Analysis Of Citizen Kane Essays - English-language Films

Analysis Of Citizen Kane Essays - English-language Films Analysis Of Citizen Kane The classic masterpiece, Citizen Kane (1941), is probably the world's most famous and highly rated film, with its many remarkable scenes, cinematic and narrative techniques and innovations. The director, star, and producer were all the same individual - Orson Welles (in his film debut at age 25), who collaborated with Herman J. Mankiewicz on the script and with Gregg Toland as cinematographer. Within the maze of its own aesthetic, Citizen Kane develops two interesting themes. The first concerns the debasement of the private personality of the public figure, and the second deals with the crushing weight of materialism. Taken together, these two themes comprise the bitter irony of an American success story that ends in futile nostalgia, loneliness, and death. The fact that the personal theme is developed verbally through the characters while the materialistic theme is developed visually, creating a distinctive stylistic counterpoint. It is against the counterpoint that the themes unfol d within the structure of a mystery story. Its theme is told from several perspectives by several different characters and is thought provoking. The tragic story is how a millionaire newspaperman, who idealistically made his reputation as the champion of the underprivileged, becomes corrupted by a lust for wealth, power and immortality. Kane's tragedy lies in his inability to experience any real emotion in his human relationships. The apparent intellectual superficiality of Citizen Kane can be traced to the shallow quality of Kane himself. Even when Kane is seen as a crusading journalist battling for the lower classes, overtones of self-idolatry mar his actions. His clever ironies are more those of the exhibitionist than the crusader. His second wife complains that Kane never gave her anything that was part of him, only material possessions that he might give a dog. His best friend, Jedediah Leland, was a detached observer functioning as a sublimated conscience remarks to the reporter that Kane never gave anything away: he le ft you a tip. In each case, Kane's character is described in materialistic terms. What Kane wanted - love, emotional loyalty, the unspoiled world of his boyhood, symbolized by rosebud, he was unable to provide for those around him, or buy for himself. The intriguing opening is filled with hypnotic dissolves from one sinister, mysterious image to the next, moving forward closer and closer. The film's first sight is a No Trespassing sign hanging on a giant gate in the night's foggy mist, illuminated by the moonlight. The camera pans up the chain-link mesh gate, which dissolves and changes into images of great iron flowers or oak leaves on the heavy gate. On the crest of the gate is a single, silhouetted, wrought iron K initial. The gate surrounds a distant, forbidding-looking castle with towers. The fairy-tale castle is situated on a man-made mountain, obviously the estate of a wealthy man. The same shots are repeated in reverse at the very end of the film. The initial and concluding clash of realism and expressionism suggests in a subtle way, the theme of Citizen Kane. The intense material reality of the fence dissolves into the fantastic unreality of the castle, and in the end, the mystic pretension of the castle dissolves into th e mundane substance of the fence. Matter has come full circle from its original quality to the grotesque baroque of its excess. As each flashback unfolds, the visual scenario of Citizen Kane orchestrates the dialogue. A universe of ceilings dwarfs Kane's personal stature. He becomes the prisoner of his possessions, the ornament of his furnishings, and the fiscal instrument of his collections. His booming voice is muffled by walls, carpets, furniture, hallways, stairs the vast recesses of useless space. Gregg Toland's camera set-ups are designed to frame characters in the oblique angles of light and shadow created by their artificial environment. There are no luminous close-ups in which faces are detached from their backgrounds. When characters move across rooms, the floors and ceilings move with them. This technique which is highly unusual, tends to dehumanize characters by reducing them to fixed ornaments in a shifting architecture. The choice of camera position was an important factor in getting across artistic and psychological effects. To the photograph a person or object from below, distorts that object. It tends

