A Comparative Study between Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel

Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel were both Baroque composers who used the Italian and French styles that were the basic language of the Baroque. The study of Bach and Handel is interesting because of their marked similarities and subtle differences. Bach and Handel were of Saxon ancestry. They came from neighboring towns, Bach from Eisenach, Handel from Halle, and were born but one month apart in the same year, Handel in February, Bach in March, 1685 (Young, 1962). They were both masters of concerto in all its forms:sonata;suite;fugue;opera;cantata;both sacred and secular;oratorio;mass;passion.Both Bach and Handel learnt their art by making copies of all the works of acknowledged masters. Bach and Handel were studious copyists throughout their lives. Besides Johann Christoph, Bach took as models the Italians, Frescobaldi, Corelli, Vivaldi, Lotti, Caldara, Legrenzi, Marcello and many others. His special interests led to keyboard music, to violin music and to choral mus ic. Handel, under Zachau, made an anthology of excerpts from Froberger, Kerll,Strungck, Johann Krieger. During his later career he was influenced by Alessandro Stradella, Giacomo Carissimi, Georg Muffatt, Karl Heinrich Graun, Giovanni Clari and others.Though they sound like brilliant stars rising at the same time, they charted their different paths in music according to their individual natures. There was no musical tradition in Handel's family, his father was a prosperous surgeon who intended George Frideric for the Law; on the other hand members of the Bach dynasty had been for generations conspicuous in musical affairs in Thuringiaevering. Bach remained within the boundaries of his Saxon fatherland throughout his life and was a good citizen and was the father of twenty children.Handel, on the other hand was the man of the world, honored all over Europe. He was bold and outgoing in nature. The one tragic similarity in their lives is that they both went blind at the end of their li ves (Young, 1962). While Bach's grave was forgotten, Handel, who died nine years later, in 1759, was laid to rest in the English pantheon, Westminster Abbey. In those days, music was solely written for the sole purpose of immediate performance, its preservation beyond that moment being a secondary consideration. â€Å"Occasional† or commissioned work used to be the rule.Bach wrote his cantatas for the services of St. Thomas' Church in Leipzig, and Handel wrote his operas for special performances and strictly to suit the voices of the personnel that happened to be available. Bach’s work was mostly unrecognized and neglected for many generations till the 19th century. He was recognized as a great musician by the world only 75 years after his death. The later 18th century knew Bach mainly as an instrumental composer who wrote especially for the organ and the piano (Bekker, 1927). People tended to interpret Bach’s from diverse viewpoints.Bach used to be considered a contrapuntist pure and simple, a learned musician who treated music as a sort of mathematics (Bekker, 1927). From this viewpoint, Bach seemed to be principally a servant of the church, a sort of Protestant Palestrina who also wrote secular music. Later it became apparent that he could not after all be counted simply as a composer of Church music, so he was looked upon as a romantic poet. The romanticists, declared that Bach was the archromanticist, and should be interpreted with the utmost feeling and expression.Some felt that Bach's music was inherently emotional (Bekker, 1927). Whatever the angle of perception, Bach came to be regarded as the great builder of musical form. Contrastingly, Handel, the cosmopolitan composer and impresario, was internationally famous in his own lifetime. He was primarily a writer of oratorios (Young, 1962). His instrumental compositions were not considered serious enough for study. The Italian operas which he composed in were considered worthless in the eyes of the critics of that period (Bekker, 1927).Today however, things have changed and Handel's operas are in the repertoire of nearly every great opera-house (Bekker, 1927). Bach used a personal synthesis of the Flemish and Italian styles with German counterpoint, Handel showed a strong early inclination toward the extroverted and dramatic world of Italian opera (Krantz, 2007). In short, it can be said that Bach looked inward and Handel outward. Bach composed cantatas and organ music and, by his genius and talent for seeing holistic symbolism in words and music, he extended the character of his models (Young, 1962).Handel, more fluent, more rhetorical, and a free agent with his way to make in the world seized the formalized patterns of entertainment music in secular cantata, in oratorio, in opera, and in instrumental music (Young, 1962). Both Bach and Handel had different personalities. Bach was an introvert whereas Handel was an extrovert. Handel assimilated the various nati onal styles and specialized in each of them separately. Bach assimilated the various influences with his own personal style and arrived at a fusion of national styles in which the single elements are inseparable (Dorak, 2002).The main works of Handel are his operas, written from an universal perspective for an international public. The main works of Bach are his cantatas, written for the local churches, and his passions, the monuments of his liturgical severity. Handel, being