Gillian Anderson :: essays research papers

Gillian Anderson has exceeded the point of recognition, and has become a role model for young and old alike. Her popularity has evolved over the years due in part for her notorious role as Special Agent Dana Scully, on the once cult hit television series The X-Files. With the show now entering its 7th season, presumed to be its last, the concern of the once apprehensive Gillian losing the role of Scully is no longer an aspect. The reputation of the character has brought the actress apperception, which has lead to her being featured on magazine covers, in books, on CDs, at conventions, in movies, and she’s one of the most popular candidates for a website to be created about. Nonetheless, Gillian Anderson has gone from virtually unknown to known all over the world, and that itself is reason enough for her to be written, and read, for that matter, about. Gillian Leigh Anderson began her life in Cook County, Chicago on August 9, 1968. By the time she was only a mere 6 months old, her and her family were residing in Puerto Rico. At the age of 1, she relocated once again, this time in London, England. At this point, it is safe to say that the Anderson family was somewhat nomadic. Now being an inhabitant of England, the family moved several more times. At the age of 5, Gillian was living in Crouch End in north London, where she attended her first school. By this time Gillian had spent most of her life in London but had picked up her parents’ American accent. Her classmates teased and taunted her, and she was bullied in the schoolyard. She immediately learned how to fight back, and she practiced her north London accent until it became impeccable enough to call her own. By the time Gillian was 11, with a settled home life, lots of friends, and the memories of once being an outsider well behind her, her parents decided to move ba ck to the United States. Gillian and her family relocated for the last time, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Now back in the states, Gillian’s accent once again alienated her from the other children, but this time it was for obtaining a British, not American, accent. She had left the exciting London behind and by contrast Grand Rapids hardly measured up. Grand Rapids is a sleepy prairie town, and the kids were totally out of it as far as she was concerned.

A Filmic Analysis of Hamlet Essay

Shakespeare’s Hamlet inspired many film directors to adapt the play onto the big screen. In Kenneth Branagh’s version, he takes on the challenge of both directing the film and portraying Hamlet. In Marco Zeferelli’s edition, celebrated actor Mel Gibson stars as Hamlet. The directors use different aspects of cinematography and mise-en-scene to depict distinctive interpretations of the famous â€Å"To be or not to be† soliloquy. Branagh interprets the scene as a contemplation of Hamlet’s decision whether to kill himself or Claudius, whereas Zeferelli construes the scene as a deliberation of life, death, and the afterlife. Branagh uses props, varied camera angles, and thoughtful acting to describe the â€Å"To be or not to be† soliloquy as a brooding decision haunting Hamlet of action versus inaction. Branagh begins the soliloquy facing a two-way mirror, with Polonius and Claudius hidden behind it. The audience sees Hamlet staring directly at himself, while also facing the concealed men behind the mirror. This personifies the idea that Hamlet is hesitant about taking action against his own life or taking the life of Claudius: â€Å"Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer / The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, / Or to take arms against a sea of troubles / And, by opposing end them† (3. 1. 65-68). The camera angle consists of a medium close-up on the intense concentration of Branagh’s face, expressing the critical contemplation of his life and Claudius’s. Later in the soliloquy, Hamlet uncovers a bodkin, pointing the weapon towards the two-way mirror in a manifestation of action versus inaction. The lighting of the scene highlights Branagh’s face and disposition with explicit detail, leaving no question to the viewer about his intent on either killing himself or Claudius. However, Branagh neglects to analyze Hamlet’s actual contemplation of death itself. Zeferelli focuses on Hamlet’s reflection of death as an experience and also the ambiguity of the afterlife. Mel Gibson recites the â€Å"To be or not to be† soliloquy in a royal tomb where his father is buried. The morbid setting suggests a theme of death. The low-key lighting emphasizes an ominous quality associated with Hamlet’s musing of the afterlife. Gibson meticulously edges through the graves, using composed speech to reflect upon his life and the life of his father: â€Å"For in that sleep of death what dreams may come, / When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, / Must give us pause. There’s the respect / That makes calamity of so long life† (3. 1. 74-77). Hamlet believes that the hardships of life become resolute through death. The turmoil of human affairs perishes along with an individual’s life. Gibson’s acting and disposition suggest that he thinks death is more appealing than life. His ponderings are not a question of action and revenge but a question of the actual prospects of death and what comes after death. The setting in a tomb highlights this as well as Gibson keenly looking up towards heaven during the soliloquy. Although the two directors interpret the â€Å"To be or not to be† soliloquy differently, similarities exist between the two scenes. The acting of Branagh and Gibson both reflect deep contemplation; Branagh being more concerted and Gibson being more reflective. Both actors use Shakespeare’s words very thoughtfully and precisely, and keep their voices in a soft but convincing monotone. The camera angles of the scenes are also similar with the shot situated intently on the actors’ faces, either focused in a fixed position on Branagh to represent great credence or zooming in slowly on Gibson’s face to represent a more reflective quality. Both directors do an exceptional job conveying the message that their cinematographic and acting choices suggest. The â€Å"To be or not to be† soliloquy is interpreted in many different ways, but Branagh and Zeferelli artfully choose one aspect of the scene to focus on.

