Casino Royale Opening Sequence Analysis Essay Sample

Casino Royale begins with a pre-credit sequence that gives the audience a obscure penetration into the narrative of the movie. that is about to unknot. While most Bond films start with the hallmark gun barrel sequence. Casino Royale was the first Bond film to get down with a pre-credit sequence that tied into the gun barrel sequence. Casino Royale besides does non integrate female figures in the gap credits and alternatively uses the James Bond character as the cardinal figure. The pre-credit sequence has been edited into black and white. which is a intervention form. and uses rather a contrast of the two colorss. particularly in the violent bathroom scene. The usage of visible radiation and shadow is besides a major intervention form used. where the light appears to be more settled on Bond’s face ( the ally ) and the shadow is more prone to MI6 subdivision head. Dryden’s face. to bespeak the relationship between the good and the bad. A Walther PPK gun was used in the movie Casino Royale. this symbolizes Bond as a superior character. and besides gives him his dual 0 position. This gun besides suits his character. an MI7 agent. as another gun. such as a western gun. would non function its intent in the movie. At the really beginning of the pre-credit sequence. an analytical shooting of the lift Numberss increasing appears. the Numberss increase up to figure 6. screening that the following degree would be 7. This connects to James Bond being 007 and that Dryden is about to meet him in his office room. on the 7th floor. The edifice that first appears has the text â€Å"PRAGUE† appear on the screen. this is a Eastern European topographic point and could besides associate the Bond’s foremost kill ( Fisher ) as he besides appears to be Eastern European. The first shooting the audience receives of Dryden is a low camera angle shooting. this gives him a high position and besides indicates that he is rather a powerful adult male. Shot-reverse-shot is used in the duologue between Bond and Dryden. in-between this are speedy cuts to a flashback of a violent bathroom scene where Bond is doing his first putting to death. this makes it more edgy/jumpy for the audience. The flashback is evidently in the past and this is a contrast to the present footage that is besides being shown. the usage of colors is besides contrasting as the flashback uses more inauspicious colors to the present. Switch overing between two narratives relates to Bond’s foremost and 2nd putting to death. his first in the flashback and his approaching 2nd. to have his dual 0 position. it shows that he is a extremely skilled MI7 agent and give the audience an penetration into the remainder of the movie. Other analytical shootings are used foremost when Dryden opens the drawer in which contains his gun and back a really speedy analytical shooting of a framed image of Dryden’s household. merely before he dies. these are used to give more elaborate narrative information. An set uping shooting is used at the really beginning of the debut. it shows the exterior of the edifice and so the following shooting shows the interior of the edifice. Reaction shootings are besides used in the pre-credit sequence. the first reaction shooting is a close up of Bond’s face after his first kill demoing a spot of sorrow. but his reaction shooting of his 2nd putting to death is besides a stopping p oint up but shows that Bond is more happy with himself this clip and more please of what he has accomplished. as he has now succeeded in killing two people. The gait of the flashback scene is really speedy and shows that the violent death is done suddenly. seeking to acquire it over with where-as Bond’s second putting to death is more drawn out and has more significance to it. for illustration. Bond has a conversation with his victim foremost. The music in the flashback besides is really loud. which is non-diegetic. and besides adds to the edgy and jumpy tenseness that is put across. A lone auto drawing into a parking batch and the sound of footfalls on a cold difficult floor are diegetic sounds that are used in the debut to depict the surrounding environment. it indicates that there is no 1 about apart from Dryden and gives the feeling that the edifice is empty. However this merely adds to the tenseness even more as James Bond fans know that the movies are normally â€Å"action-packed† and that something exciting is bound to go on shortly. There is a representation of two different societal categories in the pre-credit sequence. it portrays Dryden as a more upper category adult male. with the manner he looks and the manner he speaks. where as Bond ( Daniel Craig ) looks more thuggish and like he is out to kill. The audience is merely introduced to males in the pre-credit sequence but it portrays them with more power and position within the movie. nevertheless Bond movies are known to include the celebrated â€Å"Bond girls† . and nevertheless naive they may look. they do excessively besides have a batch of power and can play a chief portion in the violent scenes. The narrative in the debut is in the stage of orientation. as it foremost introduces us to a few of the characters and besides indicates the initial state of affairs. it allows the audience to believe further into the narrative about what is traveling to go on. The debut can besides move as something for the audience to associate back to in the terminal to understand the significance of peculiar fortunes. At the terminal of the pre-credit sequence it is still on the flashback footage and the adult male who we think Bond has killed gets up with a gun to hit at Bond but so the audience is placed inside the shaft of a gun as Bond turns rapidly around and fires straight at the camera. go forthing a drip of blood buttocks. The celebrated James Bond subject melody so begins. Hearing this signature entirely is adequate to suggest that one is about to see a James Bond film. which follows an established set of criterions. The audience is prepared to see the new Bond miss. the new appliances a nd vehicles. the new stunts. and the new secret plan that ever consequences with James Bond salvaging the universe from immorality.

