Benefits of the CalTex plant Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Benefits of the CalTex plant - Essay Example The utilitarian benefits are many for both CalTex and the people of South Africa. Many needed jobs would have been created for workers in South Africa. Native South African would have taken many of these jobs. A job at a CalTex plant might be their best means for improving their own economic situation. CalTex had a history of paying better than average wages and they were also known for promoting employees from within. I know that if I were a black South African, I would have been very upset about the unfair political situation in my own country. But I also know that I would love to have the sort of economic opportunity that would be provided to me by working for a good paying corporation like CalTex. I think I would understand that CalTex was not the reason behind the current political system. I do not believe I would even feel that their presence aided the current political system or helped to keep it in power. The utilitarian benefits I would see as a native South African would be great. I would have a dependable job, food on the table and a possibility for working my way up in a company. I would be living in an unjust society, but I would not blame CalTex for doing business in my country. It is true that the white controlled government would get a more stable supply of petroleum products if the CalTex expansion occurred, but that same expansion meant that all South Africans would have access to more abundant, cheaper petroleum products. The reality of the situation is, South Africa had enough of their own engineers to make their own petroleum refineries. If CalTex completely divested, the only loser would be the corporation. If I were a stockholder, voting on the first two resolutions would have been very easy decisions. I would not have voted to cease operations in South Africa. This would have resulted in a huge drop in the price of my stock. It would have been like taking money out of my pocket and throwing it away for no good reason. There is no way tha t ceasing operations in south Africa would have helped bring the government down or change the rights of the people there. I would have voted a strong no on the first resolution. The second resolution would have received a no vote from me as well. This is quite a ridiculous proposition when you think about it. The proposition required CalTex to withhold sales to the South African government and military. My reason for not voting for this crazy proposition is it creates a litmus test for buying CalTex oil. It basically says that if you are not conducting yourself in a moral manner then we will not sell oil products to you. The problem is simply this, who gets to decide how bad is too bad? A corporation needs to not split hairs determining if a customer is moral enough to buy their product. The American government has been beset by scandals and there is plenty of history of racism and repression. Does this mean CalTex will no longer sell to America? What about the Chinese? The Italian s? All nations have blemishes and inherent injustices built into their systems. It is not the job of a corporation to try to sort all of them out morally. If they have cash, then you sell. The third proposition would have gotten a yes vote from me. Looking at the Tutu principles, I think is would be in the best interest of the company to abide by them. Caring for the family unit and supporting it would have

Business Plan for AAA International Travel Services Ltd Essay

Business Plan for AAA International Travel Services Ltd - Essay Example The products and services that the business is going to launch differ from that of their competitors. All other travel firms offer different services to customers based on available budget and resources. AAA travel services will provide services based on customers’ preferences. Although all packages have been designed already in accordance with the schedules and available resources, but the firm can bring little changes in the packages in accordance with the needs and demands of the customers. For example, if a customer asks for a ten days trip to some Eastern country and the firm offers an eight days package, then the company will change the schedule and package accordingly but the customer will have to pay some extra amount to the firm because of modifications. The firm will also provide best available accommodation to its customers. â€Å"Comfortable hotels and accommodation facilities play a very important role in popularizing any tourist destination† (Ahliya 2008, p. 1).ii. Target MarketTarget market is the group of people that a company wants to target for the sale of products and services. For AAA Travel Services company, the target market for the firm will cover a large number of local and international customers. The company is located in an area where travel companies are also operating there business activities, so there is also a tough competition in place. Many external and internal factors can affect product innovations, business process innovations or their combination.... The international department will play the lead role. It will include branch office, ticketing services, business office, and direct sales stores. Following is the business structure of the firm: b) The Product Following are the products and services that the firm will provide to its customers: i. Gaps in Market The products and services that the business is going to launch differ from that of their competitors. All other travel firms offer different services to customers based on available budget and resources. AAA travel services will provide services based on customers’ preferences. Although all packages have been designed already in accordance with the schedules and available resources, but the firm can bring little changes in the packages in accordance with the needs and demands of the customers. For example, if a customer asks for a ten days trip to some Eastern country and the firm offers an eight days package, then the company will change the schedule and package accor dingly but the customer will have to pay some extra amount to the firm because of modifications. The firm will also provide best available accommodation to its customers. â€Å"Comfortable hotels and accommodation facilities play a very important role in popularizing any tourist destination† (Ahliya 2008, p. 1). ii. Target Market Target market is the group of people that a company wants to target for the sale of products and services (Tatum n.d.). For AAA Travel Services company, the target market for the firm will cover a large number of local and international customers. The company is located in an area where travel companies are also operating there business activities, so there is also a tough competition in place. However, the range of the

Comparison of French and German Cinema, 1930-1945

