An In-depth View of Palenque

An In-depth View of Palenque Free Online Research Papers In southern Mexico, lies one of the greatest ruins of the most advanced culture of ancient MesoAmerica. Near the Usumacinta River, Palenque is a Mayan city-state that reached its greatest period during the seventh century CE. When Palenque was first discovered, it was completely overwhelmed by the plantlife of the rainforest. Through time, excavation revealed a massive archaeological site that attracts thousands of tourists each year. What attracts all of these tourists is not the size of the site, but rather the delicate, sophisticated, and intricate architecture and art that has been discovered there. Palenque is known most for their fine buildings, roof combs, sculptures, and bas-relief carvings that exemplify the best of Mayan creations. It is not as large as other known Mayan sites such as Tikal or Copan, but makes up for its size with its beauty deep in the rainforest. It is actually so deep that much of the Early Classic history of the city-state has yet to be excavated. Archaeologists have said that only five percent of the actual city has been uncovered. Palenque has a very complex history and we only know a part of it from what archaeologists have excavated. The city itself has gone through an extensive process of overbuilding through time. The actual structures that are visible today are said to be the rebuilding efforts of the aftermath of the Calakmul attacks in the seventh century. More of the history of Palenque was recently revealed to us through deeper understanding of the extremely complex Mayan hieroglyphic writing system. By reading these ancient inscriptions, experts gained knowledge of Palenque’s rivals such as other sites like Calakmul and Tonina and also the first list of dynastic rulers. This is the reason why Palenque is quite probably the most written about and studied Mayan site. From that list of dynastic rulers, one ruler is most famous and synonomous with the city of Palenque. He is most responsible for rebuilding and also Palenque’s golden age. His name was Kinich Janaab Pakal and his tomb was found not so long ago when excavating the Temple of Inscriptions. In 1952, an archaeologist named Alberto Ruz Lhullier removed a slab of stone that stood out on the floor of the back room of the temple pyramid. When he removed the stone, it revealed a passageway leading down into the heart of the temple. The staircase took a turn into a tomb where they discovered a large sarcophagus that belonged to Pakal. The tomb was impressive for the large ornately carved sarcophagus, the ornaments adorned by Pakal himself including a beautiful jade death mask, and also the stucco sculpture that surrounded the walls of the tomb. The lid of the sarcophagus, as it is still extremely in tact and preserved, shows images of death and the underworld. Historians also lea rned how the Temple of Inscriptions was actually built by observing the tomb. Obviously the sarcophagus was too large to carry into the tomb itself. They realized that the tomb was built first and then the Temple was built over it. The Temple of Inscriptions itself is one of Palenque’s most elegant and distinguishing structures. The large pyramid contains the second longest glyphic text from the ancient Mayans. Nearly 180 years are recorded of the city’s history from these inscriptions. It indeed is a very large structure where it measures 60 meters wide and almost 28 meters high. Some of the biggest stones used weigh 12 to 15 tons. Not far from the temple, is the Palace of Palenque. The palace consists of several buildings and courtyards that have been constantly built over each other. The Palace is especially significant for all the sculptures and bas-reliefs that were found therein. However, the most distinguishing factor of the Palace is the unique four-story tower that is not found at any other Mayan site. Some historians say that it was used as a lookout tower while others say it was used along with the Sun to reveal certain times of the year. Another major feature is the group of sophisticated structures known as the Temples of the Sun, Cross, and Foliated Cross. They received their names from early explorers who named them after the cross-like images found on the inscriptions. The images are actually a representation of the Mayan center belief of the tree of creation. They are especially distinguishable because of the graceful placement on top of step pyramids. Each temple is marked by elaborate relief carvings in the inner chambers. The carvings depict figures participating in rituals and presenting certain sacred objects to a deity or higher authority. Because of better understanding of Mayan symbols, we now know that the images depict Kinich Kan Bahlam during passage ritual and also his initiation of kingship. Palenque is also notable for it’s advanced technology. When someone hears the word, aqueduct, they think of ancient Rome. However, the ancient Mayans had their own version in Palenque where they built an underground vault with great stone blocks. It worked so that the Otulum River flowed underneath the floor of Palenque’s main plaza. It was no problem getting water in since it was a â€Å"rain†forest. They simply needed a way to get it out. Palenque contains numerous temples, tombs, a ballcourt, and buildings that reach far out into the forest. For example, the Temple of the Lion was named for a relief of a king sitting in a throne in the form of a jaguar. The Temple of the Count is another elegant example where it got its name from an early explorer who lived there and claimed to actually be a Count. The most interesting thing about Palenque however is how this thriving city-state was abandoned. There is no real answer for the sudden absence of people and when the Spanish arrived in the 1520’s, there was barely anyone at all. However today, Palenque is not empty due to the vast amounts of tourists that make it probably the most iconic and beautiful MesoAmerican ruin. WORKS CITED 1. History Channel: Lost Worlds: Palenque, DVD 2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palenque 3. Martin, Simon; and Nikolai Grube (2000). Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens: Deciphering the Dynasties of the Ancient Maya. London and New York: Thames Hudson. 4. Schele, Linda (1976) Accession Iconography of Chan-Bahlum in the Group of the Cross at Palenque. In The Art, Iconography, and Dynastic History of Palenque, Part III. Research Papers on An In-depth View of PalenqueAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 Europe19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoHonest Iagos Truth through DeceptionEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug Use

