The potential for gaining weight is higher when work is for a night Essay

The potential for gaining weight is higher when work is for a night shift rather than day and evening shift - Essay Example Conventionally, the innate biological clock have more often been overlooked and set aside by its anatomic owner because of changes in lifestyle, and because of economic developments which is now more of intensified productivity to cope with increasing demand. Consequently, organizational operations maybe 24/7, which requires at most 3 different sets of workers. So, there are those that are assigned to day shift. There are also separate set of workers assigned for the evening shift. And, another set is assigned for the night shift. The workers assigned for the day shift are the most likely set of people who obeys the law of nature in terms of meeting the number of hours for rest at a particular time of the night that the body has been accustomed to while growing up. Thus, given that the same set of people eats at regular interval, a balance diet, then, biological physiologic functions of the body can be presumed to run normal as well as body size and weight. Conversely, the potential for gaining weight is higher when work is for a night shift rather than day and evening shift.

Fashion Marketing and Promotion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Fashion Marketing and Promotion - Essay Example As maybe part of my artistic inclinations, is my personal quest to be highly fashionable and trendy, always up to date with the latest styles in fashion and beauty. I have a watchful eye towards the latest clothing designs, keeping track of famous brands and its new clothing lines. I am as interested in creating designs as well as finding the right strategy to market it, thus my current course fits me perfectly. At the moment, I feel like I am being molded into the profession that I eventually wish to embark in. I do not only practice my creativity, but also learn the science behind it. I get to understand the marketing concepts, create marketing ideas and be in touch with every aspect that makes up a really good brand. I am geared towards brand and product management, marketing and design all at the same time. And I feel that I am ready to learn more by advancing to the next step, which is being hands on in real company, with more tasks and greater responsibilities to handle. Moving from China to London has been inevitable, yet the crossover proved to be beneficial, as I am now exposed to another culture, with relatively other ways to execute creative concepts, and a totally different perspective to look from. The new opportunities fueled my desire to pursue a career in this field. I have met new people, explored new grounds and realized many other abilities that I have. This even prompted me to look beyond my initial goals and saw a whole lot of other opportunities for me to conquer. As a Marketing student, I have moved on to find interests in media and communications as a whole. Having spent the last few years being immersed in retail operations, I now understand that it takes a good communication plan and media connections to be able to successfully market my products. Â  

Characterisation in 2D Animations

Characterisation in 2D Animations The main problem that animation faces is that it is an overtly fake diegetic form. The viewer is presented with a constructed reality of drawings and paintings, which may represent the real world, but unlike photographic film, does not look like it. The challenge therefore is to create characters that may believably inhabit their particular diegetic reality. Animators have strived to find a way to resolve this issue through their character design and an awareness of how to deliver narrative information through their characters. This essay will illustrate the solutions that animators have found to make their audiences believe what is put in front of them. In 1914 Winsor McCay took up the (self-imposed) challenge of making dinosaurs live again via animation. The result was Gertie the Dinosaur a semi-live act with McCay performing onstage with the projected film behind him. Gertie herself was obviously an animated projection and to make her believable she had to have a strong individual character. McCay achieved this through his own interactions with the character of Gertie. He talks to her and asks her to perform tricks, which she obliges to do. We are also drawn attention to the fact that she is thirsty and she drains a lake. The performance would climax with her picking up McCay (as he exits the stage.) and bounding of the screen with him on his back. Through this series of call and response between the live action McCay and the animated Gertie, McCay creates the illusion of human understanding within the animated dinosaur. There is also at one point a look of glee in her face after a fight scene when she throws the defeated mammoth into a lake. Through the human interaction and the animation McCay has anthropomorphically endowed the animated creature with human emotions: he has made her believable to the audience by giving her recognizable human traits. In his book Understanding Animation Paul Wells recognizes that the use of attributing animated animal characters anthropomorphic characteristics has become a mainstay of character development. It will be discussed in further detail later in the essay. The basic principles of characterization as a narrative strategy in animation have been summed up by Wells. The character may be understood