Pilgrimage Analysis Essay Example for Free

Pilgrimage Analysis Essay Pilgrimage is the name given to a spiritual journey. There is more depth to a physical journey. It is about what it means spiritually to the individual. It is an emotional and spiritual journey. It is a journey from the heart showing love for God. The definition of true is loyal so a true pilgrimage is a journey you take to show loyalty to God. To become a pilgrim, the person must leave their home and undertake a sacred journey, which may confirm and strengthen their personal beliefs in their religion. People can go on this journey alone or in a community. Many places in the world are very exceptional for Christians. Some are places where Jesus lived, such as Nazareth. Other places are special because a holy person is buried there. Many Christians go on their pilgrimages to Lourdes and Rome. People go on journeys to these special, religious places to order their lives in terms of what is good, beautiful and true. Christianity is a journey into Christ a journey that mirrors every Christian mystery through life. As a Christian grows and changes, so he or she tries to move nearer to Christ. A believers ultimate hope is to be completely at one with him in eternity, when on the journey, Christians may use the physical act of pilgrimage to help them to focus on the need for spiritual nourishment. People go to these places of worship as here they believe they can fulfil their beliefs, and show their devotion to their religion. They are making a holy journey. We call those who go on these special journeys pilgrims. They do not have to do this, there is nothing in the Bible which tells Christians that they must make pilgrimages. It is their decision made freely. Many people regard Lourdes, as a place of miracles and of wonderful and unexplainable events. A young girl called Bernadette had a vision of the Virgin Mary countless times and in these visions, Bernadette, was told how to find a natural spring. Many Christians go as they are ill and hope to be cured. But others go for the same reasons that they go to church. Another reason to go on a pilgrimage is to feel some of the holiness of the place and become closer to God. By becoming closer to God, we can feel like better Christians and this should help us to become better Christians and do as God intended us. People also go on pilgrimage to seek Gods forgiveness for the sins that they have committed. Some people go to ask and receive Gods help, like people who have an illness or are disabled in some way, may ask for a cure to heal them. People can also ask to be healed spiritually, as coming to their pilgrimage centre may make them realise that they have not been leading a good Christian life and it may make them change into good Christians. Rome is another main pilgrimage centres for millions of Catholics. In Rome, there are 7 pilgrim churches founded when the Roman Empire became Christian. People have been coming to Rome on a pilgrimage for the past 1600 years. The Church of St. Peter was built on top of the tomb of St. Peter who was the leader of the 12 apostles and the first ever Pope. St Pauls church was built on top of the tomb of St. Paul, the great Christian missionary, who wrote most of the epistles in the New Testament. Rome is the home of the Pope and the Vatican is the headquarters of the Catholic Church. A pilgrimage to Rome is very special as it is the home of the Roman Catholic Church. Lourdes is a Pilgrimage centre which is much more recent, but it still receives over 2 million pilgrims a year. Water is a very special part of Lourdes a here there are the baths where you are fully immersed in Holy Water. You feel as if you are being cleansed of your sins, like a believers baptism as you are fully immersed in water like Jesus was fully immersed in the water of the river in Jordan when he was baptised by John the Baptist. Question 2 Many Christians believe that it is very important to go on a pilgrimage as it helps them develop into better Christians. As they go to the special, religious centres they become closer to God and begin to understand the religion more. By praying to God they become much closer, and their beliefs about the religion are greatly strengthened. The pilgrimage centres really have a great affect on the person spiritually. By getting away from their normal lives Christians who go on pilgrimages to Lourdes or Rome are filled with a special feeling of belonging when they go to a pilgrimage centre. At these special places Christians feel much closer to God as they are at special places where religious events have occurred in the past. Some people go on pilgrimages as groups, where they can help others who are less fortunate than themselves. Certain groups take children who arent so fortunate on pilgrimages to places like Lourdes and let them become closer to God. By doing this they are helping Jesus, as Jesus said anything you do to your neighbour you do unto me. People who may have turned away from the religion could also have their spirits renewed and change as a person to being a good Christian. Some people also feel that they can see their vocation when they come to a pilgrimage centre, which shows the huge affect that pilgrimage centres have on people. When people come on pilgrimages they leave homes behind and decide to forget all comforts and put God first. They are showing by going to these pilgrimage centres, their devotion to God and that their main aim in life is to be a good Christian rather than make money and have fun. They show that their main aim is on God and making God happy. Christians also come to Lourdes and Rome to ask questions, to ask questions about Christianity and how they can become a better Christian and make God happy. Christians also enjoy coming together and going on pilgrimages as