Poverty reduction in Brazil Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Poverty reduction in Brazil - Essay Example It is essential to adopt development strategy in order to achieve global prosperity, freedom, dignity, peace and equity along with sustaining progress already achieved. In order to carry out the study Bolsa Familia program, an initiative to combat poverty has been selected as the case. This case has been chosen for the further study as it is the major social program in the Social Protection System in Brazil. Moreover, Brazil has been selected as the country in concern for the study because Brazil by the end of the first decade of 21st century has emerged as one of the rapidly growing economies in the world. Moreover, Brazil has over the years engaged in conducting researches on poverty and inequality, thus there has been certain prominent changes witnessed by the country in the last decade that have drawn significant attention (Soares, Ribas and Osorio, â€Å"Evaluating the Impact of Brazil’s Bolsa Familia: Cash Transfer Programs in Comparative Perspective †). (ii) THES IS STATEMENT The local adoption of the Bolsa Familia program failed to promote the desired outcome. ... offers monthly transfer to poor families with children to extent of 15 years of age and/or pregnant woman as well as the program provides monthly transfer to extremely poor households irrespective of their composition. The Bolsa Familia program was launched on October 2003 by the government of President Lula da Silva under the Provisory Rule n.132 which was transformed in the law n. 10.836 in January 2004. The program is primarily a unified form of four major programs including Bolsa Escola, related with minimum income grant for primary education; Fome Zero and Bolsa Alimentacao, two major income subsidies associated with food security; and Vale Gas, a grant to help poor families buy cooking gas. The primary reason behind the implementation of the program was to achieve the objectives towards effectively combating hunger, poverty and inequalities through monetary transfer related with meeting the basic needs of household comprising health, education, food security and social aid. The program also aimed at promoting social inclusion for emancipation of the beneficiary household by assisting them to overcome vulnerable situations in which they are living (Soares, Ribas and Osorio, â€Å"Evaluating the Impact of Brazil’s Bolsa Familia: Cash Transfer Programmes in Comparative Perspective†). The program is implemented in a decentralized manner in almost all the Brazilian Municipalities. It implements unverified method of testing that is conducted at the municipal level to select its beneficiaries. The program is firmly directed towards poor and indigent families who have per-capita income R$ 60 (US$ 33) and R$120 (US$66) (Souza, â€Å"Poverty, Inequality and Social Policies In Brazil, 1995-2009†). Correspondingly, those households with per-capita income of R$ 60 (US$ 33)

Outline the Ways in Which Rubbish Can Be Said to Have Value in a Consumer Society Essay Example for Free

Outline the Ways in Which Rubbish Can Be Said to Have Value in a Consumer Society Essay Shopping is an important part of the modern consumer lifestyle. It is enjoyed as a social activity and is about identity and expression as much as the usefulness of the purchase. People define themselves not only by their jobs, but also by their possessions and the things they own. Rubbish is only considered rubbish because people disvalue it. People want it to be invisible; once the rubbish goes out for collection, it can be forgotten. However, consumer society does value rubbish as value is personal and is never fixed. It can change over time and become re-valued again whether economically or aesthetically or both. This essay will look at the ways in which rubbish is valued in a consumer society by outlining consumption and the increase in rubbish, Bauman’s theory of the seduced and the repressed; Environmental Economic value and Thompson’s Rubbish Theory. Rubbish per household has increased over the years. Between 1957- 2006, household rubbish had risen by 28%. (Brown, 2009, p.107) This could be attributed to a rise in affluence and the availability of credit, which enables more people to participate in consumer society. Disposable income increases the likelihood of people spending on luxury goods rather than just the essentials. Other possible factors are the increase in mass consumption during that period; shops offer lower prices and more choice. People also eat more; use more services; and buy more clothes and white goods. 