I can do bad all by myself by Tyler Perry

Introduction In this essay I have chosen to review the drama I can do bad all by myself which was released on September 11, 2009. This paper seeks to present a multi-focal criticism of the film. To this end three modes of criticism shall be used namely descriptive, interpretive and evaluative. This film is popular among members of a certain section of society, particularly the African Americans as most of them can easily identify with the characters.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on I can do bad all by myself by Tyler Perry specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Descriptive criticism Plot The film written and directed by Tyler Perry revolves around events surrounding the lead character, April who is an alcoholic singer and works at a local night club. From the outset, it can be established that April is very selfish from the way she puts off a homeless man who tries to get some change from her. After introducing the ma in character, Tyler introduces us to Madea and her husband Joe who through a burglary get to meet three orphaned siblings, Jennifer, Byron and Manny who happen to be related to April and live with their grandmother. We later come to discover that the grandmother has been missing for four days. As the story unfolds, we are introduced to two other characters, Randy and Sandino. Randy is April’s married boyfriend who is very aggressive and arrogant. Sandino on the other hand is a gentle and loving immigrant who seeks shelter at April’s basement. The story changes pace to reveal that April’s mother passed away and that is why she has been missing. The three children are left under April’s care who wants to send them to an orphanage because Randy claims he does not want children. Towards the end, Randy tries to rape Jennifer and it takes the intervention of Sandino to stop him. This serves as a waking point for April who almost electrocutes Randy before kick ing him out of the house. Eventually she takes a liking to the children and gets married to Sandino with whom she has fallen in love. Characters The film stars Taraji Henson who plays April, Tyler Perry who plays both Madea and Joe, Adam Rodriguez who plays Sandino, Brian White who plays Randy, Marvin Winans who plays Pastor Brian and Gladys Knight who plays Wilma. Other characters are played by Hope Olaidà © Wilson (Jennifer), Kwesi Boakye (Manny), Frederick Siglar (Byron), Marva King (Helen Johnson), Christian Keyes (Sonny Johnson), Timon Kyle Durrett, (Ronald Johnson) and Elizabeth Malese Jow as Kelly. Music The soundtrack of the film comprises a number of songs notably I can do bad by Mary J. Blige and Rock Steady by Aretha Franklin. With the film featuring two musician characters, the Soundtrack is performed live in some instances and in other parts it provides the background as events happen in the foreground.Advertising Looking for essay on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Setting The film is set in a poor African American neighborhood in the United States and most of the events happen at April’s and Medea’s houses. The other locations are the church and the park where April and Sandino go to unwind. Interpretive Criticism The film is spun around both comic and tragic events to illustrate that human beings however bad they are can make complete turnarounds if given the chance. April starts out as a very mean and reckless individual who does not see anything wrong with having an affair with a married man. In the initial scenes, she also acts inhumanely towards her own family, refusing to have any association with her sister’s children, to the extent of wanting to send them to a home, just so that they don’t live with her. However, as events unfold, she is able to see the err of her ways and apart from accepting her nephews and niece as her responsibility, she vows to learn to take care of them to the best of her abilities. From Madea’s character, we are able to see that human beings generally mean well for each other and that women are able to understand the plight of children better than men. This is illustrated when she chooses to give food to the Jennifer and her siblings even though they had broken into her house. Her husband’s protests further serve to bring home the point that men are less concerned with the welfare of children when compared to their female counterparts. Evaluative criticism The film’s strengths are derived from the characters of Jennifer, Randy and to some extent Sandino. Hope Olaidà © Wilson outstandingly plays her role, by believably presenting the character of a teenager overburdened by the responsibility of taking care of her two siblings. She is able to bring out the emotion required for this character and as a viewer I found myself feeling sorry for. Brian White also manages to pu ll off the rough-neck bad boy character Randy. Though as a viewer I already knew that it was not going to end well for him, I was still eager to see how things will turn out. April manages to kick him out of her life in a dramatic fashion and a tense moment is created during the confrontation between the two in the bathroom. To some extent as the viewer, I found myself cheering April on but at the same time I did not want to see her kill the man. Things however unfold in a way that was difficult to predict and this contributes to the strong-points of the film.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on I can do bad all by myself by Tyler Perry specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The film is generally well presented even though it has a few weaknesses. First, it is not clear how April’s career as a musician plays to the overall theme of the film. Most of the performances that either her or other characters make in the duration of the film do not appear to have any relevance to the development of the plot and the fact that the performances have been given more than five minutes of the film show that the director just wanted use them to add mileage to the film. The way that the character, Sandino has been introduced is disappointing to say the least. The weakness mainly comes in when Pastor Brian decides to ask April to host him even though he admits that he barely recalls him. It is also difficult to believe that any lady will agree to host a man that she does not know just because he has been recommended by a religious figure. Conclusion Though I would not be particularly drawn to see this film a second time, I would definitely recommend it to someone who has not watched it. I however think the weaknesses of the film even out the strengths and this might contribute to it never being a classic. This essay on I can do bad all by myself by Tyler Perry was written and submitted by user Osvaldo S. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

