Rango Essay Example for Free

Rango Essay It’s not always easy to relate the story of a talking lizard to the history of the world. Or at least, that’s they want the watchers to think. The truth is that there are many different themes that tie into the world’s past. Rango (the talking lizard) can represent some of the world’s most influential leaders; the mayor, who is a talking turtle, corresponds to the corrupted government of countries. In a way, many of the themes in this movie relate to one another. Human identity, religion, government, hero worship, and human adaptation, is only the beginning of what this film uncovers about the world, and the human species itself. The biggest and most occurring questions asked in Rango are the ones that follow; who am I, or who are you? Throughout the whole movie, Rango tried to figure out who he is. The movie opens up with Rango acting out a scene, but then stops and realizes that his play is missing something; his character needs to be more defined and is in need of conflict. After falling off the car, and having his home shattered, he finds conflict, but still has no clue of who he really is. Talking to the armadillo, he comes across the fact that because no one knows him, he can be anyone he wants to be. In the duration of the movie, Rango evaluates who he is, and who he can be. In this way, I can relate Rango to Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, the famous philosopher. One main point of Nietzsche’s writings’ was the will to power. Originally Schopenhauer’s created the idea of utilitarianism, which is the notion of an aimless will, claiming that many human’s main motivation is simply to be happy. Nietzsche rejected that idea when he stated that happiness is not the main goal, but a result of successfully fulfilling one’s main goals, and overcoming challenging obstacles-in the long term, fulfillment of the will. Rango’s character is too raw and undeveloped in the beginning, when he gets to the town of Dirt and creates this strong, law abiding, Sheriff persona, he comes to believe that this is who he actually is. When Rattlesnake Jake, proves that Rango is a liar and forces Rango to leave town, the armadillo and him have another encounter. In that encounter, the armadillo points out that it is the deeds that make the man. After hearing this, Rango returns to Dirt, fully aware of whom he is. Another way humans define themselves, is through religion. Though religion is a touchy subject for some people, it is expressed and shown numerous times throughout the movie. The first time Rango meets Roadkill (the armadillo), is when Rango must help the armadillo up because he got smashed by a car. When Rango, questions the reason for Roadkill’s suicide mission, the old armadillo answers that it is because the Spirit of the West is waiting for him on the other side. That is not the last time the Spirit of the West is mentioned. The acting deity is referred to at the ritual for water that happens every Wednesday and noon. Right before, completing the ritual, the villagers send a prayer to the Spirit of the West, ending in ‘amen’. The villagers of Dirt go into a sort of trance, when they hear that 12 O’clock bell chime. Each resident grabs a bottle and gets in the line. Once they reach the end of their ritual, they are all standing in front of a water spigot, praying for water to once again overwhelm the town. After saying a short prayer to the Spirit of the West, the mayor holds up the valve handle, in the shape of a cross inside a circle. The mayor holds up the handle, much like a priest would hold up the consecrated host, signaling the ritualistic and religious behavior of old and current civilization. The mayor plays a very important role in the film as well as the analogy. The mayor represents the corrupt government leaders of the world. In the film, the water of Dirt basically runs out. The people are barely scraping by without water, and desperately need their problem to be fixed. They mayor was there, in the town of Dirt, long before it became a barren wasteland, so he knows how much a true city can thrive. The once great leader became corrupted by the notion of power and influence he had over the towns people by controlling what they needed the most; water. The mayor wanted to have everything under his control, every piece of land, every piece of business and so on. The town, was one day thriving, living the great American life, and then the next, businesses were shutting down, land was drying up, and the drought was more serious than ever. While the mayor and his comrades laughed about getting all the water to themselves, the villagers lived in hardship. That situation reminds me of Jean-Claude Duvalier, president of Hati from 1971-86. Jean-Claude resumed the position of president after his predecessor and father, passed. The United States put a lot of pressure on Jean-Claude to restore the great land of Hati, from the dictatorial regime of his father. In the beginning, he was successful. He introduced reforms, replaced cabinet members, and released political prisoners. Though all was not as it seemed, and his reign did not differ much from his father’s. While his people were living in poverty, he