Analysis of TV series Friends free essay sample

TV is a very popular source of entertainment meaning allot of people are watching and absorbing everything that is being said and done. Mass media has a huge impact on the way people perceive certain people, situations, etc. especially when it is coming from a show loved by many. The TV series Friends premiered on September 22nd in 1994 and became an extremely successful sitcom that lasted 10 years ending in January of 2004. Friends is a sitcom that involved the lives of 6 friends that lived in New York City. Throughout the seasons the viewers were able to see each character’s lives develop, and see the everyday struggles they come across, whether it is relationship problems, marriage problems, or the everyday random issue. Each character had specific qualities that made the viewers fall in love with all the characters in different ways. This sitcom had a huge fan base of people of all ages and is still popular 9 years later meaning that it has a significant influence on many and not always in the best way. We will write a custom essay sample on Analysis of TV series Friends or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The TV series reinforces stereotypes and gender roles through the characters. David Crane and Marta Kauffman created the series Friends. When they decided to develop a TV series they were inspired by their own lives. They thought back to the time when they had just finished college and began to live on their own in New York City. The time that they spent living in New York City is when they were trying to find a career that they were passionate about to start their lives, and at the same time attempt to balance a relationship. Finding careers while dating, and handling everyday issues seemed like a good concept for the show. They thought it was such a simple idea that so many could relate to that it would eventually progress into something big. Although Friends2 Friends did become big it was not always as popular. At First the reception of the critics started off to be a very harsh evaluation. Later as the show continued it did progress to more positive reviews which eventually ended up in ranking the best sitcom of its time therefore playing a hug role in influencing many. Throughout the series the scenarios and characters at times reinforced stereotypes and gender roles without the viewer’s recognition. The comedy in the show displays the gender roles and stereotypes in a lighter sense without directly offending anyone which makes the viewers unaware of the influence it is having on them. Friends reinforces gender roles mainly through the characters of Joey, Chandler and Ross. Gender roles are cultural and personal, they determine how males and females should think, speak, dress, and interact within the context of society. Each character is put through several situations where their reactions reinforce a certain gender role influencing viewers to think that is how a male or female should be/act. John Sloop the author of the SAGE handbook of gender and communication demonstrates how the characters reinforce gender roles by acknowledging the episode titled â€Å"The one with the baby on the bus†. The episode involved Joey and Chandler being mistaken for a homosexual couple because they are seen together with a child. When they are approached as a homosexual couple it is noticeable that they are both offended by the comment. The offence they take to the comment is noticeable due to them both rambling on about how they are straight of course, reassuring the person that they are in fact heterosexual. The way they ramble on shows that their ego was hurt in fact they acted as Friends3 if a piece of their masculinity has been taken away. Their reaction in this episode gives viewers the idea that being homosexual makes you less of a male which is far from the truth, but because this is how popular celebrities are reacting it is reinforcing the mind set of gender roles because many people look up to these characters. Throughout the seasons of Friends there is a point where Chandler is unemployed. At this time Chandler and his wife Monica are trying to start a family. During the time of his unemployment he is very bitter about not having a job for several reasons. The main reason he is upset, is that he feels since he is the male he should have a job to support his family. The fact that Monica is working and he is not he feels that their roles are reversed. If anything he feels he should be out working paying the bills, bringing in the income while Monica stays at home and takes care of other tasks such as housecleaning and preparing dinners. Since they are trying to start a family he will be staying home with the children until he is able to find a job. Knowing that he will be the one staying home with the kids someday he expresses many times to his friends that he feels less of a man. He feels less masculine because he sees staying at home with children as a women’s job. Signorielli author of Children, television, and conceptions about chores claims that the way Chandler is reacting to his situation of being unemployed is reinforcing the traditional notion of gender roles. The traditional notion of gender roles being the male is to work and be the breadwinner of the family while the female stays at home with the children and does the housework and prepares meals for the family. The series Friends started in 1994 by this time the notion of traditional gender roles was in the past. It was Friends4 common for both male and female to be working, but Chandler’s reaction is giving people other ideas putting them back into the old mindset of how things used to