Midterm Essay Essays (951 words) - Black-ish,

Ashley Altidort Professor Jones Black-ish and the Black Middle Class March 13th, 2019 Analysis of Black-ish Episode 501: Gap Year Black-ish, a show that attempts to tackle sensitive topics in the black community enough for digestion to the unrelatable, does so through the Johnson's black middle class family and their troubling scenarios residing in a predominantly white suburb. Karyn Lacy's "Blue Chip Black" examined the lives of black middle class and how they constructed and maintained five distinct social identities: public, status-based, race-based, class, and suburban- and analyzed their experience in regards to the social construction of identity. She developed the idea of the Black cultural toolkit to draw attention to both material and nonmaterial forms of culture that these black families used to negotiate their daily life. The Johnson family enforces the status-based identity in Lacy's black cultural toolkit in episode 501, Gap Year, through symbols and material culture. After realizing how lost and uncertain he was about college, Junior decided to come back home from Howard University and take a gap year, where a student takes a year off before going to college. When he decided to break the news to his family, it was not met with support. His parents Dre and Bow, and his grandfather, Pops, insinuated the idea of a gap year being only an option for wealthy and privileged kids and instantly opposed, as Pops said, "Is this some white shit? Everything around here is some white shit." Dre tries to find some answers at his workplace and his white coworkers are more receptive to the idea because of the opportunities it proposes, but not for young black men. Steven, his boss, highlighted a statistic that further supported Dre's reasoning for the enforcement of education for his children, "Rich young white males are more likely to stay well to do, while rich young black males are more likely to become poor." Due to imbalanced incarceration rates, employme nt bias, and discriminatory policies, a black male has lower chances of being successful in his lifetime compared to a white male. Education, one of the major cultural capitals important to black middle class families, allows both inclusionary and exclusionary boundary work amongst classes. Lacy compares the differences between blacks in Sherwood Park, Riverton and Lakeview as they stem from difference in wealth and the types of assets middle class blacks depend on to create opportunities for themselves and their children. (115) Blacks who spend generously on their children, like those in Sherwood Park, regard their status primarily in the context of status reproduction. They see their spending as an investment, similar to Dre and Bow, and the blacks in Riverton and Lakeview who spent more conservatively on their children consider spending regularly on luxuries, like private school tuition, as a threat to their status position in efforts of protecting what they have. Dre struggles to understand Junior's firm stance on taking a gap year because "his ancestors didn't cross that river so he could take a gap year." Education presented opportunities of success for Dre that were not optional for him to take because of the environment he was raised in, yet it has become one for Junior. In a conversation with Dre, Bo asserts her status identity as a part of an elite black middle class group, "I am Dr. Rainbow Johnson. I went to Brown University. I went to USC medical school. People know my nameI have a reputation to uphold. My kids go to college!" She uses forms of material and nonmaterial culture to further emphasize her status- she brags of her education and diplomas as a pathway to economic independence and reflects on the effort it took to reach her current status position. Similar to the blacks in Sherwood Park, their perspectives of status includes defining and comparing the black middle class to the upper classes. (117) In the second to last scene of the show, Dre attempted to talk Junior out of taking a gap year, however seemed to associate masculinity with education, "A man has to realize an opportunity like this may not last forever, a man's scholarship could be gone once he finally decides to go back to school." Dre says this with regard of

Free Essays on Henry Ossawa Tanner

Henry Ossawa Tanner was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1859, to Sarah Miller Tanner and Benjamin Tucker Tanner. Henry is best known for his paintings of everyday African American life and for his from the bible. His most well known work is The Banjo Lesson painted in 1893, at the Hampton University Museum, in Hampton, Virginia. When he was 13 years old, Henry watched an artist at work and was fascinated by it. It was then that he decided to become an artist. He entered the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia in 1879. He became the second black student to attend the school. Tanner traveled to Europe in 1891, where he spent a short time in London before settling in Paris, where he studied painting at the Acadà ©mie Julien. In the summer of 1893 Tanner returned to America to recuperate from typhoid fever, but he lived permanently in France after 1894. He submitted his painting Daniel in the Lions’ Den to the Paris Salon Exhibition of 1896 and received honorable mention, an honor no other American received that year. His religious works brought Tanner recognition in both France and America. Tanner was elected a chevalier of the Legion of Honor by the French government in 1923, and in 1927 he was elected a full member of the National Academy of Design in New York. In 1996 Tanner’s Sand Dunes at Sunset, Atlantic City was acquired for the art collection of the White House in Washington, D.C.; it was the first work by an African American painter to be chosen for this collection. Tanner’s work is appreciated by many including the government of the United States of America, which has a select number of works of his on display in the White House. He was appreciated in his lifetime and is certainly appreciated for his great contributions to American art for all of us. Henry Ossawa Tanner died in 1937.... Free Essays on Henry Ossawa Tanner Free Essays on Henry Ossawa Tanner Henry Ossawa Tanner was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1859, to Sarah Miller Tanner and Benjamin Tucker Tanner. Henry is best known for his paintings of everyday African American life and for his from the bible. His most well known work is The Banjo Lesson painted in 1893, at the Hampton University Museum, in Hampton, Virginia. When he was 13 years old, Henry watched an artist at work and was fascinated by it. It was then that he decided to become an artist. He entered the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia in 1879. He became the second black student to attend the school. Tanner traveled to Europe in 1891, where he spent a short time in London before settling in Paris, where he studied painting at the Acadà ©mie Julien. In the summer of 1893 Tanner returned to America to recuperate from typhoid fever, but he lived permanently in France after 1894. He submitted his painting Daniel in the Lions’ Den to the Paris Salon Exhibition of 1896 and received honorable mention, an honor no other American received that year. His religious works brought Tanner recognition in both France and America. Tanner was elected a chevalier of the Legion of Honor by the French government in 1923, and in 1927 he was elected a full member of the National Academy of Design in New York. In 1996 Tanner’s Sand Dunes at Sunset, Atlantic City was acquired for the art collection of the White House in Washington, D.C.; it was the first work by an African American painter to be chosen for this collection. Tanner’s work is appreciated by many including the government of the United States of America, which has a select number of works of his on display in the White House. He was appreciated in his lifetime and is certainly appreciated for his great contributions to American art for all of us. Henry Ossawa Tanner died in 1937....

