What is art free essay sample

Art cannot be defined simply, there has been numerous definitions offered throughout the decades but it is if I may, impossible to pin point one that define art perfectly because it is so broad. If I had to define all that art is will probably exceed an essay, but a book will do Just fine. Since we cannot cover all that art Is In one essay, we will cover the main ideas about It. Paintings, photography, architecture, and sculptures, they are the basics of art, and then there are others that define some as art, and some will reject those as art.Such as personal art, In which they might mean an Infinite amount personally, but It may only be something very common to the critiques of others. Art Is a personal definition All that art Is may not always be art. For example, art Is freedom of expression, It brings Joy, sadness, and It takes a person though the emotion of the artist. We will write a custom essay sample on What is art? or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page It creates clarity and confusion but clarity and confusion Is not art. Art Is an escape but escape is not art. Art is creativity but creativity is not art.Art can make you smile and laugh, one of my favorite artists named Roomer Britton gives me great ay when I see his art, its colorful and not everyone can do, the creative ways in which he uses lines, color, etc. His art has purposes; they are displayed in childrens hospitals. Art is meaningful. Some art takes you too certain place or time, whether youve been there before or not. Art can be a memory, whether it is a happy or sad one, it makes you remember the emotion you were in while you created the certain piece or it might help you understand the emotion of the artist, the things they were going through and their thoughts.Art is nostalgic. Art helps you get through painful times and in the pain raises brilliant works. One can very well argue that those are the only good that comes out of tragedy, art includes experience and an individual can confine in art while they have no one else to confine with. Art is therapy. Although this is not all that art is but it is what relates to most of us and it is something in which most of us can relate to. Art is personal and global at the same time. It might only be understood by one person, although it might very well be understood globally.

Critical Media Studies, Ott And Mack Book Example

Critical Media Studies, Ott And Mack Book Example Critical Media Studies, Ott And Mack Book – Book Report/Review Example Critical Media Studies An Analysis of Critical Media Studies: An Introduction To understand the influence of media on our society, one needs to studyeffect of mass media critically through a social science perspective. The aim of these readings is to understand the acquired information and its effects on society and human behavior. There are two types of information, first-hand and mediated (which came through a medium), therefore, studying the method through which information is transferred holds significant importance. Through television and other mass media, information is spread in the shortest span of time to the large number of audience, even in the remote areas. The wide spectrum of media studies and its access to broad spectators includes communication technologies covering the remote areas and providing information through internet and television broadcast. Print, motion, sound, broadcast and new media have been sub features of media. Digital computer technology and itâ€⠄¢s over powering effect on media for distribution and circulation in establishing information has changed the methodology of communication. Thus, the distinguishing quality of new medium from other four mediums can be meaningless, if it submerged those entire previous categories due to advancement. In the age of information, it is important to study media’s historical context for understanding the rapid change and development. When two diverse media modes use the same platform, the term is known as convergence. Mobility of media was made possible through digital technology when books were available in the form of e-books. Through which, the author has been trying to show the reader, how technology has taken charge and made evident changes in media. The presence of media almost everywhere makes its study imperative and its diverse affects on society makes it an ever expanding horizon. Mass media has manifested replacement of humans, existing values to modified version of its own, and acted as an educational institute and a platform for news from couple of decades.References:Top of FormOtt, Brian L, and Robert L. Mack.  Critical Media Studies: An Introduction. Chichester, U.K: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010. Print.Bottom of Form

Empirical research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Empirical - Research Paper Example The conclusion of the study is that people with strong worldviews that they implement in their everyday lives often have more reasons to live and often choose life in the long run. A study was undergone to detect patterns and relationships between culture worldview, â€Å"reasons for living,† and suicide resilience in African Americans and European Americans, as each group adheres to separate worldviews that may or may not affect suicidal factors. While there are other factors to determine the risk of suicide in individuals and cultures as a whole, the concept of â€Å"reasons for living† is an alternative index for suicide risk. The belief is that those ethnic groups with more reasons for living tend to be more resilient to suicide as well as suicidal symptoms, such as depression, hopelessness, or suicide attempts. Furthermore, those with a stronger cultural worldviews usually choose life; aspects such as religious and spiritual beliefs, spiritual immortality, and values play a role in determining the strength of one’s cultural worldview, and thus the strength of their will to live. The variables looked at in the study encompassed a variety of beliefs and dimensions that dealt a lot with cultural perception of the world, life, and death. For example, people that believe in an afterlife would be more willing to engage in a suicidal act. Someone who has grown up in a religious home with strict views on suicide would be less likely to take their life. This study aimed to determine just how effective these various worldviews really were in suicidal behavior and resilience Various questionnaires were distributed to the sample groups; the Reasons for Living Inventory (RFLI) consisted of items that proposed reasons for someone not to kill themselves if they were suicidal; the Worldview Analysis Scale (WAS) measured various culture dimensions of worldview with a range between common European and African worldviews; the Beck Hopeless Scale (BHS)

