Gender Identity In Friends Tv Show Film Studies Essay

Gender Identity In Friends Tv Show Film Studies Essay When we say that gender identity is socially constructed, what we do mean is that our identities are a fluid assemblage of the meanings and behaviours that we construct from the values, images and prescriptions we find in the world around us. Our gendered identities are both voluntary we choose who we are and coerced we are pressured, forced, sanctioned and often physically beaten into submission to some rules. We neither make up the rules as we go along, nor do we fit casually and without struggle into preassigned roles. (Carter and Steiner 2004) The influences that gender roles and our daily occupations have on our lives extend well beyond the workspace. In the popular television series, Friends, the show exhibits six main characters, consisting of three males and three females. During each episode, several portrayals of the intermingling of work and gender related issues arise. These issues interact with the personal and social lives of each of the main characters. Thus, each character finds that their careers define themselves, and that they are defined by their gender roles and their chosen job markets. Looking into how the role of each character affects their social relationship, one thing that I am interested in is that the successes, failures and experiences of their careers can also play upon the characters friendships. This essay aims to explore how each character attempts to represent their social class and their gender roles. Also, it will attempt to demonstrate whether their careers have a direct impact on their s ocial relationship. For this assignment, five episodes of Friends were chosen from the second season of the series, which aired September of 1995 into January of 1996. The answers to the three following questions were then sought from each episode. 1.) What careers do each of the characters have, and how do they attempt to represent themselves as employees of such? 2.) Do the careers have a direct impact on their personal identities, if so, how? 3.) Do the careers and gender roles of each character have an impact on their social relationship? 4.) Are there any other gender and work related issues portrayed? The following answers will come as a result of the inquired questions. Each of the male characters attempted to represent themselves with success in their career fields, although it may not have always happened. In their various fields of work, Joey and Ross feel the desire to depict profitable growth and flourishing careers. Joey, as an actor, spends time trying to coerce his way into various employment situations. In the episode, The One After the Super Bowl, he specifically wines and dines an assistant movie director in an attempt to obtain an acting role for a movie. In the end he succeeds, but prior to his victory he expresses distress about being outshined in show business by Ross pet monkey. In this context, I could consider about Joeys self identity. Giddens (1991) mentioned a persons identity is not to be found in behavior, nor important thought this is in the reactions of others, but in the capacity to keep a particular narrative going. Here Joey gives a good example that competition (with a monkey), whether real or imagined, impacts how one man feels he represents himself as successful or not in his chosen career. Joey felt surpassed in the acting business. While he performed as a television character, a monkey without acting skills had appeared in popular advertisements and a film. Understandably, Joey displays feelings of confusion and jealousy when an animal obtained more attention from Hollywood than himself. Joeys personal identity as a successful actor comes into question, which instigates him to pursue a role in a film as well. Joey succeeds, obtaining a supporting role. His self identity as a successful actor reappears when he feels that he has accomplished as much in the acting business as the monkey. On the other hand, the character Ross tries to represent himself as successful in his job by proving the scientific credibility of his research. In the episode, The One with Phoebes Husband, Phoebe reveals that she does not believe in the theory of evolution. Ross, as a palaeontologist, feels the inclination to convince her that evolution really exists. He spends considerable effort to explain to Phoebe the way humans have changed throughout time. When Phoebe finally persuades Ross to admit that other explanations seem plausible for humans existence besides evolution, Ross feels his incentive to work shattered. Overall, Ross represents himself as a realistic fact finder in his career, and makes attempts at success by researching and sharing the information he finds with others. Ross obviously feels his job success through the proven facts that he and his career endorse. When others question those very facts, he feels not only his career but also his personal identity challenged. Ross, unlike Joey, has no competition and does not need to achieve more to feel successful. Instead, his values, reasons, and passion for why he works in the field he has chosen come into question. Phoebe challenges Ross to examine his motives, and then determine whether he wishes to continue down his career path once he admits other explanations for human evolution could exist. Admitting to other possible theories of human life makes Ross wonder about the legitimacy and value if his own work. No conclusion to this dilemma appears in the episode, and viewers are left to wonder how Ross overcomes such a critical experience. An adequate example of Chandlers career did not appear in the chosen episodes for examination. However, each of the present examples given illustrate Mac an Ghaills observation on mens attitudes concerning their careers. Nothing is more important to a mans pride, self respect, status, and manhood than work. Nothing. Sexual impotence, like a sudden loss of ambulation or physical strength, may shatter his self -confidence. Butà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦pride is built on work and achievement, and the successes that accrue from their work(Mac an Ghaill 2007). On a similar context, Gauntlett(2007) also describes about mans pride and self-esteem in society; both of them are based on confidence in the integrity and value of the narrative of self-identity. Joeys situation supports former statement by the revelation of his damaged pride and self identity when his acting career falls into the shadow of a monkeys stardom. Ross exemplifies latter statement as his confidence diminishes when he questions the validity and worth of his work. The women of the series do not seem to feel as much pressure to express their success in the career world, but do instead feel the gender limitations that their chosen careers impose on them. Monica, as a