Aura in Walter Benjamin’s Illuminations Essay

In Walter Benjamin’s book Illuminations, two particular chapters are relevant to the corpus of works that make up film study. â€Å"Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproductions† and â€Å"The Storyteller† outline a progressive history from oral traditions to the modern traditions such as film that resulted and the bumps that have been encountered along the way. Central to these two chapters is the idea of aura. Aura, though difficult to define, is a concept that is easy to perceive because of its engaging qualities. From oral to written to visual representations including film, the story is the nucleus that produces entertainment and ideally educates the audience. To be entertained does not require much of the audience, but education is an engaging process that preserves culture and maintains the aura. Because of the absence of proverbs, morals, or other trite composite statements, the effective storyteller is kin to the guru. The advice the storyteller offers is found throughout the course of the story and the listener or reader is able to draw the meaning out from the speech or pages of their own accord. As a patient fisherman learns at the end of a long day, not all adventures are fruitful. The timeless quality of the works of Nicolai Leskov can encourage the reader to lose track of the parts of the story that, when later assembled, can be taken as advice. In this way, an attentive reader may find advice or counsel for many situations and the story can continue to unfold through the suggestions that good counsel offers. The â€Å"White Eagle† encourages quotation of different passages in order for a summary to be made and offered as a sacrifice to the luke-warm reader. However, the storyteller’s traditional place is not one of summaries, annotated bibliographies, or cliff notes. Time was meant to be integral in the creation of a story which is only preserved in the social fabric of history. The uniqueness of any event, object, or idea depends upon its temporal qualities. Time and space dictate absolutely everything according to Quantum Physicists who are considered to be on the forefront of the combination of all knowledge. These revolutionary inter-disciplinarians have shown that gravity depends on time and space, that speed depends on time and space, and that even decisions depend on time and space[1]. The decision to tell a story depends on the time, traditionally evening when there is less work to be done, and the space, made up of gathering people encouraging the story to be told. Without these two conditions, ample time to tell the story and one’s willingness to listen, a story cannot take place. Because storytelling is an interchange between the one telling the story and the one who is destined to re-tell the story, the oral tradition is dependent upon listeners for its survival. However, since the transference of the events of the tale are not verbatim, the re-telling is in fact an original telling because the details have been molded to fit the circumstances of the re-telling. If the audience is comprised of mainly children, perhaps more attention will be made to the magical parts of the story. If the audience is teenage boys, more emphasis and elaboration may be made on the graphic images in the story. In the best case scenario â€Å"the perfect narrative is derived through the layers of a variety of retellings† (Benjamin p. 93). When a storyteller chooses to relay some advice that has been intertwined in the fabric of a story which is dependent on the social fabric of the group without an audience present for the telling, the unraveling of oral traditions begins. Written history has certainly provided benefits to society that are too numerous to even attempt to summarize. The unfortunate fact is that none of the advancements resulting from changing production methods have benefited the beautiful intergenerational tapestry of storytelling. A common misconception is that a novel is in continuity with oral tradition when it is, in fact, quite a discontinuity. The novel has different properties and different purposes. For one, the novel is composed in solidarity, far from the social fabric where meaning was derived and solely existed. The reader is forced into solidarity as well and his interpretations may no longer have any bearing on those around him. That is not to say that personal meanings are unimportant, only that writing signifies the beginning of a new timeline in tradition whose grand purpose is â€Å"to carry the incommensurable to extremes in the representation of human life† (Benjamin p. 87). As personal importance and interpretation is difficult to verify, society centralizes on information which depends on its verifiability for survival. Writing is the conveyance of information and in modern times information is of paramount importance. The outcome of wars or the accrual of wealth often results from the timely reception of pertinent information. Reported events are subject to immediate verifiability which causes most contemporary novelists to tread lightly when including supernatural or mystical events in their novels. As the transference of quick and efficient information is increasing, â€Å"the communicability of experience is decreasing† (Benjamin p. 86). Storytelling in a social context was recreating the enjoyable social setting the storyteller once experienced that was moving enough for him or her that he or she decided to provide the same experience for future generations. Even further back in the tradition are the actual events themselves. A character in the story was once a person who, through fortuitous circumstances, participated in the events that produced the story. Although exaggerations have been added for entertainment value and alterations have been made, the attempt was always to communicate an awesome experience. In Leskov’s â€Å"The Left Handed Craftsman,† the namesake is not by far the protagonist, but his involvement with the steel flea from Brittan resurrected the tale which was, among many other things, a tribute to ancient craftsmen. The relationship of the storyteller to his material is that of a craftsman to his medium. Benjamin asks â€Å"whether it is not his [the story teller or craftsman] very task to fashion the raw material of experience, his own and that