Disney Amusement Park

Executive Summary Disney Amusement Theme Park is one of the world’s most famous parks. The Disney Park in Paris is considered to be â€Å"a little America† in the heart of France. These days, it is one of the most favorite amusement parks in the country, however, the history of its development in Paris faced considerable difficulties and oppositions from the French people that led to the lack of success.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on Disney Amusement Park specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The French considered the park to be an invasion of American culture into their national culture. It was due to the misinformation and assumptions, as well as the no compromise attitude the owner adopted for the foreign resorts. The misconceptions were related to the wrong communication and the way the park was portrayed by the French. The stakeholders did not consider the particularities of the French cultur e and customs. There were considerable operational misshapes as to the French and American food culture, management and attitude to employees who were forced to speak English only. Thus, Disney did not consider the cultural differenced and was bad prepared for establishing resort in Paris. The report provides several recommendations that might help Disney Park attract more visitors and improve its management operation. First of all, there should not be any assumptions made, assumptions lead to misconceptions of the culture; a better research of the country and its customs should be done to ensure that integration will be smooth and will not impact traditions of the country; finally, there should be compromise between cast members and stakeholders. Thus, better internal business communication? As well as communication between the guests they serve, should be a core â€Å"tool† to serve the Disney’s success and future development. Introduction: Disneyland World Resorts W alter Elias Disney, founder of the Walt Disney Company, was an ambitious man. His (love of amused parks,) love for amusement parks (lead) led him to (create) creating a place where both children (and) , adults and teens could enjoy themselves. The planning process for the first Disneyland theme park went underway, lasting several years before finally (opening) being opened in Anaheim, California on July 17th, 1955. The park (emphasized on the experience. Of walking) emphasized the experience of walking into one of (Walt’s Disney) Walt Disney’s classics. It laid the groundwork for many of the theme parks built later on and attracted hundreds of millions of visitors each year (The Walt Disney Company).Advertising Looking for term paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Following the opening of Disneyland, Walt purchased land in Florida (in hoping (of recreating) hoping to recreate the masterpi ece of a theme park in California †¦ in Florida as well. It was after his (dirth) birth that the theme park was built, much larger than its predecessor in California. It has an area of over 30, 000 acres with numerous hotels and entertainment options. With the success of (it’s) its second and then third resort located in Tokyo, Japan, Disney decided to venture into Europe. Paris was chosen as its location to build the next resort, but much opposition came their way. Under the assumption of how well its prior resorts had done, Disney assumed this venture would (also) be a success as well. The opposition (Disny) Disney faced was that many of the French feared that the opening of the Disney theme park would be an intrusion of the American culture. Invasions of American (Cauture) Culture American Imperialism Many view Americans as trying to reach as many foreign countries (as impossible) as possible, spreading their views and culture. Many other countries have let American c ulture (steeped) step into their own. The French pride themselves (on) for their culture and customs. Thus, when the very American company Disney proposed establishing a new resort in Paris, the city best known in France, many people felt this was an invasion of sorts. Parisians were threatened by the idea that something so American could be placed right in the middle of (a) the city that was so rich and full of culture. Outburst American and French (culture is) cultures are quite different from (the other) each other. Establishing relationships in business is the French way, but being direct is the American route. The French government thought willing to have the Walt Disney Company introduce their fifth world resort within France, would have (quite an impacture) an impact on what happens (in) to the economy, and as such, would have taken their time on finalizing agreements.