John Berger Ways of Seeing Essay Example for Free

John Berger Ways of Seeing Essay In John Berger’s article, ’Ways of Seeing’, it explains European eighteenth century art and how it relates to many of todays cultural transitions. Before Berger begins explaining the art itself, he tells us about the cultural constructions that exist today. These cultural constructions are enforced and were highlighted through European eighteenth century art. He began by explaining the difference between a man and a woman’s presence. Men’s presence depends how much power he is able to successfully portray. This power can be social, economical, sexual, etc. A woman’s presence expresses her attitude toward herself and in turn how she will allow other to treat her. This explains why women are so critical of them and critique their actions no matter what the situation may be. Berger begins to explain how the art ties into this when he says, â€Å"men act, women appear.† He further explains how men look at women, while women watch themselves being looked at. Thus, a woman is turned into an object. He even provides an interesting example of how women supposedly became subservient to men. In the book of Genesis Eve gave Adam an apple they weren’t supposed to eat. After they ate the apple they became aware and self-conscious of the fact they were naked, so they made clothes for themselves. Eve was punished for eating the apple and giving one to Adam by being made subservient to the man. This relates to art because, in Berger’s words, â€Å"women in paintings are there to feed an appetite, not to have any of their own.† He also explains the nude women in paintings appeal to the men’s sexuality. In European oil paintings the painter is never painted, yet is always assumed to be male. The women in these paintings were treated and/or portrayed as objects, and this view still exists today. It is an unequal relationship that in Berger’s words, â€Å"still structures the consciousness of many women.† The insecurities women feel in a large part comes from the way they have been viewed as object, always needing to be perfect. This is proven through the European eighteenth century art as the way the women are portrayed in the paintings. These views still exist in the media today. Commercials show seductive women gazing into a camera with an equally attractive man staring at them.

African Proverbs :: African Proverbs

African Proverbs African proverbs are thought of much more than artistic sayings. They symbolize real life situations in just a few words that consummate great meaning. In cultures without literature, proverbs provide an array of values and knowledge. Proverbs often, also provide entertainment because they may consist of rhyme or clever allusions. African leaders have turned to proverbs for their wisdom, and to acquire support and respect from their people. Proverbs are unforgettable not only because they abrupt, but because they take a complicated life situation and sum it up into a few comprehensive words. African proverbs convey an amorphous truth or experience, usually about frailty and the way that people intermingle with one another. When you think of one woman trying to lift a car; that is just absurd, but when others pitch in and help then it works better. That is an example of an African Proverb. It symbolizes how one person can’t accomplish an abstruse task without the help of others: †If one finger tries to pick up something from the ground, it cannot.† In life we are faced with many disputes and sometimes may need help. As the proverb says you can’t pick something up without the help of others. This instills manners, togetherness, and the fact that you are willing to take or get help from others. For some people this is a big step. This distinction examines the impact of family. People tend to take others or things for granted. What are you to do if one day you get into an accident and you legs get amputated? Without the help the doctor, there is no medical way that you will make it through that obstacle in your life. Finally, the day comes when you are about to graduate from high school, about to go into the working world and continue to further your education; you need not to forget where you come from. This is one example of a proverb that examines this: â€Å"A river does not flow so far that it forgets its source? When you go through that phase in your life where you are finally out on your own, people tend to forget all about their past and go on with the future.

