European Cinema Essay Example for Free

European Cinema Essay The characteristics and development of cinema can be initially determined from its dependence on the technological advancements that have contributed to the art. However, despite technology’s major influence in all aspects of filmmaking, cinema from different parts of the world can be identified through the distinctive approaches of filmmakers and screenplay writers. European and American cinematic traditions for instance differ from one another in terms of manner of how the elements are employed. Although there are several similarities between the two traditions, there are distinct elements that characterize European films from American films. Primarily the distinct characteristic of European films incline on the influence of the continent’s history and various social changes in the continent. The European tradition tends to seek lessons from the past to give light to the present. Likewise, European films artistically communicate the present, or the current state of affairs as a portal by which the viewers come into an understanding of past events. American cinema meanwhile as characterized by Hollywood establishes filmmaking as a form of merchandise, in which films are treated as commodity’s produced and manufactured by a particular company. American films tend to appeal to the audience through the use of publicity such as the actors’ popularity and appeal to the public. But more importantly, American cinema has never actually tackled social issues until it was influenced by European filmmaking traditions. Hence, an argument regarding the traditions of both regions emerges; cinema becomes an effective commodity such as the case of Hollywood, or as an art form, as usually practiced in Europe. The aforementioned developments in these two regions of the world therefore represent the framework as to how film connects with the society and how else film functions both as a commercial product and as a piece of art. Primarily, the styles and themes of European cinema following the Second World War have been characterized by several factors. These factors include the director’s creative vision, a particular nation’s perception of its cultural identity, the series of events that brought social awareness to the nations and the political as well as aesthetic departure from conventional techniques that have become cliches. As much as technology influences the quality, substance, and aesthetics of European films, filmmakers remained reflective of the dynamics of society that they represent. The German Expressionist filmmakers for example bring the director’s emotions to the viewers’ sphere through the unrealistic mise-en-scenes which laid the establishment of focus for the film’s artificial constructed look as well as the gestural acting styles of the characters (Forbes Street 2000). However, the geography and varying social belief systems fragment European cinema largely because the locations of countries together with the colorful, yet, violent history suggests produces different social beliefs from cities and nations across Europe. For instance, the height of World War II and the Nazi campaign in Europe saw the production and release of films that promote the regime’s propaganda, anything that had anti-Nazi implications and underlying messages were banned. Given the strangling events during the time, the end of the war and the decline of the National Socialist (Nazi) regime proved to be the turning point for the European cinema as various techniques and visual styles have emerged as a result of the war and the diminished restrictions gave more liberal advantage for filmmakers. One of the products of Europe’s war torn history is the Italian neo-realist movement which entailed the conditions of the working class and the impoverished people in a post war set up. Italian neo-realism is notable for reflecting such realities as filmmakers did not reflect the times through the elements of character, plot, or narrative but through filmmaking techniques like location shoots instead of sophisticated studio shoots and the use of dialogue dubbing instead of the use of high-end audio equipment (Forbes Street 2000). The Polish Film School is another film movement that emerged out of the war. Being influenced by Italy’s neo-realism, the Polish Film School savored the drastic liberal changes in Poland after the war by communicating the difficulties of Poland and her people during the Second World War (Forbes Street 2000). While the Italian neo-realists reflected the socio-economic conditions of people through the technique’s used in making and producing films, the Polish Film School used narratives and plot structures to depict important factors during and after the war such as the role of the resistance group Armia Krajowa after the war and the tragic incidents of the war such as the Nazi concentration camps. The 60s also provided a new phase to European cinema as the French and Czechoslovak New Waves as well as the New German Cinema emerged to artistic prominence. These new artistic styles, while they provide evolutionary techniques for European cinema, provided signature styles of the respective countries. But as much as the styles maintained the cultural identity of the respective countries, the French, German, and Czechoslovakian films, like the Italian neo-realism and the Polish Film School, also utilized low production values such as small budgets but still managed to employ social reflections and representations (Forbes Street 2000).

Vasovagal Syncope Essay -- Fainting Medical Health Essays

Vasovagal Syncope My best friend "Dirk" can easily be picked out of a crowd. His 6'7 stature, impressive muscle mass, very blond hair, big blue eyes, and booming voice cause many people to stare at him-once, in Europe, a Japanese couple asked if they could take a picture of him. Addicted to weight lifting and athletics, my friend does not always enjoy admitting that he is a computer engineer-yes, my 22-year-old buddy is still afraid of the geek label. There is something else to which Dirk will not readily admit-he faints at the sight of blood. In fact, many things can trigger his fainting spells: blood, vomit, overheating, etc. Dirk lives next door to my parents; we grew up together. Recently, he and my sister ran over from his house to ours, which is a distance of about 50 feet. My sister had not worn shoes; when they got to our house, they walked through two rooms before Dirk got dizzy. My sister had cut her foot, and the blood that had spread over the tile floor made Dirk turn his head away, and sit down. My mother ran to the rescue-Dirk's, not my sister's. She helped him breath deeply, and luckily he avoided fainting. A few Christmases ago, Dirk caught a stomach virus. He made it to the bathroom just in time, but seconds after vomiting, he fell to the floor, and blocked the door. His parents frantically tried to open the door, they tried to revive him by screaming for probably five minutes, which seemed like an eternity to them at the time. Eventually they revived him. The summer before that Christmas, Dirk was golfing with his high school's golf team on a hot July afternoon. At the end of the course, he and his coach walked to the parking lot. All of a sudden, Dirk toppled like a tree onto th... ...ncope. Perhaps more research will lead to more conclusive knowledge about the condition. Works Cited: 1)Med Help International, This website offers a forum for those with medical questions, allowing them to ask the advice of a physician. http://www.medhelp.org/forums/cardio/archive/5482.html 2)London Cardiac Institute, This organization provides information to patients on several conditions. The patients are referred to the pages by their physicians. http://www.londoncardiac.ca/pages/vvs.htm 3)Karen Yontz Women's Cardiac Awareness Center, Health Wise Physician's Corner provides information about several medical conditions. http://www.karenyontzcenter.org/healthwise/phys_corner/phys_cor_Berger.htm 4)Tilt Table Test http://pwp.netcabo.pt/0413553701/tilt_eng.htm 5)Health and Age http://www.healthandage.com/html/res/com/ConsHerbs/Licoricech.html

