Thursday, January 30, 2020

Al Pacino Essay Example for Free

Al Pacino Essay It is with great pleasure and reverence I present to you, Al Pacino. 2) Al Pacino was born on April 25, 1940 in Manhattan, New York. 1) When he was three years old, he and his mother moved to the South Bronx, which he claims as his hometown. 2) In 1966 he was granted admission to the prestigious Actors Studio where he was taught by renowned actor and coach, Lee Strasburg. 3) The lessons paid off quickly for Al Pacino. 4) In 1967 he won an OBIE award (equivalent to an Off-Broadway Tony), and in 1968, he won a Tony award for â€Å"Does the Tiger Wear a Necktie†. ) In 1971, Al got a shot in a feature film called â€Å"The Panic in Needle Park† where he plays a junkie who gets trapped in the ups and downs of dealing heroin. 1) This performance led him into the role that would propel him to greatness, the role of Michael Corleone in The Godfather. 2) The network executives didn’t want Pacino to play the youngest son to Marlon Brando’s Vito Corleone, but at the insistence of Brando, and director Francis Ford Coppola, Al won the part. ) This was the first of four consecutive Oscar nominations, and eight total for his career. 2) After portraying a real New York City undercover detective in Serpico in 1973, and reprising his role as Michael Corleone in 1974’s The Godfather II, Al’s next role was a huge departure from his usual gritty, tough guy roles. 3) In 1975, Al starred as Sonny, a would be bank robber who needs money to get his boyfriend a sex change operation in the movie Dog Day Afternoon. 4) In 1979, Al plays attorney Arthur Kirkland in the movie,†¦and justice for all. Arthur is forced to defend a judge (whom he hates) in a rape trial. Arthur is torn between defending the judge (even though he knows he’s guilty), and human decency. 1) For the next few years, Al’s career had taken a downward turn. 1) Less than expected box office revenues from 1980’s Cruising and 1982’s Author! Author! left many in Hollywood to think the Al had lost his magic. In 1983, screenwriter Oliver Stone and Director Brian De Palma created a vehicle that would launch Al Pacino’s career into the stratosphere. Pacino’s portrayal of Cuban-born drug kingpin Tony Montana in the movie Scarface is legendary Performance was worthy of an Oscar nod, which he didn’t receive. Pacino did finally win his Oscar in 1992. For his spot on performance as retired Army Officer Frank Slade in Scent of a Woman, he won the award, Pacino has done several films since Scent of a Woman, constantly stretching the limits of his craft, and ever bit as masterful today as he was in his heyday of the 1970’s. Al Pacino approaching his 72nd birthday has not slowed down. He is still acting, but not as much for major studio productions, but doing more independent type films and the occasional work on the stage. From a poor kid growing up in the Bronx, to a legendary film icon, Al Pacino has never forgotten his roots, and still claims the Bronx as his home. From having to borrow bus fare to get to auditions, to writing his own ticket, the humble, charismatic star can look back on a career filled with hard work, natural talent and people who believed in him with pride.

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Essay -- Fantasy Literature, L. Frank Baum

People start their lives with open eyes and open hearts, but society corrupts them, turning them into shadows of what they once were. Children enter the world not judging anyone, and having no limitations; they believe anything is possible. As they grow and mature, they loose this valued quality in exchange for limitations, and settling into the status quo set by society. Children, at an early age, are fascinated with fairy tales, featuring princes and princesses living â€Å"happily ever after† and are instantly drawn to beauty and bright, colorful worlds, which in reality have been shaded by society. Authors began to grasp the imaginative quality we all once embodied, and channeled those thoughts and desires into fantasy novels, creating utopias and ideal societies for characters to experience. These fantasy novels address the American dream as well- living a successful, blissful life, and usually, finding love. Authors such as L. Frank Baum, J.M Barrie and J. K Rowling wrot e these fantasy books to capture the desires and reams of Americans. Fantasy novels blossomed into an ideal method for authors to express the ideal society and American dreams of the era in which they were written. In The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L Frank Baum, a young girl, Dorothy Gale, is thrown into Munchkin County, a small city in the Land of Oz, when a cyclone comes ripping through Kansas, her hometown. She is immediately greeted by the munchkins, and Glenda, the good witch of the north, who informs her that she has killed the Wicked Witch of the East. Dorothy only wishes to return to her farm in Kansas, however, this is only possible if she travels to â€Å"Emerald City† to plead for help from the mighty Wizard of Oz. Along the way, she encounters various o... ...so courage in themselves to speak up, and the Tin Woodman’s desire for a heart typifies Americas want for compassion from a leader and from each other. Another classic children’s book, Peter Pan and Wendy, commonly known as Peter Pan also presented a new, limitless world, where there was eternal youth and innocence, and good triumphed over evil. In addition to these early classics, the Harry Potter series, written by J. K Rowling, also created a magical world where good and innocence defeated evil and corruption. Harry Potter, an honest and clever young boy is idolized for his intelligence and power; Two commendable traits every leader should possess. Americans have been drawn to fantasy novels, similar to fairy tales all through history, and even today because they amuse their desires for innocence, the past, and the domination of good over evil- a greater world.

Monday, January 13, 2020

Poverty Essay Introduction Essay

Poverty is a serious issue that has been going on for centuries. Every day there are people who die due to hunger but there are solutions to reducing, and even stopping, poverty. Global poverty comes in an abundance of shapes and sizes. One of the main sources of poverty is the lack of investment in the future at all levels. The manufacturer outsources to China because he does not want to invest in long-term employees. The government does not want to invest in quality employees through education, infrastructure, health care, etc. The potential employee does not want to invest in his future through education or training, but would rather have immediate gratification of leisure. A second main source is the lack of certain basic government functions. The government needs to be able to provide stability, through laws and establishing property rights. Without these basic things, there is little incentive for the people to develop new products, or work hard, because it will just be taken a way by someone more powerful. I don’t think government is the solution to everything, but it is necessary for a few basic functions.