The King and His Role in Ancient Egypt

Janelle Richardson Professor Ogden Goelet Ancient Egyptian Religion First Paper 4/8/13 The King and his role During the times of the Ancient Egyptians there were many beliefs that the Egyptians stood by, one of which being the ideal of polytheism. The Egyptians live in a spiritual free reign. Although they tend to follow the beliefs of the community that they lived in and around, they were for the most part free to worship and practice whatever they may with whatever God they felt right.Another belief the Egyptians held onto was the belief in kingship and order, â€Å"Maat†. The construct of Kingship during the times of the Ancient Egyptians was crucial to the unification of the Egyptian people. Through his associations with the Gods he was expected to keep the order or rather ma’at of the land, which was inhabited by the Egyptian people. The king was responsible for keeping the peace and amongst the people and the land both figuratively and literally. The king was task ed with protecting the people from potential attacks from foreign lands.But perhaps most importantly the King served as the median between the people and the Gods. They were therefore expected to make offerings to Gods that would suffice to their needs as deities, pleasing them and placing the king and thus his kingdom, his land and his people in good favor with the Gods. This was crucial because this meant that the Gods have blessed the land that the Egyptians harvest on assuring lasted nourishment, the king had to feed his people, and if he alone managed to please the Gods on behalf of him and his people he was able to accomplish just that.But we can’t forget the idea that when the people are happy the king is secure. All of the positive exchanges between the Gods and king were important in securing a pharaoh’s kingship and ultimately giving them the opportunity to create and secure a dynasty for a longer period of time. This is an important idea when discussing the topic of the development of Religion in State. Equal to the construct of kingship, religion and ritual were a vital part of the Egyptian culture, thus a vital part in their unity, especially during times of tribal strife and war.Also key in the formation of religion is the Egyptian’s obsession over death, which could leave a dark air about the culture as whole, but the idea of an after-life, life after death was brought to the Egyptians through the image of Gods. The Egyptians created a world of polytheistic ideals and rituals that reflected their beliefs â€Å"Egyptians believed dated back to the time when gods ruled on earth, and by the â€Å"law† laid down by the King, their son and earthly representative. † (Cerny 35).So being that the relationship that the Egyptian people had with the Gods and their importance in the limiting of chaos in their world the ideal of the King’s divinity was key for the survival of society and perhaps the sanity of society as well. â€Å"Egypt was the first large â€Å"nation state,† with a culture virtually restricted to that state, and thus was very self-contained†¦ in which kingship was an unquestioned presupposition of social order—indeed order was hardly conceivable without it. † (Baines, 2).The King’s responsibilities stretched as far as the prevention of the collapse of their Egyptian state. Of course it was important to every Egyptian to be responsible for themselves and do their duties unto the land as the Gods may have it and they praised and celebrated and communed because of these rituals and these practices. But in these times, even if an Egyptian works as hard as he can consistently to please the Gods on his own if the king falls short of his duty as the Divine middleman, the Egyptian’s harvest may not bloom crops sufficient enough to feed themselves of their families.The King as a Divine Creature Although out of the archives and data that has bee n collected over the past decades about Ancient Egyptian, the evidence that shows the King as being an actual divine being of the Gods, usually an incarnation of a particular God or sometimes a mosh of multiple Gods the King was scene by the people as divine and a direct creation of the Gods, therefore the only person with the ability to be in communication with the God. The sun-god we are told elsewhere had appointed hum ‘to be shepherd of this land, to keep the people alive†¦in theory he was the officiant in every temple in the land†¦and every religious ceremony and ritual was in a sense a royal ritual. † (Fairman 1958, 76). The Egyptians also believed the Kings, if they weren’t to fail and disgrace themselves in the eyes of the Gods, received a different treatment after death.The afterlife of a king wasn’t thought to be the same as one of an Egyptian civilian, rather the Egyptian people believed that after the death of the kings cross over to t he worlds of the divine, some believe that they become Osiris in the afterlife. The king This idea is seen in many of the art pieces made by the Egyptians that referenced kings after their deaths and their relationship to the Gods, or in a lot of cases a particular God (For example: The God Horus).Whole tombs at the highest level of grandiosity and tribute were made for kings after their deaths. Many rituals were had for the kings before and after their passing including the kings initial coronation which involve d the ‘selection of the new Sacred Falcon, which was effected by Horus by means of an oracle†¦special hymns were sung, one greeting the New Year†¦ and the second being concerned with ensuring the protection of the Sacred Falcon’ (Fairman 1958, 80).It was believed that the spirit of Horus enters the king at the coronation and guides the king along the path of maat. Then when the king died his spirit was merged with Osiris ‘from where he could gui de his successors’. The King was key in the lives of the Egyptians. The King had a foot in both worlds, the secular and the spiritual, or rather the sacred, which were treated as one in the same thing by the Egyptians, at all times. The King was the religious leader and the law book simultaneously.The Kings was seen as a representation/manifestation of God in a flesh and completely mortal carcass that served the God King for as long as they are to rule until their time to go and take part in their after-life begins â€Å"The king, it is true, interprets the evidence, translating radiation and motion in terms