The Stagnation of Content in the Making of Movies Essay

The Stagnation of Content in the Making of Movies - Essay Example While some of these films are successful, others are box office failures. Motives for releasing a remake runs the gamut of saving money, exploiting a popular plot or theme, or capitalizing on the current cultural trends. However, they saturate the movie market and drown the public in a stagnant pool of rehashed content. We, as a society, need to break outside our own self-inflicted monotony, and let our imagination run rampant once again, or else our society may forever be caught in the endless miasma of mediocre entertainment, and with it, our future forced into dull drudgery. The propensity of the Hollywood studios to remake a foreign film is exemplified with the cashing in on the pop culture's current cult buzz. A prime example of this phenomenon is the Japanese movie The Ring (1998), which is one of the most horrifying and the highest grossing films ever to be released in Japan. Its success spawned a series of remakes such as in Korea as The Ring Virus (1999) and in the United States as The Ring (2002). The studios did not have to take the risk of inventing new characters, setting, or plot. They simply moved forward on a tried and true formula that had previously been successful. ... The studio's attempt to save money by reproducing more of the same actually resulted in heavy losses. While the original Ring grossed $129 million, the sequel The Ring Two pulled in a paltry final figure of $75 million in the United States ("Japanese Horror Remake"). This is evidence that the viewing public can get tired of their fond memories, as movie producers fail to deliver on their promises of enhancing and tastefully paying homage to the previous films by taking short cuts and recycling old ideas. Watching a well-made film repeatedly may be far more enjoyable than seeing it repackaged with unfamiliar actors and different production values. A good example of this is the Hitchcock film Psycho (1960). This film is so tense and well crafted that the remake has had great difficulty in living up to its expectations. When a remake is released, the public and the critics will naturally compare it to the original version. The critics at Moviefone called Invasion (2007), Nicole Kidman's remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), "ridiculous, overwrought ... and worst of all, boring" ("Worst Movie Remakes of all Time"). Other films such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, House of Wax, and the planned Evil Dead suffer from the audience's high standards when comparing then to the original. The financial effort to save money on a remake almost assures the public that they will see nothing new, and probably the best they can hope for is some enhanced technology in the special effects. The remake of the highly acclaimed Alfie (1966) was remade starring Jude Law, and was panned by critics as, "a hollow, cynical shell of the charming

Work, Culture, and Society In Industrializing America 1815- 1919 Essay Example for Free

Work, Culture, and Society In Industrializing America 1815- 1919 Essay It is historian Herbert G. Gutmans thesis that the conflicts between the working class and the non working class resulted in a departure from its values and principles. The working class did not want this departure to happen; it was only the inevitable result of the growing industrialization. The conflicts between the rest of society and the working class resulted in the disappearance of its principles. During the beginning of the 19th century, the United States had remained a pre-industrial society and there were few workers and factories because at the time, it was dominated by a farming, skilled workers, and agricultural culture. However, after 1843, the industry developed radically through the civil war and was followed by a new nature industrial society that appeared in 1893. During this development, both skilled women and men were forced to modernize. Just as Sidney Pollard had described, a society of peasants, craftsmen, and versatile labourers became a society of modern industrial workers. This process was difficult because it required a task of industrializing whole cultures. Nevertheless, the process was achieved as the nation gathered and worked to transform themselves and new groups from the pre-industry to the new. This progression was continually altered by immigration, social conflicts, and through various other elements. These women and men sold their labor to an employer to join this new changing factory working condition. Work habits in comparison remained the same from the native culture and to the immigrants. Also, the working pattern also parallels one of that of the European patterns in pre-modern development. There were also tensions between culture, work, and society. Work habits of men and women in the new factory and labor life attributed to the diverse pre-modern cultures. During the early 19th century, many Americans were newly introduced to a more efficient process of production called the factory. At this period of time, most work was done by man, not machines. Conversely, as time developed, more and more factories, beginning with textiles and cotton industry used unskilled labor to work in mass producing products. Drinking was common in this time even while working, it caused unproductive labor and often be inclined to have more accidents and deaths. Reform movements began and to solve this there was a temperance movement although it was short lived it served its process. Also, managers began to fine and deduct from wages if there was unproductiveness, for instance, drinking liquor. And at places where unskilled factory workers could easily be replaced, they took this as an advantage and often fired those who did become drunk. The effect was better working habits to society. These work habits were not just common to pre modern America but also later generations of factory workers. And by 1920, two thirds of workers in the twenty-one major mining and manufacturing industries came from either Southern or Eastern Europe or were American blacks. Many of these cultures and factory workers had numerous of the pre-industrial work habits. Assorted patterns of working class behavior accompanied the industrialization of the United States. Forms of protest occurred throughout the periods and development of industrialization in America. This followed the ever changing behavior and diversity of the cultures that were in the working class. Another form of culture was included in street gangs that were believed to hold artisan and lower class workers and were organized by ethnicity. Others, people often had food riots against the monopolies and the rising food prices. Similar behaviors in riots even decades apart for instance, the 1837 food riot wasnt much different from one from 1902. For instance, women became organized and were led by a woman butcher and these people protested the rising price of kosher meat and a disloyalty among the members in not boycotting it. Like the previous disorders and riots, these women battered shops and carried the meat like flags although they did not steal at all. The development of the industrial age was a process where many progressed and left their previous values behind, although there was some resistance to this new modernization.

