Self-improvement and its Effect on Ambivalent Love in Tony Kushner’s Angels in America - Literature Essay Samples

The American political climate of the 1980’s is wrought with capitalistic fervor, the end game being victory over the constant battle for self-improvement. This victory can manifest itself in myriad forms; in ever-symbolic heaps of steaming cash, yes, but also in an aura of power or in happiness, a pervasive comfort and contentment, the absence of fear’s tyranny. Tony Kushner’s esteemed play, Angel’s in America, weaves a tangle of characters all vying for their own homespun brand of self-improvement. Centre stage is Louis, brimming with ambivalent love, willing to sacrifice all to ascend the ladder of self-actualization; settling for a dimmer spotlight is Joe, the prototypical gay Mormon, slashing away at his old values for any chance at the blissful fallacy of self-acceptance; clawing at stardom is the smooth-talking tycoon Roy Cohn, brilliant in his own historical validity, calmly espousing murder and hate in the name of self-advancement, a spitting imag e of the age-old narcissistic politician. From paramour to pious to political pundit, the archetypal characters unite under the influence of self-renovation, bludgeoning the remnants of decades glorifying the omnipresent nuclear family and selfless relationships, each drunk off a new era of frothing egotism. The notion that â€Å"real love isn’t ambivalent† (Kushner 100) is toyed with throughout the text, and as unwavering love leaves little room for the vastness of self-interest, passage ten is permeated with the sweet stink of ambivalence. This passage implies various love-based relationships built on shaky foundations: Louis’ ambivalent love for Prior, contingent upon health; Joe’s ambivalent love for his faith, contingent upon carnal pleasure; even Reagan’s ambivalent love for his children, contingent upon their utility to his role as president. Through exploring the selfishness of pseudo-devotion in this passage, Kushner’s text is argui ng that responsibility for others has been washed away from contemporary life in favor of unabashed self-promotion, leaving in its wake fractured relationships and ambivalent love. Louis, shouldering the role of lover inAngels in America, harbors a relentless â€Å"positivist sense of constant historical progress towards happiness†, a seemingly innocuous trait that breeds his inability to â€Å"incorporate sickness into his sense of how things are supposed to go† (25). This passionate aversion to the unpleasant – really not such a unique affliction, yet Louis cowers behind this flimsy excuse as if it were a veritable psychological ailment – spurs Louis’ exodus from Prior, his dying boyfriend who desperately needs him. In this compassionless flight, Louis is abandoning his responsibility to his partner in favor of his own comfort, forsaking that which he loves most for a frantic attempt at a happier life, devoid of illness’ insidious whims. In the passage, Louis critiques this casting off of responsibility, first by expressing his worry about Reagan’s children, living purportedly loveless lives, and later by recog nizing that â€Å"we all know what that’s like†, alluding to the absence of connection and responsibility in modern life (74). He admits to his own ambivalent love and how its tentativeness has destroyed him; Louis is â€Å"falling through the cracks that separate what we owe to ourselves and†¦what we owe to love† (74). In his frenzied endeavor toward self-improvement, Louis has perpetuated the paradigm of neglected responsibility, thereby ravaging his relationship with Prior and sullying their love. Joe dancing between the role of faithful husband, dogmatic and devout, and that of closet homosexual, itching to escape the shackles of a sexless marriage – flaunts his overbearing religiosity throughout this passage in an attempt to salvage its illusion. He is affronted by Louis’ evocative claims of Ron Reagan, Jr.’s homosexuality, as well as his diatribe on Reagan’s children’s ostensibly sour home life. He pontificates on Louis’ penchant to indulge the media’s riotous claims as well as conjure up his own; â€Å"you shouldn’t just make these assumptions about people† he quips about the homosexuality allegation, and later chastises Louis’ unconditional faith in the liberal media, ironically blind to his own brand of unconditional faith (73). When Louis’ vernacular waxes derogatory – â€Å"well darling he never sucked my cock† – Joe’s sputtering indignation heightens as he pleads with his colleague to censor his speech: â€Å"look, if you’re going to get vulgar-† he manages before Louis cuts off his half-hearted spiritual detritus (74). All Joe’s objections are founded in religious doctrine; his implicit condemnation of homosexuality, his dogged defense of the conservative beacon Ronald Reagan, and his knee-jerk reaction to expletives; and yet his grievances feel half-baked. Gradually throughout Millennium Approaches, Joe forsakes the traditional Mormon values to which he has devoted his life, running from the lifestyle and religion to which he is wed and toward a grander life in Washington, where he is free to pursue happiness away from his Valium-addicted wife and to express whatever sexuality he desires. Yet in forsaking his responsibility to his mentally ill wife, to his faith, and to his conservative lifestyle, Joe’s love proves ambivalent, and the decay of his relationship with God leaks out throughout the text. His beaming faith seeps through each line of dialogue with Louis yet his conviction is weak; Joe’s craven ambivalence in favor of self-improvement is yet another example of contemporary thoughtlessness. Reagan, boasting the illustrious role of current American President, effervesces with power and influence, the incarnation of the virile American ideal. The hyperbole of self-promotion, Reagan has in a sense won the game of capitalism – he can socially climb no further, gain no more power, he is victory personified. Louis gives him the sardonic epithet â€Å"American Animus† and refers to him as â€Å"the Zeitgeist†, titles which denote Reagan’s position not only as a leader but as the very spirit of America, a man who transcends normalcy and defines an era (74). In order to maintain his pristine image of a quasi-god, Reagan must sacrifice a great deal, including his family life; rather than condemn this shedding of familial responsibility, contemporary American society praises it, conceding that self-improvement takes precedence over upkeep of relationships. This narcissistic perspective begets ill-formed, ambivalent relationships, however, as â€Å"itâ €™s not really a family, the Reagansthere aren’t any connections there, no love, they don’t ever speak to each other except through their agents† (74). Reagan’s faltering devotion to his family and readiness to ignore his responsibility for his children in order to funnel his time and resources into preening his political prowess infuses his relationships with toxicity, the by-product of propagating the notion that self-promotion trumps all. Contemporary American thought encourages the pursuit of self-ascension, discarding the notion that one has a responsibility for anyone but the self; this attitude spawns fragile relationships and an oxymoronic ambivalent devotion. Louis flees his alleged love, Prior, in search of an easier breed of happiness, Joe forsakes his religion for a stab in the dark at self-acceptance and heterogeneous thought, and Reagan ignores his children, choosing instead to channel his efforts into cultivating his prestigious position. Through various means of self-promotion, all three ignore their responsibility toward what they claim to love – though arguably this ambivalent love demonstrated is not real love at all – thus shattering essential relationships. Contemporary American doctrine, however, encourages this practise, espousing the credo that one retains responsibility for the self alone; in a political climate where capitalism asserts itself on a biblical scale, self-improvement i s the noblest cause.

