://www.bcm.edu/healthcare/care-centers/center-hearing-balance/hearing-center/how-ear-works.
5. Encyclopedia Britannica (1997) ‘Organ of Corti’, Britannica. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/science/organ-of-Corti.
6. Graham and John M. Baguley, D. M. (2009) Ballantyne’s Deafness. 7th Editio. Edited by John Wiley & Sons.
7. Gul, F. et al. (2017) ‘A comprehensive study of oxidative stress in sudden hearing loss’, European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 274(3), pp. 1301–1308. doi: 10.1007/s00405-016-4301-1.
8. Haggard, M. (1982) Hearing: An Introduction to Psychological and Physiological Acoustics, Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.45.12.1175-b.
9. Hu, B. H. And Henderson, D. (2014) ‘Oxidative Stress and Cochlear Damage’, pp. 3561–3580. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-30018-9.
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http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/154589/1/9789241508513_eng.pdf.
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http://www.dartmouth.edu/~rswenson/NeuroSci/.
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16. Neeraj N, M., Vardhman, M. and Guru Gobind, S. I. (2012) ‘Noise-induced hearing loss’, Noise and Health, 14(61), p. 274. doi: 10.4103/1463-1741.104893.
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18. Owen, A. (2003b) ‘The organ of Corti and auditory hair cells’, Sussex University, (1), pp. 0–2. Available at: http://www.lifesci.sussex.ac.uk/research/hair cell.org/Alan_Owen/EDUCATIONPAGE/Education_files/Cochlea_files/Cochlear_cells/CochlearCells_frame.htm.
19. De Sebastián, G. (1999) Audiologia Práctica. 5a Edición. Editorial Medica Panamericana.
20. Sha, S.-H. And Schacht, J. (2017) ‘Emerging therapeutic interventions against noise-induced hearing loss’, Expert Opinion on Investigational Drugs, 26(1), pp. 85–96. doi: 10.1080/13543784.2017.1269171.
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23. WHO Media centre (2014) WHO | Deafness and hearing loss, World Health Organization. doi: /entity/mediacentre/factsheets/fs300/en/index.html.
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Get custom essay24. Wong, A. C. Y. and Ryan, A. F. (2015) ‘Mechanisms of sensorineural cell damage, death and survival in the cochlea’, Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 7(APR), pp. 1–15. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2015.00058.
A leader is one who shows courage, nobility, confidence, cleverness, has a keen intellect and motivates those around them. Odysseus, the protagonist, is portrayed as an epic hero who uses his courage and wit as he goes on a journey to reclaim his life. Odysseus’ demonstrates his cunningness through his ingenious slyness to navigate through situations that could negatively impact the journey he has embarked on. In The Odyssey, composed by Homer, the epic poem demonstrates how Odysseus is an effective leader due to the various tests of will he encounters including battling Scylla, Polyphemus and the occurrence on the island of the Lotus Eaters.
Get original essayOdysseus and his men had to face many obstacles throughout their journey. For example, they had to fight off Scylla, a large and legendary six-headed monster. While navigating the Straits of Scylla, she gobbled up six of Odysseus’s men and Odysseus exclaimed, “...still screaming, still reaching out to me in their death throes./ That was the most heartrending sight I saw/ in all the time I suffered on the sea.” Essentially, Odysseus’s pain was much greater and more intense this time when he lost his men to Scylla because his crew was in desperate need of assistance and he was painstakingly only able to watch it happen. This fight demonstrates how much Odysseus truly cares for his men and if he were not a good leader, then he would have accepted their tragic demise. Odysseus constantly reassures his men that if they trust him they will succeed in their journey when he exclaims, “This is not/ worse than the time the Cyclops captured us,/ and forced us to remain inside his cave./ We got away that time, thanks to my skill/ and brains and strategy. Remember that./ Come on then, all of you, and trust my words”. In other words, getting past Scylla requires extraordinary leadership from Odysseus by demonstrating proper judgment. Furthermore, Odysseus recognizes the fact that regardless of the outcome, he still runs the risk of losing six of his men. These skills and characteristics stand out and contribute to Odysseus’ greatness as a leader.
