Harry Potter and Culture Industry Essay

Harry Potter – this name is familiar with all the age groups in the world today and the reason behind it is well known to all of us. The Harry Potter book series written by a single mother J. K. Rowling, who wouldn’t have imagined in her wildest dreams that a story she thought of while travelling in a train, would gain so much popularity. So much so that her character and her name would become a household name across the globe! J. K. Rowling Harry Potter books came into the market in 1998. The first part called Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone gained a lot of popularity with the kids and slowly with the adults too. Due to its huge success it was converted into a motion picture as well and so the first movie when on to release in the year 2001. Subsequently the other parts (books) were out in the market and the movies started releasing as well. Of course it was after the stupendous success of the initial books that J. K. Rowling was encouraged to write on the further parts. So what is it in Harry Potter that attracts so much attention? Or what is it that makes people want to read a 600-700 pages long book again and again. This isn’t just a single book we are talking about, but every book in the series is read all over again by people repeatedly. These books tell us the story of an orphan, Harry who lives with his aunt Petunia and uncle Vernon, and not to forget his huge sized cousin Dudely with a nut sized brain. He leads a miserable life until the he turns 11, when he realizes that he is actually a wizard. He is admitted to the Horgwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. So follows his journey of magical experiences. Very unique but impressionable characters are introduced in the book in Rowling’s own style. The books detailing his experiences at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry have bred passion, obsession, creativity, and a new or renewed interest in reading throughout the world. JK Rowling has created an elaborate cast of characters and an environment for them to inhabit that appeals to adults and children alike. The fantasy aspect of the wizarding world expands the imagination, and transports the mind to new and exciting places; introducing magic opens new realms of possibilities within the plots. Anything could happen. Her intricate stories contain strands of the believable and unbelievable, altering the predictability that readers commonly encounter and endure in fiction. Harry Potter Movie Poster These factors contributed to the â€Å"Harry Potter Phenomena† which actually swept across the world as soon as the movie series became huge hits! Young children started identifying with Harry’s shy but brave character. The terrifying Lord Voldemort and how he is after Harry’s life, after having murdered his parents when Harry was a baby. The innocence of school life along with the mixture of magic, hit children’s minds like the Magic Bullet Theory, wherein, the information seen by audiences hits their minds like bullets and penetrates within. At the same time, the themes driving the stories resonate with classic literature, offering mature readers tales that wear like a comfortable pair of shoes, while introducing younger readers to concepts they will encounter throughout their lives. The main theme of the series is the subject of many theories, including, but not limited to: good versus evil, prejudice, love, death, sacrifice, friendship and loyalty. In actuality, all of these elements contribute to the timeless nature of the stories. As and when the books started getting really famous with a specific target audience, the first big leap that was taken to expand the entire Harry Potter concept were the movies. When the movies were made they went on to click with the younger as well as the older audiences. One part after the other, the movies became darker slowly loosing the initial happy and bright appearance. They now started seeming more â€Å"real† and â€Å"practical†. There was a feel of â€Å"there is more to Harry Potter† than what you expect. The covers of all books started having two versions, one which was bright and the other dark and mysterious so that the books would appeal to adults as well. Slowly there was Harry Potter everywhere! There was Culture Industry starting to take place because of the entire Harry Potter concept. By Culture Industry we mean that suddenly a particular thing which is extremely popular is produced in front of us in many different ways. It is â€Å"claimed† by the respective producers that their product is unique and adds more to a particular franchise. This concept focuses on media and marketing. Max Horkheimer and Theodor W. Adorno define the Culture Industry through its focus on the media and mass marketing. This industry is unique in that it does not reflect economic processes and essentially becomes homogenous; thus, variation is meaningless. The Culture Industry is characterized by three specific ideas: Monopoly, Mass Production, and Technology. So there is lesser control over production of certain products and lesser control in the market. Hence when a certain product is newly launched in the market, people rush to purchase it and explore that particular product. So what happens when the novelty of that product wears off? Simple, another product is launched in the market and promoted on its â€Å"unique† properties. But the actual catch here is that every product is almost similar to one another, but it is sold as being different from the previous one. Hence people are urged to buy them. This also gives them another product in place of the previous one. This is termed as â€Å"Pseudo Singularity† rightly meaning false singularity. This is how the culture industry also called as Mass Industry works. When Culture Industry meets something like Harry Potter, what is created is a huge successful mass industry which becomes immensely lucrative and popular. Also when the subject is like Harry, who mainly appeals to people due to his emotional appeal, his belief in friendship, love and braveness. These are the factors on which various products apart from movies like merchandise are publicized to people. There are Harry Potter theme based amusement parks, the costumes, competitions to test your HP knowledge, digital games and websites like Pottermore where you actually live Harry’s life. You are sorted into different houses just like in the book and you face different adventures like Harry. There are things taken from the book which will entertain and amuse people. Like the broom used to play the game Quidditch again an imaginary concept of a game like football but you are actually flying on broomsticks. Harry Potter wands, cards, hats, glasses and the famous scar which Harry have all became commodities and we are expected to purchase them. The main objective here is to make people feel like Harry himself. Examples of various Harry Potter Merchandise So even if J. K. Rowling has completed her set of books, producers still want to reap the profits from this subject. Hence, even after she officially completed her books, due to tremendous response and popular demand she wrote another book where people know what happens after Harry defeats Lord Voldemort and finishes his studies from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. So much is the popularity of Harry Potter. Not only Harry, but other main characters like Hermoine and Ron (Harry’s best friends), Professor Dumbledore, Hagrid, Sirius Black etc have gained a connect with the audiences. There is a feeling generated that â€Å"my best friend to needs to be like Ron† or â€Å"I wish I could study magic†. This feeling of longingness is usurped but the producers to contribute more to the culture industry! These feelings are then used by the people to generate more and more profits, hence trips to the castle where Harry Potter was shot are arranged. Though a particular location is not used continuously in the movies, they keep changing, but so much is the craze that people travel all the way to Scotland just to see where their Hero spent this school days. All in all a different culture itself is created and we don’t realize it. Such is the nature culture industry and it prevails n today’s world to a much greater extent. The main feeling of Love always triumphs over the evil makes Harry Potter what it is. I would like to end my putting in a famous citation in the book- It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities. J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, 1999, spoken by the character Albus Dumbledore This is one of the most famous quotes from the series and rightly, it is our choices that make us who we are. People chose to love Harry Potter even though the entire concept being imaginary because it has appealed to their hearts. It is this emotional factor which makes us give in to the ‘market and producers’ but in the end, they are our choices, aren’t they?

