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The Bourne Series

Watching movie may be one of the popular hobbies to the public. The film as an art field may be more popular than other fields because of its expression ability. By unlimited this ability with technological development, film genres have varied. This variability could be from destruction and combination of ideas of this art. Spy film is one of the popular genres; it is generally a sub-genre of action and thriller film. The one spy film series in this essay is Jason Bourne films which is composed of three films, The Bourne Identity (2002), The Bourne Supremacy (2004), and The Bourne Ultimatum (2007). This essay will discuss identification, description and ideological perspectives of this series.

The Jason Bourne film series is adapted by Robert Ludlum's novels. In beginning of this series, Jason Bourne was found by fishermen on a boat but he did not know his name, and he also had uncompleted memory of his past. During stay with fishermen, he found his extraordinary abilities, such as physical combat, fluent spoken many languages and superb at handling vehicles. However, he still had no idea of his past, and wanted to know who he was. His real name is David Webb and he had a wife and two children but they were unintentionally killed by two bombs. In addition, he was actually a special assassin for the Medusa, a top-secret and government-funded project unit of the CIA. He learned all the CIA protocols and trade-craft, which was for a fake job, and then he was deployed to various locations around the world and assassinated many people. But on a job in France, he failed his mission, and was shot in the back twice while attempting to escape. The CIA believed that he was dead, and covered all facts of the project. However, he appears out of the world. He must have died for the CIA to keep the secret. Now, they have to find and catch or kill him, and Jason Bourne also has to find truth – his identity, with a removal plan of them.

The genre of his series is action drama with thriller, and war film genre without tanks. Jason Bourne was a top-secret special agency but it is not now. Also, he has no idea about his past. Moreover, he has to find and fight truth behind the facts. Simply, this series deals about one man’s journey to find his identity. Typically, spy films treat spies who find out the political, military, or industrial secrets of enemies or rivals. Through theme of fictional espionage, these films could be divided between realistic and fantasy, so Jason Bourne series could be the realistic story. In addition, the spy film genre is involving a spy or a secret agent who has been well trained by the military with good career, and a love for own country or organisation. Also, spies usually work alone with their organisation's support and always use the state-of-the art technologies (Britton 2006, pp. 123-125).

Although Jason Bourne series is one of spy films and follows the typical plot of spy films, however, he is now not a spy, and wants to know his identity more than ever. To Jason Bourne, killing someone who tried to kill Bourne is just steps, not his purpose. That is why Jason Bourne called "a spy for the new era" (Tallerico 2007, para. 2).

There is only one option; to be us or to be them. Spy films talk about relationships of contrary positions. The positions are in the middle of their unshaken faith; protecting and keeping. Moreover, in the historical timeline, the enemies in spy films changed from secret organisations to the Soviet Union. However, after the Cold War, modern spies have fought the insiders or the Third World. The history of spy film genre is quite long. It began in the silent picture days, and it is still continued with historical context, such as the start of the First World War, and the Second World War and the Cold War (Britton 2005, pp. 219-221).

After the Cold War, spy films especially in Hollywood needed new enemies instead of Soviet Union. Secret organisations nobody knows have been dealt by this need. However, just 'cause' is often not making sense. Ironically, it is estrangement between real and what in the "film". "The action spectacle is arguably transvergent: it is defined by technology instead of culture, not only in terms of its content but also in terms of its mode of production, latterly through the use of digital special effects in particular" (Brown 2007, pp. 95-96).

Just truth and conspiracy without heroes and enemies

Jason Bourne tries to find who he was, it is not who I am. His past is probably fact to him (he also believes that his past does not belong to him, it is slanted). However, his past is the result of his choice in his life. So, where was truth and where is truth? Truth and fact are not different; it depends on his sense of responsibility, because his life must have belonged to him. In addition, the truth of others, Pamela Landy and Noah Vosen who also work for the CIA as high-class managers (they also argued about his identity) truth also belongs to them, even if they walked the same way. There were no heroes and enemies, because they did the right thing they believed. It is just point of audience's view. Moreover, everybody lost truth but nobody lost their justice. At the end of this series, Jason Bourne can know his past and truth he wanted to know, but he had to run away with real Jason Bourne as David Webb.

References

Britton, W. 2005, Beyond Bond: Spies in Fiction and Film, Praeger, London.

Britton, W. 2006, Onscreen and Undercover: The Ultimate Book of Movie Espionage, Praeger, London.

Brown, W. 2007, 'Sabotage or Espionage?', Studies in French Cinema, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 93-106.

Tallerico, B. 2007, ‘Is It James or Jason You Want in Your Corner?’, Bond vs Bourne, viewed 13 December 2007, <http://www.ugo.com/ugo/html/article/?id=17598>.

Is It Possible to Know What Happens in War Zones?

