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Denton, William. "FRBR and the History of Cataloging."
Chapter 4 in Understanding FRBR: What It Is and How It Will Affect Our Retrieval, edited by Taylor, Arlene G.
An explanation of where FRBR (Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records) comes from, given by a look at the work of librarians such as Panizzi, Cutter, Ranganathan, and Lubzetsky, and an examination of four themes in the history of library cataloging: the use of axioms to explain the purpose of catalogs, the importance of user needs, the idea of the "work," and standardization and internationalization.
Call#: Van Pelt Library PN1995.9.C55 M39 1992
In the chapter of the book entitled “Corrupt and Crumbling Institutions,” McCaffrey alternates between lauding John Schlesinger’s version of The Day of the Locust for the segments in which it is faithful to Nathaniel West’s novel and highlighting the elements of the film that fall short of the novel. Although the film is a moderately faithful adaptation, its greatest shortcoming is that it fails to consistently match West’s tone of “level rage and tilted compassion.” McCaffrey observes the power of West’s work in that he offers philosophical passages that humanize his characters even as he attacks their pitfalls, which facilitates reader identification with the characters. Except for the final scene in the film, McCaffrey praises those that Schlesinger created as they are true to West’s tone.
As West’s novel is considered among the best satires of Hollywood, it is successful largely due to conventions unavailable to the medium of film. To capture passages of philosophy, the oft-criticized use of voiceover narration would be required. Although the film matches the events of the novel, its failure completely match its tone leave it a less successful satire. Many of the pitfalls of the film result out of aspects of the Hollywood system the book attacks. The relevance of this articles lies in that it not only analyzes the adaptability of West’s book to film, but offers insights into issues facing the film adaptor and addresses satire in general context.
James Thomas Chiampi takes a detailed look at the novel “The Godfather”, written my Mario Puzo in the article Ressurecting “The Godfather”. He begins with an examination of the criticism of the novel that he has found throughout the years. Some condemn the novel as a mere work of sensationalism that alonbg with a hedonistic atmosphere simply glorifies evil deeds and corruption. Chiampi, however, argues that these critics as well as those that praise it for it’s realism are missing it’s most essential facet, the ability to make the outrageous plausible.
Chiampi also takes a careful look at the characters and the dynamic between them that Puzo establishes. In this examination he builds an understanding of the characters action within the larger and deeper context of the American dream of justice and the fact that the Corrleone family must by their very own nature exist ouside of that reality. He notes the impossibility of the Corrleone family or anyone associated with them to be able to live within the pretense of that dream for very long. He makes a keen observation by showing that any of the characters that act outside of the realm of the scicilian demeanor or embody characteristics that make them inherently American are either traitors to the Corrleones or die, or both.
Perhaps the most poignant of analyses to be found in this article is that of the barbarism in the characters. He qualifies this barbaric nature as one of cold calculations and pragmatic choices, but is quick to criticize any argument that depicts Michael Corrleone as anything but an American. Even though Michael fits all of the criteria to be considered an American (Dartmouth, served in the Marines) he ironically must ultimately come to grips with his own identity through the identity of his father. It is then that Michael must take on the sins of his father and although he does not realize it never be able to reach that American dream he thought he had wanted for so long.
Mulvey, Laura. “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema.” 17 Jan. 2007. Brown Wiki.
<https://wiki.brown.edu/confluence/display/MarkTribe/Visual+Pleasure+and+Narrative+Cinema>
Laura Mulvey uses psychoanalysis to highlight the ways in which film reveals society’s view on sexual differences and desires. The paper explores the structured implementation of phallocentric themes which acknowledge the dominance of the male gender. Such an argument is centered around the image of a castrated woman. Mulvey states that “woman's desire is subjected to her image as bearer of the bleeding wound, she can exist only in relation to castration and cannot transcend it.” Without the male reproductive organ, the woman is at a loss. The sole meaning for a woman is to signify the existence of the better male version. Deriving their meaning solely from males, women passively submit themselves to the wants and obsessions of the imposing male. By analyzing this concept, Mulvey believes that feminists can find the true roots of female oppression. The paper explains that the magic of Hollywood is derived from its manipulation of visual pleasure. The article discusses the integration of erotic themes in film and the meaning of such undertones.