be for males and females. (Signorielli, 1991). Stereotypes which are a widely held but fixed and oversimplified images or ideas of a particular person or group of people are reinforced throughout many situations in the series. Galvin author of The SAGE handbook of gender and communication demonstrates stereotypes being reinforced by using an example from The episode titled â€Å"baby on the Bus† involved Joey and Chandler being put into a situation where they are in need of making an important decision. In the episode Joey and Chandler loose Ross child on a city bus and have to go to the bus services to get the baby. When they arrive to bus services the lady brings them into a room where there are two infants. Joey and Chandler both are unsure of which baby is Ross but must make a decision. They both decide that it makes sense to flip a coin to decide which child to take. The actions they use to solve this problem are highly immature and give people the idea that men lack any parental and caretaking instincts (Galvin, et al, 2006). The way they decide to handle the situation is not realistic but the seen mocks the little parenting skills that males have. The scene gives males the stereotype of not having the capability to care for a child compared to how a woman would. The scene is stereotypical because a male is just as capable of taking care of a child as a woman would. Friends5 Stereotypes are reinforced in the series but most viewers do not notice them due to the comedy in the show. The comedy makes the scenes that mock stereotypes funny oppose to being offensive. Phoebe Bouffay fits the stereotype of the dumb blonde. The definition of the dumb blonde is an attractive blonde that lack both common sense and academic intelligence to a comedic level. (Dictionary, 2001). Phoebe Bouffay fits all the qualities of the dumb blonde. She is beautiful with blonde hair and does lack both common sense and academic intelligence. For instance Phoebe at the age of 30 still believes in Santa Claus. Believing in Santa Claus at that age proves that she does lack both common and academic knowledge. Phoebe Bouffay gives people the impression that all attractive blondes are ditzy and have no knowledge. The hair color of a female and how attractive she is does not make them any less smart than a beautiful brunette, it is just a stereotype that Friends is reinforcing to all its viewers. Television is a source of entertainment that is used by many people of all ages and it cultivates viewer’s perceptions of reality and over time, since it is so popular shapes culture as a whole. Cultivation theory argues that television cultivates people’s behaviors and values that are already present, but it reinforces their mindset to keep those behaviors and values. Evidence proves that depictions do carry along consequences. For instance a child that watches television more than the average person will carry more traditional notions of gender roles because they are used to seeing it on television. (Signorielle, 1992). Friends6 Friends is a sitcom watched by many meaning allot of people are taking in the behaviours and actions of the characters. The characters have a huge influence on many people and at times in a negative way. (Villani, 2001). People are influenced when characters behave a certain way because they see the characters as role models. Many of the times kids are influenced negatively by the person they look up to and admire due to the characters values, behavior and actions. (Munoz, 2011). Friends is a family TV series, and most of the episodes mock situations and sceneries that involve gender roles and stereotypes. The comedy does hide the way it enforces gender roles and stereotypes but it still does reinforce certain mindsets.

Effects of World Hunger

Effects of World Hunger Introduction According to the World Food Programme (WFP), approximately 925 million people in the world are undernourished today. That means that one out of seven people is not able to get sufficient food to lead a healthy and active life. This makes hunger be on the top of the list of risks to good health globally.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Effects of World Hunger specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Effects of hunger as risks to health are much higher than those of â€Å"AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis all combined† (World Food Programme p. 1). Hunger refers to unavailability of food (World Hunger Education Service p. 1), but it is also taken to mean vulnerability to disease due to micronutrient deficiencies. Effects of hunger are adverse, crippling not only the individual but also becoming a burden to a developing world. Food security is not a concern for the developing and the underdeveloped coun tries alone but it for the developed states, such as the United States. Statistics released in September 2011 indicate that in the year 2010, 14.5% of all households were food-insecure (that is one out of every seven households) with 5.4% of all the United States households having very low food security (World Hunger Education Service p. 1). There are arguments that the United States shoulders the blame for world hunger as regards to its spending so much on defense purposes and military operations. For example, in Afghanistan and Iraq, such tactics caused extreme poverty in these countries. America should not be blamed alone for world hunger, but it is logical to argue that it takes some of the blame; many factors contribute to hunger. Poverty being the principal cause calls for measures to be taken to address its eradication as an initiative to reduce world hunger. America being a superpower has a