Political Changes in Europe Since the Fall of the Soviet Union

In April 1986, Mr. Gorbachev began the perestroika, translation â€Å"reconstruction†, which was to end the Cold War that effectively brought down the Iron Curtain. The split between West and East not only partitioned the world into two parts, but also divided the European family for over 40 years. With the fall of the Soviet Union came many changes that affected much if not all of Europe. At the end of the Brejnev era , the socialist bloc was severely outdated and far removed from the contemporary world.The economy was in a shambles, independent civil society was largely in exile, and corruption throughout and within the state via the Communist Party had become legendary. In addition, the USSR had to devote an enormous portion of its budget to the military. On the international level, the USSR had lost many allies, because its social model proved to be decreasingly successful in its deceit, and the ill-fated invasion of Afghanistan (1979 – 1989) did not help in any way .It was therefore necessary to undertake urgent measures, especially in countries where satellite totalitarian regimes were challenged and the USSR no longer had the support of local communist parties. The advent of Gorbachev to power marked the beginning of the reconstruction. His first step on his rise to power was the partial liberation of the press, also known as glasnost. The first free newspapers emerged and some major newspapers such as â€Å"Novii Mir (New World),† Argumenti i Fakti â€Å"(Arguments and Facts) or† Moskovskie Novosti (Moscow News) changed editors. Books banned by the Soviet censorship began to appear in stores.Also, films which had been censored until this time were finally appearing on the screen. The policy change was also considerable. Under Gorbachev, 140 dissidents, victims of Stalinist repression, were honored and rehabilitated. From exile in Gorky, Sakharov, who condemned the war in Afghanistan – was released. Several opposition po litical organizations emerged as a Democratic Union and in 1988 the first anti-communist demonstrations took place. Gorbachev, considering the difficulty and complexity of the political situation at the time, tried at any price to change the political elite in an effort to ensure reconstruction. Policy frameworks† began and brought fresh faces to power. â€Å"Without – parties† (political parties that were not members of the Communist Party) were authorized to occupy important positions in state bodies. In addition, elections were introduced within the party to make elected officials accountable to its voters. Before this time, the party presented a candidate for the post and members could only nod in approval. Despite all this progress, the USSR was unable to overcome the economic and social crisis that hit the country in the early 80s. The Soviet system was not adaptable by itself and reconstruction was doomed from the start.Gorbachev did not have the political capacity to push the desired reforms through. His strategy, in essence, triggered the collapse of the USSR, which was completely unexpected. Perestroika could not change the structure of the Soviet economy, and thus served as an obstacle to reforms. All means of production were under state control. In addition, factories managers and corrupt officials wanted at all costs to keep the economic system that afforded them considerable privilege, especially in a country where the deficit of consumer products was seen in everyday life.The political system, like the economy, rested on a foundation of lies. Political leaders from cities and regions fabricated domestic and foreign policy statistics, using propaganda, including the newspaper â€Å"Pravda† (Truth). This newspaper was later to become a symbol of Soviet exaggeration of the productivity of the communist state. The Soviet secret services were doing everything to prevent people from having information deemed undesirable; any foreign or independent press was prohibited. In launching his reforms, Gorbachev wanted to reform that which what was not reformable.Perestroika and glasnost had made the system fragile, because the lie was no longer there to blind people. Thus, in 1991 a political system that had seemed indestructible – unbeatable, all but disappeared from the world political map. Perestroika was ultimately the determining factor in the fall of the Iron Curtain. The forces it unleashed, such as freedom of speech (glasnost), by Gorbachev inside his country had devoured the communist parties of Eastern Europe. That was also the case with the fall of the Berlin Wall and subsequent German reunification.The fall of the Berlin Wall was largely provided for by the green light given by Moscow. Without such approval, it would have been very probably a repetition of the â€Å"coup de Prague† of 1968, as the forces of the Warsaw Pact entered the Czechoslovakian capital to put an end to the demo cratic reforms of Dubcek following the Prague Spring. After the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, the reunification of Germany was inevitable. The non-intervention of Warsaw Pact forces during the fall of the Berlin Wall signaled the outbreak of the revolutions that occurred thereafter.Elsewhere in 1989 in Eastern Europe, democratic movements freed from the tutelage of Moscow out-punched Communism. This is the case in Romania with the fall of Ceausescu, Czechoslovakia and Poland with the resignation of the communist government and the start of negotiations between General Jaruzelski and the representatives of Solidarnosc. The policy of rapprochement between the West promoted by Gorbachev led to the collapse of the Warsaw Pact. Having neither the financial resources nor the political will to save this military alliance, the Soviets proposed in 1988 to repeal the pact against the dissolution of NATO.In December 1988, Gorbachev and Bush declared at a meeting in Malta that th e Cold War was over. Immediately after the fall of communism in Europe, former satellites of the Soviet Union chose to join the unified European family and NATO. Chronologically, in the first half of 90 years, almost all the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) have submitted their applications to join the European Union and NATO. For these countries, membership in these structures is first and foremost a political symbol, to guarantee their freedom and sovereignty.European integration also meant the return of these countries into the European mainstream as equal partners and not merely as â€Å"little brothers†, as was the case with the USSR. Long oppressed by a regime imposed from outside, these countries could finally defend their interests in the democratic framework that the European Union offers. Without perestroika, the world today would not be the same. It is mainly through this process that democratization has been set up in the Central and Eastern Europe an d that Europe is no longer divided in two.