through its costume or construction, its ability to gesture or move and the associative aspects of its design. It is pertinent at this point to discuss these aspects of character design. Regardless of if an animated character is an animal or human, animators rarely try to completely reproduce natural form. As such the problem is that they are presenting viewers with unnatural looking beings. If the viewer is to accept the characters shown before them, the characters themselves must be presented as believable. This is why animators rely on exaggeration of individual features to suggest certain character types. Halas and Manvelldescribe this in their book the technique of film Animation. Characterization is achieved by the distortion of shapes and forms big eyes, big mouth, big nose, large head small body etc. What is stressed by animators is the gesturing parts of the body, particularly the features of the head. The eyes, nose, mouth and ears are all vital in creating the illusion of human emotion. There is a general rule of thumb with regards to which shapes go with what characters: kind gentle characters tend to have soft rounded faces with wide smiles and large rounded eyes. Porky Pig is a great example of this principle. He is the embodiment of the jolly fat man. Villains on the other hand are much more angular. They often have a rather sharp chin and small eyes and a crooked mouth that somehow lends itself to a wicked smile. They are often presented as grotesque, much like the Evil queen in Snow White and her incarnation as the old crone. These generalizations serve as visual shorthand for the viewer; they optimise the impact of the character through economy and allow the viewer to make connections and process narrative information about the characters more quickly. In the words of W ells, animation manages to compress a high degree of narrative information into a limited period of time through a process of condensation. This method of economy and condensation was born out of functionality as much as anything. Partially it was due to the fact that cartoons are usually very short. As such narrative information has to be delivered with great speed. Also when television became the dominant domain of the animated short, characters had to be easily recognizable on the small screen. Its much easier to do this by recognizing one or two strong individual characteristics than several small ones. Most importantly however the simpler that a character is to draw, the quicker they become to reproduce. They rely on caricature and stereotype to relay narrative information quickly and succinctly. Halas and Manvell go on in their book to describe the visual style of Tom and Jerry in terms of the aesthetic principles of animation: The drawing and coloring have an economy and a visual impact that matches the overwhelming vitality and sometimes the crudity of the action and characterization. This highlights the importance of economy. Extraneous details can confuse the situation and detract from overall characterization. What is needed is a just a couple of well-chosen details. In 1917 Max Fleischer invented the rotoscope. This device allowed animators to successfully mimic natural movement by blowing up still frames of photography and allowing the animator to copy them exactly. Max and his brother Dave were both inspired by the work of Winsor McCay and between them were instrumental in the development of both technological and character development of animation. The rotoscope worked by using a drawing board with a frosted glass center. One frame of photography at a time was shone onto the glass and the image was traced. It provided an accurate reference of movement and articulation so that on screen movement could be replicated with a lot more fluidity. By doing this animators were able to draw more complicated figures in a believable and convincing way. Richard Willams has drawn examples of some of these more complicated characters in his book the animators survival kit. The examples that will be discussed here are the representation of the young and old woman as drawn by Williams. By taking two examples of opposing but similar characters, we can see how the rotoscope paved the way for the development of characterization in animation. The young woman is characterized mainly be her curvaceous figure. She has a strong convex curve along her back and an hourglass figure that extenuates her breast, slim waist and shoulders. She stands upright and tall. She also has sleek long legs and flowing long hair. This form communicates her youth vitality and energy. The old woman by contrast has a much rounder concave curve of the back, which seems to curve round into her body giving her a rounded torso. The breast is also molded into this rounded torso that desexualizes her. Her hair is also shorter. She is hunched forward making her look tired and weary. The lower body is also rounded and she wears a long skirt to cover the legs. In contrast we see only the ankles and feet of the old woman and she is given short dumpy legs. These two examples s how the importance of form and shape in delivering character information. These two figures could represent the same character at different ages but the presentation of form provides us with completely different information about the characters. Williams also stresses the importance of movement to illustrate character. As stated earlier this art of animation was greatly enhanced by the development of the rotoscope. The way that a character moves can be