then they are surrounded by many people who are like them, all on a journey to strengthen their religious beliefs and become better Christians. Christians also come to pilgrimage centres as they wish to ask God for his forgiveness for all there sins, and by coming on a long journey to a pilgrimage centre they can show to God that they truly are sorry for their sins and that they want to be better Christians. They can also show that God is most important to them as they are coming on a journey to show their devotion to him. The spring St. Bernadette had found was holy and had great healing powers. Now many people visit Lourdes and drink or bathe in the holy water. Many people have miraculously been cured of illness after visiting Lourdes. In Lourdes there have been many specialised things made to accommodate people suffering illness or those who have disability. The people who a go there to pray for themselves and to pray for others. Some pilgrims, who go there, volunteer their time when they are not praying to people who are less able than them. I have been to Lourdes myself and when I was there the feeling of Holiness was unbelievable. Just being there made me feel as If I was cleansed of all my sins, and I truly felt closer to God and being their strengthened my passion towards my religious beliefs. Question 3 After being to Lourdes myself I feel that the pilgrimage centre has become too commercialised. So many people are trying to make money out of the religiously spectacular area it has taken some of the special feeling away from visiting Lourdes. The point of going on a pilgrimage is to get away from our normal lives where all we think about is work and money and spend time concentrating on God and putting our religion first. By setting up shops around the area we are tempted to purchase items, which takes away the precious feelings of visiting Lourdes. The area around Lourdes is meant to be tranquil and peaceful and reflect the image of Christianity, but having loads of shops around the area provokes the town to turn into a busy, messy area where crime can increase and there is a lot of disrespect for the holiness of the pilgrimage centre. However, if a person does visit such a spiritually healing place like Lourdes naturally they would like to be able to take home with them a souvenir to remind them of their time in the area which changed them so much into a better Christian. Many people purchase items which are very special and can be used as aids to prayer, which makes them better Christians as this would bring them closer to God. If these special items do bring them closer to God then they are sacred items and are very precious. When I went to Lourdes I did purchase special items from shops in the area which I have used as aids to prayer and have in my house looking over me, protecting me. But I still feel that the area around Lourdes has become to commercialised as there are so many shops and some of the items sold in the shops are not very sacred and can bring down the preciousness of Mary and Jesus as they are not very respectful.

The Works Of David Cronenberg Film Studies Essay

The Works Of David Cronenberg Film Studies Essay The dissertation reviews works of David Cronenberg circa 1976-1999 in relation to Truffauts theories of the auteur to show the relevance of auteur theory in todays cinematic climate. The dissertation will look at Cronenbergs recurring themes, subjects such as biology, the use of insects as a supernatural force, body horror, and themes of psychological delusion and repression. These themes are consistent in Cronenberg film practice, and will form the basis of identifiable traits for consideration in defining contemporary autership. It will look into both of sides of the argument comparing the evidence from sources that believe directorial auterism is a viable concept and those who feel film making is a collaborative process and therefore a director can never truly take ownership of a piece of work. In this chapter the dissertation will also look at Cronenbergs Rabid which is the directors second feature film. The genre is a Horror film and relies heavily on one of the staple themes of the vampire sub-genre Infection which in this case a strain of rabies being passed on from person to person through the exchange of bodily fluids. The plot is simple girl falls off motorbike, girl has pioneering yet risky surgery, surgery turns girl into bloodthirsty vampiress The recurrent themes are ones of body modification (surgery), faceless medical organisations, sexuality and penetration, especially in the manifestation of a phallic, knife-like probe that emerges from lead actress Marilyn Chambers armpit to stab and infect her victims. The dissertation will discuss the different aspects that make up the film including the actors and their performances, staging (Director of Photography) the narrative and the script and look to relate them back to Truffauts guidelines to highlight key element s. Dissertation chapter 3: The Fly (Dir. David Cronenberg (1986) A scientist invents a teleportation device and accidentally teleports both himself and a fly at the same time. This unfortunate event leads to the scientist becoming part man part fly. The film is a story of blind ambition, a love story and also a story of metamorphosis. The consistency in Cronenbergs choice of film crew (Director of Photography, composer etc) will be looked at in detail and compared to his previous films along with the other recurring themes mentioned in the introduction. Dissertation chapter 4: CONCLUSION In this chapter the dissertation will compare the recurring themes between the films in relation to Truffauts theory of autership. This correlation between the content of both films and Truffauts work aim to show that, Cronenberg can in fact be classed as an