of religious meaning, answering them by cultic action and speaking to a God who expresses himself in a strictly ‘heliomorphic’ way† (Assman 1989, 68). Even the Pharaohs ritual vestments were designed to show his power.The symbols of the gods were the king’s tools of office. The crook, to reward the innocent, the flail, to punish the guilty, show ing his authority to rule the two-lands, and the Ureaus Cobra or Eye of Ra seeing all that the Pharaoh did, good or evil. (Humphries). The Kings was responsible for keeping order or Ma’at , the rule of order over the chaos that the Egyptians thought was waiting to sheath the world, at any moment without the guidance of the Gods and the usefulness of the King.The focus was on balance, the people; the Egyptians themselves were inclined to honor the God’s along with the King by living a life of obedience and balance so that they can rest assured that all will be well, they have pleased the Gods and they shall not be punished for any wrong doing. The king’s notional strength came from the support of the gods and as long as this was maintained no ill could befall the country.There is little denying that the Egyptians didn’t believe that their kings weren’t in part Gods themselves as represented by most of their art and writings. But this system that the Egyptians became so accustomed to held the potential to cause problems for the king. The key to life lived in balance is Maat but once this was lost, however, the kingdom was thrown into turmoil until a new strong king, who had the support of the gods, took the throne. The Kings and the Egyptians found out that the Gods aren’t always pleased.The Integration of the Church and State and the Problems that it caused the King The Pharaoh was seen as the emissary of the gods and life was good as long as the religious rites were performed and maat was maintained, but what happened when maat wasn’t contained? What problems arose for the king then, when something hasn’t lined up with divine order? Though I stress the importance of the king in Ancient Egypt, we can’t forget that not everything always went so smoothly for the Egyptians and those who ruled over them.Perhaps one of the most obvious drawbacks to being a king endowed with such divine responsibility is if and when the Gods were not perceived to be happy whether specifically at the king’s actions or the actions of his people, the state of the king’s position in his kingdom comes into question and under fire. These occurrences however, might have helped balance out the Egyptians belief of the God like ways of being for the king. The King is mortal and fallible, after all, the king is still human.This ideal is showcased in a lot of the literary texts of the New Kingdom, â€Å"Many different types of human frailties and weaknesses characterize all the figures in†¦The Contendings of Horus and Seth† (Wente 1972c, 108-126 [translation]; and Lichtheim 1976, 214-223 [translation]), â€Å"The gods were anthropomorphized from an early period in ancient Egypt’s history (Hornung 1982a, 105-107), and their portrayal both in figures and in text clearly is humanized. They have family problems. They bicker. They display moods (Silverman 1995, 53-54).In other words they’re human, just as they were and were witnessed to be in life outside of their association with the Gods. Conclusion Was the king divine? It’s obvious now that the Egyptians without a doubt believed in the divinity of their king, some might even say that that belief was necessary for the survival of the Egyptians I would say that by definition and according to what most of society today thinks of to be ‘divine’, the answer is yes and no, the king wasn’t actually divine in the sense that he possessed magical powers that directly affected those around him and his people, or in the sense that the king was actually just God.But in accordance to what I believe as a member or today’s society and from what I know of the Ancient Egyptians and their beliefs, I think that the king was divine, but I believe that by the same nature of the king being divine, so was every other Egyptian that lived during the time. Now this is simply my opinion and lin es up directly with my personal beliefs in God, but in a less personal explanation, the presence and usefulness of the King in relationship to the Egyptian people and the order of the Egyptian world, served as a very sturdy backbone in the Egyptian society.Footnotes: The silence of the god who expresses himself visually is balanced by the ‘voice’ of the king which plays such an important part in the inscriptions. The king is the ‘speaking god’, spreading truth (Maat) upon earth as the Aten Spreads light and life. Sources and Bibliography Assmann, J. , â€Å"The Name Formula,† in The Search for God in Ancient Egypt, D. Lorton, trans. (Ithaca, NY 2001) 83-110. Bell, Dr. Lanny. â€Å"Montclair State University. †Ã‚  Divine Kingship in Ancient Egypt -Mythology and Iconography. N. p. n. d. Web. 08 Apr. 2013. . Cited for information on Horus Cerny, J. ,, â€Å"Egyptian Oracles,† Chap. 6 in R. A. Parker, A Saite Oracle Papyrus from Thebes (Pro vidence 1962) 35-48 Dunn, Jimmy. â€Å"King Ramesses I, Founder of the 19th Dynasty. †Ã‚  King Ramesses I, Founder of the 19th Dynasty. Tour Egypt, n. d. Web. 08 Apr. 2013. . Fairman, H. W. â€Å"The Kingship Rituals of Egypt,† in Myth, Ritual and King ship: Essays on Theory and Practice of Kingship, S. H. Hooke (Oxford 1958) 74-104 Hornung, E. , â€Å"The Pharaoh,† Chap. 10 in S. Donadoni, ed. , The Egyptians (Chicago and London 1997) 283-314. Hornung, E. , â€Å"History as Celebration,† Chap. 8 in Idea into Image (New York 1992) 147-164. Humphries, Ken. â€Å"Egypt: Was Pharaoh Divine. †Ã‚  Egypt: Was Pharaoh Divine. N. p. , n. d. Web. 08 Apr. 2013. Used as a study source Silverman, D. P. , â€Å"The Nature of Egyptian Kingship,† in Chap. 2 in D.O’Connor and D. P. Silverman, eds. , Ancient Egyptian Kingship. Probleme der Agyptologie 9 (Leiden 1995) 49-92. Lichtheim, M. â€Å"Stela of Sehetep-ib-re,† Ancient Egyptian Literatur e I (Berkeley 1975) 125-129. Teeter, Emily. â€Å"Festivals. †Ã‚  Religion and Ritual in Ancient Egypt. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2011. 56-75. Print. Wente, Edward F. , and Robert A. Oden. Response to Robert A. Oden's â€Å"‘The Contendings of Horus and Seth' (Chester Beatty Papyrus No. 1): A Structural Interpretation†Ã‚  Chicago: University of Chicago, 1979. 105-07. Print.

