Japanese Clothing and Fashion essays

Japanese Clothing and Fashion essays Traditional clothing of the Edo period, (1600-1868), included the kimono and obi as we know them today. The obi did not, however, become a prominent part of a womans ensemble until the mid Edo period. It was then that designers, weavers and dyers all focused their talent on creating a longer, wider and more elaborate obi. Obi measurement was then standardised to 360cm long by 30cm wide. Edo fashion was influenced by the design and style that courtesans and entertainers wear. Women of the samurai class continued to wear the simpler kosode kimono, tied together with an obi made of braided cords. Outside the samurai class, women experimented with a more elaborate kimono - the furisode, which is often seen on the Kabuki stage. Characterised by long, flowing sleeves, the furisode kimono was accented by a large, loosely tied obi. For many years, the obi bow was tied either at the front or on the side. By the mid-Edo period, the obi bow was tied in the back position. It was said that this style started in the mid-1700s when a Kabuki actor, imitating a young girl, came on stage with his obi tied in the back. Another reason that the back position became more acceptable was that the sheer bulk of the wider obi became too cumbersome to be positioned in the front of the kimono. The Meiji era, (1868-1912) witnessed a revolution in the textile industry with the advent of electric weaving looms and chemical dying techniques from the West. During this time, a woman's kimono ceased to be worn in the free-flowing style of the earlier days. The new fashion was to tuck the kimono at the waist to adjust the length of the kimono to the woman's height. These tucks and folds were visible and became part of the art of tying the obi. The vast majority of obi produced in Japan today comes from a district in Kyoto known as Nishijin. Nishijin has been the centre of the Japanese textile industry since the 15th century. Nishijin is renowned for it...

The 9 Best Film Schools in the US

The 9 Best Film Schools in the US SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips In the past few years, applying to film school has gotten extremely competitive: top schools likeUSC’s School of Cinematic Arts now boast lower admission rates than the Ivies. Simultaneously,the number of film programs has grown- rising from about 300 in 2006 to almost 400 in 2010. With so many programs available and so much competition for the top spots, where should you apply? In order to help you find the right school for you, I’ve compiled a list of the best film schools in the US, based on my experience as a film student and actress in LA. How Is "Film School" Defined for This List? I’m categorizing film school as a school where film is a priority.These schools are either conservatories or have specialized film schools within a larger university. As a graduate of USC’s film school, I know from experience that going to film school has many advantages.You’ll be surrounded by students and teachers who will inspire you, help you with your projects, and will likely be your future colleagues.Furthermore, you’ll be at a college that doesn’t view your passion as simply an extracurricular. All that being said, you can get a film degree from other universities.However, this list is for students who are 100% sure they want to study film and are looking to be surrounded by like-minded students. The Evaluation Criteria for the Best Film Schools You should never look at rankings as fact- not even those from trusted industry sources like The Hollywood Reporter.Instead, you should use these articles as a jumping off point for your own college research.Also, whenever looking at a ranking list, you should find out how the rankings were determined. Right now, I’ll explain how I came up with this very unscientific list of top film schools.I began by restricting my search to colleges that prioritize film by only offering arts degrees or by having a specialized film school within the larger institution. Then, I took the following three criteria into consideration: #1: Ranking. I used ranking lists from respected industry papers such as The Hollywood Reporter as a starting point for my research. #2: On and Off-Campus Extracurricular Opportunities. Success in the entertainment industry depends a lot on who you know. In order to get to know more people (beyond your classmates and teachers), you need to have the opportunity to intern with production companies, studios, agencies, management companies, post-houses, casting offices, etc. Also, it’s important to have opportunities to make films and showcase your work in order to get your name out there and to get feedback. Does the school provide opportunities to make and screen student films? #3: Notable Alumni. How many alumni have risen to the top of their field? If a lot have, it means the school likely provided them with the resources (aka connections) and/or skills needed to succeed. I split this list into two tiers rather than ranking each school, since specific rankings are typically not that meaningful. What separates the Tier 1 schools is that they have the best reputation, provide the most extracurricular opportunities and have the longest lists of notable alumni.While the Tier 2 schools are also good, they don’t have the same industry connections and don’t have as many notable alumni as the Tier 1 schools. Consider attending a school in the heart of Hollywood! Tier 1 Film Schools Tier 1 includes the very best film schools in the US - these are extremely prestigious programs with many successful alums. University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts I may be biased as an alum, but you’d be hard-pressed to find any ranking list that didn’t have USC near the top.The USC School of Cinematic Arts has more connections in the entertainment industry than all of the other schools combined (and a Hollywood Walk of Fame star in front of the school to prove it). USC's Los Angeles location helps make it a top film school. You're not just given internship opportunities: you also have opportunities to go to industry events (with students occasionally being offered free tickets to Hollywood premieres) and more potential to network with industry professionals. The School of Cinematic Arts is extremely selective, with only about 3% of applicants being admitted. There are separate undergraduate programs for animation, screenwriting, critical studies, media arts, interactive media, and film production. USC