Amandla! A Revolution in Four Part Harmony Essay Example For Students

Amandla! A Revolution in Four Part Harmony Essay Abdullah Ibrahim effectively communicates the central thesis of â€Å"Amandla† when he offers â€Å"The thing that saved us was the music; so the music wasn’t actually what we call liberation music, it was part of liberating ourselves. † Essentially, Amandla uses first hand accounts of various South African citizens to explain the effectiveness and necessity of music during the period of an aggressive set of racist laws introduced in South Africa in 1948 known as Apartheid. Amandla begins with a rather grim scene of the family of Vuyisile Mini exhuming his remains from his burial site. Mini, remembered for his terrific bass voice, was one of the leaders of the liberation movement and ultimately a martyr, as he was hanged by the South African government. Additionally, local artists also recall the period of forced relocation to a government site known as Meadowlands. The natives would use a song written by Mini, â€Å"Watch out Verwoerd† to â€Å"really make the whites mad. Verwoerd was the Prime Minister of South Africa; often referred to as the father of Apartheid. The massacre of peaceful protestors in Sharpeville is also reflected upon while juxtaposed with the beautiful melody of some of the native’s rallying for liberation. It’s made clear that Nelson Mandela’s imprisonment was a massive blow to the liberation movement, creating a â€Å"blanket fear† among those fighting so vigorously for equality. Although the movement had suffered major setbacks, music continued to provide a driving force and sense of commonality. Even when staring death in the face, those only days and weeks away from making their way to the gallows found solace in song, including Mini. The 1980’s saw a shift in the tactics of the liberation regime. The shift was one from those of unsuccessful peaceful protests to a swift and discrete militarization of South African youths. The songs began to reflect this shift, they began to â€Å"articulate a new urgency. † Toyi Toyi, a new type of song and dance, became a common practice while training South African youths for war. The eventual dissolution of the apartheid regime is chronicled along with Mandela’s release from imprisonment in 1990. Those that gave their life to the liberation cause are remembered and celebrated at the film’s conclusion, including Mini. The contribution that Amandla! makes to our study of World Cities cannot be understated. Paramount to gaining an understanding of cultures we’re unfamiliar of is gaining an understand of their struggle. Amandla! akes an in depth look at the apartheid system in South Africa through a unique lens that truly captures an important aspect of South African culture: music. Although we can label maps of n and create spreadsheets of data, we can’t understand the more abstract and intangible qualities of a people without physically exposing ourselves to it. Ultimately, I think Amandla! is meant to illustrate the hardship these people overcame using song as vehicle for unity and commonality. If I were to recommend two additional films that could possibly replace Amandla! , the first film I would choose would be Invictus, which was released in 2009. Invictus was directed by Clint Eastwood and chronicles Nelson Mandelas attempt to unite a post-apartheid South Africa by supporting a common Rugby team, the Springboks. What makes this a difficult task is the lingering tension between the races and the fact that the Springboks are a mostly white team. Additionally, I would select Catch a Fire, directed by Phillip Noyce. This film takes a realistic look at the quest for redemption of a young anti-apartheid activist after his family is tortured by the police. Ultimately Patrick, the protagonist, realizes that forgiveness is the only true way to redeem himself and his family.