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â€Å"A family is one's back bone; one cannot follow a straight path without them.† In every person’s life, there are certain people who are the most significant†¦ people who just seem to stick out more over a crowd. Many may not feel the same way, but in my point of view, family comes first. Who is there for me when the world turns its back? Who supports me and worries about my grades in school and about my future? Who is always there to provide unconditional love for me when no one else is around? Some people still might answer this question with â€Å"friends†, but in my case, I would have to disagree and say that family is the most important in my life. My parents are the only people in the world who will want me to achieve the highest. They are the only ones who encourage me to do my best and to not settle for less. They are also the only people who will tell me the truth about what is happening in my life and how to cope with it. No matter how long one has been friends with certain people, those friends will not want that person to excel much higher than them in everything they do. They will not necessarily let the person know what he/she should be doing at certain points of their life. Parents, on the other hand, will always provide the utmost truth availabl e to their child. I have been brought up to believe that I can achieve anything I put my heart into and that nobody can hold me back from my dreams. My parents have clearly taught me the difference between right and wrong, and good and bad, just like every other parent, but I apply it to my everyday life. Even though I do not have a 4.0 GPA or a 1450 on SAT scores, I still always work my hardest in everything. This does not only go for school, but in everyday situations, even if it as easy as deciding if I should make my bed in the morning or not, and this is all because of my parents. When I was a freshman in high school, I was invited to what was the so called â€Å"biggest ... Free Essays on Family Member Free Essays on Family Member â€Å"A family is one's back bone; one cannot follow a straight path without them.† In every person’s life, there are certain people who are the most significant†¦ people who just seem to stick out more over a crowd. Many may not feel the same way, but in my point of view, family comes first. Who is there for me when the world turns its back? Who supports me and worries about my grades in school and about my future? Who is always there to provide unconditional love for me when no one else is around? Some people still might answer this question with â€Å"friends†, but in my case, I would have to disagree and say that family is the most important in my life. My parents are the only people in the world who will want me to achieve the highest. They are the only ones who encourage me to do my best and to not settle for less. They are also the only people who will tell me the truth about what is happening in my life and how to cope with it. No matter how long one has been friends with certain people, those friends will not want that person to excel much higher than them in everything they do. They will not necessarily let the person know what he/she should be doing at certain points of their life. Parents, on the other hand, will always provide the utmost truth availabl e to their child. I have been brought up to believe that I can achieve anything I put my heart into and that nobody can hold me back from my dreams. My parents have clearly taught me the difference between right and wrong, and good and bad, just like every other parent, but I apply it to my everyday life. Even though I do not have a 4.0 GPA or a 1450 on SAT scores, I still always work my hardest in everything. This does not only go for school, but in everyday situations, even if it as easy as deciding if I should make my bed in the morning or not, and this is all because of my parents. When I was a freshman in high school, I was invited to what was the so called â€Å"biggest ...

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The Contingency Of Identity In Trainspotting Philosophy Essay

The Contingency Of Identity In Trainspotting Philosophy Essay The perimeters of someones body are often thought to signify the enclosure of a stable perception of the world. For example, mainstream Western society perceives corporeal limits as the impenetrable barrier between subjectivity and external forces. This model emphasizes the subject as regulator over what external forces influence their subjectivity, and in turn implies that the subject is autonomous in choosing or being her own identity. Philosophical projects such as the Enlightenment and the American dream expound on the Cartesian Isi assertion that anyone has the agency to construct an original, autonomous identity. These philosophies have helped bind Western ontology to a concept of mind over matter. However, 20th century thinkers have challenged this notion. 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Therefore, subjectivity has the capacity to transform and be transformed through engagement with the body. Toward this end, I will investigate the ever-fluctuating bodies and identities in Irvine Welshs multimedia text Trainspotting (Boyle, 1996; Welsh, 1996). The film and novel epitomize the permeable, fluctuating nature of subjectivity as conceived by Kristeva, and thus highlight the fact that selfhood depends on a transgression rather than an establishment of borders. Foucault and Doeile Bodies Michael Foucaults term body politics refers to the practices and policies through which powers of society regulate the human body, as well as the struggle over the degree of individual and social control of the body. Institutional power expressed in government and laws is the power at play in body politics (Body Politics). Foucault says that Western societys false ontology makes citizens think they have stable identities because of the governments regulation of the physical body through institutions and laws. In short, citizens perceive themselves as autonomous subjects because of the states emphasis on hygiene and cleanliness. Foucault says this ontology is the effect of political power, and that any selfhood a proper citizen assumes is an articulation of this power. Associate Professor Nick Mansfield, head of the cultural studies department at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, specializes in Foucaultian theory, and his book on subjectivity lends a nice segue as to how body politics and self-hood coincide: Our philosophies of science, our theories of the organization of society, our sense of morality, purpose and truth all partake of the same emphasis on the individual not only as a social quantity, but as the point where all meaning and value can be judged. This individuality is described as freedom, and we still direct our most serious political ambitions towards perfecting that freedom. It also operates as a duty, however. (60) Foucault focuses on the implicit sense of duty that is entailed with citizenship. He sees civic duty as the submission of ones body to forces of political power. Critically acclaimed Italian political philosopher Giorgio Agamben has stated that one of the most persistent features of Foucaults work is its decisive abandonment of the traditional approach to the problem of power, which is based on juridico-institutional models (the definition of sovereignty, the theory of the State), in favor of an unprejudiced analysis of the concrete ways in which power penetrates subjects very bodies and forms of life (5). Foucaults critical studies of social institutions reveal that institutional surveillance of the body-specifically in delineating what is the clean and proper body-designates citizens corporal existence as a docile state. Foucault supports this claim