Similar Ideas Presented in Blade Runner by Ridley Scott...

Bound by different contexts, authors often use a popular medium in order to depict the discontent of the ideas of society. This is evident in the module Texts in Time; as Blade Runner, having been written more than one hundred years after Frankenstein is still able to reflect the ideas proposed in the latter. Blade Runner by Ridley Scott deals with the effects of globalisation and consumerism during 1980’s. Alternatively, the epistolary novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley deals with the kinship to the natural world set in the Romantic Era and enlightenment period. However Blade Runner, although subjected by a different context, also portrays a similar idea to Frankenstein; the fear of science and technology coupled with the value of the definition of a human. Through this commonality, we are able to utilise the values of Blade Runner in order to truly understand Shelley’s purpose. During the 1980’s, the increasing amount of industrialisation brought about a new period in time, the Industrial Revolution. Literally revolutionising the world, the Industrial Revolution changed the way the world was perceived, no longer an agricultural based society but instead one overrun with globalisation and consumerism. Scott portrays this in an overindulged manner, looking at the extreme effects to long time globalisation and consumerism. As depicted in the film, the city is subject to a constant downpour of rain surrounded by numerous skyscrapers that effectively block out the view ofShow MoreRelatedFrankenstein and Blade Runner Essay (Contexts and Representation)1792 Words   |  8 Pagesrepresentation of similar content in the texts Frankenstein and Blade Runner. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner, whilst separated by 174 years, feature very similar content which can be seen by comparing the two side by side. Coming from different contexts, they both express their anxieties about technology, which is shown through a man made creature, and they both exhibit a strong valuing of nature. However due to their different contexts, these ideas are represented differently

Slavery During The 19th Century - 2090 Words

TITLE It all started in the 15th century, when the Portuguese began trading for slaves from West Africa. They used these slaves to work sugar plantations on the Madiera and Azores islands off the African coast. Because using slave labor to produce sugar was profitable, Europeans decided to adapt slavery in the newly established American colonies (Newman, John J. 6). When European settlers began staking claim on American land, they hit one major bump in the road. All of these rich wealthy elites that were able to afford the journey over did not know one thing about manual labor. They enslaved Native Americans, and used the indentured servant system, a method of bringing lower class immigrants to the colonies and requiring them to work as servants for a certain amount of time, but eventually mercantilism exploded in the colonies and the settlers had to turn to different ways. Slavery began to grow in the colonies in the early 18th century. According to the AMSCO Advanced Placement pre paration textbook, â€Å"By 1750, half of Virginia’s population and two-thirds of South Carolina’s population were enslaved.† There were three main reasons for the increase of demand for slavery in the southern colonies. First was reduced migration, since there was an increase in wages in England that reduced the supply of immigrants to the colonies. Then they needed a dependable workforce, and large plantation owners believed that slavery would give a stable labor force that theyShow MoreRelatedSlavery During The 19th Century1636 Words   |  7 Pages# 2 In the early years of the 19th century, slavery was more than ever turning into a sectional concern, such that the nation had essentially become divided along regional lines. Based on economic or moral reasoning, people of the Northern states were increasingly in support of opposition to slavery, all the while Southerners became united to defend the institution of slavery. Brought on by profound changes including regional differences in the pattern of slavery in the upper and lower South, asRead MoreSlavery During The 19th Century1780 Words   |  8 Pages 13 September 2015 Slavery in 17th Century VS Slavery in the late 19th Century Many people view slavery as one consecutive time period where African Americans were captured and kept to serve the needs of Caucasian individuals and families. But not very many people know the true extent of slavery among the colonies. Less are aware of the nature in which slavery evolved from a trading industry in the 17th century into its greater known state of forced labor in the 19th century. When most peopleRead MoreSlavery During The 19th Century Essay1423 Words   |  6 Pageslive in the 21st century know that slavery is terrible and also a touchy subject. But Americans used to rely heavily on slavery, how we perceive slavery in today’s society can either be the same or different from how others thought of slavery living within mid 1800s. People who resided in the northern region of American found slavery wrong as we do today. Americans who lived farther south however liked, and relied on slavery. In today’s world, we Americans almost all agree that slavery had been a negativeRead MoreSlavery During The 19th Century851 Words   |  4 Pages During the 19th century, the cause for abolition was ubiquitous to William Lloyd Garrison. In a society built on the freedoms for the average man, Garrison was justifiably astonished, often angered, by the misrepresentation and condoned treatment of African Americans. Garrison was not alone in his astonishment, there were a myriad of abolitionists, commonly found in the northern states, which protested and discussed how to achieve abolition. Despite the evident similarity of interests, GarrisonRead MoreSlavery During The 19th Century1446 Words   |  6 Pagesand wonderful continent filled with luxurious and wealthy kingdoms, but that had all changed when a new and appalling type of slavery was introduced. Around the 18th century, Africa became an ideal place for Europeans to trade and buy slaves from. The slave trade in Africa seemed to be manageable and somewhat peaceful before the Europeans brought in a new type of slavery. When the Europeans bought slaves from Africans, they kep t them as slaves for life which were very different from how long slavesRead MoreSlavery During The 19th Century2226 Words   |  9 Pages Slavery in America began once the first African slaves were born at the North yank colony of village, Virginia. Slavery was practiced throughout the yank colonies among the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and African-America. By the mid-19th century, America’s westward enlargement, in conjunction with a growing termination movement among the North, would provoke a wonderful dialogue over slavery which may tear the state apart among the bloody yank warfare. the legacy of slavery continued toRead MoreSlavery During The 19th Century900 Words   |  4 Pages In the early 17th century, the system of racial slavery had yet to be established. Slavery in North America evolved unevenly over the years, and the nature of slavery changed according to time, region and the colonizer. Generally, slaves suffered from malnutrition, diseases, intense labor and physical abuse from the slaveowners. The life of plantation generation was much harder as compared to charter generation. These people hardly escaped slavery as manumission was strongly discouraged by theRead MoreSlavery During The 19th Century1212 Words   |  5 Pages During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, Africans who remained enslaved were captured in battles or kidnapped. Some of these slaves were sold into slavery for debts. Once the slaves were in captivity, they would go through the â€Å"Middle Passage† which was a long journey that the slaves rode on in slave ships from West Africa to the West Indies for purchase. I think slavery led to racism because of everything that these slaves endured. It is there heritage just as I have mine. AfricanRead MoreSlavery During The 19th Century1511 Words   |  7 PagesSlavery, an issue never addressed in the 19th century, but needed to be. It was a huge, controversial subject in the past, affecting the blacks, as well as the people of the North and South due to their strong beliefs and differences in opinion. Southerners treated slaves poorly because they believed they were better than African Americans. Though, we are all equal, the majority of people did not see the world that way back then. Slavery was unfair and had a horrible effect on the slaves. AlthoughRead MoreSlavery During The 19th Century895 Words   |  4 PagesDuring the 1800’s to 1850’s, slavery was undergoing a huge development in which helped the nation to grow into what it is today. The United States was split into two sections, the north and south, over the dispute of slavery. The south sought to further slavery while the north was in favor of abolishing slavery. Around 1858, Abraham Li ncoln and Stephen Douglas, two politicians with completely different views on slavery fought each other with politicians trying to win the presidency election of 1860

