Theravadan Buddhism Essays - Spirituality, Nondualism, Madhyamaka

Theravadan Buddhism Theravadan Buddhism Throughout history there have been numerous religions and theologies that men and women have entrusted their lives and ways of living to. One of the most intriguing is that of Buddhism. The great Buddha referred to his way as the middle way, and he, as the ?Enlightened One? began the teachings of the religion with his first five Ascetics who he shows his middle way. This great occasion is the start to what will be known as Theravadan Buddhism. Although Theravadan Buddhism would later be seen as the ?small vehicle,? it provides the first idea of the doctrine anatman or having no-self that shapes the ideas of every Buddhist today. Theravadan Buddhism which means ?The teaching of the elders,? is the teaching of the Buddha in its true traditional form. After attaining enlightenment under the Bohdi tree, the Buddha returns to five ascetic monks he had been associated with previously. He taught them the essential parts of Buddhism which include the vital Four Noble Truths. These teachings were taught by monks, and they give the fundamental truths on which the religion was founded. These are the Four Noble Truths: (1) all life is inevitably filled with sorrow; (2) sorrow is directly due to craving; (3) sorrow can only be stopped by stopping the craving; and (4) this can be done only by disciplined and moral conduct with meditation led by the Buddhist monk. These truths show that the Buddhists saw all things as transient, and being transient there is no eternal Self or soul, hence anatman or no true self. While the Theravadan Buddhist practiced the idea of anatman, there were other movements that practiced the idea of atman or true self. The Upanishadic movement, which started about 300 years before the Theravadan practice, revolves around a story of a boy who Yama tells there is a self in everyone. This true self or atman is covered up by the illusion of an individual. As this way of thinking was being taught, people began to uprise and question if religion is worth it. This leads to many ascetic movements in which people leave their homes to be scavengers. Because this could be done by any it began to get very popular. The many ascetic movements gave rise to many different individual movements, but the main one besides Buddhism was Jainism. Jainism was a movement that said in every thing there is a Jiva or soul which resembles the atman. Karma is the stuff or gunk that covers up the Jivas and makes things appear to be different. Even though a monk was the only one who could totally free Jivas, lay people could do good deeds and suffer willingly to dissipate karma from their atman. In this movement the final step for a monk to reach Nirvana was the starving to death of one's self. In a complete contrast to the teachings of the Jainic movement the Theravadan Buddhists saw there being no atman at all. Buddhists accepted the teaching of the doctrine of karma which causes all who have it to be reborn into a state of life according to the built up karma. The only way to stop this rebirth is to achieve Nirvana. The state of non-existence or annihilation. They also felt that when passing from one existence to another no permanent entity or atman transmigrated from body to body. The reason for there being no self is because self can not be found in the five basic aggregates or Skandhas. These being matter, feeling, perception, constructing activities, and consciousness were all made up of dharma or small atomic units. This seems to be contradictory because if there is no self then these dharma shouldn't be present because they would in a sense create a self, even if they just came in and left every second. The Theravadan Buddhists were very particular in what they practiced and what they worshipped. They were never found praising idols or human images, rather they took to praising the Bodhi trees, footprints, and stupas or burial mounds. Their worship centered around the continuous life and rebirth into one of the five levels of society. These were heavenly devas, humans, animals and plants,

How Ballast Water Systems Work

