Amish and Modern American Society

Module B: Close Study of Text Text: Witness ‘Witness’, an American film, directed by Australian director Peter Weir, is a film set in 1985 about a clash of modern American society, and an idyllic Amish community. Maeri Saeli describes it as â€Å"the two worlds meet, but never merge† This is shown in the interaction between ideas, characters and techniques that make an impact on the audience. The main ideas represented in this text are Violence versus non-violence/ pacifism versus direct action, relationships, and the clash of cultures. Through exploring these ideas characterisation becomes evident and many techniques are used such as film techniques, symbolism and these can be recognised by analysing scenes. Violence versus non-violence is represented through the clashing of the two cultures and the differences of their cultural values and ideals. The modern American society, where Book is originally situated is evidently a society that uses much violence to achieve things whenever necessary. This type of society is visually implied by Peter Weir as being corrupted, seedy and violent in nature which is shown through darkness, and filming is often conducted under the cover of night, in crowded and cramped spaces, and by using artificial lighting. For example the scene conducted at the Happy Valley night club shows this type of violent and depressive society. Book grabs a suspect from inside the cramped and sordid bar, takes him outside into the night and slams his face into the car window, for Samuel to identify, where we see the shocked faces of Samuel and Rachel who wait inside a light blue car which represents their purity and innocence during this situation and this contrasts with the dark, violent and ‘foreign’ society that surrounds them. As this light coloured car is owned by Book, it is also suggestive that although he uses violence, Book is a good and moral man at heart which is revealed throughout the film. Thus these examples show that this modern American society is one where you cannot ‘judge a book by its cover’ and they allows the audience to observe the individualistic and greedy views of the modern American society. However, this American society is constantly juxtaposed by the peaceful, harmonic nature of the Amish, which seem to have a connection with their land and they possess much morality. They are a completely pacifist society, which means that they do not believe in resorting to violence under any circumstances. Their society is represented by light (natural lighting/daylight), pastel colour schemes, long shots of the sky, barns and open fields, particularly in the opening scenes, and they are shown as a community whereas those in the modern American society are represented as individualistic. Throughout the film, Book develops as a character and learns that violence does not necessarily have to be resorted to under every circumstance. This is specifically shown in the ‘showdown’ scene, when Book is able to disarm Schaeffer by persuasion rather than by violent means, and the Amish community all gather around to bear witness and thus act as an aid in persuading Schaeffer to give in. Witnessing is a reoccurring motif throughout the film and it is reinforced as a basis of the film through the title, as well as the audience who witness the narrative of the film unfold. The symbolism of the ‘gun’ represents the evil and corruption of humans; its creation was by humans and it is now used to kill other humans. This is shown through the corruption of Samuel against the Amish views, as he witnesses the murder, becomes curious of the gun and his corruption is shown ultimately when he states â€Å"I would only kill a bad man†. This scene involves the audience with purpose of raising the issue: who is to decide when a man is bad? This involves the audience as they are able to make their own opinion on the easy corruption of such an innocent and young character. Eli, Samuel’s grandfather is represented as an important mentor and role model for Samuel when he sits down to confront Samuel about the gun, so rather than avoiding the issue of violence and danger that has entered Samuel’s eyes he takes it as an opportunity to educate. The clash of cultures, and the understanding that they can never merge, comes through Book and Rachel’s relationship. The ‘Barn Dancing Scene’ clearly represents how their love is forbidden in the Amish community and that their culture differences could never let them be together, even though they are desperately in love. In this scene, the lyrics of ‘what a wonderful world it would be ’ are played through Book’s car stereo as they dance under the headlights of the car that he has been repairing in the barn – thus there is a juxtaposition here and ‘clash’ of the two worlds which is evident as the car does not look right in the setting of a barn. The lyrics suggest that although their relationship could be wonderful, the WOULD shows that it would never happen under the circumstances. The quick cut editing and close-ups as they dance show their ffection for each other, and the fun that they have in each other’s company, however this is interrupted by a shocked and angry Eli who represents the views of the Amish community and this strengthens the idea of forbidden love. The idea that the two cultures could never successfully cooperate with each other in the long term, and the idea that the Amish society are conformists and value community, and the modern Ame rican society functions under individuality and personal gain, is shown in a scene set in a nearby town of the Amish. When young American ‘rednecks’ insult and wipe ice-cream across Daniel’s face, Book get increasingly angry. However, Eli states to Book, â€Å"it is not our way,† whilst Book replies, â€Å"But it is my way. † The emphasis on OUR and MY represents the two different cultural ideals as well as reinforcing the different views on violence in the societies. Book has been trained to be a cop finds this belief in himself and his justification of violence very hard to deny, thus showing how he could not permanently give up his American lifestyle in order to live with the Amish, to be with Rachel. Although the Amish believe in pacifism, without Book’s help, Samuel would have most probably been murdered by Schaeffer and McFee and this would have caused much more devastation in the Amish community. Therefore the audience, and the Amish community, are thankful for Book’s contribution in the community. This acceptance of Book is shown in the ‘sendoff’ scenes where Eli says â€Å"Be careful among them English† to Book, showing that Book is now recognised as a good, valued man despite their differences and that Eli knows that Book is not the stereotypical ‘Englishman’ that Eli fears but that he is a much deeper and kind person than expected. Throughout the film, it is inevitably shown that Peter Weir possesses many skills in the art of film-making and his use of interaction between ideas, characters and techniques are effective in impacting on the audience.

