Peter Eisenman; Building Germany, the Holocaust memorial

The onset of the year 1933 in Germany was marked by the inauguration of the Nazi government into power. This government orchestrated the mass murder of the Jewish settlers in their country; Germany. These killings were methodical, technical and were financed by the Nazi government. In total, by the end of the Second World War, about six million had died as a result of the activities of the Nazi and its allies.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on Peter Eisenman; Building Germany, the Holocaust memorial specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This event was named the holocaust, a Greek word that meant to ‘sacrifice by fire’. The proponents to this state of affairs (the Nazis) were spurred on by the feeling that theirs’ was a superior race and the Jews were the inferior, and for that they were a foreign threat to their race and their sovereignty. The Jews were not the Nazi’s only victims during the holocaust, other casualties were the weak and disabled people in the society, who were killed on the pretext of the Euthanasia program. This program involved isolating the mentally ill and the disabled people (both adults and children) in the German society, keeping them in some form of concentration camps under the pretext of medicating them. The whole agenda behind this was that the Nazis wanted a perfect society, one representation of their own perceptions of themselves, and they could stop at nothing (Gilberts, 21). These people were collected and murdered in the concentration camps through overdose of medication and keeping them hungry. Children as young as three years who showed or had any symptoms of mental disorders were also killed. The other category of people affected in Germany is those who had been serving the German households as workers and slaves to their farms; these included the Russians and the Polish. Politics, contrasting and differing opinions, weird charac teristics that were not at par with the accepted social norms like homosexuality were given as the reason as to why other people were prosecuted. The people in this group included those with communist ideas, the socialists, and the people who belonged to the church called Jehovah’s witnesses. When the Nazi took over, the Jewish population was over nine million, but as it would happen, they lived in countries that Germany would later conquer or have direct influence over their affairs during the Second World War. Around ten years after they took control of government, the Nazis had killed two out of every three Jews, though some two hundred thousand people with mental cases, mostly Germans had been killed through the Euthanasia program. The Germans and the people who supported them during this ghastly acts mini-estate they referred to as ghettos and other concentration camps, this was to help them monitor the number of the Jews in their country as well as to make it easier whe n they would later depot them. With time the soviet republic became subject to German rule as they had been conquered by Hitler’s troupes in the year 1941. Organized killing units, then referred to as â€Å"Einsatzgruppen† trailed The German forces(Gilberts, 65).Advertising Looking for term paper on history? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More They carried out mass-execution of the Jews, the people of the soviet republic and officials of the communist party in the Soviet. These people mentioned above were mainly killed using the gassing facilities, where they were held in confinement and poisoned the air they inhaled inside the chambers causing instant death. This led to the death of millions of Jewish men women and children, until several years down the line when other forces came together and led a series of attacks against the German forces. In spite of this, they still came across people of the Jewish race in dea th matches and other prisoners. The allied forces piled pressure on Germany until May 7, 1945, when they were downed their tools in defeat (Gilberts, 75). After this, the distraught survivors of the Holocaust obtained protection from Displaced persons camps which had been put up by an alliance of the allied forces that thrashed Hitler’s army. The three years after the holocaust witnessed mass movement of the Jews to Israel and other countries. The Holocaust memorial is a commemorative building designed by architect Peter Eisenman and another Engineer Buro Haplod. It has been put up one block to the North of Brandenburg, in Friedrichstadt. Structurally, the building is erected on a nineteen thousand square meter parcel of land, calculated to round up to 4.7 acres of land. Its construction began in April 2003after much hullabaloo from the political sides. By December 15th 2004 construction was complete, but its inauguration was delayed up to May 10th 2005, when it would coincid e with the day the Second World War ended. It was open to the public on May 12th 2005. The total cost of construction was put at around twenty five million Euros (Eisenman, 24). The construction of the memorial was not an easy task as it faced setbacks from every quarter of the German population and even the international community. The quest to erect a memorial as a memento to the atrocities of the past was driven by a journalist called Lea Rosh, and in 1989 formed a group that would advocate for its construction and help source for funds. As time went by, more and more people supported their initiative and the Bundestag resolved that the project should go on. The design of the memorial was obtained in a rather funny way. Artists were called over and requested to give their designs on what they think the memorial should be (Eisenman, 31). It was so open to the point that the only rules outlined were that whatever their designs, their construction costs should not surpass Twenty fiv e million Euros.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on Peter Eisenman; Building Germany, the Holocaust memorial specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Quality was stressed upon, and the submissions were to be vetted by judges whose professions revolved around art, architecture, history, politics and other dimensions and fields the symbolic building would represent. Over five hundred proposals were submitted, and the jury would start their work on January 15th 1995 led by their chairman, Walter Jens, of getting the submissions. The days that followed would witness the elimination of all but thirteen of the submitted designs after thorough scrutiny. As pre arranged earlier, the jury met again on the 15th of March, and this time eleven of the submissions were brought back to the contest as had been requested by some judges. In the months that followed, thorough review of the submissions led to the recommendations by the j ury; an enquiry into whether the costs of some two top most designs would be completed within the price range given. The concept behind one of the finalist’s submission was that of Simon Ungers, a native of Humburg. It entailed an 85x 85M square girders that were made of steel (Eisenman, 73). The girders were placed above concrete blocks situated at the corners, and on this they would display the names of the various concentration camps. This would further be projected into visibility to the people around by sunlight. The other design which reached the final two was a project by Cristine Jackob-Marks. The idea behind her design was that of a concrete plate whose dimensions measured 100x 100 M, and its thickness 7M thick. It could lie at an angle, and reached a peak of eleven meters, special paths to tread had been designed in the structure. The names of the victims of the holocaust were to be written on the concrete slab, and spaces left for people whose names were still a my stery. The plans to these designs were to be finally vetted by the then chancellor, Helmut Kohl. In 1997, the Bundestag decided on Peter Eisenman’s design of the project through another round of the competition. He had modified his design by attaching a source of information or museum close to the memorial center (Eisenman, 125).Advertising Looking for term paper on history? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Another incident that almost bugged the construction and put to question the credibility of method of sourcing companies was the Degussa incident. This was a big issue in the country that was trying to forget what it had gone through and live as one nation. The company had in a big way contributed to the state persecution of Jews. One of its associate companies was involved in the production of Zyklon B, a gaseous substance that had been used by the regime to kill the Jews in the concentration camps. This made the construction of the memorial to be stopped so that the pending issues could be resolved. After lengthy discussions they decided to proceed with the construction, since they could not exclude all the Nazi companies out of the project (Eisenman, 163). Many people debated on the Degusa incident while the architect himself did not have an issue working with the company. Their resolution set the stage for the completion of the project. December 15th 2004 marked the completion o f the project, and was dedicated on May 10th the following year; this coincided with their 60th commemorations of the V-E day. It was opened to the public a few days later and estimates show that on the first year alone the memorial center received about 3.5 million visitors and the number has grown ever since. This term paper on Peter Eisenman; Building Germany, the Holocaust memorial was written and submitted by user Sawyer Simpson to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Studying The Chrysanthemums John Steinbeck English Literature Essay Essay Example