How Ballast Water Systems Work A ballast water system is essential for the safe operation of a ship, but the operation of these systems causes significant threats to the environment and local economy. What Is a Ballast Water System? A ballast water system allows a ship to pump water in and out of very large tanks to compensate for a change in cargo load, shallow draft conditions, or weather. The capacity of ballast water tanks might be millions of gallons on a large vessel. This allows vessels to carry a light or heavy load while maintaining ideal buoyancy and handling conditions in all situations.A ship might discharge all ballast water tanks to pass a shallow area or forward tanks only to raise the bow in rough open seas.Physical components of the system include; raw water intakes, large and small strainers, pumps, distribution pipes, ballast water tanks, treatment system, discharge system, and all the valves, sensors, and controls to run the equipment. Invasive Species in Ballast Water Invasive species are a significant threat to ecosystems and the economies of the affected areas. Researchers think that about one-third of all documented invasive plants and animals are able to travel in the ballast water tanks of ships. Zebra Mussels were introduced into Lake Saint Clair in 1988 when a ship emptied ballast water into the Great Lakes System. The Great Lakes hold nearly twenty percent of the earth’s fresh surface water in a watershed system. The non-native mussels eliminated native varieties once used by industry and have caused an estimated 7 billion dollars (US) in damage by encrusting or clogging underwater equipment essential to industrial and recreational activities.Sea Lamprey and ​Spiny Water Fleas are organisms which feed off of host fish or compete with young fish for food. Many species of fish impacted by these invasive species have significant commercial or sporting value. These animals and others can live in fresh or salt water and may spread into inland waterways from saline ports and harbors.Plants can also travel long distances in ballast water. Eurasian Milfoil is a surface plant which can clog equipment and deter recreation where it forms thick mats. Eurasian Milfoil was introduced to the United States in the 1940s. Because the plant can produce large colonies from only one small fragment it is likely the plant was introduced in the ballast water of a ship. Resolving Ballast Water Issues For years amateurs and professional researchers have experimented with a huge array of weapons to combat invasive species in a ship’s ballast water. Most of the difficulty is due to the fact that huge volumes of water must be treated in a reasonably short period of time. Many land-based systems for treating public supplies takes many hours or days to pass water through their treatment systems. A ship, on the other hand, must be able to discharge ballast water as quickly as cargo is loaded. In emergency situations, ballast tanks need to empty as quickly as possible. A quick pass through most ballast water treatment systems is not enough to kill all the organisms that may be present. Ballast Water Treatment Solutions and Shortcomings No Discharge or Ballast Exchange Rules: International, National, and Local law govern ballast water discharge. Some areas require ballast tanks to be sealed while others allow ballast to be exchanged. Ballast exchange allows tanks to be filled with local waters. Sealed ballast tanks may need to be emptied in an emergency situation and exchange is hindered by the fact that foreign waters must be discharged in close proximity to ​the sensitive area for vessels to operate safely.Mechanical Filters: Filters which are fine enough to remove the small immature young and eggs of invasive species clog quickly and require constant maintenance.Thermal Treatment: The idea is to heat ballast water to kill any unwanted organisms. Unfortunately heating such a huge volume of water is impractical due to time and energy constraints.Other Energy Treatments: Ultraviolet, sonic, and other radiation have all been tried but have similar problems to a thermal treatment; limits on time and energy.Chem ical Treatments: One of the earliest and most dangerous of all the methods used to control invasive species in ballast water. Chlorine bleach and other toxic chemicals will kill existing organisms but the release of these chemicals on the scale necessary to treat every ship would reach toxic levels for all aquatic life near the discharge points. The Future of Ballast Water Treatment Researchers are pursuing this difficult and financially lucrative goal at institutions around the world. In 2011, a team announced their successful small-scale test of a two-phase ballast treatment system which eliminates unwanted organisms and produces sodium bicarbonate as a byproduct. The system is undergoing full-size tests in the Great Lakes. The test for a scalable system is expected to perform well. It is not clear how regulatory agencies around the world will respond to the potential discharge of industrial amounts of sodium bicarbonate into their waters. Sodium bicarbonate is a common and safe chemical in small amounts, but studies must be conducted to assure this method is safe for long term use.

