Why I View America Has Changed Over The Past 45 + Years

This paper is a self-examination view of why I view America as the greatest country in the world and how some in academia have the opposite view. Also I will reflect on how America has changed dramatically over the past 45+ years. I will examine the writings and views in particular of Howard Zinn. In 1976 at the age of eighteen, I enlisted in the United State Navy to protect and serve the U.S.A and I was willing to die doing so. So in the course of reading some of Mr. Zinn’s comments I became outraged. When he makes comments such as, Maoist China, site of history’s bloodiest state-sponsored killings, becomes â€Å"the closest thing, in the long history of that ancient country, to a people’s government, independent of outside control.† The authoritarian Nicaraguan Sandinistas were â€Å"welcomed† by their own people, while the opposition Contras, who backed the candidate that triumphed when free elections were finally held, were a â€Å"terrorist gr oup† that â€Å"seemed to have no popular support inside Nicaragua.† Castro’s Cuba, readers learn, â€Å"had no bloody record of suppression† (Flynn, 2003). In my opinion, these comments in totality are only that of someone pushing a political agenda. If we examine his comments about Mao Zedong’s China it is crazy to hear him make that statement when the facts say different. According to the â€Å"Black Book of Communism† an estimated 65 million Chinese people died at the hands of Mao in his repeated and merciless attempts to create a new â€Å"socialist† ChinaShow MoreRelatedBank Of America Leadership Styles1483 Words   |  6 Pages Bank Of America Leadership Styles Edan Dahan Palm Beach State College Introduction: I believe that Bank of America will succeed because they do not restrict leadership styles within the company. â€Å"Leadership is the problem – and the solution. Since spring 2011, the KBW index shows, financial company stocks have performed up to 40% worse than other industries. In addition, job cuts are up 103% from 2012, CEO turnover is on the rise and 45% of sector employees sayRead MoreThe Issue Of The Gay Liberation Movement1627 Words   |  7 PagesAlthough the gay liberation movement had very little impact at that time, it set the stage for bigger and better changes in the future. 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The Age Of Spiritual Machines - 1299 Words

Throughout the last century, advancement of technology has increased rapidly. Many technology experts have spent their careers predicting the potential path of these advancements. While some experts make their predictions to warn civilization of the potential dangers of technology, others remain optimistic. One such hopeful expert is Ray Kurzweil, who in his 1999 book The Age of Spiritual Machines, explores how advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) in the 21st century will benefit mankind as human lives integrate with machines. Though released much later, in 2013, the film Her reflects many similar ideas as those presented by Kurzweil regarding the future of artificial intelligence. The film is set in the mid-21st century and†¦show more content†¦The film showcases this potential advancement as the characters interact with their computers and operating systems through voice recognition. There remains a small element of touchscreen systems, but there are no keyboards present in the film which holds consistent with Kurzweil’s predictions. In the film the operating system Samantha learns to recognize verbal context clues such as sighs, on top of simple language communication (Jonze, Her). Kurzweil predicts that by the year 2019, virtual reality experiences will be so developed that other people will be experiencing things that others around them are completely unaware of. This may be achieved by head directed displays and virtual reality displays which may even be capable of blocking reality (202). In the film, the main character Theodore uses an inconspicuous earpiece in order to communicate with his operating system Samantha. Samantha is given a visual representation of the world through a small camera that Theodore carries in his pocket. He is able to maintain developed conversations with her in public without the knowledge of those around him. The film shows a reality where groups of people in public are constantly conversing with their virtual assistants instead of each other (Jonze, Her). Kurzweil also predicts that by 2019 computer assistants will have personalities which appropriately reflect the needs

