The quiet american Essay Example For Students

The quiet american Essay The film The Quiet American takes place during the 1950s in Vietnam. The movie illustrates the atmosphere of Vietnam previous to the Vietnam War and during the French occupation of the country. The main plot of the movie revolves around three characters: Fowler played by Michael Caine, Pyle played by Brendan Fraiser, and Phoung played by Do Thi Hai Yen. For the duration of the movie the three main characters are involved in a semi love triangle. This triangle and the emotions that the male characters feel towards Phoung begin to characterize the way they feel about the country of Vietnam itself. Vietnam becomes feminized, taboo, and sexualized just as Phoung does in Pyle and Fowlers eyes. The manner in which Fowler and Pyle struggle over Phoung represents the approach that Britain and America employed in their fight to save Vietnam from communism. Pyles intentions toward Phoung, although similar in some cases to Fowlers, differ greatly at the same time. Both men view Phoung as a sort of object that needs to be saved or requires some sort of assistance in order to endure life. When Pyle falls in love with Phoung upon their first meeting, he decides that he must do whatever he can or whatever he deems necessary in order to save Phoung from a lowly existence. This is the exact same way that Pyle views Vietnam and its present condition. He wants to rescue Vietnam from what he believes to be unadulterated evil: communism. Pyle does this in any way necessary, whether it requires his support of a third party dictator or standing by and watching the massacre of countless innocent Vietnamese citizens. Pyle doesnt love Vietnam so much as he hates communism, in the same way he doesnt love Phoung so much as he does not want Fowler to have her. Fowler on the other hand walks a thin line between noninvolvement and participation within the situations at hand. Fowler believes that Vietnam should be left to make its own decisions, but at the same time he is afraid of the conseq uences of such choices. This policy of noninvolvement and noncommittal is the same way that he approaches all the situations within his life. Fowler does not want to become concerned with the circumstances occurring in Vietnam and he also does not wholeheartedly become involved in the situation between Pyle and Phoung until he is forced to do so. He essentially permits Phoung to decide whom she wants to be with until he is compelled to leave his state of neutrality when it does not seem as if he will become the winner of her heart. Yet again Fowlers feelings towards Phoung embody his feelings towards Vietnam. Fowler wanted to give Phoung a chance to make her own decisions until he becomes petrified that she will choose the stability of Pyle rather than himself. In a similar way, Fowler believed that Vietnam should be able to choose what would occur in its own future but he was afraid at the same time that they would make the wrong decision and elect a communist leader. Although Phou ngs embodiment of Vietnam is the major personification of the film, there is yet another. During the film, Phoung refers to French men and their instability as boyfriends to Vietnamese women. The women of Vietnam become disillusioned with the French suitors much as Vietnam becomes disillusioned with France and wants their occupancy of the country to come to an end. Once the Vietnamese women become disenchanted with the French men they turn to suitors from Britain and America much like Phoung turned to Pyle and Fowler. This is representative of Vietnam pitting Britain and America against one another in order to gain whatever it was that was needed at the timed, whether it was an end to French occupancy or financial and military support. You must choose a side in order to remain human, this is what Fowlers associate reminds him of towards the end of the film. This is what this movie was really about. In the end everyone had to choose which side they were going to be on. Even Fowler ha d to make a choice. By opting to fight for Phoung, Fowler also decided to fight for Vietnams right to choose. By choosing to save Phoung, Pyle chooses to save the country that he loved so dearly. When its all said and done, it does not really make a difference which side you choose as long as you choose a side. .ua1ce8cb0f5f58ddd0940b8da48d2d955 , .ua1ce8cb0f5f58ddd0940b8da48d2d955 .postImageUrl , .ua1ce8cb0f5f58ddd0940b8da48d2d955 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ua1ce8cb0f5f58ddd0940b8da48d2d955 , .ua1ce8cb0f5f58ddd0940b8da48d2d955:hover , .ua1ce8cb0f5f58ddd0940b8da48d2d955:visited , .ua1ce8cb0f5f58ddd0940b8da48d2d955:active { border:0!important; } .ua1ce8cb0f5f58ddd0940b8da48d2d955 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ua1ce8cb0f5f58ddd0940b8da48d2d955 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ua1ce8cb0f5f58ddd0940b8da48d2d955:active , .ua1ce8cb0f5f58ddd0940b8da48d2d955:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ua1ce8cb0f5f58ddd0940b8da48d2d955 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ua1ce8cb0f5f58ddd0940b8da48d2d955 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ua1ce8cb0f5f58ddd0940b8da48d2d955 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ua1ce8cb0f5f58ddd0940b8da48d2d955 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ua1ce8cb0f5f58ddd0940b8da48d2d955:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ua1ce8cb0f5f58ddd0940b8da48d2d955 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ua1ce8cb0f5f58ddd0940b8da48d2d955 .ua1ce8cb0f5f58ddd0940b8da48d2d955-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ua1ce8cb0f5f58ddd0940b8da48d2d955:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Pornography on the internet Essay We will write a custom essay on The quiet american specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now

Fundamentals of Macroeconomics Essay

Fundamentals of Macroeconomics Essay Fundamentals of Macroeconomics Essay When talking about macroeconomics, there are a few terms that one must first understand. Those terms are gross domestic product, real gross domestic product, nominal gross domestic product, nominal gross domestic product, unemployment rate, inflation rate, and interest rate. Gross domestic product (GDP) is what products and services produced in a one-year span of time are valued at. Real GDP is adjusted by the inflation rate, to create the market value of goods and services, in a one-year span of time. Nominal GDP is the value of products and services as compared to current prices. Unemployment rate is the number of individuals in an economy who are not presently working, but are willing and able to work. Inflation rate is the rate at which the price level of a product or service raises within a month or a one-year span of time. Interest rate is a percentage of the total amount of money being borrowed. These terms affect consumers in ways such as purchasing groceries, massive layoff of employees and decreases in taxes. When purchasing groceries, consumers nowadays tend to compare prices between stores, as well as compare â€Å"name brands† versus â€Å"store brands†. The inflation rate affects the price at which goods are sold (real GDP), and consumers very often will choose the lesser priced product. Consumers are looking to get the most products while spending the least amount of money, as households consume a vast amount or products and most consumers do not have an adequate supply of resources to purchase the essentials. Consumer spending helps business retain employees and create jobs, to help prevent massive layoff of employees. When consumers can be tempted to spend more money on groceries by using coupons or store specials such as 10 items for $10 where they are required to purchase 10 of the items to get the deals, stores and employees benefit. Promoting more deals brings in more customers, which is a win-win for the business and employees. When consumers spend money, the inflation rate goes down and real GDP goes down creating lower product prices for consumers. When employees are laid off, there is less money being put into the economy which can lead to a higher rate of inflation. When inflation continues to increase, consumers are spending less money because they cannot buy as much as they could before. Less spending means that business will have to lay off employees, leading into a downward spiral of the economy. If taxes are decreased by the government, consumers have more money to spend. Spending more money helps businesses earn more money, which means that can keep more employees or hire on more employees. An increasing number of working individuals leads to a lower rate of unemployment, and a higher rate of taxes being paid to the government. A lower unemployment rate means that the economy is