Mayan Civilization City of Copan, Honduras

Mayan Civilization City of Copan, Honduras Copn, called Xukpi by its residents, rises out of the mist of western Honduras, in a pocket of alluvial soil amid rugged topography. It is arguably one of the most important royal sites of the Maya civilization. Occupied between AD 400 and 800, Copn covers over 50 acres of temples, altars, stelae, ball courts, several plazas and the magnificent Hieroglyphic Stairway. The culture of Copn was rich in written documentation, today including detailed sculptural inscriptions, which is very rare in precolumbian sites. Sadly, many of the booksand there were books written by the Maya, called codiceswere destroyed by the priests of the Spanish invasion. Explorers of Copn The reason we know so much of the inhabitants of the site of Copn is the result of five hundred years of exploration and study, beginning with Diego Garcà ­a de Palacio who visited the site in 1576. During the late 1830s, John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood explored Copn, and their descriptions, and particularly Catherwoods illustrations, are still used today to better study the ruins. Stephens was a 30-year-old attorney and politician when a doctor suggested he take some time off to rest his voice from speech making. He made good use of his vacation, touring around the globe and writing books about his travels. One of his books, Incidents of Travel in Yucatan, was published in 1843 with detailed drawings of the ruins at Copn, made by Catherwood with a camera lucida. These drawings captured the imaginations of scholars the world over; in the 1880s, Alfred Maudslay started the first excavations there, funded by Harvards Peabody Museum. Since that time, many of the best archaeologists of our time have worked at Copn, including Sylvanus Morley, Gordon Willey, William Sanders and David Webster, William and Barbara Fash, and many others. Translating Copan Work by Linda Schele and others has concentrated on translating the written language, which efforts have resulted in the recreation of the dynastic history of the site. Sixteen rulers ran Copn between 426 and 820 AD. Probably the most well-known of the rulers at Copn was 18 Rabbit, the 13th ruler, under whom Copn reached its height. While the level of control held by the rulers of Copn over the surrounding regions is debated among Mayanists, there can be no doubt that the people were aware of the populations at Teotihuacan, over 1,200 kilometers away. Trade items found at the site include jade, marine shell, pottery, sting-ray spines and some small amounts of gold, brought from as far away as Costa Rica or perhaps even Colombia. Obsidian from Ixtepeque quarries in eastern Guatemala is abundant; and some argument has been made for the importance of Copn as a result of its location, on the far eastern frontier of Maya society. Daily Life at Copan Like all of the Maya, the people of Copn were agriculturalists, growing seed crops such as beans and corn, and root crops such as manioc and xanthosoma. Maya villages consisted of multiple buildings around a common plaza, and in the early centuries of the Maya civilizations these villages were self-supporting with a relatively high standard of living. Some researchers argue that the addition of the elite class, as at Copn, resulted in the impoverishment of the commoners. Copn and the Maya Collapse Much has been made of the so-called Maya collapse, which occurred in the 9th century AD and resulted in the abandonment of the big central cities like Copn. But, recent research has shown that as Copn was being depopulated, sites in the Puuc Region such as Uxmal and Labina, as well as Chichen Itza were gaining population. David Webster argues that the collapse was merely a collapse of the ruling elites, probably as a reuslt of internal conflict, and that only the elite residences were abandoned, and not the entire city. Good, intensive archaeological work continues at Copn, and as a result, we have a rich history of the people and their times. Sources This glossary entry is part of the Guide to the Maya Civilization and the Dictionary of Archaeology. A brief bibliography has been assembled and a page detailing the Rulers of Copn is also available. The following is a brief bibliography of the archaeological literature related to the study of Copn. For more information about the site, see the glossary entry for Copn; for more information about the Maya Civilization in general, see the About.com Guide to the Maya Civilization. Bibliography for Copn Andrews, E. Wyllys and William L. Fash (eds.) 2005. Copan: The History of a Maya Kingdom. School of American Research Press, Santa Fe. Bell, Ellen E. 2003. Understanding Early Classic Copan. University Museum Publications, New York. Braswell, Geoffrey E. 1992 Obsidian-hydration dating, the Coner phase, and revisionist chronology at Copan, Honduras. Latin American Antiquity 3:130-147. Chincilla Mazariegos, Oswaldo 1998 Archaeology and nationalism in Guatemala at the time of independence. Antiquity 72:376-386. Clark, Sharri, et al. 1997 Museums and Indigenous Cultures: The power of local knowledge. Cultural Survival Quarterly Spring 36-51. Fash, William L. and Barbara W. Fash. 1993 Scribes, Warriors, and Kings: The City of Copan and the Ancient Maya. Thames and Hudson, London. Manahan, T. K. 2004 The Way Things Fall Apart: Social organization and the Classic Maya collapse of Copan. Ancient Mesoamerica 15:107-126. Morley, Sylvanus. 