Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Blood Diamond - Film Essay Example for Free

Blood Diamond Film Essay I agree with this view because key ideas are an important part of a film to make it more interesting for the audience. In the film Blood Diamond directed by Edward Zwick some of the key ideas are: What is valuable and important, the devastation of war and exploitation of people and resources. These key ideas in the film help viewers to understand the film better. The key idea of what is valuable is an important one in the film. The three main characters Maddy, Danny and Solomon all have something different that is valuable to them. Maddy is a journalist who travels around the world in search of a good story. She ends up in Sierra Leone to get a story about what is going on with the civil war over the diamonds but when she gets there she finds it hard to get any information about the diamond smuggling so she focuses on the welfare of the country and the people. In the film Maddy is shown to value the welfare of the Sierra Leone people. This is shown when Maddy is writing a story on her laptop and then Danny walks in. Maddy lets Danny know how important the welfare of the country is to her when she says, â€Å"Its not going to be enough to make it stop. People back home wouldn’t buy rings if they knew it cost someone else their hands. † Writing her stories does not have a big effect on the people in the western world they are too selfish to help the country out in their time of civil war. Another text I read is A Long Way Gone written by Ishmael Beah in that text the main character of the non-fiction text is Ishmael who is in the civil war in Sierra Leone at the same time as Maddy. He is a forced child soldier and he values his freedom. Another key idea in Blood Diamond is the devastation of war. The film shows how war is devastating because many lives are lost and most of the lives lost are civilians who arent involved in the war at all. An example of the devastation of war is when the rebels burst into Solomon’s village and kill nearly everyone while on their violent shooting rampage. The rebels don’t care who they shoot or how many they shoot which is devastating. Another example is the way the rebels force children to become soldiers. They steal the children away from their families and make them shoot people. They make them say the chant â€Å"shed their blood† which is forcing the children to kill. There is devastation when the rebels burst into the city and and start blowing it up and catching it on fire and shooting people in the street who have no defense against the rampage. The army try to fight back but they are outnumbered and have no chance against the Rebels. Everyone is scared of the rebels and the survivors go into hiding. A camera shot is used to show how scared the civilians are and how powerful the Rebels are is when Danny looks through a the hole in the fence and the camera shows what the scene is outside the fence through the hole from Danny’s point of view. The scene on the other side of the fence is of some army guys getting shot at by Rebels. â€Å"People back home wouldn’t buy rings if they knew it cost someone else their hands. † Maddy This shows the devastation of war. My final key idea is the exploitation of people and resources. The film shows us that children were exploited to become soldiers by the rebels. There are scenes in the film showing the Rebels bursting into villages and snatching children from their families and taken to the rebel camps. In the text A Long Way Gone children are also expiated to be soldiers for the Rebels. Ishmael was found by the Rebels and taken to a camp and forced to be a soldier or he would lose his own life. These are examples of how people were exploited in texts during the civil war in Sierra Leone in the 1990’s. Also during this war some resources were exploited one of them was diamonds. Diamonds are mined by unpaid workers who are forced to work with no benefits then they are illegally taken across the border to tother countries who then sell the exploited diamonds, one country they do this in is Liberia. Danny is a good example of taking the diamonds across the border when he stashes some under a goats skin and makes up a story to tell the authorities but it doesn’t work. With all the corruption going on in the country Solomon says, â€Å"perhaps we were better off when the white man was ruling us. This shows that since they have become republic the country has become corrupt and Solomon thinks that if they were ruled by the commonwealth they would be better off and not have war. Blood Diamond explores the key ideas of: What is valuable and important which is the welfare of the Sierra Leone people, devastation of war which is when the RUF kill innocent citizens. And the exploitatio n of people and resources which is when the RUF force children to become soldiers. Exploration of these issues certainly contributes to making this one of the best films.

Tuesday, January 21, 2020

How does J.B Priestley use dramatic devices in An Inspector Calls? Essa

Coursework How does J.B Priestley use dramatic devices in An Inspector Calls to convey his concerns and ideas to the members of the audience as well as interest and involve them in his play? 23rd, February 2005 The main theme of â€Å"An Inspector Calls† is responsibility. J.B Priestley wants to show the Birlings’ and the audience that we all share responsibility for other people’s welfare, and that wealthy people have obligations to look after those less fortunate than themselves. Priestley uses Inspector Goole to put across his views on society by portraying himself as a character. Through Inspector Goole Priestley is able to emphasize that with privileges come responsibilities to help others. In the 1930’s Priestley’s main concern was the social inequality in Britain. Priestly set up The Commonwealth Party in 1942. Their main arguments were public land ownership, greater democracy, and a new "morality" in politics. In 1945 Priestley’s party joined the labour party. Priestley was particularly influential in developing the idea of the Welfare State, this finally took place at the end of World War Two. The play is set in 1912 but was written and performed in 1945. This is significant as it allows J.B Priestley to make Mr. Birling seem even more ridiculous and naà ¯ve. For example, he mentions how there is not going to be a war, however by 1945 when the play was first performed the audience know that there were two wars between 1914 and 1945, World War One and World War Two, which began in 1939. Mr. Birling also mentions how the ship Titanic will not sink, ‘unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable’. Again in 1945 the audience know that Titanic did sink, consequently the things that Mr. Birling says, the audienc... ...stley is also conveying his ideas here. The audience would realise that everyone is responsible for each other. Priestley interests and involves the audience by having a lot of tension in the play â€Å"An Inspector Calls†. Priestley also interests them by having an exciting plot and a wide range of characters. He involves the audience by using dramatic irony very early on in the play and using characters to put across his concerns, such as the inspector in his speech tells the Birling’s "each of you helped to kill her." This is not only aimed at the characters on stage but at the audience too. Priestley’s message in â€Å"An Inspector Calls† is responsibility and how everyone is responsible for other people, we are all linked in society. This message is still relevant today because we still have responsibilities for other people and our actions do affect others.