Blue print Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Blue print - Essay Example The service blueprint to be used in this department needs to incorporate other relevant departments of the hotel so that provision of services is of high quality promoting customer loyalty. In addition, service blueprints can be used in the promotion ventures of the Chairman and Yip restaurant. The purpose of a promotion is to create awareness of the available services to potential customers. Therefore, a blueprint can ensure that the promotional activity is successful. Moreover, promotions usually target to register a higher percentage of sales (Kalakota & Robinson 2004, p. 116). These activities can be incorporated into the blueprint ensuring a more effective promotion strategy. In addition, service blueprints can be used in the human resource management department. The principle purpose of using service blueprints in this department is to empower the staffs of the of the Chairman and Yip restaurant. A blueprint indicating job descriptions for each position in the restaurant can be designed. This helps to ensure that each individual working in this restaurant understands their responsibilities and roles clearly. In addition, a service blueprint can be used in the development of the selection criteria. The restaurant can design a flow chart that highlights the available vacancies, the qualifications of the required candidates and uses it to assess the potential candidates for the positions (Kalakota & Robinson 2004, p. 117). Using a service blueprint makes the selection criteria clear for those assigned to this responsibility. Moreover, service blueprints can be used in the appraisal systems of the Chairman and Yip restaurant. Notably, it is important for th e restaurant to appraise the performance of all the employees over a certain period. Appraisal of performance helps to determine whether employees perform their roles to the required standards, and whether they have gained new skills on the job. A blueprint can be used in determining the

Organizational Change Annotated Bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Organizational Change - Annotated Bibliography Example Organizations are difficult to change because they are complex systems that are made-up of many different actors. If the organization is going to change from one based on individual effort to one that operates on principles of teamwork and cooperation, some very basic assumptions on the part of each actor must change. Individual team members must stay focused on the goal the entire team is trying to achieve, not just their role in accomplishing the goal. Teams also need to have new types of leadership that is capable of communicating and reiterating the team goals to individuals and the team as a whole. Finally, all the members of a team need to recognize that staying in the same routines and same modes of work makes employees very comfortable, but also results in the same unsatisfactory results. Change is not something to fear, even though it may be uncomfortable for a while. Working as a team is not something that can be treated as a fad or as an objective of senior management that isn’t really workable. Complex work requires the teaming of disparate employees in collaborative and cooperative roles in order to achieve a high degree of success. This change from individual effort to team effort is one of the greatest challenges facing organizations today. Establishing malleable and dynamic teams is only possible is sound principles of organizational change are implemented. The authors of this article are Amy Thurlow PhD and Jean Helms Mills PhD. In this article they argue that controlling organizational language during a period of change is a key tactic used by leadership to bring about desired results. The problem with this control is that it may inhibit the sensemaking ability of those most affected by the change. The focus of this article is actually on professionals that come in from the outside to help organizations change. This is a decidedly different approach from implementing change in-house because much

Japanese animation and how its been influenced by American culture in the 20th century

Japanese animation and how its been influenced by American culture in the 20th century Introduction In this essay I shall investigate to what extent twentieth century American culture has influenced Japanese animation. I shall examine the history of Japanese film, paying close attention to the rise of animation as an independent art form; determine what facets of American culture have appeared and influenced Japanese animation, including language, pop culture and consumerism; present two case studies of Japanese animated productions that adhere to the American influence; and draw conclusions from my findings. For my research I shall be referencing literature on Japanese animation, American culture and film history. The case studies shall consist of films by Osamu Tezuka and Mamoru Oshii. History of Japanese Animation The Japanese film industry was born out of the fascination with Edisons Kinetoscope. The Kinetoscope had been first shown in New York in 1894, and two years later the Japanese imported several to their cities. This was a period of celebration and novelty as the Sino-Japanese war had been won in 1895 with Japan forcing the Chinese invasion out of Korea; proving that Japan could adjust to the modern civilization [sic] which less than fifty years earlier had arrived knocking at the closed gates of the country in the person of Commodore Perry. It was the reign of Emperor Meiji, spanning 44 years from 1868 to 1912, which welcomed an era of rapid commercial expansion. In 1897, the Lumià ¨re brothers Cinà ©matographe arrived with a mixed bill of films including Baignade en Mer and LArrivà ©e dun Train en Gare. This was followed by the Edison Vitascope and its films The Death of Mary Queen of Scots and Feeding Pigeons. These innovative projectors were extremely popular with the Japanese, including the future Emperor Taisho. The public were arriving in their thousands to watch these films and continued to do so for another twenty years. Throughout this period the Japanese were importing films from Europe and the United States. It was only in 1912 that Japan founded its first production company; Nikkatsu Motion Picture