Scandal and controversy Essay Example for Free

Scandal and controversy Essay Scandal and controversy are a true recipe for commercial success. And with the format of the Big Brother being such that everyone in the world can see what a person does in private, the people get naturally interested. The commercial success of any program depends on the number of users it gets and the public debate it generates (read: media coverage)-more so for a reality TV program like Endemol’s Big Brother. Since its inception in Netherlands, the show has spread into many other countries, which has introduced the cultural element to it. How different people react when two different people with different backgrounds, ideas, perspectives and interests are forced to live together under one roof for a considerable period of time provides entertainment to the masses. And the figures show this. From 3 million in the first week, the show had 8. 8 million viewers at its peak for the recently-concluded, controversy-marred Celebrity Big Brother in UK. The Big Brother brand earns 10 percent of the revenues of Channel 4 which broadcasts Celebrity Big Brother. With Big Brother open for public debate, controversy is created for the smallest of reasons, since the participants are treated as minor celebrities by the masses. Sometimes, the views included racism, gender bias, sex, etc. which have again led to media activism and public debate regarding the views of the bourgeoisie and subsequent problems. The format is suited for the masses, because on the one hand, you see how a person reacts in public, while on the other, you see how they actually feel through the ‘Diary Room’. The housemates have to work according to the orders of the ‘Big Brother’, which makes it doubly interesting to see how these people live under stressful conditions. And with the voting being done both by the public and the participants on whom to evict from the house, the interest level of the masses automatically goes up, since their decision influences the eviction. That the show is a commercial success is proved by the fact that continuous video streaming facility is available on the Internet, where the people can see 24-hour feeds of what the housemates were actually doing, and people were actually ready to pay to get these feeds. The show is also used for psychological studies by scientists. German scientists even discovered that the participants are likely to suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, generally seen in those who leave armed forces. A lot of interest also goes into the fact that even in this age of liberalization and globalization, the state of race, gender and class relations is primeval. And it comes out in the open due to the realistic nature of the show. The fact that such problems exist even in democratic, egalitarian societies increases the interest of the viewer and makes the program commercially successful. The show has been criticized by experts from everything ranging from the concept of the program to how problems like racism are used to maximize profits. Yet the fan following of these programs belies the wildest of imaginations. Also with the media available today, it is easy to vocalize opinion across the borders. And the program is benefiting commercially from all this hype. The success of the program in some countries may well be because it challenges the ways in which the society operates, in an honest and real manner rather than being acted out as in a soap opera. And being inherently different from the soap opera gives the masses something different to watch, something to which they can relate more. It gives a platform to the audience to evaluate and contemplate the existing societal order. Big Brother is about interacting with the audience-and getting people to decide the fates of participants. Interactive TV provides such incentives to the general public and is responsible for making the show such a commercial success. References: 1. Big Brother (TV series) Available on http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Big_Brother_(TV_series) 2. When the Whole World is Watching: The Case of Celebrity Big Brother Available on http://flowtv. org/? p=247 3. November 2002, Celebrity Big Brother Offers Even More Interaction Available on http://www. bbc. co. uk/pressoffice/bbcworldwide/worldwidestories/pressreleases/2002/11_november/audiocall_celebrity_bb. shtml 4. Hanks Robert, January 2007, First Night: Celebrity Big Brother, Channel 4 Available on http://news. independent. co. uk/media/article2124296. ece 5. Big Brother Available on http://www. bigbrother. com/big-brother. php 6. Big Brother International: Formats, Critics and Publics Available on http://www. wallflowerpress. co. uk/publications/television/big_brother. html

Use of Symbolism in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner Essay -- Samuel Ta

Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s use of symbolism in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner lends the work to adults as a complex web of representation, rather than a simple story about a sailor. The author uses the story of a sailor and his adventures to reveal aspects of life. This tale follows the Mariner and his crew as they travel between the equator and the South Pole, and then back to England. Without the symbols, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner would be simply a poem about an old mariner who is telling a story about killing a bird to a guest at a wedding. Of course, anyone who reads the poem can see that there is more to it than just a simple telling of a story. The first symbol in the poem is the wedding that the guest and the Mariner are at. This is a highly significant detail, because Coleridge could have made the story telling take place at any setting, but he chose a wedding. The reason for this was because a wedding is a very religious and very happy occasion. Weddings symbolize new beginnings and happiness. The reason that Coleridge decided to have this horrid tale told at a wedding could be for any number of reasons. I feel that the setting was chosen because of the new beginnings implied. As the Mariner tells his tale, the guest is held captive and when the story is done, the guest becomes essentially a new man and goes off to live the rest of his life. Had the tale taken place at a funeral, the heavy feeling of ending would have destroyed the symbolism of new beginnings. It could have been an ending for life, for happiness, and for everything else. If this had happened, then the fact that he rose the next day would not have been as significant. Therefore, the wedding is a very important symbol for this poem. Another significant symbol throughout the poem is the albatross. It first appears in the first section and it is a symbol of good omen for the sailors. The albatross is a white bird, which is probably the reason why many Christians of the time saw it as a holy symbol. Because it was a white bird, which was a sign of righteousness, it therefore was considered a good omen. In this poem, the albatross symbolizes good fortune. When the Mariner kills the albatross, for absolutely no reason, the good fortune that has come upon the ship leaves. Symbolically, the Mariner did not kill a simple seabird, but instead an omen of good fortune, which is why... ...riner took a gamble with his religion, and now the pair is taking a gamble for his life. Life-In-Death ultimately wins over Death in the game, and the Mariner’s shipmates die at his feet, yet he lives on. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is a highly significant poem of a complex web of representation that is very dependent on symbolism. The symbols of the wedding, the albatross, the blood that the Mariner sucks in order to announce the ship and the game between Death and Life-In-Death are only a few of the symbols that add meaning and depth to the poem. If it were not for the symbols, the poem would simply be the story of a Mariner telling his tale to a wedding guest, and then the poem would have no meaning to anyone. When reading this poem, the reader can feel much like the wedding guest, entranced and hypnotized by the storyteller. This is because of the symbolism exhibited through the poem. Even if the reader of the poem does not fully understand the symbols in the verse, the intuitive mind will catch them and understand the detailed meaning. The symbols themselves in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner are therefore the part of the poem that makes it so intense and interesting.