The CSR Benchmarks and Models of the Cooperative Bank Essay

The CSR Benchmarks and Models of the Cooperative Bank - Essay Example The broadest aim of the social responsibility is to create higher and even higher standards of living, while maintaining the corporations’ profitability, for people in and outside the corporation (Line 2012, p.10). CSR becomes classified in a number of ways; Environmental protection The main focus of CSR is to find a sustainable solution for the natural resources use, to help reduce the company’s impact on its environment. Over the couple number of years, environmental responsibility has grown to include more than the compliance with all appropriate government regulations, or participating in energy efficiency. A number of companies and environmental organizations define environmental responsibility as including, comprehensive move to a firm’s operations, goods and facilities that also include; assessing the products of the company, processes and the services; removing waster and other emissions; utilizing the efficiency and the subsequent productivity of the ent ire assets and resources (Frankental 2001, p.21). Labor security These contain freedoms of association and the subsequent recognition of the right to the collective bargaining, the removal of all types of forced labor. It also entails the abolition of child labor and removal of discrimination in line with employment and occupation (McWilliams & Siegel 2001, p.18). Human rights Business practices can affect significantly the dignity and rights of the workers and the community. The focus is, to develop a job environment free from discrimination and a place where the creativity and learning can improve the appropriate codes of professional conduct, and where a correct balance can be maintained between jobs and other areas of the employees’ lives. Behaving in an irresponsible way on human rights issues can detrimental because the reputation of the firm is on the line. The issue is also related to the issue of globalization and ever increasing global trade, and the problems of fin ding methods of doing business globally that respect the human rights and facilitate the growth of emerging economies. Nations become required to upheld, support and protect human rights to their levels of influence. Paying the employees a living wage and giving them protection from harassment may cost more in the short run, but it vastly increases the workers morale and reduces turnover increasing profits in the future. Therefore, socially responsible management practices can increase the firms’ level of profits (Carroll 2000, p.16). Community involvement It involves community partnership, global community involvement, employee giving, service donations and volunteerism. Corporate, community involvement is a number of actions undertaken by the firms to improve the impact of their activities, in the communities that they operate. When correctly executed, these activities not only bring immense importance to the recipients’, but will also improve the reputation of the o rganizations and their brands, goods and values in the communities where they have interests in, as well as globally (Greenfield 2004, p.20). Business Standards They cover a number of corporate events like; ethics, environmental protection, financial returns and human rights. The growth of international trade and communication has led an increasing pressure from a number of groups, for the formation of world business conduct standards (McWilliams & Siegel 2001, p.18). Early models of CSR have developed since 1960s,

Storge device of computer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Storge device of computer - Essay Example It can hold or store information both permanently and temporarily, and can be external or internal to a computer or any similar computing medium. The computer is a multipurpose electronic device and as such has many kinds of data storage devices. Broadly, some of these devices may be classified as the removable data Storage Devices while others as the non- removable data Storage Devices. There two classes of computer storage devices; one is the primary storage devices, and the other one is the secondary storage devices. The primary memory is the volatile memory while the secondary memory is the non -volatile memory. The volatile memory is the type of the memory that is easily erasable and the non -volatile memory is the type where the contents may be erased. Primary storage also referred to as internal memory or main memory, is the only memory directly accessible to the CPU. The CPU thus a reads instruction stored there and performs them as required. All data actively operated on is likewise stored there in a uniform manner. Primary computer storage devices are smaller in size, are internal to the computer and are developed to hold data temporarily. Primary computer storage devices have the fastest data access speed. Examples in this class of primary computer storage devices include random-access memory (RAM) and cache memory. Random-access memory (RAM) for instance are small in size but quite expensive. Secondary storage can also be known as auxiliary storage or external memory, differs from primary storage in that it is never directly accessible by the CPU. These usually have large storage capacity, and they store data permanently. They can both external or internal to the computer. The computer often uses its output/ input channels to access secondary computer storage devices and channel the desired data using intermediate region in

