American Beauty Essays (3080 words) - English-language Films

American Beauty American Beauty tells the story of one man's search for happiness. The film introduces the audience to Lester Burnham, an ordinary- looking married man and father in his forties. Lester is in a loveless marriage. Lester's wife, Carolyn, is so wrapped-up in her real estate career that Lester often claims that Carolyn doesn't even acknowledge him. Furthermore, Lester's daughter, Jane, is completely distant, often claiming how pathetic she thinks her father is. Moreover, Lester has dedicated fourteen years to his occupation, and suddenly, he is in danger of losing his job due to downsizing. All of these factors dramatically effect Lester and culminate into feelings of desperation and vulnerability for him. Lester is therefore in search of an escape and a rebirth. He is seeking the slightest possibility of happiness. Throughout the story Lester is consistently reminiscing on his past; wishing he could have it back. In the beginning portions of the story, Lester, as the narrator, states that it is never too late to regain your past. The catalyst to this frame of thought is Jane's friend, Angela. Lester feels excited by the thought that a teen-age girl thinks he is hot. Lester overhears Angela state that she would have sex with him if Lester would start working-out and build-up his body. This drives Lester to change himself completely. Lester, in desperate search of happiness , finds an escape in Angela. Much like a hormone-driven teenage boy, Lester thinks that if he can score with a bombshell like Angela, then he will be reborn. Lester's mission for happiness and escape is further perpetuated by his eighteen year old neighbor, Ricky. In Ricky, Lester sees his model for rebirth. Lester calls Ricky his hero and is in awe of Ricky's confidence. Lester, then begins a transformation back to his stereotypical understanding of what a teenager is. Lester begins to work-out, smoke pot, and drink beer. Much like a teen, he rebels against responsibility by quitting his job and; therefore, bypassing his duties as a provider to his daughter and wife. Furthermore, Lester spontaneously, trades in his Mercedes automobile for a 1970's cherry-red Trans Am sports car. In addition, Lester pursues a job with the least amount of responsibility. He finds that job in a fast food restaurant. All of these actions are deemed necessary to Lester because this is the way to escape and thus achieving happiness. The first scene where the audience is introduced to Lester's transformation process is when he first spots Angela. Lester and Carolyn decided to come and support Jane at a school basketball game where she is to perform a dance at half-time. This scene is significant because it shows how Angela's sexuality motivated Lester to rebel against who he is. Furthermore, this scene exemplifies Lester's characteristics as a hormone-crazed male in search of sex. This frame of thought is associated more with teens than with men in their forties. The first two technical elements used to exemplify this scene are composition and camera movement. The scene begins with Lester and Carolyn already in the stands with the crowd. Angela, Jane, and the other cheerleaders enter the picture with right to left movement assisted by a panning camera shot of right to left. This foreshadows the unordinary actions that are about to occur. Almost immediately, into the dance routine, Angela is given an upward positi on in the frame elevated with dynamic composition. It is dynamic composition because there is movement (Angela dancing) within a fixed frame. By giving Angela an upward position within the frame this suggest Lester is first noticing her. As the scene continues, and Angela has Lester's full attention, Angela is shown moving towards the camera in another dynamic composition shot complemented by the camera zooming in on her. This gives the audience an idea as to the degree of attention that Lester is giving to Angela due to her sexuality. It also enhances her presence. The scene continues with a static composition shot of Lester. It is static composition because there is no movement within the frame. The camera then begins to zoom in on Lester. As the camera zooms, the crowd is eliminated and only Lester is shown in the frame. Furthermore, the

The women empowerment campaign in India

The women empowerment campaign in India Introduction There are different types or forms of marketing strategies that organizations may adopt, for instance, campaigns among others. The campaign is one of the most common marketing strategies adopted by service provider organizations around the globe. Reaching the target group within a short time is easy through campaigns. Campaigns enable organizations and companies to easily reach the target groups within a short time, and using reasonable resources. This is a campaign audit on the women empowerment in India.