Ideas Live Forever Essay Example for Free

Ideas Live Forever Essay The film â€Å"V for Vendetta† directed by James McTeigue and the story â€Å"V for Vendetta† written by Alan Moore, is about a shadowy freedom fighter known only as V who, along with his companion Evey Hammond, completes V’s vendetta of blowing up parliament and removing a repressive governments control on the people. In â€Å"V for Vendetta† V fights for an idea. The idea that V fights for compels him to take action and fight against a corrupt government without concern for his own safety. He does this because â€Å"ideas are bulletproof†. He may die and be stopped but the idea which he fought for cannot be silenced. What â€Å"V for Vendetta† has to teach us is that ideas are very powerful and live beyond the death of the one who envisions it. This is shown throughout the film by the use of costume, dialogue, and symbolism. The use of costume in â€Å"V for Vendetta† is clearly illustrated by the mask that V wears. V wears a mask that represents a man named Guy Fawkes. Guy Fawkes is one of several people that attempted to blow up the parliament building in England on November 5th. They were stopped but not before their message was heard. This event later became known as Black Powder Treason. The Guy Fawkes mask allows the people to see him not as an individual but as a metaphorical creature portraying the idea of hope. This is explained at the very start of the movie with this voiceover in the background. â€Å"We are told to remember the idea not the man, because a man can fail, he can be caught, he can be killed and forgotten, but 400 years later an idea can still change the world.† The idea in this quote represents the hope that the people of London seek for freedom, to be free from the government and to live a normal life. This teaches us that no single man would be able to take down the government as represented by â€Å"because a man can fail.† However in the case of V, he did not want to be known as a man, but to be associated to the hope and courage he gave to the people of London. He essentially lives as a messenger, a symbol of hope for the people of London. Apart from Evey, nobody knew him personally but everyone knew what he symbolized and what his motives were and why he was trying to take down the government. Even though V died just before the end of the movie, his idea will live on through the  generations. Even though V wore a mask throughout the entire novel and movie he was able to convey his emotions clearly with the use of his impressive dialogue. Dialogue is important in the film as it is the only way V is able to communicate as we cannot see any of his facial expressions. His wide range of vocabulary and convincing speeches that were broadcasted nationwide win the hearts of the people of London, making them re-think their current situation and how different life would be without the government dictating ev erything they can and cannot do. His quote â€Å"Words will always retain their power†Ã‚  illustrates to us how the media is an influential tool of social and political control. The biased media uses this to their advantage labeling V as a â€Å"psychotic terrorist† when he breaks into BTN (the television network). We can learn from this that some events that are put in the media are not the full truth of what is going on. We believe what the news presenters are saying on the television because they work for the government and the government should only report the real events from true stories. Instead BTN uses this to their advantage and edits news stories to reflect their point of view. The government uses the media to convey the message and to trick the community into thinking that life is so much better with the government in control. However during his speeches V gives the people of London hope and shows them just how much better life would be outside of the government’s control. Through these speeches V shows us how an idea of hope and a better future for everyone rises up against the brute force of the government and is the ultimate turning point in convincing the citizens to support him over the government. Symbolism is illustrated at the end of the film when the people of London remove their Guy Fawkes masks revealing the faces of some of the characters that died throughout the film. This example shows us that even though the characters were killed throughout the course of the film because they believed in V, they had someone to look up to and the characters spirit and their belief lived on. This belief and hope of a better future is all the people of London have to hold on to during the rough times they are being put through by their government. After V is shot multiple times by Creedy’s men he ironically says, â€Å"Beneath this mask there is more than flesh, there is an idea, and ideas are bulletproof.†   As no normal man could survive being shot, this further illustrates how V is more than an idea, he is that little voice in your head telling you what to do,  your conscience per say. This quote means that the flesh of a man can be killed; however an idea can never be killed and removed from society the same way. A famous document can be burned, or a famous structure such as the Old Baily can be destroyed but by no means of destruction can an idea ever burned or destroyed. V lives as a spokesperson, symbolizing and preaching his vision of a better London for everyone to live. Therefore, â€Å"V for Vendetta† teaches us that ideas are very powerful and live beyond the death of the one who envisions it. This is proven by the costume that V wears. The mask he wears makes him more than a man; the mask makes him the embodiment of an idea and hope for the people of London. V’s use of dialogue is also important as it was the only way V was able to communicate as we cannot see any of his facial expressions. Because of this his dialogue and speeches had to convey all of his emotions. Doing so made his speeches more compelling and allowed him to tell the people of London the idea which he embodies. The use of symbolism showed us that V lives not as a character but as an idea of change and hope for the people of London.

