Why Video Games Matter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Why Video Games Matter - Essay Example He does this for several days, showing how addicted he is to video games. Nonetheless, in this excerpt, he addresses the relevance of video games, based on his personal experiences. In this excerpt, Blissel specifically talks about the video game Fallout 3 produced by Bethesda in 2008. To show how addictive video games can get, Blissel begins explaining the circumstances around his playing of Fallout 3. In his case, Blissel remembers nostalgically, how he missed to follow the happenings involving one of the most important events in the history of United States. While people were glued on their screens, watching CNN and other authoritative television channels for the election and swearing in of the first black president in the history of United States, Blissel was busy playing Fallout 3. Even though he had planned to play this for only a few hours before he would watch CNN, the game got interesting, and he spent more hours than expected, thus, missing the important historical event (B lissel 349-350). Even though Blissel clearly reveals that video games can be addictive, he goes ahead to defend this art form with a lot of passion. It is true, we are in a generation of gaming, and most people, including children, young people, and even adults will confess their love for video games. Although Blissel tends to criticize video games in this excerpt, he again believes that these can get even better. He thinks of video games as frustrating, in the way one has to kill characters and watch them die: â€Å"I killed his mother, and then everyone else. . .allowing your decisions to establish for your character identity as a skull-crushing monster. . .these pretensions to morality suddenly bored me† (Blissel 358). At the same time, he gives credit to video games, for being dazzling. This is in the way he thinks video games have a storyline. This is what makes him prefer to play video games than watch a film or read a novel. Although a novel has a storyline too, one mi ght not be able to concentrate on it for a few more hours like they can do with video games. Blissel thinks films do not have a storyline in the same way as video games. What makes video games appealing to Blissel is the fact that the player of the game is the one in control; therefore, it can never get boring. Apart from this, Blissel thinks playing video games creates another world for a person. They can escape the real world life, and get into another world, which they create themselves while playing video games. Blissel justifies this with his depressing moments when he would get a break by playing video games. Nonetheless, this excerpt describes in detail, Blissel’s descent into the world of Fallout 3, a video game, which has themes that are a reflection of his own compulsions that are self-destructive (Blissel 353-5). In this excerpt, Blissel generally discusses the relevance and importance of video games in people’s social lives. He as well defends video games f rom those biased against them. However, Blissel’s stand with regard to the importance of video games in the cultural aspect is quite ambivalent. Here, he compares video games to the traditional art forms such as novels and films. Comparison shows both the negative and positive sides of video games. Nonetheless, what comes out is that video games, to a larger extent, show a greater degree of incompatibility with the traditional art forms. Blissel purpose is quite clear in this excerpt. He aims at showing the importance of video games in society. This however, ends up in a two-sided argument, as one cannot establish whether video games are good or

Turandot Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Turandot - Essay Example Happy ending of the opera, as opposed to the play, was gloomed by sacrificial death of Liu. This touching image was created by Puccini, who rethought the original image of Gozzi’s heroine - a captive princess, energetic and insidious, secret rival of Turandot, who revealed the secret of the hero by trick and betrayed him. While Calaf and Turandot occur in Puccini's sources, Liu does not exist in either Gozzi’s or Schiller’s versions of the story. Adami and Simoni, the librettists for the opera, created her at Puccini's insistence and based her somewhat on Gozzi’s character Adelma, who is not very similar.  (Digaetani 57) Puccini opposed two contrasting women images: cold, cruel, alien to human senses, princess Turandot and fragile, delicate slave girl Liu. In their spiritual fight the victory remains with Liu, who, with her death, proved the invincible power of love. The idea of creating an opera struck Puccini suddenly in November 1919. He took an activ e part in writing of the libretto, suggesting scenic and dramatic situations, their motives, to his librettists - prolific playwright Giuseppe Adami (1878-1946) and poet Renato Simoni (1875-1952). In 1921, he started to compose music. Feeling that it was his last work, the composer was in a hurry, nevertheless, the work on the opera stretched for several years - the librettists could not finish the last act until 1924. The final duet and finale of Turandot, after Puccini’s death, was completed by his pupil, composer Franco Alfano, who used Puccini’s drafts. Final acts were often very difficult for Puccini, and he often struggled to complete the final acts of his previous operas—a pattern which became tragic in the case of Turandot as his work on the third and final act of this opera was interrupted by terminal cancer.  (Digaetani 31) The opera was premiered on April 25, 1926, in Milan, under the direction of Toscanini. When the last chords written by Puccini s ounded, the conductor lowered his wand, stopped the orchestra and said, â€Å"Here the Maestro laid down his pen.† The curtain slowly fell; loud applause changed, in some minutes, to complete silence when performers and the audience were leaving the theater. Opera was played completely only the next day. Turandot is a drama of strong passions, unfolding against the colorful background, where oddly mixed are oriental splendor and bloody violence, reality and symbolism. Small lyrical ariosos, depicting the feelings of the main characters, are mixed with grandiose crowd scenes with powerful choruses and colorful orchestral episodes. Musical language of the opera is complex. It used many of the achievements of modern harmony and the vocals of the two main characters demand prominent voices. Maybe that is why the last opera by Puccini has not won wide popularity, as his previous works and early creations. In fairy, legendary times lived in Beijing the princess - Turandot. She coul d only belong to someone of the royal retinue, who could solve her three riddles. A candidate, who fails, will be, like all previous ones, put to death and his severed head will decorate the walls of the palace. The opera begins with a stage of preparation for execution of the Persian prince, who was unable to solve the puzzles. He ought to die with the rising of the moon and