A study of late Babylonian planetary records

Observations of planets within the Late Babylonian Astronomical Texts record passages of the planets by reference stars, and synodic phenomena such as first visibilities, stations, etc. known "Greek-Letter phenomena". In addition to acting as useful shorthand, use of the Greek-Letter designations for these phenomena allows us to avoid the problem of the exact interpretation of these phenomena. For example, Huber has argued that Ω should probably be understood as the first date on which a planet was not seen, rather than the last day on which it was seen. These observations sometimes have a remark about the 'ideal' date when the phenomena was supposed to occur. This often appears with a measurement of the time from sunrise/set to the observed phenomena. The aim of this thesis is to study two aspects of Babylonian observational astronomy. One is the interpretation of Θ, one of the 'Greek letter' phenomenon, and proving through analysis of the texts that its precise meaning should be understood as acronycal rising as opposed to opposition. The other is to go some way towards finding the system for correcting an observation when a time measurement of the difference in the time between the planet and the sun rising or setting is recorded along with an 'ideal' or 'true' date

Review. Northrop Davis, Manga & Anime go to Hollywood. The Amazing Rapidly Evolving Relationship between Hollywood and Japanese Animation, Manga, Television, and Film.

Review. Northrop Davis, Manga & Anime go to Hollywood. The Amazing Rapidly Evolving Relationship between Hollywood and Japanese Animation, Manga, Television, and Fil

A new map of Hollywood and the world

In this paper, I offer a reinterpretation of the economic geography of the so-called new Hollywood. The argument proceeds in six main stages. First, I briefly examine the debate on industrial organization in Hollywood that has gone on in the literature since the mid-1980s, and I conclude that the debate has become unnecessarily polarized. Second, I attempt to show how an approach that invokes both flexible specialization and systems-house forms of production is necessary to any reasonably complete analysis of the organization of production in the new Hollywood. Third, and on this basis, I argue that the Hollywood production system is deeply bifurcated into two segments comprising (a) the majors and their cohorts of allied firms on the one hand, and (b) the mass of independent production companies on the other. Fourth, I reaffirm the continuing tremendous agglomerative attraction of Hollywood as a locale for motion-picture production, but I also describe in analytical and empirical terms how selected kinds of activities seek out satellite production locations in other parts of the world. Fifth, I show how the majors continue to extend their global reach by means of their ever more aggressive marketing and distribution divisions, and I discuss how that this state of affairs depends on and amplifies the competitive advantages of Hollywood. Sixth and finally, I reflect upon some of the challenges that Hollywood must face up to as new cultural-products agglomerations arise all over the globe, offering potential challenges to its hegemony. Key words: motion-picture industry; cultural economy; Hollywood; agglomeration; regional development; globalization

Hollywood Loving

In this Essay, I highlight how nongovernmental entities establish political, moral, and sexual standards through visual media, which powerfully underscores and expresses human behavior. Through the Motion Picture Production Code (the “Hays Code”) and the Code of Practices for Television Broadcasters (the “TV Code”), Americans viewed entertainment as a pre-mediated, engineered world that existed outside of claims of censorship and propaganda. This Essay critically examines the role of film and television as persuasive and integral legal actors and it considers how these sectors operate to maintain, and sometimes challenge, racial order

Imperfect justice : Fritz Lang's Fury (1936) and cinema's use of the trial form

This essay examines Fritz Lang's portrayal and use of justice in his first Hollywood film, Fury (1936) a film in which the main character, Joe Wilson (played by Spencer Tracy) is mistakenly arrested for a crime he did not commit. Lang was one of many notable German émigrés who fled Nazi Germany for America and eventually Hollywood. He returned on several occasions to the theme of justice, which is my starting point for this article. Before analysing Fury in detail, in particular its final trial scene, the article compares the film briefly to other Lang films about the law such as Beyond a Reasonable Doubt. Lang's conception of justice differs from the dominant Hollywood view of the law, a realisation that is discussed in relation to other depictions of the law in Hollywood (such as Twelve Angry Men, To Kill a Mockingbird). In Lang's cinema, the law is not a fixed, stable and trustworthy institution, but rather one that is gullible and open to abuse. Lang places more faith in notions of personal moral justice, which win out in the end in Fury. This article also contextualises Fury and the work of Fritz Lang within existing discussions of the law and film, from which Lang is largely and notably absent

Hollywood shines a spotlight on real journalism

https://theconversation.com/hollywood-shines-a-spotlight-on-real-journalism-50343Published versio

[Review of] Peter C. Rollins and John E. O\u27Connor, eds. Hollywood\u27s Indians: The Portrayal of the Native American in Film

Hollywood inherited conflicting myths of Native Americans: barbaric savages or Noble Savage. Influenced by the latter romantic view, James Fenimore Cooper in print and George Catlin and Edward Curtis in art conveyed to an American public a portrait of a noble but vanishing race of America\u27s first people. The dime store novels and Wild West shows of the late 1800s played with the dueling idea of a noble yet menacing Red Man, and Hollywood picked up this created myth of American Indians which, while ostensibly sympathetic, actually perpetuated stereotypes of a depraved and primitive race. Hollywood then packaged these images, made them her own, and secured for generations of people the predominant image today held of Native Americans. Since, as Hannu Salmi theorizes, movies are the myth by which Americans understand Western history, this is an alarming state of affairs

The Portrayal of Child Soldiers in Documentaries and Hollywood Film

People in the United States are becoming increasingly mindful of child soldiers, with film being a critical means of bringing about awareness. However, awareness can be dependent upon media representation since most individuals in the U.S. do not have direct experiences with child soldiers. The purpose of the present study is to discover how the media has portrayed child soldiers in Hollywood films and documentaries, with an emphasis on the portrayal of violence, the role of women, and the reintegration experiences of child soldiers that are shown. Through a combined qualitative and quantitative content analysis, this study explores the depictions of young children in armed forces as a way to better understand society’s perception of child soldiers. Five Hollywood films and five documentaries were selected at random from an initial pool and viewed by two coders. The coders discovered that while women were portrayed more often than expected, the unique challenges faced by female child soldiers were not represented with great accuracy. Reintegration was depicted in most films; documentaries were more likely to focus on long-term reintegration and Hollywood films were more likely to focus on short-term reintegration. Hollywood films were also more likely than documentaries to portray violent action and show changes in the attitudes and emotions among the child soldiers over time

On the True, the Real, and Critique in the Study of Religions

Without Mary, man had no hope except in Atheism, and for Atheism the world was not ready. Hemmed back on that side, men rushed like sheep to escape the butcher, and were driven to Mary; only too happy in finding protection and hope in a being who could understand the language they talked, and the excuses they had to offer. How passionately they worshipped Mary, the Cathedral of Chartres shows; and how this worship elevated the whole sex, all the literature and history of the time proclaim. If..