Discrimination and Racial Profiling Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Discrimination and Racial Profiling - Coursework Example The categorization of people based on their race has resulted in numerous problems starting in the 17th century all the way to the 21st century. It promoted slave trade, especially for Africans. This explains why the African-Americans are the most segregated group in the U.S (Klein, 2012). After being arrested, a black person is 33% more likely to be incarcerated as compared to the whites. An African-American is 30% more likely to drop out of school than the whites and 21% than the Hispanics or Latinos. In the same way, the police are likely to pull over and frisk either blacks or Latinos than whites. In the city of New York, 80% of the police stops made were for African-Americans, 60% for Hispanics, and 12% for whites. In 2013, the U.S Sentencing Commission reported that blacks received 11% longer than whites for similar crimes than whites. In the same way, the black drug offenders were 20% more likely than whites to receive mandatory minimum sentences (Alexander, 2013). To that eff ect, the blacks remain the most discriminated ethnic group. As the most segregated minority groups, the blacks have been forced to give up their culture so as to participate in the mainstream American life. Recent studies have indicated that 75% of the black ethnic minority experience unemployment. Furthermore, their health and education facilities are poorly equipped than the white’s who are considered the majority community and superior (Waters,

Use of scapegoating in Harry Potter Research Paper

Use of scapegoating in Harry Potter - Research Paper Example When someone talks about a character being human and fallible, one is talking about the type of character that the audience is going to be most likely to relate to, rather than a hero who is perfect and doesn’t make any mistakes they can learn from. And being used by others as a scapegoat is often a part of life, and growing up. This essay looks at how two characters from the Harry Potter series, Harry himself and the female foil Hermione, work as examples of this type of scapegoating, which makes the characters have more relation to the audience because they are not perfect, or because they have flaws that make people blame them, and turn them into martyrs. â€Å"The archetype of the scapegoat has, like all the others, has  different aspects. One can be a martyr in giving oneself to a cause, or one can be a martyr in that one forever feels one is being abused or used by others. There may be a sense of being asked too much by those around you or by the events of life† (Archetype, 2010). The two books that this report will concentrate on are Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, both of which contain the recurring characters, Harry and Hermione, who are both studying at Hogworts. It is the basic assumption of this essay that these characters demon strate the above assertions regarding scapegoating, but that in such, it is not totally negative. There are positive lessons that can be learned from their actions, and their tendency to be used and made martyrs by others (and in Harry’s case, by himself). The characters learn life lessons in their process of scapegoating, which mainly takes place externally to them, in the form of Hogwarts politics and factionalism. hero of the books and the series, he still has problems of being a scapegoat for various factions at Hogwarts, and these are problems that children

Quality Television And A Examination Of The Simpsons Media Essay

Quality Television And A Examination Of The Simpsons Media Essay There is a common assumption relating to quality television, which has been known for its common approach and vague forms of interpretation. Quality television, from the 1950s, was generally associated with public television networks, which are government-controlled and funded. With the development of cable network in the 1980s and 1990s, American cable networks, such as HBO have made a variety of television shows that are mostly refer to as quality television, such as, The Wire, Oz, Sex and The City and The Sopranos, etc. It describes a style of television programme that is of a better quality, because of its subject matter, style, or content and: may be perceived as being good for its viewers morally or educationally edifying but it may still be experienced as worthy, dull, conventional or pretentious. (McCabe, Akass, p.21) Quite a number of television programs are labelled as being of a higher quality, and one has to take into account a number of individual considerations and educated guess. Kristin Thompsons alleges that quality television programs include: a quality pedigree, a large ensemble cast, a series memory, creation of a new genre through recombination of older ones, self-consciousness, and pronounced tendencies toward the controversial and the realistic. (Cited in Wilcox, Lavery). An American non-profit organisation, The Viewers for Quality Television (VQT) also offers its own classification in regard to what quality television is: A quality series enlightens, enriches, challenges, involves, and confronts. It dares to take risks, its honest and illuminating, and it appeals to the intellect and touches the emotions. It requires concentration and attention, and it provokes thought. Characterization is explored. And usually a quality comedy will touch the funny bone and the heart. (McCabe, Akass. p.41) A writer puts it this way that: quality is not what is produced, but