with his concept of processes of subjectivization, These processes under-thematize and universalize the body until it can be treated as inert or disordered; in other words, until physicality obtains a docile classification. Similarly, as cultural theorist Elizabeth Grosz argues, the body historically has been conceived of as a vehicle for the expression of an otherwise sealed and self-contained, incommunicable psyche. It is through the body that [people] _ .. can receive, code, and translate the inputs of the external world (9). Once I established how a favorable perception of the docility is impressed upon populations, I will discuss how Trainspotting characters refute this platform with their own counter-culture philosophies and behavior. The characters struggle with the implications of properness and duty that Foucault sees as essential to the function of a citizen. They are good examples of the insight that Julia Kristeva gleans from Foucaults work: a society and state that glorifies corporeal purity is thus dependent on sources of misery and degradation in order to have a standard to judge what is clean or unclean, appropriate or unfitting. But first, I will establish how body hygiene becomes such an important factor for citizens to view themselves as autonomous subjects. As mentioned, Foucault points to state institutions that enact processes of subjectivization. Processes of subjectivization refer to government programs that exemplify epidermal perimeters as impenetrable borders that contain the supposed autonomous nature of citizens These processes bring the individual to bind himself to his own identity and consciousness, and, at the same time, to an external power (Agamben 5). Mansield elucidates, in our fantasy of autonomous selfhood, we normally imagine our subjectivity to be identified with the uniqueness and separateness of our individual bodies. We draw an imaginary line around the perimeters of our bodies and define our subjectivity as the unique density of matter contained within that line. When we operate in society as voters, taxpayers, welfare recipients and consumers, our identity seems to be married to this autonomy: we front up for interviews, check ups and interrogations as the content of our bodies. (82) The tangible presence bodies provide people with is taken to be absolute and final validation of who they are. When someone appears for a doctors appointment or a cotut trial she ceases being a name on a paper and appears as herself These processes of subjectivization imply not only the notion that someones tangible borders give them a real identity, but also that that identity maintains its own agency. When analyzing state systems from Foucaults perspective, it becomes apparent that citizenship designates citizens as autonomous. Foucault insists that when institutions seek to control and know the subject, they manipulate the body, fixing it strictly in place, watching and measuring it; this in turn gives citizens the sense that they are anything but a carefully monitored, social denomination. But in reality, the state has a vested interest in its citizens health that is expressed by institutional programs emphasis on autonomy. Through subjectivization processes, an inherent notion of cleanliness is attached in the definition of citizen, and the upkeep of clean borders is expected to entail some sort of autonomy. In contrast, Foucault claims that institutions endorsing corporeal cleanliness ensures a specific type of docility in the citizenry. If citizens believe that they are the agents merely because of their hygiene, then the institutions have succeeded in transforming its citizens bodies into inert entities that can be prescribed or delineating in any way the state sees fit. The sense of autonomy is therefore revealed to preserve state power. Foucaults second example of subjectivization processes, that of policing strategies, explains this more explicitly. Foucault states that the laws of the penal system, which were once isolated in the form of a public event (e.g.: a criminal dismembered in the marketplace), have become instilled into normative ontology with the creation of prisons. Firstly, the prison does not simply incarcerate people arbitrarily. It depends on a system of proper proceedings that in turn must be justified by codes of law or legal precedent. When someone is convicted of a crime, she or he goes from being a person to being a phenomenon. As a type, the individual becomes subject to analysis according to scientific models. Questions begin to be asked, like, what personality traits make this person a criminal? What social conditions lead to his or her crime? Here, the individual is not free and autonomous, but the focal point of larger forces, analyzed by systems of knowledge in what they claim is impartial truth (Lyon 7). Foucault uses the prison model of liberal economist and social reformer Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) to help explain the casual yet compulsory paranoid lifestyle that is instilled in prisons and reflected in society. According to Foucault, the panopticon is typical of the processes of subjectivization that govern modern life. A panopticon is a circular prison with an empty area in the middle where a guard tower is placed. All of the prisoners cell face inward, and one guard can effectively keep survelliance over all the inmates at once. Furthermore, is an opaque sheet of one-way visible glass is installed in the guard tower, the guard herself would not have to necessarily be present to enact a monitoring system. Likewise, state power organizes the population into individual units that are then subject to monitoring in a system of maximum visibility through implicit accountability. This works most effectively in institutions where schools, hospitals, banks, and departments of social security and tax all keep files on us. People forget about these records, or accept them as a necessary and inevitable part of institutions operations (Lyon 8-9). However, these files are our effective social reality, and contain truths about us that can be manipulated outside of our control. These files and the truth they contain are not our property, and they enhance the state of docility imposed on citizens bodies. Foucault believes that power and the knowledge coincide to ensure the state maintains its docile influence, and in turn preserves its efficiency. Therefore, every institution operates according to its own theories of peoples subjectivity: the unruly adolescent, the remedial reader, the hysterical patient, the credit risk-these are all types of subjectivity that people may or may not occupy, sometimes without even knowing it. Every institution has classes of persons into which everyone who deals with them is distributed. The apparently simple and necessary logic of this categorisation-it is not a conspiracy to oppress us, our common sense says, how could these institutions operate otherwise?