Virtual Against the Real :: Movies Technology Essays

Virtual Against the Real Two men stand on the rooftop. One man, dressed in a black suit and black tie, shoots a penetrating look at the other through his dark sunglasses. With a quick flick of his wrists, the man in the suit fires a handful of lethal bullets. Time slows down as the projectiles float towards their victim. The camera angle changes as the man acrobatically bends back to dodge the rippling bullets. Whoosh! The bullets fly by in normal speed as the man quickly gets back up. Neo, the man who almost tasted lead, straightens himself out before continuing to battle the agents of the virtual world. I sat back comfortably on my couch watching The Matrix (1999), thinking of the virtual versus the real. All the movies I saw recently, all the advertisements that covered the media, and almost anywhere I went, I noticed the use of computer graphics. Even the movie I was watching, The Matrix, was enhanced and completed with the aid of computerized special effects. In order to make a blockbuster hit, it seems as if computer graphics are essential. However, with computers readily available at their fingertips, a portion of the producers, artists, designers are beginning to use computer graphics not so much to enhance as to replace the real. Whenever computer technology is used to replace what is real, I fear there is a danger of losing aspects of a vital humanity. Nowadays, any top science fiction or action/adventure movie uses at least some bit of computerized special effects. I still remember being amazed at how real the tyrannosaurus rex looked in the blockbuster hit, Jurassic Park. I was amazed at the power and realism of the virtual dinosaur. Computer graphics, in some respect, are a necessity in today’s films. For example, in Tom Hank’s Cast Away (2000), all the island scenes were filmed on a mud-pile overlooking a parking lot. Michael A Hiltzik in â€Å"Digital Cinema Take 2† describes how almost all the shots with a sky or ocean were done with special effects. There are numerous examples where computer graphics enhanced the film, including the creation of fantasy worlds in Lord of the Rings (2001). What made these computer-enhanced movies so effective was that they relied almost entirely on live human actors. They had the beautifully depicted scenery, from the snowy mountains to the cozy village of the Hobbits, t hat were all generated by computer, but there is nothing better to portray human stories, stories that we can imagine ourselves in, than live actors.

Of Mice and Men †Themes And Issues Essay

In the book ‘Of Mice and Men’ the writer John Steinbeck keeps returning to the subject of loneliness. By doing this he is trying to put through to us how they (George and Lennie) must feel, with no money, scraps of food, no where to sleep until they do get a job in the Barn House. In there they still feel a little lonely with other barn workers there. They sit there in silence. â€Å"He fell morosely silent.† If George was to go out with other workers, Lennie would be left alone with no one to talk to, as an example of loneliness. Lennie would just walk around and in one case he goes to Crook’s bunk. â€Å"You got no right to come in my room† Crook’s says to Lennie, in this case it makes him a little lonelier, being not accepted because he would not know why he isn’t allowed in there. Another example of loneliness is Curley’s wife. She feels lonely and never has anyone to talk to. When the ‘boys’ go out one evening, Lennie is left alone in the barn house, where he is feeling lonely playing with a puppy that was new-born. He killed it like he kills all the mice. Curley’s wife enters the barn and sits by Lennie. They talk for a while about their lifestyles when Curley’s wife mentions â€Å"It’s ok for you, you’ve got the guys to talk to, I ain’t got no one to talk to.† (Page 85) â€Å"I get lonely.† Here John Steinbeck is explaining to us, the readers that there is a lot of loneliness in the barns. He does this to show how important George and Lennie’s relationship is because all the migrant workers do not have relationships. So this shows how important it really is, because they are a companionship which means they will always be there for one another, the workers will not. When Curley’s wife says she gets lonely, she is trying to get Lennie to listen to her. In the same conversation between Curley’s wife and Lennie she says â€Å"Why can’t I talk to you, all the guys got a tournament going on, they ain’t gonna leave that tenement. I get awfully lonely.† Once again John Steinbeck is telling us, how lonely Curley’s wife gets. She â€Å"Just wants someone to talk to, I can only talk to Curley and he gets boring,† she hints. Steinbeck really tries to get through to us readers explaining the loneliness and isolation in this book. Crooks and Candy are also very lonely. Crooks because he is Black and has to keep himself to himself and has no one to talk to because of his colour mainly. Candy would also be lonely because he also keeps himself to himself and only really has his dog. After his dog is shot he is extremely lonely, for example he lies on his bed and stares at the ceiling. In ‘Of Mice and Men’ there is also a threat of violence and lots of violence. Violence is hinted earlier in the story, in Weed where Lennie was feeling the girls dress and wouldn’t let go which made her very scared, and made him angry. Also, the mice that Lennie kills, because he strokes them to hard shows that he doesn’t realize his own strength. One main piece of violence may be when Lennie killed Curley’s wife, breaking her neck. The readers all know that Lennie did not mean it, he is harmless. But just a little too strong for his own good. Lennie likes to feel soft things and was feeling Curley’s wife’s hair when he started to shake her so she wouldn’t scream, Lennie shook her so hard that he that he broke her neck. Another piece of violence was when Lennie broke all the bones in Curley’s hand. He did this unintentionally too, but Curley was punching and swinging at Lennie so much, George shouted â€Å"Get ‘im Lennie,† and in self-defense, Lennie broke all Curley’s bones in his hand. A threat of violence, a main one was after Lennie had killed Curley’s wife. Curley was screaming and shouting â€Å"I’m gonna bust him up, I’m gonna shoot his guts out when I find him.† Curley is furious at Lennie for killing his wife, and is telling the boys when he finds him, he’s going to die. Curley in this book is probably the biggest threat of violence, maybe he likes a punch-up, or a fight, and he sure is hungry to kill Lennie. In conclusion, John Steinbeck writes this book well, and I think knows what we (the readers) want to read. I think he keeps repeating loneliness and violence because he doesn’t want anyone to experience it themselves. This book is very well written and is a good example of lots of things, i.e.: Prejudice, Violence and loneliness.

