Wong Kar Wai And Hollywood Cinema Film Studies Essay

Wong Kar Wai And Hollywood Cinema Film Studies Essay The world today is essentially a bifocal world. Filmmakers everywhere are concerned with their own national cinema, and then with Hollywood. The world today is divided into Hollywood and a serious of national cinema. As the most successful and influential Asian cinema outside Japan and India,  [1]  Hong Kong cinema as a transnational cinema, has so successfully emulated Hollywood to the extent that it has now been integrated by Hollywood. In this regard, commercialization and entertainment are what Hong Kong cinema and Hollywood cinema concentrated on. Especially Hong Kong cinema, due to it situates in a democratic and liberal society. The filmmakers have no boundary or limitation in filmmaking. Therefore, they pursue the films aesthetics and entertainment more than the fact of the society. Also, Hong Kong absorbs influences from the West and went on to localize and indigenize foreign cultures. And the community in Hong Kong has a strong link with its traditional Chinese culture, in many aspects had developed its own Hong Kong culture as well. So to speak, Hong Kong cinema has a strong sense of east-west identity. The geography, history and unique cultural identity of Hong Kong inhabitants have inevitably shaped the territorys cinema. Hong Kongs adaptability to change, cultural diversity and cosmopolitan lifestyle has led to a dynamic output of films that portray a distinct Hong Kong psyche.  [2]   The film of Wong Kar-wai attests to this tradition of filmmaking. Wong as the second New Wave of Hong Kong filmmaker who continued to develop the innovative and fresh aesthetic initiated by the original New Wave.  [3]  Since Hong Kongs 1997 handover to China, the local film industry was inclined to art-cinema wing instead of the action (Kung fu) tradition. And Wongs offbeat works got the world recognition even though he stands apart from the mainstream Hong Kong cinema. In the following paragraphs, the argument will be focused on Wong Kar-wais postmodern films in a relationship with Hollywood style. The narrational aspect of plot manipulates story time in specific ways. Jean Epstein summarized the relationship between narrative and time in the classical Hollywood film:  [4]   After dramas supposedly without endings, here is a drama which would be without exposition or opening, and which would end clearly. Events would not follow one another and especially would not correspond exactly. The fragments of many pasts come to bury themselves in a single now. The future mixed among memories. This chronology is what of the human mind. Contemporary Hollywood filmmaker like Quentin Tarantino, for example in his Pulp Fiction (1994, USA) uses the juggle story and plot time in ways that recall the complex flashback of the 1940s. Moreover, the switches in Pulp Fiction are not motivated as characters memories; the audience is forced to puzzle out the purposes served by the time shifts. In some of Wongs film, flashback has another expression. In Wong Kar-wais In the Mood for Love (2000, Hong Kong), the flashback applies to only one conceal scenario which begins with the male protagonist Chow Mo-wan (Leung Chiu-wai)  [5]  finds something is gone in his home, end with he notices there is a lip print on a cigarette. But it doesnt tell us what stuff he missed and who stole it until the coming scene of Su Li-zhen (Maggie Cheung Man-yuk)  [6]  comes (she comes to Chows home before), we realize the complete plotline. Unlike the flashbacks in Pulp Fiction or Reservoir dog (1992, USA) which is merely focuses on the rhetorical disposition of the narrative for the sake of suspense or surprise. Wongs flashback technique is more incline to highlight the aesthetics in actors performance relate to the important scenario. Like this scene, the two protagonists much-loved themes of loneliness, isolation, and longing rise to the surface. David Bordwell summarized the relationship between narrative and space in the classical Hollywood film:  [7]   In making narrative causality the dominant system in the films total form, the classical Hollywood cinema chooses to subordinate space. Most obviously, the classical style makes the sheerly graphic space of the film image a vehicle for narrative. We can see this principle at work negatively in the prohibitions against bad cuts. The important subjects should be in the same general area of the frame for each of the two shots which are to be cut together, but as long as the important subject is not shifted from one side of he screen to the other, no real harm is done. In describing the classical cinemas use of space we are most inclined to use the term transparent, so much does that cinema strive to efface the picture plane. The screen might be likened to a plate-glass window through which the observer looks with one eye at the actual scene. Contemporary Hollywood filmmakers have sometimes explored what has been called the web-of-life plot.  [8]  Instead of two primary lines of action, the tendency of the films pursues a large number of plotlines, often involving many characters. In the 1990s, such films as Quentin Tarantinos Pulp Fiction. The every single plotlines seem completely have nothing to do with another story, but usually they split off and converge from one and another. In Pulp Fiction, there are 3 stories, each one based upon specific characters. And the narratives are circular as well as intersected. The theme of the uncanny and destiny arises ranging from Butch (Bruce Wills) and Vincent (John Travolta), they meet each other for twice. First time they meet in a bar without a direct conversation. In the next time is concerned with Butch goes home for his watch (the only stuff his dead father left him) and comes across Vincent (implicitly come to assassinate Butch) in his toilet then kill him. In this rega rd, the sequence in the whole plotline is mysterious. Despite Vincent is already dead in the previous story, we still see him in the final part of the story in a restaurant with Jules (Samuel L. Jackson). Continue the unfinished story at the beginning. In Wong Kar-wais film, he doesnt follow this Hollywood narrative tradition. In Chungking Express (1994, Hong Kong), Wong creates a new style of narrative causality in space-time which he blends the theme of gangster and romantic-comedy together. This is the apparent feature of post-modern film. Seen from Wongs Chungking Express, it constitutes an intriguing experiment in nonclassical form. It has only about 6 major characters, but it is broken into 2 distinct stories, each organized around a different batch of characters and presented one after the other. Since both male protagonists are lovelorn men and policemen, originally we might expect them to encounter one another, but they never do. Even when the first story finish, everything related to the first story never appears again apart from one same locale. In Chungking Express, the connection between these two stories is they do share one locale: Both Officer 1 (Takeshi Kaneshiro)  [9]  and Officer 2 (Leung Chiu-wai) hang out a t the Midnight Express. Nonetheless, this doesnt connect these two parts. The characters in these two separate plots seem no intersection with each other. Merely the Officer 1 meets Faye Wong  [10]  once in the Midnight Express. Afterwards, the next story starts whereas Officer 1 never appears again in the next narrative. And the second obscure connection is while the mysterious blonde woman (the female protagonist in the first story) lounges outside a shop, Faye (whom we do not meet until part two) leaves with a stuffed toy (perhaps destined for Officer 2s apartment). Apparently, Faye is juxtaposed into these two coincidences by Wongs strategy in order to invite audience to seek the connections and unify the two parts of the film. From Chungking Express, we can see another general style in Wongs filmmaking. First of all, the notion of time is a pervading concept in all of Wongs films. In the first part of Chungking Express, officer 1 obsessively eats cans of pineapple with the expiry date of the 1st of May, for him, May 1st is his girlfriends birthday also its the end of their love. He convinces that everything has an expiry date, including love. However, for the female drug trafficker, May 1st is the end of her life if she could not find the group of Indian who stole her stuff. Indeed, Wongs films may not be directly or overtly political, however there is often an indirect relation to the political via Wongs conveying of a particularly intense experience of the period as an experience of the negative; an experience of some elusive and ambivalent cultural space that lies always just beyond our grasp.  [11]  In addition, Wong always ignores the characters identity, background and family. We just know they c all cop 223 and cop 663. Despite they have a home. We can only see the pineapple cans with expiry date and cop 223s desperation from this place. Cop 663s home is insecure. Faye often invades his home regardless of without aggressiveness. At the same time there is an escalator located beside his home, it is totally exposed in every passerbys eyes when go through it. Therefore Cop 663 lives under the unstable circumstance. Here, implicitly, once again Wong reveals peoples prospective confusion to their own identity related to the forthcoming handover in 1997. Thirdly, not only in Chungking Express, but also in most of his oeuvre, characters affection is the center of the attention. And Wong adores keeping them in the Platonic relationship. Rarely see the sexual scenes in Wongs film but the love between the two characters