“The old wild West in the New Middle East” : American Sniper (2014) and the Global Frontiers of the Western genre

Clint Eastwood’s war film American Sniper (2014), based on the autobiography of (in)famous Navy Seals sniper Chris Kyle, was met on release with considerable commercial success and political controversy. This article investigates how through adopting generic structures and binary oppositions of the classic Western film American Sniper succeeds in evoking a sense of “frontier mythology.” By generically restructuring historical events, American Sniper analogizes the Iraq War with the mythic struggle of civilization/wilderness and portrays Kyle as a trailblazing frontiersman leading the way to Western expansion. Such a mythical conception of the Western genre operates as a political frame through which a jingoist discourse on the Iraq war is reaffirmed and within which audiences can interpret the conflict—and the undertaken military measures—as necessary and just

Migratie en cinema

Het migratiethema valt de laatste tijd niet uit de actualiteit weg te denken. Ook in de bioscopen wordt geregeld gereflecteerd over migratie, denk maar aan de laatste Gouden Palm winnaar Dheepan (2015) of een Hollywoodproductie als The Immigrant (2013). Wanneer we in de tijd teruggaan, merken we dat het migratiegegeven al altijd sterk verweven is met de filmgeschiedenis. Het Centre for Cinema and Media Studies (CIMS) koos zes films uit die in de eerste plaats de diversiteit van de relatie tussen migratie en cinema duidelijk maken. Enerzijds zijn er de klassieke films die vanuit een sociaal en humanistisch engagement het migratiethema belichten. Zo ontpopt de ontmoeting tussen een Griekse dichter en een Albanees jongetje zich in Eternity and a day (1998, Theo Angelopoulos) als een pleidooi voor humanisme en tolerantie tegenover migranten. Vaak worden deze films gekenmerkt door een expliciete maatschappelijke aanklacht. In Lars von Triers Dancer in the Dark (2000) is dit tegen het harde kapitalistische systeem van de Verenigde Staten, waarbij van de goedgelovigheid van een Tsjecho-Slowaakse moeder geprofiteerd wordt. Dat dit gebeurt binnen het format van de musical, maakt de film des te wrang. Fassbinders Angst essen Seele auf (1973) bekritiseert dan weer de hypocriete reacties tegenover de relatie tussen een oudere Duitse vrouw en een jongere Marokkaanse gastarbeider. Daarnaast programmeren we ook drie films die het migratiegegeven op een andere manier incorporeren. Zo is een kernelement uit Luchino Visconti’s Dood in Venetië (1971) toerisme, een vorm van ‘tijdelijke luxemigratie’. Mensen kunnen tevens om professionele redenen migreren, zoals de Zweedse actrice Greta Garbo en de Duitse émigré-regisseur Ernst Lubitsch, die beide een succesvolle Hollywoodcarrière uitbouwden. In 1939 realiseerden ze samen Ninotchka, over een Russische agente in Parijs. Ook nemen we een klassieke western op in de programmering; de frontier van het Wilde Westen werd immers grotendeels bevolkt door migranten van over de hele wereld. Sam Peckinpahs weerbarstige The Wild Bunch (1969) volgt een bende gewetenloze outlaws wanneer deze de oversteek van Texas naar Mexico maken en zo in het heetst van de Mexicaanse revolutie terechtkomen. Hopelijk migreren jullie massaal naar de bioscoop de komende maanden

Interpretation of Models of Fundamental Ecological Niches and Species’ Distributional Areas

Ecological niche modeling?that is, estimation of the dimensions of fundamental ecological niches of species?to predict their geographic distributions is increasingly being employed in systematics, ecology, conservation, public health, etc. This technique is often (of necessity) based on data comprising records of presences only. In recent years, many modeling approaches have been devised to estimate these interrelated expressions of a species’ ecology, distributional biology, and evolutionary history?nevertheless, in many cases, a formal basis in ecological and evolutionary theory has been lacking. In this paper, we outline such a formal basis for the suite of techniques that can be termed ‘ecological niche modeling,’ analyze example situations that can be modeled using these techniques, and clarify the interpretation of results

Potential invasion of exotic ambrosia beetles Xyleborus glabratus and Euwallacea sp. in Mexico: A major threat for native and cultivated forest ecosystems