Women in Poverty Stricken Countries Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Women in Poverty Stricken Countries - Essay Example The disparity, then, is even more more pronounced throughout the developing countries of the world where women struggle on a daily basis to enjoy just a few of the simple freedoms that their counterparts in other parts of the world take for granted. Women in third-world countries often lack access to education, healthcare, and employment opportunities. This reality, therefore, begs the question of what needs to be done to ease the social, emotional, and physical difficulties facing the millions of women living in abject poverty in third world countries throughout the globe. There are many facets to living it poverty that make even the basic of human function difficult to endure. Yet, countless millions of individuals throughout the world are faced with this reality each and everyday. As difficult as poverty is to endure, however, being a female in poverty stricken countries seems to simply compound the situation. The voices of women globally have been silenced in many cases and it di fficult for them to achieve justice. Instances of rape and other unspeakable forms of abuse continue to occur almost unabated (Buvinic, 1997). Progress has certainly been made in recent years, largely due to the presence of a more globally focused media, but the reality is that much more needs to be done to protect women living in poverty in third world countries. The focus of this paper is to look at ways that society can better provide for the social, emotions, and physical needs of the millions of women living in poverty throughout the developing world. Social Needs of Women Living in Poverty Naturally, women comprise a little more than half of the world’s population, yet they represent a full seventy percent of individual living in poverty throughout the world. In the developing nations around the globe, this percentage can be even higher. This represents the reality that not only are women living in abject poverty, but often times they find themselves alone, frightened, and unable to consider any way out of their situation. In addition, the number of women raising children alone and in poverty continues to rise, further magnifying this problem. Women in poverty often find themselves victims of unspeakable social injustice and discrimination. In addition, they often discover problems in attaining access to even the most basic of healthcare services, educational options, and employment opportunities. While these difficulties certainly exist is first world countries, they are further magnified in the developing nations of the world, where class inequality is much more noticeable and government assistance is lacking (Batana 338). Even childbirth has become troubling for women living in property in much of the developing world, as there is a lack of clean medical facilities nearby that can attend to their specific and unique needs. Whereas even the poorest among us in Western societies typically have access to basic and clean child birthing facilities, that simply is not a luxury that much of world’s poor have available to them. Add to that the reality that single women giving birth are further stigmatized and less likely to receive assistance from society, and one quickly realizes the uphill struggle that women living in poverty face today in almost every facet of their social life. A child born poor, most often becomes a teenager without educational options, and adult without employment opportunities, and an elderly member of society with nobody to care for them. In other words, most of the women born into poverty in this world will remain such for the remainder of their life. Sociologist has

