Conceptualization of Childhood sexual abuse and mental health psychological and sociological perspective
Universally defining child abuse is impossible. However as Desai (2010) pointed out, the dominant characteristics in any abuse is the central position of an adult that allows her or him to coerce or force a child into sexual activities. Child abuse includes masturbation, fondling the genitals of the child, digital penetration, oral genital contact and anal and vaginal intercourse. Child abuse can be physical and even non contact abuse such as voyeurism, exposure and pornography. On the other hand, mental health includes psychological, emotional and social well being. It affects how a person feels, think and act as they live daily. Furthermore, it helps in determination of how a person relates to others, handle stress and make choices (Kinnear, 1995).
On the psychological perspective, child abuse and mental health portrays behavior problems such as posttraumatic stress disorder and separation anxiety. The abused children undergo difficult time in their lives in addition to parental substance abuse. The aftermath of sexual abuse can form the start of a child’s negative behaviors and negative experiences. According to Sgroi (1982), sexual abuse to a child is a mental disaster as it can cause a child to become an irreversible, unforgettable, pain in the subconscious mind. Psychologically, mental illness can affect mood, thinking and behavior. MacFarlane et al (1986) observed mental health is important but the disorder can arise due to family history, history of sexual abuse, life experiences.
On the sociological perspective, Desai (2010) elaborates how social changes have affected child abuse problems. The children welfare and women’s movements has made the problem to rapidly rise in the public attention. Furthermore, patriarchal authority and socialization has resulted to the problems of mental health and child sexual abuse. The rising rate of divorce globally put the children at risk of these problems. However, Kinnear (1995) also suggest that it also assists the children to escape form intolerable and oppressive family situations. External controls erosion on sexual behavior and sexual revolution are also singled out as factors that have aggravated children sexual abuse and mental health.
Treatment models and intervention strategies currently used to address children sexual abuse and mental health.
Childs sexual abuse treatment is a complex process. One of the challenges is its occurrence in the larger intervention contexts. Treatment which forms part of intervention should handled with a team of professionals. A treatment approach as an intervention employed in a child sexual abuse should address the prerequisite and the contributing causes and the meet the treatment needs of the family and victim, individual, family, dyadic and group treatment interventions should be made available (Sgroi, 1982).
Group therapy
It is the best treatment choice but usually offered concurrently with other treatment modalities. It is appropriate for siblings of victims, victims, mothers, adult survivors and the offenders. According to MacFarlane et al (1986), generic groups including victims parents, offenders and the survivors is effective and powerful for the parties involved.
Groups may be long term, time limited or open ended and dealing with specific issues such as sex education, relapse prevention, or future sexual abuse protection. Moreover, they may deal with many issues of wide range. Offenders and victims grouped may be brought together occasional for sessions. Furthermore, models consisting of concurrent children victims and their parents, where they join for activities from time to time are always productive (Desai, 2010).
Individual treatment
It is suitable for offender, victim and the victims other as well as survivors and their siblings. Kinnear (1995) suggests that alliance building is the initial rule, moreover, trust on the therapist by the all parties and believing that change is desirable and possible. The parties may possess different commitment levels to therapy, but most investment should be made on the victim and least on the offender.
Dyadic treatment
Is applied to repair or enhance mother- daughter relationship damage, and the daughter-father relationship.
Family therapy
Is the treatment process culmination and is not taken usually until reunification determination has been there and is in the best interest of the victim (Sgroi, 1982).
Multiple therapists
It is very helpful because it is close to impossible to administer all those complex intervention series only by one individual. Two therapists are good if possible even if one does the group work and the other does dyadic, individual and family work. However, MacFarlane et al (1986) pointed out that there exist many reasons of involving many therapists apart from the logistics reasons. These include:
Families that are sexually abusive are difficult to offer services to, and therefore the clinicians need each other. Such families are multi problematic and crisis hidden, making it hard for an individual to exert total responsibility.
It recreates when you assign a different therapist to the offender and the victim. It enhances safety and privacy for the victim. These are the two elements of the victim that was offended by the offender.
Co therapy involving both female and male has therapeutic advantage considerably. It exposes the members of the family to role models of all the sexes. Moreover, co therapy enhances the clinician’s ability to affect change because of the allowed leverage, especially in group therapy.
Lastly, some of the decisions that must be taken during treatment are complex and difficult, and mistakes can be devastating. Therefore, more than one head is better.
Two Empirical studies to support the effectiveness of these interventions
The Bureau international catholique de l’enfance (2001) did an empirical research to prove the effectiveness of dyadic therapy interventions. The program was done on 16 sexually abused victims aged 7-9 years. The children samples were gotten form Nebraska hospital. The investigation consisted of a therapy program for 3 months. From the results, 12 children were able to re unite with their families but 4 had difficulty given that the offenders were family members (Bureau international catholique de l’enfance, 2001).
