Mae West and 1930s censorship

Mae West and 1930s censorship Free Online Research Papers Nowadays, we probably take for granted that the majority of films created in Hollywood have no moral or content boundaries whatsoeverAlthough today the boundaries might seem a little blurred, it was not always like this. The censorship process in Hollywood films (as well as in many other media) is a process that has grown and fluctuated along with American society. Behind many of these films there have been struggles, debates, and confrontations of ideas to have power over what could be shown. Films have always been a main target for censorship, primarily because movies are a major audiovisual form of entertainment and mass communication with a tremendous power over the public. Mae West is a name that comes up when discussing U.S. censorship and film, mainly because she was a Hollywood star who danced the line between what was allowable and what was not. A great deal of her career as a Hollywood actress revolves around pushing the limits of the moral landscape. She became one of the biggest female icons of the 20th century thanks to her voluptuous figure, sexy innuendos, and uncontainable wit. This essay explores the relationship between Mae West’s performances and the early thirty’s censorship changes in her work. West worked during the period spanning World War I, Prohibitionand the Great Depression; a period characterized by a dualism between a huge cultural experimentation and a strict repression. The war coincided with a rising sexual revolution; film audiences wanted sexand censors wanted to suppress it. From the starting point of her career, West became aware of this duality and played around that fine line. She took it upon herself to fight the censors when it came to her career. Emily Leider quotes Mae West in these fights saying, â€Å"My fight has been against depression, repression and suppression.† Marybeth Hamilton describes Mae West as â€Å"Hollywood’s most colorful victim of censorship,† (Hamilton, 187). With one of her first major movies, I’m no Angel, West was characterized by Variety as â€Å"the biggest conversation-provoker, free space grabber and all-around box office bet in the countryBut that slightly changed in 1934, when a national campaign that battled film immorality forced her to follow the rules of the Production Code Administration (PCA), which is the film’s industry self-regulatory organization. This action took a hard toll on her popularity. Hamilton quotes historian Robert Sklar regarding West decline after 1934, saying, â€Å"the pre-1934 West was raw, acerbic, even sexually revolutionary, precisely because she was uncensored†¦exploding on screen with unfettered power before the censors killed her off.† (Hamilton, 188) Yet, many documents and archives from the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA) show evidence that Mae West was never really completely uncensored. Before she was forced to follow PCA’s regulations, West’s work was always submitted to the MPPDA office’s scrutiny. This censorship process was very complex. Every stage of the production was supervised but, against general supposition, the process was not aiming to suppress the sexual content Moreover, many historians agree that Hollywood censors helped shape West’s characteristic sexual expression, in fact, â€Å"censorship helped create Mae West as we know her, shaping her persona far more effectively than West herself would ever admit.† (Hamilton, 188) In reality, West’s immediate connection to sexual topics in Hollywood was not exclusive to her with sexual content issues in many non-Mae West films (like Black Street, Possessed and Blonde Venus); but West had a particularity that distinguished her from other performers: her roots in Broadway gave her a â€Å"reputation for urban realism†¦providing a glimpse of authentic underworld vice.†(Hamilton, 189). Diamond Lil was the title of the Broadway play that made West gain that particularity (a play that would later be adapted into her second film She Done Him Wrong). According to historians like Lewis Erenberg, what Diamond Lil rendered was slumming made pleasant, â€Å"the lure of the forbidden with the rough edges smoothed off.† Those kind of Broadway shows appealed to the tastes of the middle-class who wanted a clean, underworld desire land. This is the same niche or target from which Hollywood wanted to separate itself. The success of West’s play was a concern for the MPPDA. Broadway provided the movie industry with a pool of potential actors and writers who were eager to bring that â€Å"realism† main stream. But, unlike Broadway, the film industry had to sell their product to small towns as well as big cities. This meant they had to pass the inspection of every censor board on the way. So the MPPDA office developed a strategy to sell movies as an exclusive form of entertainment, with no attachments whatsoever to the inner-city nightlife and in accordance with the values of American confines. Now, the MPPDA and the censors had a new and difficult task on their hands regarding Mae West’s performances and movies: the story of the ambitious woman who used love and sex to get to the top of the social and material ladder had to get onscreen in a form that would be profitable and that would avoid any kind of problems with the moral branch of the film industry. This translated into having a representation in which sexual matters were suggested, not manifested, â€Å"from which conclusion might be drawn by the sophisticated mind, but which would mean nothing to the unsophisticated and inexperience† as Jason Joy stated (director of the Studio Relations Committee, SRC; precursor to the PCA) (Maltby, 63) When the movie She Done Him Wrong came out, it was obvious that the efforts of the MPPDA office to not evoke Mae’s Broadway realism in her performance backfired. Critics agreed that West’s acting had brought down all the efforts to veil Lou (her character in the play). What was seen as â€Å"realism† was, in fact, West’s acting style, â€Å"the oozing walk, the hard-boiled speech that lent an unexpected saltiness to seemingly innocent lines.