Friday, January 31, 2020
The Departed Analysis Essay Example for Free
The Departed Analysis Essay The Departed is a film directed by Martin Scorsese which won numerous awards at the 79th annual Academy Awards. Scorsese has directed many films that have won academy awards but he had never achieved the award for the best director. This changed with the 2006 release of The Departed and Scorsese got what he had ached for so many years. This film was indeed a film that I enjoyed watching. However it also got me thinking what role ethics played in this blockbuster. During the beginning of the movie Jack Nicholson adopts Matt Damon and treats him like his own child. Damon wants to be a priest when he grows up. If you’re a priest you most likely won’t kill anyone even if it is for self defense because killing is a sin. However being the clever genius that Nicholson is asks Matt Damon â€Å"when you’re facing end of a loaded barrel, what difference does it make? †Nicholson’s character, Frank Costello adopts Damon’s character, Sullivan mainly for personal intelligence purposes. He wants to have a mole in the SIU department like the government has moles in the Mafia families. The best person suitable for this job would be someone that you have raised as your own because the trust will always be there. Nicholson shows good ethics when he takes Damon under his wing. However as the movie progresses we find the true motive for the adoption. Nicholson wants someone who he can trust, that can keep him one step ahead of the law which is morally wrong. When Leonardo DiCaprio’s character Costigan is training for the job of a police officer he is denied the job due to his family ties to the Boston underworld. Costigan is really a good guy affiliated with a bad name. Vice versa Damon is a bad guy affiliated with a good name. Jobs shouldn’t be lost because of someone’s family affiliation with certain groups especially if the person applying wants to change all that and has the knowledge and the will power to do so. I understand the phrase â€Å"like father, like son†but that isn’t always necessarily true. The world is not just black and white; it has shades of grey in it as well. Later in the movie we find that Frank Costello himself is a possible informant for the FBI and that he has recorded conversations of himself talking about illegal activities with Matt Damon. He has done this as a precaution incase the FBI indicts him in an even more serious case. If the FBI does indict him he will use the tapes as a leverage to get a reduced sentence or immunity. This is not very ethical because he adopted a son for his own freedom from government agencies. Towards the end of the movie it is really ironic that Jack Nicholson dies by what he told Damon so that he wouldn’t become a priest. â€Å"When you’re facing the end of a loaded barrel, what difference does it make? †Matt Damon was facing the loaded barrel of Nicholson’s gun but Damon got to pull the trigger first. Because of Nicholson’s bad ethics he got what he deserved by getting shot by his own adopted son whom he used for pure personal protection from government agencies. In the final scene of the movie when Matt Damon is shot dead by Mark Wahlberg it was unethical of Wahlberg to shoot Damon. He should have gathered evidence for a trial by a jury. However I think the murder was justified and fair for a better society. He could have played by the rules. But since Matt Damon didn’t play by the rules why should Mark Wahlberg.
Thursday, January 23, 2020
Higher Education Savings Plans Essay -- essays research papers
Higher Education Savings Plans Abstract      This paper is about the Section 529 higher education savings plans that allow family members to receive certain tax breaks while investing for a child’s higher education. The data used in this study is the historical rate of return on a Connecticut 529 plan versus the benchmark, the S&P 500. The time period covered was the inception of this plan starting in 2002 up to the start of research on this study, the end of September, 2004. The tests show that although this particular 529 plan offers tax benefits that could help in investing for higher education, that this particular plan failed to outperform the market during the period observed. Therefore it is my conclusion that there are better investment options on the market to invest in a child’s higher education than this Connecticut 529 savings plan. This study may lead to further observation of other Connecticut 529 plans as well as 529 plans managed nationwide to figure out if 529 plans are as effe ctive as advertised. â€Å"529†college plans have become greatly debated in recent years as a tool for investing for college. The plan, which takes its name for the provision of the tax code that sanctioned them, is a college savings account which allows parents or grandparents to give gifts to children that will be later used to obtain a college education. Although some 529 plans have been around since 1988, the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 made sweeping changes to Section 529, most of which became effective in 2002. These changes offer substantial tax benefits to families seeking to finance the cost of college expenses. 529 plans offer families, regardless of income, the opportunity to generate tax-free earnings on funds specially set aside for higher education. These plans, which are run by individual states, can be of great benefit to children by allowing their family members to give money to them in advance to save for college. It can also be detrimental to not o nly the people who invest but the children who are receiving these gifts. I became aware of these 529 plans by reading â€Å"A Random Walk Down Wall Street†by Burton Malkiel. My motivation was to see if these 529 college saving plans are as effective as advertised and to look at the upsides and downsides of investing in them. Since there are tax deduct... ...  881.69     935.11     840.31     855.7     -2.74%                    2-Dec-02     941.55     954.4     869.42     879.82     -6.03%                    1-Nov-02     885.76     941.85     872.02     936.31     5.71%                    1-Oct-02     816.3     907.49     768.58     885.77                        Â
