Asking questions about the popular sphere, media and democracy.
Thesis - 7 pages - Journalism
An important question, right now, according to a recent Globe and Mail article, as well as chatter heard recently while riding the grid-lock streets listening to a taxi driver's radio, is if daily newspapers collapse, is this a sign that democracy is in trouble? Perusing the numerous blogs of...
Picasso's Demoiselles d`Avignon - The beginnings of Cubism and Picasso's radical vision
Thesis - 6 pages - Arts and art history
This paper will present an examination of Picasso`s painting `Les Demoiselles d`Avignon` (1907). It is considered by many critics to be the first real Cubist, or part-Cubist work in Picasso`s huge body of art works. The paper will examine different critical views and provide a descriptive, close...
Impressionism in Western art: An evaluation and discussion of the lives, times and works of Manet, Monet and Renoir
Thesis - 10 pages - Arts and art history
This essay provides comprehensive information on works by three artists known for their influence in the period known as Impressionism. Highlights of the following topics will be discussed: Overview of Impressionism; The Salon; Outdoor; Color; Patrons; Women; Japan; Crisis; Culture, Times and...
Architecture 2005 - Canadian and international trends in context
Thesis - 6 pages - Architecture
Architectural design philosophy has transformed from the high modernism of the early 20th century, from classic functional international style which dominated North American architectural practices up until the 1970s, to be replaced by the anti-modern or the post-modern. (Ghirardo, 1996) However,...
The rhetoric behind personal ads
Thesis - 5 pages - Journalism
Many people search for that one person to spend the rest of their lives with. People do this in a variety of ways and placing a personal ad in the local newspaper is only one such way. Men and women daily check personal ads in the hope of finding that “perfect person” or just for a...
Childe`s materialist approach to archaeology and proof of his use of scientific method
Thesis - 4 pages - Journalism
Processual archaeology, also known as New Archaeology, which came to dominate the field in the 1960s presented a critique of past archaeological work, that it, fundamentally, was non-scientific. The debates and arguments that exist within the field of archaeology often seem to be limiting, as...
Ibn Tulun Mosque - A study of Islamic architecture and its political, cultural and spiritual meaning
Thesis - 5 pages - Architecture
This paper will discuss the Ibn Tulun Mosque in Cairo, one of the first Islamic Mosques built in Egypt. It will explore the symbolic meaning and the cultural aspects of the mosque design and its place within Tulun's dynasty. Petersen writes that the mosque is the central architectural form of...
The murderers among us: Post-War German rubble films. The complexities of thematic and visual meaning
Thesis - 9 pages - Film studies
This paper will discuss the first post-world war II film to be made in Germany. The film, entitled The Murderers Among Us (Die Morder sind unter uns, 1946) was directed by Wolfgang Staudte. It is the first in a series of films, which are collectively entitled (Trummerfilme) which means postwar...
Exploring Henri Lefebvre's ideas on the everyday in debates on architecture of the city
Thesis - 6 pages - Architecture
This paper will explore ideas in the writings of Henri Lefebvre, beginning with a summary of Dell Upton's article “Architecture in Everyday Life” which touches on the set of debates about what Lefebvre was suggesting in his idea of the intersection of materiality, imagination, and...
Critique of Jackson Pollock's convergence
Thesis - 5 pages - Arts and art history
Convergence, the painting chosen for this review was a work of legendary American painter, Jackson Pollock, (1912-1956) pioneer and central figure of the Abstract Expressionism movement. Convergence, oil on canvas, completed in 1952, is nearly 8 feet tall by 13 feet wide and hangs at the...
Coffee in Italy and the United States
Thesis - 9 pages - Journalism
Coffee has been grown, processed, roasted, and brewed for thousands of years. This age-old drink has become increasingly popular within the last decade due to the attractiveness of the modern coffeehouse (Shultz 1999:76-77), along with increased global marketing. Yet this popularity is perceived...
From Cagney and Lacey to Law and order: Women in the workplace as seen on TV
Thesis - 8 pages - Film studies
“Do you have kids, Detective Benson?” asks the pleading face of a father, guilty of murdering his son's rapist. Detective Olivia Benson's eyes glaze over with a familiar look of longing, and the audience sees her softening to the man, letting out a breath while muttering “No.”...
I'm at the 'Window':A look at voyeurism in the cinema and society
Thesis - 5 pages - Film studies
We all carry certain expectations with us when we go see a film at the theater. We expect the room to be dark, though we make exceptions for the beam from the projector behind us, the track lights showing us to our seats. We expect quiet, hence the ads preceding the feature presentation that...
The social commentary of anarchy and romance
Thesis - 4 pages - Film studies
The “modern” comedy can trace is roots back through a number of places. From as far back as Ancient Greece comedy has been one of the most pleasurable forms of entertainment. From the plays of Shakespeare, to the vaudeville era, and all the way into Hollywood's silent era, comedy...
