Effects of School Funding on Student Academic Achievement

Effects of School Funding on Student Academic Achievement Education Policy Analysis Maya Boyle Mike  Robinson Introduction Background For the past 50 years, SAT scores for high schools across the nation have been steadily falling. Because the SAT is a fairly consistent method of testing the academic aptitude of high-school age children, this trend is concerning. As it stands, by the standards of the College Board, high school academics are preparing students less and less adequately for the rigours of secondary education. This paper seeks to address what policy initiatives can be taken by states to raise these scores. Research I hypothesised at the beginning of the study that per capita expenditures on primary and secondary education would have a significant effect on SAT scores. By using multiple data sets: population data from the US Census Bureau, education expenditure results from the Department of Education, a partial data set from STATA, and participation levels by the College Board, I amassed a collection of variables that I considered to be most valuable to determining the relationship between state education policy and SAT scores Mean scores of college-bound seniors The SAT Stacks of college test prep books Basic Conclusions By analysing what I determined to be the most significant factors affecting SAT performance, I concluded that the factor which could most effectively boost SAT scores came on the heels of SAT participation. SAT scores were strongly correlated with participation levels. A greater percentage of high school students taking the exam in each state resulted in a weaker performance. A disproportionately high number of high-scoring participants take the SAT whether or not initiatives are undertaken by state governments or schools to boost participation. Those students typically score higher. The increase in participation of students taking the SAT will come from a portion of the population who otherwise would transition straight to career paths out of high school. Education initiatives typically give these students an opportunity to take the test, and these students typically score lower. Ultimately, from a policy perspective, the best way to boost scores is to ready the portion of students who are being given the opportunity to take the SAT through funding and other education initiatives. It is useless for them to take the exam if all it does is prove that they are not ready for college. Literature Review Zajonic, Robert B., Bargh, John A. Birth order, family size, and decline of SAT scores. American Psychologist 79.1 (1989): 179-197. http://www.apa.org. Web. 4 Dec. 2012. The survey of SAT scores and birth order demonstrated that a negligible fraction of the decline in SAT scores can be explained by changes in family dynamics. In general, SAT scores showed little variation with birth order and family size, which was far less than that which was found in other data sets. Murray, Charles, and Richard J. Herrnstein. Whats Really behind the SAT-Score Decline?. Public Interest 106 (1992): 32-56. This survey of SAT scores and population distinguished between the separate populations of high school students who took the SAT and those who did not. Suggested that the greatest effect on the SAT-score decline was the regression of academic capabilities of high-school age teenagers. This possibly came from the ‘dumbing-down’ of textbooks Wharton, Yvonne L. List of Hypotheses Advanced to Explain the SAT Score Decline. (1976). The hypotheses analysed in this study suggested that changes in schools, society, population, and an increase in problems with the tests themselves are the greatest contributors to the decrease in SAT Scores. A list of variables: â€Å"The first major category (changes in the schools) is further broken down into hypotheses related to curriculum, institutional policies, teachers, and students. The second major category (changes in society) lists hypotheses related to family, religion, civil rights, crisis of values, national priorities, economic, labor movement in education, and technological changes. (Abstract)† Model Objective In this report, I will attempt to determine which two variables would most significantly positively effect mean SAT scores in college-bound high-school adolescents. An exhaustive list of the variables I used were: Mean Composite SAT scores, Mean Verbal, Mean Math, Geographical Region (dummy variable), Population, Per pupil expenditures (primary and secondary education), Government education spending, Median household income, Percent of High School graduates taking SAT. Models The primary models I used to determine which two variables that could be affected by state education policy were: Regressing SAT scores against government spending and income Regressing SAT scores against state population and percentage of high school students who took the SAT Regressing SAT scores against per pupil expenditures on primary and secondary education and percentage of high school students who took the SAT Finally, I developed a model with each of the variables that ultimately seemed most relevant: Regressing mean SAT scores, controlling for population, per pupil expenditures, median household income, and the percent of students taking the SAT. Hypothesis Before I ran the regressions, I hypothesised that the main factors affecting SAT performance would be median household and per pupil expenditures for primary and secondary education. I anticipated that states with a higher portion of domestic wealth would score better because there would be more local money going into infrastructure, and