Media and communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Media and communication - Essay Example The Harry Potter Fan Community is built around the series of seven fantasy novels that are written by J. K. Rowling going by the name of Harry Porter, and the series has attracted so much fanatical interest, that every release of a new series of the book has posed security threats in major cities of the world (Pyne, 2010:126). Thus, starting with interest built around the series of the fantasy novel, the Harry Potter Fan Community has metamorphosed over time into creating different other affiliates of the fan community, which then focuses on different other cultural, social and political issues within the society. This way, the once simply fanatical and craze interests in the novel series have turned into a fully-fledged socio-political activism, which is now driving major campaigns towards achieving socio-political changes. To achieve this transformation and buildup more fanatical following, the Harry Potter Fan Community has created a participatory culture, which is enlisting members’ cultural connections towards realizing more civic and political outcomes (Bennett, 2008:18). In this respect, various cultural practices of textual production and circulation in the digital world have been adopted. This discussion seeks to analyze the different cultural practices of textual production and circulation applied by the Harry Potter Fan Community, while also analyzing the transformative work they engage in, the cultural context of the group’s work and thus enhance the understanding of their culture and work. The digital world has completely changed the way textual production and circulation is done. While traditionally, the face-to-face methods were applied towards textual production and circulation by the fan communities, it has become exceedingly difficult to classify the textual production and circulation activities of the fans into specified categories, considering that the digital development has collapsed the initial

THOMAS JEFFERSON :: Essays Papers

THOMAS JEFFERSON In the thick of party conflict in 1800, Thomas Jefferson wrote in a private letter, "I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." This powerful advocate of liberty was born in 1743 in Albermarle County, Virginia, inheriting from his father, a planter and surveyor, some 5,000 acres of land, and from his mother, a Randolph, high social standing. He studied at the College of William and Mary, then read law. In 1772 he married Martha Wayles Skelton, a widow, and took her to live in his partly constructed mountaintop home, Monticello. Freckled and sandy-haired, rather tall and awkward, Jefferson was eloquent as a correspondent, but he was no public speaker. In the Virginia House of Burgesses and the Continental Congress, he contributed his pen rather than his voice to the patriot cause. As the "silent member" of the Congress, Jefferson, at 33, drafted the Declaration of Independence. In years following he labored to make its wor ds a reality in Virginia. Most notably, he wrote a bill establishing religious freedom, enacted in 1786. Jefferson succeeded Benjamin Franklin as minister to France in 1785. His sympathy for the French Revolution led him into conflict with Alexander Hamilton when Jefferson was Secretary of State in President Washington's Cabinet. He resigned in 1793. Sharp political conflict developed, and two separate parties, the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans, began to form. Jefferson gradually assumed leadership of the Republicans, who sympathized with the revolutionary cause in France. Attacking Federalist policies, he opposed a strong centralized Government and championed the rights of states. As a reluctant candidate for President in 1796, Jefferson came within three votes of election. Through a flaw in the Constitution, he became Vice President, although an opponent of President Adams. In 1800 the defect caused a more serious problem. Republican electors, attempting to name both a President and a Vice President from their own party, cast a tie vote between Jefferson and Aaron Burr. The House of Representatives settled the tie. Hamilton, disliking both Jefferson and Burr, nevertheless urged Jefferson's election. When Jefferson assumed the Presidency, the crisis in France had passed. He slashed Army and Navy expenditures, cut the budget, eliminated the tax on whiskey so unpopular in the West, yet reduced the national debt by a third. He also sent a naval squadron to fight the Barbary pirates, who were harassing American commerce in the Mediterranean.

