Archetypal Shame Society Essay examples -- German Literature Heroic Ep

Archetypal Shame Society Certainly one of the greatest works of German literature to date, Das Nibelungenlied is arguably the finest example of the heroic epic in all of Western literature. Ostensibly, Das Nibelungenlied is a story of deception, betrayal, and vengeance interwoven with themes of fate and the relationship between love and despair. The poet reproaches the main character, the queen Kriemhild, for her selfishness in sacrificing the lives of thousands of loyal knights to exact her revenge on those who betrayed and murdered her husband. However, underlying the story of Das Nibelungenlied is a tacit critique of its hypothetical society, which itself closely resembles the society of the poet’s audience. Hence, the poet intends to effect discourse amongst his audience regarding the political state of its society, and indeed this theme is even recapitulated in the very act of the epic’s reception. The premise for the poet’s political theory of the Nibelungenlied society is the same as that of English philosopher Thomas Hobbes in his essays on the state of nature and the social contract. Hobbes believed that man, in his natural state, was driven by the primitive impulses of desire, aggression, fear, and most of all, survival. For the most part, the lives of uncivilized men were short and brutish. Thus, to protect themselves from each other and external threats, men entered into a social contract, in which they created an entity with authority to rule and power to defend. Nevertheless, this agreement is hardly a solution to the problem of man’s natural aggression towards his fellow man; it merely glosses over it. Perfect evidence of the Nibelungenlied society glossing over natural aggression are the knightly exhibi... ...ext has to be such that the audience member learns nothing new about himself or herself in his or her self-conscious reflection of that text. In this way, the audience member realizes the society of the epic is analogous to his or her own. There are natural urges that man has, such as aggression, for which the state will provide suitable outlets. However, one must be wary that during the sublimation of these natural urges, one does not neglect to recognize the implications of these urges, because it is these impulses that drive and form our societies yet at the same time threaten their existence. To be sure, an audience listening to a reading of Das Nibelungenlied might well be a sublimation of adventure-seeking or intellectual stimulation, but whatever it is, if it sustains the society, it should never be glossed over, for it may also destroy the society it serves.

Racism and video games Essay

Video games are not what most people would go to when they think of racial controversy, but every media medium has had their own form of controversy one that happened most recently was the release of a game called Resident Evil 5 which is centered around a guy named Chris Redfield who is basically in a FBI like group centered around killing zombies. As you may have guest this is not the first in the series of the game the series has been around for about 15 years and has had been set in many different countries and such killed many a different zombies. The creators wanted to set this particular game in Africa when the trailer was released the was a racism claim against the game because Chris is white guy going around killing black zombies it was so bad the game release date was pushed backed and slight changes were made Chris was given a black side kick named Sheva Alomar. The second trailer for the game, released on May 31, 2008, revealed a more racially diverse group of enemies, as well as Sheva, a BSAA agent who assists the protagonist. However, designer Jun Takeuchi denied that complaints about racism had any effect in altering the design of Resident Evil 5. Takeuchi commented that the game’s producers were surprised by the controversy. In an interview with MTV, he explained that Capcom’s staff is racially diverse, and acknowledged that various cultures may have had different opinions on the trailer. In an interview with Computer and Video Games, producer Masachika Kawata also commented on the issue, stating, â€Å"We can’t please everyone. We’re in the entertainment business – we’re not here to state our political opinion or anything like that. It’s unfortunate that some people felt that way. † Well personally as a person of African American decent while me personally is not offended I can see where some people can be somewhat offended but it’s set in Africa what type of zombies do you think Chris is going kill. There just zombies not salves and he is not going around raping and lynching people. I personally think as far as video game African Americans are more or less symbolically annihilated rather than video games having racist tendencies toward us as a race of people. And what I mean by that is you don’t really see that many black people in video game as main characters. There are a few, Cj from Grand theft Auto 3 San Andreas Is one that comes to mind but his game is full of stereotypes about the â€Å"Hood† And I’m not going to sit here and lie I played this game and enjoyed it back in middle school. As far I know there are only a few truly without a doubt racist games one them being Custer’s Revenge In the game, the player controls the character of General George Armstrong Custer, depicted as a man wearing nothing but a cavalry hat, boots, and a bandana, sporting a visible erection. Custer has to overcome arrow attacks to reach the other side of the screen. His goal is to have sex with a naked, large-breasted Native American woman named Revenge. (And Yes This Game Dose Exist but it was released back on the Atari 2600 in the 80’s here a wikiapiea link http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Custer’s_Revenge ) Even with this game it’s was not licensed by Atari and nor did Atari have anything to do with its production. The video game medium has become a very big part of media and I do not think that anyone in their right mind would even think of releasing anything racially offensive to anyone if they want to keep making the multimillions that they continue to make. As I stated earlier I would say that video game would more likely be a candidate for social annihilation more anything else I would like to more black people in video games kicking butt and taking names and so far we have a few but not as much as I would like well I guess it’s just more of a personal preference than anything else.

