...Classical Mythology Part I Professor Elizabeth Vandiver THE TEACHING COMPANY ® Elizabeth Vandiver, Ph.D. Visiting Assistant Professor of Classics, University of Maryland Elizabeth Vandiver did her undergraduate work at Shimer College, Mt. Carroll, Illinois, where she matriculated in 1972 as a sixteen-year-old “early entrant.” After receiving her B.A. in 1975, she spent several years working as a librarian before deciding to pursue graduate work in Classics at the University of Texas at Austin. She received her M.A. in 1984 and her Ph.D. in 1990. In addition to teaching at the University of Maryland, Professor Vandiver has held visiting professorships at Northwestern University, where she taught from 1996 to 1999; the University of Georgia; The Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies in Rome, Italy; Loyola University, New Orleans; and Utah State University. Her course on Classical Mythology has been particularly successful. In 1998, Dr. Vandiver received the American Philological Association’s Excellence in Teaching Award, the most prestigious teaching award available to American classicists. Other awards include the Northwestern University Department of Classics Excellence in Teaching award for 1998 and the University of Georgia’s Outstanding Honors Professor award in 1993 and 1994. Dr. Vandiver has published a book, Heroes in Herodotus: The Interaction of Myth and History, and several articles, as well as delivering numerous papers at national and international...
Words: 407 - Pages: 2
...possibly happen. But then sometimes we dream of a love one who has passed on before us, or dream about something that could be happening in real life. It takes us to another place. How do we know that what we believe to be real life is not a dream? In the movie, The Matrix Mr. Anderson, a computer programmer/hacker also known as Neo questions if the life he lives is real, or if they are all being programmed somewhere by a machine. Neo meets Morpheus who shows him that people are under a computer program called The Matrix. Cypher has been shown this as well but tries to forget what he has seen and move on with his life. This task is not so easy. We see also in “The Allegory of the Cave” that the task to forget what you have seen, and lived for so long is a lie. Socrates presents to Glaucon a scenario of men who could only see shadows and that what they saw was their life. Just like in The Matrix, people believed that their day to day life, was all there was, and all that was happening. The men in the scenario think that it is their only reality, just as the people in The Matrix. Then one day in Plato’s excerpt, one man see’s real like just like, Neo. At first it id hard to believe. Then you start to think that, that reality is a dream. But in a way this one that saw the light is lie Chypher. In the excerpt the man could not forget what he had seen, or had been lead to believe was reality all his life. Just like Chypher wanted to forget all that he had seen, and go back to...
Words: 650 - Pages: 3
...appealing than others. The Matrix is one of my favorite movies and I would like to evaluate its elements and style in relation to its subject matter. I give credit to the creators and directors of movies because I know that what they do isn’t easy. Like all movies, its script is done over and over again. The Matrix wasn’t brought out in theatres until 1999, but yet one of the first screenplays was written in1996 and later revised in 1997. The story is told from a few different points of view because the story and the plot seem to go hand in hand, as the plot changes, so does the narration, but doesn’t seem to have any specific narration from any one person. The story is first seen from the point of view of Thomas “Neo” Anderson (Keanu Reeves). Then as the movie progresses, we see a small twist when two of the character roles are reversed. Then near the end of the movie, we see another small twist when the same two characters switch roles once...
Words: 257 - Pages: 2
...Now that we’ve clearly concluded that the Matrix just flat out sucks, we’ll now explore the story through the hero’s journey. Enter Thomas Anderson, better known as Neo, in his ordinary world of computer programming by day and a computer hacker by night. Despite his well paying job, he is bored as bored can be and is looking to see if there is more to this life. Neo gets the call to adventure when he gets a message from Trinity. He is told to follow the white rabbit and warns him that the matrix has him. The refusal to the call comes when Neo is being told by Morpheus to escape his work office building from the agents that after him for knowing too much about the matrix. This exact moment happens when his told to escape the building through...
Words: 328 - Pages: 2
...However, Alice and Neo’s “reality” are different. Within The Matrix, Neo does not realize his surrounding environment is not real, and life on earth is just a dream, having each individual clueless because no one has yet been woken up; this is the theme of perception vs. reality. Both protagonists struggle at first with the idea of a dream, but later they go deeper to consider what is real. Alice is asleep as she wonders Wonderland, whilst Neo is asleep and plugged into a simulated world, both assuming that everything is real, but in fact it’s not. Everything feels real to Alice until her sister wakes her up “ ‘Wake up, Alice dear!’ said her sister; ‘Why, what a long sleep you’ve had!’ ‘Oh,...
