Gender Constructions in The Hours

Gender Constructions in The Hours TITLE: Gender Constructions in The Hours (Daldry. S, 2002) AIM/OBJECTIVE: To illustrate gender as being a social construction rather than a biologically determined entity and to evaluate how heteronormativity influences the several layers of identity. METHODOLOGY Drawing upon the evolution of gender construction in The Hours, I intend to use feminist theory and the social construction on gender to obtain a preview of a society devoid of the restrictions in terms of heteronormativity. LITERATURE REVIEW: Judith Butler’s (1988) ‘Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory’ asserts that â€Å"gender identity is a performative accomplishment compelled by social sanction and taboo†. Butler (1988) argues that gender is constituted through a series of â€Å"acts† that have been actualized by individuals in repetition over time. She further argues that gender is something that is not a concrete â€Å"social fiction† but is constantly being reproduced, shifted and moved. In short, she theorizes that gender is not a set of concrete identities, but it is always reproduced over and over by the body. â€Å"One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.† This emblematic quote of Simone de Beauvoir in ‘The Second Sex’ (1949) demonstrates that â€Å"no biological, psychological, or economic fate determines the figure that the human female presents in society†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Gender must be understood as a process of taking on or realizing possibilities, a process of interpreting the body and giving it a cultural form. In other words, to be a woman is to become a woman through an active practice of appropriating, interpreting and reinterpreting received cultural possibilities. In so doing, women are relegated to the category ‘the other’ through cultural construction, which Butler identifies as being the key to women’s oppression. Gender identity, advocates Simone de Beauvoir, â€Å"rests on unstable bedrock of human invention.† Drawing on Laura Mulvey’s work ‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema’, Anneke Smelik’s ‘Feminist Film Theory’ (1999) indicates a prolific diversity which echoes the multitude of voices, manifold points of view, and cinematic styles and genres that indicate womens triumphant endeavor for self-representation on the silver screen. However, a restriction such as the reproduction of a male/female dichotomy is questioned and the need for a deconstruction is expressed. The renewed interest in the sex/gender distinction that Gayle Rubin had introduced in 1975 is given much importance. The term gender usually seemed to point to a more lucid distinction between anatomy (sex) and social construction (gender), and equally between sexual practice and gender identity. This distinction contributes to the critical appreciation of movies where gender constructions are depicted as being unusual. BACKGROUND: Society has been, most of the time, portrayed as being a patriarchal one. One representation that can be recurrently seen in texts is that man is the norm, and woman is ‘the other’, or as stated by Culler (2007), â€Å"Men have aligned the opposition male/female with rational/emotional, serious/frivolous, or reflective/spontaneous†. In such a scenario, the woman feels restricted to particular roles dictated by men and at some point, she feels stifled by the various impositions levied upon her. This research topic gives a discerning stance of the struggle of women of the 20th century who have been constantly seeking for more meaningful lives. In order to question the whole issue of gender construction as well as the hierarchy of the opposing attributes, this tale of women will be considered. These heroines of everyday lives will be analysed in terms of the construction of a patriarchal society as they make heart breaking and defining choices that eventually influence their whole life. INTRODUCTION: The Hours is a 2002 drama film – a screenplay by David Hare based on the 1999 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same title by Michael Cunningham. Starring Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman and Julianne Moore, the movie relates the life of women of three different generations, who are interconnected by Virginia Woolf’s novel, Mrs. Dalloway. The character of Virginia Woolf, magnificently portrayed by Nicole Kidman, lives against her will in Richmond, England, 1922. Laura Brown is a pregnant housewife living in 1951 in Los Angeles. Played by Julianne Moore, she feels suffocated in her so-called â€Å"perfect life†. Lastly, Clarissa Vaughan, expertly acted by Meryl Streep, is a contemporary version of Mrs. Dalloway and leads a somewhat happy life with her homosexual partner, Sally, in New York City, 2001. DISCUSSION: In The Hours, Virginia Woolf is seen to be delving into her imagination to create Mrs. Dalloway – a woman who, like herself, embodies liberal thoughts, but nonetheless, enjoys a more expansive freedom in her lifestyle. Through her creation, she craftily plays on the notion of what gender identity should represent. This idea is once again explored through Mrs. Brown, who engages herself in reading the novel Mrs. Dalloway in her moments of solitude and depression. Virginia Woolf thus gives birth to Mrs. Dalloway, who in turn, becomes a source of inspiration to Laura Brown. Woolf turns many cultural gender stereotypes and generalizations on their heads, and seems to do so more in an effort to expose how gender is a socially constructed concept rather than promoting an exclusively feminist agenda. The character of Clarissa is yet another portrayal of construction related to gender identity. The contrast between Mrs. Dalloway in the novel and Clarissa Vaughan in the movie shows how the process of deconstruction occurred over time. The fact that Mrs. Dalloway could only be allowed to reminisce about her love for Sally shows that there are some limitations for her to live her femininity and sexuality as compared to Clarissa who is in a committed relationship with her homosexual lover. The construction of identity as portrayed in Clarissa goes beyond sexual orientation and constricted roles for women. It focuses on how the concept of the self develops in a society defined by social norms. CONCLUSION: With each upcoming generation, the characters demonstrate that they are given license to broaden their horizons. This evolving pattern shows a deconstruction of heteronormativity and at the same time does not restrict women to being portrayed as the other. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Ahmed, S. (2010). ‘Killing Joy: Feminism and the History of Happiness’. The University of Chicago Press. Vol. 35, No. 3, pp. 571-594 Beauvior, S. D. (1949). ‘The Second Sex’, trans. and ed. H. M. Parshley. New York: Knoph. Butler, J. (1986). Sex and Gender in Simone de Beauvoirs Second Sex .Witness to a century. 72 (3), 40-42. Butler, J. (1988). ‘Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory’. The John Hopkins University Press: Theatre Journal, Vol. 40, No. 4 (Dec., 1988), pp. 519-531 Butler, J. (1988). ‘Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory’. The John Hopkins University Press: Theatre Journal, Vol. 40, No. 4 (Dec., 1988), pp. 519-531 Butler, J. (1990) ‘Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity’. London and New York: Routledge. Butler, J. (1993). ‘Bodies that Matter: On the Discursive Limits of â€Å"Sex†. London and New York: Routledge. Cott, F. N. (1987). ‘The Grounding of Modern Feminism.’ Yale University Press Culler, J. D. (2007). ‘On Deconstructionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¬: Theory and Criticism After Structuralismà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬â„¢. Cornell University Press.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¬ Daldry. S (Director).The Hours[Motion picture]. Miramax Films, 2002. Fausto-Sterling, A. (2000). ‘Sexing the Body: Gender Politics and the Construction of Sexuality’. New York: Basic Books. Flax, J. (1990). ‘Postmodernism and gender relations in feminist theory’. In Nicholson, L. J., editor, Feminism/Postmdernism. London and New York: Routeldge, 39-62. Foucault, M. (1961). ‘Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason.’ Howard, R., translator. New York: Pantheon Books. Hjersing, C (2009).‘Representations of Clarissa and Septimus in Virginia Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway A deconstructive approach combined with aspects of feminist and psychoanalytical criticism’ Molyneux, M. (1986).‘No God, No Boss, No Husband: Anarchist Feminism in Nineteenth-Century Argentina.’ Sage Publications. Latin American Perspectives, Vol. 13, No. 1, Latin Americas Nineteenth-Century History, pp. 119-145 Motashery, I. (2012). ‘A Feminist Reading of Virginia Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway’. International Journal of Applied Linguistics English Literature. Vol. 1 No. 3. Offen, K. (1988). ‘Defining Feminism: A Comparative Historical Approach’The University of Chicago Press. Vol. 14, No. 1, pp. 119-157 Probyn, E. (1993). ‘Sexing the Self: Gendered Positions in Cultural Studies’. London and New York: Routledge. Shihada, M, I. ‘A Feminist Perspective of Virginia Woolf’s Selected Novels: Mrs. Dalloway and To the Lighthouse.’ Shor, M. et. al (1999).‘Contemporary Feminism: Art Practice, Theory, and ActivismAn Intergenerational Perspective’. College Art Association. Art Journal, Vol. 58, No. 4, pp. 8-29 Smelik, A. (1999). ‘Feminist film theory.’ Warner, M. (1991). ‘Introduction: Fear of a Queer Planet’. Duke University Press. Social Text, No. 29 (1991), pp. 3-17

