Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Issues in Altering Historical Buildings

Issues in Altering Historical Buildings Interventions, the contemporary versus the historic, timeless or trend, sympathetic or callous? An investigation into the relationship between historic architecture and contemporary interventions, An insight into Britishness and the controversy of altering historical buildings. There are currently a lot of high profile builds which involve an old building gaining a new addition, an example being the plans for the Tate Modern art gallery extension, (FIG)which has been very controversial and created a split in opinions, but why? Is it due to the proposed structure being such a contrast to the existing ex-industrial palette of brick and masonry or is it due to people not liking the aesthetic of the new design, or is it something different all together. Why are these type of projects so controversial? What is it about the deliberate contrast of styles that separates traditionalists from modernist thinkers so strongly? Are these old buildings being utilised better with their new additions or is it simply a fad, which like Modernism will mean the buildings may be seen as useless or ineffective structures that will be demolished and replaced in a matter of decades. Understanding this theory better involves looking at why these buildings have had Contemporary additions added to the existing structure, whether they have been re purposed, saved from demolition, been given a new lease of life, or have simply been enlarged. Looking at specific examples will determine whether or not the additions have been successful or unsuccessful and whether the modification has truly been in the buildings best interests or is simply part of a trend which is just an architectural gimmick, which may or may not stand the test of time. The junction between historic and Contemporary materials is also an important factor of this merging of styles, for example the architect behind the Public Library in Landau, Germany, Lamott Architekten commented that the point of which the former outer wall has been perforated are rendered as wounds., Does the delicacy of the conjunction between materials effect negative outcry in relation to the historic building, does the new design have respect for the existing structure, whether or not there is any major displacement of any historic stone work, or any original features which are covered up or overshadowed by the new development. Are these additions part of the constant extension of buildings that has occurred for hundreds of years, or is there something about contemporary architecture that makes it different to styles of the past. Is it what some people see as the building organically changing and growing, or is this movement a reaction to the recent environmental stance to arch itectural design, and simply a way to reuse old building rather than demolishing them, and altering them to be more energy efficient. Is there need for a more restrictive or a more accepting approach to planning for these kind of projects, or do the restrictions mean that only the best designs are put forward, and if regulations were not in place would many historic buildings would be ruined by badly designed or poorly planned interventions or is there simply too much bureaucracy and petty regulations keeping progress to the bare minimum and standing in the way of landmark projects. Would it be better for a building to be transformed into a contemporary usable building, when the alternative is for it be left to degrade and to be forgotten. In concern with Britain in particular is the collective reservedness holding contemporary architecture and progress in the designed environment back? Will this phenomena ruin our historical buildings stock and confuse our countrys heritage, or is there a more positive impact on society that can be sought from well designed contemporary architecture. The use of the word statement plays a big part of this debate, is this movement solely about creating a statement piece of contemporary design just to make an impact, or will it prove to have more depth, and become something more permanent in the architectural world. Is the fact that projects such as the Reichtag and the Ontario museum even exist suggest that despite the controversy that there is an overall gradually changing opinion as to how historic buildings are modified. The contrast between a landmark and an iconic building, is great, can they ever be combined to create something timeless. Chapter 1: How did the idea of preservation in architecture come into being. How has the movement of adding to existing evolved over time. In the debate of which method is better conversion restoration or extension. The more sensible option of restoration, (to use historically accurate building methods and materials to create a mimic of the existing), can be seen as more sympathetic to the building. In a conversion of a medieval public library in Spain (FiG) it was commented that Through simple repair measures, carefully fitted to match the building, and only a few new additions, the atmosphere and splendour of the original building substance pervades (Cramer and Breitling 2007, p.33) To understand the idealism behind the preservation of old buildings, in particular in the United Kingdom, It must first be understood how and why the idea of buildings being protected came to pass. Phil Venning from the Society for the protection of ancient buildings explained that the beginning of historical building preservation stems from what the Victorians were doing Between 1840 to 1870 there was a huge process of restoring churches and cathedrals. Half or all medieval churches were restored and the problem was the nature of that restoration. Take St Alburns church, not one single stone from the original building was reused. It was a complete Victorian makeover, a complete invention that bore no relation to anything historical that existed before, so hundreds of years of genuine history were wiped away for the sake of something fantastical and completely unnecessary.(Venning 09) Historical buildings often have a long and complicated past, many things that happened within the b uilding are unknown, this mystery and wonder create a sort of affection for the historic, architectural or otherwise. There is a contradiction in feeling about historic things, Most peoples opinion of old artefacts is contradictory. For many the old often represents stagnation and decay. On the other hand, the old is also treated with a certain respect, recognising the fact that the ageing process involves survival in the face of difficulties. The very fact that something has been conserved can stimulate wonder and reflection. Perhaps it is the familiarity of old things that one values, and the experiences which have contributed to their survival over time. The traces of ageing can be perceived as a form of cultural identity.(Cramer, Breiltlig, 2007) Looking back on particular examples of buildings that were added to or restored in the past clearly shows why certain protection was needed to preserve historic buildings. Longleat house in Wiltshire is a very extreme example of how Victorian style additions could be unsympathetic to the original structure. Within Longleats interior are numerous hidden voids, where new additions and interior layout changes are fitted within the existing structure often leaving huge voids which can only be accessed through tiny service doors and are totally blocked off. One of the biggest voids in the building contains a beautiful clock face. It is still maintained, and is in perfect working order, but very few people ever see it, as in order to view the clock face an angled mirror and a torch are needed. This type of loss of history lead to the creation of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings in 1877. One of the main concerns of those opposed to this movement is the preservation of historical culture, not being a priority and how through these ultra modern additions it is being lost in order to create more of an universal style, with less emphasis on a specific culture as, due to technology and its effect on communication it is more international rather than national. Architects can now work with buildings thousands of miles away, and may have never personally visited the site in question, this fact alone, along with many other factors, including globalisation means that it is inevitable that some form of universal style is to develop. However, on the contrary to this it is seen that each building is developed based on its site, its context, including its past and historical value and its use, meaning that no two buildings could ever be developed in the exact same way.