a widely traveled musician has visited many international centers of music. Bach, on the other hand confined himself within the limits of central Germany. Bach’s great works include the Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor, most of the great preludes and fugues, and the 45 chorale-preludes gathered in Das Orgelbuchlein [the little organ book].His instrumental compositions are the Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue; the English Suites; the French Suites; the Two-Part and Three-Part Inventions; and Book I of the cele brated Well-Tempered Clavier. He also wrote several unaccompanied violin sonatas and cello suites, and the Brandenburg Concertos, recognized as the best concerti grossi ever composed. The St. John Passion was performed (1723) at Leipzig and his Magnificat was presented shortly after he assumed that post.Many more of his superb religious compositions followed: the St. Matthew Passion (1729), the Christmas Oratorio, the sonorous Mass in B Minor, and the six motets. The principal keyboard works of this period were Book II of The Well-Tempered Clavier and the four books of clavier pieces in the Clavierubung and the Goldberg Variations. His last notable compositions were the Musical Offering composed (1747) for Frederick the Great and The Art of the Fugue (1749). In all his positions as choir director, Bach composed sacred cantatas—a total of some 300, of which nearly 200 are extant.There are also over 30 secular cantatas, composed at Leipzig, among them Phoebus and Pan (1731). Th e bulk of his work is religious. In his instrumental and choral works he perfected the art of polyphony, displaying an unmatched combination of inventiveness and control in his great, striding fugues (The Columbia Encyclopedia, 2004a). Handel's 46 operas include much of his finest music; among them are Julius Caesar (1724), Atalanta (1736), Berenice (1737), and Serse (1738), which contains the tenor aria now known as Largo. Handel's opera, ‘Messiah’ was presented in Dublin in 1742.An essentially contemplative work, it stands apart from the rest of his 32 oratorios, which are dramatically conceived, and its immense popularity has resulted in the erroneous conception of Handel as primarily a church composer. Other outstanding oratorios are Acis and Galatea (1720), Esther (1732), Israel in Egypt (1736–37), Saul (1739), and Judas Maccabeus (1747). He also composed about 100 Italian solo cantatas; numerous orchestral works, and the anthem â€Å"Zadok, the Priest† (1727) for the coronation of George II, which has been used for all subsequent coronations (The Columbia Encyclopedia, 2004b).There is one particular text that was set to music by both Bach and Handel. This is Eilt ihr angefocht'nen Seelen in the Passion Oratorio (by Handel) and in the St. John Passion (by Bach). They used the same key and the same pictorial representation of ‘haste', and the choral interjections at dramatic points are also common. Bukofzer, however, has opined that Handel's music is inferior because it lacks the highly individual stamp that distinguished Bach from all other composers (Dorak, 2002). When one considers their particular musical styles, Johann Sebastian Bach's music is not pompous, not theatrical; it is not court music, not gala music.His music was essentially introspective music; he did not think of the audience for whom he composed; his music is the product of his inner reflections. It is an outward expression of his tender feelings. Even in the most grandiose and eloquent moments of his â€Å"Passions† he still remains intimate. Bach’s music thus addressed itself mainly to the connoisseur. Handel wrote for the world, for the court, for the stage. His music is naturally brilliant; he has the gift for clear sonorities and powerful rhythms, which make a physical impression on the crowd, exalt and carry it away.His breadth and simplicity of design make his work illuminating, he is popular. But Bach's art is one that aims to say many things in an instant – in a single word (Landormy & Martens, 1927). This richness sometimes made it difficult for people to understand and appreciate. Handel focuses most on the harmonic clarity of his ensemble; he makes choice of what he wishes to say, he is sober, concise; He prefers to use the simple air of accompanied monody rather than polyphonic complexities (Landormy and Martens, 1927).Dynamic patterns in music were principally of two types: the melodic, which made use mainly of the voice and is known as thorough-bass, and the contrapuntal, which made use mainly of instruments and is mistakenly called polyphony (Bekker, 1927). On the superficial level, one may find that Bach is a composer of instrumental music in contrapuntal style and Handel on the other, a composer of vocal music in thoroughbass style. Some might classify the work of Bach, the pious man as subjective and Handel, the worldly man as an objective type. But these distinctions are not firmly based.Both were religious men who were also practical in their approach. They were both introspective as well as objective and both wrote vocal as well as instrumental music, and both made use of thorough-bass as well as of contrapuntal forms. They figured bass and counterpoint, and although they performed individually, they were also teachers in singing. They even chose to specialize in the same musical instrument: the organ. Bach lead his congregation in the singing of cantatas on Sundays o r the Passions on high holidays at St. Thomas's