Another study was done by Mars (2003) to test the effectiveness of group therapy on sexually abused children. In the study with her clinicians, they targeted the victims under the child welfare care aged between 10- 16 years, their siblings, family and the offenders. The therapy took 6 months. The therapy involved weekly counseling; inter group exchange, individual therapy. From the research, the approach showed 60 % success with the victims returning to normal life, family integration and cohesion (Mars, 2003).
References
Desai, M. (2010). A rights-based preventative approach for psychosocial well-being in childhood. Dordrecht: Springer.
Kinnear, K. L. (1995). Childhood sexual abuse: A reference handbook. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO.
Sgroi, S. M. (1982). Handbook of clinical intervention in child sexual abuse. Lexington, Mass: Lexington Books.
MacFarlane, K., & Waterman, J. (1986). Sexual abuse of young children: Evaluation and treatment. New York: Guilford Press.
Bureau international catholique de l’enfance. (January 01, 2001). Right to happiness: Prevention and intervention against sexual abuse and exploitation of children. Annual Report Bice.
Mars, J. (January 01, 2003). Sibling Abuse Trauma: Assessment and Intervention Strategies for Children, Families, and Adults by Caffaro & Conn-Caffaro; – From Surviving to Thriving: A Therapist’s Guide to Stage II Recovery for Survivors of Childhood Abuse by Bratton; – “I Never Told Anyone This Before”: Managing the Initial Disclosure of Sexual Abuse Re-Collections by Gasker; – Breaking the Silence: Group Therapy for Childhood Sexual Abuse: A Practitioner’s Manual by Margolin. Criminal Justice Review, 28, 164- 165.
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The United States and Japan have has a reputation stemming from treaties signed in 1853, among the main leaders. In Asia, Japan was the first country to open its borders for American expansion of businesses. Both countries in the beginning supported the slow expansion of commercial trade in china. However, Japan seemed to have betrayed this treaty, by taking china into war. The decisions of the Japanese government coupled with the treatment of Chinese citizens in what many Americans considered as hostile ways; finally brought the once healthy relationship between the countries to a head. Americans were vociferous in their critic of Japanese decisions and their intrusion of china. After many public declarations, Japan launched a surprise attack against the US military base in Pearl Harbor.
The losses incurred by America were great in terms of military resources as well as loss of lives. The unprepared base, which was attacked continuously for some time, was completely brought down. Many historians have indicated that the direct attack on US soil, spelled immediate doom for Japan, and completely altered the relationship between America and East Asia (Wallace, 2001). Both sides were affected by the attack and some of the effects remain to date.
American: The United States Relationship with Japan
Although the relationship with the Japanese was indeed a sour one, with United States completely and vociferously being against the attacks on china; the Pearl Harbor attack as still unexpected. The United States immediately declared war on Japan, and the relationship with Japanese went from stand offish to completely hostile. With the support of strong alliances, and a string Navy, the United States took to war. The foundation for a very unlikely relationship had been set. Japanese were no longer tolerated and citizens of East Asian countries become suspects rather than friends.
Military Cooperation
In the past, though daringly, the United States and Japanese military enjoyed a somewhat cordial and even friendly relationship. Both countries had common enemies, and often were found to share intelligence and even technology. As shown by Badsey (1991) the result was that both armies created a formidable force against enemies. Treaties were signed to protect and secure their position as the top most, strongest and most efficient armies. American soldiers were trained in Japanese fighting techniques, and this was especially a privilege for the elite forces. On the other hand, Japanese soldiers were trained in American intelligence. Although the cooperation was not complete, this was completely destroyed by the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Each side attempted to use all knowledge that they had gathered previously, to completely destroy the capability of the others. The result was a complete destruction of all kinds of relationship between the two strong militaries. In fact, there are some historians such as Miller (2001) who indicate that the reduced cooperation between these two militaries brought a sigh of relief in other nations. Newer and much stronger armies who would not have had a chance against this alliance were now crowned topmost in terms of security and technology in warfare. Now the two greatest nations began looking for new aliases, those who could lend tem technology and intelligence with which they could defeat their enemies.
Immigration and admission of aliens
In the past, the admission of Japanese citizens to the United States was an easy process. Beginning from the early 19th century, Japanese workers arrived in plenty to America. There was such an increase in the Japanese population such that a new community came into picture that of the Japanese Americans. For generations, they settled built reputations, owned businesses and began working in the United States (Arroyo, 2001). The Japanese culture for the settled Japanese Americans was influenced by the American culture. America became the land of opportunity for various Japanese citizens. They came to seek education, opportunities for employment and expansion of their businesses. There were cases of intermarriage, where children born from both cultures became authentic American citizens. With excellent skills and talent, the Japanese immigrants went as far as to take up high ranks in government and business. They became entrusted friends, who though foreign were looked upon as ideal partners in business, helpful investors and neighbors who could assist each other.
