Gothic Influence Essays - Architectural Styles, Flying Buttress

Gothic Influence Essays - Architectural Styles, Flying Buttress Gothic Influence The church in the Middle Ages was a place that all people, regardless of class, could belong to. As a source of unity, its influence on art and architecture was great during this time. As society drew away from the feudal system of the Romanesque period, a new spirit of human individualism began to take hold; alas, the birth of Gothic. Here, the Church became a place where humanity became more acceptable, alas becoming the ideal place to visual such new ideals. The beauty and elegance of Gothic architecture is depicted most in the great cathedrals of the 12th, 13th and 14th centuriesSt. Denis, Notre Dame, Chartres, Salisbury, Durham, Amiens, and more. The experience of looking at one of the great gothic cathedrals is to look up towards God. Indeed, most Gothic structures emphasize the vertical, drawing ones eyes upwards toward the heavens with the awesomeness of God. These cathedrals were built with towering spires, pointed arches and flying buttresses giving impressions of harmony and luminosity. One of the major accomplishments of the 12th and 13th centuries was to develop the engineering mastery of the ribbed vault, pointed arch and flying buttress to create a great cathedral that is at once taller, lighter, wider, and more elegant than the ones before. Even though the pointed arch could support more weight than its predecessors, there was still the problem of finding a way to support the heavy masonry ceiling vaults over wide spans. In order to support the outward thrust of barrel vaults, vertical support walls have to be very thick and heavy. What makes possible the extensive use of ribbed vaulting and pointed arches to open and lighten the walls and space of the cathedral is the flying buttressan arched bridge above the aisle roof that extends from the upper nave wall, where the lateral thrust of the main vault is greatest, down to a solid pier. [Jansen, History of Art, p. 407]. The effect is to add structural strength and solidity to the building. The visual appearance of changes from the Early and Later or High Gothic are clear, as each cathedral became increasingly narrower and taller. For instance, compare the nave elevations of Notre-Dame to Amiens [Text, fig. 442, p. 333], the pointed arches of Amiens are significantly taller and narrower than the much earlier Notre Dame. The mastery of the flying buttress allowed medieval builders to construct taller and more elegant looking buildings with more complex ground plans. Encyclopedia Britannica 97 describes the flying effect of this buttress of hiding the masonry supports of the structure: a semi-detached curved pier connects with an arch to a wall and extends (or flies) to the ground or a pier some distance away. The delicate elegance of Gothic cathedrals is different from the Heavy buttresses jutting out between the chapels of Romanesque churches,. From the outside, aesthetic consideration of the flying buttresses was significant and its shape could express supportaccording to the designers sense of style. The flying buttress was first used on a monumental scale at Notre Dame From the outsider the flying buttresses create a seemingly bewildering mass of soaring props, struts, and buttresses, yet blend in with the rich sculpture and elaborate portals of the West faade, giving the appearance of a three-st ory layout. [Text. P. 325-326, fig. 429 ( This contrasts visually with the plans that show the buttresses as massive blocks of masonry that stick out from the building like a row of teeth. [Text. P. 325, Fig. 426].) At Chartres the flying buttress is more unique, the half arch is made of smaller arches that give more height to the already narrower and more vertical walls of the nave., as well as blending in with the colonnaded triforium wall of the nave [Text, p. 329, fig. 434, fib. 437]. In England, the flying buttress appears almost as an afterthought where verticality is not as important. English Gothic style emphasizes a long, low, sprawling character compared to the compact, vertical of French Gothic. [Text. P. 336]) Flying Buttresses also made the personification of Gothic art possible, as it allowed for almost no structure support in the walls. The flying buttress lends the interior illusion of being amazingly

Parts of a Book How to Know if You Got Them Right

