Conflicting Attitudes to love in the play Romeo and Juliet Essay Example

Conflicting Attitudes to love in the play Romeo and Juliet Paper In the play Romeo and Juliet written in the 1600s by William Shakespeare displays conflicting attitudes to love. In his play he demonstrates how there are many more definitions of love which gives the play more complexity and helps add intensity to the audience. In Shakespeares day men and women were expected to flirt with one another, it was a regular and frequent act that would show a man confidence and a womens fun side. The idea of courtly love was a European tradition and there were rules for every flirtatious male and female to follow. These rules applied mainly for men because usually the female is unattainable or married, usually of a much higher class in most cases. Another stage of courtly love is where the lover is consumed by there melancholy because they cannot have theyre man or lady, and they write poems for their chosen one. The lover become possessed by their own constant thoughts about there love and cannot escape from it. There are several couples in the play that fall into the category of courtly love; for example Romeos love for Rosaline at the start of the play or Paris love for Juliet. We will write a custom essay sample on Conflicting Attitudes to love in the play Romeo and Juliet specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Conflicting Attitudes to love in the play Romeo and Juliet specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Conflicting Attitudes to love in the play Romeo and Juliet specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Shakespeare uses the work of a poet called Petrach in the play. Petrach began his work in the 1300s, he wrote a particular type of poem which portrays all the characteristics of courtly love these were called Petrachian sonnets and Shakespeare uses these sonnets in the play and mainly in the poem Romeo writes to Rosaline confessing his love for her. Courtly love involves a lot of joy and pain and Romeo experiences the painful side in the first few scenes of the play when he is consumed by his love for Rosaline. In act one, scene one, Romeo is talking with Benvolio; Romeo uses oxymorons like O brawling love and O loving hate. These words contradict each other giving the audience a sense of Romeos feelings and emotions. Romeo is possessed by love but is also scared of it. He is controlled by his emotions and shuts himself away by day and only leaves his house at night. His chamber shuts up his windows, locks fair daylight out. This was said by Montague to Benvolio as Montague is complaining about how he never sees his own son. In a way, Montague is crying out for help, he knows that Benvolio is wise and he plays the role of peace maker. Romeo speaks to Benvolio and Romeo confesses his love for Rosaline. He tells Benvolio about how it made him so sad, full of sorrow. Courtly love is also a factoring the relationship of Paris and Juliet. In Act one, Scene two, Paris is talking to Capulet and asks his permission to take his daughters hand in marriage. Paris, however, doesnt know Juliet; they havent met, and his love for her may be based on her appearance. Because Paris loves Juliet from a distance Capulet is unsure about handing her over to Paris straight away but he invites Paris to the Capulet ball. At the ball nothing really changes. Paris dances with Juliet and flirts a little however his love for her remains false as he has only known her for a little while. Another type of love portrayed in the play is unromantic love, love that is related to romance such as brotherly love or motherly love. In Shakespeares time period men and women often had a lot of free time on their hands, especially people of an upper class. This time was spent on writing romantic poetry. In the play Capulet and Paris talk about Juliet marrying without consulting her personally, here Shakespeare manages to follow rules and conventions and here it is the conventions of parents. In this situation to Paris love is not an issue. He wants to be married to a beautiful girl and Capulet wants his daughter to be married into a wealthy family. Talking about Juliets age does not matter to Paris because he states in his conversation with Capulet that young girls make mothers and maids. Younger than she are happy mothers maid. In the 17th centaury this was the attitude to marriage and females and sexism seems to be a common thing that happened then. This attitude to love and sexism in the play gives a clue to Shakespeares life and what was common and