(quote) This means that utilising a universal style can never be a generic scenario as it was during the Modernist period. Historically new styles were developed through travel and exploration. The grand tour for example that took place during the 19th century involved English noblemen and architects exploring Europe, in order to be inspired by existing architecture and bring them back to Britain, hence the birth of the Renaissance style. The grand tourists were very destructive in their exploration, many chipping of details from the buildings to keep as mementos and carving their names in the walls of ancient temples. Renaissance architecture was formed through the misunderstandings and reinterpretations of Greek and Roman architecture. An example of this being that many grand homes in Britain were inspired by Greek and Roman temples. Temples were built for certain gods to seek shelter, so the interior was never meant to be seen by the average townspeople. Creating homes based on the design changes the concept behind the original form altogether. This is one of many examples of how the British reinterpr eted another cultures style of architecture to create a new style that is seen as quintessentially British. The idea of adding to existing in a current style has been occurring for centuries. Many precious buildings have been added to in different periods, for example Chillham Castle in Canterbury in which Major alterations were made in the late 18th century by Thomas Heron and his Wildman successors, in the 1860s by Charles Hardy and finally in the 1920s by Sir Edmund Davis.(Peters 08). This was before William Morris introduced laws to protect old buildings, and there was obviously not the same feeling of preciousness that is felt with concern of old buildings as there is today. Chillham castle is an excellent example of how the whole building was changed depending on the style that was in fashion, In 1775-76, Heron refitted the Jacobean house almost throughout in Georgian style.(Peters 08) This was not necessarily always the best for the building, however, In what has been termed an evil afterthought Brandon put a replacement oriel window over the front door, roughly resembling the origi nal but using his own heavy design. (Peters 08). In the 1920s Chillham castle was restored to its previous Jacobean state as much as possible, which while maybe benefiting the building in its layout and overall coherence, had erased hundreds of years of history. Thus the fenestration changes of the 18th and 19th centuries have been largely swept away, and the external elevations must look today substantially as they were originally in 1616 (Peters 08) This is a different approach to current renovation methods, in that in contemporary additions seek to enhance the historic, rather than replace the historic in order to achieve the illusion of a historic building. During the 60s the movement of altering the historic, became more familiar to what contemporary additions try to do today. Architects such as by Carlo Scarpa, Pierre Chareau and Ignazio Gardella, bridged the gap with innovative solution to reuse of old buildings, which is looked at further in Chapter 4. (need to bridge gap between these paragraphs) These ideas could be used with contemporary interventions where by instead of feeling frightened or intimidated by change of precious historic building stock the British should embrace this new trend, because if we do not then we will not develop a contemporary British style, and that is what frightens us most. Chapter 2: How does the collective British psyche affect projects trying to contrast old and new? Does the planning system have to change to keep the UK at the forefront of current design? As discussed in chapter 1, the introduction of restrictions in altering old buildings has changed the way in which they are preserved, and how architectural fashion affects the previous history. Planning laws can be restrictive in the renovation process. Many historical buildings are listed which mean that certain criteria concerning structural changes and material use have to be obeyed. It is difficult to determine whether or not these restrictions are not changing enough to keep up with current demands of modern living such as open plan spaces and environmental efficiency. It is interesting how the opinion about implementation of contemporary additions between planning authorities differ. In Alain De Bottons book The architecture of happiness and his accompanying television programme The perfect home not only does he give examples of projects that strived to create a addition, and fought a battle with planning laws over the idea of contemporary being more appropriate that mock or p astiche, but he also looks into why pastiche may be the preferred choice, not just by the planners but of Britains general public. Public opinion plays a big part in a buildings success. Does the publics opinion truly reflects the merits of the building and the design, or is the public view still tainted with a lack of distrust of Contemporary style design after the failings of the Modernist movement. Is it still the safe but pastiche option that the general public favours? Is the idea of fitting in still deep set into the minds of people as being the more acceptable and therefore the best option? In order to understand this ideal we must look to the modern housing stock. Pastiche has been able to run riot with the UKs housing. Mock Tudor and Elizabethan houses are everywhere, many are built by developers without even a consultation with an architect. These buildings are familiar, they are safe, they are seen to involve less risk. In this country in particular the conservative minds et appears to be holding back the contemporary in architecture but not in technology or communication or amenities, what does this say about how we feel about the spaces we occupy. Alain De Botton refers to Vilhelm Worringer a 20th Century philosopher that argued that people fell in love with specific types or styles of architecture because it contained or symbolised something that that person, or that persons society was lacking, hence Alain De Botton links this to the theory that pastiche fake Tudor and Georgian new build homes are favoured as a parallel to the ugly landscapes of factories and industrial units that a technologically advanced society produces. This could be seen as an underlying reason for the infusion of Historical and Contemporary architecture being so controversial, it evokes confusion with feeling of wanting to retreat to the past away from technology and advancement. The idea of the modern bringing the Historical into the new millennium may frighten people into a dislike for these projects. One paticular example Alain De Botton pick out is one that challenges this theory and suggests that individuals are now starting to realise the positi ve aspects of Contemporary architecture and how it can be more sympathetic to the genuine historic than make believe pastiche. Wakelins is a Tudor mansion that was refurbished and extended by James Gorst architects as a private home for James Gorst himself. The striking contemporary extension can be seen to have more in common to the original structure as it is also timber framed, where as a pastiche mock Tudor extension would be a masonry structure. James Gorst commented that styles can co-exist without conflict and that you can be respectful of the past but in your own era (Gorst 08) Another example Botton uses is a small subtle contemporary extension to a Georgian terraced house in East London (FIG). This extension was specifically designed by Henning Stummel architects to house toilet facilities on each floor of the house. The reasoning for this is to create a more accurate Edwardian layout. As the Edwardians did not have bathrooms one was created at a later date on the top floo r causing disruption to the flow of the house. The new extension allowed the flow of the house to be restored to the original. These two example defends the theory that A true homage rarely looks like one (Botton 08) that something can be historically sensitive with out aesthetically matching anything from the past. This extension could be seen as beneficial to the house by some, and beautiful with its timber panelling and block like windows, but it involved a long and arduous battle with the local planning committee, which in its entirety took two years, as the council favoured a mock Edwardian extension. This is contrasting evidence to opinions of the likes of Peter Vennning from the society for the protection of ancient buildings who would always rather something that is innovative and well designed that simply copying what was there already (Venning 09) This constant struggle with opinions of the council and planning with individuals creates a barrier between the success and th e compromise of contemporary additions to Historic buildings. This could suggest that there is a problem in this country about accepting contemporary architecture, however there is the issue that it is only in the residential sector that this is apparent. In