Artistic response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Artistic response - Essay Example Most people argue that the most important thing it to finish school. However, focusing on the work of George Wood, he shares the view that the quality of an educational experience is very important. Furthermore, he also emphasizes on the significance interactive along with social learning processes. In other words, the book Time to Learn: How to Create High Schools that Serve all People by George Wood puts emphasis on the mode of learning. In the 1900, high school was inclined towards vocational preparation in contrast to a commitment to a civic mission. The school puts emphasis on memorization as well recitation feeding the students with a steady supply of lecture and drill. The high schools also focused on setting high standards and high test scores as measure of education. To that effect, Wood argues that improving a learning institution does not only involve having to raise the test core, but also entails coming up with a school where authentic learning as well as teaching happens. Wood coordinated an effort by the faculty, parents, and staff to transform a school that was struggling into a symbol of educational that was recognized nationally. Considering that most high schools’ curriculum and teaching practices are not modeled to the individual needs of the students, the students often do not acquire the required skills and knowledge. Failed high school grades mean that the country’s labor sector would be affected negatively since the students would not have required skills in the job market. Consequently, change is required in order to enhance student and overall school performance by altering the daily student experience to ensure that the students are linked to the social and academic agenda of the school. In that perspective, the book is more than a story of one school. Wood makes use of the Federal Hocking High School’s change as a case study for the comprehension of the ways of high-quality high school

Investment Account Essay Example for Free

Investment Account Essay What is the meaning of Al-Awfar? Al-Awfar means â€Å"prosperous investment†. 3. What is the difference between Al-Awfar Savings Account and Investment Account-i and the normal Bank Islam Savings Account-i and General Investment Account-i (GIA)? Al-Awfar Savings and Investment Account-i is a rewarding account that offers a host of additional features, which include expected Mudharabah returns on savings and investments (if any). This is in addition to the opportunity to receive cash prizes from the bank through a quarterly prize draw. 4. Is Al-Awfar Saving and Investment Account-i a form of gambling? NO. Al-Awfar Savings and Investment Account-i is free from any elements of gambling. 5. Is Al-Awfar Savings and Investment Account-i Shariah-compliant? YES. The Shariah Supervisory Council of Bank Islam approved this product in its 102nd meeting dated 7th April 2008 (30 Rabiulawal 1429H). 6. Are prize draws allowed according to the Shariah Law? YES. Prize draws are permitted if there is no elements of riba (usury), gharar (uncertainty) and maysir (gambling). 7. What is the basis on the permissibility of draw in Islam? 1. Al-Quran, in Surah Ali ‘Imran verse 44 This is a part of the news of the Ghaib (unseen, i. e. the news of the past nations of which you have no knowledge) which We inspire you with (O Muhammad ). You were not with them, when they cast lots with their pens as to which of them should be charged with the care of Maryam (Mary); nor were you with them when they disputed. . Is the draw performed in a manner that is transparent to the public? YES. There is an external independent draw committee who will observe the draw process. 9. What is the difference between Al-Awfar Savings and Investment Account-I and other competitors’ product? Al-Awfar Saving and Investment Account-i is the first product of its kind introduced by an Islamic bank, which meets all Shariah requirements. 10. Where does Bank Islam invest the funds deposited by customers? Bank Islam invests the fund in Shariah-compliant investments pproved by the bank’s Shariah Supervisory Council. 11. Can the cash prizes received be used for Ibadah purposes, e. g. performing the Hajj and Umrah or given away as Zakat and Sadaqah? YES. The cash prizes come from a Halal source. Upon receiving the cash prize, the customer is free to use it for any purpose 12. Are the cash prizes taken from the profit earned through Al-Awfar Savings and Investment Account-i? NO. The cash prizes are provided by the Bank and are not specifically derived from profits of Al-Awfar Savin gs and Investment Account-i.

