Sonnet 130 free essay sample

In this essay I am going to discuss and explore ‘Sonnet 130’ by William Shakespeare and ‘Blessing’ by Imtiaz Dharker. I will focus on the differences and similarities between both poems in terms of language, themes and poetic devices. I feel that ‘Sonnet 130’ seems to imply the fact that Shakespeare is insulting his Mistress. He does so by saying what she is not. He says negative things about her appearance and voice. The ‘Blessing’ poem is about people and children in a slum and their reaction towards water. They believe it as the ‘Voice of a kindly god’ because they hardly get any water in the slum. Water is rare to them. The poems are similar in that they are both descriptive poems. The ‘Blessing’ by Dharker describes how the people in the slum would react and feel if there was a sudden outburst of water. As I have mentioned before water is rare to them and they feel it is a gift from god. We will write a custom essay sample on Sonnet 130 or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page We know this because in the poem it says ‘imagine the drip of it, the small splash, echo in a tin mug, the voice of a kindly god. In this stanza he is describing how rarely they get water and how much they believe just the sound of it makes them feel like it’s the sound of a kindly god. However, in ‘Sonnet 130’ Shakespeare is describing his mistress and how awful she looks and sounds. We know this because in Sonnet ‘130’ he says ‘I have seen roses damasked, red and white, But no such roses do I see in her cheeks. ’ By this line he is stating that ‘damasked roses’, meaning large and fragrant roses, are not what his Mistress’ cheeks are like. Another example is ‘And in some perfumes there is more delight, than in the breath that from my mistress reeks’. Shakespeare is saying that in perfume there is more delight in smelling it rather than his mistress’ breath which he says reeks-foul smelling. A difference between the two poems in terms of language is that Shakespeare uses old English as he was a poet, playwright in the 16th and 17th century whereas Dharker is a more of a modern day poet. For instance ‘That music hath a far more pleasing sound’. In this line Shakespeare uses the word ‘hath’ which is the old English word for ‘has’. But Dharker uses words that are from the modern day. Another similarity between the two poems is that both poems use enjambment. In Shakespeare’s sonnet the enjambment falls between the lines ‘And in some perfumes there is more delight than in the breath that from my mistress reeks. ’ After the word ‘delight’ the rest of the sentence is on another line. Then after the word ‘reeks’ there is a fullstop where the enjambment ends. A difference between both the poems is that Dharker’s poem is a normal poem and Shakespeare’s poem is a sonnet. A sonnet is a poem with fourteen lines that has a unique rhythm called an iambic pentameter. However Dharker’s poem is a normal poem that describes people’s reaction to water in a slum. Similes are used in both these poems. A simile is when you compare one thing to another thing that is common and easy to picture in your mind. In other words a good poetic device used to create an image in your head. In ‘Blessing’ Dharker uses the simile ‘The skin cracks like a pod. ’ Dharker means that, because there is hardly ever any water in the slum the ground cracks like a pod. By using a simile he has compared the ground to something common and created an image in my head. Shakespeare uses many similes in ‘Sonnet 130’. One of many examples is ‘My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun’. He is saying that his mistress’ eyes aren’t shiny and beautiful like the sun in fact they are the complete opposite. Both poems also use metaphors. A metaphor is a poetic device that is used to compare two things. It does so by comparing something to something else that is literally not possible. For example in Shakespeare’s poem he says ‘Coral s far more red, than her lips. ’ Shakespeare is explaining that his mistress’ lips are nothing like the coral. He is comparing it to coral because coral is red and having red lips is good but his mistress does not have nice lips. In ‘Blessing’ a example of a metaphor is ‘naked children screaming in the liquid sun’. By the words Ã¢â‚¬Ë œliquid sun’ she means they feel as if heat is being poured over them and that’s why they have been longing for water. The theme of the poem ‘Blessing’, meaning the central idea or the main focus, is how people and children feel and react when they see water. It also focus’ on why they react this way and how they feel when water is not there and how they are praying for it and when they finally do get water, they feel as if their prayers have been answered. We know this because in the second stanza they say ‘imagine the drip of it, the small splash, echo in a tin mug, the voice of a kindly god. ’ This stanza is explaining that when they hear the sound of water they feel as if it is the sound of a kindly god. However the theme of Shakespeare’s poem is totally different to the theme of ‘Blessing’. The theme of Shakespeare poem is him insulting his Mistress and how grotesque she looks. We know this because in his sonnet all of his lines are insults. For instance, ‘If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head. ’ He says that, if wires could grow on people’s heads then that is what is growing on his Mistress’ head. Overall I think that both these poems have used a range of poetic devices. There stanzas and line are relevant to their theme. I have discovered that both poems have a number of similarities and differences between them. They both have a good use of imagery and they are easy to understand.

William Shakespeare Essay Example

William Shakespeare Essay Example William Shakespeare Paper William Shakespeare Paper William Shakespeare is considered to be one of most greatest play writes of Elizabethan dramatist and of all time. He is known as one of the worlds greatest play writes because of his unique and intricate style of writing. His work were used as a form of entertainment for the rich and poor. His plays appealed to the masses and survived the hands of time, but little is known about man who wrote so beautifully. So his life remains a mystery to us. Shakespeare was born in the year of 1564 and died in 1616. He was born in town of Stratford upon Avon to John Shakespeare and Mary Arden. The Shakespeares were well respected prominent people. When William Shakespeare was about seven years old, he probably began attending the Stratford Grammar School with other boys of his social class. Students went to school year round attending school for nine hours a day. The teachers were strict disciplinarians. Though Shakespeare spent long hours at school, his boyhood was probably fascinati ng. Stratford was a lively town and during holidays, it was known to put on pageants and many popular shows. It also held several large fairs during the year. Stratford was a exciting place to live. Stratford also had fields and woods surrounding it giving William the opportunity to hunt and trap small game. The River Avon which ran through the town allowed him to fish also. Shakespeares poems and plays show his love of nature and rural life which reflects his childhood. His education consisted mostly of Latin Studies-learning to read, write, and speak the language fairly well and study some of the classical historians and poets.At the age of 18 on November 28, 1582, he married Anne Hathaway, who was seven years his senior and three months pregnant. One year later, a daughter named Susanna was born on May 26, 1583. On February 2, 1585 twins were born Hamlet and Judith. Shakespeare;s only son di

English Vowel Length Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

English Vowel Length - Essay Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that every individual has specific pronunciation peculiarities, for example, /s/ may be pronounced in a different manner. A phonologist may be interested in discussing peculiarities of different pronunciation types of /s/ in words where only one basic unit of this sound is met. Phonetician would be more interested in articulation peculiarities. Consequently, the phonological system of English consists of â€Å"number of phonemes which are used in this language and to how they are organized†. The English language has 12 pure vowel sounds which can differentiate word meanings. The following features differentiate vowels from consonants. Thus, from phonetic perspective vowels are produced via vocal configuration of the vocal tract: mouth is open and we can hear the sound created by air passing through the mouth (so-called audible friction). From a phonological perspective, vowels consist of sound system units which can take place in the m iddle of a syllable (e.g., rat, bad). A distinctive principle of vowels discussed in this paper is vowel length. Symbolically, length is symbolized by colon [:]. There are 5 relatively long and 7 relatively short vowels. It is possible to distinguish the length of vowels in accordance with the quantity and quality principles. Length variation is also presented in the following pair of sounds /ÉÅ":/ and /É™/. The former sound occurs only in stressed syllables in RP (bird, servant); the latter in unstressed ones (above, butter). This pair of sounds doesn’t produce a difference in meaning. Length of vowels can be explained not only by quantity features but also by quality (or place of articulation). There is a special name for long vowels, which is tense-lax. This group of vowels is formed by a tension of certain mouth muscles. They are: /i/, /e/, /u/, /o/, /É”/, /É‘/. In case when no tension is required, lax vowels appear:   /É ª/, /É›/, /à ¦/, /ÊŠ/, /ÊÅ'/. In order to illustrate what length of vowels actually means, it is possible to discuss tendencies on the following examples: same-Sam-psalm may be transcribed in the following way: [sem], [sà ¦m], [sÉ‘m]. In this example, it is possible to show that concepts of length and duration are different. A relative duration may be exemplified by showing length degree in the same vowel or consonant: allophone [i] in the words bee and beet has the different degree of lengths. With regard to the fact if this sound is voiced/voiceless, stopped/constituent degrees of length varies. From a phonetic perspective, degrees of length can be explained by speaker’s habits to speak slowly or quickly, emotional context of the situation of speaking and stress amount carried by syllable. Phoneticians realize difference of length degree and they depict it as follows: [bid], [bi ·d], [bi:d], or [bÉ ªid]. Still, in such a way, vowel length is depicted only approximately. If to depict the degree of length exactly, then phoneticians have to appeal to phonologists. Phonologic studies may prove many Americans, who underestimate the role of vowel length as the essential determinant factor of words distinction, that this phenomenon is very important in the scientific area. Unfortunately, very often vowel length is underestimated and is considered to have a stylistic value and not practical importance. For phonologists and phoneticians length of vowels is rather meaningful that’s why following consonants or unstressed syllables are all taken into account. For example, in a child [tÊÆ'aÉ ªld] the diphthong [aÉ ª] refers to norms of Old English [i:]; in the word children, the extra consonant [r] and the extra syllable caused the effect on a vowel to remain lax and short. Moreover, vowel length is usually defined in case an unstressed follows a stressed vowel and the latter is usually long (e.g. re-enact [ˈri: É™nà ¦kt]). On the other hand, if the unstressed vowel fol lows the stressed vowel, then it is short as a rule (e.g. react [riˈà ¦kt]).