1999. Inscriptions at Copan. Martino Press. Newsome, Elizabeth A. 2001. Trees of Paradise and Pillars of the World: The Serial Stelae Cycle of 18-Rabbit-God K, King of Copan. University of Texas Press, Austin. Webster, David 1999 The archaeology of Copan, Honduras. Journal of Archaeological Research 7(1):1-53. Webster, David 2001 Copan (Copan, Honduras). Pages 169-176 in Archaeology of Ancient Mexico and Central America. Garland Publishing, New York. Webster, David L. 2000. Copan: The Rise and Fall of a Classic Maya Kingdom. Webster, David, AnnCorinne Freter, and David Rue 1993 The obsidian hydration dating project at Copan: A regional approach and why it works. Latin American Antiquity 4:303-324. This bibliography is part of the Guide to the Maya Civilization.

Mental models Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Mental models - Essay Example Basically, these mental models are ideas and beliefs that people instinctively or intentionally acquires from their experiences and which consequently influence their behavior and mindset (Uitdewilligen, Waller, & Pitariu, 2013). These images of recognized reality inform individuals of cause and effect, and push them to predict specific outcomes, interpret occurrences, and prompt them to act in specific ways. However, mental models can be both an advantage and a disadvantage, particularly with regard to perceiving other people. This essay discusses how mental models both assist and limit an individual’s perception of people they will meet for the first time. Individuals all have assumptions about other people. These assumptions guide individuals in a variety of ways. They assist individuals in anticipating and interpreting the behavior of other people. Assumptions about others are also helpful when an individual has to give a description of another person. Yet, the main import ance of a mental model is its capacity to help individuals conduct their interactions with other people (Young, 2011). People’s assumptions about other people have significant impact in their daily lives. ... In the real world, people obviously do not have the luxury of time to get to know all the people they meet personally. According to Senge (2010), mental models help individuals make decisions and anticipate how other people will act in specific circumstances instantly. The usefulness of mental models becomes pronounced in a culturally diverse organization (Matteson, 2013). For instance, a senior executive in a multinational company is urgently looking for a new project manager. The applicants come from different racial backgrounds, and the senior executive is assigned to interview each of these applicants. He is meeting all these applicants for the first time. His mental models of various racial groups will definitely influence his choice. These mental models will guide his decision of who to hire for the position of project manager. Mental models are valuable tools in unfamiliar situations and circumstances requiring quick decisions. These mental models can also be useful in instanc es where an individual will be meeting another person from a different culture. These mental models may guide an individual’s behavior or attitude toward another person. Having an assumption of one’s culture helps create a meaningful and respectful interaction between individuals of different cultures (Lundquist & Jarvella, 2000); for instance, if person A, an Australian, will meet person B, a Japanese, for the first time it would be helpful if person A assumes that Japanese, unlike Australians, are not straightforward people. This assumption will help person A conduct a harmonious, polite conversation with person B. Even in business negotiations, mental models of individual characteristics and culture may help resolve conflict and make personal and cultural