The Pearl Harbor incident however, can be pin pointed as the time in history when all this changed. Immediately the bombs landed, immigration of Japanese citizens into America was halted sometimes completely. With immediate effect, visa applications were cancelled, borders were completely closed to the Japanese immigrants. Where once they were neighbors, now they were considered suspicious and enemies. The settled Japanese were moved out of the country in droves, (O’Neill, 2011). Flights, buses and trains full of families seeking refuge left the country in fear of oppression. More and more of the families were put in prison and concentration for suspicion of terrorism. Whereas they had lived in peace with neighbors, now they stayed locked away.
When Japanese started being considered as terrorists, families were separated. Features, complexion and language became a meter by which citizens were drawn. Friendliness and loyalty started to be measured in terms of race. Japanese citizens some who had lived in America for decades, brought up children and even some who had never seen the soil in their country, were not only considered as terrorists, they were exposed to hostile situations.
Economy, business and trade
The treaties holding these countries together for centuries, many of which had origins in America allowed free trade between the two countries. American companies especially sought the highly advanced technology and resources that Japan had to offer. On the other hand, the companies also enjoyed a good market for the products that they advanced. The result was a great cooperative relationship. Before the bombing of Pearl Harbor, there existed some strained relationships between the two countries, however, business continued to bring good profits. There are historians and economists who indicate that the cost of running business and the profits expected were enough o ensure a positive and continued economic relationship.
The unexpected bombing of Pearl Harbor, caused many business to not only pull out but indeed shut down. American products were shut out of the Japanese markets completely; access to technology necessary for quality production became impossible. Wels (2001) indicated that the result is that the economy and GDP for America came into an all time low. Businesses closed down, income levels lowered, expatriate jobs were lost and all in all the economy became shambles. Although both countries needed to coexist, the relationship was not only strained, economically speaking it ended when the first bomb landed in Pearl Harbor. Americans and their investments walked out of Japan, and these heavy investments were rendered naught. Only what was safely in America could be salvaged the rest was completely lost.
Japanese Relationship with United States:
For the Japanese, the effects were not much different from what affected Americans. Since the Japanese government initiated the Pearl Harbor attack, suspicion fell on all its citizens. For America and s friends, it was hard to imagine that the entire country was not aware of the impending attack. The suspicion, anger and disappointment heaved upon them caused the nation to alienated. Where they had enjoyed good working relationships, business environments and being part of the local neighborhoods; they were now not only considered suspicious but in fact thought of as murderers and terrorists.
Loss of employment and income
Even before the dust could settle in Pearl Harbor, Japanese Americans lost their jobs and source of income. The round ups of Japanese meant that Americans were less than willing to trust the Japanese with their businesses and any duties thereof. Contracts were thrown out of the widow, instead of continuing to exist as stable citizens in the country, they became refugees. Those who owned homes were now homeless, children who were in good schools were expelled from the schools and those with good jobs even businesses were forced to shut down (Toland, 1982).
With no source of income, the Japanese Americans became the poorest of the poor. They were forced to live alienated in a foreign country. From good homes, Japanese were moved to concentrated camps. The money sent back home to improve the living standards of the families at home could no longer be found; access to basic necessities became difficult. Savings were depleted, and the once rising race seemed to have been done away with. The economic and financial difficulties facing the Japanese had just begun; the journey to financial recovery would be long and difficult.
Internment camps
As soon as the bombs landed on Pearl Harbor, the military took to fingerprinting and identifying the residents of the country. Hundreds of thousands of Japanese who had settled into the country were forced into internment camps, where they were segregated, put way from the general population. Although at first the American government at first denied the existence of such camps, over time the government did admit to sanctioning and indeed running the camps. Survivors of the war have told stories about the conditions in the camps, which were far from good. These camps brought diminished any sentiment that the Japanese had still with regard to the country America.
The camps were run in the worst conditions possible. Even in the camps, families were separated and friends and neighbors kept apart. It was indeed a lonely place that forced the Japanese citizens o come together and reunite, forgetting their backgrounds, clans and lineages that had kept them apart for some time. Instead, they began working together to find solutions to the problems they were facing (Schom, 2004). The camps were overcrowded, and lacked basic facilities. They had been hastily put together once the bombing began, and therefore were poorly coordinated, and structured.
Laws, rules and regulations
Once the bombing took place, the Japanese citizens immediately went from law abiding citizens, partners in business and reliable friends to criminals. Immigrants were put under new and stricter rules and laws that were designed specifically for them. The new laws assumed already that they were involved in treason and therefore, limited their movement and communication. Keeping in touch with friends and family in what was fast becoming a hostile country became next to impossible. Every in Americans of Japanese descent’s life was dictated in the rules which culminated with thousands being sent to the detention camps.
Issues that had seemed obvious in the past could now become criminal matters. For example, these residents were not allowed to have cash of more than 200 dollars, both in business and personally. This meant that they could not travel easily send as they wanted; in fact since prices had goon high at the time, there was very little they could do. Access to more money was often considered as evidence that one was indeed planning treason (Horn, 2005).
