Socrates Convictions - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 5 Words: 1577 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2019/08/06 Category People Essay Tags: Socrates Essay Did you like this example? In this essay I evaluate according to Socrates, must one heed popular opinion about moral matters? Does Socrates accept the fairness of the laws under which he was tried and convicted? Would Socrates have been wrong to escape? In my evaluation I explain Socrates decision to accept his conviction, and that popular opinion will likely do great damage to the spiritual/mental/moral well-being, and if he would have decided to escape his life of virtue would end with that decision. Socrates was born 469 B.C. his father Sophroniscus, was an Athenian stone mason and sculptor. Socrates followed his fathers footsteps and practiced it for many years. His mother Phaenarete was a midwife. Athenian law required men to serve in the service at this time. Socrates also serve as a civilian soldier as an armored infantryman, known as the hoplite. Which is a soldier with a shield, long spear and face mask, where he participated in three military campaigns in the Peloponnesian War, at Delium, Amphipolis, and Potidaea. Socrates was known for his bravery saving the life of one of his Generals. Being in the military you learn the principles of honor, loyalty, duty, respect, courage, fearlessness and it changes a persons life that does not already have those attributes. I would think that Socrates instilled these attributes also through combat and brotherhood for one another. Especially instilling courage and selflessness during saving the lives of his peers. Those traits stayed with him the rest of his life. Once the trial had ended, he compared the trial to his military experience. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Socrates Convictions" essay for you Create order Socrates had an ordinary Greek education and gave most of his time to philological interests. He is thought to be the first moral philosopher, of the tradition of thought. The character of our soul, where virtues are found, are more important for our lives than our bodies or external conditions. That the quality of the soul decides is the aspect of our lives, for the good or the bad. He says that if we want to do well in this world, we must take care of our soul. That we must want to get the virtues to change our souls better and live our lives for the better. To get these virtues we must have knowledge of how the act in the best interest of any way of life. That if you act badly its because of your incomprehension of how to act and why. Socrates, a citizen satisfied with his faithfulness to Athens, engaged in discussions and dialectic on essential questions of ethics, politics, religion and education. He went against the traditional knowledge of the elites. Socrates did not offer his teachings as a way to support his family, he took no payments. He just wanted to give the people of Athens the knowledge for them to think through and give them the opportunity on how to manage their lives. Once the uncertainty of a disturbed age in Athens, due to economy crashing and men coming home from the foreign and civil wars dead, the population starved and the political scene in turmoil, that brought Socrates to the hemlock. Other than follow the lead of his persecutors, we should perhaps honor Socrates encouragement to know ourselves, to be independently honest, to do what we, not the next man, knows to be the right way to live our lives. Just because the majority has hatred for something does not mean you have to also, the roa r of the crowd so to speak, but to go hard as it might be towards the good life. Socrates states that, its not my crimes that will convict me, but instead, rumors, gossip; the fact that by whispering together you will persuade yourselves that I am guilty. In my opinion, this is true even in our society. People tend to listen to the word of the majority other than making their own minds up using the methods of reasoning to understand what makes them happy, which is the rule of living a good life. Because if you are sad and not happy your life would not be good. This comes in fact with our social media we have today, which is good on both sides of the table. One, we can practice our freedom of speech and get our message across. But on the other side, it tends to build up to changing someone elses mind due to the lack of knowledge someone has on that subject. This results in the people going with the majority and not thinking for themselves. In which he had angered the majority of the wrong people and led to his conviction. Socrates trial was completed in two stages, the first was to convict him of his crimes of not believing in the mythical gods, and corrupting the youth of Athens. The second stage was to sentence him to which was obviously death. The trial took nine to ten hours in the Peoples Court, the civic center of Athens. The jury consisted of 500 male citizens over the age of thirty. The magistrate questioned both Socrates and the accusers. He also gave all of them the opportunity to question each other. The three accusers had a total of three hours to present their argument. One of the accusers, Anytus was the driving force behind the prosecution of Socrates. In my opinion, to the relationship of Anytus son and Socrates. Socrates did not really try to defend himself but to lecture his accusers and the magistrate by using his method of Socrates paradox. Since Socrates was sitting around quite willing to wait his impending execution. His old friend Crito gives him many arguments to persuade Socrates to escape. The first was, what will people think? In the eyes of Socrates his friends could have a bad reflection on themselves if they helped him escape. That Crito was well acquainted with the Guard and could persuade him to let Socrates leave. But in the eyes of his friends the people of Athens would think they did not try to help him get out of prison. Was he just thinking about his friends finances because they were willing to provide or was it totally his own morals that held him from escaping? In my opinion after reading his dialogues, He had strong moral concepts of the laws of Athens and he understood those laws and wanted to respect them. Crito also thought if he stayed and went through with the sentence, he was just aiding his antagonists to unjustly wronging him, at the same time acting unjust himself. Socrates states that one is never just in doing wrong, even if it is for the right reasons. In other words, two wrongs do not make a right. He had made a commitment to obey the laws of Athens and has lived happily for many years under them. So, if he attempted to escape it would not only break his agreement, but also challenge the weight of the law. Wouldve Socrates been wrong to escape his imprisonment? He believes it would have been wrong to escape stating that he wasnt afraid of death, felt he would be no better off it in exile and said he was still a faithful citizen of Athens. This is an extremely moral and honest and unbelievably honest level of integrity. This belief is based on what we call the social contract theory of government today. Social contract theory states a persons moral and/or political obligations are dependent upon a contract or agreement among them to form the society in which they live. Socrates did not want to break his agreement with the laws of Athens. Socrates was also was true to his beliefs in the truth. He also believed that for him if death was like a sleep without interruptions or migration of the soul to another world it would be good for him. Because he says if its like sleep this would only be on night of eternity in a state of unconsciousness compared to other days of his life. He seemed to want to go to this place to reach new truths. Also, to find out who is wise, who pretends to be wise, who is not, and to continue his research and knowledge. Since he says that everyone already knows everything, they just have to recollect the knowledge. Thinking of this, makes me wonder if he thinks that going back to this state, he will receive the knowledge he is in search of. Socrates would have been labeled even if he had exiled to another Greek town. He would have gone against his morals and been disappointed the rest of his life living in hiding. He wanted even in the trial to continue his teaches and frankly despite his accuser s. Socrates mindset was that no one should listen to the popular opinion and listen to the intelligent, professional advice, and behave well. Socrates argues that if it is never good to do wrong, then you should never act illegally in the reaction of a wrong action. The statement from Socrates, for the unexamined life is not worth living. Here he meant if it refers to a life by rote under the rules of others without the subject ever examining whether or not he truly wants to live those routines or rules. According to Socrates, this type of life was not worth living. Rather than living an unexamined life, Socrates chose death.