continued to live a luxurious lifestyle with his wife. In fact, his wedding along cost $3 million US dollars. Many people wondered for ages, how all this was possible, and eventually, the truth came out. As it turns out, Jean-Claude had been in several drug trades as well as selling body parts of dead Haitians. After his dark secrets were revealed, he fled to France, and for the next two decades, served a self-imposed exile. This year, on the 16th of January, he was spotted in Hati. The following day, he was arrested for the possible charges of embezzlement, and corruption. Currently, Duvalier is expected to be held in trial before a judge in Port-au-Prince. Yet, the situation makes you think, that in the same way the townspeople looked to the mayor for guidance and resurrection, the Haitian inhabitants, looked to Duvalier for savior from the awful dictatorship before him. What the mayor and Duvalier both have in common, is the aspect of the hero, saving the land. The biggest thing I found Rango to have in common with the world is human adaptation. It was obvious in the beginning of the film, that Rango did not belong in Dirt. After figuring that out for himself, he took on the task of adapting to his surroundings. He studied the ways they walked, talked, and held themselves in their everyday life. The villagers very bluntly showed that they did not take well to strangers, and are against the idea of anyone being different. The residents showed that it is easier to survive, if you do not stand out. Rango derived from the town’s behavior that, he would be much more likely to survive, if he behaved like one of them. Our human ancestors ran into many of the same problems Rango did. They had to adapt to their environment, in order to survive. Rango had nothing when he began his journey, as did our ancestors. With nothing more than rock tools (spears, knives, etc. ) they trekked out of Africa and towards the middle east and then westward. Our beginning ancestors not only had to adapt to their environment, but they had to shift their eating habits, to whatever was available to them. Similar to the way the people of Dirt drank cactus juice because of the lack of water availability. There are no limitations when it comes to relating history to the things we see around us. After all, without history, there would not be a present. The film Rango takes themes you see in everyday world history and places them into terms and situations that any age group may understand. Mainly the characters in the film can represent various figure’s in real life; Human identity, religion, government, hero worship, and human adaptation in the past have all influence how the world is now.

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Embryonic Stem Cell Research What if there was a way to cure previously in-curable diseases with the help of something in the very first stages of human life, but thousands upon thousands of lives had to be taken to perfect the use of this material? That is exactly what is happening with embryonic stem cells around the world. Pro-life activists, who originally organized to stop the abortions of unborn fetuses, were most angered with the process of actually destroying an embryo solely for research purposes. However, scientists, such as Dr. Andrew Yeager of the University of Pittsburgh, argue that embryonic stem cells are the future of medicine. â€Å"This is really where, I think, so much of biomedicine is going to be going in the twenty first century†, states Yeager. Embryonic stem cells are a new and exciting medical advance that should be researched, but the biomedical technology of the future is not worth the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives now. Although the actual procedure of retrieving stem cells from embryos is highly complicated and scientific, the ideology is quite simple. The study of stem cells that were taken from human embryos has been around since the early nineties, but until the summer of 1998, a majority of the country had been none the wiser. The country’s â€Å"non-knowledge† of this very promising medical technology may have been a blessing in disguise. With the story rapidly hitting newsstands and telecasts around the country, pro and anti-research rallies were the top headlines. Literally defined, embryonic stem cells are â€Å"undifferentiated, or unspecified cells that are unlike any other adult cell†(Stem Cells: A primer). They are unique because they are totipotent, or have the ability to form into almost any of the 220 cell types in the human body. Embryonic stem cells are taken from the blastocyst, the name given to the stage of the embryo when it is four to six days old. The bla stocyst consists of two cell masses; the first is an outer â€Å"wall† of cells that are already specified and will grow to become placental tissue and membrane. The inner mass, however, is a large group of unspecified stem cells that can be manipulated and eventually used for the treatment of diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and Diabetes. Not only do stem cells show promise for cures to these diseases, but also they also offer hope for the sufferers and ... ...for their own rights now or people fighting for the