Teenager problems Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Teenager problems - Research Paper Example Teenagers all over the world face many problems as they grow up. Many people have suffered teenage problems and, therefore, understand too well the magnitude of the devastation caused by such problems. In fact, there are few parents across the globe who admit that parenting teenagers is rosy and for most of these parents, the experience is not consistent and thus fluctuates between being downright possible and difficult. In the current world, so many parents acknowledge that they have problem teenagers. In so many ways, teenage years may be the greatest experience for many parents. This is because it is the time they witness the results of their efforts of parenting as their children grow up into adult and prepare to take on life’s challenges in the modern world. However, it is acknowledged by many parents that controlling the activities of teenagers is not an easy task as this is the time drug abuse, late night parties, drinking, and peer influence are most prevalent. Boyfrie nds, girlfriends, and some many confusing arenas of sex, love and sexuality begins, and the teenagers often find themselves under intense psychological pressure. This is also the time in a teenager’s lives when they find themselves distressed by the direction their lives are taking. This is, therefore, the point in their lives when they require a lot of advice and guidance to help them shape their lives in the right way. This calls for the government and adults to ensure t hat teenagers are nurtured well. This paper will discuss why the government needs to put money on teenagers’ problems and the need for adults to provide these teenagers with hope. World Youth Report (189) notes that these days teenagers, regardless of the country of residence, social origin or gender, are subject to individual risks and meet new individual opportunities with some beneficial while others are disastrous. It notes that in most cases, youths tend to engage in illegal behaviors as they en gage in drug abuse and addiction, and the infliction of violence against their peers. A survey by World Youth Report shows that apart from the US, rates of juvenile delinquency rose in 1990s (189). The report reveals that, in Western Europe, several arrests of juvenile delinquents and under-age criminals rose by an average of 50 percent between 1980s and 1990s. Juvenile crimes have also increased in Eastern Europe and other commonwealth countries. The report reveals that most of the juvenile delinquents are related to drug abuse and excessive consumption of alcohol (189). The report also suggests that, despite most programs and studies on juvenile delinquency, and focus on teenagers as offenders, the youths themselves fall victim to acts of delinquency. This, therefore, poses many threats in their lives. For instance, the report show that teenagers who are at risk of becoming delinquents in most cases lives in difficult situations (189). World Youth Report (200) argues that violence against youth violates their fundamental human rights. This calls for the government, individuals and institutions to commit their time, expertise, money and resources necessary to address this world problem. It is widely acknowledged that early intervention provides the best approach to juvenile delinquency prevention (Roucek 32). These measures prevent the youths from breaking the law. The government should, therefore, take up an initiative of providing money and setting up professional development programmes to provide legal alternatives to youth income generation. These include providing youths and adolescents with increased economic opportunities, education, professional training, new workplaces and some form of assistance in organizing business (world youth Report 201). This will help prevent the teenagers from getting involved in delinquent acts. The government should also provide money to be used in setting up educational centers focusing on youth educational programmes (He ilbrun, Goldstein, and Redding 124). This will help

Tennessee Williams Life Story Portrayed in The Glass Menagerie Essay

Tennessee Williams' Life Story Portrayed in The Glass Menagerie Tennessee Williams' play, The Glass Menagerie, originated in the memory of Williams. Williams' family embodied his father, Cornelius Williams, his mother, Edwina Dakin Williams, his sister, Rose Williams, and his younger brother, Dakin Williams. Cornelius was an alcoholic, always away from home; Tennessee and Cornelius did not have a strong relationship, "By the late 1920s, mother and father were in open warfare, and both were good combatants. He came home drunk and picked up a bill-perhaps for Tom's clothing or schoolbooks-and he'd fly into rage."(Spoto, 18). Edwina, on the other hand, revered "refinement and the good manners of Southern gentry." (Barron's Book Notes, 2). Tennessee adored Rose immensely and were close as they could be. The Glass Menagerie is based on a mother and her two children who live in a dream world away from society. Williams' play is drawn heavily upon his family life and experiences; they are very much parallel to the events that occur in Williams' lif e. Tom is modeled after Tennessee, an ardent poet who works in a shoe factory; Williams was passionate about writing, "He[Cornelius] saw that Tom devoted to his writing as unnatural for a boy his age†¦ worse, Tom did not have companions among boys of his own age, not did he participate in sports."