500 Days of Summer Analysis | Reversing Gender Roles in Film

500 Days of Summer Analysis | Reversing Gender Roles in Film Narrator: This is a story of boy meets girlYou should know up front, this is not a love story. (500) Days of Summer (Marc Webb, 2009) as Chasing Amy (Kevin Smith, 1997), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michael Gondry, 2004) is another of these revelations full of originality which differs from the romantic comedy patterns. The film is presented as an alternative romantic comedy mainly because of three main reasons. To begin with, it anticipates to the spectator that the two main characters are not going to finish together, which as we have previously seen breaks the mould of the romantic comedy genre. Then, it introduces to the viewer that the happy ending one usually deduces from romantic comedies it is not going to be seen. Finally there is a variation of the representation of the traditional gender roles of heterosexual relationships. As the film starts by the omniscient narrator commenting: This is not a love story The narrative of the film hinges on the central protagonist Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who is introduced showing the several flashbacks and flash-forwards of the story of his 500 days with Summer (Zooey Deschanel). Presenting a similar structure to High Fidelity (Stepthen Frears, 2000) or to the already analysed Michel Gondrys Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind the film has the same nonlinear narrative showing forwards and backwards in the story of the relationship suggesting the image of a puzzle with a few pieces missing. Like Kaufmans film, this nonlinear story about a romance is told after the couples failure however it lacks a component present in Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind: it does not present a possible second chance for Tom and Summer. Reversing gender role of romantic comedy stereotypes. Romantic love (Tom) versus Giddens Confluent Love (Summer). Romantic comedy is a genre that is commonly labelled as being a womens genre. Although there are exceptions in the genre, there is usually a heroine who a female viewer can identify and empathise with (Claire Mortimer, 20). In contrast to Mortimers quote alternative romantic comedies frequently focus on gender role reversals setting out to prove the male hero can be as sensitive and desperate for love as the female characters are as happens in films such as Pagafantas, (Borja Cobeaga, 2009) where Chema (Gorka Otxoa) is madly in love with Claudia (Sabrina Garcianera) but she sees him merely as a friend. In (500) Days of Summer gender reversal is represented through the portrayal of the characters Tom and Summer. In the case of Tom, he has more in common with the heroines of romantic comedies that are hopelessly romantic and desperate to find the one, they cannot imagine themselves being happy without a man, too caught up in their obsession with romance to notice the men who could bring it into their lives. Tom totally represents the hopeless and perhaps foolish romantic who believes in love and wants that one great person in his life: Tom: I love how she makes me feel, like anythings possible, or like life is worth it. In relation to this gender role reversal Giddens believes that today, women have a far greater degree of equality: In the current era, ideals of romantic love tend to fragment under the pressure of female sexual emancipation and autonomy (Giddens, 1992: 61). It is because of this, that romantic gender roles and expectations in todays society have changed. This change Giddens refers to is represented in the character of Summer. As it was previously mentioned in the typical romantic comedy women are portrayed as obsessive as the relationship-desperate characters as happens in Gone With the Wind (Victor Fleming, 1939) where during the Civil War Scarlett OHara (Vivien Leigh) is desperately in love with Ashley Wilkes (Leslie Howard) who is going to get marry to another woman or as it also occurs in My Best Friends Wedding (P.J. Hogan, 1997) where Julianne Potter (Julia Roberts) acts as an obsessive and desperate character trying to avoid Michaels wedding. Summer plays the opposite role to Scarlet and Julianne: she acts as a character