Presenting Reality In Documentaries

Presenting Reality In Documentaries The term documentary stems from the verb to document to convey information on the basis of proof and evidence to support it, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary. In the realm of films and cinema, a documentary is a film that is an attempt, in one fashion or another, to show reality as it really is. In this essay, we shall be concentrating on the documentary by American filmmaker Morgan Spurlock. By the end of this essay we should hopefully reach to a conclusion whether Morgan Spurlock used the medium of documentary film effectively in order to represent the truth. The latter will need an in depth analysis n observation of the style of documentary Super Size me is and how it has been treated and presented by the filmmaker. The ultimate aim of documentary is to find the perfect way of representing the real is what Stella Bruzzi believes is the function of a documentary. As she states it herself, the aim is to find the perfect way of representing reality. The three underlined words are themselves hypothetical terms that are not certain, hence this is the first indication that documentary might not necessarily achieve its aim. Documentary style of films are still under debate as to how real can they be, this probably why Stella Bruzzi uses the word find instead of a more commanding and certain word. Therefore, what is really a documentary according to different theorists? John Grierson, the first writer to use documentary as a term in his review of Robert Flahertys Moana, came up with his famous dictum that documentary is the creative interpretation of actuality. Griersons essay First Principles of Documentary argued that documentary was cinemas potential for observing life could be exploited in a new art form; that the original actor and original scene are better guides than their fiction counterparts to interpreting the modern world; and that materials thus taken from the raw can be more real than the acted article. Contrary to Bruzzis idea of representing reality, Grierson believes in interpreting it. Interpretation can be in form of re-enactment. So the question that arises is how realistic is a documentary that has actors and scenes guiding the flow of the film? Any re-enactment or borrowed situations can be manipulated to reflect the directors idea, which leaves hardly any space for 100% reality. In addition to John Griersons explanation about documentary, Bill Nichols (2001:165) suggests that documentaries have a sense of realism which other genre of films lack as the realism in documentaries represent what the eyes and ears experience in everyday life. Morgan Spurlock achieves the degree of realism and transparency explained by Bill Nichols in realism in documentary film. Morgan Spurlock presents his point against fast food by living, observing and literally eating it. He documents his 30 days Mc Diet effectively that the audience has little or no hesitation to question the transparency and authenticity (Bill Nichols:165). Morgan Sprulocks objectives for making Super Size Me were to investigate the reasons and claims about USA having an epidemic of obesity. As he sarcastically says in the beginning of his documentary; The biggest people, America has now become the fattest nation in the world, CONGRATULATIONS! This statement by the filmmaker suggests that in teh documentary, the audience will be seeing and hearing the reality that Morgan Spurlock chooses to show them and he has already taken the liberty to express his personal emotions towards the theme of the documentary. Another driving force that led Spurlock to make this documentary was the lawsuit brought against McDonalds on behalf of two overweight girls, who, it was alleged, became obese as a result of eating McDonalds food (Pelman v. McDonalds Corp) in 2003. Spurlock argues that this case against fast food joints is as significant as the criticism faced by tobacco companies. A brief summary of the documentary is that Morgan Spurlock makes himself a test subject of this documentary about the commercial food industry. Rigorously eating a diet of McDonalds fast food, three times a day for a month straight and restricts himself to only 5000 steps a day. Therefore, he lives the life of most American who eat fast food regularly and also hard burn it out in terms of physical exercise. Spurlock is out to prove the physical and mental effects of consuming fast food. While doing this, Spurlock also provides a look at the food culture in America through its schools, corporations, and politics as seen through the eyes of regular people and health advocates. Super Size Me is a movie that sheds a new light on what has become one of our nations biggest health problems: obesity. Critics of the film, including McDonalds, argue that the author intentionally consumed an average of 5,000 calories per day and did not exercise, and that the results would have been the same regardless of the source of overeating. He was eating solely McDonalds food in keeping with the terms of a potential judgment against McDonalds in court documents highlighted at the beginning of the film. The film addresses such objections by highlighting that a part of the reason for Spurlocks deteriorating health was not just the high calorie intake but also the high quantity of fat relative to vitamins and minerals in the McDonalds menu, which is similar in that regard to the nutritional content of the menus of most other U.S. fast-food chains. About 1/3 of Spurlocks calories came from sugar. His nutritionist, Bridget Bennett RD, cited him about his excess intake of sugar from milkshakes and cokes. It is revealed toward the end of the movie that over the course of the diet, he consumed over 30 pounds of sugar, and over 12 lbs. of fat from their food. The nutritional side of the diet was not fully explored in the film because of the closure of the clinic which monitored this aspect during the filming of the movie. Spurlock claimed he was trying to imitate what an average diet for a regular eater at McDonalds-a person who would get little to no exercise-would do to them. Spurlocks intake of 5,000 calories per day was well over twice the recommended daily intake for a sedentary adult male, which would amount to only about 2,300 calories. A typical man consuming as many calories as Spurlock did would gain nearly a pound a day (which is roughly how much Spurlock gained), a rate of weight gain that could not be sustained for long periods. Additionally, Spurlock did not demonstrate or claim that anyone, let alone a substantial number of people, eats at McDonalds three times per day. In fact McDonalds is mentioned during the movie to have two classes of users of their restaurants: There are the Heavy Users, (about 72% of the customers, who eat at their restaurants once or twice a week), and the SUPER Heavy Users (about 22% of the customers, who eat McDonalds 3 or more times a week). But no one was fo und who ate at McDonalds three times a day. This brings out the fact that maybe Morgan was exactly as objective as he should have been. There is a clear exaggeration of his Mc Diet as no one was found to be eating as much fast food as he did. However, the counter