Studying The Chrysanthemums John Steinbeck English Literature Essay Essay Example Studying The Chrysanthemums John Steinbeck English Literature Essay Paper Studying The Chrysanthemums John Steinbeck English Literature Essay Paper involves sexual tenseness and vesture. Elisa changes her visual aspect both emotionally and physically by dressing otherwise and moving otherwise towards both Henry and the Tinker. There is sexual tenseness between Elisa and the Tinker because of his involvement in her work. Her hubby comment early in the narrative, I wish you d work out in the grove and raise some apples that large ( Steinbeck 46 ) concludes that he has minimum involvement in her and her work. Once the Tinker has gone and left, she is filled with assurance and completes a entire makeover. Through her vesture we have seen differences in gender. At first she started out have oning apparels that were manlier, meaning that she wanted to be populating a adult male s life and non experience trapped. She envied the life of the Tinker and wanted to be on the route merely as he was. Once she has been told they were traveling out to dinner she is overjoyed with the fact that her hubby noticed her as more than a garden work er. She dresses in her finest apparels and shows a different individual than we have seen throughout the narrative. Just like a flower, she is pretty looking! Henry tells Elisa she looks nice, and strong. It is shown there that Elisa and Henrys relationship is non normal. The male laterality by Henry there shows Elisa is non much more than a homemaker and nurseryman. The inquiry of why is asked by Elisa because she feels offended and unsure of what his exact significance of nice is. She feels really confident in herself and the difference work forces have over adult females at this clip is melting in her caput. Elisa became comfy with the feeling that she could make things merely like the Tinker could. She could turn and maturate into something other than the life she has been populating now with assurance. Traveling to dinner, Elisa notices a pinpoint in the route ; she realizes they are her Chrysanthemums she gave to the Tinker. The Tinker had dumped them on the wayside and kept to pot for himself. At this point, she has lost all aspiration and assurance she has during the twenty-four hours. All Elisa could make was turn to her hubbies shoulder and call devising certain she was out of site from the Tinker who was stopped on the side of the route. The short narrative reveals the alterations in a adult female in society and how others can impact us all. Besides, people are merely like flowers, we grow and change as clip goes on. We change because of other beginnings around us that compel us to turn and move otherwise. Just because of gender, adult females were limited to their feelings and what they could make in life. The symbolism of a flower is used really good throughout the full narrative. Many times, Steinbeck uses the flower as a symbol for Elisa s ain life. First, the flower is closed and non ready to blossom. This portion of the narrative is when Elisa feels trapped in her garden and ruled by her hubby Henry. The portion of the flowers transmutation is the gap up and flowering. The Tinker brought exhilaration for Elisa and opened her eyes to his universe. The universe of going and living life twenty-four hours by twenty-four hours was ideal for her. Elisa s battles were vanishing right before her eyes as she grew confi dent. The alterations in her apparels and visual aspect symbolized that she, as a adult females was turning and blooming into another individual. Once changed into newer apparels and her finest wear, she looked really reasonably, typifying the flower one time once more. Towards the stoping of the narrative, she is put back in a familiar state of affairs. She feels unsure and threatened by his significance of the word, nice . Although experiencing this manner, the Tinker has provided her with great assurance and ego worth. Unfortunately the assurance and everything she had built up inside her is thrown off. Just like a deceasing flower, Elisa saw the pinpoint in the route without the pot. She had been played, and now lost all assurance she one time had. From this point, she can non maintain her caput up and fells on her hubbies shoulder off from the pinpoint. Elisa has now gone through alterations of a adult females and a flower in her up and down emotional journey.

Terrorism Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Terrorism - Case Study Example Player et al. provide a more broad-based definition, saying that terrorism is â€Å"undertaken to influence a government for the purpose of advancing a political, religious or ideological cause. Such act shall be certified as an "Act of Terrorism† (Player et al, 2002). However, this stance denies that there may be other causes for terrorism (or, in the case of anarchists, no cause at all). Personally, I would propose that Player et al.’s definition is acceptable, if it is amended to include more purposes. Terrorism is an abstract notion to begin with, a non-concrete and non-specific term that expands through the interpretations of various people with differing ideas of adding concreteness to the word. In other words, one person’s terrorist is another person’s freedom fighter. It is not a simple matter of translation when the word to be defined is something like terrorism. There are many perspectives to consider morally, politically, and in terms of point of view. â€Å"Some stress the psychological flaws of terrorist, flaws that attract them to a life of violence. Others argue that terrorists are relatively free of psychiatric problems and become involved in terrorism because they perceive they have no other option for survival† (Cleveland, 2004). Paterson and Brown define a just war as one which is not aggressive or preemptive, and, particularly in Brown, the author advocates the use of mediation rather than force in international affairs. The authors call for a re conceptualization of just war. noting that one must consider the use and impact of force in an international situation as a crisis reaction, and highlighting the dynamism and flux of the current world environment, in which force should be the last resort, not the first (Brown and Glass, 2004). I agree that a re conceptualization of just war is necessary, especially after the Iraq war. The US did not have any certifiable and truthful

Comparing two scenes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Comparing two scenes - Essay Example The film relies much on visual than verbal in explaining the entire portrait of Cameroon where France’s family lived. Denis concentrates on the relationship between the characters that are inflicted with various roles as child, wife, servants and colonialism. This is highlighted by demonstrating the house in terms of racial spaces demarcated as private or public places. The black Africans are featured as the servants whose places, where they shower or eat, are the public spaces while the whites’ homes are all private places. Two scenes seem to display this whereby; the public places are constantly on display. The scenes also display the relationship between France’s mother Aimee and their Cameroon servant, Protee who are almost of the same age. The relationship between the two is all what is meant to shape the life of France. The flashback does not much reflect on the experiences of France as a girl but on the relationship of Aimee and Protee, the two characters. In the first scene, Protee is taking a shower. On the other hand, in a plain view of the house, the male servants’ shower is outside. This scene is set during the day when there are rich colors and the sun is high. In the film, Protee is seen in a long shot soaping and rinsing his body. In the foreground of the frame are the servants’ quarters and Protee while the big house is set in the background. Denis makes the viewer aware that France and Aimee are returning from a walk during the time when Protee is showering. They pass behind the shower area while Protee does not notice them. On nearing the house, France talks to the mother, Protee thereby hears the voice. He is very frustrated and freezes in the fear that, if they turn to his side, they would see him naked. In this scene, Protee showers by himself in the servant quarters which are set as open public spaces with no privacy. During this particular period, the film firmly establishes in the

The Drunkard Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Drunkard - Essay Example As the story unfolds, each new event hits the reader with an unexpected scenario. Larry lives up to his task and gets Mick out of the pub, sober and early, though not in any way the reader can imagine. O'Connor's tenacity at weaving reality into a humorous irony leads to an unexpected ending to their adventure. One of the most remarkable aspects of O'Connor is that he uses everyday situations and language to paint his humor. When they are burying Mr. Dooley you could feel the simple self gratification of Mick's attendance when he experiences, "a pleasant awareness that however much he would miss poor Mr. Dooley in the long summer evenings, it was he and not poor Mr. Dooley who would do the missing". Mick was glad to be alive and looking forward to the pub. He whispers to his friend Crowley, "We'll be making tracks before they break up". Bolting toward the pub before the last prayer falls silent he worries "in a crowd like that a man might be kept waiting". Once safely on a barstool he orders some lager beer and turns to chat with his friend Crowley. As his back is turned, young Larry decides to taste Mick's beer. Once again, O'Connor turns the mundane into a comedy with the use of plain language and lack of props. After tasting the bitter brew Larry recalls, "I was astonished that he could even drink such stuff.

