Wednesday, January 29, 2020
English literature Essay Example for Free
English literature Essay For Locke, all knowledge comes exclusively through experience. He argues that at birth the mind is a tabula rasa, or blank slate, that humans fill with ideas as they experience the world through the five senses. Locke defines knowledge as the connection and agreement, or disagreement and repugnancy, of the ideas humans form. From this definition it follows that our knowledge does not extend beyond the scope of human ideas. In fact, it would mean that our knowledge is even narrower than this description implies, because the connection between most simple human ideas is unknown. Because ideas are limited by experience, and we cannot possibly experience everything that exists in the world, our knowledge is further compromised. However, Locke asserts that though our knowledge is necessarily limited in these ways, we can still be certain of some things. For example, we have an intuitive and immediate knowledge of our own existence, even if we are ignorant of the metaphysical essence of our souls. We also have a demonstrative knowledge of Godââ¬â¢s existence, though our understanding cannot fully comprehend who or what he is. We know other things through sensation. We know that our ideas correspond to external realities because the mind cannot invent such things without experience. A blind man, for example, would not be able to form a concept of colour. Therefore, those of us who have sight can reason that since we do perceive colours, they must exist.
Monday, January 20, 2020
Manetââ¬â¢s Advertisement An understanding of Vue de lââ¬â¢Exposition Universel
An understanding of Vue de lââ¬â¢Exposition Universelle, Paris 1867 ââ¬Å"Manet a toujours reconnu le talent là oà ¹ il se trouve et nââ¬â¢a prà ©tendu ni renverser une ancienne peinture ni en crà ©er une nouvelle. Il a cherchà © simplement à à ªtre lui-mà ªme et non un autre.â⬠Edouard Manet, Motifs dââ¬â¢une exposition particulià ¨re, May 1867 (in Courthion: 139) Manet is a transitional painter, emerging from the realism of the early to mid nineteenth century and a precursor to ââ¬â included in by some authors ââ¬â the impressionist movement. The publicââ¬â¢s fascination with his work is remarkable. But, as much as his work is appreciated today, he has been criticized and misunderstood by his contemporaries. His radical explorations in composition and representation made him an easy target for unfavorable critics. He has been accused of leaving his paintings unfinished, of not being able to compose, of lack of imagination and even of vulgarity (Hanson, Howard, Mainardi, others). His position as part of the ââ¬Å"tribe of eccentricsâ⬠(Chesneau q. in Mainardi: 109) has kept Manet out of the conservative catalog of the Fine Arts section of the Exposition Universelle of 1867 in Paris. Since, in the artistââ¬â¢s words, ââ¬Å"montrer est la question vitale, le sine qua non pour lââ¬â¢artisteâ⬠(in Courthion: 140), he was forced to prepare his own show to display his work to the very important public brought to Paris by the world fair. So, he and Courbet borrowed money and set up on the Place de lââ¬â¢Alma, right on the path leading from the Salon at the Place de lââ¬â¢Industrie to the Exposition Universelle on the Champ de Mars (Mainardi: 109). It is in this ambiance of optimistic defiance that Manet produced Vue de lââ¬â¢Exposition Universelle, Paris 1867 , his illustration of the fair. ... ...er Levin Associates, 1988 Hanson, Anne Coffin. Manet and the Modern Tradition. New Haven: Yale U. Press, 1977 Howard, Seymour. ââ¬Å"Early Manet and Artful Error: Foundations of Anti-Illusion in Modern Paintingâ⬠in Art Journal. New York: College Art Association of America. Vol. 37, Fall 1977: 14-21 Lââ¬â¢Exposition universelle de 1867: guide de lââ¬â¢exposant et du visiteur, avec les documents officiels, un plan et une vue de lââ¬â¢Exposition. Paris: Exposition universelle de 1867, 1866 Lââ¬â¢illustration. 6 Avril 1867 Mainardi, Patricia. ââ¬Å"Edouard Manetââ¬â¢s ââ¬ËView of the Universal Exposition of 1867ââ¬â¢Ã¢â¬ in Arts Magazine. 54(5), January 1980: 108-115 Reff, Theodore, ed. Manet and modern Paris: one hundred paintings, drawings, prints, and photographs by Manet and his contemporaries. Washington: National Gallery of Art, 1982 The Illustrated London News. 6 July, 1867
Sunday, January 12, 2020
Media Impacts on Childrenââ¬â¢s Rights Essay
Child abuse gives most people a vision of the faults and blunders of the society. Child mistreatment is one of the most common crimes committed in the present. As for the Philippines, one can find vital statistics to certain crimes at the Bantay Bata 163 website (http://www.abs-cbn.com/bantaybata163). According to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), 6,494 cases of child abuse were reported for the year of 2006 alone. Indeed, the government and certain non-government organizations must deal with these incidents of child abuse particularly the mass media. This paper examines the role of the media in relation to child abuse and child protection and argues that the media have been essential to the task of placing the problem of child abuse in the minds of the public and on the political agenda. THE MASS MEDIA According to YourDictionary.com, Mass Media is those means of communication that reach and influence large numbers of people, especially newspapers, popular magazines, radio, and television. Mass Media are those media that are created to be consumed by immense number of population worldwide and also a direct contemporary instrument of mass communication. Nonetheless, Mass Media is considered as the fourth estate of the society as well. It is the fourth branch of the government. It is the voice and weapon of the people and the society as whole. Mass media has various purposes, first is for entertainment, traditionally through performances of acting, music, and sports, along with light reading but since the late 20th century it can also be through video and computer games. Next is for public service announcement which is intended to modify public attitudes by raising awareness about specific issues like health and safety. And lastly is for advocacy. This can be forà both business and social concerns. This can include advertising, marketing, propaganda, public relations and political communication. MEDIA AND HUMAN RIGHTS As stated by the Secretary- General of the United Nations in 1998, Human Rights are ââ¬Ëwhat reason requires and what conscience commandsââ¬â¢ (Mizuta, 2000). It is commonly recognized that human rights are firm foundations of human existence and co-existence. It is for these human rights that the United Nations is engaged in securing the basic conditions of life, in ensuring peace, development, a safe environment, food, shelter, education, participation, equal opportunities and protection against intolerance in any form. The Preamble of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights expicitly states that: ââ¬Ëevery individual and every organ of the society, keeping this Declaration constatly inmind, shall strive by teaching education to promote respect for these rights and freedomââ¬â¢ (Hamelink, 2000). With this, we can say that all (including different institutions) are responsible in promoting human rights. Mass media present the opportunity to communicate to large numbers of people and to target particular groups of people. As observed by Gamble and Gamble (1999), mass communication is significantly different from other forms of communication. They note that mass communication has the capacity to reach ââ¬Ësimultaneouslyââ¬â¢ many thousands of people who are not related to the sender. It depends on ââ¬Ëtechnical devicesââ¬â¢ or ââ¬Ëmachinesââ¬â¢ to quickly distribute messages to diverse audiences often unknown to each other. Thus, media in relation to human rights shows a exceptional characteristic in promoting it. CHILD ABUSE In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or other caregiver that results in harm, potential for harm, or threat of harm to a child. The physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect of children have a long recorded history. In the mid to late 1800s, it was reported that children were often sexually assaulted, that children reported honestly about their abuse, and that the perpetrators of abuse were often the childrenââ¬â¢s fathers and brothers (Olafsen, Corwin and Summit 1993). Every year, millions of children across the world are becoming innocent helpless targets of atrocities. They are the sufferers of ill-treatment, exploitation, and brutality. They are part of human trafficking to induce into prostitution rackets. In terror prone regions, they are kidnapped from their homes and schools and their innocent