argue this claim one can say that maybe not every day but like a few participants in the documentary said the eat fast food up to 3 times a week. So if one spreads those continuous 30 days over couple of months the result might be the same. The only difference left will be that Morgans body and health showed accelerated reaction to the fast food intake because he did it at an extreme level. According to Bill Nichols in Introduction to Documentary (2001:163): Social issue documentaries are usually in expository mode. However, Morgan Spurlock contradicts this statement by making a social issue documentary in a participatory mode making it more a personal portraiture documentary. If super Size Me was to be categorised in the b asic six mode of documentary according to Bill Nichols, it would be a participatory documentary. In the latter, investigation takes a step back to make way for a more responsive and reflective relationship in unfolding the events by the filmmaker (Bill Nichols 2001:119). Super size Me is a personal testimonial where Morgan Spurlocks voice is prominent throughout the overall structure of the film and this is what hold the audiences attention. It will be appropriate at this point to go deeper into the documentary Super Size Me and analyse it in order to understand the objectives and mode of the documentary. Firstly, Super size Me is the idea of an ordinary American filmmaker Morgan Spurlock. This is an important fact to be taken into consideration because eventually the ideology and aim intended by Morgan Spurlock is what will direct the ideas reflected in the documentary, hence, objectivity can be compromised. For reality to be completely present in order to have a real documentary there should be ideally, no draw backs on objectivity in the portrayal of ideas. Secondly, Super size Me is more to do with creating awareness amongst people. Creating awareness is the state or ability to perceive, to feel, or to be conscious of events. In this level of consciousness, sense data can be confirmed by an observer without necessarily implying understanding. This suggests that Spurlock was not aiming at influencing people to completely revolt against fast food but at least beware and conscious of the harmful effects of it. He leaves it upon the audience to make their choice without brainwashing them. Thirdly, Super Size me is what Grierson would categorize under participatory mode, in which filmmakers move from behind the camera and appear as subjects in their own work like Spurlock carries out his experiment himself and becomes the main subject of the documentary. He is the director, producer and writer of the documentary. So much control over a project does make it a very passionate and well organised piece of work; however, with so much power and control over a project, the audience might be getting the side of story which the director has in mind. Hence, can the audience be completely dependent on what is being shown to them and believe that Spurlock was being completely objective? The audience plays a great role in what and how the director delivers the documentary. Super Size Me was released in 2004, mainly for the American audience as he directs his attention to Americans by repeatedly saying WE are The taste of what the audience want now is different from what was expected in earlier years when illiteracy levels were at their highest. The audience want something more intellectually stimulating and not propaganda. Moreover, reality and truth in the form of controversy is what really gets peoples attention. This probably the deciding factor when it comes to Spurlock putting together eye catching facts and shocking moments like his depression, or his girlfriend admitting to him being not as good as before during sexual intercourse. Such facts can be hidden or edited out, but the director keeps it, to show his transparency but also to add the elements that sell in todays world. In addition, editing plays a big role in representing reality. The camera can capture all the truth there is to be captured, but the audience eventually see what is presented to them after much chopping done in the editing room. Directors choice of scenes, images and music is what is eventually reflected in the documentary. In other words, only one or a few peoples choice or ideology is selected and presented to the audience. The directors selection does not necessarily have to reflect the reality. Therefore, how is reality ever represented in documentaries? Triumph of The Will (1935) is not only a masterpiece entirely on its own, divorced from political or propagandist considerations, but in its emotional manipulation of the audience represents the very heart of what propaganda is all about. (Barsam, 1992, 130) Riefenstahl is able to create a glorified representation of the NSDAP, or Nazi party, with the use of a music score that invents Hitler as heroic. Her ability to represent a political party so triumphantly is noted in the moving and chilling pieces of cinematography when Hitler gives his final speech and compares his party to a holy order. She captures an essence far purer than the NSDAP, and in a way does more than justice to the partys attempts of propaganda. On the other hand, her achievements in portraying the NSDAP as glamorous can be seen as misrepresenting and a line can be drawn between fact and fiction as to, whether her glorifications are unjust and morally wrong. For the Nazis, the euphoria of a perfect Germany according to them can be portrayed with proper film aesthetics but without directly referring to the contemporary society of the 1930s. The what it would be like if Nazis ruled agenda can be portrayed with the use of abstract visuals and other techniques as long as the real is not referred to, as societies in Germany were not of pure race. The idea of creating a pure race and portraying this in a film is almost mythical, yet alone absurd. In order to portray an Aryan world blatant lies and imaginative discourse would be called for. The ethical implications behind this, is that the people themselves must change in order to create this ideal society. The overly repeated Flag Bearer image depicts symbolism connected to Nazism; the inclusion of a flag bearing the Nazi Swastika symbol represents the militarized power of the party. As a trend in Nazi propaganda, there is enormous emphasis on military symbols in Triumph of the will, triggered deeply felt emotions associated with Germanys former military might. Leni Riefenstahls editing provides an insight into the status of Triumph of the Will as Nazi propaganda. For example, one sequence during Hitlers arrival in Nuremburg is composed of four shots; the first two shots show the old buildings of the city and then a German flag therefore representing the old, traditional Germany. The following two shots depict Hitler and then a Swastika. This sequence typifies how Riefenstahl has represented the Nazi ideology of a return to a mythical epoch by linking the ideals of the traditional dogma with a visionary future. Similarly, before the scene of the city awakening Riefenstahl links a shot of an old church to represent Volakis thought, with the rally camp site to signify the new Germany. Incidentally Hinton