Miami Film Noir :: Film Cinema Movies

MIAMI NOIR We have much to learn from Mike Davis, CITY OF QUARTZ (Vintage, 1992) who discusses the paradoxical effects that the representations of Los Angeles in hardboiled novels and their translation into film noir cinema had on the image and myth of that city. Together they radically reworked the metaphorical figure of the city, using the crisis of the middle class (rarely the workers or the poor) to expose how the dream had become nightmare. . . . It is hard to exaggerate the damage which noir's dystopianization of Los Angeles, together with the exiles' [European intellectuals living and working in L.A.] denunciation of its counterfeit urbanity, inflicted upon the accumulated ideological capital of the region's boosters. Noir, often in illicit alliance with San Francisco or New York elitism, made Los Angeles the city that American intellectuals love to hate (although, paradoxically, this seems only to increase its fascination for postwar European intellectuals). As Richard Lehan has emphasized, "probably no city in the Western world has a more negative image". . . . It is hard to avoid the conclusion that the paramount axis of cultural conflict in Los Angeles has always been about the construction/interpretation of the city myth, which en ters the material landscape as a design for speculation and domination (Davis, 20-21). Miami, most notably in the works of Elmore Leonard and Charles Willeford, and in the Television series MIAMI VICE, has received some of the same treatment, belatedly, or in a post- or neo- noir modality of the genre. . As Davis noted, "noir was like a transformational grammar turning each charming ingredient of the boosters' arcadia into a sinister equivalent" (38). We need to sort out those aspects of this noir/booster conflict that are generic and those that are specific to Miami. Boosterism is a fundamental feature of Miami's existence. The same paradoxes of attraction are an important part of Florida tourism. However, noir carries with it a state of mind, an atmosphere and mood, that are specific to the genre and may or may not have anything to do with the spirit of place specific to our zone. In any case, we should keep in mind that a book about the mythical America of crime writers includes some discussion of the Miami River setting. The Interviewer, John Williams, spoke with James Hall, author of the hard-boiled SQUALL LINE, as they rode in Hall's boat on the bay near the river's mouth.

Essay --

Kristy Huynh January 7, 2014 Period 2 The Poisonwood Bible Independent Study 1. Choose a passage that contains striking imagery. Analyze the passage and explain the effect on the work as a whole. â€Å"Clearing a rain forest to plant annuals is like stripping an animal first of its fur, then its skin. The land howls. Annual crops fly on a wing and a prayer. And even if you manage to get a harvest, why, you need roads to take it out! Take one trip overland here and you'll know forever that a road in the jungle is a sweet, flat, impossible dream. The soil falls apart. The earth melts into red gashes like the mouths of whales. Fungi and vines throw a blanket over the face of the dead land. It's simple, really. Central Africa is a rowdy society of flora and fauna that have managed to balance together on a trembling geologic plate for ten million years: when you clear off part of the plate, the whole slides into ruin†¦ To be here without doing everything wrong requires a new agriculture, a new sort of planning, a new religion† (524-525). Adah acknowledges what her father has done wrong and his inability to realizes his faults. The African land that the family has set food on cannot change according to their desires and attempting to do so only damages it more. Kingsolver illustrates that many do not seem to realize the impact of going into a country and asking them to change their religion, way of developing food, or their education system. Those attempting to colonize do not see the destruction that they are doing. Africa to Adah has been born like this, and â€Å" have managed to balance together on a trembling geological plate for ten million years.† This shows that balance has already been achieved in the views of the Africans and livin... ... ridiculous to Anatole that we have fruits and vegetables that are grown somewhere else and then driven miles and miles to the supermarket. The clash of the two cultures makes me wonder if the â€Å"American† way is better. It is pretty ridiculous that people can’t grow their own food and only rely on the labor of others. Although I appreciate and enjoyed reading about a world in which I have no experience, the imagery in the book was more than enough to show me that I would not survive a day living in Africa. Kingsolver’s vivid imagery and attention to detail hooked me the first few pages. (Like how the family wanted to bring the Better Crocker cake mix). The different detail from each of the Price sisters presents Africa and allowed me to piece it together. I was also able to identify myself with each of the sisters. I see myself as Rachel, Adah, Leah, and Ruth May.