Interestingly, Odysseus also exhibited great leadership when he and his men were trapped in Polyphemus’s cave. Polyphemus, the Cyclops, tried to kill Odysseus and his men because they invaded his cave, but Odysseus was willing to take extreme measures to escape safely along with his men. Odysseus can adjust rapidly and intelligently to changing circumstances and make clever decisions to help his men: “he grabbed two men for dinner. I approached/ and offered him a cup of ivy wood,/ filled full of wine. I said,/ ‘Here Cyclops! You/ have eaten human meat; now drink some wine.” Essentially, Odysseus’s cleverness resulted in him blinding Polyphemus, which gave him the ability to escape. Odysseus showed great leadership and intelligence to escape from Polyphemus’s cave and ultimately avenge his men by blinding Polyphemus. In addition, when Odysseus encountered the cyclops he quickly thought to name himself Noman, which capitalized on Polyphemus’ stupidity: “My friends! Noman is killing me by tricks, not force.” In other words, Odysseus displayed strong leadership skills as he thought of several different ways to get him and his men out of that difficult and possibly life-threatening situation. Some people might say that he said his name due to glory and cursed the rest of the trip, but he was able to get his men far enough along their journey.
From beginning to end of the Odyssey, Odysseus repeatedly motivated his crew to not give up during their journey by announcing “My friends, I know how much/ you have endured. But listen to me now./ Tiresias and Circe both insisted/ we must avoid the island of the Sun, the joy of mortals. They said dreadful danger/ lurks there for us. We have to steer our ship/ around it.” Odysseus's men fall prey to the Lotus-eaters and barely escape with their memories intact. This relates to Odysseus and his men because they succumb to temptation on numerous occasions, usually with disastrous consequences. Odysseus fulfilled his leadership role when his crew was eating the lotus flowers and had no idea what was happening: “They had forgotten home. I dragged them back/ in tears, forced them to board the hollow ships,/ pushed them below the decks, and tied them up./ I told the other men, the loyal ones,/ to get back in the ships, so no one else/ would taste the lotus and forget about/ our destination.” Simply stated, Odysseus realized that eating the lotus plant would put his crew in a state of peril. To ensure that the lotus plants were flushed out of his crew’s systems, he used his skillful and crafty mind to quickly create a solution. Essentially, Odysseus’s cunning intelligence and loyalty to his crew allowed them to continue safely on their journey and achieve his end goal of returning home.
Throughout the Odyssey, Odysseus exemplifies great leadership to his crew proven by the many instances in the book. Throughout Odysseus’s journey home, he demonstrates wisdom and a cunning sense throughout his adventure while attempting to survive each day. The occurrences described above exemplify the qualities of a wise leader. Odysseus possesses all of these character traits which encourages his men to look up to him. In life, leaders must lead by example for those around them to follow and support each other.
Back in 2006, the most popular sequel ridden horror film series was “Saw,” movies simply about torture and extreme gore. The public might have become sick of this tired same old story about people being ripped apart in the most gruesome ways possible, so why not do the exact opposite and capitalize on it? “Paranormal Activity,” is a very pathetic excuse for a new horror series. First released in 2007, the movie centered around the idea that there was a ghost or “demon” haunting an unsuspecting couple, which in the end will kill at least one of them. This idea is not original, but it could have still made a decent horror movie.
Get original essayHowever, with the use of the now new popular subgenre of horror called “found footage,” and lack of an interesting plot, the movie failed to live up to the hype. Yet somehow, 5 more films managed to be produced in the following years all of the way up to 2015, becoming the new “Saw,” as all but one movie was released in late October to get the extra revenue from Halloween. So why is it that a poorly written franchise could have such a popular following (if one could call it that) or people who are completely willing to fork out money as soon as a new movie was released in theaters? Based on the way “Paranormal Activity” was advertised, how it made the “found footage” subgenre more popular, the way it uses cheap jump scares as a replacement for actual horror, perpetrates the use of stereotypes, and profits from the idea that sequels are needed for horror, the series became one of the most popular horror franchise in the late 2000s to early 2010s.
Now probably the biggest and most important factor in sparking interest in a series for anything is advertising, and Hollywood never turns a blind eye to how much advertising they can put out for the public. With “Paranormal Activity” however, the way the movie was presented was a little more unique than most of the standard trailers and TV spots. The way it was advertised involved both of the previous items mentioned but with a slight twist. Basically, the trailers did not actually show the movie, hiding its mediocrity, and it instead focused on showing a theater absolutely terrified from watching the movie, with a night cam used to create a more chilling environment. This unique version of presentation made all of the difference in how the movie was perceived.