- already separates us from one another, isolating us, opening up and closing off opportunities, destining us for certain rewards and punishments. The system of truth on which each institution depends is always already a power at work on us. (Mansfield 62) Thus, individuality is not the highest expression of human life, but the thing social institutions need people to feel they are, so that people remain vulnerable to the truths the state has contrived for its own efficiency. As a result, the self constantly problematizes its place in the world and its relationship to others and to inherited codes of behavior. Therefore, the subject does not simply rely on some unknowable of pure natural subjectivity, but rather produces itself endlessly as a response to its relationship to other and to its cultural and historical context (Mansfield 63). Foucaults ideas encourage an earnestly skeptical attitude towards subjectivity, one that is embodied in Trainspottings main character, Mark Renton. Renton can be seen as anti- subjective because he sees any statement that claims to speak the truth about human subjectivity as an imposition, a technique of power and social administration. Renton voices his reservations: Society invents spurious convoluted logic tae absorb and change people whaes behaviour is outside its mainstream. Suppose that ah knew the pros and cons, know that ahm gaunnae hav a short life, am ay sotmd mind, etcetera, etcetera, but still want tae use smack? They wont let ya dae it. They wont let ye dae it, because its seen as a sign of thair ain failure. The fact is ye jist simply choose tae reject whit they huv tae offer. Choose us. Choose life. Choose mortgage payments; choose washing machines; choose cars; choose sitting on a couch watching mind-numbing and spirit-crushing game shows, stufting fuckin junk food intae yir mooth. Choose rotting away, pishing and shiteing yersel in a home, a total fuckin embarrassment tae the selfish, fucked-up brats yeve produced. Choose life. Well, ah choose no tae choose life. If the cunts cant handle that, its thair fuckin problem (Welsh 187-9). Renton, like Foucault, sees subjectivity as a mode of social organization and administration. For Renton, the state is inherently dependent on its citizens to cultivate a notion of sanctity regarding their lives. Upon this foundation of natural life, the State builds concepts of morality and truth that are articulations of power structures (Agamben 2). Therefore, Renton and his mates seek a subjectivity that does not privilege the sanctity of life. As actor and critic Lewis MacLeod puts it, Welshs characters are not at all interested in the rule of parasite politicians (Welsh 228). Instead they operate on a highly idiosyncratic cultural logic that frequently inverts conventional values (90). The characters experimental subjectivity prioritizes desire and addiction as the most important achievements in life, and the screenplays adaptation of the above quote l elucidates this point. ln the theatrical version, Renton explains: Choose rotting away, pishing and shiteing yersel in a home, a total fuckin embarrassment tae the selfish, fucked up brats that youve spawned to replace yourselves . But why would I want to do a thing like that? I chose not to choose life. I chose somethin else. And the reasons? There are no reasons. Who needs reasons when youve got heroin? Renton has lost faith in any type of subjectivity, and considers a life on heroin just as pointless as a life of gainful employment. From a Foucaultian perspective his reasoning can obtain some credence in that institutions will inevitably wrest all agency away from its citizens. It is interesting to note Welshs novels title describes a pointless exercise enacted within societys establishments. Renton can clearly see the absurdity of society and the meaninglessness of his life, yet his choice is ultimately self-defeating, for as the title of the book suggests, heroin addiction, like trainspotting grown men watching locomotives and noting their identification numbers -is effectively a pointless exercise (Bishop 221-22). Similarly, in Peter Corliss review of the cinematic adaptation of Trainspotting, Welsh and John Hodge explain the importance of the metaphor: Trainspotting, Welsh explains, is the compulsive collection of locomotive engine numbers from the British railway system. But you cant do anything with the numbers once youve collected them. Says Hodge, who culled the brilliant screenplay from Welshs anecdotal novel. Its a nice metaphor for doing something that gives your life a bit of structure but its ultimately pointless. So is the intravenous injection of drugs a palpable pleasure that wastes time, and often, life (85). In his PhD Doctorate entitled The Diminished Subject, Professor Geoffrey Bishop looks at the T rainspotting texts to see how the characters attempt to exercise a new type of subjectivity. Bishop writes, For Renton, heroin use is a determinedly philosophical decision to adopt a counter-discursive practice in order to retreat from a society that makes him an outsider, and threatens his attempts to simplify his existence (ZI9). As I shall show in the following analysis, through the selfish pleasure of drug use Renton attempts to avoid the docility that Foucault talks about In an interview with film critic Andrew OHagan, it is apparent that T rainspotting s director and screenwriter were not attempting to display Kristevas theories in their film. But, as I will discuss, the filmic adaptation of the novel lends itself very well to Kristevian philosophy. Kristeva, Posthumanist Practice, and Trainspotting Julia Kristeva argues that subjectivity depends on someones relation to outside forces. Kristevas ontology is based on a transgression, rather than an establishment, of borders. Likewise, the bodies in Trainsporting illustrate a significant alternative to traditional conceptions of the body as stable and self-contained. I propose that the film calls for a critical approach that attends to bodies as products and producers of posthuman discourses. Posthumanist practice questions the genealogy of moral norms rather than accepting and perpetuating them, and much of Kristevas theory is an enactment of posthuman discourse. In critical theory, the posthuman is a speculative being that represents or seeks to enact a re-writing of what is generally conceived of as human. Posthumanist criticism critically questions Renaissance humanism, which is a branch of humanist philosophy that claims human nature is a universal state from which the human being emerges, and it stresses that human nature is autonomous, rational, capable of free will, and unified in itself as the apex of existence. Thus, the posthuman recognizes imperfectability and disunity within him or herself Instead of a humanist perspective, a posthuman perception understands the world through context and heterogeneous perspectives while maintaining intellectual rigor and a dedication to objective observations of the world. Key to this posthuman practice is the ability to fluidly change perspectives and manifest oneself through different identities. The posthuman, for critical theorists of the subject, has an emergent ontology rather than a stable one; in other words, the posthuman is not a singular, defined individual, but rather one who can become or embody different identities and understand the world from multiple, heterogeneous perspectives (Haraway 3). In what follows, I discuss how body fluids in the film illustrate the instability of corporeal limits as conceived by Julia Kristeva and Judith Butler. Through the lens of these theorists, the characters in Trainspotting can become producers of posthurnan discourses. But tirst, I