auteur. Chapter 2 Rabid. Rabid is a 1977 film both written and directed by David Cronenberg. It is often seen as a sequel to his 1975 film Shivers both films deal with the subjects of disease and sexuality. The film tells the story of Rose Cronenberg has stated that he named her Rose as a metaphor for her innocence. Rose is played by American pornographic movie star Marilyn Chambers and tells of her newly acquired taste for blood that appears after pioneering life saving surgery after suffering a horrific motorbike crash. The skin graft surgery that Rose undergoes causes a mosquito like probe to appear in her armpit which she then uses to drink the blood of her victims. The probe itself is very phallic and is sheathed in something that resembles a vagina adding to the metaphor of this being a way of spreading sexual disease. The disease in this case is explained as a rare strain of rabies. The opening scenes of the film are set in the Keloid clinic. The director seems to have intentionally used this as a name for both the clinic and the head surgeon Doctor Dan Keloid as Keloid is a biological term for a type of scar. There is a discussion about investors being interested in putting money into the clinic between the members of staff to help create a franchised series of plastic surgery resorts which although shot in 1977 seems to reflect the modern day attitude to plastic surgery. It mirrors the blasà © approach of people to undergo potentially life threatening surgery in the name of personal appearance. The character of Lloyd Walsh (Roger Periard) is introduced into the story by stating that, Ive already had my ears done twice, im just here to get my eyes done there is evidently nothing wrong with the bags under Lloyds eyes. The discussion of franchisation is transposed with the images of a couple on a motorbike, Rose and her boyfriend, Hart Read (Frank Moore). The se quence on the motorcycle is very similar in style to sequences in the 1969 film Easy Rider. Close ups on the drivers foot changing gear are interspersed with shots of the bike weaving along country lanes. This editing technique is a horror film staple with quick cutting from actions that seem quite banal cutting back to another action that is building inevitably into catastrophe and violence. The tension helped to build by the use of sound, Howard Shore as the composer for Rabid has used strings and driving synthesizer noises and increasing in volume. As the motorcycle winds through the country lanes we see that a third set of protagonists are brought into the scene in the form of a camper van with a family in. As the camper van driver realizes his mistake in taking a wrong turn he turns the van around blocking the road. Close up on Rose as she realizes they are about to crash. (Rabid 1977) Inevitably the couple on the motorbike swerve and Hart gets thrown clear from the wreckage; Rose however ends up underneath the bike which bursts into flames burning her badly. The scene then cuts back to the Keloid clinic where one of the patients in the hospital has witnessed the crash and alerts the medical staff. They promptly make the decision to take the ambulance and help the crash victims. The use of the location in which the clinic is set helps the audience to realize that without this help then Rose would surely die. Cleverly, Cronenberg has set the clinic in the middle of the countryside. It is clearly in the middle of winter as there are no leaves on the trees and the fields are akin to barren waste ground. The clinic itself is a cold, faceless building with darkened windows and is surrounded by forest. This is consistent with Cronenbergs use of faceless organizations such as shadowy media companies and in this case a medical establishment. The hospital appears to be the modern day equivalent of Draculas castle or some other horror film haunted house staple. Monaco states that: To experience a Horror film was cathartic, the elements are well known: there was litany to each popular genre. Part of their pleasure lay in seeing how these basic elements would be treated this time around (Monaco, 1981) Suffice to say that when we watch films from the horror genre we are expectant of seeing these certain location and character stereotypes although in the case of Rabid, Cronenberg has transformed the haunted castle with the mad professor into a more modern setting with the use of the Keloid clinic as a key location. The mad professor has now transformed from being that of Dr Victor Frankenstein or Doctor Moreau to one of experimental plastic surgeon Dr Dan Keloid. The use of the faceless medical organization is consistent throughout Cronenbergs body of work throughout the seventies and eighties. Upon the arrival of Rose into the clinic for life saving treatment, Cronenberg seems to have prophesized the modern surgical technique of stem cell research and given Dr Keloid the ability to neutralize skin tissue from Roses thigh and then use this to grow skin grafts that replace the damaged tissue that is affected by the crash. This yet again is another horror film staple; this experimental almost maverick attitude becomes the surgical equivalent of a character deciding to walk down the dark alley when there is a serial killer on the loose. Throughout this time Rose remains in a coma. The editor Jean LeFleur has used a static title stating one month later to show the passage of time and the fact that Rose has been in a shock induced coma for a long time. Changes in time and space invite audiences to make an immediate comparison between two distinct points in time. Changes in time and space may mark the presence of central conflicts or emphasize important stages in character development (Pramaggiore, M. and Wallis, T., 2008) To show the development of a character that is essentially immobile and unable to communicate