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on Disney Amusement Park specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Joe Shapiro, head of the Disney team, did not show appropriate business manner when he became impatient and had an angry outburst in front of the Chef French Negotiator, Jean-Rene Bernard. â€Å"Get me something to break†, was his response to the process, which was a shock to the French negotiator (Hill and McKaig). Consumerism Capitalism plays (a large) an important role in American popular culture. There is a large emphasis on getting the consumer’s attention (. And) , and marketing products and services toward them. It is a very materialistic way of living and thinking. Since the population (is) has been bombarded by advertisements about things, they â€Å"should want† and treated as segments with one state of mind. The people of Paris, France are very connected to their culture. They do not accept being treated as part of a group, but instead (recognition) recognized as individuals. So when Disney decid ed to build their next world resort in Paris, many took (defence) defense that (They) they did not want to welcome a symbol of â€Å"American clichà ©s and costumer society† (Hill and McKaig). Operational Misshapes Breakfast Food is another important aspect (to) of French culture. What is on the menu is extremely (important. To) important to the French. When Disneyland Paris first set up their restaurant, they were under the assumption that Europeans did not eat breakfast. This (however) , however, was not the case. This (lesion) lesson was learned the hard way when they only had a 350 seat capacity in their restaurant and had to scramble to serve the 2500 people who had come for breakfast. Another issue with breakfast was that their guests did not want the dish being served, which was croissants and coffee. These were common in French cuisine. Instead, the guests wanted bacon and eggs. Lunch Lunch was another computing time for Disneyland Paris. The major issue with the lun ch serving was the (no alcohol) â€Å"no alcohol† rule. Disney did not find it appropriate to serve alcohol to children (within) at a children’s theme park. It did not hold well with their image.Advertising Looking for term paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More However, it is (Frnch) a French custom for everyone to be served a glass of wine with lunch, despite one’s age (Food and Culture Resources). In addition, (to not serving) not serving alcohol, Disneyland cast members had some (difficulty) difficulty explaining to their guests that lunch could not be served between 11 am (to) and 2 pm. This concept was not fully understood as there was a large crowd deriding their lunch at 12:30 pm (Hill and McKaig). Hotels Disneyland theme parks are one of the largest attractions (to) in North (Americans) America each year. Millions visit the theme park to see their (favourite) favorite characters come to life and (experienced) experience the magic that (is Disney) Disney is. Many people also look forward to baking the (week long) a weeklong vacation package to get the most out of (the) a large (pork) park. However, in Europe, people do not see theme parks as enjoyable vacation sports. These parks are seen as daytime excursions. When Disneylan d Paris first opened its doors to the public, they were surprised to see that their luxurious hotels were mostly empty. The idea that the theme park could be a family vacation spot did not take off with their European visitors (Hill and McKaig). French Employees (Langage) Language In addition to their traditions and food, the French take pride in their language. Disneyland Paris imposed a rule where the employees could only speak English in their meetings. This only added to the opposition of Disneyland being in Paris. It presented another way the American company was trying to impose its culture into the French one. Individualism As mentioned, the French take their individualism very seriously. Individual liberty and (dgnity) dignity (is) are enforced by the law (Asselin). Disneyland Paris took away from this right when they made it mandatory that everyone follow a strict (drss code) dress code (and wok a) and worked in a certain way. Disney did not have problems with getting their employees at Tokyo Disneyland to conform (omit word â€Å"to†) these rules because they were more than willing to uphold the image of Disney and embrace that side of American culture (Tuleja and O’Rourke). Training Many of the cast members employed at Disneyland Paris were disappointed (in) with the way they were treated. 1000 employees quit their jobs since the park has been opened 9 weeks earlier. Some employees called it a form of â€Å"brainwashing† because of the amount of training involved in being a member of the Disney team (Hill and McKaig). There (are) were numerous steps in the training process, which (includes) included an orientation catered to all employees and a divisional orientation specific to the different areas of work (Martinez). Because of the constant reinforcement and orientations geared to making (the) employees more effective (many) * were appalled. It was an insult to their intelligence (Asselin). Recommendations Do Not Make (Assumpti ves) Assumptions Assumptions were made during the establishment of Disneyland Paris. Assumptions should never be made, especially when it comes to other people and cultures. For example( ) , there was a misconception that Europeans did not (eat for) have breakfast. Therefore( ) , the restaurants were downsized. However, this information was false and this lead to the park builders using this assumption to make plan changes, which in turn did not serve them well (in the end) at the end. In the future, Disney should take care in finding the right information and avoid making assumptions because in the end it will only cost them more. Research When doing business in any country, it is important that a business take the necessary steps to ensure that integration into that region is smooth. Disney did not completely took those measures, which included doing the research and finding out what the market really wanted. Because of this mistake (. It cost) , it cost them $ 2 billion dollars c umulatively (Hill and McKaig). Had done the required research to learn about (the) customers and preferences of the