fluid and smooth which would suggest grace or elegance. Alternatively movements can be jerky or plodding, which will in turn infer characteristics of weakness or foolishness. Again he uses examples to discuss and illustrate the main differences between the masculine and feminine walk. The feminine walk is smooth and elegant. She keeps her legs close together and as such the footsteps run straight along the line of action. As a result there is very little up and down body movement. The feminine walk seems to glide along the line of action. The masculine walk however is much more aggressive. The feet are kept well apart, far out from the line of action. The masculine walk is a full on stride, which makes the character as wide as possible. There is much more up and down movement on the body. This makes the walk much more kinetic and at the same time suggests power and strength. Much like the generalizations about character form, these conventions can be subverted to comic effect or to deliver more information. For example a Masculine walk may become a drunken walk if the feet are allowed to cross the line of action. (I.E. if the right foot passes across the center of the body and steps down on the left and vice versa.) Through these examples it is clear that the way that the animator makes the character move is vital to characterization. The Fleischer brothers were also responsible for two of the most beloved cartoon characters of the thirties: Popeye and Betty Boop. These two characters are archetypes of hero and heroine character traits. It seems only fitting therefore to discuss how these characters are so distinct, and the methods used to give them such strong individual identities. Popeye originally appeared in Comic strip form some years before his screen debut in 1933. During this time of American economic depression he was a figure of aspiration for the workingman. As a navy man he had a career that stood for American strength and pride; this also made him stand out as the champion of the just causes. As such he was the embodiment of the strong everyman in times of hardship. He is identified as a sailor by the uniform that he wears with style and pride. He embodies the macho sailor stereotype by striding along with a sailors walk, feet apart rocking from side to side. He also has the iconic tattoo of an anchor on his arm; this marks him out as a man who figuratively wears his heart on his sleeve. His physical appearance is defined by the exaggeration of his muscle; importantly however Popeyes strength comes from eating spinach. Although he is always strong and muscular, it is not until he eats the spinach that he has the strength needed to defeat Bluto. After he has eaten the spinach his forearms are inflated to appear three times the normal size. As Wells points out Popeyes masculinity is predominantly defined by the association between his own organic expansion and the strength of hard metal or machines. As his muscles grow they either transform shape into anvils or air brakes or we see moving pictures of locomotives or battleships on his form arms. Po peyes physical strength therefore is amplified by the imagery but he also associated with American mechanical or military strength. Popeye is remembered for his fights with Bluto but the important thing to bear in mind is that he is not a troublemaker and is usually a very amiable character. He has the characteristic rounded face of the jolly fat man. He walks around with a smile making jokes to himself and being generally full of life. There is also his voice that characterizes him as a salty old piece of seaweed. It is only when his girlfriend Olive Oil is put in jeopardy that he is called into fight; thus he is characterized as a rescuer rather than a man of violence. Betty Boop first appeared in 1930 in the cartoon Dizzy Dishes. Her Face and body defined her femininity; she has a large head with huge childish doe eyes and full red lips. She also has the typical hourglass figure with a full bust that shows of a lot of cleavage. She was also a dancer and her movement and walk were characterized mainly by the feminine swing of the hips. After the first cartoon her skirts got smaller and smaller and she became much more overtly sexualized. She was an embodiment of femininity or at least the male fantasy of femininity. The blend of sexual charge and childlike innocence that came through mainly from her eyes and her distinctive voice disturbed the censors. Her raunchiness was toned down after the Hayes code of 1934. Now that the development of human characterization has been addressed; it is important at this point to addresses the role of anthropomorphism again. The rise and success of the animation of Walt Disney, Chuck Jones and Tex Avery are prime examples of how the lending of human characteristics to animals and vice versa has created some of the must vivid and enduring icons of animation. Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck et al have become such fixed images in the popular psyche that it is important to understand what made these characters so memorable. When dealing with animals we must bear in mind the association that people already have with those particular beasts. Any given animal will have a mythology and literary tradition that comes with it; by being away of these traditions animators have been able to associate these ancient traditions with their own creations. For example foxes are sly and cunning; sharks are ferocious and unforgiving; horse and lions are heroic and noble creatures both ferocious yet majestic. When an animator is devising a character they tend to marry the preconceived ideas that people have about a particular beast with the traits they desire for their character. This is what wells calls associative relations and opens the form of animation into a narrative dialectic that requires an extra-textual understanding on behalf of the viewer. A good example of how the principle of associative relations works would be Kaa from The Jungle Book. The snake has a literary history that dates back to the story of Adam and Eve. It was the seductive yet untrustworthy snake that facilitated mans fall from paradise. The snake is sly; professing friendship but always has his own agenda. The snake glides along the flow in a smooth fluid motion, which is at once deadly and seductive. Kaa is attributed with these characteristics through legend and association. This is further illustrated by his ability of hypnotism, which is of course a human discipline. He talks to Mowgli and soothes him to sleep with soft words and hypnosis in order to eat him. In dealing with associations that are so deeply rooted in the common psyche the characters themselves become instantly memorable. Animal characteristics can also be applied to human characters. Heroes are often seen riding horses; the horse itself is a creature of nobility and heroism; and the tradition of the hero on horse back is one that has permeated every folklore around the globe. The human therefore basks in the reflective glory of its animal companion. The best way to summarize the use of anthropomorphism in characterization is to say that the human in the animal identifies the human character within. In turn the animal in the human illustrates and enriches the character of the human. Animators create artificial worlds and diegetic domains for characters to inhabit. As mentioned at the outset of this essay the problem is that the animated world we are presented with is so overtly fake that it is a challenge to make the characters believable. Animators exploit the fantasy element of their work; they draw attention to the fact that we are presented with talking pigs and indestructible heroes through comic exaggeration of their abilities and their follies. However what Animators do manage to do; is insert enough natural movement and recognizable human emotion into their creations that we except them fully as real believable characters within their own right. Bibliography Bordwell and Thompson. (2001) Film Art: An Introduction, New York: McGraw Hill. Canemaker, J. (ed.) (1988) Storytelling in Animation: The Art of the Animated Image Vol. 2, Los Angeles: AFI. Griffin, H. (2001) The Animators guide to 2D Computer Animation, Oxford: Focal Press, Halas, J and Manvell, R. (1968) The Technique of Film Animation, Norwich: Focal press Limited. Wells, P. (1998) Understanding Animation, New York: Routledge. Williams, R. (2001) The Animators Survival Kit, New York: Faber and Faber.

Can We Hold Macbeth Fully Responsible For The Evil Deeds In The Play? :: essays research papers

In the play there are many evil deeds that Macbeth committed. These include the murders of Duncan and Banquo, Lady Macduff and her son. Macbeth is also responsible for Scotland's disorder. Macbeth plays the main role in each incident, with the other characters being only minor and undeveloped; acting as vehicles for Macbeth's actions. It is possible that it is not entirely Macbeth's fault for the evil deeds in the play. In Act II, Scene II Macbeth is patented as a hero, when he defeated Norway in war for his country. 'O valiant cousin, worthy gentleman' Initially, the Elizabethan audience consider Macbeth as a respectable and well like character. We do however learn that appearances can be deceptive which corresponds with the main theme; 'Fair is foul, Foul is fair' which is referred to a lot throughout the play. This theme is first introduced in Act I, Scene I where the witches foretell the struggle between the forces of evil and good in which Macbeth is to be involved. It is also an indication that all will not be as it seems. This portrays a character as being much worse if the audience's first impressions of that character were positive. Macbeth's meeting with the witches brings a prediction which symbolises the beginning of Macbeth's downfall. FIRST WITCH: All hail Macbeth, hail to thee Thane of Glamis SECOND WITCH: All hail Macbeth, hail to thee Thane of Cawdor. THIRD WITCH: All hail Macbeth, that shalt be King hereafter. Macbeth is startled when he hears this prophecy. He believes that his title is still Thane of Glamis; yet here he has just been told that he shall be King. He does not know Macdonwald who has been sentenced to death for betraying his country. The witches plant the idea of being King into Macbeth's mind, which has encourages Macbeth to consider his future. In his soliloquy, the audience learn about Macbeth's initial plan to murder Duncan so that he shall have power and position earlier, thus destroying the natural order. 'My thought, whose murther is yet but fantastical.' Macbeth sent a letter to Lady Macbeth outlining the witches' prophecy. He also consults her concerning his plans. This is how Macbeth reduces some of the responsibility of the incident of the murder by accepting her guidance and advice. It becomes apparent that Macbeth is somewhat of a moral coward. This could be seen as a positive attribute as it shows the weaknesses of Macbeth, and asks could Macbeth be fully responsible if he is not totally independent?