Company. Established as an independent company under the title Japan Cinematograph Company, Nikkatsu started mass distribution and production of films in the 1920s. This meant that Japan was still dependant on films produced in the West to exhibit in its cinemas in the 1910s. During the First World War (1914-1918) European films were unavailable and to fill the void Japan began to heavily import films from Hollywood. One particular film that was to change the way the Japanese read film narrative was D.W. Griffiths 1916 feature, Intolerance. Perhaps the director nost influenced by Griffith in this early period of Japanese film was Norimasa Kaeriyama. Kaeriyama introduced advanced film technique into Japan and helped establish the Film Record, the countrys first motion picture magazine. His films were heavily inspired by the Hollywood narrative structure and were dedicated to: the introduction of long-, medium-, and close-shots, together with editing principles; the conversion to realistic acting; and the use of actresses in womens roles instead of oyama (oyama impersonators were previously used instead of actresses for female roles). After the death of Emperor Taisho in 1926 Japans new Emperor, Showa (Hirohito), began to reject the liberal attitudes towards Western influence of his predecessor. There was more emphasis on creating greater armies and a more powerful navy than building diplomatic relations. Before the Great Depression rocked the United States and Europe, Japan had already suffered; this was accelerated by the population boom across the country. Japan now put emphasis into its manufacturing and exportation of goods. Japans foreign policy had become one of aggressive expansion; they had seized control of the railways in Shandong, China, but were forced to withdraw after China boycotted Japanese exports. There was unrest in the country as labour unions were growing and dissatisfaction bred. Strikes and boycotts were rife, and this was reflected in the films of the time. Period drama films afforded the public the luxury of escapism while, on the other end of the scale, left-wing tendency films that soug ht to encourage, or fight against, a given social tendency played to the nation. This period of filmmaking in Japan proved that the industry had grown up from its humble origins and was establishing its own themes. The influx of the talkies from Hollywood finally pushed Japanese filmmakers to produce their own sound filmes. In the early 1930s sound became the norm for Japanese productions and therefore pushed the boundaries of the industry; allowing directors such as Teinosuke Kinugasa to create lavish dramas that were adored by the public. Suddenly the door was open for filmmakers to adapt historic tales dramatically. These dramas were singled out by the Emperor who saw them as an important tool to boost the nations morale, showing the masses how important history was; and how important it was to actually make their own history. The second Sino-Japanese war was not unexpected. The film industry had to develop the skills to produce the war genre. The first Japanese war movie was Tomotaka Tasakas 1938 feature, Five Scouts (Gonin no Sekkohei). It is interesting to note that this film does not include the pride, nationalism or propaganda that was being released in the United States, Britain or Ger many. The story dealt with the lives of five soldiers caught up in a battle that they know they must fight. This narrative development of character over plot is still used in modern cinema, most recently in Sam Mendes Jarhead (2005). After the destruction of the Second World War, Japan was forced to rebuild as a nation. The Emperor saw the need to keep the cinemas open (at least those that still remained). Production continued, some unfinished films were abandoned due to their military narrative, and projects that had been discarded before the outbreak of war were completed. The occupying Allied interim government announced a list of prohibited subjects, these included militarism, revenge, nationalism, religious or racial discrimination, feudal loyalty, suicide, cruelty, exploitation of children and opposition to the occupation. Editorial power had been taken away from the filmmakers and left with a foreign military presence. Out of this period two important directors were to emerge; Kurosawa and Kinoshita.In 1950, Akira Kurosawas Rashomon was released. The film introduced new ideas to Japanese, and world, cinema. It was the first film to use flashbacks that disagreed with the action they were flashing back to. I t supplied first-person eyewitness accounts that differed radically; one of which came from beyond the grave. The final scene saw no Hollywood resolution with three self-confessed killers and no explanation. His later films included Seven Samurai (Shichinin no samurai) (1954), The Hidden Fortress (Kakushi-toride no san-akunin) (1958) and Yojimbo (1961). Keisuke Kinoshita directed Japans first colour film in 1951 with Carmen Comes Home (Karumen kokyo ni kaeru). Kinoshitas work is much lighter than that of Kurosawa and his influences seem to come from French comedies; most notably in the two Carmen movies featuring the stripper-with-a-heart-of-gold Carmen. Both these and other films explore the need for a character to leave the countryside and head to the new cities. This was echoed in Japans successful attempts to join the United Nations in 1956. In 1958 the first cartoon feature from Japan was released from the Toei studios. Panda and the Magic Serpent (Hakuja den) was directed by Kazuhiko Okabe and Taiji Yabushita and tells of two lovers in ancient China who must battle evil to find happiness. The film combines bizarre supernatural sequences, psychedelic montages and instantly likeable songs. Even though it can be argued that this is the Japanese interpretation of Disneys 1940 classic Fantasia, Panda and the Magic Serpent heralds the beginning of the Japanese animation industry (anime). Anime is the term used to describe Japanese animation. Since the 1950s Japan has been at the forefront of not only producing animation but is a world-leader in comic book art, or Manga. It is best described by Gilles Poitras: Anime (pronounced ah-nee-may), as defined by common non-Japanese fan usage, is any animation made in Japan. In Japan, the word simply means animation. While anime is sometimes