The Stepford Wives Film Analysis

The Stepford Wives Film Analysis With the birth of Second Wave feminism in the 1960s women started to ask the questions of what their roles in life are. A generation of future housewives wondered that if they continued to keep doing the chores and giving their undivided attention to their husbands they would not be living a life they really wanted. The Stepford Wives (Forbes, 1975) addresses these concerns with a terrified and gloomy look at the perfect woman. The Stepford Wives (Forbes, 1975) portrays the feminine condition in a bourgeois, patriarchal society (Boruzkowski, 1987). In the film, liberated females who are equal to, if not more powerful than their husbands and hold on to their own sexuality are murdered and changed with supposedly superior copies who supposedly embody perfection. These robotic copies have the best figure, do chores, they are extremely maternal, and are willing to satisfy their husband sexually whenever he wants it. With women being forced into becoming domestic housewives being dominate d by men sexually, this essay will textually analyse the final ten minutes of the film in relation to these issues.   Sexuality and mans desires play an important part in the final ten minutes of The Stepford Wives (Forbes, 1975). The scene starts with the character of Joanna searching for her children in the Mens Association building. After having a conversation with the robotic wife creator Diz, in which he tries to persuade her that conforming to a male oppression is the right thing to do and she should embrace the male dominated is society, she then flees from him. The darkness does not allow the audience to clearly see her actions, but a room with a life-sized female replica is seen briefly. Finally she opens a door and is greeted by an exact replica of her bedroom, including Fred the dog she thought was dead. The existence of him can be read as a metaphor to what the men of Stepford want their wives to be like, mans best friend; to be well-trained, faithful, passive, and subservient, to want for nothing, and to always be there. The camera slowly pans to Joannas robotic double brushing her hair in a three-way mirror. As she turns we see that her eyes are completely black. This reiterates that this double is not a real person; she has no life in her eyes. When Joanna meets her replacement, we see her sitting at her dresser. As the robotic Joanna stands, we notice through her see-through clothes that she isnt an accurate representation of Joanna, but a new-fangled superior version. The double has clear skin, perfectly wavy hair, a fake smile and black robotic eyes. Joannas shock is revealed and soon the audience sees why; the camera reveals a shot the robot has perfect and significantly larger breasts, a narrower waist and fuller hips. The camera then pans back up to the human Joanna. Joanna stares in horror as the robot stands up with a pair of tights stretched tightly in her hands. The camera shows a close-up of a very satisfied Diz, distractingly petting Fred and watching the scene with genuine voyeuristic pleasure. The scene ends with a close-up of the tights stretched tightly between the robots hands and the see-through lingerie that reveals the perfect abdomen.  This scene clearly demonstrates to the audience that the robo tic females are not for any scientific method or anything other than to be used for the pleasure of men only. When Joanna is talking to Diz he explains this viewpoint; if the roles were reversed, wouldnt you like some perfect stud waiting on you around the house praising you, servicing you, whispering how your sagging flesh was beautiful no matter how you looked (Forbes, 1975). Desire is a main focal point for the scene between the real Joanna and the robotic Joanna created by Diz. Dizs creation falls into what MacKinnon would say is typical gender division and inequality. Male power takes the social form of what men as a gender want sexually, which centers on power itself, as socially defined woman is defined by what male desire requires for arousal and satisfaction (MacKinnon, 1991, p. 131). Diz creates what he believes to be the perfect woman, to meet his sexual desires and has marketed his product to all the men in Stepford. They believe the women have become too successful, powerful and independent , while the robots are the completely opposite to this, lacking ambition and are repressed and submissive . The fantasy that Diz creates is not meant to be woman but instead sexuality. When the robot is shown the focus is not on her mind or anything immediately beautiful, like the eyes or the smile, instead the focus is on her breasts and her stomach and her female body as a sexualized form. The object of desire is the artificial beauty man created. Artificial beauty is a theme that is recurrent throughout The Stepford Wives (Forbes, 1975), focusing on dolls or other subjects that relate to childhood innocence. The robotic domestic Joannas blatant sexuality reveals her submission to male desire. The camera emphasises the object of desire multiple times, lingering on the breasts, abdomen and full body. In the scene between the two Joannas, the liberated female must die in order for the domesticated female to exist. With womens liberation becoming more culturally excepted, the number of women who chose to stay at home was decreasing. Women were beginning to become less submissive to men. In the film this process had to be reversed so that in order for mans perfect creation to exist, the threat of womens liberation must die.   The final image in The Stepford Wives (Forbes, 1975) shows the robotic wives in their best dresses doing their shopping and talking to each other. The dress that the robotic women are wearing hides the sexuality she possesses. The women to be under complete control of the men need to be both sexual and in need of a man to be there. The robotic females have been programmed to please their husbands physically; they are vain and self-absorbed because of this. The robotic wife has become an à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ isolated, glamorous, on display, sexualized property (Mulvey, 1975, p. 9). She is weak, hopeless, and unable to protect herself. However as she has been reprogrammed it could be argued she no longer has a self to protect. The ideal housewife is an ardent consumer who buys endlessly new things for the home, and gains satisfaction from doing so (Frieden, 1963, p. 206). In The Stepford Wives (Forbes, 1975), women shop systematically and neatly, discuss and consume products with devouring interest and gratification. The robotic wives are almost at one with the supermarket, the woman are merchandise available for any man, just like the products available for purchase on the shelves in the aisles and in there trolleys. In this clip from The Stepford Wives (Forbes, 1975) we see men forcing their dominance by creating new and improved versions of their wives in the shell of a robot. The robot serves as mans ultimate fantasy, a beautiful and subservient wife with the perfect figure and a sex drive constantly set to on. The fantasy doll created in Joannas image kills her competitor in an act of sexuality. The ending to the film is very negative. Women have lost both the battle of the sexes and a battle for their lives. What were once very educated women are now obedient consumerist automatons (Inness, 2003, p. 38) who all think the same, and are nothing but sexual objects for their husbands.

