Reflecting reality in film documentaries Essay Example for Free

Reflecting reality in film documentaries Essay The paradox of reality stems from the fact that it is a combination of abstract and concrete concepts. Abstract since different kinds of reality can be subjectively formed and understood. It cannot be quantified from a single perspective alone. In the meantime, reality is concrete since it is something that each and every individual must readily confront. Reality is part of mankind’s constant struggle. The puzzling complexity that embodies the notion of reality is even more felt on how it is depicted, presented or articulated in other forms. Literature exploits the power of words to explain reality, singers capitalize on music. But the task becomes even harder as for the case of film makers who are expected to utilize both visual and musical elements to represent reality. In film-making, it cannot be denied that the use of different technologies somehow affect how reality is shown. For every filmmaker, there is the challenge to make their works of art convincing—convincing, in the sense that a film seems to devoid of any technological mediation and corporeal interest—and at the same time retaining the subject matter in its pure and organic form. With this pursuit, the emergence of film documentaries came into life. Kibborn once noted that film documentaries aim to offer a â€Å"window of the world (p. 53). † This would not come as a surprise since films, whether they are created for commercial purposes are indeed reflections of a much wider world view. Some filmmakers have fared well, while some, unfortunately, failed. On the other hand, there are others, who have seen film documentaries as a tool to immortalize not only their works but also their names. The film industry owes it all to the Lumiere Brothers. This generation would not experience the beauty and artistry of films if not for these two. Since early film tools and equipments are not that sophisticated during that time, silent films tend to dominate the (big screen). However, what is even more amazing in this context is the manner in which the Lumiere Brothers have managed to present reality with pure visual images alone. Films do communicate and try to reach to their respective audiences. But then again, the absence of sounds seems to make the presentation a bit complicated and difficult. However, if one would stick to the principle in which reality is comprised of events that are experienced in everyday lives, situations that are commonly confronted by ordinary people, it can be fairly said that the Lumiere Brothers stand out. If one has to take a closer look at Arrival of a Train (Nichols 83), such event is commonly encountered. The camera focuses on the train and the people that arrive in the station. A close shot is chosen as if trying to tell every intricate sequence and details of the said event. Unaware and unscripted, the actors are seen in their most natural ways and manners. Such technique is also used in Nanook of the North by Robert Flaherty. However, Flaherty incorporated some texts. Perhaps it can be argued that the Flaherty wants to make the a more vivid and descriptive storytelling approach. There is the intention to relate to the audience what is actually happening rather than to interpret the stories on their own. There is a scene in the film wherein the boat is being covered with a piece of cloth before going down the river. In this case, a close shot was again used, in order to show how intricate the processes are. Yet, during the part wherein the actual trek is going on, a long shot was utilized, thus readily evoking a feeling that the group is on their journey. The characters looked small during that shot and the notion of space and distance were further highlighted. From documenting everyday routines to inserting texts in the film, documentaries are also flavored with the directors’ political perspective as for the case of Dziga Vertov. Hicks even described Vertov as the so-called â€Å"genie† of propaganda films primarily because of its strong Marxist beliefs and visions (8). Taylor described that Vertov depicted reality through the montage technique (74). In this manner, Vertov, since he is also into propaganda reflects life beyond what is â€Å"ordinarily seen,† but rather it is on â€Å"how it should be seen (Taylor 74). † In the film, Three Songs of Lenin, different scenes are patched together. There is the part wherein a group of marching men were shown and followed by a scene that focuses on three statues. Another group of marching people is presented but this time, women, with holding high powered guns are also shown, then it goes back to the three statues. Vertov, as a propagandist who wanted to tell the people what life should be seem to purport that equality between men and women must be readily observed. At the same time, the three statues that are constantly shown is reflective of an ideology or school of thought that must be readily followed and practiced. In the meantime, John Grierson is a film critic who is one of those who laid down the foundations of realism theories in films (Aitken 162). Elis and Mclane noted that Grierson readily influenced many film makers (73). He is also responsible for proliferating such film genre in â€Å"English-speaking nations (Ellis Mclane 73). Grierson firmly believes that in order to depict reality properly, reality should be free from all forms of manipulation—that it should be captured in its raw form rather than mastered in artificial environments (Aitken 167). Works Cited Aitken, Ian. European Film Theory and Cinema: A Critical Introduction. Scotland: Edinburgh Press, 2001 Ellis, Jack and Betsy McLane. A New History of Film Documentary. London: Continuum International Publishing, 2005 Hicks, Jeremy. Dziga Vertov: Defining Documentary Film. London: I. B Tauris Publishers, 2007 Kibborn, Richard. Staging the Real: Factual TV Programming in the Age of Big Brother. Oxford, UK: Manchester University Press, 2003 Nichols, Bill. Introduction to Documentary. Bloomington:Indiana University Press, 2001 Taylor, Richard. Film Propaganda: Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany. London: I. B Tauris Publishers, 1998