Importance of Accounting in the Hospitality Industry

Importance of Accounting in the Hospitality Industry Broadly speaking, the process of financial management takes place at two levels. At the individual level, financial management involves tailoring expenses according to the financial resources of an individual. Individuals with surplus cash or access to funding invest their money to make up for the impact of taxation and inflation. Else, they spend it on discretionary items. They need to be able to take the financial decisions that are intended to benefit them in the long run and help them achieve their financial goals. From an organizational point of view, the process of financial management is associated with financial planning and financial control. Financial planning seeks to quantify various financial resources available and plan the size and timing of expenditures. Financial control refers to monitoring cash flow. Inflow is the amount of money coming into a particular company, while outflow is a record of the expenditure being made by the company. Managing this movement of funds in relation to the budget is essential for a business. At the corporate level, the main aim of the process of managing finances is to achieve the various goals a company sets at a given point of time. Businesses also seek to generate substantial amounts of profits, following a particular set of financial processes. Financial managers aim to boost the levels of resources at their disposal. Besides, they control the functioning on money put in by external investors. Providing investors with sufficient amount of returns on their investments is one of the goals that every company tries to achieve. Efficient financial management ensures that this becomes possible. WHY IS ACCOUNTING IS IMPORTAN IN THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY? A proper accounting system is essential to any business whether big or small in order to manage its daily functions and keep the businesses running successfully. For any successful business, the main obligation is to maximize profits, minimize any loss and at the same time maintain its position as a responsible entity within the society Behind every successful business is a sound financial model. This simple theory holds true in any business, whether it is retail, manufacturing, or high tech. It most certainly is true in the hospitality business. By employing basic accounting principles, hotel owners and managers have the information they need to optimize performance in every operational area, from inventory and payroll to sales and marketing. They can reduce expenses, be prepared to accommodate guests during peak business times, and scale back operations during slow periods. Rather than relying on intuition and reacting to events, successful owners have the financial facts readily available to proactively make the right decisions at the right time.ÂÂ   A good financial system goes well beyond developing an annual budget. The financial system needs to provide the mechanism for managers to easily track performance against the budget, identify issues and rapidly make adjustments, and create and use reports that will give them accurate financial status at any point in time. Just as importantly, there must be managers in place who are trained and accountable for meeting financial objectives.ÂÂ   A good financial system goes well beyond developing an annual budget. The financial system needs to provide the mechanism for managers to easily track performance against the budget, identify issues and rapidly make adjustments, and create and use reports that will give them accurate financial status at any point in time. Just as importantly, there must be managers in place who are trained and accountable for meeting financial objectives.ÂÂ   DIFFERENCE FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING WITH TH E FANANCIAL MANAGEMENT There are two broad types of accounting information: Financial Accounts: geared toward external users of accounting information and Management Accounts: aimed more at internal users of accounting information Although there is a difference in the type of: information presented in financial andmanagement accounts, the underlying objective is the same to satisfy the information needs of the user. Financial accounts describe the performance of a business over a specific period and the state of affairs at the end of that period.ÂÂ   The specific period is often referred to as the Trading Period and is usually one year long.ÂÂ   The period-end date as the Balance Sheet Date .Companies that are incorporated under the Companies Act 1989 are required by law to prepare and publish financial accounts.ÂÂ   The level of detail required in these accounts reflects the size of the business with smaller companies being required to prepare only brief accounts. The format of published financial accounts is determined by several different regulatory elements: Company Law, Accounting Standards and Stock Exchange. Financial accounts concentrate on the business as a whole rather than analysing the component parts of the business.ÂÂ   For example, sales are aggregated to provide a figure for total sales rather than publish a detailed analysis of sales by product, market etc. Most financial accounting information is of a monetary nature By definition, financial accounts present a historic perspective on the financial performance of the business Management accounts are used to help management record, plan and control the activities of a business and to assist in the decision-making process.ÂÂ   They can be prepared for any period (for example, many retailers prepare daily management information on sales, margins and stock levels). There is no legal requirement to prepare management accounts, although few (if any) well-run businesses can survive without them. There is no pre-determined format for management accounts.ÂÂ   They can be as detailed or brief as management wish. Management accounts can focus on specific areas of a business activities.ÂÂ   For example, they can provide insights into performance of: Products, Separate business locations (e.g. different hotels in chain) and Departments / divisions. Management accounts usually include a wide variety of non-financial information.ÂÂ   For example, management accounts often include analysis of: Employees (number, costs, productivity etc.), Sales volumes (units sold etc.) and Customer transactions (e.g. number of calls received into a call centre) Management accounts largely focus on analysing historical performance.ÂÂ   However, they also usually include some forward-looking elements e.g. a sales budget; cash-flow forecast

The Chosen Essay -- essays research papers

The Chosen, By Chaim Potok Friendship While many obstacles get in the way of friendship, true friendship still lives, even in silence. In the book, The Chosen , By Chaim Potok, two boys, Reuven Malter and Danny Saunders, who are very religiously different and both raised in completely opposite ways, develops a deep friendship. Their friendship opens up their worldview to many other different viewpoints in life. The friendship between these two boys is one with great religious significance, starting off with destiny and Gods will. As Danny and Reuven’s Friendship develops, it teaches them to respond wisely to the values of the more complex and secular world. It also teaches the true value of friendship. Because Danny’s father, Reb Saunders, raised Danny in silence, Danny and Reuven’s relationship was also a way that Reb Saunders could talk to his son, through Reuven. There friendship grows and they become closer and closer. Many things were pushing Danny and Reuven to become friends at first, but after being open to the fact of a friendship, they instantly became friends and it was easy for them to discuss there activities, desires and their fears. The two boy’s initial distrust and hatred for each other still didn’t make it hard for them to talk, the talked with comfort and no fear â€Å"Yesterday I had hated him; now we are calling each other by our first names. I sat and listened to him talk. I was fascinated just listening†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (pg. 68) Even though there friendship started off with hatred after talking, they got to know each other. They shared their goals, dreams, their education and their families with each other freely. Mr. Malter, Reuven’s father, tells Reuven what a friend is defined as, and tells Reuven to give Danny a chance to get to know him better, because Danny needs him. â€Å"You Know what a friend is Reuven? A Greek philosopher said that two people who are friends are like two bodies with one soul† (pg 74) The Differences between these boys are what set them apart, but when they finally talked, under the instructions of their fathers, they developed a strong connection which later on led to a deep friendship. After Reuven Rejected Danny for what he did to him, Mr. Malter tells Reuven a little bit about who Danny is, and why he needs a friend like Reuven. â€Å"Reb Saunders son is a terribly torn and lonely boy, there is literally no one in the world he can... ...xactly get in the way, but it helped build their friendship. Danny and Reuven became more comfortable with who they are and with each other. After Danny and Reuven’s hate for each other, many things pushed them to become friends and not only Danny and Reuven needed each other to go into a relationship, but their parents needed them too. There friendship was undeniable. Even after there friendship was banned, they became silenced, but lived on. It was hard, but because of there true friendship, when there relationship was renewed and the banned was lifted, they became stronger than ever. There friendship helped each other live their lives and make choices that were from there own heart, and not the heart of there parents or community.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This topic shows us that even though it doesn’t always seem likely that a person needs a friend, some people need someone to talk to or someone to help them open up and to be revealed to a whole new life. We should learn by this topic that our friends shouldn’t always be clones of ourselves and we should be listening and helping our friends. Even through the toughest times, through silence, true friendships always last.

