Videocracy A Double

Look Deeper into the Abyss – and Watch It Look into You Throughout the history of the world, there has always been the kind of power which could not be suppressed or overthrown. The people of the greatest influence, these beholders of the world’s power were merely the TV officials. Despite the fact that many people consider the TV as merely a means of entertainment, its role is of much more importance for the mankind. Seemingly only a means of entertainment, it shapes people’s ideas of the world and the politics even in a more impressive way tan any political campaign ever undertaken.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Videocracy: A Double-Sided Sword for the Fame-Hungry specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The Way the Movie Flows In accordance with its name, Videocracy is completely devoted to the role of the mass media in people’s lives. A snapshot of the life path of the great, the miserab le plebs and the cunning in-between specific social layer, journalists, the movie director has managed to show the amazing fusion of tragedy and mockery of the Italian TV. However, was it only the Italian television that the film director depicted? Applied to any other country, this situation would look quite the same. Disclosing the vices of the modern people, their striving not for prosperity, but for money overdose, Eric Gandini created an unforgettable masterpiece which mirrored the lowest of the low which is hidden within people’s souls. It was extremely wise of the film director to choose the shape of a documentary to create the vision of one’s life grasped in the camera focus. It is obvious that there was only one genre which could embrace all the issues which the topic of the movie touches upon. Episodes Merging into a Story In spite of the fact that in the end, shown as a premiere, the movie looks like a complete, whole piece which cannot be separated and take n apart, it must be kept in mind that at the moment of creation the film was a sequence of short scenes and breakdowns. Thus, the original course of the operator’s thoughts can be traced even as the movie is shown to the public, eventually trimmed and with all the unnecessary elements cut. Thus, following the stream of ideas which the movie director sends the audience through, it can be observed that Videocracy has much more than the twists of the plot to expose to the loyal audience. As W. W. Norton noticed, A storyboard is a shot-by-shot (sometimes scene-by-scene) breakdown that combines sketches or photographs of how each shot is to look with written descriptions of the other elements that are to accompany each shot, including dialogue, sound, and music. (Norton 116) Thus, it must be admitted that in Videocracy, the sequence of the breakdowns was linked into a fascinating cadence of the accidents and actions of the lead characters. Making a sequence of episodes, this chain of events was developed into an intrigue spinning around the issue which has always been and will always be on the agenda of the day – people’s concern for the life of celebrities.Advertising Looking for essay on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More A deep and insightful movie offers much more than merely entertainment. Taking a look at the way in which the pieces of the film have been organized, it becomes obvious that there is much more than meets the eye in the movie plot. Although the film cannot be considered what could be called a mocumentary, the author of the film approached the border between the tragic and the comic in Videocracy with help of the expressive and effective mise-en-scenes. Structuring the movie, Gandini enclosed the most significant scenes as the parts which must hook the audience’s attention and increase the excitement. As Norton explained, The visual elements of mise-e n-scene are all so crucial to shaping out sympathy for, and understanding of, the characters shaped by them. (156) It is peculiar that the scenes of the movie create a specific rhythm which is nard to conceive from the very beginning nut which one can feel as the film goes on. It can be traced that some of the scenes float into each other smoothly and softly like a river, yet some of them are roughly interrupted to show the unceasing motion of live going on both in the big world of the great celebrities and the feeble lives of those who follow the track of the celebrities’ lives. One of the most dramatic film episodes, the one in which the lead character watches the life of the celebrities on TV, is the key to the entire movie. It is quite peculiar that with a single scene the film director has managed to open the audience’s eyes on the idea of the movie and on what is concealed behind the film plot. Fixing the audience’s eyes on the ordinary people’s pas sion for the snatches of the celebrities’ lives, Gandini crates a perfect illusion of an ersatz life with all its sad consequences. Looking at a Different Angle The complicacy of movie-making presupposes that the shits should be arranged into a composition which could draw people’s attention to what is happening on the screen in a blink of an eye. Putting people and events in their places is truly a great gift which is rather hard to acquire and completely impossible to master. With his wisdom and the feeling for the film rhythm, the movie director arranged the pieces of the story in a unique, the one and only correct way which made people gasp in awe. As Kawin said, Film composition is dramatically affected by camera placement, not just in terms of camera-to-subject distance, but also in terms of angle. A horizontal line, seen from a certain angle, can become a diagonal or even a