The growth of car industry in a developing country - CHINA, USA and UK Essay

The growth of car industry in a developing country - CHINA, USA and UK - Essay Example Two phases are Literature review and an original research. In original research, a questionnaire would help in supporting a few findings. Main focus of this research would be on the Literature Review that would actually help in 80% of the recommendations and findings. In the last, crux of all the findings would be discussed that would also identify the fuel influence so that to know if the petroleum is a restricted reserve and gasoline will perhaps develop into a very luxurious liveliness foundation. The assessment indicates the practicability of the UK car development in the sequential conditions and at in present creation forecasts about its prospective expansion trends. The literature review touches the comprehensive car industrialized industry to identify the causes of the decline in the United Kingdom car industry as well as the strengths and weaknesses of British car manufacturers. The methods for investigate are based on the examination of secondary data appropriate to the cla ssification of the trends in the UK automobile industrialized. Conclusions are made about the car-industrialized outputs in the UK and the anticipated ricochet in the production levels. Automotive production is the mounting at an unparalleled momentum in Asian district in the globe, mainly due to a saturating automotive manufacturing of a western world. China, India, & ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) countries are the main dynamic markets for Asian automotive trade. Asian Automotive Industry Outlook (2007 2011) testimony provides a purpose scrutiny on Asian Automotive industry to investigate the prospective opportunities and challenges faced by the production (Wire, 2008). The automotive trade designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells the worlds motor vehicles. In 2008, more than 70 million motor vehicles, counting cars and profitable vehicles were fashioned global (OICA, 2007). In 2007, a entirety of 71.9 million innovative automobiles were sold

The United States and China Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The United States and China - Essay Example This essay stresses that what is even more worrying is the fact that China imports almost all its raw materials, ranging from oil, alumina, cotton wool, and other materials needed for production. China is less fortunate when it comes to availability of the natural resource. Even worse is that the country’s tremendous population has to rely on the very little they can. That is why China has to rely on exports. China’s cultivated land is only 8 percent. Yet its economy is 22 percent of the entire world. This shows how much strain the country has to deal with. This paper makes a conclusion that the U.S., on the other hand, does not have to heavily rely on imports. This is because the country can produce much more than it needs for sustainability. It even has surplus produce for export. This is what helps to set it apart. In addition, the development that is going on in China is depleting the resources. The forest cover is diminishing, in fact, it is one of the worst covered in the whole world. This has only seen an increase in pollution, and it is adding to the global warming being experienced the world over. With the advancement of the Chinese, India, and other Asian countries, it is clear that Asia as a whole is on the rise in economic standing. Which a huge labor force, technological growth and an increase in exports, economic growth in Asia is steadily on the rise. America will continue to maintain its state because it is well advanced and well developed.