Hollywood Genre Film - Film Studies Dissertations - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 12 Words: 3660 Downloads: 10 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Statistics Essay Did you like this example? The topic of Hollywood and genre is multifaceted, dealing with definitions, characteristics and the social cultural roles genre performs. Steve Neales Genre And Hollywood (2000), and Rick Altmans Film/Genre (1999) take on board these a genders both offering a different theoretical approach to the topic, which I will analyze then voice my own conclusion on my findings. Both show that genre is an important, productive way of thinking about Hollywoods film history, and its audience. Each book presents new research, new thinking on genre that will be investigated and applied to its appropriate film style. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Hollywood Genre Film Film Studies Dissertations" essay for you Create order Questions are raised from these existing accounts: that definitions of genre are restrictive and narrow, that traditional genres are inaccurate and that cultural theories are often over generalized. The arguments on the subject will be looked into detail, presenting my own opinions on these accounts. As genre is a complex subject, with many contexts, I will be breaking the subject up, firstly looking at definitions of genre, and general concepts applying them into individual genres. I will be looking at theories on genre by a number of people all different in there opinion. With the knowledge and understanding of genre, I will look into film noir, a critical category within the Hollywood film industry. Genre has occupied an important part in the study of cinema for years. Genre is French word, meaning kind or type. The term sub-genre is also used to refer to specific traditions within a genre ( as in gothic horror, slapstick comedy and so on). When genre is discussed or defined it is usally focused on commercial mainstream films, Hollywood films in particular. Barry Keith Grant states that genres are exclusively identified with commercial cinema: Genre movies are those commercial feature films which through repetition and venation, tell familiar stories with familiar characters in familiar situations Books and articles were being published in the 1940s and 1950s, in Europe and the USA, talking about individual Hollywood genres, establishing its self more, becoming an academic formal discipline in film studies. Theorists, critics and teachers of film at this time wanted to engage in the appearance of genre and genres inparticular with popular Hollywood cinema, offering a critical approach with a desire to displace or compliment films. Hollywood films had always been discussed by reviwers and critics, usally hostile to to the films Hollywood produced, arguing they aimed at mass market, conservative,commercially produced films lacking in realism, over loaded in fantasy. During the early 1970s a generation of critics began to value elements of popluar American culture, re-assesing its value. Here the auteur theory began, more simply known as auteurism. Based around three basic premises, firstly that cinema is a personal and individual expression. The second is that individual could be the director, a figure equivalent to an artist in painting. Lastly was that cinematography authorship wasnt to be found in just Hollywood cinema. An auteur is a director whos work is characterized by distinctive elements and traits in there films, stamping each piece of work with there own personality. The criticism is that films are just the personal expression of the director. Interpreting each film in the context of the film makers style makes the director responsible for the major creative descisions. The concept of the auteur theory is a crucial development in film theory, moving away from literary analyses of films narrative content to aspects of art and style specific in film. Many questions are raised on genre as a term, with little agreement on what it exactly means, if it can be clearly defined. Genre criticism firstly began from the notion that there are many kinds of literature, with different contexts. Aristotle tried to separate his poetry , from what we call lieterature into categories such as epic, lyric, tradgedy and so on. Distinguieshing each piece of works properties, working out particular properties of each distinctive kind trying to establish their relative importance, applying these into categories. Aristotles ideas were taken up during the Renaissance placed into a set of rules so that each style, were prescribed for each kind. This codeification evolved in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, literature was being divided more into categories, each with there own subject matter. Such a doctorial approach became frowned upon. In the late 1930s a Chigargo based school of critisicm known as the neo-Aristiteians, spoke out against this new criticism, which repudiated a historical approach to literature, believing literature exists by itself without contemporary or historical refrence. An attempt was made to rescue literature from isolation, resureting the theory of genres. Now that genre has become much more of a phenomenon, expanding hugly in Hollywood encompassing the cartoon, the B movie, the gangster film and many others. Now that genre has become multi dimensional the building of generic corpuses and audience expectations need to be addressed. Verisimilitude is a theory addressing the point of what justifies a genre, its systems of plausabilty, motivation, and justifications of belief. It is these systems of expectation which the spectator brings to the cinema, in which to interact with the film its self while viewing, providing the spectator with means of recognition and understanding. Verisimilitude helps render individual films of there generic corpuses, working out the significance of what is taking place on screen, why characters are dressed the way they are, why they are acting in a certain stlye. For example if a character bursts into song, the viwer will recognize that this particular film is a musical. Its plot is liable to follow certain directions rather then others, so these systems of expectation involve a knowledge of Verisimilitude which the viewer takes with them to the cinema. Todrov explains different regimes of Verisimilitude, with notions of propriety, of what is probable in a film therefore appropriate. In a musical bursting into song is appropriate therefore probable, there for believable in a musical, but not in a sci-fi or horror film. Murder is possible in westerns, gangster, and thrillers but unlikely in romantic comedy. Singing is obligatory in a musical, likely to be seen within its narrative, the spectator interacts with this being able to acknowledge its genre. Todrov explains how there are two types of Verisimilitude. Generic Verisimilitude and cultural Verisimilitude. Work is said to have Verisimilitude in relation to two chief kinds of norms. The first we call the rules of genre: for a work to be said to have Verisimilitude, it must conform to these rules. These rules Todrov refers to stem back to the idea of regimes within genres, with notions of probability. Todrovs second type of Verisimilitude has a more social context. But there exisits another Verisimilitudethat the Verisimilar is not a relation between discourse and its referent, but between discourse and what readers believe is true. Defined Hollywood genres arguably involve transgressions of social cultural Verisimilitude, for the entertainment and aesthetic pleasure. Individual genres have a balance between both social cultural and generic Verisimilitude, some genres appealing more to the generic context. War films mark this appeal by using discourses, maps, memories, and so on. Horror films operate much less to this authenticity, for example the discourses they cite, like the book of revelations in the Omen, is obviously fictional. Inbetween these two cases lie science fiction, films such as Them, draw