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Thursday, January 30, 2020

Japanese Pornographic Animation Essay Example for Free

Japanese Pornographic Animation Essay Susan J. Napier’s â€Å"The Frenzy of Metamorphosis: The Body in Japanese Pornographic Animation† describes how both female and male bodies are depicted in Japanese animated pornography. Napier explains how male dominance over women is portrayed in the different animated films she has cited, where gender-specific roles are usually restored in the end of each film or series. For example, the female lead character in the animated film Wicked City is portrayed as a better warrior than the male lead character, but in the end she assumes the traditional role of damsel-in-distress and mother of the child that would bring peace to their city and its parallel, the Black World. Napier further highlights the often problematic and complicated depiction of male-female relationships in these films. The fantasy behind every transformation a male or female character’s body undergoes in the animated film subliminally illustrates underlying cultural backgrounds, as well as frustrations, of the Japanese. In these films, the female characters are commonly fantastically proportioned with massive breasts and hips, and tiny waists, while the male characters are similarly fantastically sexually endowed and lustful. Such depictions appear to reflect heavy Western influences. The metamorphosis of female bodies is described by Napier as â€Å"controlled† in that they are rather reflective of traditional roles and perceptions towards females in Japanese culture. Meanwhile, the metamorphosis of male bodies is described as more of â€Å"demonic dominance and comic frustration. † While they are subversive to the patriarchal culture of Japan, male bodies are portrayed in the opposite of how female bodies are portrayed. Male bodies are portrayed as either grotesquely demonic-looking or ridiculously child-like. Napier maintains that males do not always come out as the dominant character in Japanese animated pornography. I find this rather arguable as most if not all of the examples highlighted in the reading suggest the presence of a male figure whose role is either to dominate the female character or to support it. Culturally, Japanese are of control-minded and patriarchal culture where every female is traditionally submissive to a male partner. The presence of a male character, no matter how comic or demonic as depicted in the film, can be attributed to an attempt to balance out the portrayal of powers where the protagonist is a female; hence, whether the dominant role belongs to the male or female remains problematic. The presence of the male support character suggests that female characters cannot achieve great power over her adversary without him. An example of this is La Blue Girl where the lead character, a female ninja, is supported by her male ninja sidekick who is portrayed as constantly lusting after her. Napier also cites that male orgasms are depicted far less than male frustrations in these films because orgasms are viewed as a loss of patriarchal control. Patriarchal control can also be seen in the way that female orgasms are almost always depicted in these films, regardless of whether these orgasms are the result of traditional lovemaking or of sexual torture. I find that this is because of socio-cultural factors given the changes in roles of men and women in modern Japanese society. The Japanese male ego seems to be affected by this change so much that their frustration is reflected even in their animated pornographic films. Hence, Japanese animated pornography tend to portray female characters as young and non-threatening (high school girls, commonly) while male characters are either comically lustful (young or old voyeurs) or powerfully demonic. Many of the strong male characters in Japanese animated pornography are depicted as demons, making them appear threatening and ultimately powerful over the females. Even if the female lead characters are able to overcome these demonic male antagonists at the end of the film, these females are still portrayed as traditionally vulnerable to sexual violence.

Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Plagiarism and the Internet :: Cheating School Education Essays

Plagiarism and the Internet Premarital sexual activity and drug and alcohol use are high in the list of problems in schools and universities today. Equally as severe is plagiarism, the act of taking credit for another person words or ideas. Plagiarism is a major problem in educational institutions. There are reasons for this action, the  ¡Ãƒ easy ¡ÃƒÅ" way out of writing assignments and projects. However, there are also ways to remedy the situation. Thus, plagiarism is a problem, but it is possible through education to substantially lower its use. Students rationalize entirely too much when it comes to essays and other assignments. Whether it is poor time management or lack of incentive, plagiarism is always wrong. Not only is taking another person ¦Ãƒ s thoughts not moral, but it is punishable by law. It is a serious offense. Pupils plagiarize because it is virtually effortless. With the Internet both available everywhere and used as a daily necessity, there is a plethora of information at one ¦Ãƒ s fingertips. Also, students find that plagiarism is not addressed as a serious problem because it is often undetected, much less punished. These reasons encompass the motives behind plagiarism. The situation isn ¦Ãƒ t entirely hopeless, however. Education is the key to decreasing the thirty-six percent of college students who confess to plagiarizing papers and other such materials (Paradigms 1). One way to educate is to inform students of the Copyright Act and of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The former states that fair uses are not an infringement of copyright (Loren 4). A fair use refers to uses such as reports, essays, and research in which a source is properly cited. The Digital Millenium Copyright Act provides for copyright owners who believe that their material on the Internet is breaching their rights (Loren 4). Both of these laws have severe consequences. If educators familiarized their students with these, then plagiarism would decrease inversely with the understanding of the severity of the act. Teachers must make this effort, just as students must make their own effort to do their own work. Also, teachers ought to enforce discipline when it co mes to a violation like plagiarism and create an association between plagiarism and punishment, not plagiarism and indifference. This is how plagiarism should be dealt with in the classroom. An omnipresent situation in schools today is plagiarism.