Characteristics of Religion

The quest for answers to the meaning of life is universal. It is not surprising then that the world’s major Religious Traditions share many characteristics. Using the characteristic headings from the Oxford Studies of Religion text book: -Name each of the characteristics of religion. -Write a comprehensive definition for each characteristic. For each characteristic, give TWO detailed examples from the Christian tradition, and ONE detailed example from another tradition. 1 ? – 2 pages) Religion provides us with a set of beliefs, values and attitudes, a focal point for developing ritual as well as a variety of social networks therefore giving us a purpose to our lives. Religion comprises of four main characteristics, including beliefs and believers, sacred texts and writings, ethics and rituals and ceremonies. All religions are sustained by beliefs and its believers. It is often the belief in one or many Gods that defines a religion. It may not only be the belief in one deity, such as the Christian and Islamic faiths, but could be the belief in more than one divine being, as seen in Ancient Greek Polytheism. Christians believe that there is only one God, and he created everything, all that is seen and unseen, from cats and dogs to the air we breathe. Alternatively, in Ancient Greek Polytheism, there were many Gods, each responsible for a certain part of nature. For example, Poseidon, was the God of the Sea and it was believed that he controlled everything to do with the sea from waves to sea creatures. Another example of Christian belief is that Jesus of Nazareth, the son of God, was crucified, suffered death and was buried. In most religions, believers derive majority of their basic beliefs from the sacred texts and writings specific to their religion. Sacred texts are texts which both dictate beliefs and are of central importance to a certain religion or religions. All religions have sacred texts from which they get their basic beliefs. There are three main types of sacred stories. These include myths which are often about the formation of the universe, legends that often include sacred and key figures and parables which generally have layers of meaning that believers try to shape their lives around. Often, these texts are believed to be supernaturally inspired. For example, majority of the writings in the Christian Bible, are about or by people who are directly in contact with God. The Bible is a point of reference for Christians to the regulations of their religion, for example the Ten Commandments or the Beatitudes. The Bible is split into two books, the New and Old Testament, both of which are considered sacred. Whilst the Bible is the main source of writings for Christians, the Qu’ran, which is about the length of the New Testament, include most of the divine revelations received by Muhammad from his first encounter with the angel Gabriel, until his death. Another example of a sacred Christian text is the Didache. This sacred text, also known as the Doctrine of the Twelve Apostles, was written in the first century and persuades its readers to choose Life over Death. The Didache was considered from entry into the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The sacred text and writings of religions often provide its believers with a set of ethics and a way to live and behave as well as traditions to follow within the religion. Ethics are the rules of conduct based on ideas of right and wrong and are recognised to belong to a particular class of human actions or a particular group. Central to any religion, their purpose is to determine right from wrong and to clarify what believers should do freely and what they should refrain from doing. Ethics usually vary from religion as they generally originate from sacred texts, ancestors etc and dictate what is morally correct in society. The main sources of ethics for Christians are the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes. The Ten Commandments list ways in which Christians should pay respect to God and those around them. For example, the first commandment is â€Å"I am the LORD your God. You shall have no other gods before Me†¦ † The Beatitudes give Christians a way to live as individuals. For example, the Beatitude: â€Å"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God,† instructs Catholics to be free of selfish intentions and to perform acts free of personal gain. For Buddhists, the Five Precepts are the main code of ethics for Buddhists and comprises of withholding from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying and intoxication. Rituals and ceremonies are the practices relating to beliefs. They are usually in place to affirm values and make the religion more substantial. Rituals and ceremonies are usually formal or structured actions. An example of this in the Christian religion is the mass. Generally, in most Churches, Christians gather on a Sunday to celebrate mass. Every Sunday, most Christian Churches complete the same structure of mass, possibly with different readings or songs but generally the same structure every week. For the Jewish boys, the Bar Mitzah is a substantial part of the young man’s life where he becomes a ‘man’ and is therefore required to follow God’s commandments. The Bar Mitzvah involves a ceremony which is performed at a certain time in the boy’s life, usually around the time of puberty. Another example of ritual in the Christian faith is baptism. Baptism is the admission into membership of the Christian Church through the pouring of water on one’s head, and the cleansing of one’s soul. There are four main characteristics which define a religion, these are as above; beliefs and believers, sacred texts and writings, ethics and rituals and ceremonies. These four characteristics work together to make the religion dynamic and enable it to be a way of life.

