Structuralism Pleasantville Essay Example for Free

Structuralism Pleasantville Essay Semiology telling a deeper tale†¦ Pleasantville may not be so pleasant after all In the film Pleasantville, David is obsessed with the 50’s sitcom Pleasantville. He uses this show as an excuse to escape from the harsh reality he is forced to deal with everyday. In relevance to society†¦ if Pleasantville acted as a religious allusion, could humanity be turning to religion to provide them with a light in the dark when the going gets tough? Just as David looks to this unrealistic TV show to escape from the darkness surrounding his family, high school and teenage years? How is it that elements of a plot such as symbolism and allusions can hide the fact that Pleasantville may not be so pleasant after all? The main element in the structuralist criticism is semiology; the film Pleasantville has many subtle themes and meanings camouflaged by allusions and signifiers. This film takes many elements of religion, controversy and censorship into consideration; the film demonstrates these themes with symbols and allusions directly related to historical events that have been learned about for generations. In the upcoming paragraphs, these symbols, themes and meanings will be thoroughly discussed. The idea of religion, mainly Christianity was present throughout the film. The aspect of Christianity was supported by references to historical events and biblical ideas. For instance, when we are introduced to Pleasantville, the town seems to be perfect, as if nothing could go wrong: wrong is unheard of. An example from the film would be when the Pleasantville basketball team simply couldn’t miss a shot, it just wasn’t possible; or when the Pleasantville firefighters are called to rescue cats from trees, because that is ‘in the town’s reality’, one of the only problems needing attention from emergency personnel. Right from the beginning the viewer feels the unsettling religious connection from the bible stories he or she may remember as an innocent child. This place, Pleasantville was in theory the Garden of Eden. This phenomenon becomes quite clear to the viewer when he or she recognise the first colour change within Pleasantville, something as simple as a flower, triggered by change, knowledge of good and evil, emotion and freewill, or in theory sin. Mary sue demonstrates sexual freedom, which she is unaware that ‘hooking up with boys’ is not allowed in this town. From this act of showing emotion, and changing the so-called ‘normal’ or ‘unharmed’ way of life is Pleasantville, Mary sue begins the cycle of change and/ or sin; which will continue as a constant theme in the film. Throughout the beginning of the film David tires to contain Pleasantville’s innocence by encouraging his sister Jennifer, and everyone around him to be naive to reality, and to avoid thinking outside the box; David does not want the only pleasant place left in his own life to be spoiled by reality. David’s approach begins to change at a crucial moment in the film. When David (Bud) takes Jennifer on a date, she offers him an apple; this poses as the driving force of evil (or otherwise freewill and knowledge). Bud acknowledges this moment and realizes it is time to accept the change in Pleasantville, and maybe being naive to reality isn’t such a pleasant thing after all. Could change really be that evil? As we can clearly see towards the middle of the film, the characters in Pleasantville are becoming oddly familiar, as if they are also from out childhood bible stories. At this point it becomes quite obvious that we have assigned biblical figures to certain characters in the film. First of all, Mary sue is seemingly the most recognizable comparison. Mary Sue invites sin into Pleasantville as she visits blank at lovers blank. This compares to Eve eating the apple in the Garden of Eden and committing the first sin among humanity, therefore beginning the cycle of knowledge of good and evil and temptation mankind has faced ever since. It is obvious that David is Adam and he eventually stops trying to hold Mary sue back and gives into temptation, just as Adam and eve did in the bible. The next character could potentially be difficult to make a connection with. Bill Johnson who owns the diner is a huge force of change in the film. He is has the biggest influence on Pleasantville next to Jennifer and David. Bill paints the Christmas mural every year in Pleasantville, and has the opportunity to tap into his thoughts and beliefs. This could be what triggers him to be such an influence on the community during the time of drastic change. Bill is the first man open to change, he learns how to handle the diner by himself, and he embraces it. This triggers his trapped freewill to be released. When bill becomes more comfortable with his newfound sense of freedom, he begins to pain in color releasing new emotions and in turn, Bill lets himself fall in love. Bills character could represent the progress humanity makes to set themselves free from their belief system and thinking outside the box; Bill encourages this. It is ironic how such a quiet man’s thoughts could cause such a huge impact, as well as symbolize a step forward for mankind. The last character allusion that would most likely not be picked up on just by watching the film for enjoyment is the repairman. The repairmen could doubtlessly play the role of a higher power in Pleasantville; an omniscient force who could be compared to god himself. The repairmen is the one who sent Jennifer and David to Pleasantville in the first place, just as god put Adam and eve on earth to live, and abide by his rules. David and Jennifer indubitably disobeyed the repairman’s orders, after the repairman trusted David to be in his paradise because of David’s excessive knowledge of Pleasantville and how things work around there. The repairman continued to show up on televisions in Pleasantville telling David and Jennifer basically to smarten up, just as god warned Adam and eve to repent from in, as explained in the bible. Although characters helped the viewer relate to the theme of the film, there were also very prominent allusions to renowned historical events and controversial literature. Along with religion, controversial literature and events in history were involved to help release freewill and open minds in Pleasantville. This film shows somewhat the progress of humanity through history from the time Adam and eve first introduced sin into the world. Many of the conflicts in the film came from this idea. To begin, towards the end of the film as freewill and color spread quickly through Pleasantville, there remained a group of stubborn people who could not comprehend the idea of change (as there always is in history). These people in Pleasantville began to burn coloured books filled with information that encouraged freewill and open-minded thinking. This scene in the film is identical to a situation that took place in history when religious people were desperately trying to contain purity and innocence by abstaining to read about things that were not in the interest of god. This shows us that if everyone is history had have been as open to change as bud and bill Johnson had been. Certain conflicts wouldn’t have arisen. Another allusion to history is the famous courtroom scene that is shockingly similar to the trial that took place in ‘the kill a mocking bird’ by Harper Lee. This scene in Pleasantville demonstrates how the idea of freewill and diversity was being oppressed by stubborn people who were absolutely oppose to change. In ‘to kill a mocking bird’ we see history moving forward with the help of Atticus finch defending a black man. This same theme applies here as David and Bill Johnson, as well as other coloured Pleasantville citizens encourage change for the better. One of the Last allusions in the film was very broad and has occurred in history repeatedly. This idea was that painting and artistic expression was being oppressed in Pleasantville just as it was in the western world for countless years for the same reason as the burning books and the courtroom trial. It is human nature for people to become anxious and unsettled when it comes to change; citizens of Pleasantville became upset when artwork appeared around the city because seeing something so controversial was extremely nerve wracking. The small mentions of other controversial literature such as Moby dick, of mice and men and lord of the flies painted into the artwork also gave viewers the sense history repeating itself. Ultimately, the signifiers in this film were very clear however as an analyst of the structuralist perspective it was much more difficult to find the meaning of each allusion in the film. Structuralism’s main analytical element is semiology. Pleasantville’s many hidden themes and meanings can be revealed through symbolism and historical, religious allusions. After all, the viewer could combine the semiology to form a theme interpreted as so†¦Jennifer and David played the role of Adam and eve in the Garden of Eden; they are placed on the flawless earth (Pleasantville) with the knowledge of good and evil and the gift of freewill. In the bible, Adam and eve take advantage of this and commit sin against god by doing wrong in Eden. Many Christians believe this is the reasoning for all evil on earth. However in Pleasantville this could be considered a step forward for humanity, discovering things. The real question after watching this film, is religion holding us back? Is religion the phenomenon that could be causing humanity to continue repeating history and constantly making the same mistakes? The film Pleasantville really makes you question humanity and how it interferes and intertwines with religion and a higher power. Will history keep repeating itself until mankind finally gets it right? Or will we continue to learn from our repetitive sins and always end up in the same spot history seems to keep throwing us into, Pleasantville.