Assigment 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Assigment 2 - Essay Example The Texas State Senate and United States Senate allow their members to filibuster bills. This paper analyzes the similarities and differences between Texas state senate and United States senate filibustering. Similarities In the US, filibustering is a powerful legislative tool and it has been used to influence many senate proceedings and outcomes. For instance in the united states senate, most major legislations require over 60% votes before being nominated for a house debate. While filibustering may be viewed as a democratic move in most senates, most people believe that filibustering is negative and uncalled for in any proceeding. This is evident in both the US and Texas state senate’s, where parliamentarians have created bills to stop filibustering. Filibustering has also attracted positive criticism in both the US and Texas state senate. For instance filibustering has been used to shun contentious bills from being passed without prior participation of all senate members. F or instance, the abortion bill that threatened to criminalize abortion and instruct the closure of all abortion clinics has been delayed due to the existence of filibustering in the Texas. Thus, in both the US ant Texas state senate, filibustering has positive and negative criticism. Senate Rule XXII, the US state senate allows certain senators to prolong a bill or a speech for as long as they can. The law recognizes the necessity to prolong certain bills. This is usually true in both the US and Texas senate. In the US senate, prolong a house debate was an open practice until the house of representative passed a permanent rule in 1842 to limit the length of debates. Similar measures have been taken in the Texas state senate to regulate house debates. There are many uncertainties in filibustering bills as administered in both senates. The main issue attached to filibustering, is the determination of the length of a debate. According to critics, it is impossible to determine or out ru le, the length of a bill based on the filibustering policy. For instance, it is impossible to define how long a long speech is. Lack of a clear-cut definition on the length of a debate has been applied by critics to shoot down filibustering bills. Lack of clear-cut policies on filibustering is evident in both the US and Texas state senate. The passage of filibustering legislations has not been welcomed by most senators who use lengthy discussions or debates to prevent or influence the passage of bills. The issue of filibustering is commonly associated with US politics. In both the Texas and US senates, republicans are believed to be the main filibusters. The political association is historic and it has minimal implication on bill passage. However, senate proceedings are influenced by the US senate. More so, the bill of rights and other contentious issues are often ruled out depending on political affiliations. The rules of both houses are clear on the issue of filibustering and neit her of the houses identifies filibustering as a political issue. Indeed, both senates recognize filibustering as important in any proceedings. The cause of filibustering in both the US and Texas senate are similar and they are protected by the law. For instance the in the US senate, most common filibustering occur when a senator attempts to delay or obstruct a vote or a bill. On such

