Evil Disney, Research Response to Henry Giroux Essay Example for Free

Evil Disney, Research Response to Henry Giroux Essay There are plenty of hotbed issues on how the Disney corporation’s sociological and socio political ideologies are embedded into their products and how they affect children, but very few ask why Disney would place hidden ideologies in their movies/shows. What reasons would Disney have to program children with outdated morals while trying desperately to uphold a model image of innocence? What practices has the disney corporation practiced that some would consider immoral or even illegal? To answer these questions the following issues must be explored in more depth: The history and actions of Disney from its inceptions to the present,Walt’s strict â€Å"moral† code along with the legacy he left behind, the policies of Disneyland along with the corporation’s political, judicial and economical power, Walt’s ties to the FBI and organized crime syndicates, and the revolving door politics in our government. Disney’s powers have allowed them unprecedented freedoms associated with a private company and the pandora’s box that is Evil Mickey. First,what is the Disney corporation and how did it come to be? It was created almost single handedly by Walter Elias Walt Disney. He was born on December 5, 1901, one of five children. Walt had a love for drawing cartoons early on and even made money as a child by selling some of them to family and friends. When he was 16 he joined the Red Cross as an ambulance driver for WW1 after being denied service in the army for his young age. This patriotic fervor that would later shape his cartoons. When he returned home from the war he made a few failed attempts at working in different animation companies until he and his brother, Roy, started the Disney Brothers Studio in 1923 after moving to California. The two of them prospered despite two major setbacks becoming one of the most powerful media conglomerates today. Their first setback happened In the late 1920’s. Disney learned that Winkler and her husband, Charles Mintz, had basically stolen their entire enterprise when they stole the rights to Oswald, an early character for his laugh-o-grams. Along with all but one former employee, Iwerks, who refused to leave Disney, hopefully winning him employee of the year. (biography. com) Charles was unsatisfied with the production costs for earlier creations. When Oswald became highly successful, Mintz hired all of the former employees thereby giving the rights to the later formed Universal picture’s first creation. According to his biography, during this time Walt’s wife was pregnant with their first child and Walt went into a deep depression claiming it on â€Å"financial stress†. (sito, ch5) There is a lot of speculation about this time in Walt’s life. Some say that the Mishpucka and the organized mob had an influence into this(babbit); the mob, who at the time were powerful in the freezone of Hollywood, controlling unions, local law, real estate, film sets, etc. Time Magazine, Nov. 1, 1943, wrote, In the witness chair in Manhattan’s Federal Court sat bland, Wily Willie Bioft (pronounced Buy-off), blackmailer, panderer, labor leader, and now star witness against eight ex-pals, who are charged with shaking down $1 million from the movie industry Question: Was it true that Bioft once had a five-year plan for taking over 20% of Hollywood’s profits-and eventually 50% interest In the studios themselves? Bioff (wistfully): If we’d lasted that long, we would have. Question: Did you ever say you were boss of Hollywood and could make producers do whatever you wanted? Bioff: Yes-and I could make them dance to my tune. Although Bioff rolled over on his pals and ended up getting car bombed later there is no proof that Walt ever worked with them or against them. The only link between Walt and the Mishpucka/Mafia is Mafia associate, Henry Cohn. After the first setback with Mintz Walt was heavily in debt and needed some way to bounce back his business after losing nearly everything but his mind. Henry offered to give Walt a loan. The thought of the mafia looming over his head is one of the reasons stated for his severe depression (RasmussenSito) The theft of Oswald, was a blessing in disguise that lead to the creation of Mickey Mouse and later to create the worlds first full length animated movie in 1937, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which won 8 Oscars and made 1. 5 million despite being in the midst of an economic meltdown. (biography. com) Opening up Disney to a whole new realm of marketing and showing Walt the popularity and power of his studios. The second setback was the strike of 1941. Which was instigated by the firing of former head of the Federation of Screen Cartoonists and later leader of the Screen Cartoonists Guild, Art Babbitt on May 28, which caused 200 animators to go on strike almost immediately. (Sitobabbit) Walt early on had discovered that propaganda and public image were key to selling media, which is why he was so studious about keeping the interior of the workplace â€Å"Christian†. Walt had created the Federation of Screen artists to better control his workers, which was a union that regularly met with him on issues such as wage increases, better hours, less footage quotas, and better work environments. Since Walt was notorious for being a bit cruel and demanding in the office. (rasmussen) Though as soon as Art learned this he created the Screen Cartoonists Guild whose recruiting patterns were not the nicest methods possible but it did get them all to join â€Å"There were these tough union guys who said we couldn’t enter the door unless we