will briefly discuss the critical reception of the film, inasmuch as responses to it characterize the kind of moralizing judgment that so often I denies another perception like Kristevas. _ In 1996, Danny Boyles film adaptation of Irvine Welshs bestselling novel became the highest grossing British-made film in the United Kingdom in history (Callahan 39). Although other films have addressed the subject of heroin addiction most have done so from a stance of such moral disdain that the characters became little more than exaggerations of an addicted underclass that remains safely Other to mainstream film audiences. In contrast, Trainspotting, even though it portrays the desperation and horrors of drug addiction, the film never grants its audience the privilege of certain moral judgment. It invites audiences to engage with its characters in their own world as they struggle between the desperate need and the always- temporary satisfaction that characterizes life on heroin. The cinematic release of Trainspozling came right after a controversial trend in the fashion industry known as heroin chic, a trend that earned its name by popularizing images of thin, glassy-eyed models who were apparently strung-out in dirty bathrooms or cheap, dingy motels (Craik 19). President Clinton even raised the issue in a widely reported address to magazine editors, charging that the glorification of heroin is not creative Its destructive. Its not beautiful. It is ugly. And this is not about art. Its about life and death. And glorifying death is not good for any society (Clinton). Cultural critic Henry Giroux describes the images associated with heroin chic as nothing more than inspiration for a type of cultural slumming that produces attitudes and actions in which well-to-do yuppies aestheticize the pain and suffering of underprivileged youths (27). Some critics have made similar claims about Trainspotting. One reviewer, for example, said the film belongs to an unoriginal, voyeuristic genre that caters to an addiction to addiction- watching (Kauffmann 38). Other critics dismiss the film and other such films as mere slumfests for the bored upper classes, virtual petting zoos they can visit anytime they want to feel like theyre down with the kids (Callahan 39). Although the films graphic portrayal of self- depravation and misery is at times difficult to watch, other critics claim that the films uncritical, even sympathetic portrayal of junkies overtly glamorizes heroin use. Despite the fact that such arguments allude to possible real world dangers of drug culture and the celebration of its images, they remain anchored in a discourse of negativity. They designate the rhetorical critic to the psychoanalytic position of searching for a lack, whether it is of morals, health, or life. In other words, such arguments can only analyze the  ¬Ã‚ lm based on its failure to do something it presumably should do: adhere to moral norms. A moral argument based on whether Trainspotting does or does not glamorize heroin useand whether or not that is good or badneglects a compelling line of analysis: how the pervasive physicality of the  ¬Ã‚ lm functions rhetorically. The  ¬Ã‚ lmmakers are careful to illustrate both the pain and the pleasure of heroin use, but this evenhandedness seems less the depiction of a moral judgment than an investigation or even a meditation on the transgression of boundaries. Indeed, in an interview, director Damiy Boyle says that the  ¬Ã‚ lm is about being a transgressor Its about doing something that everybody says will kill youyou will kill yourself And the thing that nobody understands is, its not that you dont hear that message, its just that its irrelevant. The  ¬Ã‚ lm isnt about heroin. Its about an attitude, and thats why we wanted the  ¬Ã‚ lm to pulse, to pulse like you do in your twenties (Callahan 39). This pulsing, or this incessant transgressing that Boyle refers to provides a key metaphor for this discussion of corporeality in Trainspotting. A pulse is not characterized by stability or even an interplay between opposite forces. Rather, a pulse is a constant  ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡uctuation, what William Burroughs describes as an interdependent relationship between systolic and diastolic movement (Naked Lunch iii). It is in this sense that I conceive of transgression not as an eradication or a crossing of boundaries, but as a recon ¬Ã‚ guration that occurs through continual engagement and response. Bodies connecting and expanding within an economy of bodily  ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡uids enact the pulse of the  ¬Ã‚ lm. Bodily Refuse and Identity Julia Kristevas theoretical work on the concept of abj ection has done much to trouble a humanist conception of the discrete, autonomous individual. According to the Oxford Dictionary and Thesaurus, abjection means a state of misery or degradation. Kristeva develops this de ¬Ã‚ nition of the abject by arguing that the signi ¬Ã‚ cance of abj ection lies in its role as an operation through which we continually distinguish ourselves as individuals. She describes abject as a jettisoned object that is opposed to 1 and is radically excluded; the abject draws me toward the place where meaning collapses (Powers 1-2). For example, an image of the emaciated body of a person living with AIDS may evoke sympathy, or in, in some cases, fear, but it also ful ¬Ã‚ lls the role of the abject, infected Other that enables the healthy to feel clean, vital, and even morally superior. Similarly, the starving bodies of third-world countries serve as boundaries or limits that contribute to this countrys sense of nationhood. According to this logic, American identity depends on what America precisely is not (Debrix 1 158). Kristevas notion of a disorganized, abject body challenging the concept of order itself aids to an understanding of Trainspotting in which the characters experiment with a unique ontology based on the transgression of corporeal terms. Rather than quietly remaining outside of the mainstream at designated margins, the abject, as the heroin bodies exhibited in Trainspotting, breaks apart the sanctity and homogeneity of rational public space. Kristeva indicates that bodily boundaries are never  ¬Ã‚ nal and neither are the identities that depend on them. She argues that the self depends on the abject to constitute its border, to be that which lies outside, beyond the set (Powers 2). But she also notes that from its place of banishment, the abject does not cease challenging its master (Powers 2). In this sense, the abject Other never remains at the margins. The abject never remains stagnant, creating stable boundaries for the self. Kristeva thus introduces a dynamism into the concept of identity that depends on a subjects ability to recognize and reject the abject asit gets articulated and rearticulated through the selfs interaction with the Other. In other words, the Cartesian I becomes destabilized to the extent that the humanist emphasis on the mind/body split has been sufficiently troubled with regard to how we construct or acquire a sense of self. Foucault shows how someones perceived autonomy is often merely an extension of state power, and this is important when observing how the characters in Trainspotting both celebrate and struggle for the release of moral or hygienic