buy custom David Fincher’s Style essay

buy custom David Fincher’s Style essay This paper seeks to analyze the styles of David Fincher as a director. His achievement in cinematography has been because of his unique style as a director. It is quite difficult to separate the facts from the opinions when it comes to David Fincher. However, this paper seeks to separate the two by analyzing the different aspects of the director; David Fincher. Analysis of David Finchers Style as a Director Fincher began his career from a very low point by directing commercials but soon moved into music videos. His fast rise has been attributed to his unique style and auteur for his work. He later moved to greater heights as a movie or film director. His directing skills are very unique in comparison with other directors of his time. Fincher actually used weather such as rain or shadows to conceal the figures and faces of the actors in the film. (Judith, 2003) This is a style that has never been seen before and it attracted many reviews and reaction from the film industry. Finchers style also included fluid tracking with a camera and single frame intact. He had a very unique tendency of shrinking Hollywood endings in a way that represented a very strong and unique style of evidence. This skill was notable in a few films among the many films that he directed namely; fight club, panic room and Se7en.In these films , Fincher uses the elements of weather to bring out emotions and feelings. For example, he uses rain to mark a mood; he also uses the rain to set up a climatic change. On the other hand, in the movie Se7en, Fincher greatly heightens the general outlook and feeling of the city into a city that is of bleak despair. As the rain showers fall on the specific actors, the story line of the film follows the intelligence and style that uses rain and water in a unique way. In the film fight club, Fincher uses rain to mark the most dramatic moments in the films. One of the dramatic moments in the film is a part where there is a heated argument amongst the actors. It is important note that in order for a director to outshine the actors, the director does not only require skill but also requires having auteur as a film maker. (Ferrara, 2011) Fincher has outshined most of the actors in the films he directed because of his auteur and unique directing styles. Finchers auteur is his stampin all of his work in the film industry. This is because Fincher uses an objective and specific way that has taken subjective scripts and changed them into their own different world. Fincher has only been making movies for a couple of decades but has hit the peak of the film industry through his unique style in directing the films. Fincher focuses on sharp dialogue, strong characters and electronic scores that make the film epic and the characters look like portraits. What Theme did David Fincher use in the Films? David Fincher used theme of unity, electronic scores, and strong characters, theme of noir, music, and sharp dialogue among any themes. In the film fight club, Fincher outlined the narrators background. In this film he used a theme that tried to deal with concepts in the lives of the actors in an idealistic fashion. Fight club was initially seen as sinister or a seditious film .Fincher used the concept theme to change it into a funny and seditious film. He was able to achieve this by including the element of humor to the element of temper. According the Edward Norton, fight club probed into the element of despair and analysis. This is because it probed the frustrations of the people that live in the system of the film .Fincher adds a visual effect to his films to add or depict the inside of the narrators brain at a telescopic level. Flincher also used musical theme to bring out style in a unique way. He sought for a band which had never recorded in a film. He used the music to break ground in the film and achieve a nontraditional score. David Fincher also used a cinematography theme that gave him maximum flexibility in composing the shots. He applied a lurid skill that made people sort and shiny instead of bland and realistic. This helped to apply a mundane look to nighttime exteriors by including a variety of colors. This technique and style was used in the film fight club. This film was filmed mostly at night. The crew used lights form inexpensive lambs to create a glow in the back ground. Fincher also used subliminal frames in fight club. He uses this theme to an illusion and show that the hero only existed on the periphery of the narrators mind or consciousness.( Hill, 2010) Fight Club Film Directted by David Fincher The fight club film starred Edward Norton, Brad Pitt and Helen Carter. Fincher intended the violence in the film to serve as a unique metaphor in the conflict between the generation of young people and the value of advertising. In order to achieve this, he used homoerotic overtones to keep the audience of the film uncomfortable and looking forward to the end, which in this case is a very twisting end. In this film Fincher includes the element of humor to the element of temper in order to create a sinister element. Fincher also added to his theme by using visual effects. He achieved this by utilizing previsualized footage of challenging visual effect as a tool. He added a musical theme this filming. Taking into consideration this film was mostly filmed at night. Fincher used shadows and color to achieve the effects. He also added a theme of light by using inexpensive lambs which helped to cat shadows on the many areas in the film. David Finchers Style in the Fight Club Film as Compared to his Other Films Fight club involves and narrates a neo noir theme but is classified as a retro noir film. This is because of the gender presentation in the film. These films allow the survival, thriving, crime solving of the female gender without the assistance of men. On the other hand, the film fame fatale introduces a heroic chic who exists in a criminal and dangerous world. The female actor is presented as necessary but not peripheral as opposed to the female actors in the film fight club. In fight club a disintegrating body is the center of slanting trauma while in other films the slanting trauma does not come out so strongly. (Hill, 2009) The costumeric culture in the fight club film shapes the male identity and ignores the capitalism in totality. This is a style that is not seen in any of David Finchers other films. Conclusion David Fincher has made a big impact in the film world and the world as well by his unique and different directing styles. This has not only put him at the top in the filming business but has also made him win awards for his unique style in the directing of films. His style as a director has added value to the filming industry and improved many aspects of directing. Buy custom David Fincher’s Style essay