In addition to the new rules and regulations, which in themselves were stringent; courts changed from being run by civilians into complete military courts. When arrested, citizens and residents of Japanese origin were not treated as civilians with civil rights but rather subjected to hostile interrogation methods and finally short, biased trials with severe punishments as run by the military (Campbell, 2012). They met with no mercy, their defenses were shut down even before trial and for many in fact, cases never came to court.
After a while, the Japanese residents proved to be too many for the courts to handle and deal with factor that caused the cases to take much longer and in many situations never be tried. However, they were held without trials for years and even decades.
Conclusion: The Present Situation
The rise of many world powers, and the globalization which has led to both nations needing either technology, markets or resources from each other have forced them to re-think the situation. Since the advents of the Pearl Harbor bombing, Japanese –American relationship have not only been strained, they have indeed become hostile. Although the countries have continued to co-exist, the relationship has been marred with suspicions and challenges that have often threatened to lead to another war.
The potential for another conflict has forced many other countries to intervene, including world organizations. The concern has been carried by various governments, many of whom have tried to repair their relationships. This has included various peace talks where the leaders of the two nations have tried meeting each other’s demands. The advancement in technology, various discoveries of resources and even the desire for expanded markets, have led to a somewhat stand offish relationship. Each of the nations has acknowledged the need for the other, the need not just for a friendship but full cooperation directed at economic growth and improved social welfare.
As the camps shut down in 1944, more than 60,000 Japanese were still in America; a number that has increased. In addition, Americans who have invested in Japan have experienced increased growth and increased profits. These two groups have been on the forefront of encouraging and pursuing policies that are directed towards a favorable relationship for both countries. The past few years have seen major strides made towards repairing the relationships between the two countries.
It can be agreed that both nations came out of the war scarred deeply, with wounds that seemed permanent. Memories of the losses incurred have been a stumbling block, towards creation of peace. The relationship will take time to repair, bring back to where the treaties work and are actually used as the boundaries defining business contracts, employment and even immigration policies.
References
Arroyo, E. (2001). Pearl Harbor. New York: MetroBooks.
Badsey, S. (1991). Pearl Harbor. New York: Mallard Press.
Campbell, J. (2012). The color of war: How one battle broke Japan and another changed America. New York: Crown Publishers.
Horn, S. (2005). The second attack on Pearl Harbor: Operation K and other Japanese attempts to bomb America in World War II. Annapolis, Md: Naval Institute Press.
Miller, P., & National Geographic Society (U.S.). (2001). Pearl Harbor. Washington, D.C: National Geographic.
O’Neill, R. J. (2011). The road to victory: From Pearl Harbor to Okinawa. Oxford: Osprey.
Schom, A. (2004). The Eagle and the Rising Sun: The Japanese-American war, 1941-1943, Pearl Harbor through Guadalcanal. New York: W.W. Norton.
Toland, J. (1982). Infamy: Pearl Harbor and its aftermath. Garden City, N.Y: Doubleday.
Wallace, R., & Copyright Paperback Collection (Library of Congress). (2001). Pearl Harbor. New York: Hyperion.
Wels, S. (2001). Pearl Harbor: December 7, 1941 : America’s darkest day. San Diego, Calif: Time Life Books.
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Theories of Jean Baudrillard and Roland Barthes in Documentary films The Plow that Broke the Plains and Nanook of the North.
A documentary film is defined by Amato, Castelli & Pisani (2000) as a nonfictional motion picture that presents some aspects of reality and records events that happen in the real world, including science, politics, and culture. Documentary films aim at documenting events in society that are disappearing or on the verge of disappearance to keep history alive. Therefore, documentary films are perceived to be accurate and represent reality. However, this notion has been disputed by some theorists such as Jean Baudrillard and Roland Barthes. This paper discusses the theories of these two theorists concerning documentary films’ capability to represent reality and their impact on society concerning documentary films, The Plow that Broke the Plains and Nanook of the North.
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Hegarty (2004) says that Baudrillard criticized the idea that documentary films represent reality. Documentary films have been believed to represent reality since they capture events the way they happen in reality, but Baudrillard disagrees. He believed that all films, including documentaries, could not represent the actual society since, according to him, they artificially recreate the society by deluding the truth, meaning, and origin to suit their intentions. For instance, in the film, The Plow that Broke the Plains, the producer shows an exaggerated model picture of dust being blown away by the wind to try to persuade the audience to agree with him that the land has been indeed destroyed by commercial plowing as demonstrated by Lorentz, Stoney, Thomson, King & Gil-Ordonez (2007).
In addition, Hegarty (2004) says that Baudrillard viewed the process of film production as simulacra. He argues that film producers do reverse the actual reference by simulation and hence cannot be termed real since the process of simulation simulates and alter the real world. They tend to present the world in their image. They push things to their limit to fulfill their interest, thus deluding reality. Film deteriorates the actual, making reality disappear.