Monday, January 13, 2020

Does Media and Music Affect Our Lives

Critical Response The argument of whether or not music and media affect or influence our lives is a very complicated argument that divides people in their viewpoints. I personally believe that music and media will influence you only if you let it. Everything in life becomes only what you make of it and I think that some people in life hold music artists on a pedestal and go so far as to live their lives according to what they hear in their idols music. A song that truly depicts this concept in a disturbing, but yet believable way is the song â€Å"Stan†, by Eminem.This songs tells the story of a young man named Stan, that believes himself to be Eminem’s biggest fan that he goes so far as to live his life in away that imitates what he believes is how Eminem lives his. He confesses his devotion to Eminem through letters and by going to concerts and standing outside in the cold for hours just to get an autograph, but things go really bad when Stan doesn’t get a repl y from Eminem in a time span that he believes he should have.So Stan makes one last message for Eminem, which involves him being drunk, locking his girlfriend in the trunk and driving the car off a bridge. In the end Eminem writes Stan back with his concern of him trying to imitate his life, but then realizes what has happened. This song illustrates a perfect example of a crazed fan going to far. This guy is named Stan, which is Eminem’s â€Å"code† name, and in the music video he even dresses like him and goes so far as to make sure he has the same hairstyle and color.Everything else also is an attempt to imitate Eminem, from the pregnant girlfriend that he eventually ends up locking in the trunk and killing to have an absent father. But the thing is though is that everything he is trying to imitate in this song are not the real characteristics of Eminem, they are only based on songs Eminem has written, including one song where Eminem kills the mother of his baby and locks her in a trunk.I think that this song is a great example of how influential people can be, but I don’t think that all people are this influenced by music. I think that you are your own person and what you allow to influence you and affect you is your choice. This not only applies to music, but also to the media and news. Last week I had a very eye opening experience as a result to one of readings on the media and how much of the truth it tells and what it chooses to leave out. It made me ealize that sitting around and waiting for the truth to come to you, isn’t a logical approach and if you chose to live like that they you shouldn’t expect to receive the whole truth. The news and media also is very biased and can influence viewers to be the same. This has been very evident at least to me since 9/11, with how the media is so biased against Muslims and Arabs, and how they portray them all to be â€Å"the bad guys† and the ones to blame for the problem s that we are enduring now.But what us even more upsetting is that some Americans are letting the media influence them into believing this biased view point and instead of getting the whole story by going and getting other news sources, people just go along with what the media tells them. Even though a lot of people believe that the media and music is responsible for influencing the way people live their lives and the choices they make, I believe that how it influences you and to what extent is your choice.If you hear a song on the radio that talks about killing someone, doesn’t mean that you should go out and do it, but you ultimately are the one that makes that decision, not the song. The same thing applies with the news, if you hear on the news that the Muslims are the ones to blame for all of our problems, it is your choice to agree or disagree with that statement and it is your responsibility to go and look at other sources if you want to get a real stance on the problem that is not biased.

Sunday, January 5, 2020

Analysis Of `` The Scarlet Letter `` By Edgar Allen Poe

During the first half of the nineteenth century the Romanticism movement was starting to reach its apex. However, one of its sub-genres would have a longer impact on literature. It was gothic fiction, a genre that according to study.com â€Å"involved elements of fear, horror, death, and gloom, but it also included romantic elements of nature and very high emotion, such as fear and suspense, and often concentrated on individuality†. The most famous writer of gothic fiction during the early to mid nineteenth century was Edgar Allen Poe. However, another writer around the same time also made an impact. Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in 1804 to an old New England family who can be traced to old Salem. He is best known for his short stories like â€Å"The Birthmark† and â€Å"The Minister s Black Veil†; and the classic novel â€Å"The Scarlet Letter†. He died in 1864 on a tour of the White Mountains in New Hampshire. Most of his stories takes place during purit an Massachusetts. â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† is such a story. It is about a young puritan man who has recently gotten married. At the start of the story he is on a journey through the woods. There he comes a across a strange old man who claims to know everyone in the colony. He also knows everyone’s sins. Brown eventually sees a ceremony for the devil. He sees people there he thought were the pillars of his community like Goody Cloyse and The Minster. What scares him the most his that his wife Faith is there too. It is revealed that it wasShow MoreRelatedSimilar Gothic Elements in the Work of Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne2436 Words   |  10 PagesElements in the Work of Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allan Poe are considered masters of American gothic fiction. They used similar gothic elements in their writing and used it to build up a sense of impending doom. Even today numerous readers enjoy, study, and discuss the gothic elements both utilized in their work. Gothic writing is a style that is concerned with the dark side of society, an evil that lies within the self. Poe and Hawthorne contributedRead MoreThe Imp in Us All2024 Words   |  9 Pagesindividualize the works of Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne. The Imp of the Perverse, The Tell Tale Heart, and William Wilson all demonstrate Poes fascination and exploration with inner conflict and torturer. These short stories deal with the same issue but present it in different ways by making the characters vary when describing their will and their morality. Hawthorne punctuates this fact through his famous character Reverend Dimmesdale from the Scarlet Letter. He demonstrates that even