A Contemporary Artist Essay Example for Free

A Contemporary Artist Essay Laurie Anderson was born in Chicago in 1947. She is a conglomerate of talents music, writing, fiction, philosophy, sculpture and film in one human form. The Bernard College in New York and the Columbia University share the fame of being Laurie Anderson’s alma mater. Her piece of work has an artistic flavour and wins applaud for its central quality of mystery, melodrama and humor with contemporary theme. Laurie Anderson’s Theme Andersons goal was ‘dissolving barriers between people. ’ In one of her interview (2007) she said that all her work involves some kind of escapism, ‘imagining a body to be somewhere else. Music reminds you about your body, but it also takes you out of it. All art is a form of escape, but music is in particular. ’ Some of her renowned performances are United States (I-IV), Speed of the Darkness, Moby Dick: Songs and Poems, etc. Homeland – a Master Piece One of Laurie Anderson’s masterpieces ‘Homeland’ in the year 2007 held sway over her audience for its contemporary theme. It is a scintillating 100-minute performance in which she sings, speaks, plays violin and keyboard. Theme of Homeland The theme of Homeland ponders over the modern America, its withered freedom, its war on Iraq, and the issue of global warming. Laurie Anderson’s wit is revealed when she asks, â€Å"Was the constitution written in invisible ink? † Homeland portrays children being treated as crusaders of war – a clear message that their future is at stake. She touches on the country’s mislead path, bad rulers, and the civilians with troubled state of mind. Her song expresses that no real personal relationships are maintained. The consumer culture on the high is understood through her reference to underwear gods. Homeland is a magnificent song with the combination of sweet choruses, soft violin cello duets, and the maestro Peter Scherer’s keyboards. Homeland is gloomy but it has wit in it. It is an expression of fear and disappointment but is full of heart and soul. Homeland is a true reflection of our troubled times. References L. Anderson, personal communication, 2007. Retrieved February 7, 2009 from http://www. pbs. org/art21/artists/index. html Retrieved February 7, 2009 from http://www. musicianguide. com/biographies/1608002294/Laurie-Anderson. html

