Abraham Lincoln And The American Civil War - 1322 Words

The freedom of America’s slaves has always been accredited to Abraham Lincoln, but he was not always the complete abolitionist as he is commonly portrayed. The â€Å"house divided†, as Lincoln depicted it in his famous â€Å"House Divided† speech, of the United States during the Civil War was not always led towards the freedom of all mankind and there is sufficient evidence to support this claim. The sixteenth president of the United States is most commonly remembered for inducing the courage and determination to end the American Civil War with the Emancipation Proclamation although, when it is more closely studied, he did not cross the great divide of enslavement vs. freedom with the submittal of that fabled document. When reviewing the many famous†¦show more content†¦or its advocates will push it forward, till it shall become alike lawful in all the States... Have we no tendency to the latter condition? (House Divided Speech abrahamlincolnonline.org) This quote from Lincoln’s very famous â€Å"House Divided† speech thoroughly accentuated his opinion on slavery. He depicted how the nation would either become all for slavery or all for freedom. The states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Texas seceded when Lincoln was sworn in president in January 1861, while Arkansas, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia seceded when the war started in April 1861 (Confederate States of America history.com). The states of Maine, New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, California, Nevada, and Oregon remained with the original United States,(Civil War Facts nps.gov) they were then suitably dubbed the â€Å"Union† in light of their unity towards the freedom of slaves and the abolition of slavery. Lincoln was advocated into this position as president, and he had to make many compromises to end the upcoming battle. â€Å"Many free countries have lost their liberty and ours may lose hers-but if she shall, be it my proudest pleasure not that I was the last to desert but that I never deserted her,† (qtd. in Humes 25), Lincoln fully acknowledged the fact that the union may not win.

The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne - 999 Words

Nathaniel Hawthorne is the author of the prodigious book entitled The Scarlet Letter. In The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne commits adultery with Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. Her husband, Roger Chillingworth, soon finds out about the incident after it becomes clear that she is pregnant. The whole town finds out and Hester is tried and punished. Meanwhile, Roger Chillingworth goes out then on a mission to get revenge by becoming a doctor and misprescribing Dimmesdale. He does this to torture Dimmesdale as a form of revenge. Hester is publicly punished and is contrived to wear a scarlet letter â€Å"A† on her bosom. This is how she was punished. This was a way to shame her and seclude her from society. Hester was forced to stand on a scaffolding and stare out over the people that were watching her with her scarlet letter â€Å"A† embroidered on her chest. Over time the scarlet letter â€Å"A† in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter, acquired many meanings including adultery, able, and angel. The scarlet letter â€Å"A† originally meant adultery in Nathaniel Hawthorne s The Scarlet Letter. Hester is made to wear the letter A once the town s people see, that she committed adultery by bearing a child by some other soul than her husband Roger Chillingworth. Adultery was a sin and was sometimes punishable by death. Hester was lucky in this instance to only have to wear a scarlet letter â€Å"A† on her chest. This A was used as a form of punishment. What Hester did was prodigiously againstShow MoreRelatedThe Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne1242 Words   |  5 PagesLYS PAUL Modern Literature Ms. Gordon The Scarlet Letter The scarlet letter is book written by Nathaniel Hawthorne who is known as one the most studied writers because of his use of allegory and symbolism. He was born on July 4, 1804 in the family of Nathaniel, his father, and Elizabeth Clark Hathorne his mother. Nathaniel added â€Å"W† to his name to distance himself from the side of the family. His father Nathaniel, was a sea captain, and died in 1808 with a yellow fever while at sea. That was aRead MoreThe Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne960 Words   |  4 Pages3H 13 August 2014 The novel, The Scarlet Letter, was written by the author Nathaniel Hawthorne and was published in 1850 (1). It is a story about the Puritan settlers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, set around 1650 (2). The story is written in the third person with the narrator being the author. The common thread that runs through this novel is Hawthorne’s apparent understanding of the beliefs and culture of the Puritans in America at that time. But Hawthorne is writing about events in a societyRead MoreThe Scarlet Letter, By Nathaniel Hawthorne919 Words   |  4 Pagessymbolism in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s â€Å"The Scarlet Letter†. Symbolism is when an object is used in place of a different object. Nathaniel Hawthorne is one of the most symbolic writers in all of American history. In â€Å"The Scarlet Letter†, the letter â€Å"A† is used to symbolize a variety of different concepts. The three major symbolistic ideas that the letter â€Å"A† represents in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s â€Å"The Scarlet Letter† are; shame, guilt, and ability. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s â€Å"The Scarlet Letter†, the firstRead MoreThe Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne1397 Words   |  6 PagesFebruary 2016 The Scarlet Letter was written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1850 which is based on the time frame of the Puritans, a religious group who arrived in Massachusetts in the 1630’s. The Puritans were in a religious period that was known for the strict social norms in which lead to the intolerance of different lifestyles. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the puritan’s strict lifestyles to relate to the universal issues among us. The time frame of the puritans resulted in Hawthorne eventually thinkingRead MoreThe Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne1037 Words   |  5 Pagesthat human nature knows right from wrong, but is naturally evil and that no man is entirely â€Å"good†. Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of the classic novel The Scarlet Letter, believes that every man is innately good and Hawthorne shows that everyone has a natural good side by Hester’s complex character, Chillingworth’s actions and Dimmesdale’s selfless personality. At the beginning of the Scarlet Letter Hester Prynne is labeled as the â€Å"bad guy†. The townspeople demand the other adulterer’s name, butRead MoreThe Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne1517 Words   |  7 PagesNathaniel Hawthorne composes Pearl as a powerful character even though she is not the main one. Her actions not only represent what she is as a person, but what other characters are and what their actions are. Hawthorne makes Pearl the character that helps readers understand what the other characters are. She fits perfectly into every scene she is mentioned in because of the way her identity and personality is. Pearl grows throughout the book, which in the end, help the readers better understandRead MoreThe Scarlet Letter, By Nathaniel Hawthorne1488 Words   |  6 Pages In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter, the main character, Hester Prynne, is a true contemporary of the modern era, being cast into 17th century Puritan Boston, Massachusetts. The Scarlet Letter is a revolutionary novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne examining the ugliness, complexity, and strength of the human spirit and character that shares new ideas about independence and the struggles women faced in 17th century America. Throughout the novel, Hester’s refusal to remove the scarlet letterRead MoreThe Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne1319 Words   |  6 PagesPrynne and Arthur Dimmesdale are subject to this very notion in Nathaniel Hawthorne s The Scarlet Letter. Hester simply accepted that what she had done was wrong, whereas Dimmesdale, being a man of high regard, did not want to accept the reality of what he did. Similar to Hester and Dimmesdale, Roger Chillingworth allows his emotions to influence his life; however, his influence came as the result of hi s anger. Throughout the book, Hawthorne documents how Dimmesdale and Hester s different ways of dealingRead MoreThe Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne1714 Words   |  7 PagesSome two hundred years following the course of events in the infamous and rigid Puritan Massachusetts Colony in the 1600s, Nathaniel Hawthorne, descendant of a Puritan magistrate, in the 19th century, published The Scarlet Letter. Wherein such work, Hawthorne offered a social critique against 17th Massachusetts through the use of complex and dynamic characters and literary Romanticism to shed light on said society’s inherent contradiction to natural order and natural law. In his conclusive statementsRead MoreThe Scarlet Letter, By Nathaniel Hawthorne1172 Words   |  5 Pagesfreedom, peace, and introspection. However, until the last century, the wilderness was often regarded with fear and resentment. Written long before John Muir and the conservation movement, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne was well ahead of its time for its depiction of wilderness. In The Scarlet Letter, Arthur Dimmesdale leaves the beaten path and seeks refuge in the forest. There, he gains the strength and willpower to throw off seven years of hopelessness and take his fate into his own hands

Profit Maximization Model Free Essays