future rights of those who have no voice now. Embryonic stem cells are an important part of science today, shedding new light on the dark secrets of the human body, but the research alone is not worth scientists playing God or thousands of innocent lives being lost. Embryonic Stem Cell Research: Medical Advance or Moral Surrender? Heather Zinser Communications 12 December 5th, 2001 Senior Research Paper Hour 4 Ms. Boll Bibliography â€Å"Stem Cell Research†. Online. Available at www.uspoitics.about.com/cs/stemcellresearch Reaves, Jessica. â€Å"Stem Cell Research: Both sides of the debate†. Online. Available at http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,167254,00.html â€Å"Holy Grail†. Online. Available at http://www.cbsnews.com/now/story/0,1597,319351-412,00.shtml â€Å"Stem Cells: The Basics†. Online. Available at http://www.cbsnews.com â€Å"Stem Cells: A Primer†. National Institute of Health. Online. Available at http://www.nih.gov/news/stemcell/primer.htm Lee, Patrick and George, Robert P. â€Å"Why Killing Embryonic Human Beings is Wrong†. Online. Available at http://www.prolifeinfo.org/stemcell028.html

American Business History

There was a time when concept of employing technology was very vague therefore a major company decided to stop making technological accessories such as mainframe computer at that time because they thought there is no profit in it, but as the time passed the necessity of having PCs increased phenomenally in 1980s. Since then a series of developing PCs got started by improving the security, compatibility and other issues every time. Then comes HP i. e. Hewlett Packard as a solution provider in information technology. It aimed to serve consumers, businesses, and institutions globally (HP, 2009).The surfacing of Information technology has changed the way people do their businesses, instead of huge man power for manual operations; organizations now need a technology solution that is optimized and easy to perform. The case with institutions is the employment of an optimal system for its functioning. Consumers today want to have each domestic and official problem to be solved using technolo gy. HP is famous for the products it makes, but from its foundation in 1939 till now it has been providing solutions to humanity.Getting started from the invention of oscillators for Walt Disney they have reached to the status of launching Apple iPods being one of the most trusted brands (HP, 2009). The effects of generating technology solutions are huge. The way of living has revolutionalized, core operations have changed their shape. The PC systems have become the personal items now therefore the demand has increased and with the advancement of technology the cost is cutting down day by day. In this paper, there is an analysis on the cultural changes, social impacts, and optimal advantages we have got after the emergence of information technology.Cultural Changes The computers today are amongst the most essential technology accessories which include other things as well like television, weapons, etc. The cultural changes refer to the change in common practices of people living in a culture. Common use of personal computers has brought out a change on a public level. With the progress of technology everyone has started expecting more and more, even a low-class family would need a PC, and if a middle class or high class family is there, then a PC per head is in demand.Every person has started keeping a bigger circle of friends and he keeps in touch very easily with everyone of them. The extensive usage of anything does not increase the price, rather the price decreases and that thing becomes affordable. This affordability allows people to use the PCs in different areas e. g. education. Now people think that if a child would take a PC with himself to school, it will be the key to his better learning. But researches have proved that the PCs of children should not remain unchecked otherwise it would be equally negative as the watching television programs untiringly (Dr.David Walsh, 2007). The investors regularly check the stocks; youngsters keep themselves update d with the latest scores, or result statistics, children seek help for their homework and studies (Purdy, 2008). The culture of America has changed by leaps and bounds, this includes the fact that a person who can just read and write is no more considered educated until he gets proper schooling and unless he grooms himself to be a computer literate. The American culture has changed so much that even the people in America did not know themselves that there lifestyle is going to change entirely in the next half century.Now from dawn to dusk, most of the official and domestic stuff is performed on computer. Every transaction, including farming activities to the supply of basic necessities, has been computerized now. Banking, food delivery to home, water supply, shopping, reading, writing, everything has lost its actual medium and has turned to computers now because this is the place where one can perform all of them. Today, in America, only a few jobs would be there without the require ment of computer literacy.Through computers many of the job positions have been introduced such as