Urban Legend of Mount de Sales Academy :: Urban Legends Ghost Stories

Mount de Sales Academy When one usually thinks of a hearing a ghost story, the setting is dark with flickering light (such as around a campfire or in a basement with bad lighting) and, of course, it is nighttime. Needless to say, when I heard this story during the middle of the day on a Friday, I was a little taken aback. When prompted for any urban legends or ghost stories a white, female friend of mine immediately responded with, â€Å"Have you ever heard of de Sales Academy?† With my negative response, the nineteen year old student jumped into her story: Mount De Sales Academy is one of those Catholic, all girls’ schools that teaches their students to be good Catholics and all that. In the 1940s, however, there was one girl who didn’t listen to all the rules and became pregnant. For the time, this was a terrible situation and the girl didn’t know what to do. She lived at the school on the top floor and eventually committed suicide instead of facing the trouble she would have been in. Ever since then, there have been reports in the school of doors opening and closing with no possible explanation and silhouettes seen in the windows when there should be no one at the school. The storyteller had not witnessed the strange happenings at the school but claimed to know someone who had seen the disturbances. As a performance, the telling of this story was very matter a fact and my friend did not self-aggrandize; the performance was quick, to the point, but not particularly dramatic. The storyteller told the legend as fact and was not melodramatic about her role as storyteller. While researching the story I was only able to find one specific reference to Mount de Sales and any ghostly presence there. However, at this online repository of lore relating to the State of Maryland, Mount de Sales Academy is mentioned along with â€Å"reports of doors open[ing] and clos[ing] while locked and†¦a bright blue silhouette walk[ing] by the windows† (Juliano and Carlson). Further research found no other reference to de Sales in any stories and no reference to any suicide or murder at the school. The additional tale found relating to the Catonsville school does reflect the story told to me. Both mention doors opening and closing without cause along with a ghostly silhouette; but there is no reference in the Internet source of the suicide of a pregnant girl.

Industrialized Poets Essay

Edgar Allan Poe, Walter Benjamin, and Arthur Rimbaud all lived in the turbulent 19th Century where the idyllic countryside was giving way to the industrialized world. Their poetry reflects the profound impact industrialization’s onslaught had on the world. Starting from Edgar Allan Poe, to Arthur Rimbaud and finally to Walter Benjamin this paper will discuss the effect of industrialization on their respective worldview vis-à  -vis the situation of the world during their life time. A City in the Sea By Edgar Allan Poe Lo! Death has reared himself a throne In a strange city lying alone Far down within the dim West, Where the good and the bad and the worst and the best Have gone to their eternal rest. There shrines and palaces and towers (Time-eaten towers that tremble not!) Resemble nothing that is ours. Around, by lifting winds forgot, Resignedly beneath the sky The melancholy waters lie. No rays from the holy heaven come down On the long night-time of that town; But light from out the lurid sea Streams up the turrets silently — Gleams up the pinnacles far and free — Up domes — up spires — up kingly halls — Up fanes — up Babylon-like walls — Up shadowy long-forgotten bowers Of sculptured ivy and stone flowers — Up many and many a marvelous shrine Whose wreathà ©d friezes intertwine The viol, the violet, and the vine. So blend the turrets and shadows there That all seem pendulous in the air, While from a proud tower in the town Death looks gigantically down. There open fanes and gaping graves Yawn level with the luminous waves; But not the riches there that lie In each idol’s diamond eye — Not the gaily-jeweled dead Tempt the waters from their bed; For no ripples curl, alas! Along that wilderness of glass — No swellings tell that winds may be Upon some far-off happier sea — No heavings hint that winds have been On seas less hideously serene. But lo, a stir is in the air! The wave — there is a movement there! As if the towers had thrust aside, In slightly sinking, the dull tide — As if their tops had feebly given A void within the filmy Heaven. The waves have now a redder glow — The hours are breathing faint and low — And when, amid no earthly moans, Down, down that town shall settle hence, Hell, rising from a thousand thrones, Shall do it reverence.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The setting is in a city in the west ruled by death who is worshiped by all. This set is often quoted or at least used for the crafting of gothic films or at work. Death looks down upon all from his high tower, like Sauron atop Barad-Dur. The city has ‘domes, spires and kingly halls, and fanes and Babylon like walls. The poem makes a rather ironic point because the west has always been associated with good and life and the east with evil and death. For example, in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings Trilogy Aragorn is the goodly Lord of the West while the Sauron commands a legion of evil Easterlings.