The Secret Life of Bees is a 2008 Hollywood production that embraces the drama genre. Based on the novel of the same title by Sue Monk Kidd, the film deals with the life and struggles of a young girl Lily Owens (played by Dakota Fanning) who runs away from home after the demise of her…
Tag: Works Cited
Oil as a determinant of social, political and economic history of the United States from 1981 to the present
American military intervention in world affairs has risen drastically since the end of the Second World War. The period following the Second World War saw America assume the role of a superpower that headed the western coalition in what was then a bipolar world. Since the collapse of Soviet Union in the late 80’s, America…
Review of ‘The End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot’ by Noami Wolf
For this essay Chapter Five ‘Surveil Ordinary Citizens’ of Noami Wolf’s The End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot is chosen for analysis. Wolf talks about the dangers of succumbing to internal security measures, which are just a facade for government control over civilian thought and act. Wolf makes salient comparisons between…
Television Show Analysis: Mad Men
Mad Men is one of the most acclaimed television series to have emerged in recent years. Produced by Matthew Weiner (who was earlier the executive producer of The Sopranos), this richly made drama series depicts the New York advertising world of the early 1960s. The punning title can be taken to mean Madison Avenue which…
History of Belly Dance
Belly Dance originated from the Middle East, where it is referred to as Raqs Sharqi. Other alternative names for it are Middle Eastern dance and Arabic dance. Belly dance originated in the royal courtyards of Ottoman Empire and beyond. In the glory days of the empire, it used to be performed by members of a…
Arab Identity: The views of Sayyid Qutb, Sati al-Husri and Taha Hussein
The first text in question is Milestones by Sayyid Qutb. One of the pioneers of the idea of Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, his martyrdom for his cause has enhanced his standing in contemporary Islamic revivalist movements. Qutb is a passion advocate of his beliefs about nationality in the Islamic context. He begins his essay emphatically…
Film Review: The Story of G.I. Joe (1945)
The film The Story of G.I. Joe is an American war film starring Burgess Meredith and Robert Mitchum. The film was directed by William Wellman and is portrayed as a tribute to infantrymen of American military that operated during the Second World War, G.I. Joe being a typical characterization of the class of soldiers. The…
A psychophilosophical perspective on Ambrose Bierce’s An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge
Ambrose Bierce’s short story titled An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge is one of the classics of the art form. The story could be read from several different angles, such as the social, cultural, psychological, political, etc. First, the American Civil War of the 1860s provides the political angle. Second is the cultural angle, whereby…
Contrarian themes in the film Paths of Glory (1957)
The film Paths of Glory (1957) is of the few mainstream Hollywood movies of the century to espouse a contrarian theme. While many films of the period talked of issues and the drama surrounding war, Paths of Glory went a step further and made an emphatic statement about the nature and contradictions of war. The…
An analysis of the Letter from a Birmingham Jail
Reverend Martin Luther King’s famous letter from Birmingham Jail captures some of the core elements of his public discourse. Although the letter had not been orated in public, it is similar in style to his more popular public speeches and brings out the inspirational and charismatic aspects of King’s personality. The letter was first published…