Government and the Central Bank Economic Recession Responses

Government and the Central Bank Economic Recession Responses Discuss how the government and the central bank should respond to an economic slowdown and a recession At the end of year 2008, economists suggested that the economy may be led to -or already in- a recession when economic growth was decelerating. The official definition of a recession is two successive quarters with a decline in gross domestic product (GDP). However, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) identifies that a recession as a â€Å"significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months† based on a number of economic indicators, with an emphasis on trends in employment and income. It doesnt confine itself to use the technical definition of two quarters of negative GDP growth because it is only assessed quarterly and it is subject to revisions. By the time GDP growth is negative for two quarters, the recession is already well happening. However, an economic downturn is defined less strict. For instance, we were in an economic downturn even with positive growth because the economic growth rate was slowing down, house prices were falling, unemployment rates were increasing and people could see the business cycle that moved from a boom period to bust. To respond to an economic slowdown and recession, government and central bank should take active roles in resolving economic issues through the use of two expansionary policies: fiscal policy and monetary policy. While the economy is not officially in a recession, there are signs that economic activity is slowing. According to CRS Report for Congress, 2008, economic growth in the United States was negative in the fourth quarter of 2007 after two strong quarters, but turned positive in the first and second quarters of 2008. According to one data series (graphs), employment fell in every month of 2008. The unemployment rate, which rose slightly during the last half of 2007, declined in January and February of 2008, but began rising in March and by August stood at 6.1%. The continuing financial turmoil is also cause for concern. Forecasters, while projecting slower growth in 2008, remain uncertain about the likelihood of a recession. If financial market confidence is not restored and private market spreads remain elevated, the broader economy could slow due to difficulties in financing consumer durables, business investment, college education, and other big ticket items. When the economy is down turning, economist believe the central bank should place more emphasis on short-term monetary policy as it takes fewer time to implement and its decisions to significantly decrease interest rates, and natural market adjustment, along with the already enacted stimulus, would be enough to avoid recession. When there is a massive intervention in the financial markets, the transmission of money can be stimulated into the financial sector and ultimately into the broader economy, where an important expansion of credit could significantly raise aggregate demand. It is said to emphasise more on monetary policy than fiscal policy because there are lags before a policy change affects spending. Therefore, stimulus could be delivered after the economy has already entered a recession or a recession has already ended. First, there is a legislative process lag that applies to all policy proposals — a stimulus package cannot take effect until bills are passed by the H ouse and Senate, both chambers can reconcile differences between their bills, and the President signs the bill. Many bills get delayed at some step in this process. As seen in Table 8, many past stimulus bills have not become law until a recession was already underway or finished. Is additional fiscal stimulus needed during the economy slowdown? It depends on the current state of the economy. Fiscal policy temporarily stimulates the economy through an increase in the budget deficit. Fiscal stimulus can take the form of higher government spending (direct spending or transfer payments) or tax reductions, but normally it can boost spending only through a larger budget deficit. A deficit-financed increase in government spending directly boosts spending by borrowing to finance higher government spending or transfer payments to households. A deficit-financed tax cut indirectly boosts spending if the recipient uses the tax cut to increase his spending. Economists usually agree that spending proposals are somewhat more stimulative than tax cuts since part of a tax cut will be saved by the recipients. The most important determinant of the effect on the economy is its size. Economic performance can be illustrated through shifting in aggregate demand and aggregate supply curves. Aggregate supply and demand are shown in the graph below. If consumer confidence in the economy falls