The MCI Project What Message Is Mci Finance Essay

The MCI Project What Message Is Mci Finance Essay MCI would like to enhance Shareholder value by repurchasing outstanding stock, and send a bold signal to market and manager to stimulate the market price per stock to increase. A share buyback (by investing in themselves) instead of paying a cash dividend or, in other words, increasing a regular dividend, could represent an increase in the value of shares still available, this happens in the case that occurs a reduction in the number of shares of stock outstanding. If earnings remain the same but there is less shares outstanding, we can take for granted that the earnings per share might represent a positive NPV, or if the company reduces their number of shares outstanding, then they could increase earnings per share and also can raise the market value of the shares outstanding. However, if the company decides to authorize a repurchase of shares at the price of the book value per share, arguing that the shares are undervalued, then investors could buy those shares at a very low price. What will be the effects of issuing $2 billion of new debt and using the proceeds to repurchase shares on: MCIs shares outstanding? Assumptions: Shares repurchased at $28,92,Æ’Å“ then 69,16 million shares are going to be repurchased back, leaving 611,84 million shares outstanding. Shares repurchased at the current price of $27,75, Æ’Å“then 72,07 million shares can be repurchased and leaves 608,93 million shares outstanding. If there is no repurchase, then shares outstanding remain between 608,93 and 611,84 million (which are the shares outstanding if they were repurchased) as the repurchase price increases from $27,75 to $28,92 (at a Pre or Post repurchase share price). MCIs book value of equity? According to Exhibit 5: Total Current Liabilities = 4870 Long Term Debt = 3444+2000 = 5444 Deferred Taxes and Other = 1385 Stockholders Equity = 9602-2000 = 7602 Repurchase effect on leverage (using D/E ratio as a measurement, and assuming that D refers to Long-Term Debt): Pre D/E = 3444/9602 = 0,359 Post D/E= 5444/7602= 0,716Æ’Å ¸This is the increase of the Debt-Equity ratio to at least twice 36%. We have to remember that Phillips suggested that MCI would need to increase its Debt-Equity ratio from its current level of around 36% to at least twice that, even at that debt level the companys debt-to-cap would be moderate relative to the industry. Supposing that the debt of $2.000 million is Long-Term Debt (LTD); According to Exhibit 2: LTD/ BV (Book Value) of Pre Equity = 0,359 Then: BV of Pre Equity= LTD/0,359 = 3444/0,359 = 9593 BV of Post Equity= 9593* 609/681 = 8579 The price per share of MCI stock? New market Price= (New VOP Old Debt)/Old number of stocks = ($27.537,26 3.944) / 681= 28,8 These is the Data: Old debt 3944,00 new debt 5944,00 NEW VOP $ 23.537,26 oldà £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬n# of stock 681,00 new n# of stock 611,49 Old share mkt price $ 27,75 NEW MKT PRICE $ 28,77 old mkt cap. Equity 18897,75 