Mulvey discusses the way that the male looks at the female in Vertigo. Scottie looks at Madeleine in a way that fluctuates between “voyeurism and fetishistic fascination.” Scottie’s desire to remake his lost love and Judy’s willingness to do so, is an example of his dominance over her. Through the use of camera techniques, Hitchcock allows the viewer to take Scottie’s perspective and thus take on his position. The paper relates Scottie’s drive to reconstruct Madeleine to a fetish. As a woman, Judy knows that her role is to submit, and realizes that such a role is necessary to retain his erotic interest in her.
This paper affirms the feminist belief that Hollywood seeks to affirm male dominance by integrating it into its films. The oppressive manner in which men look at women, the “male gaze,” can be demonstrated through point of view shots. By making Madeleine the object of the camera’s desire (Scottie’s), the audience also experiences the possession. The paper is important as it serves as an example of feminist reaction to Hitchcock’s film.
Manlove, Clifford T. “Visual ‘Drive’ and the Cinematic Narrative.” Cinema Journal 2007, 83-108.
Project MUSE. University of Pennsylvania Library, Philadelphia. 4 Apr. 2008.
<http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/cinema_journal/v046/46.3manlove.html>.
In this essay, Clifford T. Manlove comments on Laura Mulvey’s 1975 essay, “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema” and its application to Hitchcock’s Vertigo. Manlove explores the concept of “gaze theory” to explain opposing perceptions of the events that happen in the film. This idea of gaze refers to how the surrounding world views the presented characters. According to Manlove, Vertigo provides us with an “example of the formative split between the eye and its gaze.” The split is caused by Scottie’s near-death experience at the beginning of the film. Through the use of subjective camera positioning, we too as an audience experience a change in perception as we follow him around. Scottie’s vertigo forms a barrier between him and the people and objects that surround him. Things that may appear ordinary to others take on a special visual meaning to him. Manlove uses the example of the policeman who saves Scottie. Scottie sees a horrifying fall below him, while the policeman is unaffected and reaches out to help him. As an audience we can gaze upon Scottie, but only through camera techniques can we truly see how he sees. Hitchcock invented the “Vertigo shot” as a means of conveying his unique perception. The camera tracks backwards while zooming in, thus highlighting the occurrence of the split. “What to a rational observer looks like an alleyway, Scottie sees as a threatening object, simultaneously approaching yet infinitely receding.” Manlove goes on to relate the gaze to Scottie’s failure to save Madeleine, and its eventual result in Judy’s death. The essay further applies the concept of gaze to Rear Window and Marnie.
Manlove’s analysis helps us distinguish the fact that what the surrounding characters in the film see may be different from what Scottie sees. As an audience we are provided with insight into Scottie’s troubled mind by understanding the effects of his vertigo and how this might affect his insistence in reconstructing his lost love. Manlove helps us see that the story is driven by and conveyed through Scottie’s unstable state of mind. It is clear that Manlove has an appreciation for the techniques that Hitchcock used to convey his vision.
Call#: Van Pelt Library ML421.B4 F76 2007
Michael R. Frontani clearly tells the story of the making of The Beatles in his book entitled The Beatles: Image and the Media. Chapter 2, "Intorducing the Image", is about how "Beatlemania" came to be. Frontani discusses the immediate success of The Beatles in the British music industry, but also the less-known resistance of their American label, Capitol Records, to promote The Beatles' music in the United States prior to the band's American success. According to Frontani, Capitol Records was hesitant to spend a significant amount of money promoting The Beatles in the U.S. in 1963 because of the previous British pop musicians, such as Cliff Richard, who despite popularity in England, had failed commercial success in the states. Finally, however, with The Beatles' new single "I Want To Hold Your Hand", Capitol took the risk that made "Beatlemania" an international phenomenon and sent the new single to number one on the Billboard chart on February 1, 1964. The music industry was never the same. The Beatles made their United States television debut eight days later on The Ed Sullivan Show, a night that would solidify the fact that The Beatles, with their mop-top hair-cuts and thumping beats, were the new faces of pop culture.