major role to play in world hunger level reduction as it has an edge on global econom ic matters and in how financial aid is allocated by financial bodies like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund to poor countries. This paper considers America’s role in world hunger, how the country has increased it through poverty caused by its military operations, sanctions due to political interests and its influence in allocation of funds to political allies and â€Å"friendly states† rather than to poverty stricken countries. World hunger is a result of many interrelated factors. America does play a major role in, but there are also a lot of factors that cannot be simply ignored when it comes to issues of world poverty. This paper argues America’s influence on world hunger, the roles it has played and other factors that have led to the current facts and figures as well as the place food aid takes in eradicating hunger.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Losses that are incurred due to food wastage result in gaps in the food supply chains and inadequate food storage facilities. The paper also examines that current food production is sufficient enough to feed the current world population and shows that this participation in export commodities is opposed to food producing agriculture. Undemocratic economic and political policies conflicts because of poverty of stricken nations, and our attitude towards hunger are among other factors that maintain the status quo when it comes to addressing world hunger. Activities of the United States indicate a tendency to increase world hunger; it seems to give the perception that it is fond to bask in the glory of the world’s dependency on foreign aid, so that it can use the same as a manipulation to the realization of its foreign policies (Maddocks p. 23). It is established that world hunger, as a risk to health, ranks greater than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosi s all combined, and statistics indicate that 800 million people in the world sleep on an empty stomach every day that is approximately one of nine people (Swanson para 1). As such, measures to deal with hunger should be put in place. In the book â€Å"World hunger: 12 myths,† a story is told about a woman, Amanda Espinoza, who had six stillbirths and witnessed the death of five of her children before the age of one. This gives a whole new meaning to the word hungry; it means looking helplessly at those who are dear to you, but doom to die and having no choices and opportunities to help them (Lappe, Collins Rosset pg 3). World hunger can never be addressed through food aid. Poverty being the principal cause of world hunger should be treated adequately. If efforts at reducing the level of world hunger involve providing food aid, then the principal cause of hunger, which is poverty, would still remain. In most cases, foreign aid causes harm instead of helping to manage with thi s problem (Lappe, Collins Rosset p 1). While providing food aid as a temporary measure of elimination hunger, a long term solution of eradicating poverty should be embraced (Shah para 2). In the global economic system, there are two main measures that can be adopted by poor people to increase their income level. For example, due to trade, wages in rich economies tend to reduce because of availability of machinery, but in poor countries, they increase. Immigration to countries with labor deficit economies is also a response of people affected by poverty. The structure of the United States economic system is based on the â€Å"free enterprise economy† approach where there is competition for employment, with most jobs being offered to the best qualified employee, thus joblessness affects mainly those who are under qualified.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Effects of World Hunger specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn Mo re Revolutions are attempts to transform the political and economic structures so as to conform to the needs of the poor. Thus, to understand the dynamics behind these revolutions, attention needs to be paid to the inequities between the rich and the poor that lead to anti-western ideologies, dealing with world hunger constructively (Nessan Beckmann p 12). The structure of the United States political system focuses more on concerns that are not fundamental to the people. For instance, the expenditure on military operations takes up half of the â€Å"US federal government discretionary expenditures† with expenses allocated to poverty alleviation (World Hunger Education Service p. 1). Joblessness and administration, to a greater extent, turning a blind eye to the issues of the poor play a major role at increasing poverty and growth of the level of world hunger. The structures of political and economic systems are the underlying causes of poverty and hunger since contro l over resources is based on economic, political or military power. This power, in most cases, is possessed by the minority which may not have the interests of the poor at heart. The US economic crisis had a great impact on world poverty; many countries have participated in international markets making themselves more vulnerable to recessions in big economies. It is noted that hunger also results from conflicts. Nevertheless, the UNHCR shows clearly that poverty is all the same the greatest cause. This is because the 2008 report showed that chronic hunger affected approximately 1 billion people compared to a smaller figure of 36 million who felt the effects of conflicts through displacement. Democracy, as we know it, is accountability of the majority. Well structured democratic states are those in