Influence Of Mass Media Of Shaping Peoples Ideas Argumentative Essay

Why is Mass Media Often Called Fourth Branch of Power? Did you know that there are four branches of power, and not three, like most of us think? We all know legislative, executive and judicial branches. They seem to create perfect mechanism of democratic state: legislative power formulates rules, executive branch implements them in reality and judicial makes sure everybody follows them. But doesn’t it sound more like a monarchy when one (in a person of three in this case) has control over everything? How will we know if the rules are not fair enough, or somebody doesn’t follow them without any punishment? That kind of knowledge or information is the most desirable and most expensive product of today. The source of this valuable information is media, which is rightfully called the forth branch of power. Only the countries where democracy means more than just a word can be proud of having truly independent media. The reason is that the communication industry has great power of shaping people’s ideas. Someone might say that it is all true only in a situation when media reflects the consumers’ ideas with no political or economical impact. I believe that this is a question of independence, not influence. Even the history proves it – look at the example of the Soviet Union – even the most twisted and improbable information can become the most reliable and trustful if it is worked up and served by true professionals. So, the potential of media in influencing people’s minds is huge. When I think about future wars humankind will face, I imagine not a competition of armed people, but a confrontation of opposite ways of thinking. Mass media surely can be the best tool for that.

Analysis Of Shakespeare s Macbeth - 991 Words

One of the most famous soliloquies in history is Macbeth s Tomorrow†   speech, aside from Hamlet’s. It goes over many contemplating thoughts, and like all Shakespeare plays, he tries to answer them. During the events of Act 5, Scene 5 of the play Macbeth, Lady Macbeth goes insane and solves it by killing herself. Macbeth hears a scream and doesn’t bother to check who it is. He sends someone to find out, and when he gets the news, he’s mad at her for not being able to see his triumph. His soliloquy soon reveals his true feelings about the death of his wife, and also shows a multitude of other things that are on Macbeth’s mind. â€Å"The analysis of Macbeth s thinking can set aside but must not forget that this particular act of thinking operates within a dramatic context; that is, that it moves into our discourse by way of a tale told.†(Keller) In the Tomorrow speech, Macbeth shows how much he cared for Lady Macbeth, how quick ones life can end, and how much he valued life. The first thing to address in the â€Å"Tomorrow† speech is Macbeth’s feelings for Lady Macbeth when she has died. Throughout Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Macbeth’s conscience slowly begins to fade away, and his power lust clearly replaces his ability to empathize with other human beings. â€Å"A conferred title in Shakespeare s plays most memorably transforms character for the worse when Duncan makes Macbeth Thane of Cawdor. This conferral not only helps corrupt Macbeth; it also works indirectly to destroy DuncanShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Shakespeare s Macbeth s Macbeth 1250 Words   |  5 PagesDeemed Shakespeare’s shortest and most bloody tragedy, Macbeth is the tale of a valiant Scottish general whose unchecked ambition elicited his transformation into an immoral and tyrannical ruler. The story follows Macbeth’s encounter with the three Weird Sisters whose ambivalent â€Å"prophecies† prompted him to murder King Duncan and ultimate ly triggered his moral decline. Most prominent in the play is the theme of equivocation and a pervasive feeling of uncertainty is felt throughout the entirety ofRead MoreAnalysis Of William Shakespeare s Macbeth 1785 Words   |  8 PagesScotland! A man has a great ordeal on his hands. Some might say that Macbeth has a second chance or a life long dream that could change his future forever. Deep in the heart of Birnam forest, a castle sits upon Dunsinane Hill, with a man made foundation built from paved bricks that have housed the many Kings that have ruled this Kingdom. Macbeth hears a prophecy from three evil and dilapidated witches foretelling his future. Macbeth, terrified yet surprised, is unsure of his morals and is battling betweenRead MoreAnalysis Of Shakespeare s Macbeth s Macbeth 1844 Words   |  8 PagesGender Roles’ association with Success and Failure in Macbeth In William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth fail because they follow strict notions of gender roles; whereas, Macduff is successful because he depicts a healthy balance of both masculine and feminine traits. Macbeth is far on one side of the gender spectrum, being hypermasculine; while, Lady Macbeth is far on the opposite side, being hyperfeminine. To begin with, it is important to understand what the terms â€Å"hypermasculine†Read MoreAnalysis Of Shakespeare s