ideologies that treat them as docile bodies. As Bishop has recently noted, Although Trainspotting was attacked for romanticising drug use, glamorising heroin chic, and over the validity of Welshs description of heroin addiction, such literalist readings not only failed to see past the subject matter, they ignored the possibility of political and philosophical content (219). Kristeva suggests an ontology that is grounded in relations to others rather than in the conscious mind, and when her theories are used in an analysis of Trainspotting they can certainly produce philosophical insight into the concept of subjectivity. Judith Butler links much of her work in Bodies that Matter to Kristevas consideration of the abject. Our self-identi ¬Ã‚ cation, Butler argues, operates within what she calls an exclusionary matrix that relates subjects and necessitates a simultaneous production of a domain of abject beings, those who are not yet subjects, but who form the constitutive outside to the domain of the subject (3 ). She agrees with Kristeva that the abject zone of uninhabitability that de ¬Ã‚ nes the boundaries of the subject will constitute that site of dreaded identi ¬Ã‚ cation against which and by virtue of whichthe domain of the subject will circumscribe its own claim to autonomy and to life (3). However, Butler builds upon Kristevas argument with a point that is essential for this discussion of the abject bodies in Trainspotting. According to Butler, the abjected through abj ection instead of inherently possessing autonomy. Therefore, Renton can be seen as existential explorer of subjectivity, and there are no guarantees in this novel, no happy endings, and no transcendence of the characters into holistic self-present subjects (Bishop 223). g Although Butlers introduction of permeability is helpful, I want to offer another important perspective before continuing. Butler posits a concept of subjectivity based on the repudiation of abj ection. As I have suggested and will explore further throughout this discussion, subjects in the  ¬Ã‚ lm do not and cannot sufficiently negate the abject. Rather, the abject is integral to pulsing-or, what William S. Burroughs might call a constant state of kicking-on which subjectivity depends (Junky xvi). Trainspotting s Alternative Subjectivity The cinematic adaptation of Trainspotting has some key scenes that should elucidate the ontological force of abjection. Depictions of body  ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡uids in the  ¬Ã‚ lm illustrate the  ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡uctuating, permeable corporeality that Butler describes. The  ¬Ã‚ lm seems to attack any trace of morality or cleanliness inherent in Foucaults analysis, as images abound of body  ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡uids contaminating spaces in the most inappropriate of manners. Film critic Andrew OHagan notes that for the young characters shi

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Jordan's offense proved less critical than his presence. (AP) more photos Wizards cruise in Jordan's return The Wizards didn't need an A game from Michael Jordan to win convincingly in his return. Jordan returned to the lineup earlier than expected, scoring seven points in 16 minutes of Washington's 107-75 rout of host Denver. Jordan received a loud ovation when he got off the bench late with 2:55 left in the first -- his first appearance as a reserve since April 5, 1986. He wore a protective sleeve, but didn't seem to favor his knee at all. Jordan's two baskets matched Shaquille O'Neal's output from the field in the Lakers' 108-90 loss at San Antonio. College Hoops Extravaganza Clark Kellogg Exclusive Analysis Tournament Tracker Live Audio and Stats Follow multiple games at the same time! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tournament Pick'em presented by TUMS Check your bracket More Coverage  · News | Headquarters  · Brackets | Scoreboard  · TSN Bracket Packet  · TheInsiders.com News  · Slideshow | Gallery  · Chat | Message Boards  · Championship Gear Top Stories Fantasy Sports - Chrysler Fantasy Golf - Baseball | More Baxter stripped of bronze medal - Olympics Woods looking for repeat at TPC - Golf Caminiti pleads guilty to cocaine charge - MLB Capriati, Seles join U.S. Fed Cup team - Tennis Jordan returns, Wizards win - NBA Girl hit by puck died from artery damage - NHL Kidd leads Nets past Trail Blazers 97-82 - NBA Duncan leads Spurs to rout of Lakers - NBA Bender fired as Washington coach - NCAA Men's Basketball Syracuse advances to NIT semifinals - NCAA Men's Basketball headlines updated at Thu Mar 21 09:18:55 2002 Broadcast & Chat Events Media NBA Highlights - Sports Talk Radio - View Slideshow - Photo Gallery - What's on Today - NCAA Wrestling Championships: Okla. St. - 11 am ET NCAA Men's Hoops: Indiana vs. Duke - 6:30 pm ET (national feed) NCAA Men's Hoops: Arizona vs. Oklahoma - 7:25 pm ET NASCAR: Raybestos Fast Talk with Benny Parsons - 7 pm ET (Real | Windows Media) more broadcast events... Expert Columns More Events - Figure Skating Features - Sports Community - Sports Buzz Index - Buy Tickets | Calendar - Transactions | Odds Daily Trivia - Sports Trivia Games - Quote of the Day Ladies first - Frank Deford, Sports Illustrated

Ancient China Summary Essay

Ancient China Essay By: Zach Ellwood Summary There were four great dynasties in Ancient China; the Han, Shang, Qin, and Zhou. Some of the Shang accomplishments were set up an empire, and started the â€Å"Mandate of Heaven. †The Zhou Dynasty set up a Feudal System and started the Great Wall. The Qin Dynasty extended the Great Wall and standardized coins, weights and measures. The Han Dynasty accomplished more things than the other dynasties, they invented paper, the seismograph, set up the Silk Road, started exams for civil service and finished the Great Wall.Thesis Statement; Although the other dynasties were great, the Han Dynasty was the greatest. Support Paragraph Although the other dynasties were great, the Han Dynasty was the greatest. The Han Dynasty was the greatest because they accomplished more things than the other dynasties, they invented paper, the seismograph, set up the Silk Road, started exams for civil service and finished the Great Wall. The Qin and Zhou Dyna sties failed to complete the Great Wall.The Han Dynasty’s philosophy was a mixture of Confucianism and Legalism making ruler Wu Di and Gau Zu really respected and powerful leaders. Ruler Qin Shi-Huang Di only used Legalism so he was more powerful than respected and Confucias only used Confucianism so he was more respected than powerful. The Han Dynasty also improved Chinese writing. The Shang Dynasty made a simpler not as good writing system called pictographs. Conclusion Paragraph There were four great dynasties in Ancient China; the Han, Shang, Qin, and Zhou.Some of the Shang accomplishments were set up an empire, and started the â€Å"Mandate of Heaven. †The Zhou Dynasty set up a Feudal System and started the Great Wall. The Qin Dynasty extended the Great Wall and standardized coins, weights and measures. The Han Dynasty accomplished more things than the other dynasties, they invented paper, the seismograph, set up the Silk Road, started exams for civil service and finished the Great Wall. That is why the Han Dynasty is the greatest.