The Forest Management

Forest management is the maintaining and management of not only the trees in the forest, but the streams, habitat, watersheds, and even the decaying trees or logs on the forest floor. Managing our forests is not only important to the wildlife, but to our future economy and way of life. We need to continue to save the Oregon forests and help the ecosystems within them because human beings are also part of the ecosystem. By using forest management, it can help certain species of wildlife. Some species of birds, such as the pileated woodpecker, which need large snags to build nest cavities(7). But the worst possible approach to maintaining a wide diversity of species would be to manage every acre of the forest the same way. Any change in forest habitat creates â€Å"winners† and â€Å"losers. † As forests go through natural cycles of growth, death and regeneration, species may inhabit or be absent from a given area partly in response to natural changes in the structure of trees and other forest vegetation(4). The same occurs when forest stands are managed by humans. Unless future credible research indicates otherwise, effort should be made to manage a wide range of forest structures. Maintaining diversity would be best served by using a broader range of management tools. Those would include harvesting on federal land – not simply thinning – and increasing the commitment to old-growth attributes on private forest land through techniques such as retaining large trees and snags. As long as federal lands are substantially committed to providing late successional habitat, private forest land can be substantially committed to younger, intensively managed stands, provided critical habitat characteristics are available. The federal lands make up more than 50% to 60% of the forests in Oregon(3). Because timber harvest in now dramatically reduced on federal lands, those lands represent a sizable, well distributed pool of both old-growth forests and forests that could become old-growth, providing habitat to those species associated with forests with old-growth characteristics. While a large portion of federal land is committed to sustaining species that need old-growth, the difficult question remains, how much is enough? Leaving these forests completely unharvested invites unacceptable, large-scale insect infestations and catastrophic fires(6). Because federal lands comprise nearly 50 to 60 percent of Oregon†s orests, practices on these lands have a major impact on forest-dwelling vertebrates(2). These lands are well distributed throughout the state. Private land ownership accounts for approximately 40 percent of the states forests(5). Of this private ownership, over half is in industrial ownership and the rest is held mostly by small woodland owners(7). Since 1992 harvesting on federal lands has dropped sharply. In contrast, many industrial private lands are intensively managed(6). Oregon law requires prompt replanting, and stands are often fertilized and thinned. This split ownership, in addition to diverse management practices on private lands, results in a wide range of habitat conditions. No species studied appears immediately threatened by forest practices in Oregon(3). In fact, many species are abundant. While that finding appears hopeful, it does not ensure that these will not be future problems. Current practices may not be adequate to keep the present range of species in the future. While some species thrive in the habitat provided by younger forest stands, a considerable number of species either requires, or reproduces etter, where large live trees, large cavities, and large pieces of downed wood The Oregon Forest Practice Act currently requires that some trees be retained after harvest. But the question is: how much is enough? Will trees being retained be sufficiently distributed to meet the future habitat needs of all vulnerable species? For example more than 60 species are associated with downed wood such as; fallen decaying trees or logs, 14 of them considered at risk(8). One species would be the rough skinned newt which live in and around decaying wood. Few studies to date have focused specifically on intensively anaged stands where old-growth characteristics, such as large snags and large pieces of decaying wood, are most likely to be in short supply. However, research is looking toward this need. Harvest levels in the future will likely be at least 40 percent below what could be cut on a sustainable level(1). That†s because of reduced exaggeration on timber production on federal lands. In the past, federal land provided half the states timber production, but in 1996 provided only 17 percent(2). That is the lowest level since 1934, in the depths of the Great Depression. An nderstanding of Oregon†s timberland and its importance to the state†s economic and social well being, particularly in rural areas. In Oregon, reforestation is mandatory and carefully spelled out in the Oregon Forest Practice Act, which governs all management related activities in Oregon†s privately owned forests. Private lands must be replanted within two planting seasons of harvest, and within six years of harvest, the site must be certified as free to grow, meaning the trees have topped the brush and can grow successfully. If the replanting job fails, the state can compel compliance ith the act through civil penalties, including civil court action and fines of up to $5,000(3). More than 90 percent of harvested forested acres are replanted to stocking levels that meet of exceed what is legally required. So in order to help our forests, we need to continue with what is being done today. The hard work that is being put into saving the forests habitat, the streams, and the trees themselves may not show in the short-run but will have dramatic effect in the long-run. Wood products remain an important component of Oregon†s robust economy and contribute to the long-awaited diversification of the state†s economy.