childhood is forced into the army to witness the brunt of cruelty. They are enforced into debt repression or other kinds of slavery. In Metro Manila, according to Australian study, urbanization and migration continuously increase, children are often forced by circumstances to help their families earn a living. Most street children are of poor parents who have migrated from rural areas to find better job opportunities in the city, but lack of education renders them ill-equipped to earn or survive in the city. Street children have a bleak present and an uncertain future. Life in the street is a constant struggle to overcome the various negative elements that threaten to overtake and destroy the hope for survival. The street child works under the heat of the sun or in the dark of the night from 6 to 16 hours, seven days a week, often in a combination of ââ¬Å"occupationsâ⬠each considered their only means to survive. In the cities, neglected and abandoned children find themselves in the streets fending for themselves and vulnerable to the various evils of the urban jungle such as drug addiction, crimes and commercial sexual exploitation. Children who are neglected or abandoned are easy prey not only to accidents but to commercial sexual exploitation, drugs, crime and unwanted pregnancies. Incidents of child abuse is still on the rise especiallyà child sexual abuse. Also on the rise are reports of physical abuse and maltreatment of children. According to the statistics, there are approximately 40,000 to 50,000 street children of all categories in Metro Manila. Studies conducted reveal that the number of street children range from 2 to 3% of the child and adult population. The national project on street children estimated the number of street children at over 220,000 in 65 major cities as of 1993. There are now about 350 government and non government agencies that are responding to street childre n and their families. The government has given special focus on helping street children with programs focused on health and nutrition, educational assistance, parenting sessions, livelihood and skills training, residential care, foster care and adoption. However for as long as there would be squatter colonies sprouting in urban areas and for as long as there are not enough jobs, street children will continue to dominate in the streets. In a 1993 survey of households, some 16% of households surveyed have children below 12 years old who are left unattended with no supervising adult in the house. This translates to one in six households where children are without adult supervision. The consequences of child abuse are overwhelmingly disturbing. It denies a child its basic right-education. While violence and abuse pose a threat to their life, it also offers more devastating adverse effects on their mental and physical health. Often it leads to homelessness, resulting in increased number of cases of vagrancy giving birth to a feeling of depression. To worsen the scenario, these victims are more likely to abuse their own children in future, thanks to the deep impact on their mind and the cycle will continue forever. Though the agony and the plight of these children remain suppressed in silence, the brunt of their exploitation is very real. Although, the whole world is morally fuming at the abuse children endure. Yet, protection laws against child abuse commonly meet with confrontation at all strata of society. Like the protection of human rights, child protection can also be effectively promoted through media. MEDIA ON CHILD PROTECTION The media have been essential to the growth of societyââ¬â¢s awareness of child abuse and neglect, not so much from specific community education campaigns as through ongoing news and features reporting on specific cases, research and intervention initiatives (Gough 1996). Media representations are the primary source of information on social problems for many people (Hutson and Liddiard 1994). Specifically, it is apparent that the mediaââ¬â¢s conceptualization of children and young people, and media reporting on both physical discipline of children and child abuse, is significant in reflecting and defining societyââ¬â¢s perceptions of children and young people (Franklin and Horwath 1996), and what is and what is not acceptable behavior towards children. In addition to news stories, feature articles, and investigative journalism, sporadic mass media education and prevention campaigns are launched. These campaigns usually endeavor to broaden community knowledge of child abuse and neglect, to influence peopleââ¬â¢s attitudes towards children and young people, and to change behaviors that contribute to, or precipitate, the problem of child abuse and neglect in our communities (Goddard and Saunders, 2002). The constructive use of mass media can assist in teaching children and young people socially desirable ways of dealing with conflict, knowledge of their rights to integrity and protection from harm, healthy eating habits and lifestyles, and ways to assert themselves and their rights in a positive, acceptable manner. In an Inquiry into the Effects of Television and Multimedia on Children and Families in Victoria, Australia, evaluations of educational television programs, designed either for pre-schoolers or for older children, have suggested their effectiveness in ââ¬Ëheightening a range of social behaviorsââ¬â¢ (Friedrich and Stein 1973), diminishing ââ¬Ëthe effects of stereotypingââ¬â¢ (Johnston and Ettema 1982), increasing ââ¬Ëpreparedness for adolescenceââ¬â¢ (Singer and Singer 1994), and stimulating the discussion of ââ¬Ësolutions to general social issuesââ¬â¢ (Johnston et. al 1993). The Convention of the rights of the child provides for the right of children to access information and material to those that aimed the promotion of his or her rights. (Hamelink, 1999).Therefore, mass media as aà primary source of these information should provide the children proper knowledge of his or her rights. Also, mass media education and prevention campaigns may be designed to target children and young people, providing them with useful information and alerting them to avenues for further information, help and support. Campaigns can also use regular television programs for children. Research suggests that, at least in the short term, television viewing of such programs may increase childrenââ¬â¢s and young peopleââ¬â¢s knowledge and positively change attitudes and behaviors. Unfortunately, longitudinal studies exploring sustained effects are rare and thus inconclusive. It further notes that television ââ¬Ëis one of the most popular forms of mass communication and entertainment in has been under-utilized as an educative toolââ¬â¢, and suggests that perhaps narrow vision has meant that the deliberate use of television simultaneously to entertain and educate has not been fully recognized. Despite this, Postman (1994) has argued that television is rapidly becoming ââ¬Ëthe first curriculumââ¬â¢, with educational institutions such as schools following behind. Further, campaigns may be designed to give children and young people an opportunity to express their views on issues that affect them, specifically targeting adult audiences that habitually ignore the views and experiences of children and young people. The UK Childrenââ¬â¢s Express is one example, as is Youth Forum in Melbourneââ¬â¢s Herald Sun newspaper. .Research on the physical punishment of children suggests, for example, that adults may be interested to hear childrenââ¬â¢s views on the issue of physical discipline, and children interviewed in the research were keen for adults to hear their views. To date, however, the media rarely, if ever, consults children and takes their views into account before reporting on the physical punishment for children (Goddard and Saunders, 2000) MASS MEDIA CAMPAIGNS â⬠¢ EVERY CHILD IS IMPORTANT (Australia, May 2000) This primary prevention campaign used a ââ¬Ëcomfortingââ¬â¢ approach and incorporated a significant mass media component (Tucci et. al2001). As outlined in ââ¬ËMore action ââ¬â less talk! Community responses to child abuse preventionââ¬â¢ (Tucci, et. al 2001), the campaign sought to: elicit a commitment from adults to adults to develop safe and non-abusive relationships with children; persuade adults to stop behaving in ways which are harmful to children; educate adults about the important needs of children; and better inform adults about the causes and consequences of child abuse. The campaign encouraged all adults to: think and view children as a source of hope; understand the developmental variables of children; respect the meaning children give to their experiences; engage positively with the principles of childrenââ¬â¢s rights; and appreciate more fully the capacities and