Never Scared: The Cultural Significance of Chris Rock

Standup comedians exemplify the trans-generational nature of our culture. With their ability to fully embody all of societies diverging values, while still always grazing the edge of change, they serve as the conscience of the people.   As Lawrence Mintz argues, comics are licensed to say the unspeakable because they have the pity of the audience; they use the power of laughter to unite communities and tread societies shade of gray, and the most successful of them exercise a full awareness in the art of rhetoric.   Mintz points out that comedians use these weak pity warranting social positions to actually empower themselves.iOne of the top standup comedians known for this today is Chris Rock; he uses rhetoric to persuade his audience into finding humor in some of the darkest aspects of our society.   Chris Rock uses rhetoric in his standup Never Scared to persuade his audience to adopt his views, while at the same time reversing the pity warranting image that Mintz’s cla ims gives a comic his license to speak freely.   Both of these personal intentions of Rock’s in his stand up are dependent solely on how well he connects to the core values of his audience. Rock is credited for being best able at connecting the disintegration of family and relationship values of Blacks.In Never Scared, Chris Rock discusses the deteriorating values of Black America and how these values are affecting black culture in America. He utilizes theories in social family structure with the African American family today and establishes himself as a role model for the black culture. He also sarcastically undermines the institution of marriage and the battle of the sexes in an intelligent and witty manner. Not only is he socially aware of all of these things that I have mentioned, he is also aware of the embarrassing acts from his race whom he spitefully labels â€Å"niggas.† Allow me to expand on the issues Chris Rock brings up in his comedy routines.The days of funny schtick and prat falls are basically over. Through the years, much more substance has come to the attention of America when it comes to stand-up comedy. Lawrence Mintz states the following concerning this phenomena on page 72;â€Å" Clearly it is a popular art that is central to American entertainment, but in the universal tradition of public joking rituals it is more than that as well; it is an important part of the nation’s cultural life.†iChris Rock is an excellent example of this statement.In Never Scared, Rock opens his routine with confidence and mentions his daughter, alluding to the reason why he hasn’t been on the road in so long.â€Å"It’s amazing when you have a girl†¦ It’s eye opening, because I realize, I’m the man in her life.   My relationship with my daughter is going to affect her relationship with men for the rest of her life.   Every man in here has dated a woman with some daddy issues.   That [email   protected]%$# ain’t fun ok.   She’s giving you a hard time for some [email  protected]%$# her daddy did in 1969.† (Chris Rock, 2006)Ever the sarcastic encourager, Rock sets up an example that needs to be revisited in the black community. He’s sensible and funny here but he is also alluding to something important. The black man in today’s culture needs to understand the importance of bringing up baby girls. He states that sometimes he picks her up out of her stroller, looks at her and that’s when it hits him;  Ã¢â‚¬Å"My job in this life now is to keep my baby off the pole!†Of course he is referring to the ever-ominous pole found in every strip club in the world. This is profound wisdom for the deadbeat dads out there who aren’t with their daughters. Some fathers are right in the room but to busy watching the game to pay any attention to the direction she might be headed if he doesn’t start to get to know his little gi rl who is growing up.It’s interesting to note that an article by Kathryn Edin and Laura Lein almost discuss the same issue.ii With the rise of single mothers in urban areas and their struggle to make ends meet, we have to wonder what the sociological and psychological implications for the child are growing up in an environment without a father. Many of these children will grow up to be drug dealers, strippers and prostitutes in their struggle to get away from the economic prison they were unwillingly placed in at birth.Speaking of birth, let’s examine Rock’s use of abortion and marriage. Nilsen discusses the important element of sexism in comedy routines in his article;â€Å"Sexist humor, which makes fun of the real or imagined characteristics of males and females, is seen in the oldest myths, fairy tales, folk tales, nursery rhymes, and sacred writings. Because jokes are a kind of shorthand, creators do not start with a whole new cast of characters for each jo ke; instead they rely on familiar scripts that include exaggerations and stereotypes. This enables listeners to fill in the details from the material that their minds have already absorbed from the popular culture.