† (Hamilton, 193). Even what was a gentle love lyric on paper, â€Å"A Guy What Takes His Time,† became a graphic illustration of languid sex when performed by Mae West (an interpretation that cost a lot of panic in the MPPDA office and a lot of money to cut short). While in theaters the audience had the choice of focusing or not on Mae West, on film, the camera forced them to keep her erotic figure and delivery as their main focus. The film rapidly became a box-office sensation. This fact only helped the reformist to argue that the film industry was not fit to control its own product. She Done Him Wrong enraged people within the film industry, reform groups, censor boards, and many others. These groups grew as a threatening force that eventually obligated Mae West to change, regardless of her huge box-office sensation. With all the bad press, the MPPDA office feared a federal intervention of the film industry. Will Hays, the head of the MPPDA at the time, took the matter into his own hands and publicly expressed that more Broadway sensationalism would only give the critics precisely what they wanted. For her next film, I’m No Angel, the test was to transform West’s performance into a more acceptable one. â€Å"Determined to hold West to the code, Hays and his underlings maintained a vigilant watch over I’m No Angel. Previewing drafts of the script and song lyrics, they bombarded the studio with mandated cuts and revisions.† (Watt, 172). The idea was not to remove all sexual allusions completely, but to smudge them. The changes forced upon Mae West quickly became evident. The studio, Paramount, was firm on limiting West’s creative influence. The setting of the new film illustrated more clearly the changes regarding â€Å"immoral† elements. This time, they pulled Mae out of the New York City underworld and placed her in a carnival sideshow, as a character under the name Tira. Tira would go from being a singing marvel and a lion tamer on a show, to a loving, wealthy wife living in a penthouse apartment in the city. Though, not all was pure as it sounds. Tira was a gold digger, a woman willing to exchange sex for fortune. One of Mae West’s most famous quotes comes from this movie: â€Å"Somewhere there’s a guy with a million waiting for a dame like me.† But, unlike the past narratives, which passed unashamed until the end, Tira is transformed by true love. I’m No Angel became an immediate hit at the box office. Jill Watts tells a story in his book Mae West: An Icon in Black and White, of a Boston journalist who reported that the lines outside the movie theaters extending down several blocks looked like a â€Å"run on the neighborhood bank† (Page 180) In Chicago the film ran twenty hours a day and even patrolmen were necessary to help organize and calm the crowds. The release of the movie made West a true star. Once again, Mae West’s persona injected a â€Å"realism† that the script was trying to escape. â€Å"On paper, Tira was an ambitious dancer with a craving for money. On the screen she exuded earthier desires. West’s swiveling hips, knowing laugh, and appraising gaze injected a bawdiness that the script had carefully eschewed† (Hamilton, 197). The fact that Mae West was a plot all on her own made her even more of an iconic figure. Now, the show was her personality. As in Diamond Lil, West managed to deliver ironic suggestions in forms of private jokes that she would never reveal. Thanks to the censors, the audience of I’m No Angel was even more intrigued as to what was she laughing at. Even though Im No Angel was a success among critics and West’s former enemies, there were some concerns regarding the interpretation young women (the main audience) would give to Mae’s line deliveries and provocative performance. The Production Codes Administration (PCA) attempted to domesticate her performance in order to eliminate these possible interpretations. But they soon came to realize that as long as the audience had a memory of Mae’s past performances, viewers would never be completely passive. As Joseph Breen, appointed head of the PCA in 1934, explains, â€Å"with West at the helm, even the most scrupulously sanitized story could be subverted by a well-placed wink.† Mae West’s next film, Klondike Annie, became a perfect illustration of this phenomenon. Joseph Breen tried without any success to sanitize the story and script of Klondike Annie. But he quickly understood that the very presence of West in the film would make that task impossible. As he said himself â€Å"Just so long as we have Mae West on own hands with the particular kind of a story which she goes in for, we are going to have trouble†¦lines and pieces of business, which in the script seem to be thoroughly innocuous, turn out when shown on the screen to be questionable at best, when they are not definitely offensive† (Hamilton, 206) It was very clear to everyone involved in the film industry that with Breen as the new office head, West’s career was going to be over. Although many other projects required Breen’s vigilant watch, he focused mainly on not letting anything from Mae West slip by him. He made her his top priority. At the same time, Paramount, to show that they were closely following the Code, brought executive Phillip Hammell to work as a private censor on West’s films. Hollywood was redefining its parameters and Mae West’s style did not fit in. What happened to her career after 1934 is a small-scale representation of the effects the PCA had on Hollywood. West gradually faded out of the spotlight. Lea Jacobs, a prestigious film professor and author, believes that the strategies introduced by the PCA to deal with sex films not only affected Mae West, but also the complete genre: â€Å"by eliminating the double meanings, the calculated ambiguities, and the narrative disjunctures which gave the films of the early thirties their zest† the viewer’s experience was changed (207). West’s role in the development of American film censorship