Modern British Cinema: Themes and Perspectives

Modern British Cinema: Themes and Perspectives INTRODUCTION The history and rich heritage of the modern British cinema can be rooted from its rich history and films which were produced in the past and served as an unwavering inspiration to the themes and perspectives which were evident in the British films which were shown today. One of the most common themes existent among the British films of today would most probably be the concept of social realism. This theme, as being present and influential in the production of modern British films, represents the actual happenings in the real lives of the people, together with all the difficulties and predicaments which were present in the peoples daily struggle to survival. The stories and the people which were portrayed in the films were reflective of everyday characters and usually are have an economic background belonging to the middle class group in the society. The theme of social realism started to be portrayed in British films in as early as the 1960s with also the emergence of the so-called B ritish New Wave. Some of the films in the past which showed themes of social realism include Look Back in Anger, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, and The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner. Because of the presence of social realism in various literatures in the past, most of these movies were based on written novels and produced plays which showed the same theme. Furthermore, it has been noted that social realism is more than just a genre in modern British cinema, it is considered to be a dominant form of cinema. This theme of social realism is often coupled with political awareness as such has been also noted to be permissive in British cinema. Modern films with the themes of social realism include Trainspotting, My Name is Joe, This is England, and Human Traffic (Strozykowski, 2008) Moreover, new perspectives in the British cinema is also said to have been focused in masculinity, showing themes which were centered and aptly inspired by the British men in the society, or at least, the crisis in British masculinity. Furthermore, more than the crisis, it is said that what the British cinema actually articulates would be the dilemmas of identification and ideology for modern British men. (Claydon, n.d.) LOOKING FOR ERIC One of the British films in the modern society would have been Looking for Eric which was show in theaters last year. The central theme which was depicted in the movie Looking for Eric could be aptly described as how a football player was able to run away from the trials and problems which life has confronted him and it also shows how the heroes of footballs can bring for fans. The movie was directed by an English director in the name of Ken Loach while the story was written by Paul Laverty. The main casts of the movie included real-life football fantasy and superstar, Eric Cantona together with Steve Evets. According to the director of the film, the movie was actually intended to show the life of major celebrities as being only as simple and as complicated as everyone life and the notion that we are stringer as a tem rather than as separate individuals with differing goals and perspectives. The film was also used as an entry in a competition, the 62nd Cannes Film Festival. The movie was considered to be an exceptional addition to the glitz and glamour of the film festival as it showcased the presence of the Manchester United and France footballing legend. The film was shot in the United Kingdom, distributed by Icon Film Distribution and produced by the company owned by Loach which was Sixteen Films. It was said to have an estimated budget of 4 million pounds. THE SYNOPSIS AND PLOT The movie depicts a bitter sweet comedy illustrating the life of a loser postman who was able to receive words of wisdom from Eric Cantona, who is also Eric Cantona in real life, a philosophical football legend who is considered to be the hero of another character in the said movie. The movie is also said to be a significant addition to the list of movies which were football related in terms of the story or the central plot. The movie was all about a middle-aged postman who was able to find employment at the Manchester sorting office through the character of Eric Bishop. Bishop in the movie was going through a dreadful crisis in life which sprouts other themes which were evident through the course of the film. Bishop was alo looking through and guiding the growth of his grand daughter which makes him make contact with his ex-wife, Lily. The grand daughter is a main reason why he needed to still establish close relationship and contact with Lily despite the fact that the two were already separated after Bishop abandoned her when their first child was born. His son, Ryan, was then hiding a gun in their house which is used by the gangsters which are present in the place. In one of Bishops weakest and most depressing time, he considers the possibility of committing suicide in order to end the adversaries which have been confronting his life. Furthermore, in order to discount the possibility of such occurrenc e, a meditation session was held inside his room and after which, he had a clearer perspective of things and let go of the possibility of ending his only life and instead went to see the philosophical football legend which happens to be another Eric, in the person of Eric Cantona. His visits to the football star were able to give him enlightenment after Cantona gave him several words of wisdom and inspiration which gave him ideas on why he should go on with his life. Such visits led to an improvement in his relationship with his ex-wife. Bishop also discovered about the hidden gun and he immediately confronted his son after finding it out. When his son was confronted, Ryan did not deny of his involvement with the gangsters in the place. Bishop returned to the gun the rightful group. His sons were said to be making his life more problematic and they are deemed to bring Bishop into an early death with all the problems that the two have caused in Bishops life. When he returned the gun, he was forced to keep it himself and a series of unfortunate events followed which even included a posting of a humiliating video of him in a video uploading site. The entire family was then arrested and the house was searched in order to find the gun but it was nowhere to be found all over the place. Bishop was given different words of wisdom and advice by Cantona. With a number of fanatics of the Manchester United football team, in an operation which they dubbed as Operation Cantona, Bishop sneaked through the gangsters house to be able to find the gun and threatened that they will also release a humiliating video of the gang just like what they have earlier did to Bishop. Cantona was considered by Bishop to be like a genie who suddenly pops out of the bottle, acted his life coach, and gave him more inspiration and reasons to be able to enjoy and live life despite the