†ivThroughout Rock’s comedy routines, he brings to light the battle of the sexes concerning abortion and marriage. He discusses the two options that a man has when he finds out his girlfriend is pregnant;â€Å"Wow! I’m so happy! I love you so much.† Or the ill-fated; â€Å"So, whatcha gonna do?† Once again he silently stabs at the lack of responsibility concerning the man in this issue. He goes on to discuss the fact that the decision for abortion is made between the woman and her girlfriends. It is a sad but true commentary on the disintegration of society in general but Chris seems to be directing it toward black culture specifically.There are strong arguments for the fact that married couples experience less stress and live a healthier life(Waite).iii Rock equates marriage to simple transference;â€Å"When you’re single, you wanna kill yourself. When you’re married, you wanna kill your spouse!†He discusses the problem of unhappily married men and their addiction to strip clubs. He adds that reasons for this are that women are domineering. In a funny little clip, Chris talks about the ho convention and glass heels. Then he brings up the fact that a wife is there to provide for you and be there for you but if you bring a pair of glass heels in the house, it will cause all sorts of problems.As you can see, he strengthens his views of the black man being the wife’s pet or the one that’s supposed to do everything for her by using these jokes. He also portrays the man in the abortion bit as not having a say in anything that happens with the child. He portrays the woman’s friends at a higher level than her own boyfriend and the father of her child.He jokes about strip clubs and i nfidelity but he still holds to the role model persona. He stands by his conviction of not cheating on your spouse and once again cements his position in black culture. Voicing his family values opens the audience up for his personal opinions about society.   Rock’s humorous perspective on life and his personal opinions about society mark the defining line between him as an individual and the family values he has affirmed to gain the audience’s trust.In his essay, Standup Comedy as Social and Cultural Mediation, Mintz explains the justification behind the stand up comedian’s license to speak freely. Considering the fact that Chris Rock is an African American, he has free reign to speak out on the problems with African- Americans.   As he displays his disgust with black stars like the child molesting, wanna-be- white Michael Jackson, he flows freely into the R-Kelly incident with the young girl on video.We all know that he is using these incidents as well as the Kobe Bryant rape case and the OJ Simpson case because they are excellent material for comedy. But, it’s also obvious that he uses these men as examples for negative black role models in America as well. It makes one wonder if he is warning his black audience of the path of self-destruction they may be on together. After all, great men like Sydney Poitier or James Earl Jones didn’t do things like this to embarrass the black community.Personally, I believe that his most compelling routine is the â€Å"I hate Niggas† routine. The courage that it takes for a black man to stand up and say â€Å"Everything white people don’t like about black people, black people hate even more. I love black people but I hate niggas.† He jokes about the fact that every time black people try to get together and have some fun like going to a movie, some â€Å"nigga† pulls out a gun and shoots at the screen. It is most powerful when he utilizes this rhetoric in th e presence of a more affluent black community.By performing in D.C., Rock intentionally markets himself towards the wealthiest blacks in the United States, giving him all the more power once he is able to form a community within the room.   But, this community Rock creates must be structured on some form of values with which he knows everyone can basically agree, and that will create an atmosphere of familial comfort.   Rock does this perfectly in his stand up, and the structure can be noted from start to finish.We can also observe the moral erosion of rap music. It used to be a positive influence in the black community. Chris Rock has played an important role in promoting rap music. Although, in Never Scared, He mentions the fact that it keeps getting harder to defend this popular urban genre. He states that it used to be easy to defend groups like Grand Master Flash because they represented the black urban culture as a whole. Then he goes on to state that he hates to defend it now because of lines such as the famous line from Li’l Jon;â€Å"To the windows, to the walls, ‘til the sweat drips from my balls.