Feature writing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Feature writing - Essay Example The feature by Emily Yoffe on her experience in a nudists’ camp is a captivating, descriptive, reflective and a colourful article that utilises a myriad of stylistic devices. The introduction sets the stage for the narration by giving a clear background of the content of the article (Armada 2013). A powerful analysis by the author at the beginning of the article clearly makes the reader to get aroused to reading the entire article (Pape and Featherstone 2006, p 1). She presents the entire situation briefly using very concise sentences and very clear articulation. She gives details of she came to learn about the Hidden Bush camp through a member of the camp called Dick. This helps the readers to connect with the situation and understand the reason why the author get to be exposed to such an experience. The introduction has been added more value with good sentence construction, use of vocabularies and stylistic devices. While talking with Dick she refers her talk as â€Å"chitc hat† to demonstrate that her attention was fully lost when she saw her nudity in Dick’s sunglasses. Symbolism has been used in the narration to depict the situation of nudism. Yoffe opens the article invoking the thought of the reader by colouring it with many symbols. The use of the word â€Å"Hidden Bush† to refer to the nude camp has a deeper meaning. The name is very descriptive. This place is not only a hidden place but it seems to be in the wild, the place itself is wild, meaning human habitation is limited. Another symbol is the name of the person who the author talk to,â€Å"Dick†. In its real terms, dick is a word that expresses a lot of nudity since it is a synonym to penis, male genitalia. The use of the name also expresses the disregard for shame that comes from nudity, the fact the author mentions it publicly to her readers demonstrates that it is viewed as a normal thing to strip before everyone else in the camp. The reflection of her nudity in Dick’s sunglasses is also symbolic of the situation at Hidden bush (Yoffe 2010, p 1 ). All these symbols add extra meaning to the passage hence making it readable and interesting. The author’s reflections are amazing. She tells of an event that took place some times back as if it had happened the day before. She precisely remembers what happened at every particular moment without fails. While at the cafe for dinner she remembers the debate, she had with herself concerning whether to use the napkin to cover her nudity or not, to her amusement nobody seemed to care about eating while nude. Such reflections promote the understanding of the story, helping the reader to focus and relate with the personal experience that is narrated by the author (Strunk and White 2000). Such reflective thoughts prompt her to get deeper into imaginations. At some point, she is imagining if Isaac Newton were a member of Hidden Bush, â€Å"he would not have needed a falling apple to help h im arrive at the theory of gravity".(Yoffe 2010, p 3 ). This comical and imaginary statement expresses the deep understanding and the keen interest the author had concerning the whole aspect of nudity. The article is very descriptive in all manners, through words and the picture. The graphic representation of the occurrence in the first page of the article demonstrates