of others, in a solid, useful, and unique way† (p. 108). If the writer is as acutely aware of his or her audience as an oral story teller would be, it is possible to craft a utilitarian product. The solitary production method of writing that removes the writer from his or her immediate context makes this very difficult to achieve. What is lost is the mystical aura that electrified and preserved oral storytelling for so many generations. Writing by hand inevitably led to the printing press and other forms of art, such as visual art, which soon became easily reproducible. The degradation continues as the mode of production evolves. With the advent of the lithograph, whose origins lie in etching and engraving, works of art were beginning to lose their aura. Just as a written novel is not the same as the oral story from which it may have been derived, reproducing visual art leaves the third printing, especially when dealing with wood as was the case with etching and engraving, less clear than the first printing. In rhythm with the march of advancement, technology made pictorial reproductions more effective and efficient in their representations of real life. The march continued past the incorrigibly life-like photograph to film, silent at first, then at a speed that could keep up with speech. In contemporary times, film reproductions of actual events are so accountable that they can be used as evidence in court cases. As wonderful (for the plaintiff) as that may be, the aura that was so present and integral to the authenticity of storytelling is vanishing into the background just as wood engraving has been subsumed by photography. The ramifications of interest here are those of social orientation, specifically social perceptions. In film, the viewer is not allowed the uniqueness of visual perception that can be found when viewing a piece of art in a gallery. The perspective is derived from variations in the height of the viewer, distance of the viewer from the art, other people possibly surrounding the viewer and the background that changes in the case of traveling art pieces. Film, â€Å"being based on changes of place and focus which periodically assail the spectator,† gives the viewer only two options: eyes open or eyes closed. To view is to give in to the filmmaker’s point of view. The social context that has been created is that the other viewers have given in as well. As for the integrity of the aura, the production method of film, which is far removed from the stage-like presentation of storytelling, is even more fabricated because of the fragmented production method of feature films. Additionally, the aura is lost to the audience of whom nothing more than keeping their eyes open is asked. In hopeful efforts one asks, can the aura be resurrected in film if a storyteller is united with the power of film? Indigenous tribes in modern times are the least removed from their oral traditions and thus the most hopeful for a positive response to the above question. In terms of production, the â€Å"Video in the Villages Project†, headed by most notably Vincent Carelli, is a prime example. The project essentially taught indigenous people from various tribes throughout Brazil how to operate video equipment as well as to edit the final project. The indigenous people were the think tank and the executive board for the choosing of the subject of the separate films. The aura was also lost in the final project which can neither be defined as a documentary or a feature film. The people in â€Å"A Day in the Village,† have chosen to show some of their daily routines. As the events are displayed in a fragmented way, one can assumed they were also taped in a fragmented manner. There is no central story, just the theme of activities of this tribe. As for the aura emanating from a guru like storyteller, there is none. A film like the Inuit produced and directed â€Å"The Fast Runner† is the telling of an Inuit tale in the context of a tribal gathering. The storyteller is present throughout the whole tale but he is, obviously, on screen. With film, the context is always mutable because the same film can be shown simultaneously in innumerable locations. New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Prague, and Minsk could all choose to premier a film at the exact same time but the social context is completely unique in each of these situations. The languages change and the people in the theater or viewing space are unique to that particular showing. According to Benjamin â€Å"The manner in which human sense perception is organized, the medium in which it is accomplished is determined not only by nature but by historical circumstances as well† (p. 222). If the historical circumstances can be so easily changed, the meaning can also just as easily be changed. To the people in the sweat lodge hearing that story, the aura could have been part of the captivating presence that maintained the story and created a central meaning for that society. But to an urban citizen who has had no direct contact with these traditions, the aura is not engaging and the meaning, if any has been found, is personal. The active participation of the audience is the same as any other film: unnecessary. There is no tradition in this context and the film will survive even if no viewer is enchanted to listen attentively enough to later replicate the story. The fragmented production of this feature film, like any other, degrades the aura of the original story to a level which is unnoticeable. This film’s attempts to be part of the Hollywood entertainment genre, which almost categorically excludes the necessarily engaging aspects of oral traditions from which the story derives, fails to maintain its original aura. The lessons of our ancestors have always been an important aspect of physical and cultural survival. Through film and indigenous attempts at film, the aura has been lost and it does not seem that it can be resurrected. Cultures are being subsumed into â€Å"melting pots† that neglect individuality and suppress autonomy. Information is more important than the unique nuances a storyteller can combine with sound advice to preserve and at the same time progress a culture. If the good of all is in question, the storyteller must survive. The only issue is if there will be a context for the storyteller to survive in.

