Benetton Group Advertising Campaign Media Essay

Benetton Group Advertising Campaign Media Essay Oliviero Toscanis job title was Creative Director and Photographer for the Benetton Group starting in 1982. Under the direction of Oliviero Toscani, the Benetton Group had a very questionable advertising campaign. The Benetton Group used shock advertising until Oliviero Toscanis final campaign about death row inmates. Customers and retailers alike did not approve of this particular advertising campaign. This happened in the year 2000 and caused Toscani to leave the company. The Benetton Group has since switched their advertising to more traditional methods under the direction of James Mollison (Ganesan 2, 8-10). There are certain basic objectives of advertising. When Benetton used shock advertising, it had both pros and cons. There are still certain companies that use shock advertising today, but not to sell clothing and accessories. There are many basic objectives of advertising. The main basic objective of advertising is to convince the customer to buy the product or service that the business is selling. Our textbook defines marketing objectives as, what is to be accomplished by the overall marketing program. (Belch 33). The objective of most advertisements is to solve a problem or concern for the customer. Another objective is to make sure that no one is offended by the advertising. The advertising should show the product or service in a positive light that will somehow benefit the customer. Our textbook describes public relations as it relates to a positive image as follows, generally has a broader objective than publicity, as its purpose is to establish and maintain a positive image of the company among its various publics (Belch 25). Before they hired Oliviero Toscani to be their Creative Director and Photographer, they used an outside advertising agency. It saved Benetton a lot of money to do their advertising in-house. Luciano Benetton, one of the original owners of the company, approved all of Oliviero Toscanis work (Ganesan 6). The main advertising objective for Benetton while Toscani was in charge of it was to make the public aware of controversial social and political issues (Ganesan 1). These issues were at the heart of the advertisements, while the Benetton label looked like just a footnote in the advertisement (Ganesan 6,7). Some people may not even have known they were advertising for Benetton. Viewers must interpret the message advertisers are trying to communicate to them. Our textbook discusses the clarity of the advertising message by stating, Many ads are objective, and their message is clear and straightforward. Other ads are more ambiguous, and their meaning is strongly influenced by the consumer s individual interpretation (Belch 121). Benettons shock advertising could be interpreted differently depending on each individual person. This relates to the concept of selective comprehension. Our textbook discusses selective comprehension by stating, Consumers may engage in selective comprehension, interpreting information on the basis of their own attitudes, beliefs, motives, and experiences (Belch 122). The purpose of advertising is to convince the customer to buy your product or service. Unless the product or service the company is trying to sell relates to a particular social or political issue, it should not be mentioned in the advertising. Benettons product symbolism was the social and political issues that it was trying to make the public become aware. Our textbook discusses product symbolism and states, For many products, strong symbolic features and social and psychological meaning may be more important than functional utility (Belch 61). After Toscani left the company, they focused more on traditional advertising where the product was the central focus, along with a positive look at an issue (Ganesan 13). For example, the advertising campaign after Oliviero Toscani left centered on being a volunteer [Figure (x) on page 10]. Some other issues addressed after Toscani left Benetton that werent portrayed in a controversial way included worldwide hunger, protecting human rights, poverty, and child labor (Ganesan 10,14). Social and political causes were Benettons message (Ganesan 1). Our textbook states the following regarding a companys message, The encoding process leads to development of a message that contains the information or meaning the source hopes to convey. The message may be verbal or nonverbal, oral or written, or symbolic (Belch 148). There are both pros and cons to Benettons shock advertising campaign. One of the pros of Benettons shock advertising campaign is that it attempted to educate people on the various social and political concerns happening at that time. The customers watching the advertisement may pay closer attention and start talking about the issue. It gives viewers a forum for open discussion of an issue (Ganesan 1). Shortly after Oliviero Toscani started working at Benetton, the social issues such as people of different races doing things together and getting along were the primary focus. These images portray positive ways of thinking and encourage unity among different races (Ganesan 4). For example, Figure (i) that is shown on page 4 has a multi-racial group of people smiling and hugging. In addition, Picture 4 on page 15 of the adult white hand against the childs black hand are appropriate, positive images. Although Figure (viii) on page 8 looks a little unpleasant, the message is positive and a little uplifting. Nevertheless, as more time went on, the advertising campaign headed by Oliviero Toscani started to get disturbing, especially when it was concentrated on the political issues. One of the cons of Benettons shock advertising campaign is that the images shown can offend some viewers (Ganesan 13). Children do not really need to see some of those images. The overcrowded Albanian ship shocked me (Picture 11 on page 16). It just made me realize that all those little dots shown on there were all people-individual human beings. Picture 15 on page 17 was a little shocking also because all those little dots on there are portraying real people who have AIDS. Some of the images I saw offended me and I really did not want to look at them. In particular, Picture 5 on page 15 with the white angelic-looking girl next to the black girl with her hair looking like horns. I do not see any purpose to this advertisement. This picture is the total opposite of the prior pictures that enco uraged racial unity. It looks like, that in this case, Benetton is being inconsistent with their previous advertising. The campaign glamorizing death row inmates [Figure (ix) on page 9 and Picture 13 on page 