Movies comprise pictures in motion created either by recording images using cameras, animations, or special effects. Movies come in different kinds; dramas, actions movies, horrors, comedy, and action dramas and involve different characters. Movies are created by culture representing those cultures and, in turn, may affect those cultures. These movies are designed to portray how ethnic life differs from one group to another. “Many movies aimed at complex portrays, both positive and negative, in effort to define cultural difference on their own terms” (Erens).
As a result of the nature of movies and how they portray the characters, then a question will arise on the truthfulness of the movie with respect to the aspects of culture it portrays. Movies are considered tools of educating, entertaining, and informing. Being components of mass media, they have effects both on those cultures they present and the people who watch these movies. They impact bad behavior to those who watch them, especially the young ones who find practicing what they saw in them.
Misrepresentation of groups on movie screens has caused serious suffering to that group even though; some of these movies are not real: “the magical images reflect fantasies—distortions—but truths of another sort” (Mapp 28). Movies have enhanced international understanding of various groups because movies portray characteristics of the group set from. In every movie, there are different persons who play different important roles in the work. One person or a ground stands out to possess distinct features and performs a specific function. Movies have been designed to reflect the dominant ideas of the ruling groups. Then problems arise when the aspect portrayed by the characters in the movie do not reflect the reality of the culture represented (Mapp 38).
There are general trends in many movies where you find that minority groups are represented negatively. In many movies, the minorities play a negative role while the dominant characters play a positive role. Minorities are portrayed as being weak, lack ideas, and they do not survive especially in action movies. The dominant group manipulates the minorities to their own advantage; they make or use them to remain dominant forever. For instance, many movies represent African American men or black men in general as violent, murderers, illiterate, and drug smugglers: the dominant group plays as the detectives, the judicial to prosecute the convicted murderers, and at the end, they are the winners- – they fall and rise. This scenario presents the black culture as being violent and lawbreakers. Although there are minor elements within the black culture that have these characters, it doesn’t mean that all black people are like that. Some black people may take it as a misrepresentation of their culture, and the scenario may be a mockery of their black culture in general.
Again you will find that the minorities, now this time women, are portrayed as prostitutes and less fortunate in society. They are immoral and are always after money from men. Actually, this picture is absurd to women because not all women are prostitutes. “All black women are cased as being loyal domestic helpers or single mothers” (college research). You may feel that this is not negative, as it represents them as successful. But because of their humility and loyalty, the male counterparts of the dominant group take advantage of women’s royalty and force them into making love. Minorities play the role of terrorists, mostly the Arabs (Pines 69). They are seen as a threat to the whole world, and the dominant group is after destroying them. All dangerous weapons are associated with them, and their only intention is to kill the dominant group. In response, there is a confrontation between the two groups, a fight erupts, but the minorities are defeated and killed. One funny thing with this confrontation is that the minorities are in a large group, but they lose to the dominant group with few characters. You can not imagine how the minorities are brutally executed and eliminated from the scene of the movies no matter how strong they might be (Pines 78).
The way the minorities are portrayed in many movies does not necessarily reflect the actual characteristics of that culture in many cases. We understand that some movies may be a true story, but to some extend the minority-dominant group is exaggerated. Actually, we can say that movies are designed to show the superiority of one group over the other: usually the dominant group outweighs the minority. The moviemakers are encouraged by the profit they make from consumption, and may not be concerned by the negative response their movie is going to attract from the movie lovers in the market (College research).
Movies play an important role in socializing people and up to individual’s decision of not watching movies that portray the minorities in the negative role. Those in movie producing industry should be encouraged to balance between entertaining their audience and respecting different cultures and ethnicity.
Works cited
College research, Images of Minorities in Movies. 2008. Web.
Erens Patricia, Images of minority and foreign groups in American films. 2008. Web.
Mapp, Edward. “Blacks in American Films: Today and Yesterday”. Concentrates on blacks in postwar films. The Scarecrow Press, Inc., Metuchen, N.J., 1972 23-99.
Pines, Jim. “Blacks in Films: A Survey of Racial Themes and Images in American Film”. Bibliography and chronological filmography. London, Studio Vista, 1974, 67-88.