Succubus Dreams CHAPTER 2 Free Essays

string(31) " hearts and watching them cry\." For a few seconds, I was no longer at the party. My mind’s eye flashed back to where I stood on a cliff outside the town I’d grown up in, barely old enough to be called an adult by today’s standards. And Niphon was there, smiling at me, promising me he had all the answers and could make my problems disappear†¦. We will write a custom essay sample on Succubus Dreams CHAPTER 2 or any similar topic only for you Order Now I shook my head, driving off the memories and returning to the party at hand. His smile grew, an evil smile that promised even more evil things. I could have been facing Eden’s serpent himself. â€Å"I knew you had it in you,† he continued, stepping toward me. His voice stayed soft. â€Å"I knew it the minute I saw you. I can’t wait to find out firsthand just how†¦experienced you’ve become.† My defenses snapped into place, and I stepped back. â€Å"Touch me, and I’ll break your fucking neck.† â€Å"Such ingratitude, considering I made you what you are.† â€Å"Stay away from me.† He started to move forward again, and my heart leapt to a pace that would have killed most humans. Suddenly, Jerome’s voice fell over us, and I realized the room had become silent. â€Å"Leave her alone, Niphon. She said no.† The imp paused and made a pleading face. â€Å"Aw, come on, Jerome. What kind of demon doesn’t share his goods?† â€Å"You aren’t here to fuck my succubus. If you can’t do your job, I can replace you.† Jerome’s voice held a warning note that even an asshole like Niphon couldn’t ignore. Maybe someone would be consigned to Hell tonight after all. Disappointingly, the imp inclined his head in obeisance and backed off. The look he gave me warned we would have a later conversation. I walked over to Jerome. â€Å"Maybe you should have given me a heads up earlier.† â€Å"And ruin things for you lovebirds? Hardly something a die-hard romantic like me could do. Besides, I told you to come early.† Hugh snapped his cell phone shut and wandered over to join us. He kissed my cheek. â€Å"Hey, sweetie. Big things going on here.† My already enormous sense of dread grew by leaps and bounds. â€Å"Such as?† â€Å"Re-org. Seattle’s lines have been redrawn. We’re getting another succubus. Or, well, we’ve got one.† My jaw dropped, and I replayed Niphon’s earlier words. â€Å"You are so joking.† â€Å"Afraid not. This is Tawny.† Robo-Blonde pranced over on her stiletto heels and tried to shake my hand again. I kept it out of reach, fearing for my bones. I forced a smile. â€Å"Hi, Tawny.† I turned back to Jerome and jerked my head at Niphon. â€Å"Why is he here then?† â€Å"I acquired her,† the imp explained. â€Å"Acquired† was a nice way of saying he’d bought her soul for Hell, just as he’d purchased mine. â€Å"It’s my job to stay and watch her until she’s settled in and taken her first victim.† â€Å"No one ever did that for me,† I recalled. â€Å"You sort of threw me to the wolves.† I’d had to be some innkeeper’s sex toy in Constantinople for a few years until I’d learned the succubus ropes. Niphon shrugged. â€Å"HR’s new policy. Just think of all the time it’ll give us to catch up.† Giving Tawny a sidelong glance, I hoped her adamant desire to destroy men everywhere meant she’d be a quick study. Eyeing her leopard-skin skirt, I had my doubts. â€Å"Well. Fantastic. Now that I’m up to speed, I guess there’s no need to stay – â€Å" Hugh shook his head, suddenly becoming my-friend-the-imp as opposed to the all-business imp. I could tell from his expression that I wouldn’t like what he had to say next. â€Å"There’s something else you need to know. For the next year or so, you have to be her†¦uh, mentor.† â€Å"Mentor,† I repeated flatly. He nodded, looking sympathetic. Jerome watched our exchange with amusement. â€Å"What, um, does that mean for me exactly?† Hugh set his briefcase on a coffee table and pulled out what looked like the kind of copied-and-bound manual Kinko’s would run off. He tossed it to me. I caught it and nearly keeled over. The thing had about eight-hundred pages. Mentor’s Official and Complete Procedural Handbook on Initial Succubus Intake and Probationary Period (Abridged). â€Å"Abridged?† I spun toward Jerome. â€Å"Tell me you’re getting back at me for the time I accused you of wearing Old Spice.† â€Å"That one’s still coming,† said the demon. â€Å"This one’s for real.† â€Å"I can’t do this, Jerome. I don’t have the time! Do you know how much stuff I’ve got going on? I’m still training the new assistant manager at work – â€Å" He stood up with speed a vampire might have admired. He leaned toward me, the amusement gone from his face. â€Å"Oh gee, Georgie. How inconsiderate of me to take you away from your human boyfriend and your crucial-to-the-world bookstore job and all the other fucking absurdity in your life! Let me just go ahead and tell my superiors that you’ve got more important things to do than answer to the powers who control your immortal soul and could wipe out your existence in the blink of an eye.† Heat flooded my cheeks. I didn’t really appreciate being verbally bitch-slapped in front of Niphon and Seattle’s entire dream team of evil. â€Å"I didn’t mean it like that. I just – â€Å" â€Å"It’s not up for debate any longer.† His words crawled over my skin. I swallowed. â€Å"Yes, Jerome.† Even I knew when to back down. Silence fell. A smirk played over Niphon’s face. â€Å"A human boyfriend. How terribly quaint. I can’t wait to hear all about it.† â€Å"I think it’s cute,† said Tawny. â€Å"I hope you’re making him suffer.† â€Å"Their romance is a great tale of self-exploration,† remarked Hugh, straight-faced. I shot him a glare. As a sexual workaround, Seth and I found we could do unto ourselves what we couldn’t do to each other. I’d never actually told my friends about this solution, but they’d kind of figured it out. With the drama complete, the rest of the room lost interest in me. Tawny did not, however, and immediately began talking to me about the joys of ripping out men’s hearts and watching them cry. You read "Succubus Dreams CHAPTER 2" in category "Essay examples" I left her as quickly as I could, working the room and talking to those I hadn’t seen in a while. I was good at smiling and making people laugh while all the while, my mind spun and processed this new complication. When I finally found Cody, Peter, and Hugh huddled in a corner, I breathed a sigh of relief. I could tell from the looks on their faces that this was the most hilarious thing they’d seen in a while. Cody, young for a vampire but ancient compared to Tawny, threw an arm around me. His shaggy blond hair was tamed into a short stub of a ponytail. He was perpetually laidback and upbeat, and his â€Å"youth† always made the rest of us want to baby him. â€Å"Oh, man. This is going to be great. You are so screwed.† â€Å"As if,† I said, squirming away. â€Å"You think I’m afraid of her?† â€Å"I am,† said Peter with a shiver. He had thinning brown hair and wore casual yet exquisitely coordinated clothes, all the way down to his argyle socks. He was an old vampire, close to my age, and was Cody’s mentor. I’d never thought much about their mentor-apprentice relationship before. It always seemed pretty effortless, but then, Cody was no Tawny. I followed Peter’s gaze to where the new succubus animatedly told a story to a stone-faced demoness named Grace. From the dangerous jiggling of Tawny’s breasts, it looked as though the structural integrity of her shirt could only last so long. â€Å"I don’t think you’re afraid,† said Hugh slyly. â€Å"I think you’re jealous.† â€Å"Of what exactly? Bad fashion sense? An ergonomically unsound bustline? I have nothing to be jealous of.† â€Å"Whatever. I saw your face when you heard we were getting a new succubus. Looks like someone isn’t going to be the only girl in our little clique anymore.