Comparison of French and German Cinema, 1930-1945 Introduction The dissertation aims to analyse the effects of totalitarian politics on the cinematic tradition of two of Europes most cultured nations, Germany and France. The study of cinema during the time period, 19301945 is a highly relevant discussion; one which is infrequently dissected by serious academic debate largely due to the lack of literature on the subject in comparison to studies pertaining to the effects of fascism upon other implements of the state, in particular religion and the military. Perhaps film students of the West still find it difficult to comprehend the fact that the Nazis were such a long way in front of their competitors when it came to the influence of National Socialist propaganda on the German people. As early as 1928 Hitler had come to understand the fundamental power of utilising modern forms of propaganda in paving the way for tyrannical rule, as he outlines in a speech dated 28 November (1999:151). The more one addresses only one social class, the easier it becomes to make promises. One knows from the beginning what each class wants If you are always only addressing yourself to one category, then political propaganda becomes infinitely easy. Certainly, in tandem with pervasive fascist symbolism and the dissolution of democratic political debate, the saturation of all forms of contemporary media was the key factor in Hitlers total seduction of the German nation. As such, the topic is relevant for the twenty first century where dictators still maintain power over illeducated people whose information is pumped into them via state propaganda machines that feed off insecurity, prejudice and paranoia, as modernday Zimbabwe currently illustrates. The study will be split into chapters as cited on the title page with the aim of creating an advanced understanding of how the Nazis used cinema as a tool of tricking the German people into believing concepts such as Lebensraum and the Jewish Question were issues of national urgency. The study will likewise examine the role of the Vichy collaborators in the seduction of French people, citing the essential similarities and differences of the two in terms of filmic content and production techniques. Clearly, as the instigator of right wing cinema as a political tool of mass hysteria, the German model will be first to be discussed, though the point should be made straight away that the Vichy Regime was not merely coerced into collaboration: there was active and passionate interest in France in fascist ideology with plenty of Vichy statesmen wishing to follow the path set about by the Hitler State. At no point should it be believed that Vichy cinema was a symptom of the occupation; it wa s, and remains, a marker for French sociopolitical beliefs at the time. Famous and infamous films such as Jean Renoirs La Grande Illusion, Bertolt Brechts Kuhle Wampe and Marcel Carnes Les Enfants du Paradis will be featured within the dissertation, citing specific examples from the movies to highlight how dissenters managed to voice their disapproval in highly subtle fashions that were unique to the extreme fear experienced in fascist Europe at the time. Comparisons between movie production under the influence of occupation, dictatorship, peacetime and war will provide fuel for the debate within. A conclusion will be sought as to the overall features that appear uniform within right wing film making, in addition to citing the subtle differences in the experience of movie production under the spectre of totalitarianism, as witnessed in Germany and France between 1930 and 1945. Chapter One: The effect of fascism on German Culture, 19301945 The short lived Weimar Republic is a source of great fascination for students not only of history but also of art, culture and society. Its relevance is in its oddity: the strange timeframe it fits into either side of Kaiser Wilhelm II and the Nazi State, two of the most suffocating and frustrating regimes in European history in terms of creative and artistic achievement. The Weimar Republic was responsible for a brief burgeoning of liberal German film making, art, sculpture, music, theatre and culture that was the envy of the western world at the time. Perversely, the strict socioeconomic conditions of the day appeared to ensure that the Republic would be as frivolous as it was unfortunate; as daring as it was politically unstable. Yet, as Elssaesser (2000:151) suggests, Weimar cinema may also have made it easier for Hitler to cast his cinematic spell on the German people. What has become abundantly clear is that the cinema permeated Weimar society as a very contradictory cultural force, at once part of oppositional Modernist avantgardes and in the forefront of capitalisms own modernising tendencies (as technology, industry and fashion) and for this very reason, invested with the hopes of revolutionary changes while susceptible to being used as the instrument for their containment (in the form of specular seduction, nostalgia, propaganda.) Diversity was the key to Weimar Cinema; it was an expression of multicultural Europe that was unfortunately located in the wrong place and time. With the Prussian aristocracy, disillusioned exmilitary personnel and marginalised masses of unemployed, the Weimar Republic was insufficiently prepared to withstand a structured coup from within when it inevitably came. Furthermore, the liberalism of the Republic gave added ammunition to the nascent Nazi State, giving Hitler and his propaganda minister, Josef Goebbels a readymade scapegoat for the deplorable state of German infrastructure during the early part of the 1930s. Indeed, it was Goebbels (1993:159) who highlighted the condition of the German nation before the National Socialists came to power in 1933 the state of the nation according to fascist eyes. Had it not been for the National Revolution, Germany would have been completely swissified, a nation of hotel porters and waiters, a nation having no political sense whatsoever that had lost any idea of its own historical significance. The effect of a onedimensional, intensely political approach to cultural affairs meant a surgical shift in the prism through which German society charted its progress between 1918 and 1933, and 1933 to 1945. Most art and film historians see the change that occurred in German culture after 1933, with the infamous burning of the books (May 1933) and mass emigration of a wealth of indigenous creative talent, as symptomatic of authoritarianism throughout the world. Bland, repetitive instances of film making and culture took the place of innovation and the first seedlings of avantgarde technique. Aesthetics and the human form took on added significance. Heavy handed plot lines guided the viewer of both art and cinema along a straightforward journey to the ideological heart of work without trusting the audience with the even the slightest semblance of individual reasoning. These are the popular images of authoritarian art forms promulgated after the defeat of fascism in Europe. Yet it would be incorrect to assume that German film making after 1933 was merely an exercise in retrospective