Fundamentals of Hedging Derivatives and Swaps

Question: 1. The yield curve is flat at 6% per annum. What is the value of a Forward Rate Agreement where the holder receives interest at the rate of 8% per annum for a six-month period on a principal of $1,000 starting in two years? All rates are compounded semi-annually. Explain your answer. 2. A trader has a portfolio worth $5 million that mirrors the performance of a stock index. The stock index is currently 1,250. Futures contracts trade on the index with one contract being on 250 times the index. To remove market risk from the portfolio the trader should short or long in the forward or futures market? A company enters into a short futures contract to sell 50,000 units of a commodity for 70 cents per unit. The initial margin is $4,000 and the maintenance margin is $3,000. What is the futures price per unit above which there will be a margin call? 3. In which of the following cases is an asset NOT considered constructively sold? Explain your reasoning. A. The owner shorts the asset B. The owner buys an in-the-money put option on the asset C. The owner shorts a forward contract on the asset. D. The owner shorts a futures contract on the stock Answer: 1. FV of $1000 in five semi-annual periods 1000*(1+0.08/2) = 1040 PV= $ 1040/ (1+ 0.06/2) ^5 = $ 862.60878 Rounding it to $ 862.61 Investment does not start with accruing interest rate for the period of 2 years, that is 4 Semi-annual periods starting from today) After that, interest is paid after an additional 6 month of period on total of 5 semi-annual periods starting from today 2.1) Particulars Amount Portfolio $5,000,000 Stock Index price 1250 Future contract (1250 * 250) = 312,500 The number of contract required = 5,000,000 / (1250 * 250) = 5,000,000 / 312,500 = 16 contracts The portfolio mainly mirrors the stock index so selling 16 contracts might mainly help in nullifying the risk that might be incurred from volatility. Thus, short future position comprising of 16 contracts might mainly help in reducing the risk of market declines in the future. 2.b) Particulars Amount Future contracts 50,000 units Initial margin $4000 Maintenance Margin $3000 Commodity price 70 cent Calculation = (0.72-0.70) * 50,000 = 0.02 * 50,000 = 1,000 The difference between initial margin and maintenance margin is $1,000. Thus, if the contract attains a loss of $1,000 then a margin call will be activated. The future price of the commodity is 70 cents. Thus, if the price rises to 72 cents then the margin call will be activities [(0.72-0.70) * 50,000] = $1,000. Furthermore, it could be concluded that if the prices rises of 72 cents the margin call of the short position will be activated (Webber 2011). 3. From the options given, B is the correct answer. This is because profits on the assets have to be recognized in the options A, C and D. As far as holder of the asset is concerned, it cannot be deferred in profit recognition matters with indication of trading activities (RheinlaÃÅ'ˆnder and Sexton 2011). In the given case, B option is the answer, as asset is not considered for constructively sold in any form (Barnett and Cohn 2011). In other words, purchasing money by using put option is profit-locking system in the asset without triggering immediate liability of tax activities. Reference List Barnett, Gary and Joshua D Cohn. 2011.Fundamentals Of Swaps Other Derivatives, 2011. New York, NY: Practising Law Institute. RheinlaÃÅ'ˆnder, Thorsten and Jenny Sexton. 2011.Hedging Derivatives. New Jersey: World Scientific. Webber, Nick. 2011.Implementing Models Of Financial Derivatives. Chichester, U.K.: Wiley.

