Chinese Occupation Of Tibet :: essays research papers

Chinese Occupation of Tibet   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I believe that Chinese occupation in Tibet is a tragedy that should be delt with before a total genocide of the Tibetan cultures occurs. This is a very serious topic that has been avoided since the late 1940's.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Chinese occupation in Tibet is one of the great tragedies in history. The Communist government is trying to completely erase the Tibetan culture. Since the Tibetan religion is Buddhism they have vowed to never hurt another living creature, and because of this they cannot fight back against the Chinese army. Tibetans can only practice their religion under extensive government watch and thousands of monasteries have been destroyed. Over 1.2 million Tibetans have been killed and thousands imprisoned for voicing their religious beliefs. Tibetan women are sometimes forced to have abortions and become sterilized. The Chinese have reeked havoc on Tibet's fragile environment through extensive deforestation and open dumping of nuclear waste. Tibet's most sacred lake, Yamdrok Tso, is currently being drained for a Chinese hydroelectric power plant.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This problem has not been dealt with for nearly 60 years. The United Nations has failed to punish China for any of its human rights abuses. Major corporations from around the world continue to do business with China. Last year, despite continuing pressure, the United States renewed China's Most Favored Nation trading status. Unfortunately, since China represents such a potentially gigantic market, politicians are reluctant to impose any trade sanctions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Chinese government claims to be helping the Tibetan culture, but in

Modern Family Essay

In September 2009, America was introduced to Modern Family, the new award-winning show. The show centers around three families, all of which interact with each other. Not only does Modern Family deal with the traditional family, but also introduces a homosexual couple, and a mixed marriage. Given that these families are interrelated, Modern Family can reasonably be described as â€Å"modern.† The combination of traditional and new elements grows from the blended dialog, which the producer of this show tries to communicate. These elements lay only on the surface, and deeper looks within each family structure prove that the show’s title is misleading. New family visions are never fully embraced, but instead altered to fit into a common family thought. In contrast to its title, Modern Family promotes traditional gender roles and stereotypes of women, which result in the portrayal of an inaccurate image of the female and weakens the stance of women in todays U.S. society. Even though Modern Family tries to communicate an new idea of family, the show’s trust on male structures has created plotlines modeling traditional thoughts within each family. With Mitchell Pritchett and Cameron Tucker, the producers of Modern Family succeeded in creating a liberal homosexual couple characterized by their progressive denial of a traditional family structure. The intermarriage of Jay Pritchett and Gloria Delgado also deviates from the norm, not only by highlighting Gloria’s Latin American origin, but also by their visible age difference. With this interracial relationship, Modern Family follows the trend of recent television series such as Lost Grey’s Anatomy and Emergency Room to include mixed partnership in their story-lines. The significance of these examples is that the audience assumes that Modern Family promotes new families and dismisses the classic gender construction; however, it lacks resistance towards male family dominance, showing t he false approach this show tries to communicate Stability is constructed around the promotion of a male, and traditional formation of the dominant thought of the â€Å"The Standard North American Family (SNAF),† as argued by Dorothy E. Smith. In her article about â€Å"SNAF as an Ideological Code,† she states that the clear division of work sphere and domestic sphere between husband and wife characterizes the concept of a family. The men are  the families’ principal earners, making the women dependent on their husbands’ income. As seen in Modern Family neither Claire Dunphy nor Gloria Pritchett is responsible for contributing to her family’s income, which forces them to rely on their husbands’ earnings. The show’s reliance on the deeply fixed thought becomes even more evident by looking at Mitchell Pritchett and Cameron Tucker. Their progressive portrayal seems to make a classical gender distribution unlikely, but the episode â€Å"Mothers Day† reveals that Mitchell takes the role as mother, while Cameron functions as father. Modern Family focuses on female gender stereotypes to further promote a male-dominant family