Impact of Advertising on Youth Essay

Definition Youth is considered as a period of transition from the dependence of childhood to the independence of adulthood. Due to the expansion of global higher education and delayed marriage, the period of time from youth to adulthood has been extended longer compared to before the expansion. As a result, the marketers, educators and policy makers consider youth stage as a stage that is becoming more important to them (Assaad and Roudi-Fahimi, 2007). According to United Nation (UN), they define ‘youth’ as â€Å"those persons between the ages of 15 and 24 years† (UNESCO, 2013). Malaysia follows the United Nation’s definition of youth by changing the old age group of youth from 18 to 40 years old to the new age group of 18 to 25 years old under a new National Youth Policy (The Star Online, 2011). Based on Malaysia Demographics Profile 2014, the number of population for age structure 15 to 24 years old is 2, 580, 486 for male and 2, 511, 579 for female (Index Mundi, 2014). Consumer purchasing behaviour or also known as consumer buyer behaviour is studied to be an inseparable part of marketing and Schiffman (2007) state that consumer buying behaviour is â€Å"the behaviours that consumers display in searching for, purchasing, using, evaluating, and disposing of products and services that they expect will satisfy their needs†. Advertising is a marketers’ technique and a method of communication to encourage and persuade potential or current consumers. These potential or current consumers can be viewers, readers or listeners and they will be persuaded to continue using the marketers’ services or products or take some new action after the advertisement. Sponsors commonly paid for the advertising messages and it can be viewed by means of numerous traditional media and new media (Upadhyay & Joshi, 2014). Advertising Industry in Malaysia In Malaysia, the advertising industry is considered as a profitable business. Malaysia spends about RM2.39 billion in the first half of the year 2007 and this is a 9% increase from the same period in the year 2006 where it is RM2.2 billion. This shows there is a steady growth for this industry in Malaysia (The Report Malaysia, 2008). Furthermore, from the year 2000, there is an increase of 76% for advertising expenditure with cinema, point-of-sale and radio advertising experiencing a triple-digit growth for this same period of time (The Report Malaysia, 2008). Although this industry is lucrative for business, the content for advertisement is highly restricted by the Malaysian Communication & Multimedia Content Code (MCMCC, 2009). Aim Malaysia’s total advertising expenditure rose 22% by the first half of 2008  compared to the last year’s advertising expenditure. This accounted to the expenditure of RM2.9 billion alone for advertisement (Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, 2009). There is no certainty that the money spent on advertisements will give the necessary profits that these companies expected to gain. Due to the fact that the highest purchasing power belongs to the youths, the companies should target the existing youth market. In order to target this market, companies should be equipped with extensive knowledge on which aspect of advertisement that heavily influences the youths’ purchasing behaviour. This research aims to find the factors of advertising that influences the youths’ purchasing behaviour. As youth purchasing power is on the rise and the content of advertisement is highly restricted by the Malaysian Communication & Multimedia Content Code, it is imp erative for the marketers and advertisers to understand what aspects of advertisement that appeals to the eyes of the youth consumers. Motivation of this Study Global youth market is â€Å"an impressionable and loyal market that are making decisions and gathering information on products and companies that could last a lifetime† (Maddock, n.d.). The international marketers and advertisers consider the global youth market as a noteworthy market to consider due to its size, homogeneity and its rising purchasing power. Due to the consideration that they are a significant market, these knowledgeable consumers that are in the youth market have been sniped with promotions for most of their lives. Although there are many types of marketing weapons that can be used to influence them, advertising still remains as the main weapon due to its longer impact on viewer’s mind (Katke, 2007). Even though it is a known fact that youths’ purchasing power is on the rise compared to other range of age, there are still limited researches that have been done regarding this topic. Most researches centred on the relationship between advertising and general consumer purchasing behaviour in other countries. There are inadequate amount of research that was done concerning the relationship between advertising and youths’ purchasing behaviour in Malaysia. Therefore, this research is made to understand what makes an advertisement desirable to the Malaysian youths and its influences on their purchasing behaviour. Problem Statements The world in year 2014 is home to 1.8 billion young people from the age of 10 until 24 (UNFPA, 2014) and majority of the purchasing power belongs to them. This makes them the most persuasive in making purchasing decisions in terms of food, clothing and cars to entertainment and family vacations. They even have a say on what type of home they will live in (Jennifer Waters, 2006). This makes the youths an important target market for advertising agency and companies all around the world. The primary mission of advertisement is to reach the intended consumer and influence their awareness attitudes and buying behaviour. As they spend a huge sum of money to maintain the consumer’s interest in their products, they need to understand what catches the consumer’s interest. Furthermore, due to the heavy regulated nature of this business, it is vital to evaluate the factors of youths’ attitude towards advertising to discover what antecedents that would affect youths’ preferences are. Research Questions The research questions are as follows: 1. Which aspect of advertisement influence youths in purchasing the product or service? 2. What is the relationship between advertisement and youths purchasing behaviour? 3. Why is advertising critical in ensuring the survival of the company? Research Objectives The objectives of this research are to: 1. Identify the aspects of advertisement which influences youths in purchasing the product or service. 2. Determine the relationship between advertisement and youths’ purchasing behaviour. 3. Ascertain the importance of advertising in ensuring the survival of the company. Scope of this Research This research centres around the impact of advertising on youths’ purchasing behaviour. In this research, youth is considered as anyone from age 18 to 24 years old. Furthermore, this research will be conducted at four different private universities in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (HELP University, Open University and University of Kuala Lumpur) as there is a limited amount of  money and time to travel to anywhere else. In addition, this research only consider students from different courses; one course per one private university. This research will only test whether the Independent Variables (credibility, informative, hedonic/pleasure, good for economy) influences the Dependent Variable (impact of advertising on youths’ purchasing behaviour). Significance of this research All companies in Malaysia spend a huge sum of money on marketing strategy of advertisement to introduce the product or services that they provide in market to consumers. Furthermore, with the restrictions to create creative advertisements from the Malaysian Communication & Multimedia Content Code, it made the job of the advertisers harder due to restricted contents that are allowed in an advertisement. Therefore, through this research, marketers and advertisers are able to identify the aspects of advertisements that youths in Malaysia prefer to have in an advertisement. This will help to save a lot of the marketing world’s expenditure and time as they are able to come up with a more efficient, successful and popular advertisement to suit the taste of youths in Malaysia. Theoretical Framework The dependent variable for this research is ‘impact of advertising on youth purchasing behaviour’. This research aims to find the factors of advertising that influences the youths’ purchasing behaviour. The first independent variable is ‘credibility’. According to MacKenzie and Lutz (1989), advertising credibility is consumers’ overall awareness towards the honesty, reliability, dependability and credibility of an advertisement. The second independent variable is ‘informative’. As recipients react very positively