They did the classic show not tell to create hype for the movie. People can relate to others feeling scared, and if the theater was screaming, certainly they would be as well and have a great time doing so if they went to see this movie. This is probably the smartest move the franchise had made throughout its entirety. Since no one knew how the movies would pan out, they blindly believed that the theater was an honest to god live reaction to the “scary moments.” And it has to be mentioned that these trailers would be out around Halloween. Most horror movies that plan on becoming popular depend on the Halloween excitement to gain revenue. Previous examples of this are “Saw,” “Halloween,” and many others, as it would only make sense to get the audience in the spirit of the creepy season. The advertisements made such an impact on those who had never heard of “Paranormal Activity,” and without them, the movie would have probably not gained as much revenue as it did. The use of nonstandard advertising is definitely one of the things that the producers of the series are most proud of.
A huge reason that “Paranormal Activity” is as popular as it is is because it made good use of “found footage.” First used in 1999 with the movie “The Blair Witch Project,” “found footage,” has been gaining a rather large surge in popularity. While “The Blair Witch Project,” has grown popular in more recent years, back when it came out, people were more upset that it was not as real as they thought it was. In comes “Paranormal Activity,” to change the face of the subgenre. Even though “Paranormal Activity,” had the same claim to fame as “The Blair Witch Project,” by saying it was based on a true story, the way the camera work was done and the more satisfying ending with the disclaimer that it was fake all along gave it a larger impact. The footage felt even more real, as they had the better angles due to having multiple cameras instead of the single one used in “The Blair Witch Project.”
“Paranormal Activity,” had basically changed the face of “found footage” by using the multiple camera approach, which then inspired more “found footage” movies as it became a much more immersive experience for the moviegoer. Now why is “found footage,” used so much more now than previously? Simple, it saves lots of money for producers. By going in for a “cheaper” look by using simpler camerawork and less flashy shots, this allows a movie to be made for much less than normal. Hollywood being the money grubber that it is has been using this technique ever since they realized they could make more money for less work. Now of course this doesn’t mean a movie will be bad because it cost less to make, but that might motivate the people who work on the project to cut corners in other places as well like having good actors or a well written plot. This is where “Paranormal Activity” falls under unfortunately, but because that is what happened to the franchise, there has been more effort on other movie’s parts to do better.
Unfortunately for the series, the “horror” it uses isn’t actual good horror. Jump scares are used constantly throughout the “Paranormal Activity” series, and that is the only thing that is going for it. There is a “mystery” behind all of the disturbances and demons and whatnot, but that is not the part that scares the audience. The scariest parts are when a character is in the dark and it is dead silent, in which a loud noise barges in and causes everyone to be unnerved. That is the extent of the “terror” in the movies. This is the cheapest and most uncreative way of “scaring” the audience. This also then leads to the movie’s moments being rather forgettable. Because only jumpscares are used, one cannot pinpoint which part of the movie would scare them the most. Compared to movies like “Halloween” where there is constant fear in the audience, “Paranormal Activity” does not have a string of fear throughout the movie, only thriving off of the insignificant jump scares that create only a slight racing of the heart briefly instead of being heart pounding during long and important parts of the movie.
This could easily be called a downgrade to what horror movies had previously used. Horror movies have of course evolved like every other genre to reflect the fears of the time. In the earlier 1900s, monster movies were the most prevalent, with classic monsters like Frankenstein and Dracula. This changed to the more popular movies as the aforementioned “Halloween,” which are more part of the slasher genre, being afraid of some killer that is on the loose who for some reason refuses to actually die. And now we have the brand of horror that is more lazy and utilizes jump scares in present day. This is why “Paranormal Activity” cannot be considered a good horror series, nothing stays with the audience as they leave. No one will actually remember these types of movies in the years to come unlike the classic scares of monsters or slashers because these new types of horror movies are not memorable, which is quite sad as the movies had the potential for scares that could scar the viewer forever.
In following Hollywood suit, a horror movie or series would not be complete if it did not contain the stereotypical white suburban white family. Everyone makes the joke that white people are always used in horror films because only white people would actually stay in a haunted house or woods or wherever the place of danger is and think everything is fine. This joke was created due to the fact that horror movies usually only contain white families or friends that do not use common sense. “Paranormal Activity” is no different. In the first movie, it has a white couple who argue about the use of a camera and nothing interesting until the boyfriend dies via ghost demon. The second movie has a white family with a dad who does not believe there is a ghost demon until the mom gets possessed.