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Poe speaks of a brooding end of days when ‘the waves now have a redder glow, the hours are breathing faint and low.’ The waves turning red as a sign of hells coming because red is the color of fire and hence the color of Hell and the Devil. ‘and when, amid no earthly moans, down, down the tower shall settle hence, Hell rising from a thousand thrones, shall do it reverence. It would appear that the poem speaks of the city of death as if it were superior to Hell. Rather, as if Hell were subordinate and must pay homage. The end is a creepy scene where the Devil expresses gratitude to the devil for allowing him to come and rule the Earth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As can be expected of Edgar Allan Poe the setting is dark and brooding. In relation to the modernization being experienced during Poe’s time it is quite possibly a comment on the widening gap between the rich and poor as a result of industrialization, specifically the factory system. Poe lived in the early 19th Century in his time factories were being setup left and right. People were migrating from the provinces to the cities in order to get jobs at the factories because the cottage industries they used to have were no longer viable. Instead they had to move to cities. The cities were grim gothic environs in their own right. Sanitation, Housing, and food were all in short supplies. The cities were dirty, grimy, disease ridden affairs for the vast majority of the rural immigrants. Life was short and dangerous, they lived miserable lives often working in inhuman conditions for factory owners who ruthlessly abused them. Contrast this with the capitalists who owned the factories. The newness of the factory system meant that laws were not yet in place to protect the rights of the workings. Unscrupulous factory owners worked the peasants to the hilt. Fourteen-hour work days and Six-day work weeks were not unknown. Wages were a scandal, with no wage boards or unions to protect them and with the labor being a buyers market most workers had no choice but to accept the poor wages or be unemployed. As a result, the factory owners could become oppressively rich. In fact, in the Victorian era the Nobles and the now-wealthy Capitalists mingled as equals in the lavish parties of the day. Men like Vanderbilt and Astor could afford to build Palatial estates fit for kings quite possibly at the expense of the wretched workers in their factories. In my opinion, aside from his already dark and brooding outlook and writing style, Edgar Allan Poe was inspired to write A City in the sea by his exposure to the factory system. The oppression of the workers vis-à  -vis the extreme privilege of the owner may have further jaded mr. Poe. He would is not the first, and he was certainly not the last to suggest that Hell itself will rise from the City in the Sea. Moving forward, Arthur Rimbaud’s Une Saison en Enfer or A season in hell was written at the time when he was recovering from a gunshot. The book has had considerable influence on later Surrealist writers it was considered a revolutionary work because it shunned conventional description, straightforward narrative and didactic purpose. His work revolts against naturalism, precision and objectivity. Rimbaud relies on suggestion and evocation rather than concrete depiction. For this paper we will focus on the second poem Bad blood. The poems read like the confessions of a self-confessed scoundrel. And why should it not? Rimbaud had a homosexual lover named Paul Verlaine who later shot him when they broke up. The book was direct result of his shooting and the tumults he underwent while recovering from the wound. Initially the book was unsuccessful. The poem Bad Blood, like the rest of his work, reads like the rants of a self-confessed scoundrel. He explores his pre-Christian, Gaellic origins and emphasizes his alienation from modern civilization. Scholars are at variance as to what the actual theme of his work is. However, the general consensus is that it has to do with the Narrator’s struggle to reconcile the ideals of Christianity with the Hypocrisy and Corruption of Western Civilization. There are many dualities presented and exposed for what they are. In relation to his times the Hypocrisy and Corruption was at its hilt. In those days nearly every European power had colonies overseas. All European nations, at least in the west, professed freedom and civil liberties as inalienable rights. Slavery and serfdom were obsolete and illegal in Western Europe. Yet all one has to do is leave the confines of continental Europe so see that slavery is still widely practiced. I believe that as result of modern printing and communication methods like the Morse code and the AFP news began to travel faster than it did before. This exposed Rimbaud to the many forms of Hypocrisy and Corruption that crippled the morale fiber of Europe. For example, Africans are treated as second-class citizens in their own country. They are