The Lesson By Toni Cade Bambara - 1181 Words

In, The lesson by Toni Cade Bambara, Miss Moore, an African American women that lives in Harlem, takes a group of African American children who lives in her neighbourhood to a toy store called F.AO. Schwarz in Manhattan. Though Miss Moore teach the children many lessons, such as residential racial segregation, socio-economic inequality, and the children are apathetic of the severity of the effects of discrimination against African Americans as it is something that they do not notice due to their lack of experience, Miss Moore will further expose and make the children more aware of what African Americans are facing. Taking the children to F.A.O Schwarz teaches them a lesson regarding residential by racial segregation between the African Americans and Caucasians as African Americans lived in poorer neighbourhoods such as Harlem, which is where the children and Miss Moore live and Caucasians live in more wealthier places such as Manhattan where F.A.O Schwarz is located. The quote â€Å"the strong prejudice among the white people against having coloured people living on white residence streets, coloured children attending schools with white children, or entering into other semi- social relations with them, confines the opportunities for residence open to coloured people of all positions in life to relatively small and well-defined areas† (Thabit,39) shows the different prejudices the whites had against African Americans which confined them into living in areas different fromShow MoreRelatedThe Lesson By Toni Cade Bambara992 Words   |  4 PagesThe Lesson: Summary/Response In the story The Lesson, author Toni Cade Bambara shows us a view of life from a black girl who lives in a poverty-stricken community just outside of New York City. In the story, there is a teacher whom takes the responsibility of teaching Sylvia and her friend group important lessons not only for a better education but to better understand life in its entirety. I believe the story is used as a tool to teach others about the lack of education in our nation in the seventiesRead MoreThe Lesson By Toni Cade Bambara1552 Words   |  7 PagesThroughout the years knowledge and culture has been passed down within generations. Elders within the community often teach life lessons to the young adults growing up in the neighborhood. This idea still holds true today, especially in low-income communities. People from different socioeconomic backgrounds live different lifestyles they also have different opportunities made available to them. Because of this idea, people with a higher social stand ing have an advantage over those in lower classRead Morethe Lesson by Toni Cade Bambara1428 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"The Lesson† From The Mentor Whenever there is a civil rights movement going on, there are always 3 parties involved. One the Oppressor, second the Oppressed and lastly the Activist or the Mentor. The Activists usually always emerges from the Oppressed. That is when the Oppressed intellectuals feel that it’s time to standup to defend the identity of their people and make them strong enough to make a name of their own. This is what happened during the early 20th century within the African AmericanRead MoreThe Lesson By Toni Cade Bambara968 Words   |  4 PagesThere is a lesson in every situation no matter if you choose to accept it or not. A lesson can sometime guide you in the right path that is needed in your life or maybe it can just be for a certain situation. In the short story â€Å"The Lesson† by Toni Cade Bambara, she relates teaching a life changing lesson to the character Sylvia. Sylvia is a very strong willed young lady who is challenged with poverty in her neighborhood. The story begins with Miss Moore, an educated black woman who moves in theRead MoreThe Lesson By Toni Cade Bambara1429 Words   |  6 PagesUpon reading The Lesson, by Toni Cade Bambara, the reader cannot help but feel empathy towards the narrator Sylvia and her friends, as they are introduced to the realization of unfairness distribution of wealth in society, the diverse democracy. The lesson is taught by a lady named, Miss Moore, who moves into Sylvia’s neighborhood block. Miss Moore is a college educated women who shows the reality of the economic inequality to Sylvia and her friends by taking them on a field trip to a fancy toy storeRead MoreThe Lesson By Toni Cade Bambara850 Words   |  4 Pagesideas into the readers’ minds. Readers often begin reading a work with a biased opinion of the contents of the story. The superficial theme of a story is obvious, but the less obvious theme can have the most powerful message. In Toni Cade Bambara’s short story, â€Å"The Lesson,† the apparent t heme is poverty and wealth, but the true theme is the misapprehension of everything not being as it seems. The first physical description of Miss Moore gives the reader the impression that she is a woman of littleRead MoreThe Lesson by Toni Cade Bambara638 Words   |  3 Pagesthe hardest because the kids just want to play, goof around and don’t listen. Elementary teachers have hard time teaching young uneducated students just like Miss Moore with her uneducated children from the neighborhood, in the story â€Å"The Lesson† by Toni Cade Bambara. Miss Moore teaches the students how to take the first step toward a better education just like elementary teachers, her teaching method were to show how the upper class lived in comparison to the children but she could have though themRead MoreThe Lesson, By Toni Cade Bambara881 Words   |  4 Pagesthe story ‘The Lesson’, Sylvia and her friends’ receives a chance to take a look at the upper side of town and compare how the two communities differ from each other. The author uses social conflict to explain the r acial and social divide between the white and black community. In the story, the reader sees how social classes effect how adults and even children see the world. The author, Toni Cade Bambara, compares how blacks and whites live these times. In the story, â€Å"The Lesson†, a woman by theRead MoreThe Lesson By Toni Cade Bambara1346 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"The Lesson† by Toni Cade Bambara is not just about a sassy, defiant, ungrateful poor girl that is out of place in an overpriced expensive toy store. â€Å"The Lesson† is a short story about a young black girl who is struggling with her increasing awareness of class inequality. When Sylvia’s new neighbor, Miss. Moore, a smart college educated woman introduces the reality of social inequality to Sylvia and her group of friends, they become cynical. Sylvia has always known in the back of her mind that sheRead MoreThe Lesson by Toni Cade Bambara1830 Words   |  8 PagesThe Lesson by Toni Cade Bambara is a short story set in the inner part of New York City that gives the reader an opportunity to briefly see into the lives of children living devoid of wealth and education. It takes place in the early seventies, following the civil rights move ment and during a time when the imbalance of wealth in terms of race was immense. Bamabara, through the use of narrative point of tone, symbols, setting and characterization, brings out and develops what I believe to be the

