Critical paper for the film Whatever Works by woody Allen Essay

Critical paper for the film Whatever Works by woody Allen - Essay Example His most reoccurring theme in this movie is hard and painful life experienced by many Americans. He further manages to bring out the uncertainty of life. Through these issues, we as humans can reflect on our lives and learn to appreciate our time on earth due to the inevitability of death. His work provides an insight into the philosophy of life to the current and future generation. Like Boris, the present and future generations will realize that harsh realities of life and sufferings impact them enormously, as well as their works. With proper planning and wise decisions, people can easily evade misfortunes and lead better lives, not like the one led by Boris. What I find interesting is that Boris continually insults people, but despite this, people still love him. He does this in a humorous, innovative, and creative way. He adopts impressive and witty lines to inform the people of their foolishness and stupidity in the movie. It is evident when he is accused of hitting a young child with a chessboard, but he defends himself by stating, â€Å"I did not hit with it, I picked it up and dumped the piece on his head as an object lesson, to shake him out of his vegetable torpor†. It is interesting to learn that Boris does not come across as sour and unpleasant to the people he always insults. Majority of the people like and appreciate him since he is uniformly funny especially when delivering his insults. However, Allen appears to be provocative in his movie. I find the scenes in his film depicting majority of Americans as conservative and sexually repressed provocative. To him, any American citizen outside New York is ignorant and unenlightened on the current lifestyle. In addition, he says that they are homosexuals who do not find opposite sex attractive, but would rather make love to sheep. This movie provokes the rest of Americans. It creates bad blood between the rest of America and New York. Such words can cause

Psychology, Theology in Chrisitian Counseling Essay Example for Free

Psychology, Theology in Chrisitian Counseling Essay SUMMARY The book begins with at brief selection as it addresses the importance of the counselor utilizing the Christian faith in counseling in addition to focusing on the relationship between psychology and theology. It addresses the issues and concerns that religion may bring into counseling sessions and how the counselor should address and handle these challenges. McMinn addresses the facts that spiritual development must take place with the client as well as the counselor. The counselor must personally address the regulation of prayer, scripture, sin, confession, forgiveness, and redemption these formulations are a necessity for smooth sessions for the client and counselor. The objective of the sessions is to create a healthy sense of self for the client. Once this objective is achieved, the client can move from being broken, and begin a self-motivated and fulfilling relationship with God and others. In the section, Toward Psychological and Spiritual Health, McMinn focuses his main position to the varied individuality of an individual’s life. He proposes that Christian counseling strengthens three areas of a person’s life: sense of self, awareness of human need, limitations, and confiding interpersonal relationships with God and others. The book appears to be focused on the many important attributes of a Christian’s life i.e. prayer, scripture, sin, confession, forgiveness, and redemption all which should be the foundational make-up of the Christian counselor’s method of treating client’s. Dr. McMinn (1996) believes prayer should be used in and outside of the counseling session, however; with caution. According to McMinn (1996) Christian counselors should depend upon Scripture for truth by determining how to use it appropriately. The use of scripture should be utilized as a therapeutic intervention in the counseling setting. In addition, it would solely depend upon the client’s emotional, mental and spiritual health and how it is perceived. The chapters are formatted in a very straightforward layout. The chapters have sections to address the challenges counselors face, psychological and spiritual health focus points, and also expected results by each foundational element of counseling – psychological, theological, and spiritual. McMinn further discusses the topics of sin, redemption and forgiveness. From the text, it is apparent that the discussion of sin must be handled with care at all times. This subject should be approached with caution and only be discussed if there is a healthy client counselor relationship. Forgiveness is one of the other attributes discussed. Forgiveness has the ability to lead an individual to a healthy and fulfilling life with others and self. It can produce spiritual, mental and emotional reprieve for a client. Redemption is the sole objective for counseling and the counselor must first recognize his redemption before he is urged to be a vessel to redeem someone else. (Ephesians 1:7-8) In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of Gods grace 8that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. (NIV) Christ’s redemption has freed us from guilt, being â€Å"justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus† (Romans 3:24). To be redeemed we first have to be lost, separated, and captive, be in slavery, and so on. In the case of the Christian redemption definition, we are separated from God and need redemption to be able to be reconcile back to God. CONCRETE RESPONSE This book is a very good outline of spiritual and psychological health and functioning. It gives a very detailed outline of what a Christian counselor should be. Having had some counseling sessions with my pastor in regards to debating on divorce, I was able to relate to McMinns outlines. My pastor was firm and consistent and did not waiver from the word of God as it related to my personal issue at the time. Before the sessions begin, one of the major items my pastor discussed with me was prayer. He asked before the sessions started if I would like for him to pray and before the end of each session. He advised me that through prayer I would be able to feel the presence of God in which I did. As I became more acclimated with my relationship with God, I was able to feel his presence. However; at some points during the sessions I felt as if he was forcing his personal beliefs on me as it related to divorce. I was at a point in my life that divorce appeared to be the only option I felt I had. With prayer and the act of forgiveness and continued