Words: 492 - Pages: 2
...Morpheus: “Sooner or later you’re gonna realize, just like I did…there’s a difference between knowing the path and walking the path.” The preceding is one of many quotes from the 1999 film, ‘The Matrix. ®’ The movie was ahead of its’ time, similar to the ‘Wizard of Oz ®.’ The movie is full of imagery, and metaphors, allegories, along with philosophies. To place the film in the category of being Christian is expanding the imagination. Although it uses Biblical terms such as Zion, Nebuchadnezzar, or Trinity, does not categorize it as a Messianic movie. The movie, in fact, falls more into the Gnostic category, because of its’ philosophical oratory. Gnostic, comes from the root word, Gnosis, from Plato, which states, “Gnōsis in its original Greek...
Words: 265 - Pages: 2
...Starting in the Matrix Neo is just an ordinary man who’s been searching for something, but fate finally finds him one day. Someone hacks his computer and sends him a message and when he follows that message he finds answers to what hes been searching for. Neo meets Trinity the one who will lead him to Morpheus; The one he has been searching for. Morpheus is the leader of an elite few survivors who escaped the Matrix and through a series of tests and simulations he is told the truth about the Matrix. And he must choose between the cold real world or the fake one that hes known his entire life. As he learns more and more neo only becomes more powerful in the Matrix, Morpheus’s faith in him increases. So much that he sacrifices himself to save...
Words: 269 - Pages: 2
...relation to the movie The Matrix. The main thing that stands out for each one of these is the question of the reality of the world in which we live. Our sense of being is called into question in each of these examples. Are our senses correct or are we simply living in a dream world that is made up? The Matrix is a computer system that has taken control of peoples everyday lives. Each individual is hooked up to this computer that generates a dream world where everyone believes that they are actually living a realistic life. In the Matrix Morpheus a leader of a group of people who have rebelled against this system come to the knowledge that they are not living real lives. In his recruitment Morpheus meets with Neo and attempts to show him the truth. Learning this Neo sees that what you can see, touch and feel are not exactly real, their senses have betrayed them. In the excerpt from Descartes he makes several statements which also question the reality in which our perceptions believe we are actually living. Descartes states that, “let us suppose, then, that we are dreaming, and that all these particulars namely, the opening of the eyes, the motion of the head, the forth putting of the hands, are merely illusions; and even that we really possess neither an entire body nor hands such as we see (Descartes’).” In the Allegory of the Cave excerpt from Plato, Socrates speaks of the prisoners...
Words: 755 - Pages: 4
...appealing than others. The Matrix is one of my favorite movies and I would like to evaluate its elements and style in relation to its subject matter. I give credit to the creators and directors of movies because I know that what they do isn’t easy. Like all movies, its script is done over and over again. The Matrix wasn’t brought out in theatres until 1999, but yet one of the first screenplays was written in1996 and later revised in 1997. The story is told from a few different points of view because the story and the plot seem to go hand in hand, as the plot changes, so does the narration, but doesn’t seem to have any specific narration from any one person. The story is first seen from the point of view of Thomas “Neo” Anderson (Keanu Reeves). Then as the movie progresses, we see a small twist when two of the character roles are reversed. Then near the end of the movie, we see another small twist when the same two characters switch roles once again... ... middle of paper ... ...t 4 is first, followed by shot 1, you may think that someone is already inside the house, switching on the kettle. Thus, the order should be kept as structurally defined as possible – one shot out of place can bring down the entire piece.” iii In conclusion, a film wouldn’t be a film if all these elements were not put together properly. Films today are becoming more and more...
Words: 379 - Pages: 2
...for hire known as Neo. In the simulated world, Thomas seems very bored and he doesn't care much about his job. He is always late for work and almost risks losing his job. The only thing that seems to be on his mind is his search for the truth. The answer of the question: "What is the matrix?" Ironically, when Thomas is in the unreal, simulated world, he uses mostly his real name, Thomas Anderson. Only as a hacker is he known as Neo. When he exits the matrix and enters the real world, he is known as Neo. There are more than one calls to the quest in this film. There is a minor call and a major call. The minor call would be when Neo receives a message on his computer stating: "Matrix has you follow the white rabbit". Later, when some customers Neo has worked for come to pick up hacked goods, he is invited to join them. At first, he is reluctant but when he sees a white rabbit on one of them, he decides to go. When he gets the bar where they were headed, he meets with Trinity, a woman who later becomes an ally. She warns him that "they" are watching him. She tells him that there is a man who has the answer to his search for the truth.The major call to adventure happens to Neo when he is at work in the morning. He receives a phone call that warns him that "they" are coming for him. At this point in the movie, we, the audience is not sure who "they" are but we know they are the enemies. The person who calls Neo is Morpheus, who Neo later meets. Morpheus tells Neo what to do step by...
