Kathryn Bigelow Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Kathryn Bigelow - Movie Review Example The first film, titled â€Å"The Loveless†, was directed in 1982 proved to be a debutorial success few others have achieved in their careers. Further along her career, she continued to produce box office hits. She directed and produced blockbusters including ‘Blue Steel’, of 1989, ‘Hurt Locker’ 2008, and her most recent movie, which she produced and directed, ‘Zero Dark Thirty†, 2012. All three movies will be discussed within this paper. Sean Redmond and Deborah Jermyn in the book â€Å"The Cinema of Kathryn Bigelow Hollywood Transgressor† have mentioned that Kathryn Bigelow is an auteur, meaning she has a distinct style, which reflects in her movies. Despite the fact that some critics claim that Bigelow does not have a distinct style owing to the fact that she has produced and directed a wide range of movies. They claim that Bigelow’s expertise lies in the fact that she refuses to be categorized. However, even so, this is true about Bigelow’s movies that they are mostly feminist, supporting the women strength. For instance, in the movie Blue Steel, released in 1989, the main character is a female. Played by James Lee Curtis, the character of Megan Turner is that of a rookie cop, who kills a criminal on her first night on duty. Things don’t go as smooth after that since she gets suspended by her superiors because of lack of evidence in her favor, and is accused of murder. Later in the movi e, when she gets her badge back for a spcial case, she bravely struggles, and at last successfully brings the criminal, her own ex-boyfriend, Eugene Hunt (Ron Silver) to justice, with a lot of hard work. In this film, Bigelow shows Megan as a very strong female, a very determinant police officer, reflecting Bigelow’s own feminist views. Megan’s character defies the ordinary and takes assertive decisions that go against the traditional view of femininity. Being a strong supporter of female independence, Bigelow’s personal views do indeed come out in the movie Blue Steel. This depiction of strong females and a reversal of gender roles is not merely a coincidence restricted to Blue Steel. Kathryn Bigelow’s latest movie, Zero Dark Thirty hit the box office in 2012. Turning out to be an amazing hit, the movie not only became very popular, but also served to reflect the Feminist views of its Producer/Director – Kathryn Bigelow, to a great extent. Zero Dark Thirty is a brilliantly directed fictionalized account about the search for Osama bin Laden, that started since the fateful attack of 9/11 on the World Trade Center in New York – an event that c hanged the lives of many. The movie revolves around the very same incident. Although the film is about three Central intelligence agency officers working together, the director Bigelow only shows one character very closely, who is Maya (Jessica Chastain), a female. Putting the female character in the lead role speaks of Bigelow’s determinacy to see women in a league apart and above that of men. In the film, Maya helps carry out cruel and violent interrogations of detainees – in a manner unlike that of a lady. She is a very strong and powerful character. According to Kathryn Bigelow’s own words, â€Å"the Film is obviously about a woman†. These words were spoken in a speech that has been hailed by critics as one of an overtly feminist view,