Color Barriers in The Theme for English B by Langston Hughes Essay

Through many civilizations, a culture arises as a dominant force that is seen with majority of power and influence. This dominant culture is able to affect subordinate cultures through its influential economic or political power--to impose its values, language, and ways of behaving. This imposition leads to social barriers between different cultures including racism and economic differences, as one culture is seen as superior over another. In history, social barriers have been established across the world; in America, there were segregation laws and the civil rights movement. Martin Luther King Jr., a civil rights activist, wrote the speech â€Å"I Have a Dream,† during a time of segregation of blacks and whites in America. The speech addresses the issues of racism as a barrier in culture, which is supposed to bring equality and inclusion to everyone. In the poem â€Å"The Theme for English B† by Langston Hughes, the author discusses the influence of dominant cu lture on a colored person in a school. Race is an aspect of dominant culture and the color of your skin is a barrier between dominant culture and lesser cultures, and it can be overcome by the use of education. Race is an aspect of dominant culture as it is a prejudgment of people’s classes and social standards by the assessment of their skin color. In â€Å"The Theme for English B† the author of the poem talks about dominant culture in a school setting from a colored student’s point of view. The colored student feels that separation of the school is a sign of dominant culture: â€Å"I went to school there, then Durham, then here to this college on the hill above Harlem. I am the only colored student in my class† (Hughes). The student feels isolated from the group because of h... ...rson to be more than can be imagined and this leads to acceptance and equality in cultures. In conclusion, race is an aspect of dominant culture and is a social barrier that can be broken through the use of education. In the narrative poem, â€Å"The Theme of English B† by Langston Hughes, it talks about the social barriers in education systems like colleges. Race can bring people together and also keep groups apart as cultures as another culture is seen to be more superior to the other. To stop segregation and splitting between groups education can be used to build one dominant culture that includes everyone for what they are made of and not by person’s race. Martin Luther King saw that race was an issue and believed bringing cultures together brought to light a solution of uniting groups together under one dominant culture of being separated by social barriers.