are aesthetic and pure. In the first part of the story, Officer 1 and the blond woman stay in a room without doing anything. Nevertheless, after Officer 1 leaves then he receives a happy birthday message from the blond woman. Obviously she still remembers May 1st is Officer 1s birthday because he told her last night, despite she gets into the trouble. Through Wongs oeuvre, Hong Kong becomes a metaphor for the characters and their varied existence. It represents an urban pastiche in which individuals struggle to come to terms with a sense of detachment and loneliness despite the territorys high-density population. Wongs endless array of possible scenarios and the navigation of his protagonists internal and external journeys in turn constitute an unravelling and reconfiguring of spatio-temporal constrictions.  [12]  Hong Kongs unique identity with its fusion of Chinese and Western culture and complex history provides opportunities for Wong to reveal and concerns with issues as varied as identity, emotion, future, etc via his frame. To some extent, we can define Wongs cinema is Hollywood in the way of expression such as the crosscutting, jump cuts and fragmented images. But as a poetic auteur, sees him delve into moments that are linked to both history and the personal in Hong Kongs community, whether directly or indirectly. Noti ons of identity and the ever-present fusion between East and West find context in the themes of love, loneliness and alienation that pervade his protagonists. Even though Wong doesnt belong to the mainstream in Hong Kong cinema, his films are never and ever being the foolproof and top grossing films. Nonetheless, we can not deny his contribution to Hong Kong film industry. Filmography Pulp Fiction- Quentin Tarantino, 1994, USA Reservoir Dog- Quentin Tarantino, 1992, USA In the Mood for Love-Wong Kar-wai, 2000, Hong Kong Chungking Express-Wong Kar-wai, 1994, Hong Kong

A Virtual Team at T. A. Stearns

Tom Andrews, Cy Crane, Marge Dector and Megan Harris are all part of a team because they cooperatively work towards the success of their small organization through the realization of their common goals and interests.Although their immediate common denominator is being part of a group that T.A. Stearns relies on for innovative programming, each member’s desire to have lenient working hours and flexible working space also gels them together to work cohesively. In fact, they have already stepped beyond working relations into the grounds of true friendship because they have learned to cover up for each other’s misgivings to be able to achieve their aims and goals.2. Has anyone in this case acted unethically?All of them, without any exception, violated their company’s trust.   This was done by concealing their new work innovation that gave them additional hours for personal time.Although it can be said that they have saved the company money by not asking for their r eward for another brilliant time-saving invention, what they have done is like stealing. The company could have saved more money by lessening their working hours but they let the company pay them unknowingly.3. What, if any, characteristics of groupthink are manifested in the work team?One of the indicators that the virtual team was already suffering from groupthink is their high moral stance. The members believed that they could cover up their â€Å"time cheating strategy† and collectively assumed that it was okay to keep their innovation a secret so that they can have more time to themselves.They even worked together to plan out how they can deceive their company by coordinating on their reports and schedules.   The team had begun to think that they were smarter than their bosses.Another indicator of group think was their arrogance regarding their working style.   The group had taken pride in their ability to have flexible time and working space compared to most people but this should not have given them the reason to scoff at those who have chosen to work differently.The most obvious indicator of group think is their move to keep information even from their leader.4. Has Dave been an effective team leader?Yes he has for he was very observant of his team.   He knew the members fairly enough to judge that there was something amiss and that he needed to get to the bottom of it right away. He was also a good leader because he immediately discussed his concerns with Cy.5. What should Dave do now?Dave would have to reveal the virtual team’s new discovery to upper management before the executives hear it through the grapevine. If I were in his shoes, I would reveal the innovation by presenting it as something the virtual team had experimented on for some time to ensure its effectiveness.   This way, Dave not only saves his virtual team but also gets a probable pat in the back from management for doing a good job.