is a matter of great debate. Some maintain that Mae West is solely to blame for censorship; her loud career and the changes in the PCA do coincide time-wise. But it is a well-known fact that the scrutinizing of movies that supposed a threat to morality was something that had been happening well before West appeared on the big screen. At the same time, West’s rising popularity made her an easy target for critics and reform groups. But, as Jill Watts mentions, â€Å"she was more than symbolic; her controversial screen presence became a major impetus that accelerated a process already set into motion† (171). Research Papers on Mae West and 1930’s censorshipWhere Wild and West MeetHip-Hop is ArtAppeasement Policy Towards the Outbreak of World War 2Bringing Democracy to AfricaEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenMoral and Ethical Issues in Hiring New EmployeesQuebec and CanadaTwilight of the UAWRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andThe Effects of Illegal Immigration

Getting 10x Results From Your Content With Garrett Moon Of CoSchedule

Getting 10x Results From Your Content With Garrett Moon Of Content marketing is a highly competitive space. Every single day, nearly 60 million blog posts are published and five billion YouTube videos are watched. Are you always trying to edge out search results to be on top? Discover how to reframe your mindset when it comes to content marketing. Today, we’re talking to Garrett Moon, CEO, about how to handle such competition when it comes to content marketing and his new book, 10X Marketing Formula: Your Blueprint for Creating Competition-Free Content That Stands Out and Gets Results. Marketers are responsible for bringing in leads, sales, people big tasks to support core business metrics. Garrett’s book describes taking the formula, process, tips and tricks, and things that work and don’t for and making them available to anybody to use and implement in their business and marketing process. Gartner’s Hype Cycle: How new technology is adopted. When content marketing took shape a few years back, all of a sudden, everyone is adopting it and reworking their marketing teams, creating content, doing blogging, building email lists, and other tasks. Content marketing made a lot of promises to us. Now, Garrett believes we are entering the trough of disillusionment. We adopted content marketing, but what about those big promises that were made? What about the results? Why are you not getting the results your were promised? How do marketing teams provide business value? Content marketing need to be reinvented. Garrett describes the copy cat epidemic in marketing. There is so much free content online where pieces of strategies, tactics, and other items are copied and pasted. However, it does not create an entire picture or blueprint. The goal is to create a framework from start to finish process on how to find something unique to your business that only you can do and be successful with. Something that stands out and gets results. Creating Competition-Free Content: Not only your business and products is in competition, but your marketing is in competition with other marketing. Find a way to break past that barrier created by competitors. The book, Blue Ocean Strategy, refers to the Bloody Red Ocean, which is full of competition and where businesses are fighting each other to stand out they’re at war with each other. However, the Blue Ocean is wide-open and uncontested. Your free to swim around and move about because you have successfully been able to differentiate yourself from the competition. To differentiate your content marketing, focus on your topics, how you create content, and how to connect that content and share it with your customers. 10X reference: look at what you are doing and ask if what you are doing will help your team multiply results, including increasing sales leads and the number of visitors to your Website. Marketing teams needs to focus on 10x growth rather than increments of 10 percent improvements. Marketing teams are designed to produce results, not worry about risks. Agile Manifesto: focuses on how software development could be better. A powerful way to cause engineers to rethink and reframe what they’re doing. 10X Manifesto: focuses on how so much of marketing is about mindset when it comes to how we do and approach things. Results or Die: 10X marketers work in a results or die oriented business, not 10 percenters allowed. Many think of marketing as a process for things they do marketing is the blog, social media channels, conference booth, etc. There’s all these deliverables that a marketing team creates and hands off to others, such as the sales and support teams. Marketers are not here to produce Web ads or build a Website. They’re here to help produce business results and help grow companies. 10X marketers understand that growth requires failure, strength is in progress, not perfection. Teams that embrace failure (fail fast) understand that it is not about failure but acknowledging imperfection. Marketing comes with assumptions: assume methods used to get the message out will work; assume there’s the right mix of email ads; assume messages are right; assume the timeline is correct. Ever realize how much you are guessing? The problem is in the marketing plan. It becomes a risk-removal tool that leads to pointing fingers and placing blame on others. Instead of a plan, start with a goal. To start down the 10X marketing path, list what work you did this week. Are these 10X or 10 percent activities? Do any of these activities have the ability or potential, in a short period of time, to multiply results by 10X? Links: Garrett Moon 10X Marketing Formula Gartner’s Hype Cycle Blue Ocean Strategy Agile Manifesto SpaceX Elon Musk If you liked today’s show, please subscribe on iTunes to The Actionable Content Marketing Podcast! The podcast is also available on SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play Quotes by Garrett: â€Å"Everyone was really excited about it (content marketing). There was a lot of energy. A lot of hype behind it, and a lot of big promises that content marketing made to all of us.† â€Å"If we’re going to really double down. If we’re really going to continue doing this, how do we really make it sing? How do we really make it pay for itself and become a true part of our results?† â€Å"For us (as a start-up), it was results or die.† â€Å"Once teams start looking at what they’re doing, how their processes are built, one thing they tend to find is that much of what they’re doing is based on mitigating risk vs. generating results.†