new mkt cap.Equity 17593,26 FREE CASH FLOW 2714,21 Earnings per share? EPS= Net Income/ Shares Outstanding Assuming the EBIT keeps stable in 1996: Using the cost of debt of MCI shown in exhibit 3. Loan interest level BBB1 Phones based on the interest level of obligations of A1 Phones =((6,26+6,46)/2)= 6,36 Post EPS= (EBIT (Interest Expense + Debt* Cost of debt))*(1-Taxes)/Post Number of shares = (1118-(181+2000*6,36))*(1-0,4))/609 =485,88/609 = 0,80 Using Income statement of 1995 to get the interest rate: EPS= (Income before extraordinary item Debt *(Interest expense/Long Term debt)*Taxes)/Post Number of shares EPS= ($573 $2000 * ($181/$3444) *0,4)/609= 0,87 Using the estimated EPS in exhibit 2: EPS= Net Income / Outstanding = (Estimated 1996 Year End EPS * Outstanding debt* i * (1-T))/ A- outstanding = (1,75 * 681 2000 * 6,36% * (1-0,04))/609 = 1,83 What is MCIs current (pre repurchase) weighted average cost of capital (WACC)? MCIS current WACC =11,88% (See Excel Sheets for explanation) What would you expect to happen to MCIs WACC if it issues $2 billion in debt and uses the proceeds to repurchase shares? If MCI issues $2 billion in debt and uses the proceeds to repurchase share, the cost of equity will increase and the WACC is expected to decrease. The higher WACC is due to the higher leverage ratio. In the MCI case, the market value WACC will be decreased from its original 11.88% to 11.53%, it also have higher value of cooperation, the increased value of the firm makes the stock price going higher level. The following table shows the relationship between corporatevalues of the firm versus WACC. Would you recommend that MCI increase its use of debt? If so, by how much? Yes, it is recommended. From the below sensitivity test, we can see that the optimal WACC is about 10.79% which means 42.25% debt ratio and 57.75 equity ratio. The debit required is 6381.83million, and the book value of corporate will be increased to 14213.42million. Therefore I suggest MCI issue 2.437billion dollars to increase its debt/equity level and maximize the value and stock price. By old Book value after debt T 40.00% 40.00% 40.00% 40.00% 40.00% 40.00% 40.00% 40.00% 40.00% RPm 7.00% 7.00% 7.00% 7.00% 7.00% 7.00% 7.00% 7.00% 7.00% Rrf 5.70% 5.70% 5.70% 5.70% 5.70% 5.70% 5.70% 5.70% 5.70% wd 0.00% 17.27% 20.00% 25.00% 29.12% 35.00% 42.25% 44.90% 45.00% ws 100.00% 82.73% 80.00% 75.00% 70.88% 65.00% 57.75% 55.10% 55.00% D/E 0.00% 20.87% 25.00% 33.33% 41.07% 53.85% 73.17% 81.49% 81.82% Rd 6.03% 6.30% 6.30% 6.30% 6.30% 7.09% 7.09% 7.09% 8.26% bU 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 bL 1.00 1.13 1.15 1.20 1.25 1.32 1.44 1.49 1.49 Rs 12.70% 13.57% 13.75% 14.10% 14.42% 14.96% 15.77% 16.12% 16.13% wacc 12.70% 11.88% 11.75% 11.52% 11.32% 11.21% 10.90% 10.79% 11.10% Corporate Value 12080.78 12908.83 13050.45 13317.68 13546.00 13680.91 14067.11 14213.42 13814.48 Debt 0.00 2228.90 2610.09 3329.42 3944.00 4788.32 5944.00 6381.83 6216.51

In some poems the poets write about their feelings towards people. :: English Literature