what it produces. The Simpsons, an American animated series was created by Matt Groening and produced by Gracie Films for Twentieth Century Fox and the FOX Broadcasting Network. The show was first aired in December of 1989, becoming the first animated series on prime-time television since the 1960s. The Simpsons was initially created as a series of animated shorts, and then emerging as part of The Tracey Ullman Show around April 1987, and after a three-season run the show was developed into a half-hour prime time show, and premiered as a series on the 17th of December 1989 on the FOX TV Sunday program, gaining the 08:00 p.m. time slot. The series became an early success for FOX TV, and as a result becoming FOX TVs first series to climb to the Top 30 ratings in a season of 1989-1990. From the time when it first appeared in December 1989, the show has broadcast a total of 454 episodes. The Simpsons twenty-first season began airing on FOX TV in September 2009, which confirmed The Simpsons as the longest-running American prime-time television series, displacing Gunsmoke for that qualification. A feature length film, The Simpsons Movie, was released in cinemas worldwide on 26th July and 27th July, 2007, and earned around 527dollars. The Simpsons at the outset challenged typical television programming and was the specific most significant program in ascertaining FOX TV as a valid broadcast television network. The Simpsons has won numerous awards since its first appearance as a series, including 26 Annie Awards, a Peabody Award and 25 Primetime Emmy Awards. The series was named by Time magazine issue of 31st December, 1999 as the best television series of the 20th centurys, and on 14th January, 2000 the Simpson family was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Simpsons has, furthermore, influenced various adult-oriented animated dramas. The series has turned out to be the first successful animated program in prime time since Wait Till Your Father Gets Home in the 1970s. In the 1980s, animated shows were regarded as suitable just for children. Furthermore, creating animated show was considered too costly to attain the kind of quality acceptable for prime-time television but The Simpsons completely changed this perception. Taking advantage of the Korean animation studios for filming, editing and colouring made the series cheaper. This brought about lower production costs and the success of The Simpsons motivated television networks to examine the prospects of its success, which led to taking chances on various animated series. This development led to a 1990s explosion in new animated prime-time shows, such as Beavies and Butthead, Family Guy, King of the Hill, South Park, The Critic and Futurama. The Simpsons helped in creating an audience for prime-time animation that had been nonexistent for several years. Many diff erent items have been developed over the years based upon this long running series. Video games of various types, collection of wide-ranging consoles, and a game Arcade have also been developed to compliment the series. The Simpsons centres on a nuclear family which lives in a make-believe town of Springfield. The animated series has cut across lines as it satires the diverse American culture while also influencing a broad range of social issues such as religion, sexuality, politics, advertisements, print media, entertainment industry and even technological advances. While they do not share certain qualities with past television families such as the Bundys, the Cosbys etc, the examination of their personalities somewhat make a distinction. Something familiar with the series is the common subject matter in Springfield, yet time progresses alongside as well. In contrast to real life shows, there appears to be lack of difficulty to keep them at that age yet there is more of modernised technology progressing along with the times. The use of satire and humour that characterised The Simpsons operates on many levels and suggests various interests depending on the age or gender of the audience. Men could re late to Homer Simpson and his continuous daily battles with insufficient money and the job he dislikes, while females could identify with Marge and her efforts in trying to keep the family unit together and working correctly. Some children would love to imitate Bart Simpsons naughty behaviour and appreciate Lisas academic talent, and also the way they interact with one another as a kind of love-hate combination. .Homer J Simpson, the head of the family, is a lovable semi- intelligent father with a number of personal hygiene problems; though this description rather says the opposite to the true genius of the man. Beneath this overweight figure lies the heartbeat of a man who always endeavours to help his family, friends, and his boss to a certain level of success, and ultimately ends up with the adoration and love of his children and wife. A very devoted but awkward character, he works as safety inspector at the comically but risky nuclear power plant. This, basically to him is an unimportant job, but one that he neither likes nor dislike, but is resigned to, or perhaps even contented with. Homer Simpsons wife, Merge, proves to be an enduring and devoted woman, who runs the family home, caring for her children and husband like classical American housewife and mother, representing a form of decency and respectability. This does not mean that Merge has never worked outside of the home environment; a short period as a police officer gave her some experience of the gloomy side of