† â€Å"So?† â€Å"So, we’ll have a new little sister to fawn and fret over. You’ll have to share the spotlight.† â€Å"I’m not sharing anything,† I said huffily. Peter laughed. â€Å"So it does bother you. Can’t wait until the fur starts flying.† â€Å"Her fate is in your hands,† said Cody. â€Å"You should make her call you ‘Miss Georgina,'† added Hugh with a mocking southern drawl. â€Å"Or at least ‘ma’am.'† Niphon’s presence and Jerome’s lecture had put me in a grouchy mood. â€Å"I’m not doing any mentoring. She’s so gungho to take on the world’s male population, she doesn’t even need me.† The three men exchanged more smirks. Cody made some hissing and meowing sounds, scratching at the air. â€Å"This isn’t funny,† I said. â€Å"Sure it is,† said Cody. â€Å"Besides, don’t you want to help others? Where’s your sense of goodness and charity?† â€Å"I think I cashed that in when I, you know, sold my soul to Hell.† Peter waved his hand. â€Å"Details, details. ‘Tis the season to put aside petty rivalries and animosity. You’ve got to get into the holiday spirit. You probably haven’t even put up your Christmas tree yet.† â€Å"I’m not getting a tree this year.† The smile slipped from Peter’s face. â€Å"What?† â€Å"Oh, shit. You’ve done it now,† said Hugh. â€Å"I already got lectured earlier for not having one.† â€Å"You’re a Scrooge,† Peter told him while still looking at me. â€Å"No one expects that kind of festive cheer from you. But Georgina†¦didn’t you have a Christmas tree last year?† â€Å"Yeah. Somebody burned it down. At my Christmas Eve Martini Party.† â€Å"I was there,† said Peter. â€Å"I don’t remember that.† â€Å"You were drunk. You’d already passed out.† â€Å"What kind of sick bastard burns down a Christmas tree?† Hugh and I exchanged glances. â€Å"That’s an excellent question,† I said dryly. Peter looked startled. â€Å"Was it you?† he asked Hugh. â€Å"No,† said the imp. â€Å"It was Carter.† â€Å"Your Christmas tree was burned down by an angel?† asked Cody. He hadn’t been with our group last December, so this was all new to him. And Peter too, apparently. â€Å"Yup. The irony isn’t lost on me,† I said. â€Å"He had his ashtray too close to where a branch was hanging down.† â€Å"Well, I think he did you a favor,† said Hugh. â€Å"You can get a fake one now. They’re easier. No watering. No woodland animals. Besides, you can get them to match your d? ¦cor. Did you notice Peter’s is ‘pissed-off ocean green’?† Peter sighed. â€Å"It’s ‘jaded sea green.'† I followed their gazes to Peter’s monstrosity of a Christmas tree. Nine feet of perfectly shaped needles draped in gold tinsel and red glass ornaments. Everything on it coordinated. In fact, I suddenly realized, it matched Peter’s outfit. The tree looked like a display model from a department store. The green in the multicolored bejeweled star on top even seemed to bring out the blue in the ‘jaded sea green.’ â€Å"At least you don’t have an angel on top,† I said. â€Å"Because that would have been kind of wrong. And possibly a fire hazard.† â€Å"Joke all you want,† the vampire said, â€Å"but you have to have a Christmas tree. Oh, yeah – you also have to draw a name for Secret Santas.† I groaned. â€Å"Are we doing that again?† â€Å"Let me go get the cup,† he said, trotting to the other side of the kitchen. I looked at the other two. â€Å"A vampire obsessed with Christmas. That has to be the weirdest thing I’ve ever heard.† â€Å"No weirder than an angel burning down a Christmas tree,† pointed out Cody. Peter returned with a reindeer mug that held a few folded pieces of paper. He held it out to me. â€Å"Not many left. Pick.† I pulled out a slip and opened it. Carter. â€Å"Son of a bitch,† I swore. â€Å"I hate Christmas.† â€Å"You do not,† said Peter. â€Å"You just have to get a tree. Then you’ll feel better.† My eyes drifted from the star, down to Tawny and Niphon. â€Å"What I have to do is get out of here,† I told them, setting my glass on the counter. I made my good-byes to them and endured a bit more teasing about my new mentoring job. As I walked to the door, I overheard Jerome saying to Grace, â€Å"†¦but I’ll be out of town for a few days.† I suddenly realized I needed to ask him something. â€Å"Hey, Jerome.† He turned from the demoness, shooting me an impatient look. In as few words as possible, I recapped how I’d woken up without the energy I’d stolen the previous night. Jerome listened, looking bored. â€Å"What’d you do last night? Bursts of shape-shifting? Rocket science? Heavy lifting?† I didn’t need him to tell me what sorts of things would burn through my energy. â€Å"I didn’t do any of those things. I just slept. I did dream, though.† â€Å"Dreams only suck the life out of humans, not us,† he remarked dryly. â€Å"It’s what keeps Hell in business.† Seeing my expression, he sighed. â€Å"It’s probably nothing, Georgie. Mental exhaustion’ll do it. You probably spent the whole night unconsciously wrestling with sexual temptation.† I didn’t appreciate his flippant answer, but there was nothing I could do about it. I left the party, driving home at a reasonable speed limit this time. As soon as I cleared the door, I tossed that ridiculous manual to the floor. It landed with a ground-shaking thump that made my cat Aubrey puff up her tail. â€Å"Sorry,† I mumbled, scratching her black-speckled head in consolation. Traipsing to the bedroom, I promptly dialed Seth on my cell phone. â€Å"Hey,† he said. â€Å"Hey. You have to come over here tonight.† A pause. â€Å"Well, I could, but†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Oh, come on! You won’t believe what I just went through. We’re getting another succubus.† He paused again. â€Å"I’m not really sure how to respond to that.† â€Å"Respond by getting your ass over here. I need you.† â€Å"Thetis†¦I’m so close to the end here. Four chapters away. And I got this idea while we were having breakfast†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I groaned. Cady and O’Neill had defeated me again. Before actually meeting Seth, I’d worshipped him from afar as a literary genius, reading his novels over and over. Now I knew the dark truth about being a bestselling author’s girlfriend. Hearing my silence, he reluctantly added: â€Å"But, I mean, if you really need me†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"No, no. Don’t worry about it. It’s okay.† â€Å"You don’t sound like it’s okay. I know how women work. You say that, then you’ll hold a grudge against me forever. Literally.† â€Å"No, really. It’s fine. I’ll be seeing you tomorrow anyway. Besides, as soon as I get out of this dress, I’m just going to pass out anyway.† No way was I starting that procedural tome. â€Å"You’re wearing a dress?† â€Å"Yup.† â€Å"You weren’t wearing one earlier. What’s it look like?† I started laughing. â€Å"Ooh†¦are you trying to have phone sex with me?† â€Å"Phone sex? Hardly. We haven’t even had a phone first date.† â€Å"It’s not that hard. You see, I tell you how the dress has a really low neckline with nothing underneath. Then, you tell me how you’ll reach out and peel it off and stroke my – â€Å" â€Å"Oh my God. No. We are not doing this.† Typical Seth. He could write sex scenes that set the page on fire or dialogue clever enough to impress even me. Make him vocalize any of it, and he choked up. He was shy around others, fearful in large groups, and much happier staying an unnoticed listener. I sympathized but sometimes had trouble really comprehending it, considering how often I became the center of attention. I liked to think he’d improved a bit since we got together, but he had a long way to go. â€Å"It just takes practice. Here, I’ll help you. Picture it. I’m getting on my knees and slowly unfastening your pants – â€Å" â€Å"Okay, look. If you really want to go through with this, I’d be happy to, you know, go get on my computer and IM it†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Oh good grief. Go work on your book.