Culture and Formation of Culture Essay

The word culture can be referred to the behavior of the human beings specifically with the objects, things and commodities around them and these objects are used as an essential part of this behavior. In this sense it is only the ability of the mankind to create a culture. And culture itself will include all the norms and behaviors of human beings like language, customs, beliefs, religions, tool, techniques, arts, rituals, ceremonies and common practice of every day life. There are numerous definitions of culture and every anthropologist has a different view about it. Some has defined culture as â€Å"learned behavior† or â€Å"ideas in mind† or â€Å"a logical construct†, but the most favored definition is that culture is â€Å"the abstraction from behavior† (Culture). Certeau (xi) states that Culture is the combination of every day practices of the societies. But instead of making the unit force an individual he has taken a more economist perspective and regarded them as â€Å"consumers† (Certeau, xi). While John Fiske produced a two economic theory and regards culture as a parallel economy against the financial economy and has named it as â€Å"cultural economy† (Fiske, 538). As every economy has a capital the cultural economy’s capital consists of pleasure and meanings (Fiske, 541). Frederick Engels while speaking in the context of history defines culture as â€Å"traditions, which haunt human minds† (Engels, 10). Speaking conclusively culture is not only behavior neither an action, but it is the combination of abstraction and behavior or a behavior explicating a concept. Formation of Culture: According the theory of evolution, the advancement of the human behavior from natural to learned and freely variable behavior, the particulars of which have the tendency to be transferred to the next generation and has the ability to evolve into a system of things. Thus culture is a man made environment brought into existence by the human ability to symbol. When a culture is established then it has a life of its own. It is a range of things and events in a cause and effect relationship (Culture). Different theorists have argued about the formation of culture in their own specific way and style. According to Bourdieu â€Å"cultural needs are the product of upbringing and education† (Bourdieu, 42). He initially states that the production of cultural goods as well as the description of different ways of appropriating these goods as work of arts as well as providing social conditions, which are considered legitimate (Bourdieu, 42). He further emphasis that all social practices, which are the core of any culture, are traced back to education or social origin (Bourdieu, 42). On the other hand Fiske says that culture is the opposite force developed in response to the producers of consumer goods. He states that culture is the parellel economic system, which runs in response to the financial economic system. According to him it’s capital is meanings and pleasure (Fiske, 538). This is a more economic perspective of rather than the anthropological perspective. Theodor Adorno while discussing the evolution of popular music culture states that the popular music culture and its hold on the masses is because of the urge to distract the individuals from the current realities to the world of fantasy, and popular music has the ability to distract the listener from it (Adorno, 80,81). Thus according to him a culture evolves as a reaction of the current cultural norms. That is the main reason that the popular culture did not evolved before the industrial revolution. Social Relations: Social relations are the behaviors of different social groups related to and in response of each other. Thus speaking about the ruling class, which is also regarded as the elite class or aristocracy is the social group, which has the means of production at its disposal Thus the ruling ideas and concepts are the expressions of dominant material relationships (Marx & Engels, 8). According to Marx and Engels the historically speaking the relationship of the individual and the ruling class are reflected by the dominance of ideas and concepts during the dominance of that ruling class. For instance during the dominion of the aristocracy the concepts of loyalty and honor were dominant, while during the dominion of the bourgeoisie the concepts of equality and freedom were dominant (Marx and Engels, 8). The relation between the ruling class and the lower class has two ways. Either it leads or it dominates. The first relation is with its allies while the second is with its enemies (Gramsci, 12) Thus the social relations between the aristocracy has two conditions. If the aristocracy has friendly terms with the lower class, the lower class will follow accordingly under its leadership. But if the lower class does not consent the way the ruling class leads it will refuse to follow. As a result the ruling class will try to dominate the lower class in order to maintain its status. Marx has regarded the aristocracy as the material forces of production, which sometimes come into conflict with the property relations that is the lower class and results in the social revolution (Marx, 9). Engels says that the economic political and traditional i. e cultural factors are interrelated and they in combination play the determined role in the formation of history. Thus history is the product of the combine efforts of the economical, political and demographical factors. Thus one can very easily find the social relation between the economy, politics and cultural norms. Works Cited Adorno, Theodor W. â€Å"On Popular Music† Studies in Philosophy and Social Sciences. 1941. Bourdieu, Pierre. â€Å"Distinction and The Aristocracy of Culture†. Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste. 1984, Routledge, London. Certeau, Michel de. â€Å"The Practice of Every Day Life† 1984, Berkley University California Press. â€Å"Culture. † Encyclop? dia Britannica. 2007. Encyclop? dia Britannica 2006 Ultimate Reference Suite DVD 8 May, 2007. Fiske, John. â€Å"The Popular Economy† Television Culture. 1987, Routledge, London. Gramsci, Antonio. â€Å"Hegomony, Intellectuals and the State† Princeton Notebooks, Lawrence & Wishart, London. Marx, Karl. â€Å"Base & Superstructure† A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy. 1976, Foreign Languages Press, Peking. Marx, Karl & Engels, Federick. â€Å"Ruling Class and Ruling Ideas† The German Ideology. 1970, Lawrence & Wishart, London. Marx, Karl & Engels. â€Å"A Letter to Joseph Bloch† Selected Letters. 1977, Foreign Languages Press, Peking.