17] was the most shocking. This was the same campaign that caused Oliviero Toscanis departure from the company, for good reason. Fifteen million dollars was spent on this campaign that offended and shocked so many people. (Ganesan 2, 8-10). This advertising campaign used the death row inmates as shock value in order to sell their product. I do not understand what showing death row inmates has to do with selling clothing or accessories. Some issues do not need to be addressed, especially worldwide, through an advertising campaign. They lost retailers, particularly Sears, and were sued by the victims families. This is a direct result of their insensitive advertising campaign. This entire advertising campaign has caused bad publicity for the Benetton name (Ganesan 8-10). Our textbo ok discusses negative publicity by stating that, Publicity is not always under the control of an organization and is sometimes unfavorable. Negative stories about a company and/or its products can be very damaging (Belch 24). That is what happened in this situation with Benetton. It put their name out in the public, but in a negative light. It also tainted their reputation (Ganesan 2). I definitely do not agree with Oliviero Toscanis opinion that it is acceptable for offensive images to be in art and journalism, so therefore offensive images should be acceptable in the advertising industry. Offensive images are not acceptable in art, journalism, or advertising. One of the objectives of advertising is to try to persuade customers to buy your product or service. I do not understand how an image of a newborn baby with their umbilical cord still attached [Figure (vi), page 7] persuades the customer to buy Benetton clothes. An advertising campaign that uses shock advertising is the anti-smoking commercials. This is appropriate because they are trying to let the viewer know the consequences of smoking and inform viewers that smoking may eventually kill you. Some people do not believe that bad things will ever happen to them. Seeing a commercial like this may really shock a viewer into quitting smoking to improve their overall health. Some of these commercials are very difficult to watch without having to turn away. For example, the commercial they currently show where they cut into the brain of a person who was only in their 30s to show that they died of a stroke from smoking. Another anti-smoking commercial that sticks in my mind that really shocked me was when they showed the artery and squeezed out all the plaque that was built up from smoking. The message of this commercial was to show that smoking builds plaque up in your arteries, which will eventually kill you. Anti-smoking advertising also uses f ear appeals to try to stop people from smoking. Our textbook discusses fear appeals and states, Fear is an emotional response to a threat that expresses, or at least implies, some sort of danger. Ads sometimes use fear appeals to evoke this emotional response and arouse individuals to take steps to remove the threat (Belch 197). A commercial for something that actually has something to do with a controversial social issue is when shocking advertising would be acceptable to use. It shocks people into doing something about the problem. For example, the commercials they have on television now for the ASPCA that show animals that have been hurt or are suffering. Those commercials shock you because of the abuse the animals suffer. But, they are a charitable organization that is soliciting funds for the ASPCA to help these animals, so thats why they are acceptable. The images they show on the commercials are related to the cause they are trying to get money for. The animals have no control of how people treat them. This tugs at the heartstrings of people who love animals. The song Angel plays in the background and the singer Sarah McLachlan comes on to speak out against animal abuse and neglect and asks for donations to the ASPCA. Another shock-advertising commercial that they show frequently on television is for The Humane Society of the United States. These commercials have the same sort of message as the ASPCA. These commercials shock me and stick in my mind because I remember the image of the overfilled cage of dogs shown on them. Another scenario where shock advertising is used and is acceptable is for the Christian Childrens Fund. The commercials show children that are dirty and living in squalor in order to solicit funds for their charitable organization. They show a child living in shocking conditions and ask the viewer to sponsor a child for just a certain amount of money per day or month. The commercial states that many children have died just because they are poor and do not have enough healthy food or clean water. These commercials are usually aired late at night and the announcer says something about how the viewer should do it right now while they are just watching television and have nothing else to do. They do want the viewer to put it off until tomorrow because it will be too late then. It is appropriate to use shock advertising when a charity or non-profit organization is using it to solicit funds for their organization. I whole-heartedly agree with Benettons decision to stop their shock advertising and return to advertising that is more traditional. There is a time and place for everything, and shocking people in order to sell clothes is not it. If Benettons goal was to bring controversial issues to the attention of people, it should have been done in a separate forum. And, if Toscani insisted on shock advertising, it should only be in an adult-type setting where children do not have to see images that offend adults. An alternative could have been to set aside a minimal amount of their advertising funds into the shock advertising and the rest into traditional advertising. A company should want to put a positive image in their advertising to sell their products, not negative images that some people may think of as offensive. These shocking images are probably the images that people remember most in their mind and therefore forget what the product is that the company was trying to sell. Benettons shock advertising was negative and offensive to many people. Viewers may remember the advertising because of the shock value of it. However, we may never know how many people really remembered that those shocking images were an attempt to sell Benetton clothes. The basic objective of advertising was not met under Oliviero Toscanis direction. There is no logical reason to try to sell clothes with images that have nothing to do with clothes. There are times when shock advertising is appropriate, but selling Benetton clothing and accessories is not one of them.