† I hung up the phone and sat down on my bed. Good Lord. My weekend had taken an abrupt U-turn. Like it or not, I supposed it had been only a matter of time before a new succubus joined the ranks here. Seattle had grown significantly over the years, and I could only do so much. But a green succubus? One I had to train up? If I hadn’t known such administrative decisions were out of the demon’s hands, I would have accused Jerome of doing it on purpose. It was on par with his sense of humor. Why couldn’t we have just gotten some antisocial pro who did her job without ever interacting with me? And Niphon†¦well, that was the coup de gras. I didn’t like being reminded of my past, and I didn’t like him. Something told me he had it in for me, though I couldn’t entirely fathom why. He’d bought my soul and recruited my eternal services. What more was there? Wait and see, a warning voice whispered in my head. I shivered. Tawny couldn’t make her first score a moment too soon. Suddenly, I didn’t feel like passing out after all. I wanted to go out. Not for a victim or anything†¦just to, well, be out. Grab a drink. Do a little flirting. It might salvage the train wreck I’d just endured. I headed downtown to the Cellar, a favorite watering hole for local immortals. After Tawny’s coming-out party tonight, I doubted anyone I knew would be there. A little alone time suited me just fine. Yet, as I entered the crowded bar and slipped through the drinking, laughing patrons, I felt a cool sensation tickle my immortal senses. It made me think of crystal and ozone. Scanning around, I finally found Carter sitting across the room at a round table. Seattle’s most powerful angel – and the one who had burned down my Christmas tree – had sensed me too, and a slight smile curled his lips in greeting. Although he naturally hadn’t been at Hell’s all staff meeting, he did have a tendency to hang out with my little clique. It had weirded me out at first, but I’d since come to view him as a normal fixture in my life, albeit a strange and badly dressed one. More startling than seeing him out tonight, however, was his assortment of companions. Three angels and a human – none of whom I’d ever met before. All of them watched me, displaying curiosity and – for one of them – scorn at my presence. Whatever. He could scorn all he wanted. It would take more than an angel posse to get to me after everything I’d experienced today. Carter’s company did strike me as odd; I’d never known him to work with others. A grudging curiosity rose up within me, wondering what could have brought them all together – with a human, no less. Noting my scrutiny, Carter winked and made a small gesture of invitation, much to the astonishment of two of the angels. I nodded back in acknowledgement, first stopping by the bar to get a vodka gimlet. When I walked over a minute later, I put on my best saucy succubus attitude and pulled up a chair beside Carter. â€Å"Well, well,† I said. â€Å"I feel like it’s Rush weekend or something. We’re all entertaining guests, huh?† â€Å"So I hear,† he said. He absentmindedly ran a hand through his chin-length blond hair. Unless I was mistaken, it had been washed for the first time in six months. These guests must be serious. â€Å"I also hear one of yours is of a more permanent nature.† I pulled a face. â€Å"I don’t really want to talk about that, if it’s all the same to you.† â€Å"Can we expect a cat fight soon?† â€Å"That joke is so one hour ago. You want to introduce me to the rest of the class?† This made one of the angels laugh. She had deeply tanned skin and black hair that shone like silk. A merry glitter danced in her eyes as she extended a hand to me. â€Å"Yasmine. And you’re Georgina.† I nodded back, unable to help a smile. The one she gave me in return filled me with warmth and joy. Maybe some angels weren’t so bad after all. It was a good thing, too, because her companions seemed less thrilled to make my acquaintance. â€Å"I’m Whitney,† said another slowly, a pretty black woman whose hair consisted of myriad tiny braids. She dressed with a fashion sense that met my standards and wore cat-eye glasses that made her look both cute and wise. Her handshake took a moment in coming, but it did come. I glanced at the last angel expectantly. He had dark brown hair and blue eyes, paired with a long and narrow face. His expression conveyed clear disapproval and a haughty coldness. Now that was behavior I associated with angels. For a moment, I didn’t think he’d speak at all. Then, with great stiffness, he said, â€Å"I’m Joel.† No handshake followed. I turned to the human. He grinned back with as much enthusiasm as Yasmine and flipped his longish dark hair out of his eyes. â€Å"Vincent Damiani. Nice to meet you.† â€Å"You too.† I cut Carter a sly look. â€Å"And all this time, I didn’t think you had any friends.† â€Å"You’re jumping to conclusions, Daughter of Lilith.† He sipped from what looked like whiskey straight up. â€Å"They’re here on business.† â€Å"Ooh. Top secret angel business, huh? What’re you going to do? Dance on a pinhead? Lobby for National Cute Puppy Day?† Joel’s cold look dropped another ten degrees. â€Å"As if we would discuss our affairs with a dark seductress of evil.† Yasmine elbowed him with an eye roll. â€Å"She’s joking.† â€Å"That’s what she wants you to think,† he warned ominously. â€Å"I for one am not going to let my guard down while she attempts to use her wily and sinister powers of seduction on us.† Fixing him with a slow, languid smile, I leaned back in the chair, crossing my legs so the skirt rode up my thighs. â€Å"Baby, if I were using my wily and sinister powers of seduction, you’d be the first to know.† A dark flush stained his cheeks. He fixed his gaze on Carter. â€Å"I don’t know what game you think you’re playing, but you need to get rid of her.† Carter stayed unfazed. â€Å"She’s harmless – unless you’re a drug-pushing god or a nephilim. Or an introverted writer.† Yasmine flinched, her cheerful countenance becoming sober. â€Å"Don’t joke about nephilim.† â€Å"In fact,† Carter obliviously continued, â€Å"she might fix that little logistical problem. Georgina, I don’t suppose you’d mind playing hostess, would you? Vincent needs a place to stay while he’s in town.† I arched an eyebrow in surprise. Misinterpreting my silence, Vincent hastily added, â€Å"It’s okay if you don’t want to. I mean, you don’t even know me. I can see how that’d be weird.† â€Å"I don’t know,† I told him, even more curious as to what was transpiring with this odd group. â€Å"If angels vouch for you†¦well, you can’t really get a better recommendation than that. If you don’t mind sleeping on the couch, it’s fine by me.† â€Å"You’re a pearl among succubi,† Carter declared. Joel nearly choked on his drink. Considering his stick-up-the-ass attitude, I doubted he had anything alcoholic. Probably Kool-Aid or Pepsi. Diet Pepsi, at that. â€Å"Are you out of your mind?† he exclaimed. â€Å"She’s a succubus. You can’t subject him to that. Think about his soul.† â€Å"She’s not really into nice guys,† Carter said. â€Å"Usually. You won’t have a problem.† Yasmine offered Vincent a playful look. â€Å"He’s not that nice anyway.† â€Å"Carter – † began Joel. â€Å"I told you, she’s fine. Let it go. You have my word. Besides, she won’t ask any questions, and it’ll give him an accessible place to stay while you guys search.† I jumped on the word â€Å"search.† Now we were getting somewhere. â€Å"What are you guys looking for?† Dead silence met me. Whitney crossed her arms. Vincent sipped his drink. â€Å"Okay, I get it.† I finished the gimlet with a gulp. â€Å"Need to know basis. Mum’s the word. Hush-hush and all that.