an authentic status of science and technology to motivate an otherwise non-Verisimilitude event. A relevnt theory is that of Todrovs work on The Fantastic existing of different regimes of Verisimilitude. Two categories lie in the fantastic, The Marvelous and The Uncanny. Events are understood in the marvelous as supernatural, where the uncanny is understood in terms of laws of the natural world, involving a hesitation between the two for the viewer In a world that which is indeed our world, a world without devils or vampires, there occurs an event which cannot be explained by the laws of this same familiar world. The person who experiences the event must opt for two possible solutions: Either he is the victim of an illustion of the senses, of a product of the imagination Or else the event has indeed taken place, an integeral part of reality, controlled by Laws unknown to us. The Fantastic is the uncertainty between the two, the hesitation experienced by the viewer who can only relate to the laws of nature confronting the uncanny, an apparently supernatural event. Noel Carroll applies a similar theory, in two plot structures characteristic in horror films. The first he calls the Discovery plot, consisting of four stages, onset, discovery, confirmation and confrontation. Discovery involves the failure of responsibility and capacity for belief of those in authority, while confirmation is the realignment of their event. This structure articulates a play across themes and positions of responsibility, a play between knowing and not knowing. This plot is the most serviceable narrative armature in the horror film. For example in The Exorcist, the demons presence is established by the girls abnormal behavior, which is then discovered by an individual or group, in this case the poseesed girls mother. For some reason this discovery of this threat is not acknowledged by the police, an authorertive power, as they would not believe in such a erratic tale. Its plot moves away from discovery into confirmation, where the discoverers must convince some one else of the existence and danger of this demon, becoming an elaborate part of the film creating the suspense. While the girls possessed state worsens the mother has to seek other means of help to a higher authority, the time lost during this the demon becomes for powerful. After the hesitation stage of confirmation, it converts to confrontation. The demon is in contact with mankind, as the vicar finally meets the possesed girl. It is this tension between the discoveries (mother noticing abnormal changes in daughter) and the confirmation to convince someone who will believe in the monster or demon (mother seeking help for her possesed daughter) that creates a tension, leaving the audience knowing and not knowing. A second plot is the Overreacher plot, which involves superstition and scientific knowledge. Carrol says this plays an important role to the plot structure 37 . Frankenstein is an example to this approachwhere the discovery plots often sightedness of science, the overreacher plot critizies sciences will to knowledge. The over reachers plot has four basic movements, the first comprises the preparation for the experiament, including philisophacal approach, or a debate about the experiaments motivation. The overreacher himself can become quite megalomaniacal. Such a theory can only be applied to a horror film, as Carroll states the specifics that the plot must have shortsightedness of science, where the overreacher becomes melodramatic. Frankenstein, and Jekyll and Hyde embody the overreacher, bringing an experiment to life comprehends a debate and motivation Carroll mentions, with this melodramatic behavior from the scientist performing the act. The experiment itself goes wrong, resulting in devastation, only now does the overreacher realize the error in justifying there experiment. It is the death and destruction the monster brings to innocent people, which brings the overreacher to his senses repeling him to destroy his creation. Both theories lean heavily on suspense, which is a key ingreediant in the narrative of a horror genre Narrative suspense can occur in most, if not all, of the plot movementsan incident in the onset movement might involve an innocent victim being suspense fully stalked, or our discoverers purseued by the monster. These theories are emboidied in the Horror genre, this repetition of narrative links in with each film, sets the genre away from others. With similar narrative and structure the viewer can relate and then categorize this, knowing that the film they are viewing is a horror film. It is these aesthetic theories that make a genre, the expressionism and communication that define it. As the idea of repetition is inherited in genres, these were thought of as clichs, that the structures are one dimensional, becoming stereo typed. Most critics shared this idea. Shazts contests that Hollywood films involve similar one-dimesional characters acting out a predictable story pattern 208 gh. This pattern becomes familiar with an audience, as each genre contains its own narrative traits such as setting, characters, and plots. A theory by Cawelti called stereotype vitalization shows how characters traits can add to audienes recognition to a genre. Stereotyped characters are commonly found for example in westerns, the audience can expect to see brawls, crooked villains and the cowboy heroine. With such sterotypes within characters it heightens the audiences acknowledgment, as they recognize previous examples with these characters. It is argued however that these stereotypes must be regenerated But a good writer must renew these sterotypes by adding new elements, by showing us some new unexpected facet, or by relating them to other stereotypes in a particular fashionmaintaining an interest for later generations and other cultures. Without adding to a stereotype, films would become too familiar and predictable. Stereotyped vitalization contains two elements. The first is that of a stereotyped character which embodies another contradict cal stereotypical trait. For example Sherlock Holmes stereotyped traits are of a rational, logical, man of reason. On the other hand he is also a romantic poet, drug taker, and a musician. Such opposite sterotyped traits is what makes Holmes a striking literary character, this renewal on a character adds a new element referring back to Catweitis idea of adapting on just one stereotype, bringing more to a film. Another example is that of Gary Cooper, a great western star recognized for his violence , and skill to be quick on the draw, despite being a shy man. A second form of stereotyped vitalization is the stereotyped figure becoming complex and frail, such complexity in a character can however damage a narrative. This is a very delicate matter, for if a character becomes too complex it may cast a shattering and disruptive light on the other elements of the formula. This predictability and pattern within the film allows the viwer to distinguish traits between different genres. Neale argues that we must first understand what is meant by a story pattern, and predictability. In a broad sense Neale states that the story pattern refers to the main shape of a story, that violent climaxes of war films are generically requisite therefore predictable, all common plots recognized by a viwer. However Neale states that climaxes to films in there own genre can vary considerably. War films and western films permit death or defeat as well as victory and survival 211 gh. The same can be said for romantic films, where it could end happily or unhappily, so the narrative is not completely predictable. Each genre can then follow its own narrative which contains its own stereotypes so the viwer can comprehend the genre, yet at the same time as Cawelti stated, by adding elements to the sterotype (character,narrative) the viwer can still relate to the film. This makes each film within its own genre more interesting and diverse. All genre films are distinguished by sharing the same subject matter, a