Sunday, January 26, 2020

The Gladiator

The Gladiator An essay on The Gladiator based on Sobchacks conceptualisation of genre movies and Singers notions of melodrama specifically about moral polarization. Ridley Scotts The Gladiator (2000) is about, Maximus (Russell Crowe) a respected honourable general, loyal to both his emperor and Rome. He leads his troops into battle, and emerges victorious from all of them. The one battle he is unable to win is that he is unable to save his family from being condemned by the new emperor of Rome, Commodus (Joachim Phoenix). Maximus goes through numerous gladiator battles and finally comes back to Rome to take revenge on Commodus. Maximus eventually gets a chance at revenge for his family, when he is put against Commodus in the ring. After a long struggle, he succeeds in killing Commodus, and restores the power of the Roman senate. This Hollywood movie is a good example of a sensational melodrama and, as such, it illustrates many of Singers notions of melodrama. This film is also a good example of an adventure film or swashbuckler and as such illustrates well Sobchacks conceptualisation of genre movies. According to Singer, melodrama â€Å"as it generally is used today refers to a set of subgenres that remain close to the heart and hearth and emphasize a register of heightened emotionalism and sentimentality† (page127). In other words, Singer defines melodrama several main concepts: excess, situation, moral polarization, non-classical narrative structure, pathos and finally sensationalism. Excess is the element perhaps most often associated with melodrama; according to Singer, its a certain â€Å"overwrought† or â€Å"exaggerated† quality. But also portrays emotional excess in the villains expressions of hatred, envy, jealousy, spite, or malice. For example, Maximus symbolizes all admirable qualities, and has a heart of gold. He is, however, opposed by the jealousy, obsessive and power-hungry Commodus who abuses his position of authority, as Caesar. This being said the viewers sympathy goes towards Maximus. On the other hand we feel distant from the emperor Commodus since we feel anger and hatred towards him. Melodrama also activates various kinds of excess in the spectators visceral responses. A good Hollywood melodrama is one that makes you cry, or one that arouses strong sentiment, particularly powerful feelings. Situation is another concept which merits consideration as a core feature of melodrama. Situation is a rather difficult to narrow down, but it could be defined as† a striking and exciting incident that momentarily arrests narrative action while the characters encounter a powerful new circumstance and the audience relishes the heightened dramatic tension†.(p128) In other words we are presented with a situation often entails a starting reversal or twist of events that creates a dramatic impasse, a momentary paralysis stemming from a deadlock. Situation involves a considerable amount of suspense: Suspense about how the deadlock will be broken. Illustrations of such suspense can be either about; how the hero will win a fight or how the â€Å"good guy† will escape from captivity. An example of a deadlock in the movie is noticed when Maximus had just killed Commodus and then just stands alone dreaming of opening the gates of heaven without any noise being heard. The dead lock is later on broken when Quintus had repeated Maximuss name twice, in order to get him out of his dreams and Maximus replies with â€Å"release my men†. What brings most viewers to watch movies like â€Å"The Gladiator† is one of its themes of hero vs. villain or â€Å"good guy† vs. â€Å"bad guy â€Å", which according to Singer is called moral polarization. This aspect of melodrama, where the formula of good vs. evil is used, expresses a realistic effect on the viewer. Maximus is a character to be that of a â€Å"common man,† one who had the virtues of wisdom, justice, fortitude and temperance. But on the other side we have Commodus a man full of hatred because of his fathers choice of the next ruler. He has no merci and will kill all those who come in his path to glory. People enjoy watching and experiencing the, thrill, adventures, violence, love, gore etc†¦ of the constant action and suspense that plays throughout the movie. This is called Sensationalism. It is used by making ordinary people live through extraordinary things (played out by actors). This causes the viewers personal emotions to awaken w ith intense feelings of pathos.. A situation in the movie when we see how good vs. evil always finish is when the camera is on Maximuss face as he tells Quintus â€Å"release my men†, this phrase shows that that the evil is being killed and the good is being released and by doing this Rome could now flourish. According to Sobchack, genre film is a film which belongs to a particular group of films that are extremely similar in their subject matter. The Gladiator is defined to be a melodrama which according to Sobchak, â€Å"even though we know that the protagonist will triumph in the end or that a satisfactory solution will be found to the central conflict, we also know that the dangers which threaten the protagonist are life-and-death matters.† (192)Sobchack defines genre film in terms of the concepts of formula and iconography. Formula is when â€Å"The basic conflict of the story is familiar, and we know from past viewing experiences none or less how the story will be resolved†. In other words, the â€Å"usual† happenings of a plot, like the conflict between good and evil, always end ups by having the good triumph. Most of the time, the hero is given some sort of power. With which he is designated to take on the mission of saving the society and bring back peace. In the movie the power which best suits Maximus is the loyalty which Maximus has. This loyalty appears many times throughout the movie and becomes evident, since each of his fellow gladiators, as well as his masters, is willing to die for him. Iconography refers to â€Å"certain costumes, objects, landscapes and performers to signify by their presence elements of plot yet to come† This means that when a viewer sees those icons, they immediately associate a theme or plot direction for the narrative. Colors, lights and costumes were frequently used. We see a clear usage of light in â€Å"the