efforts, I was able to forgive my spouse and move forward. After my sessions, I was able to find my healthy sense of self again which lead to a more positive, healthy and productive life with my spouse. REFLECTION The proficiency of counseling must be carefully implemented in order for the counselor and client to eventually envision and reap the benefits. This action may not happen in two or three sessions or may not happen at all depending upon the counselor and client’s relationship. We as Christian counselors must equip ourselves with the whole armor of God (Eph. 6:11, 13). The Holy Spirit should be in the midst of each counseling session in order for the sessions to be productive and prosperous. McMinn (1996) intra disciplinary approach to healing the emotional, mental, and spiritual life of man must be taken in small steps. One question that comes to mind is the section which related to counseling adolescents. According to the book, a teenager appears to be the most difficult to communicate with. In view of the fact that teenagers are faced with an array of complex situations on a daily basis, how would one effectively bring across information for a teenager to perceive who is currently going through a dilemma? Would the same outline be used in treating adults? ACTION As I read Mark McMinn’s book I began to feel a hunger and thirst for the Word of God which became more prevalent as I continued to read. My spirit began to search for more of God . It is apparent that I must fast, pray and read my bible on a daily basis so that I can focus on God and build a closer relationship with him. This book is an excellent resource for counseling for those who need guidance in incorporating spiritual disciplines in a secularly dominated society. The only way this will be instrumental in counseling is to refer to its teaching and allow the Holy Spirit to make it conducive and acceptable in the counseling session. Many Christian counselors can use this resource to reach a level of maturity that will translate into true healing and redemption. As a Christian Counselor, I must first recognize the fact that each person is different mentally, physically and emotionally. Therefore, different methods must be utilized. There is not an outline written in stone; each session evolves into a different method according to the client and the positive or negative response of the previous sessions. The information given by McMinn has truly broadened my outlook in respects to counseling and the relationship I should have with God in reference to becoming a counselor. I would truly recommend this book to any existing counselors or those perusing a counseling career. REFERENCE McMinn, Mark R. Psychology, Theology, and Spirituality In Christian Counseling. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1996.

Climate Change Effects On Water Resources Environmental Sciences Essay

Climate Change Effects On Water Resources Environmental Sciences Essay The last two decades climate change is increasing due to the change of human activity such as cars, planes, factorys and other sources we use that adds greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. Because of these human causes the earth is heating up. One effect that climate change has is the effect the change will have upon human water freshwater resources. I believe that climate change will have an effect on human water resources because of the close connections with the hydrological cycle, the raising temperature will increase in floods and droughts that will lead to the demand on more freshwater resources. Climate change has close connections with the hydrological cycle. The hydrological cycle is located in the earths hydrosphere this is the area in around earth which holds all the water. The water is moved around the earths hydrosphere in a cycle. The hydrological cycle is moved in five different steps evaporation, precipitation, condensation, runoff, collection and infiltration. The as you can see in Figure 1 the hydrologival cycle all starts of with evaporation this is the change of liquid water to water vapour. The next step is condensation this is the process of changing water vapour, from a liquid and then to form clouds as you can see from the clouds in figure 1. This process can be notice for example when you look out for dew on the ground in the morning. As the clouds you see in the sky move around earth spreading the water vapour from place to place. The clouds become over loaded with moisture so they have to release the overloaded moisture. They release the moisture by a pr ocess called by precipitation which is usually rain, hail or snow. Infiltration occurs they when all the precipitations lay on the ground. If there is to much precipitation on the ground this becomes runoff. Runoff stays on the earth ground and runs into streams, rivers, lakes and oceans. So when the precipitation run into the these streams, rivers, lakes and oceans this process is called collection. As infiltration, runoff and collection are being processed, the sun is causing a the cycle to return back to the begaining of the cycle to the process called evaporation.Sunlight heats up the liquid in streams, rivers, lakes and oceans. The warm air rises upwards into the atmosphere and becomes the vapour involved in condensation. Without this process life on earth would be impossible. Freshwater that we use in or day to day lifes usually comes from Aquifer, Streams, Rivers, Lakes. Aquifer are constructed when rocks of the upper part of the earths crust contain holes or pores. Theses holes are big or joined together so that water can flow through them easily. This is a part of rock that is easy for water to pass through known as permeable. Streams usually get most of its water from runoff, rain and melting snow. A stream is formed when the rain and melting snow met at the same place and get into a line of channel. Streams usely flows into lakes, rivers, aquifer and seas. Rivers are a natural stream of freshwater resource. Water within the river is generally collected from precipitation through surface runoff, groundwater recharge, springs and the release of stored water in ice and melting glaciers. Lakes are usually filled with deep freshwater or salt water. Lakes are inland usly on mountains areas and are not part of the Ocean. They are filled by rivers or streams that connect to them. Some Lakes can be man made and are constructed for industrial or agricultur al use and even for hydro- electric power or domestic water supply. Water is one of the most importent inputs the human body needs for us humans to cope with everyday life . We need it for so many things e.g. health, growing food, irrigation, industry. Despite