The World of Documentaries Touching the Void and Bigger, Stronger, Faster

Introduction In the movie-making industry, there are a number of powerful works which deserve viewers’ attention and recognition. In spite of the fact that the vast majority of modern people are fond of exiting 3D ideas, the importance of documentary movies is regarded to be noticeable as well. With the help of documentaries, people get an opportunity to learn more about the events which happen around, the ways of people communicate, and strategies they prefer to rely on. â€Å"Documentary film is a form of reporting about the world† (Rollyson 2004, 1).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The World of Documentaries: Touching the Void and Bigger, Stronger, Faster specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The list of powerful documentary movies is large indeed, and it is not always easy to pick out the most successful movies for the analysis. In this paper, the attention to two documentary films will be paid: Bigg er, Stronger, Faster by Christopher Bell and Touching the Void by Kevin MacDonald. Though these two works touch upon different aspects of life, Bell discusses the idea of using steroids in everyday life as an outcome of imitation of Schwarzenegger or Stallone, and MacDonald addresses the idea of alpinism as a powerful method to check people’s trust to each other. By means of such documentary techniques likes interviews, exposition, voice-over, or reconstructions, the directors evaluate the conditions under which people have to live, the decisions which people have to make, and actions which need to be taken to save lives. In Bigger, Stronger, Faster and Touching the Void, the main idea of messages is connected to the way of how people prefer to live and make crucial decisions; these movies aim not only at teaching the viewer but also at explaining the reasons of why the discussed themes are worth recognition and attention. Documentaries as an open door to factual effects The peculiar feature of a documentary movie is its purpose. â€Å"It is intended to achieve something in addition to entertaining audiences and making money† (Ellis and McLane 2005, 4). The production of a documentary movie requires much time and specific efforts from different people: a director has to underline as many perspectives to discuss an issue as possible: a producer has to develop proper relations with different people to gain better results in the movie; the actors, as a rule, they are real people with real names and histories, should consider their roles as the ones based on real-life events, so that their emotions and feelings have to correspond to the already established tempo of life. The works created by Christopher Bell and Kevin MacDonald are the successful examples of documentaries where people get a chance to see the obsession of a man to gain something that is usually unnecessary or even harmful and to be punished for inability to control personal demands an d wishes.Advertising Looking for essay on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Reviews of the movies about human weaknesses â€Å"All of you have lied! All of you have said something wrong, all of you have dirt. All of you. When your closet’s clean, then come clean somebody else’s. But clean yours first† (Bell 2008). This is one of the most memorable quotes in the movie Bigger, Stronger, Faster. It is all about human nature and people’s decision to use steroids to improve their lives. This movie discusses human weaknesses before an idea to become better and stronger. People do not want to focus on some morals, ethical aspects of their behaviour, and true attitudes to their roles and functions. In the movie, the authors raise a number of questions concerning why people want to use steroids and how their fail to use consistent steps. It is hard to define true intentions of people. â€Å"Ev erybody tries to be bigger, faster, stronger and what you lose in trying to accomplish that is natural ability† (Wexell 2004, 72). As for the second movie, Touching the Void is more about human weakness to extreme sports and situations when it is possible to check the worth of human life. Capabilities of human body and human mind are hard to evaluate, this is why it is necessary to cast all possible distractions away and concentrate on the things which really matter: life and death. It is difficult to make a decision when it is about human life, however, it is necessary to do something in order to achieve the results and to meet personal demands. In the movie, Simon Yates admits that â€Å"rather than just sit here, feeling sorry for myself or whatever, I’ll get on with it and I’ll die on the way down† (MacDonald 2003). Different outcomes of the same documentary techniques in the movies Nowadays, the directors of documentaries prefer to use different techn iques within one movie in order to underline the most significant moments and make the viewer focus his/her attention on a particular detail. One of the significant differences between the movies Touching the Void and Bigger, Stronger, Faster is that the director of the former makes use of both, dramatic aspects and documentary techniques. In Touching the Void, much attention is paid to reconstructions. The vast majority of scenes in the movie are based on real events which happen to Joe Simpson and Simon Yates, the two men who made a decision to climb the Peruvian Andes in the shortest period of time. The director makes an attempt to combine the movie with some pieces of interviews with real Joe and Simon who are â€Å"filmed as footage for inclusion in the edited documentary† (Friedmann 2006, 143). With the help of this documentary technique, the movie is regarded as an educative source of information, full of emotions, pain, and respect.Advertising We will write a cus tom essay sample on The World of Documentaries: Touching the Void and Bigger, Stronger, Faster specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Interviews with the main characters introduce a true picture of the events which happen with people climbing the dangerous mountain. On the one hand, the movie characters perform their roles on a high level: they demonstrate appropriate emotions and desire at the beginning of the movie. They have a hope; they have a plan; and they trust each other. They cannot guess what is waiting for them. And real interviews serve as a kind of warning sign for the viewer. In comparison to the movie by MacDonald, the techniques used by Bell in his movie have the other contributions and effects. Interviews with people aim not at demonstrating their emotions and attitude to the issue. These interviews perform the function of informative sources. They do not cause some emotions from the viewer; they just prove the truth that p eople support an idea of steroids’ usage and they believe the chosen methods have appropriate outcomes. To underline the idea of information gathering, the director also makes use of another technique that is voiceover narration when it is possible to hear what a character speak but cannot see him (Yahnke 2009). Another powerful technique, the exposition, is used in both movies as well. However, the effects it may have on the viewer seem to be rather different. The essence of the exposition in documentaries is to introduce the most important aspects of a movie and create the first impression on the viewer. In case with Bigger, Stronger, Faster, the voice behind the camera demonstrate his passion to big men, their unbelievable power, their impact on human life and the American culture. Loud and hard background music, attention to the political perspective, and quotations from the famous events and movies make the viewer realize that this documentary is about the issue is inter esting for many people. The purpose of this documentary technique is perfectly achieved by the director: he attracts attention and proves the urgency of the topic discussed. In Touching the Void, the exposition is introduced in the calmer tone: a young man informs the audience about the story discussed in the movie. â€Å"It was fun†, he admits (MacDonald 2003). The exposition of this movie helps to prepare the viewer for a story that is full of emotions, true human emotions which are based on person’s desire to climb the world. However, as one wrong action takes place, fun disappears and something terrible begins. The events which happen in the story change the lives of two good friends which have to face a number of challenges and to survive.Advertising Looking for essay on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Themes and messages of the movies The importance of documentary techniques in Bigger, Stronger, Faster and Touching the Void is evident indeed. Someone may think that it is not easy to create a movie about real life and use real people as the main actors. However, the use of techniques makes each movie special and worthwhile. With the help of interviews and clear exposition, MacDonald proves that his movie is a real collection of emotions and feelings which are inherent to everyday life. Conquests which people try to demonstrate may lead to unpredictable outcomes and influence the rest of the life considerably. The themes in the movie Bigger, Stronger, Faster are disclosed by the same techniques, however, the message of the movie varies deeply. People have the right to choose. But still, their choices are not always correct; unfortunately, they cannot understand why something goes wrong. The use of steroids is one of the most controversial topics nowadays, and people are free to use as many supportive arguments as well as opposing ideas. It is necessary to understand how harmful steroids can be for human health, and the movie helps to comprehend the outcomes of drugs’ use. There is no concrete answer whether it is wrong or right; there is a free choice for people to make and rely on personal abilities, demands, and interests. Conclusion The role of documentary movies is significant for our society. Under the masks of numerous tricks, computer technologies, and improved shots, it is hard to define a true nature of the film message. Documentaries like Bigger, Stronger, Faster and Touching the Void prove that it is possible to create amazing movies and not to rely on computer techniques. The variety of documentary techniques helps to introduce magnificent educative stories: expositions prove that the chosen movie is worth attention; interviews, both direct and indirect, explain that everything that is described in the movie happens in real; footage and rec onstructions help to see how the event from the past happened and to understand why the event influence the life. There are no clear instructions on how documentaries should be evaluated by the viewer. However, there is one truth that documentaries help to see and analyze the same life, conditions, and events from another perspective, deeper and more coherent. Bibliography Bell, Christopher. Bigger, Stronger, Faster. Directed by Christopher Bell. Columbus: BSF Film, 2008. Ellis, Jack and McLane, Betsy. 2005. A New History of Documentary Film. New York: The Continuum International Publishing Group Inc. Friedmann, Anthony. 2006. Writing for Visual Media. Burlington, MA: Focal Press. Rollyson, Carl. 2004. Documentary Film: A Primer. Lincoln, NE: iUniverse. Touching the Void. Movie. Directed by Kevin MacDonald. London: Darlow Smithson Productions, 2003. Wexell, Jim. 2004. Tales from Behind the Steel Curtain. Champaign, IL: Sports Publishing LLC. Yahnke, Robert. 2009. A Primer of Documen tary Film Techniques. Resources for Teaching Film, September. Web. This essay on The World of Documentaries: Touching the Void and Bigger, Stronger, Faster was written and submitted by user Evie Alexander to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Practice in Punctuating Adjective Clauses

