The prince of Verona Essay Example for Free

The prince of Verona Essay In this essay, I will be comparing the way the 400 years old William Shakespeares film Romeo and Juliet was transformed by Baz luharmann for the understanding of the modern audience. Romeo and Juliet was written by William Shakespeare 400 years ago. In the past plays were acted in the theatre. The plays were totally different from the way they are now. The theatre had a stage where the play was to be acted; this had an entrance and an exit. There was no lighting and no scenery; there was also a balcony on the first floor where some scenes were acted. Below the stage was where the audience stood to watch the play. There were also two galleries. At the top of the building there was a flag to show there was a play in progress. This is a sign for the illiterate population, who couldnt read notices. A Prologue is a piece of useful information before a play or story is acted. It tells us what we are supposed to expect. In Shakespeares time the narrator would have come out before the play started to deliver the prologue to the audience. This is very important as there is no form of scenery or lighting to describe the location or what is happening. Hence, the audience have to be attentive and listen to everything that is said in the play. This can be illustrated in this quotation In fair Verona, where we lay our scene. This is a typical statement a narrator will say when delivering the Prologue to inform the audience where the play is taking place. Baz Luhrmanns film has a totally different way of presenting the prologue. In this present day we have newscasters who give us information about what is happening internally and externally. This is the device Baz Luhrmanns uses. The film starts with a television set and a newscaster reading the news. This is the way the prologue is first presented. She talks about the setting in fair Verona, where we lay our scene, she talks about the main story and characters in this quotation two households both alike in dignity and she also says short statements which are a brief summary of the play. At the top right corner of the screen there is a picture of a broken ring and below it are these words; star crossed lovers. This illustrates that there is love and a broken relationship between two lovers in the film. Also the broken ring suggests that the lovers relationship will be but a short one as it is destined to end in tragedy. Also there is dramatic operatic music at the background; it suggests the film will most likely be a tragedy as is often seen in grand operas. The Prologue is delivered again. This is very different from the first time; it contains flashes of scenes in the film/ informative clips. This prologue has a voiceover of Friar. He is the perfect person for this job because he knows the story from the start to the end. The clips are very informative. The two towers with the names MONTAGUE AND CAPULET suggest wealth and probably business rivalry, which a modern audience would understand. It also shows they are both well-to-do families. We can also say they are of the same status: It also has shots of the statues of Jesus and Mary this shows a church is involved and it reflects the Catholic religion practised in Verona. There are also flashes of murder, city in flames, police aircraft. People in these flashes have worried and troubled looks on their faces. There is also this newspaper article with a caption ANCIENT GRUDGE. This explains that the two families have had this grudge for years and generations. This is because a modern audience is literate; the film director can use text on the screen, whereas Shakespeares original audience could not read. The line civil blood makes civil hands unclean is illustrated using the flashes of fire in the streets, bloodshed, and violence. Another major difference between the films is the names and appearance. In Shakespeares original play the heads of the families were just called Lady and Lord Capulet or Montague and to differentiate the families they would have probably used red clothes for a family and blue for another family. This is totally different in Baz Luhrmanns film. He gives the characters names. The Capulets are Fulgencio and Gloria. This suggests they originated from Italy. Caroline and Ted Montague are of north European origin. The audience are now aware that the families are both business rivals and from different communities. Their appearances also differ: the Montagues are blond and blue eyed and the Capulets have a Mediterranean appearance. Act 1 Scene 1 then begins and the music changes. The music that follows the film is a classic and tragic kind of music. It is giving the audience clues about immerse drama and tragedy of what they are to witness. It is a hi-life, hip-pop music followed by the arrival of the Montague boys. They arrive in a yellow car with the music turned on loudly. They wear bright-coloured beach shirts. Their car plate number even has Mi n, their family name on it. This entry is very common to the modern audience. It is the usual show-off of young boys from a rich background, who like to party and are carefree. The scene is well lit and shows a cool happy atmosphere. The music changes at the arrival of the Capulets. It is now a menacing kind of music. It sends a dangerous, serious, down-to-earth kind of music. The Capulets arrive in a stylish fashion with cowboy boots that have steel plates on them; they come in black official suits with bullet belts. They have a purposeful serious look. They portray the real bad-boys attitude, ready to fight. All this takes place in a gas station the equivalent of the public haunt of men. The Montague boys sight their enemy. They both start taunting each other. Abra Capulet starts it; it all seems like a comic. Then Tybalt who is Juliets cousin comes out, and takes a step further. The Montagues despite all their loud behaviour seen reluctant to fight, but Tybalt, who is a trouble- maker, brings out his gun and starts shooting. The Montagues start defending themselves, leading it to a real fight. It gets to a climax when Tybalt drops his cigar and the place goes up in flames drawing the attention of the police. The mayhem which follows is very familiar to the audience who see action movies. The Prince of Verona is updated to be the chief of police. He is the peace maker and makes a stand. He calls both head of the families and tells them if any fight reoccurs disturbing the peace of the streets they will pay for it with their lives. In conclusion, I think Baz Lurhmann has done a very good job. The music interprets and indicates the stage of the scenes. Instead of swords, they use guns which are a normal sight to a modern audience as they are used to watching action films. The dressing also speaks a lot of the characters, so does the body language, especially that of Tybalt: his looks, his pose and the way he carries himself suggest trouble. The violent scene shows irresponsibility and senselessness of the feud. It is this pointless violence that destroys the lives of the innocent lovers ROMEO AND JULIET whom the play is named after and whom we meet later in the play. Finally, I think the opening is very effective as everyone can understand through the clips and well delivered Prologue. The costume and setting of the scene are also important as it speaks to the Audience even if they do not understand the Shakespearean language.