Criminal Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Criminal Justice - Essay Example The agency also provides funding and certain oversight of community supervision (previously known as adult probation) and is responsible for the supervision of offenders released from prison on parole or mandatory supervision. During my visit to the Huntsville Office of the Inspector General, which is situated in Lake Rd. Suite 5, Texas, I have decided to talk to John Moriarty, Inspector General on his role and responsibilities. He is an important actor of TDCJ. A prior meeting was fixed with Mr. Moriarty. I reached in his Huntsville office at the scheduled time. Mr. Moriarty gave me a warm welcome. He heads the Investigation Department, which conducts investigation into the charges of grave bad behavior by employees and criminal breach on the organization property where interests are at risk by any violation. Smuggling of drugs and other goods not permitted in jail premises also comes under the investigation of the Office of Inspector General. Mr. Moriarty: My position of Inspector General is directly answerable to the Chairman, TBCJ, as you can see in the chart behind on the wall. (Mr. Moriarty turned his face towards the wall showing the chart, outlining the organization structure). Mr. Moriarty: Being independent of other departments, the mission of my office reflects its duties in working as a coordinating and communicating bridge between TBCJ, executive management, and investigating charges besides checking compliance with regulations and policies of the TDCJ. It is also our aim to see that the laws of the State of Texas are adhered to by the TBCJ. Other than that, we investigate waste, fraud and abuse of tax dollars in the agency. We are also a part of Joint Home & Defense initiatives of the Governor’s office and the FBI. Mr. Moriarty: It is wrong to say like that. Our Crime Stoppers â€Å"Behind the Wall† is a program that covers

Interwar Central Europe (Czech Literature class) Essay

Interwar Central Europe (Czech Literature class) - Essay Example There were two different views of culture in the 19th century. One field of thought used the word to distinguish human adaptive strategies from the instinctive adaptive strategies of animal while the other used it to refer to symbolic representations and expressions of human experience devoid of reference to direct adaptive value. In 1869, Arnold Matthew, belonging to the second school of thought, basically defined culture the way it is viewed today. According to him, "Culture or civilization, taken in its wide ethnographic sense, is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society"(Matthew, 1869). It was in the 20th century where anthropologists considered culture as an object of scientific analysis. In 2002, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) defined culture "as the set of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional fe atures of society or a social group, and that it encompasses, in addition to art and literature, lifestyles, ways of living together, value systems, traditions and beliefs". (UNESCO, 2002) The first thing that comes to mind when talking about scientific revolution is sweeping changes and discoveries in the Natural Sciences such as Physics, Biology and Chemistry. However, the term also indicates the series of changes in thought itself such as systematic doubt, empirical and sensory verification, the abstraction of human knowledge into separate sciences, and the view that the world functions like a machine. That is, the scientific revolution also encompasses the Social Sciences such as Philosophy and Political Science. The latter part of 19th century and the early portion of the 20th saw huge scientific developments in various fields. This was the period where steel, electricity, internal combustion engine, telegraph and telephone and railroads -all major factors for modernization- came into operation. This was also the period where Wilhelm Wundt applied a physiological approach to the mind, August Comte approached social problems with statistical data, Leopold von Ranke rejected history based on tradition and placed emphasis on documentary evidence, Albert Einstein proved his Relativity theories and Sigmund Freud established Psychoanalysis. (Wikipedia.org, 2006) These developments virtually revolutionize every aspect of life in many aspects of human society and it can be argued that is within this period where our understanding not only of the environment but of ourselves grew by leaps and bounds. However, it should be noted that these developments did not necessarily had positive effects; an example would be the development of chemicals for chemical gas warfare used in WW1. 3. Compare main features of "form" and "content" of Hasek's THE GOOD SOLDIER SVEJK. The novel takes the form of a satire where the contents delve on a discussion of the hypocrisy of the church, the stupidity of the army and the police and the destructiveness of war all seen thru the comic adventure of Svejk- a soldier branded by the Army and the bureaucracy as an imbecile- and the statements of a narrator. The adventures of Svejk' is played out against a backdrop of sharp and often

Argumentative Essay Essay Example for Free