Gladiator† when towards the end; the light is directly aimed at Maximus and Commodus while all the other characters are in the dark, making these two main characters the â€Å"premier plan† of the movie. For the color, we see Commodus dressed all in white in order to represent himself as being pure good and the rightful emperor that Rome needs to control everything, At the very end of the movie, before the final battle, we see Maximus a slave in white, and who is differently dressed compared to the other slave, whom they on the other hand are dressed in dark colour to keep them separated from this specific slave. The kinds of shots were very present carefully done throughout the movie. The shots are here to make the viewers feel either they are the character or the people around the main character. For example, after the war with the German tribe, Maximus converses with Marcus Aurelius, the camera is focused on Marcus, which in turn makes us feel like we are Maximus himself. Through these camera shots we are able to feel these emotions, of being confused and not really comfortable with the offer. The theatrical genre of melodrama uses theme-music to control the spectators emotional response and to represent character types. In other words, the suspense music is used throughout the film in order to heighten the tension of the film and to keep the viewers at the edge of their seats. A movie soundtrack is used to praise the story being told on the screen In fact, Gladiator in essence had very little to do with gladiators. It dealt with the tragic changing of power, deceit, and old alliances. Bringing up a so called SWASHBUCKLER as would Sobchack say. Who struggles against decadence in the Roman society and his efforts to give Rome back to the people while at the same time revenging his murdered family. Movies like â€Å"The Gladiator† are usually The Gladiator portrayed an adventure, being filled with blood, action and getaways with suspenseful plots. This movie primarily focuses on leadership, drama and politics. Its a tale of betrayal, bravery and survival. As said earlier Maximus is trying to get back to Rome to get his freedom and revenge on Marcus Aurelius. This relates to Singers notion of melodrama because the movie is able to accomplish some sort of relationship with a vast audience and have many people relate and sympathize with Maximus. Singer mentions that melodrama is a distorted view on reality, where impossible situations occur constantly one after the other but with the realist effect.Excess is present during the battles of Maximus and Tigris of Graul. In this scene we are drawn into the action completely as if we were observers in the Coliseum itself. The constant roar of the crowds and their urging for death capture your ears and keep the adrenaline rushing; you become a Roman and are cheering for death yours elf. Every clash of swords, every bang of metal on metal, and every cut, slash, puncture, punch and kick are all felt by the devastating realism of sound and camera angles. An awesome aspect of this scene is the fading in and out of the crowd while the fight surges. A favorite of mine, which caught my full attention, was the chains of the tigers running through the rings, symbolizing danger, as they were the only distinct sounds. The music draws you into the scene with its constant growth of intensity besides music, we see exaggeration in how the villain Commodus is very jealous of Maximus. Throughout the movie all battles in which Maximus takes place, bring up the notion of sensationalism since the viewers are excited to watch Maximus fight and triumph over his enemies. Finally, when Commodus is killed, there is a moment of suspense where everyone is wondering what will happen next this is a deadlock coming from the notion of situation Now looking at the movie from Sobchaks point o f view, we could see a presence of a melodrama genre. Since the hero, is going through obstacles which he cant always find himself victorious. These obstacles are gladiator battles which put Maximus life in danger, but also death situations through time. The formula used in this movie is that the viewers know from the very beginning of the movie that Maximus will be able to overcome everything and anything which stands in his path to revenge. Sobchaks formal aspects, as defined earlier, are the colors, lights and costumes. A good scene, where the presence of all these aspects are found is when, Maximus is tied up and gazing upwards towards the heavens. This shows us that he has finally reached his goal and destination, which is to avenge his family and join them in the afterlife. Gracchus then comments, â€Å"who will help me carry him†, and many people step forward and an almost royal procession is made as he is carried out the arena. Commodus can be seen in the corner of th e aerial shot in his robes ignored and forgotten. This again symbolizes that the evil has gone and the good prevails. Singer and Sobchack both offer conceptualization of genre melodrama. Both accounts are relevant for the movie The Gladiator. This Ridley Scotts realization brings out the deep thought about greatness, principle, life and death through a great story about a simple but encompassing idea of a good vision, a vision of freedom: the general who became a slave, the slave who became a gladiator, and the gladiator who defied the emperor. The story shows us what greatness means. That greatness is being true to your word, being truthful to yourself and doing a noble and generous deed. It is not about being rich or being poor nor being a king or slave it is something in the character of the individual. No matter who or what he is. Maximus proves his worth as being a good man by being true to his promise to King Marcus Aurelious. The idea also shows us about freedom. That it can be won by staying together for a good cause and having true friends. Working together for a vision to attain a goal de spite dangers. Greatness is an act that teaches men wisdom, wisdom to have strength and honor to the extent of risking ones life. Maximus adventures appear to be in everyones everyday life. People might not be fighting in the same way; but at the end of the day, people always find themselves in their own battles throughout their lives which they must overcome in order to succeed.