without the use of something like dream sequence for instance would be challenging to the director. It seems that what initially appears to look like a potentially lazy plot device in the use of a title to show the passage of time actually becomes a logical tool to show the development of Roses character. It is at this point that Rose awakens from her coma. It is suggested to the audience that by Rose unflinchingly removing the Intravenous drip from her arm that something might not be right. Fellow patient Lloyd Walsh discovers Rose lying in her hospital bed thrashing around her breasts uncovered. Rose claims to have no recollection of the accident but complains of being cold and wants Lloyd to embrace her for warmth. Beard says that; Metanarratively there is a kind of male-sexual-fantasy skit going on, with Lloyd as the male viewers stand-in: man accidentally comes upon beautiful young woman semi-naked in a hospital room; his safety as a voyeur is guaranteed by the womans unconsciousness; when she does awaken, she begs him to hold her because she is cold- another opportunity for covert sexual satisfaction (Beard, 2006) This part of the scene can be construed as Roses awakening of her dormant blood lust and her way of using her sexuality to entice her prey into physical contact so she can feed on them. Another way of looking at it is that this scene is Cronenbergs dark sense of humor coming to the fore. Casting a porn film actress in what audiences would regard as a relatively mainstream film and then placing her in a scenario not too dissimilar to the plot of a seventies porn film could be seen as amusing. The scene plays out with an ironic twist of fate; the male viewers on the side of Lloyd want to see this beautiful woman let Lloyd have sex with her, it is however Lloyd that is the one who gets penetrated with a phallus. Rose strikes with her armpit spike, and the scene once more is sexualized (again metanarratively) and in an unexpected way that reverses the roles of sexual attacker and victim (Beard, 2006) Rose then feeds on Lloyds blood, and Lloyd having no recollection of this starts to wander the hospital looking for help. He has no recollection of what has happened to him and as there appears to be no evidence of Rose having been awake at all it is assumed that Lloyd has had a stroke and fallen. However when the staff enter Roses room everything is in disarray and one of the nurses tells Doctor Keloid she believes Lloyd has tried to molest Rose. The decision is made to send Lloyd to the general infirmary in the city after they have taken some blood samples. This decision is a turning point in the story and shows how Cronenberg has married together several different horror staples; a vampire movie has now shows some of the traits of becoming a zombie film too. The idea of a single infected person being sent back into the general population unaware of the disease they are carrying after a wrong diagnosis from the doctor, furthering the spread of disease is something that has been use d time and time again in film making. Metaphorically speaking the disease could be thought of as a sexually transmitted infection as the situation in which it was passed had definite sexual undertones. After Rose has fed on Lloyd they lay down in what appears to be some kind of post coital bliss. Rose attacks Lloyd and feeds on his blood, she strokes his hair and they lay back down on the bed. (Rabid, 1977) After Lloyd is sent to the general infirmary in the city, Dr Keloid looks at Lloyds blood sample through a microscope and realizes that something Is not quite right. The blood sample is shown through the point of view of the doctor and the blood cells are being attacked by other mutated cells. This representation of the disease is akin to watching a sperm fertilize an egg except in the case of the disease the sperm like disease is not fertilizing a cell but eating it instead. This imagery is akin to the spread of the disease throughout the populace shown later on in the film. Cronenberg stated that, Rabid was about the spread of diseaseà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦, how a whole city is finally almost brought to his knees by a sexually transmitted disease. My imagery tends to be very body oriented. I think Im interested in transformation as well, but not in an abstract spiritual sense or at least not at first, but in a very physical sense. In the case of Rabid it seems Cronenberg is not concerned with only the physical transformation of the protagonists, but also it seems the transformation of society as a whole. It could be assumed that within Rabid, Cronenberg is addressing the changing attitudes of society and that the end of the free love attitude of the sixties and seventies is changing. Sex is no longer safe he appears to be saying. The final scene of the film shows Rose dead on the pavement. Government soldiers that have been charged with controlling the population and keeping the spread of the disease under control find her and throw her into the back of a garbage truck. Muir (2006) proposes that Cronenberg is merely having a stab at women and implying that it is women who are the carriers of disease and that the final scene with Rose getting thrown away emphasizes his thoughts on promiscuity within women equating them to the likes of garbage. Rose, dead, is thrown away into the garbage truck. (Rabid, 1977) Chapter 3 The Fly. Im saying Im an insect who dreamt he was a man and loved it, but now that dream is over and the insect is awake.