contribution of children to the cultural and emotional life of families and communities. The campaign also addressed: the commonly held belief that children are a cost to society; the perceived suspicion that any application of the notion of childrenââ¬â¢s rights will mean an erosion of parentââ¬â¢s rights; and the publicââ¬â¢s lack of understanding about the extent and nature of child abuse in Australia. The campaign continued until the end of 2001. A song, written by Van Morrison and performed by Rod Stewart, ââ¬ËHave I Told You Lately That I Love Youââ¬â¢, was the focus of a television advertising campaign that aimed to stimulate peopleââ¬â¢s thoughts about the importance and value of children and how this is communicated to them. Television commercials were backed up by press and radio advertisements. In addition to advertising, the campaign sought media attention by involving Tracy Bartram, FOX FM radio personality, as an ambassador for the campaign. Media attention was drawn to the campaignââ¬â¢s launch. A free information kit for parents was made available, parentââ¬â¢s seminar sessions, featuring Michael Grose, were conducted, and a website made readily available to the public. The campaign did not receive state or federal funding but relied heavily on in-kind support from individuals and Victorian businesses. Quantum Market Research monitored the effectiveness of the campaign. Inà May 2000 and October 2000 telephone interviews were conducted with a representative sample of 301 adults. Public dissemination of research outcomes formed part of the campaign strategy. Tucci et al. (2001) report that the initial research findings, five months into the campaign, revealed that: ââ¬ËChild abuse is as serious social problem that is poorly understood by the Victorian public while fifty one per cent of respondents believed the community recognized child abuse as a serious social problem and another twenty one per cent believed they accurately understood the extent and nature of child abuse in Australia, this is clearly not the case. Fifty nine per cent were unable even to guess the number of reports of child abuse received annually. Only four per cent of respondents accurately estimated the size of the problem. Twenty-nine per cent of respondents underestimated the problem by at least 90,000 reports. The idea that adults can hurt children is disturbing and likely underpins the belief by fifty one per cent of respondents that the community treats this issue seriously, but when asked to account for the extent to which children are being abused by adults, community awareness is sadly lacking.ââ¬â¢ Eighty per cent of respondents strongly supported the need for a campaign against child abuse. Australians Against Child Abuse thus feels confident that the ââ¬ËEvery Child is Importantââ¬â¢ campaign will significantly influence public attitudes and responses to children and to child abuse. Ongoing research into the impact of the campaign will in itself be valuable in contributing to the debate about the educative and cost effectiveness of mass media campaigns aimed at preventing child abuse and neglect. â⬠¢ NSPCC Full Stop Campaign ââ¬â Primary Prevention (United Kingdom, May 1999) It has the ambitious aim of ending cruelty to children within 20 years. Costing three million pounds, it proposes to change attitudes and behaviour towards children, to make it everybodyââ¬â¢s business to protect children, and to launch new services and approaches (Boztas, 1999). The campaign is supported by Prince Andrew, popular personalities such as the Spice Girls, the English football star Alan Shearer, and companies such as British Telecom and Microsoft. As Rudaizky (quoted in Hall 1999) explains, a pictorial theme of the campaign is people covering their eyes: ââ¬ËThe theme of the eyes being covered is about people not facing up to the reality of what is happening. Our intention was not to shock but to move people into doing something about it. Child abuse is not nice to talk about. It is an upsetting subject but unless we talk about it, we will not end it.ââ¬â¢ This objective highlights the suppression/awareness phenomenon mentioned above, and draws attention again to the need for ongoing rather than intermittent prevention campaigns. FAMILIESââ¬â¢ ââ¬â University of Queensland Sanders et al. (2000) evaluated Families ââ¬â a 12-part prevention-focused television series ââ¬Ëdesigned to provide empirically validated parenting information in an interesting and entertaining format. The series presented a parenting model, suggesting strategies parents could use with their children. It aimed to reassure parents that it is normal for parenting to be challenging, and it hoped to increase parentsââ¬â¢ confidence that positive changes in childrenââ¬â¢s behavior were achievable. The series also aimed to increase awareness in the community of the importance of ââ¬Ëpositive family relationshipsââ¬â¢ to the positive development of young people (Sanders et al. 2000). This ââ¬Ëmedia-based television seriesââ¬â¢ was considered to be successful, specifically in relation to its impact on increasing the parenting confidence of mothers. However, Sanders et al. (2000) concluded that the impact of the series could have been increased: ââ¬Ëby the strategic provision of service support systems, such as telephone information contact lines or parenting resource centers, which could be advertised as part of a coordinated media strategy planned to coincide with the airing of the television program. These services could provide information and back-up resources, such as parenting tip sheets, to parents seeking further advice after viewing the program. Staff at these centers could also identify andà refer families who may need more intensive help. â⬠¢ BEYOND BELIEF (United Kingdom, 1992) A documentary claimed to show new evidence of satanic/ritual abuse in Britain. Following the program, helplines were overloaded with calls from people who had experienced sexual or ritual abuse. Counsellors noted that: ââ¬ËThe program appeared to have given callers permission to speak of their experiences and their gratitude that someone, somewhere took what they said seriously.ââ¬â¢ (Scott 1993) Henderson, a fellow at Glasgow Universityââ¬â¢s mass media unit, as quoted by Hellen (1998) commented that: ââ¬ËA lot of people who have suffered child abuse quite simply lack the vocabulary, because of shame or fear, to come to terms with what has happened. Provided a drama does not place blame on the child, it can be very helpful.ââ¬â¢ â⬠¢ BBC Screenplay It has been suggested that sometimes ââ¬Ëdrama reaches the parts the documentary cannotââ¬â¢ (Campbell 1989). Writing about Testimony of a Child, a BBC screenplay that presents ââ¬Ëthe other side of the Cleveland child sexual abuse saga ââ¬â the story of an abused child going home to [the] abuserââ¬â¢, Campbell argues that sexual assault ââ¬Ëpresents television with terrible problems. Television is about seeing. But it censors what we need to see if we are to understand because it bows to propriety and thus contains what is knowableââ¬â¢ (Campbell 1989).Despite this, Campbell (1989) notes the power of fictitious drama based on fact to: ââ¬Ë invite you to think: what would you do if faced with that childââ¬â¢s face, his fantasies full of terror and death, his starvation, his stubborn silences, his sore bum. â⬠¢ COLD HANDS- (New South Wales, 1993) Armstrong (1993) argued that the play portrays a week in the life of a 12 year-old girl sexually assaulted by her father and got pregnant. Theà playââ¬â¢s focus allows the audience to gain an insight into the childââ¬â¢s fear and trauma, the fatherââ¬â¢s feeble rationalization and defense, and the motherââ¬â¢s fear of confronting the truth. Armstrong noted that the New South Wales Child Protection Council showed professional interest in the play and that plays have been used as part of child abuse awareness campaigns. The playââ¬â¢s director, Ritchie (as quoted by Armstrong 1993) remarked that: ââ¬ËThe play is powerful, dramatic, presenting practical and emotional reality. It is confronting, but it emphasizes the fact that there is no excuse. â⬠¢ QUESTIONS 2: Killing Tomorrow ââ¬â New Zealand A documentary, screened in New Zealand in 2001, graphically depicts the lives and abuse of three children. During the documentary, a Detective Inspector informs the audience that the drama is based on the lives of real people, and the audience is told how life turned out for the children and their abusers. ââ¬ËOnly those with ice in their veins could fail to be moved ââ¬â and there lies the problem. In each case, one adult or more had failed to take responsibility for the safety of a defenseless childââ¬â¢ (Herrick 2001). Reporting in The New Zealand Herald, Herrick asks