Science fiction and film Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Science fiction and film - Essay Example Sci-fi films are absolute with heroes, far-flung planets, impracticable quests, dubious settings, incredible places, enormous dark and shadowy villains, revolutionary technology and gizmos and mysterious and bizarre forces. Many other Science Fiction Films feature time travels or extraordinary journeys, and are set either on Earth, in outer space or most frequently into the future time. Like the mainstream of the unsurpassed science fiction, Blade Runner does not relate to the typical false-scientific package of cryptic and difficult to understand jargon. In this regard, science fiction movies, although apparently hinting the opposite with their depictions of aliens and high-end technology, question the very nature of humanity; what, in essence, does it mean to be a human? What elements constitute the very essence of consciousness? This is why directors are able to express themselves with greater freedom in science fiction movies than through fiction, giving them science fiction movies an obvious benefit over their fiction counterparts. The very aspect is explored in Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner. The movie brings to the movie world a theatrical piece that combines human, childlike innocence and ingenuousness to a machine-like strength and ruthlessness. This sets the film in a class of its own, as the most excellent science fiction probes the spirit of life us ing differences out of the bounds of our contemporary world as a fuel to sustain the story (Blade Runner 2000). The movie is unique not only in presenting the typical science fiction traits in a subtly advanced and novel manner but also in the various dynamic themes and questions that have been embedded in it. The movie is set in the year 2019. The human race is on an exodus, from the earth to newly colonized places elsewhere in the universe. However since the exploration of space is a daunting task, androids known as replicants have been invented for the purpose of exploration. As with the

The Decrease in the APE, a Decrease in the ASF and a Sudden Rise in Essay

The Decrease in the APE, a Decrease in the ASF and a Sudden Rise in GDP Demonstrated Graphically - Essay Example A demand shock - fall in APE In the diagram above, we consider the effect of a fall in APE. The immediate response from businesses is to wait to see if the APE returns to its initial height. When it does not, the output-price adjustment process is initiated which leads to falling prices, output, employment and profits until the equality between GDP, ASF and APE is restored. The fall in output and employment however will continue until prices and profits return to their initial levels. Next consider the impact of a decline in ASF. The initial funding adjustment will manifest in the form of a sharp rise in interest rates. Figure 2: Impact of fall in ASF - money and credit caused recession The following output-price adjustment process like the earlier case will involve drops in output, employment, interest rates, prices and profits until GDP=ASF=APE. Output and employment will continue to fall until profit and prices rise back up to their initial levels. At the end of the coordination procedure, output and employment will be down while interest rates will be up but prices and profits will be restored to their initial levels. Finally, consider the impact of a rise in GDP. The initial impact will be a rise in interest rates. Then, as the producers react to insufficient demands, output and employment will fall back to the initial levels. But this situation wi ll lead to a demand caused recessionary scenario which stimulates the coordination procedure described in the first case in this chapter. ... The APE line shifts out leading to excess demand which in turn leads to a rise in interest rates. However, since ASF is unresponsive to interest rate changes, this rise in interest rates will have no impact on ASF and i continues to rise until it reaches i1 which signifies the new equilibrium interest rate since at this rate, the entire rise in APE is crowded out and we once more have the equality. The opposite mechanism would have been triggered in case of a negative shock to APE hitting the system. This is shown in the diagram below. Figure 5 Thus, we see that a shock to APE only leads to a movement in the interest rate in the same direction while GDP, employment and prices are left unchanged. Thus, the classical doctrine implies that interest rates are flexible enough to accommodate for any shocks to APE such that movements in the interest rate absorbs the full brunt of the shock and GDP, employment and prices are left unchanged. Next, consider the impact of a shock to ASF. This i s shown in the diagram below. Figure 6 In this case it is actually the price level that responds while all other aspects remain the same. Interest rates change initially but they are restored back to the initial levels as price adjustments take place and the ASF line is restored to its original state. It is pertinent to note that imbalances between the aggregate demand and supply of output was assumed to be cured entirely through price adjustments since the classical economists believed that businesses maintained a particular level of output and profits which remained fixed so that whenever this level of output exceeded or fell short of funded demand, price adjustments would take place which increased or curtailed the