propaganda studies; as shall be discussed in following chapters, Goebbels was fond of puncturing all genres of movies with National Socialist ideals with the result that a kaleidoscope of imagery is available to the twenty first century film student, each portraying a different vision of the fascist dream. It should come as little surprise to students of history to see a broad similarity between movies made in Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia: both countries relied upon eradicating the opposition and portraying the leader in an invincible light. Censorship at home and at the national borders also meant that fewer foreign films were being shown; those very few that made it past the German borders having to be screened first by the Nazis in order to gain an audience inside of Germany. Furthermore, the considerable risk that a film maker ran of being arrested, taken to concentration camp or even killed because of making a statement that the Nazi hierarchy did not favour was too great for all but the most ideologically driven of artists to bear. The result was an exodus of talent from Germany and a narrowing of vision to the extent that diversity, as a description of German cinema, became a complete misnomer. Art and cinema in the Third Reich were thus reduced to an entity in support of the regime; the hand over of the baton of creativity to autocracy was assisted by the state overhaul of existing cultural ministries. As part of the broader policy of Gleischaltung (coordination) the Reich Chamber of Culture (established in November 1933) oversaw this new breed of politicised movie making and art that presented a ludicrously perfect form of the Aryan man, engaged in the typical German pursuits of sport, work and family, as Seligmann et al (2003:50) detail. Images depicted Germans not just as modern day heroes but also as the heirs to Europes greatest cultural and imperial tradition, that of Alexander the Great and Caesar. As Aryans and National Socialists were elevated to the status of hero, so the Nazis used cinema and indeed every tool of popular culture at its disposal to reenforce the slide of the enemy into the sociological abyss. Over a short period of time, the Jews took over from the Weimar Republic and the Communists as the central target of Nazi abuse as one by one the political enemies of the state were made obsolete, leaving the racial enemies of the state as the sole carriers of the burden of national pariahs. Propaganda and film would play a disconcertingly influential role in the social facilitation of the Holocaust the essential psychological background whereby a nation might be made complicit in mass, statesponsored murder. As the violence and oppression against the Jews (and against gypsies, the handicapped and homosexuals) was increased, so the state began to use film and culture as a means to making the population complicit in their racial crimes. Reichskristallnacht (89 November 1938), for example, was a stateignited campaign of hatred against Jewry that was completed by the ordinary German people, a spontaneous orgy of destruction that would have been unimaginable were it not for the driptap effect of incessant fascist film making and media saturation, as Kershaw (2000:1412) underscores. The scale and nature of the savagery, and the apparent aim of maximising degradation and humiliation, reflected the success of propaganda in demonising the figure of the Jew certainly within the organisations of the Party itself and massively enhanced the process, underway since Hitlers takeover of power, of dehumanising Jews and excluding them from German society a vital step on the way to genocide. Der Erwige Jude (The Eternal Jew), the most extreme example of film utilised as a weapon of war, was a blatant and extreme vision of the life of common Jewry; the degradation of the living condition in the Warsaw Ghettoes providing the inspiration for the movies creator, Josef Goebbels who visited the area in 1940. The film portrayed Jews as vermin, cementing the belief in the viewer (coupled with state newspaper and radio) that the Jews were not only the enemy of the state but, more importantly, subhuman. As with all aspects of Nazi Germany, the murderous end effect can only be understood by taking the gradual desensitisation of the nation into account, a phenomenon that propaganda and film were instrumental in helping to bring about. Chapter Two: Occupied France: Vichy Collaboration in Moulding the Image of Fascist Europe The French experience of film was, until the continentwide rise of fascism, much the same as in Germany even if there were also fundamental differences between the two countries that made the transition from democracy to authoritarianism a more traumatic experience for the French, one that the nation has still not fully come to terms with. To start with, France, more than any other European nation, is synonymous with high culture, art and vision, characterised as the trend setting nation for creativity throughout the western world. Via Marcel Duchamp, for example, France was home to the origination of abstract art, his sculpture, Fountain (1917) often cited as a watershed in art and visual intention in the history of the West. In addition, France had dictatorship thrust upon it in a different way to the Germans. Clearly, autocracy can only arise from it being forcibly imposed on a population, yet in Germany it was Germans taking control of their own people, whereas, after the symbolic signing of the armistice on 22 June 1940, the French were dictated to by Germany from the vantage point of a vanquished nation. Therefore, there was more a sense of cultural partition between France in the 1930s and France in the 1940s that was not the case over the Alsace border into Germany. This starting point of a nation being defeated in war has been, ultimately, the greatest stumbling block regarding a better historical comprehension of the excesses of Vichy both from within and outside of French borders: for as long as the French were willing to rewrite history to paint the picture of a demoralised people who were fundamentally opposed to the right wing ideology of National Socialism, the country would be unable to see its true reflection. However, after the accumulation of two generations of historiography, Vichy was gradually deemed to be an active collaborator in the extremism that was witnessed in French culture and politics between 1940 and 1945 rather than a government coerced into cooperation. Marshall Pà ©tain may have been little more than a puppet figurehead, but he represented a large sector of conservative France that wished to eradicate the achievements of the artistic and philosophical endeavour of the early twentieth century so as to reembrace outmod ed notions of colonial France. Indeed, the right wing bloc who made up the core of the Vichy government were sympathetic to the anti-Semitic views of the Nazis the botched military trial of Captain Alfred Dreyfus for spying in 1894 highlighting a chequered history of a