towards advertisements that provide information, information is treated as a very valuable incentive in the marketing world (Varshney, 2003). The third independent variable in this research is ‘hedonic or pleasure’. Abd Aziz, Mohd Yasin, and Syed A. Kadir (2008) found that advertisements can be pleasurable and entertaining in enticing and retaining attention given to customers’ desires and requirements. Lastly, the fourth independent variable  is ‘good for economy’. Based on the research done by Bauer and Greyser (1968), over 70 percent of their research sample believed that the living standard increased due to advertising and this in turn led to good products. Underpinning Theory The underpinning theory that will be used as a guidance to accomplish part of this research is the Hierarchy of Effects Model by Robert J. Lavidge and Gary A. Steiner. This marketing communication model that was created in the year 1961 suggests that there are six stages that an advertiser has to guide the consumer to go through. After these six stages, the consumer has to decide whether to buy or not the products or services offered. The six stages comprises of awareness, knowledge, liking, preference, conviction and the final stage, purchase (Nguyen, 2013). This research will be using the Hierarchy of Effects Model as a guide to develop the questions in the research’s questionnaire and also as a guide to analyse and understand the research’s results. Proposed Research Methodology The main purpose of this research is â€Å"To Evaluate the Impact of Advertising on Youths’ Purchasing Behaviour† among Malaysian youths. A survey will be conducted amongst the private university students in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and a thorough analysis of the results will be made. Sample Size A sample of â€Å"200† questionnaires will be distributed for the purpose of study and analysis. Sampling Unit Sampling unit consist of private university students in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Sampling Technique Convenience sampling technique (non-probability sampling) is going to be used for the survey. Questionnaire will be filled by the private university students. Data collection: data will be collected through primary and secondary sources. 1. Primary data: primary data are going to be collected with the assistance of structured questionnaire. 2. Secondary data: Source of secondary data is going to be collected using the help of published reports, journals, and credible websites. Sample In this research, the sample will consists of 200 students (N = 200) selected from university students from four private universities in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia using convenient sampling technique. The sample size will be consisted of university students of age between 18 to 24 years old from four different courses. Survey Instruments The main objective of this research is to analyse the impact of advertising on youths’ purchasing behaviour for private university students in Kuala Lumpur. The data for this research will be collected by well developed, structured five point Likert Scale questionnaires. All of the questionnaires are going to be distributed among the students from four different private universities of four different courses. The answers from the questionnaire will be collected in a period of two weeks and the results will be analysed and evaluated using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 20.0 of IBM. The questionnaire is divided into two sections; section I and section II. Section I contains questions about the awareness about the advertisements and section II contains questions that describes the recent purchase the private students had done with the assistance of the advertisements that they have seen and attracted to. For this research, the Likert scale will contain a five point scale where number 1 is for strongly agrees while number 5 if for strongly disagrees. The five point Likert scale will be defined as below to help with the analysis of the results. (Number 1) Strongly agree (Number 2) Agree (Number 3) Neutral/No opinion (Number 4) Disagree (Number 5) Strongly disagree Conclusion Advertising industry is a very lucrative industry in Malaysia as it is able to make a high profit in a short time. The same cannot be said for any company that invests a huge amount of money in to make advertisements for their products or services. Advertising is a risk that companies have to  take in order to spread awareness to consumers about their new or existing products. When a particular advertisement is successful in catching the consumers’ attention and able to convince them to purchase the product or services, the sales for the company will increase but when it fails, the profits drops. As companies need to take such high risks every time they need to produce advertisements, it is important for them to know which market has the highest purchasing power and to have knowledge on how to attract these potential consumers. It is identified that youths have the highest purchasing power among all range of ages and this research aims to identify the factors of advertising that influences the youths’ purchasing behaviour. This research’s theoretical framework consists of four independent variables that are credibility, informative, hedonic/pleasure and good for economy and the dependent variable is impact of advertising on youths’ purchasing behaviour. In order to execute the research, Hierarchy of Effects Model by Robert J. Lavidge and Gary A. Steiner will be used as an underpinning theory. Five point Likert Scale questionnaires will be distributed and collected in two weeks to university students from four different private universities. This research will be done in hopes that companies are able to produce more stimulating and successful advertisements to youths. References Abd Aziz, N., Mohd Yasin, N., & Syed A. Kadir, B. (2008). Web advertising beliefs and attitude: Internet users’ view. The Business Review, Cambridge, 9(2), 337-337. Advertising Development In Malaysia: Catching Eyebals in Changing Media. (2009, January 1). Retrieved January 27, 2015, from http://www.skmm.gov.my/skmmgovmy/files/attachments/Ad_Dev_Malaysia.pdf Assaad, R., & Roudi-Fahimi, F. (2007, April 1). Youth in the Middle East and North Africa: Demographic opportunity or challenge? Retrieved from http://www.prb.org/pdf07/youthinmena.pdf Bauer, R., & Greyser, S. (1968). Advertising in America: The consumer view. Unpublished Graduate Dissertation, Boston, MA: Harvard University. Gupta, M., Engelman, R., Levy, J., Luchsinger, G., Merrick, T., & Rosen, J. (2014, January 1). The Power of 1.8 Billion: Adolescents, Youth, and the Transformation of the Future. Retrieved from http://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/EN-SWOP14-Report_FINAL-web.pdf Katke, K. (n.d.). The Impact of Television Advertising on Child Health & Family Spending. Retrieved from http://www.itu.int/ITUD/ict/newslog/content/binary/20-2008jpg. Lim, W. (2011, November 17). Only those aged 18 to 25 defined as youth. Retrieved from http://www.thestar.com.my/story/?file=/2011/11/17/nation/9918718&sec=nation MacKenzie, S., & Lutz, R. (1989). An empirical examination of the structural antecedents of attitude toward the ad in an advertising pretesting context. Journal of Marketing, 53, 48-65. MCMCC, The Malaysian communications and multimedia content code. (1998, January 1). Retrieved from http: //www.cmcf.org.my/FILES/CONTENT_CODE_ (V6-Final).PDF. Maddock, T. (n.d.). Youth Marketing: Tips for reaching the lucrative teen, tween and college markets. Retrieved January 23, 2015, from file:///C:/Users/user/Downloads/youth_marketing_whitepaper.pdf Malaysia Demographics Profile 2014. (2014, A ugust 23). Retrieved from http://www.indexmundi.com/malaysia/demographics_profile.html Nguyen, H. (2013). The Hierarchy Model of Advertising Effects: A Debate. International Integration, 92-96. Schiffman, L., Hansen, H., & Kanuk, L. (2007). Consumer Behaviour: A European Outlook. London: Pearson Education. The Report Malaysia. (2008). London, UK: Oxford Business Group. Upadhyay, P., & Joshi, J. (2014). Impact of Advertising on Buying Behavior of Youth in Kota City with Special Reference to Branded Outfits. International Journal of Managerial Studies and Research (IJMSR), 2(2), 1-20. Varshney, U. (2003). Location management for mobile commerce applications in wireless internet environment. ACM Transactions on Internet Technology, 3(3), 236-255. Waters, J. (2006, October 11). Young, with tons of purchasing power. Retrieved January 13, 2015, from http://www.marketwatch.com/story/young-americans-a-giant-influence-on-buying-decisions-study What do we mean by â€Å"youth†? (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/social-and-human-sciences/themes/youth/youth-definition/

