MANAGEMENT SOCIAL PLACE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

MANAGEMENT SOCIAL PLACE - Essay Example e expectation of privacy is a legal phrase which suggests that individuals have certain amount of expectation of privacy and this expectation should only be protected if the individual believes that he/she should have privacy and the society is even of the view that an individual should have privacy (Walsh 318). If an individual is posting certain personal details such as pictures and texts over the social media without protecting them with privacy settings, they do not want to keep those posts private and cannot use the expectation of privacy clause. Under employment law individuals have certain rights to privacy in relation to social media. Under the 14th amendment as well as off duty statutes employees have the right to privacy and employers are restricted from infringing upon these rights. This means that employers cannot access the social media content of an individual while making hiring decisions. they can only access this information if they have obtained consent from the applicant, but this information should only be used if other background checks such as conduct of the employee in previous jobs are consistent with the content found on the applicant’s social media

International Business Globalization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

International Business Globalization - Essay Example Free zones have been set up in the UAE which are completely tax-free to attract investment (Zaman, 2011). The toy sales in UAE have been burgeoning recently with the rise in sales reaching the mark of 17% when the global sale has shrunk by 0.08% (Ligaya, 2009), as per the research of NSD, a US based Research firm. This has particularly raised the interest of Kids R Us to explore into the market of China. Kids R Us, a leading toy company, headquartered in Dubai is one of the largest in its category. The company has been largely successful in its line of products for children under the age of three, which has hugely contributed in the recent revenue earnings as per the company’s annual report. The company has recently been trying to enter the Chinese market with its new product called the â€Å"The Singing Piano† as a starter and wishes to expand with its other products after gaining a foothold in the Chinese toy market. Business Concept Kids R Us is an UAE toy company wi th its headquarters at Dubai. The company was small at its onset, but over the years, it has established itself as one of the largest in the toy making business. The company mainly specializes in the production of toys for children of all ages. However, it had started out with producing toys for infants and till date, the largest portion of the company’s revenue stems from the toys designed for infants. Mission The company pays huge attention to the corporate responsibilities. The mission of the company can be summarized as: Playing with integrity. Promoting the team spirit among the employees to increase the efficiency of the organizational structure. Promoting sustainability in its growth and reduce any toxic impacts on the environment. Playing for all, where it acts in a philanthropic... From the discussion it is clear that  globalization in the recent times has made the world a very small place. The positive impact of globalization has helped countries to attract more foreign investment into them to boost the overall growth. The eagerness of UAE to attract further foreign investments is evident from its policies since 2002. Owing to the easing polices taken since 2002 by the federal government, these restrictions are now relaxed to make the foreign firms invest in UAE. Free zones have been set up in the UAE which are completely tax-free to attract investment.This study stresses that Kids R Us is an UAE toy company with its headquarters at Dubai. The company was small at its onset, but over the years, it has established itself as one of the largest in the toy making business. The company mainly specializes in the production of toys for children of all ages. However, it had started out with producing toys for infants and till date, the largest portion of the company ’s revenue stems from the toys designed for infants. The company aims to establish itself as the most sustainable one in the business with the ambition of manufacturing in the most eco-friendly way. The slogan of the company aptly captures its vision statement which reads â€Å"Toys which makes the earth smile†.  Kids R Us aims to introduce its newest toy, â€Å"The Singing Piano† in the Chinese market. The toy was first launched in Dubai and met with stellar reviews. It has been observed that the sales of indoor games along with outdoor games have been on a rise.