chef, finds herself without a job and struggling to obtain a new one. During the episode, The One with the List, she desperately takes on an assignment with a food company awaiting an FDA approval on its product mock-o-late, a substitute for chocolate. Her task with the food product concerns making thanksgiving recipes with mock-o-late as the main ingredient. After all her hard work with this horrible product, the FDA refuses to approve the chocolate substitute. Therefore, all of her effort goes wasted. However, she still receives a check from the food company. This encourages her to return to them for employment when they make another attempt with fish-stacios. Due to her desire to work, Monica describes herself in her career field as, having no morals and in need of money. Monica, unfortunately has an advanced level of training as a chef and yet reduces herself to take whatever job avails itself. One might wonder if the Jane Arthurs opinion, women face persistent discrimination based on their gender; they are paid less, promoted less, and assigned to specific jobs despite their qualifications and motivations(Arthurs 2004), rings true in this situation for the despairing culinary artist. Unlike Monica, Rachel, a waitress at the local coffee shop, remains content with her career. Surprisingly, she reflects no concrete representation of herself as the other characters do. The same situation arises with the character Phoebe, who has a career as a masseuse. Both of these women in the episodes chosen have very few, if any, attitudes that they reveal towards their chosen careers. Although their careers lack emphasis in the series, they still play vital roles in the characters personal identities and friendships as will later be shown. Moving onto the impacts that the careers have on their social relationships, the most prominent example of such appears in the episode, The One with the List. During this particular show, Ross tries to decide whether or not to break up with his current girlfriend in order to go out with Rachel. While trying to make his decision, Joey and Chandler convince Ross to create a list of pros and cons about each woman. Ross lists Rachel as only a waitress while his current girlfriend shares his career of palaeontology. Ross still breaks up with his girlfriend and seeks to start a relationship with Rachel. However, Rachel finds the list and discovers Ross thinks of her as only a waitress. The differences perceived between Rachels career and Ross career establishes the foundation of a rift in their friendship as well as their potential relationship. The Ross measured the difference between Rachels career and his girlfriends career by level of success. Labelling Rachel as only a waitress depicts Ross disdain for average jobs, yet Rachel does not feel inadequacy with her career until Ross brings it up. Rachel, Phoebe and Monica do not seem to measure themselves by their careers like the men in the series. Instead they view their careers mainly as a way to pay their bills. This gender difference shows that women tend to stress work less in relation to their sense personal identities. Careers to the women appear as more of a means of survival, while men view it more as a self defining role. Another issue that revealed itself concerning work and genders impact on relationships happened in the episode, The One with Phoebes Husband. In this particular viewing, fans find out that Phoebe has a supposedly gay husband from Canada. They were married so that Phoebes husband could obtain a green card and join the American Ice-escapades. However, to Phoebes disappointment, her husband turns out to be straight and presently wants a divorce. Previously, the characters career as an ice skater led him to think that he might be homosexual. He drew this conclusion before many years, as a young man, since all his friends and fellow skaters were gay. Feeling pressured to fit in, Phoebes husband presumed and tried to convince himself and everyone around him that he shared a homosexual orientation. This extreme view of gender roles in the work place obviously had huge and lasting impacts on the relationship Phoebe had with this man. Interestingly, this characters career dilemma did not focus on success or personal motivations to work, it revolved around wanting to fit into the crowd. As a skater this man was already talented, and obviously his passion for skating motivated him to continue. The gender identity that people labelled male skaters in his career field with, as well as the established gender of his fellow friends and co-workers, presented him with the problems he encountered. Finally though, he broke through the social labels to assert himself as a heterosexual. Consequently, an important point to note considers the fact that Rachel and Ross careers alone do not cause the problem in their friendship. Nor did Phoebes husbands career cause their resulting conflict. The dilemmas actually arose from the combination of perceptions they held about each others careers and also the feelings attached to them. Rachel finds herself defined by her career in the One with the List episode, and not in a favourable light. Interestingly, Ross too had found his own career criticized by a friend as was mentioned previously. When Phoebe cast Ross work into doubt by questioning evolution, Ross sense of self esteem fell. A parallel of low self esteem occurred in both characters (Rachael and Ross), when their careers value came into question. Careers do seem to have an important impact on friendships, but could it also be said, as in Phoebe and her husbands case that friendships have a rebounding affect on careers? Overall, the six main characters in the series Friends do visibly define themselves in relation to their careers, and that those very careers touch their friendships in significant ways. Upon viewing all five episodes there also appeared other work and gender related issues that will be shortly summarized for observations sake. First, most of the secondary characters that were depicted in positions of employment on the series were male. Two janitors, a lawyer, a movie producer, a company and a zoo manager all were men. The only two women who appeared employed aside from our main characters were a makeup artist and an animal trainer. This bias of more males than females in the working world being presented may have been due to the random selection of the episodes. However, the jobs shown in the viewed episodes do reflect that males hold more prestigious jobs. One could wonder if that bias comes from the writers or whether Kimmels observation gathered from Rhodes work, Speaking of Sex, Different occupations are seen as more appropriate for one gender of the other, and thus women and men are guided, pushed, or occasionally shoved into specific positions (Kimmel, 2004) again applies to the situation. (Words 2,349)