joined, so we did. Under protest I joined. Because of the new job classification my salary doubled overnight. So i can’t complain about the union. † (sito) This was a time when union laws were strong under Teddy Roosevelt, more often than not the law would favor the people over the corporation. This was also a time when many Mob bosses were often also Union bosses so it was a give and take situation. Unions were now viewed as less as a helpful barrier between workers and the corporations to something evil, something, Communist. With the Red scare well under way and people were mixing socialist ideologies with communism. Though at this time the idea of communism was quite popular the way patsies were during the prohibition age. It was doing quite well in the underground of society. Even within Disney there was communism, Walt even thought communist agitators were the culprit to the 1941 strike. sito) This all of course is the end result of years of oppressive rule under Walt along with strengthening unions demanding better pay and working conditions. Walt hated those whose ideas drifted more towards the left wing which would fit the image of the highly conservative man he was. In the office an employee could be fired on the spot for any kind of social infraction. If an employee cursed or made any sort of rude engagements with a woman they would be forced to leave and of course there was no drinking allowed in his office. Disney employees under Walt had to get a hall pass to go to the restroom or get up at all† Of course walt was known for his rages, often times screaming at artists who had not met his quotas of 30 to sometimes 60 feet of film in one day. He was also known to be a heavy drinker in his officeâ€Å"You could smell the gin on his breath everyday after lunch† (Sito) Walt testified about the strike in the hearings of the House Committee on Un-American Activities about this and much more calling them â€Å"Communist agitators†, among other less decent things. sito) This of course started the well documented relationship between Walt and the FBI from 1940 till his death. He was promoted to full Special Agent in Charge Contact, which meant he had people under him finding communists and saboteurs, Ronald Reagan being one of his fellow operatives under T-10. He and Reagan Blacklisted many writers, actors and artists for having a differing political belief as that of the reigning government. The FBI also gained access to Disneyland to use as a platform for whatever they want. There is talk online on blogs that the FBI still use Disneyland to monitor foreign nationals entering the park since the threat of communism no longer applies. (HerbertSitoBabbitRasmussen) The relationship Walt had with the FBI and the ability to blacklist anybody he wanted may subscribe to Disney’s amazing rise during this time as a media powerhouse(but thats only speculation) This cozy relationship between Disney and the government has continued through the wonderful world of the revolving door politics. A sad modern relationship that is so commonly seen between politics and private companies. Many who are in executives in Disney will enter into politics and gain high levels positions starting as lobbyists and squeezing their way into actual positions of power in the government. Marsha Macbride for example, worked as an FCC chief of staff to chairman powell for years before sometime in the late 1990’s she started to lobby for Disney and was a major advisor in the clinton administration as well as during the merger of time warner and AOL, which Disney ended up winning and gaining rights along with cash settlements in 2003. The next year she is working as the Executive Vice President for Legal and Regulatory Affairs at the National Association of Broadcasters and still is. (gov relations 1-3) Another is Lisa Caputo who served citigroup, disney vp of communications and as a bill clinton staffer (gov relations 5)or Susan Fox who worked as an fcc advisor before going to work for disney as an advisor between the government on their divisions such as the Disney Interactive Media Group, Disney Channel, the Disney ABC Cable Networks, ABC and ESPN. (gov relations 4) Others include George mitchell who worked in on Board of Directors as well as a US senator. Eileen Oconnor was a news producer for ABC but is now working in a US embassy. Dennis Hightower a former Sr. executive officer transferred to Dep Secretary of commerce. (gov relations 35)There is even a department of Disney called â€Å"Disney government relations† that has a direct link to another department within the FCC. After calling a few times and getting different information I got this â€Å"we work with our partners in government such as the AFA or the FCC to get better standards of broadcasting for the Disney corporation. Basically legally bribing politicians to lower their standards and to take Disney’s side in lawsuits and corporate takeovers. Now a days after Walt’s death Disney has expanded to epic proportions in the media industry. The public face of cuddly animals, children’s fairy tales and building theme parks â€Å"It also owns six motion picture studios, ABC television network and its 226 affiliated stations, multiple cable television networks, 227 radio stations, four music companies, three cruise lines, theatrical production companies, publishing houses, multiple educational shorts, 15 magazine titles and five video game development studios. (gabler)It became the cultural pervader of a perfect world with everything that it put its name on. But there is a darker side to Disney that is up for debate. The side of Disney that is bigoted, American exceptionalist, sexist, racist, and