suggests that as result of these sequences, Triumph of the Will is more than a document of the 1934 Nazi Party Rally; it is a document of the city of Nuremburg where the viewer gains a sense of the beauty and history of the medieval centre. F urthermore, the use of German and Nazi flags ties in with the use of military symbols inherent in the propaganda of the Third Reich. She also states that; In my cutting room, it was the most difficult work of my life describing the task that took at least five months to fulfil. She explained that she did not care much about chronological accuracy on the screen and that she intuitively tried to find a unifying way to edit the film in a way which would progressively take the viewer from act to act and from impression to impression. With political pressure, adoration for Adolf Hitler, and clearly a propaganda film, Triumph of the will does portray reality in terms of the images used; they are all live and not re-enacted by Riefenstahl. However, it is a biased documentation of the reality. I believe it would have been a real documentary if only there was not so much of glamour shown about the Nazi rallies, and the darker side such as the Holocaust and ghettos were also covered. The latter would have made it a more objective piece of work, making it more of a documentary instead of a propaganda tool. From the information given above about the documentaries in question the first thing that is important to note is the fact that Triumph of the Will was an idea suggested by Adolf Hitler whereas, Super size Me was the idea of an ordinary American filmmaker Morgan Spurlock. This is an important fact to be taken into consideration because eventually the ideology and aim intended by Adolf Hitler and Morgan Spurlock is what will direct the ideas reflected in the documentary, hence, objectivity can be compromised. For reality to be completely present in order to have a real documentary there should be ideally, no draw backs on objectivity in the portrayal of ideas. Adolf Hitler was a Nazi dictator ruling over a powerful country like Germany, his influence and power to pressurise Leni Riefenstahl was unquestionable. On the contrary, Morgan Spurlock was just an independent director. What kind of objectivity and impartiality (two very important subjects to reflect reality) can one expect from a director working under a dictator who controlled the population through fear? The purposes of both documentaries are extreme opposites. Triumph of the Will was intended to be a propaganda political film. Propaganda is after all; a form of communication aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position. As opposed to impartially providing information, propaganda in its most basic sense, presents information primarily to influence an audience. Propaganda often presents facts selectively (thus possibly lying by omission) to encourage a particular synthesis, or uses loaded messages to produce an emotional rather than rational response to the information presented. The desired result is a change of the attitude toward the subject in the target audience to further a political agenda. In comparison to this, Super size Me was more to do with creating awareness amongst people. Creating awareness is the state or ability to perceive, to feel, or to be conscious of events. In this level of consciousness, sense data can be confirmed by an obser ver without necessarily implying understanding. This suggests that Spurlock was not aiming at influencing people to completely revolt against fast food but at least beware and conscious of the harmful effects of it. He leaves it upon the audience to make their choice without brainwashing them. The presentation of Triumph of the Will is what documentary forefather, John Grierson would categorise under Poetic mode. Such documentary thrive on a filmmakers aesthetic and subjective visual interpretation of a subject, in addition to it different music is selected for different scenes, just like in the Triumph of Will. By contrast, Super Size me is what Grierson would categorize under participatory mode, in which filmmakers move from behind the camera and appear as subjects in their own work like Spurlock carries out his experiment himself and becomes the main subject of the documentary. The time period in which both documentaries are set in are also crucial points to be noted. Triumph of the Will was set in 1935 in Germany, where people were in the middle of Nazi revolution and political chaos. In contrary to 2004 America where Super Size Me is shot, the taste of the audience has changed dramatically. Audiences of Super Size Me are not only in America but world around, which wasnt the target audience of Triumph of the Will, the latter was meant for only the Germans. To add to this, Germans in 1934 were comparably less educated than the audience of 2004, because one of Germanys major issues at that time was low education. Hence, propaganda movies worked to its full potential as people would not question or form their own opinions; however, the same cannot be expected from liberal thinking people in 2004. The taste of what audience around the world want now is completely different from what was expected in 1930s. Nowadays, reality and truth in the form of controversy is what really gets peoples attention. One may wonder if 1930s audience would have liked to watch real documentary, what if Triumph of the Will was to include scenes from the concentration camps, how would have the audience responded to the documentary? Lastly, editing plays a big role in representing reality. The camera can capture all the truth there is to be captured, but the audience eventually see what is presented to them after much chopping done in the editing room. Directors choice of scenes, images and music is what is eventually reflected in the documentary. In other words, only one or a few peoples choice or ideology is selected and presented to the audience. The directors selection does not necessarily have to reflect the reality. Therefore, how is reality ever represented in documentaries? Returning to Stella Bruzzis statement, the aim of documentary is to represent the truth. According to her, the way of doing is still being found. Truth can be the body of real things, events, actuality, or fidelity to an original or to a standard. Super Size Me does get close to Stellas definition of documentary. It represents what happens with Americans being addicted to fast food and barely exercising. What makes this documentary a real representation of reality is the presence of objectivity. If Spurlock enjoyed something it was showed and when he was not at his best (scenes of vomiting and depression) that was also shown, to portray both sides of the reality. On one hand, Triumph of the Will with the use or real images and not actors and fabricated scenes, is a way of showing the truth, however, the sincerity lacks because it is a highly biased propaganda. Moreover, with political pressure at that time, there was no freedom of showing a balanced truth, which is supposed to be the real essence of a documentary. To sum up about Triumph of the Will, it is right to say that it does actually document the events such as Nazi rallies and political speeches, but