samurai film for example involves swords, science fiction embraces technology, or a gangster film with violence and corruption.These films are defined by similar plots and patterns. For example the plot pattern of an investergation that concludes the early mistery, solved at the climax of the film is common in detective films. Neale however points out that although we can separate each genre, it is only by its basic terms ( a detective story is about an investergation). Hybrid films combine two elements of the same genre into one. For example a combination of horror and science fiction in Alien, or a detective tale with science fiction in Bladerunner. Neale states that classification means genres share multiple relations, not all defined by the traits. If traits can be combined in a genre, what classifies a genre? This combination or cross breeding all relates back to repetition and difference in a films genre, hybrid films however become complex, unable to be pinned down to one single defined genre. It seems most genres are hallmarked by this idea of repetition, films sharing similar attributes. Hans Robert Jauss believes genres are best under stood as process. Repetition does dominate this process , but is also marked by difference, variation, and change. There are three levels in which a genre manifests itself. A level of expectation, level of generic corpus, and the rules and norm that administer both. A new film adds an existing generic corpus to a genre, as in Dracula where the character has to be characterized supernaturally or psychologically as is the case in the film Psycho. These are extended in a new genre film by adding new elements or transgressing an old one. John Carpenters Halloween played between psychological and supernatural elements both displayed within the monster. With this a genre is not simply being replayed but its generic corpus is expanded. It is films with the same generic corpus that base around expectation. Generic elements can be found in advertising. Where this develops so to does a films image, where a genre can expand and change as well. An original text is the viewers expectation familiar to him or her from earlier texts; these can be as shown, extended and varied. With each genre expanding on an original narrative it is as Neale states difficult to fully list the characteristics of each individual genre. Only can we define them in a broad sense, for example a war film that represents its wages in warfare, its main familiar trait, yet with each war film with its own separate narrative. Aesthectic characterictics are found in mass produced genres, Neale states that the term genre is not only used in film but in art and entertainment. Williams relates back to the roots of genre as a term, how it has evolved fistly Borrowed as a critical tool from literary studiesa concept in film studies raises some fairly tough questions. Genre films referring to a genre category substitute film narrative. Williams believes this to be the real genre, considering genres more as narrative film, documentary, or avant garde. It is these sub-genres that Williams believes to have more significant differences that we can distinguish. Ralph Cohen also relates heavily to the roots of the term genre, as it evolved in the nineteenth century, where popular mass produced fiction was making its first appearance. Hollywoods industry has played a huge role partly responsible for creating genres. Hollywood sets out to make profitable films to a mass market, where directors create different films each time as the audience would get bored seeing the same similar films, resulting in viewers not turning up to cinemas, leaving companies bust. Neale uses a nice analogy to illustrate this idea. A car company creates models to keep up with current trends, to keep there products in demand, yet each car has an idenity with one an other. Its principles apply to the film industry. Hollywood genres have the same ranges, producing films with similariteies but each with its own unique touch to keep its audience entertained They enable the industry to meet obligations of variety and difference inherent in this productto regulate demand Hollywoods studios focus on this idea of adding to a genre to keep up demand, to maximize there profit. Studios developed in the 1920s, where groups of studios began such as Universal Pictures, United Artists, and Columbia Pictures, all producing films. These were the main high profit studios, only later did smaller studios develop creating indepentant films. Backed with money the major studios were creating films for the spectible, with higher budgets to draw in there audience. Smaller companies however were not able to show there films, until 1948 where government legislation meant that the smaller studios could release there films into the cinema. With this, studios could market there films in a predictable way with expert staff, directors, producers, and starts. All this meant studios could create there own generic enterprise. With changing ideas and narrative to engage an audience, a genre keeps to its generic form aswel as incorpaerating new plots and style for the audience to enjoy. John Ellis agrees with the importance of the institutional aspects of genre. Ellis mentions the narrative image for each film is a strong hint to its genre, but also stronger when applied in advertising Television and radio often plays a huge part in the construction of such imagesbut also a key role is played by the industry its self. Films advertising to the public, in posters, or television show a clear image of its narrative. Reviews on films state its generic framework, even on posters, statements are shown the comedy of the year clearly telling the viewer the films genre. It is this that raises the publics expectations through means of media, a method Ellis calls inter-textual relay. As any business, it wants to draw its target audience in; the film industry is no different. By advertising a narrative and in some cases even telling us the genre it sells the film instantly. Without advertising the public would simply have to go on a film by word of mouth. Without advertising its audience would be confused, not knowing the films genre, there for unlikely to go to the cinema and pay to watch the film. Inter-textual relay circulates a number of generic labels, terms, and names. It is there existence that makes a genre, although Altman argues Hollywood has a limited role to play when mentioning categories and terms. The industrial/journalistic term thus finds a hypothesis about presence of meaningful activity, but does not necessarily contribute a definition or delimitation of the genre in question Agreeably advertising does not fully explain the narrative, but does tell us the fundamental framework, the basic premises that the audience analyses and can make there own assumption of its genre.