acceptable then. The Nurses relationship with Juliet is of the Unromantic love variety. Juliet did not get love and affection from her mother at a young age because as the family is wealthy they can pay someone to do this for them. But the Nurse has always been there for Juliet, she speaks in a very different way to Juliet than Lady Capulet does. Lady Capulet speaks to Juliet in a very formal manor and Juliet replies as if she were her mothers mistress. For example Juliet is address by her mother as daughter lady and girl Also when Juliet is discussing her marriage plans with her father, Capulet is extremely forceful, he speaks in a very threatening way to Juliet which let the audience know that marriage in those days was maybe treated as more of a business arrangement. The opening scenes in the play explore a very crude attitude to love. In Act one scene one the servants are joking and bragging about how they are going to take the opposing families women and have sex with them. The servants demonstrate a raw opinion on love. They continue to boast about sex and another servant says how he is going to cut of their heads in other words cut of their maiden heads, take their virginity. Shakespeare reveals the men in the plays obsession with sex very openly, he does this because by creating a crude and rude factor in the play it appeals a lot to the audience, they found it both humorous and exciting. Also in the play Juliet is very the opposite when talking about sex and Romeo. I believe Shakespeare has taken a different approach to females attitudes toward sex to demonstrate how a females thoughts and priorities differ from males. Shakespeare creates a huge contrast when talking about men and women and sex, maybe he does this to let the audience see how different relationships are made and broken. The idea of sex does also bring people together in the play as it provides a social subject for the characters to talk about maids lie on their backs. This proves that sexual love is not the strongest type of love as it is not a part of the Montagues friendships. I believe Shakespeare has deliberately contradicted himself to create a mysterious effect in the play. True love is the final type of love shown in the play. Although violence is a main factor in the play, so is the passionate love between Romeo and Juliet. Juliet does talk alone and does fantasize about her physical desire for Romeo however her feelings are not only controlled by lust but also by true love. The audience can tell how by the way both characters moods change when the two first meet. The way that they talk about each other is different to the way that they have spoken up to this point. Even when Romeo believes that his love for Rosaline is true he speaks as though he is in love but has not found love. The words that Romeo uses to describe Rosaline do not compare to when he is describing Juliet he calls Rosaline rich in beauty and too fair notice that most of the words describing Rosaline mention her beauty and physical attributes but when Romeo is describing Juliet Shakespeare uses very strong imagery and empathy which allows the audience to explore in much more depth Romeos feelings, emotions and this new type of love. My hearts dear love is set on rich Capulets daughter I cannot live without my lady. The created imagery when describing Juliet sometimes links to religious things and is designed to create ceremonial pictures in the audience mind. This differs to the imagery created when Romeo is talking about Rosaline as later in the play Romeo and Juliet marry hence the religious links and imagery. In act two scenes two Romeo speaks in sonnet form and the scene reveals very open and beautiful poetry, it reveals the extent of Romeo and Juliets love for one another. The words that Romeo speaks often rhyme with Juliets this shows their compatibility and how they are a perfect couple in love. Have saints not lips and holy palmers too? O then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do: In conclusion I believe that when Shakespeare presents conflicting attitudes to love in different ways. Firstly he does this to create the effect of tension and humour for the audience. He creates this effect in many different ways, a different way for each type of love. I believe this play is so successful and the different attitudes to love come across very well because Shakespeare uses different techniques when writing for example creating heavy imagery linking to later plots when describing a physical appearance or creating humour by using crude comments with a sexual connotation.