the importance of Freshwater Resources decreasing, we are beginning to take the freshwater resources for granted. Most of the freshwater we use is wasted and polluted. Because the hydrological cycle temperature is rising it will lead to a change in the horological cycle, This will have an impact on the weather. The dry seasons will become alot more dryer and the wet seasons will become alot more wetter. Leaving us with more floods and droughts. This change will therefore will impart the availability and quality of water. Some of the countries on this earth already have a hard enouch time getting water because of increaseing industrial pollution and population growth. Climate change just adds to the problem to the quality of water, which in some parts of the world the reduce rainfall and rising temperatures decrease the freshwater. By the year 2025 most of humans living in countries with poor water quality levels will increase from approximately 34 percent (in 1995) to 63 percent.R K Pachauri (2005) The change in accessing water stressed areas will have a potential conflict. As there will be a pressured demand on freshwater because of household, agricultural and industrial uses. These conflicts will occur in water stressed areas fighting against areas of natural springs and rivers as well as this it will lead to conflict on boundary areas for example the region of Northern Kenya and the Samburu is having to cope with the changing patterns of rainfall and dry periods which with other pressures on the natural resources are leading to increasing conflict among tribal groups over access to scarce water.Smith (2006) 2 Discussion Most of the earth has 70% of ocean. While just 30% of the earth is land. Around 84% of the worlds population is living on dry land. Humans are trying to fix this by reconstruction the hydrological cycle system by building dams and creating waste water treatment plants etc. These elements will provide water for agriculture, household, Industrial, environmental and other uses. But these changes will also lead to some defects in years to come. India is one of the most effected by climate change. The snow ice caps of the Himalayas is experienceing less snow because of snow melt. The glaciers is melting and there is signs of increase flooding. The increasing rising temperatures is starting to dry up the rivers. The Himalayas holds the largest amount ice on the earth. Researchers have figure out that there is a strong combination between snow and the temperature. In recent years the Himalayas have experienced warm periods in the years between 1960- 1990, causing a reduction in snow fall. Glaciers has been watched by researchers in the the past years. The United Nations climate report predicts by 2035 some Himalayan glaciers will disappear with the rising temperatures. Because of the glaciers melting the melting ice will run off into rivers such as the Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers and some tributaries coming from the Himalayan ice field. This will cause flooding to riverside cites e.g. Varanasi, Kanpur and Patna. These citys have a population of millions and have already experience floods during high monsoon season and it will be ongoing. Flooding will also cause interruption for the farming areas in northern parts of India and cause damage to the roads and rail way line. The dams such as the dams in Kosi ans Sutlej could over flow causing more destruction to cornfields and settlements. When the point of no ice is reached by 2035 the ice melting will have either stopped because of a solution to climate change or be dried up because of the continued temperature rising. If the ice does start to minimise the river will become weaker and dryer during the monsoon mouths and summer. As the earths temperatures rises from about 14 degrees C based in 2000 to a estimated 19 degrees C in 2100 the following effects will be cause by the increase; Agricultural, Household, Industrial, Environmental and health sea levels will rise to an estimated 3.9 in to estimated 35 by 2100. Some parts of the coastal cites around India e.g. Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and other parts of the world will be underwater. Even most of the island around India will be covered in water. The island of Lohachara is the first island in the world to be covered in water due to climate change. The island is located on the southern edge of the Ganges delta in the bay of Bengal. Its 10,000 residents became the first refugees created because of climate change. There is a group of 27 island called Lakhadweep around the Arabian sea off the coast of south Indian state Kraal. They have a population of about 61,000 people living on them. The low lying islands are in huge danger of being covered in water as well. India is one of the world biggest countrys that effects the greenhouse effect. With the increased temperatures they will create a increase in precipitation. Rising the process of evaporation resulting from warmer sea temperatures in the Indian ocean and Arabian Sea will increase that destroy process around the west Indian Rajasthan Desert As well as the water resources being shorten because of climate change there is also another problem and that is that usually boundary countries sometime share the same water resource. There is some indentation that there has been conflict over freshwater shared by two or more countries. Freshwater is very important to all the worlds Humans activity, including the Agricultural, Household, Industrial and Environmental. But bad management and the impact of climate change can lead to tensions between different countries. For some years the counties such as India and Bangladesh have encountered conflict on river resources. It all started In 1993 when India and Bangladesh came under pressure when the Ganges River started to reach its record lows. Because the water level was low it affected Bangladesh agricultural and killed most of its crops. In October 1995, The Prime Minister of Bangladesh addressed the United Nations(UN) .The prime minister called India ¿Ã‚ ½s share of river water resources  ¿Ã‚ ½a gross violation of human rights and justice. ¿Ã‚ ½ India ¿Ã‚ ½s establishment of the Farrakka Barrage which is a barrage built near the border of Bangladesh. The barrage was build was to separate water for the Calcutta port. But Bangladesh says that because of this separation it has resulted in falling water tables and greater water resources for Bangladesh. India has a different view of the issue. Indian leaders says that Bangladesh was wrong in describing this issue. Bangladesh has asked India for a  ¿Ã‚ ½minimum guarantee ¿Ã‚ ½ agreement which will give Bangladesh