Diane Mathis CS5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Diane Mathis CS5 - Essay Example However, some points of communication may converge where patients possess some basic level of English proficiency as opposed to when complete unfamiliarity exists. Different language proficiency levels present different interpretation needs for the practitioner, which calls for expert interpretation services. Such interpretation complications determine the complexity of communication between the patient and healthcare professionals coming from different cultural backgrounds. Ethical considerations must resolve the primary concerns of discharging service as universally required, beyond cultural biases of both the practitioner and patient. "Best practice" interpretation preparedness requires that the healthcare system facilitate both individual and organizational-level cultural competences in resolving potential communication challenges (Al-Amin et al., 2011). To this end, individual level of interpretation needs requires that the healthcare practitioners acquire cultural competences to resolve patient cultural gaps as presented during visits. Institutional-level of cross-cultural preparedness requires that the entire institution adopt elaborate translation facilitation. Ultimately, professionals in the healthcare system must overcome legal questions around competencies needed to overcome biases against universal standards of practice. Firstly, any institution may have restrictive budgets to have customized interpretation services for the language barrier as a presenting challenge. In this regard, experiencing an influx of patients from a new language and culture stretches internal capabilities of a health facility in handling such a challenge. Secondly, limited availability of qualified interpreters may present a healthcare problem to a facility irrespective of financial capability. Dreachslin et al. (2008) observed that the ability of the health

Don't Ask, Don't Tell Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Don't Ask, Don't Tell - Essay Example It is important to note that at the time of implementation, this was only a policy, and not a law! According to it, neither was anybody allowed to investigate the sexual orientation of the members in service in US military, nor the members would discuss it with anybody. Thus, if gays and lesbians were to serve in the US military, they would have to keep their sexual concerns unrevealed. Contrary to this policy, the law did not prevent the US military soldiers from being interrogated about their sexual orientation (Burrelli). This has conventionally remained a very controversial subject on political grounds. For a long time, the number of US military soldiers who would be discharged for the charge of homosexuality was readily dropping until 1993. From 1993 onwards, US military soldiers have increasingly been discharged for being homosexual till 2001. In order to put forward a sufficiently comprehensive account of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, it is imperative that th e reaction of American nation towards the policy is studied. According to (Mccabe), the opinion of public regarding the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy can be classified into three types. ... The three types of opinions can be referred to in one word as â€Å"permissive†, â€Å"restrictive† and â€Å"prohibitive† respectively (Mccabe). Two main questions have conventionally been put in front of public to offer their opinion upon in the public polls. One of them inquires if the gays and lesbians should be allowed to openly serve the US military. This question essentially asks the public to convey their opinion with the condition that the servitude is â€Å"open†. Thus, if someone answers in negative, it is not clear if he/she would have maintained the same response for those gays and lesbians who would keep their sexual orientation unrevealed while serving in the US military. In this way, the wording used in aforementioned question distinguishes the permissible opinion from the restrictive and prohibitive opinions. The second question asks the public if gays and lesbians should or should not be allowed to serve the US military without any indica tion of open or restricted expression of sexuality. In this case, when someone says that they should be allowed to serve, it is not clear if he/she would maintain the same response if the question mentioned that the gays and lesbians would openly express their sexual orientation. In this way, this statement distinguishes the prohibitive opinion from the permissive and restrictive opinions. Since the time of implementation of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, a number of Washington Post polls and ABC News polls have been conducted in which the American public was asked to respond to the two aforementioned questions simultaneously. Comparison of the findings of these surveys makes it possible for one to simultaneously analyze