Amish People, Many Cows, And Many Animals - 878 Words

Small Town USA Wakarusa, Indiana where there are many Amish people, many cows, and many cornfields. This town was previously known as Salem, Indiana. and was a stop for people traveling between Elkhart and Goshen to conduct business. Today, Wakarusa is a thriving farming economy and has two-grain mills. Do not forget the bread! Any big shopping centers or grocery stores are located around 45 minutes away. This town is a quaint, tight-knit community, cute, with a nostalgic feel. While walking down the sidewalks anyone can get the sense of a small town built with traditions. There are brick laid roads and black lamp posts lining the streets and shop that date back to the 1900’s. The town exists around a four-way stop light in the center of†¦show more content†¦The town’s beloved famous Dime store, truly one of a kind. The only reason tourists visit this town, for a little bite of sugar. The building connects with others and is not large. With tan carpets and old glass cases lin ed gold riming. The current owners Mac and Deb McNally are usually the ones behind the counter. This store will embrace anyone with an immense nostalgic feeling. There is candy dated as far back as 1907 lining the shelves. Bubble Gum Cigarettes, Candy Buttons, Chuckles, Nik-L-Nip’s, Mallo Cups, Necco’s, and much more. This store would make anyone never want to leave and return to reality. With a giant sign located in the back of the store that reads â€Å"JUMBO JELLY BEANS.† People are often curious to see how jumbo they are. Compared to a regular sized jellybean they are ten times the size! There are several flavors of the jumbo jellybeans. Ranging from the traditional fruit flavors, to ones that look rocks. They taste like sugary deliciousness. once you have had a jumbo jellybean it is hard to be satisfied with a regular sized one. People are entranced when they walk into this one of a kind candy store. It would take anyone back to their memories of their chi ldhood. It is much like being in a real life candy land. The Wakarusa Dime Store was an American dream. Mose Wolfberg, a German immigrant, traveled much of Elkhart County and beyond with a pack on his back. He went to variousShow MoreRelatedThe Witness By William Shakespeare1139 Words   |  5 Pagesinto the lives of the Amish people. Additionally, it allows us to see how the Amish people see the rest of the people from the city, the local town people, and the way they view the police. There are three separate cultures that are portrayed throughout this movie. In the opening scene, Rachel is at her husband’s funeral and the service is conducted in German. At a glance, you can tell that it is a very tight-knit community and that this person was well liked by the entire Amish town. The next sceneRead MoreAmish Cultural Research Paper2287 Words   |  10 PagesAmish Cultural Research Paper Amish Cultural Research Paper Imagine living in a society where the members socialize exclusively with each other and not with the outside world. The men of this society dress conservatively in dark colors sporting clean-shave until married when they switch to beards. The women, wearing only full skirts, wear their hair up in a bun and covered with a simple white cap or bonnet. The community, called an ordnung, decides how the community will be run from stateRead MoreHistory Of The Mennonite Religion Essay919 Words   |  4 Pages Mennonites The Mennonites are a very simple religion that started off after the Roman church. They believe that life is to be lived simple, but not as much as the Amish. Mennonites are a branch off of the amish. This paper will be going through the history of the Mennonite religion. Beginning with who founded the Mennonite faith and where it was started. Following with their actual beliefs and who they follow. Ending with the stance of the Mennonite religion on the environment. StartingRead More The History of the Amish Essay4311 Words   |  18 PagesThe History of the Amish The Amish, who are also called â€Å"The Plain People† or Old Order Amish, originated in Switzerland in approximately 1525. They originated from a movement called the Anabaptist movement. Jacom Amman was the leader. This happened during the reformation in the16th Century Europe. They believed in holding on to traditions and keeping themselves separated from the world. He was stricter about this than other Anabaptists of that time. The Anabaptists were against the union ofRead MoreAmish Religion and Culture2865 Words   |  12 Pages The focus of this research paper is to examine the religious beliefs of the Amish communities. From their humble beginnings of migration into the United States from Europe, to their present day living arrangements, they have been and will continue to be a prosperous community. By shunning modern conveniences and relying only on what nature has provided, society has referred to them as the â€Å"Plain People.† Being far from ordinary in their dress and way of life separates this community fromRead MoreVaccines : Defense Against Disease Or Illness?1657 Words   |  7 Pagesillnesses. In response to such outbreaks, people searched for ways to protect themselves. One protection method was vaccination. The creation of the first vaccine, the further development of common vaccinations, and the varied responses to vaccination have greatly impacted society. The creation of the first vaccine has affected many people. According to Shots Without Guns: The Story of Vaccination by Sarah R. Riedman, smallpox is a disease that afflicts countless people (11). In the article, â€Å"Healing PowerRead MoreHomestead Act2916 Words   |  12 Pagescontinued its upward spiral, moving from slightly over seventeen million in 1840 to over thirty-eight million in 1860. New canals, steamboats, turnpikes, and railroads knit the nation together into an integrated economic unit. Hundred of thousands of people crossed the Atlantic to take up residence in the dynamic nation, while other hundreds of thousands moved into the Western regions of the country. Legislative efforts to improve homesteading laws faced opposition on multiple fronts. Southern majoritiesRead More Homestead Act Essays2875 Words   |  12 Pagescontinued its upward spiral, moving from slightly over seventeen million in 1840 to over thirty-eight million in 1860. New canals, steamboats, turnpikes, and railroads knit the nation together into an integrated economic unit. Hundred of thousands of people crossed the Atlantic to take up residence in the dynamic nation, while other hundreds of thousands moved into the Western regions of the country. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Legislative efforts to improve homesteading laws faced opposition on multipleRead MoreTop 1 Cause for Project Failure65023 Words   |  261 Pages@ http://www.anishmathaimathew.blogspot.com Karl Kerr Project Planner at Knorr-Bremse Rail Systems UK Limited Anish, Wow a great question and one that should generate plenty of feedback! I have worked on many projects in my time in the following sectors: Nuclear, Public Sector, Rail Telecommunications. They all have one thing in common: they have in place Project Management systems and processes and plan to succeed! However with all best intentions

Principles of Psychology Human Psychology

Question: Discuss about the Principles of Psychology for Human Psychology. Answer: Introduction Human psychology is the part of human mind that deals with all the behavioural aspects of the person. Along with that, it embraces all the conscious and unconscious thoughts and experiences of the human mind. Among the behavioural aspects of human psychology obedience is one of the forms raised from the social influence which represents the action of one person in response from another individual (Buss, 2015). Obedience is the reflex action of one person in response to the order from the other individual specifically from authority. Therefore the action of obedience is generated when the order comes from the authority, but at the same time, the conformity is the concept that gets raised by exerting social pressure upon the individual. In other words, the conformity is the description of the group pressure upon the individual (Heider, 2013). Both the obedience and the conformity are the resultant of the action represented by the authority. Also, both can depicted as the type of social influence that helps the individual in getting absorbed in the workplace. Obedience and the conformity Obedience and the conformity both are the behavioural aspects of psychology which come out with the social influence of the surrounding people or an authority figure in the organization. The nature of obedience is a particular form of compliance that is influenced by the behaviour of authority whereas the concept of conformity is the behavioural part that gets affected from the majority of people (James, 2013). It is the impact of human psychology due to which they tend to show characteristics behavioural features as per the situation. For example, during organizing the Holocaust where here was the preparation of death camps in which six million Jewish people, communists, gypsies and the trade unionists were transported and afterward murdered. It happened in place of Nazi Germany and its surrounding areas. At that time, a person namely, Adolf Eichmann who was supposed to be the logistical genius in the process of Holocaust, given the task of efficient collection, transportation as well as the extermination of the people those who are killed in the Holocaust (Koffka, 2013). In the initial phase, Eichmann got surprised with the Jewish people as he was blindly following the orders of the superiors. But it can be said that it was a good part on account of Eichmann which deals with strictly going through the words of its superiors. That is the reason Eichmann described his condition in his words in which he has said that the orders given by the superiors were the most important thing in his life that he needs to follow at any cost as well as without any question (Mowday, Porter Steers, 2013). In that case, when the situation came to the discovery regarding the psychological condition of Eichmann after this particular job, the psychiatrists declared him sane and a very average individual. Instead of finding out any of the uncomfortable possibility it was found in the fact that this particular behaviour of Eichmann was because of the social situation in which he was living. Therefore it can be said from Eichmanns situation that anyone under such circumstances must be capable of doing such monstrous activities (Neisser, 2014). This instance led the investigation of this action of human behaviour that shows the clear description of the human obedience. Therefore an experimental investigation is carried out by the Stanley Milgram to carry out the study regarding the obedience factor. Stanley Milgram was a famous psychologist from the University of Yale went through the research process to carry out the experiment majorly focusing on the conflicts occurred in between the obedience performed towards the authority hampering the personal conscience and the conformity of the individual (Smith, 2015). Milgram tends to start the experiment on the obedience the year after the questioning upon Adolf Eichmann. Stanley Milgram started his experiment by taking upon interest to carry out the research regarding how far people can go in the context of obeying the instructions of superiors that can go on harming other people. He again started the experiment by thinking about how the ordinary people get influenced from the atrocities of the society. Due to that reason he took the example of German during the World War II. In the experiment, Milgram did the pairing in between the participant and any other person. Between the experiments, it was mandatory to find out about the learner and the teacher in the group. Due to this Milgram settled that the participant in the experiment will always be a teacher whereas the learner will be the person whom Milgram will settle down in the group. It can be said that the learner in the group will be one of the confederates of Milgram. In further proceedings, the learner took action where he was taken into a room (Seligman Csikszentmihalyi, 2014). In that room , the electrodes are connected in his arms. At the same time, the teacher and the researcher are supposed to be in the next room at the next door where there was an electric shock generator