assumed that states with higher levels of spending on primary and secondary education would be higher because they reflect a greater education initiative. Methodology/Data Testing the Hypothesis For each regression, I focused most specifically on the coefficient, t-statistic, and r-squared result. Regression 1 I hypothesised that an increase in government spending will increase states’ SAT scores, controlling for median household income Null hypothesis was not proven What does this mean? R-squared: accounted for about 1/4 of the variance Coefficients were both negative Government spending raises, SAT scores decrease As median income increased, SAT scores decreased T-statistics Both are statistically significant y=-6.62*1071+-4.4581992+1107.044 Regression 2 I hypothesised that larger states receive more funding, and thus would have higher scores. Additionally, more people would lead to greater variance in scores Null hypothesis was not proven What does this mean? R-squared: accounted for about 82% of variance Coefficients: Negative relationship between both population and participation T-statistics: Participation is highly significant, population minimally. y=-1.24*1061-2.82+1021 Regression 3 I hypothesised that primary/secondary education funding would significantly play a role on SAT scores. Additionally, a larger pool of participants accounts for a wider breadth of performance Null hypothesis was not proven What does this mean? R-squared accounted for about 82% of variance Coefficients: Weak, positive relationship with funding, yet a stronger negative relationship with student participation T-statistics: Participation is highly significant y=.00432771-1.9841922+999.483 Regression 4 I hypothesised that funding for primary and secondary education and the percentage of high school students who take the exam will be most important Hypothesis proven true What does this mean? R-squared: accounted for about 88% of variance Coefficients: Expense, Participation, and Region 1 were negatively correlated; all the rest had positive effects T-statistics: Only participation was under -1.96; Regions 2 and 4 were over 1.96. These were the most significant. The t-statistic of population was at -1.94, which I considered significant for the intents and purposes of this data. y=-1.36*1061 + .00002822 .00660463 + 1.7964 -2.05165 2.3291556 + 45.0287 + 23.81498 + 989.8613 Analysis Regression 1 Government spending as a whole ultimately does not aid SAT performance. Regardless of whether or not it builds infrastructure, it seems as if funds set aside specifically for primary and secondary education are the most necessary to boost SAT scores. Additionally, I determined that- at least when it comes to SAT scores in high schoolchildren, Wealth does not denote academic success. As was determined from the methodology of regression 1, the statistical relevance of income and insignificance of government spending led me to reason that income played a greater role in determining SAT scores than government spending. Further, I questioned if the results for regression 1 had anything to do with causality, because the states that score more poorly on SATs will receive more money from the government to ameliorate educational infrastructure. Regression 2 Participation was negatively correlated with SAT scores, and significantly so. I reasoned that a base participation rate includes a skewed population of students who intend to go to college regardless of domestic initiatives to send high school students to college before allowing them into the workforce. Therefore, if more students choose to take the SAT, those students will be those who had not necessarily planned their high school education to ready them for the SAT. There scores thus will be lower. Regression 3 While the results of my first regression clearly suggested that government spending as a whole has little to no effect on SAT scores, I aimed to determine that per pupil expenditures on education for primary and secondary schooling had a strong positive correlation with students’ SAT readiness. This was not the case. Government education expenditures was loosely correlated with SAT scores, but not significantly so. This result could possibly have come from different years of availability for each variable. Many of the variables were derived from an old STATA data set that suited my intents, but I added other variables to develop a more individual project. Government spending was one of these variables, and the data may have been more recent than others. Further, as was the case with regression 2, the levels of participation played a strong and significant factor in determining the rate at which students would score on the SAT. The t-statistic was highly significant, so I trust that this correlation is true. I expect the population shift that I described in my previous analysis will still stand. Regression 4 Ultimately, I determined that as much as I had hoped that income and per-pupil education expenditures would have strong effects on the scoring of high schoolers on the SAT, because such effects are easily fixable through initiatives. I was wrong. Expense and income both were determined to be insignificant, with expense ultimately having a negative correlation with SAT scores. This cannot show the whole picture, however. Wealthier states traditionally have stronger educational infrastructures and students who perform better on the SAT. I can only assume that wealthier states are those which have educational initiatives to give more students the chance to take the SATs in the first place, and thus have a pool of lower-scoring students. Conversely, students