Walk Across America Response Paper -- essays research papers

Walk Across America Response Paper   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Walk Across America, Peter Jenkins takes a cross country walk to rediscover himself and the nation. In his journeys, he crosses through various states and meets many different kinds of people. From New York to New Orleans, Peter treks around this great country of ours and falls back in love with the place that he has called home for his entire life. After losing faith in the hypocrisy of America and how we are perceived around the world, Pete wants to find out what everyone thinks is so great about the country. He and his dog Cooper are set to give the country one last chance before they pack up their worldly goods and change scenery for good. After being introduced to the humble livings of a moon shiner in the Tennessee mountains, living with an African American family and finally settling down in a dorm room in New Orleans, Peter finds what he is looking for, but continues his journey onward (though not in this book). The book to me is all about the relations hips that he forms and the friends that he makes along the way.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The relationship shared between this man and his dog is one of intense love and mutual admiration. Cooper and Peter are a match made in heaven. The Alaskan malamute is what he calls his â€Å"forever friend†. On many different occasions, Coop saves his life. From a run in with a pack of wild dogs to the inspiration that he provided to Peter on a daily basis, Coop... Walk Across America Response Paper -- essays research papers Walk Across America Response Paper   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Walk Across America, Peter Jenkins takes a cross country walk to rediscover himself and the nation. In his journeys, he crosses through various states and meets many different kinds of people. From New York to New Orleans, Peter treks around this great country of ours and falls back in love with the place that he has called home for his entire life. After losing faith in the hypocrisy of America and how we are perceived around the world, Pete wants to find out what everyone thinks is so great about the country. He and his dog Cooper are set to give the country one last chance before they pack up their worldly goods and change scenery for good. After being introduced to the humble livings of a moon shiner in the Tennessee mountains, living with an African American family and finally settling down in a dorm room in New Orleans, Peter finds what he is looking for, but continues his journey onward (though not in this book). The book to me is all about the relations hips that he forms and the friends that he makes along the way.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The relationship shared between this man and his dog is one of intense love and mutual admiration. Cooper and Peter are a match made in heaven. The Alaskan malamute is what he calls his â€Å"forever friend†. On many different occasions, Coop saves his life. From a run in with a pack of wild dogs to the inspiration that he provided to Peter on a daily basis, Coop...