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on The women empowerment campaign in India specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Situational analysis Campaign audit Auditing of campaigns is one of the elements of effective management. It is the duty of the management team to audit campaigns. Campaigns are audited to ensure that the goals and objectives of the given campaign were achieved within the stated deadline during ini tiation and planning process. Different campaigns have different goals and objectives and time frame expected for their completion. This campaign was on women empowerment in India. India is one of the fastest developing countries around the globe. In most developing countries, such as India, women and girls are not given equal opportunities to realize their potential. Management is considered to be the highest rank or level in most organizations. The human resource team should provide fair ground for gender competition during recruitment and selection process (Snyder, 2002). It has clearly illustrated that woman empowerment cannot only be achieved in the job market, but through implementation of innovative ideas that can assist the company in achieving its goals and objectives too. Moreover, it has clearly indicated and illustrated that women can develop new business ideas that can contribute to increased economic activities. Additionally, the campaign was aimed at promoting gender equality by encouraging gender balance in all organizations and at all levels of management. The campaign encourages the human resource team to develop strategies that create fair recruitment and selection process. This is important for encouraging gender equality, which has also affected women empowerment in most developing countries (Melkote, 2002). Aims and objectives of strategy This campaign had as an objective women empowerment and gender equality promotion. Women are not able to take top management jobs in the economy because they are not honored professionally. This has killed their professional honor in the job market. Furthermore, education provision is not available to many women around the globe.Advertising Looking for report on gender studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The male child is given priority in education in most developing countries around the globe, which has led to the gender education imbalance. However, this campaign aims at eliminating education imbalance, and promoting equal education provision among male and female children in the society, especially in developing countries (Atkins Freimuth, 2001). The campaign has designed a strategy to prove that women are equal to men, and girls should be given equal opportunities to learn. Education is the differentiating factor between men and women in the job market. The job market has a higher percentage of men in top management. Furthermore, a larger percentage of the working population is men. This can be controlled or addressed through the provision of education to women. Employers and organizations consider academic qualification during employment, which enables most men to land top management positions. This campaign will minimize women honor killing and encourage education provision among women to increase their chances of landing high profile jobs (Melkote, 2002). The population of men and women are not equal i n India. This is due to the increased abortion cases. Generally, most of the aborted fetuses are girls. Girls are aborted by most women in India due to the discrimination that women and girls are facing. This has led to unwillingness to give birth to a girl child, as a girl is considered to be a financial burden to the family. A female child should be given equal opportunity to live like a male child. The large number of men in India has also intensified the women discrimination in the country. However, this campaign promotes gender equality and women empowerment. This will enhances the status of female children in the country. Moreover, this will encourage women to give birth to girls due to equality and fairness between men and women. Additionally, this will discourage abortion of girl fetuses and will lead to increased girl child birth (UNDP.org, 2009). Lessons from previous and current activities implemented in terms of identity There are several avenues that campaigns can use e ffectively, for instance, social media and networking. Social media and network have led to successful implementation and completion of several organizational strategies. The target groups are easily reached within a short time at reasonable costs using social networking and media such as Facebook and Twitter among others.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on The women empowerment campaign in India specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This strategy is easily implemented as people spend most of their free time on social sites. The campaign on social network and media was successfully launched and implemented. Social network and media have also enabled other companies and organizations to market their goods and services to the target groups using network and Internet services. Moreover, it is easy to receive direct and reliable feedback from customers and target groups through social networks and media because it allows marke ters to deal with customers, clients and target individuals at an individual level. It also enables effective and appropriate response to individual inquiry, which leads to improved operations and implementation of strategies. Social network and media have also enabled several organizations to achieve their goals and objectives within the stated deadline. Additionally, the campaign also benefited from social networking and media, which leads us to a conclusion that social network and media should be used to attract attention of people to the issues of women rights and equality in the developing countries, due to the number of people using social networking, and media for marketing, and searching information about different goods and services (Atkins Freimuth, 2001). Target audience The decision of an audience depends on the nature of marketing and intended purpose of a campaign. This campaign intends to encourage women empowerment around the globe. There are certain age groups that may not take keen interest in