Evolution of the Office - History and Innovations

Evolution of the Office - History and Innovations As long as governments or other organizations have existed the office has existed in some form as a place to do the associated administrative or clerical duties. The 19th Century Office In the late 19th century, commercial offices for conducting business first appeared in the United States. The railroad, the telegraph and then the telephone were invented allowing for instant remote communication. Wherever manufacturing existed, for example in a mill or factory, the administrative office could now be placed at a distance. Other inventions that promoted the office included: electric lighting, the typewriter, and calculating machines. More Office Machines Office Furniture Perhaps the greatest symbol of the office is the office chair and desk. During the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, new office equipment and furniture were popular exhibits. The exposition featured fancy rolltop desks and novel new filing systems. Desk design eventually evolved after the invention of the typewriter as the rolltop design was not a good one for the placement of the typewriter. The 20th Century Office By 1900, nearly 100,000 people in the United States were working as secretaries, stenographers, and typists in an office. The average worker was employed for sixty hours per six-day work week. Specialized training was now available for people who wished to study office skills. Office Ergonomics The birth of the white collar worker and the office meant that for many hours a day office workers would be sitting and conducting tasks. Ergonomics is the optimizing of the experience between human beings, and the designed objects and environments they interact with and has played a large role in the design of objects used in the modern office. Â   Continue Office Machines

Communication and stereotypes in the film Crash Essay

Communication and stereotypes in the film Crash - Essay Example Using the example of the Johari Window model, the concepts within the film and the nature of the self can be examined. The Johari Window is based upon a four panel model in which the self is divided into the open, the hidden, the blind, and the unknown self. Each of these selves is manifested, but not all are understood by the perceived self or the public self. The window also changes as the relationship is defined between two people (West & Turner, 2011). An example of this can be seen in the character of the district attorney’s wife. On the one hand, her open self seemed very generous and warm. She presented to the world as someone who was lovely and with pure intentions. However, when examined in a different context, her hidden self was seen to be highly fearful of those of differing racial backgrounds. Her blind self most likely had no true understanding of this aspect of her personality, feeling justified when it slipped into her open self in relationship to how she commu nicated it to those with which she was intimate through the guise of a belief system that embraced stereotypical representations. Blind to her own feelings of prejudice, this was also unknown to anyone outside of her own internal self in regard to how deep these feelings were imbedded within her essential self. The district attorney was organizing a more blatant attempt in offering up spin scenarios that would preserve both the African American vote and the hard on crime vote.  Ã‚  ... Using the example of the Johari Window model, the concepts within the film and the nature of the self can be examined. The Johari Window is based upon a four panel model in which the self is divided into the open, the hidden, the blind, and the unknown self. Each of these selves is manifested, but not all are understood by the perceived self or the public self. The window also changes as the relationship is defined between two people (West & Turner, 2011). An example of this can be seen in the character of the district attorney’s wife. On the one hand, her open self seemed very generous and warm. She presented to the world as someone who was lovely and with pure intentions. However, when examined in a different context, her hidden self was seen to be highly fearful of those of differing racial backgrounds. Her blind self most likely had no true understanding of this aspect of her personality, feeling justified when it slipped into her open self in relationship to how she commu nicated it to those with which she was intimate through the guise of a belief system that embraced stereotypical representations. Blind to her own feelings of prejudice, this was also unknown to anyone outside of her own internal self in regard to how deep these feelings were imbedded within her essential self. Much of what the district attorney’s wife was doing within the many roles that she had being the wife of a semi-public figure was to utilize impression management. She tried to manage the impression that she was exhibiting in front of the two young African American men who were approaching as she and her husband were walking down the