is arguably one of the more "practical" schools I'll discuss because it tries to prepare students for the changing medium (as it expands beyond typical movies to web series and virtual reality) by allowing students to take classeson new media. The list of notable alumni is incredibly long (George Lucas, Judd Apatow, Paul Feig, and many more), but even more impressive is thatbasically every Hollywood office I interned at employed at least one USC alum. The school provides access to great off-campus internships throughout the school year and summer at places such as NBCUniversal, Lionsgate, and Pixar.Additionally, there are many opportunities to screen your work. These opportunities include the prestigious USC First Look Film Festival, which is attended by many industry professionals. NYU Tisch I don’t know if NYU Tisch students heard this adage as well, but the saying in film circles goes, â€Å"If you want to make a living, go to USC; if you want to make art, go to NYU.† It has to do with Tisch's location: while L.A. is the center of commercial film and television, New York has become the center of independent filmmaking. Tisch's undergraduate program only offers three degrees: Film Television, Cinema Studies, and Dramatic Writing.NYUfocuseson churning out true auteurs who have strong visual storytelling skills, preparing themfor success in the independent filmmaking world. While NYU does have some famous alumni working in Hollywood such as Martin Scorsese and Spike Lee, it has a longer list of alumni working in the independent scene: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl), Joel Coen (Fargo), documentarian Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me), and experimental filmmaker George Von Steiner. Due to its New York location, NYU provides students with the opportunity to intern year-round at places such as Fox Searchlight, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and Late Show With Stephen Colbert.Also, the school provides tons of opportunities to screen your work, including at the Manoogian Screenings (held at the Directors Guild Theater in Los Angeles). New York is another great place to be for film! AFI AFI is always near the top of any film school ranking list. A true film conservatory without the traditional college experience and general education requirements, AFI offers certificates to those without undergraduate degrees and MFAs to college grads. The programs at AFI are extremely specialized (more so than any other school on this list), allowing students to graduate with unique degrees in Directing, Cinematography, Editing, Producing, Production Design, and Screenwriting. AFI boasts an impressive list of alumni including Darren Aronofsky, David Lynch, and Terrence Malick.Its LA locale allows students to intern throughout the year.That being said, as a conservatory, AFI prioritizes helping students make films rather than helping them get internship opportunities.However, making and screening films is equally important to interning. By making and screening films,students can see how audiences respond to their work and get better at their craft. AFI students make TONS of films. For example, in the first year alone, Directing, Producing and Cinematography students have the opportunity to make three narrative projects. Editing students work on up to six projects, Production Design students work on up to four, and Screenwriting students write at least one of short film and start working on a feature screenplay.There are prestigious screening opportunities such as at the famous AFI Film Festival. Some schools still use old school cameras! Tier 2 Schools Tier 2 schools also offer topfilm programs, but they don’t have as many industry connections or as many notable alumni as the Tier 1 schools. UCLA As an alum of their rival school, it pains me to include them on this list, but UCLA’s film school is top notch andvery competitive, with only about 30 students admitted each year. UCLA is less specialized than the other schools on this list, only offering undergraduates a generalized Film, Television, and Digital Media degree.Students do pick concentrations within the degree, but not until spring of their junior year; concentrations include Film Production, Documentary, Screenwriting, Animation, Digital Media, or Cinema Media Studies. Just a few of UCLA's famous alumni include Francis Ford Coppola, Alexander Payne, and Rob Reiner.UCLA offers juniors and seniors the opportunity to intern year-round. Past students have interned at places such as NBCUniversal and Bad Robot. Chapman University Chapman’s film schoolgives studentsthe opportunity to specialize at the undergraduate level with unique degrees in Film Production, Digital Arts, Creative Producing, Television Writing, Screenwriting, New/Broadcast Journalism and Documentary.This makes Chapman a great option for high school students who know what niche of the film industry they would like to partake in before entering college. The school boasts a handful of notable alumni such as The Amazing Race producer Darren Bunkley, Masters of Sex editor Rebekah Parmer, and Dear White People director Justin Simien. Unlike other schools on this list, Chapman has its own production company, Chapman Filmed Entertainment, which gives students experience in making, marketing and distributing films. This is an incredible opportunity that most students don't get while in school; it allows them to learn the ins and outs of fundraising, marketing, and distribution in addition to production. Chapman offers some screening and internship opportunities though not as many as other schools.Its location in Orange County, about a 45-minute to two-hour drive to LA depending on traffic, makes it difficult to intern during the school year. Loyola Marymount University (LMU) LMU’s School of Film and Televisionallows students to get specialized degrees in Production, Animation, Screenwriting, Film Studies, or Recording Arts.It’s one of a handful of schools with the Recording Arts degree, making it a perfect choice for students who know they want to pursue careers as sound editors, sound mixers, or sound designers. It has some well-known alumni such as James Bond franchise producer Barbara Broccoli, The Simpsons producer David Mirkin, American Horror Story writer/producer James Wong, and Hunger Games director Francis Lawrence. LMUrecognizes the importance of internships and partners with big companies including Disney, Sony, NBCUniversal and Paramount to provide internships to about 100 LMU