a purveyor of pain and suffering. The propaganda machine that is Disney today. Propaganda has always been an important part in any government, from mummers playing the latest military conquest to Disney’s subliminal messages of obedience in children’s movies. Producers construct fantasy societies that seem to run in perfect harmony where each worker and is happy to work their menial jobs and never aspire to try to raise themselves above their born level. This is seen in the workers of Antz, Sleeping Beauty and Oz. Always with an all powerful â€Å"just ruler†. These stories lead children into blindly following their leaders down the yellow brick road to the great and powerful Oz. â€Å"Workers are quite happy to serve the rich and privileged, never questioning their subordinate position. (giroux pg 102). Another example is the Chicken little movie in 1938, where the people are the chickens, the farmer the government and the fox being intellectuals (with his psychology book) Programming americans, along with all of the other(now banned) wartime disney movies that seep out Walts own personal bigoted morals. Another example is the â€Å"Thrifty Pigs† which is trying to get people to buy war bonds to stop â€Å"the big bad wol f†, or â€Å"Home Defense† which makes fun of the French soldiers as being incompetent. All of these and countless others that were formed to get the people to fight in a war that we had no part in until Pearl Harbor. Or the worst one, â€Å"The spirit of the 43† â€Å"taxes to fight the axis† â€Å"Dont spend your money on things you dont need, give it to the government. † Nothing like big brother Disney. But this side of Disney stops, at least blatantly, after Walts death in 1966 when it became a modern heartless bureaucratic corporation. Yet hidden messages are still within modern movies, though with less obvious programming. â€Å"vciolinguistic construction of social dominance and inferiority in which characters who use mainstream American English tend to be associated with strongly positive actions and motivations† [pg 102 of Giroux] While the antagonist is often of another nationality such as the British voiced Scar or any voice that isn’t middle class Suburbia speech, as seen in Ursula’s louisiana swamp accent. This push es children to view those of the lower social class, dark skinned people or foreigners to be â€Å"evil† and become xenophobic and racist towards anything different than themselves. Disney goes a step further and makes a culture of consumerism, â€Å"without tenements or poverty or urban class conflict Its a native white Protestant dream of a world without blacks or immigrants. , image of small towns characterized by cheerful commerce, with barbershop quartets and ice cream sundaes and glorious parades. (giroux pg 96) Everything media wise that Disney produces ends up becoming a cog in the Disney corporate machine with imaginers spewing out product after product to sell to children and increase profits. Children see a movie and want to emulate the role models perceived, then a commercial comes on after Mickey mouse club house for the newest enchanted Princess gown or Woody’s costume and the kids ask their parents to get it. Children have not just copied the looks of the protagonists in Disney stories but have come to expect those fantasies to play out in real life, when the real world isn’t such a happy place and has no room for such fantasy. People end up growing up focusing on material items and their personal lives instead of focusing on the fixable issues, calling it the American dream. This ideology of apathy is a big problem now with revolving door politics, politicians who promise the same things over and over and never fix them and blame the other side, failing infrastructure, falling public school standards and debt through the roof. Not saying that its all Disney’s fault, of course not. Though almost every American child has seen at least one disney movie, its almost impossible not to be sucked into Disney’s sway since they even show them often in public schools as educational videos never delving deeper. As a social manipulator Disney has taken the fight out of us. Programing us to follow American exceptionalism since the American was the hero is portrayed morally just whilst his/her enemy spoke in an exotic accent along with generating xenophobism of other cultures. Reinforcing children to follow the status quo and not to learn about the rest of the worlds culture outside their own narrow sphere of friends and family, enclosing ourselves in a media shell while proliferating American’s culture and moral values to other nations, who view disney as the true america. Disneyland it is the real country, all of real America† -Jean Baudril ­lard [pg 95 of giroux. ] To be fair, countless other â€Å"childrens shows† show â€Å"non moral/family friendly broadcasting, especially now. Watching Spongebob as a child or the modern shows such as Adventure Time or the Regular Show and then seeing them as an adult. Explaining why my mother would laugh at certain parts of the shows that I didn’t laugh at. I notice now the abundance of sexual jokes I missed as a kid and the references to drugs, crimes, war, and all the other stuff thats messed up with the world. So this kind of hidden messages has been deeply imbedded into all sorts media, they are adults working on childrens shows after all, so i doubt they’d be â€Å"mature†. What is evil about Disney is the corporation and those leading it, not the movies that they put their name on. This culture of consumerism that the corporation has exacerbated has evolved into a new network with companies working together to sell a common goal.