No Prison Time for Juvenile Crime and Violence Essay -- Argumentative

No Prison Time for Juvenile Crime Students are shooting up schools across the country. Kids as young as twelve and thirteen are being convicted of murdering their peers. Right here in Hanover, two teens have been charged with the murders of Dartmouth professors. Although juvenile crime across the country may not be on the rise, high publicity, headline-grabbing juvenile-perpetrated homicides certainly are. Prosecutors, attempting to satiate public demand for "justice," have begun trying these juvenile offenders in adult courts and sending them to adult prison. But is it really fair to send children into a penal system like ours, which ignores rehabilitation and is almost exclusively focused upon retribution? Is it right to essentially give up on these children at such a young age? Is this aggressive prosecution tactic in the best interest of the juvenile defendant or the community as a whole? No. Most studies and statistics suggest that sending juveniles to adult prisons increases recidivism rates among those teens transferred. Jeffrey Fagan, who spearheaded an extens... ... Responsibility must be instilled on these kids, and punishment must be administered, but dooming children to hard time is hardly justice. When kids perpetrate violence they must be punished, but these kids also deserve a second chance, and this country has the means to support that second chance. No 12-year-old should spend the rest of his or her life in jail; no 13-year-old should spend time in an adult prison; and no 14-year-old should be denied a reasonable chance to turn his or her life around. This country must strive for something better.