† Yasmine’s easy grin returned. â€Å"I love her, Carter. No wonder you keep her around.† She then started talking about another succubus she’d met in Boston, smoothly changing subjects as deftly as Carter could. Guessing what I was thinking, Carter caught my eye and grinned. I rolled my own eyes in exasperation. Nonetheless, as the evening progressed, I found myself liking Yasmine immensely. She, Vincent, and Carter carried most of the conversation, and while angels weren’t nearly as fun as the rest of my friends, I found this group entertaining in their own way. They also swore and drank a lot less, but well, nobody’s perfect. When the bar closed, I took Vincent with me, but not before Joel issued warnings about the sanctity of the human soul. Vincent listened to it with a patient face, nodding along at the key parts. â€Å"Is he always like that?† I asked on the drive home. Vincent laughed. â€Å"He can’t help it. He means well. He’s just worried about me.† â€Å"Are you worried?† â€Å"Nah. You’re pretty cute, but no, I’m not worried. I’m already in love with someone.† I started to joke that that was no protection against anything, that I’d seduced plenty of guys who thought they were in love. Something in his voice stopped my quip. The way he spoke implied that being in love was indeed protection from me and all the other evils of the world. He spoke like one who was invincible. I suddenly felt sad. â€Å"Good for you,† I said softly. He cut me a sidelong look. â€Å"You’re okay for a succubus.† â€Å"Okay enough to tell me what you and the Super Friends are doing in town?† A smile flashed back over his face. â€Å"No.† At home, I set him up on the couch, producing piles of blankets to keep him warm. I kept my apartment at a steamy temperature most of the time, but it was December, and the part of me that still remembered huddling around meager fires in days gone by felt one could never have enough blankets. I soon went to bed, buried under my own stash of covers. This time, I didn’t dream. How to cite Succubus Dreams CHAPTER 2, Essay examples

Empirical Research Methods for Business

Question: Write a report on "Empirical Research Methods for Business". Answer: Introduction Health Care Expenditure in the OECD countries have been rising on an increasing rate such that the maximum pressure has been imposed on the public budgets of these countries which is not only increasing the spending on the social programs which is estimated to a increase by 1% in 2015, according to the 2015 outlook ("Health Expenditure And Financing" 2016). The main issue lies in the health expenditure that is started following a reverse trend in comparison to the economic growth such that economic growth levels in health expenditure have grown due to the reforms in the sector that has led to health funding as being a demoralizing task for the government. However, according to Baumols theory health sector is representative of low productivity growth. However, according to the present conditioning, the government has to formulate policies so that corrective measures could be taken with proper time and in efficient manner. According to the preliminary analysis, it has been stated that the concern of low and middle countries can easily be manifested by the changes that has been based on the analysis of the technologies, demographic factors as well as income level of the respondents followed by institutional characteristics ("OECD Reviews Of Health Care Quality - OECD Ilibrary" 2016). However, the research needs to be based on the research aims that can be manifested in analysing the drivers factor that are essential to study health expenditure in the OECD countries. On the other hand, GDP will be even considered as one of the drivers of health expenditure as well. Data In this study, all the OECD countries are considered. However, all the data is taken from major 34 countries from the year 2009 to 2014. Current and public health expenditure is taken from OECD Health Stats. The data taken was complemented with data on demographics and mortality. However, according to the research question stated above, two hypotheses were generated (Xu and Saksena 2011). Hypothesis 1 Ho: There is no significant impact of variables like current health expenditure, public expenditure and out of pocket on GDP. H1: There is significant impact of variables like current health expenditure, public expenditure and out of pocket on GDP. Hypothesis 2 Ho: There is no significant impact of variables like out of pocket, mortality rate and demographic characteristics on current health expenditure. H1: There is significant impact of variables like public expenditure, mortality rate and demographic characteristics on current health expenditure. All the expenditure variables are taken US $ except GDP which is turned into log to give the instantaneous change made in the US dollars. However adding to the study, summary statistics were also presented Methods The various concepts have been adopted for the research that it is helped in conduct of the study to give a critical explanation provided with the secondary data taken from OECD Health Statistics. Research Paradigm The research paradigm selected for the study is to alleviate the theoretical process and procedures. Although, the study is based on certain assumptions like GDP is impacted by health expenditure and public expenditure which deals with the knowledge and result in following epistemology paradigm for the enquiry of results (Shajahan 2015). Research Philosophy The research process validates a post-positivism approach as its is based on facts and figures such as interrelationship is established between different variables (Cohen, Louis, Manion and Morrison 2011). However, the background of health expenditure is calculated by the help of calculations. Research Approach The research approach taken into consideration is deductive in nature as it is based on the hypothesis testing as certain propositions have been made between different variables and relevant methods like multivariate regression analysis is taken for accepting or rejecting the theory so that appropriate modifications can be devised. The relationship criterion helps in analysing the clarity and reliability of the data (Harlow 2014). Research Design The research design is correlational in nature as different drivers are tested on the health expenditure that does not elaborates on the interconnection between variables but also helps in physical conduct of the data through the meta-analysis procedure. Data Collection Methods The interpretation as well as gathering of information is tested by building a research framework on the variables. The secondary data collection method was adopted such that the data for different variables were taken from OECD Health Statistics and the data is quantitative in nature. However, the data collected from secondary sources is helpful in creating an ideal scenario on the health expenditure condition of the OECD countries. The quantitative method is adopted because it gives an experimental as well as descriptive method through variables structured on the sample size (Gorard 2013). Sampling Method and Sampling Size The random method adopted is cluster random sampling as the average data of all the 34 countries listed in OECD is taken into consideration to avoid errors on the degree of attainment. When analysed, the sample size is undertaken is 6 that is from the year 2009 to 2014 to analyse the impact of variables on GDP and health expenditure. Data Analysis Data analysis is the process of analysing the information based on the decision making exercise that has been carried out to study the figures with statistical as well as structural technique. Although, the data is structured in