forced to work inhumane conditions in the mines, plantations and farms of their European masters for little or no viable compensation. Civil liberties are denied to colonials to the hilt, in the Philippines the Spanish are allowed to beat up the locals just for not showing them the proper deference. In fact, he did not have to go very far. There were many reports of women and children working in English coal mines. They even went on strike to protest their inhumane wages and working conditions. Normally news from England would take days or even weeks to reach continental Europe and vise versa but thanks to the telegraph a worker’s strike in Paris can be known to Londoners as quickly as the next day. Finally, Benjamin’s work was perhaps the most heavily affected by industrialization. In fact, his book Paris, Capital of the Nineteenth Century is almost entirely about the advances and changes brought about by the rapid industrialization of the bygone century. The book outlines the changes in almost glowingly utopia perspective. This is in contrast to the dark, brooding and negative views of the previous authors. For example, the first chapter â€Å"Arcades† points out that material and social conditions that makes Arcades possible. With the advancement of capitalism, Arcades have become obsolete, replaced by the department store. As an aside, Benjamin refers to Arcades as almost utopian paradises. The next chapter about Daguerre photography mentions the role of photography in transforming art. The chapter also mentions how photos become a commodity and emphasizes the commodity trade of photographs in relation to portraits. Benjamin will later refer to this as unconscious optics. The fourth chapter points out how the rapidly industrialized world has successfully separated home from work. In the olden days of Agriculture people worked that land where they lived. In his day people traveled quite far to reach the factories and shops where they worked.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Simply put, Benjamin chronicles the changes that industrialization has brought about. It is appears he view industrialization as positive since there are few mentions of the negative aspect of it. Instead Industrialization is viewed positively as a means to improve the lives and livelihoods of people.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Industrialization brought about massive changes during the 19th century. Poets and writers as purveyors and chroniclers of the people’s world-view are not isolated from these sweeping changes. These authors are just a few examples of how the great changes of their times greatly affected their styles.

Full Moon and Little Frieda

Full moon and little Frieda is a poem written by Ted Hughes. The poem is about Frieda’s first word ‘Moon’, but in this poem, Moon represents her father, which is Ted. He is amazed at her for the first time calling his name. It starts of just like this â€Å"on a cool evening with dogs barking and buckets clanking with spider’s web with dew looking like a mirror. † And cows are wandering in their lane â€Å"A dark river of blood, many boulders† In the first stanza, he says â€Å"as you listening†, it means that he’s trying to put you in his situation or current atmosphere, or in this case, in the barn.It is at night when the cows are getting ready to get back to their ‘home’. It is a silence night where there are spider webs with dews on it. In the second stanza, he shows us that the ‘cows are going home in the lane there, looping the hedges with their warm wreaths of breath’, meaning that the cows are go ing back to their home in their comfortable lane and that they are happy. ‘A dark river of blood, many boulders’ suggests that he wants the reader to think there is some sort of sadness when his wife left him because she committed suicide.But when Frieda cries Moon, his reaction changed become surprised and amazed because he is very happy to hear his name being called. I think it is not a sad poem, but some parts like ‘dark river of blood’ suggest that maybe he is having a family trouble, which could be due to the fact that his wife committed suicide. This poem is well-written in a very simply English even though the meaning behind it is not really obvious.The first time I read the poem, I thought it’s just about a little girl on a farm full of cows calls for the moon. But after a bit of research, I realized that Moon represents her father. The cows represent both sadness and happiness. I see that it is written in 3 stanzas. The first two stanzas, it has 5 verses. There is a lot of imagery going on in the poem that really put you in the peaceful mind, the animals doing what they are suppose to do (going back to the farm because it is late night already).I also see that there is no rhythm or rhyme in the poem. While you’re reading the poem, the feeling of relaxed and chilled are felt. This is a short poem which I love as I can’t stand long poems that literally need deciphering before one can understand them. It had no rhyming or rhythm so one was free to put your one style into it which makes it more fun. I liked the subject of the poem and it was to me a very meaningful and well written poem.