Akira Kurosawa An Auteur Film Studies Essay

Akira Kurosawa An Auteur Film Studies Essay Since the term auteur was applied to film directors by the cahiers du cinema magazine in the 1950s,there has been much debate by film-makers and critics as to what makes an auteur and how accurate the term is when applied to some directors. Federico Fellini, in a 1966 interview, said that Akira Kurosawa was the greatest living example of what an author of cinema should be'(Cardullo,2006,p.49) and in this essay I would like to explore the accuracy of this statement based on Kurosawas period films and how meaningful the term auteur is. In his article, Notes On The Auteur Theory In 1962, Andrew Sarris (interpreting the Cahiers various articles on what became known as auteurism)describes the auteur as a director who is technically proficient, whose personal style is clear in the way a film looks and moves and who creates an interior meaning from the tension between a directors personality and his material. This last statement, Sarris admits, is ambiguous. Susan Hayward in her book Cinema Studies: The Key Concepts (1996) sheds more light on what the cahiers meant by auteur by defining the interior meaning as the mise en scene and the personality of the director. She also describes the total author'(p.33), a director who writes their screenplays. Because of the sheer amount of debate surrounding what an auteur is I will base my argument on both Sarris and to a lesser extent Haywards explanation of the term auteur. A large part of being an auteur, based on what Sarris defines as an auteur, is the ability of a director t o imprint their mark onto a film in spite of the limitations brought on by studio control. This would have had great meaning in Hollywood at the time the article was written but not necessarily in the film industries of the wider world, particularly Japan. For Kurosawa in there far fewer limitations in how he made films in comparison to his Hollywood counterparts. Kurosawa was the principle writer on the majority of his films and those which were based on other stories would be adapted by him for the screen. He would often quote his mentor, Kajiro Yamamoto, in interviews saying if you want to become a film director, first write scripts (Kurosawa, 2008, p.10). In this respect Kurosawa was quite literally the author/auteur and originator of his films and so would appear to fit into the total author mould. Where the gray area exists as far as being an auteur is in Kurosawas use of collaborators in the screenwriting process such as Shinobu Hashimoto who was involved in the writing of Seven Samurai (1954), Throne Of Blood(1957) and The Hidden Fortress (1958) to name but a few. This would arguably prevent him from being considered a total author. Another area where Kurosawa has total control is editing. In the introduction to the book Akira Kurosawa: Interviews , Bert Cardullo calls Kurosawa an auteur because he edited or closely supervised the editing of all his films (p.10). I am inclined to agree with Cardullo that this would add to the degree of authorship on a film as Kurosawa will have the final decision on exactly what the cinemagoer will see. This could be seen as technical proficiency however Sarris article bases technical proficiency on directing skills, editing skills are not even considered. Overall it seems that the level of control Kurosawa had over non-directorial aspects of his films would remove the impact of his autuerism because so much of what makes an auteur is the ability to push through industrial control to have your own voice heard. With Kurosawa it was his own voice from the beginning in the writers room and it would end as his voice in the editing room with no real struggle involved. Because Kurosawa wrote the script it was all uniquely personal to him which is one of the key elements of auteurism. In Notes On The Auteur Theory In 1962 Andrew Sarris had said that a director spends most of his life on one film. For Kurosawa that one film could be the period film, something he worked on time and time again. The backdrop of medieval Japan was the preferred setting for Kurosawa and something which was very personal to him: Kurosawas intense feelings for pre-modern Japan, his perceptions of himself and his family in these terms, disclose a view of the past as a living sensuous reality (Prince,1999,p.203) His father was of samurai descent and Kurosawa himself romanticised the past in many ways, finding solace in it where there was none in the present. The early samurai films show his youthful exuberance with films such as Seven Samurai and Yojimbo(1961)showing a positive vision of the past heroism has been transformed into acts of everyday charity (Prince,1999,p.241). In stark contrast to the positive nature of these films the later samurai films are significantly more bleak in nature. These films followed years of depression, attempted suicide and struggles to find finance. For example Ran(1985) Kurosawas last samurai epic, the title of which translates as turmoil or chaos, is a downward spiral of misery from start to finish with almost all characters having distinctly negative traits. Prince describes the period of both ran and the earlier Kagemusha(1980) as defining a period of melancholy and bitterness and a questioning of youthful idealism (p.293). Further examples of Kurosawas o wn beliefs and personality lie in the themes of the films. When asked what he felt were the common themes in his films Kurosawa replied the only theme I can think of is really a question: why cant people be happier together'(Kurosawa, 2008, p.162). In many ways the real recurring theme of Kurosawas films is humanism, he regularly explores human nature whether its an individual taking up arms against the corrupt (Yojimbo), people working together for the greater good (Seven Samurai) or the hopelessness of war (Ran). All suggest that the world would be a better place if we all got along. These films show the personality, thoughts and feelings of the director during their production which I would argue is a prime example of what an auteur is, someone whos films reflect them. Kurosawa was a highly visual film-maker. In his youth he had wanted to be an artist and its clear from the composition of many of his shots that he retained the sensibilities of an artist. From the interviews conducted over the years in Kurosawa: The Interviews it is clear that Kurosawa maintains as much control over every shot as possible from composition to choice of camera. Stephen Prince describes the technical knowledge of Kurosawa and his reliance upon telephoto lens and techniques of multi-camera filming'(p.18) as well as his use of anamorphic frame in later films such as Kagemusha. Kurosawa knew how to get the best images out of every scene even if it meant using unconventional techniques and new technology. He lives up to the level of technical expertise Sarris had believed was vital for a true auteur. This did not however mean that Kurosawa was his own camera operator, indeed he couldnt be because from Seven Samurai onwards he stuck to using multi-cameras no matter what kin d of scene was being filmed. He believed this meant that actors would be less conscious of acting to a camera and instead would have to put on a good performance that could be seen at all angles. Kurosawa did his utmost to ensure that his vision was achieved and would regularly take control of his own camera however he described the process of getting others to achieve shots: I explain the desired image in detail not only to the cameraman but also every member of staff and have them do their utmost to produce the best possible likeness to it (Kurosawa,2008,p. 27) So even with his knowledge of camera lenses there was still a collaborative issue as far as using a cinematographer and indeed Kurosawa had several regular cinematographers such as Asakazu Nakai who worked on films such as Seven Samurai and Ran. Kurosawas technical proficiency is also very clear in his framing decisions. For example in Seven Samurai Kikuchiyo is clearly the outsider of the group which Kurosawa emphasizes by how the framing consistently isolates him from the rest of the samurai who are clustered together as a group'(prince,1999,p.214). The way battle scenes are shot in Kagemusha with huge amounts of troops at either end of the screen is a sight to behold, all the more so in the way Kurosawa manages to retain a sense of beauty in the battle. Francis Ford Coppola on the making of Kagemusha described the way Kurosawa presented fight scenes and violence as almost poeticstunning and dramatic and embodying the moment that was supposed to be expressed. The stylistic nature of the battle scenes became a trademark for the director from Seven Samurai onwards. His ability to use camera and edit techniques to portray violence in a thrilling, heroic way were part of the style and something that could be recognised as part of a distinctly Kurosawa film. Not only that but the introduction of colour only to improve his vision of battle with Kurasawa frequently choosing drab backgrounds'(Ebert,online) to show of the colourful costumes which effectively stand out from the background and clash together in battle. Another noticeable K urosawa technique is the use of cutting between similar shots to emphasize drama,Kurosawa loved to intercut two or three shots whose compositions were exactly aligned with the axis of view established in the initial camera position (Prince,1999,p.299). Examples of this exist in various Kurosawa films. In Seven Samurai it is used on the flame engulfed house following the initial bandit attack and the broken lock in Yojimbo which is used by Sanjuro to avoid the kidnappers. This technique focuses the viewer on the dramatic or emotional element and creates a tension. With so many more stylistic calling cards than could possibly be named in a single essay, Kurosawa has a clear style and so fits into the auteur theory. The auteur theory however clearly has many failings even when applied to someone who appears to cover all the bases (writing, directing, editing) of what makes a film-maker an auteur. Many of these failings have already been discussed but in essence they all come down to one thing, film is a collaborative work. Would Kurosawa be able to achieve the shots he did without the work of some of the worlds best cinematographers? Its highly unlikely. Did he write all of his screenplays alone? Certainly not. Would many of his films have been as enjoyable without some great acting from the cast, particularly frequent collaborator Toshiro Mifune? No. In an interview Kurosawa discusses the collaborative nature of his work with Mifune, particularly the distinct walk Mifune has in Yojimbo,Mifunes walk is his own invention. In order to stress it, I carefully selected camera framings and lenses. This seemingly insignificant example is a snapshot of all that is wrong with the auteur theory. The secon d a director claims a film is all theirs they are disrespecting the great people they have worked with. As for Kurosawa being an auteur,even ignoring the flaws in that theory, Mutsuhiro Yoshimoto in his book Kurosawa: Film Studies and Japanese Cinema says: Kurosawas films are too worldly and historical to be approached as mere aesthetic objects where his personal vision is inscribed or as a structure or textual system that reveals his unconscious desire (p.239)