Macbeth 1136 Words   |  5 PagesGielarowiec 1 Paula Gielarowiec English 4A Mrs. Mastrokyriakos Macbeth Essay 1 March, 2013 Women in Macbeth For many years now women have always been slaves towards men. Always doing everything for them. Cooking, cleaning, and taking orders. But that is slowly changing. Everything slowly changes even people. People become more deranged over time. Shakespeare is one of the writers thats shows that in his plays. One of his plays is based on murder and irresponsible choices. The characters in the playRead MoreAnalysis Of Shakespeare s Macbeth 1331 Words   |  6 PagesTalin Davdian Vsevolo Krawczenuik Theatre Art 101 17 July 2015 Critical Paper The play of Macbeth is written between 1599 and 1606 by William Shakespeare, who is a playwright, actor, English poet and greatest English literature. The full title of Macbeth is The Tragedy of Macbeth, which it considered one of his darkest and most powerful works. The play, set in Scotland. In this play, William Shakespeare uses various themes that represent to the social and political life. This story is about theRead MoreAnalysis Of Shakespeare s Macbeth 1068 Words   |  5 Pagesdownfall. The tragedy Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, has a perfect example of a tragic hero, otherwise known as Macbeth. A tragic hero must be a man who is great and admirable in various ways. He should be placed in society in such a way that everything he does affects all of the members of his society. Macbeth fits the description of being a tragic hero, displaying his strengths, his weaknesses, his tragic flaw, and how influential everything around him is. Macbeth is a tragic hero, bec auseRead MoreAnalysis Of Shakespeare s Macbeth Essay2504 Words   |  11 PagesShakespeare Essay – Georgia Callaghan, 341996 In the play Macbeth written by William Shakespeare, an important character is Macbeth. The writer develops the personality of said character throughout the play using contrast, dialogue, actions, thoughts, and commentary. Through this the audience is able to observe the personality transformation Macbeth undergoes throughout the course of the play. The first mention the audience receives about Macbeth, is from the three witches at the very beginningRead MoreAnalysis Of Shakespeare s Macbeth By William Shakespeare1351 Words   |  6 PagesKnown for his tragedy, intrigue, comedy, and romance, Shakespeare extends his boundary of prowess in the play Macbeth. The irony present in the play, the double-meaning of the characters’ actions, and the complexity of setting all contribute to a thrilling story of murder and looking beyond the superficial. Dramatic, situational, and verbal irony greatly contribute to the theme of things are not what they seem in Macbeth text and film. Shakespeare uses the contrast in irony to convey this in the character’sRead MoreAnalysis Of Shakespeare s Macbeth By William Shakespeare1236 Words   |  5 Pagesit. This idea of equivocation is abundant in Shakespeare’s tragedy, Macbeth. In Macbeth, Shakespeare exposes literary devices such as illustrative imagery, sarcastic similes, and dubious diction to unveil one of his many themes: Things are not always what they seem. Shakespeare beautifully illustrates this fact through the duplicity of Macbeth, his wife, the three suspicious witches, and king Duncan . Starting the play, Macbeth is a very much regarded saint who seems, by all accounts, to be an incredibleRead MoreAnalysis Of Shakespeare s Macbeth By William Shakespeare2081 Words   |  9 PagesShakespeare Essay Shakespeare uses language in his literary creations as a technique to enrich the ideas of his works. In his play Macbeth, Shakespeare uses metaphor as a useful way to enhance language and construct the overall idea. Macbeth revolves around the prospect of ‘power,’ and also focuses on what one is willing to do in order to gain power, and also to maintain it. Throughout the novel, Shakespeare uses metaphors and comparative techniques that link together to develop the

How does Ridley Scott create and destroy gender stereotypes in Thelma and Louise Free Essays

In the 1991 film Thelma and Louise, the director Ridley Scott creates and destroys gender stereotypes successfully of that period in time and helps us to believe that the characters portrayed by Susan Surandon and Geena Davis were real. Here are a few examples of gender stereotypes: In the first scene of the movie, Thelma was in her kitchen wearing a frilly and flowery night gown and the phone was ringing and she called to her husband, â€Å"I’ll get it.† This shows that Thelma is a house slave and Ridley Scott dipicts this as he films Thelma on a low angle and when Thelma’s husband Darryl walks into the kitchen, he is filmed on a low angle to make him seem a lot bigger and fiercer than he really is. We will write a custom essay sample on How does Ridley Scott create and destroy gender stereotypes in Thelma and Louise? or any similar topic only for you Order Now He is shown as already in his work uniform and this tells us that Thelma is a housewife and her entire day is pent locked up inside the house preforming chores. When Thelma is just about to ask Darryl if she can go for the weekend on a roadtrip with Louise, she got scared and ended up asking him if he wanted anything special for dinner that night. To which Darryl simply replies, â€Å"Thelma, I don’t give fuck what we have for dinner tonight. I might not even make it home from work tonight.