(Leverich, 82). Tom tries to support his mother and sister by working in a shoe factory even though he dreams to become a poet. His mother disapproved of him writing as well as his father, "Despite Tom's being published, Cornelius persisted in his belief that his son was wasting his time and should be thinking of a more practical way of making a living."(Leverich, 82). Tennesse felt so doleful and devastatingly miserable that he did not know another way of escaping reality but to write, "At the typewriter he transformed the confusion, the bitterness, the longings into poems, and for a time he cracked out a diary in which he recorded little anecdotes about St. Louis street life."(Spoto, 20). Williams's character, in like manner, felt that same emptiness, "He[Tom] is a poet by nature and feels that his environment is destroying his creative abilities."(Cliff Notes, 9). Amanda Wingfield mirror images Williams's mother, Edwina Dakin Williams. Both of these women... ...'s Book Notes). Laura and Tom do not like the dismal atmosphere of the apartment, "The new apartment had only two small windows, in the front and in the rear rooms, and a fire escape blocked the smoky light from a back alley."(Spoto, 16). Tom uses the fire escape as a break from the real world, "As he climbs the few steps to the fire escape landing light steals up inside†¦At last he find the key, but just as he is about to insert it, it slips from his fingers. He strikes a match and crouches below the door."(Williams, 55). Williams' play, The Glass Menagerie, is drawn heavily upon Williams' family life and experiences; they are very much parallel to the events that occur in Williams' life. Tennessee's and Tom's whole life revolved around their mother and sister. They were struggling with life's cruel realities which they were not able to face and defeat, but instead, ran away from. Tom can not lose his memories of Laura. He needed to find his own identity and try to find a place for himself in the world.(Barron's Book Notes). If he had stayed with his mother and sister, their illusions and dreams would have deceived him.

Coming to America, Scarface, and Borat Essay

Motion pictures due to its nature, creates somehow a subliminal effect on its viewers. Certain dialogue and inherent acting can leave an impression to anyone who may watch it. These impressions have a large probability that what people see on screen could actually be real. Filmmakers on the other hand, know this effect on its viewers and create movies based on their own intention. For some filmmakers the purpose could be is to simply entertain, for others to educate. But even with this purpose in mind, some films made even though most likely unintentional, can cause a variety of reactions depending on the viewers perspective and comprehension of a specific film. A lot of these kinds of reactions may come from a twisting plot or a thought provoking characterization of its actors. The latter proves to have more reactions generated due to its social relevance, the characterization in films by the minorities of society. Since the inception of including minorities in film, a lot of criticisms were raised due to what others may deem offensive for the part of how the minorities are at times being falsely stereotyped and while others will consider it socially acceptable when analyzing it in a larger context (Sienkiewicz & Marx, 2009). The purpose of this paper is to critically analyze three films namely Scarface, Coming to America, and Borat. The study will discuss the roles portrayed by the lead actors in which they are also considered as part of the social minorities. This paper will break down the stereotypes or negative images in which the film may convey and how does these films contribute to oppression of one group or another. Data Analysis Coming to America In this film, Eddie Murphy plays the role of Prince Akeem a soon to be King of his wealthy country Zamunda. The plot revolves around Prince Akeem’s motivation to find his bride, since the type of wives being offered to him by the current king his Father, seems to be like Prince Akeem’s soon to be slaves, due to their nature to obey and please whatever the Prince will desire. That part alone shows the characters of women, (in this movie majority of the women are black) especially growing out from poverty will do anything just to get married to a Prince. Although women here is not considered minority but the negative image conveyed by the film of their characters, except for the main lady Lisa McDowell (in which Prince Akeem soon married due to her distinct quality), are basically like Gold diggers and will do absolutely anything just to get rich. Another incident, in which the film portrays and intentionally to be funny, was when Akeem and his cousin went to America to find the bride of his dreams, they encountered deceit and theft mainly from black people living in the impoverished area of Queens New York. Criticisms here depends on the type of viewer perception, some may react that not all Black people are