IMC Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

IMC - Essay Example It is not easy to market an intangible place because of the conflicting interests that come as a result of it having many stakeholders. However, one marketing approach that has been highlighted in the article is the use of brochures which create favorable images of places. Marketing approaches like media advertising and public relations can also be utilized especially if the target is to maximize the impact of communication (Skinner, 2005). Marketing approaches that are often used for tangible products include sales promotions, general media advertising, and public relations. These approaches aim at making the target consumers aware of the products being produced by a particular company. Some of these approaches are the same as those being utilized in marketing intangible places. The aim of marketing tangible products and intangible places is also the same. In the case of tangible products, the aim of marketing is to attract customers to want the products while in the case of intangible places the aim of marketing is to make a place in order for it to be a traveler’s choice. When looking at services businesses, it is crucial to understand that they are different from businesses that produce physical goods. When marketing, these businesses need to focus on the people who will benefit from the services, the physical evidence that can show the quality of the service being provided, and the process of delivering the services. Service businesses face the challenge of differentiating their services making this hard to gain a competitive advantage. The alternative way is to differentiate themselves through their marketing strategies. Some approaches which can be utilizes in service businesses include sales promotion and media advertising. Sales promotion can be by including innovative features. Apart from what the customer expect, a secondary service feature can be added. For example, an accounting firm can offer free consultation to

Ideological underpinnings of a movie Essay Example for Free

Ideological underpinnings of a movie Essay An expectation has arisen among film-critics and audiences, that movie-makers will deal with the serious issues, such as racism and violence, at a serious level. In other words, it is expected by critics and film-goers alike that films will have meaning. However, if meaning is expected what precisely creates and communicates meaning in a film? As Louis Giannetti points out in his book, Understanding Movies (2008), the presence of ideology in a film impacts the film in its entirety, from tone to theme. In Giannettis estimation, ideology is another language system in film and this language is largely conveyed through code (Giannetti, 453). In order to help illustrate the way that ideology influences films, Giannetti offers a series of categories into which the influence of ideology in film can be functionally divided. The following discussion of the film 300 (2007) will use Giannettis ideas as a support-structure to show how meaning in film is ultimately determined by the films prevailing ideology. In any discussion of meaning in film, it will be important to distinguish between what might be considered overt or even propagandistic meaning and thematic or expressive meaning. Of course this distinction is quite artificial and the two hypothetically divided types of meaning are often one and the same. That said, there is often a conspicuous difference between a film which has an explicit propagandistic agenda than a film which is based on generating thematic and emotional subtlety. The movie 300 offers, even to the most casual viewer, an example of what Giannetti calls Explicit ideology (Giannetti, 449). In this category of ideological content, a movie serves, at least partially, as obvious propaganda for a viewpoint or cause. That 300 functions as a form of propaganda is easily arguable. However, it is slightly more difficult to pinpoint exactly what specific cause or theme is being forwarded by the films ideology. In order to determine the films ideological bearing, closer attention must be paid to its content and its artistic tone. Giannetti mentions that tone in a film can be one of the most important aspects of presenting the films ideology. What Giannetti means by tone is its manner of presentation (Giannetti, 489). For example, in the movie 300, any number of important scenes, if played with a comic rather than a heroic tone, would create a different response in the viewer and therfore communicate a different ideological vision. Imagine the scene where Leonidas kicks the Persian messenger down the well: if the well had sounded out a loud burp after swallowing the messenger, the tone of the scene would have mocked the idea of Spartan pride and Spartan loyalty rather than celebrating it. The reason that tone is so important in a film is that it defines the way the audience will evaluate and judge the characters and scenes of a film. Because as Giannetti insists, Tone can strongly affect our responses to a given set of values (Giannetti, 489), tone is closely connected to ideology and theme. In the example given above, Leonidas kicks the