Resource Based View Of Strategy

Resource Based View Of Strategy This report is based on a detailed case study analysis the acquisition of Abbey done by Santander in UK financial sector. During the analysis, the student will use tools such as PESTEL, Porter Five Forces, Generic Strategy, Ansoff Matrix to analyse and evaluate if Santanders move to acquire Abbeys bank was a successful approach. However, the student will propose strategic orientations and options so that Santander resolves around the issues identified from an inside out perspective as well as from the consumer orientated perception. 1-Introduction When analysing the student starts by defining the terms of strategy used by different authors from the position school, from an inside out perspective and from an outside in perspective to identify a standing point of how are the different and contradictory strategies applicable to Santander case study. Secondly, the definitions of strategy will help the student guide himself towards recognizing Santanders market position and dynamics. Hence, applicable strategies viewpoints are mentioned below. 1.1-Deliberate vs. Emergent Decisions According to H. Mintzberg and J. A. Waters (1994), the concept of strategy comes from 2 processes the planned strategy process and the emergent strategy process. In the planned strategy, targets are very clear, straightforward and then converted into actions. In the emergent strategy, judgments appear from negotiating, opportunity and positive feedback. Mintzberg says that a strategy emerges overtime and an organization might start with a viewpoint and sum that it calls for a certain position, which is to be accomplished by way of a cautiously constructed plan. In addition, instead of saying that one strategy is better than the other, the authors claim that what is best depends on the nature of the organization. [4][The rise and fall of strategic planning, 1994] This concept is clearly justified within the case study. Under the management of the CEO Francisco Gomez Roldan, Santander planned to revolutionize the company by implementing a three year plan which consisted in implementing a new operational model, rebuilding Abbeys sales competences ,and the development of an independent commercial bank. Later, an emergent strategy was then applied by the new CEO Antonio Horta Osorio who emphasized the concept of Five Themes: efficiency, service quality, customer loyalty and teamwork meritocracy. 1.2-Resource Based View of Strategy The Resource Based View model approach says that a company resource is its main source of sustainable competitive advantage in the market which competes as well as the strategic choice made by management. RBV strategy objective is to develop its internal resources to meet the demands of the market (inside-out strategy). Barney (1986) claims that developing a match between the firms resources and the success factors in the industry, is a demanding task and the success of the match is a function of the accuracy of managerial expectations about the value of strategy. [3][ David J. Teece, Strategic Management Journal] When justifying the statement above, the student found that the resource based view strategy is applicable to Santander case study because, one of the main strategies of Abbey was to diversify into new markets, rebuild its internal dynamic capabilities, and focus on efficiency by delivering a new IT Platform which could be assumed to be a rare resource within its market, as well as to reduce costs and cut down its internal processes in order to drive the company forward. Also, the complexity of the overall management role is such that good quality, top management, in itself is a potential source of competitive advantage (Castanians and Helfat, 1991). [3][David J. Teece, Strategic Management Journal] 2-Industries and Markets In order to identify the industries and the markets where Santander competes, the student must explain the core operation of Abbey before and after Santander acquisition. Previously, Abbeys three main business divisions consisted of the Personal Finance Services division which included Banking and Savings (mortgages, savings accounts, current accounts and unsecured loans), Investment and Protection (life and health protection, investment and pensions products), and General Insurance. The Treasury Service division was accountable for the liquidity and capital management activities of Abbey, while the Portfolio Business Unit deals with businesses considered for divestiture.[6][Santander (D)Transformation and Growth in the UK] In the future, its retail division consists of sales productivity, customer and savings retention, cross sales and the exploitation of new growth opportunities. The Insurance and Asset Management division comprised the legacy insurance business of Abbey and the asset management business. The third division Abbey Financial Market covered activities in derivatives and structure products as well as short term markets. .[6][Santander (D)Transformation and Growth in the UK] As described above, the student is now able to mention that Santander is competing in the financial services industry sector along with its competitors which are Barclays, HSBC, HBOS, and LTSB, Insurance Companies and retail supermarkets such as Tesco. Its sales come from the management of peoples money and other businesses. Santander is a retail and commercial private bank with numerous branches in the UK, Europe, and South America. With the acquisition of Abbeys Bank, Santander found itself a major player in mortgages, savings and protection. These represent the solid market position where Santander competes. 3-Overview market analysis According to Santander (D) Transformation and Growth in the UK, Santander is presently one of the largest banks in the UK market, and has one of the lowest rates of the market. With the acquisition of Abbeys bank and with the implementation of the three year plan, Santander has grown dramatically in terms of size and value. This strategic move was very important in order to gain market share and get access to new customer segments. In order to forecast revenue growth Santander started to offer a full scale commercial bank divided into three categories: core business, under presented markets and new opportunities. In the core business Santander aimed for lending market share exceeding 10% from 2006 for the mortgages segment. In the under-represented markets Abbey boost it sales to win 10% share of new bank accounts due to the aggressive campaigns to win higher customer value in cross sales initiatives and the development of a premium bank service. The entry into a new market to exploi t new opportunities in credit cards, consumer finance and corporate banking represented an enormous income pool but it had major competition with the big 5 seen in Exhibit 3, 4, 5 and 6 from the [Santander (D) Transformation and Growth in the UK].[6] 3.1-Structure and Dynamics Porters five forces is a model that helps identify the attractiveness of five competitive forces: the threat of entry, the threat of substitutes, the power of buyers, the power of suppliers and the extent of rivalry between competitors. These five forces together constitute an industry structure and an analysis of its market dynamics. The student is using this model to identify issues in a wider scope. Some issues mentioned in the model are not only relevant for the service oriented businesses but also for the banking sector. Within the time frame of the Santander analysis case study, a constant evaluation is required in order to avoid being myopic within the results presented. According to Michael Porter (1980), a business has to recognize the dynamics of its industries and markets in order to compete successfully in the market. [9][Competitive Strategy: Techniques for analysing industries and competitors] 3.1.1-Causes of supplier power In the case of the bargaining suppliers power, information technology plays a major role in the functioning of the bank. Santander had stopped all pending IT projects of Abbeys bank in order to integrate a full complete System of the Partenon (it is a platform that allows the incorporation of a global data centre which could be moved across any market, also allows the launch of new products with minimal lead time). From 2006 to 2007 the roll out of Partenon reconfigured the all Abbeys infrastructure including a new communication branch network. Partenon was a necessary investment that reduced massive costs in the first two years.[6][Santander (D) Transformation and Growth in the UK] The student assumes that a major supplier is IBM as the database that hold the customers information runs on IBM middleware and so the bargaining power is present as all systems must be operating at all times. Therefore IBM can bargain, because it is being realized an optimal service in keeping the system on. Santander reliance on a single IT system does not provide risks as the acquisition of other banks in different business processes and markets. 3.1.2-Factors of buyer power The bargaining power of customers is very high, due to customers having many options in choosing which bank they should go to. Moreover, the products provided by Santander are very important for their customers but not necessary crucial as there are similar products being offered within their competitors. 3.1.3-Threats of new entrants The threats of new entrants in the financial UK industry sector are very low, since large banks (Barclays, HSBC, and HBOS) have strong market position and many years of experience. Therefore, the cost of entrance in this sector is very high as new entrants will have to gain customers confidence and loyalty in order to establish themselves. Also, the distribution channels are controlled by existing players as the governments regulations are severe to approve new entrants. 3.1.4-Threats of substitutes There is a high level of substitutes providing different products and low prices as compared to the major players in this industry, some banks have improved performance constraints for the same products provided by Santander. Futhermore, it is hard to gain new customers because brand image and its loyalty are very important in the UK market (e.g. the internet is substitute). However, Santanders strategy in regards to its prices to conquer new customer segments using different sales strategies is very effective and Santander is a leading organization with this unique sales capabilities and efficiency. 3.1.5-Rivalry among Existing firms According to the diagrams provided in the Santander (D) Transformation and Growth in the UK case study, competition is intense in this particular industry because banks have similar offering in terms of the value for the money, margins and cost-effectiveness in the long term for different businesses. Barclays , HSBC, RBOS, LTSB, Insurance Companies, Retail Supermarkets such as Tesco are Santanders main competitors and these companies have similar strategies as well as few differentiation between the products offered from each bank, consequently there is more competition in terms of price than anything else. On the other hand, the financial service industry sector is very sensitive to the economic cycles. At the time when Santander case study was written, Bank of Santander was an industry frontrunner due to its knowledge and financial strengths. As an industry leader, it is problematic for other retail banks to compete against, which lessens businesses and risk investment. With the acquisition of Abbey, Santander gained solid position in one of the most lucrative investment marketplaces in the world. As the bank expands rapidly, it minimizes the threat of straight rivalry and increases the profit of Santander. In addition, the student finds it necessary to link the analysis and evaluations conducted on the structure and dynamics of the competing markets using the five forces model by Porter (1980) with the critical success factors for succeeding in the financial markets. 4-Crucial success factors The idea of critical success factors as a source for deciding the information of leaders was proposed by RH Daniel as an approach that had potential to be used in the practice of assessing info units which was spread by F Rockart (1979). Basically, if a business possessed critical factors which would in the sense be associated with the factors of an organization, then the business would fail catastrophically. Furthermore, Critical Success Factor (CSFs) is determined by the satisfactory results obtained within the different SBUs (e.g. Santanders). It ensures the successful competitive performance of a business. [2][David Aaker, Strategic Marketing Management] So, the student has identified critical success factors that are fundamental important for the success of Santander in the financial industry sector, they are: The managerial position of both CEOs was and still is a critical success factor for Santander business because Antonio Horta Osorio a top manager who was with Santander for over a decade and had rich experience in global banking, in fact his influence to the Santanders global banking strategy was a vision that generated growth by implementing the Five Themes (efficiency, service quality, customer loyalty, teamwork and meritocracy). So, his responsibility and the position that he has had in the Santander commercial banking is a critical success factor. Santanders resources and capabilities in the sense of where the company has positioned itself in the marketplace in order to gain market shares is a critical success factor. The different strategies implemented to cut costs, to boost sales throughout the different channels (branch network, telephones and intermediaries).The full implementation of Partenon IT infrastructure to reduce costs is also another critical success factor with major influence in the financial industry sector. The environmental changes such as Economic, regulatory, political and demographic also influence the critical success factors for business to compete in this market. [2][David Aaker, Strategic Marketing Management] 5-Differentiation Santander has a consumer oriented business model which provides higher levels of returns in its earnings and despite the difficult economic situation faced by banks lately, Santanders control and risk management principles is a different approach used by this organization to differentiate itself from its competitors. Also, Santanders reputation in terms of what they have achieved along the years it is different. For instance, in 2004 when Santander bought Abbeys bank, the investment and the turnaround or the change provided in the business was tremendously efficient and surprisingly effective. Perhaps, Santander is one of the most efficient banks in the world with a high cost to income ratio. Nevertheless, its culture and corporate structure in the retail and commercial bank sector is different in the sense that, all the branches share a common policy framework. As a whole, Santander offers bank services in a choice of currencies to its global clients. Likewise, it provides mortgages in different currencies too. A further internal analysis was conducted and the student as found important aspects to mention as Santander internal resources, competences and capabilities (see Appendix 2) plays a major role within the differentiation of the company itself. 