Parts of a Book How to Know if You Got Them Right Parts of a Book How to Know if You Got Them Right Putting together a book willy nilly wont get you the book sales youre looking for.You know what you want to write aboutWhat you dont know is which parts of a book are actually necessary in your book.And let me tell you, getting this wrong can make you look like a real amateur instead of a credible professional- which is what you actually want.Right?Knowing which parts of a book to include in yours and which dont make any sense starts with knowing what they are to begin with.These are the parts of a book well cover for you:Title pageCopyrightTable of contentsDedicationForewordPrologueEpilogueEpigraphIntroductionInciting incidentSections of a bookAct structureFirst slapSecond slapClimaxAcknowledgementsAuthor biographyComing soon / Read MoreBack cover or synopsis of a bookWhat are the parts of a book?Parts of a book make up the entirety of the book, including the title, introduction, body, conclusion, and back cover.In order to write a book book in full, you need to have all the moving parts to make it not only good but also effective.Without essential pieces, your book will appear unprofessional and worse: youll lose the credibility and authority writing a book is so useful for.NOTE: We cover everything in this blog post and much more about the writing, marketing, and publishing process in our VIP Self-Publishing Program. Learn more about it hereParts of a Book You Need for SuccessIts not enough to just write and self-publish a book by throwing it up on Amazon or any other publishing site.You have to get the parts of your book right if you want it to sell more, get those 5-star reviews, and place you as an authority figure in your field. Heres how to do that. #1 Title PageFor obvious reasons, your title is importantBut thats not all thats important to your book. The title page is also necessary and without it, your book will be missing something crucial.Your title page serves as a means of not only declaring your title clearly, but also ensuring your name, subti tle, endorsement, and any other crucial information is present for your readers to view clearly.Heres an example of a great title page and what you can use to replicate your own:As you can see, the title page is really just the main title, any subtitle you may have, and the authors name as the bottom.Other than this being an industry standard for books, it helps to keep everything clear without the obstruction of any title images.#2 CopyrightYour book needs to be copyrighted. Unless youre okay with others stealing its content and reaping the rewards for themselves, that is.We have a great guide on what it takes to copyright a book right here for you to view, but here are some of the basics.Technically a book is copyrighted as you write it. But if you want it to be fully legal, you do have to pay to have it copyrighted.Your copyright content will change depending on the type of book youre writing.There are certain copyrights you cannot have exclusive rights to depending on what you cover in your book, which is usually impacted the most by what you write in a memoir and its legalityHeres an example of what a copyright section of a book may look like:#3 Table of ContentsThere are a lot of reasons to have a table of contents in your book. For one, it helps readers know where to find the information theyre really looking for.Secondly, this is highly useful in kindle or ebook versions of your book in order to help readers click and navigate without having to actually arrow over through the pages in order to get there.The happier the reader, the better the reviews they leave.What is a table of contents?A table of contents is a list of a books chapters or sections with the heading name and often the page number if there are no links inside.Heres an example of this part of a book:#4 DedicationThis is the part of a book that most of us write long before the actual book is finishedwe just tend to jot it down in our minds instead of on paper.Your book dedication is lik e your acceptance speech when given an award. Except your book is the award and therefore, you get to write this speech and place it where everyone can read it before even starting the book.This dedicated often comes after the title page and before the table of contents. Its a short few sentences thanking whomever helped you get to the point of writing the book or just people you want to acknowledge as thanks.This is an example what a dedication of your book may look like from our own Student Success Strategist Pedro Mattoss debut novel I Wish Everyone Was an Immigrant:#5 ForewordIf youre looking to increase your credibility, get a book endorsement by someone who knows you and your story well, then a foreword is what you want.What is a foreword?A foreword is an introduction to a book written by someone other than the author that lends credibility to the authors status to write the book.Think of a foreword as a sort of endorsement of the book. The person who writes it is usually an author themselves, though they can also just be a person of authority in the same or similar field.Above is an example of a foreword from The Go-Giver by Bob Burg.Forewords typically come after the table of contents and before the introduction or first chapter of the book.#6 PrologueFiction is where prologues live. Oftentimes, stories may need additional context before the actual story begins in order for the reader to make sense of it and elements within the book itself.What is a prologue?A prologue is a short chapter that usually takes place before the main story begins as a means of granting understanding to the reader. Its also used to increase intrigue and captivate readers.Not all books require prologues and in fact, if you can write your novel without it, thats actually preferred as many readers skip the prologue altogether.Below is an example of a prologue from the very popular Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin.#7 EpilogueNot all book series get happily-ever-after endi ngs. When your book series ends but you want a way to let the readers know whats in store for the characters futures, an epilogue is a strong way to do that.What is an epilogue?An epilogue is a short chapter that comes after the last chapter of a book as a way to tie the story together in a conclusion.Essentially, the epilogue is the answer to the question, what happens to them next? This serves as a more satisfying way to let readers know that characters live happily ever after.Sometimes the ending of the story isnt satisfying enough for readers.That part of their story may end, but if your readers want a more in-depth look at their life after the story, thats when an epilogue would come into play to tie everything together.#8 EpigraphEpigraphs arent necessarily important, nor are they required. Oftentimes, these short snippets serve as a way to let readers know what lesson or subject will be covered in the chapter.What is an epigraph?An epigraph is a short question, quote, or eve n a poem at the beginning of a chapter meant to indicate the chapters theme or focus. This often ties the current work to predecessors with similar ideas and learnings.For example, below is an epigraph from The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey.#9 Book introductionMost nonfiction books include an introduction to the book- a chapter before your first chapter as a means to introduce yourself and your credibility or author on the subject matter to your readers.Your book introduction is extremely important for showing your readers why they should read the book and how youre the person to help them with whatever problem your book solves.One of the best ways to do this is to first establish the pain points your book helps to solve, and then make it clear how you, someone they dont know, can help with this issue.This usually involves some of your own backstory, but keep it specific to the problem at hand. Your readers dont need an entire rundown of your personal hist ory.#10 Inciting incidentIf youre writing fiction, you may have come across the term inciting incident before.What is an inciting incident?This is an early part of a book thats the point of no return for your characters. The inciting incident is what kicks your plot into full drive.Here are a couple examples of inciting incidents:Katniss volunteers to take her sisters place in The Hunger Games by Suzanne CollinsTobias enters the Tournament and gets accepted in The Saviors Champion by Jenna MoreciBella moves to Forks, where she meets Edward in biology class in Twilight by Stephanie MeyerBran gets pushed off the wall in Winterfell when he catches Jaime and Cersei Lannister together in Game of Thrones by George R.R. MartinThese are all points in the novel that the characters cannot come back from. In this instance, their lives are changed forever, which drive the plot forward.#11 Sections of a bookThis will mostly pertain to nonfiction authors, we well cover the fiction equivalent i n the next section.Some nonfiction books are written with different parts. These are usually separated into 3 parts that make up a greater whole in the book.For example, in the book Im currently writing, I break it up into 3 separate sections. Each part has its own focus and theme but they all work with one another to achieve a greater purpose.Heres an example of how the sections of my book work:Part 1 This part focuses on how your childhood impacts your adult behaviorsPart 2 This part aims to show readers how to move past their childhood and get control of their nowPart 3 This section moves beyond getting control and focuses on how readers can work toward building the future they both want and deserve despite their childhood traumasEach part of this book has a main focus and theme but when utilized together, they form a solution to a larger problem.#12 Act structureIn fiction, instead of creating separate sections like in the example above, you may split your work into differen t acts.Most commonly used is the three act structure.Although this isnt required of novels, its still quite popular to write a book with this structure, as it forms a cohesive order of events thats proven to be intriguing to readers.A popular example of this 3 act structure is in Sabaa Tahirs An Ember in the Ashes, featured below.#13 First slapIf youre familiar with our lingo around how to write a novel, or youre a student already, you may have heard of the first and second slap.These are pivotal points in your characters journey that further the plot and often make their efforts more difficult.The first slap is often the biggest setback for your character following the inciting incident.Here are some examples of what a first slap is in popular stories:Katniss entering the hunger games after trials and testsBella finding out Edward is a vampire in TwilightTobiass first challenge in the tournament in The Saviors Champion by Jenna MoreciAll of these have one thing in common: they mak e the lives harder for the characters.