erroneously referred to as a genre, it is in reality an art form that includes all the genres found in cinema or literature, from heroic epics and romances to science fiction and comedy. Whereas anime is what people would refer to as cartoons, Manga is the illustrated storyboards that the reader animates in his or her head. The fact that Manga is read by a whole cross-section of society is notable because it is; simply too fascinating, colorful [sic], and rich a literary medium to be left solely to children. The 1960s saw a host of anime films released. In The Enchanted Monkey (Saiyu-ki), directed by Daisaku Shirakawa, Taiji Yabushita and Osamu Tezuka in 1960, the story is a retelling of part of the epic Chinese classic, The Journey to the West, written by Wu Cheng-En in the sixteenth century. This technique of updating early stories was a popular theme in anime and is still used today. However, it was not only the cinema that was releasing anime productions. Japanese television aired Mighty Atom (Tetsuwan Atomu) from 1963 to 1966. Mighty Atom was the creation of Dr Osamu Tezuka, an influential figure in the early development of Manga. It was the first animated series produced by Tezukas television and film production company, Mushi Studios. The initial episode was shown as a television special on New Years Eve (one of the most widely viewed evenings on Japanese television) and became an instant success. When the series was shown in the United States the characters name was changed to As troboy due to DC Comics already owning a character called The Mighty Atom. The series proved to be extremely popular with children, and sparked controversy amongst parents who, even though the translation was greatly softened and sometimes edited for juvenile audiences, complained that the often dark subject matter was not suitable for impressionable young minds. Some episodes exhibited increasingly dreamlike and surreal imagery. This argument still persists today with the debate on whether graphic violence in cartoons (or anime) can prove detrimental to a young audience. The 1970s was a time of consolidation for the animation studios. The worldwide popularity of anime had afforded hundreds of studios to be set up to produce a plethora of films and television series. The moon landing in 1969 fired the imagination of the world with more emphasis on science fiction; and that is what the audience wanted. Fans of anime, or otaku, from around the world demanded new productions from these studios, and in turn the studios delivered new and advanced films. Otaku derives from the Chinese character for house and the honorific prefix o-. This translates as your honourable house. It is an extremely polite way of saying you when addressing another person in conversation; the writer Akio Nakamori proposed that the term be applied to the fans themselves. Another interpretation, as used by the Japanese media, is that of extreme fixation, which is probably closer to the truth. Either way it is the fans of anime that have been the driving force behind its success. In 1971 an animator directed 24 episodes of an anime series called Lupin III (Rupan sansei). It was the start of a very important career for perhaps the most important animator to come out of Japan. This man was Hayao Miyazaki. The series ran from 1971 to 1972 and was so successful that a number of sequels were made as well as theatrical releases. Lupin III describes the life of gang members in 1970s society. The action targeted the adult audience with its violence, sex, dark humour and contemporary soundtrack. Eight years later Miyazaki went on to direct The Castle of Cagliostro (Rupan sansei: Kariosutoro no shiro). The film is a continuation of the Lupin franchise that started with the television series in 1971. The emphasis is on the characters rather than the plot; a trait that Miyazaki develops over the course of his career. Even though the film is far from being one of the best examples of anime from the 1970s, the pace, comedy and willingness to show anti-heroes captures the f eeling of the decade. Another example of an anime series that became global was Gatchaman Science Ninjas (Kagaku ninja tai Gatchaman). This series originally ran from 1972 to 1974 in Japan before being renamed Battle of the Planets when it aired in the United States in 1978. Yet again the re-dubbed, re-edited version was toned down for the Western audience, so much so that the series was moved from Earth to outer space; sequences with a robot (7-Zark-7) were added to patch the safer storylines together, make up for the lost (edited) footage and jump on the Star Wars R2-D2 bandwagon; exploding planes and ships were always robot-controlled and Spectra forces constantly ejected. The original Gatchaman series introduced characters that had feelings and motivation; there was character development and ongoing sub-plots. They sought revenge, felt jealousy and fear, had relationships, and got hurt. The villains were unabashedly evil, not misguided. The heroes didnt always win, at least not completely.It was as if the West was still not ready to embrace anime and Manga as an art form that was acceptable for adults to enjoy. Anime was still widely seen as cartoons for children in the 1970s. The Japanese animation industry went from strength to strength in the 1980s. It was the decade that saw the Western world finally succumb to the power of anime. This was a two-pronged attack; a Manga pincer movement. For those that still believed animation was for children there was the extraordinary global phenomenon that was Transformers, and for those that were looking for an alternative cult classic there was Akira. In 1984, American toy manufacturer Hasbro bought the rights to produce transforming robots from Japanese company Takara. To bolster the sales of their new line Hasbro decided to use anime as the frontline attack on the target audience (children). The result was the extremely successful Transformer series. This series led to the production of the 1986 feature film, Transformers: The Movie. This was the first real evidence of American culture, in its consumer form, influencing Japanese animation. In stark contrast of the animation-as-advert, Katsuhiro Ôtomo directed the 1988 classic Akira. The film was soon to become a benchmark for anime in Japan, and across the world. This was a film that was