Exxon Mobil Corporation’s Sales Strategy
The Exxon Mobil Corporation is an Oil and Gas Industry based company. The company became the largest company in the world, in terms of its revenue, after the merger between the two companies Exxon and Mobil. The company is also the largest publicly owned company with a market capitalization worth $501.17 billion, as recorded in April 2008. The company also ranks as the company having the highest recorded net income in the world for a publicly owned company.
The company has operating divisions which are divided into four segments. These pertain to upstream division, downstream division, chemical division, and global service division. The upstream division has included operations that are specific to exploration, development, production, research, and marketing for the Gas and Power Company. The operations for the downstream division include oil refining, supply management, marketing of fuels, and management of other products like lubricants.
The Chemical division mainly handles the operations relating to the Exxon Mobil Chemical Company. The global service operations for Exxon Mobil include service management specific to information technology, real estate, and related facilities, procurement management, and business support centers for the customers of the company.
The sales strategy for any company is a long-term vision and a plan of action that is employed by the company to manage the sales of the products. The key elements of the sales strategy include the goals and objectives of the company pertaining to the sales function, identification of the marketplace and the target market, identification of the competitors of the company in the industry, and the channels employed to market and sell the products to the customers.
The positioning strategy of the business is also incorporated in the sales strategy. The sales strategy that is employed by Exxon Mobil differs for the different products produced, managed, and sold by the company. The main sales strategy that is used at the company is aimed at optimizing sales as a result of the increase in the demand for oil and oil-based products like lubricants in the market. (‘TonenGeneral Sekiyu,’ 2008).
The sales strategy has been changed for the distributors and the sales managers to focus on the selling of solutions to customers instead of selling products to the customers in the market. The company has developed strategic sales plans which target the top-line sales growth amongst the distributors of Exxon Mobil distributors. The channels that are used for promoting sales include integrated brand marketing with placements of TV, print ads in magazines and newspapers, point of purchase placement of marketing material as well as promotional events based on the NASCAR and Indy championships.
Additionally, the company has also employed a tour for encouraging and establishing favorable public relations for the company. Additionally, a credit card-based sales promotion was also employed by the company in 2005. The “90-day credit-card promotion resulted in more than 80,000 new cardholders for the proprietary ExxonMobil credit card. A majority of the new cardholders took advantage of the opportunity to also get a free Speedpass upon acceptance. Beginning in March and running through the end of May, each new account received a $10 statement credit after the first use of the card.” (‘ExxonMobil promotion nets 80,000 new cardholders’, 2005)
The following organizational chart available at CogMap depicts the top management at the company. The chairman and CEO of the company are Rex Tillerson, who is followed in the hierarchy by Stuart McGill, SVP, J. Stephenson Simon, the executive vice president and Donald Humphreys, the SVP and Treasurer for the company. The number of sales personnel at the company cannot be determined as the scale of the operation of the company is very large and in multiple locations all over the world. However it has been determined that the sales personnel present in the company are in large numbers, above 500 people.
The sales revenue that was recorded in 2007 for the Exxon Mobile Corporation was one of the highest revenues ever recorded. The company has a sales & operating revenue of $390,328 million and a net income of $40,610 million. The cost of sales for the company for 2007 amounted to $ 232,852 million (‘ExxonMobil Annual Report 2007, 2008). The predications made by the corporate giant Exxon Mobil for its sales operations in 2009 have been significantly understated by the company.
The company has provided that the projected sales in the year 2009 will be much lower than that experienced in 2007. This is largely due to the crashing economy and the automobile market hitting rock bottom which has effected the consumption of lubricants and gas, especially in North America. “While after-tax operating earnings rose 1.6% in 2007 to $40 billion, or $7.20 per share, we see full-year 2008 operating earnings rising 16% to $46.6 billion, or $8.55 per share, before moderating to a 1% increase in 2009 to $8.63 per share.” (‘ExxonMobil: A Big Opportunity in Big Oil’, 2008)
The direct customers of the Exxon Mobil Corporation are the retailers and the distributors in the market. The main product of the company pertains to oil, gas, petroleum based products and lubricants. These are dispersed in the market through the distributors and the retailers in the market which form the direct customers. The end users of the products by Exxon Mobil however include the mass consumers of auto lubricants, and the gas consumer in the market.