- Seth Brundle (The Fly, 1986) The Fly is a 1986 film directed by David Cronenberg and produced by Mel Brooks. The film is a remake of the 1958 film of the same title directed by Kurt Neumann which is in turn based on the short story by George Langelaan. The Fly was Cronenbergs biggest cinematic success to date. The director has completely re-imagined the film of the fifties and transformed it into a love story between two characters. The film focuses on Cronenbergs recurring obsession with the horror of the human body. The scientist Seth Brundle (played by Jeff Goldblum) and magazine journalist Veronica Quaife (played by Geena Davis) are the main characters involved in the story. Goldblum plays one of the archetypal Cronenberg staples, the mad scientist. Unusually for Cronenberg the scientist is a likeable character, slightly awkward but ultimately charming. As is the norm for the director, Brundle works for a faceless scientific organization Bartok Science Industries who are financing Brundles work. The pair mee ts at a press event held by Bartok. Brundle convinces Veronica that his work will change the course of human history. Wisker (2005) states that Cronenbergs fascinations lie in the perversions of science being manipulated by corporate interests and how humans, initially unaware, are sucked in to the danger resulting in devastation. This is especially the case regarding the character of Veronica Quaife although it seems that in this scenario, both parties involved had the best intentions and both were unaware of the horror which was to follow. When Brundle asks Veronica to come and look at the project he is working on both characters has ulterior motives, Brundle wants sex and Quaife wants a story for particle magazine. Brundles project is one of teleportation; he is on the verge of mastering teleportation via the use of two pods. Brundle and Veronica go back to his workshop, when they arrive outside the building he lives in the building is dark made of brick and has no discerning fea tures as are the majority of Cronenbergs choice of location throughout his career. The dark building where inside the viewer knows that scientific horror waits. In Rabid (1977) it was the use of a plastic surgery clinic, an apartment block in Shivers (1976) and in The Fly it is an old red brick mill type building. Muir (2007) claims that Veronicas effect on Brundles work is one of humanization, initially it is seen that Brundle has the single minded focus of an insect already, in one particular scene Veronica looks in Seths wardrobe only to encounter five sets of the same clothes. Brundle states that this is purely so he will not have to expend energy worrying unnecessarily about what he is wearing, thus allowing him to concentrate fully on his work. Veronica teaches Brundle about Flesh and about with that comes feelings that seem to have eluded Brundle throughout his manhood; feelings of love and passion are intermingled with anger jealousy over Veronicas suspected continuation of a relationship with her former lover. This is not the case however and we learn early on that veronica wants nothing more to do with Stathis (John Getz) who also happens to be her boss at the magazine. It is this drunken and jealous rage that leads Seth to decide to use his teleportation pods to transport himself. A s shown to the audience previously transporting living flesh has not gone well to say the least, initially the transportation of a baboon led to the baboon being turned inside out. Metaphorically speaking the baboon incident coincided with the introduction of Veronica into Brundles life, figuratively speaking it was not just the baboon that was turned inside out but also Seths life. Brundle tries teleporting a baboon with devastating results (The Fly, 1986) Without the introduction of Veronica it is assumed that uncalculated risk would not enter into Brundles research however fueled by alcohol and jealousy he decides to transport himself in the pods. Whilst entering the transportation pod Brundle fails to notice a fly has entered in with him. As the door seals the audience realize, so is Brundles fate. It is at this point that Cronenbergs film becomes a story about the frailty of human flesh and as with the major body of his work a metaphoric tale of disease, loss and the relationship between human and machine. As Brundle leaves Pod B he feels more alive than he has before unaware that the computer has fused, on a genetic level, both himself and the fly together in to what Seth refers to as, Brundlefly. Seths behavior gradually becomes more animalistic; he becomes more sexually aggressive, stronger and exhibits more risky behavior. Brundle thinks that he has somehow purified himself, by going through the machine and being pieced back together he somehow thinks that the computer has improved him. It becomes apparent to Veronica that maybe things are not quite right with Seth after the discovery of coarse black hair growing out of Seths back. After Veronica has the hairs medically examined it transpires that they are insect hairs. Seth is in denial and tells Veronica that, Ive become free, Im released and you cant stand it. Hairs sprouting from the back of Seth Brundle (The Fly, 1986) When Veronica points out that Seth is not well he retaliates by going to a bar with the sole purpose of finding another woman to have sex with. in a scene which seems to encapsulate both Brundles new found animalistic masculinity and his wanting to take his anger and hurt out on another being he enters into an arm wrestling match. He bets the men one hundred dollars and the hand of the girl at the bar who is with the men. Brundle starts to arm wrestle, white almost sperm like fluid seeps from his hand as he wrestles the man. With little effort, Seth breaks the bigger mans arm and walks off with the girl. Cronenberg yet again punishes promiscuity like he has done in previous films such as Shivers and Rabid. In the case of Brundlefly a combination of promiscuous behavior and risky scientific procedure leads to Brundlefly becoming diseased in a very noticeable way. The transformation of Brundle