Art is Art Essay

What is considered art has been a controversial question for many years in history and today. There are various forms and types of art. Because art is very complex and diverse, it is viewed and conceptualized in many different ways. Nancy G. Heller states even though a type of artwork is hard to understand, it’s considered art, and artwork that people don’t understand shouldn’t be disregarded from other types of art. She feels as though people shouldn’t be intimidated by artwork that’s hard to understand and her main goal is to try to help people feel more comfortable around art they don’t understand. Picasso believes that all art needs to be an original in order to be considerably successful. He states that nature and art are completely different things. Picasso explains that art is a lie that allows us to realize the truth. And finally, John Berger speaks about publicity being a form of art, and how it uses art to manipulate people into buy ing what is publicized. Berger says publicity ads have a way of working because ads focus on the future, which people are attracted to more than the present. Each of these authors have different opinions on how art is viewed and conceived, however they unite from similar points in their views. All art is art, and shouldn’t be dismissed. In â€Å"’Statement to Marius De Zayas,’ 1923,† Picasso states that art has to convince people of its truthfulness. In his article, Picasso defends the art of cubism.—because cubism, like many other types of art, is not understood yet by most people. However, cubism isn’t any different from a type of art someone likes and understands—it shares the same principles or elements as any/ all other types of art. Picasso elaborates on his claims by giving the reader an example of him reading an English book. He says that reading a book doesn’t make sense to him, yet it doesn’t mean that the English language doesn’t exist. He states that no one should be responsible for him not being able to understand what he doesn’t know much about. Picasso believes that an individual shouldn’t say a type of art isn’t art only because they don’t understand it. The individual should, instead, try to understand it, and if he/ she still doesn’t consider it to be an art, the individual should claim to just dislike that specific type of art. Picasso and Heller both agree that art is art and that it shouldn’t be questioned. Nancy G. Heller’s book, â€Å"Why a Painting is Like a Pizza: a Guide to Understanding and Enjoying  Modern Art† starts with the author’s experience making a pizza in Texas. From her experience, she concluded that painting is like a pizza. Just as many people have a variety of taste in pizza that they prefer, when people look at art, they have certain preferences in art as well. Some people usually completely dismiss certain groups of art, saying its not art at all. Heller defends artists who are victims of these cruel remarks by saying, â€Å"anything anyone says is art should be in fact be regarded as art† (Heller 10). All art should not only be regarded as art, but art also is a lie that uncovers the truth. In Heller’s article, one of her examples shows Rosa Bonheur’s painting â€Å"’The Horse Fair’ (1853).† This painting is very realistic like a photograph. On the contrary, the painting is just very convincing. Bonheur’s painting of the galloping horses lie to the viewer, because the horses aren’t actually galloping in front of the viewer. However, it helps the viewer recognize the truth from the artist’s lies. All art lies, which help the viewer, uncover the truth. Nature and art aren’t the same. Only something real can be natural. Picasso agrees with Heller by saying, â€Å"nature and art, being two different things, cannot be the same thing. Through art, we express our conception of what nature is not† (Picasso par. 5). Picasso states that art needs to be an original idea—otherwise it is useless. An artwork being orig inal allows the viewer to notice the truth. He suggests that art isn’t actually what the artwork portrays. â€Å"Art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth† (Picasso par. 3). Although paintings aren’t real, it can symbolize something that is real. In â€Å"Ways of Seeing† by John Berger, the author talks about all art (publicity ads or paintings) must be convincing to the viewer. â€Å"Publicity begins by working on a natural appetite for pleasure. But it cannot offer the real object of pleasure and there is no convincing substituted for pleasure in that pleasure’s own terms. The more convincingly publicity conveys the pleasure of bathing in a warm, distant sea, the more the spectator-buyer will become aware that he is hundreds of miles away from that sea and the more remote the chance of bathing in it will seem to him† (Berger 132). The author gives an example of how publicity ads work by suggesting if a publicity ad was to show the pleasures of bathing in a warm  and distant sea, the viewer (or buyer) will realize that he is many miles away from the sea that the ad is portraying, and the chance of bathing in that sea will seem far to him. If the viewers aren’t convinced from art, whether it’s a publicity ad or a painting, that artwork is not successful. If a viewer thinks that the representation of whatever the ad is trying to sell is intangible, the viewer will be less convinced. John Berger and Picasso share the same beliefs that art should live in the present. Since there is constant exposure of publicity ads, Berger believes that ads live in the present. Publicity ads are located almost anywhere in this world. From magazines and TVs to buses and billboards, ads are everywhere. Publicity ads are not only constantly around a person’s surroundings, but also are always updated and/ or renewed. Although Berger talks about publicity ads living in the moment, they never represent the present time. Picasso similarly states, if a painting is looked at and appreciated by the viewer, it’s alive, living in the present. Picasso’s work has been echoed in his own idea. All of his work â€Å"was made for the present and with the hope that it will always remain in the present† (Picasso par. 11). Picasso gives an example of the Greek and Egyptian art. He proclaims that Greek and Egyptian art is more alive today than it was when the artwork as cre ated. People are intrigued about how the artwork was made back then, and that alone keeps the early Greek and Egyptian artwork alive in the present. All authors have common beliefs on how art should be viewed and conceived. Art is art and it shouldn’t be questioned. If art is hard to understand, it shouldn’t be dismissed as not art†¦ it should categorized as a type of art an individual dislikes. Furthermore, paintings don’t tell the truth; however it is filled with lies that help an individual recognize the truth through the painting being convincing. And lastly, an artwork lives in the present time—even if the artwork was made in the past. Work Cited Berger, John. Ways Of Seeing. London: Penguin Book, 1977. Print. Heller, Nancy G. Why a Painting is Like a Pizza: a Guide to Understanding and Enjoying Modern Art. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2002. Print. Picasso, Pablo. â€Å"Statement to Marius de Zayas.† The Arts. NY, May 1923. Translation approved by Picasso. Web. 18 September 2012. .