The world we live is definitely not a stranger to war. From civil wars to global wars, all wars have had their own purposes and moral justification. The public also believe that those wars have had causes, because, even they have not been there, they have seen and heard what happens from the newspapers and on TV. However, there are two opposing circumstances, truth and facts, that determine whether it is possible to know what happens in war zones. This essay will discuss truth and facts of happens in war zones, focusing on three elements of governments, information and heroes.

Governments and War
Governments have used wars to win the confidence of the people. The public in democracy society can choose governments. This choice gives governments power to stay. However, how do governments gain the pubic? According to Mor (2007, p. 661), governments' half of "power politics" could be made by image-making. Image-making means the representation of government figures or the portrayal of authority, conservatism, and liberalism. On one hand, it is possible that the government put forward certain images for the sake of the people. Waging war is one of the good ways to show government's efforts for the people, and to gain public support, because of this, the public always feel uneasy when they relate about war. So, they have to believe and have faith the government's process in war. As a result, waging war may be good chance for governments to stay in power within the public; by spending money on resources, and protection for soldiers to keep safe their country and keep the peace of the world.

Information within Wars
Information within wars is limited by governments. Even though governments said that the purpose of waging wars was for the protection of the public and keep the peace, wars could be used by advantage governments. For example, there is a relationship between governments and the munitions industry, and no war means any need for the munitions industry.

There is no war without a "just" cause. To wage war, governments need the help of the other side; the 'enemy'. But, government requesting help from the enemy must convince the public that they are only the 'enemy'. However, what is the reason for establishing an enemy? An example of this was "Weapons of Mass Destruction" for Iraq War in 2003. The main reason of the Iraq War was so the U.S. government could remove these weapons, eventually creating a war; but there was no evidence of this. They did not care about just causes, because the public also did not care about it. The reasons for war changed as the enemy attacked "our soldiers". Now, the just cause is the destruction of all opposing countries, even the innocent. This gave reason for the public to change their belief about the war. How? The information the public had seen was controlled by US military with US government. War reporters could not take photographs whatever they wanted, and go wherever they wanted, because they had to stay with an army company. It seemed limited lens. The public also saw what happens in Iraq through limited lens. That was not freedom and truth of information. It was given by US military to the public. However, they believed it; because that was just one thing they could see and hear from Iraq.

"If it is on television, it must be real" (in Wag the Dog, 1997).

Heroes within Wars
Government had slanted the news about wars. This can be done through the description of a hero in war zones. One hero can influence many people. To be a hero is people's desire, also a hero must have respect by the people. For these reasons, within wars, heroes were aspects of making purpose for war by the governments. "Moreover, warriors and journalists are irreplaceable components in the structure of a constitutional republic, ensuring national security and the right of the people to know what their government is doing in their name and in their interests" (Buchanan and Press, MSNBC, April 16, 2003). Examples of this propaganda are Private Jessica Lynch and US Soldier Pat Tillman. Private Jessica Lynch was captured in an Iraqi ambush and then rescued by US special troop from an Iraqi hospital. However, the real story was that she had a vehicle accident and Iraqi doctors looked after her well. Moreover, they helped US special troops to rescue her. Another example, the case of Pat Tillman also showed government propaganda. Tillman was a football star in US match. He denied a multi-million dollar contract and then he joined the US military. Tillman was killed in Afghanistan during working military service. However, the real story of Tillman was that he had been killed by 'friendly fire'.

Conclusion
The purpose of the war was not simply removal of enemies. There were many reasons, such as the public's support and relationship between government and the munitions industry. To make governments’ side, the wars had slanted and repacked. The press was also controlled by the governments to keep the public's concerns. Governments did not want the public to know the real purpose and what happens in war zones, because there is no just cause if there is no support from the public and no staying in power. The public believe what they can see and hear what happens in war zones because it is on TV, even if truth is behind the "TV".

Bibliography

Carlson, M. 2006, 'War Journalism and the "KIA Journalist": The Cases of David Bloom and Michael Kelly', Critical Studies in Media Communication, vol. 23, no. 2, June 2006, pp. 91-111.

Dexter, G. 1941, 'The Canadian Economy in Two Wars', Foreign Affairs, vol. 19, no. 2, January 1941, pp. 442-452.

MOR, B.D. 2007, 'The Rhetoric of Public Diplomacy and Propaganda Wars: A View from Self-Presentation Theory', European Journal of Political Research, pp. 661-683.

Playdon, P. 2002, "'Under Friendly Fire": an Interview with Eve-Ann Prentice', Journalism Studies, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 267-275.

Wikipedia.org 2007, 'Jessica Lynch', viewed 12 December 2007, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica_Lynch>.

Wikipedia.org 2007, 'Pat Tillman', viewed 12 December 2007, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Tillman>.

