Defense Mechs In Lit Essays - Defence Mechanisms, Denial, Id

Defense Mechs In Lit Who hasn't been hurt if their life? A loved one passing away, a lover tearing at the heart, a rejection of something desired. Everyone has certain stresses in which they have to deal with and react to. As the burden of the stress mounts, certain levels of anxiety arise. How do humans behave in the depths of this anxiety? People have developed varied counter measures called defense mechanisms in an attempt to confront their issues. Many of the theories behind defense mechanisms commenced with the work of Sigmund Freud. Freud believed that a conflict existed between the id, ego and the superego. This accounted for the anxieties within human existence. Freud stated that individuals use these mechanisms subconsciously, and that it is normal and acceptable to do so. Yet a metaphorical line can be drawn. A line where if crossed can be damaging to ones psyche. It may cause the individual not to deal with the situation or problem, but rather to repress them. Thus damaging the individual or those around him further. The repressor does not deal with his feeling directly. He hides them. Directs them using the mechanism. I will examine the use of defense mechanisms in the context of two works explored in class. These are the movie ?The Fisher King? and David Hwang's M. Butterfly. Both of the lead characters in each of these works use defense mechanisms to mask certain pains that have caused conflict. There are parallels and differences in the comparison of the two. The days coming to an end. You've finished work and want some down time to unwind. So you get the wife and head out to eat. Sit down and relax for what should be an enjoyable evening. Yet, your serenity is obliterated, destroyed with the explosion of a gun. Parry's world is destroyed by the death of his wife in the Fisher King. He is committed to an asylum. When he leaves and enters the world again, his vision of reality is blurred. Parry develops a number of defense mechanisms in order to combat the war in his mind. Parry initially forms what is known as repression. This is the most commonly found defense mechanism. It is simply a repression of the memory. Basically, in essence, forgetting? The repression of the memory is not permanent, however, as it is stored in the subconscious and can inflict the subject at any time. The stored memories can often times be violent to the subject and can lead to a ?blacking out period? in which the subject will awaken with no memory. Parry endured what seemingly was a classic case of repression. He would not think of his wife in a normal sense. He did not look back at fond memories or at the time they had together. He simply tried to forget her. And when memories resurfaced, he displayed classic examples of repression. The violent outburst followed by a period of time where the memory would again be repressed until the next emotional upheaval. But perhaps the more intriguing defense mechanism employed by Parry is that of fantasy. Everyone has fantasies. But Parry creates a world, a fantastical vision of knights and demons and the Holy Grail. Within the movie this plays very well as allusions and metaphors can be played off Parry dementia. The actual memory of his wife's passing is that of a red fiery knight, coming to strike Parry. To hurt him. To destroy his world. There is a certain level of intimacy one achieves with the member of the opposite sex. Could it be possible to be that intimate for a number of years and not to realize a shocking truth? A reality that while one might not want to grasp has to be visibly apparent. I am referring to M Butterfly. An adaptation of a play by David Hwang. Gallimard simply does not comprehend that Song is male. He sees her as the epitome of feminism. Whilst all the while, she is obtaining secrets that will later condemn him. Gallimard displays a variety of defense mechanisms. But these are encountered for reasons polar to Parry. While Parry mechanisms were designed to mask an event of the past, Gallimard

Understanding Soft Power in U.S. Foreign Policy

Understanding Soft Power in U.S. Foreign Policy Soft power is a term used to describe a nations use of co-operative programs and monetary aide to persuade other nations to ascribe to its policies. With U.S. State Department budget cuts likely in the wake of the August 2, 2011 debt ceiling deal, many observers expect soft-power programs to suffer. Origin of the Phrase "Soft Power" Dr. Joseph Nye, Jr., a noted foreign policy scholar, and practitioner coined the phrase soft power in 1990. Nye has served as the Dean of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard; Chairman of the National Intelligence Council; and Assistant Secretary of Defense in Bill Clintons administration. He has written and lectured extensively on the idea and usage of soft power. Nye describes soft power as the ability to get what you want through attraction rather than through coercion. He sees strong relations with allies, economic assistance programs, and vital cultural exchanges as examples of soft power. Obviously, soft power is the opposite of hard power. Hard power includes the more noticeable and predictable power associated with military force, coercion, and intimidation. One of the main objectives of foreign policy is to get other nations to adopt your policy goals as their own. Soft power programs can often influence that without the expense- in people, equipment, and munitions- and animosity that military power can create. Examples of Soft Power The classic example of American soft power is the Marshall Plan. After World War II, the United States pumped billions of dollars into war-ravaged western Europe to prevent it from falling to the influence of the Communist Soviet Union. The Marshall Plan included humanitarian aid, such as food and medical care; expert advice for rebuilding destroyed infrastructures, such as transportation and communication networks and public utilities; and outright monetary grants. Educational exchange programs, such as President Obamas 100,000 Strong initiative with China, are also an element of soft power and so are all varieties of disaster assistance programs, such as flood control in Pakistan; earthquake relief in Japan and Haiti; tsunami relief in Japan and India; and famine relief in the Horn of Africa. Nye also sees American cultural exports, such as movies, soft drinks, and fast-food chains, as an element of soft power. While those also include the decisions of many private American businesses, U.S. international trade and business policies enable those cultural exchanges to occur. Cultural exchanges repeatedly impress foreign nations with the freedom and openness of U.S. business and communication dynamics. The Internet, which reflects American freedom of expression, is also a soft power. President Obamas administration has reacted harshly to attempts of some nations to curb the Internet to eliminate the influence of dissidents, and they readily point to the effectiveness of social media in encouraging the rebellions of Arab Spring. As such, Obama recently introduced his International Strategy for Cyberspace. Budget Problems for Soft Power Programs? Nye has seen a decline in the United States use of soft power since 9/11. The wars of Afghanistan and Iraq and the Bush Doctrines use of preventive warfare and unilateral decision making have all eclipsed the value of soft power in the minds of people at home and abroad. Given that perception, budget woes make it likely that the U.S. State Department- coordinator of most of Americas soft power programs- will take another financial hit. The State Department already suffered $8 billion in cuts to the remainder of its FY 2011 budget in April 2011 when the president and Congress made a deal to avoid a government shutdown. The August 2, 2011, debt ceiling deal which they reached to avoid a debt default calls for $2.4 trillion in spending cuts over by 2021; that amounts to $240 billion in cuts each year. Soft power supporters fear that, because military spending became so predominant in the 2000s, and because the State Department accounts for only 1% of the federal budget, it will likely be an easy target for cuts.