Argumentative Essay Essay In America there are so many people who live without healthcare. President Obama has tried hard to change that known fact by introducing and passing his new Obama Care Act. It is very important for people to have proper healthcare coverage, medical care, affordable medications, and for all healthcare services to be available to everyone, whether they are poor, middle class or rich. For most Americans, high quality care generally is readily accessible without long waits but at high cost. However, the uninsured and, increasingly, the underinsured, the poor, and members of underserved minorities often have poor access to health care and poor health outcomes. The health workforce is well trained, yet the United States faces a severe shortage of primary care physicians. Approximately 45% of the U.S. population has a chronic medical condition, and about 60 million people, half of these, have multiple chronic conditions; the CDC estimated these numbers during a recent survey. 2 Most Americans 250 million (84.2%) have some form of health insurance coverage. But an estimated 47 million Americans (15.8%) were uninsured for a year, as reported for 2006 by the U.S. Bureau of the Census. A survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 43.6 million people (14.8%) of all ages were uninsured at the time of the National Health Expenditure Survey interview in 2006. However, as many as 89.5 million people under the age of 65 years lacked health insurance for a least 1 month or more during 2006-2007, according to a study by Lewin and associates published by Families USA. In addition, another 16 million people can be  considered underinsured. People without health insurance are much less likely than those with insurance to receive recommended preventive services and medications, are less likely to have access to regular care by a personal physician, and are less able to obtain needed health care services. Consequently, the uninsured are more likely to succumb to preventable illnesses, more likely to suffer complications from those illnesses, and more likely to die prematurely. The U.S. health care system has much potential for improvement. Disparities related to race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status has pervaded the U.S. health care system. In addition to the large numbers of Americans who lack adequate health insurance, the cost, quality, and utilization of health care services vary widely. Meanwhile, the need for long term care services and care coordination is increasing. Preventive care, cross discipline coordination, and proactive management of long term care might reduce the cost of care, but these services often are uncovered or poorly reimbursed. 3 Spending on health care in the United States has been rising at a faster pace than spending in the rest of the economy since the 1960’s. According to the Centers for Medicare Medicaid Services- National Health Statistics Group states that in 2005, national health care spending amounted to approximately $2.0 trillion, or $6697 per person and 16% of the gross domestic product. By 2015, health care spending is expected to reach $4.0 trillion. People with large medical care cost are often chronically ill, disabled, or poor. Our society’s inability to provide continuous, coherent patient centered care for this group of individuals is one cause of the high aggregate cost of health care and contributes to the cost of public insurance programs. Patients who enter Medicare without previous insurance but with chronic illness will be sicker and more disabled and therefore more costly to that government program. Health insurance premiums increased drastically since the year 2005. Many have been unable to even afford health coverage. Employer based health insurance has been the basis for paying for health services since 1940, but  it is fast eroding under the pressure of relentlessly rising costs of care. Despite the growing need for coordination of health care services, government and private insures pay for health care services primarily on a episodic, visit related basis with few, if any, incentives for providing comprehensive, coordinated, and continuous care for the prevention and management of chronic illness. Primary care physicians now spend about 20% of their time in unreimbursed coordination of care tasks using the telephone or e-mail. Despite repeated attempts to rein in federal expenditures for Medicare and Medicaid, federal have continued to increase much faster than inflation in the entire economy. 4 The Medicaid program provides medical benefits to over 52 million people who meet categorical eligibility standards. The federal government and the state share responsibility for funding Medicaid. The success of the VA system in dramatically restructuring itself indicates that major gains can be achieved in the United States in improving health care access and quality while reducing costs. One response to rising health care costs has been the adoption of consumer directed health plans in which the individual takes greater responsibility for paying for care out of pocket rather than the employer or government. Unfortunately, for those with modest incomes, cost sharing has reduced medically necessary care, such as taking medicines for hypertension. The United States is in such a crisis when it comes to the health care system, yet is very important to see that every one of its citizens is afforded health coverage. People are sickly in this nation, like it is in other countries. The United States is in the midst of a primary health care workforce crisis that is expected to worsen in the next decade. The population is aging, and baby boomers are at a high, and a large amount of people will soon be over 65 years and at greater risk for needing care for chronic conditions. The United States should continue to work on having national policies introduced to the health care system to help guide training, supply, and the distribution of health care providers to better assist those in need of health coverage. It is very important to make this a reality, because we the  people of the United States need to be able to receive medical care, and health coverage, no matter if we are rich or poor in this society.