Buying Prescription Drugs outside the United States Dangerous or Term Paper

Buying Prescription Drugs outside the United States Dangerous or Protectionism - Term Paper Example made it look as if all drugs bought from Canada, and other international origins are the same as those that originates from websites that sell counterfeit drugs. Even the F.D.A. too has suggested saying that foreign unauthorized drugs posed the same health risks as counterfeit drugs. From the late 19th and through to early 21st centuries, several countries began to ban the keeping or using of some recreational drugs and buying of drugs out of their countries, for instance the United States war on drugs. Many individuals nonetheless continue to acquire these drugs, and a black market is there to supply them too. Despite law enforcement determination to intercept them, demand continues to be very high, providing a huge profit motive for organized criminal groups to maintain drugs supplied (Abood, 13). Even though law enforcement agencies seize a fraction of the drugs considered dangerous drugs, and detain hundreds of thousands of retailers and wholesalers, the very constant demand for such drugs and the huge profit margins encourages new distributors to get into the market without a falling in the retail price. In the recent past, there has been divided opinion of whether United States claims that the drugs into the country bought out are dangerous, or it is just one of their protectionism policies. Through a keen analysis, a thought provoking comprehensive overview of the topic can be provided and argument for or against each claim. There various multinational whose policies have contravened with the countries policies on drugs but still continue with the vise (Bhagwati, 4). For instance, in September 2006, Wal-Mart announced a pilot plan to sell generic drugs at only $4 per prescription. The pilot plan was launched at stores in the Tampa, Florida region, and expanded to all stores in Florida by January 2007. The average price of generics is $29 (equated to $34.00 this year) per prescription, compared to $102 (equated to $119.00 in 2014) for name-brand drugs. Many

Drunk Driving Essay Example for Free

Drunk Driving Essay Driving a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol is one of the most dangerous things you can do. There is a mass of research evidence to show that driving performance and reaction times are seriously affected by alcohol. Our law in Georgia states, that it is illegal to operate a motor vehicle if your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) exceeds . 10%. Georgia observes a per se law. (Craft) If you drink and drive, you are not only a danger to yourself but also to your passenger, other road users and pedestrians. In fact, every 30 minutes, someone in this country dies in alcohol-related crash. Every 30 minutes! And last year alone more than one million people are injured in alcohol-related traffic crashes. Alcohol is a depressant that slows down body reactions and the working of the brain. Each year drunk driving is responsible for about 25% of these deaths. The risks of drinking are alcohol-related accidents and violence. The effects of alcohol are poor coordination and slurred speech, double vision, decrease of self-control loss of consciousness and death. There are legal consequences due to drinking also. The more a person drinks, the more their ability to make important decisions becomes impaired. After just one drink, a driver can lose their ability to perform the tasks necessary to drive a car. At a certain point, a driver will become illegally intoxicated and can be arrested for attempting to operate a motor vehicle. In every state on out country there is a legal limit to how much alcohol you can have in your body if you are driving. If you drink and drive you can lose your drivers license and even go to jail. Traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for teens and young adults. More than 5,000 young people die every year in car crashes and thousands more are injured. Drivers who are 16 years old are more than 20 times as likely to have a crash, as are other drivers. There are two main reasons why teens are at a higher for being in a car crash and lack of driving experience and their tendency to take risks while driving. Teens drive faster and do not control the car as well as more experienced drivers. Their judgment in traffic is often insufficient to avoid a crash. In addition, teens do most of their driving at night, which can be even more difficult. Standard drivers education classes include 30 hours of classroom teaching and 6 hours of behind-the-wheel training. This is not enough time to fully train a new driver. Teen drivers are more like to be influence by peers and other stresses and distractions. This can lead to reckless driving behaviors such as speeding, driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol, and not wearing safety belts. There is no safe amount that you can drink and still drive. Even one drink can influence your driving offences. Nowadays, drunk driving has become driving while intoxicated, driving while impaired, driving while under the influence, operating while under the influence (impaired, intoxicated, or whatever), and in many states, one can be convicted of DUI even though the police didnt even see you drive. (JMD) It is often too late by the time they seek help. They face losing their license; having embarrassing court appearances, press coverage and heavy fines. Many are just ordinary people who have a few social drinks, get behind the wheel and then get pulled over by the police. Such as Henri Paul that thought he was not too drunk to drive. However, evidence proves otherwise in this report that states, French pathologists drew five separate samples: blood from directly above the heart; also urine, eye fluid, bile and hair. These showed: a. A blood-alcohol level of about 180 milligrams per 100 mil. equivalent to eight or nine scotch whiskies, which is three times over the legal limit in France. b. A little over 20% carboxyhemoglobin, which is inhaled carbon monoxide. c. Traces of two drugs, the antidepressant Prozac and Tiapridal, a drug used to treat alcohol addiction; the Prozac taken regularly since May that year, and the Tiapridal since July. So try to manage your life so that you do not drink and drive. If you go out for a drink, try to go somewhere that you can reach either on foot or by public transportation. Think about sharing the driving on different days with a group of people so that you can take turns at driving. If you do drink even though you meant not to, and you went out with your vehicle, consider taking a taxi or take a Saferide home and leave your vehicle behind. (Saferide) This is a whole lot cheaper than getting prosecuted! Work Cites Craft, Stephen. Interview with Winde Rovira. A ttorney at Law licensed in Georgia and Alabama. 8 March 2000 Saferide. http://www. baddpage. com/saferide. html JMD. DUI Help Website (2000) all rights reserved by jmd-ent. com http://www. dui-help. com/index1. html Bartram, John. The Mysteries Surrounding Princess Dianas Death http://dianaconspiracy. homepage. com/.

