Directing Transcendence - Literature Essay Samples

Tokyo Story, directed by Yasujiro Ozu, is a deeply meditative film. The plot is deceptively simple: an old couple visits their adult children in Tokyo. However, their children does not treat them well. On their return, the wife falls ill and passes away. At the funeral, the family gathers. Each member is shown grieving, especially the children. Using repetition, camera height, and editing, Ozu induces the audience into a state of transcendence. With heightened perception, Ozu invites the viewer to observe the subtle complexities of human nature and life, transcending above judgement and emotions. Ozu incorporates many visual and aural motifs throughout the film. These motifs are repeated consistently, with rhythm, and without embellishment. Furthermore, the motifs often contain an act of repetition within itself. For example, the rhythmic humming of a motorboat can be heard in establishing shots. The setting of the film is in the summer; characters are frequently, and gently, swaying their fans back and forth. As Fumiko dials the telephone, the sound of her dialling is rhythmic; so too, is the ringing at the receiving end. As Shukichi realizes the imminent death of his wife, he repeats twice: â€Å"I see†¦ She’s not going to live.† Then, after some pause, â€Å"I see†¦ So this is the end.† All of these repetitive elements build up to a final climax in the funeral scene. Throughout the scene, the repetitive chanting of monks can be heard. One monk hits a moktak, a regular beat, to signify the rhythm of chanting. The guests are given prayer beads to count the repetition of the chanting. Even in editing, Ozu introduces a steady rhythm by cutting shots together with similar durations (in the first part of the scene, durations of 4-6 seconds). These rituals are usually attributed to bringing concentration in meditation. In the same way, Ozu integrates repetition in the rest of the film to induce the audience into a state of highly focused meditation. In general, meditation practices usually involve two stages: concentration, and observation. Ozu’s films manifest the second stage through his unique style. Consistently, Ozu uses a steady, unmoving camera. The lighting available can be assumed to be natural to their environment (e.g. windows, lamps). The architecture of the Japanese home is captured without embellishment. Various knick knacks, tools and decorations, minute details are visible in domestic settings. In an establishing shot of the funeral scene, two pillars are blocking some of the family members; one pillar is centered in the frame. It is clear that Ozu does not wish to obstruct everyday life with its infinite beauty and nuances. Camera angles are frequently straight; editing between shots consist only of simple cuts. Ozu’s naturalistic style coaxes the audience into quiet observation. In combination with the concentration induced through repetition, the audience can ascend into a full meditative state, perhaps even a transcendental state. Most notably, Ozu persistently uses a low camera height, often described as the height of a person sitting on a tatami (Ebert). This camera height is steadfast throughout the film. The perpetual nature of this camera height serves as a vehicle for transcendence. As all shots are experienced at this height, it is as if the audience has embodied an omnipresent being, one that is seated in meditation. Furthermore, Ozu follows action with a unique style. As characters move from room to room, in the initial shot, the character is seen leaving the room, then Ozu immediately cuts to the character entering the next room. This is seen as Keizo is seen exiting the room during the funeral scene. The continuity of editing promotes the omnipresent effect. Furthermore, the utilization of the 180 degree angle change during conversation also activates omnipresence, such as when Noriko and Keizo converse briefly. To fully emphasize the meditative state, Ozu inserts establishing shots between scenes. The ingenuity of these establishing shots reside in their stillness. Often, they are of mundane environments such as rooftops, gazebos, and doorways. In the funeral scene, Ozu shows the funeral hall, and later, a walkway. The purpose of these shots is akin to the period at the end of a sentence. They allow the audience to rest, much like shavasana at the end of yoga practice. Ozu gives the audience space and time to experience tranquility within the meditative practice of his film. As the audience enters a state of focused, quiet observation, Ozu maintains a neutral tone. He neither praises nor condemns; he is consistent. Ozu invites the audience to examine the full complexity of human nature and social interactions. This intent is clear through Ozu’s omission of action, such as train rides and