SAMPLE ANSWER FOR QUESTION 5 Profit-making is one of the most traditional, basic and major objectives of a firm. Profit-motive is the driving-force behind all business activities of a company. It is the primary measure of success or failure of a firm in the market. We will write a custom essay sample on Profit Maximization Model or any similar topic only for you Order Now Profit earning capacity indicates the position, performance and status of a firm in the market. In spite of several changes and development of several alternative objectives, profit maximization has remained as one of the single most important objectives of the firm even today. Both small and large firms consistently make an attempt to maximize their profit by adopting novel techniques in business. Specific efforts have been made to maximize output and minimize production and other operating costs. Cost reduction, cost cutting and cost minimization has become the slogan of a modern firm. It is a very simple and unambiguous model. It is the single most ideal model that can explain the normal behavior of a firm. Main propositions of the profit-maximization model The model is based on the assumption that each firm seeks to maximize its profit given certain technical and market constraints. The following are the main propositions of the model. 1. A firm is a producing unit and as such it converts various inputs into outputs of higher value under a given technique of production. 2. The basic objective of each firm is to earn maximum profit. 3. A firm operates under a given market condition. 4. A firm will select that alternative course of action which helps to maximize consistent profits 5. A firm makes an attempt to change its prices, input and output quantity to maximize its profit. The model Profit-maximization implies earning highest possible amount of profits during a given period of time. A firm has to generate largest amount of profits by building optimum productive capacity both in the short run and long run depending upon various internal and external factors and forces. There should be proper balance between short run and long run objectives. In the short run a firm is able to make only slight or minor adjustments in the production process as well as in business conditions. The plant capacity in the short run is fixed and as such, it can increase its production and sales by intensive utilization of existing plants and machineries, having over time work for the existing staff etc. Thus, in the short run, a firm has its own technical and managerial constraints. But in the long run, as there is plenty of time at the disposal of a firm, it can expand and add to the existing capacities build up new plants; employ additional workers etc to meet the rising demand in the market. Thus, in the long run, a firm will have adequate time and ample opportunity to make all kinds of adjustments and readjustments in production process and in its marketing strategies. It is to be noted with great care that a firm has to maximize its profits after taking in to consideration of various factors in to account. They are as follows – 1. Pricing and business strategies of rival firms and its impact on the working of the given firm. 2. Aggressive sales promotion policies adopted by rival firms in the market. 3. Without inducing the workers to demand higher wages and salaries leading to rise in operation costs. 4. Without resorting to monopolistic and exploitative practices inviting government controls and takeovers. 5. Maintaining the quality of the product and services to the customers. 6. Taking various kinds of risks and uncertainties in the changing business environment. . Adopting a stable business policy. 8. Avoiding any sort of clash between short run and long run profits in the business policy and maintaining proper balance between them. 9. Maintaining its reputation, name, fame and image in the market. 10. Profit maximization is necessary in both perfect and imperfect markets. In a perfect market, a firm is a price-taker and under imperfect market it becomes a price-searcher. A ssumptions of the model The profit maximization model is based on tree important assumptions. They are as follows – 1. Profit maximization is the main goal of the firm. 2. Rational behavior on the part of the firm to achieve its goal of profit maximization. 3. The firm is managed by owner-entrepreneur. Determination of profit – maximizing price and output Profit maximization of a firm can be explained in two different ways.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Total Revenue and Total Cost approach.