5.1-Resources According to the Strategic Management Journal (Wiley Blackwell), resources is defined as firms specific assets that are difficult if not impossible to imitate, for example the specialized production facilities possessed by Santander. [3] [Strategic Management Journal (Wiley Blackwell)] Santander UK and other branches operate as a geographic subsidiary. They operate independently in each market, working effectively as a separate entity. Moreover, each unit manages its own capital liquidity, with its own funding sources. Broadly the whole Santander Group applies controls for all its subsidiary units which mean that they share a common policy framework in areas such as risk management, internal audit and financial management. Each unit shares practice and experiences in product development as well as the IT operational framework and a common brand. [8][Santander Supplementary Evidence, 2011] According to Santander Structure Evidence, the student draws upon the fact that in order to have a structure model that best fits the environment of retail and commercial banks, Santander must engage or work along its customers in order to provide solutions for the betterment of the client. [8][Santander Supplementary Evidence, 2011] The fact that the organization structure is part of their unique resource, Santander also possesses other means such as tangible and intangible resources (see Appendix 2). Perhaps, the IT platform Partenon is an integral resource that embodies their capabilities and competences overall. 5.2-Competences Strategic Management Journal (Wiley Blackwell) states that organization routines and core competences define the firms ultimate business as a core. Primary proficiencies must be consequent of seeing across the range of a firms (and its competitors) products and services. Specifically Santanders primary competences reside in the enhanced operations efficiency in order to increase revenues and reduce costs, as well as, the ability to expand to other markets and to improve relationship management with other banks, insurance companies and building societies. Santander is highly known for its marketing power and for the competence to deliver good value and innovative products for retail customers. [3][Strategic Management Journal (Wiley Blackwell)] 5.3-Capabilities Furthermore Leonard-Barton 1992, states that the capabilities of a firm reside on the ability to integrate, build, and reconfigure internal and external competences to address rapidly changing environments. [3][Strategic Management Journal (Wiley Blackwell)] Basically, Santanders main capability exist in delivering strong performance management by enhance retention, increase incentives for cross sales. Control and risk management is another capability that Santander possesses in order to defend its market share regardless of the prevailing conditions. Another Santander capability resides in the delivery of increased sales throughout the sales channels (the branch network, telephones and intermediaries). In fact with the acquisition of Abbey, Santander had forecasted that with their sales capabilities the staff would be able to increase productivity by 40% and an even higher figure, namely 60% was targeted in telephone based sales.[6][Santander (D) Transformation and Growth in the UK] After the identification of its internal capabilities, the students have identified sources that constitute an advantage for competing in the financial industry sector. 6-Sources of Competitive Advantage M. Porter 1980, states that competitive advantage is achieved by offering buyers better value for product either by means of lower prices or by giving better products and services which validates higher prices. Porter suggests the use of four generic business strategies which is a tool used to identify sources of competitive advantage. [9] [Competitive Strategy: Techniques for analyzing industries and competitors] Using the generic business strategy by Porter, the student has drawn below the strategy approaches that exemplify the sources of competitive advantage used by Santander. Segmentation Focus Differentiation Leadership Cost LeadershipNarrow Scope Broad Scope Uniqueness Low Cost In the figure above, you can clearly identify that Santander has more than one source of competitive advantage in the short term and long term perspectives. Differentiation Leadership- with this strategy, Santander is targeting a large market with aims to achieve competitive advantage across the whole financial industry. Basically, this strategy is regularly related by means of charging a premium price for the product. [9] [Competitive Strategy: Techniques for analyzing industries and competitors] Cost Leadership- this strategy is to become the lowest cost producer in the financial industry by reducing costs and enjoying the best profits. By doing so, Santander has cost advantage over the competition and can significantly gain market share. [9] [Competitive Strategy: Techniques for analyzing industries and competitors] For instance, Santander has the most advanced banking technologies (Partenon) and operations platforms in the finance industry, which permits it to turn cost savings efficiency into superior value for the customer. Santander is one of the utmost efficient banks in the world, with a high cost to income ratio. In addition, Santander uses customer focused management which allows closer connections and consumer retention through better quality service. However, it is necessary to identify strategic marketing issues that could possibly influence Santander in the future. 7-Macro/Micro Environmental The PESTEL framework tool was used to evaluate and identify the major macro/micro environmental issues that are affecting the business strategies of Santander as well as to measure in what way the environmental aspects may well influence business performance at present and in the forthcoming future. 7.1-Political Political Intervention in Capital Markets(threat) )(high priority) The economy controls and imposes a rising amount of regulations, the government selected regulators who can execute price controls in most of the main utilities. There are all sorts of implications regarding the political interventions such as fiscal policy used to modify the level of demand for different products and also the pattern of demand within the economy. Perhaps, over the last few years privatization in the UK economy has given to a new trend of nationalization comprising certain banks. So, Santander is on imminent pressure from this political power which could have a huge impact on the future of Santander in the UK. 7.2-Economical Eurozone Credit Crisis. (threat) )(high priority) Housing market is declining. (threat) (low priority) Eurozone credit crisis and the global recession threaten to destabilise Santanders position in financial market industry as customers are highly concerned about the debts that banks face. These uncertainties are a high priority to be resolved in the future as consumers cannot predict what will happen to the bank and their saving. So, it is necessary to ensure customers that the bank is safe from the global recession and Eurozone crisis. The housing market is downgrading in the current years as consumers have huge debts and low credit limit that they cannot afford to pay off their mortgages, therefore there is less people wanting mortgages which means that Santander will face a challenge to overcome this issue. In addition, this threat is to be resolved with low priority in the long term, the student assumes. 7.3-Social Growth in Emerging Markets (Opportunity)(low priority) Social impact of the change of brand from Abbey to Santander(threat)(high priority) According to Santander (D) Transformation and Growth in the UK case study, Santander saw an opportunity to make profits from the corporate banking market. The reason is that Abbey lacked business loans and fee earnings products that restrained a corresponding growth in earnings. In the long run, Santander would benefit from building particular product areas on standalone basis both organically and by small acquisitions. With the acquisition of Abbey, Santander radical change of its brand could have an enormous impact on the culture of the organization as well as on its customers. The reason is that a sudden change on an iconic image that Abbey had to the new logo of Santander causes confusing among the customers as it is a threat for the organization itself to lose customers for other banks. In reality, this sudden change of the brand is a marketing crime the student thinks, as basically Santander is trying erase the past of Abbey and implement its new way of business. This is an important issue that must be resolved with high priority as Santander can lose confused and unsatisfied customers to its competitors. Also, it is a must to resolve this issue with an influence to bring in new identity and culture so that the staff does not become unclear of their position in the organization. 7.4-Technological Online banking (Opportunity) (high priority) Credit card expansion (Opportunity)(high priority) According to Santander (D) Transformation and Growth in the UK case study, Santander Bank has gone through several integrations in the latest years, with the acquisition of Abbeys bank and the expansion to other markets in South America. Online bank is within the highest priorities as to keep customers loyal to Santander and to keep customers satisfied and safe as online banking is an investment to provide greater value product service. Santander had a huge opportunity to make enormous profits in the Credit Card market in a short period of time. Santander in 2006 launched a plan to tackle its current customers base and guard in the UK with solid innovative product offerings.[6][Santander (D) Transformation and Growth in the UK] 7.5-Legal Money Laundering. (threat) (high priority) Money Laundering is an issue faced by all major financial services as the UK government must ensure that all customers are safe and to fight against financial crime. In addition, Santander must be at all times(present and future) aware of this threat which if found guilty of laundering money , its reputation will be demolished and the consumers will not trust the bank to put their saving in Santanders bank. In addition, Santander is regulated by the United Kingdoms Financial Services Authority (the FSA) under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000(the Act) as Santander must comply with UKs money laundering and countering terrorist financing regime to prevent this issue from happening.[1][Anti money laundering and counter terrorist financing] After a PESTEL analysis conducted on the strategic marketing issues facing Santander, the student developed two strategic options that could be implemented in order to tackle some of the issues identified in the PEST analysis. 8-Strategic Options Developed There are several business strategy alternatives that are commonly used and that have led to the success and survival of many organizations in long period of time from which some knowledge and perception are accessible. So, the student draws upon some strategic options that are considered for on-going investment, assurance and programmatic management overtime, as well as the culture and the values that the organization need to support the strategic options chosen. The strategic options are: being global and customer relationship management. 8.1-Being Global The global strategy is mostly established by organizations that find it essential to compete successfully with other firms over an international perception in which the interrelationships between country markets are drawn on to form collaborations, economies of scale, strategic flexibility and prospects to influence insights, programmes and production economies. For instance, a product or service established in one marketplace could be used in another, or a price advantage can be an effect from economies of scale created by the global market. In addition, operating in numerous countries can lead to better flexibility as well as significant sustainable competitive advantage. [2][David Aaker, Strategic Market Management] For instance, HSBC is a global financial corporation, IKEA is a global retail company, and Luis Vuitton is a global fashion brand which means that being global provides purposeful benefits in a way that the customers can access the services of HSBC or buy Louis Vuitton goods everywhere. So, being global would ultimately provide reputation and reassurance that the firm has the business abilities to compete effectively internationally. [2][David Aaker, Strategic Market Management] 8.2-Customer Relationship Management The main idea of customer relationship is that cost-effectiveness could be appreciated if enduring and valuable relationships are formed among companies and their consumers, whereas loyalty as always been the front of industry rational, two trends have been the core of implementing this strategy. Fred Reicheld, Don Pepers and Martha Rogers (1980) stimulated the view that costs can be reduced and profits maximised if customers are marketed directly as well as the IT infrastructures such as database management, data mining and web based services could be tools that help with the interactivity with mass customization. [2][David Aaker, Strategic Market Management] For instance, Manchester City football Club is world renowned for the support they receive from their fans. Man city faced problems with increasing salaries and transfer fees as they needed to maximise their revenue. So, that club tackle these issues by managing its customer relationships in a more sophisticated way to meet its financial challenges. The club implemented a smartcard system where fans could book tickets over the phone and on the internet as well as to purchase the club goods using the smartcard. This system justifies how the management of customer relationships is a strength influenced by technology and how useful it is to tackle most issues within organizations using customer relationship management. [2][David Aaker, Strategic Market Management] In addition, a further analysis was conducted on Santanders marketing strategy as well as strategic orientations proposed to be implemented in the long term and short term aspects. 8.3-Marketing Strategy According to Market Orientation Article , a firm which is characterized as market oriented could have: developed an appreciation that understands present and potential customer needs is fundamental to providing superior customer value; encouraged the systematic gathering and sharing of information regarding present and potential customers and competitors as well as other related constituencies; organization wide priority to respond to changing customer needs and competitor activities in order to exploit opportunities and circumvent threats (Hunt and Morgan,1995; Kohli and Jaworki,1990; Narver and Slater,1990).[7][Market orientation and dimensions of strategic orientation] To justify the definition above, Santander is very much market oriented company, as most of their strategy is to develop products that cater to the needs of their clients. Initially Santander bought Abbey for a clear reason that they had a total of 18 million customers and a strong brand. For instance, Santander expertise in sales brought a convincing sales strategy to rebuild Abbeys sales capabilities by implementing new sales channels which generated business and increased productivity by 40%. Moreover, to boost revenue growth Santander segmented the product range in order to be adaptable in the increasingly competitive climate. Within the deployment of its new product range, the company used the sales channels to advertise the products as items that clients