vertical. (171)Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Videocracy: A Doub le-Sided Sword for the Fame-Hungry specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Indeed, it is absolutely clear that with help of the camera placement the movie obtained the necessary depth and the specific accent on certain elements. Changing the angle of the camera shot, making the objects pop out into the focus of the camera, or, vice versa, hide in the dark of the perspective, the cameraman did an amazing job on the movie. A perfect example of the way the shift of the camera focus made the audience pay specific attention on certain details were the episodes with the lead character watching the celebrities. Exposed to the audience’s gazes, the face of the lead showed the whole palette of the fan’s emotions, while the celebrities in the rear created an impression of pathetic nothingness. Another piece to analyze is the sounding of the movie. Such is the nature of sound that it can either turn the movie into a complete masterpiece, or ruin it completely. In the case of Vidoecracy, the sounding was quite different from the ones in the range of other Italian movies. One of the typical sore spots of the Italian movies, the lack of sound effects, was turned in a movie peculiarity of Videocracy. As LoBrutto marked, â€Å"Italian movies are very sparse. They have dialogue, then music, and then very few sound effects.† (258) It is obvious that Videocracy is no exception; however, taking into consideration the specifics of the movie, one can understand that the abundance of sounds would have spoiled the film. For the movie to look like a snatch of the real life, the true vision of a fan’s existence, his/her thoughts and course of actions, it was absolutely necessary to employ the most precise system of sounding. What must be especially marked about the movie sound system is the background for the dialogues of the lead characters. Considered as the accidental noises, the creak of a door, the water rustlin g in the bathroom or the sound of someone’s breath was designed to emphasize the atmosphere of the movie, so tense and thought-provoking, making the audience think what is going to happen in the next couple of minutes. The Way People See It Although Videocracy was the only work of Eric Gandini which gained the worldwide recognition, the film director had a number of other works. However, taking a retrospective on Gandini’s works, it can be supposed that the previous films were the steps which slowly but surely led the film director to Videocracy. The peak of his creativity, Videocracy could be traced in every work of Gandini.Advertising Looking for essay on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Although none of the previous works of Gandini touches upon the issue of political life, there is certain breeze of rebellion in the other works of his. For instance, in Sacrfiicio: Who Betrayed Che Guevara Eric Gandini also considers the issue of fame and notoriety, emphasizing that there is actually very little difference between the two. Another Gandini’s work where the premises of Videocracy could be traced is Surplus: Terrorized into Being Consumers, is interconnected with Videocracy even more closely. Considering fanaticism and loyalty to certain famous personalities in Videocracy, Gandini actually develops the idea which he expressed in Surplus. Taking into consideration these movies, one must admit that the idea of Videocracy as the continuation of these topics and their further development into another set of ideas is quite plausible. In spite of the fact that the depth of the movie allows several interpretations, it seems that there is the one which fits the movie b est. Making people see the life of the famous personalities as it is, without the specks of glamour caught in the focus of the camera, Gandini makes it clear that the impact of the TV on people’s course of thoughts has become increasingly shocking and even frightening. Helping the audience understand the absurdity of believing in what is pouring out of the TV-set right into people’s minds, Gandini suggests a â€Å"pill† which will heal the TV-addicts from their weird mania. Conclusion With help of the specific means of sounding and arranging the scenes of the movie into a sequence which made a double sense and made the plot more complicated, Eric Gandini created a movie which explored the popular topic in an unorthodox method. Although the topic which Gandini chose as the key idea of his movie was rather beaten track for the modern cinema, the way in which he mirrored the life of celebrities’ and their fans was more than merely creating another vision of the popular problem – it was in fact the revelation for the audience. Employing special techniques of sounding system which added a specific air to the movie, Gandini made the movie stand out of the range of Italian movies. In spite of the fact that the means which the movie director used were rather conventional and time-tested, he broke a new ground in the movie-making with help of the original way in which he conveyed his ideas to the public. Considering the idea of TV-addiction and the plausibility of the information which TV suggests, Gandini raised quite a topical issue. Works Cited Barsam, Richard. Looking at the Movies. W. W. Norton EBook Reader. N.D. Kawin, Bruce F. How Movies Work. Thousand Oaks, CA: University of California Press, 1992. Print. LOBrutto, Vincent. Sound-on-Film: Interviews with Creators of Film Sound. Westport, CN: Greenwood Publishing Group, 1994. Print. This essay on Videocracy: A Double-Sided Sword for the Fame-Hungry was written and submitted by user Gisselle R. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Uniting the People of Western Europe essays