the shortcomings of Springfield, and teaching at Barts and Lisas school, Springfield elementary, almost certainly did the same. She serves as a church warden and a franchise holder but always return to her role as wife and mother, which is a welcome relief for the clan as they constantly need her sound judgment and support to keep them out of trouble. In contrast to other family sitcoms, Merge is characterised as more intelligent than her husband, but in accordance with other forbearing programs, she never maintains herself to be even though she is most times right. Merge Simpsons decent uneasiness is a frequent periodic subject matter, and determining the behaviours of the family members and towns people through ethical issues is a frequent incident. The Son, Bartholomew J Simpson is a ten year old troublemaker. Emerging as a type of anti-cultural symbol that he was, he is at school an underachiever much to the annoyance of his teachers and the schools principal. He never fails to irritate everyone; his parents, sister and teachers with dirty pranks ranging from flushing a cherry bomb down the schools toilet to painting the lines in the teachers parking bay nearer together so the teachers would not be able to get out of their cars. Bart Simpsons refused to see life the way adults dictate he should, consequently exposing his rebellion and audacity to typical wisdom. He is often ignored, as people see him as a naughty child, and a failure, who is not hindered but is somehow proud of it. He knew that those who assume controls do not always know all the answers. This very often enables him to point out those things others do not see, consequently becoming a means of expressing and ridiculing peoples blindness towards unfairness, prej udice, discrimination and inconsistency in the world. Bart was perhaps unquestionably the favourite when the show began, but Homer is the main leading icon of the show. Lisa Simpson is a totally different character from Bart. She is the brainpower of the family. Although this is noticeable, her remarkable and exciting personality goes unrewarded. She is, for all practical proposes, a perfect child who frequently reveals thoughtfulness that disagrees with her age. Added to her cleverness, she is a kind, gifted and charming personality, who due to escaping peoples great expectation of her, is able to point out shortcomings in the Springfields society; something the adults would not have been able or failed to do. One would have loved to see grownups discover inequalities and injustices in communities, instead of an eight year old girl. This makes the social interpretation of The Simpsons more significant, as this uses the sincerity and openness of Lisa Simpson to point out adults refusal and failure to confront deceit and corruption in the society. Despite the fact that Bart and Lisa are two completely different characters, by acting as a kind of coll ective interpreters, they are well-placed within the usual practice of using children in series like this to prompt those audiences who despises the political structure and the general publics established interpretation. The speaking roles of these the two children is an indication that they know far more about true life, popular culture and everyday life issues than their parents. Maggie Simpson, the final member of the family, is the youngest child who has advanced unsteadily throughout the eight year run of the series. Being very conscious of her environment, she can be seen emulating the course of action surrounding her. As a non talking toddler, she never get into much trouble and She has carried out quite a number of adventures that suggest she is a very smart toddler; once running away from the Springfield day-care centre, using her baby blocks to spell out E MC, driving her fathers car, and writing her name on a board. She also shows some astonishing ability; shooting a dart at a picture of Homer in imitating Itchy and Scratchy and hitting him on the head with a mallet. Notwithstanding her age, she proves to be an amazing sharp shooter, as depicted in Who Shot Mr. Burns?, where she shots Mr. Burns with a handgun that falls into her hands by mistake, and in Papas Got a Brand New Badge, she was able to shoot a group of hoodlums in quick flow with a rifle that it seems has been hidden in her room. Maggie is usually upset and annoyed by Homers attempts to bond with her, but have on quite a numbers of time step in to save him instead: once from sinking, once from being shot by hoodlums, once from being kidnapped by a tow truck driver. The writer of Television Second Golden Age: From Hill Street Blues to ER, Robert J Thompson, presents some essentials of what quality television program represent, pointing out several reasons to suggest all that quality television stands for. In examining some criterion of what quality television in regards to The Simpsons, the first condition of a quality television program, according to Thompson, is that it is not a regular TV, and as such must break the traditional rules of television and be like nothing ever appearing before it. This became apparent in The Simpsons use of humour in its presentation as it does not make use of recorded laugh track to prompt the viewers to hilarity when it is being humorous; thereby engaging and inviting viewers to individually choose the lines and actions they think are amusing, based on their own individual awareness of popular culture and experiences. This is in sharp contrast to most hilarious shows on television, where the use of laugh track t o prompt