Moreover, Baudrillard believed that opposing deductions of a particular film are all true in the image of the models from which they regenerate. The producers show things and events in a manner they did not appear in real life, indicating subjectivity and ambiguity. For instance, in the film, The Plow that Broke the Plains, the events shown in the film are not the actual events; instead are modeled to suit his indentations of informing the government of the suffering of the people with the help of the inhabitants of the plain as explained by Lorentz et al. (2007)
According to Eagleton (2003), Baudrillard used his theory of symbolism to argue that meaning and signification are just understood by how a specific word or sign interconnects. Thus, no symbol can effectively represent the actual society. He believed human society is centered on self- referential. To him, society is always searching for a full comprehension of the world by producing films like documentaries that portray reality but are not real and trying to deduce the meaning of life from them. This search for complete knowledge leads to a mirage since it does not normally result in the expected outcome. He argues that it is difficult to comprehend human life. Thus, individuals are pulled towards a simulated version of reality which he refers to as hyper-reality, which documentary films do. He believes that reality disappears as people try to comprehend it, implying that documentary films become fiction as people try to understand them as their interpretations are imaginary. In the film Nanook of the North, for instance, the audience tries to understand how the human body can digest raw meat as the Inuk and his family consumes raw meat in their attempt to survive, and the result is their imaginary explanations making the film seem like fiction as explained by Matheson (2011).
Similarly, according to Hegarty (2004), Roland Barthes believes documentary film is subjective since they are exposed to human interference and cannot represent reality. The idea of a documentary film, just like any other, is to entertain, and the notion that it does represent daily events and activities in society is misguided since they use illusions. They want to blind society by their own experiences. By nature, we are different, and in the same way, we have different life experiences. Therefore, taking one man’s or a few’s experiences to represent a whole community is not different from judging people by stereotyping. Thus, viewing documentary films as a representation of reality is unjustified and ignorant. The ideas and issues discussed in the films by the authors are their ideas. Their inspiration may have been their own experience or observation of a few individuals, but that does not confirm every individual’s experience. For instance, in the film Nanook of the North, the producer documents the experience of a family in their attempt to survive in a harsh environment which has no connection to what people go through during hardship, as illustrated by Matheson (2011).
Furthermore, Barthes claims that nothing can act as an arbitrator of reality, not even a documentary film (Eagleton, 2003). Eagleton (2003) further explains Barthes’s theory of the death of authors that views authors/producers as in existence. He argues that they get it right but do not control how the readers interpret their ideas. Thus, Barthes strongly recommends that readers should be left to judge the films, not be coaxed into believing the ideas of authors that have been manipulated are a real representation of reality. He reasons, just like Baudrillard, that in an attempt to make the film more interesting and captivating by producers, they employ propaganda to recreate the original, thus cannot be termed real due to that modification. Barthes is against the conservative culture that is not open to critics and denies readers the opportunity to look at situations on their own by making them believe that documentary films represent reality. For instance, the film The Plow that Broke the Plains used interesting music and showed pictures of inhabitants fleeing their homes to intensify the situation, as explained by Lorentz et al. (2007).
Barthes claims that similar deductions cannot be inferred from one film. Hence, films, including documentaries, cannot be considered objective (Eagleton (2003). People interpreting the same film will come up with different, maybe contradicting deductions and ideas which will be right because they have been justified by the models used. Barthes believed the audience has the final say in the film, and an attempt by producers to persuade them to agree with their point of view is a manipulative act and undermining of readers will power, as explained by Eagleton (2003). For instance, in the film The Plow that Broke the Plains, others agree with the producer that America is misusing its valuable natural resources. In contrast, others think the land in question was just unproductive, which cannot be blamed on anyone, as explained by Lorentz et al. (2007).
The aims of documentary films vary from film to film, according to Amato et al. (2000). Documentary films are informative as they inform the readers of other things that happen in people’s lives elsewhere and bring into attention the fact that people are unique. Each one has their own experience of the same situation. They also form means by which people can share and learn about their experiences. Another role of documentary films is to entertain the readers and viewers. They use language that is captivating and interesting. Some attempt to adjust or advance society in a way. In addition, they can as well be inspirational depending on the subject matter, just like the film Nanook of the North reveals the experiences of Inuk and his family on their journey, entertains and informs members of viewers of the hardship some people go through to survive and serves as an inspiration to those who are adventurers as described by Matheson (2011).
Amato et al. (2000) say that documentary films are if perceived incorrectly, harmful to society. Some are insightful and lead to an overly pessimistic uprising, killing people’s hopes and denying them the opportunity of experiences of their own. They use propaganda and illusion to make people believe that the world revolves around their ideas, making people shy away from exploiting their capabilities and abilities fully, just as in the film, The Plow that Broke the Plains, which tends to blame the government for unproductive land hence may generate the negative feeling that may lead to the uprising as explained by Lorentz et al. (2007). Thus, the authors and film analysts need to let the viewers be judges of their work, as Barthes and Baudrillard imply, according to Eagleton (2003).