and people reduce their spending, aggregate demand will fall, reducing real output and prices and possibly dropping the country into a recession (figure1). As the American economy slid into recession in 1929, economists relied on the Classical Theory of economics, which promised that the economy would self-correct if government did not interfere. But as the recession deepened into the Great Depression and no correction occurred, economists realized that a revision in theory would be necessary. John Maynard Keynes developed Keynesian Theory, which called for government intervention to correct economic instability. As fiscal policy is the use of government spending and taxes to stabilize the economy, Keynes recommends that parliament should increase government spending in order to â€Å"prime the pump† of the economy during periods of recession. At the same time, he calls for tax decreases in recessionary times, to increase consumers disposable income with which they can buy more products. Through both methods of fiscal policy, the increase in aggregate demand brought about by such actions leads firms to increase production, hire w orkers, and increase household incomes to enable them to buy more. While both tools are effective, Keynes advocated change in government spending as the more effective fiscal policy tool, because any change in government spending has a direct effect on aggregate demand. However, if taxes are reduced, consumers most likely will not spend all of their increase in disposable income; they are likely to save some of it. Referring to the graph, a rise in government spending G or a decline in autonomous taxes will cause the aggregate demand AD shift to the right, thus increasing both the equilibrium level of real GDP, Q*, and the equilibrium price level P*. When economy is running into recession, central bank is one of the agencies responsible to influence the demand, supply and hence, price of money and credit in order to keep production, prices, and employment stable. To do this, the central bank uses three tools: open market operations, the discount rate and reserve requirements. In order to bring the economy out of recession, central bank will lower the reserve requirements. Due to the act, member banks are required to keep less money, and so more money can be put into circulation through expanding their loans to firms and people. Furthermore, with the use of its open market operations for buying government securities, the central bank pays for these securities by crediting the reserve accounts of its member banks involved with the sale. With more money in these reserve accounts, banks have more money to lend, interest rates may fall, and consumer and business spending may increase, encouraging economic expansion. The discount rate is serves as an indicator to private bankers of the intentions of the central bank to enlarge the money supply. So a lowered discount rate which is announced by the central bank encourages more banks to borrow from the reserve banks. According to the graph below, a central bank open market purchase of securities, a fall in the discount rate or a decrease in the required reserve ratio will raise the money supply, thereby increasing aggregate demand and the equilibrium level of real GDP, Q*, and the equilibrium price level, P*.

White Oleander Essay examples -- essays research papers

White Oleander, a dramatic fiction by Janet Fitch, was published by Little, Brown and Company in Boston. The story is about a mother and daughter, Ingred and Astrid have a very unusual relationship. Ingred loves her daughter but never asks her what she thinks so therefore doesn't know her daughter too well. Such as she does not know of her daughter's yearning for a father. Ingred makes it very clear that she will not allow herself to get close to a man. She is a very brilliant, beautiful poet, who is adored by a man named Barry Kolker. He goes to all of her readings, and asks her out each time. One of the times Barry invites her to go to the Gamelan, an orchestra. Loving the Gamelan, she accepts. Her and Astrid join Barry, and they begin talking more. They start going out more, but each time she makes and stands by regulations, such as he will invite her to eat after an event where they had not planned on eating and she will refuse, because she doesn't like to get attached to men, and doesn't want to spend anymore time than she had already allotted. All of a sudden, her rules start diminishing. One time, there was a knock at her door, and it was Barry. She thought to herself, 'how dare he just come without an invitation?'. When she opened the door (a knife in her hand), he had a bottle of wine, and bag of something that smelled good. To Astrid's surprise she did something least expected. She invited him in. One night Barry said he would be over to her house at 9 and nev...