Companies Act Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Companies Act - Essay Example The Memorandum constitutes the company's charter with the outsiders dealing with the company and usually contains a number of statutory classes. The Articles of Association on the other hand are the regulations governing the internal management of the company. Section 7 of the Companies Act 1985 has given the option to the companies limited by shares to adopt Table A instead of filing separate Articles. It is established law that where there is a conflict between the Memorandum and Articles of Association the Memorandum prevails. Section 14 (1) of the Companies Act 1985 has given the character of a statutory contract for the Memorandum and Articles of Association of a Company. These documents have given rise to a contract between the company and the members of the company and among the members themselves. Thus the right of a company to make the calls on unpaid shares can be enforced by the company by means of the Articles. In the same way by using the Articles the member can enforce the entitlement for voting rights against the company and the pre-emption rights on a sale of his shares against another member can also be enforced through the Articles. This character of the Memorandum and Articles of Association is usually referred to as the Statutory Contract or Section 14 contract. The character of the Memorandum and Articles as a statutory contract wa... provided in the Articles of Association of the company that Eley will be the solicitor of the company to transact all legal business of the company and shall not be removed from the office except for misconduct. Subsequently Eley became the shareholder of the company. When the company started taking advice from another counsel, Eley brought an action for breach of contract under the Articles. His claim was dismissed on the ground that the Articles represent a contract between the members and the company or between the members themselves. It was held, as a solicitor Eley cannot enforce the contract under the Articles and the decision was upheld in the appeal. The position would have been different had Eley brought the action in his capacity as a member. But in the whole case the capacity of Eley was never brought into consideration and no ruling was given in that respect. "The Eley decision is quoted in most legal reference books as authority for the proposition that articles can only give rights to a member in his capacity as a member." Michael Grffiths2 As observed by Lord Cairns LC in this case the Articles represent either a stipulation to the members or it provides instructions to the directors for the conduct of the business of the company. In either of the cases the Articles represent a document to be considered as specifying the contractual relationship between the company and its members and directors and there is no place for an outsider to intervene in the operations of the Articles. 3.0 Enforcement of the Rights by a Non-member of the Company: In the case of Hickman v. Kent or Romney Marsh Sheep-Breeders' Association3 the rights of the members under the Articles of Association were more clearly established. The judge in this case observed 'that no right

Financial Hedging and Its Instruments Research Paper

Financial Hedging and Its Instruments - Research Paper Example This report evaluates the financial instruments in light of the risk management system of three different companies. A personal view has been given after the analysis part. However, there have been certain constraints while conducting the analysis, as companies do not prefer to reveal much about their positions in hedging instruments. The financial crisis of the 1990s created enormous disruption and imposed huge costs of lost output in a number of emerging market economies. The crisis was particularly painful as local organisations had to face large exchange rate or interest rate risk with insufficient hedging possibilities. At this time, as the market was quite illiquid, even the massive undervaluation of assets was unable to attract foreign investors. This was the consequence of the companies’ inability to hedge certain types of market risks. As a consequence, the prospective benefits of global financial market integration were not fully exploited. However, over the past few years, the markets for hedging have expanded in size and scope. The establishment of bond and spot foreign exchange markets and derivative products has helped to enhance the hedging processes. The ever-growing significance of the hedging instruments has been established by the fact that trading activities in the futures market on cash instruments have been larger than the conducts in the underlying cash market. These days a number of instruments have been used to hedge the assets and commodity price risks. However, the fundamental structures of these instruments are kept almost same across all financial markets (Mathieson, â€Å"Development of Market Based Hedging Instruments†). Many organisations buy insurance against a wide range of hazards on their assets. By purchasing insurance, the companies pass on the risk to the insurance company; this is done for a certain amount of insurance premium. However, the risks, covered by these kinds of financial instruments, have less probability of occurrence as compared to other financial risks.  Ã‚  

Work Considered Chronicle Of A Death Foretold English Literature Essay

