Britney Spears' prevalence as a pre-teen pop culture icon cannot be denied or ignored. Spears, along with her colleagues Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson, Mandy Moore and many others, are ever present on the "Top 40," make frequent appearances on MTV, and can often be found on magazine covers and in photo spreads. Spears is especially popular among pre-teen girls, who buy her records, singing and dancing along to the lyrics. These lyrics often deal with love, lust, and sex-topics some consider too mature for the young girls targeted by Spears' marketing. Young women today are maturing at increasingly earlier ages, and the sexual messages in Spears' songs may simply be satisfying an existing demand for these types of songs. On the other hand, her sexy image and provocative lyrics may be creating the demand in young women, sending harmful messages about what it means to be a young woman within American culture. Is Britney Spears the newest manifestation of "girl power," and does this make her a feminist role model? Or does she perpetuate stereotypes of thin women as sex symbols? Does she provide a healthy outlet for girls to examine their sexuality? Or does she force sexuality upon young girls, before they are ready? These are the questions that I am in interested in exploring.
It is too soon to gauge Spears' lasting influence on young women and the feminist movement. However, by making comparisons to girl groups of the early 1960s, who's influence can now be analyzed, then perhaps Spears can be better understood in the present. In her piece Why The Shirelles Mattered, Susan Douglas reflects on groups like the Shirelles and their impact on the girls who listened to them. Overall, Doug...
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...nstead of the other components that are critical to a young girl's development. The sexuality that Spears portrays, moreover, conforms to a traditional white standard of beauty that many young girls will have a hard time living up to, and this may hurt their self-esteem and confidence. Despite her shortcomings as an adequate role model, Britney Spears has a tremendous amount of pre-teen fans, who are learning about beauty, sexuality and womanhood through her. It will be interesting to see how this generation of girls will contribute to the feminist movement as they grow older.
Works Cited
Douglas, Susan. "Why The Shirelles Mattered." From Reading Women's Lives, edited by Cayo
Gamber. Second Edition, 2000.
"Pop Idolization May Be Hazardous to Girls." Marketing to Women, 13(9): 8, September 2000.
http://www.britneyzone.com/
The Articles of Confederation were approved by Congress on November 15, 1777 and ratified by the states on March 1, 1781. It was a modest attempt by a new country to unite itself and form a national government. The Articles set up a Confederation that gave most of the power to the states. Many problems arose and so a new Constitution was written in 1787 in Independence Hall. The new Constitution called for a much more unified government with a lot more power. Let us now examine the changes that were undertaken.
In literature as in life, blood is not only in the body, but symbolizes many other things. The play, Macbeth, by William Shakespeare describes the life of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth and how they become ruthless killers. They are determined to get power and will not stop until Macbeth and his sons are kings. Throughout the Macbeth by Shakespeare, blood is a prominent symbol and represents murder, guilt, and the difference between characters. Blood represents murder when Macbeth returns from war and when Duncan’s guards are killed. Also, blood represents the guilt of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth after the murder of Duncan. Moreover, the difference between Duncan and Lady Macbeth is represented by blood. Altogether, blood symbolizes murder, guilt, and different characters in Macbeth.
Shakespeare used the image of blood to portray the central idea of Macbeth, King Duncan’s murder. The crime is foreshadowed in the second scene of the first act. The king shouts, “ What bloody man is that?” (I,ii,1) He is referring to a soldier coming in from battle. The soldier then explains to King Duncan of Macbeth’s heroics in battle. One assumes that Macbeth is bloody just like the soldier. The soldier describes Macbeth in action “Disdaining Fortune, with his brandished steel, / Which smoked with bloody execution.” (I,ii,17-18) This line connects Macbeth with killing, and hints at the future.
In the beginning of the play, blood imagery is very important. "Till he unseamed him from the nave to the chaps, / and fixed his head upon our battlements"(I.ii.22-23). Macbeth has just killed the enemy and become a hero; Macbeth killed the enemy not for fame or fortune but to defend his land and people. In this next quote Macbeth's evil spirit starts to grow by completing the witches prophecy. "I go, and it is done; the bell invites me. / Hear it not, Duncan; for it is a knell / that summons thee to heaven or to hell"(II.i.62-64). Macbeth's selfish and evil desires have grown; he kills his own king in order to obtain the crown; this is no act of a heroic general but a selfish cold-hearted man. "Oh, yet I do repent me of my fury, / that I did kill them"(II.iii.99-100). Macbeth slaughters these two men to conceal his actions and to remove suspicion from him; Macbeth's evil spirit is growing; he must commit more evil crimes in order to cover up his others.