The third movie is about the women in the first two movies and their childhood of the white family in the 80s and no one believes the girls’ mother’s boyfriend about the same ghost demon. The fourth movie is about yet another white family who just willingly accepts a strange acting child which allows the ghost demon to torment and kill the family. One can get the picture that it is the same story about white people not believing the same thing over and over again. This becomes very boring very quickly. Now with such poor writing it probably would not matter if there were people of color instead of white people, but surprisingly, the fifth movie breaks the norm of these movies by using a Hispanic family. Obviously they were stereotyped as well however, living in a poorer and more dangerous area, but unlike the white families, they are sincerely concerned as soon as they realize what is happening. So why add a different perspective of the demon in a centralized white family horror series?
The producers wanted to have a wider audience for their low rated movies. Not to appeal to the white demographic, but to the Hispanic demographic. This half hearted attempt to grab more people into the audience makes the series seem to some, racist. There is no actual reason to switch up who these hauntings happen to because the fifth movie barely even relates to the other four. It was just to make a cash grab from not white people. This hits a very new low for horror, and these stereotypes quickly go from cliched to insulting, and that might be another reason only one more movie came out in the series, putting the final nail in the coffin.
So despite all of these flaws, why is it that a member of an audience can enjoy such bland horror? Of course any movie can become a guilty pleasure, something that is absolutely rotten can be loved by some people, but this series still begs more films to be released. Perhaps the audience wants to see an actual conclusion to the barely structured plot. Or maybe it is the fact that Hollywood has conditioned the audience to expect sequels. A single movie can no longer contain all of the answers for a franchise, it has to be dragged out to the fullest extent. The more movies in the series, the better the plot has to be right? Not necessarily. Hollywood substitutes quality for quantity in most newer movies. As long as a movie has some plot but not all of the answers, it will leave the average movie goer wanting more and more, so they will spend more money trying to figure out what those answers are.
The “Paranormal Activity,” franchise has 6 movies, and yet there is still no clear cut answer nor will Hollywood put more effort in as they have made the money off of it without even trying. If they gave the series a specific end, it would be harder to maybe make another sequel sometime down the line or even reboot it. Now there are definitely some good horror movies like “Halloween” and “Friday the 13th,” which by themselves can stand alone as a good movie just tainted by several sequels and reboots. With “Paranormal Activity” however, the original movie does not satisfy the consumer needs because it has so many unanswered questions, which leads to the sequels having to fill in the gaps in a very lazy way. So the audience still wants more due to the idea of “oh the sequel will explain it,” and not actual quality of the movie. This is extremely disappointing, because a horror movie should be able to stand alone as an excellent piece of work and sequels should only benefit it, yet it is used as a leg to stand on because the first movie was simply not enough.
“Paranormal Activity,” is simply a series of films that got its big break from a different approach to advertising, capitalized off of the “found footage” era, used lazy scare tactics to keep its audience on their toes, had controversial stereotypes, and believed sequels were the answer to all of their problems. Did this series have the potential? Yes it did, but with a lack of memorable horror, even less memorable characters, and least of all a cohesive plot, the series had ruined all chances of being salvageable. It is quite disappointing, but also very curious, because while the series is overall very bland, it is still appealing to quite a few people. Maybe the style of the film left an impact for some. Maybe the plot actually did peak some people’s interests. Whatever the case, people still did enjoy at least the first few movies. If “Paranormal Activity” actually had a well written script, relatable characters, and more answers rather than questions in the series, there is no doubt it would be deemed as one of the best horror series in history.
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Get custom essayThe idea of having a ghost demon in a house one lives in with no way to fully remove it is an absolutely terrifying concept, so it is very unfortunate that “Paranormal Activity” could not be the series to make it big. It would be even more terrifying with that “found footage” technique because of how real it would feel for everyone in the audience. But now thankfully, “found footage” is becoming even more popular, with movies like “V/H/S” and“Quarantine.” The movies themselves still are not as great as they could be because it is horror produced by Hollywood, but maybe they will be able to perfect it someday. It just had to start somewhere in a very popular way. So whether or not people truly liked “Paranormal Activity,” as a series, it paved a stronger road than “The Blair Witch Project,” for creating a different type of horror movie, and potential waiting to be unlocked.
1984 is a dystopian novel based on the horrors of World War II to create a warning about the fate of humankind. In the novel, 1984, George Orwell crafts a text that can be read and interpreted by two different readers: through the eyes of the people whom he wrote for, the society of 1948, and to the audience of today, the society of 2019, in order to reveal the ominous tendencies: social, technological, and political, that have evolved and are relevant today.