HUM History and Methods of Science Essay Example for Free

HUM History and Methods of Science Essay Social views and culture denoted scientist, in general, as individuals who exist different from the common society. This idea is mainly because scientists live with a strong conviction to their field and their reasoning is widely based on the empirical side of the environment they lived in. Because of this, scientist’ cultures and lifestyles are significantly affected with their governing philosophies and scientific principles. The aspect of communication is also included in the human cultures and philosophies that are affected by the conviction in the scientific world. In this idea, scientists do tend to communicate with their colleagues in a manner, which is significant based on their scientific principles. There communication is widely empirical in nature that they tend to express themselves and reason out through proving the validity of their statement in an empirical nature. Scientist’s opinions and ideas are always supported with factual and scientific proofs whenever they share it with their colleagues. Through this manner, scientist can and are ready to defend the validity of their statements whenever they communicate with their fellow scientist as they are all governed by their scientific principles and philosophies. Another common trend in the communication aspects of the scientist is that they tend to relate each of their opinions and ideas to other scientific concepts or factual events and phenomenon. This is probably habitual in nature, as their profession requires them to be open-minded and critical in their field. Their communication aspect is often critical and analytic in nature whenever they state something or dispute an idea. Hus, from this concepts and ideas, one can actually see that profession indeed such as the field of science can affect the human culture and personal behavior of an individual as with the case of the society of scientist. In this concept, the behavior of scientist towards their profession becomes habitual in nature thus affecting their innate and personal communication aspect in general.

Should Teacher Pay Be Based On Student Test Scores? Essay example -- m

For years, educators and government officials have argued what the most effective system of payment is for teachers in the United States. Government officials state that a â€Å"merit pay† system, where teacher pay would reflect the students’ test scores, would be the most effective and would increase teacher performance. Teachers, on the other hand, see the merit pay system as a threat to their salaries and fear that they cannot control student performance. The debate will continue for years to come. However, many people will agree that set teacher salary systems are more conducive to teaching students and maintaining a stable learning environment for all. Merit pay, also known as performance pay, systems have existed since 1862. Beginning in England, these systems focused on how many students attended classes and the number of students passing (Harris). The main goal of this particular system, in the Progressive Era, was to attract the finest teachers to certain areas and to make sure that children in the schools were learning a sufficient education. As time progressed, the same basic goals of the program have remained relatively the same. However, the popularity of the pay-for-performance program has wavered since its origination. For example, when the Russians launched Sputnik, there was a drastic push for academic excellence across the United States (Harris). In turn, many merit pay systems were implemented in hopes of giving teachers plenty of incentives and enticing them to perform to the best of their abilities. Most schools that applied the pay-for-performance plan within their school systems had dropped the program in t he next ten years. Many other countries, like Mexico and Bolivia, have also experimented with s... ...ty of Wisconsin-Madison, Aug. 2007. Web. 15 Feb. 2012. . Kobakhidze, Magda N. "Teacher Incentives and the Future of Merit-Based Pay in Georgia." Editorial. European Education 2010: 68-89. Academic Search Premier. Web. 12 Feb. 2012. Rosales, John. "NEA - Examining Merit Pay." NEA - NEA Home. Web. 15 Feb. 2012. . Smarick, Andy. "Diplomatic Mi$$ion." Editorial. Education Next 2011: 56-63. Education Full Text. Web. 12 Feb. 2012. Springer, Matthew G. Performance Incentives: Their Growing Impact on American K-12 Education. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution, 2009. Print Williamson, Ronald. "Education Partnerships, Inc." Education Partnerships Inc. 23 Apr. 2010. Web. 12 Feb. 2012. .

