The Simpsons coursework Essay Example for Free

The Simpsons coursework Essay The Simpsons is an animated, American sitcom. It makes fun of the average American family and the American way of life. In the opening sequence we see twelve separate places. There is an aerial view from the clouds descending into a long shot of town along the road to the school: then a medium shot zooms into the classroom, then we cut to the nuclear plant where we first see Homer in a medium shot. There is a cut to the supermarket where Marge and Maggie are, then to the music room where Lisa is. We cut to Homer in his car driving, and see Bart on his skateboard in the street, as the angle of the car move around the car then follows Bart. We cut to Maggie imitating Marge as shes driving. All the family, one by one, finally get home then rush to the couch. The main difference between the opening and closing shots is that the family are in different places within the town but in the closing shot they are together, which, in my opinion is quite typical of a family since they each lead different lives but in the end they are one. Throughout the title sequence the music is firstly slow and heavenly then as we descend from the clouds as if we are gathering speed the music becomes lively, upbeat, jazzy and discordant like the family they argue but always come back together. It is also fast moving, just like the scenes-which are sometimes joined and flowing. Springfield is a small town where everyone knows everyone. It has everyday places that you need to live. It is a busy normal town with people walking along the street. We see Bart on his skateboard, Chief Wiggum shouting at Bart, Barney standing by and some children from Bart and Lisas school playing. In the title sequence we learn that Bart is the bad child and a daredevil because he was writing lines on the board and dodging people through the street. Lisa is an independent person because she was playing her saxophone differently from the class. Homer is careless and clumsy because he gets a radioactive crystal stuck in his clothes and throws it out his car window when he was driving. Marge likes to have a routine and Maggie is a quick learner because she was copying her mother when she was driving. The cartoon genre allows The Simpsons to break the rules because anyone who is from the past, present or future, dead or alive, real or imaginary can make an appearance i. e. Elvis, God and George Washington all have made guest appearances. The Simpsons will never get old i. e. Maggie is an eternal baby, Marge will never get grey hairs it will always be blue and Bart will always be 10 years old. As a family The Simpsons love each other and they have their own different personalities that they have to get along with although they may have. When a situation causes the family to look at themselves; they reflect on what has happened and sometimes learn from it and use it in their daily lives. We know they are a family (since everyone looks similar) because they go into the same house and though out the title sequence we follow one of family. Also the sitcom is about and named after the family. The colour uses in the sitcom are bright, vivid, and intense which will attract children of a young age or a short attention span. The speed also adds to the vibrant effect on the colour because we are cutting all the time so the colours are quick and stunning. In each episode the words, which Bart is writing changes and hints to what, that episode is about i. e. in an episode Bart, on the board, wrote the truth is out there and the family on jetpacks flew to the couch. That episode was about Bart and Homer claiming to see an alien that glowed, which turns out to be Mr. Burns, Homers boss, he was very sick and his medicine made him glow. When they all are rushing into the house, the way they get to the couch changes i. e. they have dived, danced, went to the wrong room, gone to the wrong show, ran, and flown on jetpacks. In the Homer Badman episode, the frame with Ashley Grant, feminist student shows the hypnotic effect of violent video games on young boys, since she used the game to bribed him to do what she asked. For the younger audience it is funny because Bart seems to be hypnotized and for the mature audience the humour is that a feminist would frown upon anything violent especially for young children. Also in this episode there are references to other films i. e. Homer was singing about living under the sea-The Little Mermaid, and Homer made a hand grenade, then threw it at the people chasing Marge and him-Die Hard. The title sequence appeals to different age groups because children do things that they think is funny but others think its silly and adults can also appreciate the humour in raising a young family. The Simpsons are very popular worldwide because it is funny and enjoyable for all ages. The first showing of The Simpsons was shown on 17th December 1989 it was a trial run of the series, which was very popular so the first episode was shown on 14th January 1990. Homer Badman was originally shown on 27th November 1994. In the first year on air The Simpsons over took the most popular situation comedy (The Cosby Show) capturing a regular audience of over 24 million each week and has achieved over 2 billion dollars of merchandise sales. Also The Simpsons was the first animated show to appear on prime time television since The Flintstones in the 1960s. In each episode there are over 250,000 frames and no matter how old you are, you can relate to it because it is based on, and named after, Matt Groenings own family. The family depict life in different aspects of real life and this in turn gives you a feeling of understanding and relativity to ones own life experiences, whilst having the added benefit of seeing the humour in the experiences one goes through in real life.