Persian messenger down the well and this scene is presented in a heroic tone. From the outset of the film, the viewer is cued-in to understand that the Spartans are heroic and that they operate from a sense of pride and fearlessness. The tone of heroicism is conveyed not only through the action of the scene, but through the stylized representation of the characters as muscle-bound heros. The Mise-en-scene of the film is connected to the visual color-schemes of comic books and graphic novels. The sense of legend permeates the film, as it permeates the actual historical event. Therefore, the most dominant or controlling tone of 300 can be considered heroic. The fact that a movie has a controlling tone does not mean that other types of tones are not present in isolated scenes. In fact, the opposite is generally the case. The shifts against the dominant tone also help to convey meaning and ideology in a film. If the controlling tone of 300 is heroic, then the scenes that play against this dominant tone, such as the scene where Theron rapes Queen Gorgo, serve to reinforce the films dominant tone and ideology. When Theron tells the Queen she will not enjoy what is going to happen to her, the tone of the scene is tragic rather than heroic, and Therons status as a villain is cemented in the audiences minds. The scene, by depicting graphically, the rape of Spartas Queen reinforces the heroic sacrifice of Leonidas and his men. Another aspect of films that influences ideological language is the cultural context in which a given film is made and shown. Cultural context is a crucial aspect of a films ideological meaning. The expectations of a given audience rest on the fact that Every nation has a characteristic way of looking at life, a set of values that is typical of a given culture (Giannetti, 465). The movie 300 is an American movie made for American audiences. ecause of this it would be hard for anyone to miss the obvious connections between contemporary world-events and the ideological themes that are shown in the movie. Comparisons with recent events are more or less easy. Any observer could see the present-day war against terrorism as a stand for freedom and to view the Battle of Thermopylae as a sort of allegory for the modern-day struggle against tyranny. Obviously, the movie 300 forwards this connection through the kind of code that Giannetti describes. Still, as Dennis Behreandt points out in his review of the film from The New American (2007) the movie serves to buttress the American mythos that our present-day warriors are likewise fighting for freedom in Iraq and also that this is most evident in the scene where Gorgo addresses the Gerousia, the Spartan Senate when her speech could only remind any aware person of the recent troop surge in Iraq (Behreandt). This kind of cultural context would, obviously, be of less significance to someone who lived out side of the U. S. han to someone steeped in to American values. In addition to the cultural context of a film, there is usually a predominant political context. The political context of a film, for Giannetti, can loosely be divided into one of two categories: left and right. Left-leaning films are those that show multiple viewpoints to issues and propose more flexible responses to issues and problems. Giannetti describes leftists as people who believe we ought to be flexible in ou r judgments. By contrast, right-leaning film-makers are those who embrace a more stringent world-view. The rightist film-maker is more absolute in judging human behavior [ ] Right and wrong are fairly clear-cut and ought to be evaluated according to a strict code of conduct (Giannetti, 457). In the case of 300, the designation of Rightest is, obviously, the most fitting for the film due to its tone and cultural perspective. Loosely, according to the discussion above, the following observations about 300 can be made in light of Giannettis criteria for evaluating the ideological underpinnings of films. First, that 300 is a film that relies predominantly on a heroic tone. Second, the film 300 depends on the specific cultural associations of American society to find its full ideological impact. Third, that 300 represents a Rightest political ideology. The three conclusions, taken together, along with the initial determination that 300 is an explicit communicator if ideology, beg the question as to whether or not 300 is more a vehicle for entertainment or propaganda. One of the opposing aspects to this idea is the fact that 300 is based on history. The idea that historical realism balances out the poetic licesne often taken by Hollywood regarding tone and presentation is one that, for better or worse, many film-goers probably believe. In addition to the idea that a culture could exert such self-discipline in its military caste and instill within each soldier a sense of bravery and fearlessness was a very powerful concept in 300 , which seems to resonate deeply with modern times. It is hard not to be fascinated by the Spartans, to wonder what made them as strong and resolute a they were and to wonder just as Xerxes What kind of men were these Spartans who in three days had slain before his Majestys eyes no fewer than twenty