country that had barely bothered to even notice its own deeply resentful views concerning the Jews. The official separation of Church and State by law in 1905 merely paid lip service to a deepseated problem of prejudice in France. Although France had changed geographically, ethnically, politically and culturally between the two decades, a certain sense of continuity is detectable in French cinema of the period, which was certainly not the case in Germany. This was due to a combination of German censorship and genuine Vichy desire to ignore the shameful effect of the Occupation. As JeanPierre Jeancolas attests in his essay on the 1945 Vichy sponsored picture, Les Enfants du Paradis (2000:78), the realism that French cinema was so famous for showed no signs of cracking after 1940. The occupation of France in 1940, the control direct or indirect of its cinema by the German forces, condemned use of the present tense. Fiction films were allowed, at best, to portray a kind of vague present day, a period which had the appearance of the present, but not its singular hardships: the cars or the costumes are of 1943, but the French are depicted in light-hearted romantic entanglements, stories that never show the daily problems of finding food, or the presence of Nazi uniforms. Mention must be made of the division in France after her capitulation in 1940. Put simply, the country was split into half via north and south, whereby Paris, Brittany and the northern shores were deemed to be part of a territory called Free France, while the southern part of the nation, including major cities such Marseilles and Bordeaux (both of which had large ethnic and Jewish communities) was placed under the control of the Vichy Government. Vichy struggled to unite the two divisions until 1943 at the earliest, a time which signalled an increase in French resistance as, after the Battle of Stalingrad (February 1943) the sense of a slow protracted capitulation in the East led to a renewed sense of optimism in the West. It is important, therefore, to recognise the difficulty in defining a singular French brand of cinema after 1940. There were noticeable anomalies in how the Germans treated the two main zones. Newsreel propaganda, for instance, was different: in the Occupied Zone, cinemas screened antiBritish German newsreels, while in the Unoccupied Zone, Vichy largely steered clear of any mention of the war of the German presence in France at all. It is likewise important to recognise that the Vichy propaganda machine was not under the same level of autocratic control as was the case in Germany. There was no allpowerful figurehead to rival Goebbels in France. Pierre Laval was the clearest comparison to him but the Deputy Prime Minister spent much of his time in Paris negotiating with the Germans. In addition, Laval believed fervently in the power of broadcast media as the fundamental tool to seduce a weary population, neglecting largely the cinema and music. Furthermore, Laval delegated control of the propaganda machine to Paul Marion after 1942, which meant a discernible lack of leadership. A comparable model to Goebbels extensive communications system cannot be found in Vichy France. However, this does not mean to say that the Vichy Government was without persuasion or an ideology of its own. Although Occupied France was under the control of Germany, Vichy was given leeway in terms of national reeducation and, as the administration grew more secure in the southern part of the country (coinciding with entire divisions of German troops leaving France to fight on the increasingly demoralising Eastern Front), so a discernibly French model of fascism was seen in all walks of life, extending quickly to the national movie community. Continuity in all areas is the chief characteristic of Vichy cinema. As beforehand, Paris remained the creative hub of wartime France; many of the cast and directors of the films of the thirties remained to star in Vichy pictures. Jean Gabin and Michele Morgan were two big name stars who fled the country, but the rest mostly remained in France and continued to work. The Germans did not permit French films to cross the demarcation line until February 1941 when it became apparent that the same stifling effect of authoritarianism was prevalent in French as well as German cinema: there was no question of antiGerman films being shown because they were not being made. As a rule, movies produced during the Vichy years were unanimously nostalgic. As in the 1930s, many of the movies of the early 1940s were scripted around the French experience of World War One, characterising the recent experiences of the nation in the form of one actor or actress. The core Vichy values of family, la patrie and duty were cited in almost every film of the period, such as La Voile Bleue (1942), an anachronistic view of rural southern France that was the biggest commercial success of the forties in France. However, as Julian Jackson (2001:3201) details and contrary to popular belief, there was not a plethora of explicit right wing propaganda present in films made on the fascist side of the Vichy watershed. Paradoxically, many themes that one might expect to have figured more prominently after 1940, almost disappeared from the screen. Before 1940, many French films contained critical portrayals of British characters; after 1940 the British are absent. Before 1940 films had frequently depicted Germans sympathetically; after 1940, despite collaboration, Germans almost disappear from the screen. In the 1930s, antagonism to foreigners had been a frequent theme; after 1940 it was less present. Most surprisingly of all, whereas hostile depictions of Jews had proliferated in the 1930s, they are almost absent after 1940 As far as feature films are concerned, if they reflect anything different from the films of the 1930s it is Vichys desperate wish to believe the outside world did not exist. If a viewer was unaware of the historical subtext of the films produced during the 1930s and 1940s in France, they would not know occupation occurred at any point. But perhaps this was precisely the point: to cover over the huge dent in national pride at having to endure occupation by pretending that it did not exist. Learning from Goebbels, Vichy would also have been aware that, regarding propaganda, less can often mean more. Chapter Three: Josef Goebbels and the Intervention of Propaganda Cinema Unlike in France where a clear line of cinematic continuity can be traced, in Germany there is little doubt that movies made pre1933 would not be funded under Nazi rule. Kuhle Wampe (1932), for instance, was a decidedly Weimar production. The film was written and coproduced by Bertolt Brecht who was known within Germany to be a left wing film maker and sympathiser, yet one who did not favour the heavyhanded film making approach, as the following excerpt (1996:138) underscores. This way of subordinating everything to a single idea, this passion for propelling the spectator along a single track where he can look neither right nor