The Features Of Institutional Bargaining Approach Politics Essay

The Features Of Institutional Bargaining Approach Politics Essay The birth of the concept of institutional bargain approach stems from the work of Oran R. Youngs criticism on the current rationalist and cognitivist approaches to define the regime formation. Schools of thought of the realist or neorealist highlights the existence of the dominant actors or hegemons possessing structural powers is a necessary condition for international regime formation or maintenance.  [5]  In the other hand, the liberal-institutionalism stresses that a sizable number of self-interested states would coordinate their behaviours to maximize absolute gains by devising mutually beneficial institutional arrangements reducing transaction costs.  [6]  The cognitive theorist underlines that it is the role of cognitive factors that influence the regime formation.  [7]   Literature Review The process of negotiations in climate change poses huge diplomatic and legal challenges to international community. The complexity of the climate change negotiations especially its dependence on science for political decisions have produced two set of perspectives at the negotiations; these are the countries of the view that they would do something to the problem and other countries of the view that would not do something to the problem. Most importantly, climate change negotiations has a unique political dynamic. Power at these negotiations does not derive simply from the size of the economy, but it derives from the fact that how much the country is emitting Greenhouse gases. The countries that pollute the environment hold the most bigger bargaining power. This paradigm poses a huge obstacle to reach a balanced outcome at the climate change negotiations. The book by William Marson (2011)  [8]  highlights the flaws of the climate change negotiations in Copenhagen, stating that group of elite polluters: the United States, the European Union and China have chips to deal and so they rule the game. The other barrier in ensuring a transparent negotiation lies on the issue of a paradigm shift in the environmental politics. The book by Pamela S. Chasek, David L. Brownie, Janet Welsh Brown (2010)  [9]  highlights that the paradigm shift in environmental politics has given rise to the participation of various actors in international environment negotiations and has drawn the climate change issue from dominant socio economic paradigm to the rise of alternative paradigm, in some cases making the problem of climate change a security issue. A collection of articles on the concept of equity  [10]  written by climate change negotiating experts of the BASIC  [11]  countries state the importance of having equitable access to atmospheric space and actions needed in mitigation and adaptation to come up with a long term global goal. In addition, Steve Vanderheiden ( 2008)  [12]  aims at presenting the negotiations of the climate change as revisiting norms such as fairness, equity and atmospheric justice. According to Vanderheiden, it is imperative to address the climate change negotiations in a manner that promotes fairness based on the ideals of equity and national responsibility has practical and principle justification. Dieter Helm and Cameron Hepburn (2009)  [13]  highlights that despite the acceleration of research and scientific explorations on climate change, the policy formation in climate change still disconnected with the findings of science and explains as to why this disconnect prevails. Dieter Helm, analysing the pros and cons of the existing international regimes on climate change highlights also disparity between the share of responsibility in the mitigation efforts between the developing and developed countries and states that unless all the countries are shouldering the responsibility in terms of mitigation, any future agreement in this regard will not be effective. With regard to the process of negotiation from Bali to Copenhagen, books by Abdrew E Dessler and Edward A. Parson ( 2006)  [14]  and a collection of articles in Political Theory and Global Climate Change by John Barry (2008)  [15]  and Negotiation capacity and strategies of Developing countries by Pamela Chesak and LavanyaRajamani ( UNDP report on Global Public Goods 2003)  [16]  and a UNDP report on sustaining human progress in a changing climate (2012)  [17]  present the argument of the disadvantages faced by the developing countries in international environment negotiations as they are being underrepresented or unrepresented at the key decision making moments. Even more so, an in depth analysis by Pamela S. Chasek in her book  [18]  on 30 years long negotiations on the Earth highlights the realpolitik of the environment negotiation and the reasons as to why an agreement is not feasible in the near future. In addition, on the academic literatures, the theoretical framework presented by Young highlights most of the issue as he has been carrying out lot of research and studies on the governance of natural resources and regime formation on same and also through his intervention of the institutional bargaining approach. In his book in 1989  [19]  , he has made an effort to explain the possibility of applying the international regimes and international institutions to address the problem of international coorperation on natural resources and environment. Also, another book by Young in 1994  [20]  is re-examines the basic issues focusing the distinction between governance systems and governments. Apart from regime formation it deals with the flaws of the international governance system and also it reaffirms the emergence of the concept of institutional bargaining as a method to create international regimes. In his books, Young (2002  [21]  and 2010  [22]  ), says that the cli mate change regime which us been created and in the process of being created does not account the nature of the problem, thus there is a mismatch between the character of