the United Kingdom there are some award winning contemporary buildings, and they are common place for projects such as theatres, libraries and universities. People obviously appreciate their public and commercial buildings to be contemporary, and in custom built projects the building layout to best reflect its purpose. This theory is then reversed when we look at the modern British home, which only seeks to replicate the old. There is a British trait to be very proud of our homes, but it is questionable why this has manifested itself in such a way in this country and differently in most other countries. It is a view that British people take pride in their home, in particular with aspects such as DIY or do it yourself being seen as quintessentially British DIY is something of a national pastime on Bank Holidays in the UK (unknown, 09) This however is an aspect in itself that leads the public to believe that homes are a personal thing. This, in the past has lead to disagreements between architects and home owners, one example being Le Corbusier and the villa Savoye, and the client being told not to put curtains up as it would spoil the inside outside effect created by the curtain glass. This posed the problem of creating a compromise between good design and an aesthetically pleasing building, and tak ing into consideration client needs and the practical every day functioning of the building. All this evidence suggests that the gap between the public opinion and the architects opinion needs to be bridged. The planning department can be seen as the people to bridge the gap, however they seen to subconsciously be reinforcing the distrust the public have with contemporary design with the favour of pastiche and mock, rather than championing the projects that if built could start to change the publics perception of contemporary architecture. This outlines the main issue that if well designed contemporary projects are not built they will still be seen as the abnormal. It is already outlined that the British public find a sense of security in older style buildings as they are well known, vast in number and familiar. Therefore it seems that it is impossible to bridge this gap without upsetting the British public at some stage. The planning committee have the power to change the publics p erception however they are part of the British public in themselves and their preferences for mock can be seen as a reserved or scared move on their behalf. Architects have an understanding of how contemporary architecture works, and how it can be beneficial in a modern society. This could be seen to suggest that there must be a form of making the public aware of contemporary architecture and how it works, for this fear is based on a lack of understanding, or simply refusing to understand. The current debate on this issue is fore fronted by Prince Charles. In a very British manner he is opposing many architects work in defence of preservation of historical buildings in the UK. Prince Charles, Royal, although with no official authority for building regulations, has become the spokesperson for this debate. However his very traditional views have been controversial even to those who support the cause. Philosophically the princes claim to be the protector of tradition does not bear scrutiny. He recently resigned as patron of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) because he does not understand or subscribe to its manifesto, as set down by its founder, William Morris. The key SPAB principle is that no adaptation or extension to an historic building should seek to imitate the original, but be distinct and of its own time. To quote: a feeble and lifeless forgery is the final result of all the wasted labour. That one of the princes advisers also designs for Disneyland is symptomatic of a preference for a sanitised version of the past, stripped of the authentic vitality Morris sought to defend. (Macintosh 09) This difference in opinion reflects the much wider debate of whether to adapt buildings in a contemporary way or as traditionally as possible. Prince Charles can be seen as a typically British example. Part of the Monarchy but with effectively with no authority in matters including architecture, he feels his opinion more valid than that of William Morris and the entire staff at the Society for the protection of Ancient Buildings But the prince is understood to have particularly objected to the suggestion that restoring old houses in their original style often results in a pastiche an unflattering hotchpotch of materials and forms taken from different sources -and took pains to say as much.(English 09) With figure heads such as these portraying their opinion of the correct practice, as archaic mimicking, is it no wonder that the British public, that which is still in admiration of its monarchy, something which is very uniquely British, can the lesser known faces of this debate, such as the SPAB be considered within public consideration. However there are points raised by prince Charles that defend the idea that there is a difference in opinion or a gap of understanding between architects and the general public that must be addressed A gulf is continuing to divide architects from the rest of society because of their obsession with forms (Hurst 09). However even Prince Charles admitted that the planning system needed reform, which means that there is proof that the planning system does not even benefit those traditionalist ideas concerning architecture. There is recent contraversay about Prince Charles position within this architectural debate. The recent withdrawl of foreign funding for a high end contemporary development in London due to the Princes interfearence has angered many. It could be seen that Charles should be trying to urge foreign developers to invest in housing, to benefit the country as a whole, especially in a time of economic crisis. Many others challenged the design of the building, mainly those of a certain authority and age range Palace officials are likely to argue that the prince was only one voice against the Candys plans for Chelsea Barracks. Lord Stockton, grandson of Harold MacMillan, the former prime minister (Chittenden,09) The Prince also stated his views on his prefered alternative He proposed a classical alternative that mirrored the 17th-century Royal Hospital, designed by Sir Christopher Wren, across the street. (Chittenden,09) This comment is an example of how people are afraid of something new, a nd prefere the security of something that already exists, the pastiche. If the Prince becomes king in the future then the debate will become increasingly intense, which poses the possibility that more and more pastiche will find its was to the buildings sites, rather than something more exciting and innovative. The idea of recreating a like the Royal hospital, means that the newer building will only ever be a lesser building than the original, due to the fact that mimicking something with contemporary techniques will ultimatly compromise the overall integrity of the building, particularly when the original is as close as Prince Charles proposed. In esscence pastiche architecture is putting style out of context, in respect of time. Is it then not that different from structures in theme parks and museums? This can be epitimised by the fact that as discussed prevoisuly one of prince Charles advisors also designs for Disneyland. This could be seen as Prince Charles prioritising style ov er substance, whcih is surely not how successful buildings are designed. The idea of replicating an old building is never doing the original building justice, as it will always be compromised by contemporary requirements as well as contemporary building codes and planning regulations.. This could, in extreme circumstances in the future, lead to old buildings being demolished in favour of pastiche, as mock buildings are created in the relevant period and are therefore more suitable for current use.It could be said that to truly appreciate old buildings they muse have a contrast, in order to keep the rarety and preciousness of its design. Another aspect of architecture that Prince Charles has been talking about is sustainability. In a recent talk he was considered to come across as an intellectual Luddite, whose only solution is to retreat into a Hobbit-like world of organic earthy buildings and no cars. (Baillieu, 09) This is linked in Prince Charles speech with the idea that he is w ary or afraid of experimentation within the architectural genre. its his belief that the challenge of climate change can be solved without experimentation. This is where the speech unravelled for in making out experimentation to be a terrifying leap in the dark rather than something good based on hypotheses and a body of knowledge (Baillieu, 09). It is easy to see how these two aspects come together to form this overall opinion. This is again relating back to the idea of being afraid of the unknown and the security of the familiar which is known to have existed and survived for a period of time. However it is clear that without experimentation it will be impossible to combat the climate changing effects of our current architectural stock without stepping into the unknown and experimenting to create new technology and contemporary design. This supports the idea of moving on from historical design and designing in a more intellegent way in order to combat this problem, and start developing ideas for architecture that the future requires. This point in argued by those who support the science and technology of this debate In his famous two cultures lecture, the novelist and scientist CP Snow warned that if people wanted to turn their backs on science and the benefits of industrialisation they were free to make that choice. I respect you for the strength of your aesthetic revulsion, he said. But I dont respect you in the slightest if, even passively, you try to impose the same choice on others who are not free to choose.