Comparing and Contrasting two Distinct Cultures Essay

Culture is a unique attribute of human beings that demarcate people over world on basis of their customs, beliefs, ideas, morals, characteristics, knowledge and set of values. Culture has been the greatest determinant of progress of civilization, binding the separate, isolated groups of individuals in form of societies founded on certain common principles while retaining scope of individual expansion and intellectual growth (Aronson, 1995). The distinction and variation induced due to numerous cultural components has resulted in the immense diversity and broadness, enriching the experience of human civilization. This paper looks at different cultural components that demarcate United States of America and Mexico, two neighbor countries sharing same geographical location, but widely different in their individual social, political, economic, and cultural evolution. Value component of culture The value component of various culture are generally measured over four parameters of (i) Individualism/Collectivism component; (ii) Hierarchy component; (iii) Risk taking/Conventional approach; (iv) gender power (Hofstede, 1980). USA and Mexico show considerable variance on these parameters. The cultural progression of Mexico makes it a society that focuses on collective performance and collective more than individual achievements, whereas USA’s culture is prominently reflected in it being a highly individualistic country. The society of Mexico shows a high degree of hierarchy, where personal and social power is divided on basis of position. In contrast, USA has a well structured meritocracy based system, where every individual is entitled every position of power, based on their individual capacity and faculties. Mexico is a high gender society, where males predominate in social, economic and political spheres while USA is a egalitarian, equality based country that principally and effectively treats every individual alike (Diaz and Draguns, 1999). Social Component of Culture The social component of culture defines the placeholder and roles of individual, family, friends, spouse, children and peers in the context of self, society and the nation (Diaz and Draguns, 1999). Mexicans conform to a family oriented society, with deep emotional affiliation within families, great emphasis on inter-personal relations, love, care and obedience to elders, forwarding the interests of family members, spouse and children before the self. Mexican parents have an extended role to play in life of their children, from ensuring their education to their acculturization in the family and social system. Mexican society prefers joint family system with two or three generations sharing the same roofs. American family system, on the other hand, is strictly limited to the nuclear scale of husband, wife and kids, placing high value on individual happiness and accomplishments (ibid). While Mexican families are deeply bounded by love and care and hence are closely knit, American families are focused on aggressively pursuing economic interests and promote the spirit of risk undertaking, traveling and even opt for possible settlements in distant geographic regions as the need comes. Thus Mexican culture has strongly embedded components of unity, collectivism, cohesion, and mutual help. On the other hand, the culture of USA is strongly oriented towards individual self reliance and economic preferences that define their behavioral framework. Reference Rolando Diaz-and Juris G. Draguns Personality and Person Perception across Cultures: Yueh-Ting Lee – editor, Clark R. McCauley – editor, Juris G. Draguns – editor. Publisher: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Place of Publication: Mahwah, NJ. Publication Year: 1999 Hofstede, G. ( 1980). Cultures consequences: International differences in work-related values. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