the regimes created to address the nature of the problem. Thus so far, the materials that have been referring to however, does not approach the process of negotiation through the lens of the developing countries which are not major emitters. For example, those countries which did not allow the Copenhagen Accord to be adopted at the Copenhagen climate conference, are not the major emitters nor they were financially powerful. They were belonging to an economic block in the Latin American continent and to the Small Island Developing States. Most of them were poor countries with least economic and political standing in the world affairs. Then how did Copenhagen go wrong and what was the reason for hundreds of other nations to rally around this small group of countries with weak or no economic power? According to the institutional bargain theory, it could be because of the power of transnational alliances as well as the breaking of the consensus rule. Through the theoretical analysis, this paper will examine the reasons for a small group of coun tries to win the climate battle without allowing it to divert the years long negotiations to fail. It also aims at examining the different tactics and strategies by major emitters in terms promising much and committing little and thereby utilizing the process of negotiation to produce yet again an international agreement which has taken into account the concerns of the most vulnerable and badly affected by the problem. Features of Institutional Bargaining Approach Critics of realism, neorealism and neoliberalism often states that these theories base their assumption on the same flaws and dynamics thus does not pay much attention to the process of negotiation. As stated earlier, most of the time, these theories explain why states cooperate rather than how they are cooperating and as to how the regimes are being formed. The approach of institutional bargaining display the dynamics and flaws of how states cooperate based on their interests which derive from their domestic realities. The main assumption of this approach is analysing the regimes through interests. Main features of the institutional bargain approach are highlighted as follows: Consensus Rule and Multiple actors There are several actors in international institutions. Be it states parties which could be as low as 15 and there are international regimes which has 180 States parties and hundreds of observers from international organizations and civil society etc. In addition, the institutional bargain model base the assumptions on the consensus rule. It is normal for some parties to resist, reject an international negotiations, but it does not mean that the others who would want an outcome not to put their full effort in reaching an agreement, which all parties would be approving. Even though it may be difficult to reach politically an unanimous agreement, it is the basis for any agreement to come to life in the international system. Therefore unanimously is essential when States bargain in designing international regimes  [23]  . Mixed Motive Bargaining According to Young, there are two types of bargaining. One is termed as distributive, is when negotiators will know in advance what they would gain out of a negotiation. This information reaches them through the strategic behaviour and the tactics that they would use in committing to certain issues and positions of others. One of the main points in the distributive bargaining is that the negotiators would lose in one while they gain from the other. The second type of bargaining is integrative bargaining where the negotiators bargain in the absence of fixed contract or negotiation set.  [24]  Due to the lack of information on strategies, the negotiators will try to explore the possible agreements for the mutual benefits. Climate change negotiations and its framing into a model of distributive or integrative lies on the degree of approach of the negotiators to bargain with each other. This can be done only through the level proof through science on the scale of the global warming a nd thereby to rest aside the uncertainties on the issue itself. The veil of uncertainty The term veil of uncertainty is the explanation of dearth of information, knowledge about the issue, or the lack of confidence in making decisions or expressing the preferences. According to Young, the veil of uncertainty give rise for the parties to agree with each other.  [25]  Most of the time, the negotiating parties in the institutional bargaining process perform under a veil of uncertainty on the future positions and interests. No Party would know what would be their future positions when negotiations are taking place. Therefore, when the Party has to choose among many rules, it is much more difficult for a person to determine which of the several choice options confronted will, indeed, maximize whatever set of values that person desired to maximize  [26]  . One of the reason for this behaviour is that the negotiator may be suffering from the notion of loss of interest identity. This becomes all the more prominent in climate change negotiations as the negotiators are de pending on scientific evidence, which some States do not accept as a negotiation information, therefore, individual negotiators who faces different set of choices can become uncertain about the impact of the alternate position that it can take. In addition, this level of uncertainty makes the negotiator to agree with the arrangements or the choice that can be perceived as the faire one which is broadly acceptable to the majority. Problems and Approaches In a negotiation, the negotiators are focusing on the key issues and try to reconcile their differences on these issues rather than trying to reach an agreement on the exact areas of the regime. In this context, the negotiating text is produces to serve as a guiding tool for the negotiators and to reconcile their differences in the process. For example, as Chasek highlights one of the major