church at Leipzig much in the same way as Handel conducted his operas and his oratorios (Bekker, 1927).Bach’s music can be termed as intensive melodies whereas Handel’s music can be termed extensive melodies. Bach uses very dense contrapuntal texture with complex and chromatic harmonies. On the other hand Handel uses a simple template for his expressions and hence his work is meant for instant sensuous appreciation. The extensive quality of Handel's melodies allows his music to be amplified whereas this is not possible in the case of Bach's music. Amplification would destroy the transparency of the contrapuntal process. The vocal component of Bach’s music is very difficult to perform.There are disjunct movements and awkward intervals. There is no overlapping between the instrumental and vocal lines. In fact, the free-voiced choral polyphony of Handel and the strictly linear, instrumentally conceived polyphony of Ba ch form the two poles of late Baroque music (Bekker, 1927). Handel considers the flow of ideas more important than elaboration whereas to Bach, elaboration is more important. The fast changing textures in his choral writing clearly indicate that for Handel, counterpoint is only a means to a dramatic end (Krantz, 2007). On the contrary, Bach takes it as an end in itself which must be consistent.By nature of its conception, Handel’s counterpoint reaches its apex through the vocal medium. Handel’s work depends so much on the vocal component so much so even his keyboard fugues seem to call for text and become most excellent in vocal form. This accounts for the success of Handel in vocal music (Krantz, 2007). Bach is more adept at the instrumental form. Bach prefers to submit his choral polyphony to an instrumental standard. To quote Tevfik Dorak: â€Å"In the flexibility of his choral idiom, Handel surpasses Bach in the same measure as Bach surpasses Handel in contrapunta l consistency† (Dorak, 2002).One of the major differences between them lay in their individual conception of tone. A person who conceives tone vocally will also feel instrumental music as vocal, and the person who conceives tone instrumentally will also feel vocal music as instrumental. Some comparative features among the two great masters are as follows (Dorak, 2002):Bach conceived tone instrumentally and Handel vocally.Bach focused a lot on spiritual music and created profoundly religious cantatas, passions and masses. Handel treated even religious theme based oratorios such as the â€Å"Messiah† with a theatrical effect. This was more popular to the middle class audience.The vocal component of his music was used essentially as a melodic instrument with the most intricate demands of counterpoint expected of it. Handel's writing for the voice is completely idiomatic and the freer contrapuntal textures are more vocally conceived and are contrasted with powerful choral w riting.Handel demonstrates the Italian conservatism in his music and uses very simplified form. Bach is conservative in his adherence to the complex polyphonic texture, but progressive in his choice of modern forms, such as the concerto form of Vivaldi. Similarly, the organ style of Handel is clearly influenced by the idiom of the harpsichord as the opposite is true for Bach.Bach is related to the immediate future in his attitude because of modern day focus on instrumental music, while Handel is related to the past. On the other hand the melodic, homophonic figured bass chosen by Handel is more relevant to modern music than Bach's contrapuntal style. Thus both these composers are in some ways relevant to the past and in some other ways relevant to the future. The two great masters of the Baroque period were not beyond criticism.Bach was criticized because he was too intellectual and, paradoxically, because an excess of reason conflicted with the aesthetic precepts of the Age of Reas on. Handel was criticized for exceeding the conventional in the extras which he introduced into his orchestration to underline his dramatic appreciation of scene and situation. Whatever be the criticisms, it remains undeniable that these two masters of Baroque were outstanding in their natural talent. Though they belonged to the same place and same period and produced musical works of similar genre, they differed in their styles of expression.This difference actually was a major asset to these great masters who remained true to their inner beliefs. The honesty of expression combined with their outstanding talents has helped define baroque music.BibliographyDorak, Tevfik (2002). Handel and JS Bach. http://www. dorak. info/music/jsbgfh. htmlBukofzer MF. Music in the Baroque Era. WW Norton & Company Inc. NY, 1974, pp. 345-9.Krantz, Allen (2007). George Frideric Handel. http://www. classicalarchives. com/bios/handel_bio. html Landormy, Paul and Martens, H. Frederick (1927).A History of Music. Charles Scribner's Sons. New York. 1927. The Columbia Encyclopedia (2004a).Bach, Johann Sebastian. Sixth Edition. Columbia University Press. New York. 2004 The Columbia Encyclopedia (2004b).Handel, George Frideric. Sixth Edition. Columbia University Press. New York. 2004. Young, M. Percy. (1962).The Choral Tradition: An historical and analytical survey from the sixteenth century to the present day. W. W. Norton Publishing. New York 1962. Bekker, Paul (1927).The Story of Music: An Historical Sketch of the Changes in Musical Form. Translated by Alice Kortschak and Herter Norton. W. W. Norton and Company Inc. New York. 1927.