#14 Second slapLike the first slap, the second slap is a pivotal point in the novel where your character faces a downfall, most often after having a win or two under their belt since the first slap.The second slap needs to be placed shortly after your readers have gained hope in your characters ability to succeed in whatever their goal is.The idea behind this is to hook your readers again and let them know that it is not all smooth sailing for your characters throughout the rest of the book.Oftentimes, the second slap is worse than the first, where 90% of your characters hope in succeeding is lost and therefore, your readers will lose hope too. This makes them root for your character even more, increasing the amount they care for your character.#15 ClimaxWe all know the climax of the book is the most important part. Its where your character faces the biggest obstacle in achieving their goal in the book.Here are a few examples of climaxes in po pular books:Whenever Harry Potter comes face-to-face with Voldemort in the booksKatniss and Peeta are up against one more foe before winning the games in the first bookBella gets taken by James and Edward has to fight to save herThe climax is the last challenge before the ending, or resolution, of your book. It is the point of the highest tension and its where your character faces the worst odds- worse than the first and second slaps.#16 AcknowledgementsWe all have people in our lives to acknowledge for our success in writing a book.Much like the dedication, the acknowledgements are meant to recognize impactful people in our lives. These, unlike the dedication, typically come at the end of the book and can be written in longer, paragraph form as a pose to a short sentence for each.#17 Author bioNot all books contain an author bio in it, specifically fiction (unless its a hardback copy).Nonfiction, however, is a type where the author bio can be at the bottom of the back page of you r book, beneath the back cover synopsis.Heres an example of an author bio for Omer Dylan Reddens Life Doc.Your author bio doesnt have to be very long. Keep it short and simple while still showing your readers your credibility in what your book covers.#18 Coming soon / Read moreThis part of a book might not matter to you unless you have a book series or multiple books to your name.The coming soon and read more pages are used to help your readers purchase and read more of your books.This section of a book often comes at the very end, after your epilogue and acknowledgments. Its a single page with the cover images of your other book/s, their titles, and links for your ebook copy.This not only makes it easier for your readers to buy the next book, but its also a great way to sell more books overall.#19 Back cover or synopsis of a bookI saved the best (and most important) for last. The back cover, also known as the synopsis of your book, is by far the most critical for getting people t o buy.Without a good synopsis to hook readers and buy them into your book, you wont sell.These are crucial for both fiction and nonfiction.With your fiction synopsis, you want to create intrigue and show your readers that theyll get a good story. The trick is doing this with a few short paragraphs.Heres an example of a fiction synopsis that works, from Jenna Morecis The Saviors Champion: Heres a nonfiction example of the back cover from Lisa Zelenaks Find Your Thing:As you can see, these look very different, though they serve the same purpose. The back of your book is the first thing someone reads in order to decide if they want to buy your book.Make it concise, convincing, and show them the value theyll get from reading it- be that an entertaining read or a solution to their problem.Start Your Book TODAYIf you want to start your book and make it stand out against the millions already out there, we have what you needA free training to help you get started

Kuder Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Kuder - Assignment Example These reflect my personality as well as my upbringing. I have always been an individual who is ready to help and would not think it impossible to advance the interest and welfare of others above my own or in the interest of the greater good. In looking at specific variables in the result regarding the potential industries that I would thrive in, I realized that these are aligned with what I have been interested early on. For instance, I got high marks on health science. This was not really surprising because I have always been interested in biology in high school. I could still remember promising to be a doctor after we viewed a video lesson about avian flu and the impact of an epidemic on people. The focus of my extracurricular activities also reflected my interest in areas such as communication, technology and relationship with people. There are certain areas in the result that perplexed me a little. I scored high in education and training yet I did poorly in hospitality and tourism industries. The reason for this is that I have been