Analysing American Sign Language English Language Essay

Analysing American Sign Language English Language Essay Mistakenly, many people think that American Sign Language is a code system like Morse Code or Braille just with different symbols (Alliance, par 6). American Sign Language is actually a series of hand signs and symbols that are used when communicating with the deaf (NMCDHH, par1). It consists of not only hand gestures but facial features such as eyebrow motion and lip-mouth movements (Nakamura 1). Because deaf people hear with their eyes instead of their ears, it is considered to be rude not to make eye contact while communicating with a deaf person (Basic, par 14). American Sign Language is used by the Deaf community not only in the United States but in English speaking parts of Canada (Nakamura 1). Until the eighteenth century not a lot was known about American Sign Language (About, par1). An estimated 2,000 deaf people lived in the United States at that time (About, par1). During this time period deaf people were denied human rights (About, Par 2). There are many interesting facts of the history of communicating with deaf people, how to communicate with the deaf, and much advancement for the deaf community. American Sign Languages exact beginning is unknown (American, par 3). Charles-Michael Abee de Lepee founded the first school, in France, to achieve public support for the deaf (About, par 1). Students came from all over the country for this (About, par 1). He is famous in France for being the founder for deaf organized education throughout the whole world, he has now built twenty one schools (About, par 1). Also, Laurent Clerc was Americas first deaf teacher (About, par 2). Him and Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet founded Americas first school for the deaf people, they also, in Hartford, Connecticut, co-founded American School for the Deaf (About, par 2). Lip reading and oralism was declared the appropriate way to communicate, signing became not acceptable in 1880 (About, par 5). In 1965 William Stoke published the dictionary of American Sign Language (About, par 5). Up until the eighteenth century deaf people were not allowed to buy homes, get an education, or sign marriage contracts. While there are many interesting facts about communicating with the deaf, one of the strangest non-deaf people encounter is that they will tell you where they are going (Basic, par 17). This is considered being polite since deaf people can not hear when a person leaves the room (Basic, par 17). Always make sure to have a deaf persons attention before trying to communicate or speak (Tips, par 5). The acceptable way to get a deaf persons attention is waving a hand or lightly touching their shoulder (Tips, par 5). There should never be physical barriers between people during conversations (Basic, par 15). This is because a persons face and facial expressions are important when communicating with a deaf person (Basic, par 18). Barriers include covering the mouth with a hand or a long mustache or beard (Tips, par 7). Though it is considered polite for non deaf people to say excuse me to walk between people having a conversation rude for deaf people (Basic, par 19). Deaf people consider this as interrupting a conversation (Basic, par 19). It helps to communicate with deaf people by using body language and pantomime (Communication, par 4). Most deaf people appreciate when hearing people make an attempt to communicate with non deaf people (Communicating, par 5). Also, when saying goodbye to a deaf person make sure to use (SK) for signing off and (GA) for go ahead, and dont ever end the conversation without making sure the other person is ready to end the conversation (Tips, par 9). Many times an interpreter can be used when a non deaf person is communicating with a deaf person (Communicating, par 3). When talking to the interpreter or hearing what the deaf person signs always look at the deaf person not the interpreter (Communicating, par 3). Do not shout while communicating with a deaf person because no matter how loud your voice is the words will not be heard by a deaf person (Communicating, par 1). There have been many communication methods developed since the eighteenth century (Basic, par 2). Hearing aides are used for people that have a wide range of hearing loss (Basic, par 16). The TTY is a machine for deaf or hearing people to communicate over the phone with other people who have equipment by typing messages to and from each other, back and forth (Communicating, par 10). This is also known as Relay Services (Communicating, par 10). In the 1980s closed captioning for television was developed (National, par 1). Closed caption brought deaf people into the mainstream (National, par 1). This was considered the most important development for that century (National, par 1). It officially started in March 16 1980 (National, par 1). This allowed deaf people in America to read and understand what they had been missing on television (National, par 11). The caption decoder was an overnight success (National, par 12). The University of Washington engineers developed the first cellular device over the United States to transmit American Sign Language (University, par 1). The engineers have been working to improve video signals for sign language (University, par 2). They have increased the image quality around the hands and the face, they have brought data rate down to thirty kilobits per second and still having delivered sign language (University, par 2). Also, MobleASL uses motion detection to tell whether a person is signing or if the person is not, to save the battery life when using the video (University, par 2). This test began July 18 of 2010 and ended that Wednesday, a larger study will be done during the winter (University, par 5). Parents are their childs acquisition of language, a deaf child born to parents that are deaf who know sign language already will begin to learn it naturally just like a hearing child learns its parents spoken language (American, par 1). Also, hearing parents choose to teach their own deaf children sign language (American, par 1). Todays deaf people can now use cell phones by using the video (University, par 2). They can now watch television and understand what is going on and what they are watching (National, par 1). Also, they can now talk on the phone or use a telephone because of the TeleTYpewriter (Communicating, par 10). Works citied About American Sign Language. 2010. About ASL. 10 Nov. 2010 . Alliance for Inclusion in the Arts. 2008. Listening with an Open Eye Background. 27 October 2010 . American Sign Language. Feb. 2008. American Sign Language. 27 October 2010 . Collins, Bill. Signwriting. 2 Dec. 1997. Signwriting and American Sign Language. 27 October 2010 . Nakamura, Karen. Deaf Resource Library. 28 March 2008. About American Sign Language. 27 October 2010 . National Captioning Institute. A Brief History of Captioned Television. 11 November 2010 . Sign Language. Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia. 6 (1 July 2010): 1 of 4. History Reference Center. EBSCO. Brandon Public Library. 27 October 2010 . University of Washington News. 16 Aug. 2010. Deaf, Hard-of-hearing Students do First Test of Sign Language by Cell Phone. 27 October 2010 . Walker, Lou Ann. Losing the Language of Silence. 13 Jan. 2008. New York Magazine. 27 October 2010 . William C. Stoke. Jr. Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2010 ed.