Impact of Celebrity Endorsement on Purchasing Habits

Impact of Celebrity Endorsement on Purchasing Habits To what extent does branding and celebrity endorsement affect consumer purchasing habits? The three brands you shall be focusing on are Benetton, Dove and Nike. However much one denies it, we are all consumers and our buying habits are undoubtedly influenced by advertising. In the last two decades, corporate marketing strategies have fully embraced the notion of branding as the material product begins to take a back seat and lifestyles, attitudes, values and experiences[1] are to be had in all good shops. Nike, Dove and Benetton have enjoyed massive success in harnessing the potent marketing device of cultural identification; consumers associate products with a rounded way of life, identify with the image a product offers and succumb to the adverts insistence that the product is necessary. In considering the extent to which branding affects consumer purchasing habits, the fundamental question of whether advertising can change behaviour, or just modifies established attitudes is further complicated by a semiotic problem. Roland Barthes suggested that words and signs are interpreted differently by each individual, and that the interpretation i s influenced by cultural understanding and conditioning. If so, then the many complex signs involved in creating a brand must fit artfully into a system of linguistic understanding; therefore begging the question, is culture affected by advertising or do established cultural boundaries govern advertising methods? The Nike brand has long represented rebellion and individual will. The Just Do It tagline, accompanied by images of celebrated sportspersons, went on to promote heightened performance and success, a notion of striving to compete and win. Despite controversies over their use of sweatshops, Nike escaped economic setbacks; the sport shoes they made in the sweatshops were not, after all, necessarily their defining image. Nike is a swoosh tick, performance athletes, fitness, health. After a brand-threat in the early 1990s, the marketing industry came to the following conclusion the products that will flourish in the future will be the ones presented not as commodities but as concepts: the brand as experience, as lifestyle[2], and this is exactly the approach taken by Nike that has kept the company close to the top of a very competitive market. In No Logo, Klein puts forward the suggestion that consumers dont truly believe theres a huge difference between products, which is why brands must establish emotional ties[3]. Nikes shoes are worn by athletes who perform amongst other athletes wearing Reebok, Adidas, Puma and in order to compete in a consumer market they must enter the consumers mind and find a unique way to stay there. Of late, the notion of individuality, revolution and victory have accompanied Nikes renowned air of rebelliousness; as with many modern campaigns, Nikes advertising targets consumers who are seeking to find individuality and respect in these sports goods. To further endorse the notion of the winning Nike lifestyle, Nikes website is exciting, flashy and aggressive; the advent of the internet has offered companies like Nike a fully-enhanced endorsement of their culturally apt product, and provides an arena is which advertising can become increasingly more involved in peoples everyday lives. This invasion of brands into our homes surely increases the opportunity for a product to become a necessity in consumers lives. Companies branding is about thirstily soaking up cultural ideas and iconography that their brands could reflect by projecting these ideas and images back on the culture as extensions of their brands[4], but the question still remains as to whether our established cultural understanding is created by or an obstruction to advertising. Remaining with the idea that a brand sells a lifestyle rather than a mere product, the recent change in direction with Doves (Unilever) endorsement of its skincare products is a particularly interesting event. It seems that Dove is to be congratulated on its Campaign for Real Beauty, which is a catalyst for activating Doves beauty philosophy and to announce a wider, more refreshing view on beauty[5], especially in a media climate that can still be criticised for its promotion of a very narrow definition of beauty. Whilst there is more harm than good in Doves campaign, it must not be forgotten that however moralistic a company may seem it still has profit as its central focus. To dismiss Dove as a product line that is using its consumers most sensitive issues to its advantage would be too partial an investigation when the very essence of a brand is in finding the most permanent method to win a consumers affections. Similarly to Nike, the Dove brand stands for the individual will to be; using their product will enhance your identity, help in your definition of a self that will fit in to the norms of society. Dove and Nike have both achieved the corporate transcendence [6] as outlined by Klein; in which a company transcends its product and becomes a free-standing meaning. The meanings implied in advertisements for branded products plumb the depths of our basic and universal needs and desires; their glossy images and suggestive language show us the way to be happy. Gain happiness through successful competition thanks to Nike, happiness brought on by the smooth skin and self-respect Dove can achieve