Practice in Punctuating Adjective Clauses After reading the article on Subordination With Adjective Clauses, review the guidelines below and then complete the punctuation exercise that follows. Guidelines for Punctuating Adjective Clauses These three guidelines should help you decide when to set off an adjective clause (also called a relative clause) with commas: Adjective clauses beginning with that are never set off from the main clause with commas. Food that has turned green in the refrigerator should be thrown away. Adjective clauses beginning with who or which should not be set off with commas if omitting the clause would change the basic meaning of the sentence. Students who turn green should be sent to the infirmary. Because we dont mean that all students should be sent to the infirmary, the adjective clause is essential to the meaning of the sentence. For this reason, we dont set off the adjective clause with commas.Adjective clauses beginning with who or which should be set off with commas if omitting the clause would not change the basic meaning of the sentence. Last weeks pudding, which has turned green in the refrigerator, should be thrown away. Here the which clause provides added but not essential information, and so we set it off from the rest of the sentence with commas. Practice in Punctuating Adjective Clauses In the following sentences, add commas to set off adjective clauses that provide additional, but not essential, information. Dont add commas if the adjective clause affects the basic meaning of the sentence. When youre done, compare your answers with those on page two. Caramel de Lites which are cookies sold by the Girl Scouts contain 70 calories each.These are the times that try mens souls.I refuse to live in any house that Jack built.I left my son at the campus day-care center which is available to all full-time students with young children.Students who have young children are invited to use the free day-care center.A physician who smokes and overeats has no right to criticize the personal habits of her patients.Gus who gave Merdine a bouquet of ragweed has been exiled to the storm cellar for a week.Professor Legree lost his only umbrella which he has owned for 20 years.Healthy people who refuse to work should not be given government assistance.Felix who was once a hunter in the Yukon stunned the roach with one blow from a newspaper. Answers to Adjective Clauses Questions Caramel de Lites, which are cookies sold by the Girl Scouts, contain . . ..(no commas)(no commas)Â  . . . day-care center, which is available to all full-time students with young children.(no commas)(no commas)Gus, who gave Merdine a bouquet of ragweed, has . . ... . . umbrella, which he has owned for 20 years.(no commas)Felix, who was once a hunter in the Yukon, stunned . . ..