in states with low median incomes had to have a significant personal initiative to take the Test in the first place. Therefore, the relationship between income and infrastructure is that which renders the relationship negative. Tables Table 1: Table of Means Table 2: Description of Data Variable | Obs Mean Std. Dev. Min Max -+ state | 0 region | 50 2.54 1.128662 1 4 pop | 50 4962040 5459782 454000 2.98e+07 area | 50 70759.14 85796.76 1045 570374 csat | 51 944.098 66.93497 832 1093 -+ vsat | 51 447.8431 31.87562 395 515 msat | 51 496.2549 35.58418 435 578 percent | 51 35.76471 26.19281 4 81 expense | 51 5235.961 1401.155 2960 9259 income | 51 33.95657 6.423134 23.465 48.618 -+ high | 51 76.26078 5.588741 64.3 86.6 college | 51 20.02157 4.16578 12.3 33.3 spending | 51 1.75e+07 2.03e+07 270000 1.03e+08 participat~n | 51 39.33333 32.1538 3 93 Table 3: Regression 1 Table 4: Regression 2 Table 5: Regression 3 Table 6: Regression 4 Table 7: College Board Participation Rates Table 8: College Board Participation Rates (cont.) Basically this isn’t really done. 80 Mount Holyoke CollegeSAT Scores: An Econometrics Perspective 1

Toni Morrisons Sula - A Multi-faceted Interpretation of Sula Essay

A Multi-faceted Interpretation of Sula In The Apocalypse in African-American Fiction, Maxine Lavon Montgomery weaves a multi-faceted interpretation of Toni Morrison's Sula. Montgomery submits, "drawing upon an African cosmological system, Morrison maintains that although life in modern America is chaotic, it is possible to escape life in the West and recover the time of the black community's non-Western beginnings" (74). Though Montgomery makes a highly detailed argument advancing several significant ideas that are well worth acknowledging, her final conclusions exceed what can be clearly supported in Sula. Montgomery's first major heading of "Modern Chaos and Ancient Paradigms" (75) sketches her belief that "natural disasters, unexpected deaths, and continued racist oppression serve as bitter reminders of the near-tragic dimensions of life, for to be black in America is to experience calamity as an ever-present reality, to live on the brink of apocalypse" (75). She supports this statement with the origins of the Bottom... Toni Morrison's Sula - A Multi-faceted Interpretation of Sula Essay A Multi-faceted Interpretation of Sula In The Apocalypse in African-American Fiction, Maxine Lavon Montgomery weaves a multi-faceted interpretation of Toni Morrison's Sula. Montgomery submits, "drawing upon an African cosmological system, Morrison maintains that although life in modern America is chaotic, it is possible to escape life in the West and recover the time of the black community's non-Western beginnings" (74). Though Montgomery makes a highly detailed argument advancing several significant ideas that are well worth acknowledging, her final conclusions exceed what can be clearly supported in Sula. Montgomery's first major heading of "Modern Chaos and Ancient Paradigms" (75) sketches her belief that "natural disasters, unexpected deaths, and continued racist oppression serve as bitter reminders of the near-tragic dimensions of life, for to be black in America is to experience calamity as an ever-present reality, to live on the brink of apocalypse" (75). She supports this statement with the origins of the Bottom...

Free Hamlet Essays: Loneliness in Hamlet :: Shakespeare Hamlet Essays

Loneliness in Hamlet Everyone faces loneliness and despair in their lives. In today’s world people may feel misunderstood or isolated. In Hamlet, much of the loneliness and suffering he endures is due to the secrets and betrayals he is forced to keep. There were many instances where Hamlet felt alone and upset but he could not share his pain with anyone else. This was a factor that added to his suffering. We can also find many examples of Hamlet’s despair due to betrayal from his so called friends. All of these factors not only contributed heavily to his depression, but caused his overall demise. Throughout the play, Hamlet discovers who is loyal to him and who his real enemies are. Right away, Hamlet dislikes his uncle. He is already distraught over losing his father but on top of that he has to deal with the marriage of his beloved mother to his uncle, who he perceives as being cruel and cold-hearted. "A little more than kin, and less than kind." (I; ii; 65) This is Hamlets first line in the play, which clearly demonstrates the extreme hatred Hamlet has towards his uncle. Hamlet also feels intense betrayal from his mother. He trusted her and feels like she has disregarded any love she ever felt towards her former husband. " Mother, you have my father much offended." (III; iv; 11) " A bloody deed-almost as bad, good mother, As kill a king, and marry with his brother. (III; iv; 29-30). Hamlet is revolted by the idea of his uncle and his mother married. Hamlet also encounters loneliness and despair from Ophelia. As part of Hamlet’s "plan" to put on an antic disposition he distances himself from Ophelia who he is actually in love with. He does this by insulting her and convincing her that he is mad and never had any true feelings for her. "I loved you not" (III; i; 117) "Get thee to a nunnery......Marry a fool, for wise men know well enough what monsters you make of them" (III; i; 135-137) Hamlet also kills Polonius (by mistake thinking it was Claudius). Both of these incidents cause Ophelia a great deal of grief and so she kills herself. Hamlet is of course devastated because he never actually meant to hurt her. "I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers could not with all their quantity of love make up my sum.