students each year. Most film schools provide you with top of the line equipment. Boston University Boston University’s Film Television Departmentonly offers more general Film TV or Cinema Media Studies degrees at the undergraduate level. However, BU provides students with a well-rounded degree offering courses inproduction (directing, editing, cinematography, sound design, short film production), film and television screenwriting, producing, management, and film studies. For students who are unsure about film school, BU is a great option because you don't officially declare your major until spring of your sophomore year, so you can test out film and pick another major if you don't like it. BU has a handful of famous alumni including Joe Roth, Howard Stern, and Nina Tassler.Recognizing its sub-optimal location andhow crucial LA connections are to future success, BU openedan LA campus that over 200 students visit each year.While in LA, BU students partake in internships at companies such as The Jim Henson Company. California Institute of the Arts CalArts is a conservatory that was founded in 1961 by Walt Disney and is well-known for producing A-list animators like John Lasseter. In addition to two animation degrees (Charaction Animation and Experimental Animation), however, CalArts also offers a Film and Video degree. Since CalArts is primarily lauded for its animation programs, the majority of its famous alumni (with the exception of Tim Burton) are animators:Frozen co-director Chris Buck, Big Hero 6 director Don Hall, and Inside Out director Pete Docter. The school's location about 45 minutes outside of LA makes it difficult to intern during the school year. However, CalArts does do its best to help students get credit for internships during the school year and summer. Emerson College Emerson has also recognized the importance of LA connections for students, opening a campus in Hollywood and hosting an annual Los Angeles-based film festival.Emerson is the only school in the country to offer a comedy arts degree, making it a great choice for students who want to work exclusively in comedy filmmaking. The school boasts some well-known alumni such as New Regency's Pam Abdy, DreamWorks' Holly Bario, Sony's Andrea Giannetti, Viacom's Doug Herzog.The school provides students with excellent screening opportunities such as at the Los Angeles Emerson Film Festival. Which of These TopFilm Schools Is the Best Choice for You? Just because, say, AFI is a highly reputable film school doesn't mean that you should automatically want to go there. It’s a tiny school with a very intense program, which may not be the best fit for all students. Here are some questions to ask when trying to pick which film school is right for you. Which Area Do You Want to Specialize In? So you’re interested in film - do you want to do animation or screenwriting? Directing or production design? Look into the programs and see what specialties are offered.For example, CalArts would be a better choice than AFI if you want to do animation since AFI doesn’t even offer an animation specialty. At this point, you might not know what you want to specialize in, and that’s okay.I had no idea which aspect of film I loved the most when I applied to film school.If you’re in this boat, you should apply to a program with a more generalized film production program (such as USC, UCLA, Emerson, BU, LMU, and NYU) that’ll allow you to experiment with different roles on set.You wouldn’t want to be accepted as aScreenwritingstudent at AFI, only to then realize you actually want to be a cinematographer. What Opportunities Are There Outside the Classroom? I touched on this above, but make sure you go to a school where the opportunities fit your interests.If you want to work as an agent, then USC, which provides internship experiences at agencies, would be a better fit than AFI.Extracurriculars are where you get your experience, so make sure you’ll be getting experience that aligns with your interests. What’s the School Like? Is it big or small? Is it a conservatory or is it at a large college?If you dread the idea of a big school, don’t go to a big school.If you’d dread being surrounded by a sea of students and going to USC football games, then you probably shouldn’t attend USC. If you get overwhelmed by intensity, then a conservatory like AFI may be a bad choice.AFI is famous for its "narrative workshops," during which students are required to sit silently as their peers harshly critique their projects.It’s scary, and has led to many students dropping out and fleeing to law school. Pick a school where you will feel comfortable and at home so that you can thrive. If this is the end goal,then film school is where you should go! What’s Next? Excited to attend one of the best film schools? Read our article on how to get into film school for tips on your application. Most of these schools require an ACT or SAT score with your application. Get help studying for these tests with our ultimate SAT study guide and study guides for ACT Reading, Writing, English, Math, and Science. Taking the ACT or SAT really soon? Check out our guide to cramming for the SATor our guide to cramming for the ACT. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Analysis of Health Currently Affecting the Australian Population Essay

Analysis of Health Currently Affecting the Australian Population - Essay Example First, cardiovascular diseases are heart conditions which commonly affect the heart and blood vessels surrounding it. It includes coronary heart disease, rheumatic heart disease, and an ischemic heart (WHO, 2011). It includes various conditions of the heart and blood vessels; the common issue in relation to heart disease being atherosclerosis where plaque builds up in the walls of the arteries reducing blood supply to the heart, causing heart attacks, and sometimes to the brain, eventually leading to stroke (National Heart and Medical Research Council, 2011). This paper shall provide an analysis of the health issue, then discuss and analyse the health issue in relation to the population/community it usually affects, the scope of the health issue as well as its implications for the affected population/community, the social determinants of health which affect the health problem. It shall also provide an analysis and evaluation of relevant current primary health care services and initia tives which are in place to address this issue, including its strengths and limitations. Finally, a proposal on additional services needed to address