Afraid to know the truth Essay -- essays research papers fc

Afraid to Know the Truth   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   AIDS is an extraordinary kind of crisis that is both an emergency and a long-term development issue. Despite increased funding, political commitment and progress in expanding treatment, the AIDS epidemic continues to outpace the global response. No region of the world has been spared. The epidemic remains extremely dynamic, growing and changing in character as the virus exploits new opportunities for transmission. The UNAIDS/WHO global overview of the AIDS/HIV epidemic has reported in the year 2003, almost five million people became newly infected with HIV, the greatest number in any one year since the beginning of the epidemic. At the global level, the number of people living with HIV continues to grow. In the year 2001 the number increased from 35 million to 38 million in 2003. In the same year almost 3 million people have died of AIDS; over 20 million have died since the first cases of AIDS were identified in 1981 (5). According to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 850,000 to 950,000 people are living with HIV/AIDS in the United States one quarter of which are unaware of their infection (par.6).Based on these statistics it is an obvious fact that this is a growing problem which continues to get worse year after year. The AIDS epidemic has been established as not only a national problem, but just as well as an international problem. In 2003, young people (15-24) accounted for nearly half of all new infections of HIV worldwide; more than 6,000 became infected everyday (par.3). I become very dismayed to find out that the majority of people that are infected with this terminal disease are at the ages where many at this age go out in the world to make a life for themselves. But, because of lack of responsible actions they must live with this disease for the remainder of their lives. Even though there are many types of treatment for those infected with this disease and with treat ment AIDS/HIV patients can live a lot longer than 20 years ago when the first cases of AIDS were identified, the fact still remains it is an incurable disease. The most vital factor that will have to come into play to make a significant difference in slowing down or possibly stopping this epidemic is prevention. But, despite the seriousness of this problem there are many factors that come into play that... ... the reality of the truth appropriately. A CDC( center of disease control and prevention) study interviewed 2370 HIV-negative or untested people, 25% of those who were tested and 23% of those who delayed testing said the fear of a positive result was the main reason why they delayed testing (par.2). The biggest step in stopping this epidemic before it continues to have an even bigger impact on the world is obviously prevention. People need to become more aware of the risks and must become more responsible in protecting themselves. A crucial factor that would help the prevention of this epidemic even more is getting tested. I must quote the infamous lines that are said in ‘getting tested’ commercials that are frequently aired on MTV and VH1, â€Å"Knowing is Beautiful†. WORKS CITED 1.) UNAIDS/WHO 2004 Global Report on AIDS epidemic   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2.) Fleming, P.L. et al. HIV Prevalence in the United States, 2000. 9th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, Seattle, Wash., Feb. 24-28, 2002. Abstract 11. 3.) http://www.amfar.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/record.html?record=25 4.) www.forrealease.com 5.) http://www.critpath.org/wtp/fastfax/ff210.htm Afraid to know the truth Essay -- essays research papers fc Afraid to Know the Truth   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   AIDS is an extraordinary kind of crisis that is both an emergency and a long-term development issue. Despite increased funding, political commitment and progress in expanding treatment, the AIDS epidemic continues to outpace the global response. No region of the world has been spared. The epidemic remains extremely dynamic, growing and changing in character as the virus exploits new opportunities for transmission. The UNAIDS/WHO global overview of the AIDS/HIV epidemic has reported in the year 2003, almost five million people became newly infected with HIV, the greatest number in any one year since the beginning of the epidemic. At the global level, the number of people living with HIV continues to grow. In the year 2001 the number increased from 35 million to 38 million in 2003. In the same year almost 3 million people have died of AIDS; over 20 million have died since the first cases of AIDS were identified in 1981 (5). According to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 850,000 to 950,000 people are living with HIV/AIDS in the United States one quarter of which are unaware of their infection (par.6).Based on these statistics it is an obvious fact that this is a growing problem which continues to get worse year after year. The AIDS epidemic has been established as not only a national problem, but just as well as an international problem. In 2003, young people (15-24) accounted for nearly half of all new infections of HIV worldwide; more than 6,000 became infected everyday (par.3). I become very dismayed to find out that the majority of people that are infected with this terminal disease are at the ages where many at this age go out in the world to make a life for themselves. But, because of lack of responsible actions they must live with this disease for the remainder of their lives. Even though there are many types of treatment for those infected with this disease and with treat ment AIDS/HIV patients can live a lot longer than 20 years ago when the first cases of AIDS were identified, the fact still remains it is an incurable disease. The most vital factor that will have to come into play to make a significant difference in slowing down or possibly stopping this epidemic is prevention. But, despite the seriousness of this problem there are many factors that come into play that... ... the reality of the truth appropriately. A CDC( center of disease control and prevention) study interviewed 2370 HIV-negative or untested people, 25% of those who were tested and 23% of those who delayed testing said the fear of a positive result was the main reason why they delayed testing (par.2). The biggest step in stopping this epidemic before it continues to have an even bigger impact on the world is obviously prevention. People need to become more aware of the risks and must become more responsible in protecting themselves. A crucial factor that would help the prevention of this epidemic even more is getting tested. I must quote the infamous lines that are said in ‘getting tested’ commercials that are frequently aired on MTV and VH1, â€Å"Knowing is Beautiful†. WORKS CITED 1.) UNAIDS/WHO 2004 Global Report on AIDS epidemic   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2.) Fleming, P.L. et al. HIV Prevalence in the United States, 2000. 9th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, Seattle, Wash., Feb. 24-28, 2002. Abstract 11. 3.) http://www.amfar.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/record.html?record=25 4.) www.forrealease.com 5.) http://www.critpath.org/wtp/fastfax/ff210.htm