Improve communication Essay

The reason why Carly didn’t come to me earlier to report the project delays was because she knew the reasons of the delay were not genuine. She was definitely part of the problem and therefore she didn’t have the language of reporting the conflict that was affecting the team project. Also, since the rest of the team knew her weakness she knew if she reported the case to me I would involve the rest of the members thus exposing her weaknesses. Carly hasn’t had a conversation with Morris about their differences despite being the supervisor since she was aware of the root cause of the problem (herself). On the other hand, Morris did not break the ice and discuss the problem with Carly because he assumed that it was Carly’s responsibility as the manager to approach and solve all differences. Furthermore, it was clear to him too of Carly’s participation in the problem. He had also been treated unfairly by Carly and this made it difficult for him to approach Carly. Coupled with the fact that Morris was more educated than Carly, pride could not be ruled out. If Morris had had a conversation with Carly, he would have mentioned about his unfair treatment to her. I tend to think since the other team members knew that Carly was treating him unfairly, this would have been his motivator to mention of this problem. He knew he had support from the entire team. As for Carly, I bet she would have owned up to this problem and promise Morris of a fair treatment in their future interactions. After such a conversation she would have realized that she was losing a key team member and the other team members had observed it previously which would also affect the whole team thus portraying her as an incompetent manager. For Carly to have been given this role of a project manager meant she had positive leadership qualities and therefore would have owned up to her failures. Failure to accept her mistake would have left her as a lone ranger thus breaking the team spirit. The biggest problem with the way these team members interacted lied on communication breakdown and barriers. This is because it’s clear the other team member had noticed the dispute but no one had shared about it with me or even asked Carly or Morris. Teamwork was minimal in this team and this would have affected this project very adversely if not handled well and quickly. To break this communication barrier and improve communication, it would be beneficial for the team to encourage more frequent and effective upward, downward and team communication. With more communication, any arising problem would be handled well in advance before affecting the project negatively. I think Carly should continue serving as the project manager. This because having discussed the dispute openly, the parties would have understood the facts of the problem and hence allow them to see their areas of agreement, thus turning the conflict into new ideas of enhancing teamwork in the project.

Artificial Intelligence For Speech Recognition - 1178 Words

Name Magnus Oforji 1. Title Artificial Intelligence for Speech Recognition 2. Introduction: Research Context from siri to self-driven cars, artificial intelligence is on a rapid progression. While science fiction often portrays or visualises artificial intelligence as robots with human-like characteristics, artificial intelligence can encompass anything from google search algorithms to IBM Watson’s to Autonomous weapons. Artificial astuteness (AI) for verbalization apperception involves two fundamental conceptions. First, it involves studying the noetic conception processes of human beings. Second, it deals with representing those processes via machines (like computers, robots, etc.). Artificial intelligence is a behaviour of a machine,†¦show more content†¦4. Objectives and Hypotheses The sole objective of this research will be to convert or transmit spoken words into written text through a computer software application, and to also control the computer application through words or spoken commands. The software should have the capabilities of recognising a spoken word and understanding it to be able to provide coherent response. There are two main objectives of focus for this research stated below: O1: Speech Recognition and speech voice recognition: The software application should be able to perform both of this task stated above, each use recordings of the human voice, but they do various things with it. Speech recognition strips out the non-public variations to locate the phrases. Voice recognition commonly disregards the language and meaning in other to detect the physical individual at the back of the speech. the key distinction between voice recognition and speech recognition is that, the software doesn’t understand what you said, but it knows very well that it’s you speaking. It can be expressed as a type of an audible fingerprint. O2: Recognising a command in a speech: The software should also be able to detect and recognise a command from a speech. 5. Research Methodology/Methods The speech recognition process is generally performed by a component of the software which is known as the speech recognition engine. 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