thousand of His most valiant warriors? (Pressfield, 8). However, the fact shades of realism exist within the largely stylized or expressionistic flavor of the film only serves to elevate its power to transmit equally stylized (or stereotyped) ideologies. For example, the difference between vanity and pride seemed to have a great deal of influence on the Spartan conception of bravery as it was portrayed in the movie 300. Modern-day leaders would never think of putting themselves in direct danger like King Leonidas: his pride rather than his vanity dictated his actions and pride stems from a sense of civic (or national) unity. Loyalty is another important concept in the movie. It becomes the central most important idea, given that Spartan military power evolved out of the phalanx, which required the utmost loyalty and steadfastness of each warrior in the unit as a whole. The idea that a Greek traitor showed the Persians another path, which enabled them to come round behind and encircle the Greeks and that this ultimately led to the wholesale destruction of the Spartans at Thermopylae shows how important loyalty was to the Spartans. After Leonidas is killed his men fought on with redoubled fury under the Persian arrows, as much to defend the fallen body of their King from the savagery of the barbarians as to show their valor (THE GREATEST WARRIORS). The historical basis of the film is incorporated into the larger and more important myth of the movie that is conveyed in heroic tones that simplify historical subtleties and create a fictional paradigm of idealism. Therefore, the fact that realism in films can be construed into a propagandistic function, is the reality that filmmakers, and especially American filmmakers, are subject to the prejudices and blind-spots which are inherent to the social position they occupy and to which they owe their ability to make high-profile films. Elizabeth G. Traubes Dreaming Identities: Class, Gender, and Generation in 1980s (1992) offers background to the mores and machinations of the filmmaking industry in America and her observations are important for understanding that movies are, in fact, propagandistic and often they represent the experience of only a very small segment of American society. This narrowness is obscured, according to Traube, beneath a veneer which can be thought of as a traditional moralistic package. Traube points out that, in reality, audience preferences are only one of many factors that influence production decisions. Producers also shape their work to conform to dominant sensibilities and values, including those of the producing community itself (Traube, 69). This reality combined with Traubes complex but insightful understanding of fairy-tale motifs in movies is crucial to elucidating the way that anger and racial conflict are expressed propagandistically in film. All fables rely on a straightforward, linear narrative due to the fact that complex stories tend to obscure the thrust of the intended moral. Because the author of any fable is able to transform topical news and politics into universal predicaments (Haggiss Fable 38), a fable carries with it the dangerous connotations of stereotype and oversimplification. The movie 300 stands as an heroic statement about the importance of protecting liberty and freedom. The ideological message that bravery and loyalty are essential aspects of preserving freedom and rather than Sparta, now it is America that faces the threat from Persia and by telling this story so forcefully and with so much passion the film embrace the mythos of the battle rather than the historical truth of the era, which is strongly conveyed in the film. (Behreandt). The ideological underpinnings of the movie 300 are based in a rightist, conservative set of political values that celebrate military capacity and force of strength. he films ideological message is one of social and civic duty as well as xenophobia. The film is geared toward an American audience in a time when America faces military challenges on several fronts and as such plays to the expectations of its audience. The tone of the film is heroic and its political ideology is conservative. The most logical conclusion that can be drawn from these facts is that, as mentioned by Giannetti, the ideological language of the film emerges as the most important aspect of the film as a whole. Further, the code that is used in the movie is comprised of historical truths and cultural stereotypes. The film blurs the line between entertainment and propaganda. It is accurate to suggest that the film, stripped of its propagandistic functions, would cease to exist. The unity of the film, in terms of narrative, editing, staging, costuming, scene construction and even music is derived more from a unity of ideology than from a unity of style or form. The movie follows a traditional fairy-tale arc of narrative to reinforce an already existing set of ideologies in its expected audience. Therefore, the best way in which to interpret the movie 300 is the method demonstrated by Giannetti that isolates and categorizes the ideological code of a film and makes the ideological language much more understandable for the average film-goer.