what can programs like this possibly expect to achieve. Twenty years ago, polite society didnââ¬â¢t even acknowledge abuse existed, let alone talk about it. So shows like this, which provoke thought and discussion, must be a sign of progress, even if the statistics say otherwise. Killing tomorrow was punishing if compelling viewing. Supported by New Zealandââ¬â¢s child protection authority, Child Youth and Family Services (CYFS), consider documentaries like ââ¬ËKilling Tomorrowââ¬â¢ to be a powerful way of educating people about the issues and what can be done to protect children. ââ¬ËWe want to create an environment where child abuse is less able to exist and weââ¬â¢re pleased Screentime-Communicado has decided to help raise these serious issuesââ¬â¢ (Brown, CYFS chief executive quoted in Theà New Zealand Herald 28/11/01). After the program was screened there was a panel discussion of the issues presented in the documentary and CYFS booklets that provide tips on parenting were made available to the public. Child protection received 211 phone calls during the documentary and on the night it was screened. Fifty-three child abuse investigations resulted, five of which cases were considered ââ¬Ëvery urgent [and were] assigned immediately to social workers for investigationââ¬â¢ (Ward, CYFS spokesperson, quoted in The New Zealand Herald 30/11/01). Also quoted in the New Zealand Herald 30/11/01 was Simcock, the National Social Services spokesperson: ââ¬ËThe documentary showed community groups were doing their best on the issue but government measures were sadly lacking the most helpful thing the government could do was to change the law that allowed parents to hit children. While the documentary appears to have raised awareness of child abuse and prompted some people to act on their suspicions of abuse and neglect, Henare, a Child Abuse Prevention Services spokesperson, noted that ââ¬Ëthe objective of the documentary would not be reached without enough money for community providersââ¬â¢ (quoted in The New Zealand Herald 30/11/01). These are only some examples of media campaigns. There were still lots more evidences the media protecting children around the globe from abuse. Though media shows a remarkable effort in the child protection system, people can not stay away from the fact that there are still several problems these media campaigns face. MEDIA PROBLEMS IN CHILD PROTECTION CAMPAIGN Journalists willing to advocate for children and young people face the challenge of counterbalancing negative images or ââ¬Ëdemonisationââ¬Ë(Franklin and Horwath 1996) of children and, particularly, of adolescents, in print, television and film. Starkly contrasting with once popular views ofà childhood as a time of innocence, less than positive images of children and young people in the media may place obstacles in the path of attempts to prevent their abuse and neglect. In 1968, 11-yearold Mary Bell murdered two boys, aged three and four in the UK. Twenty-five years later, in 1993, two ten-year-old boys murdered two-year-old Jamie Bulger in the UK, and in Australia in 1998, a ten-year-old boy was charged with drowning a six-year-old playmate. In such cases, a child being able to open his or her mind in abusive acts might be the perpetrator of maltreatment to his or her fellow. Psychologically, the Social Information Processing Theory of Aggression, comes here. According to Strasburger (1995), the central tenet of social information processing theory is that children create their own rationales to explain the behavior of others during social during social encounters. In turn, these self- generated interpretation influence childrenââ¬â¢s responses in their ongoing social interaction. Given that mental state operate in a feedback loop, it is possible that all social experiences, including those involving violent media, could influence social information processing. CONCLUSION Society sometimes fails to recognize that children are the most vulnerable group in our community, and are thus in need of the greatest protection. The social and economic costs to societies that have not prioritized childrenââ¬â¢s needs, especially the prevention of child abuse and neglect, are well documented. This paper focused on news stories, feature articles and investigative journalism. In this, we have concentrated on mass media education and prevention campaigns, television series, documentaries, and live theatre productions. It demonstrate the mediaââ¬â¢s potential power to positively influence child welfare policies, community responses to children and young people, and societal acknowledgement of, and reaction to, child abuse and neglect. It challenges those who are involved in child welfare and child protection to make greater efforts to understand media influences and to useà the media constructively. Sustained community education and prevention campaigns, using mass media communication, are integral to the prevention of child abuse and neglect. These campaigns continually confront communities with the reality of child abuse. They challenge people, institutions, and governments to listen to children and to respond to the needs of all children and families, and particularly the special needs of children who have been abused or neglected. Further, sustained mass media exposure of child abuse and neglect may publicly censure and shame perpetrators, many of whom are relatives and adults well known to the victimized child. According to Tucci (2002), the agenda for our community ââ¬â and the government which represents us ââ¬â should be clear. The prevention of child abuse should be a priority. However, to be effective, mass media campaigns will need to be part of a broader prevention program that includes the provision of supports and services for all children and families. There are limitations to what the media can achieve. REFERENCES: Armstrong, M. (1993), ââ¬ËThe cold realities of child sex abuseââ¬â¢, Sydney Morning Herald, 11 November Boztas, S. (1999), Prince Andrew launches crusade against child cruelty. The Daily Telegraph, 23/3/99. Franklin, B. and Horwath, J. (1996). The media abuse of children: Jakeââ¬â¢s progress from demonic icon to restored childhood. Child Abuse Review. Friedrich, L. and Stein, A. (1973). Aggressive and prosocial television programs and the natural behaviour of preschool children. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development Gamble, T. and Gamble, M. (1999). Communication works. McGraw Hill Publications. Goddard, C. and Saunders, B.J. (2000), The role of the media, in Project Axis ââ¬â Child Sexual Abuse in Queensland: Selected Research Papers. Goddard, Chris. , Saunders, Bernadette. (2002). The role of mass media in facilitating community education and child abuse prevention strategies. Child Abuse Prevention Issues Number 16. Gough, D. (1996), ââ¬Å"Defining the problemâ⬠Child Abuse & Neglect, Vol. 20. Hall, C. (1999), ââ¬ËNSPCC shock tactics to tackle child abuseââ¬â¢, The Daily Telegraph. Hamelink, Cees. (2000). Media and Human Rights. Media and Human Rights in Asia: an AMIC Compilation. Singapore: AMIC. Hellen, N. (1998), ââ¬ËBennett pens TV child sex dramaââ¬â¢, Sunday Times, 5 October. Herrick, L. (2001), ââ¬ËTruth of abuse too powerful to ignoreââ¬â¢, The New Zealand Herald, 21 December Hutson, S. and Liddiard, M. (1994). Youth homelessness: The construction of a social issue. Macmillan Publication Johnston, J. and Ettema, J. (1982). Positive images: Breaking stereotypes with childrenââ¬â¢s television. Sage Publications. Johnston, J. Bauman, J. Milne, L. and Urdan, T. (1993). Taking the measure of talking with TJ: An evaluation of the first implementation of ââ¬Ëtalking with Jââ¬â¢ Series 1, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan Publishers. Mizuta, Kayoko. (2000). Human Rights and Media. Media and Human Rights in Asia: an AMIC Compilation. Singapore: AMIC. Olafsen, R., Corwin, D. and Summit, R. (1993). Modern history of child sexual abuse awareness: Cycles of discovery and suppression. Child Abuse and Neglect. Postman, N. (1994). The disappearance of childhood. Vintage Books. Sanders, M.R., Montgomery, D.T. and Brechman-Toussaint, M.L. (2000), The mass-media and the prevention of child behavior problems: The evaluation of a television series to promote positive outcomes for parents and their children, Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. Singer, D. and Singer, A. (1981). Television, imagination and aggression: A study of preschoolers Sage Publications. Strasburger, Victor. (1995). Adolescents and the Media: Medical and Psychological Impact. Sage Publications. Tucci, J. Goddard, C. and Mitchell, J. (2001). More Action ââ¬â Less Talk! Community responses to child abuse prevention, Australians Against Child Abuse. Ringwood.