Global Transfer Pricing - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 2 Words: 645 Downloads: 8 Date added: 2017/09/21 Category Economics Essay Type Argumentative essay Tags: Development Essay Did you like this example? 1. Global Transfer Pricing: A Practical Guide for Managers , Ralph Drtina, Jane L. Reimers, S. A. M. Advanced Management Journal, v74n2, Spring 2009. Transfer Pricing Article Summary The authors give a beneficial guide for managers for selecting and implementing a transfer pricing policy. According to the article, transfer pricing are the amounts charged for goods and services exchanged between divisions of the same company. In a multinational company strict international tax laws regulate the amounts charged for goods and services, tangible or intangible, which cross borders. The article advises a company with operations in more than one country to be cautious when setting transfer prices for goods or services sold between divisions. The managers can learn from this article that methods traditionally used to set prices between divisions in a single country may not be acceptable for international tax purposes. The article addresses two major types of transactions, intra-c ompany sales of products and intra-company licensing of intangible property. A multinational company can maximize the profits by shifting profits from divisions in high-tax to divisions in low-tax jurisdictions countries. A description of how global transfer pricing works is given along with transfer pricing effect on taxable income. In this global economy, the trend for countries is to strengthen their effort to collect tax revenues from transfer pricing. A company can mitigate tax conflicts by negotiations and price agreements. The article describes the arms-length principles used by most countries and standardized by IRS S428 and by OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) rule. The article indicates what challenges need to be resolved when applying these standards. Under the arm’s length principle one compares the remunerations from cross-border controlled transactions within multinationals with the remuneration from transactions made between in dependent enterprises in similar circumstances. The arms-length principle has become the international norm for allocating the tax bases of multinational enterprises among the countries where they operate. Five transfer pricing methods for finding arm’s length price are presented along with the comparability issues related to selecting the method and determining the transfer price. The article illustrates the arms-length principle applied for transfer pricing for intangible assets. These assets include intellectual property, patents, formulas, copyrights, trademarks, brand names, licenses, or software. The article show numeric examples of approved ways to calculate transfer prices and explain how application differs between tangible goods and intellectual property. The article concludes with a series of guidelines for managers on how to be aware of the complexity of transfer pricing and how to minimize the risk associated with multinational intra-company transfers. Ever y multinational company should have a documented transfer policy that guides managers’ actions. A company should continue to update its transfer price policy whenever changes to its business affect the factors used to establish the arm length principle. In addition a company with many cross-border transactions should consider an advanced pricing agreement to ensure tax dispute will be kept to minimum. In order to avoid significant cost or penalties to their multinationals companies, managers should become familiar with the regulations of the countries involved, for example using OECD and IRS resources. Analysis and Opinion This article expands the information about transfer pricing from textbook, and emphasizes the aspect of international transfer pricing. Given the global and sometimes controversial nature of transfer pricing, it is important to develop internationally shared principles, as the arm’s length principle, to help each country fight abusive transfer of profit abroad, while at the same time limiting the risk of double taxation of those profits. This article has a lot of applicability to my job, since I work in a multinational company, in projects that develop products across borders and involve transfer pricing. Intellectual property issues (e. g. , valuations) can have significant implications on an organization’s taxes and financial performance. The intangible assets, tax valuation of intellectual property and transfer pricing are highlighted by the article. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Global Transfer Pricing" essay for you Create order

Kashmir ; A lost paradise Essay - 3104 Words

Kashmir — a beautiful mountain state with clear rivers, evergreen forests and one of the highest death rates in the world. It is at the center of an age-old dispute between Pakistan and India that has dragged on from the independence of both nations over fifty years ago to the present time, with no resolution in sight. The combined population of the two nation totals over a billion, so no conflict between them is of passing importance, especially when nuclear weapons are involved. Pakistan and India share a common heritage, language, and traditions, yet the subject of Kashmir can push them to the brink of annihilation. Fifty years of animosity have built up as a result. A proxy war still brews in Kashmir, claiming dozens of lives every†¦show more content†¦They removed the ruler of Junagarh and placed a â€Å"Provisional Government† in place, then used the excuse of â€Å"restoring law and order† to invade and hold a farcical plebiscite, which choose Ind ia. â€Å"India sought to justify its aggression†¦on the plea that the rulers of Junagarh and Hyderabad were acting against the wishes of their people† states the report on Kashmir released by the Pakistani Foreign Ministry. Keep this excuse in mind as you read on; the rulers of the states were acting against the will of the people, so India felt it had the moral right to interfere. In Kashmir, the roles were reversed. The ruler was Hindu with a Muslim majority. Anticipating that the ruler would chose India, the people rose against him, and with the support of Pakistani tribesmen, ousted the ruler and set up their own government. Now the irony of the situation is that while the Indians did the exact same thing in Junagarh, they could not accept the state of affairs in Kashmir. The provisional government of Kashmir chose Pakistan, and a few days later the ousted ruler of Kashmir signed over the state to India, despite no longer being technically in power. The Indian army then invaded, with the Pakistani army following suit, and war broke out between the fledgling nations. The United Nations intervened in 1948 and set up a shaky ceasefire temporarily splitting Kashmir into Indian-held and Pakistani held areas. As the countries were divided in AugustShow MoreRelatedKashmir Issue1534 Words   |  7 Pagesreturn home by the dusk. That’s the fear that the peop le of Kashmir are living with. Freedom, for Kashmir, is a search for the lost identity of its rich cultural religious class of medieval world. The issue of Kashmir is not as ordinary as most of the people in India think. People of Kashmir are dying dying for the future of their unborn. I just want to convey to the outer world the citizens of India that the common man in Kashmir is not a terrorist but a human being who has needs like anyoneRead MoreEthnic Tourism Essence of India7906 Words   |  32 Pageslet’s feel the experience and see how Ethnic tourism has helped promoting tourism and bringing world closer. Introduction India known as Visitor’s paradise derives her roots from a rich past both culturally and historically. This is manifest in the wealth of its cities and magnificent architecture. Starting from the tip of snowcapped mountains of Kashmir to beautiful landscapes allover to Kanyakumari there are enormous stories of cultural and ethnic wonders. There are scores of existing locations forRead MoreA Study on Role of Advertisement in Promotion of Tourism in India15524 Words   |  63 Pagesand Buddhist temples. Many  trekkingexpeditions also begin here. JAMMU AND KASHMIR Jammu amp; Kashmir  is known for its scenic landscape .Jammu and Kashmir  is the northernmost state of India.  