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Marginal Revenue and Marginal Cost approach. Profits of a firm are estimated by making comparison between total revenue and total costs. Profit is the difference between TR and TC. In other words, excess of revenue over costs is the profits. Profit = TR – TC. If TR is equal to TC in that case, there will be break even point. If TR is less than TC, in that case, a firm will be incurring losses. In this case, we take in to account of total cost and total revenue of the firm while measuring profits. It is clear from  the following diagram how profit arises when TR is greater than that of TC. 2. MR and MC approach In this case, we take in to account of revenue earned from one unit and cost incurred to produce only one unit of output. A firm will be maximizing its profits when MR= MC and MC curve cuts MR curve from below. If MC curve cuts MR curve from above either under perfect market or under imperfect market, no doubt MR equals MC but total output will not be maximized and hence total profits also will not be maximized. Hence, two conditions are necessary for profit maximization- 1. MR = MC. 2. MC curve cut MR curve from below. It is clear from the following diagrams. Justification for profit maximization 1. Basic objective of traditional economic theory. The traditional economic theory assumes that a firm is owned and managed by the entrepreneur himself and as such he always aims at maximum return on his capital invested in the business. Hence profit-maximization becomes the natural principle of a firm. 2. A firm is not a charitable institution. A firm is a business unit. It is organized on commercial principles. A firm is not a charitable institution. Hence, it has to earn reasonable amount of profits. 3. To predict most realistic price-output behavior. This model helps to predict usual and general behavior of business firms in the real world as it provides a practical guidance. It also helps in predicting the reasonable behavior of a firm with more accuracy. Thus, it is a very simple, plain, realistic, pragmatic and most useful hypothesis in forecasting price output behavior of a firm. 4. Necessary for survival. It is to be noted that the very existence and survival of a firm depends on its capacity to earn maximum profits. It is a time-honored hypothesis and there is common agreement among businessmen to make highest possible profits both in the short run and long run. 5. To achieve other objectives. In recent years several other objectives have become much more popular and all these objectives have become highly relevant in the context of modern business set up. But it is to be remembered that they can be achieved only when a firm is making maximum profits. Criticisms 1. Ambiguous term. The term profit maximization is ambiguous in nature. There is no clear cut explanation whether a firm has to maximize its net profit, total profit or the rate of profit in a business unit. Again maximum amount of profit cannot be precisely defined in quantitative terms. . It may not always be possible. Profit maximization, no doubt is the basic objective of a firm. But in the context of highly competitive business environment, always it may not be possible for a firm to achieve this objective. Other objectives like sales maximization, market share expansion, market leadership building its own image, name, fame and reputation, spending more time with members of the family, enjoying leisure, develo ping better and cordial relationship with employees and customers etc. lso has assumed greater significance in recent years. 3. Separation of ownership and management. In many cases, to-day we come across the business units are organized on partnership or joint stock company or cooperative basis. In case of many large organizations, ownership and management is clearly separated and they are run and managed by salaried managers who have their own self interests and as such always profit maximization may not become possible. 4. Difficulty in getting relevant information and data. In spite of revolution in the field of information technology, always it may not be possible to get adequate and relevant information to take right decisions in a highly fluctuating business scenario. Hence, profits may not be maximized. 5. Conflict in inter-departmental goals. A firm has several departments and sections headed by experts in their own fields. Each one of them will have its own independent goals and many a times there is possibility of clashes between the interests of different departments and as such always profits may not be maximized. 6. Changes in business environment. In the context of highly competitive and changing business environment and changes in consumer’s tastes and requirements, a firm may not be able to cope up with the expectations and adjust its policies and as such profits may not be maximized. 7. Growth of oligopolistic firms. In the context of globalization, growth of oligopoly firms has become so common through mergers, amalgamations and takeovers. Leading firms dominate the market and the small firms have to follow the policies of the leading firms. Hence, in many cases, there are limited chances for making maximum profits. 8. Significance of other managerial gains. Salaried managers have limited freedom in decision making process. Some of them are unable to forecast the right type of changes and meet the market challenges. They are more worried about their salaries, promotions, perquisites, security of jobs, and other types of benefits. They may lack strong motivations to make higher profits as profits would go to the organization. They may be contented with only satisfactory level of profits rather than maximum profits. 