Ancient Greek and Ancient Roman Democracy Essay

â€Å"One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.† – Plato The question at hand is whether there were any similarities that led to the fall of Ancient Greek and Roman democracies. This essay will discuss how wars and territorial expansion led to a rise in populism, which brought political chaos, and how it is the fundamental cause of the decline of democracy in Ancient Greece and Rome. The first forms of democracy started in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. In Ancient Greece, democracy and politics were more related to the Athenian city-state – because Sparta was more of a military dictatorship – than any other city-state in the region. As for Rome, the brief period between the Roman Kingdom and the Roman Empire, known as the Roman Republic, came to be a symbol of democracy in the Ancient Roman time period. Though democracy is defined as a form of government in which its people make decisions that directly influence their daily lives, the ancient forms of democracy were slightly different. It is clear that the Athenian city-state was more democratic than the Roman Republic, but both had forms of oligarchy that tampered with the image of ideal democracy. The Roman Republic had its Senate, and the Athenian city-state had its Areopagos, groups of aristocrats that usually dominated the region’s politics. Some sources even suggest that â€Å"Rome n ever became a democracy in the sense that they (the citizens) ever controlled the government for long.† But whatever democracy existed in these areas was short-lived. Even though these democracies existed in different time periods, they had similar reasons to their downfall. Scholars suggest that these democracies fell because of the sheer landmass each had to control after their numerous victories. The Roman Republic stretched the Italian Peninsula and controlled parts of Northern Africa; Athens ruled much of mainland Greece and the Ionian states (the Delian League basically put the Ionian states under Athenian subjection) along the Mediterranean coastline. The constitutions built for Athens and the Roman Republic were figuratively too small to control these newly added territories. Since the constitutions were made only to satisfy the populations of the homeland itself, the constitutions had gaps in which politicians abused, ultimately  leading to political corruption. Another cause reasoned for the downfall of democracies in both states is the democracies’ fallout with thei r common citizens. Citizens of Rome and Athens consequently wanted a single strong ruler after years of war had created panic among all levels of government. However, though these two reasons are valid, there was another significant cause for the fall of these two democracies. The rise of populism in both the Athenian city-state and the Roman Republic was crucial to the deterioration of their democracies. The Athenian city-state fought many wars such as the Persian Wars and the Peloponnesian Wars. To fight these wars, the Athenians needed income. The common Athenian citizen had to fund the war, similar to the Roman Plebeians and their war taxes, creating heavy discrepancies between the rich and poor. This in turn paved the way for many populist reforms – reforms that favored the working class – most importantly, Pericles’ reforms. Pericles removed the property restrictions on army enlistment to provide more troops in the Athenian war machine. This reform, along with the previous reform of Cleisthenes that enlarged the Council of 400 to five-hundred people, allowed for the â€Å"†¦ involvement of a large part or even the whole of the citizen body in the state’s affairs,† giving the citizens too much power. Citizens, w hom had no experience in politics, started to make decisions for the Athenian public. This proved detrimental in Second Peloponnesian War, when Athens could not effectively place its troops because of quarrels within the Council of 500 (and a weakened Areopagos due to Pericles’ reforms), leading to a defeat that nearly crumbled the existing form of democracy in Athens. This inefficiency of the government moved citizens and thinkers, such as Plato, to view democracy as an ineffective form of rule. Citizens now shifted their sights to Macedonia as their only hope for survival. The case for the Roman Republic is similar. The plebeians funded wars which created discrepancies between the Patrician class and the Plebeians. This allowed the Patricians to dominate the state’s resources, such as land, which started to