Indian Price Rises

Rising Price in India wrote by : MILAN CHATERJEE ,india from : http://www. publishyourarticles. org/eng/articles/rising-price-in-india. html Today, India is facing many problems – the problem of corruption, the problem of unemployment, the problem of illiteracy, the problem of population, so on and so forth. The problem of rising prices is one of the most important problems that Indian is facing now. This problem is two-fold to check the rising prices and, if possible, to bring the prices down. The economists are of opinion that growing economy of the country has given rise to the rising prices. Such economy causes inflation.In inflation purchasing power runs ahead of purchasable goods. In other words, in a growing country, the supply of money increase at once but the supply of goods takes time to increase. Again the population has increased. This has further increased inflation. Because of growing population the current corruption is increasing. There is another cause of risi ng prices. The production of consumption goods has been very slowly rising. Our plants are also responsible for the present food situation. High targets were set to be achieved in defense and development. Levels of outlay on the development were suggested.No consideration was given to the existing state of economy. The pressure on real resources has been increasing. The gap between the return and investment also has its effect upon the present price situation. Thirdly, the kind of system of Government is liable to inflation. Restraint cannot be exercised in spending. Often it happens that claims have to be met mainly allocating funds. In the period of rising prices, the rich got richer and poor, poorer. The rich own the means of production. They pay the laborers handsomely. But they take of the left hand what they gave with right hand.The cost of goods swells up. The prices naturally go up. What his master gives him, the market takes. Rising prices encourage hoarding, profiteering, black –marketing and corruption. They discourage export. They cause devaluation of currency. Lastly, they seriously disrupt equitable distribution of wealth. The problem is very dangerous. It needs measures – short and long term, to be adopted. These measures include as appeal mixed up with threat to the sellers, raids on go downs and other hoards of grain, the seizing of black, the cut of Rs 400 crores in central expenditure, the ncrease in bank rates to 5 %, the opining of fair price shops, the rationing of provisions, the imports of food-grains from some foreign counties, the curbing of unproductive expenditure by the Government, the readjustment in the scale of pay and the emphasis on small plants. The short term measure will help the government to hold the price-line. The long term measures will help the government to withdraw the huge amount of money pumped into circulation during the last year. Corruption has also given rise to rising prices. Analyze the news In dia has been having this economic cycle for centuries.But the issue of price of goods has been rising in India had been considered just a while ago. In the past, this economic cycle started with the problem of its population. The inequality distribution of wealth makes the poor suffer from starving as they do not have money to buy food or clothes. On the other hand, the rich just kept taking advantage of whomever underneath them. Nowadays, India has been intervened by other countries that want to help to improve the quality of life of the poor in India. Due to the better quality living of the people, they seem to have more purchasing power than before.The growing population in India, is also the result of improving quality of life, is creating a shortage of consumption goods. Because the demand increase rapidly more than the supply of goods. The increasing of population also creates more corruptions between the government and the investors, because rising price guides them the ways of making more benefits. These all situations have just creating further problems continuously from the past. It seems like these problem would never end because if they cannot fix one spot on the cycle, the other spot would never be solved.

Outsiders Compare and Contrast

The Outsiders book and movie were completely different, but they still had some similarities. Like how they both talk about the lives of the characters, for example the movie doesn’t talk about Johnny’s abusive parents or any of the socs. In the book they talk about bobs and cheery valances life. There are a lot of appearance-related differences. For instance, Dally's supposed to have this lynx-like, almost elfin look with ungreased hair so blonde it's nearly white. Soda's hair is supposed to be dark gold.Pony's hair is supposed to be like Soda's hair but slightly redder. Steve's hair is supposed to be slicked back in very complicated black swirls. Two-Bit's supposed to be tall with rusty hair and exaggerated sideburns. The movie cut out all of the Sandy drama I thought the movie made Two-Bit more serious. He cracked some jokes, but the book made him out to be fiercely playful and whatnot, almost always being wise. The movie placed a bit of emphasis — not much, b ut still — on Dally's necklace, which was nonexistent in the book. In the movie, he wore a St.Christopher medallion. The movie made Soda seem considerably less happy than the book made him out to be — that is, the book made it clear he was naturally a happy person who got â€Å"drunk off life,† but in the movie, he was awfully happy a lot of the time so the audience didn't know this character trait. The movie skims over Pony's illness after the rumble, during which time Randy visits their home. The regular movie edition skips the entire first chapter pretty solidly, but the extended opening does tell you about the first chapter.The movie makes no mention of Soda's horse, Mickey Mouse. It also ignores Soda's past dabbling in rodeo bronco-riding. In the movie, the Socs are from the south side of town and the greasers are from the north. In the book, the Socs are from the west and the greasers from the east. In the movie, when Pony comes home from the lot at two in the morning, Darry shoves him hard and he falls. In the book Darry just slaps him across the face.The movie, understandably, drops some of the banter between Two-Bit and Marcia at the movies. As far as I remember the movie didn't include Dally messing around. Little scenes like Dally terrorizing those kids weren't in the book. The movie showed Dally alone at the store when he held it up, whereas the book didn't describe that. The movie showed Pony's dreams. The movie never mentions that girl who looks good in yellow, the one who called Pony a hood when he whipped out his blade during class to cut a worm.