In some poems the poets write about their feelings towards people. Compare 3 poems in this collection: the Laboratory, Havisham and My last Duchess The poems ‘The Laboratory’ by Robert Browning, ‘My Last Duchess’ by Robert Browning and ‘Havisham’ by Carol Ann Duffy all write about their feelings towards the characters in their poems. The laboratory is about a lady making poison to kill the man she loves ladies that he has chosen over her. In My Last Duchess it is about a man talking about his last duchess and what she did wrong and that the end result was murder. Havisham is about a lady who has gone mad over a love she once had who she was engaged to but at the last moment broke off their wedding and she never moves on from that day. In the poem ‘The Laboratory’ by Robert Browning the persona of the poem shows that she is very bitter towards her love as she wants him all to herself and not have to share him with others. She wants revenge on the times that she has missed out on without him and also for the times when ‘they believe my tears flow’ (Line 6+7) when this is untrue. She has worked out a way to get her revenge by making a poison that they will en joy even though it is going to kill the person who drinks it. In ‘Havisham’ by Carol Ann Duffy the persona of the poem who is Miss Havisham is filled with bitterness like the lady in the Laboratory. Miss Havisham bitterness is aimed at her fiancà © who left her on her wedding day and for this she never changes out of her wedding dress. This bitterness is not only aimed at her once fiancà © but to all men because she believes that they are all the same. In ‘My Last Duchess’ by Robert Browning it is not the lady that is

The Scarlet Letter Essays -- Literary Analysis, Hawthorne

In his novel The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne traces the life of a young woman named Hester Prynne after she receives the shameful punishment of wearing a scarlet letter â€Å"A† on her chest. Throughout the novel, the forest outside the Puritan town serves a place for the characters to reveal their true selves away from the stringent Puritan lifestyle. The forest represents contradictory themes, creating a sanctuary for love and freedom, but also cultivating darkness and evil. Not only does the seclusion of the forest from society provide freedom to those who choose to perform evil deeds, but also protection to those searching for clarity and happiness. Hester finds comfort under the forest’s dense, imperfect canopy for it mirrors â€Å"the moral wilderness in which she had so long been wandering† (173). Pearl also connects with nature, and similar to the brook in which she often plays, Pearl â€Å"danced and sparkled and prattled airily along her own course† (176). Pearl and Hester share an intimate conversation about the scarlet letter in the forest and Hester reveals that she â€Å"is doomed...

Essay --

Garrett Pyatt Mark Whitters HIST 179 12/12/2013 Position Paper: In Regards to Caesar's Body The topic of my position paper is: What should be done with Gaius Julius Caesar's body? This issue is of great importance and has an assortment of ideas and options of what should be done with Caesar associated with it. For example, my character Marcus Antonius, believed that the body of Caesar should be honored and a temple should be built to his glory. Marcus, along with most of the Caesarians, believed that the service for Julius should be held in public so that all of those who held him dear could witness it. However, there are others who oppose the idea of honoring Caesar in death as they had loathed him in life. The majority of people who disliked Caesar wanted one of two things: His ceremony be held in private where only his family and colleagues can attend along with no temple to honor him, or alternatively, they would have the body cast out into the waters of the Tiber river. Both those who had love for Caesar, and those who had hatred all have reasons to react in the way t hat they did. On one side of the argument you have those who supported Caesar and most all that he did for Rome as its ruler. These people acknowledge Caesar's military victories such as those in Gaul and Britannia where he ousted the barbaric enemies of Rome. They believe that he was a brilliant leader during both times of war, and times of peace. Caesar is also admired by them for his clemency toward his enemies after the conflict with Pompey and the mercy that he generously bestowed upon them. Additionally these people most certainly include the loyal Soldiers of Caesar that followed him without question. All of these Romans believed that Caesar made Rome t... ...ble at this point in time and its senators should think about this when deciding what form of actions that they should take. In the end, I simply think that a proper burial for Caesar after his assassination would be the proper course of action for the senators of Rome to take. This would prevent any potential unrest that could occur from dishonoring Caesar and would also show that Rome will not be brought down in times such as these. Also, the people who dislike Caesar and are against his proper ceremony are already angered by the actions that he has taken in the past. Therefore they wont gain any new hatred for Caesar is already dead. As Caesar once said, â€Å"No one is so brave that he is not disturbed by something unexpected.† For in times such as these when unanticipated events occur, the best option is to move on and grow from the tragedy in a positive way.

