Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Comparison of the Individual in Freuds Civilization and Its Discontents, Bufords Among the Thugs and Weirs The Truman Show

Comparison of the Individual in Freuds Civilization and Its Discontents, Bufords Among the Thugs and Weirs The Truman Show What is exactly is an individual? Dictionary.com defines an individual as follows:in*di*vid*u*aladj.a.Marked by or expressing individuality; distinctive or individualisticb.Special; particularc.Serving to identify or set apart (Dictionary.com)According to the dictionary, an individual is unique and therefore should be able to be set apart from others without much difficulty. The question at hand now is, does civilization remove the identifying aspects of unique individuals and mesh them into one similar entity? Throughout the literary works of Bill Buford and Sigmund Freud, as well as the film directed by Peter Weir, this question is met and answered. In Civilization and Its Discontents, Freud places particular stress on the fact that the individual cannot find pure happiness when placed in a civilization because it demands different things than that of the individual. Like Freud, director Peter Weir in his film, The Truman Show depicts Truman battling to find his own unique individu ality in a staged utopian civilization.Sigmund FreudBill Buford uses his book, Among the Thugs, to demonstrate how a civilization, which in his book is mainly symbolized by a violent mob, dissolves individual identity. His work shows how a civilization of individuals can accomplish things never thought capable of being done alone. Freud's work implies that individuality poses a conflict with civilization demands and therefore civilization should be abandoned. Along with Freud, Wier focuses on Truman's struggles between his fake life and his individual dreams. Buford, writes about his struggles and pressures to join somewhat of a civilization and focuses on demonstrating the transition of an individual into an altered and somewhat forced character demanded by a surrounding society.In Civilization and Its Discontents, Freud states his views on the broad question of man's place in the world. Freud characterizes the world as an...

Sunday, March 1, 2020

Some of the Worst Slang Terms From 2010

Some of the Worst Slang Terms From 2010 New slang words pervade language in popular culture every year, often times to much chagrin by literary figures and average joes alike. For as long as the written language has existed, colloquial errors and usages have appeared and been met by harsh criticism before eventually being adapted into the living, spoken English vernacular. People have various reasons for disliking (or downright loathing) certain words. It may be a  buzzword  that has worn out its welcome (such as paradigm  or   proactive). Or an overly familiar  redundancy  (like added bonus and future plans), mispronunciation (nuc-u-lar for nuclear), or  usage  error (between you and  I). Some of us have zero tolerance for elision (definally for definitely, malapropisms (mitigate for militate), minced oaths (like frak), blends (like bromance) or verbing (to effort or Incent). Sometimes the hostility gets personal - as with expressions favored by an ex-spouse like couch potato or a dimwitted boss who spouts buzzwords like bottom line.   These verbal peeves, known as logomisia, become the center of conversations about language in any given year. In 2010 alone, over 200 phrases came to be used in the common vernacular of United States culture. However, peeves such as these have existed as long as language has been shared between people. It was really only with the advent of the Internet that these slang words began to rapidly populate common discourse. Language Peeves of Famous People Throughout History English is a living, evolving language, so its only natural that it continues to expand every year. However, much of this expansion was and continues to be met by critical dissent. In fact, many of our modern common expressions were once the source of fierce debate by linguists and literary scholars. Sometimes, though, famous people simply disliked a word, usage or phrase.   F or instance,  Jonathan Swift hated the word bowels, and Gloria Swanson, star of the movie Sunset Boulevard, hated the word glamor  while the character she played, Norma Desmond, hated comeback. Chicago newspaper columnist Mike Royko hated the word relationship wherein he claimed it was the kind of sterile word used by lawyers and sociologists and other menaces. Even the very arts some people worked in had words the artists disliked. Even though she wrote both, Carson McCullers hated the words prose and poetry. British novelist V.S. Naipaul hates the word novel, documentary filmmaker Irving Saraf hates documentary, and news anchor Katie Couric describes the word panties as a cheesy word for underpants. Of course, many of us claim to hate the word hate itself, too. Confusing, right? Popular Slang Words and Phrases in 2010 Lets agree to disagree, popular slang is sometimes all the sudden absolutely† overwhelming in its misuse or misappropriation of commonly understood words. From using â€Å"access† as a verb to changing the name of illegal immigrants to â€Å"illegal aliens,† the slang of 2010 certainly did â€Å"aim high† at changing the face of modern discourse. Even â€Å"ASAP† and â€Å"Obamacare† entered the spoken vernacular of the â€Å"American consumer† in 2010. According to the logic of 2010, on your next â€Å"birfday† all you need to do is â€Å"chillax† and eat some â€Å"cold slaw† (instead of coleslaw - â€Å"brain fart!†). The next time someone asks â€Å"and you are?† when they’re trying to â€Å"conversate† with you, the blame will rest entirely on 2010 vernacular and not the person’s poor manners. They may even â€Å"axe† you a question, but they meant â€Å"no offense.† Just don’t take â€Å"are you serious?† seriously or you’ll get â€Å"gobsmacked† by some â€Å"iconic† irony. Just tell them, â€Å"I’m good† or their next big idea is â€Å"to die for† and you’ll be right on your way to the â€Å"basic fundamentals† of a good conversation. It â€Å"might could even† evolve into a â€Å"bromance!† Don’t forget to â€Å"friend† (as a verb) them on Facebook after if you really â€Å"heart† them. â€Å"Anyways,† â€Å"just so you know,† this entire section was written with slang from 2010 in quotes. â€Å"Awesome possum!† We’re done here.