Constructivism in Learning and Teaching

Constructivism in Learning and Teaching Constructivism is a system of learning where the students do not just passively absorb information. Educational experts were concerned with what was going on in the mind of the student. There is active participation from the students. They are taught to relate the knowledge they are being given by the teachers and relating it to their experiences in life.Advertising We will write a custom article sample on Constructivism in Learning and Teaching specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This approach in education is important as it teaches the students to be critical thinkers. They become active and motivated in the classroom. Students learn to construct their own understanding of the learning material or literature. The students become autonomous and independent thinkers. With this approach in learning the students learn to engage more in problem solving and stop being passive. The skill of problem-solving is important and even assists the st udent in his adult life. It is a skill for life and that is what education should be. The student develops in his mental processes. It is a process of discovery for the student as he experiments with ideas at problem solving and getting solutions for the issues in his environment. The theory of constructivism learning is based on several concepts. Learning for the student will depend on what he or she already knows or has experienced. In the area of literature, students are motivated to relate the story or characters to what they already know or what they have experienced. Secondly, learning should be about the students inventing ideas concerning the learning materials. It may involve students analysing their old ideas in light of the learning materials and changing their old news to conform to what they are learning. When a student encounters information that is contrary to their way of thinking, then he finds himself at a state of disequilibrium. The student therefore has to chang e or alter his way of thinking in order to attain equilibrium. The whole process therefore is about inventing ideas instead of the student just accumulating facts and information. It is therefore a student centred class where the teachers facilitate the process of students hypothesize, predict, pose questions, research and invent (Collins, 2008). Students look at the world under the influence of their experiences and social interactions. Whenever a new experience is encountered the student tends to analyse the old experiences and the new experience. The student therefore tends to really consider prior experiences. If this is the way that people behave, then the educational approach in the classroom should take advantage and use an approach that helps the student enjoy learning.Advertising Looking for article on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The teacher therefore is a facilitator who has to know the inter actions between the students and their external environments. The student is shown which interactions with his environment will provide an opportunity for growth and is actually healthy (Huang, 2002) The teacher in the constructivist classroom has to possess certain qualities. He should be highly flexible and creative as he interacts with the students. The teacher is trained on how different students use their own experiences, prior knowledge and experience to construct meaning. When it comes to literature, there can be no single interpretation of a piece of reading. There are several and different interpretations and all of them may be correct. The teacher’s interpretation is not always the only correct way of perception. At the end of the day, it is a highly democratic environment where the students and teachers are able to interact and participate in the learning process. References Collins, R. (2008). Enhanced Student Learning Through Applied Constructivist Theory. Transf ormative Dialogues: Teaching Learning Journal, 2(2). Web. Huang, H. (2002) Toward constructivism for adult learners in Online learning environments. British Journal of Educational Technology.,33 (1)27-37. Web.

Definition and Examples of Enumeratio in Rhetoric

Definition and Examples of Enumeratio in Rhetoric Enumeratio  is a  rhetorical term for the listing of details- a type of amplification and division. Also called enumeration  or  dinumeratio. In A History of Renaissance Rhetoric 1380-1620 (2011), Peter Mack defines enumeratio as a form of argumentation, in which all the possibilities are set out and all but one are eliminated. In classical rhetoric, enumeratio was considered part of the arrangement (dispositio) of a speech and was often included in the peroration (or closing part of an argument). Etymology From the Latin, counting up Examples and Observations Enumeratio in Speeches[W]hen we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of Gods children, black men, and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!Enumeratio and Division[E]numeratio . . . partitions a subject into its adjuncts or features. If numbering of the parts is added to the division, labeling a first, second, and third item in a series, the figure is eutrepismus (Joseph 1947, 11-114). Division as an argumentative strategy . . . can be stretched across paragraphs or pages, but to be stylistically visible or figured, any of these divisions must produce either a list of words or phrases in a single sentence constituent or contiguous predictions in a short stretch of text.Enumeratio in an Essay by Jonathan Swift[A]mong such as deal in multitudes of words, none are comparable to the sober deliberate talker, who proceedeth with much thought and caution, maketh his preface, brancheth out into several digressions, findeth a hint that putteth him in mind of another story, which he promiseth to tell you when this is done; cometh back regularly to his subject, cannot readily call to mind some