Slavery and The Making Of America Essay Example for Free

Slavery and The Making Of America Essay Have you ever thought about the explicit details that went into the creation of America? Slavery and the Making of America, written by James Oliver Horton and Lois E. Horton uses facts and stories to portray the life of slaves, and the evolution of slavery over several decades, and its effect on America today. The title of this book, Slavery and the Making of America is a great leeway into the authors’ main thesis of the book; â€Å"Slavery was, and continues to be, a critical factor in shaping the United States and all of its people. As Americans, we must understand slavery’s history if we are ever to be emancipated from its consequences,† (Horton). Throughout the six chapters in this book, the authors’ go into explicit details on what actions from both white Americans and African slaves led to the Civil War, the abolition of slavery and America as it is today. Slavery and the Making of America is a book split into 6 chapters. The book starts off by explaining history about African slaves, and their bringing to America. Africans’ were kept as slaves in the United States for at least twelve generations. Slavery was one of the main components that led to the building of America. Well-endowed white men would buy slaves to work on their plantations. Slaves eventually created a basis for America’s wealth as a nation, especially with their labor put towards farming cotton. This book not only goes into details about the labor that the slaves partook in on a daily basis that kept America up and running, but also about the cultural aspect of bring slaves into the country. Bringing African’s over to America brought a whole new culture to America. Although white men enslaved African’s they continued to embrace their culture. They brought a new religion, language, music, and several skills that have uniquely blended the American culture  that it is today. This book shares stories of African people slowly becoming African Americans, despite the conditions that they lived and worked in. It goes into detail about the contradiction of the American people. How could a country founded on the basis of freedom and equality for all believe in slavery and unequal treatment of persons due to race? This book shares details of white Americans, generation after generation, trying to reconcile this contradiction, yet being unsuccessful. Although black people were enslaved, they never lost hope or determination to live up to the principles stated in the founding documents of America. The African Roots of Colonial America, the first chapter in this book, reflects the authors’ main thesis by examining the beginning of the African slave trade in America. During this time millions of Americans were shipped across the Atlantic in the largest forced migration in human history. During this time hundred of thousands of slaves were sent, and arrived to the new land annually. These slaves were used to create a newer and stronger global economy, by farming cotton, tobacco, and sugar in the Americas. Chapter two, Slavery: From the Revolution to the Co tton Kingdom shows a different perspective of the authors’ thesis. This chapter goes into more depth about the American Revolution and the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The authors’ explain that the white Americans’ had no intentions to include blacks in the Declaration of Independence despite the hostility from blacks, both those who were slaves and those who were free. The American Revolution was a turning point in slavery. Thousands of slaves escaped to the British, many settling in different countries. In the midst of the Revolutionary War, President Jackson sought out to black troops, granting them freedom from slavery if they survived the war. After the American Revolution, westward expansion was beginning to happen. With new technology of the cotton gin, more and more slaves were needed in the pursuit of expansion. Throughout this book the authors’ tie in specific persons and events that support their thesis. Several people who have shaped American history are mentioned in this book including Ellen Craft, Fr ederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, and Henry Box’ Brown. The middle of this book goes into explanation of fugitive slaves and Underground Railroad; â€Å"The terms associated with the new railroad became the code words used by these secret organizations. They called escape routes rails, safe houses stations, and the fugitives themselves  passengers or packages. Those who assisted fugitives called themselves conductors,† (Horton). Almost every important event in American history between 1650 and 1896 had some implication with racial inequality or slavery. The last two chapters of the book go into details about the ending of the Civil War and the final years of slavery in America. Chapter 5 looks into the actions of black Americans during the war that eventually led to freedom. Chapter 6 goes hand in hand with the main thesis of the book, describing the fight for equality of all races, specifically blacks in America. The authors’ talk about the Emancipation Proclamation, and the â€Å"passing of the thirteenth amendment, pro viding for total abolition of American Slavery,† (Horton). Although slavery had been abolished, there was still not equality in the United States, and there would not be for quite some time. Over time, racial inequality slowly diminished, through the passing of the fourteenth amendment (equal citizenship for blacks), the fifteenth amendment (right to vote), and the Civil Rights Act, which was eventually repealed in 1883. One of my favorite aspects of this book is that there is a companion video and website that compliment it very well. The website is very interactive and goes along right with the book. It shares personal stories of the slaves. It also has a very descriptive timeline of events that occurred over several centuries, which is also provided in the back of the book. I enjoyed that this book and the website not only focused on the labor that the slaves did but their culture. It showed what types of clothes they wore, what type of music they played and listened to. When Africans were first brought to America, they never stopped believing in their culture and where they came from. One of the founding principles of the United States is the ability for different races and ethnicities to come together and create one America, a melting pot. Although the predominant race was white Europeans and still is to this day, people of all races are free to their own culture. I believe that this book and all the content that goes along with it is very well written and accurate. I enjoyed that this book went to a more personal level and told stories of specific slaves, and their hardships. The authors’ thesis throughout this book is very vague but I think they still provide a substantial amount of information to back up their thesis, throughout the whole book. I agree fully that slavery was one of the most important  influential aspects of American History. Although I think that there was information that the authors’ left out. This book focuses predominantly on the slavery of Africans, even though many other races were also sold as slaves throughout many decades. Hundreds of thousands of Irish were sold to English settlers for hundreds of years, and often saw harsher punishment than their African counterparts. I feel like the credibility of the book would go up significantly if it focused on the broad spectrum of slavery, rather than only focusing on the history of slavery throughout African American history. I would put this book on a list of must reads, as it really shows you the smaller, more important details that built a foundation for this country. Overall I felt that this book was a great at going into more detail on slavery and how important it actually was in the creation of America. Although I knew that slavery was a main component in the United States history, this book was an eye opener, and reminded me that almost all of the most significant events that shape the history of this country were primarily based around slavery and the freedom and equality of all persons. Works Cited Horton, James Oliver, and Lois E. Horton. Slavery and the Making of America. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2005. Print. Slavery and the Making of America. PBS. PBS, 1 Jan. 2004. Web. 24 Nov. 2014. .