left, up nor down, is something that the new school of play righting must reject. Betraying such antiauthoritarian views, it is no surprise that Kuhle Wampe turned out to be a socialist classic, an art house production made all the more poignant due to the cusp of the historical wave upon which contemporary Germany was riding. Brechts vision of a utopian community that rejects pricefixing and imperialism has been viewed as the last independent breathe of Weimar culture the final flourish before people such as the writer left Germany forever. Films such as Kuhle Wampe, as well as The Threepenny Opera, Kameradschaft and The Blue Angel all produced between 1930 and 1932 ensured that the shift, when it inevitably came, towards the right was all the more transparent because pictures such as these simply ceased to exist in Germany after 1933. Propaganda and cinema were married in the Third Reich like never before. Deconstruction of the pluralist approach of Weimars brief democratic tradition was the first step the Nazis took in reconfiguring the German nation in their own distorted image, followed inevitably by the edification of a new mythology, built exclusively around the twin pillars of the ubiquitous power of the Fuhrer and the antiGerman predilections of the communists and international Jewry. At first, of the two, the Fuhrer Myth was the most important solidifying effect in the Nazi consolidation of power. Hitler had learnt from Mussolini the herald of Fascism according to Hugh TrevorRoper (1995:174) that a tyrant could exert sole control over a modern, industrial European country but only via eliminating all competing iconography and elevating the leader to a quasireligious status, which could only be achieved by extensive propaganda exercises. As Ian Kershaw (1998:289) explains, the all encompassing image of Hitler portrayed in banners across German cities, in schools and in cinemas throughout the nation was vital not only in securing the stability of the Nazi State but also in making a subliminal connection between himself and the traditional heroes of German history within the broader national consciousness. For Hitler himself, the Fuhrer myth was both a propaganda weapon and a central tenet of belief. His own greatness could be implicitly but unmistakably underscored by repeated reference to Bismarck, Frederick the Great and Luther. Initially, even Goebbels was taken aback by the way in which the Nazis were able to instil their extremism throughout the country. A process that should have been osmotic took place with astonishing rapidity, as the Propaganda Minister (1996:41) himself explained in April 1933. What we are now experiencing is only the transfer of our own dynamism and legality to the state. This is taking place with such breathtaking speed that one scarcely has any time to call his own. Goebbels considered himself to be a man of culture and the filmmakers that he most admired did not come from the right wing stock that one would naturally associate with the Propaganda Minister. For example, Goebbels was a big fan of American cinema and he privately thought that the film making industry in the United States was far ahead of German production to that point. One of his favourite movies, although he denounced it in public, was Gone with the Wind, and he was likewise a great fan of the icon of Soviet propagandist cinema, Eisensteins Battleship Potemkin. Within the broader sphere of German film making during the period 1935 to 1945, Goebbels was the most important man in the country. All of the guidelines pertaining to film production in the postsilent era were rewritten after the Nazis seized power. As ever, culture and film became officially politicised and, as a by-product of Gleischaltung, the movie production apparatus fell into the hands of the Reich Ministry for Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda. Therefore, without Goebbels patronage a film would never make it past the level of script. His control was absolute, even extending to the question of financing production. Whereas under the Weimar Republic censorship and rating were separate bodies, the Nazis held onto both principles offering a tax rebate for positive film ratings, thus exerting considerable financial pressure on production companies that persisted in making unsatisfactory films. Reuth (1993:1945), in his rich biography of Goebbels, details the full extent of his control over movie making in Germany during this period, a description of a cultural power more potent than any available to the leader of each of the German Armed Forces. He had lists prepared of his favourite actors, as well as of Hitlers. He also kept close track of upandcoming talent, which he insisted on seeing for himself producers also depended on Goebbels favour, for he had created a comprehensive apparatus that allowed him to intervene in all phases of film production. The film department in the Propaganda Ministry, whose director Ernst Seeger served simultaneously as head of the office of film standards, oversaw production planning. All screenplays were examined for appropriate artistic and intellectual attitudes He [Goebbels] read film scripts almost every evening, and not infrequently revised them according to his own notions, using a green ministers pencil that became infamous among directors. Only after he had approved a project could the Film Credit Bank respond to a request for financing. Goebbels would even intervene in the shooting, often dropping in on studio, checking the rushes, and rating the finished product. From October 1935 on , he alone determined which films would be banned. Goebbels was the first head of communications anywhere in the autocratic world to understand the power of cinema in seducing a country; combined with his absolute control over all areas of broadcasting, films would see to it that Germans saw no other image of themselves apart from the vision in his mind for over ten years. However, this is not to state that films made in Germany during this period ought to be dismissed as wasteful propaganda, good for nothing but a lens through which to view National Socialist ideals. As will become apparent, a great many German productions of this time were goodhumoured, light hearted affairs that do not conform to the preconceived notion of a nation forced to watch endless versions of Der Erwige Jude and similarly dark depictions of dictatorship. Although many films were made that were instantly recognisable as party political broadcasts, such as Patrioten (1937), there were likewise others that provided a more panoramic view of Germanys splintered cultural psyche during the Third Reich. The following two chapters will examine two polar opposites of Third Reich cinema Heimatfilme and Exilfilme two bookends of the typically Nazi notion of home and abroad. As always when revisiting the ideology of National Socialism, there was very little room for any grey area in between extremes Chapter Four: Heimatfilme 47.8 per cent of the films produced during the Third Reich were