Rocking the boat: How NBC's 30 Rock is subtly stirring things up
Thesis - 15 pages - Film studies
In the summer of 2006, Tina Fey announced her departure from Saturday Night Live after six seasons as the head-writer of the legendary late night sketch show. She had decided to pursue a new ambition, a primetime sitcom based in part on her experiences working at SNL. That show would become 30...
Alienation in "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and "Happy Together"
Thesis - 5 pages - Film studies
The turmoil surrounding the ending of a relationship is universal. For this reason t is well-covered territory in popular culture. Tales of heartbreak and reconciliation are a staple of the Hollywood film industry. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) and Happy Together (1997) both...
Preparing Mughlai Gravy
Thesis - 27 pages - Journalism
The hospitality industry includes all establishments that provide food and beverage service to the public. It offers a wide range of jobs and careers which very according to the style of services in each establishment. For example, the tasks performed in a fast food outlet differ greatly from...
Newspaper ownership in Canada
Thesis - 5 pages - Journalism
The press has always been thought of as an important facet of any liberal democracy. The press in Canada has always played an important role in educating the population about the events and news of the day. However, for the press to truly perform its task in a liberal democracy, it needs to be...
Public transportation in the Arab World
Thesis - 7 pages - Journalism
The creation and refinement of public transportation in the Arab World are issues that are infrequently brought to the public eye. However, these issues have underlying importance in the institutions of politics and economics in the Arab World. Organizations, such as The World Bank and the...
Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and the question of anti-semitism
Thesis - 5 pages - Arts and art history
The eighth of Wagner's operas and his only comedy, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (The Mastersingers of Nuremberg) tells the story of a knight who wins a wife by challenging the musical establishment. It was the first of Wagner's operas to not be based in myth; rather, the composer went to great...
The Hunger Artists
Thesis - 4 pages - Arts and art history
As many authors have spent novels analyzing, we are not alone in constructing ourselves. In his essay "Postscripts on Societal Control," Deleuze aptly states "control is not a closed system." In this world of ever-growing commodities and technological advances, it is becoming increasingly...
Leaders of the New Wave: An essay on Louis Malle and Jean-Luc Godard
Thesis - 4 pages - Film studies
Jean Cocteau once wrote, "true realism consists of revealing the surprising things which habit keeps covered and prevents us from seeing." But where do we find this "true realism?" Since our reality is blinded by our habit, daily rituals, obligations, and preconceived notions, it seems fruitless...
History of technology
Essay - 5 pages - Journalism
When people think about technology from a contemporary perspective, they often think about all the gadgets and devices that are common-place in our lives. For example, only ten years ago we were watching movies on VCR's and were talking on cell phones that would be unrecognizable compared to...
The future of archaeological thought: A debate between Ian Hodder and Lewis Binford
Thesis - 6 pages - Journalism
In their thoughts on the future of archaeological thought, Ian Hodder and Lewis Binford offer drastically conflicting perspectives. Binford argues that social history can be investigated using the processes of archaeology, yet he shows little interest in the meaning associated with an artifact...
A critical evaluation of media censorship in the US
Thesis - 4 pages - Journalism
This essay will discuss and analyze the media and censorship of the media in the United States. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press…” (United States...
How does the 1976 film network accurately reflect ideologies and practices of modern television?
Essay - 5 pages - Film studies
The ideologies and practices evident in modern television are succinctly foreshadowed in the 1976 Hollywood classic, Network. This prophetic Oscar-winning film satirically dramatised a series of predictions, most of which were fulfilled in modern television. The film shows that ratings have...
Formulating nationalist conversations: An investigation of the function of West African Cinema
Essay - 4 pages - Film studies
Traditional African filmmakers, considered themselves part of an emerging third world cinema and used film as a tool of revolution, a means of political education to be used for transforming consciousness, however now there is a new generation of filmmakers that have been supposedly "freed from...
Film Critique: The Asphalt Jungle
Essay - 4 pages - Film studies
The first wave of urgency to escape the world of corruption, greed, and immorality inside the shady underground of the urban city ("the jungle"), is brought forth by protagonists Dix Handley and Alonzo Emmerich in two scenes of John Huston's The Asphalt Jungle. The first scene takes place in...
A guide to Chinese cuisine
Essay - 6 pages - Journalism
Perhaps one of the first things that should be mentioned about Chinese cuisine is how much it differs from western cuisine. The primary difference of Chinese cuisine is usually attributed to a difference in staple crops (for the Chinese this is usually rice), and livestock (The Chinese eat...
The legends of music
Essay - 10 pages - Arts and art history
Music is a form of entertainment that has existed for millions of years. Music even predates written word. The harmonious or discordant sounds of music are a reflection of human emotions. Songs have the ability to make one feel sad, happy or angry. Our atmosphere is affected by music; if we...