Jim O Conner From The Glass Menagerie English Literature Essay

Jim O Conner From The Glass Menagerie English Literature Essay The character Jim OConner in The Glass Menagerie is of the gentleman caller. Tom describes Jim in his opening monologue as the most realistic character in the play, being an emissary from a world of reality that we were somehow set apart from. (858) Jim is portrayed as having qualities that are wonderful and without any flaws. These qualities are demonstrated by Jim up until the very end of the play when his true characteristics are fully revealed through his actions. Jim is an acquaintance of Tom and Laura from when they were in high school. He was very popular during his time at Soldan High School. He now works as a shipping clerk for a shoe warehouse where Tom and Jim end up become better friends. It is the same shoe warehouse Tom works for. Jim is the gentleman caller who is invited to dinner by Tom, and who Amanda is hoping will be a future husband for Laura. Tom honestly feels that Jim is different from all the members of the Wingfield family because he is facing reality instead of living in denial of it. Jim was an outstanding success in high school He was shooting with such velocity through his adolescence that you would logically expect him to arrive at nothing short of the White House by the time he was thirty (879) and everyone thought he would succeed in life. He is currently working as a shipping clerk, which is only a slightly better position than Toms. However, Jim is a cheerful, optimistic young man, who is determined to get ahead in life. He is studying public speaking and radio engineering at night school, and wants to go into the fledgling television industry. I believe in the future of television! I wish to be ready to go up right along with it. Therefore Im planning to get in on the ground floor. In fact Ive already made the right connections and all that remains is for the industry itself to get under way! Full steam Knowledge Zzzzzp! Money Zzzzzp! Power! Thats the cycle democracy is built on. (894) When he has dinner with the Wingfield family, Jim tries his best to draw Laura out of her shell. He ends up being the only character able to break through into Lauras secret world. He seems to be the most sincere person in the play and seems to be very honest and friendly. The reader is made to feel they can trust him. Jims character seems to come to life in his conversation with Laura. Even though he is ordinary, it is contact with the ordinary that Laura needs. It is not surprising that ordinary seems to be magnificence to Laura. Since Laura had known Jim in high school when he was considered the all-American boy, she could never bring herself to look on him now in any way other than exceptional. He is the one boy that she has had a crush on and he is her ideal dream. In the candlelight conversation Jim has with Laura he becomes wrapped up in reliving his own past. He seems to once again think that he is that high school hero who swept the girls off their feet. Due to the fact that Jim has become engrossed in playing the role of high school hero and also amateur psychiatrist, he failed to see what emotions he was building up in Laura. Jim simply had an honest desire to help Laura with her shyness. He is obviously very drawn to Laura in a romantic sense as well. He admits this to her while describing her beauty In all respects-believe me! Your eyes- your hair- are pretty! Your hands are pretty! (896) how she makes him feel different than any other girl does. I wish that you were my sister. Id teach you to have some confidence in yourself. The different people are not like other people, but being different is nothing to be ashamed of. Because other people are not such wonderful people. Theyre one hundred times one thousand. Youre one times one! They walk all over the earth. You just stay here. Theyre common as weeds, but you well, youre Blue Roses! (896) To Laura Jim has always been and still is wonderful and exceptional. He is so different from her world that he appears to be the prize she has been longing to win. Since Laura lives in a world of illusion, he is her knight in shining armor. Jims desires run away with him and he makes the mistake of kissing Laura. He makes her heart swells up with romance only to pierce it with the disclosure that he is engaged to be married. Laura is like a piece of her glass menagerie. She is fragile and needs to be treated very carefully. When she states Glass breaks so easily. No matter how careful you are she is giving foresight into the events that will unfold. Jim has broken her without realizing it. You think of yourself as having the only problems, as being the only one who is disappointed. But just look around you and you will see lots of people as disappointed as you are. (891) The most accurate description of Jim comes near the end of the play when Jim refers to himself as a stumble-john.(897)