The Benefits and Costs of Two or More Countries Sharing a Common Currency

Examine the benefits and costs of two or more countries sharing a common currency, and comment on the impact of the ‘one size fits all’ monetary policy of the Eurozone. Normally, the accumulation of a set of countries accepting a specific common currency is known as a monetary union. This involves the countries becoming part of the same trading bloc and accepting free trade policies between the member countries. Since the focus of the question is centrally revolved around the monetary union, the other aspects of the union will not be considered in detail. Naturally, the prime example to use when discussing the use of a common currency is the European Monetary Union. Launched on January 1st 1999, the union boasts a 16 country agreement to use the same currency- the euro. For countries to merge by a single currency requires the merging countries to meet certain criteria. This obviously brings both benefits and costs to the table. Benefits are associated with higher stability of the union as only those countries that meet the minimum requirements can join. This allows the union to ensure that the countries that join add something to the union and add value to the currency. For example, conditions in the European Monetary Union state entrant countries must have interest rates within 2% of the 3 lowest interest rate countries in the EMU and also have inflation within 1. 5%. This is important because if we take a scenario where the inflation rate is excessively high in a country, then this will affect the value of the currency by devaluing it. This devaluation has clear knock on effects as the devaluation will cause the cost of imports to rise. Domestic consumers will also shy away from domestic consumption as they see the high prices and so they will shift their consumption on consumer durables from other countries. Exports would be heavily affected by this scenario as the foreign countries would see the high prices associated with the importing of the goods and shift their interest into consumption from countries with lower relative price levels. Not only does the high inflation associated with the currency affect consumption but also investment. The unstable level of inflation will deter foreign direct investment and also reduce the net domestic investment as the returns to the investment would have a high risk associated. So obviously having specific criteria that member countries must meet help to ensure stability in the union. The negative associated with having these criteria is the one size fits all policy which will be discussed later. There are many costs and benefits associated with having the same currency. There is a key advantage to consumers and residents in the country of having the same currency. The transaction costs associated with exchanging the currencies is eliminated. This means that if domestic consumers were to travel abroad to countries within the monetary union, the identical currency would enable them to spend abroad without the need to swap currencies. This advantage is more of a social benefit as this would reduce stress to the consumer. This is because the consumer would not be worrying about if their money would arrive on time. Also the excess commission associated with changing the currencies is eliminated. Although again this commission only represents a small amount of GDP the advantage is again a social benefit as the consumer escapes the hassle associated with the exchange of the currency- often quite a stressful factor when planning to travel. There is also a benefit associated with price transparency where if the same good is sold in many of the countries in the monetary union, then it is easy for the consumer to compare prices. This should reduce price discrimination and increase competition. This is a healthy scenario for the consumer as they would benefit from price competition- often the price of the good or service falls. Despite this potential benefit there is evidence that this is not the case and that price differentiation exists- an example being price differences within member countries in the EU. The same currency and stability associated with the monetary union encourages transnational companies to invest. This is because there would multiple countries across the zone to invest in and get returns from as they all follow the same currency and would all be under the same central control. This may help the multi-national countries achieve greater economies of scale as there would be easier trading and investment capabilities across the zone. This would lower average costs for firms and increase the relative GDP in the zone. This would increase economic growth. Therefore having the same currency enables economic growth in a country through increased business confidence as there is increased stability. The drawbacks of using the same currency are also quite evident. The main and key drawback is the ‘one size fits all’ policy. Here the monetary policy is controlled by the central bank. Countries have no ability to set the interest rates in the country. This can be disastrous in a country with low consumption or investment levels. This is because if the central bank placed high interest rates on countries within the union, consumption would be further detracted, leading to a drop in economic growth. Therefore the loss of individual control is a major factor that needs to be considered before becoming part of the same currency. There can also be a case where the central bank will set interest rates that accommodate the larger, higher productive countries in the union. This will mean the smaller countries will grow at a slower rate and potentially lead to greater inequality. The one size fits all policy may mean that the union becomes less flexible and therefore the policies can place constraints on economic growth for countries. This can cause inefficiency as the production will not be at optimum potential and will limit countries. Another huge drawback is the effective exchange rate differences would be eliminated. For example, during the economic boom of the early 2000’s, England had a very strong exchange rate compared to the other European countries. This enabled cheap imports for the country, increasing domestic consumer welfare. By switching to the euro, the imports would not have been cheaper and would have left consumers with a drop in welfare as they would not have been gaining through a stronger exchange rate. Overall the costs of switching to the same currency have its drawbacks outweighing its benefits. This is especially the case for the one size fits all policy as this is the policy that loses the country its individuality and means the country loses control of its monetary policy.