Discipline in Secondary Schools

Section 1: Introduction 1. 1 Background of the Study The schools and other educational institutions today are facing large problems regarding the issue on the students’ lack of self discipline resulting to under-achievements of the students in the school as well as violence within the school premises. How close are these two issues related to each other? Mostly, the age-stage of which the student enters when he attends secondary school is ranged as the puberty stage of an individual’s growth.According to psychologists, this particular stage of growth introduces an individual to several major decisions that he has to face along the way towards his maturity. Hence, confusion of priorities and aggravation of depression through the environment occurs (Coon, 1999, 88). As reports could attest to this fact, it is not that hard to understand that there is an essential need of restructuring the procedures of the school when it comes to disciplining students who are attending se condary education. This is the reason why the researcher of this paper opted to discuss the issue mentioned.The timeliness of the research would indeed help in solving the problems at present especially with regards the issues of education, discipline and student achievements. 1. 2 Significance of the Problem The problem as mentioned earlier directly affects the achievements of the students in their schools. This means that because of the lack of discipline, the students of the secondary school level face the challenges of being misaligned when it comes to their focus and at some point become highly attracted to drugs and violence.This is the fact when it comes to school procedures. The actual reports that pertain to the said issue are indeed much disturbing and further more alarming to the institutional boards. As most of the schools affected by this dilemma are public educational institutions at [79%] whilst Private schools are affected by at least [45%], it is indeed necessary to identify the reasons behind the incidents that lead to students’ lesser interest in school and a higher rate of attraction towards drugs and violence.Through the proceedings of this particular research, it is expected that the reasons behind the ongoing issue in schools would be further regulated and controlled by institutional administrations through the use of psychological and psychosocial motivation. 1. 3 Research Questions To be bale to attend to the most important issues related to this particular problem, the researcher decided to use the following questions as guidelines for the completion of this particular study: †¢ What are the primary sources of the discipline of the students?Do those sources pertain to the personal or the social connection of the students to the society? †¢ How are students reacting to the discipline that they learn from their homes and from their environment? What are the elements that are so far affecting the vision of the students t owards their achievements in school as well as towards their future? †¢ How are drugs and violence related to the effects of lack of discipline among students? These particular questions shall serve as the primary foundation of the study.These questions shall be the settling ground of the researcher in finding the right sources for the completion of this paper as well as deciding on the right method to be used to collect actual data for the validation of this study. 1. 4 Purpose of the Study To add up to the stress that this study places on the topic to be discussed in this paper, the following presentation of the purposes would primarily support the existing statements of the problem to assist in the validation of the facts that are to be presented.The purposes of this study are: †¢ TO assist the ongoing researches on school students’ discipline issues and help the institutions solve the impending results of the said problems. †¢ To make assessments on how the issues could be investigated through the use of psychological assessments and actual-report-based evaluations of the situation. †¢ To strengthen the procedures of student motivation that is already currently used in schools in the society today.The utilization of these purposes within the completion of this study certainly helps in aligning the focus of the researcher. Hence, by doing so, the researcher expects that the focus would be on the cycle of events that involve The source of discipline, the results of the influential elements of the environment to the discipline of the students and the future of the students afterwards. Section 2: Literature Review 2. 