According to Eagleton (2003), the two theorists seem to imply similar notions since Baudrillard was inspired by Barthes’s work and tends to expound and clarify Barthes’s ideas. For instance, Baudrillard tries to explain Barthes’s theory of the death of the author by emphasizing that the consumption does matter more than the production and needs arise as a result of consumption, asserting that the viewers do matter in interpretation and not the producers making documentary films subjective rather than objective. In addition, Baudrillard seconds Barthes’s idea that documentary films do not represent reality as they both suggest that humans are exposed to manipulation, as explained by Eagleton (2003).
Conversely, the two theorists have been perceived to be irrational by film analysts and other philosophers as they seem to be denying reality. They have been accused of failing to qualify and define their claims. They are seen as generalizing all their ideas, blinding themselves to nature, and undermining the efforts of artists to communicate with society. Their claims seem driven by ignorance and are unjustified as they fail to describe vital terms such as codes. In addition, their writing, majorly Baudrillard’s, is perceived to be hyperbolic and declarative, as explained by Eagleton (2003). However, some theorists have come to their defense by arguing that Baudrillard does not deny reason but wonders whether that reasoning is enough to conclude that documentary films represent reality since even historical events result from human response to developed situations, as implied by Hegarty (2004).
In summary, both theorists Baudrillard and Barthes believed that a documentary film should not be viewed as a representation of reality as suggested by some film analysts and philosophers since they are a modification of reality. They suggest that reality is lost during the production of these films as they use models instead of the real scene deluding from the original meaning and facts. In addition, they suppose that the films are subject to human interference to suit their interest and are interpreted differently, of which all deductions are true and hence are subjective. They also use fiction to make the film more captivating, and the impact of documentary films on society depends on their interpretation by the public. However, their ideas have stirred mixed feelings among other philosophers, with some supporting their ideas while others are disputing refereeing them as people who are avoiding reality by undermining rationalism and accusing them of failing to qualify their theories.
Reference List
Amato, G., Castelli, D., & Pisani, S. (2000). A Metadata Model for Historical Documentary Films. doi: 10.1007/3-540-45268-0-32
Eagleton, T. (2003). After theory. New York: Basic Books.
Hegarty, P. (2004). Jean Baudrillard: Live Theory. London: Continuum
Lorentz, P., Stoney, G.C, Thomson, V., King, F., Gil-Ordonez, A., … Naxos Rights International Ltd. (2007). The plow that broke the plains: The river. United States: Naxos.
Matheson, S. (2011). The “True Spirit” of Eating Raw Meat: London Nietzsche, and Rousseau in Robert Flaherty’s Nanook of the North (1922). Journal of Popular Film and Television: doi 10.1080/01956051.2010.490074
With a student-centered approach, I create engaging and informative blog posts that tackle relevant topics for students. My content aims to equip students with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed academically and beyond.
The Green Economy according to the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), is the improvement of the well-being of human, social equity to reduce the risks to the environment. This means that a Green economy means having less carbon dioxide and pollution in the environment. It is the duty of both the public and private investments to enhance green economy initiatives. The green economy is achieved through policy reform and regulation of environmental changes. The process of transitioning to a Green Economy means that the tradeoffs between economic growth and gains in environmental utility and social inclusiveness. This paper shall discuss the concept of a Green economy identifying the regional initiatives to foster sustainable developments.
According to UNEP (2011), the green economy term was first coined by a group of environmental economists for the United Kingdom government in a 1989 pioneering report entitled “Blueprint for a Green Economy.” While the first blueprint reports theme was that economics should and can come to the assistance of the policies of the environment. The developments spread the green economy message to other global problems such as loss of resources in the developing world, tropical deforestation, ozone depletion, and climate change. The green economy concept was again revived in 2008 in the discussion of the policy response to several global crises. For instance, in the financial crisis context, global recession was a concern and UNEP was at the forefront in championing the “green stimulus packages” idea and determined particular areas where public investment on a large scale could initiate a green economy (UNEP 2011). This motivated many governments to execute important green stimulus packages as mechanisms of their efforts to the recovery of their economies.
A green economy does not replace the concept of sustainable development they go hand in hand. In 2009, the United Nations General Assembly held the Rio Summit that celebrated the first Rio Summit. Among the agendas on the Rio, Summit included a Green economy for sustainable development and eradication of poverty. Sustainable development, therefore, in the form of a development meeting the needs of the current generation without affecting the capability of the generations in the future in meeting their needs (UNEP 2011).
Trade is one of the sustainable development and green economy initiatives. Through trade, there is the facilitation of the exchange of goods and services that are environmentally friendly, that generates more economic opportunities and employment that results in poverty reduction. The trade also affects sustainable development if managed poorly. Trade can result in environmental degradation, misuses of resources hindering the green economy, and sustainable development policies. How trade affects the green economy, and sustainable development depends on the trade policies and the available institutional infrastructure. Trade offers several opportunities, for example through agriculture, most of the large-scale organic farming takes place in the developing countries while the consumption is in developed countries.