with having a row of switches. These switches are marked from mild shock to sever shock with the voltage ranging from 15 volts to 375 to 450 volts of current. In that scenario of experiment, the learner purposefully gave wrong answers by the result of which the teacher gave the electric shock to the learner. At any point when the teacher cancelled to give the shock at that time the researcher ordered him to provide the shock as per the series of order. In that scenario, there were four prods in the experimental process in which all must be followed as per the order one by one. If in any case one is not followed the researcher will read out for the next prod and the process will be continued in such process. Out of the four prods, the prod1 says for Please Continue, prod two calls for The experiment requires you to continue, prod 3 says It i s essential that you continue and finally prod 4 gives a final call You have no other choice but to continue. After the experiment Milgram concluded with that obedience is the factor ingrained within the human behavior since the birth. But it is mandatory to obey the authority after recognizing the moral quality of work which is furthermore gets legitimated by going through a variety of situations in life. Another experiment again conducted to reach out the study on obedience. This experiment or research conducted by Phillip Zimbardo. This experiment was aiming towards investigation regarding the conformity of people for obeying to play the roles of guard and the prisoner in a role-playing exercise that eventually affects to bring some stimulation in the prison life. For this reason, the students of college created a pseudo-environment of prison which is helpful to carry out the studying the impacts of social forces upon the behaviour of the participants (Wickens et al., 2015). It is somehow different from the Milgram experiment as here some of the participants placed as prisoners, and some placed as the prison guards. The whole settlement of the experiment was done just because to make the scenario to get suited so that it would resemble the prison environment. At the same, it was done for the induction of exact psychological condition of the imprisonment of the people. Further, this experiment came out with the desired results for which the experimentation set up was implemented. In this study, there were two types of result of the behavioural aspect of the people. That is the reason, Zimbardo found that guards were obedient in the experiment but in the matter condition, they were somehow found to be turned aggressive. At the same time, prisoners were found to be of hostile in nature towards the guards. The emergence of these two types of psychological behaviour in the experiment Zimbardo found it very difficult to carry it further (Zuckerman, 2014). He has also concluded in the process that the conformity of the people is very much expected within the population of people. In fact, it is said that people were very rapid in getting conformed to their social roles that they are expected to play. When the scenario is of like the prison guards, they will get conformed more rapidly. In the experiment of Zimbardo, the issue raised is just because there occurred the shifting of the responsibility in prison. It made them more dependent upon the guards which made them take advantage of the situation. The scenario of the experiment made the selection of the role for the guards with having the sunglasses to make proper eye contact with the prisoners (Smith, 2015). It is also evident from the case scenario that this type of obedience in the prison is quite destructive in nature which led to the situation that Zimbardo has to stop the prison scenario in six days. At the same time, the obedience in the case of Stanley Milgram study is quite good which shows a positive psychological condition of human behaviour. Conclusion The above-described situation is the description of the psychological condition as per the human behavioural aspects. That is the reason the essay includes the description of the behaviour like obedience and conformity on the authority. The essay, therefore, concludes that obedience is the respect that is showed by the people towards the authority. And also the conformity is a possession that comes out when more difficult demands take place along with the responsibility of the authority. These behavioural aspects come out with an expectation from the people as a routine behaviour. References Buss, D. (2015).Evolutionary psychology: The new science of the mind. Psychology Press. Heider, F. (2013).The psychology of interpersonal relations. Psychology Press. James, W. (2013).The principles of psychology. Read Books Ltd. Koffka, K. (2013).Principles of Gestalt psychology(Vol. 44). Routledge. Mowday, R. T., Porter, L. W., Steers, R. M. (2013).Employeeorganization linkages: The psychology of commitment, absenteeism, and turnover. Academic press. Neisser, U. (2014).Cognitive psychology: Classic edition. Psychology Press. Smith, J. A. (Ed.). (2015).Qualitative psychology: A practical guide to research methods. Sage. Seligman, M.E. and Csikszentmihalyi, M., 2014.Positive psychology: An introduction(pp. 279-298). Springer Netherlands. Wickens, C. D., Hollands, J. G., Banbury, S., Parasuraman, R. (2015).Engineering psychology human performance. Psychology Press. Zuckerman, M. (2014).Sensation Seeking (Psychology Revivals): Beyond the Optimal Level of Arousal. Psychology Press.

Strictly Ballroom Essay Example For Students

Strictly Ballroom Essay Teaching the prescribed text  · Explanation on background information (context, purpose and audience) Context The screenplay of Strictly Ballroom was written by Baz Luhrmann and Andrew Bovell. The film was directed by Baz Luhrmann, and was well received internationally when it was released in 1992. Since Strictly Ballroom, Baz Luhrmann has directed two other internationally successful films—Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge—and, at time of print, was directing Australia. He is known for his artistic and innovative cinematic styles which blend film techniques from Hollywood musicals and dance films with more traditional techniques. Explanation of key terms (see above)  · Analysis of how the text relates to belonging Rebellion, exclusion and true ‘belonging’ The film opens at the Waratah Championships for ballroom dancing where Scott Hastings dares to dance his own steps, dazzling the audience with his samba routine. Those who value tradition—mainly his mother, his dance coach Les Kendall, and Barry Fife—abhor his behaviour. They are united in their opposition to Scott’s rebellion and prevent him from exploring his individuality, because the traditional world of ballroom dancing gives them a sense of belonging, and they do not wish for this to change. We will write a custom essay on Strictly Ballroom specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Changing the established order is difficult, because people in power make the rules and are responsible for ensuring they are followed. Therefore when Scott dances his own steps he is disqualified and prevented from participating in the competition. He is excluded from the group and his sense of belonging is devastated.  · Students answer the question: How do you relate your prescribed text to belonging?  · Explanation of Text structure Text structure The film can be divided into four parts. Part 1 The traditional values of the ballroom dancing world are established though the opening scene at the Waratah Championships for ballroom dancing where Scott Hastings dances his own steps during the samba. His partner, Liz Holt, walks out on him and Fran, an unlikely candidate, offers to be his dance partner. The love story is thus established between the handsome, competent dance champion and the plain, professionally untrained daughter of a Spanish migrant. She entices Scott to dance with her because she understands how he dances. Explanation of Characters Scott Hastings: Scott is youthful, handsome and a champion dancer, and has many opportunities ahead of him. At first he is portrayed as arrogant, especially in his treatment of Fran. He is obviously a talented dancer, but is bored with the routine way he has been taught to dance. He challenges his mother and the Dance Federation when they insist he follows established conventions. He undergoes a transformation through his relations hips with Fran and her family, as he learns the value of family spirit and dancing from the heart. Character activity – analyzing what quotes tell the reader about the character and belonging Character quote What the quote tells you about the character and belonging Liz: I don’t think! I don’t give a shit about them, we lost! Liz represents the dominant values of those who belong to the ballroom dancing world – follow established rules in order to win. Winning is the priority not thinking for yourself or consideration of others.  · Explanation of Setting and modeled response Scene: The living room of Scott’s home Mood: This is a domestic setting which at first appears warm and inviting. Trophies are proudly displayed on the back wall. It becomes clear from Shirley’s outrage about her son’s unconventional steps at the Waratah Championships, however, that her priority is winning, not her son’s self-expression. This is further illustrated by the large number of trophies occupying the cabinet. Arguments take place in the living room, too, which shows that the family is not as close as the setting would suggest. Explanation and analysis of various language and visual techniques and modeled responses Symbolism: Dancing shoes How it relates to belonging: In the scene in which Rico challenges Scott to dance the paso doble, there are close-ups of Scott’s shoes while he dances. When Ya Ya asks him to show her where he feels the rhythm, the camera focuses on Scott’s shoes. The viewer becomes aware that Scott’s motivation to dance comes from learning the intricac ies of making the steps, which is what has made him belong in the rigid ballroom dancing world. .u6bd4a09cf4ee05aa9d8729c8bbeaa0c2 , .u6bd4a09cf4ee05aa9d8729c8bbeaa0c2 .postImageUrl , .u6bd4a09cf4ee05aa9d8729c8bbeaa0c2 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u6bd4a09cf4ee05aa9d8729c8bbeaa0c2 , .u6bd4a09cf4ee05aa9d8729c8bbeaa0c2:hover , .u6bd4a09cf4ee05aa9d8729c8bbeaa0c2:visited , .u6bd4a09cf4ee05aa9d8729c8bbeaa0c2:active { border:0!important; } .u6bd4a09cf4ee05aa9d8729c8bbeaa0c2 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u6bd4a09cf4ee05aa9d8729c8bbeaa0c2 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u6bd4a09cf4ee05aa9d8729c8bbeaa0c2:active , .u6bd4a09cf4ee05aa9d8729c8bbeaa0c2:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u6bd4a09cf4ee05aa9d8729c8bbeaa0c2 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u6bd4a09cf4ee05aa9d8729c8bbeaa0c2 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u6bd4a09cf4ee05aa9d8729c8bbeaa0c2 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u6bd4a09cf4ee05aa9d8729c8bbeaa0c2 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u6bd4a09cf4ee05aa9d8729c8bbeaa0c2:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u6bd4a09cf4ee05aa9d8729c8bbeaa0c2 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u6bd4a09cf4ee05aa9d8729c8bbeaa0c2 .u6bd4a09cf4ee05aa9d8729c8bbeaa0c2-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u6bd4a09cf4ee05aa9d8729c8bbeaa0c2:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: The Melting Pot Argumentative EssayWhen Ya Ya taps his chest to show him where the rhythm should come from, we understand that he has a lot to learn from Spanish culture. Dancing shoes are also shown in close-up when Scott dances, especially when he dances his own way, illustrating his freedom and individual expression, and his rebellion against a restrictive type of ‘belonging’.  · Key scene analysis To gain a better understanding of how language and visual techniques work together to create meaning, it is a good idea to analyse a few key scenes from the text. Activity Make notes about a key scene in Strictly Ballroom, taking into account: †¢ film techniques and dialogue †¢ examples of the techniques from the text †¢ analysis of how these examples relate to belonging. Then write a full analysis of the scene and its techniques, and their relation to belonging. Modeled response Many scenes in ‘Strictly Ballroom’ represent the ideas of the true spirit of love, family and belonging, in contrast to the false values and superficiality of belonging to the ballroom dancing world. One key scene is when Scott goes to the Toledo Milk Bar to ask Fran to dance with him at the Pan Pacific Grand Prix. Fran’s father challenges Scott to dance the paso doble, and they move to the backyard where chairs are askew, streamers are falling down and colourful lanterns hang from the roof. The lighting is low-key and the atmosphere is romantic, warm and inviting. In this environment, Scott is ridiculed for not dancing from the heart. Close-ups of people laughing are juxtaposed with long shots of Fran and Scott dancing, showing that the onlookers are laughing at the way he dances.