nature but it is closely linked with quantitative data analysis using SPSS statistical tool for data processing and matching files (Brymen and Bell 2015). Results The results and discussion can be based on the analysis of all the variables considered. The data results can be divided into two divisions, one in the summary statistics gained on mean, standard deviation and quartile on each variable. Section 1 - Summary Statistics According to the summary statistics calculated for each variable as it is based on the original data taken without the log values. The explanation of each variable can be described below. Mortality Rate The average of mortality rate that have achieved from 2009 to 2014 years is 79.18 with the deviation from mean achieved is 2 years such that the inter quartile range is one year and 8 months across the years amongst the different OECD countries (Refer Appendix). According to the normal, curve, the data is more skewed to the age of 79-80 years as given by life expectancy of 79-80 years which has not changes much since 2005 (Refer Appendix)..General Demographics General Demographics includes the income level achieved of the countries across years. According to the calculation of the data, the change has seen to be efficient as there is vast gap in the inter quartile range that is 7.14 (000) US Dollars and the mean received has been 367.03 which has shown to increase in the last year of the analysis that is 2013-2014 (Refer Appendix). Out of Pocket Payments Out of pocket payments is the general consultation fees, medication and other hospital bills that have recently showed to be increasing with each passing year such that the change manifested has shown positive skewness with rising changes in the values as it poses a standard deviation 97.16 (000) US Dollars (Refer Appendix).. Current Health expenditures According to the summary statistics, the health expenditure includes both the spending made by the public as well as private external funds through the channels to national health system. However, the data shows a deviation of 417.21 (000) US Dollars that is increased to a twofold as depicted on normally distributed histogram as well (Refer Appendix). Public Expenditure Public expenditure elaborates the government spending of the country on OECD countries across years that has averaged to 2462.98 (000) US Dollars with a change of 221.952 (000) US Dollars (Refer Appendix).. GDP According to GDP results, GDP has been growing in each country and across each year but its log form has not shown any drastic change as compared to last years GDP ("Gross Domestic Product (GDP)" 2016). Section 2 Regression Analysis The regression analysis is based on two hypotheses as mentioned. a) Impact on GDP The impact of GDP as seen from the regression results has been significant. However, in this case long form of GDP was considered. That makes it a log-linear form of equation. The regression equation comes out to be as LnGDP = 16.4 +0.003Current_health_expenditure 0.003public_expenditure 0.002out of pocket. However, this states that with the change in current health expenditure, the positive changes of 0.3% will be made in GDP followed by negative change of 0.3% on public expenditure and 0.2% on out of pocket expenses made by the individuals. However, adjusted R square with 85.6% makes the model a good fit (Refer Appendix).. Moreover, as depicted on F statistics, the changes have been significant on the 95% level which depicts that analysis dealt with accurate results across the years. On the whole, with residual value of 0.001 on ANOVA table that mostly the values taken are estimated and none of them is affected by the errors made in the data (Riff, Lacy and Fico 2014). However, we reject the null hypothesis and state that there is significant impact of variables like current health expenditure, public expenditure and out of pocket on GDP. b) Impact on Current Health Expenditure LnCurrent_Health_Expenditure = 7.81 -0.009General_demographics + 0.3morality_rate + 0.002out of pocket. However, this states that with the change in general demographics, the negative changes of 0.9% will be made in GDP followed by positive change of 3% on morality rate and 0.2% on out of pocket expenses made by the individuals. However, adjusted R square with 98.6% makes the model a good fit (Refer Appendix). Moreover, as depicted on F statistics, the changes have been significant on the 95% level with value 120.461 which depicts that analysis dealt with accurate results across the years. On the whole, with residual value of 0.00 on ANOVA has only been estimated and none of them is affected by the errors made in the data. However, we reject the null hypothesis and state that there is significant impact of variables like public expenditure, mortality rate and demographic characteristics on current health expenditure. Discussion Research Limitations The basic research limitations taken across in the model is a period of 6 years depicting only the changes made after the global financial crisis to analyse the gearing up of GDP and public expenditure in the OECD countries. The research limitations are the taken countries according to the OECD Statistics is only 34 countries followed by only 6 years of analysis. Secondly, the variables included in the study were only important variables and rest other variables were missing. The third reasoning can be stated that the GDP is country specific but healthy expenditure is not necessarily predicted on GDP (Xu and Saksena 2011). Comparison with Previous research According to the previous research done, it can be explained that the study is based on cross section studies and no such evidence has been provided but health has not been considered as an luxury good as opined by Friedman (Xu and Saksena 2011). However, the cross elasticity in earlier researches were based on the time series and panel; data models through the distinction in the transitory and permanent income. Only demographic factor have been considered at micro as well as micro level. Demographic factors were considered using inconclusive results being ageing and health expenditure, but here mortality rate has been taken (Astolfi, Lorenzoni, and Oderkirk 2012). Conclusion To conclude, it can be elaborated major impact has been experienced by GDP resulting in marginal change in the GDP of 34 countries across 6 years. Moreover, globally health expenditure has been growing with the excessive spending on health activities and less of investments achieved in comparison to fixed budget that is followed in each country. Lastly, irrespective of key driver, most of the factors should be considered to give more generalized results. References "Gross Domestic Product (GDP)". 2016.OECD Statistics. "OECD Health Statistics". 2016. doi:10.1787/health-data-en. "OECD Health Statistics". 2016. doi:10.1787/health-data-en. "OECD Reviews Of Health Care Quality - OECD Ilibrary". 2016.Oecd-Ilibrary.Org. Astolfi, Roberto, Luca Lorenzoni, and Jillian Oderkirk. "Informing policy makers about future health spending: a comparative analysis of forecasting methods in OECD countries."Health Policy107, no. 1 (2012): 1-10. Bryman, Alan, and Emma Bell.Business research methods. Oxford University Press, USA, 2015. Cohen, Louis, Lawrence Manion, and Keith Morrison.Research methods in education. Routledge, 2013. Gorard, Stephen.Research design: Creating robust approaches for the social sciences. Sage, 2013. Harlow, Lisa L.The essence of multivariate thinking: Basic themes and methods. Routledge, 2014. Riff, Daniel, Stephen Lacy, and Frederick Fico.Analyzing media messages: Using quantitative content analysis in research. Routledge, 2014. Shajahan, S.Introduction to Business Research Methods. Jaico Publishing House, 2014.