this issue shall also be established. ... Their higher risk for the disease is mostly attributed to the fact that a large number of them are overweight, smokers and who are physically dormant. Those in the lower socioeconomic groups are also liable to suffer this disease more than the general Australian population. The death rates for the disease in this group was registered those as high compared to those in the higher social sets (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2006). Studies also revealed that those in the lower social sets were likely to be involved in smoking; many of them had hypertension and were overweight. In relation to age and sex, those in the older population are likely to be afflicted by cardiovascular diseases, owing to the wear and tear of the ageing process as well as the likelihood that they would also be afflicted with other diseases like obesity or diabetes (Department of Health and Ageing, 2007). Women were also registered with high rates of cardiovascular disorders. However, it was notable that males were more likely to die from this disease as they were tobacco smokers who were obese, hypertensive, and engaged in limited exercise. Those who are overweight and obese have the highest risk of being afflicted with a cardiovascular disease (Cameron, et.al., 2003). Obesity has increased in Australia in recent years, and this trend has been more or less similar in other countries as well. Adults, 25 years and over present a 67% obesity rate in Australia, and 52% of women are considered overweight or obese (National Public Health Partnership, 2003). Among children, 20% are considered obese, and these who grow up to be obese were overweight adults when their eating and exercise habits were not corrected early during

Lobster Annotated Bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Lobster - Annotated Bibliography Example king such an in-depth and a wide consideration of resolution alternatives, the author addresses the questions one would ask about lobster in every day diet. The work is representative of diverse health related opinions which isolate lobster consumption as central in the human effort to achieve sustainable physical health. The subject under discussion highlights the increasing popularity of lobster. The festivals organized to entertain tourists emphasizes the role of this creature. In this respect, the text is relevant to the topic under discussion as it highlights the nutritional significance of lobster.The criticism that can be directed towards this text concerns the central theme of the debate which emphasizes the injustice done to this animal through boiling and overcrowding. It is therefore important to underscore the slight deviation of the text from the theme of the present campaign. However, in general, the author contributes to the topic by highlighting the place of lobster in most important nutrients list that may justify its boiling. Flynn gives an assertive view point on the overwhelming irresponsibility of humanity towards nature. At the center of this text’s discussion is the need to care for animals. The history of Maine lobster festival is criticized in respect of selfish tourist interest at the expense of the creature. It can therefore be observed that the author emphasizes the need to reconsider lobster boiling and the height of mistreatment they are exposed to. Animal cruelty is exemplified by lobster boiling and this is where the author comes in to give deeper explanation. Exploring the sociological perspective of animal cruelty is a sensitive debate as the author notes and serves as a pointer to abdication of duty towards nature. The relevance of this text seems so open in regard to the debate on cruel treatment of lobster. Besides, lobster is just one among the other aspects of nature that has been less taken care of by man. The title of

Is Aeneas pious Essay Example for Free

Is Aeneas pious Essay For many, Aeneas is the characterisation of piety: he honours his duty to the gods and his destiny, his duty to his family, to his people, community and to his fatherland and he adheres to stoic values. Arguably the most important aspect of piety is the adherence to his duty to the gods and his destiny, which I will discuss first. In book 1, Venus appears to her son, Aeneas in the guise of ‘a Spartan girl out hunting, wearing the dress of a Spartan girl and carrying her weapons’. Aeneas recognises that the girl is Augustus also deified Julius in the Lex Titia in 43 BC, which legalised the Second Triumvirate and marked the end of the Roman Republic. Augustus invoked the Lax Papia Poppaea in 9 AD to encourage marriage by making it more economically viable to be married and have children than to not. He also made adultery punishable by banishment by passing the Lex Iulia de Adulteriis Coercendis in 17 BC, and famously banished his only biological daughter, Julia the Elder in 2 BC. This encouraged family unity more than before, and encouraged fathers to stay with their wives and children, especially as there was an extra tax placed on unmarried men above the age of 30. Aeneas demonstrates an incredible sense of duty to his people, community and fatherland right from the beginning of the poem. After the storm induced by Juno and Aeolus, and Aeneas and his men are rescued by Neptune, who is furious that they were changing the natural pattern of his seas, without his permission. Aeneas thinks of his men first, and so, when he saw a herd of deer, he hunted, and killed ‘seven huge carcasses (which he laid) on the ground, one for each of the ships’. This demonstrates how he caters to their needs before his own. The household gods, which feature in book 2, are representative of the Trojan community, and so when Aeneas, ‘fresh from all the fighting and killing’, refuses to touch them because of this, it demonstrates his reverence for the community. In book 4, he also shows consideration towards the community, but Dido’s community in Carthage. Mercury tells us how he ‘caught sight of Aeneas laying the foundations of’ Carthage with Dido. This devotion to the wider community, even though it means that he is digressing from his destiny, is still demonstrating piety. Aeneas not only holds the Funeral Games in book 5 out of reverence for his father, but to also raise the morale of his men. Aeneas holds various races and matches which allow his men to be happy after the death of Dido, which they would have suspected happened, and also after the death of Anchises, and also of various men of the