9. Emphasis on non-profit goals. Many organizations give more stress on non-profit goals. From the point of view of today’s business environment, productivity, efficiency, better management, customer satisfaction, durability of products, higher quality of products and services etc. have gained importance to cope with business competition. Hence, emphasis has been shifted from profit maximization to other practical aspects. 10. Aversion to reduction in power. In case of several small business units, the owners do not want to share their powers with many new partners and hence, they try to keep maximum powers in their hands. In such cases, keeping more power becomes more important than profit maximization. 11. Official restrictions over profits of public utilities. Public utilities or public corporations are legally prohibited to make huge profits in many developing countries like India. Thus, it is clear that a firm cannot maximize its profits always. There are many constraints in the background of multiple objectives. Each one of the objectives has its own merits and demerits and a firm has to strike a balance between all kinds of objectives. How to cite Profit Maximization Model, Essay examples

Marvin Hugley Jr. (3303 words) Essay Example For Students

Marvin Hugley Jr. (3303 words) Essay Marvin Hugley Jr. Eric NelsonCinema 1075/8/17LA Confidential and Film NoirOne of the most influential film movements in the 1940s was a genre that is known today as film noir. Film noir was a recognizable style of filmmaking, which was created in response to the rising cost of typical Hollywood movies (Buss 67). Film noir movies were often low budget films; they used on location shoots, small casts, and black and white film. The use of black and white film stock not only lowered production costs, but also displayed a out of place disposition that the conventions of film noir played upon. It is these conventions: themes, characters, lighting, sound, and composition, which are seen in the movie LA Confidential (Curtis Hanson, 1997). This paper discusses the techniques used in LA Confidential that link the movie with the typical cinematic conventions of the film noir style. Film noir often tackled subjects that dealt with common underlying themes: corruption, deceit, mystery, etc (Sobchack, 271). One of the most well-known and acclaimed pioneers in film noir is the movie The Maltese Falcon (John Huston, 1941). This film was based on a private investigator, Sam Spade, hired to investigate a case. The Maltese Falcon is now viewed as the typical film noir style movie because it contains traits and qualities of filmmaking that were adapted by film noir filmmakers. Film noir started during the mid 1940s and has been a popular film style ever since, yielding such contemporary movies like The Usual Suspects (Bryan Singer, 1995), Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, 1994), and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (Guy Ritchie, 1998). These films have proved that film noir is not a method dedicated to past decades, but rather an innovative style of film that influences movies today. LA Confidential, like other contemporary film noirs utilize many stylistic qualities that the earlier film noir movies grasped. Often film noir movies were based upon corruption, usually in an urban type setting. Location in these movies would often consist of nighttime scenes in a busy city. Los Angles, the location of LA Confidential, is a typical setting for film noir movies due to its newer west coast image and the absence of rural traditions. The city was chosen largely because of its informality. People living in a city do not interact with each other as people of a small town might. Film noir played upon the idea of loneliness and solitude; two traits that are easily found in a big city (Monaco 246). Nighttime scenes were chosen because of the mystery that comes with darkness. Night projects a feeling to the viewer that he or she would not absorb in the daytime, very much the same way horror movies play themselves upon the night. Just like the basis of the big city, film noir acts upon the conventions of mystery and suspense: it is easier for the filmmaker to play with the viewers emotions if he or she is placed in a setting of uneasiness. The nighttime images in LA Confidential portray that anxiety and allow the mystery of the plot to expand. This use of nighttime and darker images lends the movie to take advantage of the stylistic low-key lighting. The movie begins with the narration of Sid Hudgens, editor for Hush Hush magazine, a sleazy tabloid concerned with getting a news story no matter what the consequences are. Typical of film noir, the story is adapted from a tabloid or pulp fiction novel. Sid Hudgens describes a town of beauty, filled with beaches, people, and economic potential. He tells how anyone can achieve the American dream in Los Angeles and how it truly is the greatest place to live. Sids voice suddenly turns sour as he