Mapping the Future Essay -- Cartography Technology Computers Essays

Mapping the Future Technology and computers have revolutionized many of the aspects of our lives. Many professions and businesses have used technology to their advantage and completely changed industries. One profession that has drastically changed because of computers and technology is cartography or mapmaking. The impact of technology on geographic information and mapmaking has led to new techniques and skills for these now computer-based jobs and careers. New technologies such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and the Global Positioning System (GPS) have emerged in mapmaking. There are also new Internet-based map services including MapQuest and MapBlast as well as other digital maps. Before analyzing the effects that technology has on mapmaking, it is important to understand some of the history of maps. Hundreds of years ago, maps were drawn by hand and much of the work had to be done manually. In ancient Greece , philosophers came up with the idea of â€Å"geography† and that was where the foundations of maps were created. Information about geography is very crucial in designing a map and at this time methods of mapmaking were very primitive. Over a thousand years ago, China navigated its surrounding waters and was able to create the most accurate maps at the time (Knox 12). Exploration was on the rise in the 1500s because of Europeans’ discovery of America and maps were needed by these empires. In the next few centuries, mapmaking became more accurate because of the ever-expanding knowledge of information about geography. As the methods of mapmaking improved during the years prior to the 20th century, advancements were made in cartography in terms of measurem... ...duced and more common because the ability to produce them has become easier. Computers and technology have definitely had significant, positive effects on mapmaking and cartography. Works Cited Knox, P. L. & Marston, S. A. Places and Regions in Global Context: Human Geography. Upper Saddle River , NJ : Pearson Education, Inc., 2003. Chrisman, Nicholas Exploring Geographic Information Systems. New York , NY : John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2002 Hafner, Katie. Adventures in Driving, Via Web Map. The New York Times. C-1 Jan. 16, 2003 . Davis, Bruce GIS: A Visual Approach. Florence , KY : Onword Press, 2001. DiBiase, David. â€Å"Understanding Geographic Data.† ESRI Virtual Campus Retrieved: 10 Apr 2003 . Kaplan, Elliott. Understanding GPS: Principles and Applications. Norwood , MA : Artech House, 1996. Mapping the Future Essay -- Cartography Technology Computers Essays Mapping the Future Technology and computers have revolutionized many of the aspects of our lives. Many professions and businesses have used technology to their advantage and completely changed industries. One profession that has drastically changed because of computers and technology is cartography or mapmaking. The impact of technology on geographic information and mapmaking has led to new techniques and skills for these now computer-based jobs and careers. New technologies such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and the Global Positioning System (GPS) have emerged in mapmaking. There are also new Internet-based map services including MapQuest and MapBlast as well as other digital maps. Before analyzing the effects that technology has on mapmaking, it is important to understand some of the history of maps. Hundreds of years ago, maps were drawn by hand and much of the work had to be done manually. In ancient Greece , philosophers came up with the idea of â€Å"geography† and that was where the foundations of maps were created. Information about geography is very crucial in designing a map and at this time methods of mapmaking were very primitive. Over a thousand years ago, China navigated its surrounding waters and was able to create the most accurate maps at the time (Knox 12). Exploration was on the rise in the 1500s because of Europeans’ discovery of America and maps were needed by these empires. In the next few centuries, mapmaking became more accurate because of the ever-expanding knowledge of information about geography. As the methods of mapmaking improved during the years prior to the 20th century, advancements were made in cartography in terms of measurem... ...duced and more common because the ability to produce them has become easier. Computers and technology have definitely had significant, positive effects on mapmaking and cartography. Works Cited Knox, P. L. & Marston, S. A. Places and Regions in Global Context: Human Geography. Upper Saddle River , NJ : Pearson Education, Inc., 2003. Chrisman, Nicholas Exploring Geographic Information Systems. New York , NY : John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2002 Hafner, Katie. Adventures in Driving, Via Web Map. The New York Times. C-1 Jan. 16, 2003 . Davis, Bruce GIS: A Visual Approach. Florence , KY : Onword Press, 2001. DiBiase, David. â€Å"Understanding Geographic Data.† ESRI Virtual Campus Retrieved: 10 Apr 2003 . Kaplan, Elliott. Understanding GPS: Principles and Applications. Norwood , MA : Artech House, 1996.

