Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Comedy Essay Example for Free

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Comedy Essay Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is a 1953 Musical-Comedy released by 20th Century Fox, directed by Howard Hawks and starring Marilyn Munroe and Jane Russell; the two greatest sex symbols of the era. The cameras point of view is that of the male gaze, where women are regarded as objects of fascination and the men are assumed to have a position of power. Hawks shows how it can be easily hijacked by females smart enough to control, manipulate and ultimately blur the male gaze. As much as this film is shot for the male gaze it is as much for a female audience as it is for males. In the song-and-dance sequence, When Love Goes Wrong, the two female protagonist had just been expelled from the hotel by Gus. Though the situation for Lorelei and Dorothy should be one where they are left helpless and powerless the scene however displays the opposite. In the entire scene both female protagonist are captured front and center with close ups and the lighting on their faces is well defined which gives them a sense of importance and power. At the same time the men gather around them captivated, giving their undivided attention to the females as they sing and dance; giving them a position of control over the men. Their position of power is so prominent that they even get the admiration of young boys who seem to be gypsys. Gypsys are known to be quick, sharp and in control when it comes to stealing but in this scene their heads are turned by the sensual Lorelei and they are totally distracted. Bothe females are well aware of their manipulative powers as Dorothy encourages Lorelei to use her charms, saying, Do it now, do it! What appears to be submissive to the male gaze, in this scene however they put on a chow in exchange to negotiate their presence and have their voices heard in a dominantly male world. When the females are seated they appear to be two damsels in distress, however the movement of standing up represents liberty and the space they command when dancing communicates freedom and power. A melancholy moment turns to a vibrant and fun sing-and-dance where they reject the actions of men to have power over their emotions. Though the scene is shot in the view of the male gaze the line is blurred when Lorelei and Dorothy use their sensual and attractive appearance to control, manipulate and command power in a dominantly male world. By this the scene takes a turn to cater to the female sight giving a sense of empowerment and independence in a situation where they should be the damsels in distress.

Knowles Separate Peace Essays: The Theme of A Separate Peace :: Separate Peace Essays

The Theme of A Separate Peace  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The persistent theme of A Separate Peace is the deterioration of a complex friendship. The bond between two boys (Finny and Gene) becomes tested and attacked, as the reader observes a seemingly utopian relationship fall into decadence. Gene becomes challenged with various inner hostilities, while Finny, his proclivity for athletics revoked, has been forced to find acceptability and provocation elsewhere. Furthermore, the book commences during mid-to-late 1942, during the height of the Axis powers' success. The effect of stress and tension on the camaraderie of the boys becomes elevated. The intensities of war, envy, and intricate personalities synthesize to provide an interesting look into the subconscious mind and sanity of war-time youth. Phineas and Gene form the illusion of great companionship, combining superior athletic ability with a powerful intellect. However, a silent rivalry develops between them. At the beginning of the story Gene seems to accept Finny's premium physical agility, but he resents what he feels is flaunting (of his aptitudes) by Phineas. As the book progresses, Gene continues to look deeper into their fellowship and quickly becomes wildly jealous of Finny. Eventually, Gene impairs Finny by jouncing the limb where Finny stood. Phineas, meanwhile, seems unaware of Gene's evil thoughts. He continues to remain optimistic and promising. Amidst this rivalry, World War II persists and the faculty at Devon School are preparing the students for entrance into the military. Propaganda and the war effort enthrall the youth. From the forming of the Super Suicide Society of the Summer Session, to the shoveling of snow at the railroad yard, everyone is absorbed by the aura of warfare. Gene's realization, while shoveling snow, that "we [he and his schoolmates] seemed to be nothing but children playing among heroic men" (89) demonstrated his generation are merely pawns in a global conflict. Gene sustains his inclination towards pessimism and exposes the evil within him. The disharmony betwixt Gene and Finny constitutes a separate, full-scale war when Phineas fractures his leg once again. With Phineas' inner evil now exposed and his superficial personality shattered, Gene quickly becomes the object of his animosity. With the death of Phineas, the relationship has exhaustively deteriorated. When he fails to weep, Gene reveals that it is not just Finny's funeral, but his own.