reveals the truth about Los Angeles: an image is sold to the gullible; a pleasant image sent throughout the media. Unfortunately, its all a lie. The story continues with the addition of Edmund Exley to the Los Angeles Police Department. Exley is a skilled detective with all the book smarts a cop could possess. Usually, the protagonist in film noir would have an inner conflict between what he feels is right, and what is expected of him. In the movie, Exley must decide if giving up his chance for promotion is reason enough to fight for what he believes is right. The catch is that he immediately clashes with the rest of the force. It turns out that behind the honorable image of the LAPD, the force is a horribly corrupt authority revolving around money, power, and fame. Film noir commonly hid themes of corruption, deceit, and crookedness behind an idea of the American dream (Schatz 113). This idea is boldly seen in the movie American Beauty (Sam Mendes, 1999). One of the arguments in the movie suggests that behind every seemingly normal family is a household of embarrassment. Edmunds co-workers, Bud White, Jack Vincennes, and Dudley Smith are more interested in advancement than hones ty. When a case is solved in Los Angeles, there is a big to-do about the man behind the case. This publicity allows an officer to advance in the department, but also blurs the truth about the actual case findings. Edmund comes to a point in the movie where he decides to testify against his peers, throwing away any chance he has for betterment, but at the same time preserving his integrity. This was common in film noir: the idea that sacrifices must be made for absolute justice. Edmund believes that a cop should do everything by the book and honesty, where Bud White believes that as long as justice is served, justice is served. In the movie, Bud decides to shoot a suspect, and manipulate the scene as though it appears that the suspect shot at Bud first. Bud did this to prevent the suspect from getting off on some loophole in the justice system. As it turns out, the suspect was innocent of the crime. This is another film noir convention: the first suspect is usually not the one that t he protagonist is after. In addition, the LAPD distorts the truth not only in favor of serving justice but to make some extra money as well. Sid Hudgens pays cops like Jack Vincennes to create stories for Hush Hush magazine. Edmund Exley is the typical good cop. He was the son of a cop who unfortunately had the same reputation as the other cops; the lawless reputation that led to the police forces downfall. Edmund, we quickly see, is not a team player only because the team will not let him play. He quickly achieves respect from Dudley Smith, the captain; however, is never fully liked by him because he constantly gives up opportunities to advance. Edmund, unlike his co-worker and co-protagonist Bud White, believes that a cop is a respectable job, unneeded of extra attention: a well-done job is all the reward anyone could ever want. This idea that the hero often avoids the fame of success because is compromises his moral code is typical of film noir. It is also the idea that Bud White is taught to grasp throughout the movie. Bud White is the exact opposite of Exley: he believes that the right thing to do is to get justice before asking questions. Buds character is written so that he clashes with Exley, often times a quality in film noir and also cop films. Usually there embodies a duo whose other half is a total opposite. Using these two distinct personalities, film noir allows the two main characters to build upon one another, helping in the development of the story. It also allows each of the characters to understand their own particular flaws; that is they learn from the mistakes of the other one. Bud also interacts with Lynn Bracken, the femme fatale, and the two build upon each other as well. We can immediately see the corruption in the movie through a seemingly cut and dry case, when it is linked to a larger conspiracy. Like the Maltese Falcon, the movie involves a mysterious case with several twists throughout. Those twists are often established with an e ssential character known as the femme fatale. In The Maltese Falcon, as well as many other film noir movies, the femme fatale plays an important role in creating a character that builds in development throughout the movie. Lynn Bracken, a prostitute cut to look like Veronica Lake, plays the part of the femme fatale who aids in the development of Bud White. We see in the movie that Miss Bracken is a small town girl with real hopes, dreams, and ambitions. In some film noirs we are led to believe that the femme fatale is the destructive force which leads to the protagonists downfall (Maxfield). In LA Confidential, Curtis Hanson uses the femme fatal as an aid to help the protagonist mend his errors. This is the role Lynn plays aside Bud White, a cop with a weak spot for women, and a vengeance for those who beat them. In the LA Confidential screenplay, Brian Helgeland and Curtis Hanson do