Hunger Games Book vs Movie Essay

The book and movie of the story The Hunger Games were great! Even though the movie wasn’t exactly alike it many similarities, but only a few differences. In my point of view the book was better. The book had more description, the story line was great, and it was just all around an awesome novel. My favorite parts were the killings in the book, which in the movie they didn’t use the same description and graphic in the movie as they did in the book. One of the kills that really stood out was one of the first when a girl lit a fire in the forest and the group that Cato led attempted to kill her but failed in a way they had sent Peeta back to finish him off in the book. In the movie they killed her right away. One of my favorite characters from district 11 was named Thresh his death was sad. But before he died Katniss the main character from district 12 took care of Thresh’s tribute partner so Thresh saved Katniss’s life. Katniss was running to get a package to save Peeta from dying cause she was really starting to care about him. This girl came up behind her took katniss to the ground and was playing with knife she was going to kill her with, when thresh came up and took her off Katniss and beat her to death, then spared her life. Later, the games were taking so long they released hungry savaged dogs to hopefully speed up the games. They got to Thresh first as soon as his death the sound of a cannon went off to signify his death in the book, but in the movie Cato killed him. Another death, in which I was excited for in the movie, was Cato’s death. Cato was the antagonist in the story, the leader of a group of people that train their whole lives to participate in the games. In the book Peeta, Katniss, and Cato are the final three tributes. Peeta and Katniss were walking and randomly a dog starts chasing them so the run to the cornucopia, a place where weapons and shelter is, Cato is waiting thee for them so he can kill them and win the games. Well Peeta and Katniss run and get the top, Cato’s just waiting there for them Peeta Runs at him to fight him. They fight and Peeta throw him over the edge to get attacked by the savage dogs. The book says that he lay there screaming and suffering for hours on end, the next morning is when he is relieved by Katniss shooting him in the head to end his life. In the movie She kills him immediately after they knock him off the edge. I was looking forward to him dying he was one of my least favorite characters. All in all the movie and book were both magnificent I would prefer reading the book first then comparing differences, the movie had many similarities, Too many to explain. Over all there weren’t very many differences, mainly it was only deaths that were different. P

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte Essay

Though Blanche, from Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, thinks that opposites attract and thus that she will marry Rochester, Bronte has different ideas about foils. Near the end of the novel Jane marries Rochester effectively quieting Blanche’s ideas. However, Bronte does use foils in the novel for a different reason. She uses characters will opposite personalities to reveal more about them, and to keep the reader from overlooking many of the major characters’ traits. For instance, without Blanche, who is a foil of Jane, one may have thought Jane a simple and plain governess and nothing more. Similarly, without St. John the reader could have missed Rochester’s passionate side, or with no Mrs. Reed how supportive Miss Temple really is. Using foils, Bronte reveals more about the personalities of the major characters, and keeps the reader from overlooking many traits. One can see that Jane and Blanche are opposites from before they even meet. While Jane is rather plain and unattractive on the outside, Blanche is described as beautiful with, â€Å"the noble bust, the sloping shoulders, the graceful neck, the dark eyes and black ringlets† (183) Even Jane cannot deny that Blanche is beautiful. In addition, Blanche grows up in a rich noble family while Jane is an orphan who was sent to a lowly boarding school. The opposites do not stop at their looks and backgrounds, for even Jane and Blanche’s personalities are completely different. Jane is an independent, passionate, and respectful young woman, although she often seems very practical and rational. Blanche flaunts herself, gossips, talks about marriage, and can be very rude as shown when she says â€Å"she (Jane) looks too stupid for any game of the sort† (194). While Jane was in the room, Blanche speaks loudly and rudely of her without a second thought. In addition, Blanche only wants Rochester as her husband for his money, and for the title of a wife. She likes the fact that he is not handsome because as a result, she will receive all of the attention. Jane loves