Mobile Marketing Essay -- Technology, Mobile Applications

2.1 Handheld Mobile Devices and Mobile Applications 2.1.1 Defining Handheld Mobile Devices The medium for mobile applications is a mobile device. While the functions of mobile devices vary, the key criteria such a device must fulfil is portability. To that extent, mobile devices have been described as ‘interactive wireless media’ (Haghirian and Madlberger 2005, 2). Mobile devices offer a range of capabilities, but essentially they allow access to data and information with the opportunity of being used in a variety of environments (ISACA 2010, 2). The term ‘handheld mobile device’ indicates that the device is limited to something that can be ‘held in the hand(s)’. Even so, the term ‘handheld mobile device’ may represent a different meaning to different people and therefore can be anything from a PDA to a digital camera. For the purpose of this paper, the term handheld mobile device (henceforth abbreviated as mobile device) will be associated only with those mobile computing devices that have the capability of downloading third-party mobile applications (as defined in 2.1.3). Namely, these are smartphones, PDAs and tablet PCs. 2.1.1.1 Mobile phones There are many known terms for mobile phones including cell phone, basic phone, feature phone, traditional mobile phone, smartphone, and system phone. Nonetheless, it can be argued that mobile phones currently on the market are typically categorised as either ‘feature phones’ or a ‘smartphones’. The definitions of these two types are widely discussed and disputed by analysts, manufacturers, journalists, and end users. The lack of a standard definition can be attributed to the advancement of mobile phone technology. As the technology continues to evolve, definitions are subject to ch... ...s have existed since the development of mobile devices. â€Å"Downloadable† applications (such as DMO apps), however, have only spread and reached mainstream usage with the emergence of smartphones and PDAs (Holzer and Ondrus 2011, 22). Beyond the fundamental definition, there are a range of classifications that a mobile application may fall under. In their 2008 white paper on mobile applications, the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) suggests that, from a technical viewpoint, mobile applications can be distinguished according to the runtime environment in which they function. The MMA lists three types of runtime environments, namely native platforms and operating systems, mobile web and browser runtimes, and other managed platforms and virtual machines. By and large, however, the industry makes a distinction between native applications and web-based applications.