† This shows that Darryl is an unfaithful husband and is having an affair. Thelma suspects this and states, â€Å"it’s funny how many people want to buy a carpet on a Friday night. You would have thought they would have forgotten about it for the weekend.† To that Darryl replies, â€Å"well it’s a good thing your no regional manager then, and I am.† He then swings his keys around on his finger as if to say, I am better than you, you are worthless. The second scene I am going to describe is where Louise is at work in the diner that she work at and she is depicted as having her hair tied up in a neat bun, showing her as a couped up child who just wants to break free of her immaginary prison. She is wearing her usual uniform of a long white dress and apron. There is a pan shot of her at eye level moving across the diner serving people as she goes. This shows that women in this time cannot have highly paid jobs and they must either be a housewife or work in a dead end, minimum wage job where she does not get the respect that she deserves. The next scene I am going to describe is the scene in which Thelma is packing fro her road trip with Louise after Darryl had left to go to work. She had never had as much fun before and had never packed like it. She didn’t know what she should take, so she just topples the contents of her drawers into many suitcases, she then looks in her bedside cabinet and takes out her earings and finds a revolver that Darryl had given her to protect herslef when he was a t work. Thelma takes the revolver out and holds it with her thumb and forefinger. This creates a gender stereotype as it shows that women aren’t meant to hold guns. Thelma then drops it into one of her suitcases as if she didn’t know the full capabilities of what damage the small silver thing in her hands could do. Later on in the movie, Thelma brings out the revlver when she is in Louise’s car and turns to Louise and asks if Louise can take care of it. Louise replies shocked, â€Å"goddamnit Thelma, why in the hell did you bring that?† To which Thelma replies, â€Å"snakes, bears, psycho killers. You never know what could happen, look can you take it? I don’t even know how to use it.† â€Å"Well put it in my purse then,† Louise replies. This shows that Louise is a much stronger woman than Thelma and she had become tough after what happened to her in Texas. The last scene I am going to describe which creates gender stereotypes is the scene in the bar where Thelma and Louise are sitting at a table in a Western bar and the waitress walks up to them and asks if they would like andything to drink. The waitress is in the same conditions that Louise was in at the start of the movie in the diner. Louise states that she doesn’t wnat any drinks, but Thelma orders two alcholholic drinks and the waitress nods and walks away. Louise looks surprised, â€Å"Thelma! I’ve never seen you like this, you’re always so sedate!† â€Å"I’ve had it up to my ass with sedate!† Thelma smiles, â€Å"I just want to let my hair down.† This shows that Thelma is acting out of character and just wants to have fun. This is where the well dressed, well mannered, charming Harlan walks over to them. He is filmed on a very low angle. â€Å"Well hello ladies,† he says, â€Å"isn’t this place a bit rough for bauties like you?† Thelma is flattered by the attention that Harlan gives her, but Louise doesn’t buy it. She realises what Harlan is quickly as it shows a man just like him flattered her back in Texas. â€Å"Oh I’m sorry,† Louise states, â€Å"we’re having private convorsation here.† â€Å"Oh right okay ladies,† Harlan says, visabaly dissapointed. Thelma holds him back, â€Å"no it’s okay. He can stay.† The waitress returns and gives Thelma her drinks, â€Å"you’re not bothering these poor girls are you Harlan?† â€Å"Nah,† Harlan replies, â€Å"I’m just being friendly.† â€Å"Your name’s Harlan?† Thelma asks, â€Å"I had an uncle named Harlan.† Thelma then goes to dance with Harlan and he spins her aorund many times making her very dizzy and in need of fresh air. He is clearly taking advantage of her. Thelma states she need fresh air and Harlan takes her outside. Harlan then starts to take advantage of Thelma and then he says that he wont hurt her. This shows us that Harlan has no regard for Thelma’s thoughts or feelings. Louise then bursts out of the bar holding the revolver that Thelma had put in her bag earlier and aims it at Harlan. Harlan just laughs and tells Louise to â€Å"suck his dick.