Saturday, January 4, 2020
Washington Newburgh Conspiracy Speech Analysis - 2012 Words
Running Head: WASHINGTON Washington Newburgh Conspiracy Speech English 115, Section 12 March 6, 2006 Washington Newburgh Conspiracy Speech His mind was great and powerful, without being of the very first order; his penetration strong . . . Perhaps the strongest feature in his character was prudence, never acting until every circumstance, every consideration, was maturely weighed; refraining if he saw a doubt, but, when once decided, going through with his purpose, whatever obstacles opposed. (Thomas Jefferson, as cited in George Washington, 2006, para.19) George Washington is one of the most recognized and famous leaders in all history of the United States of America. He contributed greatly to the establishment of thisâ⬠¦show more contentâ⬠¦He wants them to feel like he is proud of them, he not only understands, but respects them, and at the same time, he wants them to feel that he is one of them. He emphasizes and reinforces these strong emotional ties by going on to say that he has taken pride in them when they have been complimented, and has become annoyed, upset, in fact righteously angry when people have spoken poorly of or criticized them. Then he drives his point home in suggesting the absurdity in anyone assuming that he would be unconcerned with the nature of the problem at hand; in doing so, Washington solidified his position as a caring and justifiable leader of these men, suggesting that he has their best interests at the forefront of his mind, especially in times of particularly grueling and, or frustrating trials. One of Washington s many strengths as far as speaking skills are concerned was his choice and usage of diction. He was a powerful speaker who employed influential and authoritative words in his cause as a means of persuasion. When a speaker can intelligently convey his message to others, it surely validates his argument, but Washington spoke with much more than intelligence. Washington was respected, admired, and distinguished, qualities which provided his appeals to the men with legitimacy and conviction. His words were elegant , flowing and emotionally effective, striking particularly areas of sensitivity in the hearts
Friday, December 27, 2019
The Fundamental Law Of Nature And Government - 2140 Words
In this essay I will be arguing that the prerogative is a right that is needed by the executive branch in order to fulfill the fundamental law of nature and government: the preservation of all of its members. So long as the fiduciary grant is meant to achieve this goal it has the right to be exercised at the discretion of its user. This argument will discuss the nature of the prerogative, its necessity, and its justification for use. This will be supported with evidence from Lockeââ¬â¢s Second Treatise of Government. The prerogative is not an abusive instrument that is meant to subverts the laws society; it is a tool meant to adhere with utmost urgency to the fundamental law of society: doing what is best for the people and their property. It is meant to ensure that not even its own laws can do harm to the citizens it so righteously protects. The enshrinement of this ideal is founded on the social contract all members of civil society enter into when they become a part of society. This contract is created from something as well; the law that governed man in its original state of nature, reason. Locke asserts that man was born into the world in a perfect state of freedom to order his own actions. He is capable of reciprocal jurisdiction without consent from any outside influence. Abiding by the law of nature he came to find that all men were independent and equal by divine will. Since God had created all men they would be his property, and thus all would be held in the sameShow MoreRelatedEssay about John Lockeà ´s Flawless Government860 Words à |à 4 Pagesagainst all, and creates pandemonium. As a result, we create governments to maintain control. Obviously there is no such thing as a perfect government, and there will never be a perfect government. However, there are some methods of governing that come extremely close to achieving an ideal government. John Locke offers a way of governing, which I believe comes remarkably close to creating a flawless gov ernment. John Locke constructs a government that is controlled by the will of the people, which canRead MoreThomas Hobbes And John Locke911 Words à |à 4 PagesTreatise of Civil Government, respectively. In this paper I will argue the differences between how each of them viewed the right of the subjects to revolt from the sovereign. Thomas Hobbes published his most famous work, Leviathan, during the height of the English Civil War. This was possibly the most violent and chaotic time in all of British history, and is certainly reflected in Hobbesââ¬â¢ writing. He introduces his view on the state of nature, that is, society without government, as a state of warRead MoreDefining Characteristics Of The New Zealand Constitution1450 Words à |à 6 PagesPublic Law: Defining Characteristics of the New Zealand Constitution ID: 62952639 A constitution revolves around public power. It is the body of law that creates and regulates the application of the powers . The nature and application of these powers are the one of the most fundamental components of an evolved society. NZ has a number of unique and defining characteristics to its constitution, the origins of these powers and their application have far reaching consequences for the people of NewRead MoreEssay on Modern Western Political Thought1157 Words à |à 5 Pagesinto a state of nature. In this state of nature man has complete freedom. Rousseau defines this freedom as physical freedom, because man has the ability to whatever he physically pleases and is only guided by his impulses and instincts. By joining a civil society man gains the rationality to restrain his actions and preserves himself by removing himself from the state of nature, in which everything is determined by force. Since Rousseau believes man is born into a state of nature and subsequentlyRea d MoreApplication of the Analytical School of Justice1805 Words à |à 7 PagesINDIAN CONSTITUTIONAL LAW: APPLICATION OF ANALYTICAL SCHOOL John Austin is the inspiration of the Analytical School, which in turn drew his inspiration from Hobbes, and Bentham. According to Austin law is a command given by a superior to an inferior and enforced by material sanctions. Positive law is a creation of sovereign. It emphasizes that the sovereign is a superior and commands of the sovereign is law, and disobedience of commands is accompanied by punishment. Law is the expression ofRead MoreJohn Locke and Thomas Hobbes Essay1077 Words à |à 5 PagesThomas Hobbes both believe that men are equal in the state of nature, but their individual opinions about equality lead them to propose fundamentally different methods of proper civil governance. Locke argues that the correct form of civil government should be concerned with the common good of the people, and defend the citizenryââ¬â¢s rights to life, health, liberty, and personal possessions. Hobbes argues that the proper form of civil government must have an overarching ruler governing the people in orderRead MoreHobbes Leviath Human Desire1553 Words à |à 7 Pagesmanââ¬â¢s nature is given an arguably pessimistic description by Hobbes, ââ¬Å"So that in the first place, I put for a general inclination of all mankind, a perpetual and restle ss desire of power after power, that ceaseth only in deathâ⬠(58). This conclusion of manââ¬â¢s nature comes as the logical end point of his discussion of bodies in motion, power and other aspects of human nature. The description of manââ¬â¢s nature by Hobbesââ¬â¢ also becomes the fundamental base for his argument for the state of nature beingRead MoreThomas Hobbes And The Social Contract Theory1088 Words à |à 5 PagesThe United States Constitution established America s national government and fundamental laws and guaranteed certain basic rights for its citizens it was signed on September 17th 1787 by delegates to the Constitution convention in Philadelphia presided over by George Washington. Although other countries have changed their Constitution over years the United States Constitution has been kept the same. The Leviathan, Two Treatises, and the Declaration of Independence serve as underpinnings of the Read MoreOrder In A Civic Society Is Kept By A Great Many A gents1733 Words à |à 7 Pagesselfish motivation disastrous whereas the latter thought it fundamental towards maintaining the solvency of the country. The origin of their differing conclusions is found in their respective interpretations of the end a government is meant to serve; to the republican Machiavelli, the government is a means to individual liberty through political participation, while the absolutist Hobbes believed the sovereign, acting as the government, is the provider of security and freedom from ââ¬Å"continuall feareRead MorePhilosophers: Niccolo Machiavelli, John Locke and Karl Marx885 Words à |à 4 Pagesprominent forms of government in the world. Through their literature they have created a huge wave of revolutionary ideas that exist in the several forms of government to this day. On one hand, Machiavelli advocates political absolutism. It is a form of government in which the governed accept the powers granted to a single ruler usually vested in a king or an emperor by divine manifestation. On the other hand, both Locke and Marx contradict the Machiavellian ideology of government. In contrast, Locke