Classic Hollywood in Comedy Films Free Essays

During Hollywood’s classical period, the seamless style was particularly favored, it championed narrative economy. In other words, films were constructed so that the viewer was not aware of the construction. This practice of effacing a film’s construction actually depends on a complex system of visual codes. We will write a custom essay sample on Classic Hollywood in Comedy Films or any similar topic only for you Order Now Hollywood films, as opposed to art films or some types of foreign films, embrace a narrative that is highly efficient and that is determined by cause and effect. For example, The opening of a film typically plunges us_ _into an immediate understanding of an individual character. While natural causes, like floods and earthquakes, or societal causes, such as wars or strikes, might prod the character in a certain direction or serve as a backdrop, the narrative inevitably centers on the individual’s choices. This swift movement toward resolution of the conflict has been made efficiently in what is often referred to as the three-act structure. As celebrated screenwriter Ernest Lehman put it more clearly, â€Å"In the first act, it’s who are the people and what is the situation of this whole story. The second act is the progression of that situation to a high point of conflict. And the third act is how the conflicts and problems are resolved. † Though modern films frequently depart from the continuity style, this style remains a baseline standard of effective visual storytelling. During the classical Hollywood era, each studio was known for a certain genre of film or a particular roster of stars. Spencer Tracy, Bing Crosby, Charlie Chaplin were some of the well-known performers that emerged during this period. Comic films began to appear in significant numbers during the era of silent films in roughly 1895 to 1930. The visual humor of these silent films relied on slapstick. A very early comedy short was Watering the Gardener (1895) by the Lumiere brothers. In American film, the most prominent comic actors of the silent era were Charlie Chaplin. A popular trend during the 1920s and afterward was comedy in the form of animated cartoons with stars such as Betty Boo appearing. Toward the end of the 1920s, the introduction of sound into movies made possible dramatic new film styles and the use of verbal humor. Many film scholars will argue, film was never entirely â€Å"silent. † Most movies were accompanied by some kind of music and even, at times, live narration. During the 1930s the silent film comedy was replaced by dialogue from film comedians such as the W. C. Fields and the Marx Brothers. The comedian Charlie Chaplin was one of the last silent film hold-outs. 1930 and 1948 are generally considered bookends to Hollywood’s Golden Age, the period when these eight companies secured 95 percent of all film rentals and close to 70 percent of all box-office receipts. In the United Kingdom, film adaptations of stage farces were popular in the early 1930s, while the music hall tradition strongly influenced film comedy into the 1940s. With the entry of the United States into World War II, Hollywood became focused on themes related to the conflict. Comedies portrayed military themes such as service, civil defense, boot-camp. The war-time restrictions on travel made this a boom time for Hollywood, and nearly a quarter of the money spent on attending movies. As TV became filled with family-oriented comedies, the 1950s saw a trend toward more adult social situations. Only the Walt Disney studios continued to steadily release family comedies. The release of comedy films also went into a decline during this decade. Toward the end of the 1950s, darker humor and more serious themes had begun to emerge, including satire and social commentary. Dr. Strangelove (1964) was a satirical comedy about Cold War paranoia. Among the leading lights in comedy films of the next decade were Woody Allen and Mel Brooks. Both wrote, directed and appeared in their movies. Brooks’ style was generally slapstick and zany in nature, often parodying film styles and genres, including Universal horror films (Young Frankenstein), westerns (Blazing Saddles) and Hitchcock films (High Anxiety). Most British comedy films of the early 70s were spin-offs of television series, including Dad’s Army and On the Buses. The greatest successes, however, came with the films of the Monty Python team, including _And Now For Something Completely Different_ (1971), One of the major developments of the 1990s was the re-emergence of the romantic comedy film, encouraged by the success of When Harry Met Sally†¦ n 1989 Another development was the increasing use of â€Å"gross-out humor† usually aimed at a younger audience, in films like _There’s Something About_ Mary__, American Pie) and its sequels. In mid 2000s the trend of â€Å"gross-out† movies is continuing, with adult-oriented comedies picking up the box office. The screwball comedy is a subgenre of the comedy film genre. It has proven to be one of the most popular and enduring film genres. First gained prominence in 1934 with It Happened One Night and, although many film scholars would agree that its classic period ended ometime in the early 1940s, elements of the genre have persisted, or have been paid homage to, in contemporary film. Modern screwball comedies include: Burn After Reading (2008), d. Joel and Ethan Coen Pineapple Express) (2008) d. David Gordon Green The Hangover) (2009) d. Todd Phillips Many elements of the screwball genre can be traced back to such stage plays such as ‘__As You Like_ It_’and and Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest. Like farce, screwball comedies often involve mistaken identities or other circumstances in which a character or characters try to keep some important fact a secret. Sometimes screwball comedies feature male characters cross-dressing, further contributing to the misunderstandings (Bringing Up Baby, I Was a Male War Bride, Some Like It Hot). They also involve a central romantic story, usually in which the couple seem mismatched and even hostile to each other at first, and â€Å"meet cute† in some way. Another common element is fast-talking, witty repartee (You Can’t Take It With You), His Girl Friday). This stylistic device did not originate in the screwballs (although it may be argued to have reached its zenith there): it can also be found in many of the old Hollywood cycles including the gangster film, romantic comedies, and others. The philosopher Stanley Cavell has noted that many classic screwball comedies turn on an interlude in the state of Connecticut (Bringing Up Baby, The Lady Eve, The Awful Truth Some notable directors of screwball comedies include: Frank Capra George Cukor Howard Hawks How to cite Classic Hollywood in Comedy Films, Papers

Implementing Change in Organizations free essay sample

The author looks at how the process of changing policy has evolved over the last twenty years and looks at some of the factors that have affected the process. This paper examines the process involved when an organization wants to change its policy. The author looks at how the process of changing policy has evolved over the last twenty years and looks at some of the factors that have affected the process. According to this writer, changes in management, as well as changes in the nature of the relationship between management and its workers are two major factors affecting many organizations ability to implement new policies and practices. In recent times, with the workforce more knowledgeable about their rights, and an increasing focus by management in keeping their workers happy, the balance of power has shifted. All changes have to be beneficial to both the management and the worker. Union buy-in for any change to be implemented is required. We will write a custom essay sample on Implementing Change in Organizations or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Organizations are increasing recruiting members of unionized and non-unionized staff to be included in the team that is formed to help implement changes in an organization. Successful changes in any organization have resulted as the outcome of an effective reward and incentives plan for all the participants rather than a few selected members of the organization. Efficient and effective two-way communication is necessary and one of the key elements in any environmental change.