a remarkably well job of developing Miss Bracken into an unforgettable femme fatale. We are first in troduced to her as a person and not an object, despite the fact that her job makes her look like an object rather than a person. We are to immediately react to her personality, finding something in her that we understand with. She is an innocent person being driven by a more powerful force. In most film noir movies, the femme fatale is a stereotype. Lynn Bracken however, is not a stereotype in the way that most other film noir movies make the femme fatale: that is that the femme fatale uses her appeal to distract the protagonist. Nonetheless, we still see her as a stereotype: the hooker with the heart of gold. Film noir movies like to project an image that tends to hide or obstruct reality. As mentioned before, the image of an honorable police force mocks the actual corruption. It is then ironic, that the police force in LA Confidential is affiliated with the television show Badge of Honor. Hanson uses the show to project an image into our subconscious. In the television show, the m edias interpretation of the Los Angeles Police Department is emphasized. Equally ironic, the show Badge of Honor is just as corrupt as the police department is; cast members are blackmailed in favor of obtaining stories for Hush Hush magazine. Hanson also uses cinematic and film techniques to help project the typical conventions of film noir. Some of these techniques are used very much in the same way older style film noir movies were done in, while other techniques were created to adapt to the modern expectations of the viewer. In addition, some techniques used mostly because of modern Hollywood conventions are actually used to help the film noir develop. Looking at the film stock used in LA Confidential compared to film stocks used in other film noir movies, both film stocks display a concept that enhances the film noir style. The Maltese Falcon was filmed in a high speed, grainy, black and white film stock. Black and white film was originally used because it was cheaper to make a nd develop than color. Black and white also created a documentary feel to the movie, and projected a sense of realism. Quickly, the use of black and white added to the mood of film noir, making it a common practice. The graininess of the film stock helped in distorting the film into an unbalanced media. Using black and white film turned this genre into a no longer clean cut, pleasing film style. It was intended to keep the viewers on the edge of their seats, and the grainy film stock help in doing just that. However, the film audiences over the years have come to trust in color film stock, as it shortens the separation from the imaginary and the real. Hanson however, uses the color film to his advantage, creating a seedy mood. In Body Heat (Lawrence Kasdan, 1981) for example, Kasdan uses the color to his advantage much like Hanson does in LA Confidential. Both use color to heighten the impact of certain items on the viewer. In the night owl scene, Hanson takes advantage of the psych ological effects that blood portrays in the movie. With black and white film, blood looks like chocolate syrup, which does very little in grabbing the audience for commiseration. If we can see the deep redness of the blood, the killing seem more real, the case more important, and the need to discover the truth more significant. Another imperative aspect of filmmaking is the idea of lighting. Now it is important to know that in film noir the concept is lighting, not illuminating. Where illuminating is used to generate enough light to visually see the subjects, lighting provides the right amount of light to create a mood. It is also important to know that the typical way to light a scene is to use a three point lighting system. This method consists of three lights, each having their own purpose on lighting the scene. The key light is used to generate the majority of the light, or to illuminate the scene. However, if a subject is shot with one light, severe shadows are attached to the subject. To drown those shadows out, a fill light is used. This fill light is placed at the opposite corner, almost like a second corner of a triangle. The harsh shadows are then washed out, providing an even light at the subject. Then a third light, the back light, is placed behind the subject and off to the side to illuminate the back of the subject. This separates the subject from the background, creating a sense of depth in the two-dimensional screen space. LA Confidential uses unconventional lighting to portray disturbing images. Instead of three lights, only one or two lights are used. Or sometimes the low-key lighting is achieved by turning down the fill light, creeping up the shadows. This technique is used to break the film free from the conventions of the classical Hollywood style, which is what film noir did in the 1940s. For example, there are dimly or low-key shots of the villains to portray a negative image of that character. Likewise, a brightly-lit hero can project t