Sports Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Sports - Essay Example In his Sport: A Cultural History, Richard Mandell leads the reader through the history of sports and really gets at the core of what makes sports such a quintessentially human activity and enterprise. For the Greeks, for example, sports were a time for ritual and pageantry. They set their calendars according to the various sporting events that they loved so much. Sports and sporting events were inherently tied to religious practice and offerings to the gods would be made at the various Olympic games. Indeed, the Olympics began as a way of honouring the important gods whom the Greeks loved so much. Athletes were worshipped as paragons of physical beauty and power and their deeds were written about in epic poems. Indeed, some athletes were even seen as human gods and were worshipped by their followers. There was of course an additional element to the athletic prowess, as Mandell clearly indicates in his fine book: Athletic talent, potential or proved, was a precious commodity in the economic and political commerce of Greece. Established or promising athletes were therefore worth nurturing. The superior athlete, then, functioned in a quasi-sacred atmosphere, his performances ritualistically arranged and reverentially viewed. The awesome semi-divine status given the victor . . . has never been equalled subsequently. (53) Mandell's book was written in 1984, before the rise of celebrity cult that surrounds many athletes today. Just as in the ancient world a cult would develop around a god or a goddess, so today many athletes have thousands of fans. In the past, gods and saints would have icons-today fans cover themselves in logos and put posters on the wall. There are a lot of similarities between gods and athletes in today's contemporary world. So while athletes such as David Beckham and Alex Rodriguez may not literally be considered divine in today's world, they certainly do occupy a position of significant power and fame-more so than nearly anyone else on the planet. They are often involved with beautiful women, fast cars, and advertising campaigns. They make tens of millions of dollars and can do virtually anything they like. Indeed, it is fair to say that in today's world the culture of sports celebrity has never been so vibrant. We truly live in unique times. In the 20th century sports have been about celebrity, but they have also been about politics too. This is another important point made by Mandell in his book. He compares the rivalries between Communist countries and capitalist countries throughout the last one hundred years. He shows how much governments and people invested in their athletes as representatives of their political ideologies and their nationalist hopes. Sports was in a way an extension of war by other means. The Soviet Union especially is an interesting case study in the subject. Mandell writes: There was no indigenous sports tradition acceptable for the vast empire of many cultures, so the Soviets adopted all those sports that since 1896 had been steadily integrated into the Olympic program. The thorough recruiting of potential stars, the scientific investigation of principles of movement and performance, the refinement of apparatus and training that had characterized American and then Japanese and Nazi sport were pushed much further. Fitness exercises were introduced at all levels of education and even on the job. (265) Sports for the Soviets were politics. Sports were international prestige and a

Global Economic Environment and Marketing Essay - 2

Global Economic Environment and Marketing - Essay Example The changes that have taken place in the world economy have led to the replacement of the traditional trade methods by capital movements. It can be observed that the global economy has given the local economies only a subordinate role in the market operations (Kotler et al., 2012). Economic systems have changed from what was traditionally known to new systems, which have taken into consideration the areas that are affected by globalization. The areas considered in modern economic systems include governance in various countries operating in the global market, capital and trade flows, hierarchy of command in terms of transport and communication, services funded through taxes and many others (Masterton &Pickton, 2004).The field of marketing in the global economy has experienced dynamic changes as well. Therefore, companies operating in the global economy should put into consideration these aspects and employ changes that fit the requirement of marketing in the modem global economy. The report will focus on McDonald, which is a multinational corporation operating in the fast food industry and supplying millions of customers across the world. (Solomon, 2009). The Macdonald Company has established its branches in almost all countries of the world. In this regard, the company experiences varied economic challenges and opportunities in different countries. With the current world economic state, the developing countries are struggling to better their economic status (Drummond et al., 2003).. In this case, the McDonald company experiences reduced economic gains in the developing countries compared to the developed nations. Another challenge that faces MacDonald Company in the global economy is the stiff competition in the developed economies. In this regard, it can be witnessed that operating in the international markets requires outstanding skills and knowledge since it involves dealing with high-level risk. Essentially, operating in a