†These lyrics can’t be defended. They do not spell anything positive for black society and the song certainly shows no respect for black women whatsoever. Granted, there were some pretty vulgar lyrics in the early days of rap also but not to the extent of today.If we observe the work of Chris Rock, a strong argument can be made that he has created some of the most powerful rhetoric concerning the degradation of his own race in America. He stands by his values and doesn’t squirm under the microscope like some stars. He has used his influence to create a teachable understanding of the social inequalities that occur in America. But, more than this he has made it simple for the average black family, or any family, to understand the major social issues surrounding black culture today. I think the most important thing that Chr is Rock has done for the black culture and every culture in America is created a vital understanding for accountability within our own cultural social dynamic.I have heard many people say that Chris Rock is a comedian, but he is an activist as well. Others say that his comedy is racially motivated against the white population of America. Still, some just won’t watch him or listen to him because of his language usage. There are a number of labels we can put on this man and he allows us to do so liberally. Chris Rock may have missed his true calling as a social scientist. Maybe one-day comedians like Rock will receive honorary PhDs for their body of work in stand up comedy but for now, he’s just a great comedian.iv Nilsen A.P and Nilsen D.L.B (2000) Encyclopedia of the 20th century American Humor.Gender Humor. Phoenix, AZ: Oryz Press, pp.170-174.i Standup Comedy as Social and Cultural Mediation. Lawrence E. Mintz.American Quarterly, Vol. 37, No. 1, Special Issue: America n Humor. (Spring, 1985), pp. 71-80.ii Work, Welfare, and the Single Mothers’ Economic Survival Strategies. Kathryn Edin and Laura Lein. American Sociological Review.iii Does Marriage Matter?. Waite, Linda J. Demography. Vol. 32, No. 4, November 1995.iv Nilsen A.P and Nilsen D.L.B (2000) Encyclopedia of the 20th century American Humor.Gender Humor. Phoenix, AZ: Oryz Press, pp.170-174.Quotes from Chris Rock came from his stand up routine Never Scared. 2006.

Discontinuity of History of Economics

Continuity/Discontinuity of History of Economics Introduction Alfred Marshall (Principles of Economics 21) gave his interpretation to the classical economists as ideally early and crude supply and demand theorists, with the demand side in its earlier stages of development. It is from this interpretation that the continuity debate emerged.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Continuity/Discontinuity of History of Economics specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More As Marshall indicates, the classical economics approach to the theory of value and distribution was different from that of the Marginalists. Whereas the Marginalists in their framework symmetrically treated profits and wages, the classical economists explained profits in terms of two data sets; real wage and production in progress. Profits are therefore considered as residual income. Continuity vs. Discontinuity The classical economists more specifically Ricardo and Smith were more interested in the laws that govern th e capitalist system characterized by class structure: landowners, workers, and the growing class if capitalists. Under the classical, the theory of value was formulated to ascertain the dominating factors at work and assess their interaction. For them matter cannot be created by man instead it can only be changed from one form or moved. Production of goods involves destruction and the actual cost of a commodity is reflected in terms of the commodity destroyed while in the process of its production. The Neoclassical Economics (NEC) gained its prominence between 1880 and 1890. From this period onwards it remained largely static. Major writings of Alfred Marshall, Richard T. Ely and E.R.A Seligman were rewritten over a period of four decades with very few changes. Neoclassical economics in practice has evolved into a dismal science of choice with most of its choices bad. Under the neoclassical economics if you want something good, then you must give up something good in exchange. The m ajor theme underlying the neoclassical approach is trade off, in order to achieve efficiency, equity must be sacrificed, to attract business then the government must lower its tax rate, and to prevent inflation a considerable majority of the population must remain unemployed. To a large extent neoclassical economics represents a continuity of the classical ideas. There is a close relationship between modern capitalism and the notion of free markets, private tenure and common land rights and demand and supply of goods and services. Productivity is a necessity in the modern world as goods and services are exchanged at a price in the market.