Laura

It is important for films to be rated and to be rated appropriately.  Ratings are vital to the audience as well as the movie industry. Movie companies want to make money, just like any other business in the world.  If a movie receives a NC-17 (no children under age 17) it could prevent a movie from making millions of dollars.  NC-17’s are not shown in public theaters and most stores will not buy movies rated NC-17 to sell to consumers (for example, Wal*Mart).  If a movie is rated R (restricted viewing; no children under 17 unless accompanied by an adult), the movie will be shown in public theaters and will be sold in general stores for consumers to purchase.

What makes a movie NC-17 or R and who decides what movie rating should be given to a film?   Well, NC-17 movies have more “risky” material, such as sex (on a nontraditional level) or extreme violence.  Movies rated R still have sex scenes and violence, but the sex is nothing “abnormal” (only missionary style is shown) and the violence is tolerable.

The people that decide what movies should be rated at are the people of the MPAA (Movie Production Association of America).  No one knows who these people are or anything about them.  I think that the public has a right to know who is on the MPAA.  I hope that there is a wide diversity of people rating movies, because people from different ethnicities, sexual orientations, ages, and genders are sometimes key when making a decision.  Different people think in different ways.  Are “normal,” traditional Americans the only people on the MPAA?  What is a “normal,” traditional American?

One thing that I found to be upsetting, that I was informed about from This Film Is Not Yet Rated, was the fact that movies dealing with homosexual relationships received an NC-17 for masturbation, while movies with heterosexual relationships received an R.  How is this fair?  It isn’t!  America is supposed to be an equal rights country.

Another issue that I found to be strange was that sex positions can affect a movies rating.  Sex is sex no matter how you look at it (no pun intended).  Sex scenes in films never last long anyway, so I don’t see what the big deal is if a movie gets an R instead of an NC-17. 

Over the next 50 years, give or take, I think that homosexual masturbation and sex positions will no longer be an issue; our culture just hasn’t reached the point where we can accept “abnormal behavior.”   

The ageing process is something that is bound to happen to everyone.  Some things can be avoided, or at least slowed down, and others cannot.  Cataracts is unavoidable.  Cataracts is an eye disease that will eventually happen to everyone if they live long enough to experience it (Rubin 125).

According to Biology of Humans:  Concepts, Applications, and Issues Cataracts is “A lens that has become cloudy or opaque, usually because of ageing.” (171)  This eye disease affects more than 20.5 million Americans (Chang 4).  Most people diagnosed with Cataracts are above the age of 50 (Goodenough 171).  However, most people are unaware that they have Cataracts until they have reached the age of sixty or seventy (Rubin 125).

There are numerous reasons why people contract the disease of Cataracts, such as the following:  age, eye injury, certain eye diseases, medical conditions, heredity, birth defect, medication, excessive alcohol consumption, smoking, and ultraviolet B light (Rubin 125).  The cause of Cataracts will determine what type of Cataracts is diagnosed, or visa versa.  There are three types of Cataracts, Senile Cataracts, Congenital Cataracts, and Secondary Cataracts.  Senile Cataracts is caused from the ageing process.  The lens of the eye is continuously growing throughout life and adds additional cell layers that are compact, rigid, and less transparent.  Senile Cataracts is the most common type of Cataracts (Eden 110).

Congenital Cataracts is present at birth.  An event during fetal development causes Congenital Cataracts.  One known cause is the mother being exposed to rubella (German Measles) during her first trimester of pregnancy.  Congenital Cataracts is the rarest type of Cataracts (Eden 110). 

Secondary Cataracts is caused from something other then age or birth, such as one of the causes that was previously mentioned (Eden 110).  Smoking causes twenty percent of people with Cataracts.  Even people that have quit smoking are at higher risk of contracting Cataracts.  Smoking dims vision (Goodenough 318).  Type I Diabetes is also linked to Cataracts due to the accumulation of glucose on the lens of the eye (Goodenough 170).  Certain types of medications are also known to cause Cataracts, such as steroids, diuretics, and tranquilizers (Rubin 125).

If it is time to have the Cataracts removed if the doctor recommends that surgery should be done or when it begins to complicate your daily activities.  Removal is simple and the pain is minimal.  Doctors are able to perform the surgery in either a surgical suite or in a hospital.  During surgery the eye is not pulled out of socket.  The eye remains in its natural position.  The clouded lens is then removed with a needle that vibrates at a high speed to break up the Cataracts.  The tiny pieces are then suctioned out and an intraocular lens (IOL) is inserted.  The eye can be closed with or without stitches.  Most people stay awake for the surgery and have anestics to numb the pain.  The patient will often get an injection under the eye to numb the pain and to paralyze the eye muscles during surgery.  The lids of the eye may also be injected to keep the patient from squeezing them during surgery (Rubin 127-130).

After surgery is performed the patient should wear sunglasses that are medium in density and protect the eye from ultraviolet light.  Glasses inside and sunglasses outside are recommended for protecting the eye.  The patient should never rub the eye and should always wear a plastic or metal shield over the eye while sleeping for about one month.  Eye drops prescribed by the doctor should be used about twice per day to cleanse the eye.  The patient should be extra cautious and use care for about six weeks since that is about how long the healing process will take (Rubin 128).