a minimum flow of water. In 1996 India and Bangladesh agreed in the agreement then the  ¿Ã‚ ½Treaty on the Sharing of the Waters of the Gang ¿Ã‚ ½ was signed. Some political leader were unhappy about the agreement. But it was accepted my most political leaders. Since the treaty Bangladesh continues to have a number of problems. Some of the agreements that was agreed in the treaty have not been met. How are we going to fix this problem is the question we need to ask ourselfs I can see from my research that some efforts are being made to improve management in freshwater resources. Different organiseions have been developed to help the mather of climate change for example, the United Nation(UN) have organised the first water conference to take place in 1977 and developed an action plan to take action on the improved management and development of water resources and the UN designated 2003 as the international year of freshwater resources. The mission of the organision is to increase awareness of the importance of freshwater use, management and protection, provide an opportunity to change the implementation of the principles of integrated water resources management, use the year as a platform for promoting existing activity and spearheading new initiatives in water resources at the international, regional and national levels, and Launch the world water development report at the thir d world water forum in Kyoto. The World Summit on Sustainable Development(WSSD) 2002 has emphasised on the development of an integrated water resources management and water efficiency plan.DEVELOPMENT (2003). Global Water Partnership(GWP) Is a network of agencies and intuitions to promote  ¿Ã‚ ½integrated water resource management ¿Ã‚ ½ in developing countries. It facilitates the exchange of knowledge, experience and practise related to water resources management.Partnerships (2010). World Water Council(WWC) is an international think-tank for water issues. It objective is to  ¿Ã‚ ½increase advocacy for improved water resources management ¿Ã‚ ½. WWC has been organising the World Water Forum(WWF) bi-annually. The 3rd Forum was held in Japan in march 2003.Council (2010). European Water Association Act as a focal point for the exchange of information related to water and water activities.Association (2010) 3 Conclusion I can conclude that because of climate change and the hydrological cycle it is having a slight long term effect on human water resources. I can see that it has close connections with the hydrological cycle. Because of this it will increases flooding, create dry lands and encounter conflict within countries. More acceleration to the hydrological cycle may result in more severe weather and extreme conditions.Anne E. Egger (2003) If we dont address this issue there will be further more problems in the future and lead to even more droughts and flooding. According to the Comprehensive Assessment Of Water Manage in Agriculture, one in three people are already facing water shortages(2007). Almost one-fifth of the world ¿Ã‚ ½s population, live in areas of physical scarcity. Climate change has a close connection between hydrological cycle. Rising temperatures will increase the changing liquid to vapour and lead to the increases in rainfall and snowfall. Because of this the overall supply of freshwater resources will increase, Droughts and floods will happen more frequently and changes in snowfall and snow melt are expected in mountainous areas more frequently. Reading about climate change has made me release that we take our freshwater for granted and dont think about what will happen if we lose the freshwater. Will we have to introduce water charges maintain better water systems.

The Prevalent Issues Of Surrogate Parenting :: essays research papers fc

The Prevalent Issues of Surrogate Parenting   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Surrogate parenting refers to an arrangement between a married couple who is unable to have a child because of the wife's infertility and a fertile woman who agrees to conceive the husband's child through artificial insemination, carry it to term, then surrender all parental rights in the child. Often, the surrogate mother receives compensation for her services. The final step in the process is typically the father's acknowledgment of paternity and adoption, with his wife, of the child. Through surrogate motherhood, a couple desiring a child need not wait an indefinite number of years for an adoptable baby, as generally happens at the present time. The married couple obtains a child who is the husband's biological offspring- a child for whose existence both husband and wife can feel responsible.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Surrogate parenting is highly controversial by its very nature. Nevertheless, surrogate parenting is attracting wide spread attention as a viable alternative for infertile couples intent on having a child. Contract surrogacy is officially little more than ten years old, although surrogate mothering is a practice that has been known since biblical times. In 1986 alone 500 babies had been born to mothers who gave them up to sperm donor fathers for a fee, and the practice is growing rapidly.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For this reason there are many questions and doubts that arise from this subject. Often there are many legal difficulties that come about with surrogate parenting. In some states the contracts that insure the infertile couple the baby of the surrogate mother mean nothing. This, in turn, can cause huge problems if the surrogate mother were to change her mind about giving up her child. Who has the rights to the child in this awful situation? Surrogate parenting is a wonderful alternative for infertile couples as long as all party's involved are educated on the subject and are fully aware of the pros and cons of this risky business transaction.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Unfortunately laws on surrogate parenting aren't very helpful. Increasing numbers of surrogate custody cases are finding their way into the courtrooms. The most dramatic problem arises when the surrogate mother decides she wants to keep the baby.Whether she decides early or late in the pregnancy, at birth, or after the child is born, the ultimate issue is whether she or the infertile couple have parental rights.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  How is the law to respond to this kind of problem? Normally people would agree that a contract is a contract and therefore the infertile couple should be the ones to receive the baby. Unfortunately for some of us more sympathetic people this decision is not that simple.