Discharge Planning Checklist Essay

Discharging a patient from a hospital setting should be very easy, according to all of the patients that are in the hospital and don’t care about anything at the moment except getting home. While the patient is inpatient there are many things that could go wrong, however in house the patient is being controlled and managed. When a patient goes home there are no monitors or hourly blood draws to ensure their safety and survival. Discharge planning is not easy, and should never be perceived as such. Hospitals must have certain policies in place to ensure the patient and the family understand what to do when they go home, in regards to medications, therapy, etc. In order to meet conditions for discharge planning the hospital must be able to define how the obligation is to be met, determine readiness for discharge, identify who is responsible for the discharge. In order to determine a patient is ready to be discharged, the patient must be no longer in need of acute care services a nd the patient’s needs for post-acute care services have been identified and plans have been made. Hospitals have a legal obligation to assess the patient’s medical status at time of discharge, take steps to identify appropriate community services that can meet the patient’s needs, and make reasonable attempts to make services known and available to patients. When a patient goes into the hospital they are looking for their life to be saved because of some medical issue. A doctor looks at the patient and determines the medical plan for that patient to stabilize the patient. This could include tests, surgery, medications, etc. While the patient is in the hospital they get transported to and from, unknown medications are provided to stabilize the patient in house. While discharging the patient the hospital must make sure that the patient who was sick coming into the hospital and is now no longer needing acute care services is still able to follow the plan set forth by the physician that saw them once they get home. If a patient had Cardiac Bypass surgery for example, th ey might need home health. Or if a patient has an infection requiring home IV antibiotics, does the patient have or will receive all the materials necessary to complete treatment at home. Some  patients have to go into a rehab facility. Documentation and communication are also a vital part in discharge planning. The chart must be documented appropriately to state why if any post-acute care is needed. The chart must include documentation on the plan that the patient needs or the facility needs for further care. Communicate with the patient and the family about the plan. Make sure to assess the patient and family’s level of understanding. One must be sensitive to patients that do not know medical terminology. Medications are a huge liability and a huge misunderstanding with patients. The plan must have medications clearly written with times and how often the patient should take them. The discharge nurse should take the time to verbally go over the medications with the patients and their family’s to ensure compliance with medications. In defining obligation for discharging the patient, the hospital has to consider many factors. Who decides when the patien t is ready to go home? What services is the hospital obligated to provide? What should the patient be told and who should tell the patient? Special needs must be taken into consideration before a patient is discharged. Make sure enough teaching is being provided. Assess a patient that is living on their own and might struggle with recovery, thus, needing possible home health or a rehab facility. Patient with inadequate financial resources of inadequate living facilities, need to be assessed for possible infection post hospital, and for medication compliance. Will the patient be able to afford any meds given at discharge? Are their free medication programs that this patient can be enrolled in? As a patient being in the hospital is usually not a vacation. The patient is sick, uncomfortable, can’t sleep well with machines going and IV lines, etc. Going home to a patient is truly the only thing that they care about. When a physician mentions the possibility of discharge to a patient, their only thought is freedom! It is vital to the patient that is not thinking of their health, for the discharge planner to go through the entire checklist to ensure that patients survival when they get out of â€Å"jail†.

The American Dream - 847 Words

Many people are trying to achieve the American dream and want to live a decent life which is why they try to complete their education first by getting their degree which will lead them to a job. Since the competition for higher education has been on the rise the stakes are higher which make people take questionable actions. Many people overwork themselves in hopes for a better lifestyle. The American Dream is achieved by hard work and dedication to become successful. Sometimes success gets into peoples head so much that it takes over their life. The American Dream can provide so much for someone in the future but can also cause great pain in the future as well. In some cases people can take as much as to two or even three full time jobs.†¦show more content†¦Education contributes to the American dream by making them work hard in school, making the students knowledgeable, and using those skills to guide them to a job that will eventually lead them to the American Dream. Although that sounds great it is not all that simple. For instance, there are many types of students. There are students who are good at certain subjects, there are students who are fast learners, and there are students who are slow learners. In todays education society it has become very competitive. Many students are trying to get into those top ivy league schools. Student believe that if they go to an ivy league school with a good reputation and get good grades it will be easy for them to find a job and become successful. Of course, sometimes that does work but sometimes life does not end up that way. Many ivy league students tend to stress out a lot and feel like they are not good enough because of the high competition. There is much at stake since college will pretty much prepare them for the workfield they are going into. There are many students that do well in school and graduate with high GPA’s who are most likely to be successful, but what about the ones who don’t do so well? Well in an article called â€Å"Brain Gains† written by Margaret Talbot, he tell us that â€Å"In 2005, a team led by Sean Esteban McCabe, a professor at the University of Michigan’s Substance Abuse Research Center, Reported that in the previous year 4.1 percentShow MoreRelatedImmigrants And The Am erican Dream1362 Words   |  6 PagesImmigrants and the American Dream In the article â€Å"The American Dream†, by James Truslow Adams in The Sundance Reader book, he stated that the American dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful of it. 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