Gender and Sexuality in The Piano Essay -- Piano Essays

Gender and Sexuality in The Piano "THERE IS A SILENCE WHERE HATH BEEN NO SOUND THERE IS A SILENCE WHERE NO SOUND MAY BE IN THE COLD GRAVE, UNDER THE DEEP DEEP SEA." With these words, The Piano ends and leaves me in a state of confusion about what point the film was trying to express. The film by Jane Campion has been compared to the likes of Wuthering Heights and has been highly lauded for championing freedom of women’s sexuality and identity. Many critics, though, have debated on the final meanings of the film. This is possible because the film has such complicated characters, such as the main character Ada, who have intricate reasons for carrying out their actions. Campion created a film with a complex storyline that has no clear, easily extracted meaning. I believe that most critics have missed the film’s point when they try to argue what Ada’s expression of her gender and sexuality means. I would like to argue that while Ada does find a solution to the question of her identity and sexuality, this solution is not the feminist ideal of overcoming the status of Other and becoming a fully liberated woman that some reviewers claim it is. Nor is her solution an acceptance of the gender ideology prescribed by patriarchal society. Instead, Ada assumes a complex identity that falls somewhere in between these two extremes. The Piano demonstrates that although gender identity theories are complex themselves and help provide understanding, they fail to accurately and completely describe a particular person’s gender identity and sexuality because these can be combinations of many, perhaps even contradictory, factors. So, the movie’s representation of gender and sexuality is more Foucauldian, though some characters may still see thems... ...Winter 1998): 227-244.    Foucault, Michel. The History of Sexuality. New York: Vintage Books, 1990.    Gillett, Sue. "Lips and fingers: Jane Campion’s The Piano." Screen 36 (Autumn 1995):277-287.    Hardy, Ann. "The Last Patriarch." Jane Campion’s The Piano. Ed. Harriet Margolis. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2000. 59-85.    Hoeveler, Diane Long. "Silence, Sex, and Feminism: An Examination of The Piano’s    Unacknowledged Sources." Literature Film Quarterly, 1998, Vol. 26 Issue 2, 109 116. Academic Search Elite. EBSCO Publishing. March 23, 2001 http://ehostvgw16.epnet.com    Margolis, Harriet, ed. Jane Campion’s The Piano. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2000.    Sawicki, Jana. "Feminism, Foucault, and ‘Subjects’ of Power and Freedom." Feminist Interpretations of Michel Foucault. Ed. Susan J. Hekman. University Park, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State UP, 1996. 159-178.