Causality, Hume, and Quantum Mechanics Essay - 1613 Words

Causality, Hume, and Quantum Mechanics It is my intention, in the course of this essay, to take the work of David Hume and reapply it to causality using quantum mechanical theory. When I refer to causality, I am referring to the belief that events have a relationship of action A causing action B where A is considered to be the final cause of B. I also refer to the belief that we can know and understand these causal relationships and thusly know how the system works. This is a concept that I do not agree with. This mechanistic causality, I feel, is a category of the mind. I wish to make it clear, before I begin, that I am not questioning the idea that cause/effect interactions do occur in reality. I am, however,†¦show more content†¦Instead of saying, I dropped the egg, it broke because of that action, one would say or think, The event of the egg breaking is an event preceded by an acceleration downward toward the floor. That event is preceded by a slip of my hand, or some external force. The event of the slip is preceded by a distracting thought and/or a moistening of my hand from contact with a wet surface, or by neither event. The event of the distracting thought being preceded by a memory of meeting an attractive person and/or having too much coffee, or by neither event. The event of the moist hand being preceded by failing to wipe the counter properly and/or inadequate drying of my hands, or by neither event. To be thorough, each of these strings of events would have to be traced back through each branch and go back until one finally rea ches the beginning of each string of events, the beginning of the universe, if there is one. But even this examination of events is not sufficient to describe all that goes on in this event. Each portion of the causal mechanism is divisible within itself into internal causes. Take the slip of the hand as an example. Some internal firing of neurons resulted in the slip of the hand. To be thorough, weShow MoreRelatedDefending Hard Determinism Against the Strongest Objections Raised Against It1161 Words   |  5 Pages of both hard determinism and its eventual nemesis indeterminism. Based on these definitions there will be a personal attempt at denying hard determinism. This will be accomplished through the introduction of David Hume and his radical philosophy on causality and the relation this may have on hard determinism, as well as the various possibilities it may distinguish. Furthermore the Causal Principle will also be introduced and slandered in its incapability to provide a Read MoreHume s Theory Of Free Will2486 Words   |  10 Pagesemphasized the freedom of action instead of freedom of will. For Hume, freedom means only the absence of external coercive force. I will argue in favor of Hume definition of free will from three perspectives. Firstly, I will argue that Hume’s agnosticism concerning the problem of mind and body relation was the solid epistemological basis for this this definition and it has not been refuted on scientific grounds. Unlike Descartes, Hume didn’t speculate about the nature of human mind and whether itRead MoreDavid Hume s Theory Of Free Will1559 Words   |  7 PagesAre you choosing to read this essay? Or are you just constrained by the laws of nature? David Hume describes The Problem of Free Will as ‘the most contentious question of metaphysics’. Initial exploration into this school of thought gave rise to several philosophical viewpoints supported by modern thinkers. Hard determinism bases its v iewpoint on the strict theory of causality, rejecting the idea of free will. On the contrary, Libertarianism opposes this, supporting the concept of free will and denyingRead MoreThe Cosmological Argument For The Existence Of God1957 Words   |  8 Pagespremiss is so intuitively obvious, especially when applied to the universe, that probably no one in his right mind really believes it to be false.† In fact, scientific investigation purposes to study cause-effect relationships, and the principle of causality serves as the basis for our systematic examination of the physical world. Common experience and empirical evidence continually verify the causal principle, and falsification has not occurred. These considerations lead Dr. Craig to conclude, â€Å"It is