crew. Virgil represents Aeneas as having virtus, as he hides his true emotions inside, to protect his men. In book 1, Aeneas, although ‘he was sick with all his cares(;) he showed (his men) the face of hope and kept his misery deep in his heart’, which would have served to raise the morale of the men, if they knew their leader was not upset, they would be led by example. Augustus demonstrated his care for his community by giving 400 sercestes to each of ‘the Roman plebs’ in 44 BC out of his own money. He also ‘restored the Capitol, and the theatre of Pompey, (†¦) restored the channels of the aqueducts, (and) completed the Forum Julium and the bascilla between the temples of Castor and Saturn’ throughout his reign, up until 12 AD. Contrary to Aeneas and also Augustus, as Aeneas is a characterisation of Augustus, Mezentious is not pious in his care of his community and people. Virgil depicts him as a shocking leader and in book 8; the poet divulges how the leader devised a new form of torture ‘whereby living men were roped to dead bodies, typing them hand to hand and face to face, to die a lingering death oozing with putrefying flesh’. Mezentius’ disdain for his men contrasts to Aeneas’ care and respect for his own men, and indeed of all men, as we see Aeneas rescues the Greek, forgotten by Odysseus (Ulixes) from the Cyclopses, which enhances our views of Aeneas’ piety in comparison to this horrific leader. Aeneas’ piety is often defined by how he demonstrates stoicism, and he does so throughout the poem. Stoics believed that the notion of fate must be respected and that no mortal man could, or should interfere with fate, as it is an inevitable force. The ability to endure what fate throws at you is also an important stoic trait, and one that Aeneas demonstrates again and again. In book 1, Aeneas leads his men through the storm started by Aeolus and Juno, until they are rescued by Neptune. He endures the storm, and motivates his men to trust in him after the storm, and this is primarily why he is such a good leader- because of his resolve and endurance, which also defines his pious nature. A key stoic belief is rationality of the universe, and features within Aeneas. Stoics believed that a rational, and of course, male mind is the best leader for any community, and this is the only way for a community to thrive- under one, rational, male leader. Coincidentally Augustus Caesar fits these criteria, and so, had to kill Anthony. Likewise Cleopatra, who Dido is modelled of, had to die- she was female and so was irrational, so was a bad leader, and this also explains why she was so passionate, because the stoic stereotype of a woman, is that they are passionate, emotional and irrational. The divide between men and women is formed from the prejudice that women are irrational, and the stereotype that men are automatically rational. Throughout the poem, we are presented with the juxtaposition of the irrational females, predominantly Dido and Juno, and the rationality of Aeneas and Jupiter. Jupiter controls fate, installing rationality upon the universe and Juno attempts to derail fate, preventing Aeneas from following his destiny, which, of course, does not work. The victory of Jupiter’s fate is shown by how Jupiter guides Aeneas, which demonstrates how the rationality of the male mind cannot be overthrown by an irrational female, even one who is a goddess. Virgil was rumoured to believe that love and hate were both redundant as they were both concept which wavered from the ‘path’ of fate, creating two opposites that were equally negative to a stoic. This perhaps explains why Virgil shows that the acceptance of fate and your destiny is the only way to achieve rationality. Virgil’s association with Augustus explains why women are portrayed as negative, because Augustus was inherently a stoic, and believed that women were irrational, and destined for dominating the domestic sphere, while men should dominate politics and war. Stoics were firm believers of the concept of ‘mind over matter’, presented by the Trojan women’s matter of flames, which are extinguished by the ‘mind’ (or fate) when Aeneas has to set sail shortly after the Funeral Games. The poet presents his audience with fire for passion, desire and pain which all represent destruction. We learn from his epic poem that Virgil believes that these poisonous emotions will not succeed when faced with fate, as women are primarily linked with fire, as we see Juno frequently described as ‘burning with passion’, and we also see Turnus described as ‘burning’, importantly both effeminising him and scorning war. Aeneas often has to deal with the loss of his men so that he can achieve his destiny; one such victim of Aeneas’ fate is Creusa, who dies before they even leave Troy and another is Aeneas’ father, Anchises. He does more likely die of old age, although Aeneas still mourns his death. Aeneas must accept that there are casualties that must be endured if he can achieve his destiny. The father-son relationship was one that was influenced by stoic beliefs, as stoics believed that the father figure (pater patria) should always be obeyed as he is wise. At the beginning of the poem, Anchises is the pater patria, however once Anchises dies, Aeneas takes over as the pater patria. Aeneas shows his dedication to his father by symbolically carrying him on his shoulders out of Troy, prioritising him even over his only son. These definitions of piety are interlinked, and cannot exist without the others, however, sometimes we see that to fulfil one part of piety, Aeneas must ignore another, and so the rules of what defines a pious person are clearly not set in stone. Nevertheless, Aeneas is as good as a portrayal of a pious person there is, and he is a reflection of how Augustus wished to be viewed. Thus, we have to ask ourselves, as the Roman audience would have: Aeneas is undoubtedly pious and as pious as one man can, theoretically, be, but is he unachievably pious? And so, does this make him as much of a character of mythology as the monsters he encountered in hell, and because of this, I feel the important question is not: ‘is Aeneas pious? ’ but is instead, why is he pious? If Aeneas was not pious, and was instead a mimic of Homer’s Odysseus, who is often represented as Aeneas’ antithesis, would there be any purpose in Virgil’s poem? No, there would not, and this is why Aeneas is shown as pious, and was believed to be the ideal man by the Romans, a mould for which to cast their own characters in and form themselves by.

