Discuss the 'politics' of Doctor Who Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Discuss the 'politics' of Doctor Who - Essay Example This essay will examine these three articles. Discussion In the article â€Å"War Without End? Utopia, the Family and Post-9/11 World in Russell T. Davies Doctor Who,† author Alec Charles (2008) explains how Dr. Who responds to the contemporary world. One of the major events of the 21st Century was 9/11, and Doctor Who is reflective of this event. In fact, the 9/11 tragedy has been reflected in popular culture, including movies such as The Day After Tomorrow, Cloverfield, I Am Legend, and War of the Worlds. All of these films feature the destruction of New York City as their motif. This has been a trend that has always been popular, explains Charles (2008), as media science fiction has always tried to not only reflect popular trends, but to predict new ones. To be on the cutting edge of a trend, so to speak, while also reflecting what has gone before. As an example of this, Charles (2008) points to Star Trek: The Next Generation, which featured a peace achievement between the Federation and the Klingons’ Evil Empire, which was reflective of the peace that was to occur between the Soviet Union and the rest of the world, at the end of the Cold War. These are a few of the examples of science fiction echoing real life, and commenting upon the political issues of the day, while looking to the future to political issues of tomorrow. It is in this context that Charles (2008) locates Doctor Who. Specifically, the new incarnation of Doctor Who is modern, where the previous version was archaic. The previous version, which ran from 1963-1989, featured an older actor playing the titular role, and the series became outmoded by the end of its run. In the new version, the titular hero is played by a younger man in a leather coat, who shares a kiss with a bisexual male companion, stirring up controversy and locating the series squarely in the 21st Century. This is not the only touch that brings it up to date. The show also features pop cultural references  œ game shows, reality TV, soap opera, news, music and politics – which puts the individual into a historical context, in that the history that is being referenced is recent history. In fact, the show also exemplifies the axiom put forth by the head show writer, Russell Davies, who believes that there it not â€Å"history, there’s just people† (p. 453). Charles (2008) states that this contextualizes Doctor Who, while putting the titular character into the New World Order. Davies has made the show contemporary by not only featuring modern storylines, a modern character, and modern popular culture relics, but also features modern political concerns. This is what ties the show to the post 9/11 culture. It is a feature of the post 9/11 culture that there is, or was, a concern regarding chemical weapons that might be used against citizens of the West. To this end, Doctor Who has featured direct storylines that echo this concern about chemical weapons, as well as our c oncern regarding internment tactics. These are not the only allusions to popular and current events. Other references concern whether America is at war with Europe – In â€Å"Voyage of the Damned†

The Simpsons Television Show as a Pop Culture Icon Essay -- Papers Sim

The definition of the "typical" American family has changed considerably over time. Ever since the age of television dawned on American culture, situation comedies have tried to portray the typical American family in an attempt to reach as many viewers as possible. In the 1950's, there was "Leave It to Beaver" which represented a generic view of the American family during its time. There was a father whose responsibility was to financially support the family and be a role model for his children. There was a mother whose job was that of a typical housewife, taking care of the home and caring for the children. And there were the children who had no responsibilities, except to respect their parents and listen to their advice when anything went wrong. Most early sitcoms centered on this generally accepted idea of the typical family. Things changed as America became more liberal, and in the 1970's, "All in the Family," which lacked a typical white collar father and focused on the internal spats of the what would today be called a dysfunctional family, was revered by many and hated by others. "All in the Family" made a dent in the American view of the typical family, but many were still reluctant to acknowledge the notion that not all households were as happy as that of "The Brady Bunch". In the 1980's "typical family" television programming continued to dominate. Sitcoms such as "Family Ties" and "The Cosby Show" are still considered American classics, but the dysfunctional trend returned in the late 1980's with the popularity of the raucous "Married With Children." However, no non-traditional American family sitcom has been as well as received and critically acclaimed "The Simpsons", which began in the 1990's. "The ... ... now and will remain an important part of American popular culture, as are the many classic sitcoms that preceded it. Bibliography Http://thesimpsons.com/frameset.html?content=/index.html TheSimpsons.Com (Various pages from this website were used but because of its frame design, all pages have the same URL.) http://www.snpp.com/guides/chespirito.html The Bumblebee Guy File Delingpole, James. â€Å"What ‘The Simpsons’ can teach us about life†. The Telegraph (London, UK). Jan 5, 2010. Web. 16 May 2015. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/6872394/What-The-Simpsons-can-teach-us-about-life.html Feltmate, David. â€Å"It’s Funny Because It’s True? The Simpsons, Satire, And The Significance Of Religious Humor In Popular Culture. â€Å"Journal Of The American Academy Of Religion 81.1 (2013): 222-248. Humanities International Index. Web. 16 May 2015.