market they were trying to serve, there would not have been confusion about breakfast or how lunch was served. There was a lack of communication present between the customers and the cast members during this period, which could have been resolved. In the future, Disney should do a thorough research on the region that they consider for their resort. Compromised Because of the large amount of opposition and employees rebuttal, Disney should have considered making an exception to how they operate their resorts in foreign countries. By trying to impose their rules and regulations on the cast members, the cast members took this as an insult. Instead, Disney should have recognized the high value that is placed on individualism in France and that workers did not need constant reminders on how they (preformed) perform their duties. It is important that Disney uphold its image, but there is nothing wrong with showing that they can adapt to diversity. If all the resorts represented the region in more ways, aside from the food and names, more people would be attracted to the park to experience the culture of the region and share it with their childhood love of Disney. In Conclusion Disney could have been better prepared for entering Paris(,) in France, and establishing its resort there. The opposition it faced, the misinformation and assumptions, as well as the no compromise attitude it adopted for its foreign resorts( ), contributed to its lack of success. It did (however) , however, try to make improvements through changing the name to Disneyland Paris from its original name, Euro Disney Resort. This gave it more French identity. In terms of attracting more visitors the pricing for packages were lowered to accommodate for their guests. Also( ) , new concepts have been added to the resort, such as the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, which has become a major crowd pleaser (Hill and McKaig). There were many thinks that Disney did not consider, thus causing them to have (pore) poor results. A lot of these issues dealt with miscommunication and the way they were portrayed by the French. (Had each party token) If each party took the time to come to an agreement, instead of Disney (calling) pulling (all) the strings, there would have been a better reception for the resort. Disney still (need) needs to uphold its image when it comes to the Disney name and its creator, however when entering new markets there needs to be a compromise and adopting. If they had shown interest in listening to their employees and catering to their need a little more, the backlash would not have been so great. Disneyland resorts continue to be the most attractive them parks in the world. Many people enjoy the meaning and experiences it creates for them. The communication between the guests they serve and the employees that work for them is essential to Disneyâ€⠄¢s success. With this focus, Disney can ensure future endeavors are success. Works Cited (Asselin, Gilles. Intercultural Systems. 2010. 14 November 2010 http://www.intercultural-systems.com/articles_1.html.) Asselin, Gilles. Intercultural Systems. 2010. Web. http://www.intercultural-systems.com/articles_1.html. (Food and Culture Resources. French Meal and Customs. 2010. 14 November 2010 http://www.food-links.com/countries/france/french-meal-customs.php.) â€Å"Food and Culture Resources.† French Meal and Customs. 2010. Web. http://www.food-links.com/countries/france/french-meal-customs.php. (Hill, Charles W. and Thomas McKaig). â€Å"Disney in France.† Hill, Charles W. and Thomas McKaig Global Business Today, Second Canadian Edition. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 2009. 120-121.) Hill, Charles W. and Thomas McKaig. â€Å"Disney in France.† Business Today, Second Canadian Edition. Ed. Charles W Hill and Thomas McKaig, Global Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 2009. 12 0-121. (Martinez, Michelle Neely. Disney Training Works Magic. 1 May 1992. 14 November 2010 http://www.allbusiness.com/public-administration/administration-human/310145-1.html.) Martinez, Michelle Neely. Disney Training Works Magic. 1 May. 1992. Web. http://www.allbusiness.com/public-administration/administration-human/310145-1.html. (The Walt Disney Company. Corporate History. 2010. 14 November 2010 http://corporate.disney.go.com/corporate/complete_history_5.html.) â€Å"The Walt Disney Company. Corporate History.† 2010. Web. http://corporate.disney.go.com/corporate/complete_history_5.html. (Tuleja, Elizabeth and James O’Rourke. â€Å"Walt Disney Company: Launch of a Hong Kong Theme Park.† Tuleja, Elizabeth and James O’Rourke. Intercultural Communication for Buisness. Mason: Cengage Learning, 2005. 142-143.) Tuleja, Elizabeth and James O’Rourke. â€Å"Walt Disney Company: Launch of a Hong Kong Theme Park.† Intercultural Communication for Bu isness. Ed. Elizabeth Tuleja and James O’Rourke. Mason: Cengage Learning, 2005. 142-143. This term paper on Disney Amusement Park was written and submitted by user Rachel Grey to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Composing Pharmacy Personal Statements