Saturday, January 18, 2020

CHAPTER 1 : THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND Essay

CHAPTER 1 : THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND INTRODUCTION Not all people are given the chance to have a quality education especially in the Philippines because it is now complicated. That’s why having the chance to study and choosing the course should not be compared to something like for an example buying a dress for a special occasion and when realization comes into your mind that you don’t want it, you’ll return it or maybe get your money back. No, this isn’t right, because in college life, you have to treat every second as an important detail of your life. You should not waste every moment in it. So choosing the course which you think fits your capabilities is very important. Studying a specific course in college is not only about paying the fees rather the most important things here are the time and effort spent. Money, time and effort are the most precious things in one’s life and once it is used or spent, it’s hard to gain again or worst you may never have it at all. So the time these are wasted for nothing, for sure the blame for this mistake will be felt truly. When looking at the profile of those students who are working and at the same time is studying, you would notice that they never dare wasting their time. For them, every second counts. Make an observation and you will find out that almost all of the working students are working too hard to finish their studies. For them, wasting their effort, time and money is such a big mistake. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY Student jobs have become a sort of trend among students around the world, who want to work while they are studying. In short, the term that suits this trend is ‘Earn and Learn’ policy. Other reason why student jobs are popular among students is they help to cope up with the constant increase in tuition fees, and a way to afford further educations. The problem has been developed with the question as to how the corresponding workloads and required working hours of working students affect their academic performance at Polytechnic University of the Philippines. As a researcher, the main purpose of the study is to know the factors that affect the academic performance of working students. In addition, this paper aims to provide encouragement and motivation to all students especially those who are financially distressed to pursue and finish a college degree in order to be competitive in the future and be able to realize their goals and aspirations. It may also provide learning experiences and information to other students who are not working. In order to accomplish our objectives, we adopted several methodologies in obtaining data and information such as conducting surveys by providing questionnaires to our subjects, getting information in the internet and conducting interviews personally and honestly with our target subjects to get assurance that our data, information and values gathered were correct and accurate. IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY These studies will be beneficial to the following: The Students. Because of this study, the students will be able to know the profile of the working students and they will realize the truth about what they are going through. By this process, the working students will serve as inspirations to their fellow students especially to those who are almost losing their hopes and eagerness to pursue their studies. The Mentors. This study also helps the teachers to be able to easily notice those students who were really dedicated to their studies and who were not wasting their time and money on their universities. These will also give them enough knowledge on what the working students are going through when they are studying while working. They also know those students who deserved to be given considerations. The Parents. By this study, the parents will be able to know the advantage of working while studying. And because of these, they will also realize the reason why working students are doing such, especially if their sons or daughters are one of those students who are already working or planning to have a job while studying. To the Future Researchers. This study will help them as guide in conducting their own research. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM The objective of studying this matter is to know the profile of the working students and the implication on the class standing. Specifically, they need to answer these following questions: 1. What was the working students are going through while they are studying and at the same time working? 2. What are the statuses of the working students when it comes to their grades and their participation in class? SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY This research is concerned on the profile of the working students based from their academic standing. This covers the engineering students of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines. The profile of the working students will be distinguished by the aid of the questionnaires prepared by the researcher. In this research we can clearly notice the academic standing of the working students definitely by the help of the surveys conducted by the researcher.