9% of total expenditure was spent on services in 1957, compared to 25% in 2006 (which includes personal goods; household and leisure services) (Brown, 2009, p.110) and data collected by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) (Hetherington, 2009, p.23) shows that the average household spends more on recreation and culture (luxuries) than non-alcohol and food (essentials). Although the data cannot take every circumstance into account, it does suggest that as people became more affluent over the years, the amount of money spent on luxuries increased and with affluence and choice people tend to dispose of items more readily then they would have 50 years ago. Consumers can feel pressured to keep up with the latest trends. The constant changes in fashion and technology encourage people to upgrade their goods before the lifespan of the existing item has expired. It gives them a sense of worth in society, as it helps them to fit into a certain lifestyle. The data supports Bauman’s theory (Hetherington, 2009, p.26) that being a part of consumer society helps people to establish identity and self expression. It also reflects a lifestyle that others might aspire to. He calls these people the seduced, as they have the means and the desire to consume effectively and are therefore valued in society. In contrast, the repressed, who may not be able to consume as effectively due to a lack of income, age or disability for example; can feel excluded from the consumer society. However, these categories are interchangeable and people can move between the two categories. The result of consumption is waste, and increased consumption equals an increase in rubbish. It could be argued that the seduced, being the more active consumers, are more likely to create the most rubbish, due to their greater consumer habits. Regardless of this, eventually all of the items, food and appliances that we consume end up as rubbish and it needs to be dealt with. Despite rubbish generally being viewed as negative, some people view it positively. There are people whose business is rubbish and therefore, it is of value to them economically, such as, restoration and re-sale or a large company profiting from its disposal. Rubbish collecting can also be a resourceful hobby. A discarded item from a skip or the dump can be salvaged or restored and made into an item of value again, whether it’s use value, aesthetic value or both. Environmentalists also value rubbish by pursuing a greener lifestyle. Recently, the Government has put more emphasis on environmental issues and it has made people more aware of the impact they are having on the planet. Although reducing consumption would be the obvious answer; in the meantime, reuse recycling schemes and fortnightly rubbish collections have encouraged people to consider the value of rubbish and the environment. The UK is still a poor performer when compared with other European countries and although there is still a long way to go, recycling has increased. Information provided by Defra, 2007 (Brown, 2009, p.117) shows that the percentage of total rubbish recycled has steadily increased. In 1983/4 the rate of rubbish recycled was 1% compared to 31% in 2006/7. Although the total amount of rubbish also increased during earlier years, as of 2003/4, the amount of rubbish began to decrease as the rate of recycling increased. Due to the increase in environmental awareness, rubbish has become valued by people who want to contribute to a greener, more environmentally friendly lifestyle. Being environmentally friendly has also become about identity and image, and it has become a positive social attribute. However, it is not just environmental issues that give rubbish value. The downturn in the economy has prompted people to re-use and re-sell their unwanted items instead of throwing them away. Mobile phones can be recycled for money and various unwanted items can be sold on with the aid of local newspapers and internet auction sites. While one person is disposing of their rubbish for profit, someone else is gaining something that they value. In Thompsons Rubbish Theory (Brown, 2009, p.122) he explains how some items considered as rubbish can evolve and gain value again. He suggests that some items can move from the transient category (items produced for use) via rubbish (items that become of little or zero value) into the durable category (where value increases over time) and be valued again. When an object moves from transient to durable its value first drops before it begins to rise again. Thompson’s example of this would be Stevengraphs (Brown, 2009, p.124). Thomas Stevens made a profitable business by selling his silkworks in the 1800’s, but by the mid twentieth century, they had become almost valueless. Over time the items became collector’s pieces and their value began to rise. This example shows that value is not fixed; an item can lose or gain value over time. Thompson suggests that one of the reasons for this rise and fall is because of supply and demand (Brown, 2009, p.126). From a collectors perspective, buying a Stevengraph when the supply was plentiful compared to the demand, meant that it could be purchased relatively cheaply. As the supply diminished over the years, the remaining pieces became rare and therefore more valuable to the collectors. When the demand outweighs the supply, it results in an increase in price and value. To conclude, it can be said that rubbish has value in a consumer society. Although generally viewed negatively, it does have value to a number of different people. Rubbish is valuable to people who work in the waste industry and gain profit or wages from it. Environmentalists’ value rubbish as it helps them to contribute to an environmentally friendly lifestyle by reusing and recycling. And people suffering in the economic downturn have found a new way to value rubbish, by selling it on and buying items second hand in order to save money, which consequently, saves on waste. Finally, Thompson suggests that rubbish can be re-valued as items move from the transient category via rubbish, into the durable category where its value rises again.

