The Economic Downturns Of The Great Depression Contributed To The Coun

The economic downturns of the Great Depression contributed to the county's fascination with gangster genres. As Americans lost their jobs or saw their farms foreclosed on by the once admired establishment or banking system; with public endorsement gangsters descended in spirit from America's frontier outlaws such as the James Gang, and led by desperadoes like Pretty Boy Floyd, Baby Face Nelson, and Machine Gun Kelly--rose up to assault the system. Because of Prohibition, the Great Depression and World War II, gangsters became the modern gunslingers and outlaws. The gangster saga replaced the Western as the American myth. It told the story of modern America. Young Americans enjoyed watching gangster films during the 1930s. Before President Roosevelt's New Deal, gangsters were without doubt the American cinema's most striking heroes. The film industry's love affair with members of criminal gangs was only natural, they were colorful, violent, and charismatic men and women whose law-breaking activities were followed by millions of law abiding Americans. But when brought to the screen, gangster films more than any other Hollywood genre created problems not only for the usual censorship lobbies but also for judges, lawyers, teachers, policemen, mayors, newspapers, and local councilors. Many respectable citizens believed that gangster films based on the lives and activities of Prohibition-era criminals, led to an increase in juvenile delinquency and accused Hollywood of delivering impressionable youth into a career of crime. The harmful effects of fast-moving and exciting gangster films on young cinema patrons thus became a prominent concern of those eager to control and censor this pervasive new mass medium. After a series of sex scandals rocked the American film industry, in 1922 Hollywood's Jewish moguls hired a midwestern Presbyterian gentleman and influential Republican William Harrison Hays, former Postmaster General in President Warren Harding's cabinet, as their front man to clean up the image of the movies. The industry's self-monitoring Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America Inc. (MPPDA) or Hays office in Los Angeles tried a variety of ways to regulate films before adopting a formal code. Written in 1930 by two mid-western Catholics, a Jesuit professor of drama in St. Louis and a lay publisher of trade magazines; the new Motion Picture Code stipulated partly in reaction to the increasing popularity of gangster films, that movies stress proper behavior, respect for government, and Christian values. The Hays Code was made mandatory in 1934, and began with an attack on what was seen as a general tone of lawlessness and on depicting specific criminal methods in recent gangster movies. Criminal acts were "never to be presented in such a way as to throw sympathy with the crime as against law and justice or to inspire others with a desire for imitation." Murder must be presented in a manner that "will not inspire imitation" and "revenge in modern times shall not be justified." Methods of crime such as theft, robbery, arson, safecraking, smuggling, and dynamiting of trains should not be explicitly presented. If these strictures were not met, a film project would no longer receive the code's seal of MPPDA approval (Springhall 137-138). Organized protest against gangster movies reached its height with the publicity surrounding director Howard Hawks' Scarface (1932); in which the versatile Paul Muni overacted as Tony Camonte, another disguised Al Capone figure. This violent and fast paced film produced by millionaire Howard Hughes and scripted by former Chicago newspaperman Ben Hecht, reached the screen a year after Public Enemy but was actually made at the same time. The delay of Scarface occurred because in an effort to appease the movie censors. A subtitle "Shame of the Nation" was added to Scarface, along with a scene in which civic reformers preached ("You can end it. Fight!") directly to the camera (McCarty 68). In another new scene, the city's chief of detectives denounces the glorification of gangsters, echoing the very cries of the censors who ordered the changes. A different ending was also filmed using a double in which Camonte is brought to trial and sentenced to be hanged by the state, rather than being shot down by the police on the sidewalk outside his hideout (McCarty 68). New York and Chicago censorship boards rejected Scarface outright until Warner Brothers agreed to make these changes but Jason Joy, who enforce the Hays Code, still had to convince them to show it cut. Each state in America had its own board of censors, so the original ending could still be seen in some theaters when the film was finally released in the spring of 1932 (McCarty

51 Euphemisms for Youre Fired

51 Euphemisms for 'You're Fired' A euphemism is a seemingly nice or polite way of expressing a harsh or unpleasant truth.  In the  Oxford Dictionary of Euphemisms  (2007), R.W. Holder observes that euphemism is often the language of evasion, hypocrisy, prudery, and deceit. To test that observation, consider these 51 alternative ways of saying Youre fired.   Dan Foreman:  Guys, I feel very terrible about what Im about to say. But Im afraid youre both being let go.Lou:  Let go? What does that mean?Dan Foreman:  It means youre being fired, Louie.(Dennis Quaid and Kevin Chapman in the movie  In Good Company, 2004) Throughout much of the world, unemployment remains a problem. Yet of all those people who have lost their jobs, few were ever told, Youre fired. Apparently, those day-long seminars in workplace sensitivity have paid off: firing is now as outdated as a defined-benefit pension plan. In its place is a brightly colored file folder filled with smiley-faced  euphemisms. True, a few of the terms sound rather dour and legalistic (involuntary separation, for example, and workforce imbalance correction). A few others are simply perplexing (decruit, lateralize, waive). But many sound as cheery as a year-end bonus: constructive discharge, career alternative enhancement, and- no kidding- free up for the future. Youre not losing a job, these expressions seem to be saying. Youre regaining a life. Euphemisms for Job Termination Here, according to management guides and personnel documents found at a host of online human resources sites, are 51 bona fide euphemisms for job termination. career alternative enhancementcareer change opportunitycareer transitionconstructive dischargeconstructive dismissaldecline a contract extensiondecruitdefunddehirede-selectdestaffdischargediscontinuedownscaledownsizeearly retirement opportunityemployee transitionend of a trial periodexcessingfree up for the futureindefinite idlinginvoluntary separationlateralizelet gomake internal efficienciesmake redundantmanage downnegotiate a departureoutplaceoutsourcepersonnel realignmentpersonnel surplus reductionrationalize the workforcereduce headcountreduce in force (or  riffing)re-engineer the staffreleaserelieve of dutiesreorganize (or  re-org)reshufflerestructureretrenchrightsizeselect outseparateskill-mix adjustmentstreamlinesurplusunassignwaiveworkforce imbalance correction Forget those condescending reminders that youre now free to pursue other interests and spend more time with the family. As anyone who has ever lost a job is keenly aware, euphemisms such as these rarely achieve their goal of softening the blow. The terms that  we  use for getting fired tend to be  dysphemisms: sacked, dumped, bounced out, canned, axed, eighty-sixed, and given the old heave-ho. More About Euphemisms and Dysphemisms Why Do We Use Euphemisms?Euphemisms, Dysphemisms, and Distinctio: Soggy Sweats Whiskey SpeechSoft Language