that rejects commitment, emotionally withdrawn wrong man usually presented in romantic comedies and looking for a romance with no commitment moving away from the role of the stereotypical heroine in the romantic comedy: Tom: What happens if you fall in love? Summer: Well, you dont believe that, do you? Tom: Its love. Its not Santa Claus. Tom acts under the influence of romantic pop songs and romantic comedies considering that it is possible for love to exist. Men, like women, fall in love and have done so throughout the recorded past (Giddens, 1992:58). Tom is represented as the character who believes in this forever lasting love (romantic love). He still does not realise that love is so much more complicated than his concept of it, and that requires, among other things, the understanding of Summer. In contrast to romantic love, Giddens introduces the term of confluent love. He claims that confluent love is active, contingent love, and therefore jars with the for-ever, one-and-only qualities of the romantic love complex (Giddens, 1992: 61). In relation to this concept Summer is the character that portrays the notion of confluent love. Summer sees the relationship from another perspective far from a traditional model of love: till death us do part (Tom) versus to see how it works and whether it is convenient (Summer). Although she accepts to begin the relationship she warns Tom that she does not believe in love when she says: Theres no such thing as love, its fantasy and does not want a boyfriend, and no matter how intimate they become she insists that they are merely friends: Summer: Summer: Were just fr Tom: Tom: [Interrupting] Tom: No! Dont pull that with me! This is not how you treat your friend! Kissing in the copy room? Holding hands in IKEA? Shower sex? Come on! Friends my balls! This gender role reversal could be identified as one way in which the film breaks with the romantic comedy formula in which the image of Tom is feminized and Summer represents the dominant character of the film adhering obvious conventions (boy meets girl; boy and girl face obstacles to their romantic union; boy and girl conquer obstacles to find true love) from the romantic comedy formula.

The Great Escape Movie and Real Story

The movie The Great Escape was based on the escape of many prisoners from a Nazi prison camp during World War II. Unfortunately, only a couple of the escapees made it to safety before being captured again. Once the prisoners were captured, they were sent to a Nazi prison camp called Stalag. If they had done nothing except passing their time patiently they would have been able to make it through the war safely. However, the Germans were rather dependent upon their adversaries not putting up resistance. They had to be defeated and this would take a collective effort. The men who are the real heroes are those that took the risks and made the sacrifices. The â€Å"Great Escape† was showing the prisoners of war (POWs) resistance towards the fascist state of Germany and this is what made this prison break so much different than that of any other Hollywood movie involving a prison break. Even though the plan that they had set forth failed, that isn’t the point the point was that they took it into their own hands and tried as hard as they could to escape. The movie was based off of a true story about a group of Allied POW’s that attempted to escape from what was thought to be an impenetrable Nazi prison camp during World War II. At the beginning, the Nazi’s gather some of the most devious and troublesome POWs and placed them into a prison camp. Soon after arriving there, they are already plotting their escape. They plan on building three separate tunnels that they refer to as â€Å"Tom†, â€Å"Dick†, and â€Å"Harry†. One of the ways that the men removed dirt from the tunnels in progress was by hiding bags in their trousers to spread the dirt over the camp, under the guard’s noses. On the first day there were many failed attempts at escaping, eventually they settled in. one of the men is told that if he tries to escape one more time he will be shot, and is placed back with the rest of the POWs. Being locked up with every escape artist in Germany, one of the men tries to plot a way to break 250 prisoners out of Stalag. The intent of