aimed at adults with dark, subversive themes. The futuristic settings of Neo-Tokyo were apocalyptic and tinged with doom. After Akira it was widely accepted that anime was not just for children. The 1990s saw anime reach mass appeal as the release of such films as Patlabor (Kidà ´ keisatsu patorebà ¢) (1990), Patlabor II (Kidà ´ keisatsu patorebà ¢ 2) (1993) and Ghost in the Shell (Kà ´kaku kidà ´tai) (1995) by Mamoru Oshii found an international audience; Hideaki Anno and Kazuya Tsurumakis 1997 feature End of Evangelion (Shin seiki Evangelion Gekijà ´-ban: Air) followed on where the original Japanese television series left off; and of course Hayao Miyazakis Crimson Pig (Kurenai no buta) (1992) and Princess Mononoke (Mononoke-hime) (1997). The American influence was still rife as the toy industry, in particular the computer and video game market, provided the plotlines to a number of films and television series including Street Fighter II: The Movie (1994), Battle Arena Toshinden (1997) and the original series of the next big thing, Pokà ©mon (1998 onwards). In 1999, Michael Haigney and Kunihiko Yuyama directed the feature length version of the popular Pokà ©mon ser ies; Pokà ©mon: The First Movie. Whereas the 1980s saw Transformers flood the childrens market, the beginning of the new millennium saw the Japanese revenge. Pokà ©mon originally began as a video game, on the Nintendo Gameboy: The Pokà ©mon game was the platform for the Pokà ©mon brand to kick-start what would become the worlds largest success story in the game-licensing card-collecting business. The video game gave the characters identities, the collection cards gave them powers, the movie added life to the brand, and word-of-mouth spread the news. The Pokà ©mon invasion is still evident nearly ten years later as the television series is still in production, with two feature film sequels having followed the original cinematic release. The consumerism powers of America had truly influenced anime. American Cultural Invasion The cultural invasion from the West began in earnest at the turn of the twentieth century. Japans industrial revolution had been slow to start but quickly gathered momentum. By 1890 there were two hundred large steam factories where twenty years earlier there had been none; steamship tonnage increased from 15,000 to over 1,500,000 tons in the period between 1893 and 1905; and by 1896 things Western were in full fashion derbies or straw boaters were worn with formal kimono, the big gold pocket-watch was tucked into the obi, and spectacles, whether needed or not, were esteemed as a sign of learning. Ironically, the period when Japan found itself bowing down to the pressure of American influence was directly after fighting a war against it. When the atom bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki it was not just the radiation that remained in Japan. Any country that has been invaded will always have traces of the invaders culture embedded into the normal life of its habitants. The All ied (most notably the American) control of Japan directly after the war was to allow Western influences to develop into the Japanese way of life. This influence was both highly visual as well as subliminal. America saw the clandestine operations there were not only as part of an effort to defeat Japan but also as the opening wedge for post-war Southeast Asia. The Japanese were suspicious of the Western approach to education and the governing of their homeland. The Occupation, they thought, had destroyed traditional Japanese virtues and unleashed a wave of selfishness and egotism. In an interview with the elderly president of a real estate company in Oita City, author Jeffrey Broadbent discovered the feelings of the former owbers of the land: Due to American influence, the heart of our people has been lost our way of thinking that, if its good for the progress of the whole, its good to sacrifice yourself The Japanese strength from group unity has been lost. The other side of the coi n is the very noticeable, consumer-led American cultural assault on Japan.The way in which American culture has seeped into the Japanese way of life is what Koichi Iwabuchi writes as: strategies that incorporate the viewpoint of the dominated, who long ago learned to negotiate Western culture in their consumption of media products imported fro the West. Depending on the viewpoint of the individual, culture and life in Japan, and especially that in the densely populated areas, are influenced by the same commercial culture that defines the American way of life today. Japanese streets are now littered with the flashing neon signs that are found (admittedly all over the world) adorning the pavements of any American town or city. Western branding has left its mark on Japan. The American phenomenon of the fast-food culture such as McDonalds, Burger King, Dunkin Donuts, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Baskin-Robbins, and other outlets dominate the Japanese urbanscape more than in America. As a mat ter of fact the first Disneyland outside the United States was built in Japan. Even when taking into consideration the immense popularity of Japanese culture (for example, the growth of Yo! Sushi restaurants in the UK) and the Wests embracing of Eastern philosophies (in this case Shinto and Buddhism), it is safe to say that Japanese culture has been more extensively shaped by its American counterpart than vice versa. If it is indeed true that Japans exports of products and manufactured goods far outweighs its imports, then it is also true that Japan imports vastly more information about or from the United States than the other way round. Japan is today regarded as one of the leading powers in the world especially in the representation of its national media; the Japanese population of more than 120 million people and its economic wealth make the Japanese audiovisual market, along with that of the United States, one of the only two self-sufficient markets in the world. However, this does not mean that foreign popular culture is no longer consumed in Japan; American popular culture has continued to strongly influence and saturate Japan. Japan is one of the biggest buyers of Hollywood movie and many Japanese television formats and concepts are also deeply influenced by and borrowed from American programmes; yet the format is quite often