America in the 1950’s

McCarthyism, which found its main thrust in the Alien Registration Act of 1940, made difficult for immigrants because of its stringent requirements that they declare their political beliefs. These statements were rigorous disclosures of the status of these immigrants—which included current employment status and previous political affiliations. McCarthyism was also responsible for the purging of the Motion Picture industry in Hollywood of persons suspected of being communist sympathizers or activists. In the government’s efforts to upset the position of the Communists in the United States, it succeeded in terrorizing many innocents. This was occasioned in many courts by the accepting even inconclusive evidence brought against citizens. People loss their jobs and became imprisoned on charges that were non-substantial and that in later years would be deemed unconstitutional or otherwise actionable. Mistrust was bred among immigrant colleagues and members of the motion picture or other industries (Davidson, 2002). Dynamic conservatism is described as a tendency within a population to struggle for the maintenance of the status quo. This status quo maintenance is found desirable for the sake of stability within a state. The phenomenon is considered dynamic, as it is based on an active attempt to fight against forces that seek to overthrow or change the established order. Dynamic conservatism is more than mere resistance to change, as it includes mechanisms that learn from situations and make targeted efforts at strengthening the forces within the organization (or state) that are concerned with preservation of the status quo. With regard to the activities of the 1950’s, dynamic conservatism refers to Eisenhower’s domestic policy that supported and strengthened the New Deal giving it more legitimacy. It involved scaling down of the budget and the removal of federal influence in certain aspects of the country’s running (Davidson, 2002). Politics of consensus represented a form of agreement within the governmental, economic, and societal bodies. It involves a widespread understanding that consultation among these actors will take place regarding issues that are of national importance. It sought to create a harmonization of the ideas and desires of the influential and representative bodies in the country (such as trade unions and political parties). The party in power creates a system by which it seeks out the input and suggestions of all the involved entities. This provokes consideration of all the interests that attach to certain political decisions and seeks to ensure the inclusion of these interests in the final solution. The politics of consensus, as is implied by the term â€Å"consensus† seeks to identify a solution that is created by all and accepted by all involved. Therefore, rather than decisions being representative of the triumph of one party or group over another, it would reflect the cooperation of all groups in the taking of a political or socio-economic decision. Before Dwight Eisenhower came to the presidency, Americans faced uncertainty in an economy that was recovering from the depression of the 1920’s and 1930’s while being in the middle of a war (World War II). Consumer confidence was low, as resources were scarce and tapped. However, recovery came during the Eisenhower administration, when the American society entered an era of consumerism in which the values and actions of the consumer played a dominant role in the country’s economics. The economy was growing vastly, and income levels were increasing. This created not just more money in families, but also more leisure among Americans. Consumer confidence was high, as was confidence in the state of the American economy. This led to increased spending, and the resultant materialism. From the president, Americans no longer required specific action but the assurance that such prosperity would continue, and the moderation that defined Eisenhower’s administration reflected the surface contentment of the American society (Davidson, 2002). While the exact beginning of the Civil Rights Movement is unclear, a major revolutionary marker was the Supreme Court decision that maintaining and mandating separate facilities for different races was inherently unequal. This occurred in the 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education case, which overturned the Plessy vs. Ferguson case over a half century earlier. This was followed hard upon by the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955, which took place in Alabama. It represented a more concerted effort on the part of black persons to garner the recognition of their rights to use the facilities provided by their country in an equal way. This event, which was triggered by the refusal of Rosa Parks to move to the back of a bus, led to an explosion of civil rights demonstrations in the South and around the country. The United States became interested in helping France to retain hold of its territory in Vietnam. The problem of communism was related to this, as the doctrine of communism containment heralded by Harry Truman targeted the communist stronghold region—South East Asia. This region was made up of many small communist countries, and their size made it more likely that they (rather than larger communist counterparts) should fall. The domino effect was considered by Eisenhower as how such a fall should occur. He proposed to target one country in that area, and expected the subsequent fall of the others. The initial communist party was begun by Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam, who sought independence from the Vichy French. Warlike relations only escalated when the Americans entered into the dispute in order to aid the French, and this assistance only increased upon the invasion of the South Korea by North Korea in 1950. McCarthyism enabled distrust among the ranks of many political, social, and economic entities in the United States. This distrust fueled not just underground activity and disgruntled feeling toward the United States government, but fierce sentiment against communism also has been considered as a factor in the assassination of later United States presidents and congressmen. It has therefore caused a lot of citizen distrust of the government. Dynamic conservatism. Dynamic conservatism has impacted such areas as civil rights movement, gay rights and women’s rights, as this tendency defines the actions of such groups that would have preferred that the minorities remain unrepresented and repressed. However, the Civil Rights movement of the 1950’s and 1960’s has led to an increased level of equality not just for African Americans, but also for other racial minority groups in the United States. It has been the fore-runner of such policies as affirmative action, which grants places within key organizations and key opportunities for minorities. Politics of consensus has been a method through which harmony has been restored somewhat to the political and social climate of the United States. This form of government has sought to create an open forum in which dialogues now take place regarding issues of great importance to many groups within the country. Consumerism allowed for the expansion of the United States economy, as it boosted consumer confidence, which increased spending and stimulated further economic growth. The involvement of the U.S. in Southeast Asia led to further involvement and was in the Korea and subsequently in Vietnam. This has had a negative impact on the image of presidents in the White House and upon the government as a whole, especially during the Vietnam War period. Anti-war sentiment regarding this was has continued very far beyond that period. This Southeast Asian involvement led to presidents’ refusal to run for a second term and indirectly contributed to Nixon’s resignation. Reference Davidson, J. W. (2002). Nation of nations. New York: McGraw-Hill.   