characteristics of Climate Change negotiations is producing a draft text either by the chair of the working group or the COP President  [27]  . For example, after the Bali Road Map was adopted the Ad-Hoc Working Group on Longterm Cooperative Action ( AWG-LCA) was initiated and at each COP the Chair of the LCA was requested by the negotiators to produce a text highlighting the key issues of divergence and convergence. This course of action was repeated till the Copenhagen and at the Copenhagen there were texts produce by the Chairs of Working Groups each day. This course of action was aiming at narrowing down the differences and to leave the key issues of divergence for the political leadership to deliver. Transnational Alliances States are of diverse interests and political identities. The grouping in the international negotiations, especially at the United Nations have been made on the basis of geographical regions. Therefore, states with diverse interests and identities have been composed into these groups  [28]  . It is then natural that conflict of interest arise and they tend to be inter regional or/and intra- regional. Thus the States, in a negotiation process tend to align themselves or create alliances among the similar states with similar interests, these transnational alliances are highly influential in regime creating. They hold the negotiation positions or let lose them as and when they deem fit and as and when they cater their interests. For example, the Alliance of Small Island Developing States ( AOSIS)  [29]  and the ALBA  [30]  ( Alliances of Bolivarian Republic)group of countries as well as the LDCs ( Least Developed Countries) play a critical role in climate change negotiations . Their critical role was one of the key elements in shaping the negotiations as well as reaching agreements from Bali to Copenhagen  [31]  . Shifting Involvements According to Young, the institutional bargaining model all the time linked with gamut of issues and events happening in the socioeconomic and political environment  [32]  . These unfolding political and socioeconomic events pose different degrees of obstacles for the regime creation, and also complicating the negotiations and sometimes some parties as they struggle with domestic matters, they simply ignore the current issues. This situation can lead to reach an agreement through package deals such as that of practised in Copenhagen through the Copenhagen Accord. Or in some cases, the parties may borrow the assistance from the civil society and the NGO community to facilitate them in regime creation. For example after the failure in Copenhagen, the package deal reached in Cancun at the COP 16 was generously assisted by the civil society and the NGO community at the time it was being approved by the COP plenary despite the objection by the State of Bolivia. Factors to account the success of Institutional Bargaining Approach in Climate Change Negotiations Institutional bargaining is simply is bargaining to create an institution and this approach focuses on the process of regime setting as a priority. Young foresee major two flaws in rationalist approach of bargaining  [33]  . On one hand the rationalists approach according to Young is overly optimisitic as it regards that actors are rationally cooperate. On the other hand, the rationalists fails to consider major obstacles that disturbs the process of reaching an agreement. Severe obstacles such as problems arising strategic behaviour, intra-party behaviour, lack of trust among the parties are not considered in the rationalist approach. In sum, the model of institutional bargaining has two folds, these are descriptive and analytical. Under the descriptive folder, it seeks to outline essential circumstances under which collective efforts to form regimes regularly takes place. Analytically, it lays down several factors that are critically useful for the success of those efforts  [ 34]  . These are as follows: Contractual Environment blurring the zone of agreement and veiling the future distribution benefits Institutional bargaining can succeed only when the issues at stakes lend themselves to treatment in a contractarian mode.  [35]   Under a veil of uncertainty, negotiators of a process aim at reaching agreement on the terms of a social contract in order to solve the collective-action problems. Also, in a consensus-ruled situation, it is important that the parties avoid positional deadlocks in this contractarian environment. Thus, collective-action problems which will be solved through devising institutional arrangements vary in the degree to which they lend themselves to treatment in contractarian terms.  [36]   Exogenous shock of crisis Exogenous shocks or crises increase the probability of success in efforts to negotiate the terms of governance systems  [37]  . For example, in the case of Chernobyl, led the process of negotiation for a legal outcome in the nuclear treaty. In the case of the depletion of Ozone layer also influenced enormously the negotiations in the Montreal Protocol. In the case of climate change negotiations, the hot summer in the USA and Canada, influence the two countries to make arrangements for the Toronto Conference. However, Young informs that creeping crisis of global warming has not thus so far had an effect just as the Chernobyl crisis or Ozone hole on the negotiation process  [38]  . Availability of equitable solution Young asserts that the availability of arrangements that all participants can accept as equitable is necessary for institutional bargaining to succeed  [39]  . Without emphasising the achievement of allocative efficiency by utilitarian models, equal attention should be paid to equity as negotiating environment features a consensus rule. In this context, the institutional bargaining can yield success only when all the major parties and interest groups agree that their concerns have been treated fairly. For example, the importance of historical greenhouse gas emissions and the act