Weeks vs. Southern Bell Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Weeks vs. Southern Bell - Research Paper Example Mrs. Weeks have also appealed that her employer, Southern Bell should return the position to Mrs. Weeks along with compensation for damages inflicted for the activities of discrimination of sex. Mrs. Weeks have also appealed for necessary action so that Southern Bell should refrain from such unlawful practices of employment in future. The detailed records of the case indicate that Mrs. Weeks had applied for the post of switchman in South Bell on 17th March, 1966. Southern Bell refused the application of Mrs. Weeks on 18th April, 1966 citing the reason that the position of switchman and the duties and responsibilities associated with the post is not fit for women. Post this refusal, Mrs. Weeks filed an unsworn charge with the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission and a representative of the Commission obtained a sworn charge from Mrs. Weeks on 30th July, 1966. The Commission carried out investigations on the charges brought about by Mrs. Weeks on her employer Southern Bell and fou nd there was no scope of judgment looking at the duties and responsibilities of switchman in the company that women are not fit for such positions (Staleup, 2005). On 19th April 1967, Mrs. Weeks was informed by the Commission that the conciliation procedure with Southern Bell has proved to be a failure and that Mrs. Weeks was provided a time period of 30 days to file the case against Southern Bell. The Commission appointed a counsel for Mrs. Weeks who filed the case against Southern Bell on her behalf on 18th May, 1967. In reply to this alleged unlawful practice of sex discrimination in the field employment in context to Mrs. Weeks, the company cross-appealed saying that as per the requirements of the code of law, there was no sworn charge filed by Mrs. Weeks within three months of the alleged unlawful practice. As per the codes of jurisdiction, the refusal of the application for employment occurred on 18th April, 1966 and that the sworn charge should be filed within 90 days, i.e. b y 30th July, 1966. The company highlighted that there was error on the part of the District Court to overrule this aspect and based on these points, the company applied for dismissal of the charges filed by Mrs. Weeks against them. The District Court validated the actions of the commission in this case saying that the amendments allow the Commission to charge cases filed beyond the time period of 90 days. The District also emphasized that irrespective of whether its is a sworn charge, any written complaint against the offender or the employer by their employee or the victim that identifies the parties involved in the case and the alleged unlawful practices subject to court’s judgment is deemed to be valid under the codes of jurisdiction. Southern Bell has held the view that that Commission only has the right to receive complaints from the aggrieved parties and take part in the administrative processes and not in any juridical process. Thus the commission has the right to take part in the process of settlement through conciliation, conference, etc. The Commission has no power to enforce juridical matters as it has done through engagement of the counsel on behalf of Mrs. Weeks (Robertson, 2006). In the context of this case, the legislative history is, however, silent on the matter regarding the requirement of the charges to be filed by the aggrieved parties. The charge irrespective of its nature whether it is a written complaint or sworn charge is viewed to be the stimulant that initiates the proceedings against the alleged lawful practices like the case of sex based discrimination of employment

Hagia Sophia Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Hagia Sophia - Research Paper Example It was built by the first Christian emperor, Constantine, who was also the founder of the city Constantinople. This he built including other several great churches during his emperor. After the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans, it was converted to become one of the principal mosques of Istanbul. Its influence became widespread and that which lasted lasting both in the architecturally and liturgically spheres. A bit of some history of the Hagia Sophia indicated that the building had first been constructed in a Christian capital and was then referred to as the church of the holy wisdom. It then represented the epicenter of the Christian churches and a series of their cults. It became first inaugurated in the February of 360 under the reign of Constantious II. After some time this first basilica was destroyed in Nika riots leading to a construction of the second Hagia Sophia. This was then built by the emperor Justinian with the help and experience of two architects, Anthemius and Isidore the Elder. They made the use of a lot of precious materials which were brought in from all corners of the Empire. This included some columns which were brought from the temple of Artemis at Ephesus. It was then crowned with a dome. The building was constructed in much haste and was completed in less than six years. Its walls were covered either with marble or in lavish mosaics that consisted of the most ex quisite color and workmanship. This new Hagia Sophia was inaugurated on December 27th, 537, five years after the work started. Over the years, it suffered a lot of damages leading to the partial collapse of some of its structural elements. The dome roof that was supported using a system of piers particularly provided the major challenge and collapsed after some decades. It was later reconstructed adding some supports and its shape in particular made the building look magnificent (Aydoğmus, Tahsin and Kleinbauer 22) In 1453, after the ending of the

Communication Process Essay Example for Free