Majority Rule and Minority Rights in American Government Essay

Majority Rule and Minority Rights in American Government - Essay Example 3). Indeed, there are several places in the Constitution where suspicion of unchecked majority power is evident - from the Bill of Rights to the structure of the Senate to the Electoral College. To be sure, some historical events that ran relatively concurrent with the birth of the United States, primarily the French Revolution and its associated "Reign of Terror," provided ample illustration of the potential for majority rule to degenerate into mob rule. Majority rule means a system of government in which the will of the majority if given full force and effect within the laws and regulations of the country. It is, essentially, a pure democracy. Minority rights are those liberties and privileges that naturally accrue toward those who do not necessarily agree with the will of the majority. The latter rights have been associated with the concepts of natural law and human rights, whereby those in the minority deserve to be treated with a certain minimum level of dignity and respect simply because they are humans and citizens of the country that acknowledges and respects those natural rights. In his seminal work On Liberty, John Stuart Mill lays his doctrine of the right of individuals to act in any way they choose so long as it does not interfere with the freedom of others. This notion of liberty is essential to minority rights in a democracy. Democracy in the United States In many ways, the United States Constitution does not really set up a majority rule system - that is, it is not a true democracy. A close evaluation of the various branches of government reveals that the only body that is designed to be truly responsive to the will of the majority is the House of Representatives, established under Article 1 of the Constitution. The President is not even directly elected by the people under Article 2 of the Constitution; the Senate's lengthy six year terms arguably insulate its members from the whim of the majority (Article 1); and members of the Supreme Court, where the buck truly stops on how Americans are governed, are appointed for life by this President and Senate that are buffered from the will of the majority (Article 3). Moreover, the Constitution established a federal system in which the states retain substantial sovereignty in nearly all matters of government, greatly limiting the extent to which the central government of the U.S. has the power to impose the will of the national majority. The 10th Amendment states that all powers not specifically enumerated within the Constitution as belonging to the federal government are reserved to the states. Thus, it is necessary that some specific provision of the Constitution grants authority to the federal government in order for it to legally regulate any given area. In that vein, the commerce clause, granting to the federal government the power to regulate interstate commerce, has often been heavily relied upon to justify laws enacted by Congress. This has come to the great chagrin of many strict constructionists, who have protested the Supreme Court's invoking of the commerce clause to uphold the legality of many federal laws that have had a connection t o interstate commerce that is tenuous at best. The effects of these severe

Assess the effect of the French Revolution on the nature of the state Essay

Assess the effect of the French Revolution on the nature of the state and on relations between states - Essay Example The significance of the French Revolution became one that was used to redefine the national relationships that were a part of France. Redefining the French Revolution The French Revolution was caused by a series of events in the political realm that led to revolts and the desire for change. Each of these caused the general public to react with the belief that change needed to occur within France and that the national politics were only offering injustice to those that were within the region. There were several turning points described throughout the revolution, including the Fall of Bastille, massacre at Champ de Mars, fall of the monarchy and the rise of Napoleon. Each of these led to different proclamations and a sense of change that was associated with the revolution. These different components led to a sense of defining one’s position in France as well as how this was associated with those that were loyal to the government as opposed to individuals who held a position that led to revolt (Hunt, 53: 2004). The outcomes and divisions created from the French Revolution began with the precursors that were associated with this time in history. The main component was the political restructuring that was used so collective action could be taken during the revolution. Political structures were able to provide more dynamic opportunities during the revolution and defined the voices that were associated with the social movement. The most important concept with the structures were based on the policies that were divided, specifically which led to a change in relationships because of the division. Policy specific concepts were combined with state variations used during the revolution. This also formed with the policies causing the divisions among groups that were involved in the revolution. As the groups formed in favor or against the policies, it changed the nature of the state and created a different relationship with the overall political dynamics of France. Th is led to large scale structures that eventually changed the nature of France from the nature of the state and groups involved (Mcadam, McCarthy, Zald, 42: 1996). Defining the Nature of States There were several policies that became the central component of defining the nature of states. As groups began to look through policies and form a change in the states from societal status, were also noted areas of corruption that were pointed out. The main component was the division between those loyal to the French government and those opposed to the actions taken. The policies in place were defined by the monarchs and statesmen of the 17th century who had established a specific set of legalities for actions taken. This was based on the fiscal system and economic mediums that were used. The divisions over how the economics should work were divided by the groups of clergy, nobles and commons, all which debated as estates who were interested in the fiscal policies and justice system of France . These three groups then led to creating independent from the current fiscal system through the component of justice. The group divisions led to the creation of states and a different nature of how the economic concepts should work within France (Burke, 11:2000). The driving force behind the division not only led to a change with fiscal policy. The French Revolution also led to divisions by groups who were outside of the three main estates.