Uniting the People of Western Europe essays By the end of World War II, the nations of Western Europe all faced the burdens of the post-war economies. If not totally destroyed, a nation was in chaos and needed dramatic reconstruction. This is where democratic societies stepped in; the recreation of sturdy government was crucial to the revival of Western European countries. Within just a few years after the defeat of Italy and Germany, the European hemisphere bounced back into a stronger, more efficient society than ever before. Some call this the "Golden Age of the European economy." As human life became more and more complex and difficult to manage, the government had to accommodate to the citizen's needs and wants. Because of the basic importance of the contemporary social structure, its management had a crucial importance in making the countries work. Europe was used to strict authority over its people and complexity in the way they handle a countries affairs was not accepted. "Europe was a very special situation though because it has a long record of traditional social control imposed over the individual by collective authorities, especially the state, and hierarchal religious institutions. Another problem that was going on in modern Western Europe" (pg.21, Crozier) the military grew in size a great deal, West European armed forces grew from forty-two thousand to almost eighty thousand within five years after the Second World War. Especially in the country of France. With the militant group emerging larger than ever, the government was working with more cit izens first hand, by supporting the working military group. One of the main pieces to making a modern democracy work was inducing the people to want to partake in the government and have them strive to get involved with the mending of the societal crisis. All post-war European countries had to live through the same costly situation of having to restore their country's trade, government, social harmony, be at peace with ...

Critically examine the use of the quantitative easing as a policy Essay

Critically examine the use of the quantitative easing as a policy option to help to solve the uk's current economic problems - Essay Example Following the 2008, financial crisis qualitative easing became an element of recovery to the central banks that their interest rates were close to zero lower bound or at zero (Benford, Berry, Nikolov, & Young, 2009). With the intensification of the crisis, most international central banks took possible measures in supporting demand and loosening monetary policies. The bank of England through its monetary policy committee (MPC) dealt with it by cutting interest rates by up to three percentage points in bank rate. In early 2009, the bank further reduced it by one and half percent. MPC in their analysis explained that the cut could not meet the consumer price index of two percent hence need to purchase private and public assets using the central bank money. This led to the introduction of qualitative easing in the United Kingdom economy. The idea behind this was to inject liquid money back into the economy to help boost nominal spending and achieve the two percent inflation target. Disc ussion To avert the financial crisis, the bank of England purchased a large amount of United Kingdom governments bonds (gilts). By January 2010, the bank had purchased medium and long-dated gilts worth 200 billion of assets, and this represented fourteen percent of annual GDP and 30 percent of private sector outstanding gilts. In so doing, and by a combination of support measures the bank balance sheet increased in relation to the GDP threefold before the crisis. To implement this technique further, the government gave authority to the bank to purchase corporate bonds and high quality paper. The government did so in order to improve market functioning by acting as a backstop buyer and seller (Hamilton, 2010). The asset purchasing is one of the unconventional policy measures applied in the bank to loosen the monetary policy. The bank aim of assets purchasing was to cut the bank rates and hence stimulating nominal spending with the aim of meeting the two percent inflation target. This initiative also alleviated inflation that had been domestically generated. Assets purchases affected inflation and spending through different potential channels. First, it increased money holdings and pushed up the assets prices while stimulating the expenditure by increasing wealth and lowering borrowing costs. It also stimulated impact by broadening expectations and its influence on bank lending rates. Effects of assets purchasing The purchasing of assets led to Policy signaling effects, which included the expectations by market participants of policy rates to remain low for longer. At the time of expectations, policy makers were dealing with the issue of falling inflation below the expected medium target. The falling of inflation could have led to push up on real interest rates while reducing spending and keeping of nominal rates at low levels (Hancock, & Passmore, 2011). The assets purchase assisted in keeping inflation expectations on target through supporting of spending. The signaling effect anchored inflation expectations on track hence the hiding the real state of the economy to the agents on their views. The other effect of assets purchasing in stabilizing the economy was through portfolio balance effects, which entailed pushing up prices of other assets and the bought assets. This happened in the sense that after the bank buying assets, there is an increase in money