Communication Process Essay 1. Briefly describe the misunderstanding, including the setting and the people involved. At my recent job that I was working a situation came about, I was helping my director file some bills with personal information. Well she did not make it clear that each bill went into a certain folder, which made my job a lot difficult and ending up me having to do the whole process over again, when I had to do another project that my other Director had told me to finish up within that day. 2. Complete the following table with information from your described misunderstanding. |Question |Answer | |Who was the sender? |My Director | |Who was the receiver? |Myself | |What was the message? |File these documents | |What channel was used to send the message? |Sound and light waves | |What was the misunderstanding? |How to file the documents | |How could you have avoided the misunderstanding? |It could have been avoided if my director would have told me the correct | | |way to file them instead of me trying to figure out how to file the | | |documents. 3. The perception model in Ch. 2 of Communicating in the Workplace shows that prior knowledge and experiences combine with your psychological state to shape your subjective reality. What was your perception going into the situation? How did your perception of the misunderstanding affect the communication process? My perception of the situation was that there really was not correct way into filing the documents, all she wanted was for them to be filed. It affected the misunderstanding and how the communication process went through my mind was that she should have told me how to correctly do it the proper way, instead of just telling me to finish filing. I just thought that she wanted them out of the way and into the filing cabinet. 4. After reflecting on your misunderstanding and analyzing it with what you have learned this week, what did you learn about the communication process? I have learned that there are a lot of ways in communicating and that when someone tells another person to do something, then that person is listening and taking in information differently, to ask questions when told to do something if you do not understand what that person is wanting from you. The reason why I say this is because not every person is going to be the same, as it stated in the example of the model in Ch. 2 of Communicating in the Workplace, A hog could be a pig but really the person was referring to a motorcycle. For another instance when someone is telling another person to do something, that person receives the message but might take it another way because of how that person encodes the information, that is why it is important to respond back to the person and making a clear understanding of what that person is wanting. I would not want to risk someone else’s life it I did not understand the information correctly because that will affect my job on the line as well. Reference Cheesebro, T., O’Connor, L., Rios, F. (2010). Communicating in the workplace. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Depository System In India Security System For Investors Economics Essay

Depository System In India Security System For Investors Economics Essay Close to sixty three years of Independence, India has emerged to be one of the driving forces of the World Economy. However, with the recent setback of the Global Recession of 2007, a need had been felt to look into the existing structures of the Financial Institutions present. Consequently, a Committee was established by Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), under the chairmanship of Bimal Jalan, former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor, in February 2010. It was setup with the view to underscore an important distinction between regulation and control, and to ensure that the former does not degenerate into the latter. The committee has also instituted an interesting term called the Market Infrastructure Institutions. The term marker infrastructure denotes such fundamental facilities and systems serving the market. As per the Report  [1]  , Stock exchanges, depositories and clearing corporations are collectively referred to as securities Market Infrastructure Institutions (MIIs). They can be defined to be institutions providing basic, underlying framework or features for the market. Well functioning MIIs are the backbone of any economy, which in turn is directly proportional to the well-being of the economy. Infrastructure Institutions can be characterized by provision of essential services, offering networking services, exhibiting economies of scale, presenting sunk costs and operating natural monopolies.  [2]   Introduction Depositories form an important part of the securities Market Infrastructure Institutions in India. As per section 2(e) of the Depositories Act, 1996, a depository means a company formed and registered under the Companies Act, 1956 and which has been granted a Certificate of Registration under sub-section (1A) of section 12 of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 (15 of 1992). In simple words, a Depository is an organization which is similar to a bank. It holds the securities of investors in an electronic book entry form at their request and provides services related to transactions in securities with speed, accuracy and safety. It interacts with its clients through a `Depository Participant with whom the client is required to open a Demat Account. A depository participant is defined in section 2(g) of the Depositories Act, 1996 as participant means a person registered as such under sub-section (1A) of section 12 of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 (15 of 1992). An application for the grant of certificate of registration as Depository Participant is made