Friday, January 10, 2020

The Toulmin Essay Topics 2018 Stories

The Toulmin Essay Topics 2018 Stories Toulmin Essay Topics 2018 - Dead or Alive? You can be totally sure your paper is going to be delivered in time and be of the maximum quality. The very first step is where a large number of students become stuck. The perfect period of maternity leave. The Number One Question You Must Ask for Toulmin Essay Topics 2018 Opposing perspectives on such issues are easily available. Argumentative essay topics are so important since they are debatableand it's essential to at all times be critically considering the world around us. Following that, you should research that debate so as to narrow the topics scope, therefore it can be readily discussed in 1000 word essay. The matter of doctor-assisted suicide. The New Fuss About Toulmin Essay Topics 2018 It's possible to also restate the ideas which you've discussed in the body paragraphs in order to make your point valid. Then you can pick which side of the argument you would like to tackle. 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When you're picking your topic, remember that it's much simpler to write about something which you currently have interest ineven in case you don't know a good deal about it. An argumentative essay requires you to choose a topic and have a position on it. That which we're searching for in an argumentative essay topic is something which may expand people's minds and enable them to take a look at a topic in a new light. That's an issue that wants a solutionand it's a much greater topic for your proposal essay. Odds are, all you have to do is relax and locate a topic you're passionate about and, obviously, one that's debatable. This is a rather broad category, so there are a great deal of topics to pick from and even more that you could create all on your own. All you will need is the proper topic. Toulmin Essay Topics 2018 - the Conspiracy Instead of just immediately writing about your argumentative essay topic, you first have to think about what it is that you're likely to put back on your paper through a procedure of brainstorming and pre-writing. Inspiration to make your own advertising or media argumentative essay topics isn't really hard to discover. You've got a chance to select one of the greatest topics for argumentative essay from our list! In terms of the organization of the last essay, it's advisable to use a 5-paragraph structure. You must observe the subsequent outline. Summarize each source in a couple of grammatically-correct sentences, and indicate the way that it w ill be helpful to your undertaking. There are many steps which you should take so as to compose a great essay. To put it simply, a proposal essay identifies an issue and suggests a remedy to that issue. The Little-Known Secrets to Toulmin Essay Topics 2018 If you must compose your whole essay in 1 day, do your very best to give yourself breaks so you don't burn out. When choosing what to write about, make sure it is something which you recognize about. You may use different examples which can be found on the world wide web free of charge. Female child adoption among the source of incest. The Number One Question You Must Ask for Toulmin Essay Topics 2018 Proposal essays are typical in company and science classes and professions, but are also beneficial for a variety of unique disciplines. Below, you will discover some of the most well-known questions asked by students in regards to Toulmin essay writing. English language classes usually demand a lot of writing. Our crew of professional writers with the essential experience and writing skills is always prepared to fulfill your demands and exceed your expectations. Toulmin Essay Topics 2018 at a Glance Failure to comprehend the all-natural climate change will help it become impossible to counter the issue of global warming. Therefore, there's a need to prevent the rising of the temperatures before it's too late. Not every kid will suffer from a number of the things but there's a chance that a number of the children will and with the effects which I have discussed it wouldn't be a risk I am prepared to take. For instance, write about animal testing and the demand for more laws to stop it.

Thursday, January 2, 2020

Abstract. The Packaging Process At Ninkasi Brewery Adds

Abstract The packaging process at Ninkasi Brewery adds value to their end result that is delivering their best quality craft brews. Processes are key elements to a business’s ability to create and distribute products that will meet the needs of their target market; therefore the need for industries to analyze specific processes within their organizations is significant. This paper is an outline of understanding Ninkasi’s packaging and bottling process and how the brewery can apply quantitative and qualitative tools to potentially reduce defects in this specific process. Ninkasi Brewing Company: The Packaging Process Organization Description The organization I have chosen to analyze is Ninkasi Brewing Company. â€Å"Back in 2005, neither†¦show more content†¦Secondly, Ninkasi is extremely community oriented and has a program known as â€Å"Beer is Love,† which supports non-profit doing work in five core categories: women, equality, recreation, the environment, and arts and music. Lastly, I appreciate the company’s goal to perpetuate better living and their continued efforts to adopt more sustainable practices throughout the brewery. Overall, the company has several valuable traits and I look forward to digging deeper and gaining new knowledge about the company’s operations. Operation Description The operation in which I plan to explore is Ninkasi’s packaging process. I specifically plan to analyze the brewery’s bottling line and the brewery’s recent encounters for defects in their packaging process such as; low fills, crooked labels, chipped, or broken bottles, and equipment shut downs. First I will discuss how these problems can be identified. Second, I will apply quantitative tools to the problems. Third, I will provide insights into how Ninkasi may use these tools to potentially reduce defects in their packaging line. The Bottling Line Ninkasi’s bottling line is capable of producing both 22 oz. and 12 oz. bottles and can package 22 oz. bottles at a rate of 150 bottles per minute, and 12 oz. bottles at a rate of 250 bottles per minute. First, the machine takes empty bottles and runs them through a rinser cleaning them inside and out to ensure they are sent to the filler sanitized. Once the bottles are