Love Styles of Antony and Cleopatra and Romeo and Juliet

Love Styles of Antony and Cleopatra and Romeo and Juliet The heart of many of Shakespeare’s works is love and tumultuous relationships. It is not a difficult task to attempt to analyze the relationships of his protagonists. Many of his characters would fit into at least one of the â€Å"love-styles† presented by John Alan Lee. There are many different types of relationships and John Alan Lee aims to categorize them, or breaking them down into â€Å"different colors,† (Lee, 40). The love-styles can be applied to many relationships such as those in the works of Shakespeare. The love styles that John Alan Lee describes can also determine the successfulness of a relationship. He fits the love styles into a diagram and the location of one style†¦show more content†¦Romeo displays all the characteristics of a â€Å"manic† lover. Some of these characteristics common in a manic lover are desperation for love, â€Å"obsessively preoccupied with the beloved (Lee, 45)†, will drift from partner to pa rtner desperately waiting for someone to love them back, and find life unlivable without the beloved. The mania love style, according to Lee tends to be â€Å"the first love-style of young people who eagerly desire to experience the excitement and adventure of love,† (46). Romeo displays all of these characteristics. At the opening of the play, Romeo is having an emotional breakdown over the rejection by Rosaline, but is over it and ready to marry Juliet not much long after the fact. Romeo is not in search of his one true love, he is instead solely searching for one person to love and to have that love requited. After he is rejected by Rosaline, he is very dejected and feels as though he is physically unable to pull himself out of his frame of mind. When Mercutio and Benvolio want him to accompany them he says that he is â€Å"too sore empierced with [Cupid’s] shaft / to soar with his light feathers, and so bound / I cannot bound a pitch above dull woe; / Under love’s heavy burden I do sink,† (I. vi. 19. ). This dramatic behavior is characteristic of a manic lover. One of the most obvious examples of Romeo’s manic behavior is his preference of dying than being banished when he learns of the â€Å"death† ofShow MoreRelatedTheater During the Elizabethan Era Essay1726 Words   |  7 Pagesgeneration. Shakespeare also wrote numerous plays about love, tragedy, comedy, and the histories. One of Shakespeare’s most beloved play is Romeo and Juliet. This play is a love story and falls under the term tragedy. Romeo and Juliet is the story of two young lovers from different sides of the track. They fall in love but find out that one is Capulet and one is Montague. Their families hate each other for reasons unknown. The play focuses on passionate love, and the imminent death introduced at the beginningRead More Shakespeares World Essay3144 Words   |  13 Pagesnbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The first division, is t he Period of Early Experimentation (1588-93) To this period belong: Titus Andronicus, Henry VI (three parts), Loves Labours Lost, The Comedy of Errors, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Richard III, Romeo and Juliet, and Richard II. Other than these plays, he also wrote the two long poems, Venus and Adonis, and The Rape of Lucrece. These were the first of Shakespeares great works, and his experience in writing plays grew with the increasing number of popularRead MoreHow Did Elizabethan Theater Affect Popular Entertainment?1842 Words   |  8 Pages and a few of her poems still exist today. Elizabeth was also into arts and literature. She loved watching plays and dramatic performances. â€Å"She hired her own company of actors called â€Å"The Queen’s Players.† The art spread because of the queen. Her love for poetry, music, and drama helped make it fashionable for the wealthy members of the court to support the arts. Elizabethan Entrepreneurs built theaters for very large audiences. The theater was an expanding industry at the time. Many theaters beganRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare and Macbeth8813 Words   |  36 Pagesan army to return to Scotland. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Malcolm tests  Macduff’s  loyalty by telling a series of lies about himself, stating that he will be a worse king even than Macbeth is -- vicious, cruel, greedy, etc.  Ã‚  Macduff  doesn’t know what to do: he loves his country and is loyal to Malcolm but doesn’t want to replace one tyrant with another. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Malcolm then says he was just testing  Macduff  and that he will in fact be a good king. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ross arrives from Scotland with the news