Comparing the Theme of Nature with Works from Dicknson Whitman and Emer

Comparing the Theme of Nature with Works from Dicknson Whitman and Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson once stated that â€Å"the first in time and the first in importance of the influences upon the mind is that of nature.† Nature in all its forms parallels with life, death, and the soul. Whether the sunshines or the rain falls, whether a flower blooms or willows, nature will always recreate itself and remain a mystery to mankind. To become one with nature, one must explore oneself and know that the simplicity found in it is both divine and perfect. The theme of nature plays a mayor role throughout Whitman, Dickinson, and Emerson’s writings. Each poet conveys his or her view of nature in a unique and symbolic way by searching for the individual or discovering one-self, and coming to terms with death. Emerson deals with nature in the form of discovering one’s self. His message is one of non-conformity and individuality. He feels that every man is unique within, and thinks that society and tradition are man’s downfalls. In The American Scholar, Emerson explains that â€Å"nature is the ...

Influence of William Cecil Later Lord Burghley on Elizabeth and his Role in her Government

William Cecil’s influence touched on just about all aspects of policy that occurred during Elizabeth’s long reign. In the Royal Court he brought order and stability. Cecil was also highly influential in foreign policy. He saw France and Spain as threats to. It has also been argued that Cecil was not just the provider of advice and executor of the Queens wishes but also that he could have been the power behind the throne.Plenty of evidence has come to light that suggests that the Secretary regularly attempted to manipulate Elizabeth however it would be inaccurate to assume that all of Cecil’s personal agendas were fruitful, Elizabeth could make her own mind up and often did so. Although Cecil was a prominent figure during this time, Elizabeth was still the person who ruled the country and had her own ideas on how to run the country. Elizabeth was firmly in control of major policies and on many occasions obstinately ignored the Councils advice.The Council conscient iously carried out the Queens wishes even when it had advised otherwise. There is general agreement that, until its decline in the 1590s central government under Elizabeth was successful and that the Queen provided firm direction. According to Neale Parliament was another aspect that had influence over decision making in Elizabeth government He argues that the power of the House of Commons increased throughout Elizabeth’s reign.The number of conflicts Elizabeth had with individual MPs and the problems which the Stuarts experienced with Parliament are evidence for this. These developments were brought by the â€Å"Puritan Choir â€Å"who deliberately planned confrontations to force the issue of parliamentary privilege versus the royal prerogative. It is therefore necessary to investigate not only to what extent Cecil was involved in the decision making process but also the influence of the Parliament on Elizabeth and ultimately the decisions that were taken through this time of how many were Elizabeth’s own ideas.