Human Alienation

My research report is focused on the reasons behind alienation (forced/chosen) within the human race. I looked into three vastly different sections of society which all reflect alienation. Schindler’s list, directed by Steven Spielberg and the Telephone conversation by Wole Soyinke strongly express racial alienation. One is from a historical background in Europe during world war two and the other in modern European society (2002) Both of these texts show similar aspects of the human race that cause alienation.The next section I investigated was phycological alienation. I studied Girl Interrupted, directed by James Mangold and Wrestling with the Angel by Michael King. There is a twenty year gap between these texts but not a lot of difference in the treatment of of those believed to be mentally unstable. The last segment of society I looked into was religion. I chose to research the Crucible, directed by Nicholas Hyther and a text set in modern society – Plain Truth by Jo di Picoult.Both texts show how nonconforming leads to alienation no matter the religion. After exploring three different aspects f society and history it became clear that no matter what, humans will always find a way to alienate others as it is a way to personally benefit. Through the racial aspect, power of numbers against another race is used to gain overall power. In the phycological segment it is the urging of society that wants a ‘normal’ way of life that causes alienation of those who don’t conform.Religiously, people want power of numbers and to be a part of that group you must conform without failure. It seems that alienation is impossible to eradicate as it is human nature to compete against one another – in the end it is ‘survival of the fittest. ’ Racial Alienation: Power is the cause of racial alienation. Humans thrive off and starve for power-we need it to control our lives and have order and strength in society. Sometimes power can become a negative when in the wrong hands. This is obvious from the disasters of the Holocaust in Germany, World War Two.Schindler’s List, directed by Steven Spielberg showed (throughout the film) the alienating effects of the Jewish ghettos and concentration camps where Jews were segregated and killed by the thousands. This was due to the unstoppable power of the German Nazi party lead by Hitler. One scene that is effective in conveying this is when the Jews are being forced from their homes into the ghetto. Close up shots of fear on their faces and high angle shots show their vulnerability to the immense power of the Germans.The parallel of Oskar Schindler moving into a luxurious, spacious room accents the consequences of power for those on the wrong end. Spielberg’s use of contrast between the situations shows how grim life is for the Jewish people being alienated from their own lives. The Telephone conversation by Wole Soyinke expresses racial oppression caused by power of the English white race. This oppression is on a lower scale than the Holocaust but it is still wrong. After the horrors of the Holocaust etched in history, many think that we humans would learn from our mistakes.I believe people cannot-however it is improving from history but alienation still occurs in the modern world. Wole Soyinke uses mood sarcasm and irony in his poetic satire about racism in western modern society. The poem concentrated on a small telephone conversation but is employed by the poet to apply to a broader level to show alienation throughout society. The poem begins peacefully as visual judgements are non existent at this stage. When the man reveals his race the whole mood changes. A sudden caesura in line six emphasises the impact that the man’s revealing his race has.From here on the mood is uneasy and apprehensive as the white woman makes it uncomfortable for the â€Å"African man†. Soyinke’s use of the word â€Å"confessionâ⠂¬  to describe the exposing of the man’s race is very sarcastic in that being an African must be sinful. This is an obvious display of how humans alienate each other without even giving one the chance to prove their worth in society. Both Spielberg and Soyinke use certain techniques to try and convey how those who have more power such as German Nazi’s and white English race, alienate those they see as ‘below’ them to benefit themselves.By looking at the time difference of these text it is obvious that racial alienation continues throughout society no matter the time/place. The main purpose of both of those texts is to show the absurdness of racism and how ridiculous it is to judge someone on the way they look. Both texts display the evil of human nature in the way we intentionally alienate others to improve our own situation. The Germans during the Holocaust were of an advanced economy with a sophisticated education system, yet they entrusted their fate to a man who made no secret of his mass murder and segregation. I elieve it occurred because Germany was in hard times after the placement of the Treaty of Versailles and they followed Hitler and forgot their morals in the hope that their lives would improve. While the Jews suffered miserably this thinking is the same of white English people that were shown as racists in Soyinke’s poem. For them to hold and maintain the best jobs, houses and education, they as a