Gag Clauses Essay

For the past ten years, the Health Management Organizations (HMO), who is responsible on the health care programs, had imposed a new system that restrict and inhibit physicians in communicating to their patients. (Wynn, 1996) This is known as ‘gag clause†. The physician must not discuss the medical condition and all treatment options of their patients. These include the right health care plan, the appropriate treatment and medications that may be benefit to the patient in terms of cost. (Liang, 1998) The issue on the gag clauses creates a big noise especially on the practitioners and physicians. This issue receives many criticisms. According to some critics, it is the obligation of a physician to educate and inform his patient on what kind of treatment, and the kind of health care plan. This is because physicians are trained to treat the bad health conditions of their patients. The gag clause thus inhibits the open discussion of the two parties. Because of the gag clause issue, the House of Representative and the Legislature of United States are now making a proper move to inhibit the gag clauses in physician contracts. But almost 200 million of the citizens of the said country rely on health care programs of HMOs. The lawmakers of United States, who had made laws and enforces these to protect its citizens, medicine companies as well as the practitioners from the HMOs, still HMOs finds a way to control the actions of their hired physicians. This is the termination-without-cause clause. In this clause, the physician to be hired by HMOs can be fired for any reason. The restrictions of physicians in communicating to their patients produce major problems especially on the side of the patient. One of these problem is the lost of trust and confidence of the patient if his original physician has been deselected. Then the second physician must handle the latter treatment on the patient which is very difficult because of little time. Then the second physician also faces a constraint in communicating to his patient. This will result to low quality health care service given by HMOs. The welfare of the patients is being jeopardized because of gag clauses. A study was conducted on the performance of physicians experiencing gag clauses from their health care company. From the physicians who were interviewed, majority do their medical obligation as part of their ethical duties in providing the necessary medication and treatments for their patients. They do not even read carefully the provisions of the contracts they signed in handling their patients. But because of the alarming issues on the deselecting, physicians were limited on communicating to their patients the health conditions and proper treatment. While on the side of physician sectors, there profession is being put at risk. As a physician, their responsibility is to take care of their patient which is the core of their medical responsibility. If these physicians were unluckily deselected, their ethical responsibility to raise and support their family will be affected. Thus, physicians are faced in a two situations were they must choose which will they do. Thus the purpose of their profession is being sacrificed. In almost contract signing, there are some elements to consider and understand by both parties before they undergo in signing. Some of the key terms to consider are the payment terms, duty and obligations of parties, representations and warranties, conditions on the closure of the contract, some liability issues and termination rights. In contract signing in a managed care setting, the identification of the parties who will sign the contract must first be done. In terms of managed care setting, the health care provider, physicians and the consumers or patients are the main characters. Then the recitals will follow. In this part, it contains the background of the contract as well the objective. The obligation of the parties involved is the next element to be discussed before signing. The health care provider will provide all the necessary treatments needed by the patient for his wellness. This includes the necessary and appropriate health care plan. While the physician medical responsibility is to provide the necessary treatment needed by the patient in which he can apply his profession. These include care and medication of the patient. And lastly, the obligation of the patient is in term of financial obligation for the health care provider and to the physician. (Allbusiness, 2007) Next to be considered are the terms of the contract. It must be clearly stated what are the sanction if one of the terms was not made. Also, the contract must be known if it is an only one time or it can be renewed. And if the contract is renewable, how it can be renewed? These questions must be first answered before the signing of the medical health care contract. After this, the price must be set. How much will it cost the service of the health care provider to their costumers or patients and the salary of the physician assigned, as well as the terms of payments between the parties? When will the due of the payment and what are the consequences if the due was not met by one of the party concerned. Warranty is also part of a contract. The warranties must be clearly stated on how it can be claimed and in what way. If the health care program does not meet the terms, how will the health care provider pay the consequence? And how long the warranty will is good for. And lastly is the term of termination of the contract. When will the health care program end in concern on the patient? When will the physician medical obligation ends. The above are mentioned are the key terms in contract signing in a health care setting. (Allbusiness, 2007) In contract signing in a health care setting, a major concern that must be considered is that-if the contract contains provisions of illegal act? Because majority of the HMOs contract’s contain provision of not letting communication on the physician-patient relationship, the Federal government of United States enforce these HMOs to eliminate these gag clauses. In a contract, it is stated that the patient under a health care program is entitled to all benefits of the health care program. ( Scanlon, 1999) Because of this, the Health Care Financing Administration force HMOs to eliminate gag clauses on their contracts. If a contract contains illegal act such that of the gag clauses, it will be considered as a violation on the Medicare law. This is because almost physicians believe that inhibiting them in communicating with their patients about their medical condition might result to increase on the risk on their health condition. (Frascati, 2005) Even tough some of the health care plans of HMOs were revised in connection with the gag clauses; still there are provisions and conditions that hinder the communication of physician-patient relationship. Some of these provisions are the business confidentiality clause, nondisparagement clause and nonsolicitation clause. These provisions are discrete form of inhibition of the communication. (Lott, 1997) If one of the provisions in a contract is unenforceable like no legal action or waiver of right to trial by jury, and then the contract is considered void. (Higuchi, 1995)