into Brundlefly at least at first seems to replicate the physical characteristics of AIDS. De rry states that: In Cronenbergs, movie the scientists early manifestation of bodily change resemble the skin lesions of Kaposis sarcoma, the cancer so common in the early stages of AIDS-related immune dysfunction. As these changes transform him into something monstrous-looking that even his girlfriend recoils from. (Derry, 2009) Lesions on Brundles face, similar to Kaposis sarcoma (The Fly, 1986) Derry is making the point that within the context of a horror film Cronenberg is asking a profound question on whether or not we as a society can show compassion for the degradation of people who are suffering from debilitating disease. By ignoring or failing to embrace these people due to revulsion are we becoming monsters ourselves? Veronica shows us that she is a strong and compassionate character by comforting Brundlefly even though to the viewer he has become a repulsive monster. Cronenberg has said that: The AIDS connection is very superficial. I see it (The Fly) as talking about mortality, about our vulnerability and the tradgedy of human loss (Cronenberg) This may well be the case but in the context of which the film was released it seems no doubt inevitable that viewers would link the film with the AIDS paranoia of the nineteen eighties. Seth Brundle states in the film that, I seem to be afflicted by a disease with a purpose, wouldnt you say. In a social context at the time HIV and AIDs were misunderstood diseases with a lack of education, especially from the government and public misinformation and rumours adding to the fear felt by the public. Cronenberg has yet again tapped into the fear of the unknown. Speculation about the films hidden meanings and metaphors certainly helped gain public interest for the film and to garner huge box office success for the director. In one particular dream sequence there is scene involving a pregnant Veronica giving birth in the hospital. The surgeon, who in this case is none other than the director himself, pulls what the audience are led to believe a baby from Veronicas womb. Amidst the screening the audience, as well as veronica see for the first time that this is no ordinary baby and she has given birth to a baby/maggot hybrid. This reflects the fear of the public during the AIDS crisis, what if my unborn baby is infected? What if somehow my baby is different? Cronenbergs cameo as a surgeonas he pulls the maggot baby from Veronica. (The Fly, 1986) Jà ¼rgen Mà ¼ller, Herbert Klemens (2003) Claim that, along with several other films of the eighties, The Fly is dealing with the theme of a person, in this case Brundle, looking for the Lost Secret the need for a person to become something which they are not. In the case of The Fly Cronenberg has touched on this theme but as is usual for the director the theme is based around the fact that if anyone tries to transgress the boundaries set by nature they will be found guilty of hubris, punishment in the case of Seth Brundle is creeping dissolution. Once he has felt how perfect a specimen he can be as a man, once he has achieved this greatness the only possible way for the character to go is down.

Essay --

Genetically modified foods (GMOs) have been a type of food that has taken over the foods in the United States. Some people aren’t even aware of what GMOs are and some don’t mind; then there are some who refuse to eat it. Everyone has quickly formed an opinion of GMOs, but not everyone has done the research to know where GMOs come from, who pushes for GMOs, why GMOs are good, why GMOs are bad, and what foods have GMOs. GMOs are an interesting part of our food that has progressed so fast and most don’t even realize that it is in our food. GMOs have been around since the early 1930’s and have a quickly progressed more than anyone could have ever imagined it would. But how did we get GMOs? This is something most people don’t know even though it is quite intriguing. In the 1930’s, Andrei Belozersky, a Russian scientist, isolated pure DNA. This led to a grad student at Stanford University in the 1970’s to have the idea for man-made DNA. We then discovered how to move genes to become resistant to antibiotics when moved from 1 bacterium to another. This led us to discover how we can insert genes into plants’ and animals’ DNA to grow immunity to diseases and resistant to pesticides. Then, in the mid 1970’s, biologists, lawyers, and doctors created guidelines for safe genetically engineered DNA. In the 1980’s, the first GMO patent for a living organism was created. Shortly after, this was followed by the FDA approving the first GMO, Humulin, to appear on the counters. The 1990’s were the biggest boom of GMO’s. Beginning in 1994, the US Food and Drug administration approved a GMO tomato to go on the shelves at the grocery stores; this tomato was able to last longer than a conventional tomato. Shortly after the tomato hit the s... ...oven to be safe because most medicines are even genetically modified. The other argument against the labeling is that it wouldn’t tell you what was genetically modified in the food item; it would just tell you that something in the food is genetically modified. So, as you can see, GMOs are a very tough subject with many different opinions on it. GMO foods are such a strong and debatable topic in our world today, but are this because people don’t know a lot about it or is it because people don’t know anything? As you see, GMOs have progressed and continued quickly for more than 70 years, even though many people don’t support it. GMOs started as an experiment and have progressed since that it is now included in crops, medicine and livestock. It got to this point because of many people such as Andrei Belozersky, Monsanto, FDA, USDA, farmers, politicians, and us.

