Something to Sing About in Buffy the Vampire Slayer Essay -- Buffy the

  Ã‚  Ã‚   Throughout much of recorded human history, people have written tales of the dead returning to life, usually to trouble the living in some way. These traditional myths have progressed from ancient superstitions, to campfire ghost stories, to television shows such as Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In the series, vampires are created from the dead victims of other vampires (as long as a certain rite is performed during the victim's death). After a time they rise from their graves and immediately seek to kill and drink the blood of the living. Creatures such as these are, as Lacan [give first name when you first mention someone] describes them, "between the two deaths" and live again only to fulfill insistent, mechanical drive. This drive, often centered on killing, vengeance, or some other quest for closure, is distinct from desire in that it is not "caught up in dialectical trickery" (Zizek 21). According to Zizek [ditto], normal desires are not alway s what they seem, for when we desire something, we may be seeking something else entirely (21). Most of the vampires in Buffy the Vampire Slayer fit Lacan's profile of between the two deaths, and, as one might expect, they are antagonists to the protector of the living, Buffy. However, in the musical episode "Once More, with Feeling," Whedon explores two protagonists who are also between the two deaths, each struggling to revert back to their prior state of being, but both in a different situation. One of these characters, Spike, once fit the archetype of the vampire, but now faces difficulty as he is forced to cope with normal dialectical desire in order to exist in the civilized, symbolic world. The other, Buffy, fulfilled the death drive when she sa... ... her to be the Slayer. Her only chance to find motivation in the world is to find a new desire. Both characters approach the same center, but from different ends of the drive-symbol spectrum. Thus, Whedon not only makes use of the Lacanian "between the two deaths" concept, but he also plays with making it dynamic (Spike) and with inverting it (Buffy). Then, at the very end of the episode, the two experiments are united in an elegant closure.    Sources Cited or Consulted Buffy the Vampire Slayer. "Once More, with Feeling." Felluga, Dino. "Modules on Lacan: On Desire." Introductory Guide to Critical Theory. Date March 11, 2003. Purdue U. March 23, 2003. <http://www.purdue.edu/guidetotheory/psychoanalysis/lacandesire.html>. Zizek, Slavoj. Looking Awry: An Introduction to Jacques Lacan through Popular Culture. Cambridge: MIT P, 1991.

African creation myths Essay

1. Perhaps the answer that would best suit the question why life is so hard and then you die is how death is portrayed in these stories. There is suffering and hardship in one’s life because of disobedience of the hardships and commands of his gods. Death ultimately becomes the only â€Å"salvation† after so much hardship.   Had the living things and man obeyed the orders of their god, death would not have overcome these lives. In the story of the Plant of Life, the second wife, in her jealousy of not being considered by her husband despite the death of the first wife decided that in order to end her suffering must kill the plant that has taken the time and affection that would have been hers. Hence, ultimately, it is no wonder that in the end, the wife bears the consequent death of all living things. 2.  Ã‚   Basically these African myths hold women in the same way that women are being viewed today. Women are seen as being responsible for the ills that happened to society and life in general.   For example, in the story of the Plant of Life, the second wife was blamed for being the source of death when â€Å"she saw the plant and was jealous and cut it down with a hoe.† (Plant of Life). Such story shows how of little value women are because if the god did not play favourites among his wives, the story would not have ended that way. As a whole, women are viewed as being the cause of tragedies. 3. This myth basically starts out as a story of creation of the world and its five elements.   However, as the story intertwined itself it became a story not of creation but of destruction as each element became defeated by the other until at last Doondari, the god who created these things came down to earth and became the eternal one.   A very good point of interest here is how the story incorporated the attributes of men like sleep, blindness, worry and death and how these attributes became defeated when all of them became proud. It would seem that the writer wanted to emphasize that pride became the reason for the fall of its attributes and in the end, it was the god who has to put everything in its place. 4. One interesting thing about this myth is how Shida Matunda got afraid when the jealous wife killed the plant which what became of his favorite wife when she died. He is a god and yet he had no hold over life when in fact, he created the world and its living things. It would seem that as a god, he too depended on â€Å"higher beings† than himself and that he attributes life on these beings such as the plant which became the plant of life. 5. Between the myth of the Disobedience of Man and the story of creation in Genesis, one common factor emerges as to why one man disobeyed his Creator.   In this African myth, the root of the disobedience is the woman who failed to follow the orders of her god not to till the soil for food while in Genesis, Eve did not take heed in God’s warning not to eat the Forbidden fruit lest they will be punished. Hence, when they disobeyed the order of their gods, they were punished: the first beings in this African myth were sent with Death while Adam and Eve were banished out of the paradise that God created for them. 6. Indeed there is a great similarity between the myth Revolt Against God and the great Flood in Genesis although the manner of wiping out the face of the earth vastly differs with the version in Genesis.   In the myth of the Revolt against God, the gods wiped out the earth through fire whereas in the version of Genesis, the world was wiped out by the Great Flood.   Perhaps the reason why there is a similarity between the two stories is because we all came from the same roots.   Just like in the religions of   Christianity and Islam that traces its roots to Abraham, these stories of cleansing the earth may have also come from one original source and just branched out after generations of passing it. 7.   Ã‚  The gods in these African myths are not at all like gods but rather seemed like counterparts of men.   Although they have created the world, the living things and men, they never ceased to be like human beings who still feel the emotions of human beings or maybe they are simply reflections of the image and likeness of the beings they have created.   However, these African gods tend to be fickle-minded sometimes and would do whatever they feel like doing at the heat of the moment and that analyzing these myths, one can surmise that they are just exercising their power over their creations.