persons name, holding his head, complaineth of his memory; the whole company all this while in suspense; at length says, it is no matter, and so goes on. And, to crown the business, it perhaps proveth at last a story the company hath heard fifty times before; or, at best, some insipid adventure of the relater. Negative EnumerationHe believed he was a newspaper reporter, yet read no paper except The Mockingburg Record, and so managed to ignore terrorism, climatological change, collapsing governments, chemical spills, plagues, recession and failing banks, floating debris, the disintegrating ozone layer. Volcanoes, earthquakes and hurricanes, religious frauds, defective vehicles and scientific charlatans, mass murderers and serial killers, tidal waves of cancer, AIDS, deforestation, and exploding aircraft were as remote to him as braid catches, canions and rosette-embroidered garters. Scientific journals spewed reports of mutant viruses, of machines pumping life through the near-dead, of the discovery that the galaxies were streaming apocalyptically toward an invisible Great Attractor like flies into a vacuum cleaner nozzle. That was the stuff of others lives. He was waiting for his to begin. Pronunciation e-nu-me-RA-ti-o Sources Martin Luther King, Jr.,  I Have a Dream,  August 1963Jeanne Fahnestock,  Rhetorical Figures in Science. Oxford University Press, 1999Jonathan Swift,  Hints Toward an Essay on Conversation,  1713E. Annie Proulx,  The Shipping News. Simon Schuster, 1993)

Author Stephen Ambrose- Writing Style and Criticisms Research Paper

Author Stephen Ambrose- Writing Style and Criticisms - Research Paper Example The world cherishes his memories for the legacies he made in establishing the Eisenhower Center for American Studies at the University of New Orleans and as the founder of the National D-Day Museum, during the year 2000. Rather than spending time in libraries for his research, sifting through the pages of books, his style is to visit the historical places he writes about. His writing mainly contains the saga of war, narrating the stories of ordinary soldiers, which provides the present generation a clear understanding about the history of the times in the past. Career: The well renowned American historian, Stephen Edward Ambrose, was not introduced to the history department since the days of his childhood. Most people turn out to find their true passion only later in their lives. Ambrose realized his passion for history only when he attended his â€Å"first college-level class in American history† (Ambrose par. 1). His father worked as a town doctor before joining the navy dur ing the Second World War. Inspired and encouraged by his father’s heroism, Ambrose wanted to be a doctor just like him. Therefore, he enrolled in the University of Wisconsin as a pre-med student. But the history class awakened the dormant passion inside him and brought a complete change in his life and goals. He was keen on retelling the tales of American heroes who had so courageously fought for their country. After getting a doctorate in history, he started his teaching career in the University of New Orleans. He has been the author of around thirty books and has also edited a few books. He remained a teacher for thirty years and believed that â€Å"teaching and writing were two sides of the same coin† (Ambrose). In 1962, he made a breakthrough with his second book â€Å"Halleck, Lincoln’s Chief of Staff† which caught the attention of Dwight Eisenhower. The former president sanctioned Ambrose to his official biographer. He founded the National WWII Muse um, which â€Å"reflected his deep regard† for the soldiers and â€Å"workers on the Home Front† for their valiant act of enduring anguish till they emerged victorious (Ambrose). Along with this, he was also the founder of Eisenhower Center in New Orleans. Academic Positions: Throughout his thirty years of teaching, Ambrose has taught at various institutions other than University of New Orleans, which includes Louisiana State University, Johns Hopkins University, U.C Berkeley, Rutgers University and a few European schools as well. Ambrose was the Boyd professor of history in the University of New Orleans and after he retired from this position, he became Director Emeritus of the Eisenhower Center. He also contributed a lot being an â€Å"editor for the Quarterly Journal of Military History, a member of the board of directors for American Rivers, and a member of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Council Board† (Ambrose). Much as Ambrose was an author and a teacher , he was also a captivating speaker. He could speak to the audience in ways that kept them awe-inspiring notes. His knowledge of the past gave him an insight into the future, which he shared with everyone during

Antonio Gaudi Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Antonio Gaudi - Research Paper Example Using modern decorative tools of ceramics, glass and color of the Art Nouveau school, he introduced innovative techniques in the processing of materials. By the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth century, Gaudi had secured his place as an architect beyond orthodox modernism, creating a personal style based on the observation of nature, using its geometric patterns as well as color, texture and structural and decorative allusions to emulate nature in architecture. Now, nearly one hundred and sixty years after his birth, and over seventy since his tragic death in a street accident, Gaudi has finally transcended his local fame as a Spanish icon and become internationally recognized as the prime architect of the modern city of Barcelona. His famed Sagrada Familia, a cathedral of enormous architectural and landmark proportions, is recognized not only as a design phenomenon of universal importance, but as a major contribution to modern ideas regarding religious architectu ral representation. While Gaudi’s work was initially met with incomprehension, mockery