We analyze the invasive potential of two Asian ambrosia beetles, Xyleborus glabratus and Euwallacea sp., into Mexico and the southern United States. The fungal symbionts of these beetles have been responsible for damage to trees of the family Lauraceae, including Persea americana and other noncultivated tree species on both coasts of the United States. We estimate their potential threat using ecological niche modeling and spatial multi-criteria evaluation protocols to incorporate plant and beetle suitabilities as well as forest stress factors across Mexico. Mexico contains higher climatic and habitat suitability for X. glabratus than for Euwallacea sp. Within this country, the neotropical region is most vulnerable to invasion by both of these species. We also identify a corridor of potential invasion for X. glabratus along the Gulf of Mexico coast where most Lauraceae and native Xyleborus species are present; dispersal of either X. glabratus or Euwallacea sp. into this region would likely lead to major disease spread. However, the overall potential damage that these beetles can cause may be a function of how many reproductive hosts and how many other ambrosia beetles are present, as well as of their capacity to disperse. This work can also alert relevant managers and authorities regarding this threat

EFFECT OF INCREASED MILKING FREQUENCY DURING EARLY LACTATION ON PERFORMANCE, METABOLISM, AND MAMMARY CELL PROLIFERATION OF DAIRY COWS

Researchers have been interested in increased milking frequency (IMF) during early lactation only as a management practice to increase lactational milk yield. Initial work suggested that effects of early lactation IMF on milk yield persisted after cows returned to a normal milking frequency scheme, although milk yield responses have been variable among studies. The first study (Chapter II) was designed to test the consistency of the milk yield responses to early lactation IMF under different management conditions on four commercial dairy farms. Cows (n=421) were enrolled in this study and assigned within farm at calving to either a 2x control treatment or a 4x IMF treatment for the first 21 d postpartum followed by a return to 2x milking. Cows milked 4x were milked at the beginning and end of each scheduled milking. This resulted in minimal milking intervals for the 4x cows of 3.5, 4, 5, 5.5, and 6 h for the four farms, respectively. Milk yield and component responses were evaluated on three of the farms across the first 7 monthly test days. Early lactation IMF increased overall milk yield by 2.1 kg/d on these farms (P < 0.01). Analysis by farm suggested that the magnitude of the response was farm-dependent and ranged from 4 to 10%. Early lactation IMF generally decreased milk component percentages but increased component yields. The treatment had no effect on BCS on any of the farms; however, circulating NEFA in serum samples collected during the period of IMF were increased in two farms and not affected in the other two, suggesting the influence of farm-specific factors. In the second experiment (Chapter III), metabolic responses to early lactation IMF and mammary cell dynamics were evaluated. Primiparous (n=30) and multiparous (n=30) Holstein cows at the Cornell University Dairy Teaching and Research Center were assigned at calving to one of 2 treatments. The control group was milked 2x for 119 d while the IMF group was milked 4x from d 2 postcalving until d 21 and 2x from d 22 until d 119. Overall responses of milk yield to early lactation IMF were not significant over the first 119 d postpartum; however, the interaction of treatment by week was significant in that IMF cows yielded 4.8 kg/d more milk than control cows during wk 2 and 3, but had comparable milk yields to controls thereafter. Milk component yields did not differ between treatments. Milk yield responses to IMF were apparent in primiparous cows when cows that did not receive mammary biopsies were analyzed separately. Early lactation IMF increased dry matter intake during the first 21 d postcalving but not the 119-d postpartum period. Early lactation IMF did not affect BCS or BW. Concentrations of plasma NEFA were increased in multiparous but not primiparous cows during the period of IMF, suggesting that energy status of multiparous cows may have limited their responses to early lactation IMF. Concentrations of plasma BHBA were not affected by treatment. Mammary tissue was collected by biopsy in a subset of cows (n=8 cows per lactation group and treatment) at calving and at 21 and 75 d postpartum and used for immunohistochemical localization of Ki-67. A treatment by day interaction existed for the percentage of labeled epithelial cells such that the IMF treated cows had a lower percentage of labeled epithelial cells on d 21 but a higher percentage at d 75. Further analysis is needed for determination of apoptosis rates to determine difference in cell turnover between treatments as well as cell activity in order to pinpoint possible mechanisms for the milk yield responses to early lactation IMF