whatever the route to happiness, a brand denies all barriers. The glossy adverts serve to influence our buying behaviour by offering an essentially better life. Celebrity endorsement of brands is part of the very construct of the brand itself. A product need only be associated with David Beckham and it’s representative of him; celebrities are established constructs with which consumers already identify and their use in advertising is a guarantee of the product’s quality. Celebrity is seen as the award for talent (be that physical or intellectual), so celebrity endorsement of products is certain to have an effect on consumer attitudes as the connection between the celebrity and a lifestyle already exist. In this sense, celebrities are respected members of society whose opinions are trusted; whilst a brand will fail if the product is particularly poor, even a mediocre brand will inevitably succeed if the right kind of celebrity (like Nike’s collection of experts; the famous athletes) to allow their lifestyle to be representative of a product. It is becoming clear that brands are invading society to the point where it is virtually impossible to tell the different between culture and branding. Sports are sponsored, entertainment is sponsored, the home is branded along with clothes, cosmetics and essential hygiene products; we form particular attitudes towards brands through various associations within life, through ‘brand advertising, word of mouth, peer influence, habits’[7]. Through all this, brands bombard us by positioning themselves within our life’s situations until they are ingrained as our cultural associations to activities and emotions. It comes to the point where, if brands have become ‘not products but ideas, attitudes, values and experiences, why can’t they be culture too?’[8] It is no longer possible to confidently say whether, in a branded world, consumers are capable of making autonomous purchasing choices. The case comes to United Colors of Benetton; so renowned for their controversial advertising campaign of birds covered in oil and new born babies. It was suggested that Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty is impoverished by the company’s profit-driven morals, but Benetton’s shocking images and their intended interpretations take exploitation a big step further. Benetton’s campaign tried to ’associate the name of the retailer with concern for social problems’[9], therefore invoking a cultural conscience in consumers and almost certainly having a strong influence on consumer purchasing habits. In an exposed global society, consumers are beginning to deal with a guilty conscience about the imbalance of wealth and aid in the world and brands like Nike, Dove and Benetton offer a individual-centred quick-fix solution to that concern. The irony that we are spending the cash which is the source of our guilt surely does not escape us; we continue to searc h for brands that epitomise our sense of self, our morals, our personalities. Advertisements are specifically designed to win us over on these very basic grounds and, whilst it may seem a paradox, branding will continue to effect consumer habits so long as the consumer exists in an consumer-led society. References Barthes, R. Image Music Text. London: Fontana: 1984 Corner, J and Pels, D (eds.) Media and the Restyling of Politics: consumerism, celebrity, cynicism. London: SAGE: 2003 Day, N. Advertising Information or Manipulation? Enslow Publications: United Kingdom: 1999 Heath, R. The hidden power of adveritisng: how low involvement processing influences the way we choose brands. Henley-on-Thames: Admap Publications: 2001 Jones, J.P. What s in a name? Advertising and the concept of brands. Armonk, N.Y: M.E Sharpe: 2003 Klein, N. No Logo. London: Harper Collins: 2000 Myers, G. Adworlds: brands, media, audiences. London: Arnold: 1998 Myers, G. Words in Ads. London: Arnold: 1994 Tanaka, K. Advertising Language a pragmatic approach to advertising in Britain and Japan. London: Routledge: 1994 Vestergaard, T. and Schrà ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¸eder, K. The Language of Advertising. Oxford: Blackwell: 1986 www.benetton.com 04/05/05 www.dove.com 04/05/05 www.nike.com 04/05/04 1 Footnotes [1] No Logo p.30 [2] No Logo p.21 [3] as above p.20 [4] as above p.29 [5] www.dove.com [6] No Logo p.21 [7] What’s in a Name? p.235 [8] No Logo p.30 [9] Words in Ads p.10

Change Management Plan :: Business Management Analysis

Change Management Plan Change is essential to today's business environment. If a company is to survive and succeed on a macro level, they should analyze and adopt the best overall plan for change on an enterprise level. When examining the best way to make changes in a company that will globally affect the company, it is usually best to look at the total picture before acting, lest the plan fail. This paper will briefly summarize four key areas that leaders and managers must understand in order to successfully make a change, or in the case of our model company CrysTel, manage change dynamically throughout the life of the company. In order to understand completely the change it wants to make, the company must understand the implications of the change and the human variables of change implementation. The company should also strive to understand how to monitor the progress of the change, and how to ensure the continued success of the change. The following paragraphs are an explanation of what CrysTel