Peter Weir witness Essay Example for Free

Peter Weir witness Essay Peter Weir uses contrast to interrogate the concerns of contemporary society. Discuss with close reference to the film Witness. The film witness directed by peter weir raises questions about the concerns of contemporary society. These issues are exposed through the use of film techniques which convey contrast as two cultures clash. The audience is challenged to question these ideas: the opposing concept of individualism versus a sense of community; the use and abuse of power along with honesty and loyalty as opposed to dishonesty and disloyalty; forbidden love and the obstacle of two varying cultures co-existing. The substance of the film highlights the concern of individualism contrasted to a sense of community. An example of individual greed is encapsulated in the â€Å"identification scene† where Samuel recognizes the killer’s image (McFee) within the trophy cabinet where he is displayed as a hero. Amidst the diegetic sound of the police station the camera pans to the cabinet. An extreme close up of Samuel’s eyes along with thought provoking music suggests his realization that McFee is the murderer. The point of view shots; the zooming in on McFee’s face and the non-diegetic sound forces the viewer to query his honour. The audience has viewed McFee as a killer who appeared in the bathroom washing his hands in a relaxed manner and saying casually â€Å"I’m just washing my hands man† suggests that his malicious nature is a part if his everyday life. This individual sense of greed and self-interest in contemporary society is compared throughout the film with the sense of community and generosity of the more traditional Amish culture. The barn raising scene captures this idea effectively as it portrays the community working together for a common cause. The harmonious music; the wide angle shots; the cheerful facial expressions and body language and â€Å"uniform† costumes highlight their equality and sense of belonging to one group. The vertical panning shot of Daniel sharing a drink with Book demonstrates the farmer’s selflessness although he is in â€Å"competition† with Book for Rachel’s affection. This contrast interrogates concerns of self-interest with contemporary society challenging the viewers’ perception of these cultures. There is also a contrast between how power is used within the cultures. Abuse of power is clearly evident with Schaeffer as he is always shown as a loyal husband and family man which challenges the audience to question what is actually an illusion to this representation of character. This characterisation is overturned when Book phones Schaeffer and says â€Å"lost the meaning did you Paul? Remember what you used to say, about dirty cops, somewhere along the way they lost the meaning†. This forces the audience to interrogate the power of an individual such as Schaeffer. There is an illusion created within the film that the English society has power over the Amish society. This is evident in the penultimate scene â€Å"final conflict† when Schaeffer and McFee go into the Amish society to arrest/kill Book. Schaeffer and McFee bring along weapons as they believe that is enough to take down Book and the Amish community. A mis-en-scene with a low angle shot, dark colours and suspenseful music of Schaeffer and McFee walking on the road positions the audience to believe that the English have power and that they are going to take down the Amish community. But this is contradicted when Samuel rings the bell and a long shot is used to show the Amish people stop, put down everything and run over to help. Schaeffer is defeated by the amount of people working together; this allows the audience to question how power is used in contemporary society. Although the Amish society appears to lead a passive lifestyle and â€Å"weak† as they are without weapons they are still shown to have power. This is evident when they are travelling in the horse buggy as they are always shown in a low angle shot portraying that they have power and aren’t below contemporary society. This highlights the contrast that Peter Weir used to question the concern of power in contemporary society. Weir again uses contrast to interrogate the concern of forbidden love within contemporary society. The ‘Dancing in the barn scene’ conveys this idea. The music playing is ironic as it says â€Å"I don’t know much about†¦Ã¢â‚¬  because Book doesn’t know much about Rachel and the Amish community. Rachel’s hat is missing which indicates she is moving away from the Amish culture. Book dances with Rachel and this creates sexual tension but avoids eye contact as he respects her culture and doesn’t want to disrupt it which creates awkwardness. The Rachel washing scene also expresses this idea as Book avoid eye contact again and rejects making love with Rachel. The next day Book goes up to the hen house that Rachel is in. In front of Book there is a screen door which is symbolic of a  barrier of their forbidden love says to Rachel â€Å"If we made love last night I would have to say or you would have to leave† this again shows that Book respects Rachel’s culture. The two world’s truly merge when book prepares to leave. There is a close up of bonnet as it is placed on the table by Rachel symbolising again that she is letting go and wants to be with Book. But this inability for the two communities to co-exist is symbolised also through contrasting scenes of the bird house. Early in the film and on Book’s leaving as Book is first impeding on the Amish community – breaking of the bird house, then Book rebuilds the damage that he has cause – fixing of the bird house, then restores everything back to normality – puts bird house back in place. This forces the audience to interrogate whether these two societies will ever be able to merge together. In conclusion though the film witness Peter Weir is able to interrogate the audience by contrasting the concerns of individualism versus community, the use and abuse of power and forbidden love in contemporary society.