Pros And Cons Of Judicial Review :: Government Judicial Review Essays

Pros and Cons of Judicial Review   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Judicial Review is the power given to Supreme court justices in which a judge has the power to reason whether a law is unconstitutional or not. Chief Justice John Marshall initiated the Supreme Court's right to translate the Constitution in 1803 following the case of Marbury Vs. Madison, in which he declared the Supreme Court as the sole interpreters of Constitutional law. This is one of the sole purposes of the Supreme Court of the United States. Many Historical thinkers would find some difficulty in imagining a government set up to limit the power of itself,but others would argue that this form of government best works for the people, and not against them. The treatment of the Constitution by the Supreme Court as a "living" document that is able to be translated differently over time for the good of the people has as many skeptics as it does supporters. But, if we do not allow the Supreme Court to translate the Constitution who then, should the people chose to do such an important job.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  If we were to look back at the ideas and thoughts of some of the greatest political thinkers of our time, we would find that individuals such as Plato, Niccolo Machiavelli, and John Locke, would share extremely different views as to whether or not Judicial review, and the Supreme Court as a whole, would be successful in their ideal government situations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the earliest political philosophers Plato, would find our present day governmental setup of the Supreme Court to be the ideal group to deal with the United States' situation. Plato felt that government should be run by enlightened philosopher kings, that would rule for the good of the people, and not themselves. We today see the Supreme Court as a collection of the most "enlightened" thinkers of our day. They are chosen to make moral decisions about laws made by others in our society, and decide whether or not the laws we make are in the best interest of our nation as a whole. Plato knew that within any political State their would be corruption, to stop the corruption Plato felt that the philosopher kings would best rule because they would not indulge themselves in a corrupt society. They only believed in the truth, and justice that government is supposed to protect its people with.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Although Plato would not totally agree with the Democratic structure of our government, I believe that he would chose for our society, a state that is ruled by a similar group to that of our Supreme Court because, the members of

Roberto Clemente :: essays research papers

Roberto Clemente Walker was born in Barrio San Anton in Carolina, Puerto Rico, August 18, 1934. He was the youngest of four children. He stood 5 feet and 11 inches tall, and he weighed 175 pounds. Roberto excelled in track and field, winning medals in the javelin throw and short distance races. However, his real love was baseball. He played amateur baseball with Juncos Double A Club and soon went on to play with the Santurce Crabbers in the Puerto Rican Winter League. From Santurce he signed with Montreal's Triple A team. Clemente joined the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1955, where he played his entire eighteen year Major League Baseball career from 1955 to 1972. Roberto played in two World Series, batting .310 in 1960 and .414 in 1971. He was the National League Batting Champion four times, was awarded twelve Gold Gloves, selected National League MVP in 1966 and was chosen as the MVP in the 1971 World Series. He was also a 12 time National League All-Star. Throughout his career, he played in 2,433 games. Out of the 9,454 times at bat, Roberto got a hit 3,000 of those times. He had 440 doubles, 166 triples, and 240 homeruns. Roberto had 1,305 RBI’s and he scored 1,416 runs for his team. Overall, his career batting average was a .317. On November 14, 1964, he married Vera Cristina Zabala in Carolina, Puerto Rico. They had three sons: Roberto Jr., Luis Roberto and Roberto Enrique. Proud of his heritage Roberto insisted that Vera give birth to all three sons in Puerto Rico. The boys were six, five and two, when their father met his unfortunate death. New Year's Eve, December 31, 1997 marked the 25th Anniversary of a tragic plane crash. The plane was taking medical, food and clothing supplies to Nicaragua, to help out after an earthquake. Vera and friends begged him not to take the trip because of poor weather and an unstable cargo plane, but Roberto was determined. He was upset that the previous supplies had not made it to the victims. Roberto was going to personally see to it that the victims received the much needed supplies. Unfortunately the plane went down off the coast of Puerto Rico. Roberto's body was never found. Just months after Roberto joined an elite group of players with 3000 hits, he was gone. Roberto’s tragic death in 1972 prompted the Hall of Fame’s Board of Directors to unanimously wave the customary five year period for induction, which opened a door for the Baseball Writer’s Association of America to hold a special election on Clemente’s behalf.