This chapter is incredibly significant for my thesis because it explains how "Beatlemania" came to be, and more importantly why "Beatlemania" made it to the silver screen. Frontani makes a point of emphasizing the craze that went along with The Beatles' first trip to America. "The Beatles returned to New York. Four thousand fans were at Kennedy Airport to welcome them back, and to see them off as they departed for England." With several facts like these, Frontani creates a sense of how overwhelming The Beatles' popularity was in America, let alone in England. He also points out that a number of well-respected sources, such as the New York Times even wrote articles devoted to the discussion of The Beatles' haircuts and "Beatlemania" as a "cultural event." Clearly the pop culture of 1964 revolved around The Beatles, therefore it comes as no surprise that the film industry would take advantage of this. The result was A Hard Day's Night, a film that would portray a day in the life of the band and give their fans an up-close view of each of the "Fab Four." A Hard Day's Night was a way to make money off of the immense popularity of the band, and therefore, a successful coming together of the pop cultures of both film and music.
The NRO number council performs various duties associated with the Address Supporting Organization Address Council (ASO AC). This change came about after the Regional Internet registries signed an agreement with ICANN in October 2004. The primary function of the Regional Internet Registries is the formalization, through a co-operative effort, the (1) protection of unallocated number resources, (2) the promotion and protection of the bottom-up policy development process and (3) to act as a point of contact for the internet community for input into the RIR system.
Voting members for the NRO Number Council come from the regional registries. According to the website, “the voting scheme for the NRO NC is similar to the former voting scheme used for the ASO AC, where two members are selected by the regional policy forum of each of the RIRs. The only difference is that for the NRO NC, the Executive Board of each RIR also appoints one person from its respective region.” With regard to processes, the information society has offered a proposal that could dramatically change the management of Internet Number Resources. “The most prominent activity of the four Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) is the provision of global Internet resources and related services (IPv4, IPv6 and AS Number resources) and the management of reverse domain space.”
“On 21 October 2004, the Director of ITU-TSB published a memorandum, "ITU and Internet Governance" for public comment. This memorandum includes a proposal to create a new IPv6 address space distribution process, based solely on national authorities. This could have a serious impact on Internet operators and the global Internet community at large.”“The Address Supporting Organization (ASO) is one of the supporting organizations that the ICANN Bylaws say should be "formed through community consensus". The purpose of the ASO is to review and develop recommendations on Internet Protocol (IP) address policy and to advise the ICANN Board. In July 1999, the three existing Regional Internet Registries (APNIC, ARIN, and RIPE NCC) submitted a proposal to form the ASO on the basis of a Memorandum of Understanding. ICANN accepted this proposal on 26 August, 1999."
The following is an abstract concerning the functions of the ASO, “Each of the Regional Internet Registries appoints three members of the ASO Address Council. Two members are selected by the regional policy forum of each of the RIRs and one member is appointed from the Executive Board of each RIR. The purpose of the AC is to oversee recommendations on IP address policy. This will include the management of policy development activities. The other major aspect of the role of the Address Council is the appointment of Directors to the ICANN Board of Directors.”
“The ASO was formed on 19 October 1999, when the MoU was signed by representatives of APNIC, ARIN, and RIPE NCC and ICANN. This happened during the ARIN Open Policy Meeting in Denver, USA. LACNIC signed the MoU in 30 October 2002 following its official recognition as an RIR. A new Memorandum of Understanding between ICANN and the Number Resource Organization, on behalf of the Regional Internet Registries, was signed on 21 October 2004 at ARIN XIV in Reston, Virginia. Upon recognition by ICANN as a Regional Internet Registry, AfriNIC signed an MoU with the NRO on 24 April 2005 to become the NRO’s 5th member.”The World Bank provides financial assistance and aid to developing countries. Financing from the World Bank aids developing countries with funds to develop the IT communications infrastructure of these countries.