is, why i t needs to change, and how these four key areas can be manipulated to help it succeed in its dynamic need for change in the ever-changing environment it lives in. Implications of Organizational Change CrysTel is a telecommunications company that exists in a very dynamic environment, and it has the need for all aspects of itself to be dynamic and able to change relatively quickly. The upper management recently realized that CrysTel has the need to bring more products and services into its portfolio. That means that everybody who works for the company needs to be good at analyzing the best way to change, implementing a change, and sustaining the change. It also means that CrysTel employees need to change with the organization. In order for all of the employees to be good at the constant change that will be happening and be as dynamic as they need to be, they have to have good and dynamic leaders and managers to aid in the effort. Without the support from above, the employees will probably lose focus and the desire to see the company succeed (Miller et al, 2004). If the company does not prepare well, it might experience a high turnover rate as well. A study conducted by Lester Coch a nd John R.P. French showed that if a group of workers was not prepared for a change properly, that group exhibited a high turnover rate (Krietner & Kinicki, 2003).

Transgenderism and Feminism Essay -- essays research papers

Judith Halberstam’s lecture focused on the issues regarding transgenderism/transsexualism, feminism/trans feminism (FTM), and the relationships between them. The lecture mainly addressed the necessity of trans feminism and reasons for its absence in the present queer and feminist communities. Trans feminism is necessary for all trans individuals. Leaving femininity behind creates a problem for FTMs. Growing up; they were subject to the same challenges that other young women faced. In fact, they most likely still do face obstacles on top of the challenges that come with not fitting in a â€Å"socially proper† category of gender. As Sandy Stone put in her essay, MTFs need feminism for the transition, to recognize the privileges that come with being born male and living as a man, that they don’t have now but had at some point in their lives. If they get rid of feminism, then their transition can be attributed to an inherent misogyny. Feminists also need to recognize that transgenderism/transsexualism and feminism are not necessarily odds. Feminism needs the inclusion and the support of all genders. Feminists need to have conversations with trans individuals in order to expand their movement. The necessary first step to take is to be inclusive, allow both transmen and transwomen be a part of all women’s events. Michigan Women’s Music Festival is the most mentioned event that this problem arises. The â€Å"womyn born womyn† requirement to attend the festival is bluntly another way of sa...

Biography of Charles Cromwell :: English Civil War Generals Military Essays

Biography of Charles Cromwell As a general on the parliamentary side of the English Civil War vs. Charles I, Cromwell helped bring about the overthrow of the Stuart monarchy, and he raised his country's status to that of a leading European power since the death of Queen Elizabeth I. Being a man with strong character made him one of the most remarkable rulers in modern European history. Although he was a convinced Calvinist he believed deeply in the value of religious toleration. Cromwell's victories at home and abroad helped to vitalize a Puritan attitude of mind, in Great Britain and in North America, which has continued to influence political and social life until recent times. (Gaunt, 1996) Cromwell, the only son of Robert Cromwell and Elizabeth Steward was born in Huntingdon, England in 1599. His father, who was active in local affairs, had been a member of one of Queen Elizabeth's parliaments. Robert Cromwell died when his son was 18, but his widow lived to the age of 89. Oliver went to the local grammar school and then for a year attended Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. After his father died he left Cambridge to go care for his mother and sisters but it is believed that he studies at Lincoln's Inn in London, where gentlemen could acquire a smattering of law. In 1620 he married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir James Bourchier, a merchant in London. They had five sons and four daughters. (Kathe, 1984) Both his father and mother were Protestants who had profited from the destruction of the monasteries during the reign of King Henry VIII, and they probably influenced their son in his religious upbringing. Both his schoolmaster in Huntingdon and the Master of Sidney Sussex College were enthusiastic Calvinists and strongly anti-Catholic. In his youth Cromwell was not very studious, since he enjoyed outdoor sports, such as hunting; but he was an avid reader of the Bible, and he admired Sir Walter Raleigh's The History of the World. Cromwell learned that the sins of man could be punished on earth but that God, through His Holy Spirit, could guide the elect into the paths of righteousness. (Kathe, 1984) In the early parts of his married life Cromwell, like his father, was quite conscious of his responsibilities to his fellow men and concerned himself with affairs in his native fenlands, but at the same time he had a spiritual and psychological struggle which confused him and damaged his health.