Electronic Health Records - Has the Affordable Care Act, Meaningful Term Paper

Electronic Health Records - Has the Affordable Care Act, Meaningful use and incentives helped Where are we with EHR compliance Meaningful Use - Term Paper Example or Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) have also been implemented to achieve some positive progress in the United States of America with regard to healthcare delivery. These programs and reforms cost the United States government a lot of taxpayer money, sometimes going up to tens or hundreds of billions of dollars. The important question that must be answered with regard to these reforms is whether they are effective and whether they really do lead to better healthcare (Copeland, 2011). Past performance such as in the Medicaid and Medicare indicates that the success rate may be low. The low success rate may be indicated by the fact that these reforms such as Medicaid and Medicare end up being scrapped off due to poor performance. The affordable care act is a health reform legislation that has led to many controversies in the United States. The implementation of the reform is estimated to cost billions of US dollars. The purpose and intention of this act was to ensure that the cost of health insurance was lowered while at the same time improving healthcare to the many people who could not afford health insurance (Schreiber, 2011). It was geared towards reducing the rates of non-coverage and this would be helpful in making sure that healthcare in the United States was equalized for all, poor and rich. The act is still under implementation in the United States and it is estimated to be fully implemented by the year 2020. Reports indicate that the affordable healthcare act has made it possible to minimize the number of uninsured people in the United States from about 18 percent to about 15 percent (Foster, 2010). This is a significant figure considering that it has not been fully implemented yet. However, the pr oblem is with regard to how this act relates to other health reforms such as the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, the question that must be answered as to how these two acts relate with each other and how they support,

Debates On Mercy Killings

Debates On Mercy Killings If a Wife kills her Husband because of the pain he is in from his medical problems. Do you think that she should be charged with manslaughter, homicide, or any other charge acquitted to death of another human being? I say she should. Should euthanasia be legalized in our country? This is indeed a question often discussed in community. In some countries like Holland, its already allowed, while the German politicians cant stop discussing about it over and over again. Both states could argue with several statements and their opinions about it, but which of them would be correct? Is there even a right decision? First of all, euthanasia, also called mercy killing, is the act of putting a person or animal to death painlessly or allowing it to die, as by withholding extreme medical measures, when its suffering from an incurable, especially a painful, disease or condition. In other words, if a person is death-ill or otherwise has lost his will to live, doctors are allowed to end the patients life if theyre requested/allowed so by the person. Should the patient be unable to make the decision himself, his/her family has to decide if they want to continue with medical treatment or not. If an animal is suffering from an incurable disease or condition, the owner has to decide about its fate. There are several forms of euthanasia: Voluntary euthanasia is the form of euthanasia conducted with the patients permission. Involuntary euthanasia is conducted without the explicit consent of the individual concerned and means that an individual makes a decision for another person incapable of doing so. Both voluntary and involuntary euthanasia can be conducted passively or actively. Passive euthanasia entails the withholding of common treatments, such as antibiotics, necessary for the continuance of life. The administration of increasingly necessary, although toxic doses of Opioid is regarded as a passive measure. Active euthanasia on the other hand is the conducting of life-limiting measures on the basis of the actual or presumed wish of a person and is also called assisted suicide. Except for the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, it is prohibited worldwide. Although euthanasia may not be a common and appreciated topic for daily-life, one can still find a lot of reasonings for and against it after a little research. One of the most popular arguments to forbid (active) euthanasia is the question how it can be decided whether a patient is beyond any hope to heal or not. Even if the possibility of recovering is only up to a minimum, some people would refuse to end their loved-ones life before time and rather waited for time and medicines to take care of the injury/disease if theyre not entirely sure that theres no change of betterment. And most important, what if the concerned person is no longer able to decide for himself? Who would be able to take the burden of ending a family members life? The guilt of having done something like that would surely shatter everyones mind, so its far easier to just wait and watch things develop. Not to mention that it would be a violation of the Bibles laws. As it is clearly written in the Ten Commandments, Exodus 20: 2-17, the sixth commandment says: You shall not murder. And isnt murder defined as killing of another human being with intent ? So what is euthanasia but murder? Adding to that, it can also be said that there had been cases in Holland where doctors conducted both passive and active euthanasia at their patients without permission. And that cannot be allowed in our state. But of course, there wouldnt be a contra without a pro. In fact, all of the listed arguments above not to legalize euthanasia can be negated. As a first addition, euthanasia is only conducted in really incurable cases, not after a simple car-accident where one has broken his leg and believes to suffer greatly, but more in cases where the patient can only be kept alive with great medical treatment, maybe even attached to a machine, having lost all power or abilities to take care of himself. If one is not aware of how much pain this inflicts on both the body and the mind of the concerned person, he can hardly understand how much of a release it would be for them to be allowed to let go. Especially old or handicapped people feel like a burden for their family. As long as one is able to decide for himself, he has the right to determine what shall happen with him, this also including the right to end his life. And it would at least happen under medical observation, painlessly, which is really good. Just imagine, for example, your paralyzed uncle would want to end his life, but was not allowed to assign for it in a hospital, ending up directing his wheel-chair to the nearest stairs in his desperation at full speed. No, nobody wants this to happen, do they? Then let them finally fall asleep and dont disturb them. Death belongs to the flow of life just as well as life itself, it cant be stopped, no matter how much we sometimes crave for it to change. I know, its hardly believable, but releasing a concerned family member is also a relief for the rest of the family. Of course there will be a lot of sorrow, but they will soon notice that is had been entirely to his best. Another aspect is that you cant let someone else suffer through great pain just because of your morals and your religion. Really, atheists wont care a bit if it was against your gods word to kill another person, because, stuck in unbearable pain, it simply doesnt matter to them. Every person has his own definition of right and wrong, so forcing someone else to follow your completely different ways would be the real crime. As for the abuse of legalized mercy-killing in the Netherlandsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Well, sadly but true, thats how our world functions. There will always be abuses of any kinds of rules, and there will never be a time when mankind decides to stop eating itself away. Were like that. I dont like it either, but we cant just ignore it. Finally, I would like to clarify that I neither fully favor nor forbid euthanasia because I can very well understand both sides of the argumentation. My personal opinion is that everyone should talk to their loved-ones to plan out what should happen in case of such an emergency, so that it will later be clear whether the person wants to live on or not.