the immense lack of objectivity does not make the propaganda film a real representation of the truth (according to the quote of Stella Bruzzi). On the other hand, Super Size Me does get close to Stellas definition of documentary. It represents what happens with Americans being addicted to fast food and barely exercising. What makes this documentary a real representation of reality is the presence of objectivity. If Spurlock enjoyed something it was showed and when he was not at his best (scenes of vomiting and depression) that was also shown, to portray both sides of the reality. The documentary is also very credible because of all the science backing that it has thanks to the doctors Spurlock had on board for the film. The latter brings a logical reasoning to what is being shown in the documentary, unlike the Triumph of the Will where no space is giving to the audience to make their own opinion. The documentary is also very credible because of all the science backing that it has thanks to the doctors Spurlock had on board for the film. The latter brings a logical reasoning to what is being shown in the documentary. To conclude, Super Size Me is definitely closer to Bruzzis definition of documentary because of the unbiased representation of truth. Nevertheless, in Super Size Me, the experiment is itself not true or completely reliable, as no one eats fast food three times a day for a whole month with only 5,000 steps as exercise. Moreover, Spurlock is a bit too aggressive in trying to bring down one specific chain of fast food joints which is Mc Donalds. He bases his whole experiment solely on Mc Donalds. What about the other fast food companies? Arent their menus as harmful as or worse than Mc Donalds? This makes the documentary a little less objective than what the audience want to believe in because it is after all biased towards giving bad publicity to mostly Mc Donalds. It is however commendable that Spurlock wisely made science the back bone of the experiment. By doing so he bought the logic to the arguments he had against the unhealthy life style of Americans. The realism that Spurlock ex plores in his documentary is the psychological realism which conveys the sense of a plausible, believable and accurate representation of human perception and emotion.'(Bill Nichols 2001:171) Spurlock achieves this realism but making the audience relate themselves to characters and situations which are life like in a universalizing way. After watching Super Size Me, one can either feel more knowledgeable about the dangers of excessive fast food eating or because they have been exposed to constant images of Mc Donalds, actually crave for a meal at Mc Donalds. This goes to emphasize that visual images is what is mostly kept in the audiences minds. On a final note, it seems that the perfect way of representing the truth is yet to be found, till then individual prejudice and biasness will always somehow continue to influence the truth in documentaries however transparent one is, there is always somehow a loophole which will lead to documentaries truthfulness being questioned.

Santa Fe School District v. Doe Analysis

Santa Fe School District v. Doe Analysis Oscar Martinez The Santa Fe Independent School District promoted the dominant Baptist Religion, and just imagine how it would feel to go to class and out of nowhere hear your teacher say okay class, we will begin class today by giving a small prayer would that make you feel uncomfortable? Would you stop your professor from moving forward with the prayer? Students within the school were facing something similar. The Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe case came to the supreme court when the school elected a student as the schools student council chaplain, and then that elected student would deliver a prayer over the PA system at every home game that the varsity football team would have. Prayers were not only offered in football games, but also at graduation ceremonies. It wasnt until two students and their mothers (one Mormon and one Catholic) file a suit against the school district. They argued that these practices were against the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. As the suit was pending the school district then decided to take action by making a different policy. In the new policy there were going to be two student elections. The first was to determine whether prayers should be deliver at games, and the second, a student was to be elected as the spokesman. After changing and modifying the policy, The Fifth Circuit held that even do the policy has been changed, the prayers at the football games were still invalid. Then the big question rose even more, whether does the Santa Fe Independent School District policy permitting student-led, student-initiated prayer at football games violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment? Then the Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe case officially came to the supreme court in the year 2000. The case was indeed an establishment case, and the case was argued on March 29, 2000 and was decided on June 19, 2000. In the oral argument the petitioner was the Santa Fe Independent School District and Doe was the respondent. Jay Alan Sekulow argued the cause for the petitioner. Hes main argument was that There, in concluding that a prayer delivered by a rabbi at a graduation ceremony violated the Establishment Clause, the Court held that, at a minimum, the Constitution guarantees that government may not coerce anyone to support or participate in religion or its exercise, or otherwise act in a way that establishes a state religion or religious faith, or tends to do so. Anthony P. Griffin argued the caused for the respondent. He had two main arguments, his first The District argues unpersuasively that these principles are inapplicable because the policys messages are private student speech, not public speech. The delivery of a message such as the invocation here on school property, at school-sponsored events, over the schools public address system, by a speaker representing the student body, under t he supervision of school faculty, and pursuant to a school policy that explicitly and implicitly encourages public prayer is not properly characterized as private speech. The second main argument he had was While the suit was pending, the District adopted a new policy, which permitted, but did not require, student-initiated and student-led prayer at all the home games and which authorized two student elections, the first to determine whether invocations should be delivered at games, and the second to select the spokesperson to deliver them. The policy involves both perceived and actual endorsement of religion, declaring that the student elections take place because the District has chosen to permit student-delivered invocations, that the invocation shall be conducted by the high school student council. At the end, the decision was a yes, delivering prayers over the PA system is a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. It was a 6-3 opinion delivered by Justice John Paul Stevens. The Court concluded that the football game prayers were public speech authorized by a government policy and taking place on government