Masculinity, Movies And The War On Terror in Tvs hit Show 24 †Sociology Research Paper

Masculinity, Movies And The War On Terror in Tvs hit Show 24 – Sociology Research Paper Free Online Research Papers Masculinity, Movies And The War On Terror in Tvs hit Show 24 Sociology Research Paper When Robert Cochran and Joel Surnow began working on their new TV series 24 in early 2001, they could have had little idea how relevant and topical this seemingly innocuous action-adventure programme would become. Days before the show’s scheduled premiere, the September 11th terrorist attacks changed the USA’s political landscape in an instant. The show was immediately postponed (though only for a few days), and the initial episode was trimmed of the shot of a plane exploding in mid air , but the tragedy has hung over the show ever since (inevitably, given that the show centres around the fictional Los Angeles Counter Terrorism Unit in a country that has embarked on a ‘War On Terror’), and has undoubtedly informed the programme’s storylines and style, especially in the show’s second season, which explicitly parallels real-life events; the storyline revolves around a terrorist attack by Muslim fundamentalists and the appropriate(ness of) military response. This essay shall focus on the representations of masculinity, femininity and authority in 24, and how those representations appear to have been shaped by September 11th. 24’s central character, Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) has many obvious antecedents in American fiction. Perhaps his most obvious influence (perhaps even inspiration) is the character of Martin Riggs, played by Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon (1987), a character whom Jack Bauer particularly resembles in Season 2 of 24. Both share a military background, rising to high levels and performing â€Å"black ops†, marking them out as highly trained and extremely dangerous characters (both characters’ experience and military training are demonstrated chiefly through their proficiency with firearms and their unflinching attitude towards killing). Both now work in a more domestic capacity (as a police officer and a CTU agent), and both characters (by Season 2 of 24) have lost their wives. Beyond this obvious precedent, however, Jack Bauer belongs to a long tradition of male action heroes who are willing to break the law in pursuit of the greater good – a tradition that can be traced back cinematically to the film noir heroes of the 1930s, and western heroes in the 1950s – tough and rugged men’s men, who are called upon to save a society which they do not necessarily conform to (e.g. Ethan Edwards [John Wayne] in The Searchers, or Sam Spade [Humphrey Bogart] in The Maltese Falcon). (In the context of 24 the society Bauer is unable to conform to is that of the espionage and law enforcement community: a closed society which follows a military command structure, where the ability to follow orders and play the political game is the most overwhelming requirement for success and promotion). Bauer is quickly shown to belong to this tradition of male action heroes in the first episode of 24, when he shoots his superior George Mason (Xander Berkeley) with a tranquilliser gun in order to blackmail George for information Bauer needs on the case. Indeed, Bauer’s disregard for authority and correct procedure often borders on the reckless, but he always breaks these rules in search of the greater good, never for his own personal gain, and in the first season much is made of Jack having made many enemies within CTU for reporting four corrupt agents. Once again, he breaks the rules and procedures of society (i.e. CTU) but never his own, personal code. Of course, Bauer is ultimately always proved correct, whilst his superiors almost invariably make the wrong move, forcing Bauer to work alone with minimal help from his colleagues at CTU. This of course serves the dramatic function of making Jack seem more heroic – going into a compound full of armed men with a SWAT team is a lot less courageous than going in alone. The character of Bauer does differ from these precedents in one important way, however: whereas most of these rugged heroes are doomed by their inability to fit in with society to live solitary lives, Bauer is a family man, and it is the kidnapping of his wife and daughter in the first season of 24 which drives the first 12 episodes, as Bauer is coerced into helping the terrorists in order to save his wife and daughters’ lives. During the course of the first two seasons of the show Jack is often confronted with mirror images of himself – most notably Ira Gaines (Michael Massee). Both characters have a similar military background, both kill without compunction, but whilst Gaines is now a mercenary, Jack works for the federal government, and whilst Bauer is a family man, there is no reference at any point to even the possibility of Gaines having a wife or children. The similarities between the two characters help to reinforce both the importance of family to the show and Jack’s work for the government, whilst simultaneously highlighting just how dangerous and brutal Jack Bauer can be; the similarities could even be said to raise questions as to whether Bauer’s actions are always morally justified, especially in light of the events of the second season. The second lead in 24 is Dennis Haysbert as Senator (and in Season 2, President) David Palmer. Whilst deeply different in many respects, Bauer and Palmer also have a great deal in common. Palmer is seen, like Bauer, to lack certain political skills (with a small ‘p’) – particularly the ability to compromise in order to promote his own agenda. Like Bauer he follows his own conscience and always does the right thing, rather than the most politically advantageous thing. Once again he does not entirely fit into the society around him (in this case the world of politics), and thus is at least partly also descended from the same tradition of men of honour in a dishonourable world that Bauer hails from. (Towards the end of season 2 Sherri Palmer makes the connection between the two men explicit: â€Å"You’re a very impressive man, Jack, but you see everything as either god or bad, just like David, and the world is so much more complicated than that.†) Palme r is also part of another, more recent tradition (perhaps even stereotype) in US cinema and television: that of the gruff but ultimately kindly and wise black man (e.g. Morgan Freeman in Deep Impact, Se7en and Bruce Almighty and James Earl Jones in Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger). In this context the show’s position on what it means to be ‘masculine’ is clear: a ‘real man’ follows his own moral code, not the conventions of the society around him – adhering to what is right is more important than politicking for personal gain and career advancement. However Jack and Palmer’s moral stance does not always go unquestioned, especially in season 2. â€Å"24 appreciates these complications [that Sherri mentions], even if it might wish Jack was right. It reveals dangers from within the US administration (emerging from corruption and ineptitude equally), from within the perfect Southern Californian family, from within those ‘corporate interests’ propped up by government policies. It also gives you a hero, but he’s mad about it.† The concept of family is central to the first season of 24, as both Jack Bauer and David Palmer have to resolve issues within their families. Jack’s marriage is on shaky ground following him and his wife Teri’s recent separation, and Teri must in turn rebuild her relationship with her daughter Kim (Elisha Cuthbert) who blames Teri for Teri and Jack’s marital difficulties. Similarly Senator Palmer must come to terms with the revelation that his entire family covered up his son’s involvement in the accidental death of the man who raped his daughter several years previously, and the increasing realisation that his wife Sherri (Penny Johnson-Jerald) cannot be trusted. The villains of the first season are also revealed in the final episodes to be a family – the Drazens – whose sisters’ deaths were caused by Bauer and Palmer in a ‘black op’ during the Kosovo war (the rightness of their actions in attempting to assassinate Victor Drazen are never questioned: the issue is dismissed as Palmer describes him as â€Å"a monster† who was involved in ethnic cleansing – this is a contrast with the show’s second season), and great pains are taken to point out the poor family background of Rick, Kim’s reluctant kidnapper who later helps Kim and Teri escape Gaines (when Kim asks him at one point about his mother replies â€Å"Not all women are meant to be mothers†). In the Palmer subplot all the problems begin with the family’s failure to be honest with each other (specifically with Sherri’s failure to tell her husband what happened), and with David Palmer’s failure to keep his work from infringing on his private life. Teri even makes the point explicit at one point, opining â€Å"Everything bad that has happened to us in the past few hours has been because we haven’t been together.