History – Martin Luther King

Martin Luther King's Jr. was a man of great ambition. He had a dream of granting civil rights to colored people; eliminating poverty and war; and doing this all non-violently. King's utter passion significantly helped him achieve his dream. On the journey to reaching his goal, and after King accomplished many of the heroic archetypes. Therefore, one can consider Martin Luther King Jr. an archetypal hero. Segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. Which then between the 1950s and 1960s black Americans had their time of suffering.In which the white people believed that separating white people from black people would change a lot of things. Racial tensions had escalated and demonstrations swelled for voting rights and school integration. In 1955 Martin Luther King became the leader in the Montgomery bus. The Community chose King to lead the boycott because the young minister was new to Montgomery and the city fathers had not had time to intimidate him. The protesters did a march down miles of roads for their intended to oppose the city's policy of racial segregation on its public transit system.Fighting for what they think is right taken them about 381 days; they fought hard until they get what they started. The Montgomery bus boycott became very violent, so they fought very hard in the court. On November the 13th, after a year of blood, sweat and tears gone. The U. S Supreme Court ruled in favour, of the blacks and segregated buses were declared unconstitutional. The Montgomery bus Boycott was finally over. The boycott was a success because they all protested until everyone had enough. They never gave up on what they fought was right. Most important was when the Negros had enough and they wanted their rights back.As they protested and done other things they had many supports. The problem of this was the civil rights movement in the United States; it was a long primarily nonviolent struggle to bring full civil rights and equality und er the law to all Americans. The movement has had a lasting impact on the United Sates Society. The Negros wanted to fight for their rights back because in many cities and towns, African-Americans were not allowed to share a taxi with whites or enter a building through the same entrance, and they thought well that is one selfish thing.They wanted the whites to accept them and be treated equally, by not their skin colour but the way that God created them. They thought that everyone is the same in different kind of way, â€Å"We all are human beings and all have something in common†. The Negros done lots of Protest and finally, that’s when Martin Luther King stood out and said what he thought was right for the world but mostly United State. King toured the country making speeches and urging more and more people to get involved in the civil rights movement .And as a result they finally got what they called rights. In 1964 the Civil Rights Act was passed because of Pressur e by the civil rights movement. It was passed by Lyndon B. Johnson. He said that â€Å"Every American citizen must have an equal right to vote. † The Civil Rights Act was passed away because of the votes they got were unspeakable. Seventy Percent said that it should be passed way and the thirsty percent said that it shouldn’t. As the vote was taken in and final, they could not do anything about it and it was officially passed.It meant so much to the black people because now the Freedom Riders and the black and white people would travel around in buses to test if the new law would work. And that now they can make a difference! Then in 1965 the voting rights act was passed as well because of the civil rights movement. The Voting Rights Act was passed by Lyndon B. Johnson as well. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was a landmark piece of national legislation in the United States that outlawed discriminatory voting practices that had been responsible for the widespread disenfr anchisement of African Americans in the U.S. When Johnson agreed to sign the paper the black people knew that they were closer each day to success. It meant a lot them this because it was a day to remember that they are finally getting respect from the whites. But as everything was going well, there were still failures for the Civil Rights Movement too. The Civil Rights Movement had many failures as do all social movements. But its strengths outweighed the mistakes it made and its legacy as a whole is a positive one. Businesses owned by people of colour are still denied equal access to markets, financing, and capital.Centuries of economic deprivation, and the problems stemming from it, remain largely un- addressed. But it still was alright because Movement was still a success. In Conclusion, the changes that were made in the civil rights movement has really helped America and leaded them to a place where they can find peace. And for the Civil rights Groups, there is so much that peo ple have to say and so much that we still need to learn from you. They were very successful because they were the freedom fighter and they were the ones who believed and never gave up.