Rochester for his personality, and thinks to herself, â€Å"gratitude and many associations, all pleasurable and genial, made his face the object I best liked to see; his presence in a room was more cheering than the brightest fire† (155). Jane does not mind his physical features because she finds him interesting, caring, and the fact that he makes her happy. As foils, Blanche elicits Jane’s noble characteristics, while at the same time making Jane seem more interesting. Instead of seeing a simple governess, the reader realizes Jane’s passion and interesting qualities. Blanche’s outer beauty also helps the reader see the beauty within Jane though her physique is plain. In the novel, St. John brings out many characteristics in Rochester. They seem to be the two sides of Jane, her practical and rational side versus her passionate and emotional side. St. John seems to be powerful and dangerous. Jane feels he wants to marry her because it would be practical, and as he says goodbye to her she notes that â€Å"his look was not, indeed, that of a lover beholding his mistress, but it was that of a pastor recalling his wandering sheep: (454-455). St. John does not love Jane, and he does not try to act so. Unlike Rochester he lacks passion. In contrast to St. John, Rochester really loves Jane and expresses himself when she talks of leaving, â€Å"my deep love, my wild woe, my frantic prayer, all are nothing to you? †¦You leave me here in anguish† (344). The severe intensity of Rochester’s words shows just how much he really loves Jane. In addition, St. John is very self-denying. He takes and feels what he thinks the Lord would want to him to take or feel. He does not want to give love to anyone except his God. Rochester is much different as he succumbs to temptation and love. He has many other personality traits as well, although some are not originally apparent. After Jane saves Rochester from the fire in his room Rochester says, â€Å"If you are not warm enough, you may take my cloak† (159). Rochester can also by very caring and thoughtful, although these traits are much less obvious. They are made clearer through contrast to St. John who lacks empathy and is very harsh and cold. These foils also help the reader understand more about Jane. After being courted by both of them, she chooses Rochester. This symbolizes her choice of emotion and passion over principles and rationality. A less obvious pair of characters who are foils as well is Miss Temple and Mrs. Reed. Not only are they opposites of each other, but they also bring out different sides of Jane herself. When around the uncaring and rude Mrs. Reed, Jane feels angry and suppressed. She finally lets out her anger in a memorable scene after she learns she is going to school, â€Å"If anyone asks me how I liked you, and how you treated me, I will say the very thought of you makes me sick, and that you treated me with miserable cruelty† (34). Because Mrs. Reed, is mean herself, she brings out the bad side of Jane. Miss Temple brings out a much different personality in Jane. Around Miss Temple, Jane is calm and more caring as a result of Miss Temple’s influence. Mrs.  Reed was a hateful and unforgiving person as shown when talking to Jane on her dying bed, â€Å"she (Jane) did not die: but I said she did—I wish she had died! † (249). Even as she dies, Mrs. Reed hates Jane, although Jane did not do anything wrong. Miss Temple believes in forgiveness, and she even helps Jane clear her tarnished reputation. Miss Temple teaches Jane about life as well as schoolwork and is very generous. Mrs. Reed, a horrible mother figure for Jane, helps the reader realize that Miss Temple is more of a inspiration and maternal figure than at first apparent. After Miss Temple marries and Jane becomes unhappy, Jane has a realization as a result of Miss Temple’s motherly influence, â€Å"I remembered that the real world was wide, and that a varied field of hopes and fears†¦ awaited those to who had the courage to go forth† (87). Instead of just being a schoolteacher, Miss Temple helps Jane through her life unlike Mrs. Reed who was supposed to treat Jane as her own child. In Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, the author uses many foils to highlight certain traits in the major characters. She also uses the opposites to help one see personality traits that are not as obvious to the reader. Without these foils, many characters would have seemed different and less interesting. Without Mrs. Reed, Miss Temple would have just seemed like a nice schoolteacher. If St. John had been missing, Rochester would not have seemed very nice or caring at all. Finally, without Blanche, Jane would have seemed much less interesting, and her noble characteristics would have been diminished. The opposites are used to reveal more about the major characters, and to keep the reader from overlooking important personality traits.