American Beauty Essays (3080 words) - English-language Films

American Beauty American Beauty tells the story of one man's search for happiness. The film introduces the audience to Lester Burnham, an ordinary- looking married man and father in his forties. Lester is in a loveless marriage. Lester's wife, Carolyn, is so wrapped-up in her real estate career that Lester often claims that Carolyn doesn't even acknowledge him. Furthermore, Lester's daughter, Jane, is completely distant, often claiming how pathetic she thinks her father is. Moreover, Lester has dedicated fourteen years to his occupation, and suddenly, he is in danger of losing his job due to downsizing. All of these factors dramatically effect Lester and culminate into feelings of desperation and vulnerability for him. Lester is therefore in search of an escape and a rebirth. He is seeking the slightest possibility of happiness. Throughout the story Lester is consistently reminiscing on his past; wishing he could have it back. In the beginning portions of the story, Lester, as the narrator, states that it is never too late to regain your past. The catalyst to this frame of thought is Jane's friend, Angela. Lester feels excited by the thought that a teen-age girl thinks he is hot. Lester overhears Angela state that she would have sex with him if Lester would start working-out and build-up his body. This drives Lester to change himself completely. Lester, in desperate search of happiness , finds an escape in Angela. Much like a hormone-driven teenage boy, Lester thinks that if he can score with a bombshell like Angela, then he will be reborn. Lester's mission for happiness and escape is further perpetuated by his eighteen year old neighbor, Ricky. In Ricky, Lester sees his model for rebirth. Lester calls Ricky his hero and is in awe of Ricky's confidence. Lester, then begins a transformation back to his stereotypical understanding of what a teenager is. Lester begins to work-out, smoke pot, and drink beer. Much like a teen, he rebels against responsibility by quitting his job and; therefore, bypassing his duties as a provider to his daughter and wife. Furthermore, Lester spontaneously, trades in his Mercedes automobile for a 1970's cherry-red Trans Am sports car. In addition, Lester pursues a job with the least amount of responsibility. He finds that job in a fast food restaurant. All of these actions are deemed necessary to Lester because this is the way to escape and thus achieving happiness. The first scene where the audience is introduced to Lester's transformation process is when he first spots Angela. Lester and Carolyn decided to come and support Jane at a school basketball game where she is to perform a dance at half-time. This scene is significant because it shows how Angela's sexuality motivated Lester to rebel against who he is. Furthermore, this scene exemplifies Lester's characteristics as a hormone-crazed male in search of sex. This frame of thought is associated more with teens than with men in their forties. The first two technical elements used to exemplify this scene are composition and camera movement. The scene begins with Lester and Carolyn already in the stands with the crowd. Angela, Jane, and the other cheerleaders enter the picture with right to left movement assisted by a panning camera shot of right to left. This foreshadows the unordinary actions that are about to occur. Almost immediately, into the dance routine, Angela is given an upward positi on in the frame elevated with dynamic composition. It is dynamic composition because there is movement (Angela dancing) within a fixed frame. By giving Angela an upward position within the frame this suggest Lester is first noticing her. As the scene continues, and Angela has Lester's full attention, Angela is shown moving towards the camera in another dynamic composition shot complemented by the camera zooming in on her. This gives the audience an idea as to the degree of attention that Lester is giving to Angela due to her sexuality. It also enhances her presence. The scene continues with a static composition shot of Lester. It is static composition because there is no movement within the frame. The camera then begins to zoom in on Lester. As the camera zooms, the crowd is eliminated and only Lester is shown in the frame. Furthermore, the