Shoehorn Sonata Speech + Related Text

At age 15, you are thrown into a war, fighting for your life and your will to live is slowly diminishing. Are you scared? Probably, but you know that if you show fear, everyone will see you as being weak. This is what the main protagonists of both the play, Shoe Horn Sonata by John Mistro and the movie, Hunger Games directed by Gary Ross endured. Together with photographs, cinematic techniques and symbols, these texts represent the devastation of war, the bonds of friendship forged during a war and their respective will to survive.Friendship is defined as a relationship between friends. In Shoe Horn Sonata, when Sheila and Bridie first meet, it seems unlikely that they will ever be friends. They are complete polar opposites. Sheila cynical statement ‘People always get on when they’re tossed in together. I’d hardly call that friendship. ’, reinforces that Bridie and Sheila initially formed a friendship out of desperation to survive, not because there was mut ual affection for each other. Bitter tone is utilised to convey Shelia’s survival instincts are prioritised over tender friendship.Additionally the alliteration of tossed in together reflects how people in war have no choice of their companions, that it pushes them together in survival. Similarly in the Hunger Games , the friendships that Katniss makes with both Rue and are forged out of necessity and need rather than sentiment. Rue and Katniss team up as they both have valuable skills assets that the other would like to utilise to their advantage such as when Rue manages to take a weapon unnoticed using the trees. In many ways, an alliance with Rue is an alliance to District 11 which Katniss can use to her benefit.Peter and Katniss act as if they are lovers in a ploy for the audience as a means to survive as seen when Katniss receives a note from Haymitch asking ‘You call that a kiss? ’. The sarcastic tone makes Katniss realise that the ploy will be futile as if Haymitch is doubtful then others will be too. Both texts show that although they may not have been friends in normal circumstances, war has pushed them together and this has attributed to them surviving. Symbols are also used in both texts to represent the protagonists’ hope and survival.For example, the shoehorn in Shoe Horn Sonata is first seen when the girls are in the water and Bridie uses it to wake Sheila up and prevent her from drowning. In this scene, it a metaphorical and representative an object of survival and the will to live. As the play goes on, the shoehorn symbolises family for Bridie and sacrifice for Sheila but in the end it unites the girls and demonstrates that not only did they survive the war, they survived the effects of the war as well. Caramel is another symbol of survival.It was the only luxury the girls had during the camp and ‘it had to last till the end of the war’. The caramel was even important enough that it was written into the g irls’ wills. This conveys to the audience that the girls clung to the hope that they would eventually be released from the prison camp. On the other hand, in Hunger Games, the mockingbird pin was not only Katniss’s link to her district, but a symbol of her love for her father as well as her survival. The pin is a representation of a creature with a spirit of her own.By breaking free of the Capitol’s control this show that the Capitol does not have complete control of the districts. Katniss, like the mockingjay, has escaped from the Capitol’s clutches which is why the pin symbolises her survival and spirit. The photographs shown during interview in Shoe Horn Sonata support the dialogue and give the audience a visual representation of what the girls went through during the camp. In scene 7, you see visuals of what the prisoners looked like during the camp. They are emaciated, haggard and impoverish.The effects of the imprisonment of the innocent is clearly highlighted during these photographs. The stark black and white photos depicting the harrowing effects of mistreatment of innocents evokes sympathy towards the prisoners from the viewer and loathing for their captors. In contrast, within the Hunger Games, the film is seen as whirs and jolts with sharply edited scenes intercutting from perspective to perspective which represents Katniss’s inner turmoil and her agitation which accompanies those new changes.Her life is unpredictable and this is shown as the camera shakes around representing the sudden changes in her life and well as extreme long shots used to give the audience a general impression of the places she goes. Little detail can be seen in these scenes which corresponds to the insignificance of these places to Katniss. The audience witnesses the consequences of these changes but to everyone else, they are unable to see this because of the defensive stoic mask she wears.In conclusion, the protagonists in Shoe Horn Sonat a and the Hunger Games have survived horrors unimaginable to us and through distinctively visual techniques such as , photographs, cinematic techniques and symbols, we are able to grasp a small idea of what they have endured on their journey. Therefore, thus despite common circumstances being the catalyst for friendship in times of war, strife and horror they are able to triumph over their circumstances because of the sustenance that this unexpected friendship provides them.