A Commentary on ‘Idols’ by Tim Gautreaux Essay

‘Idols’ is centered upon the protagonist’s amoral attitude towards life, which in turn causes him to experience loneliness as well as being unable to maintain the dream of living in his great-grandfather’s mansion. Gautreaux chooses Julian, the protagonist, to be an arrogant and envious character to demonstrate the sorrowful lifestyle as a result of unreasonably wanting too much and the act of being spiteful to others who are good-willed. His arrogance proves he is living in a fantasy because he only feels superior as a result of his â€Å"good fortune† but he is not appreciative of this fortune because he believes he will be with it forever – he lacks a sense of reality. Also, Julian’s self-superiority makes him inferior to others because he holds only a minimal amount of consideration and respect in himself. This is how Gautreaux explores the theme of worthiness in his story as he makes us question who is to decide somebody’s w orth. Gautreaux portrays Julian’s character to be a man of great arrogance. An exaggerated sense of self-importance is suggested as the protagonist â€Å"considered himself at least wealthy in knowledge, more so than the shopkeepers and record clerks he dealt with†. This notion proves to be far-fetched considering that Julian is merely a typewriter repairman of who has low competence in any other fields of work, including minor house renovations. He seems almost in denial about his true self and does not want to admit into consciousness that he is comparable to any ordinary man. In addition, Julian is depicted to be an envious person. Gautreaux communicates how his character normally â€Å"disparaged people who owned large houses† yet stored the memory of his ancestor’s mansion deep in his heart. Perhaps Julian held feelings of jealously for individuals who had a great deal of money because â€Å"the only extra money he’d ever had was a hundred dollar wi n on a scratch-off ticket†. Julian’s entire plan to restore the mansion â€Å"the way it was† is a flaw. He wants to â€Å"hire cheap help† which leads him to having a cheaply built house – one gets what one pays for. As a result, his house is unable to withstand bad weather as the toilet â€Å"had shattered and fallen away from the floor† and the light fixture â€Å"popped off in a shower of blue sparks†. This foreshadows Julian’s ignorance and fantasy as the house would not be able to look as glamorous and high-classed as it may have done in the past considering his lack of budget. Julian looks for a â€Å"broken-down old carpenter desperate for work†. When he finds Obie, it is apparent that the broken-down old man is actually Julian himself. He feels like he would be â€Å"granting a favor† to the carpenter but in actual fact Obie was better off not working for Julian hence when he departs without a word, Julian is the one calling and â€Å"begging† to speak to Obie. Obie is portrayed as a realist from these actions as he knows when it is necessary to move on, however Julian is overly concerned with making an image of himself to even realize that he is living in his imagination. Obie seems to be a powerfully built man who can endure physical pain very well considering all the tattoo work â€Å"from his shoulders down to his waistband†. He does not cause any trouble in the mansion and shows respect towards his employer even when treated poorly. For instance, when Obie asks Julian’s opinion on the railing just after Julian told him that he would only be willing to send him to his doctor’s appointment â€Å"if [Obie paid] for the gas†. He is depicted to be a thoughtful person and merciful towards his wife when she decides to â€Å"run him off†. His rather constant analysis of why the marriage went wrong and his questions to Julian if he has â€Å"ever been married† suggests that he is constantly thinking about her which shows a very soft side of a seemingly tough man. This is further emphasized when he uses â€Å"a soft and rhythmic voice† while he recites a section of the bible on the phone. He also shows respect to his wife as he does act superior to her in their relationship but rather allows her to â€Å"beat [him] with a broom†. This proves a sense of empathy within his personality as he allows her to express her feelings in the way she wishes and does not hold it against her. Overall, Obie is depicted to be a strong built but softhearted man who tries to be realistic about his decisions as he is living for the future. Similarly, Chance Poxley is a realistic man however he lives more for the moment as sees things come as they are. He is very direct and does not allow for Julian to be condescending to him. He replies, â€Å"unless I missed my guess, you can’t afford [Obie] anymore† to Julian when he is asked where the carpenter has gone to. This demonstrates he is not afraid to speak his mind to Julian. When Poxley first visits the mansion he observes the place and asks what Julian does for a living. With the answer, Poxley replies â€Å"for your sake, I hope typin’ comes back in style†, which suggests that Poxley is a man with a sense of humor but is also sensible in the idea of what can be achieved. Julian, out of the three, is a man living in imagination. He completely ignores sensibility and lets his desires take over him. He does not pay attention to others around him, even when they are trying to warn him of his own downfall. Julian’s character is similar to that of protagonists in traditional Greek theatre: a flaw in the character that leads to his downfall. At the beginning of the story, Julian confuses Chance Poxley’s sense of humor for brainlessness and â€Å"turned to walk out† because he had little patience with uneducated people. This proves that Julian is too concerned with himself to try to associate himself with or understand others. Julian’s self-superiority is simply illustrated from this, which almost makes him