Although Cataracts will happen to everyone if they live long enough, there are some ways to reduce the risk of Cataracts, or at least slow the process down.  One way is to consume antioxidants, such as vitamins C and E.  Another way is to consume polyunsaturated fats and proteins to protect the eyes.  Treatments such as exercise and medications do not treat Cataracts.  Surgery is needed to get rid of Cataracts.  The surgery has a ninety-five percent success rate and is one of the safest surgeries preformed today (Rubin 126).  Cataracts is nothing to be scared of, it happens to everyone.  Cataracts is an easy problem to correct.

Works Cited

Chang, David F., M.D., Howard Gimbel, M.D.  Cataracts:  A Patient’s Guide to

            Treatment.  Omaha:  Addicus Books, Inc., 2004.

Eden, John, M.D.  The Physician’s Guide to Cataracts, Glaucoma, and Other Eye

            Problems.  Yonkers:  Consumers Union of United States, Inc., 1992.

Goodenough, Judith, Betty McGuire, and Robert A. Wallace.  Biology of Humans: 

            Concepts, Applications, and Issues.  Upper Saddle River:  Pearson Education,

            Inc., 2005.

Rubin, Melvin L., M.D., M.S., and Lawrence A. Winograd, M.D.  Taking Care of Your             Eyes:  A Collection of the Patient Education Handouts Used By America’s

            Leading Eye Doctors.  Gainesville:  Triad Publishing Company, 2002.

The film industry dates back to the early 1800’s in New York City.  At this time illusions were used to create a “moving” object.  Persistence of vision aided in creating peep shows.  Thomas Edition took peep shows to a new level when he invented projection film equipment.  Edison set up the “Motion Picture Patents Company,” also known as the Trust.  Producers had to pay the Trust’s patent fees otherwise they would not be allowed to create movies.  If they did not pay the fee but made movies anyway, the equipment would be destroyed.  Eventually, producers became fed-up with Edison’s Trust and moved to California to make their movies.  Not only was California a good distance away from Edison, California also had a variety of land features such as the following:  beaches, mountains, cities, deserts, and country.  Edison’s Trust was forced to go out of business in 1917 by the American government.  Even after the Trust was gone no one moved back to New York to film their movies; California had beautiful scenery and perfect lighting.  Stars were being born as movies were being produced.  Movies were one of the main forms of entertainment until the television was invented.  Instead of movie companies trying to compete with television, movie studio’s produce television programs.  Television was not the only hurdle that movie companies would have to jump; new media was creating new competitors in the entertainment business.              VCR’s were looked at as a threat, because they were capable of recording programs off of the television.  VCR’s ended up making the movie companies more money by making tapes that people could buy or rent to view in their homes.  DVD’s were not looked at as a threat until people began downloading movies off of the internet illegally.  Pirating is easy for people to do if they’re okay with stealing.  Movie companies had to make some type of profit off of the downloads, so they made movie downloads easily available and legal for consumers to purchase.

            Controversies with movies affect the movie companies and the movie viewers.  The main controversies are as follows:  violence, stereotyping, censorship, and movie ratings.  Every controversy must be taken into consideration before the public views the movie.  The audience, or potential audience, makes the decision to watch or not watch the movie.  People are free to make their own decisions and have the choice of what to watch.  No one is forced to watch anything that movie companies produce, but a wide variety of movies are available to the public.   

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZlNDypBDnw

Magazines have existed since 1663.  Unlike a newspaper, magazines are published regularly and contain a collection of writing.  Most of the population did not read magazines because they did not have time for reading leisure materials.

            General interest magazines targeted a broad audience and a specialized magazine targeted a specific audience with a common interest.  All magazines were considered to be a luxury item, because they were so expensive.  The price of the magazines dropped when a guideline was set to determine how much to charge customers to place ads in the magazine (CPM).  Once magazines were able to charge reasonable prices, the companies had to overcome another issue:  television.  The radio became popular and had little (if any) effect on the magazine business.  However, once television became popular the magazine business suffered because businesses could advertise on television.  Surprisingly, this did not have a negative effect on the magazine business.  Instead magazines wrote about television programs and stars.

            The internet is the newest way to reach consumers.  Magazines published only for the internet are called “webzines.”  Consumers are easily reached and impacted by magazines.  Women are very affected by magazines.  The magazine companies promote women that are nothing like the majority of women reading their magazine.  The models are tall and skinny, not to mention airbrushed!  Still, women feel the need to be unhealthily thin.  Magazines impact our culture and who we are as people.  It’s sad that women and young girls aspire to be like unhealthy, airbrushed people.  Magazine companies have the power to change society’s views on how a woman should look, but I do not think that will ever happen.

Various publishers have battled with should they, or should they not, censor images of war.  I do not think that war images should be censored.  The public has every right to see what is going on in the world without any sugar coating.