predicaments especially with all the trouble that confronted him as being brought about by his children. The movi e ended with the scene of a graduation of one of Bishops children, depicting a happy family and finally enjoying a peaceful life. CLOSER LOOK AT THE MOVIE With the central characters which assumed the major roles in the movie, it can be said that the film revolved around the lives of two Erics Bishop and Cantona who each had their fair share in the flow of the story. The first Eric is the depressed one who has been confronted with numerous challenges in his life, from his children, to his ex-wife, and even to the environment in which he has been living. However, the second Eric was legendary and ghost-like. He was like a genie who provided words of wisom and encouragement to be able to inspire the former Eric in his life amidst all the struggles which confronted him. Like in any other works of Ken Loach, the movie included a spectacular cast which has been deemed to be perfect in the portrayal of their respective roles in the movie. The meticulous casting process for Looking for Eric is said to be an additional in the bones of the character and also serves as an embellishment in the whole process of completing the movie. In the movie, the most important and central character is not the legendary football player, but the little Eric who found inspiration in the middle of his struggle to survival. Moreover, the humor in the story can be especially seen and illustrated in the scenes where Cantona has been giving the other Eric a series of advises to help him go on with living his life instead of trying to end it because he was confronted with too many troubles. Form this advises, there were presence of self-deprecating humor which included his metaphors. The enigmatic philosophical ramblings of Cantona were depicted in the film without losing the to uch of humor to provide more interest in the storyline (Strozykowski, 2009). The presence of social realism in the central theme of the film cannot be also discounted as the main characters and setting of the film revolves around the middle class society and reflects their struggle for survival in the middle of the illustrated political and economic situation. THE DIRECTOR As what has been mentioned earlier, the movie was directed by Kenneth â€Å"Ken† Loach, a native of Warkwirshire. His earliest experiences in the fields of movie and television can be attributed to his membership at his schools experimental theater club. His first experiences in directing were harnessed as he joined ABC television in the year 1961and he then switched to BBC after several years. One of his most notable works in the field of television entertainment would have been The Wednesday Play which he did in collaboration with the skills of Tony Garnett. The said work of the two directors is said to have been a significant evolution and revolution in the field of British drama as such show has spurred political debates. The drama is said to be a socialist as it has been geared towards providing an inspiration to the middle class members of the society to become agents who could be able to potentially revolutionize and inspire the existence of economic change in the Briti sh society. Ken Loach has always been a name surfacing in the Cannes Film Festival as his works have made him one of the favorites in the said award-giving body. During the eyar 2006, the director won the most prestigious award at Cannes, the Palm dOr for his movie entitled The Wind That Shakes the Barley which is about the troubles in Ireland. The most successful works of Loach in the field of British entertainment were said to be exploratory of the varying dimensions of the life of human wherein the personal dimensions intersect with the political aspects. His works show the fusion of politics with the lives of ordinary human beings and how such can greatly affect the mode of living. Much of the directors works were aimed towards the criticism of capital targets which included gangsters, exploitative employers, conservative employers, and loan sharks, which have been a common theme in his works. The artistic visual style of Loach as a director is said to be unassuming, illustrating careful narrative construction, and showing performances which are sympathetic making the target audience relate into the situations which were depicted by the motion picture. The political points which Loach tries to emphasize in his works could be seen arising from natural emotions and situations which are shown to be very realistic. The exis tence of humor in his works cannot be also discounted as such themes make the claims of the film stronger, and at times, can also add sarcasm to the political satires which the film expects to deliver. Loach has already an experience of almost 40 years in the industry with an estimated works of almost 60 films which included theatrical figures and works which were intended not to be show in cinemas but only in the televisions yet still depictive of the same themes and concepts which were common in the directors works. It has been said that most of his finest works were explicitly political with a tough of humor and powerful emotion inspired by the directors intellectual ideas and major concepts. His works were said to be one way of depicting the nations unconscious as it illustrates what has been actually happening in the modern society in terms of the political and economic dimension. Despite hindrances in the industry such as financial constraints, fickle artistic trends, and the ebb and flow in politics, Loach remains in his commitment of providing the society with films which are committed to progressive ideals. The most powerful scene sin the movies which were created by Loach were said to be established in a setting were a large group of film characters were gathered as they discuss and debate over various issues, mostly were political and economical. For instance, in his movie The Big Flame the characters were shown to be having a conversation as they try to organize a strike, in the movie Land Of Freedom there was also a scene which depicts an extended debate in which the characters were fighting about land reform, and the movie Bread and Roses depicted a scene where the janitors were having an argument on whether or not they will be joining an established union. Other works of Ken Loach include the following movies: Poor Cow, Kes, family Life, Black Jack, Looks and Smiles, Fatherland, Hidden Agenda, RiffRaff, Raining Stones, Ladybird Ladybird, Land and Freedom, Carlas Song, My name is Joe, Bread and Roses, The Navigators, Sweet Sixteen, Ae Fond Kiss, Tickets, McLibel,.The Wind That Shak es the Barley, Its a Free World, and Looking For Eric (Robins, n.d.). REFERENCES: Strozykowski, M; Social Realism in British Film; 2008 Claydon, A. E.; New Perspectives on British Cinema: Going Beyond the Crisis in Masculinity Robins, M; Senses of Cinema: Ken Loach The Internet Movie Database; Looking for Eric; 2009 The Official Website of Looking for Eric The Movie; 2009