Technology Changes Not Just Our Physical Environment

Technology has changed our world in many aspects and through many different inventions and advances. Technology has changed our world in mainly two aspects, our physical environment and our way of life. Our physical environment is defined as the buildings, the infrastructure around us. For example, the trains and cars we see every day, the air-conditioners present in buildings and such. Our way of life is how we actually go about doing activities; the way we deal with matters. Technology has changed our physical environment in cities greatly.It has changed the physical environment, for example, the temperature in buildings, where a room can be cooled with air-conditioning. Technology has particularly changed the transport sector, where the infrastructure in current modes of transport are all made possible with the use of technology. For example, the cars, trains and buses we utilize as means of transport, were all created through the use of technology. The roads and vehicles that we see on our roads now were all only made possible through the use of technology.Compare this to the past, where walking or bicycles were the main modes of transport before cars and trains were invented. The use of technology has also changed our physical environment in terms of pollution. With advances in technology such as industrialization, the use of cars and so on, harmful gases have been released into the atmosphere as a result of these activities. These gases result in our atmosphere having more harmful gases compared to the past, in a sense changing our physical environment.Also, the innumerable tall buildings that we see in many cities around the world were only made possible by the use of technology; to ensure that the buildings would be stable even as the buildings were built higher and higher. Technology is used to constantly improve the quality of concrete so that it is stronger, and thus can be used for taller buildings. The chemical composition of cements and concrete i s constantly modified through the years so that they are stronger, and will be more stable for higher buildings.Furthermore, the speed at which tall buildings are being constructed now is a big change from the past. With the use of technology through inventions such as cranes in construction, buildings can now be constructed at much faster speeds than before. Cranes can put the blocks of concrete in place in a matter of minutes compared to the past, where the laying of one block of concrete could even take up to about one hour. In the ancient past, buildings like the pyramids took decades to finish constructing, compared to skyscrapers now, finishing construction in the span of a few years.Technology has not only changed the physical environment, it has also made it easier and faster for man to impact the physical environment. Technology has not only changed our physical environment, but also changed our way of life, the way we go about doing activities. One way technology has chang ed our way of life is through communication. In the past, the main modes of communication were either travelling miles to meet the person or sending letters to each other.These two methods of communication in the past took up much time, and the sending of letters was also not entirely reliable as letters could get misplaced along the way and such. Compared this to the present, where we now have reliable and speedy forms of communication. Current forms of communication are emails, text messaging and the use of social networking platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Skype and so on. With such forms of communication, messages can be sent across oceans and seas in the matter of several seconds.Technology has enabled humans to interact with each other at such high speeds, and it has changed the way many of us communicate with each other. Some even find it easier to communicate with others through the use of social networking platforms, resulting in some people being very introverted in re al life, but appear extroverted and friendly on social networking platforms. This changes our way of life as it reduces the human to human interaction between humans, it transforms the conventional way of communication between humans.Technology has also changed the structure of the family. Traditionally, women were expected to stay home to do the household chores and care for the children. However, with the advances in technology, household chores did not take up as much effort and time as compared to the past. This change enabled women to go out and have jobs, as it did not take much time and effort to settle household chores thanks to the advances in technology. Women being able to go out and work instead of being a housewife was one way the advance in technology changed the family structure.The increased freedom of women to work has also further effects on the structure of the family. With the increasing employment of women, women are also given increased status and independence of action, something women did not have in the past. With this increased status and independence of action, there is an increased possibility of women initiating a divorce. The divorce rate has increased steadily in recent years in many technologically oriented countries. A divorce would mean the destruction of family, and this is another way technology has changed our way of life.It can be seen that technology can change not only our physical environment, but also our way of life in terms of communication with others as well as the structure of the family, the basic social institution. All in all, technology has changed both our physical environment as well as our whole way of life. Technology has changed our physical environment in terms of our transport infrastructure, the height and speed at which our buildings are built and the atmosphere on earth. Technology has also changed our way of life, mainly through communications and also the structure of the family.

Essay Sample on Nationalism

Consequences of Nationalism. Free Essay Sample Describe the consequences of nationalism The affection, responsibility and an inclination to sacrifice for the country is defined as nationalism. Nationalism can have both positive and negative impact on the country depending on the type of nationalism such as Ethnic nationalism, Civic nationalism, Liberal nationalism, Expansionist nationalism, and so on. Most of these types have their own benefits and some of them can be unfavorable at the same time. Nationalism saw prominence only in the 19th century due to the formation of many nations that did not exist in the early 18th century. Many nations co-relate nationalism directly to racism, and the people in such countries are programmed to act accordingly. Nationalism has seen many negative consequences; however among the positive ones are: development of an organized society, the elaboration of non-corruptive government, elaboration and public spirit and sense of pride for the nation. Nationalism in some states is considered to be a political principle, wherein the radical and general units of the nation are harmonious. Nationalism sometimes breaks down in personal matters, when the political issues of the states arise. The nationals, in such situations emphasize on the state affairs rather than working as a unit for the nation. It is believed that some factors that categorize nationalism are beliefs on religion, linguistic, history of the nation, and tribalism. A few negative consequences of nationalism have led to war and manslaughter, since sometimes it becomes a prerequisite for conflicting forces that pose a danger to the nation. Opinion poll shows that the economic condition of the nation plays an important part in the nationalism development. People with positive nationalism are easy-going and open to accept others due to their morals about good citizenship and social integrity.