(Baillieu, 09). This also supports the idea that some part of the population are not nessessarily lead by their own choice but rather the choice of figureheads in their society. This directly relates to Prince Charles and the negative impact he could have on the populations views concerning architecture. It is easy to see how people become patriotic about this countries old buildings, but surely opposing anything contemporary in architecture at all is hindering the progress of the country as a whole. The destruction of old buildings during the first and second world wars helped to create the feeling of preciousness for the old buildings that survived. Modernism that took advantage of the loss of historical buildings to create something new, which even involved demolishing old buildings that survived the air raids. This was admired by young architectural minds but disliked by older more traditionalist architects as well as the public. This Modern style of building was very much a duplicating style with certain design rules that had to be followed by every building, which lead them to have a very generic quality. This strict code of aesthetic design lead to many of the buildings being demolished as little as ten to thirty years later, due to the fact that the buildings were deemed to have no soul and were considered ugly and harsh aesthetically. The destructive qualities of Modernism and the architects ideas of town planning, showed not only the public but also the architectural wo rld how important it was to create structures that were not only functional but iconic, and to create something the public could enjoy, not just the architectural elite. Modernism as a movement angered many people who were dedicated to preserving history, and ever since then they have been fiercely protective of old buildings and the work that is done with them. Many people however who have acquired old buildings with the intent on restoring them, have to wait months and deal with infuriating, bureaucracy before they can start work,. In a lot of cases until the necessary permissions are granted the owners are powerless and must watch as the building they own deteriorates further putting the building itself at risk. An example of this is the work carried out on a folly in Monmouth(FIG)(Gillilan 09) to restore the original building which is from the 16th century but was rebuilt after being struck by lightening in the late 1890s. They also wanted to include a modern extension and to te ar down the 20th century additions that were not appropriate for the building, trying to mimic the original with rendered concrete that were causing damage to the existing structure. This project included an equal amount of restoration and extension, designed by architects with thoughtful and delicate conjunction between modern and historic materials shows how with better technology and more sympathetic building materials our views to restoring old buildings is slowly changing. The planning committee of a local council however is not the only opposition an individual with Contemporary taste must face. Public approval is vital for a successful planning application, and neighbours opposition can stop a project even beginning. In Ling, a small historical village in Norfolk a resident wished to build a contemporary house on the site of his old pottery shed. He has been trying to get permission for his dwelling for years, and his biggest obstacle is the villagers themselves, who think the building is ugly and doesnt fit in The question is why did this matter so much, and why exactly did the new building not fit in? The building is proposed to be made from traditional methods with local materials so it is the contemporary style of the building the villagers find so offensive. The resident in question commented that there is something peculiarly British about this putting the past on a pedestal and that everything old is sacrosanct and you touch it at your peril. But is it just the British who feel this way, or is it something that is part of any country with a long history and a wealth of historical buildings. A contrast to this would be to look at a country where this is not the case. Dubai is mostly desert, but due to

Monday, January 20, 2020

The Concept of Perfectionism Essay examples -- Perfectionism Perfectio

The Concept of Perfectionism Do you push yourself to be the best? Do you get mad at yourself for not doing the best? Do you delay assignments till the last possible limit because of fear of rejection? Do you feel horrible when work isn’t done to your best ability of when minor failures seem like catastrophic ones? These are all signs of what is known as perfectionism (Pacht 1984). If you seem to agree with most of these things then you might be a perfectionist. According to Webster’s dictionary, it states that perfectionism is "a disposition which regards anything less than perfect, unacceptable." Many people in the world suffer from perfectionism. So is that case of Mike Bellah. His perfectionism lead him to a lifestyle where he lost who he was. He states, "When we’re always playing a part, we no longer know who we really are." Perfectionists try to do everything perfect leading them to an unstable, unsatisfying life. There are many characteristics and effects of perfectionism. Coping with the disorder of being a perfectionist can lead to a much more stable life. There are many characteristics and causes of perfectionism "It’s a compulsive guide to unrealistic goals" says psychiatrist David Burns. "Setting high personal standards and goals, and working hard to attain them is appropriate," he states, "however, perfectionists set excessively high goals and strive compulsively to achieve them." Perfectionists have the constant drive to be perfect. Anything less than the best is unacceptable to them. They refuse to live with anything than the best. The constant strive for excellence in everything that one does is one key characteristic when describing 2 perfectionism. Their measurement of their worth is entirely in terms of productivity and accomplishment. Perfectionists try to do so much to please others, and to show how much they can do, and overlook what they really want to do in life. They might take on so many jobs and get in over their head. They can’t say no to an idea because they would consider that failure. Many times, perfectionists start things over because things aren’t going perfect (Pacht 1984). Some have long delays in completing assignments, or repeatedly starting over on assignments because the work must be prefect from the beginning and continue to be perfect as one goes along. The causes of perfectionism can be described by th... ...nt without always accomplishing everything perfect, their life will become better manageable. Coping with perfectionism may not be easy, but these are a few key ideas to help those live better in life, and instead of trying to be perfect, to be "above average" or "normal." The many individuals in the world who suffer with perfectionism deal with it day to day. Perfectionists want to be perfect, which leads to a life that is not perfect. You can still set high goals for yourself, but they should be ones that can be accomplished. Some people try and harness perfectionism to work for them than letting it control their lives. They aren’t ashamed of it, and understand that it serves a useful purpose. Some people are able to control it, and some people aren’t. The concept of being perfect is one that cannot be achieved, because no one is ever perfect. It is a symbol of what is correct 100% and because we are human beings and not machines it is not possible. Everyone has goals for themselves, but to live a healthy life, we need to make them realistic. We can still give our best, but we need to please ourselves and be aware of who we are before we need to be perfect for others.