Coca-Cola Fizz Factor Essay

1) The Coca-Cola Company in my opinion has all the resources listed in the chapter. They have been such a successful organization over the years that they posses; financial, physical, human, intangible, and structural-cultural resources. It is because of their Global nature that I believe that they have these resources, and these are needed to for organizations to have capabilities and core competencies. Understanding that because Coca-Cola is such a global brand it means that their capabilities must stretch through culture so I do believe it is very hard to develop unique resources and distinctive capabilities. However, because of the resources behind them in some ways it is easier to develop strategies and gain that competitive advantage. 2) Coca-Cola has a number of distinctive capabilities. Its brand is one by itself, they have created a competitive advantage just by their name, Coca-Cola is known globally and it is a testament to the organization that it is so powerful. Another distinctive capability would be the shape and design of their bottles and cans, it may not seem like much but it can create nostalgia for and again turn in to a competitive advantage. Also with the patent for their designs it makes it impossible for competitors to imitate and take away that competitive advantage. 3) 127 Years of Happiness – This is a major strength; Coca-Cola’s history and tradition automatically give it credibility and make customers trust the brand. Other newer competitors just cannot compete with this, however it is extremely important that they continue to change and innovate. 200+ countries – This may mean a global organization, but this brings about some weaknesses. You have to deal with so many different cultures, languages, climates, and beliefs that it can be very difficult to keep everyone happy and keep providing a quality product. 3500 products worldwide – Again this is like the example above, it can be very challenging due to the diversity and target audience of all the products. However, it can be an advantage because of the variety of products you provide sets Coca-Cola apart from it competitors, giving them yet another competitive advantage. 1,322,000 Tweets per quarter – Twitter is becoming huge, and we saw during the Superbowl blackout how powerful a marketing tool it can be. Oreo cookies tweeted â€Å"†Power out? No problem. You can still dunk in the dark† so in my eyes I see this growing number to be a huge positive on a marketing front. Although on the other hand, social media can be very damaging, and if Coca-Cola does something bad, a negative reputation could spread around the world in a matter of moments. Protest Group of 100,000 people wanting the original Coke back – this shows that if you get it wrong you can face a major backlash from your customers. But this also showed how loyal people were to the original Coke, yes it was a negative result but it really highlights to the Coca-Cola Company what a great product they have. 4) It has to be the capabilities assessment profile, by following the five steps of this option Muhtar Kent can truly analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the organization on a global scale. The key competencies and capabilities are what set Coca-Cola apart and they need to continue to focus on these aspects, it creates the competitive advantage and this must be maintained in the future. This is vital if Coca-Cola want to remain up there as on of the most popular brands in the world.

Essay on Peoples Dependence on Computers

Do We Depend on Computers Too Much? Every generation brings something new to the sum of knowledge humanity possesses, and the majority of people consider it to be alright; yet in every generation there is a considerable percentage of people who would rather not change or create anything and would be even more happy if they could prohibit others to do so as well. In some ages they are more numerous and influential, in others – less. Our own time, considered as the time of progress and bringing down the barriers, is characterized by especially large number of them. â€Å"Computers are evil, the Internet is dangerous, they eat up your brain and deprive people of normal ways of communication†, they write in their blogs on the Internet, sitting before the computers, â€Å"we should limit their use and stick to other, more traditional ways of communicating†. The very thing they denounce gives them the possibility of denouncing it and making their thought known to everybody who cares. People who hate computerization most likely never studied history and don’t know that exactly the same things were once said about telephones, radio and television – they were considered unnatural by a certain minority of people. And, no doubt, when an unknown genius has first used the wheel, he was immediately executed by his fellow tribesmen for sacrilege or something. Yet nowadays we use wheel, telephone, television and radio every day and consider it to be completely natural and indispensable. Computer is an amazing device that has completely changed the life of men. It doesn’t matter where you live now and how far you are from other people – you may communicate, learn new information, do business at will, without having to go to all the places you interact with. If somebody cannot cope with all these possibilities – it’s his problem. All the others will benefit from them.