deteriorate the economy of the Republic. To counter these movements, reformers such as the Gracchus brothers and Gaius Marius turned to populist ideals to gain a strong plebeian holding. In trying to do so, the reformers disobeyed many of the constitution’s preexisting laws which brought  political instability: Tiberius Gracchus tried to illegally obtain another year as tribune, resulting in the first â€Å"daggers in the forum,† Gaius Gracchus tried to start a plebeian reform, which failed, and Gaius Marius and Sulla created a clash between the populares and optimares, creating conflict within Rome. These attempts at populist reforms seemingly started a trend within politicians to undermine the authority of the Roman constitution. Sulla was elected dictator for two consecutive terms – Roman law only allowed for a single term in case of national emergency – and Julius Caesar declared himself dictator-for-life and crossed the Rubicon into Rome with his troops, which were both illegal. All of these attempts at populist reforms created confusion amongst the Roman public, whom now viewed dictatorships more pleasurable than the current Republ ic mess. After the assassination of Julius Caesar, Octavion took over, marking the end of the Roman Republic. As discussed above, wars were the backbone to the populist movements. It is important to note, however, that in Ancient Greece, the fall was associated more with the populist reforms itself, and that in Ancient Rome, the fall was associated more with the push for populism, rather than the reforms itself. Another rather interesting fact was that the increase in democracy in Greece actually led to the demise of the democracy itself. However, in all, populism was a common factor that brought the collapse of the democracies in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Roberts, J. M. â€Å"The Making of the Roman World.† The Penguin History of Europe. London, England: Penguin, 1997. 51. Print. [ 2 ]. Roberts, J. M. â€Å"Ancient Greece.† The Penguin History of Europe. London, England: Penguin, 1997. 31. Print. [ 3 ]. A term used to describe the first appearance of violence in the Roman General Assembly; it is blamed for start of the disregard of the Roman constitution by many politicians to follow.

Classification of Shoes

There are many people, such as myself, who collect shoes for the sake of collecting them. With various styles and uses, many individuals have a collection of shoes to choose from. I prefer to classify my shoe collection into three separate categories, based on function. Each section has their specific uses which I define as work shoes, dress shoes, and sneaker type shoes. Classifying your shoe collection into categories can be very beneficial to keep organized, and saves me time when I am getting ready to leave the house. My first category is my work shoes.My work shoes all resemble work boots and/or hiking shoes, and may be steel-toed boots. I like to have a work shoe category because I enjoy having a different shoe for everyday of the week. I don’t have a strict uniform code at work, so I can change what outfits and shoes I wear from day to day. It is convenient having a category for my work shoes because of my various jobs in warehousing. I also have a category of dress sho es because I enjoy going out when I get the chance. I have a large variety of clothes in my wardrobe, so I also like to have a variety of dress shoes to choose from.If I want to wear a button-up shirt with black dress pants, I know exactly where to find my black dress shoes. If I did not have this category of shoes, then I probably would be stressed having to find the perfect pair to match with my clothes for a night out. My final category is my sneaker type. I love Jordan and Nike brands; therefore, it is important to obtain as many pairs as I can. I like to have every color and style as soon as they are released on the market. I keep them organized in their original boxes. I love my sneakers the most out of the three categories.Although there are many ways that a person can classify their shoe collection, I like to categorize my shoes by work shoes, dress shoes, and sneaker type shoes. My work shoes allow me to have a different pair for everyday of the week, which is convenient wh en I have to work many jobs. I like having my dress shoes in case there is an unexpected night out, so I keep many options to select from. I also love having different sneaker type shoes, such as Nike and Jordan brands. Classifying your shoe collection into categories can be helpful in keeping organized.