considering a career in the latter cluster since I do like to cook and I am curious about the hospitality industry whereas the academe has not entered my mind as yet. But when I saw my work values I sort of understood this part. I am quite independent with a deep hunger for accomplishment: that is, I had to know and feel that I am doing something meaningful and important not just for others but also for the society. This thought also helped me understand why – according to the assessment - I might not excel in managerial and administrative positions. My ethnic background sets great importance to management position and those around me tend to believe that it is one of the ultimate objectives of any career, to be the boss. I found that I will be more successful elsewhere. With all the information I have from the Kudder and Work Values assessments, I feel I am more in the position to choose the

CIS assigntment #2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

CIS assigntment #2 - Essay Example There are different types of Malware present in the market and they are used by their attackers to perform different activities. Some of the malware present in the wolrd of computers to day include: Viruses – These can be said to be one of the oldest malwares that have been present in the world of computers (Brodkin, 2013). Viruses are programs that have been designed to replicate themselves so as to spread from computer to computer causing havoc wherever they infect. They affect the computers they infect in a number of ways including changing the behavior of the computer, erasing data and stealing information that may be stored on the computer. Viruses embed themselves onto other program files in the computer and are activated when the user attempts to open the infected file (Brodkin, 2013). They can be spread through a downloaded file that contains the virus which is transferred from one computer to another. Trojans – These malware is named after the Greek mythology of the Trojan horse due to their innocent appearance to the user so as to avoid suspicion of the actual danger that they yield (Brodkin, 2013).Once they are activated however, they are able to achieve a number of attackers on the Personal Computer such as causing continuous irritations such as unrelated pop up windows to more harmful acts such as the deletion of programs and the creation of backdoors into the computers files. The fact that Trojans present themselves as harmless programs make them harder to detect and a user may be more vulnerable to this form of malware. Remote Access Trojans (RATs) are those that can create a backdoor system that allow the hacker access to one’s computer and is even able to send commands via root access capabilities (Brodkin, 2013). Backdoors – These are programs that are designed to allow the creator undetected access to a computer system once they have been installed. Backdoors can be used by hackers to steal information from a server

Singapore Airlines Essay Example for Free

Singapore Airlines Essay Over the past four decades, it has earned a stellar reputation in the ï ¬ ercely competitive commercial aviation business by providing customers with high-quality service and dominating the business-travel segments.  World’s Best Airline award from Condà © Nast  Traveler 21 out of the 22 times it has been  awarded and Skytrax’s Airline of the Year  award three times over the past decade. What’s not so well known is that despite the  quality of its services, SIA is also one of the industry’s most cost-effective operators. From 2001 to 2009, its costs per available seat kilometer (ASK) were just 4.58 cents. According to a 2007 International Air Transport Association  study, costs for full-service European airlines  were 8 to 16 cents, for U.S. airlines 7 to 8 cents,  and for Asian airlines 5 to 7 cents. In fact, SIA  had lower costs than most European and  American budget carriers, which ranged from  4 to 8 cents and 5 to 6 cents respectively. It’s intriguing that SIA has combined the  supposedly incompatible strategies of differ-  harvard business review †¢ july–august 2010  entiation—which it pursues through service  excellence and continuous innovation—and  cost leadership. Few enterprises have executed a dual strategy proï ¬ tably; indeed, management experts such as Michael Porter argue that it’s impossible to do so for a sustained period since dual strategies entail contradictory investments and organizational processes. Yet pursuing dual strategies is becoming an imperative. The demand for valuefor-money products and services has shot up since the recent recession, particularly in developed countries, so even producers of premium offerings have to ï ¬ gure out how to grab opportunities in the middle and the low end  of the market. Moreover, multinational corporations face competition from rivals— many of them from emerging markets—that  use new technologies and business models to  provide good-enough offerings at attractive  prices. Incumbents can ï ¬ ght back by cutting  prices or further differentiating products and  services, but it’s often a losing battle.