A Biography of Sidney Poitier

In 1967, a press conference with Sidney Poitier, at that time one of the most successful and popular American actors and certainly the most famous African-American actor, turned from his many roles on screen and stage and became something else entirely.Due to a rash of racial riots across the nation at that time, Poitier was asked pointed questions concerning whether or not he was in favor of the racial riots, his theories on segregation, and other racially oriented topics (Goudsouzian).It was at that point that something happened which changed the course of Poitier’s life as well as the role of African-Americans everywhere- rather than avoid the question, turn the focus back to his fame or storm off in a rage, Poitier came to the realization that it was impossible for him to separate his status as an entertainment icon from his obligation to use his fame to advance the cause of minority rights in America.   Since then, Poitier has done just that.This research will discuss A ram Goudsouzian’s pivotal 2004 biography of Sidney Poitier, not only as a review of this book, but also in an effort to try to better understand how and why Poitier has become one of the most influential African Americans since the end of Civil War.Author’s PurposeWhen gaining a better understanding of why Goudsouzian chose Poitier as the subject of his book, one not only gains an understanding of the author’s purpose in writing the book, but also a grasp of the major social and historical issues that are tackled through a book which is biographical at its core, but becomes much more expansive as it unfolds.First, one must realize that Goudsouzian is not a biographer by nature, but in fact is a history writer, which is why Poitier was chosen as the subject of the book.By choosing a pivotal historic African-American who bridges the gap between the faà §ade of Hollywood and the real world of the urban streets of the nation, Goudsouzian has been able to tell not o nly the story of the struggles of an ambitious African-American man coming of age in the racially charged 1950s and 1960s, but also of a man who parlayed his fame not into a mere vehicle for his own enrichment, but to try to aid and support his entire race.Goudsouzian’s Central ThemeEarlier, the point was made that Goudsouzian’s book is much more than biography or history, but is rather a powerful combination of the two.   Looking beyond this assertion, it is also interesting to explore the central theme of the book, which can fairly be identified in one word-perseverance.For Poitier, perseverance has meant the constant jumping of hurdles, placed in front of him by a society which still wrestles with the issue of equality for African-Americans, even decades after the strife which advanced African-Americans significantly, and almost a century and a half after a bloody Civil War which settled the issue of African-American freedom once and for all.   For African-Ameri cans in general, it would seem that Goudsouzian paints perseverance as a struggle to gain equal footing with the mainstream of America.This being said, however, a fair critique of Goudsouzian’s approach is in order.   It would seem that the author is too quick to always portray Poitier, and African-Americans as perpetual underdogs who never gain any significant ground.However, in truth, much progress has been made in cause of racial equality, while keeping in mind of course that there is much progress yet to come.   Goudsouzian could have presented a bit more of a balance in his contrast.