to the Board Form E along with application fee as specified in Part A of the second schedule of the Depository Participant Regulations. Public financial  institutions, scheduled commercial banks,  foreign banks operating in India with the approval of the Reserve Bank of India, state financial corporations,  custodians, stock-brokers, clearing corporations /clearing houses, NBFCs and Registrar to an Issue or Share Transfer Agent complying with the requirements prescribed by SEBI can be registered as Depository Participants. Evolution of Depository System in India The growth in the Indian capital market both in number of transactions and the value of trade and resultant settlement of securities exposed the limitation of handling securities in the paper mode. Physical (paper) mode of holding securities was not only cumbersome and inefficient but also held numerous risks for the participant and led to dissatisfaction of issuers and investors alike. Due to limitations and problems associated it necessitated the setting up of depositories to move away from paper based holding of securities. Thus, Depository system was established to eliminate the inconvenience and confusion caused by the paper based trading and a scripless trading system came to be recognized. The enactment of Depositories Act in August 1996 paved the way for introduction of Depository system in India. Following the notification of the SEBI (Depositories and Participants) Regulations, 1996, National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL), a company sponsored by the NSE, IDBI and UTI was granted a certificate of registration as a depository on June 7,1996. Some of the other shareholders are State Bank of India, HDFC Bank Limited, Deutsche Bank A.G., Axis Bank Limited, Citibank N.A.Standard Chartered Bank, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, Oriental Bank of Commerce etc. The higher shareholding (of at least 51%) by sponsors, including stock exchanges in depositories was permitted in the initial stages for facilitating the setting up of depositories. Central Depository Services (India) Ltd (CDSL), the second depository, was promoted by Bombay Stock Exchange Limited (BSE) in association with Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, State Bank of India and HDFC Bank. BSE has been involved with this venture right from the inception and has contributed overwhelmingly to the fruition of the project. The initial capital of the company is Rs.104.50 crores. The list of major shareholders with effect from 5th July, 2010 is  [3]  : Name of shareholders Value of holding (in Rupees Lacs) % Terms to total equity Bombay Stock Exchange Limited 5,663.46 54.20 Bank of India 582.00 5.57 Bank of Baroda 530.00 5.07 State Bank of India 1,000.00 9.57 HDFC Bank Limited 750.00 7.18 Standard Chartered Bank 750.00 7.18 Canara Bank 674.46 6.45 Inter-depository transfer through on-line connectivity between CDSL and NSDL was established in 1999.  [4]   Benefits of the Depository System The main objective of the depository system is to maintain and safeguard the ownership and transfer records of securities in an electronic form. Depository system eliminates the inconvenience and confusion caused by the paper based trading. It is a safe and convenient way of holding securities and reduces the risks associated with certificates. In a depository system, the investors have the advantages like efficient settlements, lower costs and lower risks of theft. It also facilitates immediate transfer of securities and no stamp duty is required on transfer of shares. Change in address recorded with Depository Participant gets registered with all companies in which investor holds securities electronically eliminating the need to correspond with each of them separately. Also there is automatic credit into demat account of shares, arising out of bonus/split/consolidation/merger etc.A natural guardian is not required to take court approval for selling Demat securities on behalf of a minor. Ease in portfolio monitoring  since statement of account gives a consolidated position of investments in all instruments. Holding investments in equity and debt instruments in a single  account is also another advantage of the depository system. Features of Indian Depository System: Dematerialization: There are two models for depository system across the world-dematerialization and immobilization. India has adopted the dematerialization model. India provides for a competitive multi-depository system. There can be various entities providing depository services.eg (NSDL and CDSL).The model adopted in India provides only for Dematerialization of securities. Dematerialization is the process of converting the physical form of shares into an electronic form and in short called Demat. Dematerialization of securities occurs when securities issued in physical form is destroyed and an equivalent number of securities are credited into the beneficiary owners account. The depositories can provide their services to investors through their agents called Depository Participants. These agents are appointed subject to the conditions prescribed under Securities and Exchange Board of India (Depositories and Participants) Regulations,1996 and other applicable conditions. The participants and investors get their respective IDs which has a unique identification in the depository system. Any number of depository accounts can be opened. After opening an account with the Depository Participant the investor should surrender the physical certificates held in his name to a