Review of the movie The shape of things Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Review of the movie The shape of things - Essay Example Adam (Paul Rudd) is a nerdy, unimposing English Major who works part - time as a museum guard. The stage for the rather one - sided battle of the sexes is set when he meets Evelyn (Rachel Weisz), a sexy, edgy art student. The names Adam and Eve (Lyn) are a not so subtle reminder of the original sin that paved the way for a state of eternal hostility between the sexes and emphasizes the sometimes biblical nature of the film. Evelyn has come to strip away the pretense and false modesty which symbolizes a huge statue that has its privates hidden by a leaf out of respect for the delicate sensibility of the public. Her purpose is to spray - paint a penis on the offending leaf. Shy, uncertain Adam intervenes and she disarms him with her ready charm and gives him her phone number. She then proceeds to deface the statue as she had originally intended. This random incident sets in motion the events that will bring about a drastic and gut - wrenching change in Adam's hitherto placid, uneventfu l existence. Not much of a ladies man, Adam is flattered by Evelyn's attentions and he can hardly believe she is attracted to him; therefore he clings to her with a desperate need that is at once pathetic and touching. Soon he is putty in her hands, literally. Initially she is merely a controlling girlfriend and she badgers him into losing weight, getting a more becoming haircut, losing his glasses and wearing decent clothes. She even convinces him to alter his rather large nose with the help of surgical intervention! But soon her influence over him takes a sinister turn, as he is intoxicated by her smoldering sexuality and overpowering personality and becomes nothing more than clay in her hands to be molded as she sees fit. He comes completely under her sway as she rules over him with an iron fist gradually alienating him from his friends, Philip (Frederick Waller) and Jenny (Gretchen Mol). Adam's transformation ends with a startling twist, a shattering revelation in the climax of the film. Compelling though the film is it is marred by a number of flaws. The transition from the stage to the big screen calls for certain modifications, particularly with regard to the characters and settings that are lacking in this film. This is particularly evident in the characters, who come across as rather wooden, one - dimensional and theatrical. Weisz's twisted and frightening Evelyn is a callous, notorious schemer and her motives are transparent to the viewer from the onset. Furthermore she lacks the redeeming quality of likeability which would have served to flesh out and breathe life into her character, while taking away much of its annoying plasticity. The clever twist at the end of the plot would have had more of a sting and been more forceful if the audience had not already become inured to her brand of cold, calculating cruelty. At the beginning of the film Adam says to her, "You stepped over the line, Miss" and that is exactly what she does throughout the movie, once too of ten as it turns out. Adam's chronic naivet tends to be unconvincing at times. Rudd as Adam is alternatively endearing and exasperating. He is a little too gullible to be true. For instance he fails to exhibit even a token curiosity towards her art project, her background, friends, interests etc. However, the interesting thing about his character

Poverty Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Poverty - Research Paper Example The author uses various forms of language to define poverty, as well as convey the nature of poverty to the reader. She starts by defining poverty from a personal perspective and taking the reader through her suffering and the pain of her daily life. Her main aim is to make the readers experience poverty and view themselves in her dirt and poverty, doing so in order to make the reader grasp what world she is coming from. Through the use of imagery to expose the horrific and hideous world of poverty, she enhances her ability to make her audience question the stereotypes that they have of the poor. According to her, there are poor people in every country. Majority of individuals in the world are quick to stereotype Kuwaiti citizens as rich and multi-millionaires, whom all change their automotives on a yearly basis and live in villas (El-Katiri et al 14). While this is true and most Kuwaitis do live relatively well, there are, however, those Kuwaitis who are poor or underprivileged and live below the poverty line, relying heavily on monthly charity that they receive from charitable organizations. It is true that there are very few Kuwaitis who cannot manage a meal, whether foreign laborers or Kuwaiti nationals. However, while shelter, food, and healthcare are attainable with ease because of the welfare system run by the state, there are also charitable organizations based in and out of Kuwait that spend millions in order to make sure that the essential needs of Kuwaiti nationals are taken care of (El-Katiri et al 14). While this may not make sense given the relative wealth in Kuwait compared to other countries, it is also worth remembering that poverty is a major problem worldwide. In today’s world, poverty is an epidemic that has very few solutions (Parker 1). In fact, those who are poor in relatively wealthy countries are worse off compared to those in developing nations. This is because poverty is enabled by classification in these countries with class s tratification making it difficult to â€Å"spread the wealth†. These classifications may be based on individual behavior categories, cultural factors, political factors, economic factors, and social factors. These classifications contribute to poverty. Social class determines wages, which would be the variable that leads to poverty. Those families receiving lower wages are barely able to cater for living expenses (Parker 1). In this case, they do not have sufficient money to enroll for programs that will aid their children’s education. In Kuwait, as well as, other countries like Kuwait in the region, classification based on wealth and private property is not so important, especially compared to having the power, to access state institutions that are involved in distributing revenues from the oil (El-Katiri et al 15). Kuwait is a rich country where poverty is relatively low. However, there are still fundamental social divisions within the country. These divisions exist between tribal families that have settled for a while and those who settled in the country within the last thirty years. The latter group does not have strong and long established ties with the ruling class. In fact, most of them do not even possess Kuwaiti citizenship and are