«Athletes voluntarily agree to partake in sporting competitions. These contests require opponents to promise to play the game, at the same time, and under the same conditions.7 Performance enhancement substance use is a core ethical issue in sports...» Document abstract
$2.95
3 word format
Language : english
sports
school essay
date published
20/11/2007
review : not yet assessed
level : General public
requested 1 times
SummaryAthletes voluntarily agree to partake in sporting competitions. These contests require opponents to promise to play the game, at the same time, and under the same conditions.7 Performance enhancement substance use is a core ethical issue in sports today. Some athletes feel the use of steroids and other substances violate the equal conditions requirement for sport as well as good sportsmanship conduct, due to the unnatural enhancement they provide. Others feel due to the ubiquity of the drugs they are fair game and see no ethical infraction of equal conditions or sportsmanship by using them to enhance performance.
«The conception of a utopian society has both motivated and haunted countless civilizations since the dawn of time. Sublime and intangible, the aspiration to reach a “perfect” society is arguably the heart of one of the world’s most significant...» Document abstract
$2.95
3 word format
Language : english
literature
school essay
date published
19/11/2007
review : not yet assessed
level : Advanced
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SummaryThe conception of a utopian society has both motivated and haunted countless civilizations since the dawn of time. Sublime and intangible, the aspiration to reach a “perfect” society is arguably the heart of one of the world’s most significant movements; modernism. Proponents of modernism believe that it was [and still is] society’s best chance at reaching any semblance of a utopia. Theorists such as Jurgen Habermas and Fredric Jameson celebrate modernism as the peak of recent thinking, and rail against society’s contemporary movement; postmodernism. These advocates of modernism believe postmodernism to be a giant leap backward; a movement bent on destroying all that modernism has created. Modernism, in the eyes of its advocates, attempted to seek out and destroy any injustices and frustrations within society by attacking them head on, and with the utmost seriousness. Postmodernism, with its deeply rooted use of irony, ambivalence, parody, and contradiction, has often been dismissed by its opponents as lacking the gravity and significance of modernism; an extremely faulty claim. Postmodernism is, in fact, the most appropriate, valid perception of humanity modern man has shaped. In Jim Powell’s book Postmodernism for Beginners, he points out that Fredric Jameson admired modernism because it “expressed its dissatisfaction with the world” (Powell 36). Jameson considered this application of modernism to be the vital first step in any conquest of utopia. Moreover, he and other advocates of modernism believed postmodernism to be a flawed, destructive movement which not only accepted the dissatisfactions of the world, but merely made jokes of them. Jameson, along with other opponents of postmodernism, is simply mistaken. Postmodernism is more powerful and productive a concept than modernism could ever have been; it does not accept the injustices and dissatisfactions of the world. Instead, it uses methods of parody, ambivalence, and irony to transcend these societal barriers. If there is any chance of reaching a utopian society, postmodernism is truly the first step.
«Disaster movies are often associated solely with cheap thrills; nothing more than vehicles for big explosions and even bigger budgets. The modern perception of this film genre (as well as its subgenres) seems to be nothing more than that of a...» Document abstract
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5 word format
Language : english
film studies
school essay
date published
19/11/2007
review : not yet assessed
level : Advanced
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SummaryDisaster movies are often associated solely with cheap thrills; nothing more than vehicles for big explosions and even bigger budgets. The modern perception of this film genre (as well as its subgenres) seems to be nothing more than that of a means for movie studios to spend a lot of money, and make a lot in return. While it may be true that many disaster movies are, arguably, pieces of visually stunning, mindless entertainment constructed to garner large audiences, not all disaster movies are confined to this formula. Within the science-fiction films of the 1950’s and 1960’s—some of the most popular disaster films ever made—lay intricate, subtle (some subtler than others), and socially important themes that were extremely applicable to the times in which they were made. The vast majority of these films center around aliens invading Earth with the singular intent of destroying and/or usurping it. Science-fiction films such as The Thing From Another World (1951) and The War of the Worlds (1953) are examples of alien invasion/takeover movies that were at the top of the box office in their time. The plots of these “alien-domination” films, along with dozens of other science-fiction disaster movies made during this time period, are fundamentally similar; aliens are determined to take over the world. However, this seemingly simple formula was entrenched in an allegorical realism that, at the time, was based on very real concerns. The aliens within these films were symbolic of the “others” which Americans feared most in the 1950’s and 1960’s; the communists. The takeover of Earth by space creatures served as a fantastic analogy to the “imminent” threat the communists (specifically the Soviets) posed to Americans. These science-fiction disaster movies were able to tap into a common American threat, and proved to be extremely successful in exploiting this threat in order to sell movie tickets.