viewers to laugh is most common. The series also succeeded in encouraging its viewers active consumption. Nothing is ever closely guarded with The Simpsons, as it ridicules talk shows, meaningless advertisements, and biased news stories appearing on their own television; and also revealing the insincerity of the educational system, judicial systems, religious establishment, the medical profession and the political institutions. The series ability to entertain and at the same time revealing several things the audience could not have observed in general, leaves us to claim a status of quality to it. Through its clever use of pastiche, this program has called attention to the flaws and hypocrisies of such sacred institutions as government, organised religion, and the health care systems. (John, p.63) Herein lies the beauty of The Simpsons; its not afraid to cause upsets if the story demands it. The Simpsons covers scores of sensitive social issues including the corruptions in the legal and political systems, the powerful elites in the society, moral decay in the society, violence, the crumbling educational system, media prejudice and the problems of the elderly. Quite a number of shows may have touched on these themes but none have accommodated, disguised and covered them with sense of humour as The Simpsons. Another decisive factor of quality TV is that it tends to attract an exclusive audience. Programs that were once proven to be unpopular and rejected with the elites are now accepted by urban, high-class, well-educated and young viewers. In its first two months that the series premiered in 1990, it climbed to top 15 into Nielsens ratings, which is a remarkable achievement, when one take into account that the FOX network could just about reach only 80 percent of household at that time. The Simpsons not only ranked among the top 10 among the young, it also, in addition drew a load of grown-ups. One of several reasons why the series scores so high with the young audience by Newsweeks Harry Walters is that: it shamelessly panders to a kids eye view of the world: parents dispenses dopey advice, school is a drag and happiness can be attained by subverting the system.(Walters, The shows appeals to grown-ups is as a result of watching and developing a soft spot for series like The Flintstones, or The Jetsons, which were the last cartoon families to make it on prime-time television. These programs were full of mature satire which only adults could fully understand. The show appeals to the kids who like cartoons, to intellectuals who like satire and to thugs who like troublemaking here (Hughes). The series meets the requirements for quality television as it is successful in acquiring remarkable demographics. In explaining the shows appeal to diverse audience, Groening asserted that they were not writing for kids, but for adults, describing the kind of family entertainment The Simpson offered: I like to think its something thats going to be family entertainment to new sense. Its going to offer something for every member of the family, depending on whatever level they are going to meet the show. Adults are going to enjoy the witty dialogue and the funny story turns and kids are going to enjoy some of the wild sight gags (quoted in Clark) Even if they were at the initial stages aiming for only the adult audience, the show ends up picking up the children along the way without much effort. Quality television is also defined to challenge genre categorisation by creating a new one, and The Simpsons is to an extent, a combination of animated cartoon and domestic sitcom, though the series is often labelled first and primarily as a sitcom. This can be seen through the shows use of drama, action, mystery, adventure, musicals, romance, regularly all within the same half-hour, which make the program to challenge genre classification in its combination of varieties of productions. An advertising executive was quoted as saying that: its absolutely all that it is a sitcom comedy that happens to be animated, and in spite of this, the program takes various styles of television, combines them together to produce one of the most innovative and entertaining series on air. There is an accepted assumption that: The Simpson enjoys the double distinction of being perhaps the most important animated program ever to air on American television as well as the one of the most important sitcoms. These two aspects of the program reinforced each other: The success of The Simpsons as a sitcom as help it to gain new audiences that would not previously have been interested in an animated program, while the shows animated status has helped it to break new ground and go where no sitcom had gone before. (Booker, P.48) The program denotes the domestic family sitcom tradition and is often associated with the other side of the Cosbys, the Andersons, the Nelsons, the Bradys and all other sitcoms family from the dawn of television, suggesting the series to be another typical family sitcom, even as animation, with the usual individual problems to encounter and resolve each week. Matt Goering was quoted, saying: at an early age I was affected by Leave it to Beaver and Ozzie Harriet. The Simpsons is my skewed reaction to those shows. In stating the significance of these earlier sources, he is suggesting the series not using the genre s standard, as all the basics of its live action of the series is geared towards the family models. Unlike traditional sitcoms with a limited number of casts and settings, the series animated structure gives the