Melvilles Moby Dick :: Essays Papers

Melvilles Moby Dick Melville was born in a time of American history where inspiring works of American literature began to emerge. It was also a time when America had not completely separated its literary heritage from Europe, partly because there were successful literary genius’ flourishing there. Melville proved to be a genius of his own, with his many works such as Moby Dick, Billy Bud, and Bartleby. Three distinct themes could be seen throughout most of his literature; whales and the whaling industry, commentary on the universe and human destiny, and ideas about God and nature. Moby Dick is an incredible work by Melville most often referred to as an epic, a tragedy, a novel, an exposition on the whaling, and a spiritual autobiography. It is often overlooked that a deeper, more symbolic, meaning may have been the driving force behind Moby Dick. Herman Melville was born on August 1, 1819, to Allan and Maria Melville. He was the third of eight children in the Melville family. He was generally described as silent and slow; his mother thought him to be a very dull child. In 1832 Melville suffered tragedy when his father died. Finishing school when he was fifteen, Melville took service as cabin boy aboard the St. Lawrence. After returning to his home in New York for some time after serving as cabin boy, Melville took berth as an ordinary seaman aboard a whaling ship called the Acushnet. After approximately four and a half years as a seaman on various ships, he set down, again in New York, to write of his experiences. Within six years he had published five books. Shortly thereafter Melville was married and moved his family to a farm near Pittsfield, Massachusetts. It was at this location where Moby Dick was written. Moby Dick was first published in 1851. Melville continued to write, both poetry and stories, until three months before his death in 1891. Melville’s perspective on life was that God created the universe with an infinite number of meanings and man is always trying to determine one specific meaning (Robertson-Lorant 65). It is possible that Melville, through writing, was seeking out some of his many destinies bestowed upon him by God. The basis of the name Moby Dick can be traced back to an article in the New York Knickerbocker Magazine in May of 1839 (Madden).