women empowerment because they do not understand the reasons for such a concern. This campaign should target mature women and men. This age group is appropriate because men and women above the age of 16 are well informed on the disadvantages of gender inequality. Moreover, it is at the age of 16 that individuals become exposed to global issues such as gender inequality because they become involved in the real world situation. In India, 16 years and above is considered a mature and adult age. This is an age range that individuals seek employment, and face the challenges such as gender inequality and unfair recruitment and selection processes. This issue must be addressed by mature men and women in the population because it spread and cultivated by mature men and women in the society. Therefore, the most appropriate age range that was targeted by the campaign is mature men and women. From the age of 16, most women and men experience the challenges of gen der inequality and the need for women empowerment. The highest population in India that seeks employment is at the age of 16 (Melkote, 2002). This is a challenge facing mature men and women, and should be addressed to reduce the increased number of girl fetuses’ abortions and discrimination of women in the work places and the society at large. The target group should therefore encourage fairness to enable realization of the goals and objectives of the campaign.Advertising Looking for report on gender studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More What the target group should think and feel Women should be able to defend their right for education. In the recent past, education has been considered a basic need around the globe. This is due to the increased need for education and literacy level experienced around the globe. Furthermore, educated individuals have the right to earn employment positions that they qualify despite of their gender. However, gender balance is not considered in most developing countries during the selection and recruitment process. There are certain employment positions, especially top management that are considered male positions hence women cannot be considered for them. Generally, women are not considered for such positions due to the number of highly qualified male employees in the job market. However, the campaign has an objective of ensuring that women feel equal and has the right to employment and education. This can be achieved by ensuring that women are educated and attain the required educati on experience and qualification for different management positions in the job market. Therefore, the campaign aims at ensuring that women have the right to work and education. Right to work can be exploited if the right to education is granted. Furthermore, right to education can be enjoyed by women if gender equality is considered around the globe, especially among developing states because this is one of the major challenges facing these countries (Snyder, 2002). Gender inequality is a serious challenge in some developing states, for instance, India. In countries such as India, women face discrimination to an extent that they face death threats due to their gender. This has also led to unwillingness to give birth to a girl child in such states and increased girl fetus abortion. Unequal treatment among women is a serious challenge among developing states that must be addressed to ensure fairness and equality. Developed countries promote fairness and gender balance in the working en vironment and socially. This has led to the increased economic activities and developments among such states. On the other hand, gender inequality and discrimination among women have contributed to underdevelopment and low quality of life or poor living standards because the potential of individuals is not fully exploited towards the development of the respective state or country. Women may be having the potential to make several changes in the economic policies and development, but not contribute as expected due to discrimination and gender inequality among developing countries. There are several significant contributions of women globally that have been realized in developing countries. However, developing countries are not able to realize the potential of women due to discrimination and gender inequality. Therefore, the target group should consider the global contributions of women in developed countries, and encourage gender equality to ensure they achieve their full potential ( UNDP.org, 2009). Key messages Campaigns have themes that dominate the entire process. Organizations and individuals expect to achieve the main goal and objective of a campaign. Generally, a campaign is considered successful if the goals and objectives of the respective campaign are achieved within the stated deadline or time frame. This is a campaign for women empowerment. However, there are several goals and objectives that were intended to be achieved within a specific time to ensure women are empowered in developing states or countries. According to the strategy of the company, women are empowered if the following goals and objectives are achieved; Honor killing among women is eradicated or minimized. Women are given equal educational opportunities like en to gain required academic qualifications required in the job market. Girl fetus abortion is eradicated or reduced to give girls an equal opportunity to live like a boy child. Women are given equal opportunities to seek higher employment positions in the job market based on their academic qualification and work experience. Equality among men and women is encouraged and applied