Agamemnon vs Hamlet Essay

I think that Hamlet was more tragic in comparison to Agamemnon. The reason being is because in Hamlet Claudius is driven to kill his own brother, King Hamlet, just so he can marry his own sister-in-law. Hamlet is plotting to kill his own uncle and is speaks of his own mother in a hateful manner e:g Within a month, Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears Had left the flushing in her gallà ¨d eyes, She married. O most wicked speed, to post With such dexterity to incestuous sheets! A son is talking about her own mother like this and at the same time he has lost hope in life. Hamlet claims that he wants to die, if only suicide wasn’t forbidden by God. Oh, that this too, too sullied flesh would melt, Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew, Or that the Everlasting had not fixed His canon ‘gainst self-slaughter! So from the beginning of the play the protagonist is in a pitiful state. This was not the case with the protagonist of Agamemnon. In Hamlet the protagonist was driven to avenge his own father death and in the process ended up killing 4 innocent person. His own love of his live Ophelia, and mom, Queen Gertrude was killed by the poisonous drink which was meant for Hamlet. Ophelia’s father and brother ended up dead. In Agamemnon only two innocent lives were lost, Cassandra and Iphigenia. In my opinion i think Agamemnon deserved his tragic end. He had made many mistakes, he abused Clytemnestra then killed his husband and married her, then after sacrificed his own daughter. Aristotle definition of tragedy consist of 4 parts. It involves someone of higher standing. This protagonist makes an error in judgement. This error results in suffering for the person. This suffering causes pity or fear in the audience. Agamemnon and Hamlet both have high status. They are both from a royal family. Agamemnon makes and error in assuming that his wife is still in love with him and his trusts her, even though he was told by his people that his wife is cheating on him, but he didn’t get the implication. Resulting in his own end and Cassandra’s. In Hamlet, Hamlet makes a mistake by killing Polonius, assuming that he was striking the king with his sword. Which results in the king turning against Hamlet and sends and order to the king of England to execute Hamlet. I didn’t feel and pity for Agamemnon but on the other hand i felt pity and fear for Hamlet. I feared how he might not end up marring the love of his life Ophelia. I felt pity for Hamlet when his mother wont trust him when he was trying to expose his uncle.

The Baggage I Left Behind

People often become attached to the kind of life they are used to living. The memoir shows people how moving forward would mean heartache for others. This memoir was written to remind everyone that the people we meet in our lives contribute to whom we are today.The life-changing experiences included in this memoir have been grafted from the life of an extraordinary individual, who has given life a second chance. Although location once became a hindrance, the author was able to show the readers that it was never too late to rise up and correct the mistakes in the past.The memoir follows a journal style, wherein thoughts have been incorporated according to how they were perceived. Chapters were omitted on purpose to give the readers a light feeling when browsing through the text. Real pictures were also incorporated in the memoir to give the readers an idea of how the author lived. This also exhibits a more personal touch from the author to the readers.The contents of memoir are based from the experiences of the author sometime in her early life. These were included to show the readers that all people are born equal. Each have the right to love, hurt, and accept the things that are happening around us.  The Baggage I Left BehindI have always believed that my life was extraordinary. I did things that normal teenagers my age would do and socializing with other people was never a problem for me either. I had friends in school, and in the neighborhood, who contributed to the wonderful memories I had in my youth.I lived my life the way I wanted to. I was free to do the things that I wanted and I had friends who always came to my aid. Academics were never a problem for me, for I always had the drive to work hard and someday excel in my chosen field. Things were falling into place, until my father broke the news to us.When I was in junior year, my father told us about his decision to move to the United States. The news was heartbreaking, for this meant that I would no t be seeing my father for a long time. I tried to keep my emotions intact, but my father explained to us that it was for the best.He also said that he may be able to provide more for our needs if he earned more money. Although we were not in favor of this decision, we allowed our father to leave. Soon, he was on his flight to the United States.The emotional dilemma started when my father was starting to settle in the United States. I was closer to my father than my brother was. I was lonely most of the time because my father has always been a big piece of my life.We did things together and this was the first time that we were separated. My father called every once in a while, but this was not enough to make me feel that he was safe. After all, he was seven thousand miles away from me.The time came when my father became preoccupied with work. He started to miss calls, until he never called us at all. We were all worried because my father an illness. We did not know how he was, and wh at he was doing. My mother and I would have sleepless nights thinking of how my father was, and gave numerous prayers to guarantee his safety.Finally, we received news from one of his friends saying that my father was alright. He was just busy with work, so that he may be able to earn much money for us. The friend also said that my father wanted us to know that after my high school graduation, the rest of the family was also leaving the NAME OF COUNTRY to join him in the United States.I was left in awe upon hearing the news. I had mixed emotions that I could not contain inside my body. I did not know what to feel and how to react with this drastic change in our lives. At the same time, I was excited because it has been months since I last saw my father, but I was also gloomy.I have lived in NAME OF COUNTRY all my life, and moving to a new environment would be difficult from my end. I had to learn to adapt a new culture and reach out and meet new friends. I had mixed emotions towards this new endeavor. The hardest part for me was to accept the fact that my blissful life in NAME OF COUNTRY was about to end.