Analyse and evaluate the overall HR strategy, especially in relation Assignment

Analyse and evaluate the overall HR strategy, especially in relation to manpower planning and talent management - Assignment Example The HR strategy of the company aims to use project management system for HR configuration. The main problems of TNNB are in talent management and manpower planning and outcomes that do not support HR strategy because its HR strategy has not been designed to support business strategy. To resolve these problems, a best fit HR theory and holistic talent management approach are used in changing HR strategy because they can leverage talent management to ensure that manpower supports business strategy and HRS. HR strategy refers to the total approach and means that an organisation takes to manage workers using formal and informal policies and practices (Wilton, 2011, p.58). HR strategy can also respond to specific emerging organisational issues that require HRM support and changes. An example is talent management issues that might require changes in performance management and talent development. Functional HR strategies correspond to the core areas of human resource management- resourcing, performance management, pay and conditions, employee relations, and development (Armstrong and Baron, 2002, p.149). Each aspect of HRM processes must be interconnected with the HR strategy. Business strategy defines organisational goals, where the organisation competes with, and how it is going to approach its attainment of goals (Lyneis, 2011, p.69). A company’s business strategy includes company goals, products and services to be offered, target markets, and competitive pricing (Lyneis, 2011, p.69). Business strategy also concerns matching internal skills, knowledge, and resources with opportunities and threats in the external environment (Grant, 2002, p.135). Strategy should not focus on market opportunities only, but address internal strengths and weaknesses and their proper management. Grant (2002) argued for the role of company resources in attaining competitiveness

History Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

History - Term Paper Example The imperialistic world has been replaced by the ideals of sovereignty and self determination, where a nation-state is more powerful than anything else. The international political scenario has transformed into a nation-states system where every state has a defined territory and any breach in the territory of one`s state is considered as illegal and unlawful. The governance of the empires has been replaced by concepts like Mutually Assured Destruction and the governance of democratic states as all states are under the oath of UN. As for the economy, earlier the colonizers were the sole resource owners of the world, and to fulfill their industrial appetite, resources were being transferred to the hegemonic states. As for now, no state has the right to the resource of any other state. The barter system has been exchanged by monetary reserves which define the financial state of any nation. The cultural variables have also been re-defined to a great extent. The white man burden implied t hat the colonial white masters were the superior race and they had the burden of civilizing the inferiors they were ruling. Nowadays, the ethical concerns are of huge importance and every global citizen irrespective of their race, caste or origin is equal to any other citizen of the world. Thus, it is only sane to say that the world of 2015 is definitely in every sense better than the world of 1500`s. To prove the point that the world of 2015 is better than the world of 1500`s in many aspects, the era needs to be discussed in detail to understand the ideals followed during that time as opposed to those found in the recent times. 1500`s was the era when the trade routes were recently discovered by the European travelers like Vasco da Gama and Christian Columbus. These trade routes opened way towards Asia, Africa and even America where colonies were explored and due to the naval superiority and higher development owned by Europeans, they claimed to right to the resources of the world. This was the time when the Europeans believed that their white skin color owed much to the higher intellect and better culture due to which it was their responsibility to teach the non-whites and train them by ruling them. Thus, they started forming colonies where they were the sole land owner as well as the human resource owners where the locals of the area were being treated like aliens and inferiors. This way the colonizers started attaining right over all resources and these lands started becoming rich. The world system was being governed by the rule of â€Å"might is right† (Currie 2001). Since the Europeans were the first to explore the far off lands and had the naval superiority to rule the colonies, they claimed right over the resources of the world. Thus, economy and politics was interlinked during that era as the colonizers attained resources like silk, gold, silver, coal, cotton, spices etc from the colonies and developed their economies accordingly. Moreover, the y developed the strategy of â€Å"divide and rule†, and by virtue of this rule they destroyed the cultures of the locals. Thus, the principles of self rule and ethics were absent from the mindsets of the colonial masters. Religion was thougwh the supreme power by virtue of which the pope controlled the power of the state, and inflicted political power by virtue of

Summary 4 234 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Summary 4 234 - Essay Example Another example is with a little girl in another class who frequently pinched the other children in class. The teacher discovered the reasons that she was pinching. She was pinching as a greeting and because she enjoyed the way it felt to make a pinching motion with her fingers. The teacher showed the toddler less hurtful ways to greet her classmates and created toys that would allow the toddler and her classmates to pinch without hurting anyone. Life lessons can also be learned through actions initiated by young children. In one classroom, a teacher turns one child trying to take off her socks into a guided lesson on how to pull off and put on socks. In another classroom, a child came in with difficulty separating from her parents. The teacher noticed the child's interest in books and used books to help the little girl develop her interests and to become less dependent. Children can also learn about the world around them, when guided by their teacher. On one playground, a toddler fo und a snail outside and the other children gathered around to look. The teacher turned this into a discussion on snails and integrated information about snails into the classroom. Later, a salamander was brought in and the children brought in roly polys.