Saturday, January 11, 2020

Background And History Of Enron Accounting Essay

Enron was founded in 1985 through the amalgamation of Houston Natural Gas and Internorth, a natural gas company based in Omaha, Nebraska, and rapidly became the major energy and petrochemical trade goods bargainer under the leading of its president, Kenneth Lay. In 1999, Enron moved its operations online, touting the largest online trading exchange as one of the cardinal market shapers in natural gas, electricity, rough oil, petrochemicals and plastics. Enron diversified into coal, transportation, steel & A ; metals, mush & A ; paper, and even into such trade goods as conditions and recognition derived functions. At its extremum, Enron was describing grosss of $ 80 billion and net incomes of $ 1 billion, and was for six back-to-back old ages lauded by Fortune as America ‘s most advanced company. The sudden surrender, nevertheless, of Enron Vice-Chairman Clifford Baxter in May of 2001 and subsequent surrender of CEO Jeffrey Skilling in August of 2001, both of whom retired for unrevealed personal grounds, should hold served as the first indicant of the problems brewing within Enron. Mr. Skilling had been elected CEO merely months before, and Mr. Baxter had become Vice-Chairman in 2000. Finally, amidst analysts ‘ and investors ‘ inquiries sing unrevealed partnerships and rumours of crying accounting mistakes, Enron announced on October 16, 2001 it was taking a $ 544 million dollar after-tax-charge against net incomes and a decrease in stockholder equity by $ 1.2 billion due to related minutess with LJM-2. As will be discussed in the undermentioned subdivision, LJM-2 was partnership managed and partly owned by Enron ‘s CFO, Andrew Fastow. The LJM partnerships provided Enron with a spouse for plus gross revenues and purchases every bit good as an instrument to fudge hazard. Less than a month subsequently Enron announced that it would be repeating its net incomes from 1997 through 2001 because of accounting mistakes associating to minutess with another Fastow partnership, LJM Cayman, and Chewco Investments, which was managed by Michael Kopper. Mr. Kopper was the pull offing manager of Enron ‘s planetary finance unit and reported straight to the CFO, Mr. Fastow. Chewco Investments was a partnership created out of the demand to deliver an outside investor ‘s involvement in another Enron partnership and will be discussed at length in the undermentioned subdivision. Such restatements sparked a formal probe by the SEC into Enron ‘s partnerships. Other questionable partnerships were coming to visible radiation, including the Raptors partnerships. These restatements were prodigious, and combined with Enron ‘s revelation that their CFO Mr. Fastow was paid in surplus of $ 30 million for the direction of LJM-1 and LJM-2, investor assurance was crushed. Enron ‘s debt evaluations later plummeted, and one month subsequently, on December 2, 2001, Enron filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11.Q. 1 ) What were the steps which Enron had missed to regulate during the full dirt?At the clip of its filing for bankruptcy in December 2001 the complex industrial construction of Enron was to the full grasped by few foreigners, and more complete information as to the true degrees of its assets, liabilities and off-balance-sheet places was still blossoming. An thought of the house ‘s complexness can be obtained from such characteristic s as its 2,800 offshore units and the 54 pages required to name people and companies owed money by Enron. This was a far call from the house which in the 1980s specialized in the proviso of natural gas grapevines and related services. But from these beginnings Enron expanded unrelentingly into trading activities in 1,800 merchandises or contracts and 13 currencies. Part of the motive of Enron ‘s behavior was similar to that of many other houses in the 1990s, deducing from the links between stock monetary values and executives ‘ wage and wealth, above all through stock options. However, in Enron ‘s instance the factor of its recognition evaluation was besides of import. The house ‘s rapid enlargement required entree to big sums of funding ; and as its engagement in trading activities grew, so did the importance of its recognition evaluation since this determined its funding costs and crucially the willingness of its counterparties to merchandise with it. In order to keep the house ‘s recognition evaluation Enron sought it to be indispensable that it portrays a favorable income, while avoiding an inordinate purchase on Enron ‘s balance sheet. So as to accomplish this, the house resorted to extraordinary goings from transparence which affected the house ‘s dealingss with investors and creditors, its ain board of managers ( and therefore an of import portion of its internal control ) , and other stakeholders of the corporation. The house ‘s usage of particular purpose entities ( SPEs ) was portion and package of the patterns employed to pull strings the house ‘s net incomes figures and balance sheet, as was resort to hedge and the usage of derived functions in struggle with coverage regulations or concern logic ( or both ) . Many of the minutess associated with this use were besides associated with self-dealing by Enron executives taking to significant personal enrichment. In summing up the causes for Enron ‘s autumn are ascribed to Enron ‘s failure to detect good corporate administration. Enron ‘s showy use of grade to market accounting. Enron ‘s complex minutess with particular purpose entities. This analysis has been restricted to Enron ‘s non observation of good corporate administration. Corporate administration is concerned with the relationships between a concern ‘s direction and its board of managers, its stockholders and loaners, and it ‘s other stakeholders such as employees, clients, providers, and the community of which it is a portion. The capable therefore concerns the model through which concern aims are set and the agencies of achieving them and otherwise monitoring public presentation are determined. Good corporate administration follows rules which still vary significantly among states and which are presently the topic of assorted enterprises designed to accomplish understanding on an acceptable model of basic criterions. Execution of rules of good corporate administration presupposes satisfactory public presentation on the portion of several different parties from both the private and public sectors. The function of these parties must be complemented by effectual ordinance, which in the instance of a house with operations every bit complex a s Enron includes non merely major regulators of the fiscal sectors but besides the regulator of the energy sector. Certain facets that will be dealt, herein, are: Enron ‘s system of inducements and countenances Board of managers Accountants/auditors Banks, Financial analysts and SECsEnron ‘s system of inducements and countenancesThe influence of the house ‘s stock monetary value on the inducement system for Enron ‘s employees became progressively of import during the long fiscal roar of the 1990s. In the instance of senior staff this reflected a wage system of which a cardinal portion consisted of stock options. For other staff much of their nest eggs was invested in Enron stock with the active encouragement of Enron ‘s ain direction. An of import portion of this procedure consisted of retirement nest eggs programs under which staff ‘s ain parts were topped up by parts from Enron itself. Many of Enron employees had invested significant amounts in Enron ‘s ain stock ; this was actively encouraged by Enron ‘s direction itself. But at the same clip Enron officers and a few managers were themselves selling the house ‘s stock on a monolithic graduated table, gross revenues no uncertainty partially due to normal portfolio variegation but besides likely to hold been progressively influenced by insider cognition of the turning precariousness of Enron ‘s existent state of affairs.Board of managersIn order to accomplish good corporate administration an of import function is attribute to histrions in the board of managers and independent external hearers. Key maps of the board of managers, which were peculiarly relevant in the instance of Enron, include choice and wage of executives, being watchful to possible struggles of involvement adversely impacting the house, and guaranting the unity of the company ‘s systems of accounting and fiscal coverage . Prerequisites for satisfactory public presentation include entree to accurate and timely information bearing on the fulfillment of these duties. It should be emphasized that when looking at the managers of Enron ‘s Board it was apparent that the managers did non map independently. Fiscal ties between Enron and a bulk of its managers seem to hold weakened their objectiveness in their inadvertence of Enron. Such relationships with Enron may hold made it hard for such board members to be nonsubjective or critical of Enron direction. Many of these Enron Board members may hold felt that their compensation might be endangered by oppugning such concerns in Board meetings, therefore, bring forthing weak â€Å" nodders and flunkies † as managers and thereby, lending to the autumn of Enron. One widely recognized rule of good corporate administration is