Learn Direct Response Copywriting From Junk Mail Pros

Learn Direct Response Copywriting From Junk Mail Pros Are you ashamed at how vulnerable you are to junk mail? Direct response letters are part of the pantheon of junk mail.  Or at least, that’s one way to look at them. They are those letters that arrive that sell a product or solicit a donation from you, the main reason the postal service is probably still in business. Yet  direct response letters are an example of copywriting that can be extremely effective in getting your reader to take action. And, in that sense, they are not junk mail. They’re a copywriting gold mine. How To Write The Best Copy Ever With Advice From Junk Mail via @JulieNeidlingerDirect response copywriting is different from indirect response copywriting because of the timing of the response. Indirect response is copy that eventually leads to a purchase over time by building trust and awareness. Direct response pushes for a purchase immediately, at the end of that copy. That means that direct response copywriting is easily tested; you’ll know quickly whether your copy is working or not. Advertising czar David Ogilvy refused to hire any copywriter unless they’d spent a few years writing and studying direct response copywriting, that’s how valuable he thought direct response techniques were. Bill Jayme, Direct Response Extraordinaire In the 20th century, Bill Jayme’s direct response copywriting (via mail) was second to none. He was the king of the direct response mailed letter with clients lining up to pay him to write their letter. One of his better-known examples was something he wrote to help launch the magazine Psychology Today. Jayme also wrote the copy for the envelope, and for this particular piece, he posed a provocative headline: From Mike Capuzzi’s blog post on provocative headlines. The envelope needed to be opened, just like your marketing emails need to be opened, just like your blog posts need to be read. Jayme wrote a headline that piqued curiosity, and then combined it with a free take-it-now psychological test and another free offer. Whether a person answered yes or no to the question was irrelevant. It got them in the door. Marketer Gary Elwood suggests that Jayme was successful with his direct response copywriting because he took an unorthodox approach combining both the visual design of envelopes with powerful copy techniques that included: Using mystery and intrigue. How do you get people to open envelopes? To read? You make them curious. Jayme frequently asked questions or used cliffhangers to get people to proceed. Involving readers psychologically. Jayme would ask seemingly strange questions that would pull readers in. Questions such as, â€Å"Are you embarrassed to eat in a restaurant alone?† or â€Å"How much should you tip the waitress, when you’re planning to steal the ashtray?† are effective, regardless of whether the reader answers yes or no. They’ll keep reading to find out what their answer means. Using urgency. Jayme would create scarcity by suggesting there was only a limited quantity or a limited time. Scarcity motivates people. No one wants to be left out. Turning the service/product into something else. Jayme never lied about the product or service for sale, but he turned it into something more valuable. For example, you’re not selling a financial magazine, you’re selling knowledge that will make someone a savvy investor and ultimately more rich. Saying the word â€Å"free.† Jayme used the word â€Å"free† in as many ways as possible, even providing an example: ‘Free gift comes to you with our compliments gratis- on the house. It’s yours to keep as an outright present without cost or charge- not a penny!' That’s about eight ways to say â€Å"free† in two  sentences! Using exciting words. The words Jayme used were not boring. They often had cacophony to their sound and excitement in their meaning. They were words that caught attention, such as: dead, naked, free. Knowing who was reading. In order to ask the right provocative question, Jayme had to know what buttons to push. And that meant understanding the reader a bit. Elwood uses an excellent example of this: promotional copy for Coastal Living said, â€Å"If you love the shore, this new magazine will do you a world of good.† The first five words establish who the audience is that Jayme was targeting. Jayme was fond of empathy as a selling technique. This is evidenced by how he started most letters with â€Å"Dear Reader.† Empathy, incidentally, requires a far better understanding of your audience than mere demographics. Demographics tell you who the reader is and what they’re interested in. Empathy taps into understanding what the reader wants. For Further Reading: The Gary Halbert Letter: Gary Halbert has used classic direct response copywriting techniques in his pared down website. Read some of his copy to get an idea of how direct response copy sounds. â€Å"Junk Mail’s Top Dogs†: New York Times article that covers the history of the practice, and highlights Bill Jayme’s work. Bill Jayme’s â€Å"Cool Friday† letter: A wildly successful direct response letter Jayme wrote for Life Magazine, considered a classic in the genre. Armageddon Advertising: Putting fear into readers might not be the best route for you, but studying â€Å"armageddon advertising† is still a useful learning tool, as it taps into reader psychology. Learn From Direct Response  Copy Examples Clearly, direct response â€Å"junk mail† is powerful, even if we think it’s cheesy and doesn’t work. Because it does work, even on marketers who know what’s up. John Jantsch, from DuctTapeMarketing, pulled together some examples of sales letters, and extracted the foundation of what made them tick: They use a headline. There is always some sort of startling, attention-grabbing headline at work in a sales letter. Whether it was on the outside of the envelope or in the letter itself, the success of the sales letter hinged on this. They demonstrate how a reader benefits. The copy of a sales letter isn’t telling the reader how great the company or product is. Instead, they show how the reader will have a better life if they buy. They offer something logical. There must be an offer, of course, or it wouldn’t be a sales letter. But that offer must, by the time the reader gets to the end of the letter, make sense. Ads don’t offer anything. They announce sales and product prices. Too often, our copy does the same. There is a difference between an offer and an ad. The best offer is a deal that can’t be refused. With those three characteristics in mind, Jantsch dissects sales letter samples. I’ve summed up the sales copy approach with a template so that you can see the method distilled down. â€Å"If Your Name Is On This Letter† In this example of a letter from Newsweek, readers were encouraged to subscribe to the magazine. This type of sales copy, according to Jantsch, feeds into reader vanity. It suggests there is exclusivity at work and that the reader, should the offer apply to them, is special. Otherwise, if the offer isn’t of interest to them, they are common.  