So I Was Having This Conversation

It is unavoidable. It is there in every prospect Of life. How can you expect a person to remain the same forever? Are you the same person you were last year? No! This second is different from the previous one. Change it is such a dangerously beautiful word. A word that is welcome and unwelcome at the same time. We eagerly wait for summer to change into winter but we cannot bear the thought of our friends changing their style of speaking or music etc. I love change. It keeps a person unique and fresh. I think people should accept change.There is no old you or new you it is you in a different aspect. I think people dot like change because t interrupts with the stability of life. If suddenly you were to come home and find your mom dancing instead of preparing your lunch you would question her sanity – â€Å"mom what are you doing? † But why can't we accept that she too needs a break? I think people who can accept change are the most brave and most open-minded people. Peopl e who swore to me that they would always be here left me saying – â€Å"you've changed. But I found people who accept me change or no change. â€Å"l am like the scorching heat that changes into the piercing cold which I turn change into the pitter patter of falling raindrops. I am like the flower that changes from a bud into a flower a caterpillar into a butterfly. I am like the snake that shed its skin and grows every year.

Compare and Contrast Two Works of Art

Anthony Arteaga Art History Ancient World Homework Assignment #1 Compare and contrast the subject, concept, and the Formal Element of the two works of art. Also, explain which category this work falls in. The two pieces I have chosen can be found on page 200, figure 6-51, Battle of Centaurs and Wild Beasts from Hadrian’s Villa and on page 434, figure 14-8, Battle of the Bird and Serpent. Not only did I choose these pieces for their beauty, but also because both works have similar yet different subjects, concepts, and formal elements. Both of these images have subject matter that is the same even though they’re different.The subjects for the Battle of Centaurs and Wild Beasts from Hadrian’s Villa are animals; centaurs (male and female), tiger, lion, cheetah; as well as a pelt and rocky scenery. The subjects for Battle of the Bird and the Serpent are animals; peacock, a serpent, and birds in an acorn tree. Both pieces are nature based animals that live in a world w here survival of the fittest is reality. The main difference between piece one and two is that in piece one; centaurs are mythological creatures and in piece two the animals are not fictional.Both pieces have subjects that are the same; however their concepts can be perceived as similar but different. Both pieces have themes that can be perceived as alike. The first image is a male centaur raising a boulder over his head to crush a tiger that has severely wounded a female centaur. The pelt around his arm suggests he returned from a hunting expedition to find his loved one, either lover or sibling, critically wounded by three other beasts and his facial expression is that of concern, instead of rage or fury. The concepts in this battle scene are protection, rescue, vengeance, self-defense, and/or survival.I use the word survival because the three feline beasts are animals that need to eat as well. They need to eat like all animals and if there is no prey, then there is no food to sur vive. The second piece is a peacock holding a dead serpent in its beak. The concepts in this piece are battle, victory, triumph, and dominance, when one creature overcomes another. Our textbook says that this scene is an allegory for Christ (peacock) tricking and overcoming Satan (serpent). The peacock has an expression of being removed to the outcome of the battle. Even though both pieces are about battle and bloodshed; there are differences in the concept.In the first piece the male centaur is the favored winner of the fight, because of his size, blunt weapon, and his element of surprise. But regardless the outcome, he already lost when the female centaur was killed. Whether he kills or is killed by the remaining felines, the female is gone and he can’t bring her back. Unlike the second piece where there is an established winner and loser. Now that I’ve discussed the concepts of these two pieces, I’d like to talk about their formal elements. The formal element s are certain elements that are used to describe the subject or image.The elements are shape, texture, line, color, space, and values. The shapes in piece one can be found in the background as geometric shapes. There is a triangular stone in one corner and a flat rectangular stone in the opposite corner. A cheetah is mounted on a cube, ready to pounce. The boulder the centaur holds over his head is rectangular block. The scenery is mostly rigid shapes but the subjects have curves in their tails and muscle tone. The shapes in the second piece can vary. In the peacocks wing, body, thigh, and tail you can see a closed tear- drop shape.There is a row of white circles on the bird’s neck and two rows of white circles on its wing. The tail has a leaf pattern that matches the leaves on the acorn tree. The serpent has a circular pattern on its belly and a scaly pattern on its backside. There are geometric shapes in both