Work Considered Chronicle Of A Death Foretold English Literature Essay Reflective Statement: Translated from the Spanish masterpiece first published in 1981, Chronicle of a Death Foretold is a tale embossed with irony and political authority. Inspired by a true story, Marquez eloquently critiques the collective psychology of the small Columbian coastal towns residents, whose response to the murder is portrayed through a powerfully orchestrated framework of poetic beauty and literary phenomenon that preserves a chapter of history in a portrait of the 1950s community. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Marquezs work and hope my enthusiasm was conveyed to the group. Discussion focussed on how contextual factors shaped the novella. Plagued by corruption stemming from Catholicism, full appreciation of Marquezs work is dependent upon understanding of religious contexts. Ironically, blatant disregard for religious scriptures implies a superficial nature to religious devotion. I communicated how, despite claiming to be devout Catholics, the neighbourhood undermine religious attitudes by lying to avoid culpability and killing to preserve honour. The insightfully articulated point explaining how forgiveness is the main teaching in Catholicism reinforced how religion cant be used to justify honour killings since they are contradictory to Biblical teachings. We concluded that religion was being used to veil corrupt traditions and anachronistic sentiments. Marquez criticises male obligation to defend family honour. Reminiscent of a motto, there is conviction in the expression honour doesnt wait. Although women are objectified throughout, Angelas accusation that Santiago was her perpetrator remains unquestioned, perhaps because, where preservation of honour is concerned, the sentiment supersedes the action itself. Someone said that possibility of the victims innocence was irrelevant; Santiagos life compensated for the shame brought on the family. The ambiguity of biblical teachings invites misinterpretation. Wiping dirt off his guts, ironically Santiago is the only one with honour. Someone thought cultural differences made relating to characters difficult, reducing overall reading pleasure; I argued, however, time has enriched the story. Influenced by changing attitudes; when the narrator returns 27 years later to piece together the events of the murder, details are confused, suggesting that the townsfolk have altered their memories to absolve themselves of guilt and shared responsibility. Magical realism is a recurring motif. Implications of shared responsibility are shown through the enchanting way everything smells of Santiago Nasar; suggestive of the guilt that haunts the community. Poignant fantastical imagery confuses the distinction between reality and fiction and, like the investigation that inspired his work, there are many unanswered questions. 395 words Aspect: How does narrative perspective influence the readers understanding of the events? Title: Why does Marquez allow the selection of evidence to be influenced by a subjective narrator and to what extent does this complicate the readers investigation into the question who or what is responsible for the death of Santiago Nasar? Translated from the 1981 Spanish text, Chronicle of a Death Foretold is a tale embossed with irony and riddled with mystery. Inspired by a real event, Marquez critiques the collective psychology of the towns residents and their response to a cold-blooded murder. The distinction between fact and fiction is blurred by discrepancies presented within a complex narrative framework as our unnamed narrator investigates the murder. Although the journalistic style is convincing, like everything in this novel, the various accounts are not as they seem. Compounded by the absence of potentially enlightening documents, the investigation presents nothing more than a subjective compilation of inconsistencies. As the narrator rummages through a lagoon of lost causes (100) attempting to recover partial records from the original investigation, we too must piece together an impossible puzzle of narrative ambiguities. No more reliable than the members of the community desperately trying to evade respons ibility, our detective narrator filters and manipulates the evidence, imparting a fragmented report plagued with unsolved mysteries. Thus, when approaching the underlying question who or what is responsible for the death of Santiago Nasar consideration of narrative perspective is essential to see through the misleading facade worn by the community. Narrative subjectivity is shrouded by a deceptive journalistic style. His unique position as a member of the community has decisive influence on the investigation proceedings, making it difficult to establish a trusting relationship with the narrator. We learn of neither his character nor his motivations for trying after so many years to disinter the horrific events, although hopes to unearth a forgotten secret that could restore coherence to the investigation are frequently implied. Despite his meticulous research, our narrator is unable to provide any persuasive evidence; merely a subjective compilation of contradictory accounts, procured largely from sources confounded with bias. Whats more, the traditions and cultural values of the community have had subtle influences on the narrators work. Expressing an intrinsic belief in his mothers ability she had a well-earned reputation as an accurate interpreter of other peoples dreams'(2), the narrator places great value on mythical allus ions; the hyphenated adjective well-earned implying a level of respect and perhaps even admiration for her ability. Although our narrators roots and his relationships with the central protagonists add a new dimension to the investigation, ultimately, like the smell of Santiago Nasar in the memories of the characters, uncertainty lingers in the mind of the reader as a consequence of his subjectivity. One of the major challenges the narrator encounters is the limited availability of evidence; failure to procure key details left many questions unanswered during the original investigation and continues to riddle the chronicle for readers today. Responsible for the selection of evidence, the narrator controls what information is available to the reader; it is plausible that certain details