Original Myth

The Sun, the Moon, and the Great Spirit Long ago, before there was life, before there was even a planet Earth, there were celestial entities that existed in the universe back when it was a light blue. These spirits appear to humans as large masses in space, such as the other planets and the stars. Since the beginning, there were two powerful apparitions that would become rivals until the end of time, the Sun Spirit and the Moon Spirit. The Sun was favored by the other astral entities to the isolated Moon.Not long after all of the spirits of the universe were created by the Great Spirit, their creator who cannot be seen by any life form, the Sun had become the leader of all other celestial bodies and was placed in the center of the Solar System. This angered the Moon, who despised the Sun. The Moon Spirit challenged the Sun for the position as ruler of the planets. Unfortunately for the Moon, the Sun used his superior strength to outcast the Moon to a lonely location between Venus and Mars. After 4,000 years of peace among the bodies of the Solar System, the Sun was growing old and developed a feeling that something was missing.The Sun Spirit decided that it was time for him to create a new successor since he has aged and become weak over time. The Sun found stray meteors flying across space and summoned all of his remaining power to bring them to him. The aging Sun then smashed the colossal space rocks together to create one large mass. Afterwards, he engulfed the inanimate boulder with his life-giving fire to give it consciousness. â€Å"Who are you? Who am I? † said the curious new planet. â€Å"I am the Sun, your creator and protector.You are my daughter who will one day grow up to take my place as ruler of everything in existence,† said the Sun to his newborn child. â€Å"Well, do I have a name? † the naive child asked. â€Å"I shall name you ‘Earth’,† said the Sun. For many days, the cosmos celebrated the birth of t heir beloved king’s child. Eventually, the news spread so far that it got to the Moon Spirit. The Lunar Spirit then schemed the perfect plan to get revenge on the Sun. The Moon waited until all of the other entities fell asleep to sneak out of his seal. He eventually found the sleeping solar king and his princess.The Moon then kidnapped her and brought her to where the Sun had banished him. Child Earth woke up with a loud scream, constantly calling for her father. To silence her, the Moon engulfed her in such a great amount of water that she would never be able to speak again. When the Sun woke up, he looked around for his daughter; she was nowhere to be found. The King began to panic and told every spirit in the universe to look out for the young princess. Not long after, Venus confronted the Sun and said, â€Å"I know where your daughter is. She has been taken away by the twisted Moon and can no longer speak. This news made the Sun so furious, his fire grew to be so large that it gave off the largest glow anyone had ever seen. The powerful light from the glow began to illuminate all parts of the Solar System including the Moon and Earth. The Sun was now able to see his captive daughter, but had no strength left to pull her back to him. From that day on, all of the celestial entities mourned for the loss of their future queen. To show their consolation for the Sun, they all decided to use their combined power to turn space from a sky blue color to black for the second half of every day.To make matters worse, the Moon confronted the Sun to make a proposition. â€Å"If you stand down from your position as king, I will let you have your daughter. If not, then I will force you to stand down,† explained the Moon. The Sun Spirit refused to give up his position. The Moon then declared war on the Sun, but immediately after doing so, the Great Spirit appeared for the first time since the birth of the universe. The two rivals were struck with awe. The Gr eat Spirit refused to let the universe spiral into chaos because of the Sun and Moon’s conflict.In order to please them both, he gave the Sun his daughter for half of a day, but when the Sun falls asleep, the Moon would take ownership. Whenever her father would leave and the Moon would come, the Earth would try to break free of her liquid entrapment, causing the tides to rise. In addition, the Great Spirit went to the Earth and planted a massive green tree on her that would grow from both the soil from the sun and the water from the moon. This Tree of Life would give birth to all life on Earth that we see today, from insects, to sea creatures, to humans.

Charless Law Definition in Chemistry

Charless law is a gas law that states gases expand when heated. The law is also known as the law of volumes. The law takes its name from French scientist and inventor Jacques Charles, who formulated it in the 1780s. Charless Law  Definition Charless Law is an ideal gas law where at constant pressure, the volume of an ideal gas is directly proportional to its absolute temperature. The simplest statement of the law is: V/T k where V is volume, T is absolute temperature, and k is a constantVi/Ti Vf/TfwhereVi initial pressureTi initial temperatureVf final pressureTf final temperature Charless Law and Absolute Zero If the law is taken to its natural conclusion, it appears the volume of a gas approaches zero and its temperature nears absolute zero. Gay-Lussac explained this could only be true if the gas continued to behave as an ideal gas, which it was not. Like other ideal gas laws, Charless law works best when applied to gases under normal conditions.