Oleanna Essay Example

Oleanna Paper Oleanna is in short one of the most complex plays of the 20th century. Oleanna is a particularly virulent battle in the war between women and men. Oleanna is deceptively simple in plot and only becomes complicated when you try to figure out exactly what happened. A lot is said, but a lot more is insinuated and even more is to be discussed about. (one on onethe best womens monologues for the nineties edited by jack Temchin.) Oleanna is a duologue, it is written in three acts, in which it manages to enrage the full audience. Men in the first act and women in the second, the third act is totally open-ended and is left to the audiences interpretation. This is why Mamet wants the dialogue to be kept exactly the same. He wants the audience to see his own views rather than the directors interpretation. Mamet has, with Oleanna written a polarising play. He lets the audiences past experiences determine their view of they play. Oleanna is a realistic piece of drama and like Stanislavski Mamet wants the audience to watch what is being presented to them and decide what their view is on the issues presented. In this case the issues would be the breakdown of relationships, political correctness, power and control, misunderstanding, intellectual freedom and the cynicism of education. We will write a custom essay sample on Oleanna specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Oleanna specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Oleanna specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Mamets play touches on many issues; but at heart is a despair over society that seems to deny intellectual freedom and resorts instead to ideological jargon and the force of law (The Life and Work of Harold Pinter by Michael Billington) The three acts of the play constitute the exposition, the development and the denouement. The end of act one is the end of the exposition yet the end of the development is less clear-cut. Some may say it is the end of Act two yet others may argue that because the end of Oleanna is not really a conclusion then the development does not end, the story is still developing. I think the third Act is the denouement with the climax where John holds up the chair to hit her and calls Carol a cunt. I wouldnt touch you with a ten foot pole. You little cunt. The anti climax is Carol saying thats right. The play starts with John, a college lecturer on the phone to his wife grace, whilst carol a student in his class waits to speak to him. Carol and John speak about how she is failing his class. She explains to him that she finds it difficult and blames it on being from a different social background and asks him for help. Act one is loaded with dialogue that can be interpreted differently by different people and it seems that Carol takes them the wrong way. In the middle of Act one John tells Carol that he likes her and that if she visits him more she will get an A in his class. Some people will think John is taking advantage because he knows she has to pass the class, I have to pass it. I have to pass this course. Yet some people will acknowledge he is only trying to help her. Another example of this is where he reminds her that Theres no one here but you and me During Act One Carol gets very frustrated about her lack of knowledge only to be comforted by John who calms her down only to be told that she doesnt understand him. The line sums up one of the main themes in the play, they dont understand each other and so their relationship breaks down. This is due to misunderstanding and misinterpretation. David Mamet has said that most of his plays are centred around people trying to connect with each other. My plays are about people trying to become connected. People who are confused trying to do good but no one knows how. (Changing stages) This quote sums up Oleanna perfectly. Depending on your view of the play you view either one of the character trying to do good, yet ultimately failing. If you empathise with Carol you believe she is doing good by speaking out about John and is confused about how he treats her about why he needs power. If you empathise with John you believe he is only trying to help and is confused by how she treats him in return. At the end of Act one Carol is trying to tell him, and the audience something about herself yet they are, once again interrupted by the telephone, a symbol of the outside world. At the beginning of Act Two Carol is much more confident after joining a new group. She accuses John of harassment, which gives her power over him, and she seems to enjoy this. John seems to be very hurt by the report and doesnt understand why she is doing this to him. From the beginning of the play John has said Carol behaves the way she does due to her anger. As they discuss the accusations they are once again interrupted by the telephone. John tells her that he is only trying to save her and she gets angry and tries to leave the room. Instead of letting her go John gets up and restrains her. In Act Three John has asked Carol to his office to speak about her further accusations, yet she is unreasonable because she knows