Guillermo Furniture Store

Guillermo Furniture Store For many years, Guillermo Navallez has owned and operated a small and profitable wood furniture making company in beautiful Sonora, Mexico. He has enjoyed an abundance of raw materials, low labor costs, and limited competition. This has recently changed due to a few significant events (1) new competitors from overseas, using high-tech automation manufacturing processes, resulting in exact furniture specifications at rock bottom prices and (2) Sonora, Mexico labor cost have dramatically increased due to emerging new industries and companies. Guillermo Furniture has been forced to reconsider his current business model and implement a change in strategy to remain in business and competitive (ACC561, Guillermo, 2009). Guillermo Furniture SWOT Analysis Prior to addressing the outlined questions we must understand Guillermo Furniture Store’s current; Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT). Managers use accounting information for many different types of decisions. Information uncovered in accounting provides; scorekeeping, attention directing and/or problem solving, but we first need to understand our current environment (Horngren, 2008). The first course of action for Guillermo Furniture is to have an objective SWOT analysis performed in order to have a clear picture of the company’s current position in the market and among the competition. Of course, a more detailed SWOT analysis would be needed for a more specific focus and direction. Strengths: Strengths identified during the SWOT analysis is an abundant supply of raw materials, inexpensive labor, and a market that allowed a price premium for quality. Weaknesses: The Guillermo Furniture Company was shown to be weak in manufacturing process and technology when a larger competitor started operations in direct competition. This made the company’s market position uncompetitive due to lack of manufacturing automation and labor costs. Guillermo also would like to remain independent, thus he would not benefit from the strengths of merging or having his small company acquired to facilitate growth. Opportunities: Guillermo has multiple opportunities to improve his company’s future. First, the company could expand the selection of furniture produced through new manufacturing processes. Second, the patented furniture coating product, could easily become the driving force behind Guillermo growth and competitive advantage. And finally, Guillermo could develop a new business unit division, and combine it with an investment in technology for the coating manufacturing to further improve his unique selling proposition. Threats: The Guillermo Furniture Company faces a myriad of threats. A new and large competitor that uses advanced technology and automation. Rising labor costs, declining sales due to competition, eroding margins, and declining revenues with sales losses. The current climate of mergers and acquisitions in the furniture industry is producing stronger competition with more economies of scale and leveraging of power in the marketplace. Budgets and Performance Reports The basic purpose of accounting information is to help make strategic decisions. Regardless of who is making the decisions, understanding accounting information allows for a more informed, and better decision (Horngren, 2008). Accounting reports are classified into two types; Accounting and Financial reports. Budgets and performance reports are vital information for a company that is looking to survive, compete and expand in their marketplace. Guillermo would benefit immensely by using these reports to see data trends in different business segments. For example, a performance report showing real versus budgeted sales would identify the most viable and profitable business segments in both short and long-term. Guillermo could then use these data trends to build a 5-10 year forecast for individual business segment manufacturing viability. Guillermo must evaluate each business unit taking into account fixed and variable costs associated with the fixed assets required for operation. Once this evaluation is completed, business models for revenue, costs, profit margin, and resource investment could be compared for each of the proposed business units. †¢ Manufacturing as currently in place †¢ Manufacturing with investment in new technology †¢ Broker Business Segment Product Coatings Business Segment Lastly, Guillermo could use performance reports to identify growth segments for immediate and future resource investment. He could identify declining segments and begin to diversify or limit future investment in these segments. For example, demand for moderate furniture is growing while the demand for high-end furniture is on the decline. While limiting further investments in declining segments, use them as sources of income for the higher profit margins they do produce. The proceeds from this could be re-invested in the growing market segments. Ethics and Accounting Decisions Regulation of accounting systems seeks to ensure the reliability of the information that accounts provide. â€Å"However, no regulation can be as effective in ensuring liability as holding accountants to high ethical standards† (Horngren, 2008). Organizational and individual ethics influence critical decision-making processes, with potentially negative results affecting the bottom line. Ethics are based in part on core values imparted on individuals throughout a lifetime. Each person perceives right and wrong based upon ethics and consequently his or her actions will follow these parameters. Technology also promotes organizational ethics; however, ethical and moral conflicts will increase work-related stress amongst employees. This behavior negatively influences organizational behavior. Guillermo must decide whether to transition from manufacturing to distribution, and if he does remain in manufacturing, are there potential ethical violations if he continues to broker as well. This author believes Guillermo would have the personal ethical dilemma of continuing to employ human labor from his city, or transition to a more automated production thus saving him money from his bottom line, and making the company more efficient and effective. The current economy has been shaped with bad ethical decisions in accounting practices. One only needs to look as far as Tyco, Enron and WorldCom to understand how pressure to perform and expand can corrupt a company. The bottom line for Guillermo Furniture Company will be how Guillermo responds to the competition and how his desire to remain ndependent affects his decision making process. Relevant Accounting Information and Decision Making The most relevant accounting information for Guillermo to consider would be the following examples. †¢ Short and Long-Term Demand Forecasts, Revenue Generation, Pricing, Cost, and Profit Margin for each Business Segment. †¢ ROI in months / break even when determining the ROI on New Technology Investment †¢ Compare Expected Revenue, Margins and Net Income from all three business opportunities. Forecasting demand for each segment, pricing and production costs for each opportunity †¢ Assets Management†¦. Develop a plan to support assets that are profitable, and a plan to divest the underperforming. Conclusion The Guillermo Furniture Company has enjoyed years of profitability without constructing a business dynamic plan. With the larger direct competition moving in, this has shown the weaknesses in the Guillermo Furniture Company. Guillermo must immediately change the course of direction in order to remain solvent in the current marketplace. The statistics available through accounting practices will give him the necessary tools to make both short and long-term decisions to remain a viable company in today’s global economy. References ACC 561 Course handout: Scenario: The Guillermo Furniture Store. Retrieved July 19, 2009 from the material section of the course description page. Brealey, R. ., Myers, S. . & Marcus, A. J. (2007). Fundamentals of Corporate Finance (5th ed. ). Boston: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Horngren; Sundem; Stratton. (2008). Introduction to Management Accounting (14th ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson / Prentice Hall.

I Am I First Signed Up For This Class - 869 Words

I knew when I first signed up for this class that I would have both write a lengthy research paper, and do extensive research. I felt confident that I could deliver in writing a well thought out and research paper. With that said, this class has given me new skills in terms of the writing process of a research paper, and also in what it means to be a conscious writer. While I admit I still need to improve in my editing process, I fell that this class helped me notice some of my flaws for which I plan to improve upon. Building off of WRD 103, I felt that in this term my grammar had improved. While I still made mistakes in grammar, I felt that in this quarter I faired much better than in the original WRD 103 class. For example, in my multisource exploratory essay I notice that for the most part my grammar was on point. I can attribute this to the timeliness in which I completed that paper. Similarly to what I notice in my WRD 103 class, the cohesiveness and grammar of my papers always improve when I have enough time to write my papers. Through this class and the quarter I also notice that the most important step in my writing process is the organizational part. Formulating my ideas on paper better before I actually start typing better prepares me for my writing. Another important aspect I picked up on was the analysis on my own work. Usually when I thought of analysis I always think of how I analyze someone else’s work, but I found that analyzing my own work, such as I didShow MoreRelatedMy First Semester At Rcc1232 Words   |  5 Pages This is my fifth semester at RCC. I am majoring in Marketing. With my major I can lead towards advertising, promotions, marketing manager, marketer analyst, or sales managers. There’s other options but I am not really interested in them. 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