Rate of convergence and bisection

Rate of convergence and bisection Rate of convergence estimate of the speed with which a given sequence or iteration approaches its limit, often measured by the number of terms or evaluations involved in obtaining a given accuracy. Although strictly speaking, a limit does not give information about any finite first part of the sequence, this concept is of practical importance if we deal with a sequence of successive approximations for an iterative method, as then typically fewer iterations are needed to yield a useful approximation if the rate of convergence is higher. This may even make the difference between needing ten or a million iterations. Rate of convergence is measured in terms of rate at which the relative error decreases between successive approximations. There are mainly two type of convergence: linear and quadratic. Convergence of a sequence subject to the condition, for p > 1, that as n increases is called pth-order convergence; for example, quadratic convergence when p = 2. One similarly speaks of logarithmic convergence or exponential convergence. The Bisection Method In mathematics, the bisection method is a root-finding algorithm which repeatedly bisects an interval then selects a subinterval in which a root must lie for further processing. It is a very simple and robust method, but it is also relatively slow. The bisection method is simple, robust, and straight-forward: take an interval [a, b] such that f(a) and f(b) have opposite signs, find the midpoint of [a, b], and then decide whether the root lies on [a, (a + b)/2] or [(a + b)/2, b]. Repeat until the interval is sufficiently small. The bisection method, suitable for implementation on a computer allows to find the roots of the equation f (x) = 0, based on the following theorem: Theorem: If f is continuous for x between a and b and if f (a) and f(b) have opposite signs, then there exists at least one real root of f (x) = 0 between a and b. Procedure: Suppose that a continuous function f is negative at x = a and positive at x = b, so that there is at least one real root between a and b. (As a rule, a and b may be found from a graph of f.) If we calculate f ((a +b)/2), which is the function value at the point of bisection of the interval a f ((a + b)/2) = 0, in which case (a + b)/2 is the root; f ((a + b)/2) f ((a + b)/2) > 0, in which case the root lies between a and (a + b)/2. Advantages and drawbacks of the bisection method Advantages of Bisection Method The bisection method is always convergent. Since the method brackets the root, the method is guaranteed to converge. As iterations are conducted, the interval gets halved. So one can guarantee the decrease in the error in the solution of the equation. Drawbacks of Bisection Method The convergence of bisection method is slow as it is simply based on halving the interval. If one of the initial guesses is closer to the root, it will take larger number of iterations to reach the root. If a function is such that it just touches the x-axis (Figure 3.8) such as it will be unable to find the lower guess, , and upper guess, , such that For functions where there is a singularity and it reverses sign at the singularity, bisection method may converge on the singularity (Figure 3.9). An example include and, are valid initial guesses which satisfy . However, the function is not continuous and the theorem that a root exists is also not applicable. Figure.3.8. Function has a single root at that cannot be bracketed. Figure.3.9. Function has no root but changes sign. False position method The false-position method is a modification on the bisection method. The false position method or regula falsi method is a root-finding algorithm that combines features from the bisection method and the secant method. If it is known that the root lies on [a,  b], then it is reasonable that we can approximate the function on the interval by interpolating the points (a, f(a)) and (b, f(b)).  The method of false position dates back to the ancient Egyptians. It remains an effective alternative to the bisection method for solving the equation f(x) = 0 for a real root between a and b, given that f (x) is continuous and f (a) and f(b) have opposite signs. The algorithm is suitable for automatic computation Procedure: The curve  y = f(x)  is not generally a straight line. However, one may join the points (a,f(a)) and (b,f(b)) by the straight line Thus straight line cuts the  x-axis at (X, 0) where so that Suppose that  f(a)  is negative and  f(b)  is positive. As in the bisection method, there are the three possibilities : f(X) = 0, when case  X  is the  root  ; f(X) f(X)>0, when the root lies between  X  and  a. Again, in Case  1, the