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The price used for the exchange of goods and services is determined by various factors. As explained by Scissor †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.., the prices that producers are willing to receive in exchange of the goods and services it determined by the cost of producing the goods and services and they may include all resources used such as exertions of different kinds of labor and waiting on the capital used in production. The goods are exchanged in a market in which it is regarded as a place in which manufacturer sell goods to wholesalers that in return sale to retailers or final consumers. The motivating factor to the exchange of the goods and services is the price that could also be determined by the future expectations. Marshal Scissor notes that the market price of commodities in any given market could also be determined by the stability of equilibrium of a given normal demand and supply (Principles of Economics 21). The equilibrium price of commodities in the market keep on fluctuating based on underlying factors. For instance, increased supply of goods and services leads to an decrease in the equilibrium price while an increase in the demand of the same commodity could result i n an increase in the equilibrium price unless it is closely associated with an equivalent increase in supply (Heilbroner 165). Individuals that were made landless by the expansion of the European land tenure are compensated. The analysis of classical economics begins with the distinction between a commodity market price which tends to continuously fluctuate on a daily basis and the natural price of the same good which has a mea upon which the market price revolves. From this viewpoint, classical economy offers two explanations on the determinants of a commoditys natural price. Basic economics recognizes the fact that there are 3 factors used in the production to generate social wealth. The principle of substitution that exist in the neo-classical economics is a continuation of classical economics since it is applied in almost every field of economic enquiry. The meaning of labor remains the same both in the classical and the neoclassical school of thought. However, the outcomes gain ed due to the human business which is based on combination of land and labor are meant to include land now. In the contemporary neoclassical economics, land as a factor of production has been eliminated from the equation altogether but demand and supply has taken its place.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Continuity/Discontinuity of History of Economics specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However, there are sufficient grounds to revisit the use of the terms rent and land as they were in the classical economics of the 19th century. Rent refers to the additional output produced by the collective enterprise that has the potential to provide the required revenue to support public services, if it were to be collected in the form of taxes. Shifting taxes from taxes and labor to land markets would be more efficient and would be less painful to the tax payers. Economic rent is the excess output created by the society and it ro tates in the market until the time when it finally rests on land sites. This has the effect of raising land prices. Economic rent is a consequence of the societys collective action rather than the individual enterprise of the title holder. The classical economists had a more favorable view of land value taxation. Smith (230) wrote about ordinary land rent in addition to ground rents. These represent revenue sources that can best bear taxes if they are imposed on them. It is possible to argue that the failure to tax all elements of economic rent has destructive impacts. According to the classical economists, rent collection should be the sum of interest and inflation at the bare minimum. If this does not happen, then the public has the incentive to speculate in a way that will disrupt urban settings more than they constitute in equity. Conclusion In volume one of capital, Marx (56) formulates an influential image of the working day in an attempt to explain the link between reproducti on and exploitation in the capitalist economy. He develops a conceptual framework that explains the link between reproduction and exploitation under the capitalist system. He considers the entire social labor time as the single work day of an average worker, viewed from three different standpoints; the profitability accruing to the capitalist viewed in terms of the division of the value added between profits and wages, reproduction standpoint in terms of the necessary and surplus labor time and finally exploitation in terms of the unpaid and paid labor time. Heilbroner, Robert. The worldly Philosophers. 7 edn. New York: Touchstone. 1997. Print.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Marx, Karl. Capital, Volumes I, II, II. New York, NY: Random House. 1976. Print. Principles of Economics. Principles of Economics. Ed. Alfred Marshall. 8th ed. London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1920. Library of Economics and Liberty. Web. Smith, Adam. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. New York, NY: Random House, 1937. Print.