Thursday, December 19, 2019
Traumatic Brain Injury - 1030 Words
My objective in the long term is to provide therapeutic and counseling services that assist persons suffering with traumatic brain injury (TBI) or acquired brain injury (ABI) in coping and recovering from the mental illnesses that often accompany such tragedies. TBI/ABI has shown a proven link with ââ¬Å"anxiety, depression, personality changes, aggression (National Alliance on Mental Illness Veterans Resource Center May 8, 2009 Traumatic Brain Injury)â⬠, as well as many other issues. As the caregiver for a survivor of a rare and deadly strain of encephalitis, I have a personal perspective that I feel brings much to the discussion. I see the information I am currently gathering at Empire State College as the building blocks that pave the wayâ⬠¦show more contentâ⬠¦Courses such as Human Development, Theories of Personality and Abnormal Psychology have already started to drive my love/hate relationship with the founding fathers of the profession. For example, during Hu man Development I discovered David Cohenââ¬â¢s Freud On Coke which completely changed my impression and interpretation of Freudââ¬â¢s conclusions. I hope again to wrestle with him during Dreams: Multi-Disciplinary/Multicultured Exploration. I also hope to use courses like Homework as Self-Help to further my understanding of CBT and DBT therapy techniques that I can build on as my education continues. Courses such as Health Psychology and Positive Psychology seem to play right into helping patients with TBI and ABI who struggle with anxiety and depression. Integrative Wellness: Body, Mind and Spirit and Psychosocial Impact of Illness Disability also relate directly. Living with an ABI survivor, I can see the importance of courses like The Psychology of Forgiveness as well. Guilt and anger are both very difficult emotions involved in the recovery process. Motivation and Emotion seem to play a role in this as well. In an effort to ensure that my plan will meet the goals expected, I have researched the American Psychological Association website, the Empire State College website, The University of Texas at San Antonioââ¬â¢s program, theShow MoreRelatedA Traumatic Brain Injury 1708 Words à |à 7 PagesA traumatic brain injury (ââ¬Å"TBIâ⬠) occurs when the brain is somehow injured, rattled, or wounded from an external source of force. The means of acquisition and the severity of TBIs are unique to each patient; therefore, symptoms and rehabilitation can vary greatly depending on the patientââ¬â¢s condition following the incident and how they sustained the injury. The severity of a TBI is generally classified into one of three categories: mild, moderate, or severe, and this type of diagnostic criteria influencesRead MoreTraumatic Brain Injuries772 Words à |à 4 PagesEffects may be long term or short term, depending on the gravity of the incident. Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a se rious public health problem in the United States. Based on recent studies, on average, 1.7 million people endure a traumatic brain injury each year. The leading causes of Traumatic Brain Injuries are falls, motor vehicle accidents, struck by or against objects, and assaults. The initial blow causes the brain to bounce around and twist hitting the bony interior wall of the skull or anRead MoreTraumatic Brain Injury Essay1243 Words à |à 5 PagesTraumatic Brain Injury Traumatic brain injury, also called acquired brain injury or simply head injury, is a result of a sudden blow to the head when an external force is applied causing a disruption of the physiological stability of the brain locally. It can also occur when an object pierces the skull and enters the brain tissue and when elevation in the intracranial pressure occurs and potentially dramatic changes in the blood flow within and to the brain. These changes may produce a diminishedRead MoreSymptoms And Injuries Of A Traumatic Brain Injury841 Words à |à 4 Pages Nearly two million people experience a traumatic brain injury (TBI) every year. The degree of severity from the incident may range from no underlying brain injury to severe compression of brain tissue. Irregular interior surface of skull can damage fragile tissues of brain during acceleration, deceleration, or shearing forces. Direct mechanical trauma can injure cortical tissue. Traumatic hematomas can damage subcortical structu res and lead to vasospasm and ischemia. Sudden movement of skull onRead MoreTraumatic Brain Injury Essay1046 Words à |à 5 PagesInjury Stats Roughly 1.4 million people sustain a traumatic brain injury every year in the United States.1 Of these 1.4 million, 235,000 injuries are severe enough to require hospitalizationââ¬âand 50,000 result in death. More than half (over 700,000) of all of these yearly brain injuries are from sports-related activities, falls, and physical assaults. In the year 2000, traumatic brain injury cost an estimated $60 billion in the United States, totaled in both direct medical fees and indirect costsRead MoreIntroduction Of Traumatic Brain Injury897 Words à |à 4 PagesOutline I. The Brain II. Introduction of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) a. TBI sustained in combat zones i. Degrees of TBI ii. Causes of TBI while deployed 1. Concussion management iii. Why it is a problem III. Who Should Be Screened And How a. Suspected patients b. Methods of screening i. Rapid field screening ii. Further evaluation IV. Interventions and Treatment a. Deployed interventions i. Medications b. Nursing Interventions i. Manage symptoms ii. Family education. The human brain is a scientificRead MoreBrain Studies on Traumatic Brain Injuries1953 Words à |à 8 Pagesfrom a traumatic brain injury. While working at a railroad site, an iron tamping rod (43 inches long, 1.25 diameter) went through his left cheek, through his brain, and out the skull. He surprisingly ended up surviving this traumatic injury. After a month in the hospital, he was back out on the street. Once a nice, caring person, Phineas turned into an aggressive man who could not even keep a job. Just like Phineas Gage, a TBI can potentially change everything. Brain studies on traumatic brain injuriesRead MoreTraumatic Effects Of Traumatic Brain Injury1278 Words à |à 6 PagesTraumatic Brain Injury Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is one of the most common causes of death and long-term disability in children (Kraus, 1995). It is an acquired brain injury that occurs when a sudden trauma causes damage to the brain (NIH,2016). The symptoms for Traumatic Brain Injury include frequent headaches, lightheadedness and dizziness. An individual may experience having blurred vision tired eyes, and fatigue. Even stressors prior to having an injury can contribute to the result of postRead MoreImaging Of Traumatic Brain Injuries Essay1585 Words à |à 7 PagesImaging of Traumatic Brain Injuries: An Investigative Report INTRODUCTION Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) consist of pathological intracranial characteristics of altered brain function cause by an outside force. TBIââ¬â¢s have plagued emergency rooms in recent years. TBIââ¬â¢s are the number one cause for death and disability in American youth and young adults. The drastic increase in TBI prognosis has been credited for reasons such as; increased competitiveness in sports, increased speeds of automobilesRead MoreEssay on Traumatic Brain Injury1034 Words à |à 5 PagesTraumatic brain injury occurs when a person is hit in the head with a blunt force. This significant force to the head can happen playing recreational sports, on the playground, being in a car or motorcycle accident, falling down at home and your head impacting something, a blast or explosion. Traumatic brain injuries are also the leading cause of fatality rate and disability, especially in children, young adults and elderly. TBI is a devastating condition that affects millions of p eople nationwide