The Ruthless Chancellor Palpatine Essay examples -- Star Wars, Revenge

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Power is both a good and evil thing. With power, a person has the potential to change the world. With power, a person’s words would be so influential, that anything would be possible. But when a person uses power for evil, it could possibly provoke the most horrible events imaginable. One person who used power for evil was a character from the movie Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith created by George Lucas. The characters name was Chancellor Palpatine. In a span of about fifteen years, he was able to manipulate the political system of the Galactic Republic so that he would come to power. With various events such as the Clone Wars, he gained more and more power as Chancellor, so much so that the only thing that the Chancellor feared was to lose his power.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To ensure that his power would remain intact, he orchestrated a brilliant plan. He manipulated the Senate and the Galactic Republic by making the Jedi out as the evil ones. He brilliantly used numerous examples and manipulation to ensure that his plan would continue smoothly. Through an analysis of Chancellor Palpatine’s address to the Galactic Senate from Star Wars Episode III: Return of the Sith, I plan to prove the political corruption of Chancellor Palpatine through analysis of his use of credible examples, his slander of the Jedi, the delineation of good and evil, his effective play on emotions, and his impeccable timing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When a person hears the President of the United States address the nation, one would believe that everything that he is saying would be credible. This is the same for the Chancellor of the Galactic Senate. When Palpatine would address all the Senators, the Senators would believe that everything that he would be... ...tler is a prime example for this. He was a brilliant man who knew how to speak eloquently and persuade a nation into transforming a government into a dictatorship. He was also able to gain Germany’s support for World War II and unfortunately, the genocide of the global Jewish community. Chancellor Palpatine and Adolf Hitler seem to be very much alike. Both men had the knowledge and power to manipulate people to achieve whatever they desired. Both men’s lust for power is what led to their corrupt. Their desire for absolute power is what made these men evil and a threat to liberty. I hope that the world will be able to learn from the past and prevent another corrupt politician from coming to power again.       Works Cited Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Dir. George Lucas. Perf. Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, and Hayden Christenson. Lucasfilm Ltd, 2005.

Anna Avalon Character Sketch Essay

Anna Avalon, the adventurous and admirable main character of â€Å"The Leap’ written by Louise Erdich has many traits that prove her to be a very admirable woman. Her daughter is very grateful to have her as a mother. Throughout this short story, it is quite easy to see that Anna Avalon is talented, careful and brave. Considered to be â€Å"The surviving half of a blindfold trapeze act† (Pg. 190) Anna Avalon is very talented. She had previously been a performer. â€Å"Anna of the Flying Avalon’s† She had been involved in many performances and was definitely a crowd favourite, Anna had performed many â€Å"Double somersaults and heart-stopping catches† (Pg. 90) However, one day there had been a tragic accident. While seven months pregnant, lightning struck a pole resulting in three deaths. â€Å" Lightning struck the main pole and sizzles down the guy wires, filling the air with a blue radiance† (Pg. 192) Anna was the only one who survived this tragic accident, this showing her talent. Along with talented, Anna Avalon is very careful. She is an elderly lady living in New Hampshire, with sightless eyes. Although blind, â€Å"she has never upset an object or as much as brushed a magazine onto the floor. She has never lost her balance or bumped into a closet door left carelessly open. The â€Å"catlike precision of her movements’ (Pg. 190) is probably due to her early training. When caught in a house fire, Anna was willing to risk her own life in order to save her daughter. This shows that she’s a brave and courageous woman and would do anything for her child. Several years ago, Anna Avalon’s house caught on fire, when her daughter was just seven years old. The staircase to her upstairs room had been cut off by flames so everyone was outside thinking there was no rescue. â€Å"Outside, my mother stood below my dark window and saw clearly that there was no rescue. (Pg. 195) However, Anna Avalon did everything in her power to assure her daughter would be safe. â€Å"Standing there, beside Father, who was preparing to rush back around to the front of the house, my mother asked him to unzip her dress. When he wouldn’t be bothered, she made him understand. He couldn’t make his hands work, so she finally tore it off and stood there in her pearls and stockings. She directed one of the men to lean the broken half of the extension ladder up against the trunk of the tree. † (Pg. 195) Anna had well thought out a way to save her seven year old. She leaped through the icy-air and â€Å"was hanging by the backs of her heels from the new gutter†. (Pg. 195) She then tapped on the window to let her daughter know she came to rescue her. Although she was only in her underclothing, she had bigger things to worry about, such as saving her daughter. She successfully saved her daughter, showing her true heroism and bravery. Throughout â€Å"The leap’ it’s clear that Anna is very admirable. She has done many things in her life to help others and we see that she is a wonderful person. From her actions, Anna Avalon is talented, careful and brave.