comedies, 27 per cent were problem films, 11.2 per cent were adventure stories and only 14 per cent were considered outright propaganda films (Reuth, 1993:283). One of the most cherished German films of all time, Die Feuerzangenbowle (1944) was made during the darkest most desperate days of the war when all but the most closeted and narrow minded of Nazis could see that the war was never going to end in a German victory. The story, involving a mature student who never got to enjoy the hilarity of public school, could not have been, aesthetically and emotionally, further away from the politics of the time. But that was the point all along. By manipulating the mood of the audience, the Nazi propaganda state could change focus as and when external events demanded it. Die Feuerzangenbowle, for instance, might never have been produced if it was created during the honeymoon period of the early years of the dictatorship. Clearly, propaganda can be inserted into a storyline via more subtle camera and plot techniques and this is how Goebbels set about reenforcing core ideals into the German film loving audience. According to Reuth (1993:284), Goebbels and the Nazi propaganda machine preferred a more pervasive approach to political persuasion, especially concerning the most important issue of armed conflict on two fronts. Goebbels saw to it that the war, which became the main theme in films from 1939 on, was linked to the most varied genres, so as to make indoctrination of the audience imperceptible and keep the medium of film attractive. As he expected of all his propaganda ideally, so too in film, one and the same message was to be conveyed over and over again under constantly varied aspects. Of all the creative, cinematic options open to Goebbels, the most popular genre favoured by the Nazi hierarchy was the Heimatfilme, a uniquely German cinematic experience that played on the national obsession with the homeland. Apart from Austria, no other European country has the same nostalgic disposition towards artistic portrayal of the homeland quite like Germany. Because the nation was only unified after the FrancoPrussian War in 1871, successive generations of German film makers consistently looked back to the patriarchal preindustrial period inciting dreamy landscapes and a simple way of life to try to evoke the sense of longing the displaced German people of the countryside may have felt before unification. Manuala Von Papen (1999:12) highlights the reasons why Heimatfilme appealed to the Nazi leadership. This seems to be a genre virtually exclusive to the German-speaking countries and therefore untranslatable. Heimat means home, but also much more than that; it also stands for the entirety of ones cultural, social, ethical and historical heritage and provides an individual, a group of a whole nation with their identity, their Heimatgefà ¼hl. Clearly, the notions of volk (people) and heimat (home) were central concepts to the longevity of National Socialism. By combining the two, Heimatfilme leant the Nazis the opportunity to pander to the broader European taste for nostalgia as well as reenforcing the belief that Hitler was the true defender of German interests abroad. In a revolutionary move in light of the despotism of the regime, the Third Reich severed the equation of dictatorship with brainwashing propaga

Social Ostracism in Mark Twains Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Essay

Social Ostracism in Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn In the words of Pap, â€Å"You think you’re better’n your father, now, don’t you, because he can’t [read and write]?† (2). In Mark Twain’s adventure novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck Finn escapes from civilized society to traverse the Mississippi River. Throughout the book, Twain uses various themes such as social ostracism to comment on human nature and its role in shaping society. Sometimes mainstream society is not as right and moral as it believes, and when individuals try to justify it they push away their own humanity. Twain demonstrates this through the various lifestyles, comparing the intellects and beliefs of different social classes, and Huck’s conforming to each facet of society. One of the first instances Twain uses to portray sociological exclusion reveals itself in the contrast of lifestyles. Throughout his life both prior to and after his â€Å"murder,† circumstances expose Huck to opposing ways of life including but not limited to rich vs. poor and simple vs. complex. Personifying middle-class society, Widow Douglass acts as a mother figure for Huck, deeming it her duty to â€Å"sivilize† (1) her adopted son, dressing him well and sending him to school. On the contrary, Pap observes that â€Å"You’ve [Huck] put on [†¦] frills† and swears to take him â€Å"down a peg† (14). The two family icons pull Huck in opposite directions, but as influential as they may be, Huck knows he does not have a place in either world. If anything, Huck identifies more with the simplicity of Pap’s natural way of life than with the materialism of the middle-class of society. Willfully shunning both Pap and Widow Douglas, Huck finds a way to â€Å"keep Pap and the widow from following† him instead of moving â€Å"far enough off before they missed [Huck]† (31). Furthermore, a contrast of the characteristics of men and women presents itself when Huck attempts a reconnaissance mission as a girl in St. Petersburg. Huck cannot go as himself because society would catch him and return him to what he escapes from, but the way men and women live is different enough that they cannot impersonate each other. Although he practices and thinks he manages, Jim’s comment that Huck does not â€Å"walk like a girl† (41) does not do it justice. Almost instantly the woman Huck chooses to question sees through his disguise, explaining that Hi... ...inds a way to fit in only to find that he doesn’t belong—belonging to all societies, yet none of them. The only place where he finds relative peace is on the river. It is the only place where there is nothing to struggle against. Huck is a misfit wherever he goes, rejecting and rejected by mainstream society and every other accepted society that he finds along the river. Throughout his journey, Huck finds different ways of separating himself from society while being a part of it. He sees how quickly life changes and how lifestyles can affect a person. Further set apart by his views, Huck forsakes traditional beliefs for superstition and the balance of luck. Through his journey along the Mississippi River, Huck also understands how much intelligence changes. Feeling no affinity for any aspect of mainstream society he experiences, Huck willingly spurns what he knows as humanity for the society that suits him. At the close of his journey when Aunt Sally makes plans to â€Å"adopt [Huck] and sivilize [Huck],† Huck informs the reader that he has no desire to join high society—â€Å"[he] been there before† (220). *The paranthetical documentation is for the Dover Thrift edition of the book.