group alienate blacks so they can’t ever rise in social class, or wealth. This technique is the same as the Germans, forcing another race into oppression to become the stronger, wealthier and better educated race.It is clear that the white race is the cause of alienation throughout the world as they do not want to lose their societal position to races the believe are less civilised than their own. Maybe we will never live in a world of equality as competition is the way to keep the system moving-even if it caus es alienation. Overall it is power that causes racial alienation, the human race naturally thirsts for it-the fittest hold it and use it to their advantage, this leads to racism and segregation of races. Psychological alienation; Mental illness has been confused with the non conforming nature of some in the past.James Mangold, director of Girl Interrupted provides a sad truth of the diagnosis a young girl in the 1960’s as having a ‘borderline personality’. She narrates the story with a dispassionate voice which conveys the detachment and alienation she feels from life. Kayson was diagnosed with her illness because she had â€Å"uncertainty of long term goals, instability of self image and social contrariness. † I believe she had every right to wonder why she was placed into a mental hospital when not all normal teenagers would satisfy that list either.Through the character of Kayson we see the haunted life in the mental hospital and the seclusion from the real world. What’s more is that Kayson really didn’t have a mental illness, she just didn’t always conform with the ways of society. Those who did conform saw her as a blemish to society and she was then to be ‘purified’ by the isolation of a mental hospital. It is a fault of human beings that we are so quick to judge those who dare to be different from the social norm. This is also obvious in ‘Wrestling with the Angel’ by Michael King.This biography is based in Janet Frame’s life. Focusing on her time at Seacliff hospital we can see how wrongly she was judged by doctors. King used metaphor to show the alienation of the hospital: â€Å"Many patients who entered Seacliff had no name, no past, no future, only an imprisoned now, an eternal Island without its accompanying horizons. † The hospital really was a prison in the middle of nowhere with no way out. The use of the word â€Å"Island† illustrates how isolated Fram e was from the world.Not only was she physically isolated from the world, Janet felt personally alienated by society; â€Å" I felt as if my life were overturned by this sudden division of people into ordinary people in the street and the secret people whom few had seen or talked to but whom many spoke of with derision,laughter or fear. † This quote directly shows the judging by society of those who are labelled (wrongly in Frame’s case) as mentally unstable. People cannot help but create division between those they believe that aren’t normal and this is obvious through the characters Kayson and Janet.The context of the two texts relate to the alienation of characters as at the times these are set, social conformance was necessary to be deemed as sane. In Girl Interrupted, the main character Kayson had her adolescence coincide with the rise of the late nineteen sixties youth culture. The older generations were startled by the dispatching of traditional values by young people. Their unconventional music, anti war opinions and drug culture was in fact alien to them. Because of this they placed people away in mental hospitals.Kayson’s rejection of her school and career was a mental disturbance to her parents and they never understood her uncertainty at a confusing time. This psychological alienation came down to nonconformance with traditional values and the superior group (elders) not understanding the youth. This idea of alienation caused by misunderstanding is also clear in Wrestling With The Angel. King argued that Frames â€Å"strangeness of perception was misdiagnosed as schizophrenia† People at the time didn’t understand her way of thinking. Doctors intercepted letters in which she described gorse smelling like peanut butter.From this they took her as disorded, confusing a bread spread with a spiky bush rather than understanding her creative mind. From this it is apparent how society and those in positions of power (like the Nazi Germans and the white English are described under racial alienation) judge others who are non conformant with the strict guidelines most people follow. Characters Kayson and Frame portray uniqueness within a race that forces uniformity. They are stepping out of the majority. Society forces alienation upon them as they treat them like problems and isolate them.This creates internal feelings of alienation when really these people have done nothing wrong. The people in positions of power and those who hide their true identity to conform are what cause the alienation of those brave enough to be different. The world would be a sad place if everyone was the same. Today medication and therapy can help people with real disorders rather than putting them away. This however never fixes the issue of psychological alienation as humans will always judge others to either make themselves feel better ir because they feel they are better than that person.Anyone who stands out