Plato and Augustine’s Conceptions of Happiness Essay -- Philosophy Essa

Both Plato and Augustine offer unusual conceptions of what one must acquire to live a truly happy life. While the conventional view of happiness normally pertains to wealth, financial stability, and material possessions, Plato and Augustine suggest that true happiness is rooted in something independent of objects or people. Though dissimilar in their notions of that actual root, each respective philosophy views the attaining of that happiness as a path, a direction. Plato’s philosophy revolves around the attainment of eternal knowledge and achieving a metaphysical balance. Augustine also emphasizes one’s knowing the eternal, though his focus is upon living in humility before God. Both assert that human beings possess a natural desire for true happiness, and it is only through a path to something interminable that they will satisfy this desire. In his several dialogues, Plato contends the importance of the four virtues: wisdom, courage, self-control, and justice. In The Republic, he describes a top-down hierarchy that correlates to the aspects of one’s soul. Wisdom, courage, and temperance preside control over the rational, spirited, and appetitive aspects of the soul. It is when one maintains a balance between these aspects of his soul that he attains peace within himself: â€Å"...And when he has bound together the three principles within him...he proceeds to act...always thinking and calling that which preserves and cooperates with this harmonious condition (Plato 443c).† Wisdom and knowledge consistently remain at the top of his view of happiness. During the apology, Plato is asked what punishment is best suited for him. He sarcastically answers, â€Å"to be fed...(It is) much more suitable than for any one who has won a v... ...ath is led by humility, directing one toward a better understanding of God. Perhaps it is not important, however, which source, if either, is the correct root of happiness, but merely that one’s source stretches beyond the margins of what is temporal. Works Cited: Augustine, Aurelius. Confessions. 400. Trans. Henry Chadwick Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Kant, Immanuel. An Answer to the Question: What is Enlightenment? Online Essays Appropriate to Foucoult. 1997. 3 April 2001. Available URL: http://www.csun/edu/~hfspc002/ fouc.essay.html Plato. Five Dialogues. Trans. G.M.A. Grube Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, 1981. Plato. The Republic. Exploring Plato’s dialogues 28 March 2001. Available URL: http://trill.cis.fordham.edu /~gsas/philosophy/quotedpassage.htm

Naturopathy and Nutritional Medicine

In this essay I will look at nutritional medicine and naturopathy, and discuss how they have evolved into their present status. I will describe similarities and differences and address how history, culture and philosophy have shaped them. Nutritional medicine is the use of food and nutritional supplements to prevent and treat disease. It is based on the scientific study of nutrition, researching the nutritional content of food and how it con-tributes to optimal health. Nutrition is fundamental to health as it promotes wellbeing and decreases the risk of developing acute and chronic illnesses (Sardesai 2012, p. ). Naturopathy is a holistic healing system, focussing on natural agents (i. e. air, water, heat, food, herbs) and therapies (i. e. electrotherapy, physiotherapy, psychotherapy) and excluding the use of drugs and surgery. The core principle is that all beings possess a Vital Force, the self-regulatory ability to heal which is supported and enhanced by naturopathic medicine (She rwood 2005, pp. 156-158). From those descriptions it is obvious that nutritional medicine is an integral part of naturopathy. In fact, naturopathy considers proper nutrition and dietary routines important building blocks to health which are the foundations to prevention of disease and promotion of health (Lloyd 2009, p. 46). Appendix, table 1 identifies further similarities and differences between these two modalities. Principles for nutritional medicine and naturopathy can be traced back to ancient practices. Refer-ences for the use of food as medicine can be found in ancient medical texts of Egypt that describe the use of animal, vegetable and mineral substances as medicine to treat diseases (Di Stefano 2006, p. 5). Although the term naturopathy stems from the late 19th century, its philosophical beginnings can also be found in Egypt with the earliest written records of healing practices. The supernatural approach to medicine and the belief that disease is caused by angered gods, evil spirits or demons was characteristic for this period. Patients were treated holistically, both on a spiritual level including religious ritual, and on an empirical level by using food and medicinal plants with healing power (Seaton 2012, p. 2). Appendix, table 2 describes how this view on medicine, health and disease developed over time†¦.