and outright hostility from both the professional architectural world and the populace of Barcelona, the passing of time and further scrutiny has been kinder. His work now is considered the prime example of nature combined with architecture in its purest, most original and spectacular forms. Evidence of this is replete in his major works. A Dedication to Natural Form Religiously dedicated to the extreme from childhood, plagued by rheumatic ailments from an early age, Gaudi, unable to play with other children, spent time observing the world around him and drawing what he saw. It was during this time that he developed his keen observation of the elements in nature destined to later influence his architectural designs. Somewhat of a mathematical genius, throughout his life Gaudi also studied nature's angles and curves and incorporated them into his designs and mosaics. Hyperboloids and parabol oids he borrowed from nature were easily reinforced by steel rods, allowing his designs to resemble elements from the environment. In Gaudi’s view, â€Å"Those who look for the laws of Nature as a support for their new works collaborate with the Creator.†1 Given this, and his religious bent coupled with a childhood spent ill, isolated and contemplative in the country, it is not surprising that Gaudi’s design sense would reflect his intense interrelationship with God and nature. The elements found in Gaudi’s nature-inspired work--sometimes alluded to as biomimetic, are obvious to the informed structural observer: catenary arches, spiral stairways, conoid-shaped roofs, and a new type of tree-inspired column that uses hyperbolic paraboloids as its base. Ornamental aspects have their own identifiers: honeycomb gates, vine-inspired frieze, diatom-shaped windows, gargoyles depicting animals displaced by the church’s construction, and pinnacles in the for m of grasses and pyrite crystals. Gaudi’s dedication to nature is always reflected in his insistence upon color, â€Å"as nature does not present us with any object that is monochrome or completely uniform in colour.†2 Following in that vein, the artist went well beyond color in his quest for the incorporation and refection of natural elements. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Gaudi for his models

The Age Gap Between Baby Boomers and Today's Youth Essay

The Age Gap Between Baby Boomers and Today's Youth - Essay Example Every generation has its own cultural values, their views which are tuned to the period they belong to. Both of these generations have to face many difficulties and undergo a lot of problems. Our topic of study is the age gap between baby boomers and the millennial generation. Each generation has its own attributes. There is a wide age gap or generation gap and so the conflicts are likely to occur between these two generations. The likings, tastes, values and attitude towards life, everything differ from the youth. Both generations, for our overall progress, can adopt things from each other. Our research is based on the two of generations, the baby boomers and the millennial generation or generation Y. The study will focus on how a good rapport can be maintained between baby boomers and millennial generation which is very important for building a society with a fine amalgamation of old values and modern values. Introduction Before starting our discussion on the topic let’s discuss about the concept â€Å"Generation Gap.† As Gerhard Falk and Ursula Falk mentioned in their book â€Å"Youth Culture and Generation Gap,† â€Å"The change in values from one generation to the next is called â€Å"The Generation Gap.† (Pg. 23, 2005) They further say â€Å"this not only involves education, occupation, and preferences for lines of action, but also family size, status Vietnam of women.†... To find out the problems arise due to the age gap. Try to find out the solutions which can be useful for individual growth and the growth of the nation. Hypotheses: The baby boomers are more strict and rigid and they are reluctant to adopt new things easily. The condition of baby boomers and young generation differ from country to country. Baby boomers are more stabilized, secured whereas the young generation is more depressed and living in a very uncertain era. The baby boomers used to be closed minded whereas the young generation is very open minded. Young generation is more technosavy than the baby boomers. Generation gap hampers the work culture. Literature Review The consequences of age gap between baby boomers and young generation differ from country to country. It depends upon the then state of affairs of the country in which the baby boomers were born. For example, the baby boomers in America in their young age were living a prosperous life. It was because the after World War II America was the country which had to bear a minimum loss unlike the European nations. But still the baby boomers of European countries and America were in much better condition. â€Å"In Europe and North America, boomers are widely associated with privilege, as many grew up in a time of affluence. As a group, they were the healthiest and wealthiest generation and amongst the first to grow up genuinely expecting the world to improve with time.† (2009). Consequently, it became the most powerful and affluent country in the world and thus started ruling over the world. This was the period when the baby boomers were living a very affluent life. On the contrary the situation in third world countries was totally different. For example in India the baby boomers

The Portrayal Of Female Characters In Films