property at govern ment-sponsored school-related events and that the Districts policy involved both perceived and actual government endorsement of the delivery of prayer at important school events. Such speech is not properly characterized as private and this was writing majority by Justice Stevens. In Corbett, there is a similar case that is very similar to Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe case. Corbett states The Court has also held, in Lee v. Weisman (505 U.S. 577, 1992), that the practice of asking clergy to offer prayers of invocation and benediction at the beginning and end of public high school graduation ceremonies is unconstitutional, as is the practice of offering prayers before public school sporting events (Corbett 138). In this case the big question Does the inclusion of clergy who offer prayers at official public school ceremonies violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment? It was also a decided as a yes. In a 5-to-4 decision, the Court held that government involvement in this case creates a state-sponsored and state-directed religious exercise in a public school. Such conduct conflicts with settled rules proscribing prayer for students. The schools rule creates subtle and indirect coercion (students must stand respectfully and silently), fo rcing students to act in ways which establish a state religion. The cornerstone principle of the Establishment Clause is that government may not compose official prayers to recite as part of a religious program carried on by government. Both cases are very similar and both have to do with prayers at school events. Bringing prayers into graduation ceremonies and school sport games is basically forcing students to do something and its very uncomfortable. Besides also bringing prayer into schools is like saying theres a specific religion in this state or school therefore if you want to attend here, you will be doing these specific practices. Works Cited Corbett, Michael, and Julia Corbett Hemeyer. Politics and Religion in the United States 2nd edition. New York: Routledge Pub, 2014. Print. Lee v. Weisman. 505 U.S 577. Supreme Court of the US. 1992. Oyez. Chicago-Kent College of Law at Illinois Tech, n.d. Dec 14, 2016. Rodman, Rosamond. Ever the Twain Shall Meet: Religion Politics in the U.S. San Diego: Cognella Academic Publishing, 2015. Print Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe. 530 U.S 290. Supreme Court of the US. 2000. Oyez. Chicago-Kent College of Law at Illinois Tech, n.d. Dec 14, 2016

Study Abroad :: essays research papers

Going on this fourteen day Caribbean Cruise was the best time of my life! It was so much fun socially and it was extremely educational. This trip gave me the opportunity to experience things I never would have imagined. Touring the hotels and resorts made me want to pursue this major even more than I previously had. Now that I have had the behind-the-scenes and up close look at the career I am positive I made the right career decision.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Whether it be swimming with Sting Rays, snorkeling with exotic fish, or even just staring off into the endless ocean, each and every one thing I received the opportunity to do on this trip I am thankful for. All are things I have not really previously experienced and really did not even expect to. Not only were these experiences incredible but witnessing first hand $125,000 dollar a night hotel rooms and touring the most luxurious resorts in the world are all experiences that not many people get to do. Those that do get to do these amazing things are very lucky. Only seeing and learning half of what we did on this study abroad would have made me content. I honestly do not think I could have asked for a more educational yet extremely great and fun experience.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The one day that specifically sticks out in my head was the day in Atlantis when we toured several hotels and resorts. I enjoyed this because it was such a learning experience. Comparing all of the different resorts really helped me to pinpoint what it is exactly I want to do in the industry. This tour consisted of four tours through some of the most popular hotels and resorts in the Bahamas. Actually, some of the most respected hotel resorts in the world. The hotel resorts that we explored were the, Radisson Cable Beach and Golf Resort, The Nassau Beach Hotel, The Wyndham Nassau Resort and Sandals Resort.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Nassau Beach Hotel seemed to be geared more toward teens and college students. There were a lot of younger people there and there were even some other college groups there. Also the hotel had brochures and signs about Spring Break and group packages for students. Wyndham Nassau Resort I feel directed a lot of attention toward their convention area and their conference areas, so that makes me think they target some company and group markets.

Conquering the Texas Frontier :: essays research papers

Conquering the Texas Frontier When looking at the vast lands of Texas after the Civil War, many different people came to the lands in search for new opportunities and new wealth. Many were lured by the large area that Texas occupied for they wanted to become ranchers and cattle herders, of which there was great need for due to the large population of cows and horses. In this essay there are three different people with three different goals in the adventures on the frontier lands of Texas in its earliest days. Here we have a woman's story as she travels from Austin to Fort Davis as we see the first impressions of West Texas. Secondly, there is a very young African American who is trying his hand at being a horse rancher, which he learned from his father. Lastly we have a Mexican cowboy who tries to fight his way at being a ranch hand of a large ranching outfit. Emily K. Andrews, wife of Col. George Andrews of Fort Davis, starts her journey in mid summer around the Austin area. She travels with others as they make their way East. Through her journal entries to her father, we can see that this was no easy trip. She seems to be used to a solid roof over her head, as well as a non-dirt floor. She tells that on many occasions of the threat of Indians, and how ruthless they are, keeping her distance and even sleeping "with one eye open" while in the camps along the way. Being a woman out on the frontier she does not seemed to be scared yet comes off as being rather brave and very smart. Her descriptions of the land and the towns they encountered along the way are very precise and if it had been possible for other females to read would have set their minds at ease. In her journal she talks about how inviting the other frontier people are and how reassuring that is to help keep her mind off the ever threatening Indian attacks. On the other hand there were people trying to settle and make a living for themselves, especially after the freeing of all the slaves. Will Crittenden is one of those people. He was born in Texas after his father moved here from Alabama. Will had been taught about being a horse rancher at the age of 5 from his father and now at the age of 15 was ready to go out on his own.