which the majority of the population contributes on the decisions that affect their interests. When leadership is accountable to the majority, then the state is said to be democratic. With the absence of democracy in the economic lives of the people, the majority will be made powerless on the issues that affect them most (Lappe, Collins Rosset pg 4). It is sad to say that the United States plays a major role in the institution of undemocratic systems of governments. After it seized Puerto Rico in 1898, sugar companies from the United States put up vast sugar plantations consequently engaging in the eviction of farmers. By the year 1925, 80% of the whole land was owned by 2% of the population, rendering a shocking 70% of the population landless. With 70% being landless, many individuals were â€Å"out of work†, so cheap labor became available. Women were considered docile and subject to â€Å"loss- due to pregnancy†. This resulted in an extensive sterilization campaign funded by the United States government (Lappe, Collins Rosset p. 37).Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Globally, the food grown is enough to â€Å"provide over 2800 calories per day to every man, woman and child† (The Rational Radical para 4) .This is sufficient to make us all obese, but in most countries, especially, in the third world countries, small scale farmers are forced to be hungry as most of the fertile lands are used to grow export crops by multinational corporations. The United States, by creating a demand for these export crops, becomes a player in this injustice to the poor (The Rational Radical para 5-7). Hunger related issues are many and inter-related to economics and other poverty causing factors. These include among others diversion of the usage of land from food productive agriculture to export oriented use (Shah para 3). It is unbearable to note that a nation in the sub-Saharan Africa that has 213 million severely malnourished people still exports food (Lappe, Collins Rosset p. 10). In dealing with world hunger, we perceive that it has an effect on the ki nd of solutions presented to solve it. If the problem is considered in terms of numbers, then it implies that data should be also used as a part of the solution. A great amount of people die because of hunger annually or go to bed without food every night. Hunger makes it clear that coping with human emotions is the most painful task. Hunger means powerlessness at its extreme (Lappe, Collins Rosset p 3). World hunger is not a result of failure in food production, but ineffective supply of food to starve stricken populations. People do not go hungry because food is scarce but rather because of insufficient income to afford it. World hunger is seen as a result of global trade together with economic policies that cause extreme poverty. For many years, food production is still connected with the growing populations. Thus, in some cases, hunger will be witnessed in economies producing food surpluses because people cannot afford food. Hunger is caused by poverty. Though it may be pointed that this problem is an economic issue as well as political one which in the long run becomes an economic issue (Shah para 3). 40% of the food produced is wasted in post-harvest losses in India. This is more pronounced in vegetables. These wastages can be reduced by improved food processing industries, proper infrastructure and reducing or eliminating gaps in supply. Food wastage technically happens when retailers and mostly consumers throw edible foodstuffs as trash. Food losses are realized as a result of underdeveloped infrastructure, poor food production mechanisms and underdeveloped technological advancement (Jasmuheen p. 3). The Food and Agricultural Organization report on â€Å"global food losses and food waste† released on May 11, 2011 indicated that in Rome alone, approximately a third of food produced worldwide annually is lost or wasted i.e. that is 1.3 billion tones (FAO para 1). This is quite alarming considering the millions who die yearly due to starvation. It is also clear that up to 220m tons of food is wasted in rich economies. This is in contrast to 230m tons that the sub-Saharan Africa manages to produce. The quantity of food lost and wasted annually was approximately equal to half of the global cereals crop (2.3 billion ton in 2009/2010) (FAO para 3). With these statistics, it is quiet illogical to shift blame on a single factor. Reduction of food wastages and losses, if implemented, can reduce world hunger adversely. Even though the United States takes some credit for world hunger, it has made recognizable attempts at ending world starvation through financial aids. Establishment of the â€Å"Fighting world hunger: U.S food aid policy and the food for peace program† has helped in the disbursement of millions of dollars as financial aid and tons of food are provided as an aid annually. Wealthy nations are quite selfish in development assistance, and, moreover, the extremely poor are seldom the sole beneficiaries when they off er foreign aid. In the year 2004, â€Å"the ratio of development assistance to gross national income was 0.17% far below the united nations target of 0.7%† (Bassett Nelson pg 168) in order to witness the realization of the millennium development goals by 2015, rich nations have to be more committed to offering aid programs as means of improving long term developments like health and infrastructure. This financial aid in the form of â€Å"foreign assistance programs† is, however, with ill motives as they are used as tools to the realization of foreign policies. It is argued that American foreign aid is used to maintain the United States leadership in the