Automobile Industry in India Essay

Chennai accounts for 60% of the country’s automotive exports. In tune with international standards to reduce vehicular pollution, the central government unveiled the standards titled ‘India 2000’ in 2000 with later upgraded guidelines as ‘Bharat Stage’. These standards are quite similar to the more stringent European standards and have been traditionally implemented in a phased manner, with the latest upgrade getting implemented in 13 cities and later, in the rest of the nation. The Automotive Industry has flourished in Pune Region in Maharashtra, What were the special conditions were there for this development. Still Indian cars are not considered as a class in itself compared to European cars. India’s strong engineering base and expertise in the manufacturing of low-cost, fuel-efficient cars has resulted in the expansion of manufacturing facilities of several automobile companies like Hyundai, Nissan, Toyota, Volkswagen and Maruti Suzuki In recent years, India has emerged as a leading center for the manufacture of small cars. Indian brands: AMW(Asian motor works- Commersial vehicles), Eicher Motors(tractors, Buses, components), Force(Bajaj Tempo), Hindustan motors(Birla, Ambassador car, Joint venture with Mitsubishi), Premier(Padmini, Moved from Mumbai to Pune), Tata, Mahindra, BharatBenz. Per capita penetration at around nine cars per thousand people is among the lowest in the world. While the industry is highly capital intensive in nature in case of four-wheelers, capital intensity is a lot less for two-wheelers. Though three-wheelers and tractors have low barriers to entry in terms of technology, four wheelers is technology intensive. Costs involved in branding, distribution network and spare parts availability increase entry barriers. With the Indian market moving towards complying with global standards, capital expenditure will rise to take into account future safety regulations. Automobile majors increase profitability by selling more units. As number of units sold increases, average cost of selling an incremental unit comes down. This is because the industry has a high fixed cost component. This is the key reason why operating efficiency through increased localization of components and maximizing output per employee is of significance. Maruti Suzuki, which is the market leader in PVs, had to deal with labour strikes at its plant at Manesar as a result of which production was severely hit. As petrol prices firmed up, the differential between petrol and diesel widened. Thus, there was a surge in demand for diesel cars. Most companies faced pressure at the operating level as margins declined due to rise in input costs. Steep depreciation of the rupee also took its toll. Tractors: While good monsoon is a positive for the sector, given the fact that non-farm incomes have continued to climb up, volumes should still hold up well in the longer run despite a year or two of poor monsoons. privatisation of select state transport undertakings bodes well for the bus segment.

Bottlenecks in a Process Essay

Bottleneck can slow down production and diminish efficiency. According to Li, Chang, & Ni, (2009) â€Å"quick and correct identification of the bottleneck locations can lead to an improvement in the operation management of utilizing finite manufacturing resources, increasing the system throughput, and minimizing the total cost of production† (p.1). The operation of preparing dinner will be analysis to find where the process has a bottleneck and how to eliminate or reduce the bottleneck time. Identifying the Bottleneck in the Process When preparing dinner marinating the meat has proven to be a bottleneck for the process. For example steak can require up to 24 hours to be marinated, holding production for 24 hours is a problem. Choosing a different cut of meat can reduce the time and can require as little as one hour for the meat to marinate. In the production of preparing dinner an hour is still a bottleneck in the process. Considering it can be one hour to marinate the meat, then twenty minutes to cook while side dishes such as rice will only take about thirty minutes to cook the two process can not be run parallel on product will be undercook while the other overcook. Data Collection Reviewing the data collected over the last four week in preparing dinner the cycle of the process is longer when meat requiring longer marinating time is used in the preparation of dinner. During week two on the second day the preparation of dinner took sixty minutes. The marinating of the meat prevented the process of the side dish to begin because it would cause the meal to be overcooked. The key is to schedule the process capacity carefully to ensure the bottleneck is eliminate or reduce. One step taken to reduce the bottleneck time to make long-term decision regarding the process and have the meat marinates overnight. Avoiding last minute decision increases the efficiently in the process time. Conclusion According to Kamauff, (2010) †bottleneck-point in a process where the flow slows and work-in-process accumulates because of a difference between capacity of one process and the demand of the next†(p.32). Identifying the bottleneck can help plan the process more efficient to reduce the waste of resource such as time. Preparing dinner can be time consuming but with long-term planning and decision making improvements can be made to the process to reduce time. The extra time can be utilize do spend more time with the family reviewing the day.