The Role of Femininity in Shakespeares Hamlet, Othello, and King Lear

The Role of Femininity in Shakespeare's Hamlet, Othello, and King Lear Hamlet, Othello, and King Lear similarly experience an "unhooking" (Tompkins) in the eponymous plays. These tragic figures struggle with internal and external femininity: after realizing their emotions and labeling them feminine, they identify women as the source of this negative femininity. Their inability to deal with the female gender in any form destabilizes their masculinity, causing an unhooking/unlatching within them. The origin of Hamlet's psychological decay lies in his anger towards Gertrude and his inability to adjust to her marrying Claudius. From Hamlet's perspective, Gertrude giving herself to a new husband signifies her failure to honor his father and her abandonment of Hamlet; he is figuratively orphaned, and he resents his sole living parent. Additionally, Hamlet's emotional confidence has been significantly damaged: seeing his mother with another man substantiates the possibility that his future wife could leave him for another man and cause him serious pain. This r ealization compels Hamlet to mask his feelings for Ophelia with madness, a defense mechanism intended to conceal his vulnerability. Ophelia reports that he appeared "with his doublet all unbrac'd,/No hat upon his head, his stockins fouled,/Ungart'red, and down-gyved to his ankle" (2.1.75-7), but as Hamlet is well-aware of the dress code, he likely intended for his behavior to be viewed as unacceptable and thus mad. Throughout the play, Hamlet has difficulty reacting to his feelings and the women who cause them. Because he wishes he could act instead of speculating, Hamlet curses his own femininity: "Fie upon't, foh!" (2.2.584-7). Secondly, his anger towards Ophelia is like... ...ing his death; however, this occurs too late, as Goneril and Regan have left his fate to Edmund, convinced that their father has lost all reason. Similarly, Othello's unhooking is so complete that the only way Desdemona could have survived is if he kills himself first. In contrast, Hamlet could have lived, feeling the grief of Ophelia's death, had he not rejected his characteristic inaction, which he believed to be connected with his emotions and thus feminine. Works Cited Bradley, A.C. "King Lear." 20Lh Century Interpretations of King Lear. Ed. Jane Adelman. New Jersev; Prentice-Hall, 1978. Neely, Carol. "Women and Men in Othello" Critical Essays on Shakespeare’s Othello. Ed. Anthony G. Barthelemy Pub. Macmillan New York, NY 1994. Shakespeare, William. King Lear. The Complete Works of Shakespeare. Ed. David Bevington. New York: HarperCollins, 1992.

The Power of Zeus Teleios in the Oresteia :: Aeschylus Oresteia

The Power of Zeus Teleios in the Oresteia      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Is the action in the Oresteia preordained? Is the trilogy simply a working through of destiny and fate; the ultimate telos of the events being the downfall of the house of Atreus? Are the characters in the story destroyed by themselves or by the necessity of the deeds that are carried out? These are some of the questions I will discuss in this essay.    I wish to concentrate on the end of the story as we know it, the Eumenides, with reference to character portrayal in the previous parts of the trilogy. The characters I am really interested in discussing are Klytaemnestra, the Erinyes and Orestes in particular, but am also going to make brief reference to the characters of Elektra and Athena.    Klytaemnestra appears in all three plays in the trilogy: which through repetition, for me at least, makes her the most important character. More than anything, in the Oresteia, we watch Klytaemnestra become powerless. It is her transgression of limits1 that we see rectified.    Klytaemnestra in Agamemnon is a strong and wilful woman, who relishes her part in the downfall of Agamemnon himself. She is proud of her action, accepts full responsibility for his death at her hands; she takes her vengeance against him for the death of Iphigeneia2. This is shown in lines such as 'I exult' (A 1417) and after she kills him, 'you think I'm some irresponsible woman?' (A 1425). Aeschylus uses her to embody the powerful 'heroic' ethic of vengeance - blood for blood.    This is unusual firstly because she is a woman; it would seem more appropriate to use a hero in the traditional Homeric sense to embody a heroic ethic. Secondly, we have the dichotomy between the markedly female Erinyes, visualising the nature of 'blood for blood' in Eumenides and the act of vengeance itself - expressed in Homer as a male 'heroic' ethic.    We know this is the start of a trilogy because an audience cannot see a woman - especially one as anti-matriarchal as Klytaemnestra - triumph over a king as famous and respected as Agamemnon. Her downfall is intrinsically tied in with his; she catches herself in the 'great net' (A 1402) and it is her struggles that 'merely tightened the tangle.' (A 1403).   