like that, and they might even add that they just did those crimes due to poverty, but others will just look at it as unintentional and as a way to create a joke, but based on a study social and political themes the proportion of blacks who resort to violence has risen substantially over the last decade (Powers, Rothman & Rothman, 1996, p. 179). Also a scene worth noting, was when it showed the future Father in-law of Akeem, Cleo McDowell (played by John Amos) running his business, which have almost the perfect resemblance of McDonalds due to its signature usage of the Golden Arches, in which he calls the McDowell’s. This scene portrays another character of the black people engaged in playful deceit for the purpose of comedy, although ugh the scene naturally funny but again may create a message that in general black people are simply like that. Even on the way Cleo treats his daughter on finding the right man, he always preferred a wealthy young man to be his future son in law, thus Akeem here for his purpose to be loved by the way he is and not for money he assumed the role of a poor man, in which his Cleo totally disliked and preferred the more well off son of a rich family Daryl. Deceit lies and the motivation for money seems to be the underlying themes of this movie, although created as a comedy to somehow cover these types of elements, it was really shown clearly when the stereotyping ended on the scene when Akeem’s father the King went to New York to find his son and stop the potential marriage of him and Lisa, offered a significant amount of money to Cleo for his troubles, Cleo then stood up for his hidden principles and reacted as if it was an insult to treat her daughter like that. This could a positive affirmation and probably the filmmakers created this scene for viewers not to generalize and jump into conclusions on the nature of the black people in this film. Scarface On the movie Scarface, Al Pacino plays the role of a Cuban refugee named Tony Montana. As an immigrant Tony was depicted as a very strong character incapable of fear especially driven by his goal of making it big on a different country like America. This characterization of Al Pacino explains the American immigrant experience suggesting that crime which is the centerpiece of which is drugs cannot be disconnected from the American Dream (Sharret, 2001). After him and his best friend Manolo (played by Steven Bauer) went out the refugee camp after a tumultuous rebellion, they found themselves on having a job as dishwashers. This shows that in America most of the jobs for immigrants with little education end up as blue collared workers doing hard work and long hours. This kind of work only made Tony feels that it was nothing different from back home in which he tried anything possible to get away of the communism grip. He decided to results into what he feels he can do best. Violence and drug dealing, this has made the movie somehow more dangerous in respect to all immigrants trying to live an honest hardworking life in America, as viewers may perceive that this is the way immigrants are, due to their background on either poverty or a tough government from their own countries. Thus stereotyping again may exists, however this film offered much more than just the immigrant experience, from that foundation it went to describe the both the horrific image of drugs in the contemporary world and the violence and corruption attached to it (same as Sharret, 2001). It was not long when Tony Montana thought he had achieved the American Dream, he killed his former boss, took away his business and his wife and even his own bodyguard to work for him. This happened as portrayed, that tension occurs when minorities (like Tony the immigrant from Cuba) and his White boss tried; but failed to resolve issues and misunderstandings (Powers, Rothman & Rothman, 1996, p. 180). Tony knows he cannot do it alone without the help of corrupt bureaucrats who actually assist drug traffic as part of the realpolitik of post-war foreign policy (same as Sharret, 2001). Those scenes have a tremendous negative effect on not only to the violence by an immigrant but on his ability to utilize the system of the society in America that seems to support the idea of competition and acquisition as hallmarks of success and accomplishment (same as Sharret, 2001). There was what it seems as turning point in the film, in which Tony, His Wife Elvira (played by Michelle Pfeiffer) and Manolo went to a fine dining restaurant. In this particular scene Tony now considered rich and powerful, went beyond as he insulted his wife for being a drug addict, and made a scene with the whole considered to be the elite class of the society. The film conveys the message that this kind of society only knows where to point fingers when it comes to trouble and it a lot of times it goes to the immigrants whom they perceived are the bad guys and specializes on dealing drugs and partaking in violence. This