process is terminated, in either Case  2  or Case  3, the process can be repeated until the root is obtained to the desired accuracy. Convergence of False Position Method and Bisection Method Source code for False Position Method: Example code of False-position method C code was written for clarity instead of efficiency. It was designed to solve the same problem as solved by the Newtons method and secant method code: to find the positive number x where cos(x) = x3. This problem is transformed into a root-finding problem of the form f(x) = cos(x) x3 = 0. #include #include double f(double x) { return cos(x) x*x*x; } double FalsiMethod(double s, double t, double e, int m) { int n,side=0; double r,fr,fs = f(s),ft = f(t); for (n = 1; n { r = (fs*t ft*s) / (fs ft); if (fabs(t-s) fr = f(r); if (fr * ft > 0) { t = r; ft = fr; if (side==-1) fs /= 2; side = -1; } else if (fs * fr > 0) { s = r; fs = fr; if (side==+1) ft /= 2; side = +1; } else break; } return r; } int main(void) { printf(%0.15fn, FalsiMethod(0, 1, 5E-15, 100)); return 0; } After running this code, the final answer is approximately 0.865474033101614 Example 1 Consider finding the root of f(x) = x2 3. Let ÃŽÂ µstep = 0.01, ÃŽÂ µabs = 0.01 and start with the interval [1, 2]. Table 1. False-position method applied to f(x)  =  x2 3. a b f(a) f(b) c f(c) Update Step Size 1.0 2.0 -2.00 1.00 1.6667 -0.2221 a = c 0.6667 1.6667 2.0 -0.2221 1.0 1.7273 -0.0164 a = c 0.0606 1.7273 2.0 -0.0164 1.0 1.7317 0.0012 a = c 0.0044 Thus, with the third iteration, we note that the last step 1.7273 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 1.7317 is less than 0.01 and |f(1.7317)| Note that after three iterations of the false-position method, we have an acceptable answer (1.7317 where f(1.7317) = -0.0044) whereas with the bisection method, it took seven iterations to find a (notable less accurate) acceptable answer (1.71344 where f(1.73144) = 0.0082) Example 2 Consider finding the root of f(x) = e-x(3.2 sin(x) 0.5 cos(x)) on the interval [3, 4], this time with ÃŽÂ µstep = 0.001, ÃŽÂ µabs = 0.001. Table 2. False-position method applied to f(x)  = e-x(3.2 sin(x) 0.5 cos(x)). a b f(a) f(b) c f(c) Update Step Size 3.0 4.0 0.047127 -0.038372 3.5513 -0.023411 b = c 0.4487 3.0 3.5513 0.047127 -0.023411 3.3683 -0.0079940 b = c 0.1830 3.0 3.3683 0.047127 -0.0079940 3.3149 -0.0021548 b = c 0.0534 3.0 3.3149 0.047127 -0.0021548 3.3010 -0.00052616 b = c 0.0139 3.0 3.3010 0.047127 -0.00052616 3.2978 -0.00014453 b = c 0.0032 3.0 3.2978 0.047127 -0.00014453 3.2969 -0.000036998 b = c 0.0009 Thus, after the sixth iteration, we note that the final step, 3.2978 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 3.2969 has a size less than 0.001 and |f(3.2969)| In this case, the solution we found was not as good as the solution we found using the bisection method (f(3.2963) = 0.000034799) however, we only used six instead of eleven iterations. Source code for Bisection method #include #include #define epsilon 1e-6 main() { double g1,g2,g,v,v1,v2,dx; int found,converged,i; found=0; printf( enter the first guessn); scanf(%lf,g1); v1=g1*g1*g1-15; printf(value 1 is %lfn,v1); while (found==0) { printf(enter the second guessn); scanf(%lf,g2); v2=g2*g2*g2-15; printf( value 2 is %lfn,v2); if (v1*v2>0) {found=0;} else found=1; } printf(right guessn); i=1; while (converged==0) { printf(n iteration=%dn,i); g=(g1+g2)/2; printf(new guess is %lfn,g); v=g*g*g-15; printf(new value is%lfn,v); if (v*v1>0) { g1=g; printf(the next guess is %lfn,g); dx=(g1-g2)/g1; } else { g2=g; printf(the next guess is %lfn,g); dx=(g1-g2)/g1; } if (fabs(dx)less than epsilon {converged=1;} i=i+1; } printf(nth calculated value is %lfn,v); } Example 1 Consider finding the root of f(x) = x2 3. Let ÃŽÂ µstep = 0.01, ÃŽÂ µabs = 0.01 and start with the interval [1, 2]. Table 1. Bisection method applied to f(x)  =  x2 3. a b f(a) f(b) c  =  (a  +  b)/2 f(c) Update new b à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ a 1.0 2.0 -2.0 1.0 1.5 -0.75 a = c 0.5 1.5 2.0 -0.75 1.0 1.75 0.062 b = c 0.25 1.5 1.75 -0.75 0.0625 1.625 -0.359 a = c 0.125 1.625 1.75 -0.3594 0.0625 1.6875 -0.1523 a = c 0.0625 1.6875 1.75 -0.1523 0.0625 1.7188 -0.0457 a = c 0.0313 1.7188 1.75 -0.0457 0.0625 1.7344 0.0081 b = c 0.0156 1.71988 1.7344 -0.0457 0.0081 1.7266 -0.0189 a = c 0.0078 Thus, with the seventh iteration, we note that the final interval, [1.7266, 1.7344], has a width less than 0.01 and |f(1.7344)| Example 2 Consider finding the root of f(x) = e-x(3.2 sin(x) 0.5 cos(x)) on the interval [3, 4], this time with ÃŽÂ µstep = 0.001, ÃŽÂ µabs = 0.001. Table 1. Bisection method applied to f(x)  = e-x(3.2 sin(x) 0.5 cos(x)). a b f(a) f(b) c  =  (a  +  b)/2 f(c) Update new b