† The moral is not hard to mistake: that the family is paramount to all other concerns (Jack even risks Palmer’s life to save his own family), and those without a supportive and positive family life are weakened by the lack – Palmer’s whole family suffers the repercussions of the cover up, Rick is an essentially good person who falls in with a bad crowd due to his poor upbringing, and the Drazens are evil because a) their father was evil and b) Bauer and Palmer are responsible for the deaths of their sisters. In light of this it is worth examining the role of women in the first season of 24. With one exception (Roberta Green, who impedes Jack’s investigation not through treachery but through mismanagement and her dogmatic approach to her work) all the female characters in the first season fall into one of two categories: they are either damsels in distress, in need of rescue by the heroic men (i.e. Jack Bauer), or they are duplicitous and untrustworthy. The most obvious examples of female characters who require rescuing are Teri and Kim, but others include Janet York (Kim’s friend, who arranges the party where Kim is ultimately kidnapped) and David Palmer’s daughter (whom Palmer feels he must protect from the allegations regarding his son and thus prevent her having to revisit the memory of her rape). Even more worryingly, duplicitous women are as prevalent as helpless ones. Jamie Farrell (CTU’s computer programmer) is revealed to be in league with Ira Gaines; Nina ultimately is revealed to be a traitor and kills Teri; Sherri Palmer lies repeatedly to her husband and goes behind his back often enough that over the course of just 24 hours she destroys their entire marriage. Even Jamie Farrell’s mother knows more than she is at first willing to let on, having been the recipient of the money Jamie received from Gaines. Even Gaines has trouble with untrustworthy women when one of his employees tries to blackmail him for more money. Admittedly these roles are not absolutes: Teri and Kim show resilience and resourcefulness in aiding Jack find them when they have been kidnapped, but ultimately they still just wait around for Jack to rescue them. Similarly, Sherri truly believes she is doing the right thing for her family, and Jamie Farrell still elicits sympathy despite being a traitor. The most worrying aspect of this stereotyping is how often the duplicitousness of the female characters is conflated with sexuality. Nina is coded as a threat from the very beginning of the series – not as a potential traitor (after the first three episodes great pains are taken by the writers to convince the audience that she is a heroic character, to the extent that her final unmasking in the penultimate episode of season one makes no sense) – but as a threat to Jack’s marriage. We are told early on that Jack had a brief affair with Nina whilst he was separated from Teri, and reminders of this point are scattered throughout the season (CTU officials trying to persuade her to give away Jack’s location mock her for being in love with someone who doesn’t love her, and Teri ends Nina’s debriefing when she realises it was Nina whom Jack had the affair with). Thus tension is present in her relationship with Jack the entire time. Indeed, any devia tion from sex within a marriage is seemingly punished, or coded as a threat. Gaines’ troublesome employee is a lesbian; she is both untrustworthy and ultimately killed for her actions (the question must be asked whether in the meta-narrative she is truly punished for betraying Gaines – the villain of the piece – or for being a lesbian). Kim does not have sex with Rick when they first go on a date, and lives. Janet York does have sex with her date, and dies. One of Palmer’s campaign workers is having what is largely portrayed as a purely physical, casual relationship with a man who turns out to be one of the Drazen brothers, and she manages to straddle both the helpless victim and scheming seductress roles, as she agrees to help Jack get information on Alexis Drazen, but instead takes the opportunity to stab her lover. Even Sherri Palmer persuades David’s speech writer to attempt to seduce him so that she gain his confidence and report back to Sherr i. The only characters who are allowed to have pre- or extra-marital sex and live are Jack Bauer and Mandy (Mia Kirshner), and both are punished by the death of their partner. One of the most notable features of 24 is the recurring theme of trust and betrayal. Some critics have placed it as part of a new wave of television drama series which place as their central theme the question of whether governments and the people around us can be trusted. In the traditional police/action show â€Å"the police need togetherness to survive rather than utility-maximising individualism† , though they have also traditionally held as a theme â€Å"the fate of the individual ‘under’ technologisation† . 24 subverts this notion of togetherness, as the people and colleagues Bauer turns to for help are frequently revealed to be traitors. Perhaps even more importantly, the upper echelons of the CTU command structure are inevitably shown to be more politicians than policemen. They hinder Jack’s investigations far more often than they help him, and are far more concerned with the letter of the law (and helping their own careers) than with hunting down criminals. In the second season the President’s cabinet even turns on him and removes him from office. This mistrust of authority is an increasingly common theme in television drama series, particularly in the US, and can be traced back to the X-Files . More recently Alias (which premiered within weeks of 24) has based its entire series’ concept on the concept of trust, with even the lead character being a double agent. In the final episode of season one Jack is told (erroneously) by Nina that Kim has been killed. With no thought to his own safety he attacks the Drazens single-handedly and kills all of them, before finally murdering an unarmed Victor Drazen (Dennis Hopper), the father of the family. This extreme violence is justified within the context of the episode as he believes his daughter has been murdered, but he spends the entire second season in the same vicious mood. At the beginning of season two Jack is still grieving the death of his wife – he is angry and embittered, and much more violent. In the very first episode of the second season Jack murders a suspect in cold blood, then cuts off his head with a hacksaw. The reactions of the characters around him (particularly George Mason, played by Xander Berkely) help to guide the audience’s reaction: although they ultimately accept Jack’s actions as necessary in light of the massive threat facing the city, they are still deeply uncomfortable with them, and references are made to this incident throughout much of the second season. After all, the good guys aren’t supposed to murder people. Throughout the season Bauer is far more brutal than in the first, and kills far more people – in the first season when Jack rescues Teri and Kim from Gaines’ compound, Jack uses his machine gun for covering fire. Throughout the second season, Jack shoots to kill. It is hard in this context not to see Bauer in the second season as representing the US as a whole – just as Jack is grieving his wife’s death, and is angry at the world for that, similarly the US was (and in many respects still is) grieving the victims of the terrorist attacks on September 11th 2001, and is angry at the world for that. Although Jack’s actions, as the show’s hero, are only occasionally implicitly questioned (do the ends justify the means?), the show, later in its second season, much more explicitly criticises US foreign policy, as the focus of the storyline shifts away from finding the nuclear bomb, and towards preventing the US from starting a war with three countries who may be innocent (it is this issue which causes the hawks in Palmer’s administration to relieve him of his presidency). As Kiefer Sutherland says on his DVD commentary track: â€Å"Our show is about preventing a war; our country, unfortunately, is currently at war [with Iraq].† In this situation it is also interesting that the threat from within the government ranks comes not from traitors (though a couple are revealed within the White House early on in the season), but from honest people who genuinely believe they are doing the right thing. In these parameters the issue of trust moves from a personal to a national dimension: the question is not whether the people around the hero will betray him, but whether our leaders can be trusted to be capable of carrying out the task which they have been given. In its second season women are also far better represented: Michelle Dessler at CTU is an aid to Jack and acts heroically in defying her orders to do so. Similarly Kate Warner (who begins as an innocent bystander) withstands torture and later faces her torturer. Jack later sends her to rescue Kim as the only person he can trust. Bizarrely it would seem that as the US moved to the right politically, 24 moved to the left. The first season revolves around the theme of family, which is elevated through the stakes of the narrative to a level of life-or-death importance. Women are either helpless victims in need of rescuing, or deceitful and scheming (often posing a threat not just explicitly within the narrative, but implicitly to the family stability of either Jack Bauer or David Palmer), and the threat from within the government comes largely from these duplicitous women, who are traitors seeking only financial reward (when the threat is not these traitors it comes from petty self-serving bureaucrats who lack the courage to break the rules as Jack does: thus for following the rules these people are demonised). In its second season the focus shifts away from the closed domestic world to the international arena, and whilst Jack becomes ever more violent, even trigger-happy, the show itself calls for peace (even t o the extent of implicitly questioning its heroes’ actions), and for governments (specifically the US government) to resort to war less readily than they currently do. Bibliography *Due to the fact that 24 is a relatively new show (less than three years old) there is very little critical writing available on the programme. â€Å"TV drama says ‘Trust No-One’† by Amanda Cuda at www.uselessknowledge.com/opeds/article87.html â€Å"Action Series† by Toby Miller – The Television Genre Book, ed. by Glen Creeber, St Edmundsberry Press, Suffolk, BFI publishing 2001, p.18 popmatters.com/tv/reviews/t/24-season-2.shtml www.salon.com/ent/tv/int/2002/02/05/surnow/ Research Papers on Masculinity, Movies And The War On Terror in Tv's hit Show 24 - Sociology Research PaperWhere Wild and West MeetEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenThe Hockey GameHonest Iagos Truth through Deception19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraPETSTEL analysis of IndiaThe Spring and AutumnCapital PunishmentHip-Hop is ArtThe Fifth Horseman