More And More, Our Project Was Beginning To Resemble A Real Life Busin

More and more, our project was beginning to resemble a real life business situation. And how did we plan to handle this crisis? We called an emergency group meeting. Members of our group trekked across campus through the wind and cold to a Community House lounge, and although a lighter would have been nice, and a bottle of sedatives might have calmed our nerves, we sat down together to try and salvage our entire project. So what did we do at this meeting? First of all, we had to decide on a Rational Process by which we could go about handling this dilemma. What issues did we need to deal with, and in what order did we need to deal with them so that we would arrive at a rational decision? Yes, we needed to secure a venue for our presentation, but both the fundraising and the entertainment committees were running into major problems of their own. Should we address these issues also? Our answer was ?NO", instead we decided to funnel all of our energy to the venue problem. After all, fundraising and entertainment would be of no consequence if we did not have anywhere to put on the presentation. The second thing that we did was develop alternative courses of action. What were the best outcomes that we could reasonably hope for? What were the minimum outcomes that we wanted to achieve? And how could we go about achieving these outcomes? Obviously, we felt obligated to at least put on a presentation of some sort; however, if the public schools were on strike, we decided that we would look to private schools, parochial schools, or perhaps a local YMCA. If worse came to worse, we could always put on an evening presentation preceded by a heavy dose of marketing. The next thing that we needed to do was Identify both the obstacles and the adverse consequences of each course of action. What would stand in the way of each option? What would the positive and negative sides be of each alternative? The first thing we did was look back at our vision statement. It says that "We envision a community of young adults that makes informed lifestyle choices in today's high risk world." This clearly showed us that our goal was to reach out to a high- risk audience. If we were to put on a presentation for a group of upper middle class white kids at a private school, many of us felt that we would be failing to reach our targeted high-risk audience. If we were to put on a presentation at a YMCA or at night, attendance would likely be low. However, if we did not seriously pursue these options with the threat of a prolonged strike looming above our heads, we were running the risk of not putting on a presentation at all. After weighing our options, it was at last time for us to DECIDE. With our projected presentation date less then 3 weeks away, and with the terms and length of the strike still pending, we decided to put off the private school/YMCA option for at a maximum of 2 or 3 more days in order to see if the strike would last

Parian marble sculpture at The Louvre an Example of the Topic Arts Essays by

Parian marble sculpture at The Louvre The Winged Victory of Samothrace is one of the most celebrated visual art sculptures in the world from the Hellenistic era. The sculpture depicts the goddess Nike as she descends from the sky with outstretched wings over her shoulders. It originally formed part of the Samothrace temple that was an homage to the gods. Victory was situated at the prow of the ship in her triumphant pose. Before this statue of Nike lost her arms, they were cupped around her mouth in an effort to announce the Greek victory at Lartos. Need essay sample on "Parian marble sculpture at The Louvre" topic? We will write a custom essay sample specifically for you Proceed This statue is notable of the Hellenistic era due to its naturalistic pose and the way her garment appears to be flowing so effortlessly. The wind blown garment gives the impression of motion and movement, as if being blown by the breeze of the sea. Given that she was placed at the prow of the ship, the sculpture was a stunning and emphatic symbol for reestablishing the grandeur of Greek civilization after the struggles and battles of the Peloponnesian War that involved all of the Greek city-states, including Athens. In the wake of the poverty following the war, Greek art had very little resources to finance many sculptures. In this way, the sculptures that were created tended to reflect the changing state of affairs in Greek society. The most notable trend during the Hellenistic era was the portrayal of individual gods and goddesses in natural poses that displayed a great range of emotions. It is unknown who actually created the Winged Victory of Samothrace, but whoever it was continued this trend and expanded upon it with the insertion of the flowing garments and the wings. Nike's body is in a state of returning from motion and her left leg is strong and shown bare out the side of the garment. Her chest is pressed out in a posture of confidence and femininity and you can almost see through the garments enough to make out the shape of her skin and the contours of her stomach. Her head is absent on her shoulders and has never been found, although other portions of her body that have fallen off have been recovered. This statue demonstrates the mastery of movement and form being perfected during this era, despite its current incompleteness. This piece of infamous art embodies the return to reality following a devastating period of violence and war. Greek artists sought to capture the human form in all of its naturalness, expressing the emotions and postures that came to define this era. Winged Victory of Samothrace continues and expands this style of the Hellenistic age with its emphasis of grace and beauty in the flowing attire of the goddess Nike returning from the sky with the message of Victory. Works Cited Antiquites grecques, etrusques et romaines. The Louvre Museum. Retrieved 7 April 2009, from cnt_" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.louvre.fr/llv/oeuvres/detail_notice.jsp?CONTENTcnt_