Collection of Film Review Examples

Collection of Film Review Examples Shane Meadows is known to make movies about his own experiences. This is England is no exception. The idea for the movie came from the director s childhood, and it is the most personal film Shane Meadows has made so far, as he said himself. In an interview at the British Film Institutes Southbank theatre in April, Meadows talked about his upbringing. Yeah, every moment of joy in my life usually stunk of sadness. Every time I was just about to get somewhere someone stuck a dart up my arse. Thats how I remember growing up in Uttoxeter. When things were at their shittest, people seemed to be at their best and when things were at their best, people seemed to be at their worst The film starts with a sequence of clips, introducing the viewer to England in 1983. When watching the intro, I got the feeling I am about to see some kind of documentary, due to the footage being shown. The mise en scene is outstanding in this piece C to be perfectly honest, I was silly enough to believe it was actually shot in 1983 in the beginning, which makes me extremely embarrassed. The careful casting, costumes, sets and props makes it hard to believe the film was actually shot in 2006, which makes the story much more believable and easier to get into. The piece is put together extremely well and the soundtrack comprises of the hits from the eighties, which sets the mood perfectly. The main character is alone in the beginning C he doesnt really have friends, he is being bullied at school, he gets in a fight with a boy, who makes fun of his dead father. Although the movie talks about some really serious issues like gang culture and racism, lack of jobs and immigration, it still manages to make you smile, like the bit when Shaun comes back home to his mother and complains about his trousers. This way not only are you amused and it takes off the depressing mood in the movie, but it also feels more real, less movie-like. The movie is a typical coming-of-age sort of piece, where the main protagonist changes and matures as the story unfolds. His story basically starts when he crosses paths with skinheads and discovers belonging to a group makes things easier. They go out hunting together, and this comes from a real story of the director s childhood. The group he joins is relatively harmless C compared to what lies ahead. The good days don t last long C soon enough, Combo comes back from prison and steps up as the leader of the group. There is a feeling of tension building and although we see Shaun developing attachment to Combo, who is now like the father figure the boy never had, there is a strong feeling something will go seriously wrong. Soon everything goes from a group of youngsters, fooling around, to Shaun attending a National Front meeting. For me, a person, who isn t too political, this movie is also educating C seeing what life and politics were like in 1983. In the movie we see Shaun becoming a man in a very short period of time. A very important scene in This is England is when Shaun gets his cross tattoo. The director, Shane Meadows, has the exact same tattoo on the same finger. This marks Shaun, as a worthy member of the Skinheads, who agrees to stay in the group for the rest of his life. Although Shaun is now Combos protegee   and receives his undivided attention, we see that his relationship is starting to become dangerous and Combo is a bad influence on the young boy. Silly hunting games that Shaun used to play with the previous skinhead group turn into real acts of violence in Combo s. It must be noted that the performance by Stephen Graham, who plays Combo, is simply astonishing C when the group robs the shop, the intimidation and hatred he created were so real and believable, for one moment there I got into the action so much, I was scared for the shop owner s life, only to realize it s just an actor. In my opinion, Combo is just as important as Shaun, because the complexity of Combo s character is what drives the story. One second he is talking to Milky with respect and treating him like a brother, the other, he bursts out and beats him to death, which shows Shaun the real face of his beloved idol, when the latter unleashes his fury even upon his close friends. The piece ends with a reference to 400 blows , which is another coming-of-age film. The main character Shaun runs to the sea, which is considered to be a symbol of freedom and throws the England flag into the water, freeing himself and making clear that he is not coming back to the group. The last shot, exactly like in 400 blows , is him, looking up at the camera, making a connection with a viewer. After all, this is exactly what Shane Meadows intended to do in the first place. Pierrot Le Fou by Jean-Luc Godard Jean-Luc Godard Jean-Luc Godard always said that he doesn t really plan his movies too carefully, and he does not intentionally leave any secret messages in them. It is all up to the viewer, to make what he or she wants of it. After watching it I think Pierrot Le Fou is one of those films that you either hate or love and it is definitely not for everyone C the plot here can be confusing sometimes and the main characters hard to understand. Also, there are references to Vietnam War, which I didn t even notice and thought it was another random element of the main characters fooling around. The movie is about Ferdinand and Marianne, a complicated couple who decide to run away together. They find each other, two misfits, and realize they want to isolate themselves from the fake reality they live in. This is really well portrayed in the beginning of the movie. We see Ferdinand in a party, which looks a lot like a parody for TV commercials. The guests are talking about different products in such manner you would expect to find in a commercial. The effect of it all being fake and distant to Ferdinand is also strengthened with experimental lighting. I think one of the most brilliant scenes in the movie is at the same party, when Ferdinand meets a movie director