Women as Morally Suspect Essay

This essay paper will analyze the films "Baby Face" and "Double Indemnity" in terms of their message and story line in relation to the morality of women. Given that women’s sexuality is often linked to immorality, since it can be used as a tool to weaken and control men, the appropriate roles for women are those demanding self-sacrifice in the name of romantic love, such as wives and mothers. However, in the aforementioned films women are represented in their seducers’ roles.

In ‘Baby Face,’ Lily Powers is portrayed as the ultimate symbol of female destructive sexuality. 

From the very beginning of the film, her immorality is established as she is forced to sleep with her father’s clients. However, this also suggests that she is a victim of circumstances rather than in intentional seducer and power-seeker. Her first application of her female charms occurs when she has to make up to a railroad worker for trying to escape from her little town and miserable life on a freight train. In New York, she is able to get employment and make her way up the career ladder by sleeping with the right people. Yet such a behavior on the part of a female character inevitable leads to tragedy in classic cinema. When Ned Stevens kills himself and his potential father-in-law after discovering the Lily is involved with the latter, Lily’s downfall is foreshadowed.

After marrying Courtland Trenholm, Lily does not give up her ways and is reluctant to help her husband when he gets in trouble; instead, she decides to run away with all his presents. However, she discovers that she loves him, but it is too late, since Courtland has shot himself in his office. Thus, the film is a story of redemption and transformation of a seducer into a loving and caring wife. Since this transformation happened too late, Lily is punished for her immorality. At the same time, Courtland is said to have good chances of survival. This plot development represents hope that even a deeply immoral woman can turn into a caring and sacrificial being and be rewarded for that instead of being punished by her dangerous sexuality.

In the second film, ‘Double Indemnity,’ the representation of a female using her sexuality as the means for achieving material gains is also connected with the portrayal of femmes fatale as immoral and dangerous. Phyllis seduces Neff into killing her husband and using ‘double indemnity’ provision in his life insurance policy to get double the amount of compensation. Apart from using her sexuality as a weapon, she is unfaithful, just like Lily, and flirts with her stepdaughter’s boyfriend. Phyllis has no sympathy for anyone, not even Neff, as she confesses after shooting Neff. Yet there is also an element of redemption involved: when wounded Neff asks her to shoot him to death, she is unable to fire the gun because she discovers feelings for Neff. Yet it is already too late, and the seducer has to be punished: Neff does not believe her words and shoots Phyllis.

It is possible to conclude that both films establish a narrative of female sexuality as dangerous and devastating, especially when employed for speculative gain. While seducers can discover love deep in their hearts, it is usually too late to avert tragic consequences.

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Critical Thinking Essay Example

Using the categories “True”, “Good” and “Beautiful” in Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is our way to analyze information, ideas and opinions in a rational way, defining them clearly and making conclusions. The result can be a new understanding of an issue and may lead to creative ideas or to asking further questions about something we see or hear.

This process of evaluation should be based on structured methods. Those methods, whether scientific or not, are heavily based on putting the existing information in its right context. Not every new piece of information demands a new review and analysis. Thinking independently and critically means, in fact, to continue the work and thinking of others.

We do it by making judgements in a way of categorization, meaning organizing the information we get into groups and evaluating it according to the group and the relations with other groups. For example, two well-proved evidences from two separate sciences can be combined together to help us observe one’s assumption or judgment.

These groups can be divided to objective and subjective categories. As we discuss below, objective categories are fact-based and are the building blocks for healthy scientific thinking, while subjective categories are more open to personal tastes, preferences and believes, which are legitimate even if they cannot be immediately proved. They can never be ignored or disrespected because logical thinking must also take speculations into account, although attention must be put to understand such viewpoints as non-factual. 

The ability to distinguish between subjective and objective information is not an easy task, as some writers use manipulative language to present their subjective opinions as facts. As always in critical thinking, learning how to ask the right questions is the key to make rational judgments.

Objective categories: the “True” and the “False”

Objective judgement is based on evaluating a statement of opinion according to its factual basis. The essential measurement here is the speaker’s ability to prove his claim beyond reasonable doubt by providing sound evidences. 