Starbucks International

International Marketing Case1-1: Starbucks-Going Global Fast Q1) Identify the controllable & uncontrollable elements that Starbucks has encountered in entering global markets. A1) There are several controllable and uncontrollable elements that Starbucks has encountered in entering the global market. To begin with, some of the controllable elements are somewhat similar to them growing in the domestic market. Some of the factors include the 4 P’s (Product, Price, Placement and Promotion).Starbucks has the advantage of being a global brand-it is recognized by millions around the world and is thus able to market according to its value. In addition, Starbucks can easily adjust to the different cultural sets and shift their prices according to the competitors in the region (without making much of an impact to their profit). As a result of being a global brand, Starbucks can market themselves as they wish to as well. An appropriate example would be the coffee in Italy-which is relati vely cheaper than Starbucks regular coffee.An espresso in Northern Italy is around 67 cents whereas in the south it can fall close to 55 cents. Meanwhile, Americans pay around $1. 50 for their espresso-for such reason, Starbucks would have to lower the prices if they wish to enter the Italian market for the simple reason to be able to compete in such an environment-basically going back to the point of controlling their prices as their competitors do. Starbucks have faced uncontrollable elements as well-mostly to do with foreign markets.To begin with are the issues that the brand might face trying to balance between domestic and international markets. There are several different elements of risk that they face when entering a foreign market such as competitive forces, technology levels, distribution structures, the nation’s infrastructure and other forces that add in such a cultural, political and legal. All these elements tie in with how Starbucks runs its business in an inte rnational market.Moreover, as Starbucks continues to expand, it will have to be increasingly sensitive to cultural challenges. One example could be Starbucks facing grave challenges with Japan’s ‘chilled coffee’ market with many lookalikes rivalling with the corporate brand making it more difficult for them to compete overseas. Being a global brand, Starbucks has mastered their skills to expand to other international markets-as long as they keep in check their controllable elements and try and resolve the uncontrollable ones.Q2) What are the major sources of risk facing the company? Discuss potential solutions. A2) Being such a major international brand-Starbucks is likely to face certain risks. To begin with, Starbucks has managed to saturate most of its market in United States. According to sources, there is a Starbucks for every 9,400 people in Seattle. Blanketing areas with their stores is not necessarily an advantage for Starbucks, it has even led to consume rs being frustrated with the low level of choice and causing a great dislike towards the global brand all together.Another risk facing Starbucks is the new, younger generation. Today’s 20 and early thirty year old consumers are not ready to pay the high prices for their daily coffee. Due to the recession, much of this generation was brought up on less costly brands such as McDonald’s McCafe, and is unlikely to shift to Starbucks or any other major brand even once recession has worn off. Consumer risks are not the only ones troubling Starbucks-the global brand also faces internal issues with employee burn out rate increasing over the years.Dissatisfaction over being over worked and under paid is starting to become synonymous with the Starbucks name causing frustrated store managers and a higher percentage of employee turnover. An example of this internal risk was when a lawsuit caused Starbucks a good $18 million, leaving them with decreased profit share. Analysts state that Starbucks can only maintain about 15% square footage growth in the United States, for only about two more years. After that, it will have to depend aggressively on overseas growth to maintain their annual 20% revenue growth.Expansion and cannibalization risk is also another element. Expanding at such an extreme rate with a constant growth in stores around the world have seen to cause some major cultural issues as well, for example Italy being threatened from changing their lifestyles of drinking coffee all together. Solutions: Advertising campaigns and positive public awareness could help improve their global image. Starbucks should being focusing on International expansion rather than saturating their domestic market-the more people they reach out to, the more the brand is likely to survive and make a profit.Having such an international image can have a disadvantage as well-Starbucks could learn to adapt to more cultural differences & requirements rather than concentrating on promoting their domestic image internationally as well. Through promotion and advertising Starbucks should begin to shift their target audience; the younger generation is a key element to their