Bride Wars and Year One

They get the wedding planner of their dreams, Marion St Clair who turns out to be the wedding planner of their nightmares and accidently books their weddings on the same day! Neither of them will agree to change their date, so they become enemies. As the tag line quotes â€Å"Even best friends can’t share the same wedding day. † The cake knives are out, but how will everything turn out? â€Å"Year One† is an American film also released in 2009, it is an example of a romantic adventure comedy. It is about two accident-prone Palaeolithic warriors. Jack Black who plays â€Å"Zed â€Å" is a prehistoric would-be hunter he gets kicked out of the tribe in the forest for eating the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. His side kick, â€Å"Oh† played by Michael Cera is a gatherer and turns up to â€Å"try† and save him. The film is about their adventures set in the prehistoric era trying to save their two friends Maya and Eema. Both girls are from their former tribe and have been captured and sold into slavery, on their travels Zed and Oh meet Biblical characters on route to the city of Sodom. Do they succeed in saving them? Although they are of the same genre they couldn’t be more different films. â€Å"Bride Wars† is set in the 21st century, whereas â€Å"Year One† is set in Palaeolithic era, this means there is a very big contrast between them. Bride Wars gives the impression of being a comedy from the expressions on both the actors’ faces. They are both looking straight into each other’s eyes showing a devious look with a comic smirk, in a horror film there would be no trace of a comic smirk. â€Å"Year One† has the aesthetics of a comedy with Jack Black’s expression being apprehensive and confused, his eyebrow is raised. Michael Cera’s facial expression is one of worried eyes which suggests he is just merely a side kick, and doesn’t really have a say in what Jack is going to do next! â€Å"Bride Wars† gives the impression of comedy on the poster, you would never expect brides to have a â€Å"war† or the weapons to be cake knives. Year One† suggests that it is set in prehistoric times, the first year of man, but the title doesn’t really have a comic sense about it, I believe this is why the director cast Jack Black to star in it, he is a very well known for his comedy roles. People will know that a film with Jack as the main character is going to be entertaining and funny so will choose to see it on that basis. The advertising poster for â€Å"Bride Wars† implies some type of confrontation in the plot. In â€Å"Bride Wars† the actors Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway have a look in their eyes of pure distain. Anne Hathaway is a popular actress with female audiences of all ages. She has featured in many other films such as Princess Diaries, Ella Enchanted, Devil wears Prada and Brokeback Mountain, again she has a good following. In the poster both young ladies are dressed in wedding dresses this helps to emphases the term â€Å"bride† to look more potent, The actors have their hair down, which suggest a fight is about to break out, as brides nearly always have their hair up in an â€Å"updo†. The poster for â€Å"Year One† doesn’t imply a lot, being dressed in animal cloth relates to the title of the film and lets the audience know that this movie is set in pre-historic times. This leads me to think they might have gotten lost in an adventure, their body language looks like they have just seen something that is confusing or worrying to them. The colours used in each poster have soft tones, nothing potent or eye catching. Except the titles as this is what grabs the audience’s attention as they walk past. â€Å"Bride Wars† uses the colour theme of white and cream, these colours are usually associated with weddings e. g. purity, virgin brides, and wedding dresses, this again emphases the term â€Å"Bride. Year One’s theme is a desert landscape with a blue sky, this suggests it’s a hot day and they might be lost. The actors are the main focus of these posters; this suggests that the films revolve around them. The tag lines are intriguing, the tag line for Bride Wars suggests a confrontation within the film, and the tag line for â€Å"Year One† doesn’t give any clues to the plot of the film. This makes the person reading the poster want to learn more about these tag lines and what happens in the film, these help to grab the audience’s attention to hopefully go and see the film to find out more about them. The bold text in the â€Å"Year One† poster against the desert background makes the text stand out in the poster and catch people eye as they see it. The â€Å"Bride Wars† text on the word bride is similar to the text used on wedding invitations and further relates back to the film title. I think both posters have a target audience. Bride Wars is aimed at female teenagers and also would be appealing to female adults as it is about love and marriage. It is a feminine film, these are sometimes referred to as â€Å"chick flicks. † Year One is more of a teenagers film, not quite as girly as Bride Wars so might appeal to a wider audience. Teenagers are big fans of comedies and new movies that have just been released, they feel they can relate to them as they are light hearted and not serious. These posters inform their intended audience about the film, they try to entice them with intriguing tag lines that make the reader interested and wanting to see the film, and as they say â€Å"curiosity killed the cat. † They also inform people about the name, age certificate, genre, actors, and director, trying to persuade them in every way they can to see their film, to make