Wednesday, December 11, 2019
MAtrix Essay Example For Students
MAtrix Essay The Matrix Interweaves much symbolism, mythology, philosophy, and psychology. On the surface, the movie challenges the dominance of technology in our culture and predicts an apocalyptic result from the use of artificial intelligence. Yet, behind the human struggle for survival is a mythical backdrop upon which are backlit some of C.G. Jungs basic ideas regarding the human psyche. These Jungian ideas include the ego-Self relationship and how it relates to the persona, the shadow, individuation, and the transcendent function. The earth has been decimated due to a battle for control of the earth between the AIs and humans; the Matrix camouflages this decimation. Humans are artificially created and sustained by the AI superstructure. Then they are plugged into a computer. A computer program generates a simulated reality called the Matrix. Humans live their lives in this computer-generated reality, but this reality is only in their minds. In fact, humans are kept in mechanical eggs filled with an amniotic-like fluid. The AI infrastructure keeps humans alive to tap the energy they produce. The strangers are a group of humans who have escaped the Matrix. Their leader is named Morpheus. Neo is believed by Morpheus to be the savior, The One (The Matrix). An oracle (also an escaped human) predicted long ago that a savior would come, a sort of second coming, and that he would be able to see through the Matrix and bring it down. The oracle told Morpheus that he would find The One. One question, which threads through the movie, is whether or not Neo is The One. Neo is asleep at his desk at home in one of the first scenes. A computer monitor next to him flashes repeatedly the simple text: Wake up Neo (The Matrix). The message is an instruction from the Self. The sleeping man is in ego mode, a symptom of an egocentric psyche. He is unaware of the possibility that there is something else besides the ego and he has not yet awoken to the possibility that there is another world o utside of the persona he lives behind. The theme of Neo as a Jesus Christ figure plays throughout the movie. In Edingers opinion, Christ was a figure who represented the individuating ego. The image of Christ, and the rich network of symbolism which has gathered around him, provide many parallels to the individuation process. When the Christian myth is examined carefully in the light of analytical psychology, the conclusion is inescapable that the underlying meaning of Christianity is the quest for individuation (131). The reference to Jesus Christ in this scene implies that Neo represents the human psyche beginning the individuation process. Neo meets a woman named Trinity at the party. Trinity tells Neo that she is aware of his desire to know what the Matrix is. Its the question that brought you here. What is the Matrix? (The Matrix). Trinity is the one who will lead him towards the underworld. Jung called the her a soul figure, one that occupies an area or boundary between the pe rsonal unconscious and the collective unconscious. Trinity is also associated with a persons calling or fate. Trinity, as a three figure, is incomplete. Jung writes, the number three is not a natural expression of wholeness, since four represents the minimum number of determinants in a whole judgment (Storr 275). Jung believed that the number four represented wholeness in the human psyche. If one were to re-arrange the name Neo slightly, it would be the word one The separateness of the numbers one and the three in the movie, of Neo and Trinity, represent an incompleteness in the human psyche. As we shall see, the joining of Neo and Trinity is what effects the change necessary for Neo to overcome his adversaries at the end of the film. Early resistance of the ego characters occurs after Neos initial recruitment by Morpheus group. Neo has a meeting with his manager after arriving late to work. His manager says, You have a problem with authority, Mr. Anderson (The Matrix). Neo is his alias as a computer hacker; his name in the real world is Thomas Anderson. The manager tells Mr. Anderson in no uncertain terms that he will lose his job if he is late again. The manager is an ego defense mechanism attempting to re-gain control over Neos distraction of the intrusion by the unconscious (Trinity). Ironically, during this scene, window washers are cleaning the windows on this high-rise building, which distracts Neo. I believe that the window-washing image implies that he is getting some clarity and that he sees things a bit more clearly. The stakes are raised higher as AI agents arrive (more ego defenses) to take in Mr. Anderson for questioning. Morpheus attempts to help; he calls Neo on a cell phone and attempts to direct him out of the building before the agents can get to him. This is a conflict between the unconscious figure represented by Morpheus and the ego defenses represented by the AI agents. The AI agents capture Neo. The agents names are Smith, Brown, and Jones. I believe that these common names imply a collective face of society lacking in individuality. They are de fenses of the ego, there to keep Neo under control so he doesnt discover what is really happening. He is interrogated in a, bland room with yellowed fluorescent lighting. Agent Smith tells Neo that he has two personalities. One personality is a tax-paying citizen who goes to work everyday. The other personality is a computer hacker who has broken every hacker law imaginable (The Matrix). Hes told that one of his personalities has a future and the other does not. Its his choice. This split of Neo and Mr. Anderson also demonstrates Jungs concept of the persona. The persona is a complicated system of relations between individual consciousness and society, fittingly enough a kind of mask, designed on the one hand to make a definite impression upon others, and, on the other, to conceal the true nature of the individual (Storr 94). The persona is a public sense a self, the self that an individual displays to the world. Everybody has a persona, but if one believes that the persona is all t hat ones personality is composed of, then the individual is too adjusted to the outer world and not enough to their inner world. In this case, Mr. Anderson is the persona, the mask worn by Neo in the outer world. Neo meets Morpheus face to face. He is a black man and represents a figure of the shadow, another Jungian concept. The shadow is a part of the personal unconscious that retains discarded parts of the personality. Oftentimes the shadow contains parts of the personality that have not been accepted by parental or authority figures during childhood. Thus, the shadow tends to contain aspects that are uncomfortable for persons to face or relate to. The shadow aspects may be considered immoral from the viewpoint of the ego, which tends to consider itself of the highest morals. The shadow is merely somewhat inferior, primitive, unadapted, and awkward, not wholly bad (Storr 90). Consider the reconciliation of opposites, the ego and the shadow, to be a difficult but significant task for individuals. The shadow binds up personal energy; becoming aware of the shadow and integrating its aspects allows the psyche to free up more psychic energy. This allows for changes and a broadening of the personality. The shadow characters name Morpheus implies change. When Neo meets Morpheus and chooses to find out what the Matrix is, he is choosing to face his shadow and to change. Morpheus goes on to describe what the Matrix is. He says, The Matrix is all around us. Its like projected psyche created by man. It has been pulled over your eyes to shield you from the truth (The Matrix). The Matrix is a psychic reality created by the AI creatures that control earth. The psychic reality is projected into the minds of the humans who actually live like fetuses inside these egg-like containers. Humans experience what they perceive to be reality, but in fact is only a reality created by a computer to keep humans satisfied. Thus, the agents of the ego (AI) are responsible for