Ashes, Ashes, We All Fall Down essays

Ashes, Ashes, We All Fall Down essays I buried with my own hands five of my children in a single grave. No bells. No tears. This is the end of the world. (Deaux, 1969) These are the words of Italian author Agniol di Tura, but they reflect the emotions of an entire nation in the 1300s. It was at that time that Europe was struck by the hardest blow that a plague would ever swing. The Bubonic Plague hit Europe with a ferocity that could never have been predicted. The spread of the Bubonic Plague in the fourteenth century happened quickly as a result of poor living conditions, trade routes and ignorance of the disease. The first reported case of the plague was in 543 when it hit Constantinople. (Hecker, 1992) This was a minor outbreak and there were others similar to it, but since no one knew where it came from and so few were dying from it, no one took the time to find out. But then in 1334, an epidemic struck the northeastern Chinese province of Hopei that people couldnt ignore. It killed up to 90% of the population- around 5,000,000 people. (Armstrong, 1981) This caught peoples attention, but by then it was Sadly, some of the events that aided the rapid spread of the Plague could have been avoided. In 1347, in the southern Ukraine near the Black Sea, the native people began dying of a mysterious disease. They suffered from headaches, weakness, and many staggered when they tried to walk. But most obviously, each carried a common trademark of the plague- they all began to develop large swellings of the lymph nodes in the groin and underarm areas. Fear and anger at the disease gave way to accusation. The natives of the area pointed the blame for their curse at the Italian traders who traveled in and out of their ports. Convinced that they were the reason for their suffering, the natives attacked the ports. After a week of fighting, the natives found their soldiers dying of the diseas...

Entrepreneurship and Business Creation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Entrepreneurship and Business Creation - Essay Example Business models are the details that a company uses to work on its product and operations. The segments that compose of the business model focus on all aspects of the business which even go into the depth of the financial activities and managing operations. (Tatum). When working on developing a business model, six major components are mostly the key instruments to the development. The value proposition is a description of the customers’ problem and how the product addresses that problem. It bases itself on the value that customers’ perceive out of it. Market segment is the group of customers that the company has to target. Adding an innovative edge in the product is what builds on to make the product a potential hit in another segment of the market. The value chain structure also needs to be considered as an important part on how the firm will capture a section of its value. The financial activities are an important segment as well along with understanding the position that the competition has. The last segment that a business model focuses on is building a competitive strategy which will have its core focus on the competitive advantage. (The Business Model). ... nufacturing facilities, the defining production process and allowing for the labor to produce the products all sum up the parts of the business model. (Tatum). The business model also needs to pay emphasis to the external factors. An identification of the target market influences the effort that the firm focuses on its marketing and sales efforts of the company; these too need to be strategically managed so that the cost of production of an individual product does that increase too much. Basing the operations of the firm on this model helps them maintain a focus on their core mission and objective. (Tatum). Proper evolution of the business model after experience shows that the company has gained experience is implementing it into the operations. In simple words, the business model describes a rationale of how an organization decides to create, deliver and capture and maintain its value. (Osterwalder). 2. As An Entrepreneur, What Do You Understand By The Seven Domains Model? Please Ex plain How You Will Apply The Seven Domains When Evaluating A Viable Business Opportunity? The seven domains model are discussed and acted upon everyday by entrepreneurs and managers unconsciously. These domains are all connected to each other and every domain makes the other even more valuable. Frequently, the understanding of these domains revolves around the human resource section of a company and how they implement them. The seven domains model mainly composes of understanding the information available and how to improve on it. (Corporation). Seven domains model can be used in all aspects of businesses and designs. They involve synergy between all the resources so that the project completion objectives are not compromised. What the seven domains tend to seek together what they generally

Political Influance in Emergency Management Essay