this operation was to confuse the enemy to the point of them moving as many troops from the front lines to search for all of the escapees that it would be a waste of resources and troops. The prisoners ere at work on the three tunnels and two of them were discovered before completion. Eventually tunnel â€Å"Tom† was completed but was found to be 20 feet short of the woods, due to this, only 76 men were able to escape. Almost all of the POWs were either recaptured and/or killed. Only three of the men made it to safety. The real story of the â€Å"Great Escape† was â€Å"the mass escape of 76 Allied POWs from Stalag Luf t III in March of 1944. † It all started when and Allied aircrew was shot down during World War II. The war camp was being run by the Luftwaffe, called Stalag Luft which was short for Stammlager Luft. The camp was opened May of 1942. The German Luftwaffe had respect for their fellow flyers and their treatment of the prisoners should not be confused with that of the SS or Gestopo. The Luftwaffe treated the POWs well even though there was a very inconsistent supply of food. The security was very strict but life was not intolerable for the prisoners. The camp grew to hold 10,000 POWs, was 59 acres and had 5 miles of perimeter fencing. Food in the camp would have been a major issue if it weren’t for the International Red Cross. Most people would think that the guards got plenty of food, but realistically they weren’t too much better off. Also; the Red Cross provided the prisoners with replacement clothing, shower items, coffees and teas, jams, meats, sugars, and all of these were distributed equally amongst the people. There was prolonged starvation and if it weren’t for the Red Cross parcels things would have been much worse. Some of the captured officers were paid an equivalent of their pay and were able to purchase things, but it was strictly forbidden to be in possession of the real German currency, and this was a vital aid in escape. Another thing that was strictly forbidden was civilian clothing. Most prisoners were commonly dressed in uniforms and any footwear they had, and any man that had civilian clothing was sure to keep it safe. One thing that was vital was to carry and aircrew badge, otherwise upon escaping they could be thought to be a spy. Some of the finest escape artists of the Allied forces were placed in Luft III, and one of those men being Squadron leader Roger J Bushell who was shot down May 1940 during the Battle of France. He collected the most skilled forgers, tailors, tunnel engineers and surveillance experts and told them his plan of sending 250 men outside of the wire fences of Stalag. He knew that this would cause tremendous problems for his enemy because it would divert both men and resources to capture the escapees. His plan wasn’t really intending to return men to their homeland but to cause a major problem with the Germans. He decided to go through with this plan although he had already been told that if he escaped or tried to escape again it would result in him being shot. Security at Stalag was intended to be the best, but there were some flaws with it, one of these flaws being that the Germans were known around the world as being â€Å"goons†. They recived this name because they were definitely not the ‘cream of the Luftwaffe’ and were well known for shooting first and asking questions later. They could also be considered ‘trigger happy’ since there were many incidents of unnecessary use of firearms. The German guards that were highly skilled at detecting escape were called â€Å"ferrets†. They had the ability to enter the compound when they please and search any hut without any given warning. They’d normally search for bright yellow sand because that was an indication that a tunnel was in progress. When they found a tunnel, they would allow it to keep being built until it was close to completion then they would drive heavy vehicles around the camp grounds to collapse the tunnel. The prisoners had three tunnels going and they were named â€Å"Tom†, â€Å"Dick†, and â€Å"Harry†. â€Å"Tom† was started in Hut 105, â€Å"Harry† was in Hut 104, and â€Å"Dick† was concealed beneath a shower drain under Hut 122 and would be under several feet of water, and the Germans never found it. The sudden ‘pounces’ by the ferrets caused consistent nightmares for the tunnel diggers, during one occasion the door to Harry was replaced and fully camouflaged in twenty seconds leaving no sign of a tunnel entrance. The formation of these tunnels wasn’t the easiest because they were under ground and there is limited space to displace the dirt removed to create the tunnel. On method of removing the dirt from the tunnel areas was by filing long thin bags that the men slipped inside their trousers and would walk around losing the sand through a hole in the bottom of it. These men were known as ‘penguins’. Unfortunately, one of the men was careless and was spotted by a ferret when he was walking around the compound so they knew that a tunnel was under way, they just didn’t know where. The process of tunneling was very dangerous, because if a tunnel caved in there was only enough time to cover your head and wait for the ‘number two’ to dig you out. No one ever died, but a few many were forced to stay off work due to suffocation. In order to make these tunnels dependable, they used approximately 4,000 bed boards to form the shoring. These bed boards came from the beds of the prisoners. Most of them became used to sleeping on the barest of supports. The size of the tunnel depended upon that of the boards, so the tunnel is approximately 2 feet square. A wooden railway was put into the tunnel to remove sand along the tunnel. One of the men had spotted an 800 foot coil of electrical wire and took it to use it for lighting through the tunnel. The Germans were aware that something was going on but they were never able to find anything. Eventually they moved 19 of the top suspects which had included 6 of the key men in this operation to another prison camp only weeks before the escape was planned to take place. Luckily, Bushell’s role in the escape was well camouflaged and the Germans had left him behind. When the men were transferred without warning the work didn’t stop. Soon â€Å"Dick† was abandoned because the area that it was to exit at there was a new prison camp built there. Issues arose with the displacement of sand and â€Å"Dick† was eventually used for disposal of sand. When â€Å"Tom† was near completion, it was discovered by a ferret and the Germans destroyed it all, so all work was shifted to â€Å"Harry†. In March of 1944, â€Å"Harry† reached a length of 336 feet. Upon completion, Flight Lieutenant Johnny Bull had discovered that the tunnel was well short of the tree line and was within 30 yards of the nearest watch tower. During this time snow was laying on the ground so it was near impossible to not leave a trail and this caused the escape to slow down greatly and the situation was worsened by the occurance of an air raid. The Germans were forced to shut off all power, so there was no light in the tunnel. Instead of one man a minute the escape was reduced down to only one dozen per hour, so any man with an escape number higher than 100 had no chance of getting out this night. By dawn, only 76 men had escaped and made their way beyond the woods. One man tugged at the signal rope, meaning â€Å"stay put† but the man making his way through the tunnel though that it meant the opposite signal, so he emerged from the tunnel right under the feet of one of the guards. For some seconds he did not see the tracks in the snow and body-heat steam drifting upwards from the tunnel mouth, but he eventually noticed the signs, raised his rifle, and fired a wild shot at the man trying to escape and blew his whistle. The man that preceded him was waiting in the woods and decided to run for it and so did so did the man that was coming out of the tunnel, but the next man in the tunnel was apprehended at rifle point, stood up and surrendered. All the men who had been waiting in the tunnel managed to return to Hut 104, burned their false papers, and ate their carefully saved food rations because the Germans were sure to confiscate them. The ferrets didn’t find the entrance to the tunnel, and by the time they reached the hut, the men were sound asleep. In the darkness of the night few of the escapees had found the railway station and missed their train and were waiting on the platforms trying to avoid each other. Most of the men were captured before they were even able to leave the area. This movie was very accurate in comparison to the real story, which I find quite surprising for a Hollywood film. This was a great movie of an escape plan that didn’t quite work as well as it could have, but none the less it was for sure a great escape.