A Discussion and Analysis of the Seven Sins of Memory Essay

A Discussion and Analysis of the Seven Sins of Memory - Essay Example Whereas the memory is a complex process that each and every human being possesses, the fact of the matter is that it cannot succinctly be described in general terms. Rather, understanding he unique ways in which different types of memory and memory loss relates to the individual is a fundamental step in attempting to grasp a further understanding of the way in which memory is governed and integrated within the human being. Remembers as a means of drawing inference from the discussion of these seven distinct types of memory loss. The first of these which Schacter introduces to the reader is that which is termed transient memory loss; or the type of memory loss that relates to a particular memory fading over a period of time. In this particular type of memory loss, the subject is able to recall a great deal more with relation to recent events than with regards to those that took place a long while ago. As the author notes, this particular type of memory loss is especially related to episodic memory in the fact that each and every time a particular episode is recalled it is, re-written, as it were; thereby altering the memory and making it more difficult to recall within the future (Renk et al, 2007). This type of memory loss most specifically affects the hippocampus. The second sin of memory, as the author dubs these failings, is that of absent mindedness. This is perhaps the most widely discussed and well known of the memory loss issues as it relates to attention span and issues with the memory interface. This type of memory loss most intimately affects the short term memory and can of course be exhibited in situations such as forgetting where one placed the remote control, leaving one’s keys inside the car, or forgetting about important dates or appointments.

Literature review on competitive advantage Essay

Literature review on competitive advantage - Essay Example The concept of competitive advantage has evolved over the past few decades and has now become an integral part of strategic management of any organization. Much research has been conducted on the attainment of competitive advantage and effective ways to sustain it. This literature review aims to explain the concept of competitive advantage in the light of different authors, along with their proposals of effective strategies to sustain it. Few examples have been chosen from the available literature to highlight the practical implementation of the concepts of competitive advantage. 2. Literature Review The concept of competitive advantage was introduced in the study of strategic management by Ansoff (1965). His ideas and propositions are known to form the basis of vital aspects of the development of growth strategy of any organization. Lowy and Hood (2004) quoted Ansoff (1965) and stated that his extensive experience and research in the field of diversification planning, highlighted re levant aspects and issues that should be considered for an effective growth strategy. Hindle (2008) also discussed the contributions of Ansoff and stated that some of the valuable contributions of Ansoff’s work in the field of strategic management are related to the attainment of competitive advantage and core competencies. Priemand and Butler (2001) pointed out that Ansoff’s work seemed to stress on the relevance of industry-based factors (threats and opportunities) more than the resource-based ones (weaknesses and strengths). Dix and Mathews (2002) provided a basis of strategy formulation and explained the attainment of competitive advantage; he stated that the development of strategic decisions involve the analysis of the core competencies and resources of the company. Prahalad and Hamel (2003) also considered the identification of core competencies as an important aspect of competitive advantage. The core competencies, that are unique and distinguishing from the co mpetitors, can serve to become the competitive advantage if they are availed in the presence of good opportunities in the market. The concept of competitive advantage was further researched upon by Porter (1998). Porter explained the formulation of a competitive strategy as the broad plan of how businesses should compete in the market (in the presence of various environmental factors) to meet their goals. It also involves the policies according to which goals and objectives of the organization can be met. Porter also stated that competitive advantage can be explained as the combination of having low expenses, differentiation value for the company and a strategy that enables the company to focus on their main objectives. Porter (1998) accumulated all the aspects that might be related to the attainment of competitive advantage onto a single page. He described it as the ‘Wheel of Competitive Strategy’. The underlying bases of the strategy are the basic goals that are aspir ed to be achieved by the company and the vision which is set as the main direction of the company. Various aspects on the rim of the wheel, like marketing, product line, finance and control etc have to be considered to attain competitive advantage in the market, while being influenced by the main vision of the company.