depository participant. These certificates will be sent to the respective companies where they will be cancelled after dematerialization and will credit the investors account with the Depository Participant. The securities on dematerialization will appear as balances in the depository account. These balances can be transferred like the shares held in physical form. The securities in the Demat can again be converted into physical form which is called as dematerialization. Dematerialization of shares is optional and the investor can hold shares in the physical form, however the investor will have to demat the shares if he wishes to sell or purchase the shares through stock exchanges. Immobilization of securities is done by storing or lodging the physical security certificates with an organization that acts as a custodian a securities depository. All subsequent transactions in such immobilized securities take place through book entries. The actual owners have the right to withdraw the physical securities from the custodial agent whenever required by them. In the case of IPO, a jumbo certificate is issued in the name of the beneficiary owners based on which the depository gives credit to the account of beneficiary owners. Fungibility: Section 9 of the Depositories Act, 1996 states that securities in depositories should be in fungible form. In the depository system, the securities dematerialized are not identified by distinctive numbers or certificate numbers as in the physical environment. Thus all securities in the same class are identical and interchangeable. For example, all equity shares in the class of fully paid up shares are interchangeable. Registered Owner/ Beneficial Owner: In the depository system, the ownership of securities dematerialized is bifurcated between Registered Owner and Beneficial Owner. For the securities dematerialized, NSDL is the Registered Owner in the books of the issuer, but ownership rights and liabilities rest with Beneficial Owner. All the rights, duties and liabilities underlying the security are on the beneficial owner of the security. Free Transferability of shares: Transfer of shares held in dematerialized form takes place freely through electronic book-entry system. Legal Framework The depository business in India is regulated by: a. The Depositories Act, 1996 It was enacted to provide for regulation of depositories  in securities and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. It came into force from 20th September, 1995. It provides for the establishment of single and multiple depositories. Anybody to be eligible needs to be formed and registered as a company under the Companies Act, 1956 and seek registration with SEBI and obtain a Certificate of Commencement of Business from SEBI on fulfillment of the prescribed conditions. b. The SEBI (Depositories and Participants) Regulations, 1996 SEBI on 6th May, 1996 issued SEBI (Depositories and Participants) Regulations, 1996 which apply to depositories and its participants. The Depositories Act requires that the registration of the depository, depository participant and custodian, is mandatory with SEBI.  [5]  These regulations also contain provisions for operations and functioning of depositories, for application and certificates used and schedule of fees for participants etc. c. Bye-Laws of Depository Depository is required to frame its bye-laws  [6]  with the prior approval of SEBI, consistent with the provisions of the Act and the regulations made by SEBI thereunder. However on non-compliance SEBI has the power to amend or revoke the bye-laws on its own. d. Other Laws Apart from the above, Depositories are also governed by certain provisions of Companies Act, 1956, The Indian Stamp Act, 1899, SEBI Act,1956, SCRA,1956, Benami Transaction Prohibition Act,1988, Income Tax Act,1961, Bankers Book Evidence Act,1891. Ownership Norms Setting up of a Depository: An application for the grant of a certificate of registration as a depository shall be made to the Board by the sponsor in Form A. A Sponsor (anchor investor), as per section 2 (g), SEBI (Depositories and Participants) Regulations, 1996, means any person or persons who, acting alone or in combination with another proposes to establish a depository and undertakes to perform the obligations of a sponsor under these regulations. It is to be accompanied by the fee  [7]  and be paid in the manner specified thereof.  [8]   The application should be accompanied by draft bye-laws of the depository that is proposed to be set up. The sponsor is to be from one of the mentioned categories: (i) A public financial institution as defined in section 4A of the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956); (ii) A bank included for the time being in the Second Schedule to the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 (2 of 1934); (iii) A foreign bank operating in India with the approval of the Reserve Bank of India; (iv) A recognized stock exchange within the meaning of clause (j) of section 2 of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956 (42 of 1956); (v) A body corporate engaged in providing financial services where not less than seventy-five per cent of the equity capital is held by any of Securities and Exchange Board of India the institutions mentioned in sub-clause (i), (ii), (iii) or (iv) jointly or severally; (vi) A body corporate constituted or recognized under any law for the time being in force in a foreign country for providing custodial, clearing or settlement services in the securities market and approved by the Central Government; (vii) An institution engaged in providing financial services established outside India and approved by the Central Government; The applicant is supposed to be a fit and proper person.  [9]   Presently, sponsors are required to hold at least 51% of the equity share capital in the depository, either alone or together.  [10]  Also, no participant shall at any time, hold more than 5% of the equity capital of the depository  [11]   No person other than a sponsor, whether resident in India, or not, shall at any time, either individually or together with persons acting in concert, hold more than 5% of the equity share capital in the depository.  [12]   The expression person resident in India shall have the meaning assigned to it in clause (v) of section 2 of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (42 of 1999). The expression Persons acting in concert shall have the meaning derived from clause (e) of sub-regulation (1) of Regulation 2 of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 1997. The combined holding of all persons resident outside India in the equity share capital of the depository shall not exceed, at any time, 49% of its total equity share capital, subject further to the following: the sponsor shall, at all times, hold at least 51% of the equity capital of the depository and the balance of the equity capital of the depository shall be held by its participants.  [13]   At present, the combined holding of all persons residing outside India in the equity share capital of an MII is capped at 49% subject to the following: The combined holding through FDI  [14]  and FII  [15]  routes are capped at 26% and 23%, respectively. FIIs can acquire the equity shares of an MII only through the secondary market.  [16]   An FII cannot have representation on the board of an MII.  [17]   After considering the application, if the Board is satisfied that the company established by the sponsor is eligible to act as a depository it may grant a certificate of registration in Form B to the depository subject to the prescribed conditions like registration fee, redressing of grievances etc. A depository is required to make an application to the Board for commencement of business in Form C within one year from the date of issue of certificate of registration. The SEBI (Depositories and Participants) Regulations, 1996, provides that: the depository shall not carry on any activity other than that of a depository unless the activity is incidental to the activity of the depository  [18]   It is provided that a depository may carry out such activity not incidental to its activities as a depository, as may be assigned to the depository, by the Central Government or by a regulator in the financial sector, through the establishment of Strategic Business Unit(s), and by complying with other conditions specified by the Board.  [19]   A Strategic Business Unit shall be an organizational unit of a company with its own mission, objectives and business strategy that is given the responsibility to serve the particular demands of one business area with appropriate technological, financial and other segregations. It is provided that for the purposes of clause (d) and (e) no foreign entity,  [20]  individually and collectively either as a sponsor or as a participant or as a sponsor and participant together shall hold more than 20% of the equity capital of a depository. Board Composition The Board composition for the two main depositories in India can be summarized as follows: a. National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL) Independent Directors: 5 Shareholder Directors: 5 MD/CEO: 1 b. Central Depository Services (India) Ltd (CDSL) Independent Directors: 2 Shareholder Directors: 5 Whole time Directors: 1 The board structure for depositories is not subject to stringent norms. Only financial institutions/banks/stock exchanges, etc. can be sponsors of a depository and these are mostly nominated as shareholder directors. Further there have been no requirements for appointment of MD/CEO that have been prescribed for depositories. Net Worth of Depositories The net worth requirement for Depositories is 100 crores. Disadvantages: Prior to dematerialization there was almost a gap of three months between application date and listing of shares. Dematerialization has reduced this gap to a great extent. Current regulations prohibit multiple bids or applications by a single person. But the investors open multiple demat accounts and make multiple applications to subscribe to IPOs in the hope of getting allotment. The recent IPO allotment scam proves that even a highly automated system is not the solution to prevent malpractices, if there is laxity. The scam of Yes bank and IDFC reveal the defect that investor banker fail to weed out multiple applications either direct or benami.eg. In the Yes Bank scandal thirteen investors had manipulated the allotment of shares by opening 7500 benami accounts and made profit in 1.7crores. Eventually all the thirteen investors were banned from trading in bank shares immediately. Lack of coordination between banks, DPs, brokers depositories, registrars and investment bankers and clarity of their roles has given rise to such problems. The depository system is complex and in need of greater supervision and control. Thus is the working of the Depository system in India. The advantages of the depository system outweigh the disadvantages. Few changes in the complex system and specifications regarding the appointment of Board of directors need to be specified.