writer, producer and animators the choice to open the style from within instead of applying the typical usual settings. Jason Mittell suggests that: assumptions about animation and family sitcoms situate the program within hierarchies and power relations impacting the shows reception and the ensuing controversies that emerged. But it would be a mistake to regard this generic framework as fixed or static. Just as the show is positioned within clusters of already extant generic discourses, The Simpsons and its long-term cultural life have worked to reconstitute and change the very generic notions that were partially formative of its initial cultural understanding. The success of the show with adults, partially overcoming the stigmas of animations childish audience have somewhat eroded these notions (Mittel, p.194) The Simpsons position within the genre of television and animation is also a point to consider, as there is a kind of difference between animation and cartoon is significant. While animation indicates a technical practice and visual method, cartoon involves a children audience and is mainly associated with children, is full of comical content with uncertain cultural meaning, and is often associated to the 1960s Saturday morning cartoons programs. In response to the success of The Simpson, Charles Solomon suggests that: We tend to forget that what we thinks as the great cartoons the Warner Bros cartoons of the 1940s and 50s, the Disney cartoons of the 30 were made for general audience and could appeal to the most sophisticated member of the audience as well as the least. During the 1960s and 1970s, animation became stereotyped as a childrens medium because of Saturday morning, which was a distortion. Theres always been a big audience for animation, and this is one of the first projects thats been sophisticated enough in its approach to once again appeal to adults as well as children. (Shahid, USA Today) The series has climbed to the rank that is usually reserved for live-action programs to challenge the long-established programs that put all live-actions over anything that is animated. The rise of the cartoon network as a twenty four hour broadcasting channel of animated programs, airing the dreadfully same animated shows that were once labelled as Saturday morning programming for children, suggests the vital role of networks practices in deciding a genres audience, which have allowed various animated series that has followed The Simpson to gained success. Another powerful influence of The Simpson is enhanced through its brilliant blend of comical, visual and vocal elements. Television allows us to take a critical look at the thought-provoking and tough situation of human experiences through the employment of spoken word, audio and dramatic visual element, and the blending of these essentials helps in creating a memorably practical rendering of familiar human situations. By animating The Simpsons, the writer made the effort of reaching a high positive measure of practicality, while at the same time yet entertaining, and as a result creating interesting and motivating stories for his audience. Despite the enormous of the series, The Simpsons is not without its own troubles as there have been several complaints against the program by significant number of viewers. Some of these complaints includes: an ad for The Simpsons showing a setting where a homosexual had encounter with an alien, army recruits with a sign saying: Welcome Suicidal Teenagers, Homer Simpsons equation of Christians with porn movie stars, Cain and Abel were depicted to be slaying each other with knives, etc. Although The Simpsons scores on important lessons such as human values, criticisms of society and the calls for reflection, all of which have enlarged its fan base over the years, but there are some agencies who suggest that this should not conceal the fact that the series is not suitable for children features violent scenes, some sexually evocative images and languages, instances or behaviours. They argued against some explicit contents contained in the series that are considered inappropriate for chi ldren including: the occurrences with which Bart puts off his pants to expose his behind, in defiance of authority. The endorsement of cigarettes in a children program as Patty and Selma, Marges sisters, are chain-smokers. Sideshow Bob, Selmas ex-husband, attempts to kill her; leaving the gas on in order to set the house on fire once she lights her cigarette. Patty, her sister, revealed herself as a lesbian in season 16. Tommy and Daly, the cartoon watched by Lisa and Bart, is thought to be extremely violent. Cleto and Brandine, the ill-bred couples living on the border of Springfield, have no less than 15 children, none of whom attends school, while it is also apparent that they, as well as being married to each other, are family relatives, suggesting incest. The Simpsons furthermore exhibits alcohol abuse and drunkenness, which could be seen as the depiction of alcohol consumption in childrens programs. In one episode, after getting drunk, Homer and Ned Flanders marry strippers in Las Vegas even though they are both already married; suggesting the idea of extramarital affairs and polygamy. In a Time Magazine Poll of 2005, 53 percent of people asked said they think there should be stricter controls on broadcast-channel shows depicting sex and violence. While 68 percent believe the entertainment industry has lost touch with viewers moral standards, 66 percent said there is too much violence TV, and 58 percent said too much