The Portrayal Of Female Characters In Films Films have long been used as a tool to portray human imaginations and ideas that are sometimes deemed impossible in reality. The characters in films have had a huge impact, with regard to gender stereotype, on audiences of all ages (Neuendorf et. al., 2010). Though there have been debates of how female characters are being portrayed in films, from being submissive to hyper-sexualised and lately, adopting more dominant roles in films, has there really been a change in male characters in films instead (Gilpatric, 2010)? Have male characters in films adopt female traits like how the female characters have adopted manly traits? This paper looks into how the portrayals of male characters in films have changed or are changing and how they affect gender construction. The feminist movement has constantly fought for womens right and equality so as to place women on equal standing to men in the society. This revolution has since been translated onto the silver screens as films depict women playing prominent and dominant roles in films (Gilpatric, 2010; Neundorf et. al., 2010) which is a stark contrast to the past when women played a submissive and subservient roles to the male character. Furthermore, films mirror the changing nature of our society, expecting men to behave in accordance to societal expectations deconstructing the male stereotype. Thus, the increasing trend in films shifting away from portraying men as having the traditional masculine trait, reconstructing it to more what termed today as the New Age Men (NAM) has been a result of the increasing prominence and dominance of females in films and the evolving nature of the society. The NAM is thus seen as a fusion of having both the traditional traits of males and females, embracing both masculine and feminine traits. Here, masculinity is defined as having the size, physical strength, rejection to authority and the use of physical force (Eschholz and Bufkin, 2001). Along with those masculine traits, the NAM are also expected to have traits like caring and being able to handle housework. The birth of the NAM has been heavily attributed to the rise of females in films and the changing nature of the society. Men today feel there is a need to differentiate themselves from females in films to assert their dominance in the industry and to reintegrate into the society, deconstructing the male stereotype. Female Characters in Films Today. Male characters in films are moving away from having masculine traits due to the rise of female prominence and dominance in the roles they play by adopting those masculine traits. Female characters like Lara Croft and Kill Bill highlights the point that traits like submissive and subservient are no longer being associated with female character. The casting of the Bond girl character is as equally important, receiving just as much attention as the casting of James Bond himself, and though a Bond film may lack the innovative gadget, never has there been a Bond film without a Bond girl (Neuendorf et. al., 2010). This accentuates that the womens roles are equally important to the Bond character. Men, who relate closely to Bond who usually portray masculine traits, view this as a challenge to their masculinity as the Bond character is dependent on the female character. The lack of innovative gadgets also portrays a crisis in masculinity since men regard these technologies as macho (Neuend orf et. al., 2010). This is further amplified with female characters playing main characters in films being created with complex and enthralling personalities relative to male characters who are rather one-dimensional and are of minor interest (Russell-Watts, 2010). Women are also selected to play roles previously played and deemed suitable for men. Though Lara Croft and Kill Bill props to mind, the Hamlet by William Shakespeare is another example. Despite Hamlet being a male character, women have been manifesting their interest to play the role and there has been an increasing trend of women getting selected to personify Hamlet (Howard, 2007). Moreover, the Hamlet is known to be involved in violence as portrayed by the character Alexandra Tranda, who parallels the happenings of Hamlet to the events occuring in her life and ends up killing her father (Howard, 2007). Violence is defined as any intentional infliction of physical pain or harm (Eschholz and Bufkin, 2001) and has a positive correlation to masculinity (Eschholz and Bufkin, 2001; Neuendorf et. al., 2010; Gilpatric, 2010) thus proving an increase in violence equates to in an increase in masculinity. Men feel the idea of a women hamlet as unhealthy and feel ashamed for a woman to take th e Hamlet role (Howard, 2007). This is an indication to men that women are challenging their masculinity and dominance in the film industry especially in roles crafted for men. The rise of females in films adopting a more masculine nature and playing characters deemed more suited for men resulted men to feel challenged in their masculinity and has since led to a crisis in it. Men feel there is a need to differentiate themselves from the female characters and assert their masculinity and dominance within the society, re-constructing the gender stereotype to create the NAM. The Dynamic Nature of the Society. Films impact audiences (Gilpatric, 2010) and may portray a reflection of the society. The dynamic nature of the society portrayed through films has been a contributing factor to the deconstruction of the male gender stereotype to form the NAM. Relative to the past, women today are generally more educated, enabling them to take up jobs also held by men (Buchbinder, 2008). Accelerated by the feminist movement, women today are equally as likely as men to be casted to play professional roles and jobs like doctors and lawyers (Gilpatric, 2010). There is an increase of female characters holding major roles from 12% in 1960 to 32% in 1990 (Neuendorf et. al., 2010) and female characters in films can be a true representation of their position in the society as 51% US workers who hold high-paying management and professional jobs are women (Gilpatric, 2010). Similarly, most young man today expects to go through at least three major career changes in his life (Buchbinder, 2008). Also, improvemen ts in the