The Dynamic Duo in Volpone :: Volpone

The Dynamic Duo in Volpone While Mosca and Volpone, the "dynamic duo" in this play, share many similarities, they are still different enough to compliment one another. On one hand, both characters are alike in that they share a common lust for deceit, making their living by tricking others. They take delight in conjuring up and performing elaborate schemes in order to fool people. This becomes a game for the two of them, which they both enjoy playing immensely. Perhaps the common love of this game is what knits Volpone's heart so tightly to Mosca's. On the other hand, Mosca seems to be a little sharper and wittier than Volpone. Where Volpone tends to be slightly dull or slow, Mosca makes up for his lack by being ingenious for him. For example, in act 3.4, Volpone boils in frustration because he cannot successfully persuade or trick Lady Would-be into leaving his presence. He attempts to make her leave several times, but is ineffective. Finally, at the height of his despair, Mosca walks in, and with one breath, comes up with a brilliant falsehood that sends Lady Would-be running out the door. This unfailing ability of Mosca's to invent schemes while under pressure is what makes him so useful to Volpone and keeps the duo together. Mosca's quick thinking compliments Volpone's slow wit. Another characteristic that Mosca possesses in abundance that Volpone does not necessarily have is the ability to flatter. Throughout the play, Mosca displays a clever ability to play off of other people's pride by inflating their egos so that they will be consumed with their own vanity. Then, once the other person has his eyes solely on himself, he is vulnerable to fall for any scheme of Mosca's. This tricky character plays this game of flattery with almost every character in the play, including Volpone. Because Volpone is not witty enough to see that his side-kick treats him with the same craftiness that he uses on the clients, he is

Prison Nursing Essay

I had been a nurse for 1 yr, and only worked in long term care. I craved a change in my career that was exciting, yet challenging; I decided to become a correctional nurse. I had no idea what was in store for me when I applied for a position with UTMB . I spoke with family and friends who thought I was crazy for wanting to work in such a hostile environment. Needless to say, I didn’t listen and followed my own instinct. When I was hired, I had not taken a tour of the facility; day one was the first time I walked into a prison. As I walked in the gate house, I was saying to myself â€Å"this isn’t so bad! I kept telling myself those same words the whole time I was taking my shoes off , letting my hair down to be searched, and getting frisked while checking for contraband. After the most violating pat down I had ever received was over, my heart began to pound. â€Å"What am I getting myself into? † Once in the infirmary I was given a brief description of job duties. By now my heart was in my throat, but I kept up the brave front . I learned that I would be working in our clinic with convicts that required inpatient medical care. My role was to provide nursing care only. A few things I had to take into consideration; they were convicts. They could be quite manipulative and they tried to test me every time I turned around. They asked questions about my personal life and they asked for favors. They would also ask me to bring in things from the â€Å"real world† or deliver items or letters. This behavior could be grounds for termination so any and every time I was asked to do any of the things I listed or anytime an inmate tried to get to personal it had to be reported. The inmate would then have to face disciplinary action. It was very hard to remember all the dos and don’ts while maintaing professionalism, as well as maintain safety and sanity. In the Texas prison system the inmates endure grueling conditions. In the winter its freezing cold, old boilers are all they have to keep warm. In the summer its smoldering hot, old noisy fans are all they have to keep cool. Being tender hearted as I am, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for them. I was raised to see the good in every body. I was also raised to believe in an eye for an eye. It was really hard to provide unbiased care when I knew I was dealing with a child molester or a rapist. I know we were trained to put all our emotions aside, but in reality my emotions would sometimes get the best of me. I only worked as a correctional nurse for a yr. I enjoyed working with other members of the medical staff as well as correctional officers. I actually enjoyed working with the inmates, providing medical care. I have had my share of inmates cursing and yelling at me and have witnessed situations I will never forget. I learned very quickly to be thick-skinned. I learned to be tough in order to do the job and survive. I still reminisce about the adrenalin rush I would get every time and emergency would arise. I’m glad I made the choice to work at the Wynne Unit it was definitely a life changing experience.

The Massacre of Rwandans During 1993 Essay - 1386 Words

The massacre of Rwandans during 1993 were described by Ndiaye in a statement to the Commission on Human Rights as deemed so severe that it could merit the label of a genocide. Ndiaye report offered such extensive material based on the proceeding occurring in Rwanda that the United Nations should have into account his findings when establishing a peacekeeping force called The United Nations Assistant Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR). Ndiaye’s (1993) statement goes on to emphasize the key elements that had â€Å"facilitated the violation of the rights to life†, which included: the absence of nomocracy, the lack of protection granted towards different ethnic groups, and the use of propaganda. The absence of nomocracy meant that know official legal†¦show more content†¦The Arusha Accords established central concerns that were viewed essential towards preventing, managing and resolving the conflict throughout Rwanda. Such issues included the continual implementation of a former ceasefire agreement, The N’Sele Ceasefire; â€Å"this agreement establishes a cessation of hostilities and a zone of separation between the belligerent forces and provides, among other things, for the release of prisoners of war†. The N’Sele Ceasefire treaty would be maintained and utilised through the Arusha Accord agreement. This would involve the conclusion of warfare and eliminating the distribution of weaponry. The Rwandan government, the RPF and additional political groups settled on distributing control between themselves through the establishment of a Broad-Based Transitional Government (1992); this would provide the foundation for a democratically elected government to form. Furthermore an arrangement was formed that would allow the return and relocation of exiles that had fled Rwanda as refugees. Finally an understanding was made that the parties involved would merge forces into one united power, The Rwandan Army. 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