product life cycle-but re-positioning their products and focusing on the Middle class of today, Starbucks could find a solution within and continue to grow for years to come.Market research could be another solution that Starbucks can look into. By creating Global Strategies, success can be achieved by moulding according to the country’s culture and belief and by introducing products that are more likely to be accepted by people from different areas of the world. A certain kind of marketing is unlikely to appeal to an audience from all over the world-Starbucks should be flexible enough to create their image according to a different culture each time.The feeling of dissatisfaction from the employees of Starbucks should be resolved. This solution can be achieved by offering over time pa yment or incentive for every employee-as long as Starbucks is willing to take care of its people, employee turnover will be likely to reduce and their internal mechanics will run smoothly-thus causing them clarity to look at other major issues, such as international marketing and expansion.Q3) Critique Starbucks overall Corporate Strategy A3) In the case of Starbucks, the corporate strategy that they have implemented is unique to their industry which has allowed them to stand apart from their major competitors. It can be summarized shortly-Starbucks aims to provide quality coffee wherever they go.One of their strategies would be vertical integration, by having a close relationship from the start to the finish of their product by having their own supply chain and roasting their own coffee-Quality is one key element that Starbucks has never compromised on ( and from the looks of it, will be unwilling to do so in the near future as well) Modification of their products is another way St arbucks handles it strategy, by aiming at partnering with other successful brands and going for products that they can also sell in stores apart from their chain’s and focusing on the other services they provide such as pre order, Wi-Fi and partnering with the movie and music industry. Even without spending a lot on international advertisement, Starbucks makes sure to stay in the limelight, by making the right decisions to partner with companies that are appealing to their overall consumer base.In addition, Starbucks has begun to target the younger generation (that is likely to stray from the higher priced quality coffee) by boosting other services they provide. Instead of succumbing to the lower price demand, Starbucks has upped their other services and began advertising accordingly and directly aiming at the new generation’s consumer base. It is probably also worth mentioning how Starbucks has still managed to follow the usual, normal expansion routine as well. They began by aiming at their domestic market aggressively and once this had been saturated and developed completely, the organization began increasing their presence internationally. According to the Starbucks annual report in 2009, their international market grew by a rapid 7. 7% in 2009.Overall, Starbucks aims at growing internationally, by using other sources apart from the regular stereotypes, but at the same time, Starbucks aims to keep its footing in their domestic market as strong as they have been since the inception itself. Q4) How might Starbucks improve profitability in Japan? A4) Due to the high level of competition that Starbucks faces in Japan, it should begin by reconsidering their pricing strategy. Most of Japan still believes that Starbucks is slightly overpriced, and since there are so many different competitors, it is an easy decision for the consumer in Japan to choose another brand-based simply on the lower price.They could begin by lowering their prices slightly, w here they would still make a profit, but would fall within the range of other competitors so more consumers would be likely to choose Starbucks-mainly due to the great quality of product (and now better price as well) Another method that Starbucks could use is repositioning their product and service in Japan. According to sources, Japanese youth is more likely to spend their time in a constructive manner. Due to Starbucks and the competitors in Japan providing similar fare, it is easy for the competitor to eat up the Starbucks share, thus it would be ideal for the global brand to increase their benefits (or reduce price further).One benefit could be introducing the online order system in Japan, so Japanese consumers could pre order online, saving them time and using this benefit over the other competitors. By advertising with the domestic brands in Japan, Starbucks could possibly make itself synonymous with Japan’s youth-where they feel inclined to have Starbucks instead if c ompetitor coffee because their other major brands/artists seem to be having Starbucks as well. Including customized products for its consumers in Japan is also helping Starbucks stay on top of their globalization plans. This strategy increased same store sales and overall profits. By adding the drive through service, Starbucks is targeting their Japanese audience the most fruitful and profitable way.