Heat transfer of nanofluids in turbulent pipe flow :: Technology, Nanofluids

Heat transfer of nanoparticle suspensions in turbulent pipe flow is studied theoretically. The main idea upon which this work is based is that nanofluids behave more like singlephase fluids than like conventional solidï€ ­liquid mixtures. This assumption implies that all the convective heat transfer correlations available in the literature for single-phase flows can be extended to nanoparticle suspensions, provided that the thermophysical properties appearing in them are the nanofluid effective properties calculated at the reference temperature. In this regard, two empirical equations, based on a wide variety of experimental data reported in the literature, are used for the evaluation of the nanofluid effective thermal conductivity and dynamic viscosity. Conversely, the other effective properties are computed by the traditional mixing theory. The novelty of the present study is that the merits of nanofluids with respect to the corresponding base liquid are evaluated in terms of global energetic performance, and not simply by the common point of view of the heat transfer enhancement. Both cases of constant pumping power and constant heat transfer rate are investigated for different operating conditions, nanoparticle diameters, and solidï€ ­liquid combinations. The fundamental result obtained is the existence of an optimal particle loading for either maximum heat transfer at constant driving power or minimum cost of operation at constant heat transfer rate. In particular, for any assigned combination of solid and liquid phases, it is found that the optimal concentration of suspended nanoparticles increases as the nanofluid bulk temperature is increased, the Reynolds number of the base fluid is increased, and the length-to-diameter ratio of the pipe is decreased, while it is practically independent of the nanoparticle diameter. The usual design requirements for modern heat transfer equipment are reduced size and high thermal performance. In this connection, in the past decades a considerable research effort has been dedicated to the development of advanced methods for heat transfer enhancement, such as those relying on new geometries and configurations, and those based on the use of extended surfaces and/or turbulators. On the other hand, according to a number of studies executed in recent times, a further important contribution may derive by the replacement of traditional heat transfer fluids, such as water, ethylene glycol and mineral oils, with nanofluids, i.e., colloidal suspensions of nano-sized solid particles, whose effective thermal conductivity has been demonstrated to be higher than that of the corresponding pure base liquid. The main results of prior work on pipe flow, that is undoubtedly one of the most investigated topics in the field of convection in nanofluids, clearly show that nanoparticle suspensions offer better thermal performance than the base liquids at same Reynolds number, and that heat transfer increases with increasing the nanoparticle