à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ a 3.0 4.0 0.047127 -0.038372 3.5 -0.019757 b = c 0.5 3.0 3.5 0.047127 -0.019757 3.25 0.0058479 a = c 0.25 3.25 3.5 0.0058479 -0.019757 3.375 -0.0086808 b = c 0.125 3.25 3.375 0.0058479 -0.0086808 3.3125 -0.0018773 b = c 0.0625 3.25 3.3125 0.0058479 -0.0018773 3.2812 0.0018739 a = c 0.0313 3.2812 3.3125 0.0018739 -0.0018773 3.2968 -0.000024791 b = c 0.0156 3.2812 3.2968 0.0018739 -0.000024791 3.289 0.00091736 a = c 0.0078 3.289 3.2968 0.00091736 -0.000024791 3.2929 0.00044352 a = c 0.0039 3.2929 3.2968 0.00044352 -0.000024791 3.2948 0.00021466 a = c 0.002 3.2948 3.2968 0.00021466 -0.000024791 3.2958 0.000094077 a = c 0.001 3.2958 3.2968 0.000094077 -0.000024791 3.2963 0.000034799 a = c 0.0005 Thus, after the 11th iteration, we note that the final interval, [3.2958, 3.2968] has a width less than 0.001 and |f(3.2968)| Comparison of rate of convergence for bisection and false-position method Like the bisection method, the method of false position has almost assured convergence, and it may converge to a root faster. Finally, note that bisection is rather slow; after  n  iterations the interval containing the root is of length  (b a)/2n. However, provided values of  f  can be generated readily, as when a computer is used, the rather large number of iterations which can be involved in the application of bisection is of relatively little consequence. The false position method would be better i.e. converges to the root more rapidly as it takes into account the relative magnitudes of f(b) and f(a) unlike bisection which just uses the midpoint of a and b, where [a,b] is the interval over which the root occurs. Following is the example of the convergence rate of bisection method and false position method for the similar equation which shows that rate of convergence of false position method is faster than that of the bisection method.

The Impact of Surveillance Technology on Privacy Essays -- Expository

The Impact of Surveillance Technology on Privacy      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   David Brin in The Transparent Society warns us of the future of privacy that is on the horizon.   With millions of cameras recording our every public move, who should have control of the information: companies and governments or we the citizens?   If we take a look at Brin's vision of our future, his solution to the problem, the role of ICTs and the Kelley Cam at IU, we can come to a conclusion that our privacy is on the line and we as citizens must act soon in order to keep our country's foundational liberties.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Brin's vision of our future included the choice between two lifestyles that were illustrated by two cities.   Both of the cities were based on who had the control of the cameras.   In the first city the cameras were controlled by the authorities.   In this city, Brin argues, we will loose our privacy, independence and liberty which are all valued by Americans.   Eventually, he says, it could eliminate all crime.   The new technology could allow police to solve 100% of crimes, but on the opposite side it will turn the nation into a prison.   In the second city, the cameras are controlled by anyone who wants to use them.   Brin argues that by giving everyone control of the cameras there will be a 'reciprocal transparency' in society.   Meaning that, the once powerless now have power and anyone who wants to collect information on the public must make the same information about their self publicly available.   Tho se that have been watched by someone will now have the ability to watch back.   Brin's vision of city life in the future may be an accurate presentation.   Since our need for information is growing there is no doubt that privacy is eroding.   Ã‚  ... ...d out as silhouettes in the pictures. It was fun to operate and move the camera around, and it see each other walking way down on the ground.   The camera can zoom pretty close in to see faces, and would really be the only strong ability it has to be a threat on our privacy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The information age has arrived, and Brin has given us a direction to take in order to protect our privacy we have always cherished.   By showing us the options between a government controlled, ?Big Brother? society to a reciprocal transparency society where everyone has access to the cameras, we can take specific actions to go in the direction that is most profitable for our privacy.   The technology will always be there, but everyone must be allowed access to it.   Clearly Brin wants to save our privacy, and the only way to fight back is to be users of the technology ourselves.   