Returning to a Pre-Print Culture Understanding of Music :: Web Internet Technology Essays

Returning to a Pre-Print Culture Understanding of Music If the Web technology like Napster is eventually incompatible with the current print based recording industry, which values individual works (i.e. records, CD’s, videos) as commodities, then the paradigm of the current music industry will have to be changed drastically. To bridge the gap, something akin to cable service, which uses a flat rate for basic service and then has add-ons like pay-per-view might be used to curb or at least contain free dissemination of files while still remaining lucrative. This does not change the current industry paradigm so much; it simply awards more commodity status to access than product. Last July, Bertelsmann and Napster CEO's met to discuss a subscription partnership. "Between the two of them, the price for a subscription to the new Napster was floated at somewhere between $4.99 and $15 a month" (Alderman, 171). The problem with this solution is that many people may not be willing to pay for something that they have in the past acquired at no cost. It has been relatively easy to bypass security limitations placed on Napster, and in addition, similar applications have appeared to compete with Napster, or replace it in the event that access is blocked (i.e. Morpheus, Gnutella, Aimster [2]). A more effective solution might be one similar to what Grateful Dead lyricist John Barlow proposed in a 1994 issue of Wired: "Intellectual property law cannot be patched, retrofitted, or expanded to contain the gasses of digitized expression†¦ We will need to develop an entirely new set of methods as befits this entirely new set of circumstances" (Alderman, 20). To completely change the paradigm might involve going back to a pre-individualist, pre-high capitalist system. To keep the industry lucrative, the question that record labels, musicians, and other industry types should be asking themselves is not â€Å"How can we make money using existing copyright laws in the networked environment?† but â€Å"How can we still survive as an industry in an environment where copyright does not?† A possible alternative, and an option that hearkens back to pre-print culture, is that musicians might be salaried on the basis that they provide a service. Their art would be free for public enjoyment, but the musicians themselves would be compensated on salary to ensure that music continued to be made at its current rate.