he protagonist as more of a likeable character. In addition, by using no back light, the subject might tend to be lost into the background, adding to the sense of disorientation that is carried throughout the film. Other movies have made use of stylistic lighting as well. In The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972), Coppola uses a single light above Marlon Brandos face to create a seriously disturbing image. With the light positioned directly above his face, pointed down, Brandos eye sockets are completely darkened. We can only see certain parts of his face, and what we do see is not very complimentary. Of course, the idea was not to portray Brando as a bright, happy person, but a dark, seedy villain instead. Composition also helps in the conventions of film noir as seen in LA Confidential. Canting the shot, or using a Dutch angle, tilts the scene to one side, creating another typical uneasy event. Usually, canting a shot symbolizes that something is about to or has already gone w rong. The Dutch angles also compliment the skewed lines that are formed in the mise-en-scene. Film noir tended to use the mise-en-scene to compliment what was going on in the story at the time. Film noir took these conventions from German expressionism, which was developed in order to portray an eerie reality (Schatz, 116). Hanson uses these type of shots during the shoot-out scenes between the police force and the enemy. Another, and probably most impressive use of canting is when the police force riots against the prisoners. We are shown overhead with an abnormal angle, with the camera jerking us around, creating as sense of confusion. Various shots are often used to send signals to the viewer in the film. Edmund Exley is often times shot from below. This creates an angle in which Edmunds physique is distorted, making him look more powerful and more of a hero. In Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941), many shots are used from underneath the character, to make them appear more powerful and more heroic than a normal front view shot would have appeared (Schatz, 121). Likewise, shooting a subject from above creates a downward angle on the screen. This degrades the character, creating a shallow and horrible person. In LA Confidential, Hanson uses these angles for the criminals. A soundtrack is also imperative in portraying a theme in film noir. To start out, the musical score in a film reflects on the characters and the growth taking place at the time. In LA Confidential, when Edmund is dejected by hi colleagues, the soundtrack is a somber, almost slow type of music. When Bud White reveals himself to Lynn Bracken, the music is soft, adding to the sentimentality of the scene. When both Edmund and Bud solve the case at the end of the movie, the music is more uplifting. However, at no point in the movie does the music become too upbeat: even when the music is uplifting, it still has traits of depression, a quality in film noir music. In addition to the soundtrack, sound is used to help the film along. In a typical street scene, we might hear the sound of other people talking, cars passing by, or a radio playing. In LA Confidential, the absence of sound as well as the focus of sound is used. Instead of walking down a busy street with people talking, Edmund is walking down a dark, vacant street. We can also hear nothing but his footsteps, adding to the feeling of loneliness in the city that film noir tends to portray. Simple sounds such as gun shots, pencils tapping against a desk, or doors closing are heightened so that we are made more aware of them. Hanson wants us to feel the loudness of the gunshot, heightening its impact upon the target. In closing, LA Confidential makes use of cinematic and story-line techniques to link the movie with the conventions of typical film noir movies. Though LA Confidential, like many other contemporary film noir movies adapt certain practices to a modern audience, the filmmakers find ways to make those adaptations necessary in developing the film noir style. A basic message is portrayed by both generations of film noir: corruption is hidden behind a facade of honorable images. It is safe to say then, whether film noir comes in the form of LA Confidential, Pulp Fiction, Chinatown, or ever The Maltese Falcon, film noir is a genre accepted and loved by all generations, keeping it a method of filmmaking that will never fade. Loyalty To Family In The Short Story barn Burning EssayWork Cited Buss, Robin. French Film Noir. New York: Marion Boyans, 1988.IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2017Maxfield, James. The Fatal Woman: Source of Male Anxiety in American Film Noir, 1941-1991. London: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1996. Monaco, James. How to Read a Film. New York: Oxford University Press, 1981. Schatz, Thomas. Hollywood Genres: Formulas, Filmmaking and the Studio System. New York, New York: Random House, 1981. Sobchack, Thomas and Vivian C. Sobchack. An Introduction to Film. Boston: Scott, Foresman and Company, 1987.