Friday, January 24, 2020

Use of Doubles in the Film, Shadow of A Doubt :: Movie Film Essays

Use of Doubles in the Film, Shadow of A Doubt The film Shadow of A Doubt uses doubles, a film concept in which a shot is created and then later exposed once again in another frame. There are various scenes in the movie where doubles are used to imply different ideas. Three concrete examples of this effect include the scenes where Uncle Charlie and young Charlie wake up, the scenes where both Charlie’s say that telling Emma about Uncles evildoings will be hurtful, and the scene of the trains going in opposites directions of each other. First and foremost, the scene where Uncle Charlie wakes up parallels directly to the scene of little Charlie waking up. The director makes it obvious that these two characters will be linked in some way through this use of doubles. Later in the film, we find that these two characters are closely connected but have a contrasting relationship. Their relationship was one of much love when Uncle first arrived to the family, and suddenly turned sour when little Charlie told Uncle that there was something inside him that no one knew. Next, Shadow of A Doubt uses the two different scenes where both Uncle Charlie and little Charlie say that telling Emma about Uncle will be hurtful are both combined into a double. The director does this in order to let the viewer see that both Uncle and little Charlie have common thoughts even though they have different perceptions on life. They have a common goal and that is for no one else to hurt from Uncles hidden evils. Lastly, this film uses doubles in the final scene of the movie where the two trains cross each other. This sequence is important due to the fact that Uncle was thrown under one of the trains to his death.

Thursday, January 16, 2020

Black Genocide Essay

â€Å"Black Genocide in the 21st century† also called â€Å"Maafa† is an anti-abortionist documentary made in 2009 that speaks about the relevance of birth control, White America and Black America, Planned Parenthood and how it was established, also, the conspiracy behind abortion. The movie also deeply discusses the argument between abortion being genocide and it specifically targeting African Americans. Black Genocide was a very intriguing and interesting piece of material that filled my knowledge with much more than I had intended it doing. Before watching this video, I knew a little about abortion but not about the black genocide part. You see, I knew that abortion was a way for the government to obtain legal rights to abort children who weren’t able to be cared for but I didn’t know the government was using abortion as a way to limit the black population. I also knew that African Americans were having a lot of abortions and there were, and still is a lot of abortion facilities but never put together the idea of how they were getting access to this information, furthermore, the connection between eugenics and genocide. During the film, I learned so much information that is disgusted me and changed many of my views toward abortion and other things. I learned that in the early 1800’s, Americans feared retribution and resurrection because slavery was supposed to have ended. Intermarriage also lead to the loss of international purity and for that, they had a plan of colonization. Colonization was an affect that took place, and caused African Americans to be sent back to Africa. After the colonization, the new philosophy was established and was called â€Å"eugenics†, the perfect solution to what was known as â€Å"negro dilemma.† I also learned that Eugenics believed that Africans were inferior and without guidance, they couldn’t make it. Margaret Sanger was the founder of the â€Å"American birth control league† and was successful for promoting abortion and birth control. After watching the 21st century of black genocide, I wanted to know more about the situation with the NAACP and why the government still hasn’t publicly announced the conflict between the protesters and there undercover targets. I’d also like to know more about the positive and negative eugenics and why White America was considered positive eugenics when it was used to try and dominate the black parts of America and used as a companion to exterminate African Americans. I’d also like to know more about Planned Parenthood and to see if the facilities were still being targeted in minority places. I’d also like to know more about White America and the Planned Parenthood meetings, and also if Planned Parenthood groups still targeted low poverty neighborhoods of different race, such as Caucasians.