projecting a false world, a front, in order to control humans. The ultimate goal of the AI creatures is to reap the energy that humans naturally produce to keep the AI infrastructure operative. The Matrix is a description of psychic projection. In Jacobi, she defines projection as: the unconscious, automatic extrapolation of a psychic content into an object, as an attribute of which it then appears to us. He projects everything that is unconscious in man into an object situated outside his ego, so that the phenomenon of projection is a part of the natural life of the psyche, a part of human nature itself (48n). For example, shadow contents are often projected onto others. A Christian perceive that someone who does not accept Jesus Christ as their savior to be demonic or evil; these feelings of evil or demonism that a fundamentalist perceives as belonging to others are their own feelings or emotions of evil projected from their personal shadow. For years, during the rule of the Soviet Union an d the Cold War, citizens of the United States projected their collective shadow or collective feelings of evil onto citizens of the Soviet Union. During the colonization of Africa, Europeans projected their primitive shadows onto the black Africans they encountered, assuming the Africans to be uncivilized and animal-like. The ego is oftentimes unaware that projections are occurring. The humans that the AI creatures control are also unaware that the Matrix exists. The humans physically live in a womb-like, pre-birth status but in their minds perceive reality as the Matrix. This state of existence is like the pre-individuated ego, before the birth of awareness of the Self. In the film, Neo is released from his womb with the assistance of Morpheus and his comrades. The lid of the egg opens, he raises his head, covered in thick clear liquid, and he looks around. He finds himself in an enormous grid of countless eggs occupied by humans. A series of cords pop from his spine and a long met al tip is pulled from the back of his skull. He then slides down a tube and lands in a pool of water. He nearly drowns, but is pulled up, through a trap door, dripping wet, into the Nebuchadnezzar, the underwater ship that Morpheus and his group live in. This scene is filled with images of a painful separation and re-birth that leads to a path of individuation for Neo. Jung wrote, conscious and unconscious do not make a whole when one of them is suppressed and injured by the otherBoth are aspects of lifeThis means open conflict and collaboration at oneIt is the old game of hammer and anvil: between them, the patient iron is forged into an indestructible whole, an individual'(Storr 225). In Jungs words, it individuation is a process or course of development arising out of the conflict between the two fundamental psychic facts (Storr 225). The two psychic factors he referred to were the conscious and unconscious. It is also important to note that Jung considered individuation a lifelo ng process, not a task with a definite end. Neos path of individuation passes through a painful re-birth process. It leaves him feeling alienated from his former sense of reality. Whenever a man consciously encounters a divine agency which assists, commands, or directs, we can understand it as an encounter of the ego with the Self. The encounter generally occurs in the wilderness or in a fugitive state, i.e., alienation (Edinger 70). It takes time for Neo to recover from his shock of his new understanding of the world. His thought patterns are turned inside out. His muscles and mind have atrophied. Neo is cared for and nursed back to health by Morpheus group. Even his eyes are not working properly. Neo asks, Why are my eyes so sore? The answer: Because youve never used them before (The Matrix). Hes now developing an eye toward his inner world. Once Neo physically recovers, he is trained and taught many new skills by Morpheus gang. This gang represents figures from the personal uncon scious. But there is also a group of freed humans who live deep inside the earths core in a human community named Zion. Zion is only talked about and never seen in the film. The Zion of historical times is described as symbolic of heaven or Gods dwelling-place with his people (Columbia Encyclopedia 3042). Zion is symbolic of the Self. The Self is a central organizing principle and is the central archetype of the human psyche. Edinger described the Self as the self-ordering and unifying center of the total psyche (conscious and unconscious) (3). Also, the Self is the seat of objective identity. The Self is thus the supreme psychic authority and subordinates the ego to it (3). The Self is connected with themes such as wholeness, totality, the union of opposites, the central generative point, the world navel, the axis of the universe (4). In a religious sense, the Self is the god-image. . Neo, Morpheus group, Zion, and even the AI agents are parts of the Self since the Self is the tot ality of psychic existence. Yet the central archetype of the movie is Zion. Like an archetype, it is never directly experienced, but it is the ordering principal and force behind the renegade acts of the free humans. The near final scene in the movie features a one on one battle between Neo and an AI agent. The agent shoots Neo several times. Neo slumps to the floor and dies. He has no heartbeat. Trinity, his soul figure, reveals to Neo that he must be The One because the oracle told her that she would fall in love with The One. Since she loves him, he must be The One. She kisses him. He resurrects and comes back to life. Neo rejoins the battle and his mind is freed of believing that the reality projected by the Matrix is real. He sees through the projection, sees through the imagined power of the agents, and finally destroys the Agent who had killed him. I believe that this scene is interesting for two reasons. One, it joins Trinity and Neo together, forming a four, as well as join ing the feminine and masculine. The number four symbolizes wholeness in the human psyche. Two, the scene demonstrates Jungs transcendent function. Jung discusses how the knowledge of symbols is indispensable, for it is in them that the union of conscious and unconscious is consummated. Out of this union emerge new situations and new conscious attitudes. I have therefore called the union of opposites the transcendent function' (Storr 226). Neo has battled the AI agents before but they have outwitted him. He is limited by his previous projections of them as power figures. The kiss, symbolically a transcendent function, joins him with Trinity in a union of the opposites and forming a four, wholeness. He transcends his previous limitations and is able to see the AI agents for what they are. He withdraws his projections, restores the personal power previously projected onto the agents, and finally defeats the AI agents. The final scene of the film shows Neo in a telephone booth (superman figure?). This is his message to the AI infrastructure: I know youre out there. I can feel you now. I know that youre afraid. Youre afraid of us. Youre afraid of change. I dont know the future. I didnt come here to tell you how its going to end. I came here to tell you how its going to begin. Im going to hang up this phone and show people what you dont want them to see. Im going to show them a world without you. A world without rules and controls, without borders or boundaries. A world where anything is possible. Where we go from here is a choice I leave to you (The Matrix). Neo has become an individuated ego. He negotiated a series of challenging psychic experiences to grow out of his former egocentric attitude. His statement speaks of an awareness of the ego as well as a sense of Self. He even refers to the ego field as scared and seems to be compassionate of the egos fear. But he wants to live without the rules and control of the ego. Works Cited Chernow, Barbara and Vallasi, Ge orge, eds. The Columbia Encyclopedia. 5th Ed. Columbia UP, 1993. Edinger, Edward F. Ego and Archetype. Boston: Shambhala, 1992. Jacobi, Jolande. Complex/Archetype/Symbol in the Psychology of C.G. Jung. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton UP, 1974. Jung, C.G. The Essential Jung. Ed. A. Storr. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton UP, 1983. . Memories, Dreams, Reflections. New York: Vintage, 1961. The Matrix. Dir. Larry and Andy Wachowski. Perf. Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne. Warner Brothers, 1999.
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