Cultural Criticism in W.B.Yeats’ An Irish Airman Foresees His Death The various levels of interpretation that a poet, such as W.B.Yeats, welcomes to his poems is difficult to grasp upon first reading his poetry. What appears to be a straight forward poem, such as, An Irish Airman Foresees His Death, is actually an intellectual cultural criticism of Yeats’ modern day society. The poem, written as a testament to Lady Gregory’s son, captures the innermost concerns and perceptions of an Irish
In this paper I will argue that cultural relativism is a weak argument. Cultural relativism is the theory that all ethical and moral claims are relative to culture and custom (Rachels, 56). Pertaining to that definition, I will present the idea that cultural relativism is flawed in the sense that it states that there is no universal standard of moral and ethical values. First, I will suggest that cultural relativism underestimates similarities between cultures. Second, I will use the overestimating
Marcus and Fischer dismiss these practices and suggest using “multiple other-cultural references” to prevent “simplistic better-worse” judgements (1986:139). In order to evoke a “common capacity for communication” and “shared membership in a global system”, Marcus and Fischer propose two techniques for cultural criticism (1986:139): defamiliarization by epistemological critique and defamiliarization by cross-cultural juxtaposition (1986:137-38). The authors emphasize the importance of ethnographies
Seamstress which tells the story of two boys undergoing re-education during the Cultural Revolution. The creation of Scar Literature began following the end of the Cultural Revolution and the death of Mao Zedong.(“Post-Mao Years”) “Scar Literature was intended to be cathartic…[and] contained depressing or horrific accounts of life during the Cultural Revolution…[and] each personal story effectively constitutes a criticism of their policies” (“Scar Literature”). These characteristics of Scar Literature
2000, 155). That is to say, non-anthropological films tend to be misleading and portray false assumptions because of cultural biases. For instance, the narrator, Ruth Silveira started out the film by mentioning “the peasant society of Kypseli, a small isolated Greek village on the island of Thera” (Hoffman, Cowan and Aratow 2006). As an anthropologist, one is influenced by cultural
Cultural Relativism is the theory according to Ruth Benedict, which that human morality is based on the society in which an individual is a part of. According to Mary Midgley, however, cultural relativism assumes the truth of a theory she calls “moral isolationism”. Midgely thinks that moral isolationism is false which would mean cultural relativism is wrong. Midgley is correct when she chooses to reject moral isolationism because cultures are often a melting pot of other cultures; therefore, proving
Jews and other minorities had problems with the show's portrayal of their respective groups. Despite criticism from ethnic and religious groups, Jerry Seinfeld and his show were possibly the best sources of social commentary that America's mainstream had to offer. The show is missed in today's current television line-up and no post-"Seinfeld" sitcom has come to the same level of cultural criticism. Born in Massapequa, New York in 1954, Seinfeld soon discovered the attention that making jokes could
creative figure. But auteur theory is concerned with more that one film; it is concerned with the work of a director – with his or her whole corpus of films, and with certain dominant themes and stylistic aspects of these films. The text in auteur criticism is not one film, but the body of work of the director.” Although both Akira Kurosawa and Robert Zemeckis have made many successful films there is a distinct difference in the filmmakers works. The authorship of the film is what creates the distinction
doubt, other things. How could Wilde's book, given its affinities with the age's decadent manifestoes--Stèphane Mallarmé's symbolist poetry, Huysmans' À Rebours (Against Nature), Aubrey Beardsley's drawings, The Yellow Book, and so on--serve as a cultural critique every bit as scathing, and perhaps more acute, than those of Carlyle, Ruskin, and Arnold? I suggest that Wilde accomplishes this task by making his characters enact the philosophy with which he himself was nearly synonymous and, in the same
Music as Cultural Criticism Works Cited Not Included In his article “Daily Life in Black Africa: Elements for a Critique,” author Paulin Houtondji offers his perceptions of several aspects of life in Africa. His statements are explicit, observant, harsh, and backed up with examples and anecdotes. Many African pop musicians provide similarly critical assessments of various aspects of African life, but they choose to do so in a much subtler way. Houtondji’s criticism of Africa for its serious failure
