Choose 1 from 3 topics below Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Choose 1 from 3 topics below - Essay Example Released in 1937 and directed by Yuan Muzhi, Street Angel is one such Chinese film that shows the society’s gender roles. According to the films, girls are vulnerable groups who must always live in a specific manner and in the guidance of a family. The two sisters, Xiao Hong and  Xiao Yun flee the war in in North Eastern parts of China to Shanghai. Girls are always more likely to suffer massive loses in cases of war among other types of conflicts. The same is the case in the film since the girls have to flee their hometown in order to avoid brutal murder in the wars. The developers of the film portray the vulnerability of the two girls from the beginning of the film where the girls cannot survive in the war torn areas in the North Eastern parts of the country and must therefore flee. The film shows that among those fleeing are women and children. Women and children belong to the same category owing to their vulnerability and defenseless nature especially in cases of such militarized conflicts. They must therefore seek refuge in safe parts of the country. The fact that gender roles are cultural features of a society implies that the roles are as dynamic as cultural and social values are. Cultures change with time and this often influences the gender roles in the society, which must always conform to the prevailing values. Wars are social features that epitome the internal or external conflicts in a society. During wars, people disregard the social and cultural values since they seek to resolve their conflicts after which they will create new social structures. The film begins with a war in North Eastern part of China. The war creates mayhem in which causes deaths of children and rape of women and girls. Such basic occurrences expose women and children to an unfamiliar harshness. This validates the need for the two vulnerable

The subject of occultism in Africa Research Paper

The subject of occultism in Africa - Research Paper Example Why do we continue to mistrust them, despite the studies that have been done on occultism as a discipline? This paper intends to elucidate on occultism and explain magic as part of occultism. Now, occult is a word that many people use on a regular basis, but little do they understand it. â€Å"Occult is supernatural, mystical; the magical beliefs, practices or phenomenon. It is beyond the range of ordinary, knowledge or experience; it is mysterious.† (Oxford Dictionary, 2009). The literal translation of the word occult is ‘hidden’. The former definition had been incorporated into the Oxford Dictionary as the literal definition not too long ago. That is because occult or occultism is no longer simply something that is hidden. It is so much more than that. It has almost become a culture. And ergo, the definition had to be revised with the dawn of it as a discipline/discourse/culture. The British occultist, Dion Fortune has explained this phenomenon in her book. â€Å"Occult science is the branch of knowledge which is hidden from many and reserved for few† (Fortune, 2001). The author explains that there are times when certain people are able to transcend the states of consciousness that are considered normal. In this state, these people are able to experience â€Å"those forms of existence with whom normally no contact can be made† (Fortune, 2001). We understand from this that occultism is not merely knowledge of the unknown, or of the hidden. It is the opening to the world of supernatural/paranormal, to the world of mystery for us. And this can only be done when a person defies the norms; when one goes beyond the reality that we have come to understand as our only true reality. Only then, are they able to enter a world that had been anonymous to them before. Now, many believe this is through magic; that when people learn to control this mystical power, they are able to control the Nature around them, to manipulate the