Commentary on Transcendentalism Throughout Moby Dick Essay

It is quite possible that nothing runs deeper through the veins of Herman Melville than his disdain for anything transcendental. Melville’s belittling of the entire transcendentalist movement is far from sparsely demonstrated throughout the pages of Moby-Dick, in which he strategically points out the intrinsic existence of evil, the asperity of nature and the wrath of the almighty God. To Melville, transcendentalists became a â€Å"guild of self-impostors, with a preposterous rabble of Muggletonian Scots and Yankees, whose vile brogue still the more bestreaks the stripedness of their Greek or German Neoplatonic originals† (â€Å"Herman Melville† 2350). Transcendentalists went beyond denying the doleful possibilities of human error and suffering, and it is this ignorant altruism of transcendentalism in its looser grasps which prompted Melville’s scorn. Within the Emersonian school of thought lies the belief that â€Å"[the] ruin or the blank that we see when we look at nature, is in our own eye† (Emerson et al. 81) and that â€Å"the evils of the world are such only to the evil eye† (Emerson et al. 174). Melville, however, believes that on our planet lies an inherent evil, going as far as to say, â€Å"A perfectly good being†¦would see no evil. –But what did Christ see? — He saw what made him weep† (Thompson 2350), pointing out that not only does evil exist, but it exists within Christ, the ultimate symbol of good. Moby Dick, the white whale itself, is the prosopopeia of evil and malevolence in the universe. All that most maddens and torments; all that stirs up the lees of things; all truth with malice in it; all that cracks the sinews and cakes the brain; all the subtle demonisms of life and thought; all evil, to crazy Ahab, were visibly personified, and made practically assailable in Moby Dick. (Melville 154) Moby Dick is also a depiction of Leviathan, Job’s whale created by God as a malicious symbol of God; Ahab â€Å"†¦ sees in Him outrageous strength, with an inscrutable malice sinewing it† (Melville 138), and if God is a representation of the spirit of the world, then within the world must exist â€Å"an inscrutable malice. † Transcendentalists made nature out to be this wondrous, awe-inspiring creation of God which–seeing as he believed God to be more evil than good–is an idea Melville blatantly rejects as a fallacy. Where Emerson says, â€Å"†¦ Nature satisfies by its loveliness, and without any mixture of corporeal benefit† (Emerson et al. 107), Melville says, †¦ all other earthly hues–every stately or lovely emblazoning–the sweet tinges of sunset skies and woods; yea, and the gilded velvets of butterflies, and the butterfly cheeks of young girls; all these are but the subtle deceits, not actually inherent in substances, but laid on from without; so that all deified Nature absolutely paints like the harlot, whose allurements cover nothing but the charnel-house within. (Melville 164) When sent out to sea, the Pequod and its crew were faced by the nature of which Melville speaks–a nature that, at times, seems to â€Å"gild the surface of the water with enchantment, and causes even the wary hunter to have a land-like feeling toward the sea† (â€Å"Herman Melville† 2351), but is actually veils behind which God hides and constantly threatens to unleash his ambiguous animosity. It is the whale, a product of God and nature, that has reaped the leg of Ahab, that lashes out with the force of a thousand men. It is the beguiling call of nature that lulls the absent minded youth into an opium-like reverie by the blending cadence of waves with thoughts until he loses his identity and takes it upon himself to take the ocean at his feet for the deep, blue bottom that pervades mankind (Melville 134-135); calms are crossed by storms, a storm for