Response to Journeys End Essay

In the novel Stanhope has the most physical status, not just because of his rank but also because people look up to him. Stanhope may rank the social hierarchy level amongst his fellow comrades but inside he is emotionally distraught, he does not show this and somehow stays head strong, on the other hand there is Hilbert who is tired and has lost all hope and hates the war and then decides he would like to pull out claiming that he has neuralgia but he is just trying to find ways to get home. To create a dugout like entrance we set up a few plinths on top of each other and the lined chairs up behind it creating a walkway which was on the width of our shoulders, this helped us to show great emphasis in our gestus as we clambered in and out of the trench. Workshop Two – Lighting/ Staging Our stage set was very minimalistic so that we could re-create what it would be like to be in a trench, to help us adapt and realise this we set up chairs as a border and them established a rule stating that venturing outside the border was ‘forbidden’. For our play we had only a few lights on stage, we did this to try and achieve the same amount of minimal lighting just as it would be in the trench. In one of our lesson we even used live candles to help build the low lit and damp surrounding of a trench and we also cramped all of the furniture together to make ourselves adjust to such a small so space just as the soldiers would have had to in journeys end. Workshop Three – Crosscutting In our third work shop we focused on the dramatic explorative strategy of cross-cutting, first we assembled ourselves into groups with sizes of 2-4 people and then we had to take a scene from the book and re-enact it using the dramatic strategy of cross-cutting. My group chose the scene where Riley dies from a battle wound. To add the element of cross cutting we showed a small part of the scene where riley dies and then we had 2 other scenes which showed his arrival to the regiment, and an argument with Stanhope. The final scene which was a vital part to our short performance included an extended, and more detailed version of riley’s death. The way that we used cross cutting helped us to raise tension in the audience and also made the audience assume a conclusion to our piece or build assumptions on what it was about, but the catch of cross cutting is that no matter what the audience may think the actors always have the ability to twist the last scene and maybe even end the performance on a cliff-hanger. Workshop Four- Hot seating In our fourth workshop we used the D.E.S ‘Hot seating’ so that we could have a better understanding and wider knowledge of the characters in journeys end, the vital part of hot seating is that you do not just pretend to be your chosen character but to put yourself in the characters shoes and wield the characters personality, habits and lifestyle. In the work shop we split ourselves into groups of four and then took on characters in the book that we did not know a lot of information about so that we could gain a greater insight into what that character is like. After that we asked our characters questions in which they would have to answer just as their character would as if they were in the same setting as in the book, this gave the other members of the group a chance to note down information on what the character’s personality is like and what their thoughts are in the book. After we had hot seated each member on their chosen character we reformed with the rest of the class and did the same thing. I think that reforming the class and having a bigger audience was a very clever idea as it widened the variety of questions that could be asked about the character and also gave us a larger insight into the characters lives in the book. I feel this workshop went very well because it benefited all in the room and we all shared and therefore gained information on the personalities of the characters. Workshop Five – Forum Theatre/Still image/ Thought Tracking For our fifth workshop we used the D.E.S ‘forum theatre’, by using this strategy it enabled us to receive feedback from the audience live on how we could better our performance. Once we had received this feed back we put it into practise straight away. Our teacher also created a stage set using chairs which enclosed around the actors all around apart from the back of the stage this made us feel very exposed due to the claustrophobic effect of the stage. Our task was to perform a small part of the book so that we could receive feedback on how to better our performance, as each group performed their piece our teacher changed the positioning of the stage set too create a different effect on the actors. As we received feedback our peers changed the theme of our piece at one point from a sad and solemn piece to a comedic and vibrant one. Due to the sudden change in the theme it enabled us to improvise our lines and tint the tone and accent of our voices so that it would match with the theme. Another advantage of the change in them is that we all changed our levels and status when the comedic twist was incorporated. Overall I think forum theatre is a great, successful technique. It enhances your performance because you receive ideas and use them to improve your performance. Workshop Six – Still image/ Thought Tracking We used thought tracking because it helped us fully explain the particular theme of whatever still image we were trying to express, it also helps because there is a lot of unnoticed emotional tension within the atmosphere. By using this technique we gave our characters a chance to expresses themselves in a way that they are too afraid to in front of their fellow comrades. Emily Davison: Protests Workshop One – Narration This workshop was focused on Emily Davison who was a famous suffragette, who gave her life to stand up for women’s rights. In our workshop we worked together as a whole class so that we could introduce many different characters that held different views on the thoughts and actions of Emily Davison. Our teacher gave us some information on the history of Emily Davison and her struggle for equal rights amongst the women and men of Britain. We were then to act out a small scene by improvising with the information that we had received, sir picked two people to start the scene and gradually assigned people to join them but first he gave each person a role. As we were all eventually in the scene he started to narrate and tell us what we were to do by telling a story, this helped give us an understanding of each character which helped us to produce the scene with ease although we had no formal script. Next we were all split into two groups and then we had to act out a key event in Emily Davison’s life with my group which consisted of four others. Our group had decided to recreate the time when Emily Davison was sent to prison for the second time and was almost drowned in her cell, one member of our group became the narrator and the rest of us acted out the scene but we also included still images and thought tracking to equally express the emotions flowing through the character at the time. Workshop Two – Devised Piece/ Role-play In the second workshop we had to devise a piece using the information we had received on Emily Davison’s history. We were split into groups of four and then we had to plan on what we intended to do, we decided on having 4 scenes in our performance which explained a mass sum of Emily Davison’s life in a short amount of time I think that as a group we acted smartly as to only include vital events in her life as it was paramount to the last scene which was very tense; 1. The school classroom that Emily taught in. This included a monologue where a member of our group played as Emily who was talking about her aspirations for the future. 