Homeostasis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Homeostasis - Research Paper Example This paper will discuss four ways human physiology responds to athletic training from the perspective of musculoskeletal system, body composition, thermoregulatory system and cardiovascular system and explain physiological mechanisms. Exercise programs promote muscle development, which takes place in conjunction with body fat reduction resulting from the difference between the intake and output of energy. In the initial stages of weight reduction, the body fat available for the body to use as fuel is often counteracted as denser muscle tissues are gained. The adenosine triphosphate chemical (ATP) facilitates muscle contraction and after several repetitions, ATP levels are depleted. Glycogen is initially burnt to replenish the level and the longer exercise takes, the more fat is burnt, like in short and high-intensity exercises (Curtin & Woledge 583). If the exercises are longer, the muscles release more lactic acid, which could eventually lead to muscle fatigue and cramping. However, flexibility and stretching exercises create greater motion range in joints subjected to the associated stresses. The result is that when the joints gain the ability to move with more dynamism, there is a notable increase in stability , power and speed in the motions of the related structure. This greatly reduces chances of injury or being overstressed. Body composition accounts for the most visible physiological change in response to athletic training. The human body is constructed from skeletal bone, organs, lean muscle mass and body fat. Although training does not alter their dimensions, specialized exercise reduces body fat percentage while increasing the mass of lean muscle. Processed triglycerides are stored in the form of body fat in the adipose tissues for indefinite periods. When exercise is combined with the right diet, it will result in

Edward Gibbon and his contribution to Historiography Research Paper

Edward Gibbon and his contribution to Historiography - Research Paper Example In order to know more about him comprehensively, we have to answer questions about who he was, what drove him to write, and what perceptions of his work were adopted by both his contemporaries and modern day readers. The term historiography refers to the theory and history of writing.1 It can also be defined as the academic prospect of writing history and how historians came to understand these records.2 Due to the complexity and inaccuracy associated with historical study, historiography thus enables us to identify and appreciate these discrepancies in a bid to find the truth. It also helps us gain insight on humanity; the knowledge that would enable us to avoid mistakes made in the past that led to catastrophes and borrow those that were beneficial.3 For example, the study of the fall of the Roman Empire would easily be relevant in the modern day superpowers and thus the statement; history repeats itself. The historiography’s progression, and its methods and conception, chan ged and developed substantially. All of the past sources of history, to the seventeenth century started accumulating in the enlightenment period. One of the major influential historians and academician of the period was Edward Gibbon. Edward Gibbon (April 27, 1737-January 16, 1794) was a historian in the 18th century, and his writing on history was an important element among his contemporaries and is still an important topic of study in modern day academic scholars of historiography.4 In his life time he served as a soldier during the English seven-year war, managed his family’s business and was also a member of parliament. He was born in Putney, England in a period of ‘enlightenment.’ Edward Gibbon was born April 27, 1737 to Edward and Judith Gibbon in Putney, London, England5. He was raised as the only child after his six siblings died at infancy. His father was an heir to an affluent family.6 During this period, there was a wide revolutionary thinking on the p erception and acceptance of Christian theology and church dogma. He was born to an affluent family, according to the standards of the period; his early education was profound, as demonstrated by his ability to engage in scholastic research and writing at a relatively young age.7 His childhood was marred by poor health and he describes himself as â€Å"a weakly child† and nearly succumbed to death several times. He was vastly ignored by his parents who were occupied with their social life and was abandoned to inadequate caregivers who were household servants and physicians.8 One of the ways that he uses method or conception from the past is evident in the classical period. By the Enlightenment and eighteen century, we find that Classical writers have been highly common in academic all over the European continent, with similarities in all his works, from writers of the ancient Rome and Greece. A Greek writer, Heredotus, wrote â€Å"The Persian Wars’ that has the theme o f geography and ethnography, of the Near East people. Gibbon also appears to have the same theses in the â€Å"He is popular for several publications, but the major one is the ‘Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,’ by the manner in which he comprehends all the Europe’s ‘barbaric’ people. In addition, another idea that he appears to have adopted from the ancient Greece is that of universal history; this idea