Music and Cognitive Functioning Essay

Music is an art form and one of the most popular media utilized to convey ideas, views, and emotions. It plays various, significant part in everyone’s life. It can calm one’s mood and emotion. It can relax a person’s tensed body. However, it can also hype and motivate people. Music is also a means that we can use to express our ideas and messages. It can also be an extension of our personality and a manifestation of our identity. The type of music that we listen reflects what kind of person we are. It is often suggested to pregnant women to listen to classical music for it is believed that listening to classical music stimulates the baby’s activity inside the mother’s womb. It is also believed that listening to music by pregnant women increases the probability that their child will be intelligent. Some students can also study their lessons well while listening to music. The melodies and tunes make the environment conducive to learning. They tend to absorb and understand their lessons well while they are listening to their favorite songs. This idea poses the possibility of enhancing people’s cognitive capacity through music. Thus, this paper aims to discuss the relationship of music and a person’s cognitive capacity, and whether music increases a person’s intelligence. Music Music is an art, a craft, and an organized representation of sounds, silence, notes, and melodic tunes subjected in a time framework. Music includes a wide array of activities. It could be in the form of a mother putting her child to sleep through a lullaby, a group of kids singing their favorite nursery rhyme, a rock band playing their heart throbbing hits, or simply a person humming unconsciously (Miller 3). Music is a succession of arranged tones that produce a rhythm (Miller 3). This definition does not cover the characteristics of music, but it covers the description of the different genres people may be affiliated with. Music is relative and subjective. It conforms to the taste and preference of the person. Music lessons taught us that music is comprised of notes, staffs, pitch, and voice. These are the superficial discernible characteristics of music. These are the things you will learn in your music class. Music has different forms in various cultures, and it is experienced by individuals through different ways. Music has two subdivisions based on culture. These are the â€Å"high culture† and â€Å"low culture† types of music. High culture music is eminent in U. S. and Europe. This type of music includes the music of the western world formed during the different periods—Classical, Baroque, and Romantic, among others. It is considered as the art music and is performed in the concert halls and churches. It is treasured by people in the conventional music industry. The other type of music includes the contemporary kinds of music like jazz, blues, country, rock, pop, etc. Nowadays, the distinction between the high and low culture of music is widely accepted for it separates the quality of music of better quality, more advanced art music from the music played in the nightclubs and dance halls. Music and Intelligence People always look for ways and means to increase their intelligence. This is inherently true for parents, especially the first-time parents who want to practically boost the cognitive functioning of their children. There is news proliferated by the media that the music of Mozart can actually make a person smarter. Due to this evidence, some educators and policy makers even suggest that playing Mozart’s music in elementary schools should be mandated (Nairne 346). Everyone has been bestowed a gift to excel in different fields. Everyone has his or her own discernible characteristics that enable him or her to take on tasks. However, it was believed that people with high musical aptitude possess low academic aptitude. Nevertheless, in reality, there is no clear correlation between musical inclination and affinity and the academic performance or ability of a person (Gordon 22). Recently, there has been a media fuss questioning if the involvement in music makes a person smarter. There is a significant query of whether there is a â€Å"Mozart effect† if a person is involved in music. Does music enhance a person’s cognitive capacity? There are various studies reporting that music increases learning capability, while other research conducted shows otherwise. Hence, this only shows the limitations and the discrepancy in studying the impact of music on cognitive ability (Crowe 143). The researches conducted regarding the relationship of music and cognitive skills fall under music cognition. This particular field of study involves examination of the different aspects of cognition, including how music is processed by its listeners. It seeks to understand the underlying processes over the