and talks about cinema with him. This is obviously self-referential, but it was also brilliant to observe the misconnection between the two of them, because of the language barrier. The funny thing is, when Ferdinand asks the American director what is cinema, although the woman translates the sentence completely wrong, asking about his movie, not cinema in general, his answer, in my opinion, is exactly right. It is a battleground. It is love. Hate. Action. Violence and death. One word C emotions. This conversation, that might not leave a big impression on the others, left me in awe of the script-writing for Pierrot Le Fou . Another thing that I realized is the lighting changing, when he moves on from the TV-ad conversation to the American director. It goes from red, which is usually considered a colour of danger, alarm, awareness to green, which is soothing, nature-like. It is another way of the director showing that Ferdinand is very interested and comfortable talking about the arts. The colour scheme in Pierrot le Fou is very important; I would say that at some points the colours even tell the story better than the action. I noticed two leading colours, which represent the main characters C red and blue. Blue is Ferdinand s colour C he is often shot next to the blue sky, or the sea, he drives a blue car and even paints his face blue, before committing suicide. I think the blue also represents his character, quite calm, relaxed, and even cold sometimes. Red, on the other hand, is the complete opposite and it is the colour of Marianne C she drives a red car, wears red clothes, and is simply a vivid, energetic character. Another important colour in the film is yellow, which is represents jealousy and betrayal. Toward the end of the movie, we see the exchange of the colours C Ferdinand s head, wrapped in a red scarf, when being tortured; symbolizing the fact that it s all happening because of his relationship with Marianne. Also, the couple exchanging cars and Ferdinand starting to wear a bright red shirt. When Ferdinand and Marianne separate, after Marianne taking the briefcase with her, we notice yellow flowers in the background. When Ferdinand approaches the dock, where Marianne is leaving on a boat, with her new lover, on his way there, red and yellow are dominating in the background. Ferdinand reaches the dock, where a single yellow barrel is standing, as he watches the woman he loves running away with another man. The next shot of him is approaching a man sitting the ground, singing. We now see yellow taking over, as it is seen, as Ferdinand walks with his head down. When he is on the boat, in the front there is a big yellow box, as if it was telling us that jealousy is driving him to the island. Ferdinand is walking through a field and singing Do you love me at the same time as he passes yellow flowers. The yellow starts to dominate again, as he approaches and shoots Marianne. The climax of this is Ferdinand s suicide, when he is wearing the red shirt, painting his face blue, and wrapping himself with red and yellow dynamite, which represents Marianne s betrayal. Pierrot Le Fou is definitely now one of my favourite films of all time, and has so many different sides to it, that to decode the whole piece would take me an eternity, but I guess that is one of the reasons why I fell in love with it. Meshes of the Afternoon by Maya Deren Although I am not a big fan of surrealism, Maya Deren s film had much more meaning to me, than Dali s and Bunuel s work. Meshes of the Afternoon , in my opinion, was less random, more carefully set and the symbols carefully picked to convey a message. It s a movie about a woman s state of mind, her dream world and her reality mixing together in the end. This film, just like many surrealism films, is an experience C you cannot watch it like you would watch a drama or a comedy. You could call it brain exercise, if you wish. Throughout the film there are a lot of symbols and the randomness at first might seem pointless, but the production is made really carefully. The film starts with a flower, put in the middle of the road by a long female hand. We instantly realize this is not going to be an ordinary movie C both time and space are distorted C the hand comes from nowhere, and suddenly disappears. The flower, of course, symbolizes beauty, love and femininity. Soon after this we see a woman picking up the flower, which indicates it is a piece about her and her place, as a woman. The fact we do not see the main character s face, creates tension and curiosity about her intentions. As she tries to open the door, she loses the key and it falls all the way down the stairs. To me the key probably symbolizes answers, freedom and solutions. She enters the house and sees things scattered all over the place C newspapers, a knife and a telephone. Once again, I can only interpret it in my own way C a knife is an obvious danger, also a possible symbol of a phallus. A telephone is probably a representation of the main character s connection, in this case C with herself. When she goes upstairs, she sees a window open, which also can be interpreted as a symbol of freedom and escape. She notices a record player working, but not making any noise. I cannot really explain why, but to me the record player symbolizes her own life C it is playing, but there is no music, no purpose, so she turns it off. Maya Deren keeps jumping from one place to another C just like it would be in a dream. As we see the world through her eyes, she turns her head and finds herself in a whole different room. This is all done to disrupt any feeling of order and continuity. When she falls asleep, in her dreams, we see the cloaked figure for the first time. After seeing the whole movie I can only interpret it as the symbol of death, the Grim Reaper. This creature has a mirror for a face and it makes me wonder whether the main character is following it, because she is desperate to look at the mirror and see her true self. The cloaked figure is moving really slowly and the main character is