Monday, January 13, 2020

Employment Law Brief

Employment Law Brief The Clapton Commercial Construction Company located in Detroit, Michigan, is planning to expand its business into the state of Arizona. It is a medium-sized company with 650 employees and possibly increasing an additional 20% in the new state. Prior to the move, the human resources (HR) department must be aware of applicable employment laws that may affect the business.Outlined below are brief summaries and consequences for noncompliance of the following employment laws: Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA), he American with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), and the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended (FLSA). Relevant Employment Laws Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is the first employment law to consider. It prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in aspects of employment such as hiring, wages, assignment, promotions, benefits, and discipline. Titl e VII is the most important federal Equal Employment Opportunity law because it contains the broadest coverage, prohibitions, and remedies† (Cascio, 2013, p. 83). Under the law, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) exists o implement laws dealing with employment discrimination. According to Cascio (2013), the law was expanded in 1972 to cover almost all public and private employers with 1 5 or more employees; except private clubs, religious organizations, and Indian reservations. The EEOC has the authority to conduct investigations, create resolution programs, and file lawsuits.Failure to comply with Title VII exposes the employer to both civil and criminal lawsuits with possible outcomes of fines, compensatory and punitive damages, or even imprisonment. The company may also have to reinstate or promote the affected employee. In 1991, the Act amended several statues enforced by the EEOC. Parties were able to obtain Jury trials and recover compensatory and punitiv e damages with cases involving intentional discrimination. The Act also placed monetary caps for future cases based on size of the company.Another provision was enforcement of those American controlled companies abroad. The next employment law to consider is the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. This law applies to employers regardless of size and every employee regardless of status: full-time, part time, or seasonal. The IRCA prohibits employers rom hiring or continuing to employ personnel which are not legally authorized to work in the United States. The Clapton Commercial Construction Company is expanding business to Arizona with the intent of increasing the number of employees by 20%.The company must consider the demographics of that area with regard to potential employees and take measures to ensure an employee has documents to work legally in the United States, such as a passport or resident alien card. Other examples are located on the Employment Eligibility Verific ation 1-9 form that potential employees are required to complete. Penalties for noncompliance may esult in fines for each violation and denial of federal contracts. According to the Department of Homeland Security (2013), in fiscal year 2010, Immigration and Customs Enforcement removed more than 392,000 illegal workers nationwide.The American with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) is another law to consider. â€Å"Almost 13% of people ages 21 to 64 in the United States have at least one disability, a percentage that more than doubles to 30. 2% for people ages 65 to 74† (Cascio, 2013, p. 89). The ADA prohibits an employer from discriminating against a qualified person with a disability. A qualified person is someone who can perform the essential unctions of a Job with or without accommodation. The physical or mental impairment that limits one or more major life activities is called a disability, such as seeing, walking, hearing, or talking.The ADA expanded protection of drug and alcohol rehabilitation and those individuals who have tested positive for HIWAIDS. The ADA applies to private employers with 15 or more employees, state and local governments, employment agencies, and labor unions. The Clapton Commercial Construction Company is not required to lower work standards or tolerate misconduct on the Job; however, reasonable accommodations must be made to assist ualified Job applicants. For example, the company can purchase a computer screen magnifying glass for the vision impaired. The EEOC enforces the provisions outlined in the ADA.

Sunday, January 5, 2020

Social Anxiety Torture on the Inside Essays - 1817 Words

Social anxiety exists as a mental disorder that affects fifteen million adults and about eighteen percent of the American population. Social anxiety is a scary disorder that makes simple tasks seem like life threatening feats. This disease has many symptoms that disrupt ones daily life, making life hard, and even harder for them to live a normally. Medications and therapy go hand in hand with social anxiety and sometimes help tremendously with symptoms. The way society views social anxiety and mental disorders is a shameful stigma and we, as a country should not feel like that towards any human being. Social anxiety is not a joke people endure this real disorder every single day, even though it can prohibit one from living their ideal†¦show more content†¦Even so, some parents and teachers are shocked that social anxiety is the most prevalent mental disorder and children and teens. One ten explains his anxiety feeling as â€Å"in my stomach I feel like I have nervousness tr apped inside that cant get out. In my throat I feel nauseous. My heart beats really fast and I sometimes get pins and needles in my arms.† (Social Anxiety Support). No one knows for sure what causes social anxiety. Some scientists and neurologists say that a chemical imbalance in the brain is what causes social anxieties and phobias (Social Anxiety Phobia). Other scientists say that if the amygdala, a small almond shape part of the brain is more active, then someone could be more prone to social anxiety. Some other people have concurred that their social anxiety or phobia has stemmed from their childhood or any traumatic experience. It is very common that people without anxiety do not fully comprehend the feeling of being anxious, so they deem that medications and therapies are not necessary, while one with diagnosed anxiety would say otherwise, and that medications and therapies are vey helpful. Of course humans have a certain amount of anxiety that is normal and that is tolerable, but other people find this amount of anxiety to be way more stressful. Also, socialShow MoreRelatedShyness is a sentiment to feel awkward and tensed during social encounter especially in meeting1000 Words   |  4 PagesShyness is a sentiment to feel awkward and tensed during social encounter especially in meeting with unfamiliar person. A feeling of apprehension and nervousness causes a person to confront face scanning and so he shy to make eye contact with others. It is a type of social phobia and is referred as social anxiety. 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