Business Strategy and the Role of Information for the Organization Term Paper

Business Strategy and the Role of Information for the Organization - Term Paper Example Gerry Johnson and Kevan Scholes (2003) argue that the mission statement of the organization is the element that reflects upon the core strategies of the organization itself. This makes it clear that the mission statement is the critical element for the successful evaluation of the existing strategies in an organization. In light of the aforementioned arguments, the mission statement for the organization under scrutiny is presented below. From the mission statement, it is clear that the Office of the Attorney General and the Chief State Solicitors office are predominantly involved in accomplishing effectiveness in legal services provided to the customers through gaining efficiency in performance. The mission statement also reveals that the quality of service is the critical element for the organization in both the external and internal customers scenario as mentioned in the strategy statement of the Office of the Attorney General. From the review of the strategy statement of the Offic e of the Attorney general, it is clear that the organization is not only striving to accomplish effective customer service through improving quality but also increasingly focusing upon the development of the human resource as well as the overall organization status in the public. The presence of the Management Advisory Committee in the organization as the monitor 'to ensure that all key strategic, business and management decisions for the Office are discussed collectively before any relevant issues are further developed in a partnership approach involving management, unions, and staff', further justifies that the strategic positioning of the organization   as argued by Richard Lynch (2003) is the key to effectiveness in performance within the organization.   

Performance in Basketball and Badminton Essay Example for Free

Performance in Basketball and Badminton Essay Mostly stood at top of key waiting for people to pass to him and so did little movement  Major strengths of activity one- Basketball  1. Very good natural speed, able to keep up with the pace of the game  2. Natural accuracy when passing and shooting at short range  3. Good control of ball able to move at speed and hold control  4. Held his position as point guard well  5. kept away from opposition tackles  Major weaknesses of activity one- Basketball. 1. Over confidence when playing against people he thought he was better than  2. Over exerted himself and got tired  3. Head down when dribbling and missed lots of movement off the ball  4. Unable to throw ball long distances accurately  Major strengths of activity 2-Badminton  1. Short serve was effective in troubling their opponent.  2. Able to clear the net 90% of the game.  3. Net shots were good and they made the opponent struggle to return.  4. Good at using tactics to beat their opponent.  5. Smash was powerful and well positioned most of the time.  Major weaknesses of activity 2-Badminton  1. Lack of power in most shots.  2. Grip on racket was too tight so he couldnt control the racket effectively.  3. Movement on court was lacking and he didnt return to the centre of court often enough.  4. Overhead clear was not powerful enough to force opponent to play from the back of the court. Evaluation of Basketball This activity was not performed too well by the candidate. The subjects passing was weak, inaccurate and predictable so it was very hard to receive his passes. When receiving a pass he often went straight into dribbling this meant that he instantly lost his triple threat position. His shooting was often wayward of the basket and he could only score 50% of his lay-ups and rarely hit a shot from any distance. When laying up he took 3 steps to settle himself in and this in a game would be a travelling violation, which means that even if he scored the basket would not count to the score of the team and he would give away possession of the ball. In comparison with the rest of the group his skills were below average as the group were a top set PE group and most had a relatively good command of the group. His dribbling however was not too bad and the technique was similar to the demonstration given by the teacher in the fact that the ball was kept close to the body and the fingers were used to control the ball. His knowledge of the skill however was limited as he continued to double dribble on occasions, particularly when setting up for a shot or a pass. He also mainly used his right hand and when trying with his left he quickly lost control and dropped the ball then he was not fully committed to regaining control and instead of chasing the ball he pulled up and gave up the chase. Off the ball he was unable to gain a good position when on offence and never made any cuts into the key and he was always trying to get behind the ball this made him little threat towards the defensive side. When on defence he always chased the ball wherever it went and this left a hole in the defence that was easy to get through and this is a game-losing flaw in his skills. The group were performing a specific defensive strategy that the subject didnt seem to understand. Compared to players who were seemingly good at basketball his overall skills were relatively poor.  Overall his abilities in basketball are not effective but he could improve a lot and be good enough to hold his position in a game situation. His levels of fitness seemed to be quite high, particularly his speed over short distances, but his enthusiasm during the game seemed to affect his endurance because as the game progressed he seemed to be suffering from fatigue and the rest of the group were then able to take command of the game.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Essay -- Essays Papers