it a success. In conclusion the posters are about as different as the films, â€Å"Year One† gives very little away about what is going to happen in the film so people will be curious to find out more, and perhaps research the film or discuss with friends what it’s about. Word of mouth is the best advert so getting people to talk about the film is a main goal for the poster. On the other hand the poster for â€Å"Bride Wars† lets you know the plot of the film, so when people see it they can make an instant decisions whether it interests them or not. Seeing two brides holding knives makes your imagination run and you just want to know what is going to happen. Both posters have a different target market, which explains why they are so different as they are tailored to appeal to different audiences. The posters have to grab and get the attention and curiosity of the people that they are aimed at and ultimately encourage them to want to go and see the film. Hopefully after seeing the film they will relay their experiences and enjoyment to other people and that will entice them to see the film too! Bride Wars and Year One They get the wedding planner of their dreams, Marion St Clair who turns out to be the wedding planner of their nightmares and accidently books their weddings on the same day! Neither of them will agree to change their date, so they become enemies. As the tag line quotes â€Å"Even best friends can’t share the same wedding day. † The cake knives are out, but how will everything turn out? â€Å"Year One† is an American film also released in 2009, it is an example of a romantic adventure comedy. It is about two accident-prone Palaeolithic warriors. Jack Black who plays â€Å"Zed â€Å" is a prehistoric would-be hunter he gets kicked out of the tribe in the forest for eating the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. His side kick, â€Å"Oh† played by Michael Cera is a gatherer and turns up to â€Å"try† and save him. The film is about their adventures set in the prehistoric era trying to save their two friends Maya and Eema. Both girls are from their former tribe and have been captured and sold into slavery, on their travels Zed and Oh meet Biblical characters on route to the city of Sodom. Do they succeed in saving them? Although they are of the same genre they couldn’t be more different films. â€Å"Bride Wars† is set in the 21st century, whereas â€Å"Year One† is set in Palaeolithic era, this means there is a very big contrast between them. Bride Wars gives the impression of being a comedy from the expressions on both the actors’ faces. They are both looking straight into each other’s eyes showing a devious look with a comic smirk, in a horror film there would be no trace of a comic smirk. â€Å"Year One† has the aesthetics of a comedy with Jack Black’s expression being apprehensive and confused, his eyebrow is raised. Michael Cera’s facial expression is one of worried eyes which suggests he is just merely a side kick, and doesn’t really have a say in what Jack is going to do next! â€Å"Bride Wars† gives the impression of comedy on the poster, you would never expect brides to have a â€Å"war† or the weapons to be cake knives. Year One† suggests that it is set in prehistoric times, the first year of man, but the title doesn’t really have a comic sense about it, I believe this is why the director cast Jack Black to star in it, he is a very well known for his comedy roles. People will know that a film with Jack as the main character is going to be entertaining and funny so will choose to see it on that basis. The advertising poster for â€Å"Bride Wars† implies some type of confrontation in the plot. In â€Å"Bride Wars† the actors Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway have a look in their eyes of pure distain. Anne Hathaway is a popular actress with female audiences of all ages. She has featured in many other films such as Princess Diaries, Ella Enchanted, Devil wears Prada and Brokeback Mountain, again she has a good following. In the poster both young ladies are dressed in wedding dresses this helps to emphases the term â€Å"bride† to look more potent, The actors have their hair down, which suggest a fight is about to break out, as brides nearly always have their hair up in an â€Å"updo†. The poster for â€Å"Year One† doesn’t imply a lot, being dressed in animal cloth relates to the title of the film and lets the audience know that this movie is set in pre-historic times. This leads me to think they might have gotten lost in an adventure, their body language looks like they have just seen something that is confusing or worrying to them. The colours used in each poster have soft tones, nothing potent or eye catching. Except the titles as this is what grabs the audience’s attention as they walk past. â€Å"Bride Wars† uses the colour theme of white and cream, these colours are usually associated with weddings e. g. purity, virgin brides, and wedding dresses, this again emphases the term â€Å"Bride. Year One’s theme is a desert landscape with a blue sky, this suggests it’s a hot day and they might be lost. The actors are the main focus of these posters; this suggests that the films revolve around them. The tag lines are intriguing, the tag line for Bride Wars suggests a confrontation within the film, and the tag line for â€Å"Year One† doesn’t give any clues to the plot of the film. This makes the person reading the poster want to learn more about these tag lines and what happens in the film, these help to grab the audience’s attention to hopefully go and see the film to find out more about them. The bold text in the â€Å"Year One† poster against the desert background