«Storytelling, since the dawn of time, has served as an invaluable means in which human beings are able to create, sustain, and relay emotion, identity, and ideology. The stories people tell allow them to simultaneously connect to, and differentiate...» Document abstract
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4 word format
Language : english
film studies
school essay
date published
19/11/2007
review : not yet assessed
level : Advanced
requested 5 times
SummaryStorytelling, since the dawn of time, has served as an invaluable means in which human beings are able to create, sustain, and relay emotion, identity, and ideology. The stories people tell allow them to simultaneously connect to, and differentiate themselves from one another. Arguably more important than the stories themselves are the manners in which they are told. In this century, films have become one of the dominant forms of storytelling. Movies are seen on every continent on Earth, and reach hundreds of millions of people each year. Storytellers who work within the medium of film have a chance to exhibit their work on an unparalleled stage. During the first half of the twentieth-century, a movement known as “classical Hollywood cinema” thrived. The films created in the time of classical Hollywood cinema operated largely within metanarratives; all-embracing laws which governed human behavior. These films utilized well-known plot structures and familiar characters to tell their stories. There was almost always a hero and a villain, and, in the end, the hero would always get the girl. Specifically, each film genre would operate amidst its own metanarrative structure. Detective movies, thrillers, romance movies, horror films, and comedies all followed their own metanarratives. This was, in the world of film, modernism.
«Over the centuries, numerous scientists have devoted their lives to curing the ailments that have plagued mankind. While some diseases (such as polio) have been heroically defeated, others still kill millions of people every year. HIV/AIDS, Ebola,...» Document abstract
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2 word format
Language : english
medical studies
school essay
date published
19/11/2007
review : not yet assessed
level : Advanced
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SummaryOver the centuries, numerous scientists have devoted their lives to curing the ailments that have plagued mankind. While some diseases (such as polio) have been heroically defeated, others still kill millions of people every year. HIV/AIDS, Ebola, and Influenza, are just some of the many diseases that are serious factors in world health today. Although no cure has been found for many of these diseases, scientists are working non-stop to eradicate them. National and world health organizations are banding together in hopes of putting an end to the many deadly diseases that face the world today. With all the attention placed on infectious diseases, however, some serious ailments fall through the cracks. Eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa, are important health problems which afflict the world today; specifically the United States. Although anorexia has led to countless deaths in America over the past decades, little is known about the eating disorder. There is also much debate involving anorexia and other eating disorders; whether the ailments are biological or psychological, and just how serious a problem they are. Anorexia is a very serious problem in this country, and thousands of people are dying because so little is known about the devastating disease.
«In modern times, and namely in Western culture, identity has become a wholly introverted principle. People strive to define themselves solely as individuals; identity is thought of as exclusively self-contained. American culture, for example,...» Document abstract
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3 word format
Language : english
film studies
school essay
date published
19/11/2007
review : not yet assessed
level : Advanced
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SummaryIn modern times, and namely in Western culture, identity has become a wholly introverted principle. People strive to define themselves solely as individuals; identity is thought of as exclusively self-contained. American culture, for example, celebrates above all else the “individual;” he (or she) who stands out from the masses is reputed. It is within this celebration of “original identity,” however, where one of American culture’s deepest ironies lies. While on the surface a person’s autonomy may seem salient, if he or she does not conform to certain pre-disposed social constraints, he or she may be in danger of being viewed by others (and by him/herself) as “valueless.” Nowhere is this more prevalent than in the eating disorders of Americans. Disorders such as Anorexia and Bulimia Nervosa affect millions, and kill thousands of Americans every year; yet they are kept in the shadows of the culture’s collective consciousness.