seem like a laughingstock as he is living in a complete dream world. Also, when Julian attempts to fix the mansion but later watches it fail, it indicates that his ignorance leads him to descent into some sort of psychosis – he seems to have a distorted perception of reality as he strives to convince himself and Obie that he’ll never leave the house â€Å"in a million years† even after a house-shaking crash. The character’s determination to make a statement in life through ownership of the â€Å"the only grand thing in his family’s history† is reinforced as he yells into the receiver in response to the idea that it â€Å"might be time to sell out†. This reaction highlights his desperation to maintain his ancestor’s dilapidated mansion. Julian is also depicted to be a man in great denial. This is conveyed through the rejection of his fate possibly being to lose the house and that maybe he truly belongs in the â€Å"sooty apartment next to an iron foundry†. Although Julian recognizes his â€Å"good fortune†, he barely shows any appreciation for it but is more obsessed with having it repaired, perhaps to make him feel godlier. He is an imprudent boss to Obie throughout the entire time of which they knew each other, charging him for the car’s petrol and phone calls to his wife even when he is in true despair. Despite the unjust treatment, Obie stays on the phone with Julian in effort to make Julian come to his senses and realize that he can not live in the past any longer. Julian’s occupation as a typewriter repairman echoes his desire to live in the past as it is apparent that he can not accept that times change. Also, the fact that he can bear to lose his wife to an impoverish job but is so desperate to keep the mansion proves his moral decline and his association to materialistic needs rather than true values. Gautreaux incorporates Julian’s heartless actions to illustrate his selfishness and greedy nature in order to emphasize his demise. There is a fundamental theme between reality and fantasy that is depicted through what each main character aspires to: Obie aspires to reunite with his wife whereas Julian aspires to maintain his position as the mansion’s homeowner. This signifies that Julian is confined in a materialistic world to make meaning of his life however Obie is simply content with finding spiritual meaning – religion and love. Obie is a realist as he recognizes his obligation to proceed with life, he removes the tattoos to express his change in identity, but Julian is still lingering in the past with his ‘typewriters’ unable to accept the nature of the real world. In addition, he considers altering his surname from Smith to Godhigh, which illustrates the character’s reverie because he is not thinking about what is real but only what he wishes for. He is not able to accept that time marches on therefore, may not ever be able to develop into a more complete person. Julian tries to complete himself through ownership of the mansion but does not realize that what he really needs to do is accept what’s in front of him. Another theme present in the story is mercy. Julian is an imperious character throughout the story and is condescending to his employee, Obie, thinking he has every right because he has more money. In return, his dream house is burnt to ashes. Although he does not believe in a god, perhaps this outcome was a sign to indicate that Julian has not been forgiven and therefore has not received mercy. However, Obie’s tolerance and patience to Julian’s imprudent treatment could be associated somehow to why he was forgiven by his wife and granted a new identity in life. Gautreaux titles his short story ‘Idols’ to express the admiration within the two main characters. The word idol denotes an image or representation of a god whom one reveres: both Julian and Obie revere something. Obie is covered in ‘fine-line tattoo work’ from his shoulders down to his waistband and his wife refers to these tattoos as idols. Perhaps she believes that the tattoos are of more importance to her husband than she is herself – that he worships them more. This is suggested as she tests his love for her by asking him to get rid of ‘all [his] idols’. In another sense, Obie’s tattoos could be his idols for he decided to engrave them into his body, thinking they would be with him forever (similar to constantly feeling the presence of a higher power with you). The pain he endures to get inked suggests a level of great devotion. However, Obie’s devotion to his wife is undeniably greater than that of his idols because he removes them as she wishes. He states that when one gets ‘older and older’, you need ‘less and less’ which indicates his contentment for his marriage and thinks it is all he needs. Whilst Obie makes this remark, he is looking ‘out the door toward the big house’. The big house, on the other hand, is Julian’s object of worship. Looking out the door symbolizes looking past the surface to find a deeper meaning in something. ‘Deep in his heart’ Julian had stored the memory of the old mansion which proves that the house is what he greatly admires and is to an extent his representation of a god. It is ‘the only grand thing’ and together with its Doric pillars, Julian somehow feels like a god living in it. Contradictory to Obie, Julian associates a god like figure – an idol – to his mansion, a materialistic want, which demonstrates the difference between values each character possesses. Obie seems to have found a new idol other than his tattoo whereas Julian, an old man who has experienced all of life, is still caught up in materialism and considers material possessions more important than spiritual values. This is further emphasized as Obie removes his idols with his own free will in order to â€Å"move on down the road† but Julian refuses to give up the mansion so looses it unwillingly from a fire which suggests both of their fate.