pieces; however, the geometric shapes are primarily secluded to t he background in piece one and is inside the subject’s body in piece two. In piece two, the shape in the peacock’s tail and snake’s body is organic. Also, the shapes in the background are fuzzier and assumed in piece one where the shapes in piece two are sharper and more defined.Another formal element is texture. The first piece, according to the text, is a floor mosaic which is composed of many colored tesserae that were laid down in irregular, curving lines, which effectively imitated painted brushstrokes. The individual tiles are more apparent when viewed closely. This gives the piece a grainy and earthy texture, where it physically looks bumpy. The textbook says it has foreshortening, the illusion created on a flat surface in which figures and objects appear to recede or project sharply into space.The second piece was drawn with tempera on parchment. This makes the piece look smooth, flat, and two dimensional. The next element is color. The hues in both piec es are relatively earth toned. Both pieces have a low level of saturation. In piece one, the sky is mustard brown with a section of mint green that frames the boulder that the male centaur is holding. The rocky scenery has browns and creams with a dull green and brown center. A bright green patch of pine trees is in the corner that contrasts with the sky and rocks.The colors to the second piece are similar in the sense that it has low saturation. The colors are dull and warm. This piece utilizes reds and oranges, in the serpent, that the first piece does not. Because of the tan background, the green in the peacock’s body emboldens the subject. The brown around its tail compliment the blue inside the tail. Lines are another element that’s used. The lines in the first piece, which are made of many tiny lines and squares, are jagged and sharp. The sky and earth are divided by a jagged rocky background and the same can be said about the foreground.This creates a stage for the battle. There are jagged lines in the sky that frames the boulder being held. This piece has no physical lines that separate the body and background, which makes it look three dimensional. In the second piece, the acorn tree is a line (with branches) that adds to the images depth. There are lines inside the wing, beak, and talons. There is also a dividing line in both the serpent and in the body of the peacock. The physical lines in this piece separate the subjects and background making it look two dimensional and flat.Both pieces use lines to accentuate the subjects but the first piece has lines that are realistic and the second piece uses lines as borders for the subjects which makes it look more animated and less real. The next element that artists will use is space. The first piece has a female centaur lying on the ground with a tiger sprawled over her back end. Male centaur is looming over tiger with the dead lion behind him, both their legs overlapping, which also creates a three dimensional effect. A cheetah is on a cube in the background ready to pounce. The jagged foreground creates an illusion of a cliffs edge.In the second piece, the acorn tree is crucial for establishing where the subject lies, giving it it’s depth. The serpent is hanging from the peacock’s beak and coils beneath the bird. If the acorn tree was gone then the snake would appear to be free falling in empty space. Both pieces have uses depth, but the first piece appears to be more three dimensional where the second piece appears flat. The final element artists will use is value. The first piece has a dark to light value in the rocky scenery and in the shading in the animals, which also adds to its three dimensions.The second piece has a dark subject value and light background which contrasts each other. The body of the peacock has a darker green hue but is uniform; there is no change in value in the subject. Both pieces have a dark to light value, but the first piece has variation of shades from one side of the piece to the other and within the subjects themselves. The second piece has dark subjects and a light background. Now that we’ve discussed the formal elements, the last topic is which category these two pieces are classified as.Certain works of art can be classified as representational, abstraction, and non-objective. The first piece is representational with an abstract background. Because of its hues, shapes, and shading; the subjects are portrayed as three dimensional and proportional. Even though a centaur is fictional, it still looks realistic. However, the background’s contours and colors are vague making it more abstract. The second piece is abstraction because of its flat appearance, its bold colors, and the shape of the subject’s eyes, wings, and tail.The patterns in and around the tail and in the body also adds to its abstraction. The tree in the foreground does not look natural and the birds on the branches are unrealistic. I’ve compared and contrasted the subjects, concepts, and the Formal Elements of two works of art. Also, I explained which category this work falls in. The two pieces I chose is Battle of Centaurs and Wild Beasts from Hadrian’s Villa and Battle of the Bird and Serpent. Both of these pieces have subject matter that can be compared similarly even though they’re different.