Reality Tv Shows

What Reality TV Tells Us about American Culture Reality TV (RTV) and tabloid journalism have often been compared to each other. (Hill 80) Are both bringing out the worst in American culture or and they merely an example of what American culture is all about, holding a mirror up to the audience? Western culture in general and American culture in particular has always been fascinated by two things in regards to what fascinates and intrigues their interests and holds their attention, love and war. It is no different when it comes to reality TV.These polar opposites are almost always found together in life, as well as in reality TV. In Robin L. Nabi’s research presented in the journal article, â€Å"Determining Dimensions of Reality: A Concept Mapping of the Reality TV Landscape,† he draws the following conclusions from the data gathered, â€Å"The MDS [Minimum Data Set] results from both sets of data suggest that the two characteristics most salient to audiences when thin king about reality-based programming are romance and competition. † (371) These can come under many names; sex and violence, drama and action, and so on.But first we need a definition of reality TV in order to limit the scope of this analysis. Dr. Nabi and associates found that the authorities in Television production companies have not set a particular definition in regards to what is and what is not reality TV. Dr. Nabi offers us the following parameters: [There are] several key elements that characterize such programs: (a) people portraying themselves, (b) filmed at least in part in their living or working environment rather than on a set, (c) without a script, (d) with events placed in a narrative context, (e) for the primary purpose of viewer entertainment.In essence, reality programs are marked by ordinary people engaged in unscripted action and interaction. (Nabi 371) While this guideline certainly makes a good rule of thumb, one other thing must be remembered when deal ing with the genre. Unlike real life, reality TV is heavily edited by its producers to synthesize and often even contrive and misconstrue events to make them look more powerful than they were in real life. Most frequently the time frame is condensed from a week of production into twenty or so minutes of RTV.This condensation eliminates some of the nuances of real life, but often makes it more exciting. Also, editing after the fact has certain advantages as evinced by this analysis of the popular RTV show, â€Å"Cops:† [The] narrator provides viewers with information about the suspects that may not be known by the officer at the time of the chase, stop, or initial interview. The audience†¦ may be told at the beginning of the anecdote that the driver of a fleeing car has an outstanding warrant or is intoxicated. The pursuing officers may only know this information after the suspect is apprehended.Nonetheless, according to the programs, the officer is clearly making the app ropriate choice by following his or her hunch. Viewers are provided the illusion that they are watching real events unfold but with knowledge based on hindsight (a product of editing), which the officers do not have. (Prosise & Johnson 73) This poses to the audience that the arresting officers are clear in their duty and response, but in the reality of the scene, they may have not had such clear cut motives in stopping the suspect.One of the most prevalent problems associated with this type of programming and across the nations police force, is the dilemma of racial profiling that can be exacerbated by such justifications. (Prosise & Johnson) There is also a paradoxical twist to the predilection of Americans watching RTV. We, as well as many other technically proficient nations, are a culture that is inundated with news, twenty four hours a day seven days a week. There is news even when there is no news to tell. Broadcasters begin to focus on the mundane events of people with the ug liest dogs in the world, or rehash old news events for weeks or months at a time.However, Americans in droves are focusing on RTV as a seeming balm to this over information. (Javors 35; Papacharissi & Mendelson 358) Perhaps the one difference that RTV has when compared to reality news is that there is always a resolution that seems understandable. This is often not the case in real life. Sometimes missing millionaires lost in flight over the desert are never found, a young girl missing, presumed dead, in Aruba whose body is never located, all this leaves us wanting closure, perhaps RTV gives us that closure.The knowledge that at the end of the series there is always gong to be a winner is a very safe way to be satisfied. The Cops always get their man or woman as the case may be. On an individual basis, what is RTV telling us about us? Papacharissi & Mendelson in their article, â€Å"An Exploratory Study of Reality Appeal: Uses and Gratifications of Reality TV Shows,† feel tha t, â€Å"The premise of reality TV requires that individuals place themselves on public display, thus forfeiting all claims to personal privacy for the sake of transient fame and the possibility of monetary compensation. (355) So for the possibility of Warhol’s fifteen minutes of fame and the glory of the prize, a modeling contract, a million dollars, or the idol of millions, we are willing to embarrass and expose ourselves to ridicule, if the price is right. This harkens back to early TV and game shows as well as the popular series Candid Camera. Although the reality at the end of Candid Camera was the surprise that you were actually being filmed. There was no payoff other than being on TV and most participants were willing to sign their names on the release forms. This brings us back to our original associate with RTV and tabloid journalism:A core feature of popular factual television is that it presents information in an entertaining manner. The origins of reality program ming point towards a close association with tabloid news†¦ Although the tabloid news connection is often used as evidence of the ‘dumbing down' of factual television, the connection can also be used as evidence of the way reality TV attempts to present information to audiences who want to be entertained and informed at the same time. (Hill 80) In Annette Hill’s book, Reality TV: Audiences and Popular Factual Television, she presents RTV as factual context in an entertainment venue.A fan of RTV, Ms. Hill fells that it is often the target of cultural profiling in associating it with the less savory aspects of reportage and the lowest common denominator (LCD) of tabloid journalism. Many would argue with her conclusion as she goes