How Does William Shakespeare Utilise the Genre of Tragedy

How does William Shakespeare utilise the genre of tragedy in the play, Macbeth. The utilisation of the genre tragedy in William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth is apparent through the actions that lead up to the tragic death of the plays hero. Other elements needed to classify a play as a tragedy are abnormal conditions of the mind and both inner and outer conflicts. The play consists of prophecies given to Macbeth, leading to the murder of innocents King Duncan, Banquo and Macduff’s family.Insanity takes a hold on Macbeth and his wife, as she kills herself. Macduff, not being born of a woman, slays Macbeth and restores the throne of Scotland to Malcolm. Through the plot, and other aspects of this play, Macbeth contains the correct standards for it to be classed as a tragedy. Macbeth can be classified as a tragedy, as it contains the death of a hero. The hero is Macbeth, an honourable man, loyal to the crown, before being corrupted by his wife, Lady Macbeth and the prophecie s brought onto him by three witches. Gentlemen rise; his highness is not well† (III, IV, LII), is stating that Macbeth is becoming mentally distorted and is losing his heroic traits, until he is killed in a duel, which brings harmony back into Scotland. Through the life and death of Macbeth, the use of the genre tragedy is apparent in the play. The genre tragedy is also evident in Macbeth by the progressively deteriorating mental conditions of the characters after the murder of King Duncan.This is shown through abnormal conditions of the mind, in which Lady Macbeth sleepwalks during Act 5 Scene 1, mindlessly rubbing her hands together, portraying the action of hand washing. â€Å"What, will these hands ne’er be clean? † (V, I, XLII) is a line in Macbeth which signifies the never-ending guilt that Lady Macbeth felt, which she had hoped would have been inexistent after the physical blood of Duncan had been washed from her hands.In the closing stages of the play, â €Å"By self and violent hands took off her life† (V, VII, XCIX) states Lady Macbeth commits suicide as the guilt was too much for her to bear, which is why Lady Macbeths death assists the play in being classed as a tragedy. The inner and outward conflict that is apparent in Macbeth is another reason that this play can be classed as a tragedy. The outward conflict consists of the ongoing vow of revenge by Macduff towards Macbeth for killing his beloved family. â€Å"Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! Beware Macduff;Beware the Thane of Fife. Dismiss me. Enough. † (IV, I, LXXI) Stated by an apparition sent to Macbeth from the witches, this line in the play resulted in the assassination of Macduff’s family by Macbeth. Macduff escapes the same fate as he earlier fled to England in hope that he can join Malcolm’s mission to overthrow Macbeth. When told the shocking news about the death of his loved ones, Macduff claims â€Å"Bring thou this fiend of Scotland and mysel f; within my swords length set him; if he escapes, heaven forgive him too! † (IV, III, Line CCVVVIII).From the loss of his cherished family, Macduff becomes enraged, as his desire to slay Macbeth intensifies, in hope that vengeance will be served. The conflict between these two characters is a perfect example of Shakespeare’s utilisation of the tragedy genre. Inner conflict is evident in the play as Macbeth slowly loses his sanity, being faced with the consequences of his rash actions to assassinate Banquo. â€Å"Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none: So, all hail, Macbeth and Banquo. † (Act 1, Scene 3, Line 67) In the first, Banquo is illustrated as being Macbeth’s close and loyal friend.Because of the prophecy that Banquo will also be the father of kings, Macbeth chooses to have him killed. The inner conflict is noticeable in the dining room, where Macbeth sees The Ghost of Banquo sitting in the seat designated for Macbeth. This supernatural element of the ghost coming back to haunt his murderer is the inner conflict Macbeth feels, in which he is made to come into the realisation and consequences of his actions. Through the remorse he carries with him till his death, the genre tragedy is enforced in the play Macbeth.In conclusion, William Shakespeare has utilised the genre tragedy in the play Macbeth in a number of ways. Some of these include the life and death of Macbeth, who was thought to have been a hero before corruption and abnormal conditions of the mind, like Lady Macbeth’s sleeping walking and suicide and Macbeth’s hallucinations of a Banquo coming back to haunt in. Inner and outer conflict are also present, in Macduffs longing for revenge on Macbeth for killing his family, and in the murder of Banquo, making Macbeth suffer for his immoral actions.

Growing telecommunication in society Essay

It is clear that growing telecommunication will help increase the effectiveness of business. Some consulting companies can do not need to hire office, to buy expensive equipment. People can stay at home to do your business. they don’t need to strictly come to the office. This is much more convenient than ever before. However life is harder. People both yough and old seem to stick to their computer all the time for their work or and for their entertainment. It is true that there are so many things in a computer. People can explore a lot of things. They can easily contact with a friend far away by email, they can know what is happening and even they can go to the market though Internet and there are many other services in the Internet that I cannot count. But the problem is that some people are now addicted to computers and they lose other habits in life. People become stricter because face to face communication is increasingly dwindling. They spend less time to enjoy the beauty of the nature which is very beautiful with alive scenes with sunshine, with fresh air and a variety of things. As a result, human emotion is also reducing. People are not developed fully in mental and physical strength. In addition, as shown recently by research of scientists , sitting in front of computers for long time will affect people’ health. The eye is seriously affected. The number of myopic people is increasing. Sitting in a place also makes people feel tired and stressed. Beside, the whole society seem to be running in a strict mechanism which is facilitated by the computer system. If there appear a problem, this system will collapse rapidly. It can be easily seen many cases of computer hacking which cause great damage to the society and business, for example the virus † love† , originated in the Philippines caused great damage on the global scale in the United States and in south east Asia. The power of the damage is very strong.