A Trip Down Memory Lane Research Paper Example

A Trip Down Memory Lane Research Paper Example A Trip Down Memory Lane Paper A Trip Down Memory Lane Paper The stars have been shining brightly under the dark blanket of the sky. Thin little gray clouds hover around casting light shadows on the face of the moon. A few chirping notes from the sound of crickets outside completes the serenity of the night. I have long been fond of watching these diamond-like trinkets sparkling from high above that simply watching them every night gives me this feeling like that of a child given sweet treats. But It seems Like after tonight, It would take long for me to be able to do this again. The ticking of the clock brought me back to packing my stuffs for I am to leave early tomorrow morning bound to a foggy place uphill for my studies. I was busy rummaging at my now half empty room when I stumbled into something ?a purple box I had used to compile different things I have gathered and collected for the past years for sentimental reasons. I picked it up and opened it as I sat on my bed. And Like the usual, memories flooded my system as If everything Just happened yesterday. From that little girl wearing high socks with big laces a decade ago up to that omen who I am now, I can say that I had my fair share of lifes bitter-sweet experiences. And ironically, as I think about it, whether we admit it or not, we could never regret anything life had to offer. Because each of them, whether big or small, memorable or not, success or failures, all of them honed the person we are today. While learning from them as personal examples of our what Ifs, we are able to measure our strengths and weaknesses. And In some Instances we discover hidden parts of ourselves waiting to be revealed for the world to see. L cant do this. How would you know if you wont even try? l am afraid. What are you afraid of? How long would you let that fear hinder you from growing and learning new stuffs? Come on! Come out of your shell. My thoughts have been storming -the typical scenario happening Inside the mind of an Introvert. I always have this tendency to fast forward things, thinking of all the possible outcomes before even making the first step towards them. Maybe this is because I am afraid to come out of my comfort zone. I want things to go my way and afraid to eave things the other way around. Yes, I have this perfectionist and control-freak nature until things happened which triggered the start of a change. I remember quoting Robert Measles on one of his books that In life, some rain must fall though sometimes It may feel more Like a deluge. It was not raining that day. But for me, it was as if a big dark cloud suddenly came and everything around me started to melt as that dragging aura poured down on me soaking me wet. That after taste of regret adding woods to the fire giving me the instantaneously need to e invisible, to runaway even Just for a while from the haunting of my spontaneous act, to get lost and save myself from a breakdown of emotions. But In ten end, no matter now much I try to Take It, my tears would Detract me revealing the weakling behind that poker face. As they say, I may be able to fool others but I definitely cannot fool myself. I lost in a battle and I cant blame anyone but myself. But the hardest part of losing is the knowledge that so much has been expected from you. This guilt trip has struck me the most. So yes, on that day, I Just et my eyes swell as I was being drenched with the rain. Then after finally growing tired of blaming and crying, it is when everything started to sink in. It was after all a good reminder to keep my feet on the ground and a light to see my burning desire to strive for more. Given that there are still so many who believe and continue to support me amidst a number of times I had fallen on my knees and had broken their expectations. Sometimes, it is okay to fall and commit mistakes because those two are also part of growing.

Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Summary - Essay Example As it were it introduces an altered relationship as opposed to the one generally perceived in the writing on financial sector advancement. The vitality of that to the current center of the Qatari government on broadening of its economy identifies with the inquiry of how decently represented this sector is to help this arrangement as a wellspring of development, vocation and pay and how appropriate government activities are in backing of accomplishing such an objective. Qatar is an extremely youthful and little express that has accomplished enormous strides in its financial advancement since its freedom in 1971. It has moved from an economy underpinned by essential economic exercises to a rich oil-trading state. The development and advancement that went hand in hand with the solidification of its oil economy has been generous thinking of it as little populace. As indicated by the 2004 enumeration the populace was put at 744.000, an increment of 42.5 percent on the past statistics of 1997. A 2006 review demonstrated that the populace had developed to 834,754, an increment of 12.6 percent on the 2004 evaluation. In any case, late gauges demonstrate that the aggregate populace arrived at 1,650,139 in 2009. This fast increment is because of the vast onrushing of outside work to address the needs of the extending economy. Qatari nationals speak to short of what 34 percent of the aggregate populace. The nations every capita Gross domestic product surpass ed USD 54,000 in 2006 and is estimate to reach more than USD 103,500 in 2009; one of the worlds most astounding. Regularly, the little size of the populace in connection to the enormous size of its Gross domestic product is an element in this. These riches has propelled the political authority of Qatar to be amazingly yearning about putting Qatar on the world guide on account of its oil and