According to the World Bank, “The World Bank is a vital source of financial and technical assistance to developing countries around the world. We are not a bank in the common sense. We are made up of two unique development institutions owned by 185 member countries—the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA). Each institution plays a different but supportive role in our mission of global poverty reduction and the improvement of living standards. The IBRD focuses on middle income and creditworthy poor countries, while IDA focuses on the poorest countries in the world. Together we provide low-interest loans, interest-free credit and grants to developing countries for education, health, infrastructure, communications and many other purposes.”
There are several institutions that are closely related to the affairs of the World Bank. Among these institutions are the International Development Association, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA).
According to the Website, “The World Bank is like a cooperative, where its 185 member countries are shareholders. The shareholders are represented by a Board of Governors, who are the ultimate policy makers at the World Bank. Generally, the governors are member countries' ministers of finance or ministers of development. They meet once a year at the Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the Group and the International Monetary Fund.”Call#: Van Pelt Library Reference Stacks D114 .D5 1982
Schneider, Steven. "The Exorcist." St. James Encyclopedia of Pop Culture. 2002. FindArticles. Philadelphia. 5 Apr. 2006.
The Exorcist is frequently regarded as one of the most influential films history. It significantly impacted American culture and the movie industry by breaking down barriers in many ways. First and foremost it opened the door to cinematic respect of the horror genre. It has received more publicity than any other horror film to come before it and probably after it. The film went so far as to momentarily distract the media from the developing Watergate scandal.
Infamously know for its vulgarities, The Exorcist redefined the boundary of what could be shown on film. It was even banned in Brittan. Today the film is still one of the most graphic displays of obscenity ever made for the mainstream. The Exorcist is responsible for all the films after it that aim to entertain by disgusting the viewers. Additionally, the film presented this entertainment at a new level of special effects quality. For the type of effects attempted, the filmmakers succeeded to a “degree of realism never before achieved.” It is no surprise that the Catholic Church, who supported the idea of the film in preproduction, withdraw its approval after seeing how “real” the filmmakers were willing to go.
Even thirty years later, The Exorcist is generally regarded as the best film within its genera. For a movie that made such an impact, a modern day parallel can be drawn to a very different film. Brokeback Mountain has the potential to be just as influential as The Exorcist. Already it has opened the respect door for a genre, redefined the limits of screen content, earned more press than any previous film of its type, and won the disapproval of the Catholic Church.Pearlman, Cindy. "A Haunting Experience." Chicago Sun-Times 24 Sept. 2000. FindArticles. Philadelphia. 4 Apr. 2006.
Today Linda Blair is almost a normal woman, except for the fact that she can’t escape people’s memories as the sick, deranged girl from The Exorcist who made their stomach churn. The film is infamous for audience members vomiting in the theater as she did on the screen in front of them. But before Blair was cast, she was an unknown child actress about to quit. Instead she took the lead roll of possessed child Regan in The Exorcist and it catapulted her to a level of fame she never recovered from.
As a young girl she went to work everyday to be turned into such an ugly monster that she always wanted to go home. Once day she even fractured her back due to the violent shaking she underwent while imitating demonic possession. Eventually filming did end and Blair went home to relax. However, the film took the horror genre and Blair to a new status. She was continually frightened by crazed fans who could not disassociate the young star from her character. Blair remembers running through the streets of Japan while being chased by a mob of fans. She needed body guards to protect her for six months.
In addition to this stress, Blair lived the rest of her childhood under the microscope of the media as many young stars do. Thus every mistake of hers, including a drug arrest, was inflated and displayed for the world to see. She claims it took her years to regain a reputable image. The Exorcist made Linda Blair famous beyond her wildest dreams but in retrospect one has to wonder if a child star really ever knows what they are getting into.Miller, Arthur. The Crucible: a Play in Four Acts. New York: Viking P, 1964. 1-145.