Duties of a Student Essay

THE PERIOD OF LIFE, WHICH WE SPEND TO RECEIVE EDUCATION IN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS, IS CALLED STUDENT LIFE. IT IS NOT ONLY THE BEST TIME OF A MAN’S LIFE BUT ALSO THE SEEDTIME AS THE SUCCESS AND HAPPINESS IN OUR LIFE DEPEND ON HOW WE HAVE SPENT OUR STUDENT LIFE. THAT IS WHY, THIS LIFE IS THE LIFE OF WORK, OF DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES IF THE LATER PART OF LIFE IS TO BE A LIFE OF ACHIEVEMENT AND SUCCESS. BUT WHAT EXACTLY ARE THE DUTIES OF THIS LIFE? GIVING A SATISFACTORY ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION NEEDS A RATHER LENGTHY DISCUSSION. IT IS SAID, â€Å"MAN HAS THREE DUTIES – DUTY TOWARDS GOD, DUTY TOWARDS PARENTS AND DUTY TOWARDS MANKIND. † I THINK, A STUDENT HAS TO DO ALL THESE THREE DUTIES INCLUDING AN EXTRA DUTY, I. E. STUDY. THE FIRST AND FOREMOST DUTY OF ANY STUDENT, AS EVERYONE OPINES, IS STUDY. THE MAIN STUDY COURSE OF A STUDENT CONSISTS OF THE BOOKS OR MATERIALS HE / SHE IS SUPPOSED TO STUDY. THESE ARE UNDOUBTEDLY, THE PRIMARY SOURCE OF KNOWLEDGE FOR STUDENTS. SINCE THESE ARE PRE-PLANNED AND PREPARED ACCORDING TO THEIR SPECIFIC NEEDS, THEY SHOULD FIRST LEARN FROM THEM. A WIDE RANGE OF OTHER REFERENCE AS WELL AS NON-REFERENCE BOOKS, NOVELS, DRAMAS, POETRY, MAGAZINES, ARTICLES, HOWEVER, WILL BE CONSIDERED EQUALLY IMPORTANT IN THIS REGARD. AFTER THAT, A STUDENT SHOULD SAY HIS PRAYER REGULARLY AS PRAYING HABIT CREATES ALL THE QUALITIES OF HUMANITY LIKE HONESTY, TRUTHFULNESS, MODESTY, POLITENESS, PUNCTUALITY, DISCIPLINE ETC. HE SHOULD BEAR IN MIND, WHAT MAHATMA GANDHI COMMENTS, â€Å"REAL EDUCATION CONSISTS IN DRAWING THE BEST OF YOURSELF; WHAT BETTER BOOK CAN THERE BE THAN THE BOOK OF HUMANITY. † HE SHOULD PASS HIS  TIME IN A SYSTEMATIC WAY, WHICH WILL HELP HIM TO FOLLOW THE RULES OF DISCIPLINE AND PUNCTUALITY TO THE LATTER. HE SHOULD TAKE PART IN GAMES AND SPORTS TO KEEP FIT ALSO. IT HELPS HIM TO HAVE A SOUND BODY AND 1 B. A(Hon’s), M. A in English, Upazila Family Planning Officer, Golapganj, Sylhet (BCS-Family Planning, BCS-General Education); Former Teacher of BAF Shaheen College Dhaka; Email: mmannann@gmail. com CONSEQUENTLY, HE CAN DEVELOP A SOUND MIND. HE ALSO SHOULD TAKE IN DEBATE, DISCUSSION, SEMINARS, AND SYMPOSIUM, WHICH WILL WIDEN HIS KNOWLEDGE. A MAN’S CHARACTER IS MUCH MORE INFLUENCED BY HIS COMPANIONS. SO IT IS THE FOREMOST DUTY OF ALL THE STUDENTS TO MIX WITH GOOD FRIENDS AND GIVE UP BAD COMPANY AT ALL COSTS. A STUDENT CAN GO ON EXCURSION AND PICNIC WITH HIS FELLOW STUDENTS BY WHICH MONOTONY WILL BE DERIVED. A STUDENT SHOULD OBEY HIS TEACHER’S INSTRUCTION TO THE LETTER. PARENTS ARE THE MOST WELL-WISHERS OF A MAN. SO HE SHOULD NEVER BE OUT OF CONTROL OF THE SOCIETY. A STUDENT HAS TO GET INVOLVED IN THE WEAL AND WOE OF HIS OWN FAMILY. A STUDENT SHOULD BECOME A REAL PATRIOT. A STUDENT CAN RENDER MANY SOCIAL AND BENEVOLENT ACTIVITIES. HE CAN TEACH THE ILLITERATE PEOPLE. HE CAN HELP THEM UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF FAMILY PLANNING, MALNUTRITION, SANITATION, EXPLOSION ETC. DURING THE TIME OF NATURAL CALAMITIES, HE CAN SERVE THE AFFECTED PEOPLE BY GIVING THEM FOOD, SHELTER, MEDICINE, PURE DRINKING WATER, CLOTHES ETC. HE HAS TO KNOW HOW TO IDENTIFY HIMSELF WITH THE WHOLE NATION WITH RESPECT TO VARIOUS ASPECTS OF ITS PRIDE AND DEFICIENCIES. THAT IS, HE HAS TO GROW A SENSE OF BELONGING. THOUGH, STUDENT SHOULD NOT TAKE ACTIVE PART IN POLITICS,  THEY SHOULD TAKE A BOLD STAND AT THE TIME OF NATURAL NEED AND SET EVERYTHING RIGHT. THEY SHOULD BEAR IN MIND THAT ONLY STUDENTS CAN MAKE A NATION GREAT. SO THEY SHOULD BE CAREFUL TO ATTAIN THE QUALITIES OF A WORTHY CITIZEN. THERE IS NO ROSE WITHOUT THORNS, NO RIGHT WITHOUT DUTIES, AND NO PLEASURES WITHOUT PAINS. NO WONDER THEN THAT A STUDENT HAS TO DISCHARGE DUTIES TO HIS OWN SELF, TO HIS PARENTS, TO HIS FAMILY, TO HIS COUNTRY AND TO THE WIDE WORLD. MISTAKE ONCE COMMITTED IN THIS PERIOD CAN HARDLY BE RECOVERED. THE SUCCESS OF OUR LIFE DEPENDS ON THE BEST USE OF OUR STUDENT LIFE.