2. A demonstration march to campaign for women’s rights. This is after she gains followers who believe in equal rights for women as she does. 3. The prison where Emily was horribly mistreated in. This scene shows the pure brutality of the struggle that Emily Davison went through. 4. The race track where she died through an act of marty rdom. This scene shows how far Emily Davison went to stand up for what she believed in and unfortunately she paid the ultimate price for it. All of these scenes we included the vital key parts that were needed to help the audience to understand the life, death & history of Emily Davison. To develop our piece we used dramatic explorative strategies like chorus were we all joined in when shouting at another member of our group during the performance this helps to express the characters emotions or the theme of that particular moment in the play. At one point we also used thought tracking so that we could express the characters inner feelings i.e. when Natalia (Emily) is arrested by the police and taken to court she uses the thought track as an opportunity to make the audience aware of her emotion at the time. By developing our own piece based on the history of Emily Davison it allowed us to build our own perspective of her personality and the many troubles that she faced throughout her life. Workshop Three – The Race Track – Contrast In this workshop we had to explore the aspects of each characters physical/emotional level by using contrast, our teacher also gave us some rope as a stimulus and we were asked to incorporate it into our piece. As a class we decided to use the rope as a way to split the characters in a social aspect i.e. on one side of the rope we had the women and on the other we had the men. To show mass contrast within the group of women we had Emily Davison and two of her fellow campaigners placed away from the large group of housewives. Over on the boys’ side most of the men who were betting on the race standings were focusing on a member of our group who used physical theatre to interpret that she was a horse by using a mask and using incorporating the element of gestus and physical theatre. The rope is a very strong stimulus because its shows highlights the ability and how easy it is to divide relationships, emotions and even society, this was strongly shown in our performance when Emily ran in front of the horse and both sides stopped in awe and then in chorus whispered ‘the woman†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.the horse’ eventually this whispers grew into shouts and then everyone rushed over to tend to the horses needs. This particular moment shows how in those times society was a lot different and women were seen as second class citizen. Although Emily Davison wanted equality for all women, not all women agreed with her and some were very comfortable with their life at the time we showed this in our performance by having a member of our group who played the role of a housewife do a thought track which expressed her hate for what Emily Davison was doing. I think that the rope as a stimulus helped us greatly to bring across our point society’s clear line between how women and men were respected and seen at the time. The rope also represented how divide society’s thoughts were at the time and that only material things such as horse racing we greatly prioritised over the life of a woman who stood up for what she believed in. Rosa Parks: Ride to Freedom Workshop One – Bus Boycott – Marking the moment/ Still Image/ Thought Tracking In this workshop we watched a short part of the film ‘Ride to Freedom’ its about the moment when Rosa Parks was arrested for standing up against being prejudiced for refusing to give up her seat on a bus for a white person. Our class was split into half and then we worked in groups to recreate the scene that we had watched. Although we had ample opportunities to use many elements of D.E.S we went too far and tried to cram too many things in our performance. Unfortunately the fact that we had so many D.E.S strategies conflicted with the fact that we all had to remember our cues, due to lack of organisation our performance was very slow and robot-like because everyone was trying to do too much that even when improvisation was attempted it greatly lacked in co-ordination which also led to the mass confusion within our minds when on stage. There were some good moments in our performance i.e. we used split staging well when I left the scene to get the police officer and everyone on the bus was still carrying on trying to get Rosa off the bus, but other wise I was not very happy with the way our performance went and I have also learnt a lesson and that is not to over complicate things. Workshop Two – Devised piece/ Chorus/ Levels / Signs In this workshop we worked in groups of fours and were given a poem to use as a stimulus, the poem was made by a famous author called Maya Angelou. We incorporated the theme of the Rosa parks story with our stimulus and created a short performance. First we read the poem and decided as a group to only use lines than empowered the mental status of our characters as it would help us greatly in our use of physical levels we also had many elements of D.E.S Within our performance we decided to use chorus so that we could help the audience realise the passion that our characters had for what they believe in, as a group we had also decided to do our best to maintain a simple bold and stern voice when saying our lines so that we increased the depth of anger that we were portraying to the audience. At the end of the performance we all stood at different levels on plinths which gave the impression that we were physically and emotionally rising higher and higher by the end of the play all of us were standing at attention showing great power through the since of our bodies. Through the positive feedback we received from the audience we could tell that the way in which we had used DES was very successful and that it was a great help to us