Atrocities In Afganistan (Women) Essay -- essays research papers fc

(NOTE TO STUDENT: my teacher gave me a B+ and said I would have had an A if I had had more detail on the Taliban's reasons for these laws) The women of Afghanistan have been enduring unfathomable suffering since the Taliban, a religious faction, seized control of the country in 1996. (NOTE TO STUDENT: my teacher gave me a B+ and said I would have had an A if I had had more detail on the Taliban's reasons for these laws) Since 1996 Afghan women have been living fear for their safety and lives. A myriad of discriminating laws has been placed on Afghan women. The punishments for violating these laws are unimaginably inhuman.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Taliban is an ultra-fundamentalist group that has 90 percent of Afghanistan under its control (Taliban). When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 Islamic factions united to expel the Russian occupiers from Afghanistan (Afghanistan). The new government that had formed soon collapsed from the deep-rooted ethnic and religious differences of its members (Afghanistan). The Taliban emerged victorious from the ensuing civil war to establish a reign of terror on the Afghan people (Afghanistan).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The women of Afghanistan have ended up bearing most of the weight from the oppressive hand of the Taliban. A woman is no longer allowed to be seen in public with out wearing a cumbersome burqa, a robe that covers the entire body from head to toe with only a small mesh screen to see and breath through. â€Å"I feel like I am invisible.† Claims one woman, â€Å"Nobody knows whether I’m smiling or crying†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She then explains how hard it is to see through the mesh screen (Shanahan). There have been accounts of women being run over by tanks because they couldn’t see through their burqa (Shanahan). Not only are women not allowed in public without the burqa, they must also be accompanied by a mahram, a male relative, when outside their homes (Women). When they are inside their homes, women must have the blinds pulled or the windows painted black so others can’t see them from the street (Women). A Taliban representative explains the logic behind these laws: â€Å"The face of a woman is a source of corruption for men who are not related to them.† (Women). So what does a woman do when she needs to go outside and there is no man to accompany her? One woman was shot while running through the streets with her sick child. ... ...ghts restored.† (Women). Although then UN and various countries condemn the Taliban for their disregard for the life and welfare of Afghan women, no aggressive actions have been taken.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Clearly the harsh laws and punishments the Taliban have created are unjust and wrong. Since the Taliban base their laws on religious believes it would be difficult for anyone to â€Å"talk them out of it†. There are many countries and organizations that are opposed to the Taliban’s treatment of women. I believe the Taliban will never gain recognition as a legitimate government from these countries unless they change drastically and it is only a matter of time before the Taliban fall. Works Cited â€Å"Afghanistan.† Nutshellnotes. Online> 28 Jan. 2000. Shanahan, Noreen. â€Å"Fighting gender apartheid in Afghanistan.† Herizons. V>13 (3). (Fall’99): 23-25. â€Å"Stop Gender Apartheid in Afghanistan!† The Feminist Majority Foundation. Online. 20 Feb. 2000. â€Å"Taliban publicly execute woman murderer.† Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan. Online. 17 Nov. 1999. â€Å"Women in Afghanistan: The violations continue.† Amnesty International. Online. June 1997.