on to compare watchers of RTV with fans of horror or violent action movies. To say that fans of violent movies will exhibit violent behavior, she contends, is a gross generalization. The same gross generalization that RTV has fallen prey to i s to assume those watchers are simply â€Å"voyeurs† with no real life of their own. (Hill 83)However, psychologist and therapist are viewing RTV with a skeptical eye. They feel that there is an aching psyche in the American culture that is using RTV as a cure, much in the way the Marx referred to religion as being the opiate of the people, or as one writer updates it: Is reality TV the crack cocaine of what critic Marie Winn calls the â€Å"plug-in drug? † My answer is yes, when addicts' distorted views of reality make it impossible for them to function in the world outside the tube. Why meet the neighbors when we have the Osbournes? Why take that trip out West? Survivor is on at 9:00. Breyer 100) Some therapists further see this as the desensitizing of American culture. RTV coupled with the massive bombardment of news, mostly bad, from around the nation and the world is numbing us to any emotional ties to reality. Dr. Irene Javors compares RTV shows to the quick fix junk food restaurants and calls them â€Å"fast food programs† and states they are as bad for our minds as a constant diet of Double Whoppers with cheese and Chocolate Milk shakes would be to our bodies. She states that, â€Å"As a result, we are numbing ourselves to very real life challenges. (35) This makes us more and more unable to respond to life in any real or meaningful way and as technology reduces many interactions to words on a screen, this is not so unbelievable. In a world of justification RTV is not without them. Many proponents argue that RTV shows like American Idol, America’s Next Top Model, etc, have about them the lure of the lottery. If the person I am watching become Donald Trump’s new apprentice can do that, maybe I can become manager of the Burger King I am working for. A dollar and a dream is the mentality of the masses faced with this existential angst. (Hill 83; Javors 35) We are not alone in this.In China, often accused of attempting t o mimic Western culture, the producers of an RTV show â€Å"Ying Zai Zhongguo,† or translated somehow as â€Å"Win† in English draw a similar conclusion: †¦their hope that the program would encourage more people in China to start their own businesses. Song Wenming †¦hoped the show would introduce the â€Å"positive power† of entrepreneurship. Ms. Zhou said she hoped potential entrepreneurs would learn the importance of both perseverance and passion. There was much more in the same vein. (Fallows) Perhaps there is some altruism at the end of the tunnel when considering the cultural benefit of RTV.But the preponderance of the evidence seems to suggest that there is something deeply missing in the American psyche that needs to be healed. Is RTV the cure or part of the problem? This is the conundrum that researchers face. Although nothing new, since The Iliad and the Odyssey and before, circled around campfires and telling stories human beings have had som e desire for adventure, love, and battles. It is part of our nature, perhaps being suppressed, that RTV touches upon. Is it exploitation or vicarious therapy? This still remains the question. Reality Tv Shows What Reality TV Tells Us about American Culture Reality TV (RTV) and tabloid journalism have often been compared to each other. (Hill 80) Are both bringing out the worst in American culture or and they merely an example of what American culture is all about, holding a mirror up to the audience? Western culture in general and American culture in particular has always been fascinated by two things in regards to what fascinates and intrigues their interests and holds their attention, love and war. It is no different when it comes to reality TV.These polar opposites are almost always found together in life, as well as in reality TV. In Robin L. Nabi’s research presented in the journal article, â€Å"Determining Dimensions of Reality: A Concept Mapping of the Reality TV Landscape,† he draws the following conclusions from the data gathered, â€Å"The MDS [Minimum Data Set] results from both sets of data suggest that the two characteristics most salient to audiences when thin king about reality-based programming are romance and competition. † (371) These can come under many names; sex and violence, drama and action, and so on.But first we need a definition of reality TV in order to limit the scope of this analysis. Dr. Nabi and associates found that the authorities in Television production companies have not set a particular definition in regards to what is and what is not reality TV. Dr. Nabi offers us the following parameters: [There are] several key elements that characterize such programs: (a) people portraying themselves, (b) filmed at least in part in their living or working environment rather than on a set, (c) without a script, (d) with events placed in a narrative context, (e) for the primary purpose of viewer entertainment.In essence, reality programs are marked by ordinary people engaged in unscripted action and interaction. (Nabi 371) While this guideline certainly makes a good rule of thumb, one other thing must be remembered when deal ing with the genre. Unlike real life, reality TV is heavily edited by its producers to synthesize and often even contrive and misconstrue events to make them look more powerful than they were in real life. Most frequently the time frame is condensed from a week of production into twenty or so minutes of RTV.This condensation eliminates some of the nuances of real life, but often makes it more exciting. Also, editing after the fact has certain advantages as evinced by this analysis of the popular RTV show, â€Å"Cops:† [The] narrator provides viewers with information about the suspects that may not be known by the officer at the time of the chase, stop, or initial interview. The audience†¦ may be told at the beginning of the anecdote that the driver of a fleeing car has an outstanding warrant or is intoxicated. The pursuing officers may only know this information after the suspect is apprehended.Nonetheless, according to the programs, the officer is clearly making the app ropriate choice by following his or her hunch. Viewers are provided the illusion that they are watching real events unfold but with knowledge based on hindsight (a product of editing), which the officers do not have. (Prosise & Johnson 73) This poses to the audience that the arresting officers are clear in their duty and response, but in the reality of the scene, they