changed to make it more suitable to a Japanese audience: What was marked as foreign and exotic yesterday can become familiar today and traditionally Japanese tomorrow. Kosaku Yoshino writes that although Japan has developed a relative maturity of its cultural industries, it still hasnt fo und itself fully expanding on the exportation of its television programming and films to other regions of the world. This unexportability of Japanese media can be explained by the term cultural discount: A particular programme rooted in one culture and thus attractive in that environment will have a diminished appeal elsewhere as viewers find it difficult to identify with the style, values, beliefs, institutions and behavioural patterns of the material in question. Included in the cultural discount are reductions in appreciation due to dubbing or subtitling. The biggest media products that the Japanese have managed to export, despite cultural discount, is Manga and anime; but is this due to American cultural influences shaping the genre into a more Western-friendly medium? Case Study 1 Alakazam the Great (Saiyu-ki) The first example of a Japanese animation that has been influenced by American culture is the 1960 feature, The Enchanted Monkey (Saiyu-ki), directed by Daisaku Shirakawa, Taiji Yabushita and Osamu Tezuka for Toei Studios. It was released in America as Alakazam the Great in an attempt to win a bigger audience by moving away from the emphasis of the ancient Eastern tale, the story is a retelling of part of the epic Chinese classic The Journey to the West (Xiyouji), written by Wu Cheng-En in the sixteenth century. The title name-change and the subsequent character name-changes point to the influence that America held over Japanese culture at the time. The original story chronicles the many encounters of Sanzo, a monk who travels from China to India to obtain a copy of the original Buddhist scriptures to bring back to his country and teach the purity of Siddhartas original messages. In Osamu Tezukas film the star of the show is not Sanzo but Son Goku, the monkey king. Son Guko is a tale nted but arrogant warrior that is sent on a journey by Buddha to learn the virtues of humility and compassion. However, when re-dubbed and released in the United States the characters changed. Sanzo became Prince Amat and turns out to be the son of Buddha. Buddha in turn is named King Amo, Sir Quigley (Pigze), Lulipopo (Sandy), and Son Goku is renamed the titular Alakazam. Considering the fact that the storyline was centuries old there is more than a passing resemblance between the character of Alakazam (Son Guko) and the way in which Japan was seen by the rest of the world. In the tale the protagonist is king of his surroundings (Japan in the late 1930s and early 1940s) before he discovers the existence of a people that are more powerful than him. In an attempt to beat them he sneaks into their world and begins a pre-emptive strike against them (Pearl Harbour attack). He is then disciplined by a greater being (America) before being allowed to continue his journey under the agreement that he learns from his mistakes (the Occupation and the subsequent acceptance into the United Nations). I believe the fact that Tezuka decided to use the story to create this, the third Japanese feature length animation, demonstrates an understanding of the ever present American dominance over Japan. The aesthetics of the production borrow from the American animations of the time. In the post-war period it was evident that the biggest influence on the explosion of Manga style artwork came from the imports of European and American comic books and animation. The most famous being the work from the studios of Walt Disney. Osamu Tezuka was originally a Manga artist before he became involved with anime. His style and technique was heavily influenced by Disney (he admitted to watching Bambi 80 times and Snow White 50 times). The studio that he worked for, Toei, strived for that same cross-cultural, cross-generational appeal of Disney, albeit using more Asian scenarios. Considering that he had studied Disneys Bambi to the point of obsession it is not surprising to learn that Tezuka noted how Bambis childish attributes, such as his big eyes and large head, were an ideal way of conveying complex emotions. The influence of the West is truly evident in this film, and many that followed it. Case Study 2 Ghost in the Shell (Kà ´kaku kidà ´tai) (1995) The second film I am looking at in detail is Ghost in the Shell (Kà ´kaku kidà ´tai) (1995), directed by Mamoru Oshii. It is widely accepted that anime has been inspired by a number of different factors that draws simultaneously on medieval Japanese traditions, on American cyberpunk styles, and on an imagery of ethnic and cultural mixture (of the sort envisioned in Blade Runner) that never quite evokes any specific human society, but that in various ways hints of the American dream of a multicultural society and suggests the extent to which the American science fiction film has become a key narrative type for much of contemporary culture. This cyberpunk culture has been lapped up by the Japanese and features heavily in Manga and anime. Perhaps the most famous writers and contributors to this particular genre are William Gibson, author of the cult Neuromancer and Philip K. Dick, author of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, the novel that was the basis of the 1982 classic Blade Ru nner. Both these writers provided a futuristic world that could be further advanced by the medium of animation. The plot of Ghost in the Shell parallels Neuromancer very closely, except that rather than an artificial intelligence seeking to be free by merging with its better half, an artificial life form (the Puppet Master) seeks to free itself by merging with the protagonist (cyborg Major Motoko Kusangi). Developing similar themes to Gibson and Dick, Oshiis interest in mankinds over-reliance on technology is brought to a logical conclusion in Ghost in the Shell, which foregrounds fundamental questions about what it is to be human in an increasingly computerised cyberworld, where a computer programme gains sentience and also questions its own function in the acquisition of power, autonomy and longevity. In Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and later Blade Runner the plot and characterisation