remain undisclosed to protect his integrity. This is compounded by the fact only some 322 from the more than 500 (100) pages of an already deficient collection of documents were rescued by the narrator, implying the absence of details perhaps critical to the understanding of existing evidence and success of the investigation. In compensation for the lack of original evidence he interviews members of the community, but even these accounts are nebulous. Angelas mother, for example, refuses to speak of past events she went to her grave with her secret (46); her memories may have been critical in advan cing the investigation, hence the denied information incites unwelcome feelings of missed opportunity. Such feelings of despair are reflected in this poignant image that reinforces how the secrets are concealed and out of reach, with a metaphorical evocation that the truth is inaccessible. One can only imagine a grave to be a lonely place for a secret; buried deep in the ground and in total darkness, if light represents truth and understanding, this image may be symbolic of the unknown. There is also a suggestion that the community doesnt want the truth exposed as it would mean accepting a degree of culpability. More so than the reservations of key characters, it is the impossibility of retrieving certain memories that troubles the narrator. Officer Leandro Pornoy died the following year, gored in the jugular vein by a bull (53) before the narrator had the opportunity to talk to him. Here the graphic imagery is shocking and resembles something of a newspaper headline. Moreover, incl usion of gory details is consistent with the honest reporting style that veils the narrators subjectivity. Thus, the limited availability of information serves to divert the readers already gruelling journey in search of the truth; our confusion parallels that of our narrator. Used throughout the chronicle as a motif to reflect the emotional position of its characters, the weather is a topic of inconsistency, casting an element of mystery over the novel which is never explicitly addressed. Throughout, Marquez uses pathetic fallacy to convey characters attitudes. Victoria Guzman openly expressed an ardent dislike for Santiago Nasar and her lack of remorse for failing to prevent his murder is metaphorically implied in her statement, claiming It hadnt rained that day, or during the whole month of February (7); her conscience as clear as the sky in her testimony, she will continue to stand by her judgement. Reported to have been a radiant morning with a sea breeze coming in through the banana groves (2), similar values are shared by other members of the community. The positive connotations associated with this image of pastoral harmony suggest a relatively content state of mind and lack of concern. Conversely, the narrator may have been motivated by a desire t o absolve himself from the guilt haunting his conscience. Uncovering the truth would give the investigation a sense of closure, allowing Santiagos memory be left to rest in peace. Where light represents truth and knowledge, it seems apposite that the weather was funereal, with a cloudy, low sky (2). Blocking the sun in the same way answers have been concealed for 27 years, the clouds carry therefore symbolic importance. Hence, provided that questions remain unanswered, the narrator will never truly be able to rid himself of the guilt; perhaps Marquez is presenting a subtle criticism of societys values in that murder should never be justified or accepted on the grounds of honour or personal aversion. The chronicle doesnt follow the typical narrative structure. Instead, intrinsic of the investigation itself, the reader first learns of the murder in the opening sentence before journeying alongside the narrator in an attempt to discover the truth behind the tragedy; the reconstructed past fragmented as proceedings are recounted from various perspectives. Metaphorically, each shard of the broken mirror of memory (5) is a fragment of the truth that only when united can reveal the underlying truth. Meticulous investigation presents a limited picture; like a mirror, the closer the narrator scrutinises individual testimonies and solitary evidence, the more his desired answers elude him and multiple inconsistencies reveal a level of subjectivity. The narrator advocates the conviction of a foretold death because none of us could go on living without an exact knowledge of the place and mission assigned to us by fate. (97), hoping like the rest of the community, to detach himself from the si tuation, alleviating the burden of personal responsibility. The extent to which the death of Santiago Nasar can be attributed to fate, is, however, largely ambiguous. It is Marquezs use of magical realism that alludes to the number of obscure coincidences for which the only logical explanation is fate, sending the reader into a blurred conceptual zone somewhere between fact and fiction. Thus, subjectivity of our unnamed narrator in Chronicle of a Death Foretold can be seen to compromise the credibility of the narrative. The selection of already limited evidence, influenced by the narrators obligation to protect his community, further complicates the underlying investigation into the question: who or what is responsible for the death of Santiago Nasar? His motivation may have been to answer this question; however, it is difficult to identify a single offender given that the entire community is culpable to some degree. Many of the characters insist that fate is responsible for Santiagos death the narrator included, but this is merely a facade, burying the shame that would