Film Review King Arthur

Film Review King Arthur Film Review King Arthur The film I will be reviewing is called King Arthur. King Arthur is from the action epic genre and is a brilliant well put together film which will help many audiences in many ways and would be bound to sell. I will also include a historical context showing how King Arthur was related to the Roman invasion of Britain and how it also affected the characters involved. The maker of the film is Jerry Bruckheimer. The actors that star in the film are Clive Owen as king Arthur, Keira Knightley as Guinevere, Ray Winstone as Bors, Ioan Gruffudd as Lancelot Stellan Skarsgà ¥rd, Stephen Dillane. Clive Owen has a reputation for providing top class films. Back in 1990, he performed as the wisecracking, sharp-suited wheeler-dealer Stephen Crane in the hit show Chancer; he was described as â€Å"the hottest thing on TV†. Keira Knightley also has a reputation for providing top films such as her earliest Bend It like Beckham to in 2003 Pirates of the Caribbean. After performing in those still only 18 she also preformed in Love Actually and then continued Pirates of the Caribbean. From this we can see that all the actors and actresses are excellent and great performers so therefore my expectations only followed by their reputation. The film is all about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. It came out in 2004 and lasts for 140 minutes. There is a lot of history of this film as King Arthur is a legend. Similar to Robin Hood King Arthur has many different versions such as an older version and this newer version. In my opinion the film is a great one attracting a wide audience of historians, people with an interest in King Arthur and action packed viewers. King Arthur is believed by some as a myth but most believe he was a real king and that he really did make England proud. This film is set around 409 A.D. This time was when the Roman Empire controlled most of Britain. King Arthur, who is partly Roman and an ally to Rome, was mainly British and loved his country that every battle in this film he would fight would be for him and his knights of the round tables freedom. As an agreement all these British villages had to send their children and some adults to fight for Rome. Similar to subscription and they had to serve a certain amount of time where they would earn their freedom. Later on after a few years in around 410 A.D the Roman invasion had ended because Rome had redrawn from Britain due to other opposing enemies and also due to the attack of the Saxons and Scots. The film begins with a well worded description of the legend of King Arthur which reads â€Å"Historians agree that the classical 15th Century King Arthur and his knight’s rose from a similar individual who lived in a period often called the Dark Ages†. The picture comes awake with a Roman army on horseback often called the â€Å"Praetorian† an elite roman horseback army. The beginning of the film is very important because it sets the scene to what the whole film is about which in this case is about the Roman Britain Empire and its connection with King Arthur. We see at the start a map which shows how far the Roman Empire extended which was from Saudi Arabia to Britain and this is a key point in understanding why Rome called for King Arthur and his knights to carry out so many missions. The reason being that Rome was not satisfied with their land they kept on wanting more and more so leaders like King Arthur were sent on missions to keep the Empire strong. This s hows the outline of the film and the reason as to what the film is about. One key point that we notice in the film is that Lancelot who is one of Arthur’s knights is the narrator and speaks in 1st person â€Å"I was such a son† he said when at the start the roman army came to recruit him on the grounds similar to conscription. So he was off to fight for Rome. Then the scene changes and we see King Arthur as a young boy who is presented as a bright future leader both wealthy and important as we can tell by his freedom of movement. Arthur sees the young knights including Lancelot on horseback and asks who they are and he is told they may someday be his knights little does he know that one day they will. This is a use of dramatic irony as we know it is to happen by the role of Lancelot as one of his knights but the character himself is unaware. After this scene there is a gap which says â€Å"15 years later† then they are all shown as grown men and we notice that there conscription was supposed to be for 15 years therefore the director lives the audience to find this out for themselves. Then we see the characters for the first time as men and their first mission is to protect the bishop from the forest Woads who Merlin (an old friend of Arthur’s) leads. The Woads attack some Roman troops so Arthur and his knights pace to the scene and upon arrival witness the deaths of these Roman soldiers. The Knights take up their swords and fight off the Woads for now as Merlin looks on from the forest. After the attack the Bishop appears dead with an arrow straight through his head however Arthur spots it is not the bishop but a fake. The real Bishop appears and they talk about the great Samaritan Knights that Arthur leads. After they arrive at the castle where all the knights expect their freedom from the subscription that they are bound to. However the Bishop revels that the pope has one more mission for them and all of the knights including King Arthur disapprove after 15 long years of fighting however the mission is to rescue the pope’s favourite godchild and pupil so therefore on their last day of subscription they must go on this mission. As to be expected all the Knights don’t want to go but after a talk from King Arthur unwillingly for Arthur they approve. So after the disapproval of the mission the scene changes and we see who the knights will come up against. Saxons from the north. They were very strong at the time and the opposition to the Romans. When Rome left in 410 A.D it was the Saxons that took over England. We then see the Saxons killing innocent women. This demonstrates the brutality of