Free Essays on The Roots Of Communist China

To say that the Chinese Communist revolution is a non-Western revolution is more than a clich‚. That revolution has been primarily directed, not like the French Revolution but against alien Western influences that approached the level of domination and drastically altered China's traditional relationship with the world. Hence the Chinese Communist attitude toward China's traditional past is selectively critical, but by no means totally hostile. The Chinese Communist revolution, and the foreign policy of the regime to which it has given rise, have several roots, each of which is embedded in the past more deeply than one would tend to expect of a movement seemingly so convulsive. The Chinese superiority complex institutionalized in their tributary system was justified by any standards less advanced or efficient than those of the modern West. China developed an elaborate and effective political system resting on a remarkable cultural unity, the latter in turn being due mainl y to the general acceptance of a common, although difficult, written language and a common set of ethical and social values, known as Confucianism. Traditional china had neither the knowledge nor the power that would have been necessary to cope with the superior science, technology, economic organization, and military force that expanding West brought to bear on it. The general sense of national weakness and humiliation was rendered still keener by a unique phenomenon, the modernization of Japan and its rise to great power status. Japan's success threw China's failure into sharp remission. The Japanese performance contributed to the discrediting and collapse of China's imperial system, but it did little to make things easier for the subsequent successor. The Republic was never able to achieve territorial and national unity in the face of bad communications and the widespread diffusion of modern arms throughout the country. Lacking internal authority, it did... Free Essays on The Roots Of Communist China Free Essays on The Roots Of Communist China To say that the Chinese Communist revolution is a non-Western revolution is more than a clich‚. That revolution has been primarily directed, not like the French Revolution but against alien Western influences that approached the level of domination and drastically altered China's traditional relationship with the world. Hence the Chinese Communist attitude toward China's traditional past is selectively critical, but by no means totally hostile. The Chinese Communist revolution, and the foreign policy of the regime to which it has given rise, have several roots, each of which is embedded in the past more deeply than one would tend to expect of a movement seemingly so convulsive. The Chinese superiority complex institutionalized in their tributary system was justified by any standards less advanced or efficient than those of the modern West. China developed an elaborate and effective political system resting on a remarkable cultural unity, the latter in turn being due mainl y to the general acceptance of a common, although difficult, written language and a common set of ethical and social values, known as Confucianism. Traditional china had neither the knowledge nor the power that would have been necessary to cope with the superior science, technology, economic organization, and military force that expanding West brought to bear on it. The general sense of national weakness and humiliation was rendered still keener by a unique phenomenon, the modernization of Japan and its rise to great power status. Japan's success threw China's failure into sharp remission. The Japanese performance contributed to the discrediting and collapse of China's imperial system, but it did little to make things easier for the subsequent successor. The Republic was never able to achieve territorial and national unity in the face of bad communications and the widespread diffusion of modern arms throughout the country. Lacking internal authority, it did...

Creating a Spinning Steel Wool Sparkler

Creating a Spinning Steel Wool Sparkler Steel wool, like all metals, burns when enough energy is supplied. Its a simple oxidation reaction, like rust formation, except faster.  This is the basis for the thermite reaction, but its even easier to burn a metal when it has a lot of surface area. Heres a fun fire science project where you  spin burning steel wool to create a fantastic sparkler effect. Its simple  and makes an ideal subject for science photographs. Spinning Steel Wool Sparkler Materials You can get these materials at just about any store. If you have a choice of steel wool pads, go for ones with thin fibers, since these burn the best. a pad of steel woolwire whiskheavy string or a light rope9-volt battery What You Do Gently pull apart the steel wool a bit to increase the space between the fibers. This allows more air to circulate, improving the effect.Put the steel wool inside the wire whisk.Attach a string to the end of the whisk.Wait until dusk or dark and find a clear, fire-safe area. When you are ready, touch both terminals of the 9-volt battery to the steel wool. The electrical short will ignite the wool. It will smolder and glow, not burst into flame, so dont be too concerned.Clear the area around you, hold the rope, and start spinning it. The faster you spin it, the more air youll get to feed the combustion reaction.To stop the sparkler, stop spinning the rope. You can dunk the whisk in a bucket of water to make sure its completely extinguished and to cool the metal. Taking a Great Spinning Steel Wool Photograph The effect can be used to produce truly amazing images. For a quick and simple picture, just use your cell phone. Turn off the flash and set the exposure for a few seconds or longer, if that is an option. For a serious photograph you can proudly display on your wall: Use a tripod.Choose a low ISO like 100 or 200, since there is a lot of light.Select an exposure time from a few seconds up to 30 seconds.For really cool effects, work on a reflective surface, like water, or spin the steel wool inside a tunnel or arch. If the area is enclosed, the sparks will outline it in your photo. Safety Its fire, so this is an adult-only project. Perform the project on a beach or in a parking lot or some other place free from flammable material. Its a good idea to wear a hat to protect your hair from stray sparks and glasses to protect your eyes. Need more excitement? Try breathing fire!

