North Korean Refugee Situation

North Korean Flag

On the topic of North Korea, the common first thought is towards the nuclear weapon debate.  However, the human rights violations occurring to the people of North Korea are often overlooked.  A majority of Western thinkers identify the North Koreans fleeing their country as refugees, yet North Korean authorities, as well as their neighbor China, do not agree with that classification.  Their unwillingness to view the fleeing North Koreans as refugees has created a roadblock for outside parties to assist these people in escaping persecution and a cruel life.  One such powerful entity, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), has been unable to exert any enforceable demands upon China to end the forcible repatriation of North Korean refugees.

 The UNHCR has legal grounds to confront China and North Korea, yet this UN body has chosen to take a more discreet approach in dealing with the North Korean refugee debacle.  China’s relationship with North Korea proves this country to have a major role in interacting with North Korea as well as a major role in handling the influx of refugees fleeing Korea illegally.  Non-profit organizations would rather challenge and place pressure on China to influence North Korea’s current policy towards citizens who flee the country.  However “limited information on… [North Korean]…policies dictated by emotional images and future conjecture (Yong 46)” could foster penalties.  Clear and specific communication between governmental bodies will more likely be effective (46).   Thus the economic and political intentions of the governmental bodies involved, impact UNHCR’s motives to remain as a discreet participant in alleviating the suffering of North Koreans who seek asylum in foreign countries, particularly in China where relations on issues of human rights are tense. 

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North Korean Refugee Situation

Impact of the Internet on Access to Dance

            The Internet is erasing boundaries between nations, cultures and people.  With the popularity of the Internet, there has been information overflow.  Internet has made dance accessible to people all over the world by a click on the computer.  The Internet has reinvented dance as an art form that is within a person’s grasp in their own homes. 

            Currently, there is a phase in which the public wants to know how things are created and what occurs behind the scenes.  The public also wants to know what they are going to see before they make a monetary commitment to go see an event, such as a movie.  In the past, for the mass public, dance was viewed as a finished product on a stage with dramatic lights, music and costumes.  With the onset of websites such as YouTube, the behind-the-scenes of the dance world is being exposed and people are witnessing the evolution of the different forms of dance.   

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Impact of the Internet on Access to Dance

Images:

http://wpcontent.answcdn.com/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/38/Two_dancers.jpg/250px-Two_dancers.jpg

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01206/broswerpic_1206937c.jpg

 

Political Economy of the Super Bowl

American society functions in a capitalist political economy, in which there is a connection between the nations’ current economy and society as consumers and nationalists.  The Super Bowl serves as an existing example of political economy in that its entire infrastructure manipulates the system of the economy but it also showcases the culture and values of sport in this society.  A political economy can not be easily defined. It incorporates different meanings and ideologies that make it a complex, yet important aspect of society.  These ideologies come about as reactions of a society to its economic situation.  In analyzing sports culture, political economy is a logical method that can be used to ask questions such as who owns what, who distributes what, how much money is being spent and how each segment is related. 

2009 Super Bowl: Steelers vs. Cardinals

The Super Bowl is an enigma that can influence several areas of American culture and the economy from the perspective of the owners of media distribution.  However, it also impacts the community of the city the event is hosted, like Tampa Bay.  The Super Bowl is not owned by one distributor.  Owners of distribution in Tampa Bay come to into the picture because the Super Bowl is an event that can be capitalized upon.  It is a network of communication between several participants that include but are not limited to Tampa Bay government, Tampa Bay Sports Commission, and media outlets like NBC and NFL network. 