Analysis of film poster

The white In the centre makes you look at the tree just in front of the light, using it to draw attention. Although this image is strongly rooted, black is still used in the design a lot, which takes away a bit from the image of it as a death color, yet keeps its air of elegance and sophistication. In movies in particular, the dark color is used a lot in movies with horror or gothic themes, using our fear of the unknown and unexplored – the dark spaces we know nothing about – to promote their themes. So, these three mall color showing that the poster a sense of darkness and mystery, as well as a Mathew sickening feel to it.It's quite obviously a fantasy color palette, and it matches the genre of the movie and makes people focus on the intriguing picture in the middle. Key Image: The main image in the picture is of the back of the girl. The small girl is walking towards and standing In front of what look like an old time portal. The shadows and the shapes of lurching tre es surrounding on her. The girl looks as If she is wandering off into the unknown, showing that there's going to be some suspense and possibly scary parts in the movie. The large dark arches with the goblin face on hem also give off the essence of creepiness.She may be stepping into the unknown. Background: The poster as it includes a lot of the clear blue color of laser rays that are something of a staple of the genre. It Is a support by the environment the characters are In, space, adding the darkness and unknown element to the design. The edges of the picture are pitch dark, which means people are supposed to focus on the central image. Behind the title of the film can see that was a brazen, this may indicate that there is something on the other side. Realism: There is nothing realistic about the image on the poster except for a small RL standing at the bottom.Everything else in the poster looks to be pure fantasy. It does not look Like a photograph or picture. Therefore, It does n't have much realism Text Color: White provides a good contrast to strong colors, such as black and blue. It can be used in small amounts or large amounts without becoming too overpowering or overwhelming, a positive aspect of the color. The negative point is that it is the color associated with surrender and cowardliness as the symbol of surrender is a white flag. We can see that the main title, Pan's Labyrinth, is printed in dark brown with gold-rimmed lettering.The dark brown of the lettering contrasts with the bright white background, attracting the viewer to read it. The font is a classic looking, sophisticated lettering style, possibly showing that this labyrinth or story is timeworn. The ‘R' in the word ‘Labyrinth' carries on at the bottom into a branch, showing that the little girl could be entering the labyrinth, as it all entwines. It draws our eyes to it. Tagging: The tagging at the bottom of the poster says â€Å"Innocence has a power evil cannot imagine. à ¢â‚¬  The tagging tells you that this girl is walking into danger and that it's a film all about an innocent young girl facing evil.At the top of the poster, there is a quote saying â€Å"Beautiful and exhilarating†¦ A fairy tale for grown-ups† Because it is at the top of the poster, but smaller than the title, it should be the second thing that the viewer reads. Positive reviews and laurels on the posters will intrigue customers as they know that they can trust the professionals. Text Font: The font is a classic looking, sophisticated lettering style, possibly showing that this labyrinth or story is timeworn. The ‘R' in the word ‘Labyrinth' carries on at the OTTOMH into a branch, showing that the little girl could be entering the labyrinth, as it all entwines.The letter â€Å"R† has been Joined with the trees around the border of the poster, showing that the tree and the letter â€Å"R† were inseparably intertwined. Target Audience: The target audience of the movie poster for this movie would be fantasy lovers. Even though it looks pitch dark, perhaps many children as it has an element of mysterious adventure about the movie. There are three laurels from film festivals, including Cannes Film Festival and the New York Film Festival, which are tot immense festivals in the film business.It shows that the film has been the love by the harshest of critics and film experts. Reaction: In my opinion, I think this is a great poster, and it matches the film itself, its genre and its look very mystery. The cinematography and magic-realism is a visual treat, and the movie will leave people thinking of it for a long time. It is one of those films that only get better when it reattached again. It shows to people there will be an adventure, and although people don't know the significance of the small girl, people will assume she will be part of it.There ‘re lots to look at, but it's not overly busy. Layout: I like the layout of t his poster. It is very clever how the edges blackened around the poster. So people will only see the central image. When the people look in the centre, then gradually look further out, it notices the giant moon above what looks like a portal, people can see the trees and the gremlin or goblin type sculpture in the arch. It is very detailed, even the small print at the bottom has the details of everything, but the main focus of the layout is a small girl who standing on the bottom.

Job Design and Work Diversity Essay

Introduction In the current business environment, human resource management (HRM) has become an important role for an organisation. HRM refers to the policies, practices, and systems that influence employees’ behaviour, attitudes, and performance (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, & Wright, 2010). It is important because HRM helps the company to achieve the goals and improve employee’s performance. One of the HRM roles is to have an impact on the management performance of job design and work force diversity. Due to the definition of job design, it helps to defining how work will be performed and what impact will be given in performance. On the other hand, work force diversity also has impact on HRM to managing people’s similarities and differences. The aim of this paper is to conduct a literature review on what role job design and work force diversity play in attempts to improve individual and organisational performance. Job Design In terms of job design, many aspects of HRM formulation address how the work gets done. As said by Garg and Rastogi (2006), HRM has become one of the internal factors of the organisation that play a vital role in motivating the performance of employees. It is an essential part of every manager’s  responsibility to make sure the employee has the right knowledge, skills and abilities to perform their job. The purpose of job design is to discuss what is needed from the job and the employee. There are four types of approaches that can be used in job design. They are the mechanistic approach, the motivational approach, the biological approach, and the perceptual approach (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, & Wright, 2010). Studies from Hackman & Lawler (1971) and Hackman & Oldham (1976,1980) has indicated one of the model of how job design affects employee reactions is the individual-job design model, also known as the Job Characteristics Model-JCM (cited in Goris, 2007). Torraco (2005) also has recognized that â€Å"the JCM has had a persistent influence on work design practices and has accumulated an impressive amount of related research† (cited ini Goris, 2007, p.738). Another aspect that has been discussed is ergonomics, which also plays a vital role in job design and influencing the motivational level of employees. Designing job ergonomically will help employee to avoid musculoskeletal injuries and awkward postures, also has a safe working condition (Garg & Rastogi, 2006). Based on research by Lantz and Brav (2007), job design and work routines have been shown strong effects on