Hammurabi's Code - An Overview Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Hammurabi's Code - An Overview - Essay Example Various parts of the law were written in systematic way so that reading of the Code by the people was easily understandable and people could derive what was expected of them from the written laws. The code was inscribed upon a black stone monument, eight feet high, and clearly meant to be erected for reading by his people. This famous stone-carving was found in the year 1901, not in Babylon, but in a city of the Persian mountains, as some later victor must have taken it in victory. The code starts and finishes with calls to the gods. It shows how regard for gods was mandatory before reading a law code although the prayers were mainly curses for non-abiders of the law (Horne, 1915). The code commands in lucid and sure strokes the making of society. The judge who commits mistakes in a law case is to be ousted from his position and rank forever, and heavily penalized. The falsified witness is to be beheaded. In fact, all the serious crimes are awarded death. For instance, if a man const ructs a house poorly, and the structure comes down and kills the owner, the builder is to be beheaded. If the owner's son is killed, then the builder's son would be beheaded. The Hebrews imbibed from here the law of "an eye for an eye.† These serious retributive punishments do not count excuses or clarifications, but only of the truth--with one noticeable exception. An offender was permitted to drown himself into "the river," the Euphrates. Clearly, people were not familiar with swimming; if the waves brought the culprit to the river banks alive he was pronounced not-guilty, if he could not swim back he was declared guilty. It shows Hammurabi’s belief in the justice of the reigning gods, although a bit childishly, it was implanted in the minds of people (Horne, 1915). There are thousands of rulings of the ancient times based on Babylonian laws, the so-called "contracts," including a vast range of deeds, conveyances, bonds, receipts, accounts and, most critical of all, t he actual legal verdicts awarded by the judges in the law courts. It helped in conserving the so-called "Sumerian Family Laws† (Johns, 1911). One can not find any symptoms of tribal tradition from the law of the Code. It is a ruler’s law; similar to self-help, bloody fights, marriage by seizure is missing; though family unity, district duty, and difficult times – these ancient traits are visible. The king is a kind-hearted ruler who can be available to all his people, he is equally capable and ready to safeguard the oppressed against the noblest oppressor. The royalty can excuse such a high profile culprit only if there is no resentment among the people for the oppressor. The judges are regularly observed and appeal is permitted. There are feudal holdings, masters of the levy, and police. There exists a postal system. There is free movement by people from Babylon to the coast of the Mediterranean. Women hold a rank of respect and reverence in the Hammurabi code ( Johns, 1911). The Code did not just personify the customs of that time or safeguard ancient law. The law-abiding citizens and litigation had a record of centuries in the temple stores in each city, huge enough, of past decisions and copies of judicial awards, getting mixed with the city traditions. The ever-prevailing habit of writing and practice of written deeds even more

The International Coffee Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The International Coffee Industry - Essay Example In specific reference to the coffee industry, the profit motive of corporations only worsens the conditions of poor coffee farmers who are not compensated in proportion to their hard labor. According to Thomas Friedman, globalization is the â€Å"inexorable integration of markets, nation-states, and technologies†¦..the spread of free-market capitalism to virtually every country in the world.† (Friedman, 2000: 7-8). In reference to the international trade facilitated by globalization and the diffusion of geographical boundaries, Mittelman refers to globalization as a historical transformation - â€Å"a political response to the expansion of market power† resulting in a transformation â€Å"in the economy, of livelihoods and modes of existence† (Mittelman, 2000: 6). McMichael also corroborates this market-oriented view, seeing the process of global integration taking place on the basis of â€Å"market rule on a global scale†(McMichael, 2000:149). The be lief in the beneficial effects of free trade that exists today is largely a function of the theory of comparative advantage that underlies the Ricardian model of international trade (Henderson, 1993:827). Comparative advantage is the ability possessed by a particular country to produce a particular good at a lower cost relative to other goods and as compared to other countries that produce the same good. Therefore, comparative advantage possessed in one area of production indicates that the country has some favorable factors working on its behalf or has perfected specialized techniques in the production of that good, so that it is able to produce it more efficiently (Mankiw, 2007: 52). According to Porter (1996:64), â€Å"Competitive strategy is about being different.†Ã‚  

Information Technology Strategic Plan Term Paper - 1

Information Technology Strategic Plan - Term Paper Example The objectives are feasible given that digital technology can work for both the clientele and the business The mission statement destined to integrate the needs of the company with those of the target market and understand drivers for loyalty and overall satisfaction guides Great Heights Events Planning Company. The mission statement is stated as follows; â€Å"Our mission is to surpass the expectations of customers and create memories that will last a lifetime. In the process of administering out high-end services, we are guided by the principles of honesty, integrity, and respect for every client or guest on our way. We hope to maximize our outcomes for the sole satisfaction and loyalty of our clientele.† As Greater Heights seeks to gain more traction with customers than before, investment in IT will be inevitable given that the entire industry is investing in the state-of-the-art equipment. The interactions with the ultimate clients and guests are based on the data collected using the information. Then following the strategic plan will outline the current situation of Great Heights in terms of technology and security aspects. The business venture will also entail determining the information technology personnel or roles in place and a SWOT analysis for the same. The goals of the IT strategic plan will be outlined and the positive organizational impacts it will have once it is implemented in Great Heights. Great Heights does not have expansive remote storage and data collection tools for customer information. The company relies on the calls made by customers. The planning department conducts a random survey every month through questionnaires to the guests. The future events are based on the survey provided because customers give an honest opinion about the services and what they expect to get from the company. The company has not yet applied digital tools for collecting customer