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Political Economy of the Super Bowl

Images:

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http://www.tipb.com/images/stories/2011/02/nfl.jpg

High-heeled shoes: A cultural artifact

        When high-heeled shoes are mentioned in American society, the references are to shoes that literally raise the heels of one’s foot.  Heels are commonly referred to as, stilettos, pumps, kitten heels, wedges, kinky boots and even the legendary stripper heel.  Predominantly, heels are associated with feminine characteristics and female sexuality.  Although there are males who partake in the heels phenomena, such as male drag queens, this critique will focus on the cultural impact of heels on the role of women in society.  High-heeled shoes are commonly known to be uncomfortable after wearing them for a varying period of time.  However, the question remains, why do women choose to continue wearing heels if it hurts to wear them?  It transcends the notion of simply following the “fashion must-haves” trend, but instead incorporates how societies have been shaped to believe the sexualized message of heels and what this message offers to a woman’s image. 

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High-Heeled Shoes: A Cultural Artifact

Dance as a Political Movement

Alvin Ailey

           Dance is not normally associated with themes of politics, economics or other areas of the world that can dissociate itself with feelings.  When one attends a theater production, he or she is usually attempting to escape from reality and witness magic on stage.  Yet, dance is much more complex than it appears.  Dance is a cultural movement and one can read dance and its physical movement as cultural artifacts.  If one views dance in an academic perspective, dance can be perceived to have a particular purpose, “a form of social organizer, reinforcing societal norms within the contexts of celebrations or mating rituals” (Cohen-Stratyner 121). 

Donald McKayle

Probing further, the creators of dance works are automatically incorporating their own cultural experiences of the time they are living in.  Thus, several years following the development of a piece he or she created, the choreography documents a historic time from the perspective of one person’s cultural understanding of the time period.  Not only does one need to understand the cultural issues and contestations of the time, but one should also approach the choreography as an emotional experience with relevance to the time it was created to add upon his or her own cultural understanding (Sklar 31).  

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Dance as Political Movement

                                                                                                       

Google Images:
http://thepharaohsden.blogspot.com/2009/09/donald-mckayle.html
http://www.bet.com/News/Photos/News_Photos_BHM_BlackIcons.htm?i=14

The Impact of the Relationship between Matisse and Picasso

Henry Matisse, Bathers with a Turtle, 1908

Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso crossed paths within the ‘art world’ several times before being officially introduced to each other through the mutual patronage of a family of Americans, the Steins.  From the beginning, Matisse and Picasso were competing for attention toward their works of art.  The age difference also played a part in the rivalry between Matisse and Picasso, who were eleven years apart.  Matisse, being the elder, was sensitive to the fact that despite the age difference Picasso was going to be in competition with him not only for the patronage of the Steins but also within the world of modern art. 

Pablo Picasso, Three Women, 1908

Matisse and Picasso both primarily relied on reality as their core base for subjects in their paintings, and although they each painted similar subjects, the depiction of these subjects were different.  This difference inspired the artists to paint more exuberant paintings, each trying to gain more attention from the viewers in their different styles.  Therefore, this influence that Matisse and Picasso had on each other not only triggered the flow of creativity but it began the rivalry between them.  

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The Impact of the Relationship between Matisse and Picasso

 Images:

http://arthistory.about.com/od/from_exhibitions/ig/cezanne_and_beyond/cab_pma_09_11.htm

http://www.writedesignonline.com/history-culture/postimpressionism.htm

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days: Battle of the Sexes

            The setting of the film, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, is high fashion New York with the main characters working for a high-profile fashion magazine and a prominent advertising agency.  Both of these career worlds depend on society’s dominant ideology in order to function.  Ideological analysis is the best method for analyzing the way gender roles and ideals of beauty are presented to the audience through the film.  Also, ideological analysis delves deeper than simply how the plot represents a typical romantic comedy genre.  The feminist analysis method could be applied but since the film does not focus primarily on the female protagonist like another Hollywood film, Legally Blonde, it would not be the best method. The ideological analysis method allows a deeper probing into the stereotypes in society of both males and females.  This method can be used to probe into the interaction between the two genders and to explore how these interactions are highly influenced by the dominant ideologies enforced in this society.  Gender roles and the ideas of beauty in this film are intriguing.  How to Lose A Guy in 10 Days is responding to these assumed gender roles and ideals of beauty in today’s society.                  
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How to Lose A Guy in 10 Days: Battle of the Sexes