Another sustainable development initiative is centered on encouraging innovation. The innovation policies are regarding direct investments by the government that generates new forms of capital. According to UNEP Green, economic initiatives should result in the improvement of the well-being of all human beings. Through direct health care sector. The act of patenting medical innovation, policy shifts the economy towards topics like climate change. Green economy policies should be aimed at looking into trading systems that will encourage innovation, environmental conservation, and economic growth. In 2011, UNEP held the Designing economy workshop in Geneva. Also, the organization is supporting 36 countries in the creation of the Environmental Technology facilities that carry out case studies to determine countries that are in need (UNEP 2011).
The eco-system determines the sustainable livelihood of human beings. Sustainable initiatives, therefore, are targeted at planting more trees to conserve catchment areas. Planting trees mean that there is less carbon in the environment resulting in less pollution. Planting trees like the mangroves in coastal regions prevent environmental degradation and protect the coastal residents from Tsunamis and storms. Animals are also part of the environment and for instance; coral reefs provide breeding grounds for sea animals. The Larger portion of the world ecosystem has been destroyed by human activities. Sustainable development of the ecosystem, provide ideas for cost-saving and lower-cost opportunities for business. The Global Environmental Facility sponsors the ecosystem conservation initiative. Here tools that support sustainable development initiatives decision-making are developed. Additionally, the UNEP hosts the Economics of Ecosystem diversity initiative that emphasizes the benefits of biodiversity and the effect of ecosystem degradation. Some other initiatives are targeted t reducing deforestation and encourage the planting of trees (UNEP 2011).
In development for these countries. This is particularly true of the developing countries, most of the population is that of unemployed persons. The creation of decent and meaningful employment is challenging for most policymakers. The Intentional Labor Organization predicts that in ten years the world’s population would require six hundred million jobs. More jobs will originate from the building of more industries. Green economy and sustainable development policies are at the center of employment. According to UNEP green economy and sustainable development is only achievable if people are employed. Since the green economy involves the use of technology and infrastructure more jobs are likely to be lost. However, additional employment opportunities can only be realized if the Labor laws facilitate the relocation of labor. UNEP thinks that the green economy and business compete for the creation of more employment opportunities. Creation of Green Jobs is one of the areas UNEP is focusing on s one of the initiatives of sustainable development (UNEP 2011).
Achievement of global health is one of the initiatives of sustainable development. Most of the world’s diseases are associated with environmental hazards. The diseases cause the deaths of over ten million people per year; this, however, can be prevented. Good infrastructure, development of efficient transportation systems, and proper land management can reduce cardiovascular, respiratory infections, cancer, and diseases caused by the use of unclean water. In Africa for instance, UNEP has collaborated with the World Health Organization in implementing the initiatives for greening Africa. Additionally, UNEP has supported solar heater water projects in Barbados. In 2007, free healthcare was given to children that lived close to the Dandora dumpsite in Nairobi, Kenya. In the treatment, it was discovered that the children were exposed to heavy metal poisoning.
Another initiative of sustainable development is metrics and indicators. Green economy and sustainable development are bout measuring the transformation that encourages economic growth. Some of the transformation initiatives include ensuring that there is less production of carbon oxide, recycling of wastes, and ensuring that the ecosystem is sustainable. UNEP has been at the forefront in ensuring that it has an integrated approach to both economic and environmental indicators (UNEP 2011). Through the different engagement with developed countries, it has been able to promote capacity-building efforts.
Sustainable development initiatives are targeted at poverty reduction. The world’s population depends on agriculture for food and provision of employment opportunities. Through sustainable development practices, agricultural yields will double increasing the availability of food, reduction of poverty, and plenty of water for all. Most of the UNEP poverty reduction initiatives are in times to include real-time issues faced by the poor. Poverty levels vary from one country to another. developing countries. For example, in most parts of Asia, the organization has created projects that will reduce the burden on relief (UNEP 2011).
Conclusion
In conclusion, the paper defined the concept of a green economy and identified regional initiatives to foster sustainable development. The green economy has been defined as the improvement of the well-being of human, social equity to reduce the risks to the environment. The concept of green economy has also been identified to have been first coined by a group of environmental economists for the United Kingdom government in a 1989 pioneering report entitled “Blueprint for a Green Economy.” there are several regional initiatives that foster sustainable development as discussed in the essay. The first initiative of a green economy was trade. Trade facilitates the exchange of goods and services that are environmentally friendly and generate more economic opportunities and employment that results in poverty reduction. Another initiative is centered on business cannot sustain long. Hence, they need innovation encouragement. Sustainable ecosystem initiatives are also some of the green economy initiatives where the ecosystem is conserved. The creation of decent and meaningful employment initiatives also forms part of green economy initiatives, especially in developing countries. A green economy and sustainable development are only achievable if people are employed. Since a green economy involves the use of technology and infrastructure. Achievement of global health is one of the initiatives of sustainable development. Lastly, metrics and indicators also form part of the initiatives for green economy and sustainable development
With a student-centered approach, I create engaging and informative blog posts that tackle relevant topics for students. My content aims to equip students with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed academically and beyond.