Wednesday, January 15, 2020
Portrayals of Minorities in pop culture
1. ) One example of how minorities are portrayed in popular culture is on the TV show, The Simpsons. Apu Nahasapeemapetilon is portrayed as your typical Indian convenience store owner. He speaks in Indian English, owns a convenience store, his marriage was arranged, he has a strong work ethic, and he has a large number of children. He is portrayed this way in every episode that he appears in. The portrayal is negative and is stereotyping people who are Indian. The portrayal reinforces the stereotypes that Indian immigrants own convenience stores and work all of the time. Personally, I would not want other members of societies receiving this image of me as a member of this group because it paints a negative picture of the culture. It stereotypes all Indian immigrants as the same. This reinforces the idea that race plays a major role in status in our society and people are looked at differently based on their race. On the show, this stereotype is perceived as humorous and people who watch this show are receiving little knowledge about the actual group of people. 2. ) An example of how minorities are portrayed in popular culture is shown on the TV show, Cops. This show portrays people who are minorities to be violent, drug dealers, unintelligent, poor family members. Almost all of the drug deals that go on and the violence that goes on is between blacks and other minorities. This is a negative portrayal and it reinforces these certain stereotypes. It showcases blacks and other minorities as being violent and involved with drugs. If I were a member of this group, I would not want other segments of societies receiving this image of me as a member of this group because I would not want to be known as an unintelligent, violent drug dealer who can't get along with his family. It is a very negative stereotype. 3. ) On the TV show, South Park, minorities are negatively portrayed in almost every single episode. One episode in particular is called, â€Å"The Passion of the Jew. †This episode was a satire of the movie, The Passion of the Christ, but also made fun of people who are Jewish. This show negatively portrays people who are Jewish as being cheap, overprotective, nagging, and pokes fun at their religion. It reinforces these stereotypes and also goes further by negatively talking about the Jewish religion and their practices. If I were a member of this group, I would not want other segments of societies receiving this image of me as a member of this group because it portrays me as being stingy and makes jokes about my religion. Based on this portrayal, it seems as though some television shows are able to make fun of any race that they please. 4. ) Another example of how minorities are portrayed in popular culture is in the movie, The Perfect Score. One of the students in the movie who is Asian is portrayed as being a drug user but extremely smart. He uses drugs all of the time but is still able to get good grades in school. This is a negative portrayal of people who are Asian and it stereotypes them as drug users and of having above average intelligence. If I were a member of this group, I would not want other segments of societies receiving this image of me as a member of this group because I would not want to be perceived as a person who smokes marijuana and is a stoner. I would want to be portrayed as intelligent but not a drug user. Based on this portrayal, I feel that race plays an important part in statuses because different races are thought to be of higher statuses. 5. ) An example of how minorities are portrayed in popular culture is on the TV show, Beverley Hills 90210. People in this show, who are mainly white, are viewed as being extremely rich, affluent, greedy, and having a ton of drama in their lives. It stereotypes the typical â€Å"California teenager. †It is a negative portrayal of young people who live in California. It reinforces the stereotypes of the typical California surfer and teenager. All teenagers who live in California don't act this way, but they are portrayed as being like this. This portrayal can also be seen in newer shows such as Laguna Beach and The Hills. If I were a member of this group, I would not want other segments of societies receiving this image of me as a member of this group because I would not want to be seen as a rich snob who relies on their parent's money. I would want to just blend in with society. I feel that people who are white are sometimes given a higher status then people of other races. . ) In the movie Soul Man, minorities are portrayed as having an easier time of getting into college. In this movie, a student who wants to get into a particularly difficult school dyes his skin a darker color so he can hopefully get in. This is a negative portrayal of minorities because it is saying that they have an easier chance of getting into college because they are a minority. It reinforces the stereotype that colleges have a certain quota to fill and that minorities sometimes do have an easier time getting into a certain college. If I were a member of this group, I would not want other members of societies receiving this image of me as a member of this group because I would not want them to think that I got accepted into a college because of my race. I would want my acceptance into college to be viewed as an achievement because I worked hard in high school. This portrayal sends out the message that minorities are sometimes given extra benefits because of what colleges have to do. 7. ) An example of how minorities are portrayed in popular culture is on the TV show, Family Matters. This show is about a middle-class African American family that lives in Chicago. I believe this show is a positive portrayal because it shows a functional black family with goals and aspirations. Other shows that I have watched unfortunately present blacks as violent people who are often linked to crime. They are portrayed as â€Å"gangsters†in many shows, and it seems as though their only aspirations are to become a rapper or a basketball player. However, in Family Matters, there is a middle class black family that is portrayed in a very positive light. There are no violent acts being committed, and as a matter of fact, the father is a policeman who helps prevent violent acts. If I were a member of this group I would approve of this portrayal because this family is not being portrayed as a dysfunctional black family. This show was able to incorporate comedy in the episodes without being demeaning. 