Art and Morality Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Art and Morality - Movie Review Example Artists are the ones who have to normally face the brunt of this censorship. Whether you consider the criminal obscenity charges against the rap group for the album 2 Live Crew in the 80s or the fatwa issued to kill Salman Rushdie for his book Satanic Verses – artists have always been persecuted for bringing out work which goes against ‘ethos’ of society. (Greenwood) This chant for censorship is not limited to Islamic countries or third world countries which are not considered ‘mature’ enough but extends to the self proclaimed champions of free speech – USA and the Western Europe. From the Comstock Law of 1873 to the 1996 Communications Decency Act; the developed world is full of laws which stifle artistic freedom. (Caso) The question which arises is this – should we allow censorship of controversial art which shows murder, explicit sexual scenes or offends religious sensibilities? The answer is a big NO. The reason is very simple. Censo rship is like a wild poisonous snake – you cannot control whom it will bite. Once power is given to the government to ban someone else; it may turn it head and ban something you like too. The most frequent target of censorship is sexually explicit art forms. Hundreds and thousands of books have been banned all across the world for their sexual content. Some books may be sexually explicit; however sexual content is usually an excuse for the ban. One example which comes to mind for such excuse is the ban of Grapes of Wrath. (Wartzman) Grapes of wrath is a much celebrated and controversial book which was releases in 1939. As a work of art; this book is exemplary which went on to win The National Book award, the Pulitzer Prize and the Nobel Prize in 1962.It is set during the Great depression and focuses’ on the hardships faced by families during the period. However the book was opposed vehemently by groups of big landowners who were opponents of organized labor. Explicit s exual content was used as an excuse to ban the book at that time from schools. The example of Grapes of Wrath is given here to show how sexuality can be used as an excuse to ban books whose main content is nowhere related to sexuality. Thus obscenity can easily be used as a vehicle by the government or powerful pressure groups to ban books or ideas to which they are opposed .Pornography and sexually explicit material is completely relative. What might be sexually offensive to one person may be normal for other person. We might find it amusing and childish that many Islamic countries ban films which show lip kissing but the same argument can be used for that art forms which majority of Americans find sexually explicit. These famous lines by Justice John Marshall sums up the futility of trying to define obscenity – â€Å"one man’s vulgarity is other’s lyrics!†Not only obscenity but even pornography has no legal definition. Some may consider a little skin sh ow as pornography where as others may consider it as the requirement of the film. In the absence of a formal definition we are left to the whims and fancies of certain individuals who are given the right to decide right and wrong. Laws are those which can be objectively applied, not something which requires subjective treatment. â€Å"Concerning the Gods I am not able to know either that they do exist or that they do not exist.†- The treaties of Protagoras. (Schiappa) Most of us this day will not find the above line offensive as atheists are now an acceptable part of the society. Some openly

Marketing Strategies Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Marketing Strategies - Case Study Example Factors identified that can affect the marketing strategy of the firm include; the marketing environment which includes everything from lifestyle changes to consumer education and the economic environment. Other than that the demographic environment with a special consideration to those who are interested in convenience eating , the cultural, natural, technological and political environment all play a key role in shaping the marketing strategy of this firm. The target market is an important consideration for any firm selling whichever product. A target market is the group of people for which a certain product is intended. It could be an age group for example products targeted for children such as Nesquik- a milkshake, a social class such as products targeted for the rich and status conscious like Rolex watches and a particular gender like Maybelline- it is a cosmetic targeted at women only. Other factors can also be brought into the picture and often integrated with other variables to form a target profile of the consumer. It is essential that the right target market is targeted so as to achieve the relevant objectives. If the right target market is not targeted any amount of promotional effort will not achieve marketing objectives and all efforts will go to waste. The target group for the product includes people who are health conscious and who are able and willing to invest in their health. They are also people who are willing to pay a premium price for the product therefore being loyal to the product. These are people who want a convenient lifestyle and are looking for on the go breakfasts which serve their nutritional purpose but are still not heavy on the stomach. The rising health concerns amidst the general public can be capitalized on and used for this purpose. It is expected that the target market will have some attachment for the product even though they have not been educated culturally on careful health choices.3 Market segmentation is the process of dividing a market into distinct subsets of consumers with common needs or characteristics and selecting one or more segments to target with a distinct marketing mix. Initially the world began with mass marketing. Products were targeted to anyone and everyone without any changes and modifications. This is exemplified by Henry Ford's model T example; ' in any colour they want it as long as it is black'. With time marketers have learnt that not all consumers are alike and they have different needs and wants. They need to be targeted differently and given different offerings to appeal to their taste. There are certain bases for segmentation that can be used to give a coherent and homogeneous cluster of individuals. These include geographic segmentation, demographic segmentation, psychographic segmentation and use-related segmentation etc. Not all bases are used at one time and only the relevant ones are considered. 9 The relevant segmentation bases for this product include demographic segmentation, psychological segmentation, and psychographic segmentation, use related segmentation and benefit segmentation. Therefore demographically the target market profile that we are looking at is an age group of 16-25, male and female, single and usually studying or just started working. Other than them young executives who have a busy and