Curt Lemon in Tim OBriens The Things They Carried Essay Example

Curt Lemon in Tim OBriens The Things They Carried Paper TNT should be placed all over Vietnam so this bitchy would disappear from the map. Thats all It deserves after taking away my freaking best friend. I did see plenty of people die In Vietnam, but this was bucking unbelievable, partly because he was my bucking best friend and partly because of the way It happened. Just Like we used to, Curt and I went to play catch with a smoke grenade, which was certainly the greatest name ever thought, under some huge trees; the biggest Eve ever seen of my life. We were having a great time. In fact, everyone always had a great time with Curt; he was such a nice guy, a respectable guy. However, this bitchy of Name decided It was enough. As Curt moved away from the shade of the gigantic trees, he stepped on this bucking booby-trap. It was definitely no usual booby-trap. His freaking body was lifted so high that you couldnt even look at it because of the dazzlingly bright sun. I was under the impression I was watching a firework. It was bucking surreal. Curt Lemon, my freaking best friend in the world had died and I could not believe it. The explosion was so powerful that I felt my heart responding to it. It felt just like when a firework ends; the biggest piece of the show explodes and the explosion is so important that sometimes you get scared and you close your eyes for a second, even if you know its a show. But, afterwards, when you open your eyes you can appreciate all the beauty of it. Name made several awesome shows of that kind, but this one was no bucking good show. We will write a custom essay sample on Curt Lemon in Tim OBriens The Things They Carried specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Curt Lemon in Tim OBriens The Things They Carried specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Curt Lemon in Tim OBriens The Things They Carried specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer

Plot Fragmentation in Modern Comedy

Plot Fragmentation in Modern Comedy Introduction/Thesis statement One of foremost characteristics of late 20th and early 21st centuries’ comedy is the fact that, as time goes by; it tends to become increasingly plot-fragmented, cognitively incomprehensible and even somewhat aesthetically distasteful. This, however, does not seem to affect the ability of such a comedy to win favor with the audiences.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Plot Fragmentation in Modern Comedy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More As Auslander (1989) had put it in his article: â€Å"As of today, whether performance remains marginal or gains mass exposure seems to have little to do with the nature or content of a particular artists work†¦ Nowadays, the relative success of performance in the mass media attests to the ability of a mass-mediated culture to convert almost anything into ‘entertainment (122). According to Andersen (2010), there are two most striking traits in what she defines as ‘post-modern comedy’: â€Å"1. A tendency toward reflexivity†¦ 2. An emphasis on fragmented forms, discontinuous narratives†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Carrie Andersen Blog). In order to realize the full validity of an earlier suggestion, one would simply have to familiarize itself with such comparatively recent and very successful Hollywood comedies as Naked Gun, Nutty Professor, A Night At the Roxbury, Scary Movie, etc. All of these comedies feature the absence of a well-structured plot, the plenty of plot-unrelated self-referrals, on the part of the characters, and the inclusion of a number of primitively humorous gags. And, there are good reasons to believe that, the very fact that this type of comedies appear to grow ever-more popular with the broader audiences, should not be discussed as ‘thing in itself’, unrelated to socio-political realities of modern living. In our paper, we will aim to explore this thesis at length, while focusin g on what we consider the two most plausible explanations as to the essence of a discussed subject matter. Increasing irrelevancy of the actual plot in latest Hollywood comedies As we have implied earlier, when it comes to discussing the essence of a particular cultural phenomenon, such as the increasing irrelevancy of the actual plot in latest Hollywood comedies, it represents the matter of crucial importance to be able to identify the objectively existing preconditions for such a phenomenon to have emerged, in the first place. After all, up until comparatively recent times, the most successful comedies used to feature a well-defined linear narrative as one of its most important characteristics. While referring to the mechanics of how satire and humor were explored in classical Hollywood comedies, Chambers (1989) points out to the fact that in these comedies, the very sensation of ‘funnyness’ derived out of viewers’ ability to assess surrounding reality in terms of logic: â€Å"An appreciation of the ridiculous is a matter of exposing appearances for what they really are, primarily by realizing the gap between what people say (or how they perceive their actions to be interpreted) and how people appear to an objective observer† (590).Advertising Looking for essay on literature languages? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In other words, the presence of a well-structured plot in classical comedies simply reflected the rationalistic workings of their creators’ mentality – these people perceived the objective reality through the lenses of euro-centrism. That is, they would go about endowing their comedies with humorous appeal by exploring the dichotomy between white people’s sense of rationale, on one hand, and non-white people’s sense of irrational emotionality/passion, on another. As Chin (1989) had put it: â€Å"In the context of the United States, the cultural power structure has always been dominated by the ideology of a specifically white, Eurocentric, specifically capitalist establishment† (167). Therefore, the reason why until recently, comedies with linear narratives appealed to movie-going audiences is that these audiences predominantly consisted of whites. This continues to be the case even today, although to a lesser degree, which in its turn explains why recent Hollywood comedies with well-defined plot very rarely feature people of color, as characters. For example, in the recent commercially successful ‘white comedy’ Meet the Parents, there is no even a single non-white character. Apparently, movie-goers’ ability to enjoy a well-defined plot in the comedy reflects their varying ability to remain focused on plot’s unraveling, which in its turn reflects their ability to operate with abstract categories, which in its turn reflects the rate of their Intellectual Quotidian. And, as we are all well aware of – the rate of one’s IQ is genetically predetermined category. In their book, Lynn and Vanhanen (2002) state: â€Å"IQs appear to be determined by the racial and ethnic make-up of the populations†¦ The IQs of 96 are typical of Europeans. The countries with lower proportions of Europeans and greater proportions of Native Americans, Blacks, and Mestizos have lower IQs† (263). Thus, it would only be logical to hypothesize that the cinematographic trend of Hollywood comedies becoming essentially ‘plotless’ has to do with an ongoing process of Western societies’ intellectual marginalization. And, it is namely the institutialization of multiculturalism, as an official policy in Western countries, which had triggered such a process. For example, it is now being estimated that by the year 2050, the population of Hispanics in U.S. will reach 90 million. And, as statistics show, the dropout rate among Hispanics in Americ a’s high schools accounts for 45%-50%. In his article, Crosnoe (2005) states: â€Å"Compared to other racial/ethnic populations, Hispanics lag behind on most indicators of academic progress, such as grades, test scores, and social-psychological adjustment in school† (563).