Make Way Movie Brats Essay

In the late 1960s to late 1970s, as the veteran directors retired, a new generation gradually took their place. Associated with â€Å"New Hollywood,† these young and diverse directors, often in their late twenties and early thirties, were considered â€Å"movie brats. † These new directors Some of the more famous were Francis Ford Coppola, Stephen Spielberg, and George Lucas; all of whom had an intense awareness of film history, worked with quotations and remakes, and created extremely successful films. With an influx of new directors, it seemed fit that they would take over the industry entirely. However, director Robert Altman, born around twenty years earlier and being significantly older than his â€Å"movie brats† successors, Altman remained essential to the industry. Post mid-1970s, it was less commonplace for efforts to be put toward maintaining Hollywood art cinema. The new directors were focusing on box-office revenue and the production of both action-oriented and youth-oriented, blockbuster films with radiant special effects. Two films that demonstrated such qualities were Steven Spielberg’s Jaws and George Lucas’s Star Wars. Altman persisted for efforts to be continued. He, as well as other older directors like Paul Mazusky and Woody Allen, ventured into the American art cinema. Altman had to work at a rapid pace during the 1970s as he completed more than a dozen films. He also had to compete with the younger generation of Hollywood that was producing huge blockbuster hits. Though rather than trying to create an action flick, Altman stayed true to his roots and produced films primarily based on the character’s emotions rather than plot. Two specific movies in which Altman emphasized shifts from objective reality and subjectivity of the character are Images and 3 Women. In 1970, Altman directed M*A*S*H*; a film praised for its uses of humor with a topic as heavy as the Korean War and for becoming one of the highest grossing films of the year. However, Altman’s films did not always prove to do exceedingly well at the box-office. McCabe and Mrs. Miller and The Long Goodbye created a few years later were generally well received and proved to be moderate earners. His films That Cold Day in the Park, Brewster McCloud, and Thieves Like Us evidently all became box-office disappointments, even though the three generally received good reviews from critics. Although Altman’s movies are not always top box-office earners, they are still habitually the subject of a lot of critical attention. Such is evident with his film Images where the movie didn’t garner a lot of praise for Altman, even though the film might have been considered a peak for other directors. It was released between the films â€Å"McCabe† and â€Å"The Long† and as mentioned previously, they were moderately successful. They received more acclaim and attention resulting in less appreciation of Images upon its release on-screen and it’s availability in today’s time. For this reason, the film can be compared to Francis Coppola’s The Conversation. Although a great movie, it was only considered to be a minor significance to Coppola’s career coming between the crowd pleasers and box-office smash hits The Godfather and The Godfather 2. Images was shot in the wet autumn months of 1971 in Ireland. It premiered at the Cannes Film Festival the following May. It was there that Susannah York won the award for best actress. York credited her role as Cathryn in the film as the role she is most proud of. Although taking home an award, Cannes audiences were primarily confused. Images isn’t the type of film an audience would feel sympathetic towards. It’s somewhat complicated to follow and comes off as cold. However, it’s not as nearly as hard to comprehend as the first reviewers of the movie suggested. As film critic Roger Ebert states, â€Å"[The film] is a technical success but not quite an emotional one. † Because Altman was a hot ticket item in 1971 with M*A*S*H*; Columbia Pictures took the distribution rights of the film and entered it in the New York Film Festival. Unfortunately for Images, neither Vincent Canby nor Roger Greenspan (two dominant film critics for the New York Times) took up the movie to review. It was then left to Howard Thomson, a journalist and film critic for the New York Times nicknamed â€Å"mishmash† for writing brief reviews for films. Thomson made no exception for Images, leaving it only with an imperceptive review. The film never went on to have a traditional commercial release in America. Essentially the film is about a children’s author and housewife Cathryn (Susannah York) who receives several phone calls on a gloomy night in her London home. The voice on the other end is a female stating that Cathryn’s husband Hugh (Rene Auberjonois) is having an affair with another woman. Hugh comes home seeing his wife in grief and tries to comfort her. He vanishes and another man is shown acting as if he was her husband. Frightened at the sight, she screams and backs way, later seeing the figure change back into the â€Å"image† of her husband. Hugh feels that her angst is a result of stress and her budding pregnancy. He takes her to vacation at an isolated cottage in an attempt to relieve some stress. As she stays there, Cathryn dives farther into foreboding delusions as the stranger reappears. It becomes difficult for her to distinguish what is happening in reality and what’s just going on her head. Images shows a lot of subjectivity through its characters because of the extreme personas of the characters and the situations they are placed in. Cathryn begins hearing sounds and hallucinates constantly. She feels guilt sexually after envisioning encounters with two men that are not her husband. One is a sinister Frenchman who asked to be shot by Cathryn to exorcise his ghost. After he apparently falls dead, it is shown that her husband’s expensive camera is all that was really shot. The other man is more realistic, portraying a neighbor who’s infatuated with her and believes Cathryn has rape fantasies and needs strong care. She bares an attraction to him but also feels guilt. She eventually stabs the neighbor with a kitchen knife eventually â€Å"killing† him. The husband Hugh is relatively the only normal character of the film. He never completely comprehends the extent of his wife’s mental horror. Truly having his wife’s best interests in mind and acting as an ideal husband, Hugh thought relocating her to a more isolated place would relieve her of woes. He’s a typical simple American who is addicted to dumb jokes. What Cathryn actually feels about him is only pointed at towards the last 20 minutes of the film where she tries killing off a ghost she incorrectly sees as her other self. Altman’s introduction of his characters and plot comes off as him trying his hand at feminist tax. For one thing, there’s barely any scenes that don’t revolve around the main protagonist Cathryn. Her character isn’t compelling which somewhat dooms the film from the beginning. The male characters come across as jerks. Altman’s goal seemed to make a point about the way movies objectify women, turning them into the â€Å"images,† the film’s title indicates, for the consumption of male viewers. After all, Cathryn is only a little more than something for the men in the film to enjoy. Cameras figure plainly in the film’s mise-en-scene. Her pointing and shooting a gun (a symbol of male power) is yet another example of Altman’s use of gender associations. Although Altman’s point is clear, it seems like he went about delivering the message in a cliched way. In terms of objective reality, every image revealed rovides a lot of suspense and anticipation of what effect Altman will provide next. However it is somewhat difficult to find the reality as it is one of Altman’s most abstract films. It is full of so much symbolism and images that it reflects the work of Bergman and Kubrik. These â€Å"images† consist of shimmering water and tinkling ornaments. They are astonishing beautiful â€Å"images† cut often by shocks of Cathryn’s sensibilities. One daunting scene that does not occur in her head is when she is writing her story and watching ponies, but a dog and frantic sounds break the peacefulness. Altman wrote the film entirely, but the children’s story that accompanies some of â€Å"the images† was composed by Ms. York. This blends art and actuality. The film also has a wonderful use of color that separates the protagonist Cheryl from her ambience in a particularly unique and incomparable way. A few things that this movie can be credited for is its complete originality and uniqueness. Images is a very bizarre Altman film. For a filmmaker who characteristically produces works with large ensembles and layered dialogue, Images feels more blunt and almost claustrophobic. One thing that makes it so different is that the visual style is more lyrical at some points while jagged at the others. Another difference is that the dialog does not overlap. In charge of photography was Vilmos Zsigmond, one of the best cinematographers of the seventies and Altman’s favorite cameraman at the time of production. He does an amazing job with his photography by remaining with the woman’s point of view while never suggesting at what is really going on. Altman added a clever touch to interchange the character’s names with the actors that portray them. Susannah is played by actress Cathryn Harrison and Cathryn is played by actress Susannah York. Another switch of names is shown in the characters of three actors: Hugh played by Rene Auberjonois, Rene played by Marcel Bozzuffi, and Marcel is played by Hugh Millai. Altman’s demand of the audience’s senses is both nontraditional and expert. The fragmented style applied to the movie will definitely not please all senses to each audience member. However its witty script, brave look at a twisted inner world, and the eerie atmosphere the film creates is enough to keep one’s attention for the films entirety. If that’s not enough, there is always the pleasure of watching characters played by phenomenal actors Altman is so famous for providing. American film critic and film/animation historian Leonard Maltin described the film best in stating the film was â€Å"difficult but fascinating† and that it comes off as â€Å"off-putting at first, but worth the effort to hang on. † It is a definite must see for Altman admirers who want to see him in a new style. Altman doesn’t worry about the defenses needed for his film, but rather simply creates a spiritual and poetic vision letting logic and caution fall in the depths of the films beauty. Whether or not Altman produced a commercial success, didn’t change the pace at which he put forth films. Five years after Images was produced, Altman came out with the film 3 Women. The idea for the film came to Altman in a dream. It was because of Allen’s success with filmmaking; 20th Century Fox approved the movie before he had a definite script. Although it was original intention to film without a script, he eventually had one made before filming. This script was more like a â€Å"blueprint,† which he regularly did with previous films. The film centers around two women whose characters are in keen contrast with one another among their first encounters. The third woman the title hints at is a minor character but has a key supporting role, although not first recognized to the audience but gradually can be understood. Essentially the movie tells a story of three women whose characters change and merge, until finally, in the perplexing ending scene, switch roles. 