They lived happily ever after, the prince chivalrously helped the princess into the car before getting in himself and the car exploding into a million pieces spraying shrapnel in all directions. The prince, very frustrated, stepped out of the car to inspect the problem which was clearly a bomb fixed underneath the passenger floor panel. Upon heroically removing the bomb, he laid his eyes upon the most beautiful princess in the land and knew it love at first sight! Bored and alone, Prince looked over at the town’s people as they would walk arm in arm to the theatre. There once was a fair Prince with a lonely heart.
Understanding the Key Elements of Multinational Firm Management
The discipline of Narratology refers to the principles and practices of how a narrative can be effectively structured as well as how it affects the meaning that is drawn out from it. As illustrated above by the story of the bomb disarming prince, there are elements in which must be carefully analysed and applied so that the purpose and perception of the narrative isn’t misinterpreted. At its beginning stands a structuralist pillar but has since developed its concepts and models to be used as heuristic tools for the flexible process of many communicative forms. Narratology helps us understand this process by identifying these elements and exploring the relationships between them. Throughout history there have been many prolific philosophers and writers that have adhered to these structures and relationships, developed variations and even sought to break them in order to subvert the expectations of a critical audience. After an explication of its initial phase as a humanities discipline this essay will then explore its historical, Aristotelian and Platonic lineage before examining Joseph Campbell’s revolutionary understanding of comparative mythology. In order to discover how these fundamental structures have evolved in contemporary storytelling the final step will be to re-establish the foundations and variations of Tzvetan Todorov, Roland Barthes and Nigel Watts as a frame of reference to analyse its application and subversion in feature films.
Originally, concrete discourse in the form of letters, words and sentences was the generalizing theory of narrative. Tzvetan Todorov (1969) rejected this surface level of text based narrative and argued that the focus should be shifted to a generalizing theory that could be applied to all structural and logical domains of narrative thus coining the French term narratologie (1969: 10) as a univers de représentations (9).
Todorov (1969) and Barthes (1966) were among the leaders that informed narratology by the paradigms of French structuralism. Barthes (1966) constructed a system of events referred to as “kernels” that function as the obligatory narrative architecture that guarantees a story’s coherence with the addition of “satellites” that serve as the orbiting embellishments of the main plot. Todorov’s (1969) narrative syntax of equating action to verb, character to noun and attribute to adjective provided further development of the linguistic analogy of narrative on an abstract level. Accounting for the manifestation of sequence and the “grammar” of virtual action, the infrastructure of all signifying systems was universally mapped. Defining narrative universals was the particular interest of narratologists in the mid 1960’s to the early 1980’s and this tendency continued, as concisely stated in 1993 that narratology is a “set of general statements on narrative genres, on the systematics of narrating (telling a story) and on the structure of plot” (Ryan & von Alphen 1993: 110). However in 2004, Fludernik and Margolin described it as a “discipline” which seems to be more accurate conceptually on the grounds that narratology has a dual nature of theory and academic application.
Aristotle and Plato contributed to the classical ancient understanding via modes of representation the functional relationship between action and character. Aristotle’s Poetics presented the fundamental criterion that has remained how we understanding narrative to the present day. The key to his criterion was the distinction between the mythos or narrated plot and the entirety of the events that are taking place in the world of the characters. The mythos was classified as always being aesthetically considered when constructing the subset of events. The functional approach and aesthetic consideration toward the fictional protagonists and their actions as described in Poetics explained the overall logistic requirements and artistic taste of the mythos. The plot, then, is the first principle, and, as if it were, the soul of a tragedy; Character holds the second place. A similar fact is seen in painting. The most beautiful colors, laid on confusedly, will not give as much pleasure as the chalk outline of a portrait. This Tragedy is the imitation of an action, and of the agents mainly with a view to the action (Aristotle, trans. 1975, Section 1)
Plato’s The Republic listed the distinct literary genres separated into two fundamental modes and a third being a combination of both. Narrative is of three kinds, the simple, the imitative, and a composition of the two. An instance will make my meaning clear. The first scene in Homer is of the last or mixed kind, being partly description and partly dialogue (Plato, trans. 2009)
The concept of the monomyth, or the hero’s journey was introduced by Joseph Campbell in his 1949 book of narratology and comparative mythology The Hero with a Thousand Faces. The hero being the central subject to the rites of passage that can be broken down into three arcs that could classify as the monomyth’s nuclear unit: separation, initiation and return. These arcs can be then unpacked into
Republic
Plato – C. J.Emlyn-Jones – William Preddy – Harvard University Press – 2013
With a student-centered approach, I create engaging and informative blog posts that tackle relevant topics for students. My content aims to equip students with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed academically and beyond.
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