This copy relies heavily on the second person (â€Å"you†), and often starts out describing what isn’t (the negative) instead of what is (the positive). Writing to sell? Tell your reader they're special, offer exclusivity, guarantee enrichment.The first paragraph assures readers they are special (â€Å"your education and income set you apart from the general population†). The letter then proceeds to tell readers that subscribing to Newsweek won’t make them rich, won’t give them more friends, or give them a better job. At this point, readers are curious as to why they should get the magazine. The sales copy responds to that question by showing how the magazine can satisfy curiosity, reduce the boredom of small-minded conversation, and expand knowledge of what’s happening in the world. It then presents an offer that reduces risk by letting readers know they can get money back. Reader, you’re special. That’s why we contacted you. We’re not going to lie about what our offer will do for you. But we will enrich your life. If you don’t like it, we’ll return your money. â€Å"Two Young Men† The next example Jantsch uses is from the Wall Street Journal. This direct sales copy uses a story (which readers love) to promise readers success if they buy (and suggest a warning if they don’t). The Wall Street Journal starts with a simple paragraph telling the story of two young men who met back during a 25th college reunion. One man was a success, the other was not. The letter then proceeds in sections, outlining what made the difference between the two men (knowledge provided by the publication, in this case), and how that applies to the reader. Read this interesting story about two possible outcomes. We’ll tell you why this happened. We’ll show you how our offer will give you the better outcome. We’ll reiterate, one more time, why those outcomes were different. And then we’ll make you a risk-reduced offer, and remind you again of the story. â€Å"Dirty Hands† The third letter example in Jantsch’s ebook is from Popular Mechanics, and uses a couple of unique things. The letter itself has a visual box at the top, filled with brief copy that establishes whether the reader is the right audience using vanity and rather obvious qualifications we all want to assign to ourselves. â€Å"If you want to live better, don’t mind hard work, like to pay your own way†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The rest of the copy works very hard at appealing not to the elitist, but to the â€Å"average Joe†.   It’s filled with homey phrases that promote elbow grease, hard work, and flag-waving. Write to sell: Appeal as understanding, offer just for them, give away a bonus for  free.Popular Mechanics knew its audience pretty well, and they knew this would be best way to elicit trust and provide a sense that they truly understood what their readers wanted or thought. In this case, it was an illustrated handyman guide, and the selling points were how it would save you money by showing you how to make repairs yourself, that it was easy to use, and it was for readers â€Å"just like you.† To cap it off, the offer included a free first book, no strings attached, telling you what kind of projects you could find on specific pages in that first book. We understand you perfectly, and we made this product for readers like you. It’s so good, we’re giving the first one away completely free. â€Å"Quite Frankly† This letter example, from American Express, relies heavily on exclusivity. More than anything, we all like to know we’re good enough to be part of an elite and exclusive club, and (shamefully) that other people won’t get in. Compared to the other letters, this letter isn’t particularly long. It’s main punch is in two sentences in the opening paragraph, making a point to say that not everyone who applies to get the card will, and that such a card isn’t for everyone. The rest of the letter is a list of the perks and benefits the card provides. We’re exclusive, and not everyone gets in. You’re lucky we’re inviting you in. Look at all the benefits you’ll get. We expect you’ll apply now. â€Å"A Story About Grandmother† Using the story approach, this letter writes in first person and tells of memories of grandma. It’s very personal and approachable, and draws the reader in immediately. This letter is for Prevention magazine, and uses memories of healthy food vs. chemical-laden food, and the need to better understand how things had changed since the time of those grandma memories. The reader then learns about how the magazine can help them, being quite direct as to how it will make their lives better. In some sense, it taps into fear, suggesting that even their doctor isn’t telling them all they need to know. For all of us, the fear that we are being kept in the dark is a highly motivating one. The letter closes with bonuses that the reader could receive, and Jantsch notes that some people will buy based on the bonuses they get when making the initial purchase. So do offer bonuses. Let me tell you a personal story. Then I’ll tell you why you should be a bit afraid. But don’t worry; I have the solution. And, if you buy, I’ll give you lots of great extras! Putting Direct Response  Methodology To Work Direct sales letter writing techniques are directly applicable to your landing pages, of course, but also some of your blog posts. Challenge: The next time a direct sales letter arrives, don’t throw it. Dissect it. Figure out what they are doing in that copy, and what makes it work (or fail). Or, do some online searches and find more examples of direct response  letters, or landing pages that employ the same techniques. Do you feel motivated to buy at the end? Why or why not? What is the writer appealing to? Fear, vanity, trust? How long is the copy? How many words? How is the offer presented? Are there bonuses? Is the copy written in first or second person? These are just a few questions to ask as you figure out what makes direct response  copy work.

A Smart Action Plan

A Smart Action Plan After I had started my first year at University I realised that if I want to become a successful student it is crucial to develop time-management skills. It is based on identifying our goals, prioritising and listing them in order to help us achieve the best result. We also need to identify our strengths, look at our work and think how we could improve it to get a better result in the future. We can do so using a diary or personal organiser. Time-management skills are very important because if we know how to organize our time properly, we can carry out more and meet deadlines. It is important to start with setting our priorities because sometimes there is no time to complete all of them. We need to be aware that some of them might take longer than we expected so we should write somewhere what we want to do and when we want to do it. Resources: We should start with identifying our goals and priorities. When doing so, we need to be realistic and definite about them. We must precise wh at needs to be done, how and when. Then, it is recommended to start keeping an academic diary or a personal organizer where we can write in everything we do (such us important dates or study activities). It will help us to look at the way we work and identify where further improvements can be made. (Oxford Brookes University) To take the most out of the diary we should always carry it with us and keep it up to date. It is also recommended to check it many times a day and add new tasks straight into it. The last step is to identify how we spend the time in order to see if we use it productively. We need to list the work we have to do and precise the amount of time we want to spend on carrying out particular tasks. The most important things should be highlighted or stared that can be easily seen, where the least important ones should be written in a pencil so we can change or remove them easily. (Cottrell S., 2003) Reflective comment: The first thing I did in order to improve my time- management skills was doing some background reading. I used a chapter of a book recommended by my tutor as well as some online resources. It gave me understanding of which steps should be taken in order to became successful. I started with identifying my goal, which was preparing a good set of notes for my oncoming exam. Then I started writing in a diary activities I was planning to do. The most important ones I wrote in using a pen (such as searching for material for my notes) and less important in pencil (like going to the store or meeting someone). The following, I highlighted the most important one so every time I opened my diary it was the first thing I saw. It was a reminder of what is need to be done. Then I identified how much time I want to spend on these tasks.