economy have enabled both women and men to spend on luxury items. Narcissistic concern with ones look and body, traditionally marked as feminine are being linked to men, making it harder to comply with the traditional masculinity trait of a man (Buchbinder, 2008). There has also been a shift in the portrayal of men in films today. In the past, men have always adopted the central figure but roles recently played by men and women in films have been blurred as the gap between masculinity and feminity. According to Breillat, There is no masculine psychology in my cinema. They contain only what women feel and desire. Therefore, men must not try to recognise themselves in my male characters (Russell-Watts, 2010, p. 72). This shows that men play secondary roles to women in todays films restricting them to relate to the traditional male masculinity. Moreover, men are also increasingly portrayed in films as the figure of the schlemiel. Schlemiel is a Yiddish word which means a foolish personà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦a social misfit (Buchbinder, 2008, p. 228) and is unable to meet the performance and attitudinal requirements of traditional masculinity (Buchbinder, 2008, p. 230). For instance, Bond girls have been known to play independent and intelligent roles eve n outwitting Bond himself in the latest Bond movie. Despite Bond films representing Bond as having a chauvinistic persona (Neuendorf et. al., 2010), this places Bond in the Schlemiel category of a foolish character causing men to view this as a crisis to their masculinity. These factors when combined has resulted men to lose its masculine traits and restricted them to conform to the traditional masculine traits deconstructing the traditional male stereotype and reconstruct the NAM to help them assimilate back into society and be of an equal standing or higher to the women. Stereotypes Still Prevails. Some might argue that despite the rising prominence and dominance of women, the subservient and submissive nature of womens portrayal still prevail while mens masculinity are still confined to the traditional stereotype. Women in films are still regarded as subservient and submissive as the dominance exerted is based on a maternal motif, creating a stereotype of mothers or wives to save her child or loved ones (Gilpatric, 2010). Moreover, the societal movement of feminism is lacking, as women in films today still report to a more dominant male character (Neuendorf et. al., 2010), acting as a sidekick to a male character and getting involved in a romantic relationship with them (Gilpatric, 2010). Male characters though may have less masculine traits as portrayed by Robert in the movie Romance, his masculinity is emphasised through his occupation, being the boss of the main female character (Russell-Watts, 2010). This proves that despite being portrayed as dominant character in films t oday, women still conform to the gender stereotype of the traditional feminine traits of reporting to a more dominant male character. Some may argue also that films may not be a true reflection of society hence the portrayal of men as less masculine are not true. Films portray women as successful only when they are thin and attractive (Neuendorf et. al., 2010) when in fact, success is judged based on merit and not only looks. Building on, by showcasing one man as less masculine in the form of the schlemiel figure, subtly it provides a foil for other male characters to stand out, bringing out the masculine traits in the other male characters, (Buchbinder, 2008) indicating that male characters in movies still conform to the male gender stereotype of masculinity. New Age Man is the New Man. Despite the portrayal of women as subservient and submissive, women are still just as likely as men to commit violent acts in films. Presently, women are more likely to show acts of aggression (Neundorf et. al., 2010) and masculinity levels in male and females have increased (Eschholz and Bufkin, 2001). Though many may argue that the feminist movement may not have reached its promised desire, it cannot be regarded as a failure. Womens role in movies has since increased transcending the traditional feminine traits (Gilpatric, 2010). No longer women are being portrayed as one-dimensional who plays stereotypical female characters. Moreover, men today are unlikely to conform to the traditional form of masculinity although they may still hold superiority over the female characters as masculinity portrayed by men in films today is excessive in nature and something that men cannot relate to. The rugged masculinity shown through characters played by Mel Gibson, Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger is being described as a fantasy (Eschholz and Bufkin, 2001). Men feels there is a need to form a new identity something that they can relate to and has slowly since give rise to the birth of the NAM. Though portraying men as less masculine or as the schlemiel figure helps to bring out the masculinity in other male characters (Buchbinder, 2008), this very need has proved that there is a decreasing trend in films, which showcase men as masculine. Conclusion. Films have evolved tremendously down the years and will continue to do so at such rapid rate. As womens roles in films continue to rise and take centre stage, male characters in films have since taken steps in the opposite direction, adopting lesser of the traditional masculine traits but instead adopt more feminine traits. This has not being helped by the changing nature of the society where women continue to rise in status at workplaces challenging men for jobs. The birth of the NAM has been heavily attributed to the rising dominance and prominence of female characters in films and also the changing nature of the society. As the world become more globalized, womens status in society is also expected to improve and NAM may well form a new stereotype for men in times to come. (1996 Words)