† Louise then shoots Harlan in cold blood. This is the first real time that we get to see the gender stereotypes destroyed as women aren’t supposed to show violence. Harlan’s dead body is then shown at a high angle to show that his power and scariness from before had been torn away in an instant. Here is the second point of Ridley Scott’s use of destroying gender stereotypes. This is the scene where Thelma and Louise meet up with young hustler JD and he asks for a ride. They drive with him and drop him off in the middle of a rainy city. Later on in the evening, JD knocks on Thelma’s motel door and the two make passionate love. Then in the morning Thelma goes to see Louise at a cafà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ and they talk and Louise realises that JD must’ve stolen their money that Jimmy had given to Louise, the two women run back to their motel room frantically to find it ransacked and the money stolen. Louise collapses into tears as her last piece of energy and moral sense of dignity are shattered. Thelma then takes control and is filmed on a high angle to signify that know she is taking control. The old Thelma is gone and the new Thelma has taken her place. The new Thelma is the sort of Thelma who will do anything to survive. The next scene I am going to describe is the scene where Thelma and Louise stop to get a cup of coffee and when the two of them get back into the car, Thelma states that she is going to go and get some gum, so she takes Louise’s handbag with the pistol still in it and goes into the nearest convenience store. When Thelma goes into the store, she pulls out the revolver and shouts to everyone, â€Å"good morning ladies and gentlemen, this is a robbery, now if nobody loses their head then no one will lose their head.† She then steals all the money from the till and runs out of the store shouting to Louise, â€Å"drive Louise! Go† â€Å"A store? You robbed a store?† Louise asks pedantically. â€Å"Well we needed the money didn’t we? Now drive!† Thelma replies. This breaks the stereotype that all women must abide by the law at all times. The second to last scene I am going to describe is the scene where Thelma and Louise are driving through the desert when a police officer flags them down for speeding. The officer then take Louise back to his car and starts calling his colleagues. Louise asks if she is in trouble and the officer nods, big trouble. Thelma then appears at the officer’s window and smiles at him and starts to flirt. The officer asks sternly for Thelma to return to her car, but Thelma produces the revolver and points it at the officer’s head and demands for Louise to take his gun and shoot out the radio which she does, but then Thelma corrects her and says the police radio. This shows that although this is a dark film, Ridley Scott adds in a piece of comic relief. Thelma and Louise lead the distressed police officer to the trunk of his vehicle where Thelma shoots two air holes into the trunk and instructs the officer to get inside at which point the officer bursts into tears and Thelma asks him if he had a wife to which the officer nods. Thelma smiles and tells him, â€Å"you be nice to her. My husband wasn’t nice to me and look how I ended up.† On which note, Thelma slams the lid shut upon the officer. The last scene I am describing is the scene at the end of the movie where Thelma and Louise have been evading the police successfully for a fair few minutes which breaks the stereotype that women are bad drivers, but they eventually get captured on the edge of the Grand Canyon. Behind Louise’s convertible is about twenty police cars, a helicopter and at least forty heavily armed officers. The helicopter lands and a few suited FBI Agents get out, one of which is the one man in the forces who believes Thelma and Louise’s story. Thelma turns to Louise and tells her she can’t go back to the way she used to be as she had loved the experience. Louise nods and turns on the engines despite the officer’s warnings of opening fire if they did not give themselves up to be arrested. Louise slams the car forward toward the edge of the Grand Canyon. The only FBI Agent that believes them sprints after them so that the police will not fire. He shouts trying to stop them, but Thelma and Louise are adamant. Their car flies off of the edge of the Grand Canyon and the screen flashes with images of the past two days adventure. In conclusion I believe that Ridley Scott provides the audience with a thrilling and extremely realistic insight into the sexism and gender stereotyping that was around in America at the time of the film’s release. I believe that this film teaches a lesson to all American men who were racist at the point of the film’s release. 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Electric Power Industry Deregulation Essay Example For Students