Policing Paper †The Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS) Essay

Over the last 20 years, a new concept of policing has emerged that will replace the law enforcement aspects of an officer’s duties and replace them with crime prevention.   This new concept is community policing, which â€Å"should develop partnerships with neighborhood residents, develop programs tailored for specific problems, and give rank-and-file officers more decision-making freedom with regard to how best to deal with particular problems† (Walker & Katz, pg 50, 3).   Although this new approach to policing has been around since the 1980s, the city of Chicago was the first large police department to adopt the program city-wide with the announcement of the Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS) in April 1993 (Skogan, et al., 2002).   This paper will explain the strengths, weaknesses, and future of the CAPS program. As explained above, the community policing concept allows the officer to become a problem-solver instead of a reactor by developing relationships within the neighborhoods in which the department serves.   CAPS adopted a five-step program to assist with this effort.   These steps include:  · â€Å"Identify and prioritize problems  · Analyze problems  · Design response strategies  · Implement response strategies  · Assess the success of response strategies† (Skogan, et al, 2002, pg 4,  ¶ 3). The five steps were accomplished through turf orientation and mobilizing city services.   The turf orientation consisted of 279 beats with nine or 10 officers assigned to each.   These officers were suppose to develop relationships and trust among the residents of each beat; however, due to the high number of 911 calls, the officers found that they did not have the necessary time to accomplish both tasks.   Therefore, the Chicago Police Department hired extra officers that were assigned to â€Å"free-roving rapid-response units† (Skogan, et al., 2002 pg 5,  ¶ 6). These free-roving units were responsible for handling the extra 911 calls and were not tied to a specific beat, which allowed the beat officers to remain within their territories long enough to establish trust and relationships with the public.   The beat officers also mobilized city services to help with the initial clean-up needed to deter crime and reduce the public’s fear of potential crime.   City ordinances were changed to expedite the removal of graffiti, abandoned vehicles towed, and abandoned or unsafe buildings demolished.   Malfunctioning street lights were also fixed, and civilian coordinators put in charge of providing the beat officers the necessary services they needed to solve problems within the community (Skogan, et al., 2002). Once the initial issues had been addressed, the beat officers needed to get the community more involved in the CAPS program.   The first step in this was to obtain citizen input about the concerns within the neighborhoods and create new roles for residents to ensure their neighborhoods remained safe.   Beat meetings were created to â€Å"serve as a forum for exchanging information and prioritizing and analyzing local problems† (Skogan, et al, 2002, pg 8,  ¶ 2).   These meetings were held on a monthly basis in church basements and park buildings, and allowed the beat officers and the residents of each community to become better acquainted.   However, many of these meetings ended up being filled with complaints from residents instead of prioritizing and creating action plans to correct problems.   Therefore, more training has been provided for beat officers and civilian facilitators in order to maintain order within the beat meetings (Skogan, et al., 2002). Residents were also given more roles to ensure the neighborhoods remained safe.   District advisory committees (DACs) were created to advise commanders of concerns and plan police-citizen projects.   These committees consisted of â€Å"community leaders, school council members, ministers, business operators, and representatives of significant organizations and institutions in the district† (Skogan, et. al, 2002, pg 11,  ¶ 2).   However, this aspect of the CAPS program has not evolved as originally expected.   Partly because the DACs have not thought strategically about correcting wide-spread problems, and partly because the DACs are not as diverse as they should be; leaving gaps in the representation of all races and social classes within a large area (Skogan, et al, 2002). Although there have been a few pitfalls in the implementation of the CAPS program, there have also been some improvements.   One such improvement includes crime analysis.   A crime-mapping system has been created that is updated continuously; allowing police the information needed for problem-solving and tactical operations.   The city has also implemented a new 311 system that is used for nonemergency situations (Skogan, et al, 2002).   Another improvement has included the creation of a roving task force that includes police, building, health, and fire inspectors.   This task force’s sole responsibility is to enforce antigang and drug house ordinances.   A third improvement includes the cooperation of city legal staff whom have set up offices within communities to assist police in reoccurring problems, prosecute hate crimes, and conduct seminars about crime prevention (Skogan, et al, 2002). Since the implementation of the CAPS program, Chicago has seen a decrease in crimes ranging from burglary, auto theft, street crime, gangs, and drug problems.   However, the future of the program greatly depends on the current motivation of residents, police, and city leaders.   The city must become creative in ways to maintain its current CAPS program during these difficult economic times that have affected budgets on the city, state, and federal level, as well as replace retiring leadership with knowledgeable and driven officers and sergeants (Skogan, et al, 2002).