            The truth is that war is terrible and as a result horrific tragedies happen.  We have multiple outlets to news resources.  Different publishers show different pictures, some of which are quit disturbing.  As disturbing as it may be it is still the truth.  No matter how much you want to deny, horrible things do occur all over the world.  Just because you have not seen something does not mean that it does not exist.

            Pictures from Fallujah, Iraq are graphic and some publishers made the decision to not print these photographs.  Other publishers did print the pictures, but did some heavy editing to the pictures.  To make the pictures look more appeasing to its audience editors might crop the photo, blur some of the images or use different colors, such as black and white.  These pictures can be viewed at www.nieman.harvard.edu/reports/04-2NR-Summer/71-74V58N2.pdf.

            Some people may say that war images should be censored because children should not be exposed to such horrible images.  Let me make something clear, I do not think that war images belong on the front page of the newspaper or on the six o’clock news.  I do, however, believe that war images should be placed in the middle of the newspaper and on the eleven o’clock news.  Children do not usually read the newspaper and by eleven o’clock most children are in bed.

            For people that do not wish to see images of war, close your eyes, turn the page or turn the channel.  If you want to be oblivious to the truth that is your choice, but the rest of America has the right to see what is going on in the world.   

Nutrition and Body 

Diet Pills

            Living in a judgmental society is not easy.  We live in a world full of media and a society that, unfortunately, judges you based upon what you look like.  Being thin is desirable to must young women in America.  Being thin is not easy to achieve and/or maintain.  Is there a quick and easy way to lose weight?  Some people might think so…diet pills! 

            Thirty-four percent of young women living in America are on or have tried diet pills.  Diet pills are not safe for anyone, and they are especially not safe for teenagers.  Teenagers are not supposed to take diet pills because diet pills suppress your appetite and in doing so the teenager may not be getting enough nutrition that they need.  The FDA proposed a warning label “For use by people 18 years of age and older.”

            Diet pills can affect anyone’s metabolism above or below the age of 18.  Since diet pills are made to suppress your appetite you eat less.  Most people would think that since you are not eating as much you will lose weight and to some extent that is true.  However, eventually your body will reach a point where it will not lose any more weight from diet pills.  Since you are consuming less calories your metabolism slows down which will lead to the amount of weight you lose to slow down.

            Diet pills are drugs.  You can get them over the counter or by prescription.  Most over the counter diet pills are not FDA approved.  This means that they are not safe to be taken by humans and/or they do not do what the product claims to do.  Often times the manufacture will put a label on the box and bottle to warn the consumer that they are taking a risk by consuming their product.  By putting a small label, that most people ignore or don’t see, on the box and bottle the manufacture is freeing themselves from any possible lawsuits regarding the product not working, illness, and even death! 

            Just like any other drug, diet pills are habit forming and can easily be abused.  Abuse may lead to dependence.  Even after becoming addicted to diet pills little or no weight will come off and be kept off for long amounts of time.

            The following can occur from taking diet pills:  nervousness, restlessness, insomnia, high blood pressure, fatigue and hyperactivity, heart arrhythmias and palpitations, congestive heart failure or heart attack, stroke, headaches, dry mouth, vomiting and diarrhea or constipation, intestinal disturbances, tightness in the chest, tingling in extremities, excessive perspiration, dizziness, disruption in menstrual cycle, change in your sex drive, hair loss, blurred vision, fever and  urinary tract problems.  If the consumer overdoses on the diet pills this can cause tremors, confusion, hallucinations, shallow breathing, renal failure, heart attack and convulsions (1is2fat.com). These are a lot of side effects.  It’s scary to think that one little pill could cause any one of these things to happen to you.

            Is there an easy way to loose weight? No, absolutely not.  For long term results eating healthy and exercise are both extremely important in achieving your desired weight and maintaining that weight for years.  There is no quick fix that lasts for years to come and that is safe.  You get out what you put in.

Newspapers have been around for hundreds of years.  The first newspaper was published in America back in 1690.  During the colonial period, the government made it a crime to say anything negative about the government, regardless if it was the truth; this was known as seditious libel laws.  The Zenger Case is what led to the freedom of the press.  The jury agreed that the newspapers should be allowed to publish the truth and found Zenger not guilty.

            Multiple newspapers were published in colonial times, such as, partisan press and mercantile press.  As time went on and after the Revolutionary War was over, America was beginning to take form.  One newspaper that helped to form America were the federalist papers.  These papers provided information to Americans about the federal government.

            Over time, different styles of journalism began to emerge.  Such as the following:  yellow journalism, investigative journalism, stunt journalism, and jazz journalism.  Today journalism of all kinds can be found not only in print, but also on the internet as well.             Media is constantly changing.  News can be read in the newspapers, heard on the radio, watched on television or viewed on the internet.  Not only is the news getting convenient, but it also caters to the reader’s wants and needs.  Special interest newspapers are being published.  The alternative press writes from a different viewpoint from the majority of papers.

            The newspaper field offers a wide range of careers.  These careers can be broken down into two different groups:  the editorial staff and the business staff.  The diversity of a newspaper is important in order to get different viewpoints and relate to its readers, however, diversity is hard to find in the newspaper field.