Case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Case Study Example Businesses such as Easy car, Easy cafà ©, Easyvalue.com etc. besides the airline business Easy jet are examples of the above mentioned growth strategy. Similarly, the group has also adopted effective pricing strategies to attract its existing customers towards its current products. In addition, the group has also made necessary innovations in its existing products to improve the quality as well as has developed new products to reap higher profits and observe growth in its businesses. Conglomerate refers to a group of companies acquired or owned by a business group, a person or an organization. Easy group is quite truly a genuine conglomerate because it owns several businesses such as Easy internet cafà ©, Easy car, Easy jet, online and hotel ventures and has now plans to add new ones such as Easy cinema in the group’s business portfolio to increase annual revenues of the group. Yes, I would recommend Easy Group to enter in Cinema industry and apply its effective business model. Also, easy group has ability to compete in tough market conditions and has been successful in its past ventures. Thirdly, easy group has a solid business plan with very few weak points for its cinema Case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 24 Case Study Example The other issue seeks to implore on whether there is life beyond Earth, and lastly, the program seeks to understand the future of life on Earth. Astrobiology is the common denominator in all NASA space science activities. It bridges research in astrophysics, heliophysics and earth science. To further understand the principle interests of astrobiology, this discourse will look at the discipline in line with the three established issues. This is in recognition of the fact that the credibility and relevance of astrobiology lies in its pursuit to answer the fundamental questions of our origin, establishing our identity, and whether man is alone in the cosmos. Scientists seem to still not come up with a clear definition of what life is; they are still not clear on what being alive means. In perhaps the simplest way, life on Earth swaps energy and material with the environment. The common characteristics of life being that life forms grow, excrete, reproduce and are made up of genes stored in DNA and RNA structures and passed on to the next generation. Life also changes. These changes result due to alterations in the environment. However, life also alters the environment. Finally, it is clear that life is based on the chemistry of carbon and needs liquid water. An extremely constrained layer exists near the surface of Earth; this layer contains life in abundance as evidenced by microorganisms, plants, and animals. Unfortunately, this layer represents the only identified area that supports life in the entire Universe. Everyone by now acknowledges that the laws and concepts of chemistry and physics are in action all over the cosmos. This has led to constant enquiries on whether there is anything like general biology. More critically, there have been unending inquiries on life beyond Earth. Advanced science has been able to reveal that there exist other surfaces beyond Earth which are represented by planets orbiting the Sun. In the past 15

Capacity Planning and Performance Modeling SLP Research Paper

Capacity Planning and Performance Modeling SLP - Research Paper Example Capacity planning is thus seen as a strategic process used to match data center resources with the business demand to provide acceptable service levels at a minimum cost. Capacity planning is an important operation management process that closely works with performance management, service level management, and configuration management. Performance management becomes an integral part of the capacity planning process because the goal of performance management is to manage current system performance in a proactive manner. The proper management of the parameters of system performance such as throughput and latency will provide the client with adequate results and minimal downtime (Mitchell, 2007). For firms that are involved in large-scale operations, keeping track of all the operations within the system can be a daunting task. Fortunately, the advent of technology has made it much more manageable to evaluate the activities that lead to a good performance and optimal capacity levels of the organization. Table 1 shows three capacity planning software that provides management with the necessary tools to keep up with its system. I chose this three software because they appear to be the most popular and the most effective in accomplishing the required goals of a capacity planning software. Other than capacity planning sof tware, many organizations are likewise investing in performance measurement software to automate their measurement and reporting systems. I went on to Performance-measurement.net and was introduced to two of these software. Table 2 shows the description, advantages and disadvantages of each one.