Witchcraft Essay -- European History, Middle Ages, Witches

Beginning in the Middle Ages and through the seventeenth centuries, an infiltration of witchcraft persevered throughout Europe. The witch craze resulted in the torture and persecution of witches. More than 100,000 of witches who were tried were centered in the area of southwestern Europe. The mass hysteria of witches was denounced because of their rejection of God and their pact with the devil, which resulted in harsh punishments and accusations. One reason for the persecution of witches was they were thought to be the cause of bad harvests, epidemics, natural disasters, and personal tragedies. Witches also had a part in the religious aspect of Europe. The witches were persecuted because of the lack of a main religion, which was significant to life during the Protestant and Catholic Reformations. At this time of the witch phenomena, Europe was in a state of instability and people in Europe looked to benefit from the persecution of witches in the form of goods and money. The persecuti on of individuals as witches in Europe was mainly a repercussion of economic circumstances, strong religious beliefs, and prejudices of the people. The economic scene at the time of the witch craze was very apparent during the period between 1480-1700. During this period Europe was in a state of instability, therefore money, and exploration was important to many. An eyewitness to persecutions, canon Linden of Trier, Germany states that people used the trials for economic enhancement. Linden wrote that the executioner made the most money and describes it â€Å"like a noble of the court†(Document A2). This is evidence that high ranked people or people in office were into the witch trials for their economic greed and desire for goods. Mayor of Bamberg, Germ... ...is high position in society drove the pandemonium around the witch craze. The Protestant and Catholic religions were major influences on the everyday life of people in Europe during the 16th century, and all believed in persecuted witches. During the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment, people began to realize that their superstition surrounding witches was ridiculous and when they used their reason over belief it didn’t make sense for witches to be a threat. In the late fifteenth through the seventeenth centuries it is evident that superstition and reason was pertained to the beliefs of influential people, resulting in the initial phase and final phase of the witch-hunt. The religious aspects, economic greed, and social stereotypes of the time influenced these beliefs. These three components led to the deaths of many so-called witches across Europe.

Backlash Films

Over twenty years after its release, Fatal Attraction continues to inspire discussion and controversy. While the movie comfortably takes its place as one of the biggest blockbusters of the 1980s and one of the most unforgettable thrillers in cinematic history, there are many that contend it contains a slew of anti-feminist overtones. The female lead and her traits as an otherwise archetypal career woman combine with her psycho-sexual obsession with the male lead to create a character that some may see as tragic and insane, while others see as a direct attack on the feminist movement itself.With its portrayal of the stalking career woman that victimizes a hapless man and his innocent wife, Fatal Attraction contains many elements that reflect a â€Å"backlash† against the feminist movement, as well as dark male fears over the proliferation of career-minded women. Fatal Attraction, released in 1987, written by James Dearden and directed by Adrian Lyne, was conceived as a film abo ut the consequences of infidelity. The film’s main character, Dan Gallagher, played by Michael Douglas, is a New York lawyer with a seemingly happy family that includes a beautiful wife Beth, played by Anne Archer, and daughter.When Dan’s wife and daughter go away for the weekend, Dan meets the independent and sultry Alex Forrest, played by Glenn Close, at his law firm. The two soon engage in what Dan believes to be a casual and temporary affair. When Dan attempts to end the affair, Alex’s refusal to accept it turns dramatically negative. Alex begins to stalk Dan, showing up where he does, calling him until he refuses to take her calls. Eventually, realizing that Dan truly wants nothing to do with her, she tells him that she is pregnant with his baby.The growing obsessive madness of Alex peaks after she spies on Dan and his family