Tomi’s death. In the funeral scene, the rituals performed are not shown. Instead, Ozu focu ses on the reactions and interactions between characters. To cultivate neutrality, when characters speak with one another, Ozu invariably utilizes a medium shot, in a position straight in front of the character speaking. Full attention is given to the character. In a similar fashion, Ozu cuts the shot only when the character has finished speaking. It does not matter how mundane the topic is or how short the sentence, the same treatment is given. The audience, in a crucially perceptive state, is able to give reflection on the fullness of character. The most polarizing example is revealed through Shige. During Shukichi and Tomi’s visit to Tokyo, Shige is shown pushing away her own responsibilities. She asks her brother, her sister-in-law, her husband, anyone who would be able to take care of her parents in place of her. She readily cuts corners when accommodating her parents. Shige chillingly accepts her mother’s imminent death by packing funeral clothing. After performi ng sacred rituals for her mother’s death, Shige wastes no time in speaking of the profane, and asking for mementos. It is easy to label Shige as selfish, inconsiderate, and emotionless. However, through careful observation the audience is able to see the subtleties in her character. For example, Shige notes her perception of her parents’ failures in causal banter (e.g. Tomi’s weight, Shukichi’s drinking). It is understood that the family dynamic was also not perfect in the past. As Shige inquires on her siblings’ preparedness for the funeral, it can be accepted that her prudence is virtuous. Her hard-headed nature may have stemmed from the struggles as a woman in modern society. Through this deeper understanding, the audience can accept Shige’s genuine burst of tears at the confirmation of her mother’s death. Although Shige may have understood the event logically, she reacts with authentic emotion at that moment. In the funeral scene, Shige sniffs in mourning. Shige, despite being formal and practical, does not use a handkerchief. The audience is able to appreciate the sincerity of her grieving while supported by the burden of her complex character. Likewise, Keizo’s regret shines through at the funeral. The repetitive chanting frustrates him, compelling him to remember his unfulfilled duties as a son. â€Å"One cannot serve one’s parents from beyond the grave.† Yet soon after, Keizo chooses to leave his newly widowed father in favour of work and baseball games. The audience must accept the children as Tomi and Shukichi does: with disappointment, but also with forgiveness. Ozu presents the concept of balance throughout the film. Tomi, described as full of vitality, faces an untimely death. As Tomi and Shukichi experience sadness or fear, Ozu includes warm non-diegetic music, such as when Tomi examines her own mortality on a hill with her grandson. As they experience kindness or understanding, there is silence except for quick diegetic sounds. The characters of Shige and Fumiko can be interpreted as existing in balance. While Shige is strong-willed, Fumiko is obedient. In the funeral scene, there is representation of the masculine and feminine. As Keizo laments, the masculine straight lines of his suit is contrasted with illustrations of water lilies on the screen behind him. Similarly, against Noriko’s feminine silhouette, the screen doors have a blocky, regular pattern. Keizo struts back into the room with limbs hanging freely, while Noriko rushes back, limbs folded. The establishing shots are especially convincing. In the shot of the exterior of the funeral hall, the tombstones and walls stand stationary, tranquil. In the same shot, tree branches waver gently. Again, there is a reference to life and death. Where there is stillness, there is movement. In the shot of the walkway, the architecture and far off mountains are still, while paper lanterns sway in the wind. This idea of balance reinforces the tranquility resultant from repetition in meditation, and the fullness resultant from careful observation of subtleties of characters. In his portrayal of the Japanese family, Ozu encourages the audience to be more forgiving through observing the complexity in human nature. This is achieved by elevating the audience in to a meditative state and maintaining a neutral tone. Through repetition, consistent camera height, and editing, Ozu provides the audience with a path to transcendence, and a magnanimous understanding of disappointment. In the final shot of the funeral scene, a boat passes through the image, as it has many times throughout the film; its rhythmic, familiar humming is barely audible. As Noriko summarizes in the end, children will inevitably become distant to their parents, and life, inevitably, goes on.