Counter Culture Essay

Introduction From a moral standpoint, social problems harm people and from a democratic standpoint, social problems harm the well-being of citizens. In addition to that, from a societal standpoint, social problems threaten the productive functioning of society. A social problem is said to exist to the extent that some â€Å"malfunction† is observed in society. This malfunction might be an inequality (e.g:with the same education and experience women earn only about 80% of what men earn in the labor force), a poor allocation of resources (e.g: poor environmental stewardship), violence (e.g: domestic violence, rape, violent crime), or an inefficient organizational system (e.g: too much or too little being spent on social services). The social evils that are plaguing our society today could hardly be catalogued, they are uncountable in the true sense of the assertion. Among the prominent social problems are the escalating crime waves , religious intolerance , disrespect for elders , laziness and lateness of duty , widespread of diseases , ostentatious spending, abortion, pre marital pregnancy, elope (run off secretly to be married and usually without the consent or knowledge of one’s parent), disciplinary problem, psychological pr oblem, slow down development of the country, and alcohol consumption . These are the effects of our social problem among Malaysian youth. Sociologists can identify many aspects of society that might be considered to be social problems. It is the values held by the majority of citizens (in a democracy) that define what is a social problem (e.g:Is denial of same-sex marriages a problem?). Social problems are identified as such partly with respect to their perceived effect on the productive functioning of society. Social problems can be difficult to identify (e.g:What is the scientific evidence that same-sex marriages or the prohibition of them will harm society?). Sociologists use the consensus, conflict, and interactionist perspectives to examine these conditions of potential social problems. Risk Factors for Social Problems Risk factor is defined as a factor which increases the chances of social  problems beyond control. There are different risk factors for social problems among youth such as biological, psychological and social. Social risk factors include unemployment, disturbed family environment, unavailability of educational opportunities, availability of drugs in locality, law and order situation. Environmental/social risk factors are increasing the chances of using drugs among youth. A youngster who is disturbed because of his family environment will spend time out side of his home, sitting with friends who can offer him drugs. Handling peer pressure will be difficult for him, as a result, he will be ready to use drug. A youngster deprived of educational opportunities and economic resources may be at great risk of using drugs. His disappointment from social problems will produce images of drugs in his mind as the suitable source of getting rid of his problems. Easy availability of drugs/substance in his locality will further serve to increase his craving for drugs. Also the principal and behavioural factors linked with youth violence are hypersensitivity, impulsiveness, poor behavioural control, attention problems, history of early aggressive behaviour and low educational achievement. Associating with delinquent peers has also been linked to violence in young people. Gangs and a local supply of guns and drugs are a potent mixture, increasing the likelihood of youth violence. Low level of social cohesion within community has been linked to higher rates social problems. Cultures that do not provide non-violent alternatives for resolving conflicts appear to have higher rates of social problems too. For most young people, the offending behaviour is part of growing up, of testing the limits, of taking risks, of asserting their independence. It may also be an indication of boredom and the absence of anything useful or meaningful to do. It may be a reflection of that awkward stage of life where one feels grown up but not able to participate fully in the world of adults. Generally, the offenses that they commit are relatively minor and decrease in frequency as they grow older, mature and find a way to participate in and contribute to society. Ways to overcome social problems The role of parents is crucial in giving serious attention to their children. Parents must consider the movements of their children. Parents should always know and identify the problems faced by their children and are willing to take the time to solve the problem. Parents also should know their child’s friends and always make sure their children make friends and socialize with those who have well in morally. In addition parents must spend part of daily time with children by giving them confidence, courage, creating positive attitudes towards issues, emotions and decisions. Another common set of prevention strategies addressing youth violence focuses on early intervention with children and families. Such programmes provide parents with information about child development and teach them how to effectively discipline, monitor and supervise children, as well as how to manage family conflict and improve communication. Parent and family -based interventions are among the most promis ing strategies for producing long-term reductions in youth violence. 2. Academic approach. This can be done by adding activities based on academic and semi-academics activities such as extra-curricular in schools. Similarly, the changes in teaching techniques such as use of computer, video, audio-visual aid equipment and techniques of teaching outside the classroom should be implemented. 3. Establishing legal system in the school. Provisions in the law school could create fear among students, in addition to reducing the burden and responsibility of the school and the parents in monitoring discipline. 4. Law enforcement authorities like the police. Jurisdiction of the existing police should be used by school administrators in the discipline of students. The administrator shall take the opportunity to refer their student’s problems to police. 