Shakespeares Hamlet is both Madman and Genious Essay -- essays resear

Madman or Genius? Scholars have been disputing the sanity of Hamlet, for over four hundred years, in the play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare. Is he an insane madman or a vengeful, devious, genius? There are many contradictory ideas and theories on Hamlet’s so called psychosis, his procrastination in avenging his father’s death, and his actions towards his mother. In the first act Hamlet seems to be in a perfectly sane state of mind. It is the second scene where the reader begins to see a change in Hamlet’s character. Ophelia meets with Polonius and recalls the meeting she previously had with Hamlet. She tells her father that Hamlet came to her disheveled, and in a traumatized state of mind, speaking of "horrors." (Act 2 Scene 1 lines 83). Polonius immediately believes that he is "Mad for thy love?" (Act 2 Scene 1 lines 84). Ophelia answers a question posed by Polonius in which she responded that she had told Hamlet that she could not see or communicate with him any more. Polonius makes reference to Hamlet's madness once again by pronouncing what his daughter said, "... hath made him (Hamlet) mad." (Act 2 Scene 1 lines 109). This is where the argument of whether Hamlet is insane due to of his love for Ophelia begins, but a more confusing and complex situation is the struggle within Hamlet's mind. His personal struggle is revealed to the reader in scene one of the third act in the first of Hamlet’s several soliloquies. In this scene Hamlet recites his famous "To be or not to be, that is the question:" (Act 3 Scene 1 lines 57) speech. As Eric Levy puts it, â€Å"Though Hamlet is linked with the vulnerability of reason to emotion, he nevertheless displays extraordinary emotional control, despite extreme... ...o have fallen victim to their deceit†(Richardson 124). Also the fact that Hamlet thought that Polonius was Claudius adds to the evidence that Hamlet was in fact going insane. Hamlet's madness at times is justified, and at other times is pure insanity. At first Hamlet seems to be going mad over the fact that Ophelia is not allowed to see him. Subsequently it seems that Hamlet is going mad over the fact that he is overwhelmed with his father's death, and begins to fight with himself over the thought of suicide. He is then determined to avenge his father’s death and goes about torturing Claudius in a systematic and genius manner. Finally, Hamlet is caught up in his feelings about mother’s actions, which brings him back to the point of insanity. In conclusion, Hamlet is torn between two worlds, that of the rational and that of the distraught and insane.

Mental illness and prison

From the 1960’s to the 1980’s, the deinstitutionalization movement demanded that the mentally ill be treated in the community, using new drug therapies that appeared to control even the most extreme behaviors of the mentally ill.   This liberation of psychiatric patients was reinforced by court decisions that awarded certain legal rights to the emotionally ill.   But few community-based programs were developed to treat psychiatric patients effectively.   Released to the community without adequate support and treatment services, the mentally ill gravitated to criminal confinement facilities for offenders, particularly the jail but also to the prisons of the United States. It is estimated that about 15 percent of offenders imprisoned at any time have severe or acute mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, manic-depression illness, and depression.   Approximately 10 to 15 percent of persons with these three illnesses die by suicide.   Yet current treatment is extremely effective, if given.   Prisoners tend to be in poor mental health and about 80 percent of male prisoners and 80 percent of female jail inmates will, over their lifetime, have at least one psychiatric disorder. The greater the level of disability while in prison, the more likely the inmate is to receive mental health services.   In practice, proportionately more female prisoners use mental health services than do males, and whites are more likely to seek or secure prison mental health services than others.   At least half of the inmates who need such treatment go without it (Sigurdson, 2001). While the U.S. Supreme Court has not found that inmates have a constitutional right to treatment, it has ruled an inmate’s constitutional right to medical treatment includes the right to treatment for serious emotional illness.   The correction system is caught in the middle.   Institutions are not required to provide services simply because their clients are criminals, and thus have shifted critical funds to other uses, such as increased security staffing.   The threat of potential litigation has meant that some revision and provisions of mental health services for seriously ill inmates is necessary. As the mentally ill become a larger segment of the population in jails and prisons, professionals in the mental health field became essential to the correctional administrators.   The ratio of mental health practitioners to inmates remains much too low, there has been some progress.   Because many institutions must deal with mental health issues on a priority basis, few to no services are provided for the majority who do not exhibit violent or bizarre behavior.   It is a practical fact that in corrections â€Å"the squeaky wheel gets the grease† (Steadman, 1991). For some inmates, the impacts of prison life overwhelm their usual coping patterns.   Some factors that lead to prison psychosis include the routine of prison, fear of other inmates, forced homosexual behavior, assault and fear of assault, deteriorating in affairs and circumstances of family on the outside of prison and depression.   When the psychological crisis comes, correctional administrators frequently transfer affected inmates to prison infirmaries or psychological treatment words, or initiate inmate transfer to a mental health system. Long-term and intensive psychotherapy for mentally ill inmates is believed to be rare.   Treatment for episodic mental crisis tends to remain at the first aid level in many states.   Death rows do not usually contain a large proportion of a prison’s population but subsume a disproportionate share of the per inmate cost due to the demands of observing, caring, and maintaining death row.   That includes a lower staff-inmate ratio, mail processing, death-watch officer workload, closer custody during recreational periods and so on.   Some inmates on death row become mentally ill and as such cannot be executed (Ford v. Wainright, 106 S. Ct. 2595, 1986). The state has an additional burden of determining if the death-row inmate is insane, establishing some procedure to restore the inmate to sanity, and then certifying the sanity of the patient-inmate.   