in the distribution of resources and mutual living in the society (Atkins Freimuth, 2001). If the above conditions are achieved and realized in the society of a developing state or country, then women empowerment can be realized. Although certain persons argue that there is no reason to empower women, especially in developing countries, there is a great need to ensure that women and men are equal in the society because they both have the potential to contribute to the development of states through improved policies and innovative thinking and implementation. Therefore, the main communication or message of the campaign is to empower women and promote gender equality. However, this can be achieved by ensuring that women honor killing is eradicated or minimized, girl fetus abortion is decreased or eradicated to give girls equal oppor tunity to live just like boys, women are given the opportunity to learn and enhance their academic qualification, and women are given equal opportunities during recruitment and selection process. This will ensure equality between women and men in the society (UNDP.org, 2009). Theory, design identity Needs of the target audience Equality and women empowerment is a serious challenge in most developing states or countries. This has led to poor living standards and inability to realize the full potential of the population of a state. This campaign targets individuals from 16 years and above. There are several reasons why mature persons are the target group of the campaign. However, the factor that must be considered is the maturity of the target group. Women empowerment and gender equality is a global concern and a matter of great importance. Therefore, target group must mature to adequately understand the problem of gender inequality in the society, and especially among developing stat es. The following factors must be considered among the target group to ensure that the goals and objectives of the campaign are achieved within the stated deadline. Moreover, the campaign should be able to change the perception of the target group and advocate for women empowerment and gender equality (Coffman, 2002). The teenage society needs to understand that they need to get educated so they can have jobs. Education is a determinant factor in the job market because education level and qualification is considered during the recruitment and selection process. Human resource departments design jobs based on academic qualifications and working experience among others. Employees are hired considering their qualifications and organizational needs of the respective company. Women education meets opposition by the elders in most communities in developing countries. Elders in developing states should be enlightened on the importance of equality between boy and girl children to promote wo men empowerment and gender equality in the respective countries. The world is a part of the global ecosystem. Therefore, it should be balanced to ensure comfortable living. States or countries that have a higher population of men or women tend to face several challenges that hinder their ability to achieve their goals and objectives. Gender equity should be encouraged to enable population balance. There are certain countries with imbalanced population because the number of men is higher than that of women, for example, China. China boasts of high labor turnover currently due to the high GDP the country, and the percentage of the working population, which has a reduced dependency ratio. China expects low labor turnover in the near future due to the high number of men compared to women (Melkote, 2002). The main reason why girls are not allowed to attain education is because of the fear and perception of elders in the community that if a girl is going to work, she will not listen to he r family’s word which in turn can lead to honor killing to cleanse the family’s name. Hence, those particular societies need to be educated more. Respect is a virtue that is acquired individually and not based on gender. Furthermore, the people in Australia need to help with either having charities to raise money, or help set up an education system. Alternatively, they may help or assist by donating money (Gumucio-Dagron Tufte, 2006). What the target audience should be doing The target audience is expected to embrace women empowerment and encourage gender equality. There are several duties that the target audience, for instance, India and China are expected to do to ensure that the goals and objectives of the campaign are achieved within the stated deadline. The Indian community can see the awareness that is being created and they might change their perspective about women in general and in educational sector. Australians, however can go to India and help set up a sch ool to educate or try to find a way to raise awareness. Also, help by raising money or giving as little as $1 to help set up an educational system there (Atkins Freimuth, 2001). The benefits that the target audience will gain by changing their current behavior The target group or audience is expected to benefit from the campaign if they encourage women empowerment and gender equality. There are several advantages or benefits that the target audience will gain, for instance, end the imbalance in the population, end poverty because if women get an education they can get a job and provide for their homes which in turn will boost the country’s economy. Women can also start feeling safe (UNDP.org, 2009). The current beliefs and attitudes, and the barriers that must be overcome Women are not equal to men; hence they can’t work or get an education. Women