What Is the Crime of Prostitution

Simply put, prostitution is providing sexual services in exchange for compensation. Sometimes called the oldest profession, prostitution can take many forms, from streetwalkers and brothels to sophisticated call-girl or escort services and elaborate sex tourism operations. In the early 1900s, it was viewed as a profession for women who were uneducated, poor, and morally corrupted. It was just the opposite for male customers. Often they were successful, educated, financially fit and, just being men. Understanding Todays Laws The laws today are fairly straight forward. In some jurisdictions, the compensation given to a prostitute in exchange for a sexual act does not have to be money, but generally, it must offer some kind of monetary value to the person receiving it. Gifts, drugs, food, or even a job are examples of compensation that has value but is not the actual exchange of money. In most states, offering sexual services or agreeing to provide those services in exchange for money is considered prostitution whether or not the services are provided. Therefore, a person who solicits prostitution agrees to provide a sexual service for compensation or actually engages in the sexual service, can be charged with a crime. There must also be an act in furtherance, such as going to a hotel room or around the corner in order to perform the act or handing over the agreed upon fee. For example, if a woman approaches a man in a bar and offers to provide a sexual act for a fee, and the man turns her down, she could be arrested and charged with solicitation of prostitution, but not the act of prostitution. If an undercover police officer approached a woman and offered to pay her in exchange for a sexual favor, and the woman agreed to the terms, the police officer and the woman would have to take it to next level by, for example, meeting at an agreed place. At that point, the officer could arrest her for prostitution, without ever receiving the sexual favor.   All Parties Can Be Charged In most jurisdictions, the person offering sexual services is not the only one who can be charged with a crime. The person who pays for the sexual services, sometimes called a John, can face charges of solicitation of prostitution.  Any middleman involved in the transaction can be charged for pimping or pandering. Any Sexual Activity Can Be Considered Prostitution The crime of prostitution is not limited to any specific sexual or lewd act, but generally, the service provided must be designed to create sexual arousal, whether or not the recipient actually becomes aroused. There must be an agreed upon fee for the act. Decriminalizing Prostitution In every state in the U.S., prostitution is a crime with the exception of Nevada, which allows brothels, but under strict and controlled conditions. However, an effort by some to decriminalize prostitution is common. Advocates for the legalization of prostitution argue that people should have the right to earn an income by granting sexual favors if that is what they choose to do.   They also argue that the expense of arresting and legally processing prostitutes, pimps and those looking to hire prostitutes, creates a financial burden on states without any success of stopping it from going on. Supporters often use Nevada as an example, pointing out that If prostitution was legal, states could actually profit from it through taxation and set up regulations that would decrease sexually transmitted diseases.   Those who are against legalizing prostitution often view it the  moral corruption of society. They argue that prostitution attracts those who suffer from low self-esteem and who do not see themselves as worthy of a better life and have no other option but to trade sex for money. Rather than legalize it, they feel states should make more of an effort to improve education and help young adults set higher standards for themselves rather than to view prostitution as a viable goal. Most feminist argue vehemently that to legalize prostitution would only promote the worst form of degradation for women and that states should make more of an effort into ending gender discrimination in the workplace.