Political Influance in Emergency Management - Essay Example Introduction It has been said that all disaster are â€Å"political†. For instance, the elder President George Bush is said to have lost the election because of perceived deficient response to Hurricane Andrew in 1992. His son, George W. Bush, suffered politically for several years as recovery operations on the Gulf Coast dragged on a pace that constituents considered unsatisfactory (Olasky, 2006). President Jimmy Carter created the Federal Emergency Management Agency in 1979 in order to response to the increasing disasters (Haddow, Bullock & Coppola, 2011). There are numerous environmental threats that United States face today. The environmental disasters include floods, tornadoes, failure of dams, or building structures. Hurricanes and bridge collapses are also considered natural environmental disasters. The federal relief under the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been expanded under the Stafford Disaster and Emergency Assistance Act of 1974 and Hazard Mitigat ion Act of 2000. The FEMA was placed under the department of Homeland Security in 2003. Experts attribute the increase in environmental disasters to increased human encroachment and development to areas that are considered disaster prone and increased occurrence of the weather related disasters due to climate change (Haddow, Bullock & Coppola, 2011). ... Hurricane Katrina that happened in August 29 2005 is one of the disasters that experienced intense political influence (Haddow, Bullock & Coppola, 2011). The hurricane blew across southern Florida roaring in to Louisiana coast with 125 mph sustained winds thus causing a surge in sea waters and leaving 80 percent of the city flooded (Olasky, 2006). Katrina killed about 1,836 people and inflicted damages estimated at $ 125 billion. Contrary to President Clinton who utilized the FEMA to deal with a series of hurricanes, President Bush suffered major political blow due to his ability to intervene in Hurricane Katrina disaster (Olasky, 2006). Given that a large percentage of the population in New Orleans comprised of Black Americans, the slow response made the population question Presidents Bush â€Å"compassionate conservative† policies on the minorities (Olasky, 2006). President Barrack Obama also suffered politically in his early years in office due to the slow response to halti ng the oil spill in Gulf Coast. However, he recovered his politically when the oil spill was finally cleaned up (Olasky, 2006). Last week, citizens across northeastern seaboard were hit by Hurricane Sandy that left thousands homeless and destroyed thousands of businesses. The governor’s of the affected cities called for the state of emergency and President Barrack Obama granted the national disaster proclamation. Hurricane Katrina has changed the dynamics of Presidential elections in the eastern coast. For instance, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg endorsed President Barrack Obama’s reelection to what he termed as the prompt response to Hurricane Sandy disaster and the urge to people to avoid waters and

Mutli-National Company Entering India Research Paper

Mutli-National Company Entering India - Research Paper Example Gazprom operates in the industry of natural gas. From the demand side the factors affecting sales of the company and its profitability are weather, demographics, economic growth, fuel consumption, storage and exports. From the supply side, the factors affecting sales are pipeline capacity, storage, gas drilling, natural phenomena, technical issues and imports. The demand of natural gas has followed the cyclical pattern. It depends on time and season changes. The peak season of demand is the coldest months while demand is low in the hotter months although demand increases slightly in summer to meet the requirements of electric generators. The price of natural gas can affect demand of particularly those consumers who have the capacity to switch the fuel of their dependence. An expanding economy tends to give rise to more demand for the industrial consumers. The study of the recent activities of Gazprom will reveal whether the company is utilizing its resources. The company in collabora tion with Shell is on the discussion to take joint efforts abroad with Russia as the epicenter. The company is progressing with the joint projects of EDF and Total. The company launched the informatorium website in English (Gazprom, 2012). It recently completed the pre-commissioning of Bovanenkovo. Along with DONG Energy the company is developing investment rationale for the projects of power generation in North Western Europe. Brief Summary of the business A straight forward market structure characterized the market for natural gas prior to deregulation and unbundling of pipeline. The industry has changed dramatically in the present times and exposed to choice and competition. Free market regulates the prices. Interstate pipelines offers on the components of transportation which is under the regulation of the federal. LDCs are continuing to offer bundled products although many states allow the use of distribution network but only for transportation. Producers or LDCs are the suppli er to the end users. Marketers are present in the existing market structure. They serve in the process of mobilizing natural gas from producers to end users. Marketers can have their mark in sale and transport of natural gas. Fluctuations In exchange rate The following chart and the table show the fluctuations in