inevitably be cast upon them should they reveal the truth of how they tolerated such a brutal murder. Ultimately there is not one culprit, nor was the death of Santiago Nasar down to fate, rather it is the anachronistic traditions of the Roman Catholic community that should be criticised. Following social progression, it is difficult for the ashamed community to dwell on events of the past as no justification seems logical or indeed adequate to defend such an unthinkable murder. The collective group overshadowed and plagued the thoughts of the individual; but clearly what is popular is not always moral. His role is not to expose the truth; as a member of that community, inability to accept responsibility will prevent the narrator from ever solving the mystery surrounding the death of Santiago Nasar. Ultimately, Marquez uses the narrator as a device to question the unreliability of the communitys collective voice. (1467 Words)

Stones Cynicism Exposed in Natural Born Killers :: Movie Film Essays

Stone's Cynicism Exposed in Natural Born Killers As a hardworking college student living (without a TV) in this impenetrable Gothic galaxy, I am usually quite oblivious to popular culture. I was not even aware of the barrage of hype surrounding the release of Natural Born Killers. My attention was directed belatedly to the movie by a letter from a friend in which she lamented the present state of humanity - or lack thereof. And yet, I still stayed away from the movie for over a month despite my knowledge that it would be at the very least thought-provoking. I've learned that I have not been desensitized to images of violence, perhaps because of my earlier-mentioned insulation from pop culture. However, I was intent on listening to what Oliver Stone had to say. So last night I spent the entire 100+ minutes of the film curled in my seat, my head in my hands. Now that I've seen the movie, I'm left with questions_questions which kept my body shifting in bed all last night and my mind shifting from work all day today. Questions about life, death, humanity, and efficacy. Big questions, giant_the kind that could keep me in my own world for weeks if they weren't constantly forcing me to look at the world around me. This is an article of questions, of seeking answers, of wondering if, indeed, there are answers. Stone's film is extreme in every way. Extreme in its violence. Extreme in its visual imagery, flashing hyper-speed bits of reality which don't quite register in one's mind. Extreme in its sit-com presentation of an abusive family as the ordinary stuff of entertainment. Extreme in its depiction of mass-murderers revered as icons of popular culture. Extreme in the banality with which the killers approach their crime. Perhaps this extremity is what caused me to react so strongly to the film at first. The impact has by now lost its initial force, and I'm able to attempt to evaluate that impact. I feel ambivalent about the success of the movie, and by success, I mean neither monetary value nor entertainment value. I mean whether or not Stone was effective in conveying his message. In my estimation, he definitely had a message. It seems impossible to me that anyone could exit this movie not understanding that Stone is criticizing the glorification of violence. If the Stone's Cynicism Exposed in Natural Born Killers :: Movie Film Essays Stone's Cynicism Exposed in Natural Born Killers As a hardworking college student living (without a TV) in this impenetrable Gothic galaxy, I am usually quite oblivious to popular culture. I was not even aware of the barrage of hype surrounding the release of Natural Born Killers. My attention was directed belatedly to the movie by a letter from a friend in which she lamented the present state of humanity - or lack thereof. And yet, I still stayed away from the movie for over a month despite my knowledge that it would be at the very least thought-provoking. I've learned that I have not been desensitized to images of violence, perhaps because of my earlier-mentioned insulation from pop culture. However, I was intent on listening to what Oliver Stone had to say. So last night I spent the entire 100+ minutes of the film curled in my seat, my head in my hands. Now that I've seen the movie, I'm left with questions_questions which kept my body shifting in bed all last night and my mind shifting from work all day today. Questions about life, death, humanity, and efficacy. Big questions, giant_the kind that could keep me in my own world for weeks if they weren't constantly forcing me to look at the world around me. This is an article of questions, of seeking answers, of wondering if, indeed, there are answers. Stone's film is extreme in every way. Extreme in its violence. Extreme in its visual imagery, flashing hyper-speed bits of reality which don't quite register in one's mind. Extreme in its sit-com presentation of an abusive family as the ordinary stuff of entertainment. Extreme in its depiction of mass-murderers revered as icons of popular culture. Extreme in the banality with which the killers approach their crime. Perhaps this extremity is what caused me to react so strongly to the film at first. The impact has by now lost its initial force, and I'm able to attempt to evaluate that impact. I feel ambivalent about the success of the movie, and by success, I mean neither monetary value nor entertainment value. I mean whether or not Stone was effective in conveying his message. In my estimation, he definitely had a message. It seems impossible to me that anyone could exit this movie not understanding that Stone is criticizing the glorification of violence. If the