Eliot s The Waste Land - 998 Words

In T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land, the use of multiple speakers and both obvious and obscure references are techniques utilized to condemn the culture around him at the time in which he was living. His pretentious criticism of this disconnected, immoral, and uneducated society allows us to see that Eliot values unity, morality, and a quality education in a way that the people around him do not. Eliot uses a substantial amount of fragmentation in The Waste Land to symbolize the brokenness of the society around him. We see this in many aspects of the poem: content, the use of multiple points of view, and style. Although Eliot thinks the population used to be united, he seems to feel that they are now scattered and dying, expressing that life on earth is practically hell because the people are essentially zombies. In the first section of the poem, â€Å"The Burial of the Dead,† the unidentified speaker says: A crowd flowed over London Bridge, so many I had not thought death had undone so many. Sighs, short and infrequent, were exhaled, And each man fixed his eyes before his feet. (62-65) By referring to their similarities to dead people, the speaker at this point is showing that these people have no meaningful existence. They are just moving around, looking down, not communicating with each other at all. They are fractured members of civilization with no purpose and no structure. He also shows this fragmentation formally in the style of his writing. By only rhyming certain coupletsShow MoreRelatedEliot s The Waste Land1798 Words   |  8 PagesEliot’s â€Å"The Waste Land† was written to seek order in a disturbed world. Eliot’s publication caused a significant impact on modern society and the literary world. Initially, the poem seems to be incoherent and fragmented; after readers have observed his poem, they are able to recognize Eliot’s brilliantly unique and nontraditional use of techniques. His unconventional style, graphic imagery, and sheer inconsistency of the poem has greatly mystified and fascinated readers. While Eliot was writin g â€Å"TheRead MoreThe Waste Land by T. S. Eliot2649 Words   |  11 Pages A wasteland [weyst-land] is defined as: land that is uncultivated or barren; an area that is devastated as by flood, storm, or war; something as a period of history, phase of existence, or locality that is spiritually, or intellectually barren; one of the most important poems of the twentieth century (Dictionary.com). The Waste Land, by T.S. Eliot, has puzzled its audience and been tossed aside by the general population since 1922, when the poem was published. To a reader not committed to delvingRead MoreAnalysis Of Eliot s Poem The Waste Land 1401 Words   |  6 PagesThomas Stearns Eliot, an American scholar, sophisticated, diverse, and also poetic genius claimed by both the United States and England, is the twentieth century s touchstone author. Thomas had a problem with religion, as noted by his poem â€Å"Journey of the Magi,† and eventually converted from Anglicanism (â€Å"T. S. Eliot: Hi s Religion, His Poetry, His Roles†). First published in 1922, T.S. Eliot s poem The Waste Land is a major work of modern literature. His poem is written in the aftermath of theRead MoreT. S. Eliot The Waste Land Essay1551 Words   |  7 Pages17 Oct 2017 Progressivism as a Project of Humanity: Roosevelt, Wilson, the Great War These fragments I have shored against my ruins Why then Ile fit you. Hireronymo’s mad againe. Datta. Dayadhvam. Damyata. Shantih shantih shantih --T.s. Eliot, The Waste Land (1922)[1] I. 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Eliot wrote poems that communicated his antagonistic perspectives of life, mankind, and his general surroundings by exemplifying and escalating particular angles and analogies in his written work. T.S. Eliot was born in 1888 and lived during early 1900 s and was a part of Modernist Period. He lived throughout two world wars and struggled with poverty and oppression which impacted his writings. Eliot wrote The Four Quartets and The Waste Land which are importantRead MoreAllusion In The Waste Land By T. S. Eliot921 Words   |  4 Pages These lines are from the poem The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot. Though Eliot is purposefully obscure and vague in the poem, this stanza is pretty clear when analyzed. In this stanza, it represents the literal translation about the aftermath of World War 1 and the feelings that are reverberated by it. In the lines, â€Å"After the agony in stony places / The shouting and the crying† (388). The stony places are to represent the destruction of Europe. This is accompanied by the great sadness and pain thatRead More The Power of T.S. Eliots The Waste Land Essay1528 Words   |  7 PagesThe Power of T.S. Eliots The Waste Land       T. S. Eliot, perhaps one of the most controversial poets of modern times, wrote what many critics consider the most controversial poem of all, The Waste Land.   The Waste Land was written using a fragmented style.   This is a style that is evident in all of Eliots writings.   