cursing and50 percent said there is too much sexual content on TV. 49 percent says regulation should be extended to cover basic cable. According to a BBC poll of more than 1,000 people, 86 percent of the people think the government should regulate sexually explicit television and magazine images aimed at children. With the strongest support of 92 percent coming from 55- to 64-year-olds, an unexpected 78 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds believe tougher limits are needed to prevent adolescent sex. (Telegraph.co.uk, 9/7/04 stats) Generally, even the best television programs have a tendency to decline after a period of time, and there seems to be no case in point for what happened to the FOX networks long-running series. The show, was for the greater part of the 1990s, known to posses hilarious, satirical play and clever writing, with season three to eight featuring the best material ever produced, but the last ten seasons deteriorated into a distasteful, ordinary series that is totally different from the classic program it once was. Alberti commented that: almost from the beginning fans have anxiously and in some cases fatalistically charted evidence of the programs artistic decline, especially as new writer are introduced to the shows, fears that increased with Matt Groenings involvement with Futurama. (Alberti, p.30) With Groening throwing all his exclusive attention to Futuruma, old writers and producers leaving to take on other assignments, another FOX cartoon series, Family Guy, had an adverse effect on The Simpsons, as the writers adopted Peter Griffins outrageous personality that resulted in a brand-new, but much less adorable Homer Simpson. Another factor for its decline could be attributed to the extreme usage of celebrity guest voiceovers, which was never a strong selling point for the show. That these stars are playing themselves with too much disinterest and with less involvement of satire actually became awkward. Television comedy, before the arrival of the series, had past its best. A classic sitcom family is usually associated with the higher middle-class family, with well brought-up children and intellectual parents, like Growing Pains, The Cosby Show and Family Ties. The feature that has made The Simpsons so popular lies in its portrayal of the American family convincingly. Quality television, according to Thompson, inclined towards realism, and The Simpsons is perhaps one of the best examples television audiences have of a realistic family sitcom. Though animated, the portrayal is much more like that of real families; allowing the audience to experience the surprise of self-identification. People can identify with the wittiness that the creators acquire out of a normal family life; stressing and spreading interesting statements about the individual and the society at large.

An Ethics of Reading :: Edith Wharton Literature Feminism Essays

An Ethics of Reading At the age of nine, Edith Wharton fell ill with typhoid. The local doctor told her parents nothing could be done and that their daughter would soon die. Only the ministrations of another physician, who happened to be passing through town and was prevailed upon to examine the girl, saved her life. Her fever fell, and the young Wharton began to recover. During her convalescence, she read voraciously. One of the books she was given contained a â€Å"super-natural† tale — a story which turned out to be, in Wharton’s own phrase, â€Å"perilous reading† (Wharton, p.275). In the original manuscript of her autobiography, Edith Wharton describes how reading this uncanny story occasioned a relapse, which brought her, once again, â€Å"on the point of death†: This one [book] brought on a serious relapse, and again my life was in danger and when I came to myself, it was to enter a world haunted by formless horrors. I had been a naturally fearless child; now I lived in a state of chronic fear. Fear of what? I cannot say — and even at the time, I was never able to formulate my terror. It was like some dark undefinable menace forever dogging my steps, lurking, threatening; (pp.275‑6).[1] According to Wharton, an act of reading plunged her body back into fatal illness. The young Edith Wharton did recover from the relapse, but its uncanny effects continued to haunt her well into adulthood. In â€Å"Women and Madness: the Critical Phallacy† (1975), Shoshana Felman tells another uncanny story of reading. Analyzing the critical commentary that brackets Balzac’s Adieu in a Gallimard/Folio pocket edition, she demonstrates how two scholars, Pierre Gascan and Patrick Bertier, effectively rewrite Balzac’s story by focusing their analyses entirely on a section of historical backstory – despite the fact that this element comprises but one-third of Balzac’s narrative.[2] In addition, by adopting a criteria of alleged ‘realism’ and labeling Stà ©phanie’s madness as ‘super-natural’, they excise Balzac’s main character (a madwoman) and replace her with protagonists who are soldiers in the Grand Army. The madwoman inhabits, according to these critics, â€Å"a state of semi-unreality† linked to â€Å"the presence of the invisible† — which renders her inexplicable and outside the purview of discussion (qtd. in Felman, 1975, p.6). As a result, Felman argues, critical commentary meant to situate Balzac Adieu in a wider literary context ends up repeating Philippe’s ‘cure’: in erasing from the text the disconcerting and ex-centric features of a woman’s madness, the critic seeks to ‘normalize’ the text [†¦] making the text a reassuring, closed retreat.