explains that those other diners may have no idea what an immigrant experience could be and possibly do not care except if it affects them directly, in this particular scene it did. A lot of people considered Scarface as an epic gangster film, due to its themes of the capitalist lifestyle (in contrast to communism) violence and effects of drugs. Borat Borat is a film, that is supposed to comedic in nature, turned out as a heavy racist context, full of offensive themes for both the Kazakhstan people and the Americans as well according to its critics. But is it really? again depending on the type of viewers’ point of view. The film portrayed the country of Kazakhstan as a medieval society in which rape and incest are cheerfully accepted, and sometimes combined, some audiences knows that this kind of joke is not on the country itself, but on the western perception that foreign cultures are backward (Ryan, 2006). The ploy is centered on the character Borat Sagdiyev, (played by Sacha Baron Cohen) Kazakhstan’s second-best reporter, going to America to analyze the attitude and nature of the American people. In his travel accompanied by his producer Azamat Bagatov (played by Ken Davitian), Borat tries to learn the American sense of humor by interviewing an American coach, this scene conveys that the joke in which adding the word and exclamation Not! At the end of every sentence is proudly of American Origin ( same as Ryan, 2006). The other particular scene in which Borat interviewed the Veteran Feminists of America, can be considered nothing more sophisticated than a prank at the expense of those who don’t know what the joke is, or even that there is a joke (same as Ryan, 2006). But this scene in particular portrayed the seriousness of the Veteran Feminists which either way doesn’t want to be stereotyped as Borat would prefer. This somewhat immigrant experience of Borat has also led him to his infatuation to television personality Pamela Anderson. Borat then meet with a group of drunken friends ( which this scene is not scripted) and these guy showed Borat a videotape of Pamela Anderson having sex with his then boyfriend Tommy Lee, having seen this Borat feels very depressed, since in his country the belief of virginity is very important, and before he have seen the video he thought that Pamela is still a virgin, this again portrays that Kazakhstan people are primitive as well as naive. The guys who showed Borat the video claimed (since this was an actual shot) that they are unfairly represented in the film as sexist louts because of their drunken state, but during that scene their celebratory screening of the tape reveals their sexism indisputably (Metz, 2007). There a lot of scenes in the film in which can be easily concluded as racist tags or false stereotyping, but as some of the scenes which are shot are not scripted like, the scene discussed earlier, explains some of the actual nature of the Americans on how they sometimes treat an immigrant especially if they don’t have any background of a specific immigrant. The immigrant experience here shows that people in whom he interacts can be well perceived as if they are trying to understand the minority, but at the same time holding their ground if they see something is not just normal by their standards. Conclusion The influence of film on audience perception can really be significant. Especially when dealing with the social order of the society. In this study we analyzed three films on which the corresponding focal point is the immigrant experience by the main characters. They all seemed reacting on what the new society already has in place for them. For us viewers, we see these types of minorities and a lot of times we simply cannot enjoy a film as it is, due to the disturbance of the negative messages of violence, offensive jokes, racism, drugs, sexism and lot of subliminal messages the film itself conveys to us. The problem with this is clear from this study, that it indeed has an effect that can possibly create oppression for a particular group, and in this case the immigrant minorities of our society. Reference List Charles, L. (2006). Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. United States:Four by Two. De Palma, B. (1983). Scarface. United States:Universal Pictures Landis, J. (1988). Coming to America. United States:Eddie Murphy Productions Metz, W. (2007) Shark Porn: Film Genre, Reception Studies, and Chris Kentis’ Open Water. Film Criticism 31. 1 Powers, S. , Rothman, D. , and Rothman, S. (1996). Hollywood’s America: Social and Political Themes in Motion Pictures. Boulder. CO: Westview Press. Sharrett, C. (2001). Cinematic Drug Wars. USA Today, Society for the Advancement of Education. Sienkiewicz, M. & Marx, N. (2009). Beyond a Cutout World: Ethnic Humor and Discursive Integration in South Park. Journal of film and video 61. 2 Ryan, G (2006). Thongs of Freedom: The Kazakh Ace Reporter Uncovers Uncomfortable Truths about the US. New Statesman