Business-Millennial generations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Business-Millennial generations - Essay Example It is also important to note that this generation Y is also coined with the millennial generation because this generation simply refused to connect themselves with their earlier generations and were partly affected by the rise of technology also. (Winograd & Hais, 2008). What significance this generation can hold for a company can provide an important insight into the different attributes and characteristics of a completely new market segment which can be served with greater penetration. This report will discuss some of the most important attributes of the generation millennial for Penrose Media Co willing to penetrate and study this cohort to understand their work behaviors and attributes. Generation Millennial belong to an era which witnessed significant political struggle within US as they not only witnessed cold war but also fierce battles in Iraq war also. Though there are very rough estimates of the actual size of this generation however, some estimates suggest that generation Y comprises of almost sixty million individuals who have relatively more distinguished characteristics than previous generations. The most important strength of this generation is the fact that they are well aware of technology and are using social networking and other technological tools to capitalize on opportunities offered by digital world. It is because of this reason that they are often called digital natives as they are more familiar with the technology and are using it in more commercial manner. (Jayson). They are self assured and optimistic therefore they tend to have more inclination towards academic curiosity and as such more intellectual and socially engaged actions motivate them more as compared to their previous generations. What is also significant is the fact that due to their awareness of the technology they are more connected with each

Anatomy and Physiology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Anatomy and Physiology - Essay Example The sense of touch helps us detect pain and provides a reflex withdrawal that is naturally and unconsciously prepared before conscious awareness of pain is passed on to the brain (Kippers 2-3). Further, the sense of touch allows us to learn about our surroundings by touching and feeling everything around us (Kippers 2-3). The second function of the nervous system is coordination. Coordination is the body’s ability to receive a number of stimuli through the various senses, which are appropriately coordinated and processed thereby allowing us to give a proper reaction to any given circumstances. The feedback or response given by an individual may vary and depend on character, experience, culture, etc. (Kippers 2-3). Last but not the least function of the nervous system is the ability of a person to have conceptual though or intelligence. Every individual is capable of calculation, imagination, abstract reasoning and creativity that make him or her superior than any other mammal (Kippers 2-3). The peripheral nervous system (PNS is made up of all the other parts of the nervous system excluding the brain and the spinal cord which are parts and segments of the central nervous system (CNS) (Noveguide.com 1-3). The peripheral nervous system (PNS) is divided into two main categories which are: 1) the sensory somatic nervous system and 2) the autonomic nervous system (Novelguide.com 1-3). The sensory somatic nervous system serves as the sensory entrance between the environment or surroundings outside the human body and the CNS. The responses made by the body in this part of the PNS are inclined to be conscious (Noveguide.com 1-3). The sensory somatic nervous system is composed of 31 pairs of spinal nerves and 12 pairs of cranial nerves. Other pairs are only for sensory neurons which are mainly engaged in the senses for smell,

Pop Culture-one artifact Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Pop Culture-one artifact - Essay Example There is one real leg of a person and a prosthetic limb with a message persisting that there are no original spare parts for the human body in the poster. The company uses logos to tell the people that the human body must always be under great care. It uses the words in the advertisement, as a form of logos to convey the message that people should be careful whilst engaging in dangerous activities. In this case, the company is insisting that drunk driving can result in an outrageous accident that can make individuals lose their body parts. There are no spare parts for the human body and thus people must avoid drunk-driving at all costs. The company uses pathos to capture the attention of audience by describing the potential dangers for drunk driving. The photo showing a person with one real human leg and a prosthetic limb seeks to imply the potential effects for drunk driving, and effectively portrays pathos. It is portraying the dangers a person is exposing himself or herself to, by driving while drunk. BMW uses the photo to show the prospect of losing a body part and recovery difficulty. The photo exhibits the jeopardy of drunk driving. The utilization of this image is supposed to initiate mental thoughts and conceptions among the audience regarding the fundamental effects of driving while drunk. By understanding the potential dangers, the audience is supposed to become thoughtful of drunk driving. The â€Å"BMW† logo at the right corner of the poster portrays the use of ethos. The company is an established car-manufacturer and the usage of the logo will win the trust of many people. It is likely that many people will consider reading the message and put it into practice because of the brand name â€Å"BMW†. The company is advertising itself for the sale of cars but at the same time using its brand to sensitize people against driving while drunk. This is a