Movie Review: Singin’ in the Rain

Movies such as Chicago, Moulin Rouge, and Singin’ in the Rain are part of a file genre that places emphasis on music, dance, and song.   This genre is known as the Musical.   The power of the songs in Musicals explains why many people who have not seen the movie are still familiar with its title song â€Å"Singin’ in the Rain.†Ã‚   Aside from the memorable scores and lyrics, Musicals showcase the singing and dancing skills of their stars.   The critical and commercial success or failure of a Musical hinges not only on the storyline, as is the case with films of other genres, but the talents of the actors who bring the movie’s songs and dances to life. Singin’ in the Rain contains a number of elements that make it stand out from other American Musicals such as Chicago and Moulin Rouge.   The atmosphere of Singin’ in the Rain is light and happy which is accomplished by the character’s brightly colored clothing and the inclusion of relatively few night scenes.   This is not the case in either Chicago or Moulin Rouge, both of which have darker elements within them.   Because the theme of Singin’ in the Rain is more playful than the serious theme depicted in Chicago, there is a greater degree of entertainment in Singin’ in the Rain.   This movie was designed to be viewed by an audience seeking pure entertainment—an audience that need only sit back, relax, and enjoy the film from beginning to end. Many modern musical productions are far more costly than was Singin’ in the Rain; however, even with the discrepancy in production costs, several clever and memorable musical numbers from Singin’ in the Rain remain popular today. Because scripting and storyline are superseded in Musicals by choreography and score, the scenes most often remembered in a Musical are specific numbers contained within the film.   One of my favorites from Singin’ in the Rain is Cosmo Brown’s (Donald O’Connor) performance of â€Å"Make ‘em Laugh.†Ã‚   The song’s lyrics and the number itself reveal that Cosmo is Don Lockwood’s (Gene Kelly) sidekick.   It’s clear that Cosmo’s job is to keep Lockwood laughing and to prevent him from concern over anything bad. Cosmo’s enthusiastic performance in this number is easily the most comedic of the film.   Singin’ in the Rain is filled with mise-en-scà ¨nes, and Cosmo’s â€Å"Make ‘em Laugh† number uses mise-en-scà ¨ne to its fullest.   Every bit of setting, including the props and the people in this number are used by Cosmo as show instruments. Given the movie’s title, it isn’t surprising that the most famous number is Gene Kelly’s (as Don Lockwood) performance of the song â€Å"Singin’ in the Rain.†Ã‚   Narrative Convention dictates that rain signify sorrow or loneliness much as tense music in a horror movie signifies danger; however, the gloom one might expect to infiltrate Kelly’s performance simply does not do so.   Instead, this beautifully choreographed athletic dance and song number stands as Lockwood’s proclamation that he has succeeded in his career and in his heart.   Each step Gene Kelly performs is deliberate—each movement designed to thrill the audience the way Kelly’s Lockwood is himself thrilled by his fantastic fortune. The use of mise-en-scà ¨ne in the number â€Å"Singin’ in the Rain† does not detract from Kelly’s performance: it augments it.   His wearing a felt hat allows his facial features to be seen without the rain’s moisture obscuring his emotions.   The umbrella he carries adds a gentleman-like quality to his movements.   The street on which he dances remains basically deserted and is perfectly illuminated by the well-placed snug lights.   Personally, I think it is the most enjoyable rainy scene I have ever viewed in a movie. My only critical comments are centered on a portion of the film’s latter half during which time Lockwood, Cosmo, and R. F. Simpson (Millard Mitchell) are planning to make the musical film Dancing Cavalier.   This is followed by the surreal performance â€Å"Broadway Melody† which I found unnecessary.   The woman in this scene seemed to have come from nowhere, did not have a clearly defined relationship with Lockwood or Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds), but the odd emotion that was present in the number might be representative of American ideals. Singin’ in the Rain falls within the expected boundaries of the Musical.   The ending is predictable (but not unsatisfyingly so) and relatively little tension exists: the lovers meet serendipitously, and there is really no threat to their relationship. Singin’ in the Rain is from the 1950’s, and because of this, some younger people might not find the movie’s content satisfying; however, anyone, regardless of age, who can appreciate the outstanding singing and dancing performances of the movie’s characters will come away from the film satisfied.   In addition, part of this film’s content reveals the early development of movies from the silent era forward, and much of this is not only interesting but humorous as well. I admit to having been initially skeptical about enjoying this movie due to its age, but I found myself entertained throughout the entire film, and honestly, I can say that Singin’ in the Rain is the best Musical I have ever seen. Reference Freed, A.   (Producer), & Donen, S. & Kelly G. (Directors).   (1952).   Singin’ in the rain.   [Motion picture].   United States: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.