Imperfections of normal life Essay

‘One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them, one ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them’. This line sounds stereotypically from a fantasy film, and it would perhaps not fit in to other genres such as comedy or romance. Fantasy films often take us in to a different world and away from the imperfections of our normal life, they are a great contrast to our lives, in fantasy films things are always extremes, either great things are happening, or extremely bad things are occurring; whereas for the everyday person, such things rarely happen and life is just monotonous. To be taken in to a life of someone else’s with unbelievable things happening to them is an excitement and people enjoy being taken from their world and being placed in a dream place, where everything is perfect. Films of the fantasy genre are mainly based on popular myths and legends, characters are things like dragons, wizards, elves, dwarves – all things we have heard stories about. Films stretch these myths and bring them to life; they often bring back elements of our childhood and will therefore entertain us even more. Settings, characters, events, music, endings and dialogue all contribute to us experiencing these things. Also, these certain things in a film will be very typical of the particular genre, some styles of music and characters will only fit in one genre, and some genres will only have certain music and characters. The film Lord of the rings – The fellowship of the ring has many attributes of its fantasy genre, the settings and locations within the film are all similar to that of many of fantasy movies. One of the settings in Lord of the Rings is Lothlorien, it contains many huge elaborate buildings, and beautiful gardens; the weather here is never bad and the atmosphere is always bright and cheerful. This setting will help emphasise what is happening in it, often in a place that is light and peaceful scenes with happy moments will be portrayed here, rather than dark upsetting scenes such as battles. These surroundings help engage the audience as what they’re seeing is incredible and wouldn’t be something they’d see in real life, it will interest them to see something they haven’t seen before. Another location in this film is the mines of Moria, this is the opposite of the previous setting, here it is always dark, gloomy, cold and damp; one again, the surroundings in the film will determine what the audience will be feeling, when they see this setting, they will be anticipating something bad to be happening and this will help to get the audience engaged in the film. In fantasy films, there will always be certain types of characters, a strong and brave person, someone who is wise and clever, one who is weak yet brave and noble, a beautiful woman who is adored by most of the characters. There will often be an evil counterpart for these characters, and the characters within The Lord of the Rings are all what you would expect to see in a fantasy movie. The main character in this film is Frodo, he has little strength and fighting ability but is strong willed and brave. He has the characteristics of the typical fantasy main character, and these characteristics help entertain the audience; they like to see an underdog win. Also they will be a character the audience can usually relate to and are often a more credible person than most others in fantasy films. Frodo has three friends, Meri, Pippin and Sam who are all similar to him these characters add a comedy element to some parts of the film, mostly to relieve the tension when needed. This helps entertain the audience more so. In Lord of the Rings there is a slight exception to the rule of there being one person who is strong, brave and does most of the fighting, as there are four characters like this, Aragorn (Strider), Boromir, Gimli and Legolas. Having four incredible characters intensifies the battles, also all the characters are unrealistic yet this entertains people more as they are seeing something they wouldn’t usually see. Once again fitting in with the stereotypes of the fantasy genre there is a beautiful woman that someone falls in love with, audiences often like romance within a film, especially between two characters they have seen a lot of during the movie and have grown attached to. People like to see other people they like succeed or do well, whether it’s in a fight or in a relationship. This is yet another technique that gets the audience more in to the film. The final character typical of almost every fantasy film is the evil one, in this particular film it is Saruman, he is originally good but is then corrupted and turns evil. With an evil character in a film, it gives the viewer someone to hate and whenever they do anything to the good characters; it angers the audience and lures them deeper and deeper in to the world of the film. Another thing that is very much a characteristic of a fantasy film is the names of the characters, it’s not every day you meet someone called Boromir or Frodo, with these incredible , unusual names it takes the audience even further away from there normal life and more in to the movie. Events in a film are what entertain us the most, they are the factor that determines whether we enjoy a movie or not. Different people like to see different things on screen and films often need to try and interest everyone. Events in a fantasy film can completely change how we feel, they can make us sad, happy, angry, a whole range of different emotions. Fantasy films in particular try and cater for everyone’s tastes; they include intense battle scenes, yet also have the contrast with romantic love scenes. The most typical event in a fantasy film is a battle, or maybe even multiple battles, these engage the viewer and also determine what characters the audience take a liking to. The fights are mostly between the main character and their arch nemesis, the battles are incredible and nothing anyone would see in real life, therefore they entertain the audience. The other event that is almost always in a fantasy film is romantic scene, between the main ‘good’ character, and the beautiful lady. People like to see characters they like, succeed in a relationship, or even a battle for that matter. Also, the love scene acts as good relief from the stresses of the fights and other more aggressive moments in the film. Lord of The Rings once again contains these stereotypes; the battle at weather top between the four hobbits and Aragorn against the ring wraiths, the fight is intense and ends with one of the main characters, Frodo, being stabbed. This makes the audience feel more hatred towards the ring wraiths who are the evil characters, and more sympathetic towards Frodo.

The Importance Of Courage And Morality Of Scout And Jem...