Tenskwatawa :: essays research papers fc

History has not been kind to Tenskwatawa, otherwise known as Lalawethika or The Prophet. He is inevitably compared to his heroic brother Tecumseh and fails to measure up in both physical and moral stature. He seems hidden in the shade of his brother's name, whereas his brother would never have had the stature he received if it were not for The Prophet's religion of classical Indian heritage. Lalawethika seemed to be plentiful of both physical and social shortcomings. An unimpressive-looking man of below-average height, fond of wearing jewelry, especially small medals, which he hung from his pierced nose and ears. His most striking physical characteristic was his damaged right eye, which was permanently closed after he injured it with a bow and arrow. Lalawethika was not a likable person. He was not accepted by the other Shawnee youths and refused to take part in traditionally prestigious male activities such as hunting and fighting. As a young man he boasted of his abilities but seem ed to lack anyambition. He attempted to compensate for his misfortunes but was only counterproductive in making "a truculent, bragging personality that earned him his nickname Lalawethika (The Rattle or Noisemaker)" (p. 73). Two activities Lalawethika liked were drinking and talking. He wasn't as gifted a speaker as his brother Tecumseh, but he was nonetheless manipulative and forceful. Using these qualities he became a medicine man in Tecumseh's village. Lalawethika's transformation from a lazy drunkard into a powerful spiritual leader came after a dream in which he claimed to have been visited by the Great Spirit. He proclaimed his new name to be Tenskwatawa meaning "The Open Door." White settlers began to call him The Prophet because he said the gods had shown him the path to salvation for his people. This new religion called upon Natives to reject white culture and return to the traditional way of life. Tenskwatawa gave up alcohol and urged his followers to do the same. The distinguished changes apparent in Tenskwatawa immensely supported his new way of life. When those sent by The Master of Life took Lalawethika in his dream, they showed him a very fertile land full of game as well as a large wigwam where eternal fires burned. "The Master of Life had chosen him to lead the Indians back down the road toward salvation" (p. 76). At the heart of these new teachings was the belief that the land was held in common by all the tribes.

To What Extent Was the Growth of the Enlightenment Movement?