that usually refuse arranged marriages are killed in the name of honor. Pregnant women get rid of female fetus because the y want a boy instead because in Indian tradition, the family of the bride usually pays for the wedding and her dowry, so they are seen as expensive to maintain. Nonetheless, there will be barriers that need to be overcome, as it is hard to change a society’s mind when they are so based on tradition because change is not always welcomed. Secondly, language barriers can create a problem in communicating and getting a point across. Lastly, cultural norms might clash with the way the problem is being approached (Gumucio-Dagron Tufte, 2006). Designing identity usage audit Communication channels to be used in the campaign The campaign targets a large audience that is distributed globally. The audience is large because there are several developing states around the globe. This will require an effective channel to reach the target audience and achieve the goals and objectives of the campaign. The communication channels that will be used for the campaign to ensure the target audience is reached are personal communication, television and internet sources such as Twitter, YouTube and Facebook (Gumucio-Dagron Tufte, 2006). Where the identity will be applied When designing a communication message, using of identity is important to ensure that the target audience is reached. A target audience is reached easily if they can identify with the message of the campaign. The target audience is India, therefore the identity will be applied in the name, and for example, India is known for its gold. This will enable the target audience to easily identify with the campaign and assist in the achievement of the goals and objectives of the campaign in the state (Gumucio-Dagron Tufte, 2006). Other brands that the campaign will identify to work under or with The channels that have been decided to be used in the campaign require brand to work with or under to ensure that the goals and objectives of the campaign are achieved within the stated deadline. Considering the chosen channe ls for the implementation of the campaign, the most appropriate channel to enhance the achievements of the goals and objectives of the campaign is social networking. Generally, social networking can be used effectively with the internet services such as Twitter, YouTube and Facebook to ensure that the goals and objectives of the campaign are achieved (Gumucio-Dagron Tufte, 2006). Message audit Key messages communicated by the campaign The main message of the campaign is promoting women empowerment and gender equality. There are several objectives that are designed to assist in effective communication of the main message of the campaign. The objectives that have been designed to aid in the communication of the main message are decreasing girl fetus abortion, providing equal education opportunities for girl children, providing equality in the recruitment and selection process and encouraging gender balance and equity. These assist in the communication for the need of empowering women and promoting gender equality, which is the main message of the campaign. Therefore, the main message that suits the entire campaign is education to promote equality (Atkins Freimuth, 2001). Logo creation Creation of a logo for the campaign will be important to ensure the target group easily access and identify the campaign online. There are several campaigns that have been launched globally to advocate for women empowerment and gender equality. These organizations work towards the achievement of the same goal but addresses different regions and audience around the globe. We intend to use channels such as internet, television and personal communication. This will require a logo to improve visibility and establish an identity in the global community. Creation of a logo is important to be easily identified because there may be other organizations with a similar name as our organization. The only way to differentiate our organization from others using the same name is a logo. After f urther consultations, we have decided to name our campaign Golden Justice. There are several reasons that led to the development of the name, Golden Justice (Snyder, 2002). Conclusion The main reason is consideration of the audience. Our main audience is India. India is globally known for its gold according to the message we have used to easily identify with the audience. Therefore, using the name Golden Justice implies or reflects gender equality or education for equality in India. The word golden is used to easily identify with the audience, while justice is used to identify with the theme of the campaign, educations for equality, and the goals and objectives of the campaign, which are encouraging gender equality and women empowerment among developing states. References Atkins, C., Freimuth, V. (2001). Formative Evaluation Research in Campaign Design. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. Coffman, J. (2002). Public Communication Campaign Evaluation: An Environmental Scan of Challenge s, Criticisms, Practice and Opportunities. Cambridge: MA: Harvard Family Research Project. Gumucio-Dagron, A., Tufte, T. (2006). Communication for Social Change Anthology: Historical and Contemporary Readings. New Jersey: Communication for Social Change Consortium (CFSC). Melkote, S. R. (2002). Theories of Development Communication in Gudykunst. New Delhi: Sage Publications. Snyder, L. B. (2002). Development Communication Campaigns in Gudykunst. New Delhi: Sage Publications. UNDP.org. (2009). About MDG: Basics, Goals, targets and Indicators. Web.