Child Observation Report Essay - 2202 Words

Natalie lives with her mother, Rachel, her father, Paul, and her baby sister of 10 months Katie. Rachel is a housewife and does not have a job outside the home, but is planning to go back when both children go to school. Paul is a full time self-employed joiner working 8:00-6:00, but helps around the house and with the children on a morning, night and weekends. They live in a large bungalow on a small poultry farm in quiet village in North Yorkshire. They have a large grassed garden at both front and back of the house. There garden has a well built up fence that Natalie can’t get out of they also have a garden gate that is always locked so her garden is very safe. In the garden Natalie has a small swing†¦show more content†¦Physical Description: Natalie has a very pretty face with pale clear skin. Natalie’s face fairly round and small. She has large, round, blue, eyes with long brown eyelashes. She has light brown hair, which is naturally curly, it is shoulder length long and fairly thin. Natalie has nice clean white teeth and takes care of them daily. Natalie is a small build, she weighs 14 kg and her height is 95 cm this means she is below average for her age (REF 3). Natalie has small round legs and long thin arms, with small thin fingers. Natalie was born with six fingers on one hand; it has now been removed and is left with a small lump this does not bother her now. Natalie is now at an age where you can tell that she is right-handed. Personality: Natalie is usually quite bubbly but only in front of people she knows. Natalie takes a while to get used to people when she trusts them she is very loud and lively. Natalie can be fairly cheeky, but is very quiet and shy when around strangers. She is very impatient and will often seek her mother’s attention. Physical Ability (fine manipulative skills): For an average three year old Natalie can do most things (Ref1.). She is able to hold a crayon and draw faces, copy circles and letter V’s. Natalie can also hold a spoon in the tip ofShow MoreRelatedObservation Report For Child Observation1557 Words   |  7 PagesEach child sat down individually with the researcher the day after to read out the words they have learnt. They were shown pages of books and asked if they could identify the words from the text. They were also asked to create a sentence using these words. The Memorization and Mixed Method approach showed that 8 out of 16 children (50%) had a full score in reading the sight words â€Å"see, â€Å"give†, â€Å"have†, â€Å"feel† and â€Å"like†. 5 out of 16 children scored more than 2 but less than 5. The remaining 3 outRead MoreObservation Report On Child Observation1411 Words   |  6 PagesWe observed Joaquin in his home in the living room of his home. His mother, younger brother, and younger sister were all there. They interacted with Joaquin during the observation. 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