the exchange rate: SDRs per currency unit for the period January 31, 2010 - January 30, 2011 Date Indian rupee(INR) Russian ruble(RUB) 1-Feb-10 0.01393 Â   0.0212344 Â   2-Mar-10 0.0142143 Â   0.0218208 Â   5-Apr-10 0.0147268 Â   0.0225517 Â   4-May-10 0.0149466 Â   0.0227324 Â   1-Jun-10 0.0146398 Â   0.0219997 Â   2-Jul-10 0.0143573 Â   0.0214848 Â   2-Aug-10 0.0142177 Â   0.0217556 Â   1-Sep-10 0.0140855 Â   0.0214345 Â   1-Oct-10 0.0143587 Â   0.0210278 Â   1-Nov-10 0.0142717 Â   0.0206002 Â   1-Dec-10 0.0143023 Â   0.020779 Â   10-Jan-11 0.0144437 Â   0.0216247 Â   1-Feb-11 0.0139117 Â   0.0214905 Â   1-Mar-11 0.0140906 Â   0.0221084 Â   6-A pr-11 0.0142449 Â   0.0223142 Â   3-May-11 0.0139446 Â   0.0226197 Â   1-Jun-11 0.0139248 Â   0.0223499 Â   1-Jul-11 0.0140143 Â   0.0224329 Â   1-Aug-11 0.014103 Â   0.0225737 Â   2-Sep-11 0.0136119 Â   0.0214996 Â   3-Oct-11 0.013013 Â   0.0197337 Â   1-Nov-11 0.0129771 Â   0.0207838 Â   1-Dec-11 0.0124078 Â   0.0207745 Â   9-Jan-12 0.0124032 Â   0.0203137 Â   The factors that contribute to the changes in the exchange

Disaster in the alps Essay Example for Free

Disaster in the alps Essay My coursework is going to be based on a newspaper report called disaster in the alps. The report is taken from 2 different, British, newspapers The Times {a broadsheet} and The Mirror {a tabloid} I am going to be comparing the to news reports. The incident happened on the 3rd February 1998, at 3:25pm in Cavalese, northern Italy, where twenty people plunged to their deaths after an American warplane flew through and cut the wire of a cable car they were travelling in. The two British newspapers can be very different in style. The style of The Times is in the large broadsheet style and has a more formal register whereas The Mirror report is in a tabloid style and has a more informal register. The two reports both have some differences like the layout or arrangement of the two articles and the name and status of the people interviewed are different, but both reports use the same amount of pictures and contain some interesting factual information. Both reports contain factual information, but they both present their information in different ways to give off different but at the same time similar affects. Both reports have collected information that reads: The disaster happened at 3. 25pm, 20 people died, it happened in Cavalese, northern Italy, The incident happened on the 3rd February 1998, the plane in the incident was a Marine Corps EA-6B Prowler Jet and that the cable car fell 300 ft. The two reports both have their own individual factual information. The factual information stated in The Times is: The cable car was bright yellow, there was a steel wire supporting the cable car, the cable car could hold up to 40 people, there was no survivors, and that the plane was about 100 metres from the ground. All this information seems very formal and gives truth and realism of the incident, while the factual information in The Mirror states: The car was ripped apart, the second car was left dangling in the air, the bodies were lying beneath sheets of metal, the victims were 9 women, 10 men and 1 child, at least six were German, two Hungarian and two Polish, and that the people in the incident were killed instantly. This information too gives the truth of the incident and how gruesome it was. The two reports use different language to describe the incident. In both reports the language is very dramatic as both reporters are trying to give the readers a realistic feeling of the incident itself. The language used in the The Times to describe the incident and the plane is very formal as it goes deep into text and pulls out the striking information. In The Times the writer uses powerful words like roaring and Screaming which creates a feel of pain, agony and loud noises, but in The Times it also gives a personification saying screaming through the sky and like a thing in torment which again creates a deep sense of distress and suffering, this would make the reader see the scene at its worst point and become more expressive towards the incident, hence making them want to read on. There are other words the writer uses like Wreckage and Crumbled which also gives an image of how disastrous the incident was. The Mirror creates a similar image to that in The Times in the article it says Warplane Screamed this to makes people see the image of pain and agony also in the article it says It is a terrible scene of carnage which too will give the impression that the incident was very devastating. The Mirror has a pull quote in it that states it opened up like a cardboard box which will make the reader think of violence and devastation so along with the other intense and powerful words in the article it too sets an emotional effect on the reader. The language in The Times is a lot more formal than The Mirror and addresses the reader more directly than the writer in The Mirror does, The Mirror is a lot more gruesome and a lot more intense . The Times gives a much more realistic affect than The Mirror as to how terrible the scene of incident actually was, the writer of the report goes a lot deeper into detail, which gives a more pronounced picture. This report is also biased compared to The Times report, seeing that The Mirror gives a very clear sub-heading