3 Women, although praised for its uniqueness, was not very popular at the time. American audiences may not have even recognized its release at the time. Why you might wonder? A little movie directed by George Lucas bearing the name Star Wars was released in the same year. The three women the title hints at are Shelley Duvall, Sissy Spacek, and Janice Rule who live in the same apartment complex in the desert of California. Duvall plays Mildred â€Å"Millie† Lammoreaux, who works as a physical therapist at a senior care center. She comes off as very confident about her charm and her appeal to men, even though the men she goes after openly mock her. Pinky Rose, played by Spacek, is a young, naive, and childlike woman from Texas who too gets a job at the senior center. With Millie’s roommate moving out, she is forced to find a new roommate, after accepting the conditions, Pinky becomes that new roommate. Rule plays the supporting yet vital role of Willie Hart, the pregnant wife of the landlord of the apartment complex. She gives off an incredibly sad aura as she moves with a gloomy silence, keeping isolated from other people. Willie is a muralist who makes visually appealing yet moderately unsettling murals; one in which is painted at the bottom of the apartment pool depicting godlike creatures, absurd men, and women who annoy each other. The opening scene of the film reflects roles of each of the three women that women in general often play. Willie, the pregnant wife, represents a mother. From the mural she is painting in the pool, one can determine that she seems very sad. Millie reflects a teenager in that she is often very interested in the opposite sex. She is an odd character in that she obsessively gives recipes to others and tells them how she organizes them by the allotted time, even though no one seems to care. Pinky, when first introduced at the clinic, comes off instantly as immature and naive just like an average child. During lunch, she blows bubbles through a straw into her drink and later plays around in a wheelchair, pretending as if she was a patient. Along with making faces at the workers, she says to Millie, â€Å"You’re the most perfect person I’ve ever met,† resembling a young child admiring their cooler older sister. As with Images, this film is also extremely subjective in terms of the characters. Each character has an excessive emphasis on their moods, attitudes, and opinions. There’s no subtly in any of the way the characters act. Millie, as explained in the previous paragraph, is portrayed as an annoying friend who talks excessively. We’ve all experienced or know someone who has experienced a friend like this before, but someone having a personality as dramatic as Millie is just unusual. The audience quickly understands how desperate she is to find a man. Tom, a neighbor who works the grill during poolside dinners, is someone Millie fancies a lot but can’t get attention from. She even tells Pinky that he has asked her out on dates but she’s always been too busy to accept; clearly an act of desperation over someone she cares fantasizes about so deeply. During her lunch break she eats and sits with the doctors, consisting of only men, rather than her co-workers even though it’s more expensive. Her efforts are useless in that they still don’t really acknowledge her. Her last hangout spot to socialize with men is a local bar/ recreation area, owned by Edgar and bartended by his wife Willie. The boys too preoccupied with shooting at a gun range and riding bikes outback, provides yet another obstacle for Millie to find someone. Pinky too reflects the extreme of a personality behaving as some would call childlike. She is a withdrawn woman trying to begin a new life in California, refusing to go into specifics of her past life. The way she looks up to Millie after knowing her for less than a day is extremely odd. Most people emulate people, especially when they are the new one in town as Pinky was, when they are popular or are known for doing something good. They think by acting similar to that person, they will share that same sense of praise and popularity. What’s strange about Pinky’s situation is that Millie isn’t your ideal role model and is the complete opposite of a popular girl. Millie is more of the nerd that’s oblivious to what other people truly think about her. It brings to the question, why would anyone want to duplicate Millie? Also, what made Pinky not want to keep her past life hidden? Altman was very creative in creating Willie’s character. Although Willie doesn’t have many lines in the film, shown mostly with her paintings instead of with people, her supporting role is necessary for the flow of the movie. With a macho husband possessing such an extravagant personality, it wouldn’t be hard to miss her character entirely. Although withdrawn from social interaction, it is made evident that she is still caring. After Pinky attempted to commit suicide by jumping into the apartment pool, Willie didn’t hesitate to jump in and save her. Also in the final scene, even though Willie and Pinky were both messing around with her husband, she still decided to take them in and let them work at the bar with her after the â€Å"accidental† death of her husband. The three women make a complete 360 from polar opposites, into a family. The objective reality of the film is evident through its use of the visual representation found in the mirrors and the water. Mirrors and reflections represent the way Millie views herself. Through the mirrors, we begin to understand Millie’s obsession with looking good, something she is proud of accomplishing. Millie is always beautifying herself by making small changes to her clothes, touching her hair constantly to make sure her curls are intact, and perfecting her makeup. She looks at her reflection, apparently adoring what she says looking back at her, even though no one can figuratively see her. The mirror and the reflections represent Millie’s invisibility to other people in that when you look in the mirror, you are the only one to take notice of what’s reflecting back. Water is also extremely prevalent in the film’s entirety. Each of the three female protagonists of the film is associated with water in one way or another. The opening shot of pregnant Willie painting a mural and water being immersed as a backdrop is said by Altman to represent â€Å"the amniotic fluid surrounding a fetus,† (Ebert). The seceding scene shows Millie and her coworkers helping old people slowly descend into a pool- going to the water as their lives initially started. The wavy line shown on the screen is thought to represent an umbilical cord connecting the person to its life line. Also located in the pool is the crucial turning point in which Pinky jumps into the pool from the balcony, to be later saved by Willie. The movie does feature men; however they are of far less significance to the main protagonists. Edgar, played by Robert Fortier, is the husband of Willie. What someone might call a â€Å"manly man,† Edgar showcases himself with motorcycles, beer, and guns. He is very much a drunk who tries to portray himself as a benevolent western gunslinger and fails to acknowledge his wife properly. The other men, often seen lounging around the apartment’s pool, are objects of Millie’s captivation. She always comes off in preparation for dates or dinner plans with these gentleman, even though they never actually happen and they fail to notice her. It is understood fairly quickly that Millie is a lonely soul. The men are used only to further emphasize the personality of the female characters they come in contact with. It is obvious that this film was primarily focused on the significance of the character rather than creating an high-suspense adventure like Stephen Spielberg did with his film Jaws created a mere two years previously. Each actress perfectly resembles their characters through their looks and acting capabilities. Rule depicts Willie with no apparent expression on the face and a sad look in her eyes. Spacek’s light hair and eyes that stare in adoration fit a character named Pinky. Duvall especially contributed a lot to the creation of the film. She was accountable for creating the recipes, the diary entries, and a great deal of the dialogue her character Millie had. Her big brown round eyes resemble a deer in headlights as she is oblivious to the feelings others have towards her. It’s no wonder why she took home the Cannes Film Festival and Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards best actress award. Though the actors fit the characters well and portrayed each scene wonderfully, some things are left unanswered for the audience. Although Pinky is a main character, not a lot is understood about her past. Upon completion of the film, it is still left a mystery why she left Texas and whether or not she was actually from there. When Millie asked for specifics on what part of Texas she was from, Pinky accused her of giving her the third degree and avoided the question. Also, when Pinky saw her â€Å"parents† in the hospital she claimed that she had never seen them before, screaming for them to get out. This was a very peculiar scene since the old couple claim to be Pinky’s parents, but look far too old to actually be them. Whether they are frauds, grandparents, or her adoptive parents, is never actually presented. Another mystery Altman added to make the movie come off as a dream, where not everything makes sense and only certain details are vivid. For its use of water coming in and out of scenes with the primary characters, even though water is not actually present, and the mysteries that leave the audience questioning scenes, 3 Women possesses a dream-like quality. The idea of the film, the story, the cast, and everything included, was said by Altman to come to him in a dream, so he wanted to express it as such. The message and the overall point of the film are left open to interpretation for the audience. Altman himself says he is not exactly sure what the ending means but has a â€Å"theory† on what it signifies and what actually occurred. He wanted to create a film filled with emotion and allusion rather than â€Å"surface realities caught with the camera’s allegedly objective eye,† (Sterritt). Essentially this movie is not a narrative in any way but reflects the three stages of a woman’s life. The three women merge into a single person, who is mother, daughter, and granddaughter, â€Å"isolated but serenely self-sufficient (Canby). The film is about age and youth and the overall quality of American life. Trying to decipher the exact meaning of the movie is pointless in that no one could be definite for sure. 3 Women is a film concentrated more on mystery, mood, and behavior than the use of plot devices. In both Images and 3 Women, it is evident that Altman avoided an attempt to make a flashy movie in order to compete at the same level as his younger comrades in the business. Images depicted a fairytale and 3 Women, a dream; both very unconventional types of films. He was far too interested in the preservation of Hollywood art to care about garnering publicity. These were films that had emphasis on ambiguous between objective reality, and character subjectivity, decorated with abstract, enigmatic compositions. Both were films in which Altman was involved both with the writing and directing process, enabling him to project on screen what he himself envisioned as the direction of the movie. Also, these films examined madness in its female characters. It is no coincidence that these specific films both won a best actress award at Cannes. Although Altman’s movies don’t always do extremely well at the box office, they are perpetually the subject of a lot of analytical attention.