may have not had such clear cut motives in stopping the suspect.One of the most prevalent problems associated with this type of programming and across the nations police force, is the dilemma of racial profiling that can be exacerbated by such justifications. (Prosise & Johnson) There is also a paradoxical twist to the predilection of Americans watching RTV. We, as well as many other technically proficient nations, are a culture that is inundated with news, twenty four hours a day seven days a week. There is news even when there is no news to tell. Broadcasters begin to focus on the mundane events of people with the ug liest dogs in the world, or rehash old news events for weeks or months at a time.However, Americans in droves are focusing on RTV as a seeming balm to this over information. (Javors 35; Papacharissi & Mendelson 358) Perhaps the one difference that RTV has when compared to reality news is that there is always a resolution that seems understandable. This is often not the case in real life. Sometimes missing millionaires lost in flight over the desert are never found, a young girl missing, presumed dead, in Aruba whose body is never located, all this leaves us wanting closure, perhaps RTV gives us that closure.The knowledge that at the end of the series there is always gong to be a winner is a very safe way to be satisfied. The Cops always get their man or woman as the case may be. On an individual basis, what is RTV telling us about us? Papacharissi & Mendelson in their article, â€Å"An Exploratory Study of Reality Appeal: Uses and Gratifications of Reality TV Shows,† feel tha t, â€Å"The premise of reality TV requires that individuals place themselves on public display, thus forfeiting all claims to personal privacy for the sake of transient fame and the possibility of monetary compensation. (355) So for the possibility of Warhol’s fifteen minutes of fame and the glory of the prize, a modeling contract, a million dollars, or the idol of millions, we are willing to embarrass and expose ourselves to ridicule, if the price is right. This harkens back to early TV and game shows as well as the popular series Candid Camera. Although the reality at the end of Candid Camera was the surprise that you were actually being filmed. There was no payoff other than being on TV and most participants were willing to sign their names on the release forms. This brings us back to our original associate with RTV and tabloid journalism:A core feature of popular factual television is that it presents information in an entertaining manner. The origins of reality program ming point towards a close association with tabloid news†¦ Although the tabloid news connection is often used as evidence of the ‘dumbing down' of factual television, the connection can also be used as evidence of the way reality TV attempts to present information to audiences who want to be entertained and informed at the same time. (Hill 80) In Annette Hill’s book, Reality TV: Audiences and Popular Factual Television, she presents RTV as factual context in an entertainment venue.A fan of RTV, Ms. Hill fells that it is often the target of cultural profiling in associating it with the less savory aspects of reportage and the lowest common denominator (LCD) of tabloid journalism. Many would argue with her conclusion as she goes on to compare watchers of RTV with fans of horror or violent action movies. To say that fans of violent movies will exhibit violent behavior, she contends, is a gross generalization. The same gross generalization that RTV has fallen prey to i s to assume those watchers are simply â€Å"voyeurs† with no real life of their own. (Hill 83)However, psychologist and therapist are viewing RTV with a skeptical eye. They feel that there is an aching psyche in the American culture that is using RTV as a cure, much in the way the Marx referred to religion as being the opiate of the people, or as one writer updates it: Is reality TV the crack cocaine of what critic Marie Winn calls the â€Å"plug-in drug? † My answer is yes, when addicts' distorted views of reality make it impossible for them to function in the world outside the tube. Why meet the neighbors when we have the Osbournes? Why take that trip out West? Survivor is on at 9:00. Breyer 100) Some therapists further see this as the desensitizing of American culture. RTV coupled with the massive bombardment of news, mostly bad, from around the nation and the world is numbing us to any emotional ties to reality. Dr. Irene Javors compares RTV shows to the quick fix junk food restaurants and calls them â€Å"fast food programs† and states they are as bad for our minds as a constant diet of Double Whoppers with cheese and Chocolate Milk shakes would be to our bodies. She states that, â€Å"As a result, we are numbing ourselves to very real life challenges. (35) This makes us more and more unable to respond to life in any real or meaningful way and as technology reduces many interactions to words on a screen, this is not so unbelievable. In a world of justification RTV is not without them. Many proponents argue that RTV shows like American Idol, America’s Next Top Model, etc, have about them the lure of the lottery. If the person I am watching become Donald Trump’s new apprentice can do that, maybe I can become manager of the Burger King I am working for. A dollar and a dream is the mentality of the masses faced with this existential angst. (Hill 83; Javors 35) We are not alone in this.In China, often accused of attempting t o mimic Western culture, the producers of an RTV show â€Å"Ying Zai Zhongguo,† or translated somehow as â€Å"Win† in English draw a similar conclusion: †¦their hope that the program would encourage more people in China to start their own businesses. Song Wenming †¦hoped the show would introduce the â€Å"positive power† of entrepreneurship. Ms. Zhou said she hoped potential entrepreneurs would learn the importance of both perseverance and passion. There was much more in the same vein. (Fallows) Perhaps there is some altruism at the end of the tunnel when considering the cultural benefit of RTV.But the preponderance of the evidence seems to suggest that there is something deeply missing in the American psyche that needs to be healed. Is RTV the cure or part of the problem? This is the conundrum that researchers face. Although nothing new, since The Iliad and the Odyssey and before, circled around campfires and telling stories human beings have had som e desire for adventure, love, and battles. It is part of our nature, perhaps being suppressed, that RTV touches upon. Is it exploitation or vicarious therapy? This still remains the question.