Genogram: Family and Paper Social Work Essay

1. I grew up with a strong and helpful family that was always there for me. I did get into a lot of fights with my siblings, but now that I am an adult and living my own life, I realize how much I really care and love them. Thinking back on my childhood, I was raised a good life and my parents told me to be the best person I could possibly be. They showed me how to pursue a good work ethic, and how to treat others the way I want to be treated. As a child I was taught to respect my parents, teachers, and adults. To respect someone is not to agree with someone but show regard to. I was always told treat people like you would want to be treated. And showing respect is one of them. I believe respect is something that is not given its earned through the course of time. My family was what made me who I am today. 2. While reflecting on the different cultural elements that have influenced my life, it is hard to determine which would be classified as the most significant or the most influential because at different stages of my life, that priority has changed. For simplicities sake, the first influence I will discuss will be that of my parents. I was born to a Caucasian, middle class husband and wife in July of 1974. Due to being â€Å"middle class† I was taught the values of hard work, responsibility, honesty, and accountability. With two parents who felt one does not deserve what one hasn’t worked for, it was instilled in me that laziness was truly one of the worst characteristics one could possible hold. This programming has led me to be hyper-vigilant in my quest to prove my lack of â€Å"laziness.† This can be established by the fact that I am currently raising 3 children, work one full-time job, and attend college full-time. In addition to my parents influence, the fa ct that I had 1 sibling also played a significant role in my cultural programming. Having a sibling has taught me to negotiate, participate and compromise. 3. I was raised in a very safe and secure environment for most of my life. I am Caucasian, straight and a female. I was raised in the Methodist church which puts me in another dominant classification, Christian. My dad worked very long hours when I was growing up to provide for the family. While my upbringing is relatively idyllic, there are experiences and influences that have shaped my life and made me a more tolerant, understanding and yet critical person than the stereotype of people from my socio-cultural upbringing. I was taught to see others as individuals as opposed to stereotypes. I was also taught to value an individual’s right to pursue happiness. 4. A family event that we participate in is sled riding and skiing. These events have impacted our family in a positive way. It is something that everybody enjoys participating in. 5. Our holiday traditions were really helpful during my life. On New Years Eve we all would gather together to say good bye to the old year and welcome in the new upcoming year. My children and I still observe this tradition. We eat dinner together every night. Each Sunday morning we have a big family breakfast. Our family has a family night every Monday night. Where we get together, play games, and eat treats. We also eat pizza and watch a movie together every Friday night. Every year we have a family reunion. Each Halloween we go to the pumpkin patch and pick out pumpkins. 6. Every Christmas Eve we watch a Christmas movie then each child gets to open one present. On Easter we would search for hidden Easter baskets and collect the eggs that are hiding around the room. In our family our kids plan a birthday party with friends every year. We always decorate with streamers and balloons. The birthday child gets to choose his or her own birthday cake. They also get to choose whatever they want for their birthday dinner. 7. In my family we were taught that the role of the child in the family is to: go to school, learn, and grow up to be successful, listen to their parents, and go to church. 8. My mother had the most significant influence on me. She is the strongest woman that I have ever met. Her life inspired me with confidence and great motivation. Most of my mother’s life is full of misfortunes and unexpected troubles. Although she went through many hardships, she never gave up. The thing that I admire my mother most is she always kept in her mind the positive thoughts. In spite of the hard work that she does day by day, she always has a smile on her face. 9. By attending a college with a diverse student body I believe this can prepare me for my future work with families. I will be able to meet people and gain new insights on language and experience from another culture. 10. I believe growing up as a Caucasian, straight female will place a barrier in working with diverse families. I feel there will be limits to my experience but I would like to overcome them by taking classes on diversity and culture.