Solomon Northup, Author of Twelve Years a Slave

Solomon Northup, Author of Twelve Years a Slave Solomon Northup was a free black resident of New York State who was drugged on a trip to Washington, D.C. in the spring of 1841 and sold to a slave dealer. Beaten and chained, he was transported by ship to a New Orleans slave market and suffered more than a decade of servitude on Louisiana plantations. Northup had to hide his literacy or risk violence. And he was unable, for years, to get word to anyone in the North to let them know where he was. Fortunately, he  was eventually able to send messages which prompted legal action that secured his freedom. Writing His Narrative and the Impact on Abolition After regaining his freedom and miraculously returning to his family in New York, he collaborates with a local attorney to write a shocking account of his ordeal, Twelve Years a Slave, which was published in May 1853. Northup’s case and his book attracted considerable attention. Most slave narratives were written by former slaves who had been born into slavery, but Northup’s perspective of a free man kidnapped and forced to spend years toiling on plantations was especially disturbing. Northup’s book sold well, and on occasion, his name appeared in newspapers alongside such prominent abolitionist voices as Harriet Beecher Stowe and Frederick Douglass. Yet he did not become an enduring voice in the campaign to end slavery. Though his fame was fleeting, Northup did make an impact on how society viewed slavery. His book seemed to underscore abolitionist arguments advanced by people such as William Lloyd Garrison. And Twelve Years a Slave was published at a time when the controversy over the Fugitive Slave Act and events such as the Christiana Riot were still on the minds of the public. His story came to prominence in recent years thanks to a major film, â€Å"12 Years a Slave,† by British director Steve McQueen. The film won the Oscar for Best Picture of 2014. Northups Life as a Free Man According to his own account, Solomon Northup was born in Essex County, New York, in July 1808. His father, Mintus Northup, had been born a slave, but his owner, a member of a family named Northup, had freed him. Growing up, Solomon learned to read and also learned to play the violin. In 1829 he married, and he and his wife Anne eventually had three children. Solomon found work at various trades, and in the 1830s the family moved to Saratoga, a resort town, where he was employed driving a hack, the horse-drawn equivalent of a taxi. At times he found employment playing the violin, and in early 1841 he was invited by a pair of traveling performers to come with them to Washington, D.C. where they could find lucrative work with a circus. After obtaining papers in New York City establishing that he was free, he accompanied the two white men to the nation’s capital, where slavery was legal. Kidnapping in Washington Northup and his companions, whose names he believed to be Merrill Brown and Abram Hamilton, arrived in Washington in April 1841, just in time to witness the funeral procession for William Henry Harrison, the first president to die in office. Northup recalled watching the pageantry with Brown and Hamilton. That night, after having drinks with his companions, Northup began to feel sick. At some point, he lost consciousness. When he woke, he was in a stone basement, chained to the floor. His pockets had been emptied and the papers documenting that he was a free man were gone. Northup soon learned he was locked inside a slave pen which was within sight of the U.S. Capitol building. A slave dealer named James Burch informed him that he had been purchased and would be sent to New Orleans. When Northup protested and asserted he was free, Burch and another man produced a whip and a paddle, and savagely beat him. Northup had learned it was extremely dangerous to proclaim his status as a free man. Years of Servitude Northup was taken by ship to Virginia and then onward to New Orleans. In a slave market, he was sold to a plantation owner from the region of the Red River, near Marksville, Louisiana. His first owner was a benign and religious man, but when he got into financial difficulty Northup was sold. In one harrowing episode in Twelve Years a Slave, Northup recounted how he got into a physical altercation with a violent white master and was nearly hanged. He spent hours bound with ropes, not knowing if he would soon die. He recalled the day spent standing in the broiling sun: What my meditations were - the innumerable thoughts that thronged through my distracted brain - I will not attempt to give expression to. Suffice it so say, during the whole long day I came not to the conclusion, even once, that the southern slave, fed, clothed, whipped and protected by his master, is happier than the free colored citizen of the North. To that conclusion I have never since arrived. There are many, however, even in the Northern States, benevolent and well-disposed men, who will pronounce my opinion erroneous, and gravely proceed to substantiate the assertion with an argument. Alas! they have never drunk, as I have, from the bitter cup of slavery. Northup survived that early brush with hanging, mainly because it was made clear that he was valuable property. After being sold again, he would spend ten years toiling on the land of Edwin Epps, a plantation owner who treated his slaves brutally. It was known that Northup could play the violin, and he would travel to other plantations to perform at dances. But despite having some ability to move about, he was still isolated from the society in which he had circulated prior to his kidnapping. Northup was literate, a fact he kept hidden as slaves were not allowed to read or write. Despite his ability to communicate, he was unable to mail letters. The one time he was able to steal paper and manage to write a letter, he was unable to find a trustworthy soul to mail it to his family and friends in New York. Freedom After years of enduring forced labor, under threat of whippings, Northup finally met someone he believed he could trust in 1852. A man named Bass, who Northup described as a â€Å"native of Canada† had settled in the area around Marksville, Louisiana and worked as a carpenter. Bass had been working on a new house for Northup’s master, Edwin Epps, and Northup heard him arguing against slavery. Convinced he could trust Bass, Northup revealed to him that he had been free in New York State and was kidnapped and brought to Louisiana against his will. Skeptical, Bass questioned Northup and became convinced of his story. And he resolved to help him obtain his freedom. He wrote a series of letters to people in New York who had known Northup. A member of the family which had owned Northup’s father when slavery was legal in New York, Henry B. Northup, learned of Solomon’s fate. An attorney himself, he took extraordinary legal steps and obtained the proper documents that would allow him to travel into the slave South and retrieve a free man. In January 1853, after a long trip which included a stop in Washington where he met with a Louisiana senator, Henry B. Northup reached the area where Solomon Northup was enslaved. After discovering the name by which Solomon was known as a slave, he was able to find him and initiate legal proceedings. Within days Henry B. Northup and Solomon Northup were traveling back to the North. Legacy of Solomon Northup On his way back to New York, Northup visited Washington, D.C. again. An attempt was made to prosecute a slave dealer involved in his kidnapping years earlier, but the testimony of Solomon Northup was not allowed to be heard as he was black. And without his testimony, the case collapsed. A lengthy article in the New York Times on January 20, 1853, headlined â€Å"The Kidnapping Case,† told the story of Northup’s plight and the thwarted attempt to seek justice. In the next few months, Northup worked with an editor, David Wilson, and wrote Twelve Years a Slave. No doubt anticipating skepticism, Northup and Wilson added extensive documentation to the end of Northup’s account of his life as a slave. Affidavits and other legal documents attesting to the truth of the story added dozens of pages at the end of the book. The publication of Twelve Years a Slave in May 1853 attracted attention. A newspaper in the nation’s capital, the Washington Evening Star, mentioned Northup in a blatantly racist item published with the headline â€Å"Handiwork of Abolitionists†: There was a time when it was possible to preserve order among the negro population of Washington; but then the great majority of that population were slaves. Now, since Mrs. Stowe and her compatriots, Solomon Northup and Fred Douglass, have been exciting the free negroes of the North to action, and some of our resident philanthropists have been acting as agents in that holy cause, our city has been rapidly filling up with drunken, worthless, filthy, gambling, thieving free negroes from the North, or runaways from the South. Solomon Northup did not become a prominent figure in the abolitionist movement, and he seems to have lived quietly with his family in upstate New York. It is believed he died sometime in the 1860s, but by that time his fame had faded and newspapers did not mention his passing. In her non-fiction defense of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, published as The Key to Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe referred to Northup’s case. â€Å"The probability is that hundreds of free men and women and children are all the time being precipitated into slavery in this way,† she wrote. Northup’s case was highly unusual. He was able, after a decade of trying, to find a way to communicate with the outside world. And it can never be known how many other free blacks were kidnapped into slavery and were never heard from again.

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Management and Organisational Development Module Essay - 1

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