Grand Canyon Essays - Quake, English-language Films, Films

Grand Canyon The movie "Grand Canyon" encompasses many thoughts and feelings. The movie consist of many characters, whose lives run in parallel, and often touch each other, resulting in some unexcepted events and relationships. The encompassing theme of the movies is that life, and the people who live those lives, finds a way to over come adversity. The adversity comes in the form of unexpected and unmeaning violence. We see the characters' lives suddenly punctuated by events over which they have no control, and which are at random. Yet their lives, although temporarily thrown off course, maintain themselves and sometimes become enriched. The helplessness of the human condition is made even more stark by man's relationship to his environment. This is exemplified by The Grand Canyon, which inspires awe of one character in particular, and which, at the end of the movie, provides the back drop for the closing scenes of disparate people coming together. The movie also has other themes resonate as under currents to the central themes sketched above. The separate universes of the urban poor and suburban wealthy are contrasted. These universes occupy the same time and space, but rarely touch, except for moments of threading violence and pitiful ignorance. These images occupy the opening scenes of the movie. The street basketball, played by impoverished, inner city adolescence and adults, shows the poverty of generations trapped in a way of life. An old man looks on through the chain link fence at the basketball court, illustrating that despair is all that one generation offer the next. These scenes are shot in black and white, devoid of color of life. These scenes are contrasted with the colorful shots of the professional basketball game, with cheering, affluent, predominantly white crowd, and an arena full of commercial interest and money. The game is the same, but the universes that they are played in are unimagined to each other. A second sub theme of the movie is the disappointment of human relationship, but how they are given new hope by new relationships. We see the faltering marriage of Mack and Claire. The drifting of Otis from his family to the street gangs. The failed attempt of Mack to initiate and adulterous affair with Lisa. These failing relationships are contrasted with the joy of the new relationship between Claire and her adopted baby, Simon and Jane, and Roberto with his new girlfriend. These are limits of Lisa new relationship with a police officer. And Simon announces his love for Jane. A some relationship fade, others are kindled. Violence is an overreaching theme in the movie. Every character suffers from a violent episode, over which he or she has no control. The violence is of the very ordinary kind that happens many times in the city. The violence is not always man's making. A mild earth quake is enough to induce a heart attack in one of the peripheral characters. The heart attack, like the earth quake itself, is unexpected and not dramatic. The earth quake also ties in with the theme of man's diminutive importance to nature, and the world as a whole, as it has existed for millions of years before mankind. The Grand Canyon cares nothing for the trials and tribulations of the human race, or individuals who make up that race. Overall, this movie fails to deliver all that it promises. It does not make me think and consider its contents, but then a good book would have done that much more effectively. The movie is too long and eventually lost my interest. The producers failed to convince me that they had anything meaningful to say. Instead, they were content to hint at shades of meaning. I would recommend the movie, but not to be taken as seriously as it would like to be.

Corporate Development During the Industrial Revolu Essays

Corporate Development During the Industrial Revolu Essays Corporate Development During the Industrial Revolution The Standard Oil Company founded by John D. Rockefeller and the U.S. Steel Company founded by Andrew Carnegie. The Standard Oil Company and U.S. Steel Company were made successful in different ways due to the actions of their different owners. The companies differed in their labor relations, market control, and structural organization. In the steel industry, Carnegie developed a system known as vertical integration. This means that he cut out the middle man. Carnegie bought his own iron and coal mines because using independent companies cost too much and were inefficient. By doing this he was able to undersell his competetors because they had to pay the competitors they went through to get the raw materials. Unlike Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller integrated his oil business from top to bottom, his distinctive innovation in movement of American industry was horizontal. This meant he followed one product through all its stages. For example, rockrfeller controlled the oil when it was drilled, through the refining stage, and he maintained control over the refining process turning it into gasoline. Although these two powerful men used two different methods of management their businesses were still very successful (Conlin, 425-426). Tycoons like Andrew Carnegie, "the steel king," and John D. Rockefeller, "the oil baron," exercised their genius in devising ways to circument competition. Although, Carnegie inclined to be tough-fisted in business, he was not a monopolist and disliked monopolistic trusts. John D. Rockefeller came to dominate the oil industry. With one upward stride after another he organized the Standard Oil Company, which was the nucleus of the great trust that was formed. Rockefeller showed little mercy. He believed primitive savagery prevailed in the jungle world of business, where only the fittest survived. He persued the policy of "ruin or rule." Rockefeller's oil monopoly did turn out a superior product at a relatively cheap price. Rockefeller belived in ruthless business, Carnegie didn't, yet they both had the most successful companies in their industries. (The American Pageant, pages 515-518) Rockefeller treated his customers in the same manner that Andrew Carnegie treated his workers: cruel and harsh. The Standard Oil Company desperately wanted every possible company to buy their products. Standard Oil used ruthless tactics when Rockefeller threatenedto start his own chain of grocery stores and put local merchants out of business if they did not buy oil from Standard Oil Company. Carnegie dealt with his workers with the same cold lack of diplomacy and consideration. Carnegie would encourage an unfriendly competition between two of his workers and he goaded them into outdoing one another. Some of his employees found working under Carnegie unbearable. These rivalries became so important to the employees that somedidn't talk to each other for years (McCloskkey, page 145). Although both Carnegie and Rockefeller created extermely successsful companies, they both used unscrupulous methods in some aspect of their corporation building to get to the top. The success of the Standard Oil Company and U.S. Steel company was credited to the fact that their owners ran them with great authority. In this very competetive time period, many new businesses were being formed and it took talented businessmen to get ahead and keep the companies running and make the fortunes that were made during this period. Terra Harnish Heather Rodgers Carly Wolfensberger BIBLIOGRAPHY Conlin, Joseph R. History of the U.S.: Our Land, Our Time. pp. 425-426. 1985. Bailey, Thomas A. and David M. Kennedy: The American Pageant. pp. 515-518. 1987. Latham, Earl: John D. Rockefeller; Robber Baron Or Industrial Statesman? (Problems in American Civilization Series). pg. 39. 1949. McCloskey, Robert Green: American Conservatism In The Age Of Enterprise 1865-1910. pg. 145. 1951.