Composing Pharmacy Personal Statements Pharmacy personal statements are tough to write. Not only must potential students describe their personal perspectives and characteristics, but they almost must be persuasive in their argument for why they are excellent candidates for pharmacy school. All in all its a tough assignment tough, but not impossible! Before you start writing your pharmacy admissions essay, I recommend that you first take a moment and map out your game plan. What, specifically, do you plan to discuss in your statement? Frequently, such a distinction is unnecessary as many pharmacy schools give applicants a topic on which to write. In any event, however, it helps to be organized. Once you know your topic, I recommend that your narrow the scope. If, for example, you are asked to write on why you would make a good pharmacist, you should take some time to think on that question and come up with as detailed an answer as possible. Stay away from broad responses (such as I would make a good pharmacist because I care about people) and lean more toward specific instances in your life that have led you to believe you are right for the field. Like all admissions essays, pharmacy personal statements arent a breeze to write. They arent supposed to be! With that in mind, take your time and use all the resources you can to execute a brilliant composition. For more information on writing a medical school essay, or if you have questions about other fields such as writing an MBA essay, please access the link provided.

Human Capital Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Human Capital - Essay Example This is a case analysis of the Riordan Manufacturing, a global plastics producer employing 550 people with projected annual earnings of $46 million. The company is wholly owned by Riordan Industries, a Fortune 1000 enterprise with revenues in excess of $1 billion. Production is divided among three plants: plastic beverage containers in Albany, Georgia; custom plastic parts in Pontiac, Michigan; and plastic fan parts in Hangzhou, China. Research and Development is conducted at corporate headquarters in San Jose, California. Riordans major customers are automotive parts manufacturers, aircraft manufacturers, the Department of Defense, beverage makers and bottlers, and appliance manufacturers. The cause of the problem that Riordan Manufacturing is facing is rooted from several strategic changes in the way it manufactures and markets its products. The declining sales and uneven profits over the past two years not only forced the company to change its sales processes, but prompted them to adopt a customer-relationship management (CRM) system. So now customers are serviced primarily by sales teams rather than single salespeople, with each team focusing on a particular customer segment. Teams typically include a sales person, product engineering specialist and customer service representatives. The company is hoping that the team approach will improve sales. With some work being redirected to a new manufacturing facility in China, and plants have been restructured into self-directed work teams, the changes implemented have caused the employee retention numbers to decline. An employee survey showed a decrease in overall job satisfaction, particularly in the areas of compensatio n and benefits. Riordan’s employees comprise three major demographic groups. Baby boomers make up the bulk of the managerial and about half of the manufacturing

Financial Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 2

Financial Strategy - Essay Example â€Å"Value added† is only meaningful in the context of some kind of value that a firm's portfolio has that isn't immediately apparent from their stock prices or investment guide. The fact that a company is connected to a larger company, for example, would be relevant to investors. Managing cost centres is normally quantified on the balance sheet anyways, but even when it isn't, it is a tiny part of the value added picture. Lu, Tsai and Yen (2010) point out that intangible assets are immensely important to valuing firms. â€Å"In knowledge-based economy, the method for creating firm value transfers from traditional physical assets to intangible knowledge. As intangible assets value is an important part of firm value, valuation of intangible assets becomes a widespread topic of interest in the future of economy† (Lu et al, 2010). Lu, Tsai and Yen point to six particular value-added sources that their data-mining from Taiwanese firms found: â€Å"R&D intensity, family, p articipation in management, pyramids, profitability, and dividend† (Lu et al, 2010). Intangible assets are clearly vital to a company: Indeed, they are the company, the money being the way for those assets to be deployed. What makes a company like Microsoft grow ten-thousand fold is intangible elements like strategy, intuition, etc. The problem with these assets is manifold: 1. These assets are not easily fungible. Bill Gates would not have been worth very much before Microsoft's ascension. 2. These assets are not easily measurable. Creativity, political connections, inherited knowledge from family, secret recipes... until they have been tried and tested in the market, they have no quantifiable value. 