Chernoble disaster Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Chernoble disaster - Research Paper Example The reason for the event is that the coolant pumps which are stopped to test the backup system have caused the core to reach the temperatures which can meltdown the core. In this way the backup generators failed and thus caused the accident. Cooling systems of the plant failed and it became impossible for the workers to stop the reactors or slow it down (Green Facts, 2006). There are many environmental effects that are the results of the incident of the Chernobyl. The radio active ash from the incident place spread widely in the surrounding of the Chernobyl. The ash from the incident place has three types, one is in the form of clouds or very thin ash which has a comparatively less weight and other is a bit thick ash that contains a large amount of radioactive materials. The thin ash is carried by air and can travel a large distance but it has a little impact on humans and environment. The thick ash can remain for many hundred years. The ash can cause cancer and if a person is too mu ch close to the radiation material, the ash can damages his cells, causing a typical type of cancer or a mutation World Nuclear Association. March, 2011). The persons have got cancers that are far from the place. A genetic mutation is fount in the plants and animals of the area and many people are also affected by the radiation. Extraordinary organ growth is now a common day thing in the region.

Discussion Questions 2 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Discussion Questions 2 - Coursework Example Achieving of these targets and thus successful strategy creation can be done through utilizing a series of â€Å"hows† that enables the company to plan its business growth, to meet customers’ needs and to prepare to the changing market conditions. The process of strategy implementation includes managing of operations aimed to achieve organizational goals and objectives. This part of converting strategic views into the concrete actions requires managers to direct organizational actions, be able to motivate people in order to meet the performance targets. A strategy is a distinctive way that allows the company to understand where it wants to be from the current situation, how to manage future direction and how to get there. It is also about how the company would be set apart from the rivals, respond to the changing market conditions, manage business, improve the performance gaps in order to achieve its competitive edge. These are the main conditions and reasons for the businesses to develop a strategy and why it is so important. Once a strategy is developed, an organization in ready to make decisions and involve stakeholders for future performance. As business model represents an economic spectre of making money, a viable business model allows an organization to have a material profit from its products and services but it also gives consumers a benefit from using them. Under such conditions, each part of the business, its owners and stakeholders, are satisfied with the outcome, which is profit for the company and good service or product for the