Once there Was a Village :: essays research papers

The book, Once There Was a Village, written by Yuri Kapralov, is an autobiographical tale of his experiences living in the ethnically diverse East Village of New York City. The story takes place during the late 1960s and early 1970s and most of the events occur around Thompson Square Park-- the center of Alphabet City. Yuri Kapralov came to America after World War II, displaced from the Caucuses. He made the East Village home. In the book, he was adamant about what is the â€Å"East Village†. His description was west of Avenue A. He describes the ethnic composition as ever changing, but for the later part of the sixties, was mostly divided into Puerto Ricans, Russians, Polish, Blacks, and Bohemians; the bohemians were further divided into black-and-white couples, students, left-over beatniks and hippies. Kapralov describes how the area around Thompson Square Park and much of New York, during the late sixties and early seventies, became a dangerous place to call home. Crime was a daily occurrence brought on by the drug infestation and poverty typical of the location and era. People of the East Village were poor and disheartened by what they considered the New York Police Department’s lack of protection. In the late 1960s,although the East Village was overrun with crime, police officers were rarely seen east of First Avenue. Letters were written to the mayor and to newspapers requesting patrol officers in the area. The letters were either ignored or the authors were told the manpower was not available. Due to this situation, the Police become an object of hate. They never seemed to be there for protection against the ever recurrent muggings, robberies, and general violence against East Village citizens. The crime was so frequent that the residents began defending themselves with anything available and even resorted to buying illegal weapons. Many residents were caught with these illegally purchased weapons and arrested, further straining relations with law enforcement The summer of 1966 saw the climax of the antagonistic relationship with law enforcement and residents. There were street riots on Avenues C and B. Cars were burned, stores were robbed and people were killed. That evening, the area turned into a War Zone during the evening east of Avenue B. The community had many different views of the events. The Russian immigrants, who were deemed by the writer to be "more racist", saw the events as evident of the Black and Puerto Rican people acting "out of control" and the neighborhood "going to hell".

Canada At War :: essays research papers

Any war is a horrific event that may last years. Wars leave a legacy of death and destruction. They aren’t just for soldiers and battlefields but for new weapons that make destruction possible on our lands, beneath our seas, and in our air. They bring suffering and death to all families, races and nationalities. No matter where you live during the wars, they can effect you; seeing families destroyed, lives taken and children screaming in horror. In each World War Canada took apart defending their parent country, helping the countries that needed their help. We, as Canadians, should feel proud because many men from our Canadian Troops gave up their families, their friends even their lives to give the countries that needed them the freedom that Canadians had.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Black Watches were a famous Scottish army command known as the Royal Highland Regiment. The troop was founded when there were threats of local trouble in Scotland. So eight leaders each raised a company of soldiers designed to keep peace. The first duties included controlling the uprising clans in the Scottish Highlands.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Battalion’s worth as a military was proven on many occasions. The troops were called out to serve for many months on the Canadian border of the Niagara Peninsula and the Eastern Townships during the Fenian Raids of 1886 and 1870. The Canadian Troops also set out in aid of the civil power in 1877 during the Orange Riots, the Quebec riots which were a year later and served at the smallpox Riot of 1885. Due to Canada’s service over seas in Africa, the Royal Highlanders were awarded the battle honour, South Africa 1889-1900.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1905 was the year that the Royal Highlanders Regiment was formally allied with the Black Watch Troops in Scotland, and in 1906 that army was ordered to form a second army. It was the only two-army command stationed in one city for years. On August 1st, 1914 Sir Robert Borden, the Prime Minister of Canada, offered the Black Watch’s of Canada to help Great Britain in a war against Germany, Great Britain accepted the offer. 300 of the men volunteered. During World War I, three more Black Watch armies were formed. By the end of the month the Black Watch has over 1,000 men. Over 60% of the original soldiers were of British origin. During the first acts of war, the Canadian army lost over a hundred officers, and nearly 460 other ranks.