Barbie, a doll manufactured by Mattel, Inc., encourages an unrealistic body image, racial insensitivity, and contradictive goals, and it is having a negative influence on young girls everywhere. Launched in March 1959 by Ruth Handler, an American business woman and president of Mattel, Inc., Barbie quickly became popular and has gone on to sell three dolls every second, in over one hundred and fifty countries. However, Barbie’s rise to success has not been wholly positive – there have been numerous
This is because Shintoism is so rooted in traditions and culture. Another criticism of Shinto is that it is said to be too close to the state and that rather than a true religion, it operates under the government’s thumb (Boyd & Williams, 2005). Shintoists believe that cooperation with other religions and other people will ultimately
Cultural Studies Theory Cultural criticism is a literary theory, which focuses not only on the historical origin of a piece of literature, but on its obvious social, political, and economic influences as well (Meyer 2034). When the culture or context is studied, the motives or tensions, which drive characters’ behaviors, may be accounted for and studied (Crawford). Cultural critics use strategies such as deconstructionism, gender studies, new historicism, and psychology to analyze and evaluate pieces
The researchers used Fredric Jameson’s cultural philosophical analysis as the framework of this study. The concepts of pastiche and cultural logic of late capitalism were utilized to evaluate the authenticity and reproducibility of the artifacts, identify the communication characteristics of the artifacts, determine how do the artifacts communicate the culture of the Cordilleras, and evaluate the consumption patterns in terms of authenticity, reproduction, utility, and deception. Pastiche Neo-Marxist
The History of Feminine Fiction:Exploring Laura Runge’s Article, Gendered Strategies in the Criticism of Early Fiction Laura Runge is an assistant professor of English at the University of South Florida. In her article, "Gendered Strategies in the Criticism of Early Fiction," Runge argues that, during the eighteenth century, the overdetermined gendered association between the female reader and the female writer excluded the female novelist from literary excellence and ultimately led to the inferior
Formalism - The Hershey Bar of Criticism Formalism means a lot of different things to a lot of different people and refers to many different types of critical work and analysis. But to make a complicated matter simple, we can say pretty safely that formalism refers to critics or criticism that, first and foremost, emphasize the form or structure of a work of art and assume that nothing in that form or structure is really accidental or insignificant. That is, the formal elements in a work of
mode of criticism—BORING! First, the book has these forms of criticism laid out contiguously, as if they occurred only spatially and not temporally. This flattened and skewed representation of critical approaches, taking an argument out of its context (an academic debate) and uses it as if it were a pedagogical tool. Just as criticism in many ways takes the life out of the text, by dissecting it and making it a part of an argument, the “model critical approach” takes the life out of criticism. It
Cultural Criticism of Barn Burning by William Faulkner In William Faulkner's "Barn Burning", a young boy must face his father and face the reality of a racist society. He must also discover for himself that his father is wrong and learn to grow up the right way in a racial environment. Faulkner's setting is one of the most important literary elements in the story. He takes a young black boy and puts him in a real world of chaos and disorder. In the South, race is one of the most
Mitzi Myers' Criticism of Wollstonecraft's Maria In her article about Mary Wollstonecraft Mitzi Myers examines Maria in contrast to her other works, especially Mary and Vindication of the Rights of Woman, in an effort to better understand the author and her purpose in writing. She refers to arguments posed by several critics in order to build her conclusions. She also seeks the insights provided by William Godwin's notes about Wollstonecraft. Myers calls her an "individualist and innovator in
politically incorrect statements found in past films with the highly anticipated 1995 Pocahontas, found themselves at the center of criticisms from many vocal activist groups. Feminists, Native Americans, and religiously based Christian groups found the movie to completely overlook the true essence and spirit of the Powhatan Indian princess. In an attempt to curb many of its criticisms and appease angry minorities, Disney produced a sequel. Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World (1998) picks up on Pocahontas’