3. They are context-specific. A piece of land is worth however much it is objectively. But Bill Gates and Paul Allen were a team. Split them apart and their separate value was probably far, far lower. Aside from the factors that Lu, Tsai and Yen (2010) identify, intangible assets of value include far more. Political connections are immensely valuable: If someone can exert political pressure to protect one from upcoming regulation or other important legislation, that can be worth millions to the shareholders. Families are value-added because they typically have a shared sense of camaraderie and loyalty with less need for monitoring and because they have special knowledge passed down a family line not accessible to those outside of it. Again, the problem is the signal-to-noise ratio: The vast majority of family knowledge is not applicable to business success, but sometimes an individual piece of information in the flotsam and jetsam, like a recipe, actually is. Innovation is particularly important, especially a culture of innovation. Companies like Google, 3M, Microsoft in their heydey and Mac now are known for being innovators, which is partially created by the people they hire but also heavily determined by the organizational practices they implement. Partn erships with other firms would be another value-added investors should be aware of. Strategic partnerships have a proven track record of raising company value. In small-to-medium sized software companies, Kennedy and Keeney's research found that â€Å"strategic partnerships were initiated to take advantage of firm synergy, reputation and credibility

Friedrich Wilhelm Froebel Essay Example for Free

Friedrich Wilhelm Froebel Essay Friedrich Wilhelm Froebel is said to be the â€Å"Father of the Kindergarten† for his huge involvement, and devoting his life to the development of a system of education for young children. In German, the word kindergarten means children’s garden, and he thought that this was best in the age of six and younger. He spent his entire life helping with the development of the young and early childhood development. Wilhelm Froebel was born in the Thuringia region of Germany. He had a childhood that was not so fond for remembrance because of how terrible it had been for him. This is what shaped him to be able to come up with the idea of kindergarten. Froebel lost his mother before the age of one, and this meant that he had been left with this father who had to take care of three boys because Froebel had two other brothers. Their father never had much time for any of them. As a boy that would be hard for any child, and this caused him to have to spend most of his time alone at his home. He spent a lot of that time in the gardens by his home, and would play there for most of the day (Coron 4). Exploring all day was what he loved to do the most, and this would make a major influence on what he would do for the rest of his life. He started teaching at a school when he was a young man at Frankfurt Model School, and this school was a school that was focused on the teachings of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, who was a very well respected teacher of his day. This school accepted poor children, and orphans. He believed that children needed to be involved in very active ways. As he left this school, he left it with his very hands on learning approach, and went to privately tutor children. The parents of the children that he tutored were very kind in giving him space in their garden to use to help teach the children. In 1837 Froebel founded his first school, and called it Kindergarten, or the children’s garden (Coron 4). This was a very exciting thing because before he opened this school, if you were under the age of seven, you did not attend school. At the age of seven, you then could go to school. Now that Froebel opened his school, children at the age of two were able to go to school (coron 3). Froebel was very free with the children, he allowed them to have a lot of activity time to be free with themselves, and figure things out. He believed that this was the best idea for them to have their own space, and time to figure out, as he did as a child. The mot that Froebel gave the children was a classroom, he believed that giving children a place to create, and imagine freely was the best gift anyone could have given them. Froebel wrote books, and in his book â€Å"Education of Man† he wrote â€Å"Play is the highest phase of child development-the representation of the inner necessity and impulse.† (coron 5). He thought that teachers should be friendly people who are helpers, not discip linarians. In his classroom there were blocks, pets, and finger plays. (Coron 5). He was inspirational to all. Froebel designed his classroom to have the following things as meeting a child’s needs; Physical activity, because it is important for a child to move, the development of sensory awareness and physical dexterity, creative expression, exploring of ideas, the pleasure of singing, the experience of living among others, and satisfaction of the soul. (Coron 4). These are all things we teach today to our children, and encourage our children to do. I think going back and looking at the bones of things could really help our society as a whole. Froebel was a very inspirational man to a lot of other great theorists such as Maria Montessori, who started Montessori schools. (Coron 2). I am in great belief of how much of a influence Froebel had on the early childhood education as a whole. He really was the father of kindergarten. I think that him having such an influence, really helped us shape the early education now. Froebel believed that â€Å"Humans are essentially productive, and creative† (coron 1.) I believe he is right, no matter what age you are, you are creative in your own way. It starts out at birth, even with how you relate to your mother, and father is creative, and how you interpret things as a young child is important. I know that if Froebel had not been involved, that what we call early childhood now, would not be the same as it is now. I am a firm believer in how he started to do things, letting children develop their own ideas about who they are, and how to do things in the world around them is really all a part of life.