thought. The mass media’s tendency to resolve so cial change and reproduce â€Å"assumptions about women’s appropriate roles† creates inaccurate images of Gloria and Claire as modern women (Dow 19). The work â€Å"Constructing Gender Stereotypes Through Social Roles in Prime-Time Television† gives a definition of the construction of female identity and communication throughout television. It states â€Å"stereotypes offer overviews about people on the basis of their group membership† (Lauzen, Dozier, and Horan 201). While both women share the identity of motherhood, home life, and family-orientation, their individual characteristics differ. Gloria’s Latin American origin deviates from her white, American colleague. Gloria’s character symbolizes views many Americans have regarding Latin American women, such as being â€Å"‘passive, and dependent on men. ABC’s official description of Gloria states that Jay â€Å"married the much younger, much hotter, much more Colombian Gloria. Numerous episodes also make fun of her strong Latin American accent. The episode â€Å"The One That Got Away â€Å"features Jay’s birthday and instead of his wish to get a â€Å"saxophone,† Gloria gets him a â€Å"sexy phone,† a phone in the shape of a mouth. Additionally, little is known about Gloria’s educational or professional background in Colombia. This results in the motives of her marriage to the much older Jay Pritchett are being questioned. Gloria is accused of being a gold digger for wanting to marry a rich white American, most likely to obtain the American Dream for her and her son Manny. Contrary to Gloria’s racist stereotypical description, Claire Dunphy represents the traditional stay-at-home-mother, who dedicates her life to the domestic land. Compared to Gloria’s glamorous looks, Claire is dressed more casually, indicating that her priorities lie within the family. Throughout the series the audiences discovers that she  once had a successful profession, which she quit for her family. This shows that despite her strong, controlling character, she is not an independent woman. Claire’s description of vacation as a â€Å"business trip† demonstrates that she takes her position as mother very seriously, even more than her previous occupation. Through the promotion of traditional family values and the stereotypical presentation of women in the U.S. show Modern Family, an inaccurate image of the reality and impact of women in U.S. society is created. Even though feminist scholar Andrea L. Press argues that it is not the role of television to immediately and accurately reflect social and political behavior in one’s society, she draws the attention to the representation of â€Å"contradictory notions about feminine gender identity and female roles† in mass media (Press, Women Watching Television Andrea Press has also studied the relationship between women and work on television, and has identified that the image of working women on U.S. sitcoms correlates with the rise of women’s participation in the U.S. labor force, resulting from the changing shape of the American family through rising divorce rates and increasing acceptance of alternative family forms (Press,†Gender And Family† 148). While currently 58.9 percent of married women with younger children, and 70.7 percent with children aged six to seventeen are employed, it is questionable why none of the women in Modern Family holds jobs (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). Of course, the concept of women working is not the only controversial family-related issue that inconveniently left out of discussion in the television series. Even though the introduction of sensitive issues, such as sexuality and race, in present television shows (Press, â€Å"Gender And Family† 140) can be noticed, these narratives often minimize the real problems American women face today (Press, Women Watching Television27-28). This observation does not meet the ideals of Modern Family, whereas issues like race, sexuality, and career decisions might be shown, but not openly be discussed. The longstanding moral concept of the traditional family is promoted through the show and by constantly repeating gender roles; the audience assumes these structures as true and authentic (Lauzen, Dozier, and Horan 201-202). A critical review on Modern Family easily reveals old-fashioned values. Despite its success, this show is not as modern as it claims to be and could  easily have been aired in the 1980s, a television era that was also characterized by a return to traditional family values. Nevertheless, Modern Family, airing in the 21st century, is continually stereotyping women in an old fashioned manner as mothers and housewives. These lines do not meet real female ambitions or provide a satisfactory reading of today’s American women. As Bonnie J. Downotes: â€Å"the danger is not in enjoying television series but in mistaking these images for something more than the selective, partial images that they are† (Dow 214).

Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton - 1240 Words

â€Å" Confessional Poets† Sylvia Plath (1932-1963) and Anne Sexton (1928-1974) both explored similar themes such as tone, structure, and symbolism. Many of their poems were cries for help, which resulted into metal illness, depression, and suicide. In 1958, Anne Sexton and Sylvia Plath met, and much to their surprise had a few things in common. They both were fascinated with death and suicide. Both Sexton’s and Plath’s poetry are considered as confessional poetry in which they were very honest, depressed, and had suicidal or homicidal tendencies. Sylvia and Anne’s views on what happened in their life and on independence, are what nearly separates them from other confessional poets. Sexton and Plath’s poetry range over a variety of topics such as death, suicide, rage, and mourning. They both utilize a convincing use of symbolism, deep image, metaphors, and soul-searching. Plath’s â€Å"The Colossus†, â€Å"Full Fathom Five†, â⠂¬Å"Daddy†, and Sexton’s â€Å"And one for My Dame† and â€Å"All My Pretty Ones†, are very enraged and different feminist perspectives, giving different views on the relationships with a father and a husband. Inspired by their true-life memories, Plath and Sexton explore a variety of themes in their poems. They both have different aspects of the relationship between a father and a daughter. The fathers in Sexton and Plath’s life had a major position and made an influence on their life and in theirShow MoreRelatedSylvia Plath And Anne Sexton1782 Words   |  8 Pageswriters cope with their personal experiences and feelings in a new, and constructive way. Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton were a major part of the confessional writing movement in the 20th century. Sylvia was an American poet, novelist and short story writer who lived most of her life being clinically depressed, and attempting to take her own life multiple times when she finally succeeded in 1963. Much like Plath, Anne was also an American poet and was considered to be mentally ill and suicidal. While bothRead MoreThe Comparison and Contrast of Anne Sexton and Sylvia Plath Essay example1646 Words   |  7 PagesComparison and Contrast of Anne Sexton and Sylvia Plath The two poems, â€Å"And One for My Dame† by Anne Sexton and â€Å"Daddy† by Sylvia Plath, both explore similar themes through the use of literary elements such as structure, tone and symbolism. Structures in each poem are alike with length but differ with the actual form. The tone Plath conveys is negative one while Sexton’s is more neutral. The symbolism in â€Å"Daddy† was also negative with symbols of the devil but Sexton used a nursery rhyme as a symbolRead MoreThe Life of Sylvia Plath1006 Words   |  5 PagesThe Life of Sylvia Plath Sylvia Plaths life, like her manic depression, constantly jumped between Heaven and Hell. Her seemingly perfect exterior hid a turbulent and deeply troubled spirit. A closer look at her childhood and personal experiences removes some element of mystery from her writings. One central character to Sylvia Plaths poems is her father, Professor Otto Emile Plath. Otto Plath was diabetic and refused to stay away from foods restricted by his doctor. As a resultRead More Comparing Feminist Poetry by Plath and Sexton Essay1201 Words   |  5 PagesComparing Feminist Poetry by Plath and Sexton Poetry should be a shock to the senses. It should also hurt Anne Sexton believed (Baym 2703), and evidence of this maxims implications echoes loudly through the writing of Sexton as well as through the work of her friend and contemporary Sylvia Plath. Plath and Sextons lifetimes spanned a period of remarkable change in the social role of women in America, and both are obviously feminist poets caught somewhere between the submissive pastsRead MoreAnalysis Of Mary Hughes s Poem Lady Lazarus Plath 1067 Words   |  5 Pagesappear to remind her inner wounds of life. Frequently they seem to terrorize her with their openings; They (Tulips) are opening like the mouth of some great African cat..15. In her poem Lady Lazarus Plath confirms her strong faith in rebirth and resurrection: Out of the ash I rise with my red hair and I eat men like air16. It further makes obvious her repulsion on men. She believes that Suicide, Death and Resurrection may fetch her eternal happiness. That is why, it seems, she loves death. SheRead MoreAnne Sexton Confessional Poetry Analysis1192 Words   |  5 PagesConfessional poetry is the poetry of the personal or I, and it began to emerge in the late 50s and early 60s (A Brief Guide to Confessional Poetry). It is associated with poets like Robert Lowell, Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, W. D. Snodgrass, etc., with Lowell playing teacher for both Plath and Sexton. This poetry movement was all about opening closed doors, allowing the discussion of topics that were once considered forbidden and shameful. Anything once indecent to mention in polite company was usedRead MoreThemes Of Anne Sexton1069 Words   |  5 PagesThemes from Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Robert Hayden An Evaluation of themes from Mirror, Courage, Explorer, and Douglas During the 1900’s, a series of new poets came into existence. These poets brought about new themes and perspectives that manipulated the minds of humans all across the world. The poets that are in our study are Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Robert Hayden. These four poets wrote detailed, intricate poems that are packed full of a slew ofRead MoreThe Poetry Of Sylvia Plath1811 Words   |  8 PagesSylvia Plath is often described as a feminist poet who wrote about the difficulties women faced before womens right were a mainstream idea. From reading her poetry, it is quite obvious that Plaths feminism is extremely important to her, but she also wrote about a lot of day to day experiences and made them significant through her use of literary devices such as metaphors and symbols. Plath may also be best known for her autobiographical poetry written in a confessional style that appeared duringRead More##xiety In Courage, Gwendolyn BrooksThe Explorer, And Frederic k Douglass732 Words   |  3 Pagestheme that it focuses on, or does it? In these four poems, there is a strong sense of social anxiety, and then the overcoming of that with courage. In Sylvia Plaths Mirror, Anne Sexton’s Courage, Gwendolyn Brooks’ The Explorer, and Robert Hayden’s Frederick Douglass there is a strongly shared theme. To start off is the theme of social anxiety in Sylvia Plath’s Mirror. This poem is about a mirror that spends most of it’s days reflecting the wall, but occasionally, it is the friend of a man or womanRead More Preparing for Death in Sylvia Plaths Daddy Essay1424 Words   |  6 PagesPreparing for Death in Plath’s Daddy  Ã‚   Throughout the poem Daddy by Sylvia Plath, the author struggles to escape the memory of her father who died when she was only ten years old. She also expresses anger at her husband, Ted Hughes, who abandoned her for another woman. The confessional poem begins with a series of metaphors about Plaths father which progress from godlike to demonic. Near the end, a new metaphor emerges, when the author realizes that her estranged husband is actually the