are centred on the struggle to determine what is human and what is machine. It can be argued that Neuromancer borrows from modern Eastern culture as the locale is set in Japan, however, it is the significance of the characters rather than the setting that has cemented it as a science-fiction classic. In Dicks novel, the opening image of the book, comparing nature to technology, sets the tone of this narrative. The protagonist, Case is a combination of man and machine; a now common trait amongst Cyberpunk literature and animation.It is this imagery that Oshii has borrowed from the West that has provided the background to his work; Blade Runner has been labelled as one of the finest examples of post-noir with its anti-heroes, atmospheric lighting and dark storylines, and Oshii replicates this in his film. He uses sound, and in particular the score written by Kenji Kawais to achieve an emotional response from the viewer that is a million miles from any Disney cartoon. He presents Ghost in the Shell with the feeling of a bona fide film noir that just happens to be an anime production. As such Oshii has admittedly borrowed American ideas, themes and culture but he has formed his own creative style out of it. He uses the medium not only to entertain but to put forward questions of morality to an audience that are not treated like children: Oshii develops the form by refusing innocence and indifference, insisting upon only the maturity of the medium. Indeed, while in an accessible, orthodox model, it only advances the case further that all animation is in some sense experimental, even within populist forms. Conclusion From my research I have drawn the conclusion that Japanese animation has indeed been influenced by twentieth century American culture. This has happened side by side with the country as a whole accepting elements of Western popular culture. As early as the beginning of the century under the leadership of Emperor Meiji Japan began to embrace the West after years of being an insular island race. It was immediately after the end of the Second World War, when Japan was occupied by the Americans under General MacArthur from 1945 to 1951, that the floodgates opened. American control influenced education, culture and general living. Whereas the older generation saw this as Japan losing its heart the younger generation thought of it as a fresh start. This is evident in Japans rise to power in the 1960s onwards. The Feudal system of Japan that had reigned until 1868 had been disregarded; the way of the samurai had been supplanted by the power of the microchip. The nation had taken on board Am erican culture and adjusted it for their own purpose. This ability to progress with outside influences paved the way for animators such as Kazuhiko Okabe, Taiji Yabushita, Osamu Tezuka, Hayao Miyazaki, Katsuhiro Ôtomo and Mamoru Oshii. It is worthy of note that it has not completely been one-way traffic. The Japanese animators have been influenced by American culture (Disney, comic books, Cyberpunk, etc.) but in turn the Americans, and the West, have imported attributes specifically found in Manga and anime. The creative team behind The Matrix trilogy, Andy and Larry Wachowski, are Japanese anime fans and were the driving force behind the 2003 animated film The Animatrix. Advertising agencies in the United States have also picked up on the popularity of anime with the Coca Cola group producing the Obey Your Thirst Voltron campaign, combining anime and hip-hop to sell Sprite.Sales of Manga comics and picture novels in North America grew over 40 per cent to $140 million in 2004. This trend was also boosted when director Hayao Miyazaki won the Oscar for Best A

Imperialism and Existential Freedom in Works Such as Joseph Conrad’s He

When people think of the concept of imperialism, they usually view it as something that pertains to government. Even the first definition of imperialism in the dictionary is â€Å"imperial state, authority, spirit, or system of government† (Webster 729). However, imperialism encompasses so much more than this. In comparing the resonations between Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness with Johann Goethe’s Faust, one can see how imperialism affects the political, the social, the psychological, and the spiritual, especially within the past 200 years. Stemming from this is man’s existential freedom, his â€Å"mechanical and lifeless existence in society†, explored in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s â€Å"The Grand Inquisitor† and Herman Melville’s â€Å"Bartleby the Scrivener†. Heart of Darkness shows imperialism in more of a physical and psychological perspective. The main character Marlow, in his beliefs, shows a positive side to imperialism. Marlow does openly admit that he does not belong as an invader to this land that is not his; however, he also says that he will try to help these people, the antithesis of most, if not all, of his comrades. Concerning these imperialistic invasions, he says, â€Å"The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much. What redeems it is the idea†¦not a sentimental pretence but an idea†¦something you can set up, and bow down before, and offer a sacrifice to†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Conrad 64). Marlow is driven by morality and is able to see what is right and wrong; he is not blinded to the truth. The truth that these â€Å"civilized men† are destroying countless numbers of people so that they can worship th... ...fected by this, though; it is the entire world. The majority of people believe only as they are told to believe. Much like in Bartleby the Scrivener, there is no civil disobedience; they do not question the morality of anything. They walk through their existential life completely blind and oblivious to what is happening around them. Two very defining characteristics of the societies present around the world, both past and present, are those of imperialism and existentialism. Whether it be as broad as a government or as small as a person, there is an overwhelming presence of power hunger and greed and complete disregard for those who may be â€Å"in the way†. So too is the seemingly mindless existence which people live life with. What the world strongly needs now is people who actually contain a soul; a soul that makes a human a human. Sadly, this is very much lacking.