Google vs. Msn Essay example -- Computers Internet Web Essays

Google vs. Msn One of the wonderful things about the internet is how it makes life much easier if the information can be found in the convenience of the home instead of going to a library and making a day out of it. This is especially true if the internet offers updated information as soon as it happens were as a library may only update a few things every week or month at a time. It is truly remarkable how much information can be found and because of this it isn’t unbelievable that more and more people are using the internet instead of going to a library or using another service the internet can offer them. However, without organization and direction information is useless. Search engines offer this stepping stone by storing all the data in a manor that is searchable. Two of the major search engines are Google.com and Msn.com. Both offer great search engines and services, but have different styles and appeal to different audiences looking for different things. At first glance it may appear Msn is better than Google because it offers much more links than Google does. However, a text box and a button is basically all the user needs to search for what s/he is looking for, everything else is extra. Therefore Google has the right idea; short and sweet. If the page is any more complicated then the user may not be good enough at a computer to figure out what to do, and a good computer user can certainly use it as well. Another thing that is very important about this is the more detail and pictures on a web page makes the web page take longer to load. Because of this users with a slow connection to the internet may have trouble getting around the web site if it takes them a minute or more to load each web page... ...e, so a search result with the same key words could return different results every time the user attempts to find the same thing. To make matters worst LookSmart isn’t the only search engine they use either. They use Teoma, Inktomi, and Overture as well, which have other ways of charging the web masters. Looking back, it seems Google has a simple search engine, but a much more effective one than Msn. Although Google offers a nice search engine it doesn’t have as many services as Msn and so the user may not come to the site because they can get more done on Msn without moving around much. It is clear Msn and Google use very different styles to present different users with what they are looking for and do a very good job of pulling it off. With Google and Msn at the user’s finger tips there is no longer need for a libraries or newspapers, to name a few.

Vacant Chapter 5 Payment

We spend a quiet, comfortable evening and I can't help watching Emily for most of it. It's obvious she hasn't seen television in a while because she's mesmerized. We are watching some Cajun cooking show on public access, but to see it through her eyes, it's like we are watching the most fascinating show known to man. â€Å"I put a little mo' wine in here, maybe a little mo' wine fo' me,† the host says in a Creole southern drawl. â€Å"Oh my gosh! Ethan, he is so funny! ‘I gar-un-tee'!† she laughs as she mimics the chef, and I can't help the smile that cracks across my face. She could let the world swallow her whole with the weight of her situation, but she doesn't. Instead she carries on, seemingly carefree, laughing at the talkative old cook with the gift of gab. â€Å"Emily?† She glances over at me, still laughing at the TV. It's the moment I know I'm making the right decision. I take a deep breath, ready to lay things on the line. â€Å"Hang on! He's going to tell a story about squirrel hunting! This'll be good!† Emily says with enthusiasm. While I really need to get my thoughts out, I can't deny her this moment. It's so pure, so I decide to indulge her for the final five minutes of the show. As the Cookin' Cajun finishes, Emily focuses her attention on me. â€Å"You wanted to talk about something?† The light and sparkle in her eyes is amazing. She looks happy and carefree instead of nervous. She seems to assume the best of every situation. Given the circumstances, you'd think she would be nervous, but instead, she acts as though we're going to talk about whether she'll make oatmeal or chocolate chips cookies next. I suddenly feel something I haven't felt in a very long time: content. â€Å"Yeah,† I begin, though I'm not sure why I'm nervous, other than the fact she may say no. She may refuse my help. She may tell me to mind my own business, that she doesn't need anyone to look after her, but I have to try. â€Å"I want you to stay here.† Her mouth drops open, but no sound comes out. â€Å"With me,† I finish. I'm not sure whether her speechlessness is a result of shock or horror. I decide to play it safe with more justification. â€Å"You can't squat next door. It's not safe, it's illegal, and you don't need any hassles from the cops.† She sits for a moment with her eyes trained on her hands while her fingers twist with each other on her lap. Her hair is frizzy from the humidity, and despite having it pulled back, there are tiny tendrils sticking up forming an angelic halo around her face. After a few moments, she finally speaks. â€Å"So, what do you want in return?† What? I'm fully aware she has no money, so why would she think I would want her to pay- I'm not even finished with my own thought when I realize she's not talking about monetary payment. Nothing is ever free, and she thinks I want her in return for providing food and shelter. The thought strips me down to the core. â€Å"No!† I shout unnecessarily, but I can't help it. I do not want that! She's hiding her face, but I can see her scrunching her eyes closed. I take a breath to calm down and explain myself. â€Å"No,† I start again, much calmer than before. â€Å"I don't want anything from you, Emily. I want to help you. I know how†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I stop and take a deep breath. I need her to understand where I'm coming from. â€Å"I know how hard this situation can be.† She flinches and snaps her head up to look me in the eye. â€Å"You don't want†¦you know, then?† She gestures between us to further her point. Lie. â€Å"No. The last thing I want is for you to be taken advantage of.† While the thought of being with her physically is an attractive offer, I would never want it under that set of circumstances. I know how easy it is to become a target when you're young and in need. â€Å"But, why? Everyone wants something, Ethan. There has to be something you want from me. I mean, it's okay if you want†¦ you know†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Her cheeks flame red as she says this. God, she's so naive she can't even say the word â€Å"sex.† It only solidifies my decision that I'm doing the right thing, but she's right. People always want something in return, so I will have to give her a reason why I don't want anything from her. I have to be honest with her and let her know that I'm all too familiar with her situation.