HUCKLEBERRY FINN The novel that I have most enjoyed ever reading was The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel about a young boy’s coming of age in Missouri during the middle 1800’s. The main character, Huckleberry Finn, spends a lot of time in the novel floating down the Mississippi River on a raft with a runaway slave named Jim. Before he does so, however, Huck spends some time in the town of St. Petersburg where a number of people attempt to influence him. Huckleberry Finn is considered an American character for many reasons. Throughout the novel Huckleberry shows stereotypical traits of what is expected, sometimes anyway, of the ideal American character. Even before the novel begins, Huckleberry Finn has led a life of absolute freedom. Americans are known throughout the world to have more freedom then anybody else. His drunken and often missing father has never paid much attention to him, his mother is dead and so, when the novel begins, he is not used to following any rules. Huck, a good old-fashioned American character is just like the stereotype of American characters, by not following the rules. In the beginning of the book Huck lives with the Widow Douglas and her sister, Miss Watson. Both women are old and are really incapable of raising a rebellious boy like Huckleberry Finn. They attempt to make Huckleberry into what they believe will be a better boy. Specifically, they attempt, as Hu...

Be an Environmental Advocate Essay

As times have changed, so has our planet. Global warming has become a critical issue in today’s society, and it will not go away unless we do something about it. There are people all around the globe who have made the change and decided to be conscious of the health of our world. Unfortunately however, it is not enough. As long as the majority of society continues to rely on fossil fuels, continues to waste energy, and continues destroying forests, our planet will continue to suffer. If we are to change the fate of our beautiful planet, society as a whole must take immediate action. To make the world a better place, we all should become environmental advocates, and take a stand to save humanity. We must make environmentally conscious changes in our own lives, teach those around us, and lead by example to make a difference. Above all else, every single person on the planet must change the way they live day to day. We must be aware of every potential harmful affect of every activity we engage in. Every gallon of gas saved, light turned off, and computer unplugged will impact the future of the Earth. Emissions from fossil fuels are the cause of global warming, and presently our society relies on these fossil fuels to function on a daily basis. By carpooling, walking, turning off the air conditioner, and unplugging appliances that we are not using, we can each save a substantial amount of energy. If everyone does just a little, it will add up to a lot. Next we should each take the initiative to teach others about the importance of being environmentally conscious. Some people do not understand how critical global warming has become, and therefore, can only change by learning. Others do not realize how easy it is to make small changes in life that will make a big difference, such as switching to energy efficient light bulbs. If we all would simply casually mention energy saving tips to our families, friends, and co-workers, or even strangers in the light bulb aisle, we can really affect the thinking of those around us. Finally, we can lead the way by setting a good example ourselves. People do as they see more often then as they are told. If our children, friends, and even strangers see us saving energy or planting trees, they are likely to follow our lead. If enough people become example setters, the idea of living green will become a trend. Just as we strive to be fashionable by what we see on the television or in magazines, if we are constantly bombarded by stories and images of people saving the planet, more people will strive to fit in. Every single person counts, and if we can set a responsible example for even one person, it is worth the effort. Our environment is suffering at the hands of its inhabitants. Still, global warming does not have to destroy our planet or the future of mankind. If we ignore the problem it will not go away, but if we take action now, before it is to late, we can save the Earth, one person at a time. By making small changes in our lives, teaching others the importance of living green and how easy it is to do so, and setting examples for others to follow, we can each make a difference. By becoming environmental advocates, globally, we can make the world a better place.