international scene. Anyway, this foreign economic assistance is not geared towards ending world hunger as it is realized that 15 countries received over half of the total U.S financial support in the 1990s. Israel and Egypt alone took home more than a third of this financial aid. The 10 poorest countries in the world took only 5% of the total U.S financial foreign assistance in the year 1994. Food aid, with the exception of emergency relief, can encourage over-reliance of a country on food and financial aid, and thus more hunger and poverty. Free or cheap food encourages laziness, as a result, the hardworking local farmers will not be able to market their produce, and thus they are driven into unemployment and poverty in the long run. This was the case in Somalia when the civil war of 1991 broke out. Disruption of the transportation network threatened 4.5 million people with malnutrition disease. The U.S delayed relief until December 1992 when the people had witnessed the worst and were on their road to recovery. Death rate was seen a drop from 300 to 70 a day. Harvesting had already started in the regions of Shebell river valley and Afgoye. Sorghum, corn and rice were available, but the U.S in its cunning nature poured into the foreign aid, dropping the prices of the harvests by 75%. Even with the fall in prices, it became quite difficult to sell the products. Not even the United States could buy something, so it claimed that the mandate it was offered dictated that they could buy only from the U.S governments. This forced the farmers to abandon the farms and queue for handouts of foreign food aid (Lappe, Collins Rosset p. 136). This type of food aid is usually termed as ‘tied aid’. The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization encourages cash based food aid as opposed to â€Å"tied aid†. Cash based food aid is advantageous as it allows developing countries to buy from local farmers with food surpluses, thus eliminating shipping costs and also encouraging hard work as well as reducing poverty rates. Thus, it becomes a development solution in the long run (Bassett Nelson p 170). Poverty eradication can be viewed as the best solution for ending world hunger. Dependency on foreign aid is destructive to a nation, and due to issues related to poli cy implementation, it may take too long for foreign aid to be received. Minimizing food losses and wastages and encouraging cash based food help are also other factors that are vital in the eradication of world hunger. Foreign aid should be given through an independent body like the United Nations. Bassett, Thomas J. Winter-Nelson, Alex E. The atlas of world hunger. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2010. Print. Jasmuheen. Ambassadors of Light: World Health World Hunger Project. New York, NY: Lulu.com, 2007. Print. Lappe, Frances M., Collins Joseph and Rosset Peter. World hunger: 12 myths. Oxford, UK: Earthscan, 1998. Print. Maddocks. Steven World Hunger. New Jersey: Gareth Stevens Publishing, 2004 Print. Nessan, Craig L. Beckmann David. Give us this day: a Lutheran proposal for ending world hunger. Minneapolis MN: Augsburg Books, 2003. Print. Shah, Anup. â€Å"World hunger and poverty†. Global Issues. 22 Aug 2010. Web. Swanson, Ryan. â€Å"Fighting world hunger: U.S. food aid policy and the food for peace program.† ResourceLibrary, Oct 2004. Web. The Rational Radical. World hunger, economic injustice the U.S. n.d. Web. World Food Programme. World hunger. n.d. Web. World Hunger Education Service. 2011 world hunger and poverty facts and statistics. n.d. Web.

Organizations That Impact Mining Industry Essay - 1

Organizations That Impact Mining Industry - Essay Example safety and health administration), SME (Society of Mining Industry), NIOSH (National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health), NMA (National Mining association), EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and the Sierra Club. This paper will focus on how these institutes operate and the significance of these institutes for the mining industry (Woodard 416). The purpose of MSHA is to ensure and protect the miners’ of USA and the community from injuries, diseases and deaths caused due to mining activities. According to Mine Act, the function of the MSHA is to evaluate surface mines for twice a year and underground mines for four times each annum. This survey is conducted by the surveyors of the MSHA, they conduct this survey to ensure that the mines are developed in accordance to the guidelines provided by the Mine Act and the mine owners and managers are complying with the standards proposed by the mine Act. The Act further requires the inspectors of MSHA to issue an order to the operators of the mine in case of non-compliance with the Mine Act (MSHA, 2012). SME comprises of eight different divisions and each division is created to serve in the best interest of the members of SME. Members of these divisions include students as well as professional engineers. The function of SME is to bring advancement to the community of minerals with the assistance of sharing information and developing professionals. SME itself is a member organization of American Institute of Mining which was created during the era of 1871 by a small number of coal miners. SME provides information to its members and takes part in the development of its members by providing them with technical peer reviewed journal articles, hosting seminars, accrediting colleges and providing education to the common public. Students of the engineering field can benefit through SME in several ways (SME, 2012). They have to pay discounted price to become a member of the organization and with this membership they