Get original essaySocial ominous tendencies that are prevalent today are highlighted when Orwell incorporates the Oceanic concepts of Newspeak and Doublethink into the text. Newspeak is the oceanic language made by Orwell that decreases the number of words used in a society; a patron of Newspeak says: “Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it”. The point of Newspeak is to limit one’s intellect, “narrow the range of thought”, so people can not recognize that there is a problem, like that of Big Brother’s totalitarian control over the 1984 society, since they will not be able to articulate the problem in their mind, due to thought control, and aspect of the social ominous tendency that Orwell employs, or aloud due to the lack of verbiage. Through the reader’s perspective of a 1948 citizen, someone who has encountered wars, Newspeak can be correlated to the short-clipped notes or code systems of wartime that were used to confuse enemies, preventing them from knowing one another’s plans. During this time, messages were shortened or written in code to conceal the enclosed contents inhibiting enemies from being able to comprehend the ‘next move’. Then from the perspective of a citizen from today’s society of 2019, Newspeak could be compared to current day ‘text-slang’, which consists of acronyms and shortened words used in speech or when relaying electronic messages. Like Newspeak, ‘text-slang’ cuts verbiage short and abrupt as means of convenience but it lacks the proper tone necessary for the recipient’s interpretation. In the case of 1984, Orwell likely eradicates language via Newspeak to make an extreme example of how limiting one’s expression of language has a negative impact on society, which is shown through the dynamic character of Winston. This extreme example is meant to make readers evaluate the social implications engrained upon them and the idea itself applies to whom Orwell wrote for: 1948 and to present readers of 2019. Once Orwell has established the premise of Newspeak and its potential implications on society, he goes on to divulge the social ominous tendencies of DoubleThink, an extension of Newspeak. To put DoubleThink into simple terms, Newspeak is apart of the surface culture of the 1984 society, while DoubleThink is involved in the deep culture. To portray this, Orwell writes: “Newspeak…demands a continuous alteration of the past…which is known in Newspeak as doublethink. The alteration of the past is necessary…[so] the Party member, like the proletarian, tolerates present-day conditions partly because he has no standards of comparison….but by far the more important reason for the readjustment of the past is the need to safeguard the infallibility of the party”. To the 1984 society that Orwell crafts, the concept of DoubleThink is used to maintain the authority of Big Brother, “to safeguard the infallibility of the party”. The notion of DoubleThink is not just something of Orwell’s imagination as horrible as it sounds, but a practice that has been used by many throughout history; from long before 1948 to present-day 2019. A 1948 reader might think of Joseph Stalin’s five-year plans to help Russia’s agriculture and industrialization thrive that failed miserably, resulting in great purges to those who questioned his authority leading to Stalin’s “infallibility” and people’s willingness to ‘love’ their leader. Fast forward to 2019, despite criticism, this tactic is still being used by people such as the current United States President Trump. Trump, for example, has claimed that he had the ‘biggest inaugural party ever’ when in fact there was a substantially smaller crowd than at previous presidents’ inaugurations. Later Trump clarified that ‘alternative facts’ about the official count of people who attended his inaugural party were given, since the press only counted who was there in person, leaving out those who viewed it at home on the telescreen. The ‘alternative facts’ were accepted by society and then society moved on to other issues, making President Trump infallible. Orwell foresaw that society would become complacent with negative deep cultural normalities that would manifest into social ominous tendencies and he wanted to warn against them. The difference between the reception of the two audiences of 1948 and 2019 is that 2019’s society has learned from the precedent making them more likely to doubt one’s infallibility. In brief, Orwell chose prevalent topics, such as Newspeak and DoubleThink, that highlighted social ominous tendencies when crafting 1984.