Ethics of Affirmative Action Essay -- Ethics Morals

Affirmative Action: Staying on the Road to Equality â€Å"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness† (Declaration of Independence, 1776). Who would imagine that in a country under the blanket such a brilliant, ethical and proud statement of equality, there could be so much dissention about equality? Our nation has interpreted this statement differently since it was written, and still, more than two hundred years later, we are on the road to a truly equal society. This is because racism has its seeds deeply sown into the history of America. Uprooting perceptions of peoples who are dominant and peoples who are inferior has been a long process, from the Emancipation Proclamation to affirmative action. It is important that we stay on this road to equality for all, and keep affirmative action up and running.Affirmative action has its roots in racism as a remedy to it , and racism has its roots all the way back in the colonial and imperial era. Europeans began discovering other continents in the fifteenth century, and with new continents came new ways of making money. Different European countries began to scramble to acquire colonies where they could sell goods, exploit labor, and export slaves and raw materials for cheap prices. Almost all of Africa became colonialized, with different European powers claiming control over sections of Africa, and soon colonialism spread to many new places that were discovered: the Americas, the Middle East, and later Asia and the Pacific Islands. In the process of colonialism, the Europeans were taking advantage of the resour... ...hat happens when we level the playing field? â€Å"No school that has scrapped its affirmative action program has seen minority enrollment return fully to affirmative action levels† (Kranz 26). The ultimate goal is to see minorities represent their population in education and in the work force, and at this point, to attain that goal, it is more ethical to retain the policy of affirmative action than to eliminate it. In the words of Peter Singer, â€Å"In the absence of more promising alternatives it seems worth a try† (51). Works Cited * Kranz, Rachel. â€Å"Affirmative Action.† Facts on File, Inc., 2002. * Murray, Charles. â€Å"Affirmative Racism.† The New Republic, 1984. * Rachels, James. â€Å"The Elements of Moral Philosophy,† Fourth Edition. McGraw Hill, New York, 2003. Singer, Peter. â€Å"Practical Ethics,† Second Edition. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1993.

Meaning Behind Aussie Battler Essay

The film industry determines the way we view our films. Australian films often backup the idea of the ‘Aussie battler/hero’. A battler/hero is known as someone who fights for what they believe in, their country, their heritage, their family, friends, dignity and pride. A battler’s job is to protect and hold onto what they are fighting for, whether it is for the good or for the bad. The Aussie Battler is known for being a working class citizen who commits there heart and soul into their work, land, culture and family. Many Australian films explore the concept of ‘Overcoming Adversity’ and explore into the idea of the ‘Aussie Battler/hero’. Wonderful examples of films that directly look into this idea of the ‘Aussie Battler/hero’, is Ned Kelly (2003) and The Castle (1997). Ned Kelly is a film based in the 70’s/80s about a group of young men, Ned Kelly (Heath Ledger), Joseph Byrne (Orlando Bloom), Dan Kelly (Laurence Kinlan) and Steve Hart (Philip Barantini), also known as ‘the Kelly gang’, fighting to preserve their heritage and remain true to their family. The director of Ned Kelly ‘Gregor Jordan’ has contributed the idea of how overcoming adversity can be problematic and difficult, but can also change society. The Castle a film directed by Rob Sitch is about a man, Darryl Kerrigan (Michael Caton) facing the authority because he believes in fighting for his right to not lose everything he has worked for, for unnecessary government requests. The film industry determines the way people view films. Australian films often backup the idea of the ‘Aussie Battler’. An Aussie battler is referred to as someone who fights for what they believe in, their country their heritage, family, friends, dignity and pride. A battlers job is to protect and hold onto what they believe is worth fighting for, whether is is for good or bad. The Aussie battler is known to be a working class citizen who commits their sweat, blood and time into their work, land, culture and family. Many Australian films explore into the concept of ‘overcoming adversity’, and look deeply into the understanding the idea of the ‘Aussie battler’. Wonderful examples of films that directly look into this concept of the ‘Aussie Battler’ is ‘Ned Kelly’ (2003) and ‘The Castle’ (1997). ‘Ned Kelly’ is a Film based in 1880’s about a group of men (Ned Kelly (Heath Ledger), Joseph Byrne (Orlando Bloom), Dan Kelly (Laurence Kinlan) and Steve Hart (Philip Barantini), also known as ‘The Kelly Gang’. The gang’s objective is to fight, preserve their heritage and change how the authority treats the Irish. The director of ‘Ned Kelly’, ‘Gregor Jordan’ has contributed the idea of how overcoming diversity can be problematic and difficult, but can also change society’s views and ways. The Castle’, a film directed by ‘Rob Sitch’, is about a man, ‘Darryl Kerrigan’ (Michael Caton) facing the authority because he believes in fighting for his right to not lose something that is a big part of his life and some thing he has worked for his whole life. The events that arise in both films revolving around the characters, reiterate this idea of ‘Overcoming Adversity’ and the ‘Aussie Battler/hero’ is emerged through a variety of techniques incorporated from their respective directors. In the first scene of Ned Kelly he is portrayed as a great contribution to society by saving his class mates life from drowning in a river. He received a green hero’s sash. Another scene that also really shows Ned as a battler is where he is chasing one of the authorities through the bushes. Ned shoots the authority multiple times and once he finally stops Ned tells him ‘he would not have shot if he hadn’t kept running’; he also tried to stop him from bleeding but in the end couldn’t and was forced to put a bullet through his heart. A scene where Ned’s image is turned around is where he steals the horse and gets caught from the authority; Ned loses it and threatens the authority which then lands him in jail and from this point on Ned falls into the role of ‘The Aussie Battler’. Ned Kelly belongs to an Irish heritage that immigrated to Australia for a better life, but not realizing what laid ahead for them they were pushed low down in society and struggled to keep an income. The Kelly’s were given a piece of land by the selectors where they were allowed to grow their own crops, producing their own food and founder animals for income. The authorities in Ned Kelly were self-centred and, self-indulged. The way the authority treated the Irish was different to how they treated their own. That’s where the Kelly Gang and the authority differed. Ned was pleasant to everyone he came across, he didn’t chose to harm them, gave them respect and the rights they deserved wether they were his own people or not. The events that arise in both films revolving around the two main character ‘Ned Kelly’ and ‘Darryl Kerrigan’, reiterate this idea of ‘overcoming adversity’ and the ‘Aussie battler’ is emerged through a variety of different techniques that have been incorporated by their respective directors’. In a scene towards the start of the film that shows Ned as a battler is where he is hunting a policeman through the bush lands because he ran. Ned finally guns down the policeman and finds the man lying on the ground in immense pain. Ned tells the policeman ‘he would not have shot him if he had not run’. This scene shows the battler side of Ned because further on in this scene Ned is forced to kill the policeman because there was nothing he could do to save him. The Castle is a classic Australian film the stereotypes the Aussie image but also conveys the message that Australians are tough and fight for right. The Kerrigan family is an admirable representation of the average Australian family. They are tight-knit, willing to help and passionate about sticking together as a family. There is a scene that particularly shows off the characteristics of a battler/ fighter within the castle. This scene is were Darryl is at his court hearing. When the Jury goes on break, Darryl sends out his message to his lawyer who then uses what he says in his debate. By Darryl really expression his true emotions, they win. Darryl Kerrigan resembles the typical Australian father. Although his family isn’t well off and don’t particularly live in a great spot (beside an airport), its home, it all comes from the heart. Darryl is a battler; he supports everyone’s opinions but in the end makes his decisions based upon his beliefs. He doesn’t particularly have a high status in society with him working as a tow truck driver but still manages to stay positive because he doesn’t care what people think of him, he’s a proud Australian. He works and fights for the things he needs and can appeal to ones emotions. He uses his power to battle against the bad to win the good. The directors of both Ned Kelly and The Castle have incorporated a variety of different cinematic techniques that make both films memorable in their own manner. Techniques that come under