A Dirty Job Chapter 3

3 BENEATH THE NUMBER FORTY-ONE BUS It was two weeks before Charlie left the apartment and walked down to the auto-teller on Columbus Avenue where he first killed a guy. His weapon of choice was the number forty-one bus, on its way from the Trans Bay station, by the Bay Bridge, to the Presidio, by the Golden Gate Bridge. If you're going to get hit by a bus in San Francisco, you want to go with the forty-one, because you can pretty much figure on there being a nice bridge view. Charlie hadn't really counted on killing a guy that morning. He had hoped to get some twenties for the register at the thrift store, check his balance, and maybe pick up some yellow mustard at the deli. (Charlie was not a brown mustard kind of guy. Brown mustard was the condiment equivalent of skydiving – it was okay for race-car drivers and serial killers, but for Charlie, a fine line of French's yellow was all the spice that life required.) After the funeral, friends and relatives had left a mountain of cold cuts in Charlie's fridge, which was all he'd eaten for the past two weeks, but now he was down to ham, dark rye, and premixed Enfamil formula, none of which was tolerable without yellow mustard. He'd secured the yellow squeeze bottle and felt safer now with it in his jacket pocket, but when the bus hit the guy, mustard completely slipped Charlie's mind. It was a warm day in October, the light had gone autumn soft over the city, the summer fog had ceased its relentless crawl out of the Bay each morning, and there was just enough breeze that the few sailboats that dotted the Bay looked like they might have been posing for an Impressionist painter. In the split second that Charlie's victim realized that he was being run over, he might not have been happy about the event, but he couldn't have picked a nicer day for it. The guy's name was William Creek. He was thirty-two and worked as a market analyst in the financial district, where he had been headed that morning when he decided to stop at the auto-teller. He was wearing a light wool suit and running shoes, his work shoes were tucked into a leather satchel under his arm. The handle of a compact umbrella protruded from the side pocket of the satchel, and it was this that caught Charlie's attention, for while the handle of the umbrella appeared to be made of faux walnut burl, it was glowing a dull red as if it had been heated in a forge. Charlie stood in the ATM line trying not to notice, trying to appear uninterested, but he couldn't help but stare. It was glowing, for fuck's sake, didn't anyone see it? William Creek glanced over his shoulder as he slid his card into the machine, saw Charlie looking at him, then tried to will his suit coat to expand into great manta-ray wings to block Charlie's view as he keyed in his PIN number. Creek snatched his card and the expectorated cash from the machine, turned, and headed away quickly toward the corner. Charlie couldn't stand it any longer. The umbrella handle had begun to pulsate red, like a beating heart. As Creek reached the curb, Charlie said, â€Å"Excuse me. Excuse me, sir!† When Creek turned, Charlie said, â€Å"Your umbrella – â€Å" At that point, the number forty-one bus was coming through the intersection at Columbus and Vallejo at about thirty-five miles per hour, angling toward the curb for its next stop. Creek looked down at the satchel under his arm where Charlie was pointing, and the heel of his running shoe caught the slight rise of the curb. He started to lose his balance, the sort of thing we all might do on any given day while walking through the city, trip on a crack in the sidewalk and take a couple of quick steps to regain equilibrium, but William Creek took only one step. Back. Off the curb. You can't really sugarcoat it at this point, can you? The number forty-one bus creamed him. He flew a good fifty feet through the air before he hit the back window of a SAAB like a great gabardine sack of meat, then bounced back to the pavement and commenced to ooze fluids. His belongings – the satchel, the umbrella, a gold tie bar, a Tag Heuer watch – skittered on down the street, ricocheting off tires, shoes, manhole covers, some coming to rest nearly a block away. Charlie stood at the curb trying to breathe. He could hear a tooting sound, like someone was blowing a toy train whistle – it was all he could hear, then someone ran into him and he realized it was the sound of his own rhythmic whimpering. The guy – the guy with the umbrella – had just been wiped out of the world. People rushed, crowded around, a dozen were barking into cell phones, the bus driver nearly flattened Charlie as he rushed down the sidewalk toward the carnage. Charlie staggered after him. â€Å"I was just going to ask him – â€Å" No one looked at Charlie. It had taken all of his will, as well as a pep talk from his sister, to leave the apartment, and now this? â€Å"I was just going to tell him that his umbrella was on fire,† Charlie said, as if he was explaining to his accusers. But no one accused him, really. They ran by him, some headed toward the body, some away from it – they batted him around and looked back, baffled, like they'd collided with a rough air current or a ghost instead of a man. â€Å"The umbrella,† Charlie said, looking for the evidence. Then he spotted it, almost down at the next corner, lying in the gutter, still glowing red, pulsating like failing neon. â€Å"There! See!† But people were gathered around the dead man in a wide semicircle, their hands to their mouths, and no one was paying any attention to the frightened thin man spouting nonsense behind them. He threaded his way through the crowd toward the umbrella, determined now to confirm his conviction, too far in shock to be afraid. When he was only ten feet away from it he looked up the street to make sure another bus wasn't coming before he ventured off the curb. He looked back just as a delicate, tar-black hand snaked out of the storm drain and snatched the compact umbrella off the street. Charlie backed away, looking around to see if anyone had seen what he had seen, but no one had. No one even made eye contact. A policeman trotted by and Charlie grabbed his sleeve as he passed, but when the cop spun around and his eyes went wide with confusion, then what appeared to be real terror, Charlie let him go. â€Å"Sorry,† he said. â€Å"Sorry. I can see you've got work to do – sorry.† The cop shuddered and pushed through the crowd of onlookers toward the battered body of William Creek. Charlie started running, across Columbus and up Vallejo, until his breath and heartbeat in his ears drowned all the sounds of the street. When he was a block away from his shop a great shadow moved over him, like a low-flying aircraft or a huge bird, and with it Charlie felt a chill vibrate up his back. He lowered his head, pumped his arms, and rounded the corner of Mason just as the cable car was passing, full of smiling tourists who looked right through him. He glanced up, just for a second, and he thought he saw something above, disappearing over the roof of the six-story Victorian across the street, then he bolted through the front door of his shop. â€Å"Hey, boss,† Lily said. She was sixteen, pale, and a little bottom heavy – her grown-woman form still in flux between baby fat and baby bearing. Today her hair happened to be lavender: fifties-housewife helmet hair in Easter-basket cellophane pastel. Charlie was bent over, leaning against a case full of curios by the door, sucking in deep raspy gulps of secondhand store mustiness. â€Å"I – think – I – just – killed – a – guy,† he gasped. â€Å"Excellent,† Lily said, ignoring equally his message and his demeanor. â€Å"We're going to need change for the register.† â€Å"With a bus,† Charlie said. â€Å"Ray called in,† she said. Ray Macy was Charlie's other employee, a thirty-nine-year-old bachelor with an unhealthy lack of boundaries between the Internet and reality. â€Å"He's flying to Manila to meet the love of his life. A Ms. LoveYouLongTime. Ray's convinced that they are soul mates.† â€Å"There was something in the sewer,† Charlie said. Lily examined a chip in her black nail polish. â€Å"So I cut school to cover. I've been doing that since you've been, uh, gone. I'm going to need a note.† Charlie stood up and made his way to the counter. â€Å"Lily, did you hear what I said?† He grabbed her by the shoulders, but she spun out of his grasp. â€Å"Ouch! Fuck. Back off, Asher, you sado freak, that's a new tattoo.† She punched him in the arm, hard, and backed away, rubbing her own shoulder. â€Å"I heard, you. Cease your trippin', s'il vous plaà ®t.