Electric Power Industry Deregulation Essay The roots of modern day regulation can be traced all the way back to the late 1800s and found in the form of antitrust. By the beginning of the 20th century, the U.S. government had formed the interstate Commerce Commission to regulate the railroad industry, and shortly thereafter, many other regulatory commissions were founded in the transportation, communication, and securities fields. The main goal of these regulatory commissions was to create a reasonable rate structure that would be appealing to both producers and consumers. While this system has worked for many years, it has recently come under heavy criticism, with many people pushing for open competition among electric power producers. Although once believed to be an impossible proposal, competition among electric power producers is finally a reality in a few areas. Massachusetts is just one state where legislation implemented to create competition among electric power producers is not only favored by the people of the state, but has also provided significant rate reductions as well. The attempt at regulating price in the electric industry is a troublesome one. The objective is not only to minimize the cost to consumers, but also to create a rate structure that will entice the electric company to remain in the industry. The regulatory commission wants the electric company to have a reason to innovate so that they will be able to provide cheaper power in the future. However, if the commission captures all gains from innovation in the form of lower prices, then the electric company has no incentive to undertake any type of innovation. Therefore, a compromise must be reached which would provide adequate incentives for firms to undertake cost-reducing actions while at the same time ensuring that the price for consumers is not exorbitant. The term regulation refers to government controlled restrictions on firm decisions over price, quantity, and entry and exit. Each factor of an industry must be regulated for producers and consumers to truly benefit. The control of pr ice does not mean setting one fixed price, but rather entails the creation of a price structure for purchasing electricity during peak and non-peak times. The control of quantity refers to the governments attempt to control the amount produced or in this case the amount of electricity produced. For example, in the electric industry, it does not make sense to have a lot of small power plants produce electricity. However, at the same time one company can not be allowed to monopolize the industry and set prices at its own discretion. Another factor in this problem is the control of entry and exit in the electric industry. By controlling who can enter the industry, the government can control who produces the electricity and how much of it they produce. However, the effectiveness of regulation has begun to be questioned, and created the evolution of a more competitive market. Ever since the Public Utility Act of 1935, which in turn created the Federal Power Commission, the role of electr ic utility regulation and its effectiveness has been questioned. Since that act was passed into legislation, the question has always remained: has electric regulation made a difference? Major studies done throughout the 20th century found conflicting results. A study published in 1962 and conducted by Stigler and Friedland compared the price of electricity in states with regulation to the price in states without regulation. However, at the time all states had electric regulation, so Stigler and Friedland had to go back to the 1920s and 1930s to find states without regulation. Their finding was as expected. In 1922, the average price of electricity was 2.44 cents per kilowatt-hour in states with regulation. However, in states without regulation, the average price increased to 3.87 cents per kilowatt-hour. While many would say that prices could vary for reasons other than regulation, Stigler and Friedland controlled the analysis of other variables and found that no significant differe nce in price existed. Other critics felt that this study was done in a time when regulation was just getting started, and that regulators in the present day are more effective. Two other studies which found different results were those conducted by Meyer and Leland and another done by Greene and Smiley. In their study, which used data from 1969 and 1974, Meyer and Leland utilized econometric estimates of demand and costs to find hypothetical unregulated prices. Their conclusion was that the regulated prices were significantly lower, but that even lower prices were demanded. In a similar study conducted by Greene and Smiley, they found that unregulated prices were 20-50% higher than actual regulated prices. Although these studies seem to reach conclusions that support regulation, the alternative finding by Leland and Meyer that even lower prices were demanded seems to be an indication towards open competition among electric producers. Soon thereafter, the trend toward competition bet ween electric producers began to emerge. History Of Chemistry EssayAccording to the Massachusetts Electric Company, its 970,000 customers have saved a total of $67 million on their electricity bills in the first six months of the new electricity law. On September 1, savings for the companys customers increased to more than 15%, or a total savings of $25 million per month, one full year ahead of the required rate cut. This was due to the companys affiliates selling their power plants. Therefore, by examining the early results of the new law, along with projections such as the ones provided by Standard and Poor, one can determine that the deregulation of the electric industry has been long overdue.