Shakespeares Presentation of Shylock in The Merchant of Venice Essay

Shakespeare's Presentation of Shylock in The Merchant of Venice This essay is an analysis of how the character of Shylock, in the play 'The Merchant of Venice', is presented to the audience, by Shakespeare, in different ways. The riveting play shows the best and worst aspects of human nature and contains one of Shakespeare's most reviled, complex and compelling characters. Love and romance end this play, yet before that come bigotry, racism, hatred, death threats and money-especially the money. The dramatic courtroom scene and Shylock's cruel downfall will challenge your heart and your sense of justice. Shylock is a successful Jewish moneylender, who is filled with bitter words for the Christians, much prejudiced over his own religion and the practice of moneylenders, such as himself, of charging interest. Shylocks of the past and present have been portrayed in different ways on screen and in the theatre. He has been played by Anthony Sher, John Woodvine, Ralph Richardson, Dustin Hoffman, John Gielgud and Barrie Rutter. Each of the actors has tried to show him in either his best or his worst possible light. In some interpretations of 'The Merchant of Venice', the technique that the directors use is to cut a lot of Shylock's original lines to make him seem less harsh and more undeserving of all the hatred that the people around him give him constantly. In most cases, the intensity of the performances, of the actors playing Shylock, go towards getting his character across to the audience. In the play, religion seems to be inextricably connected with business Shakespeare puts Shylock in a bad situation as soon as his char... ...ery valid observation in that speech. He was trying to point out that humans are all the same, no matter what they believe in, we are all born, living and are eventually going to die in very much the same ways, so why can't he have his revenge? The desire of revenge is almost inseparable from the sense of wrong and we can hardly help sympathising with the Shylock, hidden beneath his "Jewish gabardine," his madness by repeated, undeserved name calling and labouring to get rid of the obstructions, from opportunities and freedom, heaped upon him and all his tribe by one desperate act of 'lawful' revenge. The ferociousness of the means by which he is to carry out his purpose, turn us against him. Even so, when disappointed of the revenge on which he built his hopes and the way he is punished for his actions, we pity him.