software developers, software engineers, hardware technicians, network administrator etc. People in America are found to be more impatient now because they require rapid results now. A habit of multitasking has become very regular in culture. People dine, work, communicate, and get entertained at the same time through this single medium. A habit of laziness is being practically observed as a cultural habit now, because people have become habitual of doing everything on their personal computers now. Now computers are an individual possession.People can hardly share their PCs with others. The prevalence of computers has developed a habit of overlooking minor things. In early days people with good spellings were unique, and others ought to learn this for their spruce. The research and development work is no more a hassle for people going to libraries and grasping the encyclopedias and boo ks all over, rather they use computers for quick work. Thus the beginning of computer as a common entity has changed the way of life wholly (Essays. CC, 2004). Social Impact The usage of PCs has left behind some impacts on society.Positive impacts are indeed uncountable and have been in the discussion above but socially and morally it is observed that a great deterioration has appeared in the attitude of people. Brilliant students in the class get addicted and start losing their grades; youngsters get captivated with their gaming activities so much that they are hardly able to catch up with the loss in their studies. Many kill big part of their time in communicating with their old mates, and family member living abroad. Big professionals waste their energy and time in searching things of their interest, instead of spending efforts in their professional growth.Some people do not even notice the time they sat in front of the PC. These social impacts obviously result in failure of diff erent sorts. Though they are using a very smart device of the time still they are suffering from various psychological and physical syndromes like dry eyes, sleeping disorders, irregular eating habits, migraine headaches, hygiene problems, depression, obsession, lying habit, back aches etc (CAS-Computer Addiction Services, 2003). Effects on Business Industry There would be no two views about the fact that businesses have got an immense boom after the emergence of computer technology.Business is not restricted to any specific area now, but has widened significantly. The American industry has earned a lot from it but industry can have even more. People most of the times do not feel comfortable while doing transaction on their Computer systems because they are always threatened by the hacking activities. This security issue restricts the users from doing the transactions with complete freedom. With that small companies have earned good revenues through doing businesses online in one-ro om organization. (Hutchison, 1999).Just because the American industry was adaptable to the changes which were made to the way of doing business, it flourished. These changes were all the way from production, selling, marketing, till the maintenance. Therefore who ever adapted these changes got success. The businesses are developing because of collaborative communications (Business will Change, 2009). Conclusion Computer technology has revolutionized the lifestyle of today. Although the computers had been designed to serve the humanity, but due to its advancement, humanity itself has to reach the advancement in order to get the most out of it.This is so true that invention of computers have changed us more than changing our domain. Computers have provided us the smooth road of optimization, but it does need our sharp attitude to make decisions in an instance to get the results. Emergence of digital computers have given the way to promote technology and transform the atmosphere in our surroundings for a positive change in society, exactly like the invention of steam engine gave way to other inventions for economic development. It’s an ongoing process to first create technology than adapt it fully to make the most of it.Digital Computers direct us to learn the memory management, storage devices, programming language etc. because these are the things that will help us to invent more things in technology. Now we are able to manage bigger and multifarious organization and we can invest higher amounts with reliability due to its emergence. The invention of computer is different from others because all the other inventions extended certain domains but computers accelerated us to grow culturally (Business will Change, 2009). References Business will Change.