Historians and Their Duties Essay

Gorman timely presents the question â€Å"Do historians as historians have an ethical responsibility, and if so to whom? † in his essay Historians and their Duties especially in an era which has seen the use of history as a way to further political agenda, invent or distort historical fact to justify political undertakings. He rightfully disputes Richard Evans’ assertion of value-free reportage of history and the restrictive historian’s duty of presenting and interpreting knowledge. In saying that â€Å"Historians are simply not trained to make moral judgments†¦they have no expertise in these things,† Evans suggests they must evade the moral question, but this is impossible. Morality governs us all, including historians. I differ in Evans’ bloodless concept of historical duty, one I think he broke after being expert witness in Irving v. Penguin Books and Lipstadt (Fulford, 2001) where he became instrumental in the conviction of a historian for distorting historical interpretations about the Holocaust. I think history, to become a significant part in advancing knowledge and good in society, must refuse to be monastic or ornamental, but instead be engaging and useful to mankind. I find Butterfield’s thoughts on ethics provocative in the verbose Bentley essay Herbert Butterfield and the Ethics of Historiography. The most striking is his recommended passive attitude to international politics: â€Å"Whatever wicked things we may think are done†¦ †¦ we have no right to say a word†¦ until we have forgiven the sin and covered it up with love. It strikes as a worldview that is either naive or cruel because it seems to justify crimes against humanity. I find it hard to reconcile with his anti-Whiggish stance condemning the selective presentation of history from the viewpoint of the victor (Schweizer, 2007). Is he, in the process, recommending us to absolve Hitler or the U. S. which he disdained for dropping the A-bomb on Hiroshima? I believe he is, and historians, to his view, being limited in understanding, cannot truly uncover the hand of God or Providence, enough for them to deliberate moral judgments of history. Responses to Student Views Unlike the first student response, I support Butterfield’s criticism of selective or rejectionist approach to the interpretation of history with a bias to the â€Å"victor†. I share his view of world events as a historical process. This is something that historians must take careful consideration of when upholding â€Å"objectivity† and â€Å"truth† in the conduct of their profession. Historical events are not static, after all, but an accumulation of events, not people, of experiences, not single victories. Regarding his treatise on passivity and quietism, Butterfield no doubt shares the brand of Christian helplessness when it comes to appreciating world events. I agree with the second student response on his critique of Evans, who promotes value-free interpretation of history as a duty of the ideal historian. I believe that duties of historians extend far more than writing history, but of injecting analysis and viewpoints as well, as long as he does not distort or invent historical fact in doing so. On being â€Å"politically neutral†, I have to disagree. It is true that historians possess a great deal of influence in shaping public perception of how events should be interpreted. In analyzing historical facts, the historian must take a stand, and in this manner, he loses his neutrality. He cannot claim the correctness of two contradictory interpretations but must determine which interpretation finds basis in fact. Indeed, historians cannot exempt themselves from ethical responsibility just because they feel a presumptive need to produce a â€Å"dispassionate† account of history. I think Gorman wrote this essay assuming essay that historians today are a vast and eclectic mix with varying dispositions. He preempts those who have an overly â€Å"institutional† view of ethics in saying: â€Å"As business people or historians, we surely all share the same moral world. † I agree that historians have the ethical duty to pass moral judgment and those who find themselves incapable of deliberating such must undergo â€Å"moral education. †