Political Analysis on China Essay Example for Free

Political Analysis on China Essay China has been under the communist party rule for many decades. The communist party exercises absolute power over legislations and economic and cultural institutions. China rules and regulations are not so transparent or absolute. Due to lack of transparency and corruption the social network with the people from the communist party can help the business avoid red tape and bureaucracy. A political risk refers to government interference in the business affairs of foreign persons or companies doing business in a particular country. China is particularly hazardous with respect to political risk. In fact this has occurred in china in 1949. There are the risk of confiscation, risk of expropriation, and risk of contract repudiation.A unique form of political risk occurs in china, and this is the constant battle between the country’s central government and the provincial and local governments over applicable law, and observance or non-observance of it. This makes it difficult for companies operating in China to know exactly what the rules are. Other Political risk of China are as follows- 1) Political Effectiveness- Political effectiveness is actually not very effective in china as compared to other countries. Barely anyone bothers to call the police and they be easily bribed. Road laws are not enforced and thus there is a high rate of accidents in China with the way they drive. The government is even less confident than outside observers regarding their nation’s political stability. 2) Institutional Stability- Corruption still plays a huge role in China. They believe that profit comes first and mostly for personal reasons. At first it was only the Chinese Communist Party who took control in 1949. Later the other branches such as the Judicial Branch came into power in 1980. 3)Currency inconvertibility – The import and export business exchange currencies in either USD or RMB. Only certain worldwide currencies can be exchanged in China, other than that they use the RMB. 4) Honest Government- There are many cases known to justify corruption among government officials. Policies and laws are not solid or stable in China, therefore everything is negotiable. The CPI ratings of China are 3.5 this year. This looks bad compared to the United States and Canada. 106,000 officials were prosecuted for corruption in 2009 which was a 2.5% increase from 2008. With China’s growing economy, it will only get worse. Minimizing Political Risk- For minimizing political risk we should understand the importance of social networks and their relationship. It is a challenging process for a company to recruit the right people with the appropriate network to overcome these challenges. Legal System- For thousands of years, the Chinese legal system was based on Confucian ideology that emphasized ethics and relationships between the people and their leaders. China does not technically have an independent judiciary or a legal system that operates outside the influence of the ruling Chinese Communist Party. In fact, China’s lack of an independent judicial system. Legal and Regulatory Risk Regulatory risk in China is high. Although many sectors of Chinas economy have become more market oriented, numerous restrictions and a massive bureaucracy still hinder full implementation of regulations and make the approval process unpredictable. Chinas Judicial System- Using Chinas judicial system also involves risk. Because of Chinas WTO membership and growing pressure from foreign investors for greater transparency and rule of law, China increasingly recognizes overseas arbitration awards and rulings. It is, however, still risky for companies to rely solely on the PRC judicial system to protect their interests. Similarly, China’s accession to the WTO has brought with it the inclusion of international business laws and patent rights amendments, but even today it is common to see technology being stolen either by the employees of the outsourced firm in China or by a Chinese competitor in the country. Protection from foreign Currency Earning Enterprises- The cost of doing business in China is frequently higher than companies expect. These issues, coupled with a recent rise in policies aimed at protecting domestic companies from foreign competition— especially in engineering and construction, legal services, and banking—create risks and obstacles that few foreign companies are aware of until too late. Minimizing Legal Risk- Hence western companies that plan to outsource manufacturing to China should be aware of these legal challenges. One way of preventing these issues is to have a strong network with the locals or to make sure that sensitive technology is not outsourced to China. Cultural Challenges China has evidenced thousands of years of history, culture and traditions. The way Chinese people behave today is the result of its historical transformations, which is very different from the transformations witnessed by western societies. Hence the modern day Chinese culture is very different from the cultures of the west. The cultural aspects of the Chinese are immensely reflected in the business world, for example, A CEO in the western world is normally looked upon as a consensus builder or as an individual who debates and discusses strategies with their employees and then executes the strategy, whereas in China the leader is looked upon as the sole decider and executor of strategies. There is a strict hierarchy in the Chinese business culture, which is very different from the business culture of some of the west countries. So to run a successful wholly owned outsourcing unit in China, the western businessmen need to understand and overcome these cultural chal lenges. Challenges in Scale and Demographics China is a vast country with a massive population, Western businesses are often at awe about China and think that the 1.3 billion people could become a large customer base, but in reality China is a complex market. 850 million people in China live in the impoverished countryside; their life is harsh, uncertain and poor.536 million people live in the urban areas out of which 247 million people are considered middle class and have an expendable income. The middle class earns over $5000 per head over the period of a year, but one must also consider the fact that the Chinese are the largest savers in the world unlike some western countries such as the US where the consumers have massive spending power and a culture that promotes spending. Hence for a western company to succeed they need to understand these Demographic differences. Challenges related to market behaviour The Chinese market is unique in many aspects, many western companies have tried to sell their product as-is in the Chinese market and failed miserably, and these are not some small unknown brands but large mega brands that have been successful for many decades and different markets. To be recognized as a brand in China, one need to market and advertise the Chinese way, marketing and branding in China should carry a strong Chinese Cultural overtone to be successful in the mainland. Successful western companies such as Google and eBay have failed to become market leaders in China. The lesson learnt from the failure of these companies is that they â€Å"did not understand the localization factor† Therefore for the long run, western companies should â€Å"Think Chinese but act western† and sell the right product at the right price to be successful in the Chinese market. Economic instability Trade policy Challenges China is the world’s second largest economy and is among the fastest growing economies of the world. When western companies move to China they have to consider the economic stability of the country and prepare themselves for the various risks due to changes in fiscal policy, monetary policy, trade policy and other macro economic factors. China’s economy is mostly dependent on exports from the manufacturing industry and foreign economists suggest that the Yuan is undervalued by as much as 40%. Hence a Change in the Yuan can impact the profitability of the western business. Due to high economic growth there has been a strong demand for semi and highly skilled labour all over China. The labour costs have steadily increased over the last 5 years and the government has increased the minimum wage level. This will impact operating costs in China and hence a western company planning to operate in China will have to factor in this ri sk. In summary western enterprises need to be aware of macroeconomic risks before they start their operations in China or face the possibility of failure.