(2009, February 13). How collective intelligence will change the way we do business. Retrieved February 18, 2009, from Business Will Change: http://www. business-will-change. com/ CAS-Computer Addiction Servic es. (2003). Do any of these stories sound familiar to you? Retrieved February 18, 2009, from Computer Addiction Services: http://www. computeraddiction. com/ Dr. David Walsh. (2007). How does having a computer effects you child's intelligence. Retrieved February 18, 2009, from Family Magazine Group: http://www. familymagazinegroup.com/education/story_How+Does+Having+a+Computer+Affect+Your+%3C%3Ccity%3E%3E+Child%27s+Intelligence%3F. html Essays. CC. (2004). How the Computer has Changed American Culture. Retrieved February 18, 2009, from Free Essays, Cliff Notes and Term Papers Database: http://www. essays. cc/free_essays/g5/kzo130. shtml HP. (2009). Company Information. Retrieved February 18, 2009, from HP: http://www. hp. com/hpinfo/index. html? mtxs=corp&mtxb=3&mtxl=1 HP. (2009). http://www. hp. com/hpinfo/abouthp/histnfacts/. Retrieved February 18, 2009, from HP: http://www. hp.com/hpinfo/abouthp/histnfacts/ Hutchison, M. (1999). Electronic Commerce- How it is effecting the Americ an Industry? Retrieved February 18, 2008, from The Culture of Information: http://transcriptions. english. ucsb. edu/archive/courses/liu/english165/student-papers/hutchison. html Jasanoffet, S. (1994). Handbook of Science and Technology Studies. Beverley Hills, CA: Sage Publications. Purdy, R. (2008). Internet-Boon or Detrement to Society? Retrieved February 18, 2009, from Interactive Media Lab,University of Florida: http://iml. jou. ufl. edu/projects/STUDENTS/Purdy/INDEX. HTM American Business History From colonial period (1700’s) to the transitional and technological age (1900’s) there is always a need of business for United States. United States grew from merchant traders; small family oriented farming businesses to a hub of giant multi-national companies employing hundreds of thousands on manpower in industries and services. Government played a crucial role in the American Business by granting business loans and encouraging the industrial projects. Calvin Coolidge the president of United States quoted in 1925 as â€Å"The chief business of American people is business†.Now American business is well developed business with stability and technology â€Å"Business History American Business, Cornell University Business Journal, 2008†. The Federal Government implemented influential laws and trademark acts for the protection of the business. The Hewlett Packard company (NYSE: HPQ) which is commonly called as â€Å"HP† is one of the largest personal c omputer manufacturer in the world. HP has more than three hundred thousand employees all over the world. Started in the year 1934, which is a transitional period for the business in United States.With the support from the government and technological assistance from other companies, Now HP is developed as one of the largest manufacturing industry in United States. Based in Palo Alto, CA the company introduced a variety of products into the market and was found success in there way. Page 2 Bibliography 1. Andrew James and George Warwick â€Å"Business History American Business, Cornell University Business Journal, 2008† 2. David Rosemary, Article â€Å"Development of American Business† in Global Business Impact, 2001 3. Hewlett Packard Profile – www. redmondmag. com/reports/articles

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas Personal Response to the...

‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ is a 2006 novel by Irish novelist John Boyne; this is his fourth novel, and the first he has written for children. My classmates and I have read the book and watched the trailer of its newly releasing movie. And I have to say, this novel is really remarkable. The novel truly engages the reader completely into the book and it’s difficult to put down. â€Å"Believe me†!!.......the trailer is all the more brilliant, with a high standard quality and exceptionally mind capturing images. ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ is told through the eyes of an eight year old boy shielded from the reality of World War II. Bruno is growing up in Berlin, but moves to Auschwitz during World War II, sets out to explore the†¦show more content†¦The film of this first rate excellent novel is directed by Mark Herman and is set in a studio in Budapest Hungary, and was filmed between April and June 2007. The film is a production of a company called Miramax. The role of Bruno is played by actor Asa Butterfield who is the main protagonist in the movie. The film crew experienced some problems finding a house that would be suitable in the film, so they had to build one. Latest technology is used in the scenes to make them look extra special ( e.g. camera angles, lightings etc) , settings and lightings in the movie make it so exceptional for example in the scene where the wife and husband are arguing, the light projects a darker shadow creating an intense feeling. At the start of the trailer, the background soundtrack is very calm and soothing, but as the minutes of the trailer increase, the build up of tension and quickness in the soundtrack increases too, loud instruments and sharpness of the sound are formed and the instruments are all played at the same time near to the end of the trailer where the upsetting ending happens, the instrument and sound techniques create tension and the build up of suspense synchronizing with the ending of the trailer, also the suspense wants to match the feelings an individual would have when getting closer to knowing what happens in the end. ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ transforms from a novel into a movie. The speed of the trailer decreases towards the