from the bushes in his yard, and later breaks into the house when the family is out and boils the pet rabbit of Dan’s daughter . Because he can no longer hide his transgressions, Dan tells Beth about the affair, and she eventually forgives him. Alex crosses the final line with Dan and his family when she kidnaps his daughter only to return her unharmed later. It becomes apparent to all involved that something must be done, and for Alex, that means killing Dan’s wife so she can take her place.In a final climatic scene, Alex, Beth, and Dan physically fight as Alex attempts to kill Beth with a butcher knife. Dan is forced to drown Alex in the bathtub, but she only appears dead and attacks him again, when Beth, using a gun Dan purchased for protection, promptly guns her down. While many of the plot points in the movie can be seen as simple movie suspense, the deeper one digs the easier it is to find subtle allusions to the place of women in society. The role of the female characters in Fatal Attraction show diverging archetypes for the ideal woman, as viewed by traditionalists and progressive feminists.O n the one hand is Alex, the calculating career woman; on the other hand is Beth, the faithful wife and mother. The main female characters show the dichotomy between the traditional social roles of women and the ultramodern. According to Gerrig, â€Å"A social role is a socially defined pattern of behavior that is expected of a person when functioning in a given setting or group† (Gerrig and Zimbardo 574). The portrayal of each can be seen as a representation of a provincial masculine view of femininity, in essence a backlash against feminism. Feminism has long been a misunderstood concept, by women and men alike.Beginning in the late nineteenth century with the rise of â€Å"the New Woman,† the First International Women’s Conference in Paris in 1892 coined the word after the French term feministe, to represent a belief in and advocacy of equal rights for women based on the idea of the equality of the sexes (Haslanger and Tuana). At the time, it was a call for su ffrage and equal justice for women and represented the beginning of the â€Å"First Wave† of feminism, which in America culminated in the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote.By the time Fatal Attraction was released, feminism was in the midst of a strong new wave of feminism, which began in the late 1960s. In the â€Å"Second Wave† of feminism, feminists pushed far beyond the first wave by asking for more than just equal political rights but also greater universal equality in the workplace, education, at home, and with their own bodies (Haslanger and Tuana). The proliferation of birth control added to this wave and the growing independence of women reached a zenith in the 1980s, with women achieving equality in almost every sense of the word, with prominent women politicians, artists, and world figures.The character of Alex Forrest seemed to suggest a dark side to this rise of feminism, that the irrational female psyche will eventua lly overrule the mindset of even the most successful women, granted that they failed to have the things traditionally considered the most feminine: a family. The stability of the idealized traditional wife and mother, Beth, provides a stark contrast to the nightmarish descent into madness of the progressive single woman, Alex. While this could be nothing more than a dramatic coincidence, some see it as a deliberate expression of masculine fear of female empowerment.Fatal Attraction seems to suggest an almost misogynistic fear of the independent career woman that she seeks to destroy families and will stop at nothing to do so: â€Å"In its representation of a crazy career woman out to destroy the nuclear family, the film is a perfect example of the era’s conservative backlash against independent women† (Benshoff and Griffin 281). Alex participates in stalking, which is traditionally associated with men, and she possesses many of the same dominant tendencies of men.In he r book, High Contrast: Race and Gender in Contemporary Hollywood, Sharon Willis critiques Fatal Attraction, taking the position that films like it suggest that â€Å"feminine force seems to arise at the direct expense of masculine power and bodily integrity† and that femininity becomes inextricably linked to masculinity, a position widely shared by feminist film critics. Willis claims that films like Fatal Attraction focus â€Å"on an urgent effort to reinscribe the border of sexual difference at exactly the divide between