What was Harper Lees affect on American Literature Term Paper

What was Harper Lees affect on American Literature - Term Paper Example Nelle Harper Lee is one of the greatest American authors of the contemporary literature world. She rose to fame when her novel â€Å"To Kill a Mockingbird† selected for the 1960 Pulitzer Prize. The major theme of this novel is her childhood memories about racism. Apart from Pulitzer Prize, â€Å"She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Tuesday November 6, 2007 for her services to literature by President George W. Bush at the White House in Washington D.C. She was also awarded the 2010 National Medal of the Arts for her services to literature† (Biography for Harper Lee). This paper analyses the biography and contributions of Harper Lee to American literature. Nelle Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926, to Amasa Coleman Lee and Frances Cunningham Finch Lee. Harper Lee grew up in the small southwestern Alabama town of Monroeville. Her father, a former newspaper editor and proprietor, was a lawyer who also served on the state legislature (1926-38) (Biography of Harper Lee (1926-)) Harper Lee showed immense interest in reading literature even from her childhood. She was very much interested in establishing friendship with others and was eager to learn more and more things from her friends. She was very much sensitive and was eager to analyze or learn more about the incidents happening around her during her childhood. â€Å"Lee was only five years old in when, in April 1931 in the small Alabama town of Scottsboro, the first trials began with regard to the purported rapes of two white women by nine young black men† (Biography of Harper Lee (1926-)). ... After graduating in 1944, she went to the all-female Huntingdon College in Montgomery. Lee stood apart from the other students—she could have cared less about fashion, makeup, or dating. Instead, she focused on her studies and on her writing. Lee was a member of the literary honor society and the glee club (Harper Lee Biography) â€Å"Harper Lee graduated from Monroeville High School in her hometown in Alabama in 1943. She then attended Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama, where she completed most of her core classes from 1944 to 1945† (Benson). â€Å"She studied law at the University of Alabama, and spent a year studying as an exchange student at Oxford. She never completed law school, and moved to New York to pursue a career as a writer† (Southern Writers Tour - Harper Lee). Lee’s law studies happened during the period of 1945-49. â€Å"During the 1950s, she worked as an airline reservation clerk with Eastern Air Lines and British Overseas Airways †((Nelle) Harper Lee (1926-)). In fact Lee studied law with an intention to help the black community as much as possible. However, she realized that as an advocate she has limitations in providing enough social justice to the black community. The above realization forced her to stop her Law studies and to concentrate more on writing articles. In 1957 Miss Lee submitted the manuscript of her novel to the J. B. Lippincott Company. She was told that her novel consisted of a series of short stories strung together, and she was urged to rewrite it. For the next two and a half years she reworked the manuscript with the help of her editor, Tay Hohoff, and in 1960 TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD was published (Harper Lee Bio) To Kill a Mockingbird was Lee's first and last novel. â€Å"Lee

Self-Reflective Journal on Corporate Social Responsibility Essay - 1

Self-Reflective Journal on Corporate Social Responsibility - Essay Example This paper illustrates that a valuable relationship between CSR and social media was understood through the case of Goldman Sachs where the company gained both in terms of revenue and brand value through philanthropic contributions. Other companies such as Facebook and Google, which are predominantly online, are using the social media channel in order to achieve competitive advantage. The literature review from various other news reports and news articles also revealed that corporate social responsibility has become one of the crucial elements in the strategic decision-making process of organizations. Media is quickly becoming one of the emergent channels for information. As a result, companies are frequently utilizing social media platforms in order to engage with its customers as well as disseminate critical information about their national and international CSR activities. Rising consciousness among individuals as well as growing number of environmental communities have also impac ted the rise of CSR among big firms. However, the reports and articles also revealed that high disparity exists in terms of CSR activities between large and established firms and small and medium-sized companies. The seminar started with the discussion of the burgeoning issues which are hampering the authenticity of social media. Then the topic of CSR and its current practices were discussed. The key topics of discussion were internal and external CSR aspects, issues and challenges while implementing CSR strategies through social media channel, the importance of CSR activities in the global marketplace. Another important issue which was discussed in detail was changing climate conditions and its impact on the global environment.