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Plot Fragmentation in Modern Comedy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Thus, it is namely the fact that Hollywood producers are well aware of the actual essence of demographic dynamics in today’s America, which explains why they deliberately strive to ensure that their comedies will appeal to the marginalized tastes of America’s multicultural populace, as the foremost mean of guaranteeing these comedies’ commercial successfulness. And, as practice shows, in order for a particular comedy to become popular with non-whites, its plot does not have to be concerned with ensuring the integr ity of a linear narrative, as much as it needs to be concerned with exploiting viewers’ animalistic urges. This is exactly the reason why in many recent Hollywood comedies, directors had made a point in satirizing purely physiological aspects of people’s existence, such as defecating, indulging in sex or eating. For example, in such Hollywood’s ‘black comedies’ as 1996 The Nutty Professor, 2000 Big Mommas House and 2004 Fat Albert , directors had gone about exploiting viewers’ sense of humor by exposing them to the sight of main characters simply walking around for no apparent purpose and consuming a lot of hamburgers, while appearing grossly overweight. For intellectually marginalized audiences, these comedies proved being ‘funny’ enough, as it is only the direct onslaught onto such audiences’ animalistic senses, which can result in triggering an emotional reaction, on their part. The evolution of people’s aestheti c tastes Nevertheless, the same issue (the fragmentation of plot in recent Hollywood comedies) can be accessed from entirely different perspective. It might very well be the case that the increasing irrelevance of plot in comedies is simply being reflective of today’s post-industrial realities, as such that are being concerned with the process of humanity growing increasingly ‘post-human’, which in its turn, undermines the soundness of traditional concepts, founded on the principle of linearly defined rationality. For example, as of today, most people believe that, in order for anyone to be considered a truly intelligent person, he or she would have to know at least one foreign language.Advertising Looking for essay on literature languages? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More And, the studying of a foreign language is rather lengthy process, which cannot be successful without learner remaining utterly dedicated to studying, throughout process’s entirety. Nevertheless, due to the revolutionary breakthroughs in the fields of informational technology and biology that had taken place recently, in 20-30 years from now, it will become possible for just about anyone to learn foreign languages instantly, by the mean of inserting a microchip in its brain. In post-human or cyber-human world, just about every aspect of people’s existence will be qualitatively different from it used to be the case, from the time when humans evolved from apes, until now. And, that will include the manner in which they perceive surrounding reality. In its turn, this will affect the structural subtleties of a cognitive process. What it means is that in near future, in order for the literary or cinematographic narrative to be considered structurally plausible, it will no l onger need to feature such plot’s classical elements as exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution, because the manner in which ‘post-human’ people would perceive objective reality might very cease being linearly defined. As some contemporary Hollywood’s ‘plotless’ comedies (such as Scary Movie) indicate, the absence of a well-structured plot in the comedy does not necessarily reflect such comedy’s inability to convey a certain semantic message. In his article, Kellner (1987) points out to the fact that, under certain conditions, even chaotic meaninglessness can be quite meaningful: â€Å"In fully constituted flowing discourse the facts function irresistibly either as indexes or as links in an indexical sequence; even an anarchic presentation of the facts will at least convey the meaning anarchy and suggest a particular philosophy of history† (3). Therefore, the fact that today’s comedies become prog ressively more ‘plotless’ may simply be reflective of people’s subconscious anxieties, regarding the ways of a future. For example, the humoristic appeal of a Scary Movie directly derives out of how this comedy ridicules the conventions of a horror genre in cinematography. Apparently, for people who enjoy watching this particular comedy, it represents a particular pleasure to assess such conventions as being outdated – that is exactly what is being funny in Scary Movie and in its sequels, and that is also what makes up for the fact that this movie simply does not feature a coherent plot, whatsoever. As it was noted by Weinberg (2000): â€Å"There really is no plot at all (in Scary Movie) to speak of, and Ive giggled at several reviewers try to describe one. What youre presented with is a series of scenes parodying other films, or just plain old being raunchy† (EfilmCritic.Com). Yet, for the reasons mentioned early, it is specifically plot-fragmented comedies, such as Scary Movie, which are going to attain a mainstream status in Hollywood’s comedy-related cinematography in the future. A somewhat altered hypothesis can be used to explain the apparent popularity of black ‘plotless’ comedies, such as Fat Albert. The fact that these comedies aim to humorise physiological aspects of people’s lives, may be suggestive of audiences’ tendency to view the biological constraints of one’s existence as being quite inconsistent with the ways of a ‘brave borderless world’, because it is namely the specifics of our biological functioning that relate us to animals more than anything else does. In post-human society, however, the extent of people’s ‘biologism’ will reflect their ability to attain social prominence in counter-geometrical progression – that is, the more they would be biologically constrained, the lesser would be their chances to attain such a prominen ce. This is the reason why viewers tend to perceive individual’s strongly defined ‘biologism’ as the foremost indication of his or her inability to evolve physiologically and intellectually, which in its turn, renders such individual particularly funny in the eyes of a viewing audience. Conclusion Even though two earlier articulated explanations, as to the tendency of recent comedies to become ever more plot-fragmented, differ rather substantially in how they address the discussed subject matter, we believe that they nevertheless substantiate the validity of paper’s initial hypothesis. As we have shown the increasing irrelevance of plot-presence in comedies has nothing to do with the evolution of people’s aesthetic tastes as ‘thing in itself’, but rather with the evolution/devolution of these people themselves, as representatives of Homo Sapiens specie. In its turn, this proves once again that, unlike what the hawks of political correc tness would like us to believe, it is fully appropriate to discuss the essence of just about any social or cultural phenomenon well within the conceptual framework of ‘hard’ sciences, which have nothing to do with ‘promotion of tolerance’ but rather with promotion of scientifically proven facts, regardless of how ‘intolerant’ they might be. References Andersen, Carrie â€Å"Millennials and Postmodernism in TV Comedies†. 2010. Carrie Andersen Blog. 28 Nov. 2010. Web. Auslander, Philip â€Å"Going with the Flow: Performance Art and Mass Culture†. TDR 33.2 (1989): 119-136. Chambers, Erve â€Å"Thalias Revenge: Ethnography and Theory of Comedy†. American Anthropologist 91.3 (1989): 589-598. Chin, Daryl â€Å"Interculturalism, Postmodernism, Pluralism†. Performing Arts Journal 3.12 (1989): 163-175. Crosnoe, Robert â€Å"The Diverse Experiences of Hispanic Students in the American Educational System†. Sociological F orum 20.4 (2005): 561-588. Kellner, Hans â€Å"Narrativity in History: Post-Structuralism and Since†. History and Theory 26.4 (1987): 1-29. Lynn, Richard. Vanhanen, Tatu. IQ and the Wealth of Nations. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002. Weinberg, Scott â€Å"Scary Movie†. 2000. EfilmCritic.Com. 28 Nov. 2010. efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=1796reviewer=128

Case Study Strategy Development in the Global Automotive Industry Essay

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