First Date in A Bad Restaurant :: essays papers

First Date in A Bad Resteraunt It was a beautiful fall evening. The sun was just beginning to give way to incoming twilight. I could smell winter in the air, even through my closed window. Soon there'd be snow on the ground. Matchbox Twenty was playing on my clock radio." I want to push you around...† The mood was set for a soft autumn night. However the mood inside my room was quite different. I was running around trying to do a million things a one time. My makeup was all wrong for my outfit. My hair was too big, no, now too flat. My stomach was rolling inside itself. My poor tummy was on tumble dry and I couldn't quite get it to stop. I couldn't find my shoes; my shirt had foundation on the side. What I really wanted to do was to sit on my bed and cry. Brian had called twenty minutes before the chaos. I could not believe he had called me. He probably thought I was stupid because I was so tongue-tied. He asked me if I would mind coming to dinner with him and a few of his friends. Would I mind? Do cows moo? The horn honked. My frustration grew. If this was a real date, my first one ever, shouldn't he come to the door and pick me up? Maybe take my arm in his and lead me to the car? I had envisioned my first date to at least start off right. This must be an omen. I walked out the door. The moment I heard the click of the lock I knew I looked horrible. A million thoughts raced through my mind, among these were the fact that I should have worn the blue shirt, my hair looks horrible, and oh God everyone is watching me. I tried to hide the sheer gut-retching fear that was boiling in my stomach. I had to do this. I was in too deep to turn and run now. My sweet chariot of the night was a 1988 van. Rust covered the bumper and half of the door. The color of had once been maroon, however had now faded to a slight orange color. Alternative rock boomed from the less then quality speakers. There were at least 6 people in the car, and it was rocking from side to side, in time to the beat.

Explain the Concept of Ideals in Plato’s Writings Essay

â€Å"The unexamined life is not worth living† according to Plato. He argued that we should always pursue knowledge and ask questions to do this. A key part of Plato’s philosophy is epistemology – his theory of how we know things. His concept of Ideals, also known as Forms, is Plato’s explanation of how true knowledge can be sought. Plato understood that there are concepts that we can all recognise in various things, for example the concept of beauty. We all recognise beauty in art, nature, people, or music, and we all understand the idea when we hear the word used. Although we can all recognise beauty, our opinions of what classes as beautiful are widely varied and subjective. The conclusions Plato drew from this is that beauty must exist, otherwise we would not know it at all. This is the Perfect Form of Beauty. However, we must have only partial knowledge of it or we would not have subjective opinions. Forms are absolute versions of concepts and ideas. They are perfect ideas of everything and therefore they do not change – perfect things cannot change for the better and would not change for the worse. They are also eternal as to begin or to stop existing is a change. They cannot live in this world as it is constantly changing and forms are unchangeable, so they can only exist in the Realm of the Forms. The form of Beauty is absolute and true; it is not an opinion but an idea or concept, therefore no-one can know the real meaning of Beauty as it cannot exist in this world and it is eternal. We will never know forms fully as we are imperfect. Forms give us knowledge and allow us to have some understanding of the truth. Although, we know that we do not know them fully as we can form our own opinions on things, e.g. what is beautiful and what is not. Forms are in the Realm of the Forms, we can recognise them as this is where our soul originates from, however because they come from there and not from where we are, we do not know them fully. Also as they are perfect we cannot understand them fully. In the Realm of the Forms there are Ideals of everything we have a concept of such as Beauty, Justice, Truth, and the Form of the Good. The Form of the Good is the highest of the forms and is the foundation and essence of everything. The Form of The Good represents Plato’s idea of goodness and is what you should most want. For Plato this was eudaimonia, living a good and fulfilled life. All other forms such as beauty, justice or truth are part of eudaimonia and so part of Good. The Form of the Good is therefore the most important Form as it gives us full and true knowledge of what we should pursue. It is our ultimate goal and the source of all truth and goodness. In this way, it has influenced the development of the Christian idea of God. Plato uses the Cave Allegory to present his ideas about Forms. He does this by using symbolism, by representing the Forms as objects outside of the cave. He then represents the Form of the Good as the sun; the sun shines light onto the objects outside, allowing us to see them. The light represents knowledge and the objects represent Forms – the Sun shows us the Forms and gives us knowledge. The prisoner’s journey illustrates Plato’s concept of Ideals or Forms – they provide truth but must be pursued individually and by looking away from things that keep us ignorant.