Words: 1398 - Pages: 6
...throughout the movie, The Matrix. Morpheus, the leader of the resistance, explains to Neo (also known as “The One”) that the “reality” perceived by Neo is actually “a computer-generated dream world…a neural interactive simulation”, which is known as the matrix. Reality, the perception as we know it, in actual fact, is a simulated reality created by machines to subjugate the human race. Throughout the movie, those against the resistance are hooked up to a machine that brings their mind to the simulated reality. Their physical bodies are hooked up to machines in the actual reality whereas their mind is sent to this simulated reality, making it feel as real and tricking your mind to think that you are present in this...
Words: 599 - Pages: 3
...Term Paper 1st Draft Georges Seurat’s painting Models (Poseuses) is a rather large oil on canvas painting that can be found at the Barnes Foundation. The painting stands at 73 ¾ by 98 ¾ inches. It is thought that the painting was done somewhere between 1886-1888. Depicted in the painting is 3 models getting dressed, one is standing in the center looking at the viewer, the other to the right is sitting down putting on socks, and the other to the left has her back to the viewer. Strewn around the room are different articles of clothing and shoes, while in the background is a picture of another one of Seurat’s paintings, “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grand Jatte.” Georges Seurat was a French neoimpressionist painter in the 19th century. Seurat was born in 1859 and passed away in 1891 at the age of 31, after dying of pneumonia. He was well known for creating the pointillist style of paining by using tiny dots of color. He used a method called divisionism, which is defined as “a systematic refinement of the broken color of the impressionists.” Some of his more famous pieces are Baignade and Un Dimance à la Grande Jatte (A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grand Jatte), which is pictured in the background of Models, as mentioned earlier. Seurat is a very well known painter and his work had a great impact on the art community, and he is well recognized for his “influence in restoring harmonious and deliberate design and a thorough understanding of color combination...
Words: 1146 - Pages: 5
...Apple: Incremental Innovation and Impending Obsolescence. From the humble beginnings of a portable music player to the empire we know today of phones, computers, music players, games systems and of course, if they don’t have it, ‘there’s an App for that’ – Apple Inc. is an innovative force to be reckoned with in the current portable communications and entertainment industry. It owes this success to constant, incremental changes made to its products over the course of many years – closed innovation allowing them to fend off all comers while delivering something unique to the market. It started in 2001, when the first iPod music player – Mac compatible only – was released. Sales were slow, through analysis of the sales, market transition and the wants and needs of the consumer Apple determined that through development of Windows-compatible iTunes software they could increase their market share. This product (service) development enabled Apple to establish a presence within the market dominated by Microsoft at the time, while not directly threatening their market share. Apple exclusive formats were offered through iTunes, which was at the front of the commercial market in licensed online music distribution, such as .AAC, Quicktime Movie (.mov) and Apple Lossless (an FLAC clone) enticed users to make the switch from their MP3 players to the iPod. This was followed up by multiple hardware innovations, incremental changes in design and product functionality, from...
Words: 1286 - Pages: 6
...devices are changing the stage in the PLC that iPod may be experiancing after years of succecess. The PLC allows marketers to determine revenue earned and helps contribute to strategic marketing planning by helping a company identify when a product may need support, reinvigorating, or redesign, and is a helpful tool in regard to forcasting and managing cashflow. However the PLC paradigm can over-emphasise new product release due to products reaching maturity, but the reality is more profitability can be created through mature products as they already have an established market, and do not need such investment levels for promotion or advertising as a new product would. Since the release of the iconic iPod by Apple in 2001, sales of the Ipod Classic, Nano, Shuffle and Touch have sky rocketed, (appendix 1,) Thus allowing iPod to own...
Words: 287 - Pages: 2
...Individually written essay evaluating the role and application of an analytical model within the marketing planning process to support effevtive marketing decision making. Ipod The Prouct Life Cycle (PLC) signifies 4 common factors products have in common; 1. They have a limited lifespan; 2. Their sales pass through a number of distinct stages, each of which has different characteristics, challenges, and opportunities; 3 Their profits are not static but increase and decrease through these stages; and 4. The financial, human resource, manufacturing, marketing and purchasing strategies that products require at each stage in the life cycle varies (Kotler and Keller, 2006). A products life cycle follows a common structure, with 5 standard stages; introduction, growth, maturity, saturation and decline. Although realistically, most product don't follow such a prescriptive style. To know what stage in the PLC a products' in, a marketer should analyse the; sales, profits, customers, competitors and costs. Apples highly succesful and innovative iPod took the world by storm for many years, although new advances in technology and media devices are changing the stage in the PLC that iPod may be experiancing after years of succecess. The PLC allows marketers to determine revenue earned and helps contribute to strategic marketing planning by helping a company identify when a product may need support, reinvigorating, or redesign, and is a helpful tool in regard to forcasting and managing...
Words: 1696 - Pages: 7