The Crucible, a play by Arthur Miller, is a commentary on the communist-hunt during the McCarthy ear. However, it is also based on the true events of a 1692 witch-hunt in Massachusetts. The story takes place in the puritan town of Salem where a young girl has fallen ill for no obvious reason. Due to the lack of a better explanation, the townspeople assume that something supernatural must have happened to her in the woods where she was dancing with friends. The townspeople begin to question the other girls she was with, accusing them of witchcraft. Eventually one child confesses to working with the devil and the town infamously goes down in history for executing many suspected witches.
Before modern medicine, it was common to explain illness and bizarre behavior as the workings of evil forces. Catholics even developed exorcism, an entire method of expelling evil forces from a body through intense prayer. Then the world all but forgot about exorcism until the 1973 movie The Exorcist brought it back into focus. The Exorcist was another story based on true events of a young child’s sickness and weird behavior being attributed to evil forces. Interestingly, children are the common denominator in these stories. It is widely believed today that the events in Salem were caused simply by playful children and propelled by ignorant adults. However, people seemed to forget similar rational when The Exorcist hit theaters in 1973. People of all ages were crippled by the storyline and became devout believers in the previously archaic exorcism. Soon after the movie debuted, there was a large increase in reported exorcisms than in any recent time. The mania didn’t last though, eventually people grounded themselves and the movie lived on as a favorite scary tale. The popularities of The Crucible and The Exorcist are testaments to humans’ love of fear and their tendency for jumping to conclusions.
This article is the original review of The Exorcist by film critic Roger Ebert published on the films opening day. Ebert begins by comparing and contrasting The Exorcist to another recent film about religion, Cries and Whispers by Ingmar Bergman. He notes that they are both great films dealing with religion and human suffering but Cries and Whispers is “great art” while The Exorcist is “great craftsmanship”.
The Exorcist, according to Ebert is so well crafted that it pulls the viewer into the experience. He explains that when reviewing a film he measures it against films of the same genre. Arguing that The Exorcist is one of the best horror films ever made, he cites how well it “exploits the way film can manipulate feeling”. Even with the most far-fetched events onscreen, the film maintains a convinced audience.
Ebert goes on to explain how the cast was very significant in the effectiveness of the film. He commends the lead actress, Linda Blair, for the torture she went through as well as the torture she put the viewer through. Additionally he approves of using actor Max von Sydow for the role of the priest/hero. Max von Sydow had been in so many other religious rolls; Ebert felt this one to be appropriate as well.
Today Roger Ebert is one of the most well known and respected film critics in the industry. This review is interesting to look back on because it was written before the public really knew Ebert or the film. Therefore we have a look at the film from a great critic unaffected by his reputation or the public’s opinion of the film. Ebert’s four star approval of The Exorcist goes to show that he knew that this movie would be a hit regardless of how obscene it was for the time.
"'The Exorcist' Fairly Close to the Mark." National Catholic Reporter 1 Sept. 2000. FindArticles. Penn Library, Philadelphia. 5 Apr. 2006 <http://www.findarticles.com>.
This article discusses how some exorcists from the Catholic Church have spoken up about the accuracy of the 1973 film, The Exorcist. Regarding an industry (film) that is continually criticized for inflating its subject matter, these exorcists claim the movie to be fairly similar to what they have personally witnessed. One exorcist actually declared the events in the movie, famously known for their vulgarity, to be tame in comparison to exorcisms he has seen. Additionally, the chief exorcist of Rome regards the film as a reliable representation.
This accuracy makes sense because the film and the novel it was based on were inspired by an allegedly true story. During the 1940’s a young boy was witnessed doing supernatural things. Subsequently he went through an exorcism that was later portrayed by the young Linda Blair in The Exorcist. Priests who performed this exorcism have attested to the films authenticity citing words unexplainably scratched into the boy’s body. Additionally they recall the Archangel Michael speak through the boys body, freeing him of the possession. The boy apparently made a remarkable recovery at that moment and went on to live a happy normal life.