French Philosophers Essay

MONTAIGNE Montaigne is both a literary writer and a philosopher > a humanist. Montaigne’s essays: cover a loto f topics without claiming to provide a definitive or an absolute truth about these topics: â€Å"We have no communication with being†, Essays, II, 12 The Problem of Truth Being is not accessible for a finite being as we (men) are. Senses or reason are not criteria of truth. Sense is no criteria since its always changing and reason is no criteria also because we only have access to appeareances, which also change. Things are always changing. They are in a perpetual movement : – The only â€Å"thing† we are directly in relation with is ourselves. The â€Å"I† is constantly changing, is in a perpetual movement and it is not self-centred or an egocentric character it is the first step to explore the whole world. He is emblematic of the rebirth of SCEPTICISM. Scepticism is the position that says that it is impossible to know anything because all the propositions are equal. For skeptics there’s no criteria for thruth. 3 Main Principles A) Epoche = â€Å"suspending judgement† – when you are not sure of what you are saying. The Greek word epoche means to check, cease, suspend, stop, or pause in some activity that otherwise or normally occurs. The sceptic suspends his judgment for default of a good reason for exercising it. The dogmatist asserts that something is true. B) Relativism = all points of view are equally valid. C) Isosthenia = the equality of strength of two opposing arguments. Sceptism is more a process than a result, is more a methodology. Descartes Dogmatism, Rationalism and Dualism 1. Dogmatism – comes from the greek word â€Å"dogma†(opinion or belief) – Common and pejorative sense: the tendency to lay down principles as undeniably true, without consideration of evidence or the opinion of others. – Philosophical meaning: doctrine that asserts that man is able to get to the  truth or, in other words, that man is able to attain absolute truths and certainty of knowing (Opposite of Skepticism). Descartes is dogmatic since he believes that we can get to absolute certainty, what he calls evidence or clear perceptions(intelectual perception, the one you can get through the eyes of mind, not the eyes of body). We can reach the truth. Reason is unique and ultimate source of truth. 2.Rationalism: REASON versus senses. Reason is the chief source and test of knowledge. Rationalism is based on deduction (versus induction). ln that sense, it is opposed to empiricism: the theory of knowledge which states that knowledge comes only or primarily from sensory experience Knowledge is an activity of our mind that applies itself to identify the figures and the properties that essentially constitutes one thing (Text 3 – Wax argument) Dream argument: ln our dreams our sensations are sometimes so strong that everything is going as if we were awake (whereas in fact we are not) Our senses are deceitful: we can’t trust them ; only reason can be trusted Wax argument: Knowledge ≠  observing its empirical qualities. Knowledge is an activity of our mind that applies itself to identify the figures and the properties that essentially constitute one thing. Cogito, ergo sum: essential link between thought and humanity.Thinking is the only proof of my existence and it is also my essence; both are simultaneous. I prove my existence by my essence (versus accidental qualities). Moreover, thinking is a property that only men possess.ïÆ'   animals are not able to think and that’s also why they are not able to speak (text 5). 3. Dualism: In philosophy of mind, dualism is a view about the relationship between mind and matter which claims that mind and matter are two ontologically separate categories. It is opposed to monism: philosophical view according to which everything can be explained in terms of a single reality or substance. â€Å"I am not only lodged in my body as a pilot in a vessel† This sentence shows that Descartes also tries to think the union and the connection of mind and body in the human being that we are Rousseau (Enlightment) Rousseau has a contractualist or contractarian approach of society: he conceives it as an invention or as an artifice. Legitimate authority of government must derive from the consent of the governed ïÆ'  Society doesn’t exist by nature. contractualism is opposed to naturalism, The state of nature: the one that exists before the invention of society. Rousseau does not think that this state really existed. It is methodological: the state of nature aims to understand and to evaluate the civil state we are actually living in. Why is the state of nature so good? State of nature is defined by pity and self-loved. Considers that man in the state of nature are not leaving together and are independent. According to Rousseau, the state of nature is a state of self-sufficiency in which every man is equal. On the contrary, civil state introduces: – property, – inequality, – love of self That’s why it is a perversion and a degradation of our natural condition Different from Hobbes: Hobbes argues that all humans are by nature equal in faculties of body and mind. From this equality, everyone is naturally in competition with one another (copiar resto) Love of self: always comparing yourself to the other and trying to see what you can do to be better†¨ Self Love: you always give your 100% He is not saying we should return to the state of nature. He considers the  state of nature as a moral value in order to evaluate society. Human Nature 2 essential properties: 1) PERFECTIBILITY or faculty of improvement (Text 2) Perfectibility draws men out of this original condition and gives him adaptability. At the same time, perfectibility is responsible for the evill. 2) FREEDOM (Text 1). Nature and instinct (beast) are here opposed to freedom. Nature and instinct are here opposed to freedom. Dog cant go against his instinct, if he is hungry for example. freedom is the equivalent of what we call â€Å"autonomy† If society perverts humankind, but if, at the same time, man doesn’t have to return to a state of nature, this is because his essential properties (freedom and perfectibility) imply to divorce from nature Difference of DEGREE between men and beast. Men, like animals, are also able to form ideas but they are more complex than the ones animals could form. There is a difference in terms of nature since men are free and animals follow their instinct. Freedom is the ability of choice. We are able to determine ourselves to act and not to be passive in front of each situation. Freedom is the equivalent to what we call â€Å"autonomy† 4. The Social Contract This legitimate political authority comes from a social contract agreed upon by all citizens for their mutual preservation. (1) The collective grouping of all citizens = the â€Å"sovereign† (it is like an individual person). As the sovereign entirely proceeds from our will: â€Å"each man, in giving himself to all, gives himself to nobody† (text 4). Obeying the contract coincides with obeying ourselves and that’s precisely what Rousseau calls  « autonomy  » The concept of â€Å"general will† End of Text 4 The general will is the common interest. Even if it proceeds from the particular wills of every citizens, it is more than the collection of particular wills The general will finds its clearest expression in the general and abstract laws of the state