† Lately, since discovering Baudelaire's Fleurs du Mal in a stack of used books in the back room, Lily had been peppering her speech with French phrases. â€Å"French better expresses the profound noirness of my existence,† she had said. Charlie put both hands on the counter to keep them from shaking, then spoke slowly and deliberately, like he was speaking to someone for whom English was a second language: â€Å"Lily, I'm having kind of a bad month, and I appreciate that you are throwing away your education so you can come here and alienate customers for me, but if you don't sit down and show me a little fucking human decency, then I'm going to have to let you go.† Lily sat down on the chrome-and-vinyl diner stool behind the register and pulled her long lavender bangs out of her eyes. â€Å"So you want me to pay close attention to your confession to murder? Take notes, maybe get an old cassette recorder off the shelf and get everything down on tape? You're saying that by trying to ignore your obvious distress, which I would have to later recall to the police, so I can be personally responsible for sending you to the gas chamber, that I'm being inconsiderate?† Charlie shuddered. â€Å"Jeez, Lily.† He was continually surprised at the speed and accuracy of her creepiness. She was like some creepiness child prodigy. But on the bright side, her extreme darkness made him realize that he probably wasn't going to go to the gas chamber. â€Å"It wasn't that kind of killing. There was something following me, and – â€Å" â€Å"Silence!† Lily put her hand up, â€Å"I'd rather not show my employee spirit by committing every detail of your heinous crime to my photographic memory to be recalled in court later. I'll just say that I saw you but you seemed normal for someone without a clue.† â€Å"You don't have a photographic memory.† â€Å"I do, too, and it's a curse. I can never forget the futility of – â€Å" â€Å"You forgot to take out the trash at least eight times last month.† â€Å"I didn't forget.† Charlie took a deep breath, the familiarity of arguing with Lily was actually calming him down. â€Å"Okay then, without looking, what color shirt are you wearing?† He raised an eyebrow like he had her there. Lily smiled and for a second he could see that she was just a kid, kind of cute and goofy under the fierce makeup and attitude. â€Å"Black.† â€Å"Lucky guess.† â€Å"You know I only own black.† She grinned. â€Å"Glad you didn't ask hair color, I just changed this morning.† â€Å"That's not good for you, you know. That dye has toxins.† Lily lifted the lavender wig to reveal her close-cut maroon locks underneath, then dropped it again. â€Å"I'm all natural.† She stood and patted the bar stool. â€Å"Sit, Asher. Confess. Bore me.† Lily leaned back against the counter, and tilted her head to look attentive, but with her dark eye makeup and lavender hair it came off more like a marionette with a broken string. Charlie came around the counter and sat on the stool. â€Å"I was just in line behind this William Creek guy, and I saw his umbrella glowing†¦Ã¢â‚¬  And Charlie went through the whole story to her, the umbrella, the bus, the hand from the storm sewer, the bolt for home with the giant dark shadow above the rooftops, and when he was finished, Lily asked, â€Å"So how do you know his name?† â€Å"Huh?† Charlie said. Of all of the horrible, fantastic things she might have asked about, why that? â€Å"How do you know the guy's name?† Lily repeated. â€Å"You barely spoke to the guy before he bit it. You see it on his receipt or something?† â€Å"No, I†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He didn't have any idea how he knew the man's name, but suddenly there was a picture in his head of it written out in big, block letters. He leapt off the stool. â€Å"I gotta go, Lily.† He ran through the door into the stockroom and up the steps. â€Å"I still need a note for school,† Lily shouted from below, but Charlie was dashing through the kitchen, past a large Russian woman who was bouncing his baby daughter in her arms, and into the bedroom, where he snatched up the notepad he kept on his nightstand by the phone. There, in his own blocky handwriting, was written the name William Creek and, under it, the number 12. He sat down hard on the bed, holding the notepad like it was a vial of explosives. Behind him came the heavy steps of Mrs. Korjev as she followed him into the bedroom. â€Å"Mr. Asher, what is wrong? You run by like burning bear.† And Charlie, because he was a Beta Male, and there had evolved over millions of years a standard Beta response to things inexplicable, said, â€Å"Someone is fucking with me.† Lily was touching up her nail polish with a black Magic Marker when Stephan, the mailman, came through the shop door. â€Å"‘Sup, Darque?† Stephan said, sorting a stack of mail out of his bag. He was forty, short, muscular, and black. He wore wraparound sunglasses, which were almost always pushed back on his head over hair braided in tight cornrows. Lily had mixed feelings about him. She liked him because he called her Darque, short for Darquewillow Elventhing, the name under which she received mail at the shop, but because he was cheerful and seemed to like people, she deeply mistrusted him. â€Å"Need you to sign,† Stephan said, offering her an electronic pad, on which she scribbled Charles Baudelaire with great flourish and without even looking. Stephan plopped the mail on the counter. â€Å"Working alone again? So where is everyone?† â€Å"Ray's in the Philippines, Charlie's traumatized.† She sighed. â€Å"Weight of the world falls on me – â€Å" â€Å"Poor Charlie,† Stephan said. â€Å"They say that's the worst thing you can go through, losing a spouse.† â€Å"Yeah, there's that, too. Today he's traumatized because he saw a guy get hit by a bus up on Columbus.† â€Å"Heard about that. He gonna be okay?† â€Å"Well, fuck no, Stephan, he got hit by a bus.† Lily looked up from her nails for the first time. â€Å"I meant Charlie.† Stephan winked, despite her harsh tone. â€Å"Oh, he's Charlie.† â€Å"How's the baby?† â€Å"Evidently she leaks noxious substances.† Lily waved the Magic Marker under her nose as if it might mask the smell of ripened baby. â€Å"All good, then,† Stephan smiled. â€Å"That's it for today. You got anything for me?† â€Å"I took in some red vinyl platforms yesterday. Men's size ten.† Stephan collected vintage seventies pimp wear. Lily was to be on the lookout for anything that came through the shop. â€Å"How tall?† â€Å"Four inches.† â€Å"Low altitude,† Stephan said, as if that explained everything. â€Å"Take care, Darque.† Lily waved her Magic Marker at him as he left, and started sorting through the mail. There were mostly bills, a couple of flyers, but one thick black envelope that felt like a book or catalog. It was addressed to Charlie Asher â€Å"in care of† Asher's Secondhand and had a postmark from Night's Plutonian Shore, which evidently was in whatever state started with a U. (Lily found geography not only mind-numbingly boring, but also, in the age of the Internet, irrelevant.) Was it not addressed to the care of Asher's Secondhand? Lily reasoned. And was she, Lily Darquewillow Elventhing, not manning the counter, the sole employee – nay – the de facto manager, of said secondhand store? And wasn't it her right – nay – her responsibility to open this envelope and spare Charlie the irritation of the task? Onward, Elventhing! Your destiny is set, and if it be not destiny, then surely there is plausible deniability, which in the parlance of politics is the same thing. She drew a jewel-encrusted dagger from under the counter (the stones valued at over seventy-three cents) and slit the envelope, pulled out the book, and fell in love. The cover was shiny, like a children's picture book, with a colorful illustration of a grinning skeleton with tiny people impaled on his fingertips, and all of them appeared to be having the time of their lives, as if they were enjoying a carnival ride that just happened to involve having a gaping hole being punched through the chest. It was festive – lots of flowers and candy in primary colors, done in the style of Mexican folk art. The Great Big Book of Death, was the title, spelled out across the top of the cover in cheerful, human femur font letters. Lily opened the book to the first page, where a note was paper-clipped. This should explain everything. I'm sorry. – MF Lily removed the note and opened the book to the first chapter: â€Å"So Now You're Death: Here's What You'll Need.† And it was all she needed. This was, very possibly, the coolest book she had ever seen. And certainly not anything Charlie would be able to appreciate, especially in his current state of heightened neurosis. She slipped the book into her backpack, then tore the note and the envelope into tiny pieces and buried them at the bottom of the wastebasket.

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