It is also called as Paradise on Earth. ATTRACTIONS * Jammu  is noted for its scenic landscape, ancient temples and mosques, Hindu and Muslim shrines, castles, gardens and forts. * The Hindu holy shrines of Amarnath in  Kashmir Valley  attracts about   Vaishno Devi  also attract thousands of Hindu devoteesRead MoreHimachal Pradesh8795 Words   |  36 PagesHimachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh is a state in Northern India. It is spread over 21,495 sq  mi (55,673  km ²)and is bordered by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir on the north, Punjab on the west and south-west, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on the south, Uttarakhand on the south-east and by the Tibet Autonomous Region on the east. The literal meaning of Himachal Pradesh is Region of snowy mountains. Himachal Pradesh was anciently known as Dev Bhumi (The Abode of Gods) and is known to be abundant inRead MoreRise and Decline of the Muslim Ummah9373 Words   |  38 PagesEastern Europe until it reached the borders of Vienna. On the other side, it took upon itself, the responsibility of leadership and security of the entire Islamic world, including Northern Africa. It also revived the Caliphate, and in this way the lost splendour and grandeur of the Islamic world was once again restored. The important point to note here is that this task was performed by the Turks and not by the Arabs. Strange are the ways of Providence! The consolidation the Usmanian Caliphate producedRead MoreIndian English Novel17483 Words   |  70 Pagesanthologies, and in some instances bound compendiums of previously published comic book series). These novels are imbibed with life through both speech and images. Some of the popular graphic novels created in India comprise - The Believers, Corridor, Kashmir Pending and The Barn Owl`s Wondrous Capers by various novelists, likening themselves to the range of comic book popularisation. The contemporaneous Indian novels are widely sold and flying off the racks in overseas countries, besides just the native

Essay on Homer’s Odyssey Free Essays

In the tenth book of the Odyssey Odysseus and his companions find themselves trapped in the cave if the Cyclops Polyphemos. After their monstrous host has munched his way through several of his guests, the remainder take action. Odysseus makes a sharp, wooden stake, cutting it from the massive cudgel discovered in the cave; then together with four of his men he plunges the stake into the eye of the drunken, sleeping Polyphemos. We will write a custom essay sample on Essay on Homer’s Odyssey or any similar topic only for you Order Now Snodgrass, however, would dissent. His whole book is devoted to proving that not only did early Greek art rarely illustrate Homer, it was rarely even inspired by it. This theory is not a new one. Many other scholar have thought and pondered the same ideas. Snodgrass meticulously studies examples of scene often thought to be illustrations of Homer. Geometric art, he argues, offers nothing that can be identified as Homeric; indeed, there is only one Trojan war scene and that is Ajax’s rescue of the body of Achilles, a scene which occurs in neither the Odyssey nor the Iliad. One of the more bizarre apparitions of geometric art takes the form of a pair of Siamese twins, warriors with two heads, four legs, four arms and one torso and the subject of some fascinating pages in Snodgrass’s book. They were especially popular in early Greek art, but there is no clear Homeric influence here. Twice does the Iliad does refer to the twins, yet significantly he does not mention their rather striking deformity. It is preferable to understand both the artist and Homer as drawing on the same body of legendary material. By the mid seventh century figures on vases are beginning to be identified by captions. This at least makes it easier to determine whether the scene is from the Trojan war. Instead of two warriors fighting over a body we can be sure that we are looking at Menealos and Hektor fighting over the body of Euphorbos, as found on a famous Rhodian plate of the late seventh century, a picture that makes an impressive and appropriate cover for the book. This could very well be an illustration of the Iliad book where Menealos abandons his attempt to strip the corpse. Evidence for this tradition can be found in the shield of Euphorbos by Menealos himself. This is certainly plausible and helps to show that common subject matter is insufficient to prove influence. On the other hand, where a minor character is names, such as ‘Odios’ in the embassy to Achilles, then we can be more confident that the artist had Homer in mind. This is a book of enormous leaning and subtlety, and it conclusion is surely right, yet at the same time it seems something of a missed opportunity. It is devoted to a negative and tightly-argued thesis, that Homer’s epic poems had only minimal influence on early Greek at. Snodgrass is re-thinking early Greek art as he goes, but he is re-thinking it within the restrictions imposed by the very narrow focus of the book as a whole. Thus, the positive, for instance the illuminating chapter on synoptic narrative and on composition, can be rather swapped in the relentless negative arguments. Other will now need to work through the implications of his thesis, for example the role that must be assigned to oral tradition and all its local variations. Perhaps it is no conscience that his book should appear at a time when the literary culture of the recent past is being eroded by an increasing emphasis on the visual. How to cite Essay on Homer’s Odyssey, Essays

Yellow Raft In Blue Water Essay Research free essay sample

Yellow Raft In Blue Water Essay, Research Paper ? When authors write from a topographic point of penetration and existent lovingness about the truth, they have the ability to throw the visible radiations on for the reader. ? ( Anne Lamott ) When a reader can see a state of affairs in a distinguishable and realistic manner that entreaties to his emotion, he knows that the author has written with great penetration. With experience, authors can show the deeper significance of a clip or state of affairs. In A Yellow Raft in Blue Water, Michael Dorris exhibits this technique when he writes about Christine go forthing Rayona at Ida? s house. We will write a custom essay sample on Yellow Raft In Blue Water Essay Research or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The 1920? s is viewed as a comfortable and glamourous clip period, but F. Scott Fitzgerald tells us otherwise. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald unveils the world of peoples? lives in the 1920? s by stating the narrative of Jay Gatsby. In A Yellow Raft in Blue Water, Christine is sick, and she leaves Rayona at Ida? s house. Dorris is able to? throw the visible radiations on for the reader? , because the reader views this state of affairs through two positions. Rayona thought that Christine was being selfish for go forthing her with Ida. She felt that her female parent was non looking out for her, and pretermiting her. However, when one views the fortunes through Christine? s eyes, the reader discovers that Christine left because she did non desire Rayona to see what she was traveling through. Christine besides did non desire Rayona to experience bad for her. Michael Dorris tells the narrative through two diffe rent positions, so the reader can feel the world and truth of what each character is experiencing indoors. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald does non portray the 1920? s as a clip of wealth, felicity, and excess like it is believed to be. Fitzgerald uses the character, Jay Gatsby, to demo the reader that this clip period was non all about felicity and joy. Gatsby is a adult male who did non cognize what existent love was. He had the fancy autos, and the beautiful house, but he did non hold Daisy. Fitzgerald is seeking to demo the reader that non everyone who had money in this clip period was happy. Fitzgerald writes the manner it truly was, leting the reader to understand what people were similar at this clip. Another realistic character in The Great Gatsby is Daisy Buchanan. Daisy? s hubby, Tom, was a really successful person, who had money, luxuries, and a large house. Daisy was still non happy and had an matter with Gatsby. The world was that everyone was non happy with their lives. Many people had jobs and Fitzgerald shows this in his work. Finally, when authors write with penetration, the reader is able to understand the truth about the state of affairs. Many plants of literature do non state the truth, and the reader is non able to experience what is traveling on in the book. Michael Dorris and F. Scott Fitzgerald do a phenomenal occupation in conveying the reader down to Earth. The authors use their cognition of the clip period to compose practically.