Because this would be tantamount to a death sentence and not a favor for the inmate, it is unlikely mental health physicians would undertake that process alone or with any great enthusiasm.   It remains for the states to develop procedures for identifying, diagnosing, treating, and certifying the sanity of death row inmates who claim to be insane (Steadman & Monahan, 1984). For the extreme behavior cases, there are special units for more intensive treatment, such as the one in Washington State.   That unit is a model of how to deal with extreme mentally and behaviorally disordered prisoners.   Unfortunately, that facility can handle only 144 inmates.   The figure is only about one-tenth of the commonly recognized population of inmates who could use more intensive mental health services.   One quickly finds that only the really severe cases are able to be referred to the Special Offender Center. It appears that the relationship between crime and mental disorder has no real cause effect.   It is essential for society to learn more about distinguishing between different kinds of mental illness and their impacts on safe and secure administration of correctional institutions.   It is important to remember that the real link to look for is one that indicates the potential for harm to the mentally ill person and others.   It may be a long time before such options are available to the already overcrowded corrections system in the United States (Wessely & Taylor, 1991). There are two justifications that defendants can invoke in an attempt to relieve themselves of criminal responsibility for a criminal act.   The first is not guilty by reason of insanity and the second is incompetent to stand trial.   In the first instance, offenders do not deny the commission of the act, but assert they lacked the capacity to understand the nature of the act or that it was wrong. The second instance is based on the common law criterion that defendants must be able to understand the charges against them to cooperate with their counsel in the preparation of their own defense.   The procedures for determining competency vary considerably among jurisdictions, but most make it a court decision based on psychiatric testimony.   If defendants are found incompetent to stand trial, then they are usually committed to a mental institution until declared competent (Hans, 1986). Psychiatric judgment of mental abnormality enters into the criminal law in three ways.   Aside from fitness to stand trial and criminal responsibility, if an individual is convicted, psychiatry is often consulted in designing a custodial or treatment program for him or her. One problem in the use of psychiatry in the legal system is that there are vast and irreconcilable differences in the legal standards; fairness is achieved by responding to a specific act with a specific type of reaction while ignoring a mass of details about the accused. On the other hand, in the mental health approach of psychiatry the whole personality of the accused is relevant in determining the state’s response to criminal behavior.   Psychiatry is an applied science, but legal practice makes no such claim.   Clearly, as long as a judge and jury have such important roles in the court process, convicted criminals cannot be treated primarily according to scientific standards.   While it is customary for a judge and jury to participate in the legal process, we would find their dealing with matters of mental health bizarre and while the legal process is typically open to scrutiny by all people affected, the procedures of psychiatry are almost never made public.   The types of accountability of the legal and mental health systems are quite different. If a court correctly describes the facts of a case and chooses the correct legal response to these facts, the court is never held accountable for any negative consequences flowing from its actions, such as the suicide of a convicted offender.   What ultimately happens to the convicted offender or whether the offender’s family must go on welfare is not the court’s concern.   The judge is not bound to such utilitarian considerations.   However the judge is bound by law to a specific range of responses.   Psychiatry, on the other hand, is responsible for how its decisions affect the individual in the future (Galliher, 1989). With the advent of legal insanity and legal incompetence as defenses against criminal conviction caused the development of special asylums for the criminally insane, in most cases just another form of prison without due process protections.   In more recent years those claiming to be not guilty by reason of insanity have been the subjects of considerable debate.   President Nixon sought to have the not guilty by reason of insanity defense abolished.   More informed criminologists point to such problems with the insanity defense as excessive media coverage, suspicion of malingering by the defendant, and conflicting and suspicious testimony by mental health professionals testifying for either the defense or the prosecution. The insanity defense is used in less than 1 percent of all felony cases and of those only one in four are found to be not guilty by reason of insanity.   One study found only the most emotionally and behaviorally disturbed defendants to be successful in their plea and that the successful petitioners had committed more serious offenses.   The decision to acquit is more frequently made in court b y prosecutors, defense attorneys, and the judge, and less frequently by jury members.   Persons acquitted by the not guilty by reason of insanity are generally found less likely than their cohort offenders to commit crimes after release (Hans, 1986). Prosecutors often hope that those accused offenders acquitted through the plea of not guilty by reason of insanity will be institutionalized for a period sufficient to reduce their dangerousness, and to provide both public and safety and some retribution.   The debate continues.   Perhaps the most reasonable solution would be to determine guilt first and then sift the issue of diminished capacity or insanity in that case to the sentencing or case disposition state.   The American Psychiatric Association, following the attack by John Hinckley on the life of President Reagan, recognized that position. As a response, by 1986, twelve states abolished the insanity defense entirely then created guilty by mentally ill statutes in its place.   Under those statues, an offender’s mental illness is acknowledged but not seen as sufficient reason to allow him or her to escape criminal responsibility.   