Most Dangerous Game with the Lottery Essay

The Most Dangerous Game, by Richard Connell and The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson portray the common theme that people remain indifferent to cruelty until they are the recipients of it. Both stories show that when the darker side of human nature centers on itself, evil prevails showing how man is innately evil and that convictions and morals can be compromised by circumstance. Both authors show that through both societal standards and learned behavior, many injustices and cruelties can be accepted as normal behavior. In The Most Dangerous Game, Connell describes Rainsford, the protagonist, as a renowned hunter. Connell uses the opening conversation between Rainsford and Whitney, Rainsford’s companion on the yacht, to enlighten the reader to Rainsford’s attitude of indifference concerning the prey that he hunts. As fate would have it, Rainsford is marooned on an island where he meets another hunter, General Zaroff. As the story progresses, Rainsford begins to see the faà §ade of civility disappear and the real nature of the General come to surface. The General explains how hunting  man is the logical progression of their art and that they are actually kindred souls. Rainsford is appalled by the comparison of their two natures and clings to the moral high ground. That is until the General forces Rainsford to now become the prey. Rainsford, now the prey, calls upon not only his vast knowledge and experience of the hunt but also his primeval instinct of survival. Connell takes the reader through many twists and turns giving hope for Rainsford around each corner only to take it away. Due to the cunningness and resourcefulness of Rainsford, the General is given literally the best hunt of his life. In the end, Rainsford outsmarts the General and kills him in the end. In The Lottery, Jackson gently weaves the reader into what seems at first to be a typical small farming community with a special event taking place. Jackson portrays how the event had lost most of its pomp and circumstance over time and that many of the townspeople wer e there out of tradition. The protagonist, Mrs. Hutchinson, is introduced in the middle of the story, rushing up to the crowd commenting how she had almost forgotten what day it was. As the names in the box are read, the heads of household robotically accept their papers. When the papers are revealed, Bill Hutchinson, Mrs. Hutchinson’s husband, discloses he has drawn the back dot. Mrs. Hutchinson’s demeanor now changes from nonchalant to seriousness as she protests that it wasn’t a fair drawing. Now as the Hutchinson family draws another paper from the box, Mrs. Hutchinson fatefully draws the black dot. The townspeople then began to pick up stones from the pile as Mrs. Hutchinson pleads with them that it isn’t fair. The townspeople then converge on her, stoning her. Both writers arrive at the same two-part conclusion although taking different routes. Connell shows at first how Rainsford is indifferent to the game that he hunts merely for pride. Jackson likewise shows the nonchalantness of Mrs. Hutchinson to the lottery and it’s repercussions at the beginning of the ceremony. Only with the introduction of dire circumstances to both characters do they begin to examine what at one time they would have considered one of their core beliefs. Both authors then confirm that the evil nature of man is more natural of a path to take than a moral one. Connell shows this by ending the story with Rainsford sleeping in the General’s bed, leaving the question for the reader if Rainsford has now become the General. Jackson also confirms this by telling how even the small child of the Hutchinson’s is given stones  to throw at his mother. In comparison of both stories the authors convey that man is inherently evil and that choices made based on societal standards, traditions, and learned behavior may not be the morally correct choice. This confirms the passage of Scripture from Jeremiah 17:9, â€Å"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?† (KJV) Man’s very essence is that of evil and selfishness.

The Epidemic of Obesity Essay - 1174 Words

To me obesity is a major concern throughout America and has driven our country to become the second most obese country (behind Mexico) in the world. It really didn’t dawn onto me on how big our country is pertaining to obesity until I started my Agronomy class this semester. On the first day of class my teacher informed us on how Louisiana has been ranked the most obese state for the first time in eight years in our nation, and as he went on I started to ask myself, â€Å"How could this happen?† Of course I started to ponder about Louisiana’s seafood and other delicate cuisine that people can’t get enough of which might cause an over indulgence of eating but that couldn’t be enough to cause obesity in Louisiana or even the nation. Well my†¦show more content†¦And the amusing thing about all the calories America consumes, according to the second infographic on The Huffington Post Americans only spend about six percent of average income on f ood, the lowest amount in the whole world. In complete shock I start to wonder how we consume so many calories and are the second most obese country, but only spend six percent income. So I came to my conclusion and ultimately my topic for the semester, â€Å"What if the reason for America being so obese is because the easy availability of cheap unhealthy foods vs. the not so cheap healthier food?† So with my question asked I started searching for an answer, and came to a decision to start searching for information pertaining to how much more it would cost to eat healthier foods. According to the study, â€Å"Do healthier foods and diet patterns cost more than less healthy options? A systematic review and meta-analysis†, Dariush Mozaffarian, a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health, the studies senior author and he co-workers determined that healthier food and non-healthy food is only separated by a mere $1.50 , â€Å"Americans at all income levels allocate too little of their food budgets towards healthy foods. A daily price difference of ∠¼$1.50 translates to ∠¼$550 higher annual food costs per person. For manyShow MoreRelatedThe Epidemic Of The Obesity Epidemic Essay1488 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction The World Health Organization (WHO) defines obesity as the excessive accumulation of fat that puts the person’s health at risk (Lenzi et al., 2015). The prevalence of obesity has increased worldwide over the past three decades. According to Holtz (2016), obese people have outnumbered the undernourished, with the World Health Organization estimating that 1.9 billion adults are overweight, out of which about 600 million are obese. Given the recent trends, it is estimated that 1.12 billionRead MoreObesity : The Obesity Epidemic1509 Words   |  7 PagesThe Obesity Epidemic What is obesity? According to the Health Reference Center Academic, â€Å"Obesity is a clinical condition characterized by an excess of body fat†. Obesity causes serious and life-threatening diseases. 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Obesity is described by Boero (2012) to have exploded in meaning Post- World War II to be more than a â€Å"physical flaw.† Weight concern became an idea that debuted in magazines mainly targeting women and emphasizing â€Å"natural thinness.† The disappearance of the normally worn â€Å"corset† and popularization of the typical 1920’s â€Å"boy catching† flapper, increased the production of diet products and the