Compound Modifiers

Compound Modifiers Compound Modifiers Compound Modifiers By Daniel Scocco The compound modifier is my very favorite piece of the English language. It’s a hobby of mine to go around hyphenating word groupings that are modifying unbeknownst to them. Once you learn what it’s all about, you’ll do the same. But, what is a compound modifier, you ask. Well, let me tell you†¦ The rule Which would you rather read? She looked up at the green sky and shrunk away from the white lightning or She looked up at the eerie-green sky and shrunk away from the white-hot lightning. A compound modifier refers to two or more words expressing a single concept. Regular adjectives modify nouns all the time, but a compound modifier goes much further. His yellow-green teeth were visible beneath a salt-and-pepper mustache. The words yellow and green, and salt and pepper are adjectives modifying the nouns teeth and mustache. Since they appear before the noun, they are hyphenated. If they followed the noun, they would no longer be hyphenated. From underneath his mustache, which looked like salt and pepper, you could see his teeth of yellow and green. Exceptions The only time the compound modifier is not hyphenated ahead of the noun is if the word very or an adverb ending in ly is used. For instance: The very dark sky hovered over us versus The raven-black sky hovered over us. Sometimes the compound modifier does keep the hyphenation after the noun – when it follows a form of the verb to be. For example: The soup was water-thin, but delicious all the same. More examples The shelves were buckling under the weight of dust-covered books. Books covered in dust filled the buckling shelves. Books, which were dust-covered, filled the sprawling shelves. We followed the man through a poorly lit corridor. The room we entered was well-lit. We entered a well-lit room. We followed him into a room, well lit with candles and a fire. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:7 Types of Narrative Conflict50 Idioms About Meat and Dairy ProductsPunctuation Is Powerful

Civil society and religious figures in Saudi Arabia - literature review

Civil society and religious figures in Saudi Arabia - review2 - Literature review Example Finally, some see civil society as a loose public arena for deliberation and reason rather than ascription or inherited advocacies (Hermida, 2013; Karskens, 2008). Throughout the spectrum of definitions, the most salient characteristic of civil society is that it represents the interest and benefit of the general population. The definitions vary in terms of nature (bureaucratic and institutional versus grassroots), origin (government-established or spontaneously organised), and source of funding (government or private). The overlap with state bureaucracy and funding often raises the question as to the independence of civil service organisation. Arab monarchies generally see no problem with CSOs pursuing the civil goals of government, as government goals should be aligned with the people’s best interest (Bellin, 1994). Western countries on the other hand feel that CSOs must be a party separate from the government and free from intervention, in order to truly represent the welfa re of the public free from political interest. It is evident that the concept of civil society continues to remain ambiguous, and the particular meaning given to it shall be imbued with the context of the society in which the civil society organisation operates. 2. Soviet Union Democracy transformation in 1998 There are two notable aspects of civil society in the context of post-soviet Russia, according to Jagudina (2002). One is the â€Å"doubled† character of the Soviet public sphere, and the other is about solidarity through exchange of favours. The so-called double character refers to the co-existence of (1) a ‘rigidly regulated economic and social framework’ under Soviet leadership, and (2) the ‘dynamic disparate networks and local environments’ comprised of families, neighbours, colleagues, and close acquaintances. When the rigid political framework collapsed in the late 1980s, the public sphere evolved into a vacuum that was quickly turned int o a space where new informational technologies took over, fostering confrontation, ambiguity, and manipulation by clerics and activists (Jagudina, 2002). The other aspect is that of â€Å"solidarity through exchange of favours.† The aforementioned disparate networks of families and close associates operating beyond the range of the heavily regulated social framework, and provided reference points and communication channels for circulating information that were considered more reliable than official channels which towed the government line (Jagudina, 2002). This â€Å"traditional society† is comprised of â€Å"networks of solidarity based on primordial communities, kinship and patronage† (Roy, 2005, p. 1006). In the early 2000s, after the collapse of the Soviet regime, there eventually arose 250-300 organisations that perceived themselves to be the new burgeoning Russian civil society, springing from the underground networks that former operated under the radar o f the Soviet regulatory framework. Explicitly political, these organisations provided a critical voice in government by airing the grievances of the broad segment of the population. These organisations operate in an environment where mass media is unsupportive, state authorities are unresponsive, a general