Gatorade †Marketing Project Essay

The Gatorade Company makes the world’s leading sports drink. In part, this is due to its ubiquitous marketing strategies that can be seen almost everywhere. Gatorade is the official sports drink of the NBA, WNBA, MLB, NHL and MLS. It is also the official sports drink of the NFL and has become part of a famous tradition, the â€Å"Gatorade Dunk† where the winning athletes of the Super Bowl empty the Gatorade cooler over the coach. Gatorade has also been advertised by some of the greatest athletes in history; from Serena Williams, to Peyton Manning, to Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt, to probably the most famous endorser in NBA great Michael Jordan. Gatorade makes several products including the G series which consists of pre-game, thirst quencher and post-game beverages. There is also the G Series Pro which consists mainly of sports nutrition products. Then there is G Natural which contains more natural ingredients. The Gatorade Company also makes Propel Fitness Water. The Gatorade Company was not always such a large company nor was it created by an existing beverage corporation. It was created as a necessity by the team in which it’s named after: The University of Florida Gators. Gatorade was created in 1965 by a team of five scientists led by Dr. Robert Cade. The beverage was created to improve the athletic performance of the university’s football team. When more than a dozen of the players had fallen sick due to dehydration from the intense heat and training, the scientists researched dehydration and what the body loses during immense activity. They found out that sugars, salts and minerals were required to hydrate the human body after immense physical activity; water alone was not enough. They created an electrolyte-carbohydrate drink and supplied it to the athletes. The results were phenomenal. The Gators were able to outperform their rivals, especially in the latter half of the game where exhaustion seemed to cripple their opponents. The Gators went on to win their first Champion ship and soon after Gatorade was adopted by other sports teams. Supplying the beverage became more and more difficult for the scientists as demand increased, and after failed attempts to commercialize it, Stokely-Van Camp acquired U. S. rights to the drink and Gatorade Inc. was incorporated in Florida in 1967. After much success, the coach of the Florida Gators suggested the winning formula to the coach of the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs were impressed and used throughout the entire season culminating with a Super Bowl victory. Much of the growth of the Gatorade Company occurred when it was acquired by Quaker Oats, which bought Stokely-Van Camp for $220 million in 1983. It was under Quaker Oats that Michael Jordan, who was arguably the most famous and fast rising athlete at the time, became the celebrity spokesperson for the company. Sales skyrocketed and Gatorade was once again the leader as the sports drink market grew to $1 billion by 1994. Also during its ownership by Quaker Oats, the product went global. It was and continues to be sold in numerous countries and several continents successfully. It also expanded its product line to include more flavor varieties. Towards the end of the 1990’s the sports drink market grew to $2 billion. With its consistent success, Gatorade continued to launch new products including Propel Fitness Water. In 2000, PepsiCo, a multinational corporation focusing on beverages and snacks, acquired Quaker Oats for $13 billion. It bought over Quaker Oats primarily for the Gatorade brand, which is still one of the corporation’s largest and most successful divisions. Gatorade continued to grow because it renewed its contract with Michael Jordan, campaigned its â€Å"Is it n you? † ad, and also signed a host of new celebrity athletes. Today, Gatorade has over a dozen plants where it manufactures the products it sells and is still the leader in today’s $3 billion dollar sports drink market. Target Market Description The original target market for Gatorade was sports teams. In fact, it was originally only sold to sports teams. It spread from the Gators football team to other Gators teams such as basketball. It then spread to other college sports teams until finally it reached professional teams in the NFL. It spread team to team until it became the official sports drink of the NFL in 1983 and was used by over 70 divisions and college teams. Sales trends increased with the same rapid pace. In the early 1980’s Gatorade led the $200 million sports drink market. Net sales were recorded at $90 million in 1982 and grew exponentially in the following years. By the mid 1980’s net sales were recorded at $170 million. During the latter half of the 1980’s Gatorade marketed its famous â€Å"Gatorade is Thirst Aid for that deep down body thirst,† this along with televised adds, strategic placing of the product on sidelines during big games and a growing sports drink market raised net sales to nearly $900 million by the end of the decade. The demographics of the Gatorade G Series target market: * Traditionally active males, aged 18 to 25. They can be students, just starting their careers, or well established. * They grew up idolizing many different sports athletes and teams, which still have an influence. * They make a very wide variety of incomes because Gatorade is inexpensive. It could be anywhere from $10,000 to $60,000. * Education could vary also, most have at least high school level education and some have college or above experiences. * These types of consumers may also be interested in other sport-related clothing and accessories. They may be interested in terms such as jerseys, hats, shoes or anything that will show off their allegiance to a team, sport or player. * The G Series’ core target is the 13- to 17-year-old high-school athlete, while G Series Pro’s target is the 16- to 24-year-old who is in the business of being athletic, whether as an elite athlete or personal trainer. A more detailed look at the MRI report gives a great glimpse into the target market for the sports drink industry. As highlighted in the index, 18-24 year olds are the core target market. With an index of 174, that means 74% of that age range are more likely to drink sports drinks. Moving further up the age range, 18-49 year adults provide a tremendous opportunity for this market. As highlighted by their percent down (which indicates the percent of those persons out of everyone that consumes a variable), 78. 