Compensation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Compensation - Essay Example These wages are augmented by bonuses that are commensurate with the contributions the employee makes to specific projects or even their own entrepreneurial developments (â€Å"Facebook beats google†, 2012). The best fit and best practice approaches constitute different perspectives. The best fit approaches argues that compensation pay should be aligned with the organization’s strategy and values. The challenge these becomes finding the ‘best-fit’ between the strategic approach and compensation. These practices are contrasted with ‘best practice’ approach that argue there need not be a best fit between strategy and approach, but instead a universal approach to compensation in the organization. A customer service-agent that manages issues that arise between buyers and sellers at the online marketplace Half.com. These management practices occur over the telephone and through e-mail. Notably, there are over 2,000 emails a day to sort through. It is indicated that this information does not become tedious as the emails are of constantly different varieties. In terms of further information needed, it is necessary to consider what occurs when the issue cannot be resolved, as well as the extent that the employee is under pressure from Half.com to determine a best fit solution. 5. The compensable factors in paying my boss more than me are that he has a higher knowledge set and deeper managerial experience. This increases his organizational value as he is able to oversee crucial aspects or operational difficulties. This is further understood in terms of organizational contributions. While it is possible for the lower tier workers to make tangible contributions to organizational value, compensation is on a best fit spectrum so that the higher the individual is on organizational spectrum, the higher their value is the organization. This results in the higher compensation

Physician Assisted Suicides Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Physician Assisted Suicides - Essay Example wal of the life-sustaining treatments or administering pain medication that will hasten death through impairing critical body organ functions such as respiration (Jeffrey 73). The recent efforts of legalizing physician-assisted suicide have triggered intense medical, legal and social debates on whether physicians must be granted the authority to assist patients to intentionally end their lives. Physicians have a professional responsibility of respecting the patient’s choice and thus assisted suicide will enable the patient’s escape the pain and suffering in case of terminal illnesses (Jeffrey 68). Furthermore, a well-regulated assisted suicide practice will eliminate the slippery slope and ensure proper decision-making in assisting the patients commit suicide. The paper is addressed to health care policy makers that are tasked with offering guidelines on physician-assisted suicides in different parts of the country on how standardized physician-assisted suicide will be beneficial to the health care sector. The paper will discuss the arguments that have been put forward for and against physician-assisted suicide. The paper will make a conclusion on why the federal government should consider legalizing and regulating the practice since it is beneficial for patients suffering from extreme suffering due to life-threatening illnesses. Thesis statement: the federal government should legalize physician-assisted suicide I believe the federal government should legalize physician-assisted suicide in order to eliminate the terminal pain and suffering experienced by patients suffering from acute diseases. Although many physicians claim that they have the professional responsibility of preserving life and enhancing health care even for the terminally ill patients, the physicians have the knowledge and skills to assess the hopelessness situations of some patients and thus should assist them in committing suicide rather than leaving the patient undergo unbearable suffering

Midterm - HIST Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Midterm - HIST - Essay Example The difference was seen on their idea on what was right for the citizens. One of the differences was on self-rule and determination. The conservative were of the idea that self-rule and determination were not suitable for Europe. The idea was that such ideas were responsible for chaos and constant wars in Europe. For example, they cited the revolutionary America and France. The conservative believed the ideas were to stop if untold suffering and bloodshed was to end. Moreover, the ideas were seen as affecting lower classes in which the conservatives believed they required nothing more than peace and stability. On the other hand, the liberals were of the idea that time was ripe for the establishment of national government. They believed the old order was responsible for suffering and inequality that was rampant in Europe, at the period. They were against the domination of various regions by a few group of rich and noble in the society. Therefore, they demanded representative governmen t. Secondly, there were differences based on the economic state of the region in the period. For example, the liberal idea was that there should be a free market in the region. As a result, they called for uncontrolled private enterprise and non-government interference in the economy. On the other hand, the conservatives were opposed to the idea. They believed that the government had to have a hand in the regulation of the market, as well as ownership of property. For example, they controlled the distribution of land. Third, there were significant political differences between the opposing sides. The differences occurred in terms of enjoyment of rights. The liberals spent most of their time fighting for rights. Moreover, the wanted a large portion of the middle class to be allowed to vote instead on concentrating it to few aristocratic individuals. This is because only those who owned property could vote at the period. Hence, only the noble who