running, but she cannot get even close to catching up with it. This represents her conflicted persona and the difficult state her mind is in. When she comes back to the house once again, the knife is now on the stairway, in her way, indicating that it is unavoidable that she uses it. After this we have a sequence of shots, which adds to the feeling of a dream C slow motion of her footsteps, tilted camera angles as she climbs up the stairs. Once again, the feeling of continuity is disrupted, as she enters the room through the window. The main character discovers the telephone and the knife on the bed, which creates a feeling of unavoidable danger. She goes back to the window and it seems like there is no gravity, a quite common dream that probably most of us have. The main character now looks down and sees herself sleeping in the armchair, with the record player by her side and turns it off again. The circle begins again, as she approaches the window and sees herself running. This creates a feeling of her being trapped in a vicious circle, with no chance to change it. She then opens her mouth and takes out the key, which to me symbolizes coming up with a solution to her suffering. The cloaked figure is now in the house and we get the feeling that death is coming for the main character. When the cloaked figure disappears, the main character finds the knife again, but this time she doesn t look scared at all C she looks like is now at peace with the fact she is about to die. The key appears in her mouth again and transforms into a knife, which clearly symbolizes that death in the answer. The three representations of the main character now gather around a table and play a bizarre surrealistic game, where they find out who will have to be the killer. The chosen one is now wearing strange glasses, which to me feels like a symbol of her, not seeing clearly. I found it quite fascinating, when the killer walks towards the sleeping woman and the surroundings change with each step C it starts out with a beach, then she steps on grass, then sidewalk and then finally C onto the carpet in the house. This, I think, represents the journey you have to make, when deciding to kill yourself. It is probably the hardest thing you could ever do and the steps represent exactly that. As the main character wakes up, the killer in the dream turns into her lover in reality, but we see the symbols from the dream around the room and the two start to mix together. The main character s lover is acting exactly like the cloaked figure and we realize the main character is blaming all her problems on him. As she breaks the mirror that appears to be her lover s face, we see the sea behind it, which is widely interpreted as a symbol of freedom. When her lover enters the house, we see the main character covered in mirror shards, dead. The mirror represents finally breaking free. All about my mother by Pedro Almodovar To Bette Davis, Gena Rowlands, Romy Schneider to all actresses who have played actresses, to all women who act, to all men who act and become women, to all the people who want to be mothers. To my mother. Dedication, All About My Mother, 1999 Pedro Almodovar is one of the most successful and well known Spanish directors of all time. He is famous for his movies, where he tries to explore the nature of being a woman. His movies, although quite complicated, almost always have a big international success and are being shown in cinemas all over the world. You could say this one is a chick-flick for the more intellectual woman. All about my mother is another film about women suffering, with many characters and different stories, intertwining and showing different sides of womanhood. It is also worth mentioning that almost all the cast is female in this piece. This particular film declares that to be a woman you do not have to be born one, so we get characters like Lola and Agrado, who are transvestites. Almodovar always liked complicated stories and although he tries to make it as real as possible, the lives of the characters sometimes seem so dark, it made me question whether there is actually too much drama involved. The film begins with mother and a son, Esteban and Manuela. I got the impression in the beginning that the story will revolve around Esteban, his wish to become a writer and the story he began to write about his mother. This illusion was soon shattered, when Esteban died after being hit by a car. The shot of him, lying on the ground for me was probably the most impressive shot in the film C the camera takes Esteban s POV and spins around, before falling to the ground. We see his mother approaching Esteban is slow motion, her coat red, the colour of blood and taking the camera, Esteban s head, into her palms. As she screams and lets go, the camera slowly moves back to the ground. This way of showing the tragedy that happened adds to the drama so much more than a normal two-shot ever would. Manuela, who works as a transplant coordinator, is the one who has to give the consent to donor her boy s heart this time. Searching for some kind of closure, she secretly follows the recipient after the operation. This crushes her completely and she decides to go to Barcelona, where she used to live with the boy s father, who is a mystery to the viewer so far. The focus from then on turns to the main character s relationships with other women she meets, her road to self-discovery and opening up once again. The different characters is what makes this movie interesting to watch. Although for the most part, it focuses on Manuela, we get a good glimpse at the lives of other women that surround her. This film, although so complicated and melodramatic, resembles real life as well C it makes us cry and laugh with the women who are in it. Manuela, who loses her son, discovers she can deal with her grief helping others C she becomes a personal assistant to actress Huma, who is going through an emotional crisis, rescues Agrado from an enraged client and helps pregnant nun Rosa through her pregnancy. Film references