SEMCO Industries Analysis Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

SEMCO Industries Analysis - Case Study Example From this research it is clear that At SEMCO Semler has embraced three extremely valuable fundamental principles that help it develop. From the article, we learn that Semler took over the company from his father; it had just one hundred thoroughly under-depressed employees. The author clearly states that were it not for hard work and considerable luck, the company could have gone under then. The country was in a particularly unpleasant state of economic inflation, and Semler had to work for loans that had an exceptionally high interest rate from banks. Organizations should avoid all possible instances that may suppress their progress; this is because SEMCO’s performance dropped as a result of poor management skills. Several articles published by newspapers state that the company was going under. Semler did not give in but rather looked at a different approach for a better output. He got licenses to manufacture other companies’ goods, and he decided to take a different a pproach in running the company. The main problem he noticed was that most of the employees felt left out and unmotivated. The employees were unmotivated for the lack of family ties with the company. His job was to make them feel part of the whole company and give them a sense of belonging, so he came up with an employee-centered work design. Managers should have the ability for abrupt decision making. He merged this with his belief that one’s job should bring about pleasure and not rebellion and stress. He introduced three alternative values that fueled the hard work and courteous luck. The goal of these values was to make the employees give better services, and improve their determination while still having fun in the company and their jobs. They were: democracy, free flow of information and equal profit sharing. Omitting one of these principles will deter the intended interpretation. These are the three principles that the company has embraced over the twenty two years he h as been in charge. Many companies prefer using formal authority in organization and management, Semler discards the principles of setting up certain rules to guide the workers under the supervision as cumbersome, frustrating and having no drive at all. He claims that in management, the employees do not care about the company’s growth or profits. They just come to work and get their salaries and promotions; communication, though available, is not effective at all. There is fear of victimization; hence, some highly critical problems fail to be addressed, and this prevents the output quality of the company (Morgan, 2007, p. 26). In big companies, the workers feel insignificant and unappreciated in the participatory form of management. This is observed because of the presence of managers who downgrade other workers. Semler, therefore, decided that the positions of leadership in his company had to be dissolved. He came up with executive positions just to hold up the hierarchy, but all workers had a freedom to do whatever they wanted, he practiced informal authority. The workers get to do the work which suits them best

The Tesco Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Tesco Management - Essay Example â€Å"Tesco started life in 1919 when Jack Cohen started selling surplus groceries from a stall in the East End of London. Mr. Cohen recorded a profit of  £1 from total sales of  £4 on his first day.† The brand Tesco first appeared in the year 1924 when Jack Cohen supposedly bought a tea shipment from Mr. T. E Stockwell. The year 1929 marked the opening of a store in North London and the company rapidly developed from there on. The head quarters of the company was first established in North London in the 1930s. In the year 1932 the company became a private limited company, another feather in the cap of Tesco.Expansion of the CompanyThe expansion of the company traces back to the year 1950 when the company quickly bought rival shops so as to expand and compete with other Giants. In another endeavor to do so, the company bought as many as 70 William stores and an unprecedented 200 Harrow stores. 1960s saw a revolution in the supermarket trend, the stores started selling more products in larger shops and Tesco was quick to capitalize on the very same opportunity. In the year 1961, the Guinness book of records acknowledged that Tesco was the largest store in the whole of Europe and more growth followed as the company opened another Superstore in Sussex. â€Å"Supermarkets once and for all changed the way people shopped and by the 1970s Tesco was building a national store network to cover the whole of the UK, which it continues to expand to this day, while also making other products available to its customers.†Ã¢â‚¬  (A History of Tesco) The company recorded annual sale of ?1bn in the year 1979 and the sales doubled by the year 1982. The year 1987 was historical for the company as the company completed a successful takeover of their supermarket rivals Hillards for a whopping ?220m. The term superstore was an alien term but Tesco was the first company to introduce this term, the term referred to two aspects of the company, namely the size of their store and secondly the vast choice of inexpensive food and other items to choose from. The appearance of the stores mattered a lot and in order to ensure that the stores looked great, the company spent massive amount in order to put some daylight between their competitors. The company also took into account the parking space for the customers and ensured that their customers were provided with enough space and a wide range of products to choose from. The company was the first to install enhanced lightning and also widened its aisles. The company extensively worked on providing its customers with fresh food items to choose from. The company stopped depending on the manufacturers by opening a centralized warehouse to cater to the demands of its various stores spread across the whole of Europe. The company teamed up with Marks & Spencer to establish stores in all major cities, in an attempt to do so the company established a 65,000 square foot superstore which