Google Glass Essay

Google Glass should be prohibited to be public for the world. In consequence of technological advances, we have changed our society and have been convenient for few decades. Thanks to advanced technology, we eventually became possible to do anything we want with electronic devices from modern technology. At this point, Eric Schmidt, who is a current Google’s executive chairman, announced that Google will commercialize Google Glass by the end of 2013. Google Glass is a wearable computer with a head mounted display by Google in the Project Glass, research and development. Google glass displays information in a smartphone-like hands-free format that can interact with the internet via voice commands. Briefly, it’s going to be like a smart phone wearing on our eyes. It is believed that modern technology has brought many benefits to us, we should be aware that it’s possible to use for our society. Firstly, the public would be threatened by Google Glass seriously. Inverters of Google Glass say that Google Glass will be equipped with an intellectual camera that can take clear pictures at anytime, anywhere. It means that taking picture with a Google Glass can lead to an invasion of portrait right. Furthermore, it doesn’t have any speakers to let other people know that users are in the process of recording. For instance, cell phones and camcorders have speakers exceeding a background noise level of 60~70dB. Instead of loud speakers, it has bone-conduction headphones near frames. But it mustn’t be a function as alert sound. Secondly, Google Glass will absolutely affect our body badly. What would happen if we wear Google Glass for very long time? Every electronic device has electromagnetic waves as always. According to Interphone Study Group in France (ISG), 2 billion people will have brain cancer by 2020 from cell phones. Unfortunately, Google Glass has the same critical influence as the cell phones have. If we wear Google Glass, we might as well face a terrible situation like ISG said. Moreover, they are saying that a new psychological disease called â€Å"nomophonia’, which makes us feel nervous because of not holding own our device, will occur at the moment. I’m sure that it would be a disaster for us as well as our next generations. At last, I’d say that there will be liability problems by being obsessed with Google Glass. People will wear Google Glass while driving in spite of definite warnings not to do. After that, they will clash with the elderly or any pedestrians and somebody will get hurt seriously. The medical insurance may not be possible to cover the medical care because money can be critical. If Google Glass is commercialized, we will have to take up a liability insurance to use it. It means the we need to add cost of an insurance policy to Google Glass bill. Of course, Using Google Glass will make our life slightly more comfortable and convenient. On the other hand, we should deeply think it has so many side effects that can badly effect to our society. Therefore, I hold very strongly that organizations in charge of license of selling electronic devices shouldn’t allow to release into the world.

buy custom Case Study A essay

buy custom Case Study A essay Joseph should not be released. This decision is based on an evaluation of Josephs parole review based on the Risk Prediction Model. The Risk Prediction Model works by predicting the results of granting parole based on the prisoners criminal history. There are two main factors evaluated in the prisoners criminal history. The first factor is risk assessment. Risk assessment is determined by assessing the prisoners behavior before incarceration and during incarceration. The second factor is the severity of the offence committed by the prisoner. Violent and sexual crimes are normally viewed as severe offences. (Carmen, 2007) Firstan assessment of Josephs behavior before and during incarceration is necessary to determine the risk of recidivism. Before his present incarceration, Joseph had served a previous sentence for burglary. During his current incarceration, Joseph has no rule violations. Furthermore, he has completed substance abuse treatment and an anger management program. If a decision were to be made based on risk assessment alone, Joseph is likely to be granted parole. However, an assessment of offence severity must be done before making this decision. Joseph is serving a sentence for two counts of armed robbery. Armed robbery is ranked as H+ according to the Texas offence severity list. (Texas BBoard of Pardons and Paroles, 2012). There were two victims to these crimes. Both victims remain fearful of Joseph and none of them ever returned to work. These two assessments guide decision making through risk prediction. Josephs parole should be denied on these assessments. Although Joseph seems to be well behaved during his present incarceration, one cannot ignore the fact that he is a repeat offender. Furthermore, he committed the severe crime of armed robbery, not once but twice. Another reason to deny Joseph parole is the fact that he plans to return to the same community even thought he has a low likelihood of finding employment. Buy custom Case Study A essay