are very important in this piece as well C it begins with the mother and son watching All about Eve , which resembles the film s name and gives Esteban the idea how to call his work. Another significant film that is constantly brought up is A streetcar named desire . The main character, Manuela once played Stella in a drama group, when she was younger and this piece holds a special meaning to her, since she also met Esteban s father there, who played Kowalski. After so many years, due to the original actress not being able to perform, Manuela has to play Stella s part once again. This, for me, is a key point in the story, when the main character lets go and releases her pain. I found it interesting, because by acting, and pretending to be somebody else, she could finally be herself and cry out loud. The colour scheme in the movie is quite controversial and has been criticized numerous times for overshadowing the actual story. Just like in Pierrot Le Fou we see red, blue and yellow dominating, but the two movies are so different, it makes you wonder whether the colour scheme is appropriate in All about my mother . In my opinion, the colours are completely suitable and well thought out, because in a way they represent the colourful life and characters of the women in the film and by losing the colours the film would lose a bit of it s soul as well. Overall, I enjoyed watching All about my mother C Pedro Almodovar is one of the directors who really tries to understand women and what it s like to be one. I found the film really emotional and touching, Almodovar knows how to create a bond between a character and a viewer, so you end up really involved with the story and the destinies that these women have as well as getting to know individuals like Agrado and Lola who to some viewers might be a mystery and really hard to understand. The 400 Blows by Francois Truffaut The 400 Blows is a very important film, which started the French New Wave. It introduced another level of cinematic experience through cinematography, acting and much more naturalistic look and feel to the movie, which, for today s viewer, might be really hard to imagine. The camera in The 400 Blows moves around much more freely and more smoothly, and besides recording, starts to tell the story with it s movement as well. Different angles and camera positions are introduced. Antoine Doinel seems like an ordinary boy, who seems to get in trouble wherever he goes, his teacher constantly punishes him for the slightest mischief, his mother disregards him as simply being a waste of space and the beginning of his teenage years is proving to be a real hassle for young Antoine. He soon finds out his mother is having an affair, but we can see the boy is not bothered at all C he is much more concerned whether he ll get in trouble for skipping school. Later that day when his father comes back home and announces that the mother won t be joining them for dinner, it seems that Antoine is hoping that she will never come back, when he asks the father if she has left for good. This establishes the fact that the relationship between Antoine and his mother is less than perfect. For myself, it was hard to watch how the adults treat Antoine; it seems there is nobody at all, when it comes to adults, who understand him. He sleeps on his tiny bed, lonely, disposable, like the trash he has to take out every night. Although Antoine is disregarded as hopeless and simply ungifted he, as many children of his age, is simply starting to question the system and the fact he does not perform well in class certainly does not mean he is not capable. This film serves parents who find it hard to understand their children, because we get a glimpse of how hard it sometimes is to be a teenager C parents seem to forget it. It is much like a documentary in a sense that we observe Antoine, an ordinary boy and his transformation to a young man, as well as the work of camera being hand-held. For a short time in the movie, seems like the family has come back together and Antoine does not feel isolated anymore, but after failing yet another paper in class, he runs away once again and stays with his friend. I think one of the most important scenes in the film, since it represents French New Wave, is the scene where small children are watching Little Red Riding Hood . Their expressions, reactions to the play are so genuine and lack that over the top acting, that the viewers who sat in the cinema theatre, watching the movie in 1959 should have been fascinated. And they were, since the cinema was never the same again. The main actor s Jean-Pierre Leaud s performance in the scene where Antoine is being questioned by the psychologist once again brings me back to think of this film as a documentary C the acting is extremely believable and it is hard to tell yourself that it is a character, not a real person in front of you. The most famous scene of the film, of course, is the scene where Antoine runs away from the Juvenile Detention Centre. There are two extremely long tracking shots, that break the conventions of cinema and stay with the subject for much longer than usual, but this is exactly what fascinates the viewer. His run symbolizes his long and constant search for freedom, and his desperate wish to be acknowledged. His last look at the camera to me looked like he was thinking And what do I do now..? This last shot has been widely interpreted, but to me it feels like he has reached the sea, but he cannot escape from himself. When watching this film, I thought about how lucky I was to have a childhood, and that many kids grow up all too soon. My mother used to say that you can tell if a person was loved, when they were little. This all applies to Antoine C he grows up too soon, due to the time he lives in, his parents not caring enough, the educating system failing to acknowledge his efforts to study and him wanting to be noticed, even if it s for misbehaving. Even to this day, The 400 Blows is a remarkable film, which has and still is influencing many directors.