she has power over him. I have you think, power over you It is the power that you hate She knows he hates his loss of power and plays on this by trying to bargain with him. She says that if he excludes his book from the University then she will drop the accusations. This seems to incriminate carol yet, at the same time makes her seem reasonable for not ruining his life, all she wants is understanding. You think I want revenge. I dont want revenge. At the end of the play Carol pushes John over the edge by telling him not to call his wife baby. John pushes Carol to the floor and picks up a chair as if to hit her, yet he changes his mind (whilst probably changing some of the audiences minds) and puts it down. The end of the act is not necessarily the end of the story, as we do not know what happens to the characters, Mamet wants the audience to decide about the play, how they view it and therefore the denouement of the play. The super- objectives of the play are the breakdown of relationships and the cynicism of education. The subplots are political correctness, power and control, and the interruption from the outside world. With Oleanna Mamet follows Pinters style No one has taken up the Pinter style with more adroitness, or extended it further, than David Mamet. His plays like Pinters are notated like musical scores with pauses capitals and italics for emphasis, dashes and dots for overlapping and interruption You can delineate the intention by correctly delineating the rhythm of the speech And like a composer Mamet demands that the actor study the score fastidiously and perform it without the intrusion of personality (Changing Stages pg 231) The play is structured using units and objectives. The unit objectives are linked together by the through line of action, which, in this case is misunderstanding. The unit objectives in the first Act are to show the interruption from the outside world via the telephone, to show the exposition, to alienate Carol and to establish a link between the characters. The unit objectives in the second act are to show Carols frustration at her lack of understanding, to show that Carol has brought charges of harassment against John, to show Johns lack of understanding as to why she has done this (maybe it was her aim to make him understand how she feels when she doesnt understand?) and to show that it is Carol who is now in control. Although Mamet has given Carol a little more power he never fully lets her takes control as he shows when he strips her of power at the end of the play. Also, she doesnt actually have a lot of power because it is her group who have power over her yet she doesnt seem to realise this. The unit objectives of the last Act are to show Johns frustration at Carol, to show that Carol only wants to be understood and to make the audience question whether John did it or not, to think about their view of the play. When Mamet wrote Oleanna Carol was a no hoper and John a caring professor. Carol takes revenge on John who lifts up a chair to hit her yet he doesnt. The play ends with him looking at her in a confused state. This was met with members of the audience shouting, Hit the bitch. When Pinter did Oleanna he used Mamets real ending where john hits Carol and she forces him to say, I have failed in my responsibilities to the young Both endings are hard hitting and you can argue that one is better than the other yet both have strengths and weaknesses. Mamets first ending makes it a drama of recantation in the line of Galileo and The Crucible; the version he staged in New York left you feeling as if you had witnessed a human tragedy. (The life and work of Harold Pinter) Oleanna is, in some ways a comedy of errors and although it is not funny it can be almost farcical depending on how you view the play. If you feel that John is saying one thing and Carol takes this in a completely different context then the play becomes almost farcical. Oleanna is a microcosm for the whole world, what we see when watching Oleanna happens everywhere, it is just another misunderstanding. It is also a microcosm about claustrophobia. The feeling of claustrophobia John has in his life is the same as what everyone else will feel in their own lives sometimes. What makes Oleanna so different as a play is that although Mamet is prescriptive so the director may follow some of Stanislavskis system to access realism he perhaps wouldnt use emotion memory There are no characters only lines on a page (changing stages) Because it will change the audiences perception of the play, you cannot play the character with your own emotion you have to BE the character. Another thing, which makes the play so endearing, is that we dont actually know the characters intentions. This means that the smallest thing can change the audiences perception. Another thing is that in the 20th century when Brecht wrote his list of differences between dramatic theatre and epic theatre he said that dramatic theatre has a beginning, middle and end whereas epic doesnt, this is not the case with Oleanna which doesnt have a specific beginning or end, also we are not sure if the issues brought forward are resolved.