the Saxons. Then the Knights get on their horseback and ride off towards their mission. They cut through the forest where they are being tracked by Merlin’s knights. Aware of the movement of the Saxons Merlin traps Arthur and the Knights in the forest and they agree to fight the Saxons together. After reaching their mission point they find Alecto the godchild of the pope. Arthur finds a secret door blocked up and his Knight uses his axe to break it down. Inside they find injured Woad. The Woad is called Guinevere who by legend is the eventually the wife of King Arthur therefore this is an important step because this is the entrance of a main character played by Keira Knightley. After a disagreement with the townsman leader the father of Alecto the knights take off away from the Saxons. The Saxons continue to get closer and closer. Then they reach the ice and they finally intercept with the Saxons. Ready and prepared to fight the main scene unfolds. The odds start at 7 Samaritan knights against 200 Saxons. The fight starts with the 7 using their long bows to cut off the wings of the 200 it forces them to stay together putting more weight on the ice eventually the ice begins to break however their out of range and the ice hasn’t broken. Dagenot one of the knights runs forward with his axe and breaks the ice covered by the other 6 with their longbows. Unfortunately he is shot with arrows 3 times and dies however their mission is a success in one way but a loss in another. The next scene begins back at the castle where they are greeted by the Bishop who is happy to see Alecto. They are given their freedom but Bors and all the others are unhappy due to the loss of Daganot. They buried Daganot and looked on in a sad manner. Then we see the final scene which is where the Saxons have risen to Hadrian’s Wall and are ready to attack the Emperor and the knights. However the Romans are leaving and the knights are free but King Arthur says he must stay and fight. None of the knights stay but when they see the bravery of Arthur on his own they race to back up. Then the first Saxon army attack behind the castle gates therefore the Saxon leader can’t see who is winning and only a few of his army come out and they believe there was only six knights however the Woads have joined and they all worked together and Arthur was there leader. The final Saxon army attacked and lost to King Arthur in a great battle and casualties were lost such as Bors and Lancelot which who were two of Arthur’s Samaritan knights. Also the narrator was Lancelot so we notice it is told by a character that later dies this is a technique to have a greater influence of understanding the times of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. The battle ends and Arthur wins and they bury the dead and Lancelot’s request to be cremated takes place. The film ends as Guinevere and Arthur get married and Britain is in safe hands. My opinions of the movie are that it is a good exciting film. The film is entertaining and the storyline keeps the audience in suspense. Another good opinion of the film is that the historical context makes the audience want to see the film because they want to know more about Roman British Empire so they are more likely to see the film. One part I like is where at the start the knights defeat the Woads even though there are only a few knights. I like this part because it makes the knights look strong and therefore impresses me as the audience. Another part I liked is when Daganot takes his axe and destroys the ice so that the Saxons can’t cross the line. However I found this sad because Daganot gets killed in this part of the film. Another action packed part is the last scene where there is a big battle. This scene is action packed and therefore entertaining in the film. Compared to films like Gladiator this film is better because it gives a more historical outlook on the fil m. Therefore I think it is more successful and more entertaining. I think in the film that when the character of Lancelot died it was disappointing because historians know that he was a great warrior therefore the way he died was unexpected and I believe it was better to keep him alive. Therefore if I was directing the film I would have not killed off Lancelot however I like the way that the character of Daganot was killed because he was made to look like a hero. The character I am critical of is Guinevere because in the story of King Arthur she was supposed to be a high class lady from a good family however in this story she is presented as Woad like a rebel whom I think is unrealistic and completely changes the character. Therefore I dislike the character. The parts which are successful are the opening scene where the few knights fight many Woads. This is successful because it sets the tone of the film and lets the audience know how skilled the knights are and how they grew up to become knights. Another part which is successful is where Daganot smashes open the door with an axe. This is successful because it allows the audience to see how strong the knights are again and also get the audience more involved to see what is inside because the breaking down of the door is like footsteps of a massive army because the audience wants to see what will happen next. Therefore in both ways it is successful. In conclusion I recommend the film and would give it 8 out of 10. The reasons for this are because it is a successful film in the way it attracts and entertains the audience such as the start where the knights fight many Woads. It is an interesting film where there is a great historical context such as the history and leadership of King Arthur himself and Roman Britain. The reason I would only give the film an 8 out of 10 is because there were parts I disliked such as that Lancelot got killed and that Guinevere was made to look different then the real story. Therefore in conclusion I would give the film an 8 out of 10 and recommend it to people as a good film because it has many good features and covers the historical part of King Arthur as well as the entertaining action packed fighting in the film therefore I recommend it.