5. Preventive measures should be held as appropriate counselling at school level. Counselling at school level is important in helping teenagers overcome their problems. This program will be more meaningful i f the counsellors are qualified and experienced elected. 6. Parents and Teachers Association (PTA) should play an important role more frequent meetings between parents, guardians and teachers should be held  especially for students that influenced in social problems. Parents should discuss student’s problem with teacher and get ready to receive and advice from a teacher with an open and positive attitude. If one considers that ultimately we are concerned with the healthy development of adolescents in transition to adulthood, we must be concerned with the issues that impede or impact on such transitions. Transition to adulthood includes simultaneous transitions across several domains including post-secondary education or other work preparation training, labour force participation (or unemployment) independent living, marriage or cohabitation, and community living. Transition success is affected by many factors including personal characteristics, gender, family influences, exposure to role models, economic status, cultural influence s, and the economic viability of the community in which the person functions. We also be mindful of the fact that adolescence occurs in a context with such factors as race, ethnicity, cultural customs, language, social views and practices, sexual orientation and physical or learning disabilities all combining to make the transition experiences of some adolescents very different from others. While there has been a fair amount of work done on identifying risk factors that, if present, may increase the likelihood of a young person’s involvement in crime or other negative behaviour problems, there has also been some work done on the development of programs that build on the enhancement of protective factors which may reduce the effects of exposure to risk factors and thus lower the chances a youth will develop serious anti-social or other behaviour problems or become a victim.. Protective factors may also divide into: (1) Individual characteristics (i.e. high IQ, high level of resilience and flexibility and a positive social attitude); (2) Social bonds ( notably warm, supportive and affective   relationships with parents and other adults); and (3) Social support including positive social skills and socially acceptable pattern of behavioural norms. Possession of problem-solving, Life and communication skills. Sociability, Resilient personality or temperament A sense of belonging, secure attachments to positive parent(s) or family Positive relations with â€Å"pro social† peers Access to other caring supportive adults Appropriate discipline Limit-setting and structure from parents, Opportunities to experience success and build self esteem In the context of transitions from adolescence to healthy adulthood, it is important to consider the notion of â€Å"resilience† as a young person’s ability to cope in the presence of major stress or risk factors. They go on to suggest that resilience is a source of strength in young people created or nurtured by caring and effective parents or other adult caregivers, positive learning environments in schools and access to community resources. What is the value of having an assessment to identify potential risks and needs of young offenders? By objectively identifying young persons who pose a higher risk of re-offending and the program interventions that are needed Assessments allow for a potentially more efficient and effective use of resources More objective and consistent decision making Establishing a baseline for monitoring a young offender’s progress Periodic reassessment of rehabilitative effectiveness Appropriate targeting of program intervention to address the social problems factors associated with offending (risk-needs assessment) such as: Use of appropriate modes of intervention based on social learning principles A multiplicity of available interventions to address differing individual needs Consistent application of interventions to ensure program integrity Quality assurance of program design and delivery including training and recruiting appropriate staff Strong theoretical base or mission for the program We should be careful not to suggest that a program has not been successful if a young person re-offends. While rehabilitative programs are designed with a goal of reducing recidivism, it is essential that other forms of program success are included in the mix and not totally rely on measures of recidivism to determine success. We can reduce occasional or temporary  offending by young people by helping them deal with the stress associated with the turbulence of adolescence and finding ways of involving young people in useful and meaningful activities. Educational and recreational activities to which all have equal access and which are designed on the basis of the varied needs and interests of young people are important. Access to social services can help some young people and their families deal with problems which may underlie the offending behaviour. Given what we know about the correlation between poverty, mental health and opportunities, the economic security of young people and their families should also be a priority. These measures are all primary prevention strategies – ways of creating healthier and ultimately safer communities. Conclusion Though social problems are recurrent issues in many societies all over the world, they can be predetermined and controlled by use of social studies. When we think of the many settings that have evolved over time, it becomes apparent that there can never be a permanent solution to these social problems. Governments in affected regions try to curb socially unacceptable behaviour by regulating wealth and economy for citizens, thereby ensuring that money distribution is constant and fluent enough to avoid situations where some feel exploited. More measures can be taken to avoid socially unacceptable behaviour like crime and drug use, thereby maintaining law and order in society. Society is the place where young generations are brought up and nurtured for future. If social problems are left to come up and establish themselves, the upcoming generations would grow up to become savage and barbaric citizen, destroying civilization that was once prosperous.