the branch are Setting, Dialogue, and Costuming, Camera angles and movement and sound. Ned Kelly desires the affect for its audience to become entangled within the films story line and to do this the film must include a range of different and somewhat unusual techniques to gather attention. The setting for Ned Kelly is rather stereotypical to the era the film is set in. Most scenes where the Kelly gang do major work is set on the authority’s side. This is the brighter, more classic, rich side, whereas most other scenes such as fighting and war is done in the bushlands, outback where the Kelly’s feel safe and indulged in their own culture. The lighting in Ned Kelly is very much so leaned to low key lighting. If you notice high key lighting comes into play when the Kelly’s are in the authority’s territory and low key lighting for the rest. The dialogue used in Ned Kelly is very traditional and formal. The authority take on a different role in there dialogue as they used different words, words that come off more offensive and cruel. Costuming is also another very outmoded label. The Kelly’s customarily wore old, scrawny, filthy unwashed clothes. They also were mostly seen in dark long pants and jackets, not a lot of skin was shown which contributed to the aspects of low key lighting. The outcast side of people had scrawny hair, beards and were dressed in dirty clothing. Whereas the upper-class side were dressed in clean cut, brighter coloured clothing that resembled there place in society. In both Ned Kelly and the Castle similar camera angles and movements were used. High Angles where used to show power i. e. the authority standing over Ned making him look weaker and more vulnerable. Particularly towards the start of both films you notice low angles and high angles being used to show authority, but as the films progressed you start to notice the change in angles and where the cameras are positioned. Throughout both films you will notice an establishing shot being used at the start of most scenes followed by either a close up or mid shot, depending wether the scene was to include dialogue where then they would need a close up or just a mid-shot. There were many cuts during dialogue which also showed great importance in what the characters were saying. The castle resembled typical Australian dress standards for that time (Flannelettes, Jeans and bowl cuts). The Authority seemed to be dressed in smart clothing the reminded you of control and responsibility. Dialogue in The Castle was stereotypically an Australian accent. The slang, the way the words are slurred and how the pronunciations of words are carried out. The authority defiantly takes on another type of channel of communication, they talk more proper, formal and tend to shorten their words to sound like they aren’t slurring. The setting in the castle is bright and cheerful. It creates a friendly environment that also shows a real Australian household. They do this by creating a rundown house, not much money and living right next to an airport. The lighting the frames this film is high key. Even when darkness controls the time of the scene light still manages to be the key element to the shots. Both films show and encourage messages about Australia in two completely different but similar ways. Ned Kelly shows a message that stealing is wrong and fighting is not the answer, but fighting for what you believe in, fighting for the right to not let others contradict your life is ok. On the other hand the message about The Castle is exactly the same but carried out differently. The castle shows the fact that Australians are not very materialistic and in general are quite simplistic and positive. Both films also conveyed the message that family is important and supporting that idea of love and trust is what makes life worth living for. Ned Kelly chose reveal the idea of using violence, crime and death to portray its message, whereas The Castle did not. The Castle showed its message through family values, gratitude and reverence. Both of these films had the authority against them, they stuck together and became united as one. By the end of both films we were left with the feeling of knowing and understanding how both families’ fought together. If one was going down they were all going down. What was also so great about these two films is that we could watch them grow from battlers into heroes. Ultimately both films were devised to create a sense of understanding about the Australian culture. For certain message and concepts to be conveyed a range of different techniques had to be used, from characterization, to cinematography. The plots direction leaded to the audience grasping different emotions and challenged the audience to experience a film unlike most modern productions.