This article, published by the National Catholic Reporter, shows that the belief in exorcisms as a way of healing is still alive today in the Catholic community. Though many things that were once attributed to demonic possession are today cured by modern medicine, there are people who believe in possession. The Exorcist touched on a real fear of many Americans. Perhaps this is why it was so horrifying and became such a sensation.This article discusses The Exorcist and how the current events during the time it was made were very important to its creation and success. During the 1970’s America was going through difficult times. William Blatty found inspiration in an old and allegedly true story of a possessed young boy saved through exorcism. Blatty revived this story turning it into his novel and film, The Exorcist, in an effort to give hope to the American people and scare them back into church. This was an unusual move because exorcism for a long time has generally been seen as an archaic practice now replaced by modern medicine. Regardless, the movie represented many key issues facing Americans during the 70s and became a huge success. Mainly the exorcist dealt with “America’s growing fear of its youth.” This idea manifested itself in many ways, chiefly the main character being a possessed little girl. Additionally, The Exorcist was a movie that invaded a previously regarded “safe place” by Americans. Setting such horrifying events within this safe place, a family’s household, was particularly disturbing to wartime 1970’s America. Blatty’s character change from the boy who inspired to story, to a girl was probably no mistake either. The feminist movement of the era can possibly be credited for this representation of a threatening female. Moreover, early scenes in the movie suggest that the evil demon came from somewhere in Iraq, “coinciding with a new low in US relations” with the Middle East. In all, Blatty did not succeed in diving Americans back to church. However, he did strike upon a few relevant topics that greatly affected his audience, sending them to the theater and his film into box office success history.
This section discusses emotion in regards to films of different genres. It professes that horror films are intended to elicit a compound emotion. The obvious first element to that compound is fear. This fear is usually drawn from a lethal, supernatural threat such as a monster or a demon in the case of The Exorcist. Because the antagonists are hostile and possess great super abilities, they are perceived as very dangerous and the audience fears for the human characters in the film.
Along with fear, the second component of the emotion provoked by horror movies is disgust. Many films stimulate fear in the viewers without disgusting them, but they aren’t horror films. A horror film needs to make the viewer uncomfortable, sick inside, and scared all at the same time. Such has been accomplished in The Exorcist when the head of the possessed character, Regan, spins her neck around and she vomits intensely all over the room. This disgust can be attributed to the theme of impurities of the antagonist. The antagonists are unclean, and the thought of being near them is nauseating for the audience.
Thus the objective in a horror film is to trigger fear as well as disgust from the viewer. The intended fear in the antagonist is generally achieved from its hostile actions such as a demon taking possession of Regan. Disgust of the antagonist is generally achieved when the viewer’s archetypal concepts are challenged. Often the antagonist is a self-contradicting hybrid such as a demon within a young girl in The Exorcist. Regan is assumed to be a cute child but instead she is a disfigured, foul mouth, supernatural threat. Consequently the combination of fear and disgust of Regan galvanizes a horrific emotional reaction.
Price, Stephen. Movies and Meaning an Introduction to Film. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1997. 250-252.
In The Exorcist, the antagonist seems to be the little girl, Regan. However, Regan is actually the victim of the true antagonist, a demon residing within her. The demon is taking on the appearance of Regan and hence taking on human characteristics. Here normality is threatened in a way that is not totally obscure. No one actually knows what a demon looks like. However, the audience can relate to the possessed little girl and therefore she is extremely terrifying.
Other horror films have been made by completely abandoning fantasy and are disturbing simply because they could actually happen. One such film is Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. The Exorcist can also be seen in this way because the antagonist and plot are derived from religion. For viewers who believe in demons and exorcism, this film is plausible, making it exceptionally fear-provoking.
Additionally this section mentions how the structure of horror movies changed in the 70’s. During this time there was a shift away from the happy conventional ending. The Exorcist exemplifies this when in the end, the two heroes die and Regan is left permanently scarred.