«In the last century alone, the United States of America has witnessed dozens of “equal rights” movements. Some of the most significant rights Americans currently enjoy have come out of great struggle and controversy. Whenever a group of citizens...» Document abstract
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2 word format
Language : english
film studies
school essay
date published
19/11/2007
review : not yet assessed
level : Advanced
requested 0 times
SummaryIn the last century alone, the United States of America has witnessed dozens of “equal rights” movements. Some of the most significant rights Americans currently enjoy have come out of great struggle and controversy. Whenever a group of citizens protest the way their society views them, whenever they demand change, there is always an external, contradictory force trying to hold them back. Often times, however, there is also controversy within a rights movement; it is not unlikely for ideologies within a “movement” to clash. The feminist movement(s) of the past thirty years has been considered to be both largely successful, and somewhat of a failure; depending on who one asks.
«The term “independent film” is extremely malleable in the realm of American cinema. A film may be considered “independent” if it is financed and/or distributed outside of a Hollywood studio, or if it bends and/or breaks the conventions of mainstream...» Document abstract
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3 word format
Language : english
film studies
school essay
date published
19/11/2007
review : not yet assessed
level : Advanced
requested 3 times
SummaryThe term “independent film” is extremely malleable in the realm of American cinema. A film may be considered “independent” if it is financed and/or distributed outside of a Hollywood studio, or if it bends and/or breaks the conventions of mainstream American movies. There are numerous, if not infinite, ways to categorize and classify films as independent, and any attempt to do so is nearly impossible. That said, there are certain films that inarguably deserve the controversial classification, and certain filmmakers that approach American cinema in a manner that undeniably independent. One such film is Stranger Than Paradise (1984), and one such filmmaker is Jim Jarmusch. The film, Jarmusch’s second feature as writer/director, was financed with a shoestring budget (around $110,000), and became an archetype of what American independent cinema would strive to be in the following two decades. The narrative style of Stranger Than Paradise bends nearly all the “rules” of mainstream cinema. Everything about the film is minimalist, to put it lightly. In the early 1980’s, when films with grand narratives—such as Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and Ghostbusters (1984)—dominated the box office, Jarmusch’s film served as a daring, wholly original way to approach American cinema. Stranger Than Paradise’s sparse visual and narrative qualities frame its subject, American identity, in a way that few movies had ever attempted. His emphasis on the small, mediocre, and often-unexamined qualities of everyday life, made for a truly independent film.
«In 1975, an Australian philosopher by the name of Peter Singer first published his controversial book Animal Liberation. It has since become widely known as the beginning of the current “animal liberation movement” in America. The book preached the...» Document abstract
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3 word format
Language : english
literature
school essay
date published
19/11/2007
review : not yet assessed
level : Advanced
requested 0 times
SummaryIn 1975, an Australian philosopher by the name of Peter Singer first published his controversial book Animal Liberation. It has since become widely known as the beginning of the current “animal liberation movement” in America. The book preached the virtues of vegetarianism and vilified the American agribusiness, which Singer believed was highly immoral. Singer’s Animal Liberation has had many varying effects on the world; and specifically, the United States. Singer’s book had a great number of admirer’s, as well as its fair share of critics. In November of 2002, New York Times contributing writer Michael Pollan wrote an article entitled “An Animal’s Place.” This article dispelled some of the myths behind Singer’s Animal Liberation, as well criticized some of Singer’s ideas. Pollan’s article, however, is more than a mere argument against Singer’s belief system. Pollan delves into Singer’s arguments, and points out that while some are valid, many are not.
«Nothing can create nostalgia like a movie camera. There is something about the moving image that can trigger emotions like few other mediums can. It is easy to get lost in a film; they have the awesome ability of capturing and recreating the past....» Document abstract
$1.95
2 word format
Language : english
film studies
school essay
date published
19/11/2007
review : not yet assessed
level : Advanced
requested 3 times
SummaryNothing can create nostalgia like a movie camera. There is something about the moving image that can trigger emotions like few other mediums can. It is easy to get lost in a film; they have the awesome ability of capturing and recreating the past. The nostalgic value of the cinema is immense, but where professionals recreate, amateurs simply need to record. When it comes to remembrance, nothing comes close to the power of home movies. The unprofessional quality of home movies—the poor sound quality, the unedited images—do not impair their power; they are what makes them all the more endearing. These amateur aspects of home movies have also become an often-used effect in the world of professional cinema. When a film wants to be wistful, emotional, and touching, nothing can achieve the same effect as old-fashioned home movies.
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