Secondhand Smoking Essay Example

Secondhand Smoking Essay Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), mostly known as secondhand smoke, is the smoke from a burning cigarette and exhaled by the smoker that unwittingly inhaled by other people. This has always been the case, but the dangers of secondhand smoking were not really known until 1986, when the Surgeon General came out with his report that warned people about â€Å"involuntary smoking† and even about the possibility of smoking related diseases in healthy non-smokers who were exposed to secondhand smoke. The health professionals prefer to use the term second hand smoke instead of Environmental Tobacco Smoke because the two terms have highly differing definitions. ETS is used more as a definition of the way the environment reacts to the presence of tobacco smoke rather than the relationship of the smoke to the human health component.There are 2 types of second hand smoke that each individual is exposed to. The smoke that emanates from the lit tip of a cigarette, pipe, or cigar is known a s Side Stream Smoke. While the smoke blown by the smoker is known as Main Stream Smoke. Any person unwittingly exposed to the hazards of second hand smoke is termed as an Involuntary Smoker. As such, his body is exposed to and made to absorb the carcinogenic chemicals the same way the willing smokers do. This is why both smokers and non-smokers are at equal risk of developing a one of the many cancers that can be activated by the carcinogens in the cigarette.Something that most people exposed to second hand smoke do not realize is that second hand smoke exposes the non-smoker to   4000 or more various chemical mixes. At least 60 of these chemical components are well known carcinogens. Whether they realize it or not, primary smokers expose everyone around them to all the carcinogenic hazards stemming from mainstream and side stream smoke. In 2002, the International Agency for Research on Cancer conducted a monograph regarding tobacco and second hand smoke. The agency came to the co nclusion that second hand smoke can cause lung cancer in non smokers if the exposure to the smoke stream remains constant. Studies have proven that a smoker only inhales 15% of the smoke he puffs. A dangerously high 85% of the remaining smoke is diffused and absorbed by the environmental air causing it to be inhaled by the non- smokers. The report further states that:There is sufficient evidence that involuntary smoking (exposure to second-hand or environmental tobacco smoke) causes lung cancer in humans† and makes the overall evaluation that â€Å"Involuntary smoking (exposure to secondhand or environmental tobacco smoke) is carcinogenic to humans.Truly, secondhand smoke is a health risk and it can lead to lung cancer, sinus cancer, cervical, breast, and bladder cancer. Still, even if secondhand smoke does not lead to serious incurable diseases, it often leads to general health problems for both adults and children.Surveys have shown that as of June 2007, second hand smoking has been the cause of death for approximately 3,400 lung   cancer and 46,000 heart disease patients yearly   in the United States. Such a high rate of deaths stems from the increased level of second hand smoke in the places frequented by adults for social gatherings. A person who regularly goes to restaurants and bars is exposed to a smoke level 5 times higher than in their homes and offices. For married couples, the statistics are even more staggering. There is an estimated 35,000 non smokers deaths in households where one spouse is a non smoker. Lung cancer is usually diagnosed in about 3.400 adult patients. The list of recurring illnesses in people constantly exposed to second hand smoke lists like ordinary, negligible illnesses that should clear up on it’s own. Coughing, phlegm, chest discomfort and weak lungs, are only a partial listing of illnesses that beset adult non smokers.The most innocent victims of second hand smoke are the children. Mothers who constantly e xpose the unborn fetus to second hand smoke risk giving birth to low birth weight babies. It is estimated that about 67% of babies are born into a household with at least one smoker in the family. The exposure may also cause complications and health hazards in the development of an unborn child’s lungs and brain. A child’s exposure to second hand smoke also increases the risk of developing childhood asthma. Children who are prone to sinusitis and chronic respiratory problems (e.g. coughing and post nasal drip) will find that exposure to the smoke also causes chronic colds and coughing. The Environmental Protection Agency conducted a study in 1992 that confirms that exposure to second hand smoke causes lower respiratory tract infections in about 300,000 children ages 18 months and below.Although there has been no formal research as to whether cigarette odors can cause cancer, what has been proven is that the smoke sticks to anything and everything that lies in its path. The smell of the second hand smoke sticks to hair, clothes, and other surfaces. It is therefore believed that any cancer causing effects from such exposures will be highly minimal.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Furthermore, research in this area has shown that even exposure to small amounts of secondhand smoke is harmful to health and elimination of secondhand smoke from all indoor spaces is necessary to assure a healthy environment.   In fact, creating spaces for smokers, and separating smokers from non-smokers is a smart way to deal with secondhand smoke. It is something that the government has been able to institute and much progress has been made in this area. Today it is common to see â€Å"no smoking signs† in all public spaces, including, airports, hospitals, schools, office buildings, and other public institutions.   Proper ventilation of pubic spaces is another way to insure that everyone is protected from a hazardous breathing environment.   Clearly, o n an individual basis people can insure themselves and their families by eliminating secondhand smoke from their homes and cars.Of course, eradicating smoking from society is not easy, especially because it is such a big business. However, through education, and gentle, and not so gentle persuasion it is up to society to encourage the smokers to quit and the non-smokers to never pick up the habit. If we don’t turn a blind eye to an obvious problem it may save someone’s life in the long run. It is imperative that there is education in the schools that emphasizes the damaging effects of smoking on people.   Once people are aware of statistics about smoking and know the real story, they may think twice about picking up this bad habit.There are ways and means to avoid exposure to second hand smoke if one is really determined to quit smoking or limit his, her , or family exposure to the carcinogenic elements in the air they breath. For starters, a person who is still smok ing can choose to stop smoking. There was various ways and means available to quit smoking such as a nicotine patch of nicotine gum to help ease the toxin out of the body. When dealing with household companions who smoke, you must talk to them and convince them of the ill effects of smoking on both the smoker and non smokers. If they won’t listen to reason, the non smoker should demand that the smoking take place away from the person, if possible, outside of the home. Make the car a non smoking area and make sure that exposure to areas that have high second hand smoke content is limited or totally eliminated.In conclusion, I would like to mention that according to the American Lung Association, the move to ban smoking in public places in order to limit the public exposure to second hand smoke has begun to pick up steam in at least 15 states in the country. The ALA report indicates that:Fifteen states Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Massac husetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, Washington and Vermont as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico prohibit smoking in almost all public places and workplaces, including restaurants and bars. Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon and Utah have passed legislation prohibiting smoking in almost all public places and workplaces, including restaurants and bars, but the laws have not taken full effect yetWork Citedâ€Å"Children and Second Hand Smoke†. American Academy of Pediatric Otolaryngology . 2007. 31 July 2007. http://www.entnet.org/healthinfo/tobacco/secondhand_smoke.cfm.â€Å"Second Hand Smoke â€Å".American Cancer Society. 2007. 29 July 2007. http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/content/PED_10_2X_Secondhand_Smoke-Clean_Indoor_Air.asp.â€Å"Second Hand Smoke†. Ontario Campaign for Action on Tobacco. 2007. 30 July 2007. http://www.ocat.org/healtheffects/index.html.â€Å"Second hand Smoke Fact Sheet†. American Lung Association . June 2007. 31 July 2007. http://www.lungusa.org/site/pp.asp?c=dvLUK9O0Eb=35422.â€Å"The Effects of Second Hand Smoke†.   essortment . 2002. 30 July 2007. http://mo.essortment.com/secondhandsmok_rxgs.htm.