There are several reasons for his using this approach, from a feeling of being isolated, to a problem articulating thoughts (Bergonzi 18, Cuddy 13, MackRead MoreEssay on Influences on T.S. Eliots Poetry1063 Words   |  5 PagesT.S. full name is Thomas Stearns Eliot. He had written a total of 68 poems, dramas, etc. in total (Wikipedia). There are many influences, but I think that Vivienne Haigh-Wood, Eliot`s first wife, Ezra Pound, his mentor and religion are one of the biggest influences on T.S. Eliot. I think the first influence on his poetry was his first wife Vivienne Haigh-Wood. Eliot had married Vivienne to stay in England. Their relationship became the storyboard for a play called, Tom and Viv which was made in 1984Read MoreEssay on Water and Religious Motifs in The Waste Land, by T.S. Eliot1525 Words   |  7 PagesThe Waste Land: Water and Religious Motifs In his poem The Waste Land, T.S. Eliot employs a water motif, which represents both death and rebirth. This ties in with the religious motif, as well as the individual themes of the sections and the theme of the poem as a whole, that modern man is in a wasteland, and must be reborn. In the first section, Burial of the Dead, water (or the lack thereof) has a primarily negative meaning. It is first mentioned in lines four and nine

International Business-Argentina Suites Essay - 1619 Words

International Management Case Analysis: Argentina Suites What are some of the major problems facing Argentina Suites? Argentina Suites faced many problems from the beginning idea to convert a 75,000-square foot building into a hotel. The owner, Abraham Sinclair decided to enter the hotel business with no market research, no hospitality experience, and rough financial projections. The decision to enter a market without knowing what ones getting into, led to major problems facing Argentina Suites. Some major problems include inefficiency, lack of technology, threat of new entrants, unethical behavior and transferring of information. Max, a person very familiar with Argentina Suites took responsibility to manage the hotel and to†¦show more content†¦This means that major decisions were made only and communicated to one person rather than combining everyone’s ideas for final decisions. When Max held meetings with the department heads within the hotel, the situation became clear that information was not easily obtainable and in some cases no information was found. In a push to renovate the hotel, management estimated almost $500,000 in cost that was needed for the change. This sum had neither been tallied nor were changes prioritized. Separate projects like this can add up, and without communication throughout management to discuss a plan the hotel can become easily unorganized, which can make it real hard for the hotel to keep track of money spent. Identify cultural and social institutional factors explaining these challenges and the current business environment at Argentina Suites. Cultural and social institutional factors start off with Abraham and his belief to hire family within the company. Even before the hotel was finished Abraham had to face a challenge with his family. He hired his Nephew Marcelo as an architect to oversee construction. 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Multiple Choice Review Questions And Answers free essay sample

The old machine was used to make product CAP until it broke down last week. Unfortunately, the old machine cannot be repaired. Management has decided to buy the new model 280 machine. It has less capacity than the new model 320 machine, but its capacity is sufficient to continue making product CAP. Management also considered, but rejected, the alternative of simply dropping product CAP. If that were done, instead of investing $318,000 in the new machine, the money could be invested in a project that would return a total Of $405,000. 19.In making the decision to buy the model 280 machine rather than the model 320 machine, the sunk cost was: A. $376,000 c. $405,000 D. $389,000 20. In making the decision to buy the model 280 machine rather than the model 320 machine, the differential cost was: A. $58,000 B. $1 3,000 c. $29,000 D. $71 ,OHO 21 . In making the decision to invest in the model 280 machine, the opportunity cost was: A. 376,000 B. $389,000 Callahan Corporation is a wholesaler that sells a single product. We will write a custom essay sample on Multiple Choice Review Questions And Answers or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Management has provided the following cost data for TV levels of monthly sales volume.The company sells the product for $1 15. 80 per unit. 22. The best estimate of the total monthly fixed cost is: A. $24,000 B. $478,050 c. $427,600 D. $528,500 23. Farm Corporation has provided the following production and total cost data for two levels of monthly production volume. The company produces a single product. The best estimate of the total cost to manufacture 2,300 units is closest to: A. $446,660 B. $465,840 c. $462,415 D. $478, 170 Questions 24-25 are based on the following information Boeing Enterprises, Inc. , produces and sells a single product whose selling price is $130. 0 per unit and whose variable expense is $39. 00 per unit. The companys monthly fixed expense is $509,600. 24. Assume the companys monthly target profit is $1 1,000. The unit sales to attain that target profit is closest to: A. 7,692 B. 13,349 c. 4,005 D. 5,721 25. Assume the companys monthly target profit is $22,000. The dollar sales to attain that target profit is closest to: A. $1 B. $759,429 D. $531,600 Gallagher Company, which has only one product, has provided the following ATA concerning its most recent month of operations: 26.