stating BRITS TELL OF HORROR IN SNOW subheadings are used in articles to break up the text and make it easier to read so by this sub-heading its giving the impression that the article is biased as the writer seems to emphasize on it, which would show the reader that there were British people at the scene of the incident. This would then catch a British readers attention in particular, as they would stop and think that could have been me so they then want to read on. So the idea of this effect is to catch a British readers attention so they attract more people to the newspaper. Both reports use a range of eye witnesses and interviews to create their own effect and impression on the report, the reporters do this by using different strategies and tactics. The first people to be interviewed in the The Mirror were Neil Harmar and Stacey ODonnell who were British they said Thank God we did referring to missing the cable car just by minutes, the use of this effect was to give a feeling of sympathy to the reader, he creates this influence by using sensitive and sympathetic words like Thank God. These British people were used to help to be bias towards the Americans, so when a British person reads the article they think that any one of their family could have been in that situation, Whereas The Times tends to use a different strategy the article does not try and draw their readers attention by sympathy or by telling the story with a twist and making it seem sad, this article gets straight to the point, they simply base the article on facts and refer to exactly what happen on the day of the incident, But like The Mirror they do try and turn people against the Americans as it says in the article Local residents had complained again and again about the low level of flying by American warplanes showing this was obviously a problem in this part of the country, one angry woman also says Weve had enough of these war games the phrase War games is giving the impression that the Americans are killing the people for fun, so it is also showing us how enraged the people of Cavalese were. The Mirror also makes the Americans seem like they are hiding something from the reporter as it states in the article Base refused to give any details of the incident showing they felt guilty about their actions, so they knew what they had done but REFUSED to give any information on it. The two articles have some major differences and similarities. The style of the two reports differ, for example The Times report has no subheading, for the title of the report it is presented in small font size and lower case letters the article also has a range of diagrams and drawings that show where the incident took place and the type of plane that was involved in the disaster {EA-6B Prowler jet plane}. In the article there is 1 large picture that shows the wreckage of the incident, The Times newspaper also has no pull quote throughout, whereas The Mirrors title consists of; large font size, uppercase letters and bold writing style, The use of captions in the article like Death car and Devastation make it seem a lot more interesting, the article also has a small subheading that is made up of small font size, lower case letters and Bold handwriting style. The Mirror just like the The Times article has a range of pictures and diagrams. There are diagrams showing the incident and how it happened and there are pictures showing blood stains on the snow and the cable car making the scene seem more realistic and directed to the readers, also helping the formality of the report. The Mirror is the most effective article of the two as it has a headline that is very eye catching and attractive, the large font size alone catches the readers attention, but the sub-heading also helps to make the article more informative, by giving the reader that little bit extra information, as it helps to break up the text and make it easier to read. The sub-heading in this article may even be used to attract the reader to the whole article. This sub heading that reads Brits tell of horror in snow which will come across as intriguing to the degree that the reader gives the whole article a chance, the sub-heading is also aimed to appeal directly too British people as it would act like a cliff hanger, so they would see the heading, want too analyse it in order to gain foundation knowledge leading them too read on, whereas in the The Times the headline is a lot more uninteresting and stands out less than The Mirror. The Times also lacks a sub heading which could have given the times a more detailed article, also helping to make it seem a bit more official. The use of no sub-heading in this article means that there is nothing to hook the readers attention to when they first see the article. Therefore the article may come across as informal (colloquial). Out of the two articles I think the one that explains what happened and gives the full effects of how devastating the incident was is The Mirror It achieves its full effectiveness as its a very detailed and progressed article, this article gets it point across, it is very descriptive and lot more attractive. The article also gives off its effectiveness by the presentation of the report, the use of pictures and the language is very realistic and dramatic giving a feel of the incident.