that the board be independent of direction. It is indispensable that a board be capable of looking objectively at the direction and outside professional advisers of a house, and Enron ‘s Board was non capable in this regard. It should besides be mentioned here that of the compensation paid to the board a significant proportion was in the signifier of stock options, a pattern capable of exercising on the board pressures to O.K. determinations probably to hold a favorable influence on the house ‘s stock monetary value similar to those besides exerted on direction. The Board should work to assist avoid struggles of involvement, guarantee scrutinizing independency and accurate fiscal coverage, oversee compensation patterns, every bit good as many other dislocations that occurred within Enron. Compromised by its restraints and conventionality the Board failed in its undertaking.Accountants/auditorsSing scrutinizing good corporate administration requires high-quality criterions for readying and revelation, and independency for the external hearer. Enron ‘s external hearer was Arthur Andersen, which besides provided the house with extended internal auditing and consulting services. The history of dealingss between Enron and Arthur Andersen suggests that they were often characterised by tensenesss due to the latter is scruples refering several characteristics of Enron ‘s. Materials from Audit Committee meetings indicate that its members were cognizant of such bad accounting methods being employed by Enron, but did non move on them. These concerns, nevertheless, were ne'er decently addressed and were non efficaciously communicated to the Audit and Compliance Committee by Andersen. It is of import to stress that Enron was utilizing engineerings ( or complex fiscal techniques ) that helped to befog the house ‘s true fiscal consequences. Had investors been more cognizant of and understood the significance of such extremely structured partnerships, they would non hold been as deceived by the fiscal consequences and would hold looked more skeptically at the house ‘s fiscal status. The deficiency of fiscal coverage transparence represents the failure of another bed of corporate administration protection that stockholders are usually provided. Stockholders rely on the fiscal studies and information that direction produces. When such studies are inaccurate and have been manipulated stockholders are stripped of another mechanism that helps to truly supervise the public presentation of direction, which is what happened with the instance of Enron.Banks and Financial analystsEnron ‘s Bankss were profoundly involved in the house ‘s resort to techniq ues for the use of its reported net incomes and balance sheet. The Finance Committee should hold taken a more proactive function in analyzing and supervising the minutess. It should be seen that the Finance Committee holding been cognizant of the unstable nature of the related-party minutess in Enron, failed in its duty of supervising the minutess. A forum for more extended inquiring from managers sing the minutess was the ground that such a commission existed. Their occupation was to examine and take apart the minutess that they reviewed and to supervise hazard, neither of which they did for these related-party minutess. Most fiscal analysts covering Enron stock continued to urge it to investors good into the fall of 2001, even as disclosures refering Enron ‘s accounting and direction weaknesss began to proliferate. Many of the analysts made this recommendation even though they admitted that they did non to the full understand the house ‘s operations and construction.Q. 2 Lacuna in the bing jurisprudence due to which the Enron dirt took topographic pointThe Enron LoopholeThe Commodity Exchange Act exempts certain energy derived functions contracts from ordinance by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ( CFTC ) . These freedoms are popularly known as the â€Å" Enron loophole. † Soaring energy monetary values have raised concerns about whether the CFTC has adequate information about these unregulated markets to supervise energy trading in a comprehensive mode. The Farm Bill established a more rigorous regulative government for electronic trading installations that offer contracts that play a important function in puting energy monetary values. A figure of other measures in the hundred-and-tenth Congress would enforce new coverage or regulative demands on the bilateral energy barters market, which was non addressed by the Farm Bill. This study will be updated as legislative developments warrant. In 2000, Congress passed the Commodity Futures Modernization Act whose cardinal intent was to put out the conditions under which derivative fiscal contracts – instruments like hereafters, options, or barters, whose value is linked to the monetary value of some implicit in trade good – could be lawfully traded in the over-the counter ( OTC ) market, that is, away the hereafters exchanges that are regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ( CFTC ) . The CFMA established three classs of trade goods and made them subject to changing grades of ordinance: fiscal trade goods ( such as involvement rates, currency monetary values, or stock indexes ) were defined as excluded trade goods. Excluded trade goods can be traded in the OTC market with minimum CFTC inadvertence, provided that little public investors are non allowed to merchandise. A 2nd class is agricultural trade goods ; here, because of concerns about monetary value use, the jurisprudence specifies that all derived functions based on farm trade goods must be traded on a CFTC-regulated exchange ; unless the CFTC issues a specific freedom after happening that a proposed OTC agricultural contract would be consistent with the public involvement. Finally, there is a 3rd â€Å" all-other † class – an exempt trade good – which includes whatever is neither fiscal nor agricultural. In today ‘s markets, this means chiefly metals and energy trade goods. The statutory freedom from ordinance provided by the CFMA for exempt trade goods is normally known as the â€Å" Enron loophole. † Before its prostration in 2001, Enron Corp. was a innovator in OTC energy trading and developed an electronic market ( Enron Online ) for trading physical and derivative contracts based on a figure of energy merchandises. Defined in the jurisprudence as fiscal establishments, insurance companies, broker/dealers, authorities units, professional hereafters bargainers, and concerns and persons run intoing certain plus and income thresholds. The given is that these are sophisticated bargainers who do non necessitate the protections offered by authorities ordinance. â€Å" Trading installation † is defined in jurisprudence as a â€Å" installation or system in which multiple participants have the ability to put to death or merchandise understandings, contracts, or minutess by accepting commands and offers made by other participants that are unfastened to multiple participants in the installation or system. † These are defined as eligible contract participants who ( 1 ) trade in the physical trade good or ( 2 ) on a regular basis provide hazard direction or hedge services to those who do. Defined as a trading installation, that operates over an electronic or telecommunications web and maintains an audit trail of minutess. Basically, one of the ways to counter fiscal dirts is to better the quality of scrutinizing services. However, the current legal, regulative and corporate administration model is robust and sufficient to protect the market. This is hard because the figure of fiscal dirts affecting hearers is increasing. Furthermore, whilst corporate administration may hold improved but the hearers ‘ responsibilities and duties are shrouded in enigma and mystique as of all time. There is a blank in the current legal model as the responsibilities and duties reposed on hearers under common jurisprudence, ‘the Companies Act ‘ , BAFIA and the CMSA are unequal in countering the fiscal dirts.Other defectsEnron, an energy trading company is the first dirt which shook up the scrutinizing profession although there were many instances affecting hearers since the 18 century. Enron has caused a crisis to the assurance in hearers and the dependability of fiscal coverage. The audit quality and the independency of the hearers were questionable. This is because the hearers, who were Arthur Andersen, were non merely having fees for scrutinizing but for non-audit services excessively i.e. for consultancy services. In 2001, Arthur Andersen earned US $ 55 million for non-audit services. Furthermore, there were regular exchanges of employees within Enron from Arthur Andersen. Under the common jurisprudence responsibilities and duties, there is no responsibility reposed on the hearers to avoid struggle of involvements. Therefore, the fact that Arthur Andersen was offering non-audit services is non a breach of jurisprudence in the first topographic point. Under ‘the Companies Act ‘ , although independency of the hearers is indispensable as can be seen in S. 9 of ‘the Companies Act ‘ which disqualifies certain individuals from being eligible as hearers, the proviso does non cover with issues refering the offering of non-audit services to the company. This is because the proviso merely prohibits an