every calm. Furthermore, Melville ridicules the transcendentalists for their blindness to the rest of the world. The transcendentalists saw only the world through the â€Å"dimensions of a sturdy window in Concord† (â€Å"Herman Melville† 2394). Melville could depict the true attributes of nature in a more scrupulous manner, for he had left his home in New England and sailed around the world. When Emerson claimed that the poet â€Å"disposes very easily of the most disagreeable facts,† it prompted Melville to respond, â€Å"So it would seem. In this sense, Mr. E is a great poet† (Thompson 443). Though a seemingly of a seemingly different nature, passions, desires, appetites, and senses of the flesh are a part of nature nonetheless: they are instincts, a natural part behind the drive of man. â€Å"†¦ [All] deep, earnest thinking [that] is but the intrepid effort of the soul to keep the open independence of her sea; while the wildest winds of heaven and earth conspire to cast her upon the slavish shore† (Melville 95). It is this natural drive that keeps man from falling under the spiritual drive, this tyrannous and brutal enslavement of this wrathful God, for â€Å"natural or carnal men are without God in the world† (Alma 41:11). It seems as though Melville has an everlasting quarrel with God. Throughout Ahab’s quest for the white whale, Melville has shown his own personal independence from the authoritarianism of Christian dogma. It is apparent that religious conventionalism was Melville’s favourite target for satire, but largely because he saw himself in competition with it. His own genius was deeply religious and the Bible seemed to serve the deepest purpose in Moby-Dick. Melville was caught in a vicious battle that he created and could not win. He started by loving God, then moved to hating God, progressed into a complete detachment from God–feeling neither love nor hate. He grew to hate his detachment and decided that God might indeed be lovable, and so the vicious cycle repeats (Thompson 148-149). Thompson concludes, â€Å"The underlying theme in Moby-Dick correlates the notions that–God in his infinite malice asserts a sovereign tyranny over man and that most men are seduced into the mistaken view that this divine tyranny is benevolent and therefore acceptable† (242). Melville agreed with the transcendentalists that the spirit is substance, but he began to diverge from the transcendental conclusion that its effect on man was benevolent. Moby-Dick tells not only the story of the ventures of the Pequod and its crew, but also of Melville himself. It captures all of Melville’s personal contempt toward the entire transcendentalist movement, and demonstrates his realistic recognition of evil through the symbolism of the whale, his struggle with religion through the use of ontological heroics, and his less-than-altruistic ideas of nature through the use of sheer logic. It is the perfect emblem for his gratitude for rationalism and respect for realism. â€Å"Oh, the rare old Whale, mid storm and gale In his ocean home will be A giant in might, where might is right, And King of the Boundless sea. † WHALE SONG Works Cited. Emerson, Ralph Waldo, Atkinson Brojoks, Edward Waldo Emerson. The Essential Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson. New York: Random House Digital, Inc. , 2000. Print. â€Å"Herman Melville. † World Literature Criticism. 1st ed. 1992. Print. Melville, Herman. Moby-Dick. Mineola: Dover Publications, Inc. , 2003. Print. Myerson, Joel, Sandra Harbert Petrulionis, and Laura Dassow Walls. The Oxford Handbook of Transcendentalism. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012. Print. The King James Bible. Susan Jones. New York: Doubleday, 1985. Print. Thompson, Lawrence. Melville’s Quarrel With God. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1952. Print.