The growth of the Enlightenment movement was a key long term cause of the French revolution as it questioned the current state of France and challenged unjust class systems. However, there were a number of other long term causes that led to the French revolution. The structure of the Royal government and French society had created restlessness amongst the third estate for quite some time leading to the French revolution. The taxation system was seen as highly unjust amongst the third estate as well and can be seen as an underlying long term cause for the French revolution.The growth of the Enlightenment movement was a major long term cause for the French Revolution. The Enlightenment were a group of intellectual writers and thinkers from Europe in the 18th century whose aim was to apply rational analysis to all activities. This meant they put great emphasis on the unjust systems in place which meant the poorest group had to pay the most taxes, creating a voice for the unhappy third e state and giving them confidence to speak out. This in turn led to the third estate coming together in cascade of anger and uproar against the current system, leading to the French revolution.In addition, the most famous thinkers, Volataire and Montesqieu, were not prepared to accept tradition and attacked the church and despotic government. Their ideologies attracted nearly all of the third estate creating a huge group of people believing in change. This in turn led to the majority of France being ready to challenge the government and monarchy and causing the revolution to start. The Enlightenment movement was very critical of the Ancien regime which influenced many radical thinkers at the time who were ready to lead France against the rich minority.It’s this leadership which got the wheels of the revolution in motion; therefore, the Enlightenment movement played a key part in the occurrence of the French revolution. The structure of the Royal Government was a very important long term cause of the French revolution. King Louis XIV believed that God had given him the divine right to rule and therefore felt the French people should obey him without question. This idea infuriated the large majority of the third estate as there was no clear logical reason why they should obey the King, resulting in restlessness amongst 85% of the population.This long term struggle with the idea of an absolute monarch developed into anger and ultimately led to mass uproar and the French revolution. Furthermore, King Louis XVI had complete power over all aspects of France, ultimately meaning he could do what he wanted. This meant that the third estate had no way of communicating or fashioning a way of improving their lives, leaving them trapped in a life of poverty. This therefore left them no choice but to use physical violence and action to try and get out of their dire circumstances, resulting in a revolution.The taxation system was highly unjust in France during the 18th century and was a key long term cause for the revolution. Firstly, peasants who made up 85% of the population but lived in dire poverty had to pay the most taxes, including Taille, Capitation and Tithe tax. This left the third estate with only just enough to survive which created great anger amongst them as the rich paid nothing. This corrupt taxation system left the third estate trapped in a life of poverty leaving them no choice but to revolt if they wanted any chance of a better life.In addition to this, the clergy and nobility, the two rich estates were exempt from taxes. This illogical system compounded with the Enlightenments highlighting of how unjust France was finally led the majority of France to rise up against their unfair position, in the only way they could through a mass revolution. The final long term cause that played a major in the outbreak of the French revolution was the structure of French society. Firstly, the clergy and nobility collectively took up only arou nd 5% of the population yet they owned a vast amount of land compared to the 85% of the third estate who owned no land at all.This meant they had huge amounts of money tied up in land and a constant food supply which the third estate did not. This structure of class left the third estate in poverty yet they saw the riches of the two upper estates when they worked their land daily. This in turn created mass anger which had built up over time leading to a collective plea for change, displayed by the outbreak of the revolution. Furthermore, the two upper estates had great power and could sway the king’s decisions to an extent. This was shown when Louis tried to reform tax with Turgo but nobility quickly disagreed and Louis then sacked Turgo.The power the two upper estates possessed created great unrest amongst the third estate as they felt they deserved more power due to the fact that they paid the majority of taxes. The fact that they had no bargaining powers forced them to try and bring about change in the way of revolution, therefore, highlighting the fact that the structure of French society was key long term cause for the revolution. Overall, all the four causes had some bearing on the outbreak of the French Revolution, however, some more than others.The growth of the enlightenment movement did influence many radical revolutionaries into taking action and created a collective group ready for change, but I feel that it was not the key underlying cause which made people revolt. I believe that the structure of French society was the main cause for the French revolution as it left the third estate trapped in poverty for a long period of time while the upper two estates prospered in a life of luxury. This ultimately left the third estate no option but to take radical action to try and bring about change and is therefore the main reason for the outbreak of the French revolution.

Conjugation of French Verb Entrer (to Enter)

The French verb  entrer means to enter and its a very useful word to know. As you use French in more conversations or travel to French-speaking regions, youll find forms of  entrer  everywhere. Just like with all verbs, when we want to say entered or entering, the verb needs to be conjugated. A short lesson will demonstrate how to do that. Conjugating the French Verb  Entrer Entrer  is not only a very common verb, it also follows a very common verb conjugation pattern. This is a  regular -ER verb  and it shares the same infinitive endings with similar verbs like  enseigner  (to teach),  exister  (to exist), and many others. As with all French verb conjugations, begin by identifying the verb stem:  entr-. We can then add a new ending to match the present, future, or imperfect past tense with the appropriate subject pronoun. For instance, I enter is jentre and we will enter is nous entrerons. The easiest way to memorize all these verb forms is to practice them in context. Luckily, there are plenty of opportunities in everyday life to utilize  entrer. Subject Present Future Imperfect j' entre entrerai entrais tu entres entreras entrais il entre entrera entrait nous entrons entrerons entrions vous entrez entrerez entriez ils entrent entreront entraient The Present Participle of  Entrer The  present participle  of  entrer  is  entrant. Not only is it a verb, you can also use it as an adjective, gerund, or noun in some circumstances. The Past Participle and Passà © Composà © To express the past tense entered, you can use either the imperfect forms or the  passà © composà ©. Forming the latter is quite simple and you might find it the easier option of the two. To construct it, begin by conjugating the  auxiliary verb  Ãƒ ªtre  according to the sentences subject pronoun. Then, add the  past participle  entrà ©. As an example, I entered becomes je suis entrà © and we entered is nous sommes entrà ©. More Simple  Entrer  Conjugations Should you find that the action of entering is subjective or uncertain, use the subjunctive verb mood. Similarly, the conditional verb mood implies that entering will only occur if something else happens. The possibility of needing the passà © simple or the imperfect subjunctive is low. Thats because these are primarily reserved for writing. Yet, knowing them will help your reading comprehension. Subject Subjunctive Conditional Passà © Simple Imperfect Subjunctive j' entre entrerais entrai entrasse tu entres entrerais entras entrasses il entre entrerait entra entrà ¢t nous entrions entrerions entrà ¢mes entrassions vous entriez entreriez entrà ¢tes entrassiez ils entrent entreraient entrà ¨rent entrassent Forming short, direct commands or requests is very easy with the imperative verb form. When using this, the subject pronoun is not required, so tu entre can be entre. Imperative (tu) entre (nous) entrons (vous) entrez