employee, officer, spouse or employee or employer of an officer from being appointed as an hearer. The offering of the non-audit services by the hearers to a company is in the capacity of an independent contractor. The jurisprudence assumes that such individuals are independent. This is because independency is the basis for scrutinizing. However, there will be struggle of involvement and hence the independency of the hearer will be affected. Although Arthur Andersen was doing a study on the company ‘s histories, they did non describe fraud to the stakeholders. This is because the fraud was committed by the direction. Kenneth Lay took place US $ 152 million although the company was confronting a loss. If the hearers were to describe they likely will non be appointed in subsequent old ages or be engaged for non-audit services. They made sure that they were in the direction ‘s good books. They maintained confidentiality but for the incorrect grounds. The U.S. authorities assured the stakeholders that Enron was merely a instance of one bad apple. Nonetheless, in 2002, WorldCom which is one of the biggest telecommunications company in US collapsed. The issue sing hearers reached a high degree due to Enron. It was found that the hearers, Arthur Anderson, did non take proper stairss in observing accounting abnormalities. Although it is the responsibility of the hearers to observe accounting abnormalities, they failed to make so. Since they failed to make so truly, they should be apt. As a consequence of Enron, the audit house Arthur Andersen in Malaysia was dissolved. On the other manus, it is hard to find the scope of the hearers ‘ responsibilities and duties. This is because in at least four affairs, the American International Group Incorporated ‘s hearer i.e. PricewaterhouseCoopers are cognizant of debatable accounting but decided that they were non material. If the position is shared by the scrutinizing profession, it can be considered that the hearers have performed their responsibilities and duties consequently. However, the position must besides be agreed by the tribunals before set uping whether the hearers have performed their responsibilities and duties consequently. When Enron took topographic point, it was thought it could non go on in Malaysia. In fact the SC believed that since Malaysia patterns different set of accounting and auditing regulations. However, much before Enron, there have been instances which involved scrutinizing dirts. In fact the dirts pose a changeless menace to the regulative construction, public trust and assurance in the market economic system. Therefore, it has raised concerns sing the credibleness of the audit profession. The consequence of these alterations was that, what had antecedently been a system of healthy cheques and balances became a united forepart at the disbursal of investors. Alternatively of holding opposed involvements that served to protect investors, they now had an unhealthy common involvement. The fiducial responsibility that executives owed to stockholders took a back place to the chase of a short-run addition in stock monetary value. Accountants, who had once policed fiscal studies in order to protect the public, now had a strong inducement to assist executives to make whatever it took to hike portion monetary value in order to maintain them as confer withing clients. And investing bankers no longer served as sure advisors to their clients, reconnoitering out the best securities. They found it more advantageous to work with executives and comptrollers to finance trades that raised stock monetary values, even if it meant selling out their clients.Q.3 ) What were the Amendments tha t were brought in station Enron Issue?The Enron Scandal caused a loss of an estimated $ 74 billion to the stockholders. After the prostration of Enron, several issues were earmarked for the attending of reformists including: – The function of concern financess in political candidacy. – The extent of energy companies ‘ influence on national energy policy. – The demand to reform pension Torahs to halt over-exposure to one stock and forestall a company from puting its pension financess in its ain stock. – The demand for higher criterions of transparence and revelation in the audit profession. – Potential struggles of involvement between consultancy and scrutinizing work undertaken by fiscal houses. – The demand for tighter ordinance on fiscal derived functions trading.Sarbanes -Oxley Act ( SOX ) of 2002The sudden prostration of Enron Corporation in late 2001, amid disclosures that its public accounting statements had been manipulated and falsified to hide the company ‘s true fiscal place, was the first in a series of major accounting dirts affecting American corporations. The response of the 107th Congress was to go through the Sarbanes-Oxley Act ( P.L. 107-204 ) , sometimes described as the most sweeping amendments to the securities Torahs since the 1930s. The SOX came as a US legislative response to the recent batch of accounting dirts. It provided for conformity with comprehensive reform of accounting and required for publically held companies to advance and better the quality and transparence of fiscal coverage by internal and external hearers. Companies must â€Å" list and track public presentation of their stuff hazards and associated control processs. â₠¬  Companies can no longer do loans to company managers. SOX Act besides did non turn to other cardinal causes: misaligned inducements ( e.g. , displacement from hard currency to stock option compensation focal point on short-term net incomes instead than longer run net income public presentation. Congress ‘s purpose in go throughing Sarbanes-Oxley was to reconstruct assurance in fiscal markets by increasing corporate answerability, heightening public revelations of fiscal information, and beef uping corporate administration. More terrible condemnable punishments for securities fraud were besides enacted. The Securities and Exchange Commission ( SEC ) has adopted more than a twelve concluding regulations to implement the Act ‘s commissariats. These regulations raise criterions of answerability for corporate executives, boards of managers, independent hearers, and corporate lawyers. Some of the of import characteristics of the Act were: The Act created a national Accounting Oversight Board that, among other activities, must set up the moralss criterions used by CPA houses in fixing audits. It was required that the hearers retain audit working documents for specified periods of clip. It was required that hearer rotary motion forbiding the same individual from being the lead hearer for more than five old ages. It was required that the CEO and CFO certify that the company ‘s fiscal statements are true, just and accurate. The Act prohibited corporations from widening personal loans to executives and managers. It was required that the audited company discloses whether it has adopted the codification of moralss for its senior fiscal officers. It was required that the SEC on a regular basis review each corporation ‘s fiscal statements. The Act prevented employers from retaining against research analysts that write negative studies. It imposed condemnable punishments on hearers and clients for falsification, destructing, changing or hiding records. It imposed all right or penalty on any individual that defrauds stockholders. It increased punishments for mail and wire defraud from 5 to 20 old ages in prison. The Act establishes condemnable liability for failure of corporate officers to attest fiscal studies.A Few Possible Lessons and actionsa-?We need a structural inspection and repair of the system, including:New regulations forbiding houses that do the accounting for a company from making any confer withing for that company Through run finance reform, a committed attempt is needed to acquire large money out of political relations Reregulation and inadvertence of energy trading and distribution a-?We must penalize corporate irresponsibleness: More attempt and diligence is needed in tracking and exposing corporate irresponsibleness and authorities must beef up the current slap-on-the-wrist penalties. At a start, this includes a continued thorough probe of the Enron/Andersen by Congress, the SEC, and the Justice Department, with the public non accepting a watered down version from the authorities. a-?Workers should hold more engagement and power in direction determinations, particularly when pension financess are involved. If this had been in topographic point, Enron perchance would n't hold collapsed, and the employees surely could hold salvaged some of their nest eggs. Losing one ‘s full pension fund is good evidences for demanding employee determination doing power to forestall it in the hereafter. a-?We demand to fight against trade understandings – demand to go on to construct a strong, widespread battle against these trade understandings such as the GATS, and expose them for what they truly are: mechanisms for development of the universe ‘s people, land, resources, and public services. The authorization of these understandings is to let for the Enron ‘s of the universe unrestricted entree to privatise which will probably merely take to more Enron ‘s on a planetary graduated table. Without this battle, local and public services will go on to be lost.