1 What Psychology Says and how Anthropology Relates Both psychology and anthropology concentrate on the behavioral study of humans.Through the use of the said studies, the reasons behind the occurring behaviors of students in secondary school could be well identified. With regards the issue on discipline and how it affec ts the students, Psychologists claim that the situation is much controlled by the upbringing of the students. The original discipline that they receive from their homes are supposed to be the basis of why they act the way they do when they are already mingling with their peers or with the society as it is. (Coon, 1999, 89)Moreover, girls of the same age are differently reacting to the discipline that they receive from their homes compared to that of the boys. Anthropological studies attest to the claims of psychology as the said field of human understanding particularly points out the instance by which the discipline received by students from their homes are directly affected by the elements of the environment when they already begin to mingle with their peers or the society. As mentioned earlier, the effects vary.To young girls, the discipline that they receive from their homes are more likely more evident in their system of dealing with others as young girls are expected to be mor e emotionally and personally attached to the their families compare to that of the boys who are at some point more affected by the elements of change that they encounter in dealing with other people especially with their peers (Coon, 1999, 90). Knowing the sources of the discipline, it is essential to evaluate the claims of both psychology and anthropology through the use of the actual reports that are further presented for better understanding of the readers. .2 What Actual Reports Say Discipline is one primary element that is highly needed in schools, however, the irony pertains to the fact that it is also the primary element that is lacking in the said system of social connection at present. According to William, of Kenya, things have changed in this regard in Africa too. He said: â€Å"Discipline among the children is on the decline. When I was growing up [he is now in his 40’s], teachers ranked among the most respected people in African society. The teacher was always s een by young and old as a role model. This respect is on the decline.Western culture is slowly influencing young ones, even in rural Africa. Movies, videos, and literature depict lack of respect for authority as something heroic. † (Awake! 1999, 25) Giuliano, who teaches in Italy, laments: â€Å"Children are affected by the spirit of rebellion, insubordination, and disobedience that permeates the whole of society. † (Awake! 1999, 29) Sad to say, drugs have also become a problem in schools—so much so that U. S. teacher and author LouAnne Johnson writes: â€Å"Drug-abuse prevention is part of nearly every school curriculum, starting in kindergarten. Italics ours. ]Children know much more about drugs . . . than most adults do. † She adds: â€Å"Students who feel lost, unloved, lonely, bored, or insecure are most likely to experiment with drugs. †(2002, 51) Amira teaches in Guanajuato State, Mexico. She admits: â€Å"We face problems of violence and dr ug addiction in the family that directly affect the children. They are immersed in an environment in which they learn foul language and other vices. Another big problem is poverty. Although schooling here is free, the parents have to buy the notebooks, pens, and other materials.But food must come first. † (Johnson, 2002, 59) In the United States, recent shooting incidents at schools have highlighted that gun-related violence is not a minor problem in that land. One report states: â€Å"It is estimated that 135,000 guns are brought to the nation’s 87,125 public schools each day. To reduce the number of guns in schools, officials are using metal detectors, surveillance cameras, specially trained dogs to sniff out guns, locker sweeps, identification tags, and a prohibition against bringing book bags to school. (Teaching in America)Such security measures make one ask, Are we talking of schools or prisons? The report adds that more than 6,000 students have been expelled for taking guns to school. (Johnson, 2002, 29) 2. 3 Impact of the Reports and the Experts’ Claims As it could be noted above, the claims of the experts with regards the behavioral disposition of students in secondary schools are directly connected with the actual results of the reports that have been presented herein.The usage of this researches and reports within this study shall indeed help the researcher find the link between the experts’ analysis of the issue and further more relating it to how and why the actual reports on lack of discipline and violence in secondary schools occur. Section 3: Methodology The researches, reports and literatures that have been pre-reviewed in section two are among the primary sources of the informations that are to be found in this paper.Aside form this; the said researches would also be the primary basis of the methodology that shall be utilized by the researcher to validate the facts that have been presented earlier. As for this matt er, the researcher opts to choose survey analysis as an effective source of information on actual evaluation of students that could support both the psychological and anthropological studies that pertain to problem being tackled. 3. 1 Instrumentation and design The questionnaire prepared by the researcher is composed of 50 items that are subdivided into three subsections.The first section which would be 15 items, pertain to the family background of the students. This section shall help the researcher measure the discipline that the students receive from their parents and how that particular discipline impacted their lives in school as they grew older until reaching secondary school level. The second section is composed of 30 questions that are focused upon the social connection of the students with their peers, their teachers and other elemental factors in the society that may affect their behaviors towards their studies and their dealings in school.The third part is composed of fiv e personal questions that asks the students how they view discipline and how they would react to certain situations in school. This section would require the students to answer in paragraphs; while the other sections are multiple choices between (first section) frequently, seldom, never and the choices yes and no for the second part. 3. 