Akinari Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Akinari - Essay Example The danger arises because the limitations on conduct circumscribed by gender boundaries are breached by the overflow of passion. The story of â€Å"Bewitched† is the story of a white snake that appears in the forms of a beautiful woman and bewitches a young man. The beginning of the story itself subtly suggests the conflict that is set to play out through the course of the story. A young man, Toyo-O, sees a beautiful young woman at a temple during a sudden rain shower and lends her his umbrella. But a little later in the same episode, a mysterious serpent appears, subtly alluding a connection between the beautiful woman and the serpent. In Japan, snakes are regarded as animals of witchcraft and sorcery who are possessed by their owners, but who nevertheless search for victims to consume, hurt and possess, causing these victims a great deal of harm and pain (www.anime-myth.com). The presence of the snake - which is a symbol of pain for a victim - at the very beginning of the story, itself suggests that there is more to the beautiful woman than meets the eye. She is very beautiful, but the snake associat ion suggests that she may also be dangerous. Akinari’s story â€Å"Bewitched† is premised upon folklore about rejection transforming a lovesick woman into a malicious, deadly serpent. Akinari has used this as the basis to approach his story from a slightly different perspective: â€Å"If jealousy can transform a woman into a serpent, then love can turn a serpent into a woman.† (Akinari, 635). The beautiful woman is not in fact merely a woman, she is actually a serpent that has transformed itself into a woman in order to be near the man she loves. In essence, the story cautions a reader about the pitfalls and disaster that could befall a man who fails to show prudence and circumspection in his daily conduct and adopts a non-traditional gender

Popular Music and Its Use in Propaganda Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Popular Music and Its Use in Propaganda - Essay Example The observation was also conveyed that pictures of violence are prominent in song descriptions especially for the rock genre. The report was purportedly to show the destructive repercussion of popular music on the juveniles. (Music's Deadly Influence. August 3, 1999. CWA Concerned Women for America. [internet]). Another paper says that on a daily average, two and a half hours are being spent by teenagers listening to music more than half of which containing allusions to drugs and alcohol. (Parker-Pope, Tara. Under the Influence of...Music February 5, 2008. The New York Times. [internet]). How popular music sways the human individual was once explained by the philosopher and composer Theodor W. Adorno in that mass habitual listening first results into the tune being first perceived, then recognized and finally accepted. That cycle finally ends singly in acceptance and becomes a way of everyday life. It was on this premises that Adorno, together with his friend Max Horkheimer, likewise a philosopher, strongly argued against the aspect of popular music having the tendency to be used for propaganda purposes. (Adorno, Theodor W. assisted by George Simpson. Theory about the listener. Institute of Social Research. New York. 1941. soundscapes.infor [internet]). Music is admittedly universal and is estimated to have started its development as early as fifty thousand years ago in Africa and must have undergone numerous evolutions as generations come and go. (History of classical music traditions. Wikipedia. [internet]). Naturally, genres and styles likewise crop up and fizzle out. Music itself in general could have already been used in announcements, declarations and in other forms of communications for thousands of years, that is, even before the emergence of pop culture. Known is the fact that music has been historically linked with political and social activities, including dynamics in expressions such as those pertaining to anti-war themes, patriotic songs and other varieties of delivering a message. In these instances, since the object is the people, the song or music must be one readily acceptable by the masses. (Music and politics. Wikipedia. [internet]). In the specific case of popular music, if indeed it is a valuable tool for propa ganda, then its use for that purpose must have already traversed the period from the middle of the 1950's or even before and up to the present. Presidential candidates in the United States of America have oftentimes used well-known songs in their political campaign or propaganda. The themes can vary from political platform or planned programs of government to direct or subtle character assassination against the adversaries. Music in politics has been used even during the time of George Washington, the first president, whose supporters had flutes blown out while rejoicing when the general was unanimously nominated. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson had also their campaign songs, ironically composed by the same talent, in the election of 1800. Eisenhower, Franklin Roosevelt and John Quincy Adams likewise had their own. William Henry Harrison famously campaigned with the song entitled Tippercanoe and Tyler, Too; he had other songs for his political advertising one of which attacked Martin Van Buren as someone like Satan. Franklin Roosevelt