2% of the total population that drank sports drinks were of that age group. Capturing the teen consumer has been identified as a priority for the brand, with the CMO of Gatorade, Ms. Robb-O’Hagan, conceding that teens thought the brand was dated. Last year’s shift to G was meant to grab their attention. With that accomplished, she said, the brand has been working with teens to test and promote the new products. Through May, a mobile locker room is making its way to high schools, showcasing the G Series products. â€Å"What we’re focusing on this year, from a marketing standpoint, is making sure that the high-school athlete understands the G Series, understands the three-part series,† Mrs. Robb-O’Hagan said. â€Å"If we land that strongly with the teen consumers, we have a lot of opportunity. A Reporter Report is complete with explanations of key numbers. Please note that all the numbers are based on the 2009 Fall MRI study, and that the projected numbers (000) are expressed in thousands. (Appendix A). Market Trends and Macro Forces According to the Beverage Marketing Corporation, the sports drink industry has actually shrunk in sales by 12. 3% from 2009. Considering that Gatorade holds over a 70% market share of the entire sports drink market, they saw losses in gallons produced by 15. 5% in that same year. In a more local look at the market, from 1986 to 2009, the geometric growth of the industry in America has been 11. 62%. However, considering the great growth for the first 19 years of its existence from 1986 to 2005 of 14. 3%, this number might be misleading. A more accurate picture can be painted by using the last 5 years, letting the state of the economy be fully reflected in growth. In this new scenario, the growth is at -. 27%. Gatorade markets not only to the athlete, but to the casual drinker as well: construction workers, restaurants, and families for dinnertime. Sales records for the sports drink brands for the year 2009 and 2010 are available in the Appendix B. Market Trends Changing Needs Gatorade being a sports drink primarily focuses on the needs of the athletes. The researchers believe that the athletes are looking for pre and post workout drinks. â€Å"The average consumer is already consuming during the before-and-after occasion,† said Sarah Robb-O’Hagan, chief marketing officer at Gatorade. â€Å"Different consumers have different nutritional needs on game day vs. training days. What we’ve seen as we’ve developed these products is different consumers mixing and matching their own regime to meet their needs. † In addition, in order to build long term brand loyalty Gatorade is focusing on target high school students between the ages of 13-17 years. â€Å"What we’re focusing on this year, from a marketing standpoint, is making sure that the high-school athlete understands the G Series, understands the three-part series,† she said. â€Å"If we land that strongly with the teen consumers, we have a lot of opportunity. What are also sparking the changing needs in this market trend are consumers increasingly focusing on their health. They are conscious about the effects of beverages on their own bodies. According to Mintel, a consumer packaged goods monitoring service, some of the product areas with the highest growth were in the sports and meal replacement categories, which place a greater emphasis on nutrition. More beverage companies are focusing their attention on adding new nutritional benefits to their new products, promoting a product’s ability to enhance sports performance. As the consumers are growing increasingly conscious about the contents of the sports drinks and the needs of the athletes are changing, so is the change in formulations of sports drinks. It is getting even more complicated. Sports nutrition companies are looking at low glycemic sugars as functional sugar systems to enhance endurance in certain products. These include newer functional sweeteners, such as isomaltulose and trehalose. Gatorade has risen to this challenge of balancing innovation with market needs. Beverage World selected Gatorade as the Winner for Brand Reinvention when it released the G-Series which includes the three products: Prime, Perform and Recover for before, during and after work out respectively. Macro Forces There are many macro forces that affect the sports drink industry. Among the most toxic is the current state of the economy. As we have discussed earlier, the poor spending power of consumers has shifted demand to less expensive alternatives, such as water or vitamin infused drinks. As the recession begins to lag into the next year, the sports drink industry can expect sales volume to remain at current levels. Given that the U6 rate (the most comprehensive form of unemployment that combines both unemployed and underemployed) is at 17%, discretionary income will continue to be a hindrance on this industry. While our competitor analysis is fully developed in the coming sections, it should be pointed out now that competition plays a significant role in this industry’s macro forces. Currently, there are two main competitors, Gatorade and Powerade, or Pepsi and Coke, respectively. Unfortunately there is no room for consolidation in this domestic saturated market, so the competitive battles that spur between the two eat away at costs and sales. A recent example comes from a lawsuit between these two companies. An article in the Beverage Industry relating to the industry issues reported a clash between Coca-Cola’s Powerade and Pepsi-Cola’s Gatorade on a lawsuit over brand advertising. At issue was a Powerade Option ad that featured a â€Å"drag race† between horse-drawn carts, one of which was carrying 10 bales of hay and the other 50. The message was that 10-calorie Option allowed the 10-bale horse to win the race over the 50-calorie competitor. The lawsuit argued the ad sent the message that Powerade was more effective as a sports drink, as well as containing fewer calories. The matter was resolved in a matter of days, with Coca-Cola agreeing to modify the ad. Such trivial pursuits between the two are costly to the industry and companies themselves. In addition to the direct competitors, sports drinks are facing increased competition from bottled water like Vitamin Water and coconut water and nutritional drinks like skimmed milk and chocolate milk for hydration and nutrition. Coconut water, skimmed milk and chocolate milk are easy to produce and provide natural health benefits compared to the artificial electrolytes in popular sports drinks like Gatorade. While health concerns have had positive effects on the industry, there are also some negatives as well. A new study done by researchers at The University of Iowa suggests that the sports drink Gatorade erodes teeth faster than a carbonated soft drink. â€Å"I don’t think everybody realizes how erosive these things are, especially Gatorade and Red Bull,† Leslie A. Ehlen, a student at the University of Iowa – School of Dentistry tells WebMD. â€Å"People need to be aware that all sorts of beverages can be causing dental erosion. † Of course, this leads right back to another macro force in regulator procedures. Although in know will health issues like this loom over the industry’s ability to sell their products, the F. D. A (food and drug administration) can certainly dampen sales volumes if need be. The F. D. A has recently banned production of Four Loko as it the combination of caffeine and alcohol mix is extremely dangerous.