Blood is very much symbolic all throughout the play Macbeth. In Macbeth, blood equals emotion. It is used throughout the play as a way to suggest many different levels of emotion, such as anger, sadness, guilt, and eventually all of these emotions evoked from the symbolism of blood led to the deaths of both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.
From hitting No. 1 on the charts to rehabilitation centers, Britney Spears was a 90’s icon who had many ups and downs in her life. She faced obstacles and challenges, but still found time to produce No. 1 singles and albums. Britney Spears is an example of a tragic hero because she was a sensational singer of her time who was brought down by the many struggles in her life.
“...blood will have blood...”, Macbeth is a well known book written by Shakespeare. In it, a once loyal soldier to the king of Scotland starts to seek a way for him to get the crown for himself. In Macbeth, William Shakespeare uses the imagery of blood to represent the guilt of Lady Macbeth and Macbeth, demonstrating the feeling of guilt has consequences of severe punishments.
The year of 1776 was a time of revolution, independence, and patriotism. American colonists had severed their umbilical cord to the Mother Country and declared themselves “Free and Independent States”.1 The chains of monarchy had been thrown off and a new government was formed. Shying away from a totalitarian government, the Second Continental Congress drafted a document called the Articles of Confederation which established a loose union of the states. It was an attempt at self-government that ended in failure. The Articles of Confederation had many defects which included a weak central government that lacked the power to tax, regulate trade, required equal representation and a unanimous vote to amend the Articles, and had only a legislative branch. As a result the United States lacked respect from foreign countries. These flaws were so severe that a new government had to be drafted and as a result the Constitution was born. This document remedied the weak points of the federal government and created one that was strong and fair, yet still governed by the people.
The speaker’s complete yield of self to a potentially abusive lover is deleterious for teens still forming an identity, especially those seeking guidance and advice about sexual relationships. The effects of Spears’ song remain to be seen; yet this critic feels that the message sent is a harrowing one. The speaker’s recognition of self-worth cannot eventuate too quickly.
Blood is mentioned throughout the play and mainly in reference to murder or treason. The first reference to blood is in MacBeth's soliloquy in Act 2, Scene 1, Lines 33-61, when Macbeth sees the bloody dagger floating in the air before him. Also in this soliloquy on line 46 he sees "on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood", this means that there is blood on the handle and spots of blood on the handle. This is implying that the dagger was viciously and maliciously used on someone. Shakespeare most likely put this in as premonition of murder and death to come later in the story.
Nicki’s apparent feminist agenda through her music and identity is being distributed to her wide audience, which covers a massive array of hip-hop and pop music fans. Her wide reach and continual influence has the potential to lastingly correct the anti-feminist, misogynistic tone of the male-dominated genre and culture. Despite her hyper sexualized image and defamatory lyrics, she is arguably a positive, albeit controversial, feminist role model, which is evident in her motivation for success, lyrical discourse, and use of and meanings behind her alter egos.
In many contexts, blood symbolizes one’s heroism and power. At the battlegrounds, Duncan notices the approaching sergeant and asks, “What bloody man is that?”(I.ii.1). The use of blood signifies the captain’s bravery through his wounded state. He reports back their victory and symbolizes the violence that took place. This also alludes to Macbeth’s heroic qualities in which he too had fought on the same grounds. Lady Macbeth cries out for courage and strength by saying, “And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full / Of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood” (I.v.49-50). The use of blood in this context also relates to one’s power using the idea of it being a life source and a vital part to the soul. By thickening her b...
William Shakespeare uses many techniques to liven the intensity, and the excitement in his plays. In the play of MacBeth, Shakespeare uses blood imagery to add a sense of fear, guilt, shame, insanity, and anger to the atmosphere. The use of blood imagery allows the audience to vision in their minds the crime scene where Duncan was murdered, as well as the scene where Lady MacBeth tries to cope with the consequences of her actions. The talk and sight of blood has a great impact on the strength and depth of the use of blood imagery.
Blood was very evident throughout Macbeth by William Shakespeare. Violence caused blood to drip from the fingers of characters and stain them for the rest of their life. Blood meant various things in the play but it was certainly seen, literally and through hallucinations. Blood in Macbeth is more important when it is imagined by characters but is not actually there because it causes main characters such as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to feel more guilty, becomes a reminder of death, and represents violence and murder.
The seventeenth-century play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, employs blood as a powerful symbol to amplify the tragic nature of the work. Prior to, and immediately following Duncan’s death, blood magnifies the treachery of Macbeth’s murderous act. Throughout the play, blood constantly reminds the audience of the ruthless means the Macbeths implement to gain the crown. In the culmination of the play, blood symbolizes the irreconcilable guilt that will haunt the Macbeths for the duration of their lives. Blood’s ubiquitous symbolism emphasizes the constant guilt felt by the Macbeths in their tragic pursuit of the monarchy.