References
(2005), ExxonMobil promotion nets 80,000 new cardholders, National Petroleum News, Vol. 97 Issue 9, p46-46, 1/4p. Web.
(2008), ExxonMobil: A Big Opportunity in Big Oil. Web.
(2008), ExxonMobil Annual Report 2007. Web.
(2008), Exxon Mobil Corporation, CogMap. Web.
TonenGeneral Sekiyu, K.K, (2008), Business Strategy and 2007 Financial Results, TSE Arrows. Web.
Caring For Populations Of Miami Community
Introduction of Community
The city under the analysis is Miami, Florida. It has a dense and highly diverse population that is mainly represented by urban citizens. The city has both business and residential areas. Despite the fact that the popularity of business sectors is incomparably higher, there are also several neighborhoods for immigrants (Upper East Side). There are different health problems that are to be addressed by health promotion activities.
Windshield Survey
Vitality
Most Miami citizens are middle-aged. However, one can observe many small kids and pregnant women in the street. The same is not applicable to seniors, whose number is small and who can be encountered mostly in parks. Despite the predominance of European Americans, there are also representatives of other races (Asian Americans, African Americans, etc.). Citizens look rather well off: their clothes are neat and expensive. Besides, most of them are fit and healthy (even the elderly): there are no visible signs of diseases. Only some seniors use a cane or a wheelchair. However, there are many obese people. The city attracts plenty of tourists.
Indicators of social and economic conditions
Public housing is in a good state, and there are mostly single-family homes, especially in the wealthy areas. Transportation is well-equipped, but most people still prefer using cars. There is no problem to reach hospitals and other public facilities. There are many job opportunities; yet, the majority of them come from businesses. The number of the unemployed or homeless is still rather high. It is common for school students to miss classes. The social and political life is active. Some street signs indicate that the key concerns of politicians include HIV and obesity (CDC, 2013). There are numerous educational institutions in the city (both whole-day and part-time).
Health Resources
There are many hospitals and clinics working for different population groups in the city with an easy access to them (University of Miami hospital, Baptist hospital, etc.). If people do not have insurances, they can still be rendered medical aid. One can find not only general services but also those of narrow specialists. There are family-planning centers, blood donation centers, urgent care, mobile health vehicles, etc.
Environmental conditions related to health
Although Miami has a lot of vehicles that can potentially contaminate air and water, it does not seem to be a highly polluted city. There are very few dirty places or buildings that require immediate repair. In general, sanitary conditions are good. The same can be said about roads, which are not damaged (despite the fact that some of them have potholes). The traffic is heavy (mostly around business sectors and touristic attractions). The safety of citizens is ensured by plenty of traffic signs, lights, sidewalks, parking lots and handicapped access areas. The drainage system functions well. Children have plenty of playgrounds, recreational facilities, and entertainment opportunities. The city is full of restaurants and street food vendors.
Social functioning
The most typical family is a married couple having two kids. The population is represented by all generations. Some mothers work, but most of them spend time with children. Neighbors generally communicate with one another; their meetings are regular (especially in sleeping areas). People who belong to different confessions have worship places for their needs.
Attitude toward healthcare
The population prefers traditional medicine; yet, alternative or herbal medicine is also popular (there are practitioners who have such offices). There is advertising of different events connected with health (lectures, conferences, etc.).
Vulnerable population
There are quite many homeless people. However, governmental agencies provide them with food, medicine, and housing (Miami-Dade, 2017). Most of them use these resources willingly. However, some are satisfied with staying in the street and behave aggressively.
Conclusion
It can be stated that Miami has a healthy community with a big amount of available resources, which make it possible for the population to improve health and receive a proper education. Minority groups can also enjoy the same opportunities. The key problems are obesity and homelessness, which arise due to people’s unwillingness to change.
References
CDC. (2013). Community profile: Miami-Dade county, Florida.
Miami-Dade. (2017). Volunteers. Web.