How has the composer of the text you have studied appeal to young adult readers through the values (themes) present and the techniques used to convey these values? The vital themes explored in Harper Lee s ‘To Kill a Mockingbird are still as relevant and confronting to the young adults of today as it was to the novels young central characters, Scout and Jem Finch. Through Lee s understanding of the context, exhibited by her precise depiction of a prejudiced town, we are able to gain an authentic insight into the general disposition of the town and the unspoken codes and values of the people that make the prejudices in Maycomb so prominent and accepted. We see the growth in understanding and maturity in the children as they come to realise the hidden darkness in their hometown, as a result of the killing of Tom Robinson following the unjust court case. Scout and Jem s altruistic father, Atticus Finch, demonstrates the values of courage and morality in the small but greatly prejudiced town of Maycomb. The themes of context, growing up, prejudice and courage studied in this novel appeal to young adults because they are still appropriate, as well as confronting, in our time. Lee perfectly uses the context of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird to create a realistic depiction of the Deep South during The Great Depression. By having the novel set in the tired old town of Maycomb, which is an accurate microcosm of the greater Deep South, we can understand the inner workings of theShow MoreRelatedKill A Mockingbird : Five Paragraph Analysis1288 Words   |  6 Pagesprejudice rather than the proper evaluation of proven evidence. This is Maycomb, Alabama, the strange, Southern town where Scout and Jem Finch grow up during the 1930s in the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. In short, the novel travels a thin line between a light-hearted narrative of the siblings’ childhood with their single father, a defense attorney named Atticus Finch, and the injustices that arise within their close-knit community. The complexities include extreme racism, a peculiar socialRead MoreKill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee1752 Words   |  8 Pagesuntil you consider thing s from his point of view†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ (Atticus finch, Lee 34). The novel To kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a masterpiece that takes readers to explore how human behave. The feelings, conflicts, meanings, reasons, love, cruelty, kindness and humor within the book is what makes the book a necessity to the reader. Harper Lee showed throughout her book how a damage and cruel society looks like. Lee’s view of the word â€Å"morality† is what gives the characters the power to contrast theirRead MoreWhy Are Humans Here? Essay2084 Words   |  9 Pagesstandards, bested by the classic of American literature Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. To Kill a Mockingbird is the predictable story of an archetypical southern kid, with one key difference: Atticus Finch. While Scout and Jem appear, at first glance, to be normal southern kids that will grow up into racist adults, swinging on the porch drinking sweet tea, this thought is inherently constrained by the innocence of the children. Jeb and Scout are too innocent to be condemned to what is, by modernRead MoreThe Morality Of Atticus Finch2094 Words   |  9 PagesThe Morality of Atticus Finch In recent literary history, perhaps the strongest contender for the one character that has had the greatest influence on a generation is Atticus Finch, father of the protagonist in â€Å"To Kill A Mockingbird†. Both as a father, and a lawyer, he has served, and still today serves as a pillar of righteousness and morality. The ability for his morality to translate to all people, across ages, races, and cultures, is a feat preformed by Harper Lee in her masterpiece, â€Å"To KillRead More The Extent To kill a Mockingbird critiques the cultural values of Maycomb Society3208 Words   |  13 Pagesstrong reflection of Harper Lee, the author’s, upbringing. Having been raised in the small town of Alabama in the 1920’s she was frequently exposed to prejudice and this inspired her to write a book, her only to date, loosely based on her early days. Tom Robinson’s trial, set in Maycomb County, is a parallel to the Scottsboro Trial, which was an infamous case during Lee’s childhood, where a ‘negro’ was accused of rape. However the emphasis is based more on the lawyer, Atticus Finch, who defends him,Read MoreAtticus Finch Is an Exemplary Father2244 Words   |  9 PagesAtticus Finch, a lawyer and devoted father, is an intelligent man whose wisdom, consistency, and ability to see past the ill in people prove him to be a respectable and exemplary father. He teaches his children and the people of Maycomb how to stand up for one’s belief in the face of prejudice and ignorance even when faced with the possibility of being looked down upon and scorned. His personality and character is retained throughout the entire book, making him an ideal moral guide and voice of conscienceRead MoreJem Finch Quotes2009 Words   |  9 PagesGreat Depression Era, these traits of life were recurrent, especially in the South. Harper Lee recognized this and wrote what would become one of the most treasured pieces in the history of literature : To Kill A Mockingbird (1960). In small town, Maycomb County, located in Alabama lives Atticus Finch and his two children Jem and Scout. Jeremy â€Å"Jem† Finch is a young boy who spends his time playing games with Scout and their friend Dill Harris. They daringly venture by the residence of Boo Radley,Read MoreThe Morality Of A Man Defending Justice3103 Words   |  13 PagesThe Morality of a Man Defending Justice In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird the citizens of Maycomb reveal the unjust treatment of members of the their community. Atticus Finch, tries to break all barriers by defending Tom Robinson, a black man who is accused of raping and assaulting a white female, Mayella Ewell. He wants to be able to teach his children Jem and Scout the truth about life and the importance of doing what is right. Atticus Finch’s decision to defend Tom Robinson reveals thatRead MoreCritical Analysis Of To Kill A Mockingbird1866 Words   |  8 Pageswide range of issues and universal themes. Accordingly, Harper Lee’s highly acknowledged ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ emphasises the importance of people in positions of privilege to stand up and resist systemic discrimination in order to protect the innocent. Lee has fictionalised the infinitesimal county of Maycomb, a town set in the plot of her Pulitzer prize winning book. This piece of golden fiction is narrated through J ean Louise â€Å"Scout† Finch, a girl whose naivety increasingly declines as the story