If convicted, offenders are committed to prison.   Some states will provide mental health treatment in the prison setting, but others may transfer the offender to a mental health facility for treatment.   In Georgia, defendants who entered insanity pleas but were determined guilty by mental illness received harsher sentences than their counterparts, whose guilt was determined in trial suggesting increased punishment for the disturbed offender (Callahan, McGreevy & Cirincione, 1992). Persons with mental disability, such as mentally disturbed or disorders, were once scorned, banished, and even burned as evil.   But in more enlightened times we have built backwoods fortresses for them to protect ourselves from contagion.   They have been executed as witches, subjected to exorcism, chained or thrown into gatehouses and prisons to furnish a horrible diversion for the other prisoners.   Before the Middle Ages persons with a mental illness were generally tolerated and usually cared for locally by members of their own family, tribal system, or primitive society. However widespread poverty, disease, and religious fanaticism seemed to trigger intolerance for any unexplainable deviation from the norm.   The mentally disturbed were thought to be possessed by devils and demons and were punished harshly because of it.   The first insane asylum was constructed in Europe in 1408.   From that date until recently the asylum was a dumping ground for all the mentally disordered people that could be neither understood nor cured. In the United States, one after another of the individual states responded to that compelling method of ridding society of misfits, and built numerous institutions during the mid 1800’s.   The inflated claims of cures for mental illness could not stand up against the process of institutionalization and long-term commitments sometimes for a lifetime and not cures became the rules of the day (Ives, 1914). Asylums became yet another invisible empire in America with the punitive excess and lack of care or caring ignored by society. â€Å"Out of sight, out of mind† was the catch phrase of these unfortunates.   With the discovery of tranquilizing drugs, these places became a place where patients were put into a controllable stupor, until a cure could be found.   Because of longer and longer periods of institutionalization usually by family members finally got the attention of the courts. In the 1960’s the rights of all citizens, including the mentally ill and convicts, were being re-examined at every level. The abuses in the back wards of the asylums were brought to light and the counter-reaction was extreme.   In the early 1970’s, state after state adopted policies under the Community Mental Health Act that swept the country.   The essential goal was to release all inmates of the asylums who were not a clear and present danger to themselves and society.   This act flooded the central cities of America with tens of thousands of mentally impaired street people and created poorhouses.   The response by most jurisdictions has been to transfer the problem to the criminal justice system, filling the jails and correctional institutions of America, a process known as transintitutionalization (Arrigo, 2002). There appears to be some confusion between physical disease and mental disease.   Because physicians have made great strides in gaining knowledge about physical disease, it is assumed by some people that this is also true of physicians’ knowledge about mental disease.   That is the tendency is to apply the same standards of competence to both areas of practice, even though this is hardly warranted. The distinction between crime and mental illness is unclear.   Some of the writers assume that nearly all criminal behavior is a manifestation of mental disease.   It seems that the reason for both of these ambiguities is that we really do not know what mental illness is, and that is the reason we cannot distinguish between mental illness and physical illness on the one hand and mental illness and crime on the other.   It is unfortunate that the long indeterminate sentences often given to mentally disordered offenders reflect a fear that those committed might be a problem in the future. It is the expectation that someone is capable of predicting criminal inclination that makes so questionable the programs for treating the mentally disordered.   So, one can see the paradox of requiring psychiatrists to predict behavior and to attach a label to offenders, when that might result in an indefinite or even lifelong commitment to a mental institution for someone who is not really dangerous, such as a false-positive prediction.   The individual is then labeled for custody and treatment in a special area within that institution.   When you consider the wealth of folklore surrounding mental institutions, it becomes clear that a dreadful lifelong stigma accompanies the label of criminally insane.   While the public remains upset by the gaping loophole in the net of justice, the courts continue to seek out equitable ways to deal with the offender who has diminished mental capacity. Reference: Arrigo, B. (2002). â€Å"Transcarceration: A Costructive Ethnology of Mentally-Ill    Offenders†.   Prison Journal 81(2), 162-186. Callahan, L., McGreevy, M., & Cirincione, C. (1992).   â€Å"Measuring the Effects of the   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Guilty but Mentally Ill Verdict: Georgia’s 1982 GBMI Reform†.   Law and   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Human Behavior 16(4), 447-462. Galliher, J. (1989).   Criminology: Human Rights, Criminal Law, and Crime.   N.J.:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Prentice Hall. Hans, V. (1986).   â€Å"An analysis of Public Attitudes toward the Insanity Defense†.   Criminology 24(3), 393-413. Ives, G. (1914). A History of Penal Methods.   London: S. Paul. Sigurdson, C. (2001).   â€Å"The Mad, The Bad and The Abandoned: The mentally Ill in   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Prisons and Jails†.   Corrections Today 62(7), 162-186. Steadman, H. (1991).   â€Å"Estimating Mental Health Needs and Service Utilization Among   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Prison Inmates.†Ã‚   Bulletin of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law    19(3), 297-307. Steadman, H. J. & Monahan, J. (1984).   Crime and Mental Disorder.   Washington, D.C.:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   U.S. Department of Justice. Wessely, S., & Taylor, P.J. (1991). â€Å"Madness and Crime: Criminology versus   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Psychiatry†.   Criminal Justice