Smiling These Days

Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and How to Influence People is the veritable how-to guide of relationships, full of tips regarding interpersonal relationship ranging from how to appease the saleslady who has been on her feet all day into letting you see just one more box of shoes, to becoming a leader of your select group without raising any ire or offense, even the suspicion that you’re vying for that administrative spot. The book teaches the reader about handling people, to making them like you, and to swaying people to your thinking.Handed to me some years ago by a well-meaning adult, I thumbed through the book rather dubiously, nonetheless eager to get from it what I can. Dale Carnegie’s self-help book changed my life, in that it realized more than its promise of winning me friends and influencing people – the book allowed me to see, quite clearly, that people nowadays are not so open to your smiles and your and your interpersonal maneuvering, no ma tter how sincere and well-meaning you may be.Subliminal messages of kindness and camaraderie don’t go too well with people these days, compared to the in-text testimonials of people from fifty years before. To paraphrase a popular saying, the road to good intentions is paved with practiced smiles and the inevitable ire you’ll raise with all those smiles. Do not offend, says the book, be sincere about this. For example, the book encourages the reader to, well, smile, and do it with your heart and the purest of your intentions shining through.Take that saleslady for example: at the end of both your days, you give her a smile, and she forgets herself and scowls at you, perhaps thinking that you are another demanding customer, before she puts up the trained facade of fake cheerfulness and asks you, â€Å"What can I do for you, ma’am? † You attempt to finagle the cooperation of a colleague by underscoring his achievements, and then glossing over your own. Most ambitious individuals think of your praise as their right, and nod their acknowledgement, and move on, uninfluenced. It seems that any act of kindness will be misconstrued as one with dubious intentions.It becomes more apparent than ever before how cynical, jaded and world-weary human beings have become, until you smile at their direction for no apparent reason, with no agenda in mind. You are immediately treated with speculation and doubt, that with one smile, people see a wealth of malevolent planning and less-than-decent intentions behind it. And you can’t blame your skeptical audience. Practice the tenets of the book all you want, but then, you still end up following dictates regarding how to treat people better, mostly because you want something from them – be it friendship, agreement, respect or obedience.Ironically, in our desire to reach out to people with no malice, we do so motivated by our needs and demands from them. Basically, How to Win Friends and Influ ence People is the benevolent person’s guide to taking over the world, in his own way. And maybe therein lies the basic flaw in my character, and in all the other people I know who say that this book has â€Å"failed† them too, that perhaps I am not well-meaning enough for this, not considerate, not kind enough. And maybe, I, too, am far too cynical to believe that this book could actually work.But then the book can teach you to transcend this, as it claims to be a guide to making friends, to ensuring harmonious relationships between strangers, colleagues, friends and family. It enumerates and elaborates techniques and devices, from that sincere smile, to appreciation and praise, to downplaying your own merits in order to encourage the productivity of others – it is a self-help book about proper interaction with your fellow man. And perhaps that is the book’s ultimate failure, allowing us to see how cynical and jaded this world has become: that we actuall y need a self-help book to teach us how to be decent human beings.

Leaders We Need Now

The Leaders We Need Now From the Erickson’s Research article we came to learn about the three different generations of managers who tend to lead the corporate world. The baby boomers a generation who born from 1946 to 1964 have been in charge for past few decades. Boomers grew up in a world of competition where winning was very important. The next generation was the Xers, born from 1961 to 1981. Xers were more likely to reject the traditional definitions of success and wanted to make their own way.The generation Y which came after the Xers, born from 1980 to early 2000 was also the children of baby boomers. Here we noticed that Boomers wanted to hold the position and power thinking that the Xers did not have the ability to run the business. Boomers didn’t want to retire from there work and they worked late in their life. In present competitive world we need leader who will possess the ability to build network and make strong communication throughout the business.Leader should have high experience, business-relevant knowledge, vision, decisiveness, and commanding ability. Leader must create an identity of the organization to its customers. This identity will tie its customer to the organization. Future leaders will face a complex, rapidly changing environment and problems of different types. The leader needs to compete with these challenges and seek for success from different viewpoints. The generation Xers has this type of qualities or factors. They are the potential in charge of the business world.Generation X employees will bring a new change to the leadership of corporations, because they are dissatisfied with corporate life badly. Xers are the underappreciated workforces. They are the sandwich generation between two larger cohorts: Baby Boomers and the Generation Y. And they think that they will loose management jobs because Boomers and Gen Y share a natural relationship. But if we give them the chance to lead when their time arrives, their sk ill, knowledge and authority roles will serve the modern corporate world effectively. Md. Shafquat Husain.