There has long been the contention that art, in all its various manifestations, should ideally by apolitical in its content. And this debate on the separation of art from politics has been as old as art itself. And those instances in which an overlapping of the two occur, controversy if not outright censorship ensues. A…
Category: Media Studies
Shutter Island: A Review
Shutter Island is one of the most emotionally and intellectually engaging films to have come out in recent times. Directed by noted filmmaker Martin Scorsese, the film explores the potential depths of human psychology and the inevitable conflicts in human relationships. Although it wouldn’t rank as Scorsese’s best movie, it excels in so many departments…
How were Sunset Boulevard and North by Northwest affected by the Hays code?
The history and evolution of Hollywood makes for an interesting subject of inquiry. The origins of film industry in the United States can be traced back to the 1920s, when the first silent movies were opened for public viewing. The movies released in the first decade were free of any censorship and hence contained controversial…
Logical fallacies in an editorial piece: A case study
Print journalism has a long and rich tradition, reaching back more than two centuries. The content disseminated by newspapers can be divided into two classes: reports and opinion. While reports are expected to adhere to objectivity and neutrality, opinion editorials have no such restrictions. As a result, the latter can at times come across as…
The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali
Salvador Dali’s 1931 painting named The Persistence of Memory is an intriguing work of modern art. The artwork became an instant success with the public audience and continues to be Dali’s most recognized work. At the core of the painting is Dali’s perception of physical objects as either ‘hard’ or ‘soft’. The depiction of ‘soft’…
How do customers assess service quality of retailing websites?
Since the beginning of the 1990s, and with the advancement in global telecommunications technology, electronic commerce (commonly referred to as e-commerce) has really taken off. And online retailing comprises an integral part of this broader phenomenon. Here in the UK, as elsewhere in the world, traditional brick and mortar retail stores have extended their services…
The Use of Technology in Giving Effective Presentations
The last 20 to 30 years have been widely regarded as the digital age. During this period many advances have been made in digital technology, leading to the promotion and use of mobile phones, high-speed networks, efficient computers, etc. This advance in digital technology has also made life easier for most people. Areas such as…
Movie Genre Analysis: The Hangover (2009)
The movie Hangover, directed by Todd Phillips and released in 2009, is an adult comedy film. The movie adopts a conventional narrative technique with the addition of a few experimental elements. The plot is based on the idea of a bachelor party trip by a group of friends to Las Vegas. The four friends played…
How the past influences the present in the novel ‘The Reader’ and the play ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’?
The two works of literature discussed in this essay have several similarities in their underlying themes and narratives. The Street Car Named Desire, written by Tennessee Williams in 1947, was not only well received by critics, but also adapted into several stage productions. The post Second World War period in which the play is set…
How can Public Relations communications theory help us understand the role of new media
The Public Relations industry, which is an offshoot of the traditional advertising industry, turned into a dominant business institution through the course of the twentieth century. The two countries that pioneered this industry are the United States and the United Kingdom. In the case of the former, Edward Bernays, a nephew of Sigmund Freud, is…