Susan Sontag on Photography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Susan Sontag on Photography - Essay Example In all of her works, Sontag believed that the proliferation of photographic images had developed a worldwide recognition that photographs ought to be exact representations of reality. Thus, the essence of photography is pure reflection of reality. As such, every photographer must know, both technically and artistically, the proper way of capturing images in order to deliver a pure message about a phenomenon. In this paper, we intend to examine further some of Sontag’s critical teachings about photography by emphasizing on its purpose, the ideal relation between the photographer and his subject, and the key issues surrounding the practice of photography. After this, we deepen our understanding on the essence of photography by looking at one essential issue, that is, the problem of photo manipulation in modern photojournalism. In this part, we first study the trends in photographic manipulation to understand how the practices have been caused, either directly or indirectly, by t echnological and commercial innovations. After this, we discuss why and how photo manipulation is done. Such topics are to be discussed in relation to specific cases of photo manipulation in the mass media like newspapers and magazines. ... A. Important Ideas: Susan Sontag’s On Photography Susan Sontag condemned photography by asserting that it only delivers images that are nothing more than shadows of reality. As she metaphorically strengthened this thesis, humans who view photographs are like trapped men in a cave who only see the shadows of the outside world. What they deem as ‘real’ are actually distorted reflections of reality. To arrive at a more meaningful discussion of On Photography, let us first delve into her definition of photography. To Sontag, to photograph is to appropriate to the thing being photographed. It is an act of non-intervention. Thus, there should be distance between the photographer and his subject. However, she believed that since photographs do not provide contextual stories about the world, they become miniatures of reality. The world, therefore, becomes a series of unrelated particles or phenomena, with no interconnectedness or continuity. But the capacity to imitate re ality is not the only definitive characteristic of photography, for in the artistic activity of the photographer he is able to elevate his creations as pretentious works of art. As narrated by Bridget Brimer in her online article entitled Literary Interpretation and Analysis of Susan Sontag's Book, On Photography, Chapter 1: "In Plato's Cave", through the use of various skills in photography, the photographer is able to convert a phenomenon into an image that provides a transient experience to its intended audience. Thus, Sontag saw the act of photographing as symbolic shooting, or even raping. Sontag reckoned that photographing is like raping since the photographer sees his subject in a manner that is unavailable to himself (subject’s). He gains knowledge about

Museum research paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Museum research paper - Essay Example It is based on the passion with abstract art and the first record abstract paint of Wassily that he is considered the father of abstract art (Varnedoe 2006, p15). The painting ‘Untitled Improvisation-1914’ is one of Wassily’s painting work in abstract with depth and meaning in the use of colours and lines. It is a more refined and developed piece of art in a series that emerge from about 1906. The painting is done during the onset of World War I, a very important aspect in understanding the theme colors and the messages conveyed by the picture. The Nazis of Germany were actively involved in the war, a war of race, and so Wassily, who was a professor, was then forced to move back to his home country (Düchting, 2008, p58). This information forms the background of the abstract painting, with no particular object painted but nonetheless, rich in internal beauty and spiritual understanding as Wassily himself described Art. The artist Wassily had a special approach to art which was very unique and independent, only witnessed among those who appreciate abstract art (Flux, 2002, p42). He was devoted to inner beauty of art work and had spiritual desire for his artistic impressions. This was achieved by colour as can be seen in this painting. The circumstance inspiring Wassily to paint ‘Untitled Improvisation III, 1914’ is the troubles of the war era. This is indicated by the extensive use of black paint on the background. From the museum however, explanations are given as to why the painting was by oil paint on cardboard, the original material. Wassily, in painting this art piece, was inspired by the concept of music as in the paintings before. He believed that painting was like composing music and so was to communicate messages in a sequential manner so as to get it across by use of colours and shadings of various thicknesses (Bill, Max, and