Memo Advising Outline of Marketing Communication Mix :: essays research papers

To: Managing Director of new airline company. From: Marketing Consultant Date: xxxx Subject: Advising on the promotional and advertising campaign outlining the marketing communication mix. People no longer buy shoes to keep their feet warm. They buy shoes because of the way shoes make them feel- masculine, feminine, different, young, and glamorous. Buying shoes has become an emotional experience. Business is now selling excitement rather than shoes. Since the airline company is targeting business persons and others requesting a very personalized treatment it should focus on selling an experience of complete â€Å"V.I.P† treatment in sophistication rather than a simple means of traveling comfortably. The Marketing Communication Mix Another one of the 4P's is 'promotion'. This includes all of the tools available to the marketer for 'marketing communication'. As with Neil H.Borden's marketing mix, marketing communications has its own 'promotions mix.' Think of it like a cake mix, the basic ingredients are always the same. However if you vary the amounts of one of the ingredients, the final outcome is different. It is the same with promotions. You can 'integrate' different aspects of the promotions mix to deliver a unique campaign. The elements of the promotions mix are: 1. Personal selling 2. Sales promotion 3. Public relations 4. Direct marketing 5. Advertising Let us look at the individual components of the promotions mix in more detail. Remember all of the elements are 'integrated' to form a specific communications campaign. 1. Personal Selling Personal Selling is an effective way to manage personal customer relationships. The sales person acts on behalf of the organization. They tend to be well trained in the approaches and techniques of personal selling. However sales people are very expensive and should only be used where there is a genuine return on investment. For example salesmen are often used to sell cars or home improvements where the margin is high. 2. Sales Promotion Sales promotion tends to be thought of as being all promotions apart from advertising, personal selling, and public relations. For example the BOGOF promotion, or Buy One Get One Free. Others include couponing, money-off promotions, competitions, free accessories (such as free blades with a new razor), introductory offers (such as buy digital TV and get free installation), and so on. Each sales promotion should be carefully costed and compared with the next best alternative. 3. Public Relations (PR) Public Relations is defined as 'the deliberate, planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain mutual understanding between an organization and its publics' (Institute of Public Relations). It is relatively cheap, but certainly not cheap.

Doubt: Catholic Church and Father Flynn

Decision making without concrete evidence can lead to faulty actions Leaders need to make decisions on the basis of substantiated evidence. Decisions made under other circumstances can cause the observer to doubt the legitimacy of the leader’s decision. In the play Doubt: A Parable, by John Patrick Shanley, Sister Aloysius’ mischievous mind is always looking for ways to over analyse the actions of Father Flynn. She is almost diabolical in her actions to have him removed from the school. Father Flynn, on the other hand, appears only interested in doing what is best for Donald Muller. Unfortunately, his well-intentioned actions make him vulnerable to the suspicious Sister Aloysius. Sister Aloysius’ certainty that innocent actions are harmful causes her to unfairly judge Father Flynn. Sister Aloysius unfairly judges Father Flynn's sermons and suspects his motives. At this point Sister Aloysius has only suspicions that Father Flynn could be in Doubt or knows someone that is. While speaking to Sister James, Sister Aloysius indicates her concerns about Father Flynn’s and indicates that by saying â€Å"Well, sermons come from somewhere, don't they? Is Father Flynn in Doubt, is he concerned that someone else is in Doubt? (Shanley 14). Sister Aloysius does not have any substantiated evidence of Father Flynn, as she only has her suspicions. One of her major character flaw is that she harbors a deep mistrust in her students, fellow sergman and society itself. So far, all she knew at that point was that Father Flynn grabbed a boy’s wrists, and that he was talking about Doubt in one of his sermons. Father Flynn said later on in the book that his sermons are not true stories because lies make for a better sermon. â€Å"I'm sorry, I'm not forthright, but I must be careful not to create something. I can only say I am confused, perhaps needless, about matters in St. Nicolas School,† Sister Aloysius remarks. (15) You can tell by this quote that she has some negative thoughts about the incident with Donald Muller, as she assumes that Father Flynn is having inappropriate behaviour toward Donald Muller. She is trying rephrasing it so it is less obvious of her concerns and assumptions. Sister Aloysius negatively judges Father Flynn's interest in promoting a closer relationship between the Church and the community because she feels it is an inappropriate way to interact with the students and community. But we’re not members of their family. We’re different†¦.. And they think were different. The working class people of this parish trust us to be different† (30) Sister Aloysius remarks. Sister Aloysius believes that because they are a Catholic school, they must stay true to their vows that the