The Manchurian Candidate

Films have always been an outlet for a confused society; with themes of politics, religion, relationship and illness movies are the way the modern world deals with its hardships and examines its own motives and actions.   â€Å"The Manchurian Candidate† is one of the more controversial films in this eye-opening genre, with political themes running strong throughout in such a way as to seemingly point fingers and make strongly opinionated remarks about our current political situation. The 2004 film was remade from an earlier 1962 version, which before taking that format was actually a novel written by Richard Condon in 1959.   Its political premise was originally based on the Cold War; the book and the original film shied away from the usual opinion that it was Communists who were solely misguided and instead portrayed a world where Communists, Capitalists and everybody in between was faulted ideologically.   The people in Condon’s book existed within a conspiratorial net that saw brainwashed operatives of the Communist Party seeking to take office and exploit their position for monetary gains (Gianos 1998). The 2004 version, by contrast, has been quite clearly adapted for the age of the War on Terror, with Communists replaced by the new perceived enemy, corporate giants, in this case â€Å"Manchurian Global†.   It becomes clear as the movie progresses that the main characters have been brainwashed by Manchurian Global to protect and grow the interests of the corporation. One character, under the direct influence of his power hungry mother, seeks election into office, while the other is representative of an entire section of the military in supporting his campaign.   This latter character, Marco, becomes suspicious of his own actions concerning the vice-presidential candidate, Shaw, when he realizes that he and every other military officer who served with his is using the exact same words to describe their support of the man; basically that he is a wonderful man and an excellent soldier who will make the best vice-president. Marco believes he is suffering from a mental illness, and seeks help from the military doctors who are pledged to offer comprehensive care following service in the army.   They seem willing to help until Marco finally refuses the pills they keep giving him.   He claims they don’t work and that he wants something different, however the doctors won’t do anything for him – in fact they are very concerned about his refusal to accept their treatment.   In the end, Marco pieces together the entire story that he has forgotten: while serving together in the army, he and his companions, including Shaw, were brainwashed by Manchurian Global to support the candidacy of Shaw while Shaw himself was groomed to take the vice-presidency. Through the brainwashing, the corporation expected to gain high level contracts and a huge amount of money and power.   It falls to Marco to expose the plot and explain it to Shaw before he gives the company and all the people connected to the plot exactly what they want.   It is a story of corruption in government and the overall will of those in powerful places to exploit whoever is necessary to stay on top and bring in the cash. The reverberations of this film in current American politics is very strong and very controversial.   Political controversy in film is of course not a new thing; Brian Nerve explains that Hollywood has been a refuge for the suspicious world since its earliest days, and that movies like â€Å"The Manchurian Candidate† are not the product of unsound minds but of a lack of transparency throughout the political world (Nerve 1992). This movie in particular has been built upon that ever-present facet of the American public: the conspiracy theory.   Whether it’s a Presidential assassination or a corporate cover-up, Americans want to know every detail and whether or not there are real conspiracies of this magnitude actually occurring is difficult to tell when questions constantly go unanswered and the imagination takes over.   More than anything, Manchurian Global has a startling likeness to American corporations like Halliburton, who have in recent years been harshly chided for their role in global inequality and exploitation in the name of money. The people in league with Manchurian Global are portrayed as basically heartless, inhuman and scandalous; these elements of scandal can always be found in political films according to Gillespie and Lerner (2000).   The producers were well aware of the parallels they were drawing between their characters and the members of America’s present government, and the audience was generally predisposed to believe the worst of its government before seeing such a shocking story of manipulation played out for them onscreen.   They wonder if they are being brainwashed to accept a fabricated reality, or if they are simply not seeing the whole picture. In its entirety, â€Å"The Manchurian Candidate† has questioned the accuracy of media portrayals of events in such a way as the American public truly wanted to see – however the movie was so undeniably outrageous in its plot details that instead of reinforcing the idea that the government is hiding something from the public all it really did was make the audience question their current beliefs concerning conspiracy. Few people are prepared to believe blatant military brainwashing, and this is the major weak point in the film.   â€Å"The Manchurian Candidate† is a movie that sets itself far apart from mainstream entertainment in its political aspects and ideas.   It has drawn an audience mostly intent on getting angry at the state of government and politics, though unfortunately in the end it falls short.   Instead of solidifying current thought patterns or expanding on them, the film merely sparks doubt in the minds of those most willing to believe its plot.   All in all, â€Å"The Manchurian Candidate† is quite unworthy of the hype. Works Cited Gianos, Phillip. Politics and Politicians in American Film. CT: Praeger Publishers, 1998. Nerve, Brian. Film and Politics in America: A Social Tradition. New York: Routledge, 1992. Schultz, David. It's Show Time!: Media, Politics, and Popular Culture. New York: Peter Lang, 2000.