Analysis of Sherman Alexies The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Hea

Analysis of Sherman Alexie's 'The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven' and 'Smoke Signals'   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sherman Alexie based on some short stories included in his book, 'The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven,' wrote the screenplay for the movie 'Smoke Signals.' Both the movie and the book portray problems that Indians had to deal with, and how they dealt with it. The book is far more complex than the movie, showing a wider variation of characters facing different situations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the movie there is Victor, the main character, which tries to be the typical Indian, or maybe just a typical man. He shows just hate towards his father, who left Victor and his mother alone and fled to Phoenix. The picture Victor has about his father is that he was an alcoholic and always tried to talk with his fists.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On the other hand there is Thomas, the other main character. He lives a mystical life and is far more emotional than Victor. Thomas has also another point of view about Victor?s father. He remembered him as a nice guy, who took him to Denny?s once.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When Victor?s father died, Thomas offered money to help Victor to get to Phoenix and get his father?s ashes and belongings, as long as he could go with Victor. On this part of the movie, it is easy to understand how Victor sees the Indians before the whites. On the bus, he tells Thomas that the only way that white people would respect them is by being serious; showing no feelings, not even a smile, being ...

Alex and the Amazing Time Machine ?

Thank goodness I made it back in one piece. I have my brother and the world is happy again. Especially since Carl and Little Davy have been sent to the beginning of time. First, I’d like to say that I have finally and successfully finished building my time machine but there’s a story behind that: Psycho gave me this booster for the time machine to finally get it running. When I got home, I was pretty excited because I was sure that it was going to work. Unfortunately, it didn’t work. I was so frustrated and fell asleep with Scout in my arms. That same night, forgot to turn off the machine.Sometime between that and waking up this morning, my dog Scout disappeared. I was really scared and nervous but I had to go to school. Later that day, my school had a field trip to the museum. In the museum, we saw these dioramas of early man and I kept seeing this dog that looked an awful lot like Scout. I realized it was Scout and at that point it hit me that she might have go tten into the machine while I was sleeping and went back in time and became known as a â€Å"thoropulis†. The explanation behind the â€Å"thoropulis† was that it seemed to have always been searching for something or someone.My guess is that she was trying to get home. As my class was learning more and more about this â€Å"thoropulis† it hit me that it could only mean that the time machine actually worked! I was so excited to get back home because this meant one thing: I could travel in time and save my brother! When my class and I got back to the bus from the museum, the same white van that Carl and Little Davy drive turned up at the museum. Todd and I became super nervous because there was only one explanation as to why they were there: they were after me!Todd quickly hatched up a plan to distract Carl and Little Davy. He had the class get out of the bus to shield me from view. From that point, I ran back home and rushed to my room to activate the time machin e. By accident in panic, I set it two years in the future instead of setting it to six weeks in the past. Once I was zapped to the future, I found myself in my bedroom except things looked a little different and looked A LOT nicer. When I stepped outside the house to walk around town, I came upon a banner that said â€Å"Dalton Trumble Appreciation Day† . Wait what?There’s a holiday for my dad? It turned out he wrote a famous book called, â€Å"Alex and the Amazing Time Machine†. I stole one of the copies of the book from the future and brought it back to the past that way my father could actually write it. After that little adventure, it was time to save my brother Steven. I set the machine six weeks back in the past. After being zapped, I found myself in my bedroom again but this time I felt that there was a sense of cheeriness in the air that I hadn’t felt since Steven was taken. While I was on my way to the camp, I had to make sure that I wasn’ t seen.The one place I could hide in was