Shakespeare adaptions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Shakespeare adaptions - Essay Example Taking into account the works of Zeffirelli and Luhrmann, it is possible to agree with Tatspaugh and her vision of film adaptations and new approaches to the tragedies of love. Critics underline that modern adaptations of Romeo and Juliet comprise a composite art of story-telling, by which the film maker claims and rewards the attention of his viewers while ensuring that they will be alerted to everything they should know. Alterations may also be justified because of the centuries that stand between Shakespeare and the modern audience. Following Zeffirelli, it is the responsibility of film makers to bridge this gap to the classics and imagine that the author had been able "to write that play today for us" (Zeffirellia 257). So Romeo and Juliet's love-making in the film was appropriately more physical than Shakespeare's circumstances permitted. A movie-maker who seeks a popular audience must also mediate boldly between the original theatrical medium and film: "cinema creates a different chemistry with the audience, a different taste, and the attention of the audience moves so fastfantasy gallops in the audience in movies (Zeffirellia 261)your mind flashes-f lashes-flashes" (263). Dramatization of the timeless conflict between generations allows film maker to attract young audience to the play. Film adaptations of Romeo and Juliet are linked to youth culture and the pedagogical implications of Shakespeare's popularization on film. Popularization has meant the proliferation of representations, on the one hand, and thus an enlargement of what can be legitimately studied as part of the Shakespeare canon. Critics admit that these changes lead to the disappearance of a single, unified Shakespeare whose works. Two reasons make Zeffirelli's success as a "popularizer": costs of filmmaking and power to make audiences laugh and weep. In his approach to Romeo and Juliet, his characteristic accent on youth was of the essence. For his production of the play he chose unusually young principals and cast. Certainly his film draws on similar youth-culture, generation-gap appeals. As he recounts in his Autobiography, the fact that a Hollywood producers teenage son was moved by what he saw of the film in progress was crucial in the producer's decision to fund its completion (Zeffirellib, 228-29). For the most part Zeffirelli seems to let the story tell itself, pausing in places to admire the beauty of the lovers' faces and bodies, but in a compelling away entering into the story's own pace, rhythm, and points of climax, which he emphasizes by lavish use of background music. Deliberately calling attention to a social space, the film makers appropriates Romeo and Juliet as a mirror in which youth might confront the romantic relations and their prevailing social order. Luhrmann attempts to change the "original" staging conditions and portray the play as a modern drama. Romeo and Juliet is no less integrated, but in it the director's hand is less obtrusive. As before he allows his inventiveness several virtuoso displays-the opening brawl, the ball, the duels-all of them handled in his characteristically supercharged, richly textured style. Luhrmann changes em otional gears in mid-course, as he delineates the problems that confront the marriage (Palmer n.d.). Aspiration toward timeliness, although it helps to attract paying customers, need not lead to a cheapening of the original. The film makers have not succumbed to the too-easy updating that can come with

Bioterrorism and Anthrax, October 2001 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Bioterrorism and Anthrax, October 2001 - Essay Example In accordance with Gaudioso (2011): â€Å"Microbial or other biological agents, or toxins whatever their origin or method of production, of types and in quantities that have no justification for prophylactic, protective or other peaceful purposes† are considered biological weapons. Hostile goals of the inventors and researchers in this field are evident and armed conflict among different countries can burst out. Bioweapons are coming†¦ During several previous years the world was frightened by H1N1 flu. Media sources were acclaiming for staying at home, wearing special flu masks. Internet is full of pictures, when people go to work, walk or even marry in these masks†¦It is the example of a global paranoia, but, as a matter of fat, no one could find a holistic approach and a global remedy for curing this virus. Of course, many viruses and bacteria expansion are of natural origin, but it is a well-known fact that they occur in the result of ecologically unfriendly envir onment, overconsumption of people, unconsidered usage of natural resources etc. In one way or another, but a modern individual is captured in the web of unseen bacteria and viruses of unknown origin. There is a rich history of biological weapons implementation, actually. Terrorist are more inclined to creation of biological weapons than to a creation of military ones. ... They stake on viruses and bacteria, which will lead to health inures or even lethal outcome. In case bioterrorist attacks are well-considered and invented by the scientists and researchers of one country to gain victory over another country, then it is important to know different types of potential biological weapons, viruses and bacteria. Currently governments of many countries are looking forward to a perspective of dealing with biologic terrorists. They are focused on searching for an early detection system for biological, chemical and radiation terrorist attacks. Modern society should give an answer to the questions: why? When? How? Bioterrorist attacks occur. The medical community is focused on looking for unseen diseases and possible methods of treatment. Bacteria are resistant to antibiotics and some bioagents are modernized to make them lethal. Modern public is called for being on alert. Thus, modern laboratories can be focused on creation of special fertile area for viruses and bacteria development and creation. At the international level Biological Weapons Convention claims: â€Å"development, production, and stockpiling of biological weapons agents, toxins, equipment, and means of delivery by State Parties are prohibited† (Gaudiso, 2011). Domestic control over potential development of bio weapons, related material development and other measures are taken by the governments and people live under a sword of Damocles, with a feeling of a constant prosecution and hazard. Concerning a process of manufacturing, it can be mentioned that a process of fermentation is a method of providing nutrients to biological organisms, which will result in a rapid growth