8) In the movie Mean Girls, there is a group of Asians called the â€Å"Asian Nerds†and they are constantly studying. Asians are often linked with the stereotype that they are superior students. I feel as though this could be both a negative and positive stereotype. It is good to be seen as successful and smart but not all Asians should be perceived to be academically exceptional. I would not want to be perceived in this way because then it seems like you have an expectations to live up to and what if you cannot live up to them? What if you are Asian and you are not a â€Å"genius†? I would constantly feel pressure and if I was unable to live up to that expectation I can only imagine the anxiety that I would feel and I would most likely be embarrassed to get help. It is true that it is positive thing to be seen as a successful race but it comes along with too many expectation and negative stereotypes such as being uninterested in having fun. ) This cover of Vogue magazine can be interpreted negatively because some people believe that Lebron James is standing in a gorilla-like pose. This cover can be traced back to days when scientists were claiming that blacks are linked to apes. This is a negative stereotype because it dehumanizes black. Researchers say that even though depictions of blacks as apes have disappeared; it is still in the subconsciouses of others. Society may be more likely to link blacks with crime and violence because they still don't accept blacks as fully human. The fact that blacks are still being associated with apes is very distressing. Clearly, if I were in this group I would not want other members of society viewing me as â€Å"ape-like. †It dehumanizes blacks and links them to negative actions such as crime. 10. Another example of how minorities are portrayed in the media is through a show called The Office. In one of the episodes, the main character Michael is forming a basketball team and he immediately recruits one of his employees named Stanley, because he is black. He automatically assumes that Stanley is good at basketball because he is black even though Stanley tries to tell him otherwise. However, Michael clings onto the stereotype that all blacks are good at basketball and in the end he is proved wrong. I do not think this is a good stereotype because you cannot group everybody that belongs to a certain race into one category. Not all blacks are going to be good at basketball, just like not all Asians are going to be smart. We develop pre-conceived notions about people based on their race, and it is not good. I would not want other members of society perceiving me in this way because the stereotype does not hold true for all blacks.
Tuesday, January 7, 2020
Today, More Than Ever, There Is A Growing Need Within Our
Today, more than ever, there is a growing need within our society for moral leadership that supports all people. Being a moral leader means accepting differences, serving others, leading by example, and helping others develop their own sense of character. This type of visionary leadership is particularly needed in schools, as we must make sure that future generations can empathize with others and take the necessary actions to defend those who need assistance. Our schools must be institutions of, not only learning but tolerance, where all students and employees feel safe and secure. As communicated in Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, discrimination in the workplace in relation to race, color, religion, gender, age, and/or†¦show more content†¦Leaders must accept, value, promote, and celebrate differences through their own behaviors. This begins with knowing and internalizing the law, as acceptance comes through understanding. Ted Childs, Vice President of IBM, discusse s legislation for workforce diversity in his speech on diversity in the workplace (2009). He refers specifically to Amendment 508, which mandates that all companies provide products and services that are accessible to the disabled. Cultural diversity starts with leaders’ implementation of the law but is enhanced when leaders take the initiative to go beyond that by providing satisfaction for all. As stated by Childs, â€Å"Diversity is about more than just good corporate citizenship or doing the right thing,†but about creating business strategies that appeal to all people. This statement applies to all organizations as we need to ensure that everyone is treated equally according to the law, while also feeling comfortable and pleased by the treatment they receive. While knowing the law and how best to serve those who have individual needs is the obvious place for leaders to begin, some supervisors find this difficult in the workplace. Surprisingly, creating a culturally inclusive workplace is actually quite simple according to lawyer Dawn Bennett-Alexander in her TedTalk on Practical Diversity (2015). In her talk, Bennett-Alexander discusses theShow MoreRelatedThe Relationship Between The Era Of 1950 And Today s Lifestyle902 Words  | 4 Pagestelevision. With the advancement of technology, it is easier than ever to access the media. The major element in the relationship between the era of 1950 and today s lifestyle is conforming. Each time period people would do as they see from their surroundings. In the 1950’s they conformed yet they lived simply and happily. Today s population coordinated their living by copying the media but they re still unhappy because there s more to expect the day after. 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