Mary Wollstonecraft

1. Biography
• 27 April 1759 in London – 10 September 1797 in London
• Writer, philosopher and feminist (British Enlightenment in 18th Century)
• She wrote novels, treatises, a travel narrative, a history of the French Revolution, a conduct book, and a children’s book.
• Key figure; Modern feminism (Western feminism's leading icon)
• Poor early life
- His father did violence to her mother.
- Her sister suffered social condemnation and, because she could not remarry, was doomed to a life of poverty and hard work (Wikipedia, para. 4).

2. Main Ideas
• The rights of man and the rights of women were one and the same thing.
- To egalitarian social philosophy as the basis for the creation and preservation of equal rights and opportunities for women.
• The young women they tried to teach had already been effectively enslaved by their social training in subordination to men (Kemerling 2006, para. 1).
• To obtain social equality society must rid itself of the monarchy as well as the church and military hierarchies (Simkin 1997, para. 7).

• Major Book
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792)
- The first declaration of feminism
- Women are recognised as sharing with men the capacity and the right to be regarded as autonomous being, entitled to recognition as citizens in the civic sphere (Caine 1997, p. 24).
- Equal rights and opportunities for women (no attempt to deny sexual difference)
- Women are not naturally inferior to men, but appear to be only because they lack education.
- Specifically a response to the legislation which established a new system of education for boys, not for girls.

• Quotes
- "Till women are more rationally educated, the progress in human virtue and improvement in knowledge must receive continual checks" (Wollstonecraft 1792, Ch. 3)
- "It would be an endless task to trace the variety of meanness, cares, and sorrows, into which women are plunged by the prevailing opinion that they were created rather to feel than reason, and that all the power they obtain, must be obtained by their charms and weakness" (Wollstonecraft 1792, Ch. 4)

3. Wollstonecraft’s Importance
• As the founding figure of modern feminism is accorded higher recognition now than it has ever been before.
• Demanding recognition not only of Wollstonecraft's place in the history of feminism, but also in the history of political theory. – A new dimension to political theory by offering a 'means of stretching the liberal temperament to incorporate into political thinking explicit concern for the quality of personal relations and day-to-day conditions of the ordinary citizens' (Caine 1997, p. 24).

4. Impact on the society of the time
• Helping women to achieve a better life, not only for themselves and for their children, but also for their husbands (Kreis 2004, para. 9).
• Wollstonecraft herself would never have referred to her text as feminist because the words feminist and feminism were not coined until the 1890s. Moreover, there was no feminist movement to speak of during Wollstonecraft's lifetime.

5. Social Context
• French Revolution (1789) - emphasis on "Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity" of human, but not includes women.
• Since women were thought to have keener nerves than men, it was also believed that women were more emotional than men. Men were considered to be logical and decisive, where women were considered weak and hysterical.

6. Reception of Ideas (React)
• Wollstonecraft's work has had an effect on feminism outside the academy in recent years.
• Virginia Sapiro - "there is little indication that anyone who played a key role in women's history or feminism, other than Lucretia Mott, read Wollstonecraft's work seriously after her death until the twentieth century".
• Ayaan Hirsi Ali - "inspired by Mary Wollstonecraft, the pioneering feminist thinker who told women they had the same ability to reason as men did and deserved the same rights".

7. Acceptance by the media of the time
• "Hyena in Petticoats" - The ideas were truly revolutionary and caused tremendous controversy.
• Mary Wollstonecraft's views even shocked fellow radicals. Whereas advocates of parliamentary reform such as Jeremy Bentham and John Cartwright had rejected the idea of female suffrage.

8. Relevance
• One of the founding feminist philosophers
• Feminists often cite both her life and work as important influences.
• ... To represent women's hopes of a society free from misogyny and sexual injustice. However distant her ideas and imaginings may be from feminist thinking of the present -- very distant indeed in some cases.… -- as a symbol of what remains to be achieved. Mary Wollstonecraft remains as vital and necessary a presence today as she was in the 1700's… (Taylor 2003, p. 253).


References
Caine, B. 1997, English Feminism, 1780-1980, Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Kemerling, G. 2006, 'Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797)', viewed 4 December 2007, <http://www.philosophypages.com/ph/woll.htm>.

Kreis, S. 2004, 'Mary Wollstonecraft, 1759-1797', The History Guide, viewed 4 December 2007, <http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/wollstonecraft.html>.

Simkin J. 1997, 'Mary Wollstonecraft', Spartacus Educational, viewed 4 December 2007, <http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Wwollstonecraft.htm>.

Taylor, B. 2003, Mary Wollstonecraft and the Feminist Imagination, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Wikipedia 2007, 'Early Life', Mary Wollstonecraft, viewed 4 December 2007, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Wollstonecraft>.

Wollstonecraft, M. 1792, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman: with Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects, London.