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

Centeotl - The Aztec God (or Goddess) of Maize

Centeotl (sometimes spelled Cinteotl or Tzinteotl and sometimes called Xochipilli or Flower Prince) was the main Aztec god of American corn, known as maize. Centeotls name (pronounced something like Zin-tay-AH-tul) means â€Å"Maize Cob Lord† or â€Å"the Dried Ear of the Maize God†. Other Aztec gods associated with this all-important crop included the goddess of sweet corn and tamales Xilonen (Tender Maize), the goddess of seed corn Chicomecoà ¡tl (Seven Serpent), and Xipe Totec, the fierce god of fertility and agriculture. Centeotl represents the Aztec version of a more ancient, pan-Mesoamerican deity. Earlier Mesoamerican cultures, such as the Olmec and Maya, worshiped the maize god as one of the most important sources of life and reproduction. Several figurines found at Teotihuacà ¡n were representations of a maize goddess, with a coiffure resembling a tasseled ear of maize. In many Mesoamerican cultures, the idea of kingship was associated with the maize god. Origin of the Maize God Centeotl was the son of Tlazolteotl or Toci, the goddess of fertility and childbirth, and as Xochipilli he was the husband of Xochiquetzal, the first woman to give birth. Like many Aztec deities, the maize god had a dual aspect, both masculine and feminine. Many Nahua (Aztec language) sources report that the Maize god was born a goddess, and only in later times became a male god named Centeotl, with a feminine counterpart, the goddess Chicomecoà ¡tl. Centeotl and Chicomecoà ¡tl oversaw different stages in maize growth and maturation. Aztec mythology holds that the god Quetzalcoatl gave maize to humans. The myth reports that during the 5th Sun, Quetzalcoatl spotted a red ant carrying a maize kernel. He followed the ant and reached the place where maize grew, the â€Å"Mountain of Sustenance†, or Tonacatepetl (Ton-ah-cah-TEP-eh-tel) in Nahua. There Quetzalcoatl turned himself into a black ant and stole a kernel of corn to bring back to the humans to plant. According to a story collected by the Spanish colonial period Franciscan friar and scholar Bernardino de  Sahagà ºn, Centeotl made a journey into the underworld and returned with cotton, sweet potatoes, huauzontle (chenopodium), and the intoxicating drink made from agave called octli or pulque, all of which he gave to humans. For this resurrection story, Centeotl is sometimes associated with Venus, the morning star. According to Sahagun, there was a temple dedicated to Centeotl in the sacred precinct of Tenochtitlà ¡n. Maize God Festivities The fourth month of the Aztec calendar is called Huei Tozoztli (The Big Sleep), and it was dedicated to the maize gods Centeotl and Chicomecoà ¡tl. Different ceremonies dedicated to green maize and grass took place in this month, which began around April 30th. To honor the maize gods, people carried out self-sacrifices, performing blood-letting rituals, and sprinkling the blood throughout their houses. Young women adorned themselves with necklaces of corn seeds. Maize ears and seeds were brought back from the field, the former placed in front of the gods images, whereas the latter were stored for planting in the next season. The cult of Centeotl overlapped that of Tlaloc and embraced various deities of solar warmth, flowers, feasting, and pleasure. As the son of the earth goddess Toci, Centeotl was worshipped alongside Chicomecoati and Xilonen during the 11th month of Ochpaniztli, which begins September 27th on our calendar. During this month, a woman was sacrificed and her skin was used to make a mask for Centeotls priest. Maize God Images Centeotl is often represented in Aztec codices as a young man, with maize cobs and ears sprouting from his head, handling a scepter with green cob’s ears. In the Florentine Codex, Centeotl is illustrated as the god of harvest and crop production. As Xochipilli Centeotl, the god is sometimes represented as the monkey god Oà §omà  tli, the god of sports, dancing, amusements and good luck in games. A carved paddle-shaped palmate stone in the collections of the Detroit Institute of Arts (Cavallo 1949) may illustrate Centeotl receiving or attending a human sacrifice. The head of the deity resembles a monkey and he has a tail; the figure is standing on or floating above the chest of a prone figure. A large headdress accounting for over half of the length of the  stone  rises above Centeotls head and is made up of either maize plants or possibly agave. Edited and updated by K. Kris Hirst Sources Aridjis, Homero. Deidades Del Panteà ³n Mexica Del Maà ­z. Artes de Mà ©xico 79 (2006): 16–17. Print.Berdan, Frances F. Aztec Archaeology and Ethnohistory. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014. Print.Carrasco, David. Central Mexican Religion. Archaeology of Ancient Mexico and Central America: An Encyclopedia. Eds. Evans, Susan Toby and David L. Webster. New York: Garland Publishing Inc., 2001. 102–08. Print.Cavallo, A. S. A Totonac Palmate Stone. Bulletin of the Detroit Institute of Arts 29.3 (1949): 56–58. Print.de Durand-Forest, Jacqueline, and Michel Graulich. On Paradise Lost in Central Mexico. Current Anthropology 25.1 (1984): 134–35. Print.Long, Richard C. E. 167. A Dated Statuette of Centeotl. Man 38 (1938): 143–43. Print.Là ³pez Luhan, Leonardo. Tenochtitlà ¡n: Ceremonial Center. Archaeology of Ancient Mexico and Central America: An Encyclopedia. Eds. Evans, Susan Toby and David L. Webster. New York: Garland Publishing Inc., 2001. 712–17. Print.Menà ©ndez, Élisabeth. Maà ¯s Et Divinites Du Maà ¯s Daprà ¨s Les Sources Anciennes. Journal de la Socià ©tà © des Amà ©ricanistes 64 (1977): 19–27. Print.Smith, Michael E. The Aztecs. 3rd ed. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2013. Print.Taube, Karl A. Aztec and Maya Myths. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1993.Taube, Karl. Teotihuacà ¡n: Religion and Deities. Archaeology of Ancient Mexico and Central America: An Encyclopedia. Eds. Evans, Susan Toby and David L. Webster. New York: Garland Publishing Inc., 2001. 731–34. Print.Von Tuerenhout, Dirk R. The Aztecs: New Perspectives. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO Inc., 2005. Print.