Our task as thinkers is to examine the proofs and to conclude whether the claim is true or false; if there are evidences that contradict the statement, it might be that the claim is simply false according to our judgement or prior knowledge. 

Hence, the key issue here is to look beyond the simple statement and look closely at the nature and reliability of the proofs that support it. Evidences that can be generally regarded as good proof are based on some degree of methodology. These are, for example, experiments, statistical data, analogies and proven examples that the issue exists in reality. Experts’ opinions may also serve as proofs, although the obvious question here is what makes someone an expert and what we should do when two experts disagree with each other. In such cases when an opinion is open to debate, we better not see the opinion as fact or as a clear support to a fact. 

However, a good critical thinker must always remember that even well-proven empirical data might be proved in the future as false or some other findings may show the complete opposite.

Subjective categories: the “Good”, the “Bad”, the “Beautiful” and the “Ugly”

As critical thinkers, we are also allowed to accept and express opinions which are not proved, therefore are neither true nor false. Remember that every experiment is based on assumptions; someone would say: “I think that X is true, and therefore I am going to test it now”. 

Subjective categories try to label ideas in other ways than “true” or “false”. They are characterized by adjectives of tastes and beliefs, such as “good”, “beautiful”, “dangerous”, “best” and so on. When we see such adjectives, the statement should be regarded as subjective, especially when accompanied by phrases like “I believe that...”, “I see X as...” etc. 

As mentioned before, many writers and speakers tend to present their opinions are facts in order to convince others. One must remember that subjective opinions often remain so even when the speaker uses some logical arguments or information that appears to be factual base. This is happening because the interpretation he or she has given to the facts; obviously, someone else may draw other conclusions from the same facts.

Distinguishing objective and subjective categories

In order to know the difference between the two categories, one must ask several critical questions, such as:

• Who is the writer?
• How does the writer justify his views?
• Why he wrote the argument? What is the writer trying to achieve?
• What sources writer has used to prove his point?

In conclusion, a major step in critical thinking is evaluating others’ opinions and judgements. Since these opinions are an essential basis for the thinker, they should not be ignored but be brought to a rational and careful examination and then they can be used for developing our own ideas. 

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Student Involvement Importance Essay

To satisfy my aspiration for success, I chose to continue my education. Having seen the Website of London Business School I knew it would be my first choice. I feel thrilled to have a chance to be enrolled in a program that could allow me to focus on my interest in business as well as provide me with the career possibilities and exposure to resources, which I do not presently possess. Moreover, I relate to the fact that student involvement is very important at the London Business School. I strongly consider that a school may not only be represented by the professors working for it, but it should be represented by the student body that is eager to put all the efforts into making studying experience at London Business School unforgettable.

Over the course of my life I have obtained a valuable experience in the field of entrepreneurship. At the beginning of my career I accepted a position at a big construction company in Dubai. Working at that company I had a chance to participate in the implementation of big construction projects, including Jumeirah Beach Residence. Later I headed back to India and started my own construction business. At that point I had a chance to use my experience of working in a team to create my own team, in which all the members would work for the sake of common goals. The experience of working in diverse teams I have obtained was essential when I undertook shaping the corporate identity and drawing the mission and vision of my own company.

Being myself an entrepreneur, I find it essential to help out and obtain help and advice from other entrepreneurs, thus, for couple of years already I am a member of Tie that is a non-profit global network of Indian entrepreneurs. Furthermore, recently I have joined the “Alive” – a non-governmental organization in Kannur that works towards insuring that the vulnerable communities all over the world fully enjoy their human rights and live dignified lives.

It is obvious that exceptional student involvement at the London Business School adds up immensely to the unique environment the school offers. Should you accept me to be part of your school, it would be my pleasure to bring the skills and experiences I possess to London Business School and put them to the disposal of your extra-curricular clubs or campus community events. As my experience may show you, I would be mostly interested to be involved in the entrepreneurship clubs, as well as to join the activities of clubs working with human rights implementation all over the world. I am certain that the experience I possess in the above fields would contribute to the work of these clubs and help those who may need this help.

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