Friday, January 3, 2020

Modern Times By Charlie Chaplin Essay - 1706 Words

My example that I will be using is Modern Times by Charlie Chaplin. Modern times is a film developed after the industrial revolution. It serves the purpose of critiquing capitalism and the social world. Modern Times begin with a factory worker who starts developing anxiety through the lack of breaks and repetitive work. When the Worker is on break, his boss is always keeping an eye on him and demands him to go back to work due to the loss of production. Soon after, the factory worker goes on lunch break, but is again distracted by his boss due to the desire to try out a new lunch contraption. At first, the new technology seems to work since the factory Worker was being fed. But, after a few seconds the contraption goes haywire and starts hurting the worker. The factory Worker goes back to work, but suddenly starts to mess up. He goes around ruining all his co-workers’ work and even get himself in prison. However, he ends up saving all the cops from the inmates’ revoluti on and is released early from jail. He does not want to leave since he is treated properly in jail and will be homeless in the outside world. He tries to get himself in prison again, but meets a beautiful woman Gamin who is also homeless and workless. They run off together and commit burglaries to feed themselves, but is soon discovered by the police. They manage to escape and run off to live in a small house by themselves. The factory Worker and the Gamin decides to have lunch together, but finds out that aShow MoreRelatedModern Times By Charlie Chaplin1454 Words   |  6 Pagesreconstruction, war, to industrialization and the Great Depression. These were hard times in America and frankly I’m glad I do not have to live through it. From the film Modern Times by Charlie Chaplin we get an inside look at how one felt and experienced during the 1930’s. I clearly feel this movie captured the essence of what today people think about today of the 1930’s, Industrializa tion and the Great Depression. It is at this time that the hard-working class citizen is highlighted. Let’s begin with aRead MoreCharlie Chaplin s Modern Times900 Words   |  4 Pagesfilms was almost finished, Charlie Chaplin completed his last silent movie, called â€Å"Modern Times†. The title of the movie itself gives a hint about the changes that human kind would be facing in the future. While watching the movie, the audience is inundated with the ideas of dehumanization of humans in the factories, the ‘Fordism’ ideology, the struggle to earn bread, and many more. Instead of conveying this powerful social message in harsh and serious tone, Charlie Chaplin has blended right amountRead MoreModern Times Directed By Charlie Chaplin892 Words   |  4 Pages In the film Modern Times directed by Charlie Chaplin, like most of society Chaplin’s Tramp character yearns for a slice of the â€Å"American Dream.† Struggling to conform to societal norms, the Tramp unsuccessfully attempts to reach the upper-middle-class bliss that he desires. In hi s endeavors, the Tramp ends up in jail but ironically, it is in the confinement of prison where the Tramp feels most comfortable and that his individuality is best appreciated. I will argue that through his use of strategicRead MoreStructure Of Modern Times By Charlie Chaplin1574 Words   |  7 PagesHierarchy in a modern capitalist society can be seen in the form of corporations through the capitalist division of labor. In the essay â€Å"What do bosses do? 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The time period captured is the great depression, and examine the role of the governing authorities in relation to those governed. â€Å"Metropolis† simply passes as one of the originalRead MoreFritz Lang s Metropolis And Charlie Chaplin s Modern Times897 Words   |  4 Pages In Fritz Lang’s Metropolis and Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times both use scenes that depict subjects in their films such as poverty, revolts, and homelessness to show the viewer what workers dealt with in our society in that time period. While watching the film of Modern Times that starred Charlie Chaplin, the film showed that the worker (Chaplin) was not only being treated unfairly but also worked to his limit. Metropolis also touched on this subject when the son of the leader of Metropolis venturedRead MoreA Day without Laughter is a Day Wasted by Charlie Chaplin816 Words   |  3 Pagesday wasted.† It was a simple but popular quote of Charlie Chaplin, one of the most famous actors as well as director and scriptwriter in the American Modernism Era. With a rags-to-riches story, Chaplin had overcome all the obstacles to become a Comedy King, represented an American Dream coming true. Charles Spencer Chaplin, Chaplin’s full name, was born in London, England, on April 16th, 1889. In a family of both parents who were entertainers, Chaplin spent his early years with his mother, who had noRead More Charlie Chaplin Essay1553 Words   |  7 Pages Charlie Chaplin did not use sound to communicate to the audience in his movies. Despite the fact that there was no spoken language, his movies were sensational and the audiences loved them. Chaplin was thought of as cinema’s first genius and has been called the single most-influential artist in the history of motion pictures. I am researching Charlie Chaplin to learn how he became a sensational comedian and one of the best actors of all time. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Chaplin is considered asRead MoreAn Exploration Of The Great Dictator1354 Words   |  6 PagesTHE GREAT DICTATOR (1940) 1 AN EXPLORATION OF THE GREAT DICTATOR (1940) 2 An Exploration of Charlie Chaplin s Influences, Symbolism, and Use of Sound in The Great Dictator (1940) Vincent G. Foisy Cleveland State University. An Exploration of Charlie Chaplin?s Influences, Symbolism, and Use of Sound in The Great Dictator (1940) In the early 1900?s, Charlie Chaplin became one of the most famous filmmakers in American history. His clumsy portrayal of The Little Tramp in manyRead MoreThreat Of Talkies994 Words   |  4 Pagessound to the audience, and life to the films. This would soon change starting with the growing popularity to use soundtracks, instead of hired piano players, to accompany the film. Later leading to the use of full sound throughout the picture. Chaplin, who had acquired fame and fortune from his work as a silent film actor and director, was reluctant to make the move to full sound. Undoubtedly, he must have wondered whether or not his film craft could survive the transition into the sound era.