2 Respondents The questionnaires are to ask for the gender of the respondents to be able to separate the results. The respondents are expected to be in their secondary school levels and the choosing of the said respondents is random.Whereas, the result would be a collection of opinions from students who are studying in different schools, making the study more factual and general in terms of population sampling. 2. 3 Gathering and Presenting Results To present the data collected through the survey, the results of are to be divided according to the gender of the respondents. The results are then to be calculated and evaluated through averaging method a nd shall be presented in tables and charts as well as diagrams followed by the explanations and analysis of the figures presented.Through this presentation, the researcher would be able to validate the results in a more effective manner for the completion of this proposed study. 2. 4 Expected Results It is expected that through the implementation and commencement of this study, a deeper understanding of the situation within secondary school level learning, would be derived. By being able to do so, it is also expected that the implementation of the suggested solution to the problems discussed through the context of this study be further applied in educational institutions.Section 4: Conclusion To be able to end the presentation of the problem being discussed in this paper, the researcher plans to present a five-point based summary that would help the readers understand the study deeply after reading the whole context of the research. From the said summarization of the whole idea that the paper deals with, the researcher further plans to give suggestions by which the school administrators could help motivate their students into becoming better individuals who are disciplined to reach their dreams towards the future.Through this study, the researcher further aims to establish a strong conclusion that validates the claim of psychological and anthropological studies that pertain to the reason behind the behavioral disorientation among students at their secondary level of learning. By doing so, the researcher plans to make the readers realize that the importance of discipline in keeping up with the changes of the society is indeed essentially factual for the students who are still attending secondary school as this will set the grounds for them, enabling them of reaching their dreams towards a brighter future for the said young learners.

An Analysis Of Ernest Hemingway s Hills Like White...

The â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants† is a short story written by Ernest Hemingway and published in August 1927 for a literary magazine. The short story was later published as a collections of short stories called â€Å"Men Without Women†. Ernest Hemingway had strict concept of masculinity and femininity. This is evident in the personalities, demeanor and portrayal of the two main characters, the American man and his girlfriend â€Å"Jig†. The portrayal of the male character as well travelled, well-educated, and always in control of himself. Whereas â€Å"Jigs† is portrayed as a helpless, confused, indecisive and not as well-educated. Hemingway’s portrayals of their relationship shows the male character is the dominant in the relations and the couple lack†¦show more content†¦The American dismisses her remarks by saying he had never seen one. The couple begin to argue over the taste of their drinks. The American reprimands â€Å"Jig† over their arguments and tells her they should enjoy themselves. â€Å"Jig† retracts her comparison of the hills looking like white elephant. After ordering more drinks, the American tells â€Å"Jig† that he wants her to have an operation. He becomes agitated and down plays the operation by insisting that it is not even an operation. â€Å"Jig†, being completely dependent on the American, questions what will happen to them after the operation. â€Å"Jig† wants to know if he will love her and if they will be happy after the operation. The American, avoiding conflict and willingness to say anything, tells â€Å"Jig† all of their problems will go away and they will go back to normal. He tells â€Å"Jig† they he won’t force her to have the operation but it’s the best thing for the couple. â€Å"Jig† agrees to the operation as long as the American will still love her and they will live happily afterwards. The American then tells her that he does love her and he goes back to being more interested in his drink. Being indecisive, â€Å"Jig† says she doesn’t care what happens to her. The American tells her she shouldn’t have the operation since she feels that way about herself. â€Å"Jig† and the American begin to argue again. The bartender brings them more beer and tells them their train will be there soon but â€Å"Jig†