as many of the audiences feedback pointed out to us whilst being briefed about our performance. I think that by us using a stimulus it helped us to build a story around it in a way that we felt comfortable and therefore I feel that is why this was success. Workshop Three – Physical Levels/ For this workshop our class was split into two and were given a stage to use as a stimulus as we continued to explore our ideas on the theme of Rosa Parks, our teacher also gave us a set of plinths that were all on different levels, he also said that we were only allowed to stand on the plinths throughout the whole performance limiting our movement on stage. Our main objective was to create a piece that used all the themes and aspects from our other two workshops on Rosa parks. Before we started to build our story we assigned characters according to our own strengths so that we would be able to achieve the best we could when it came to developing lines that our character would say. To gain the most out of our performance and to use as many useful D.E.S and different drama techniques so that we could enhance the quality of our performance. Our group decided to use thought tracking and still image to play out the scene of when Rosa Parks challenged the bus driver and was arrested and as our space on stage was limited we had decided to use thought tracking and split staging to make our performance effective. All the characters voiced their opinion on Rosa parks refusal to move out of her seat and then one member of our group narrated a scene so that we could add the element of split staging to performance. When we had received feed back from our peers they had greatly expressed their positive views on our use of staging and that having a narrator helped to tell what was going on due to there being a lack of conversation within our performance between our characters. I feel that due to the great organisation of our group and selected role assignment that we were able to pull off the performance well. Pitmen Painters Plot The Pitmen Painters was a spectacular historical/ cultural play about a group of miners in the 1930’s that lived in Ashington which is a small town by the cost in Newcastle, it is about 5 men and an unemployed teenager who through art classes explore their own hidden talents using their emotions to express themselves through painting. Through the play they also develop mentally as people and eventually start thinking g a lot more positively and see the world as a place full of opportunity. Sub – Plot Out of the whole group of miners Oliver Kilbourn is the main character as he is quick to become a pawn to the appreciation of real art. His talent in painting and interest also increases due to their raise in public awareness and eventually he meets a rich collector called Helen Sutherland who is a dear fan of his work, they grow to become good friends but hit a bombshell when Mrs Sutherland ask Oliver to come out of his life-long job of being a miner down in the pits to becoming an artist and working when he wants. Angered by the arrogance that Mrs Sunderland is posing although she is unaware of it at the time he declines the offer and loses his temper, but then apologises at a later date and then sets up a union for the miners to help better not just his future but his new found friends and the rest of the pitmen in Ashington. Staging The stage that we watched the performance on was simplistic and very small compared to the size of others that I have seen at other performances. The scene had only two entrances and exits through which the actors walked through they were placed at the back of the centre stage and on the stage left. Although there was a great shortage of space all of the actors did use the stage appropriately and to their advantage i.e. during a scene where they are all assessing each others art work the way that the chairs are positioned and the strict border lines that the actors stuck to when moving clearly suggested the length and width of the room. Lighting I feel that the lighting used in the performance was excellent because it did not just have the house lights on to show where the actors were, they also had spotlights of many colours which were used in certain scenes which helped set a range of different atmospheres on stage and in the audience. For instance during the scene where all of the miners go to see an exhibition on traditional Chinese art a white spotlight immediately shone on the faces of the whole group, and then they all froze and listened to Oliver’s monologue which described the piece of art in a very intense way this also empowered the audience to feel the same passion for the piece as the character did on stage. An overhead projector was also used throughout the play to show the audience the name of the each scene before it started. It was mostly used though to show the pieces of art that the pitmen had drawn, this was very smart because due to the size of the paintings the audience were unable to see the art , but this small setback was obviously countered by the stage crew with the use of a projector. Costuming Throughout the play most of the characters show a very clear line of division that suggest the difference of wealth between them all for instance the Leader of the mine George brown always attendee the art appreciation group in a nice suit and decent polished shoes with his hair slicked back, this tells me that although he works down in the mines he either is very wealthy or is a man with great pride who likes to look good. Professor Robert Lyon who comes down to run the art group in Ashington wears a variety of suits throughout the performance suggesting that he is wealthy and has a golden pocket watch on display at all times. Now although these two characters dress very well you can clearly notice the difference between them due to the way that they speak and how their body language is. Sound/Voice The performance did not have a lot of sound effects due to the fat that they purely didn’t need them and that due to the constant conversation that happened throughout the play it wasn’t appreciated, but neither was it missed. The characters voices included many different ranges of pitch and expression such as Helen Sutherland who is a rich middle aged art collector who is very wealthy; she speaks with a very sharp, squeaky but strong english accent which suggests that she was taught at a school and wealthy enough to afford an education. Oliver Kilbourn who is another pitman from the Ashington art group speaks with a heavy northern English accent and also spits his words and mumbles them a lot of the time, this infers to me that he may not be from a good background where the pronunciation of English is paramount in life and education. Just from the way that all of the characters speak I am able to build my own personality file on every one of them and develop my own ide as on what their characters are like.