reflexivity, learning processes, and outcomes such as effectiveness, productivity, and job satisfaction. Job design has made positive impact for group processes and individual performances. Earlier studies (Brayfield and Rothe, 1951) said that global satisfaction has reflected a generalized or an overall evaluation of an employee toward his/her job (cited in Frimpong & Wilson, 2013). Evans (1969), Fisher (1980), Ironson et al. (1989) and Brown & Peterson (1993) have indicated three ways to measure job satisfaction. They are global, narrow and multidimensional measurements (cited in Frimpong & Wilson, 2013). Although job design sounds as a common problem in every company, it holds key to developing and maintaining a compe titive advantage. Manager has the important role to know and understand the entire workflow process in their work unit to ensure that the process going effectiveness and efficiency. Halachmi (2005) pointed out that the basic premise of the concept of performance management is great performance, whether by an individual or by a group is very unlikely to happen on its own. Workforce Diversity Stockdale and Crosby (2004) have defined diversity management as â€Å"a voluntary and planned program designed to make differences between employees a source of creativity, complementarity and greater effectiveness† (cited in Alcazar et al. 2012, p.512). Diversity is viewed as a key to strengthen the human and intellectual capital of business through effective communication and negotiation (Okoro & Washington, 2012). Moreover, diversity has becoming a great factor for recruitment, productivity, relationship, and competitiveness of the organisations. There are many advantages that come up from workforce diversity. Friedman (2005) and Gupta (2008) concurred that a diverse workforce can provide a fabulous advantage by employing new idea and communication skills, thus providing diversity thoughts from employee that will give better result in solutions and decision-making (cited in Okoro & Washington, 2012). Education and communication has become the key to transform the behaviour of the employees in terms of embracing and accepting diversity. According to Kundu (2003), he has categorised the benefits that organisation can achieve for creating a diverse workforce, such as organisation can provide better service because they understand customer’s needs (Wentling & Palma-Rivas, 2000); diversity will help organisation to enter the international area (Cascio, 1998); can enhances creativity and innovation (Adler, 1997; Jackson et al., 1992); produces competitive advantages (Coleman, 2002; Jackson et al., 1992); organization can suc ceed at diversity if they have initiative to create, manage and value the diverse workforce has the full support of the management (Hayes, 1999; Jackson et al.,1992). On the other hand, the literature also has explained that the perception of differences thought among employees could produce negative impact within the group (Alcazar, 2013). William and O’Reilly (1998) pointed out that mismanaged diversity initiatives and implementations could negatively affect organization’s performance and processes (cited in Bergen, 2005). In addition, Devoe (1999) and Esty et al. (1995) argued that managers might be faced the losses due to personnel and work productivity and negative attitudes and behaviours from the employee. Therefore, before designing an  idea for managing diversity, it is necessary to define and analyse clearly all of the kinds of differences that the organisation needs to manage (Alcazar, 2013). Manager should be aware of the values of understanding, appreciating, and respecting human and cultural differences to be effective in interacting across cultural organisations (Okoro & Washington, 2012). Furthermore, it is critically important for managers to understand the importance of workforce diversity and effective communication in achieving the objectives of organisations and academic institutions. Conclusion Both of job design and workforce diversity have equal impact in attempt of HRM. Job design helps managers to developing and maintaining a competitive advantage in organisation. Beside that, managers need to know and understand clearly the entire workflow process in their unit. The other advantages of job design can identify employee’s knowledge and skills. It will help managers to determine employee’s position and job precisely. On the other hand, diversity also has important role in HRM. Organisation can have many advantages from implementing diversity into their business. For example to enhance creativity and innovation in the organisation and have better idea for decision-making. As a manager, it is necessary to analyse and define the differences in the organisation that needs to manage.

Electrical Current Definition

Electrical Current Definition Electrical current is a measure of the amount of electrical charge transferred per unit of time. It represents the flow of electrons through a conductive material, such as a metal wire. It is measured in amperes. Units and Notation for Electrical Current The SI unit of electrical current is the ampere, defined as 1 coulomb/second.  Current is a  quantity, meaning it is the same number regardless of the  direction of the flow, without a positive or negative number. However, in circuit analysis, the direction of current is relevant. The conventional symbol for current is  I, which originates from the French phrase  intensità © de courant, meaning  current intensity.  Current intensity is often referred to simply as  current. The  I  symbol was used by  Andrà ©-Marie Ampà ¨re, after whom the unit of electric current is named. He used the I symbol in formulating  Ampà ¨res force law in 1820.  The notation traveled from France to Great Britain, where it became standard, although at least one journal did not change from using  C  to  I  until 1896. Ohms Law Governing Electrical Current Ohms law states that the current through a conductor between two points is directly  proportional  to the  potential difference  across the two points. Introducing the constant of proportionality, the  resistance, one arrives at the usual mathematical equation that describes this relationship: IV/R In this relationship,  I  is the current through the conductor in units of  amperes,  V  is the potential difference measured  across  the conductor in units of  volts, and  R  is the  resistance  of the conductor in units of  ohms. More specifically, Ohms law states that the  R  in this relation is constant and is independent of the current. Ohms law is used in electrical engineering for solving circuits. The abbreviations  AC  and  DC  are often used to mean simply  alternating  and  direct, as when they modify  current  or  voltage. These are the two main types of electrical current. Direct Current Direct current (DC) is the unidirectional flow of  electric charge. The  electric charge  flows in a constant direction, distinguishing it from  alternating current  (AC). A  term formerly used  for  direct current  was galvanic current. Direct current is produced by sources such as  batteries,  thermocouples,  solar cells, and commutator-type electric machines of the  dynamo  type. Direct current may flow in a  conductor  such as a wire  but can also flow through  semiconductors,  insulators, or even through a  vacuum  as in  electron or ion beams. Alternating Current In alternating current (AC, also ac), the movement of  electric charge  periodically reverses direction. In  direct current, the flow of electric charge is only in one direction. AC is the form of  electric power  delivered to businesses and residences. The usual  waveform  of an  AC power  circuit is a  sine wave. Certain applications use different waveforms, such as  triangular  or  square waves. Audio  and  radio  signals carried on electrical wires are also examples of alternating current. An important goal in these applications is the  recovery of information encoded (or  modulated) onto the AC signal.