After making readers aware of social ominous tendencies, Orwell employs technological ominous tendencies to make readers aware of the lack of their privacy, a postulation that can be observed by two different readers. In 1984, a telescreen, which is a technological device for entertainment, is always on: watching and listening. As Orwell puts it, “The telescreen…was…placed…where…Winston was able to remain outside of range…so far as sight went. He could be heard, of course, but so long as stayed in his present position he could not be seen”. The action of a telescreen constantly watching and listening to every move of a citizen of 1984 strips them of their privacy, an assumed innate ‘right’. As reading from a 1948 perspective, one might relate to the citizens of 1984 and the telescreen since, during World War II, most people had on a radio that was constantly relaying the progress of the war. Radios were items that kept people informed of the extent of casualties but they were also used against citizens when banned and information withheld or manipulated as means of a dictator maintaining control by taking away the source of a citizen’s knowledge via technological control, invading their private affairs. A 1948 citizen might interpret Orwell’s use of technological control as a warning against how much one might rely on technology since the information given from technology is not always reliable. While technology might not have impeded as much on the privacy of 1948 readers, the reader of 2019 has access to all sorts of technology such as the internet, Siri, baby monitors, or cell phones that take away from one’s privacy since they monitor the environment they are placed in, including who is in the environment. A present-day reader might interpret Orwell’s use of technological control the same: a warning against the extent of which people rely on technology but in the context of 2019, being the extent to which technology has been integrated into society making it almost impossible to imagine a world without it. On top of telescreens, Orwell parades spies who use technology to monitor 1984 citizens. To the 1984 society, “Even when he is alone he can never be sure that he is alone. Wherever he may be, asleep or awake, working or resting, in his bath or in bed, he can be inspected without warning and without knowing that he is being inspected”. Orwell uses spies to serve as a collective social network designed to expose Party members’ disloyalty to Big Brother. After reading about the 1984 inner-party spies who mimic the Gestapo,the 1948 reader might think of World War II spies who used radios, a form of technology, to scheme. On the other hand, a 2019 reader might think of how terrible being constantly observed would be while not realizing the lack of their own privacy. Anything can be tracked on the internet nowadays, making it much easier for someone to ‘spy’ on someone else than in 1948. A reader from 2019 is most likely unaware of the lack of privacy they have and might take heed Orwell’s warning against technology.
Finally, in 1984, Orwell also uses ominous political tendencies to convey continuous trends that readers from 1948 or that of today, 2019, can interpret in their own lives. Orwell writes of Oceania’s “four Ministries between which the entire apparatus of government was divided: the Ministry of Truth,…the Ministry of Peace,…the Ministry of Love,…and the Ministry of Plenty. The Ministry of Love…was…impossible to enter except on official business, and then only by penetrating through a maze of barbed-wire entanglements, steel doors, and hidden machine-gun nests”. A reader from 1948 might think of the continuous trend of government outlines that structure a government, such as that of the U.S. government. The multiplicity of the “four Ministries” could be interpreted as the three branches of government: legislative, executive, and judicial while the complexity of the “Ministries” like the “Ministry of Love” might be thought of as the checks and balances on each of the three branches of government. A 1948 reader might also think of the political corruption of governments and how authorities can misuse power to their advantage leaving the greater society to the disadvantage. After reading about 1984’s government, a 2019 reader might compare 1984’s government to the U.S.’s current immigration system since both have ‘hoops’ people have to ‘jump’ through to achieve their goal, an ever-long way of maintaining supremacy. Currently, at the U.S. border of Mexico, President Trump plans to build a wall with “barbed-wire” that would make it arduous to enter the country without meeting rigorous demands. Both readers would probably agree that the 1984 society is unjust but that it does mirror the society of both readers on the account of following a trend of political control. Additionally, Orwell addresses the totalitarian leader of the 1984 society Big Brother who is “infallible and all-powerful. Every success, every achievement, every victory, every scientific discovery, all knowledge, all wisdom, all happiness, all virtue, are held to issue directly from his leadership and inspiration”. Readers of 1948 and 2019 would most likely take away that there is a leader who is abusing power to maintain status at the top of the caste system, a political trend to maintain or gain power, but the interpretation is where the two might differ due to the situations in which they could draw relevance to. A reader of 1948 might interpret Big Brother’s Political actions as they might that of Hitler; Hitler started his campaign on good intentions of trying to build a sense of nationality for Germans but along the lines, Hitler abused his power to create a ‘pure’ race of people by the discrimination and death of anyone he deemed inferior; which was morally wrong like Big Brother’s. A 2019 reader, however, might compare Big Brother’s political actions to that of Supreme Leader of North Korea: Kim Jong-un, someone who has maintained a strict dictatorship. From their own interpretations of relevance, both readers can deduct Orwell’s use of Big Brother was to comment on the effect of controlling political leaders.
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Get custom essayOver the course of analysis and comparison, it can be seen that Orwell conforms to the dystopian genre by foreshadowing many unfortunate tendencies that can be seen by past and present audiences. In conclusion, Orwell crafts a text that can be read and interpreted through the eyes of the people whom he wrote for, the society of 1948, and to the audience of today, the society of 2019, in order to reveal the ominous tendencies: social, technological, and political, that have evolved and are relevant today.