domestic interior and public space† (Regester 52).Alex engages in behavior that, even in the 1980s, was deemed uniquely masculine. Women have long suffered the double standard of adhering to strict sexual mores, and her promiscuity exemplifies the lack of maternal qualities that most men look for in a mate. However, men like Dan use biological precedent to rationalize their constant desire to spread their seed. Dan is equally responsible for what occ urred, but it is almost as if he is forgiven for his gender’s predilection for sexual promiscuity, however erroneous.The most obvious feminist critique of Fatal Attraction is how it portrays Alex, the professional, single woman in her thirties as domineering, man-obsessed, and driven to insanity by her quest to achieve a long lasting relationship with Dan. The movie vilifies her and on the opposite end of the spectrum, sanctifies Beth, the devoted wife and mother. As with all the strong popular icons before her, Alex â€Å"becomes the screen upon which an audience of thousands projects their fears and fantasies† (Nguyen â€Å"The Legend of Billie Jean†).Through all of this, Dan is portrayed as almost more of a hapless victim that succumbs to the wiles of a siren than what he really is: a cheating spouse. The author of the story, James Dearden contends that he meant no deliberate anti-feminist overtones in his work, which began as a 1979 short film, â€Å"Divers ion. † According to Dearden, he merely borrowed from life to create a minimalist story about the perils of adultery: â€Å"My wife was out of town for the weekend, and I thought what would happen if a man who has just dropped his wife at the railroad station rings this girl who he’s met at a party and says, ‘Would you like to have dinner?’ But, then it all gets ugly† (Forsberg). According to the man who created the story, it was nothing more than a simple suspense story, and the criticisms that label it as anti-feminist and woman fearing are unfounded: â€Å"I don’t see that Alex symbolizes the New Woman and is therefore made to appear ghastly to sabotage the New Woman’s cause. She has a career because she lives in New York, where it’s difficult to survive without one. For me, it was a fable about the irrational creeping into the everyday† (Forsberg).He also examines the possibility of his own fears towards women and the p revalence of men that fear women in his script: â€Å"I don’t think I fear women, but there’s a certain archetype – the temptress who undoes heroes of Homeric legend who is as predatory sexually as the man – which men find hard to deal with because they’re used to being in the dominant role. Women certainly have an equal right to be dominant, but I don't like very dominant males or females period† (Forsberg).While it can be said that Fatal Attraction sought to express the male anxieties about the emerging female, as well as a rejection of feminism as a social force, to the movie aficionado it remains merely a suspense movie filled with gimmicks and plotlines as old as cinema itself. The immense success of Fatal Attraction may have entered it into the feminism conversation, but it realistically remains nothing more than a dramatic examination of adultery and obsession.The idea of the femme fatale is nothing new, and the movie simply showed th at, man or woman, there is no such thing as sex without consequences. Looking at Alex Forrest as a backlash against feminism is a fair criticism, however it is unfair to believe that a fictional suspense movie like Fatal Attraction could influence anybody that saw it free of any preexisting agendas. The movie may be simply a reflection of the ambitions that drive everyone mad, whether male or female, career or sexual, decent or indecent.Works Cited: Benshoff, Harry M. and Sean Griffin. America on Film: Representing Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality at the Movies. London: Blackwell Publishers, 2003. Forsberg, Myra. â€Å"James Dearden: Life After ‘Fatal Attraction’. † The New York Times. 24 Jul 1988. 16 Dec 2008. . Gerrig, Richard J. and Zimbardo, Philip G. â€Å"Social Norms. † Psychology and Life. 17th ed. 2005.Haslanger, Sally & Tuana, Nancy. â€Å"Topics in Feminism. † Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 15 Mar 2004. 16 Dec 2008. . Nguyen, Mimi . â€Å"The Legend of Billie Jean. † WorseThanQueer. com. 1 Aug 2005. 16 Dec 2008. . Regester, Charlene. â€Å"Review: High Contrast: Race and Gender in Contemporary Hollywood Film by Sharon Willis. † Film Quarterly, Vol. 52, No. 2. Winter 1998; pp. 51-52.