school believes in. She believes that the rules are in place f or a reason, and to be true to God, she must obey the oath that she took to become a Sister. Anything that challenges the operation of the school, and is out of line, she would not stand for. Therefore, she did not believe in the recommendation of changing the way things were already being run. The traditions of the Roman Catholic Church form the back bone of the rules and standards that Sister Aloysius is supporting. Father Flynn is a strong believer in the proposition that the Church should be more lenient and fun with the students, as it creates a better community of people. He makes a statement in the play that goes a little like this, â€Å"I think the message of the second Ecumenical Council was that the Church needs to take on a more familiar face. Reflect the local community. We should sing a song from the radio now and then. Take the kids out for ice cream. † (30) Father Flynn does not believe in following the rules of the Church to such a high extent that it is needed to emphasis every single rule. Unlike Sister Aloysius, he feels that having the school a more relaxed and fun environment results in creating a better learning strategy for the students. It also makes it a better environment for the teachers and student to be in because there is less stress. In result though, Sister Aloysius is against this proposition because she feels that she must abide by the rules and is more for the old school kind of method. Sister Aloysius unfairly doubts Father Flynn's explanation regarding the incident with Donald Muller because of her preconceived notions regarding his motives. â€Å"What happened in the rectory? † (32). Sister Aloysius questions. This quote states that she is clearly tired of dancing around the question, as at this point she has given up and just wants an explanation. She wants him to admit that he seduced the boy because she ‘knows’ that this is true due to her certainty. She does not believe his explanation that he was just talking to Donald in the rectory about keeping him on as an altar boy, even though he stole the wine. The needs for Father Flynn to tell her that she is right is important to her. This will put her at ease with the case and allow her to feel satisfied by her gain in authority and power. †There was alcohol on his breath when he returned from the meeting with you. † (33) Sister Aloysius remarks. She believes that Father Flynn is also guilty based on the fact that she assumes, he gave Donald Muller wine so he could seduce the boy. Believes that he did something to the boy, Sister Aloysius thinks that it is inappropriate and therefore, when he came back to class, he had his head on his desk and had alcohol on his breath. Sister James corroborates this remark by stating, â€Å"I did smell it on his breath† (33). This comment gives more certainty to Sister Aloysius and her beliefs. She does later on tell Sister Aloysius that she is going to bring Father Flynn down with or without Sister James’ help. This indicates how committed and certain she is to her stand on this critical issue. With the lack of supported evidence that Sister Aloysius has discovered concerning Father Flynn’s motives, it is unfair and unreasonable to be certain about her unquestionable justifications. She has closed her mind on all the other possibilities that could be, because of her singular mind set . If she doubts herself, she would feel unsteady and uncertain. Her hard-won knowledge would evaporate right before her and she would be vulnerable, a characteristic that she does not feel comfortable exploring†¦ just yet.

400m dash

It's the finals for the men's 400m dash. Justin steps up to the starting blocks, and realizes he is not in half the shape as his seven other competitors. Then he hears the official, "Runners to your marks ... get set ... GO!!" Justin surprisingly jumps out to a lead as he rounds the first 100m corner. He is in lane three, and he quickly passes lane's four and five, and now he is gaining on six. He knows his rival competitor is in lane one. But Justin can't see him in the corner of his eye, so he feels that maybe he has fallen back to pace with the pack. Coming down the third 100m's Justin realizes that he is getting tired. This is his place to make his move, but he just doesn't have it. Before he realizes what happened, lane five comes on strong with four just trailing. Justin is passed on the corner. Then coming down the last 100m stretch, he sees his rival in lane one burst out to a three length lead, and it is gaining. Justin crosses the finish line in fifth place. "That can't be the same man I faced at state last year," Justin says. "I mean, he was never that fast...our that big." This was only the first meet of the year. But it was a big one for Justin. He had been claimed as the fastest 400m runner in the state of California. And now he would just have to settle for fifth place. Justin went home and watched the tapes of the meet. He then noticed something even more embarrassing. Not only did he get fifth, but three of the top four runners were from the same team. Justin knew that something had to be up, but he wanted to be involved, instead of just watching them get bigger. He went to the gym where his competitors worked out. He saw his rival on the other side of the room, lifting weights with a good friend of his. His rivals name was Ryan Arnold, a junior from East Middleton High School in Las Angeles California. After Justin saw that they were finished working out. He went over to Bo, his friend, and aske...