from th e crowd wold be judged, but thankfully today, people are more aware of the importance of acceptance and individuality. Religious alienation: Religion can cause people to lose their freedom and identity as it forces them to conform. Those who follow a religion must abide by its rules in order to be accepted in the religious group. In the Crucible, directed by Nicholas Hyther, the entire nation follows the strict Puritan religion. This movie is set in a theocratic society where the state and the church are one and moral laws and state laws also.There is no space for non conformity. One character, Elizabeth is alienated from the community as she was accused of performing witchcraft. Although it was untrue, this ‘act’ of non conformance led to her isolation from her livelihood. The intolerance of certain things at this time caused great alienation or death for many women if charged with witchcraft. The theme of Hysteria in this text shows how people thrive on it when they b enefit from it. Those accusing Elizabeth of witchcraft benefitted from it as they gained her possessions. Hysteria suspends the rules of everyday life and allows the acting out of people’s dark desires underneath their displayed ‘righteousness. ’ † Not only has religion forced the oppression of people’s true identities, it allows people to use it as a weapon to alienate others to benefit themselves. This theme is consistent throughout all of the texts studied. In life, there will always be selfish people trying to improve their position by hurting / alienating others. Strict religious societies cause this because it is against human nature to always conform. Non conformity in religious groups is punished with alienation.As described before, in religious groups if the rules are not followed there are consequences. In â€Å"Plain Truth’ by Jodi Picoult a certain character (Jacob) is alienated because he chose not to conform. A rule in the Amish community is that education is banned from eighth grade onwards. For Jacob, his willingness to learn caused him to go to university and be banned form the Amish community which included the only people he knew. His father thought of him as a â€Å"dead son† To the people in the Amish community they are one identity, one people. Speaking out against this is looked down upon.For these people there is no room for deviation from their social norm so they continue to conform. I wonder why anyone would choose this; to lose their own identity for a community so strict you cannot choose what to do with your life. However, each member is entitled to stay or leave. The problem is that alienation is created either way – if you stay you lead a life of isolation from the modern world, if you leave you have all the freedom yet you are â€Å"all alone when all you have ever known is how to be part of the group. † Overall, religious groups that force conformity create alienati on no matter what.In the end what is important to the world on a whole is that diversity is expected and respected and everybody has a choice to be who they want to be without being judged. In conclusion, alienation is worldwide today, it will be tomorrow and it has occurred right throughout history. My research has shown that one of the main causes of alienation is the need for power. This is most obvious in Schindler’s list and the Telephone Conversation but it also links in with control over groups in psychological alienation and religious alienation. When one group or single person has control over many they will use this to benefit themselves.It is human nature to want what is best for yourself, this use of power is inevitable. In Girl Interrupted and Wrestling With The Angel it is obvious that at times of lack of scientific and psychological understanding, many people were alienated for not being what society had decided as ‘normal. ’ Characters such as Kay son and Frame suffered because their individuality shone but it hurt the eyes of those in positions to diagnose mental illness. From these texts it was clear that human beings are too quick to judge those who are different from the rest, rather than accepting their uniqueness.In saying that, in modern society we are becoming better at understanding others and the beauty in difference. Religious alienation has links with other types but more closely with psychological. In religious groups conformity is expected or alienation is put in place. Through the texts, The Crucible and Plain Truth one can understand how alienation is inescapable after being part of a strict religion. If you do not conform you are alienated. If you do conform you alienate yourself from your true identity. Leaving the group causes alienation also as you are all alone after only ever knowing how to fit in.Whichever choice one would make would lead them to alienation. In the end the world entire cannot avoid alie nation. People will always compete for a better position; it is the nature of any specie on this planet. The only way to have a positive result is to make sure that the wrong people who have murderous and revengeful motives don’t gain positions of power as events such as the Holocaust could repeat. Small scale alienation will always continue in the modern world, as will competition but outright racism and discrimination is wrong and should be stopped.