What Is the Coattail Effect in Politics

The coattail effect is a term in American politics used to describe the impact an extremely popular or unpopular candidate has on other candidates in the same election. A popular candidate can help sweep other Election Day hopefuls into office. Meanwhile, an unpopular candidate can have the opposite effect, dashing the hopes of those running for offices lower down on the ballot. The term coattail effect in politics is derived from the loose material on a jacket that hangs below the waist. A candidate who wins an election because of another candidates popularity is said to be swept in on the coattails. Typically, the term coattail effect is used to describe a presidential nominees impact on congressional and legislative races.  The excitement of the election helps to increase voter turnout, and more voters may be inclined to vote a straight party ticket.   Coattail Effect in 2016 In the 2016 presidential election, for example, the Republican establishment became increasingly concerned about its candidates for U.S. Senate and House when it became clear Donald Trump was a formidable candidate. Democrats, meantime, had their own polarizing candidate to worry about: Hillary Clinton. Her scandal-plagued political career failed to generate enthusiasm among the Democratic Partys progressive wing and left-leaning independents. It could be said that both Trump and Clinton had coattail effects on the 2016 congressional and legislative elections. The surprising surge for Trump among working-class white voters — men and women alike — who fled the Democratic Party because of his promise to renegotiate trade deals and levy stiff tariffs against other countries helped elevate Republicans. The GOP emerged from the election in control of both the U.S. House and Senate, as well as dozens of legislative chambers and governors mansions across the U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan credited Trump with helping the Republicans secure majorities in both the House and Senate. The House majority is bigger than expected, we won more seats than anyone expected, and much of that is thanks to Donald Trump...Donald Trump provided the kind of coattails that got a lot of people over the finish line so that we could maintain our strong House and Senate majorities. Now we have important work to do, Ryan said after the November 2016 election. Riding Coattails A strong coattail effect often results in a  wave election, when  one major political party  wins substantially more races than the other. The opposite usually happens two years later,  when the presidents party loses seats in Congress. Another example of a coattail effect is the 2008 election of Democrat Barack Obama and his partys pickup of 21 seats in the House that year. Republican George W. Bush, at the time, was one of the most unpopular presidents in modern history. This was largely due to his decision to invade Iraq in what became an increasingly unpopular war by the end of his second term. Obama energized Democrats to vote. His coattails in 2008 were short in a quantitative sense. But he was able to enliven the Democratic base, attract large numbers of young and independent voters, and help to increase the partys registration totals in a way that boosted Democratic candidates up and down the ticket, wrote political analyst Rhodes Cook. Source Cook, Rhodes. Obama and the Redefinition of Presidential Coattails. Rasmussen Reports, April 17, 2009. Kelly, Erin. House Speaker Paul Ryan says Trump saved GOP majority in House, Senate. USA Today, November 9, 2016.