standard practices of analyzing, composing, and listening to music. Music has a significant impact on the brain processes. Learning is a complex process that cannot be reduced to a simple human process or experience. In learning, the development of a particular ability will enhance the abilities of a person (Crowe 143). There are really no sufficient analyses on the cognitive effects of long-term exposure to music and passive listening of music on intelligence. The most celebrated short-term effect of music on the increase in intelligence was the interpretation of the 1993 Mozart Effect study. Researchers claimed that 10 minutes exposure to compositions of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart could increase general IQ scores by 8 points (Brown and Volgsten 137). However, there are claims that the study lacks sufficient evidence that exposure to Mozart songs actually render the improvements on the cognitive functioning of an individual. An interesting article that was written by the proponents of the studies on Mozart effects states that there are other types of music which render similar effects, such as folk music, minimalist music, and other types of music that cause relaxation. They also compared the tests of their participants and saw no particular difference on the results on the tests which required remembering numbers and general tests of intelligence. Yet, the Mozart effect manifested in tests which required recognizing visual patterns and mentally rotating objects. The researchers, therefore, concluded that the exposure to Mozarts composition only affects the person’s spatial-reasoning abilities (Miche 16). Mozart songs may result in improvement for its omnificent and innovative schema. These songs activate the part of the brain which controls our spatial-reasoning tasks. Thus, this suggests that the persons involved may feel so relaxed and in a good mood, which allows them to perform the reasoning tasks better (Nairne 346). Furthermore, listening to Stephen King’s stories could also render Mozart effect, for the listeners find it enjoyable and entertaining. It relaxes them and enhances their spatial-reasoning skills. On the other hand, a study was conducted exposing participants to slow and sad selection of classical music, and significant findings failed to produce the Mozart effect. It greatly suggests that it is indeed the setting of the mood and arousal that are responsible for the improvements of the spatial-reasoning abilities of people (Nairne 346). The numerous studies mentioned earlier in the text only shows how psychological findings could be inaccurate and misused by the popular media. Although the various studies present valid findings, the improvements on the people’s abilities attributed to music were relatively minute and merely focused on a particular part of brain functioning. There are no stipulated evidences that suggest listening to Mozart or Stephen King produce lasting increase on the general intelligence. However, there may be ephemeral effects on the level of intelligence of a person. For instance, consuming anything that will make a person feel good and light would render the same improvements discussed by the researchers of Mozart effect. Thus, relaxing music makes one feel better about performing tasks, but it does not make hi or her smarter in any way (Nairne 346). Conclusion Music plays a significant role in everyone’s life. It is a tool for expressing our ideas and messages through the lyrics, melody, and rhythm of a song. It is an extension of our personality. We manifest ourselves—the kind of people we are—through the genre of music we listen to. Music inclination and intelligence have no significant correlation. There is a celebrated study which created hype in the media that exposure to Mozart’s composition have a significant increase on the general intelligence of a person. The Mozart effect is a study conducted which concluded that exposure to his music activates the brain functioning which controls the spatial-reasoning abilities. Another study conducted suggests that using slow and sad classical compositions to increase cognitive capacity. However, these types of music failed to render similar effects as the impact of Mozart’s songs. It therefore concludes that anything that makes you feel good and relaxed can make you perform a task better. Works Cited Brown, Steven and Ulrik Volgsten. Music and Manipulation: On the Social Uses and Social Control of Music. New York: Berghahn Books, Inc. , 2006. Crowe, Barbara J. Music and Soulmaking: Toward a New Theory of Music Therapy. Maryland: Scarecrow Press, Inc. , 2004. Gordon, Edwin E. A Music Learning Theory for Newborn and Young Children. Chicago, IL: GIA Publications, Inc. , 2003.

The Russian Revolution Of The Soviet Union - 1654 Words

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