makes the text stand out in the poster and catch people eye as they see it. The â€Å"Bride Wars† text on the word bride is similar to the text used on wedding invitations and further relates back to the film title. I think both posters have a target audience. Bride Wars is aimed at female teenagers and also would be appealing to female adults as it is about love and marriage. It is a feminine film, these are sometimes referred to as â€Å"chick flicks. † Year One is more of a teenagers film, not quite as girly as Bride Wars so might appeal to a wider audience. Teenagers are big fans of comedies and new movies that have just been released, they feel they can relate to them as they are light hearted and not serious. These posters inform their intended audience about the film, they try to entice them with intriguing tag lines that make the reader interested and wanting to see the film, and as they say â€Å"curiosity killed the cat. † They also inform people about the name, age certificate, genre, actors, and director, trying to persuade them in every way they can to see their film, to make it a success. In conclusion the posters are about as different as the films, â€Å"Year One† gives very little away about what is going to happen in the film so people will be curious to find out more, and perhaps research the film or discuss with friends what it’s about. Word of mouth is the best advert so getting people to talk about the film is a main goal for the poster. On the other hand the poster for â€Å"Bride Wars† lets you know the plot of the film, so when people see it they can make an instant decisions whether it interests them or not. Seeing two brides holding knives makes your imagination run and you just want to know what is going to happen. Both posters have a different target market, which explains why they are so different as they are tailored to appeal to different audiences. The posters have to grab and get the attention and curiosity of the people that they are aimed at and ultimately encourage them to want to go and see the film. Hopefully after seeing the film they will relay their experiences and enjoyment to other people and that will entice them to see the film too!

Marcel Duchamp Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Marcel Duchamp - Essay Example The paper "Marcel Duchamp" focuses on the important figure in the art, Marcel Duchamp. Particular to that was the avant-garde movement known as the Dadaists and the Surrealists: "the mission of the early 20th Century avant-garde thus consisted in undermining the idea of art's 'autonomy' in favour of a new merging of art into what he calls the 'praxis of life'." The work being examined in the following, falls within the genre of this movement, and thus, one of the running themes explored throughout this discussion, will address how L.H.O.O.Q. can be understood as an expression of the avant-garde of his age, and how this fits within the agenda of the Dadaists. In introductory terms, Dadaism is a movement that sought to deconstruct the relationship of art to the power structures that financed it, so to speak. By challenging the power relations surrounding the work of art, the further agenda of exposing the essentially "bourgeoisie" values are likewise a theme that is incorporated into t he actual pieces or works of art themselves. In 1915, Marcel Duchamp moved to New York City from Paris. In Duchamp's own words, he was not moving to New York so much as he was fleeing the art community in Paris which he believed was burdened by the history and traditions of European art. As he states: â€Å"If only America would realize that the art of Europe is finished – dead – and that America is the country of the art of the future. Look at the skyscrapers! Has Europe anything to show more beautiful than these? New York is a work of art, a complete work of art . . . And I believe that the idea of demolishing old buildings, old souvenirs, is fine . . . The dead should not be permitted to be so much stronger than the living. We must learn to forget the past, to live our own lives in our own time.† [Kalaidjian, Ed., 2005, 195]. In terms of the back drop of rejecting history or the tradition of art, the work in question eventually came to be known as a 'ready-ma de'. That is, a found object which has been altered or modified in a way, and then presented as a work of art. The work in question [APPENDIX A] is a reproduction of Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa, which is arguably, the most famous work that is housed in the Louvre in Paris. As far as the modifications go with this particular work, Duchamp has merely added a mustache and titled the work with the initials L.H.O.O.Q.. This title is supposed to be a pun or a play on the French: â€Å"Elle a chaud au cul" and as translated into English, the phrase means "She has a hot ass" [Seigel, 1995, 119] . There is an interesting controversy about the work, that it is germane to the very meaning of the work itself. One of the important aspects of a work like this, is the very capacity for it to be photographed and reproduced. Indeed, the technique involved with the work in the first sense involves photography insofar as the image itself is initially a photograph of the Mona Lisa: "photography was crucial in disseminating Duchamp" [Hopkins, 2004, p. 46]. The contemporary twist on the controversy occurred in 2006 when the art critic and editor of Art in America, had to issue an apology for misunderstanding the authenticity and provenance of a reproduction of Duchamp's famous work: â€Å"I was wrong in 'Dada Lives' to claim that Francis Picabia's bungled 1920 reproduction