the trunk of my dad’s car. I hid there because this was the same day my family went to the camp retreat, which is where Steven was taken. It was such an uncomfortable ride being squished in the trunk. When the car stopped, I snuck out of the trunk when my family wasn’t looking and grabbed a sleeping bag before closing it quietly. I went to a shed to collect some supplies that might come in handy to camp out in the woods to collect some strength and rest for what might be a dangerous mission. The next morning, I caught my fish for breakfast and was ready to save my brother.My plan however didn’t really work out. I saw Steven had already been taken by Carl and was on my way to get him until Little Davy captured me. We were both put into the van and were asked a bunch of questions. Steven sat quietly but was clearly scared because he had no idea of what was going on. I ended up answering all of the questions but not entirely truthfully. Unfortunately, they could tell when I was lying and it looked like they were prepared for it too because each time that I lied, they forced me to eat a forkful of worms that they had collected.By the time I answered all of the questions, I had eaten almost half of the plate of worms. YUCK! Next thing I knew, Carl had me and Steven tied up to trees and he had a gun that shot people into a universe similar to ours except the universe he was going to shoot us to had no way of escaping. All of a sudden, Todd showed up with a metal baseball bat in hand. You could only imagine the shock I had when I saw him. Not to mention the relief! Todd went straight for Carl and knocked his knees out. At that exact moment the gun was fired and hit a set of leaves.After Carl was on the ground moaning, Todd went straight to Little Davy and hit him in the knees as well. Once he was on the ground moaning like a baby, Todd ran to us untied us from the tree. We quickly tied up Carl and Little D avy and I used my time machine to open a portal to the beginning of time and sent them there. I closed the portal immediately so there would be no escape. I looked at Steven and explained that I had enough love for the both of us. I told him this because he always felt unloved. He was really happy to hear this and I received a great, big hug from my brother, which was really nice.Afterwards, I told him to come up with a silly story to explain to our parents as to why he was missing. When he left, I thanked Todd for coming back and being there to help rescue my brother and me. It turned out that Todd found my time machine that I had left in the present in my room when I left to go to the past. A few weeks later, Todd went missing and I thought it was happening all over again! Next thing I knew, he materialized himself in my bedroom holding a dog. Guess who that dog was. Yep! It was Scout! I gave them both a really big hug and thanked Todd for rescuing my dog.

My Personal Philosophy Essay

Every human is bestowed upon themselves the right to live how so ever they choose to live. As humans in a society, we live to better ourselves and our future generations. Everyone has a goal that they want to live up to. Achieving this goal is considered success. I believe though that success isn’t achieving goals, instead, success is living with an active soul. Emerson, in his speech to Phi Beta Kappa says -â€Å"The one thing, in the world, of value is an active soul. † Emerson infers that success doesn’t come from reading books, but from becoming active. The imaginative genius, Albert Einstein, says in his famous quote that he isn’t a genius. Rather he is a human with an active curiosity. Curiosity is a gift of the soul. Curiosity is the soul saying that it wants to learn how to express itself even more. 2009 Nobel Peace Prize Winner, Barack Obama, tells the world that it isn’t he who has won the prize. He says that all Americans out in the world, who better their society by being actively involved, are the true winners of the prize. A common attribute that all these peoples include contributing to their own success is activeness, activeness through their soul. All these people are people who not only changed their society, but changed the world. There are many more who are of as equal value in their contributions to individuals of the planet. All these people are people who do not simply live life with a pattern. They are not people who no longer care as to pay the slightest attention to their heart’s desire. These people are people who live life actively. Actively through their soul and hence they are success. Not only a success to themselves, but to the society around them. Their success is praised, but the honor should go to their souls which took on the challenge of remaining dormant or becoming active.