Adult returning to the Class room

Trends If I only knew then what I Know now, words of wisdom that often young adults do not appreciate until later in life. As young adults approach graduating from high school, they are faced with having to decide on whether to pursue obtaining a higher education by attending a community college, university, technical school or to forego the education altogether and enter the workforce.Often the decision process may not include considering what the impact may be 15 to 20 years down the road. As he global economy continues to be dynamic, employees are finding employers are demanding more than hard work and good work ethics to be considered for employment let alone career growth. Whether or not one has knowledge or experience in a particular field, employers are demanding academic training, resulting in adults returning back to the classroom, and institutions adapting to how people can obtain an education.The recent trend for working adults indicates obtaining new employment, maintaini ng existing employment or climbing the corporate ladder could depend on one's educational background regardless of one's kill set. As a matter of fact, according to a Carbureted survey the results indicated, â€Å"For many companies, an associate or bachelor's degree is increasingly becoming the new high school diploma. † The survey also indicated â€Å"27 percent of employers have increased the education requirements over the last five years. As employers strive for a greater return on investment, an educated employee willing to adapt to change, with strong interpersonal and technical skills become the most sought out employees. Additionally some employers are indicating that he shift in educational requirements has indicated positives results in regards to employees productivity, work quality, communication, innovation, customer retention, and increased revenue. As employers raise the bar on the educational requirement, more and more adults are returning to the classroom t o acquire new skills.Some adults are enrolling in college for the first time while others are seeking to obtain a bachelor's or master's degree. According to The National Center for Education Statistics for the 2013 school year â€Å"around 8. 7 million older students ages 25 and over have enrolled back in college courses. Some employers are contributing to this trend by enticing employees to return to school with a tuition reimbursement program in exchange for a commitment from the employee to continue employment for a specified period after payment.Still some adult employees might ask is it worth it and according to the US Census data the answer would be yes. The 2011 Census results indicate that a person with a bachelor degree earns about 76 percent more than a person with a high school diploma. Employees and employers are not the only affected by the current trend of adults seeking a higher education; universities eave also been affected. In today's environment attending the tr aditional school, does not necessarily fit the working adult's hectic schedule.The work life balance is essential for working adults especially those with a family. The increasing trend of adult students has challenged universities to become creative with educational offerings. According to Peter Smith, Deed. D, Senior vice president for academic strategies and development at Kaplan University, â€Å"It is critical for post-secondary institutions to provide prospective students with practical education options that will pen up higher educations to a broader audience and increase the ability of these individuals to complete. The inception of on-line learning at many universities has afforded working adults with a variety of benefits and flexibility to return to the classroom. Is a college degree or equivalent training needed to compete in today's dynamic workforce? The current trend would suggest, yes. With the additional options implemented by higher education institutions, employe es have flexibility to obtaining an education. The more knowledge and skills an employee has to offer the more marketable they become to employers.