The Oedipus complex Essay Example

The Oedipus complex Paper Psychoanalytical criticism, developed by Freud, is a way to interpret authors, and other artists work, making connections between the authors themselves and what they actually create. The Oedipus complex is a psychoanalytical theory where a child has the unconscious desire for the exclusive love of the parent of the opposite sex. The desire includes jealousy towards the parent of the same sex and the unconscious wish for that parents death. It usually occurs between the ages of three to five and is a normal developmental process of human psychological growth. The stage is usually ended when the child identifies with the parent of the same sex and represses its sexual instincts. Freud believed that all people experienced the Oedipus complex but many researchers in psychoanalysis believe it develops as a result of a persons environment and does not occur in everyone. Freud believed the complex could stay in the unconscious mind and affect the person in adult life.? Within Hamlet the Oedipus complex can be applied to Hamlets character. Hamlet still isnt over his fathers death, and the appearance of the ghost of his father at the start of the play fuels his anger to take revenge, but he delays killing Claudius throughout the play. This is because unconsciously he admires Claudius, because he has fulfilled Hamlets own unconscious wishes of killing his father and marrying his mother, a father killd, a mother staind, which is exactly the position Hamlet would like to be in. The Oedipus complex can appear to be reflected in Hamlets behaviour in Act III Scene IV. We will write a custom essay sample on The Oedipus complex specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Oedipus complex specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Oedipus complex specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer From the start of the scene Hamlet is talking to his mother with anger and resentment. He is disgusted with her for marrying her dead brothers wife; You are the Queen, your husbands brothers wife (III, IV, 14). This is because unconsciously he feels he should be in Claudius position, of being King of Denmark, and being married to Gertrude. Things start getting very heated between Hamlet and Gertrude and he shows his disapproval of their relationship; In the rank sweat of an enseamed bed, Stewd in corruption, honeying and making love Over the nasty sty! (III, IV, 92-94). At this point Hamlet sees the ghost of his dead father appear before him to remind him of what his purpose is, which distracts him and interrupts their heated conversation. The ghost appearing at this particular moment could be seen as Hamlets unconscious creating the image of his father to stop something happening with his mother. Hamlet then warns his mother But go not to mine Uncles bed (III, IV, 161) because he doesnt want her sleeping with Claudius, or being close to him because he wants her for himself. Act III Scene iv is a crucial part of the play for a director when deciding whether to interpret the play with the Oedipus complex in mind or not, because there is so much dialogue interaction between Hamlet and his mother, more so than other scenes in the play and because it is easy to identify the Oedipus complex in this scene. Looking at this scene especially, in different film versions different directors have interpreted it in different ways. In Zefirellis 1990 film version, Act III Scene IV has been performed with strong reference to the Oedipus complex in mind.? Oliviers 1948 production is performed with only a slight reference to the Oedipus complex in the way the characters interact with each other.? In Brannaghs 1996 film version, there is no direct reference to the Oedipus complex in Act III Scene IV at all.? Freuds theory can be applied to the text as a whole as well as just Act III Scene IV. In Act I Scene ii this is the closest Hamlet gets to confronting Claudius about the marriage to his mother. He talks to himself about it straight after Claudius and the rest of the court have left She married -O most wicked speed! (I, II, 156) but it is still directed at Gertrude not Claudius because unconsciously he cant blame him. And throughout the whole play he never says anything about, or to Claudius, being incestuous for marrying his brothers wife. After Hamlet sees the ghost of his father and is told by it to take revenge for his murder, Hamlet pretends to be mad, unconsciously, to delay killing Claudius. The Oedipal complex explains why Ha mlet delays killing him and is unable to take direct action, through out the whole play. Claudius has coincidentally fulfilled Hamlets unconscious fantasies. After the Mousetrap play is performed and Hamlet knows for sure that Claudius is guilty of his fathers murder, he still doesnt take action, but chats with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, O, the recorders. Let me see one. (III, II, 36). He doesnt realise he is doing this, and so wont think that Claudius will stop him from telling people and he does. He sends Hamlet to England. Before Hamlet pretends to be mad, he is deeply in love with Ophelia, I did love you once (III, I, 115). But when he is pretending to be mad he tells her bluntly that he no longer does, which hurts her so much that she kills herself! The desire for his mother is so much that he no longer cares about Ophelia. Surely if he realised what he was doing, he wouldnt have done it because he cares for her. But he doesnt realise and unknowingly plays a part in her death. When Hamlet finally does take action against Claudius in Act V Scene II (the final scene), it is only after Gertrude is dead that he is able to kill Claudius. This is because Claudius is no longer a projection of Hamlets unconscious mind so he now takes revenge for the murder of his father and his mother. When applying the Oedipus complex to Hamlets character, it can be a valid interpretation. The behaviour of Hamlet, and his actions through out the play, shows how the theory can be applied, as it is in film versions by Zeffirelli and Olivier. But there is actually little textual evidence to support the idea. The only way it can be applied is by looking at it as a deep Freudian interpretation. If taken at face value with out reading into it as much, it is difficult to see the theory applied in the text, although it can be seen if a director has chosen to interpret it this way. As Shakespeare wrote Hamlet, and it was being performed, in the seventeenth century, the Oedipus complex and Psychoanalysis would not have been applied, as it was only developed in the twentieth century by Freud. This means that at the time, it would not have been performed with the Oedipus complex in mind. In Elizabethan England It most likely would have been performed simply as a play to entertain the audience and would have been understood by them to be a revenge tragedy which were popular types of play at the time. Act III Scene IV is a major part of the play for a director when deciding whether to interpret the play with the Oedipus complex in mind or not. In Brannaghs film version, there is no evidence of the Oedipus complex being applied to the scene, or the play as a whole. With out applying the Oedipus complex, Act III Scene IV can be presented in different ways. From the start we know Hamlet is still not over his fathers death; Do not for ever with thy vailed lids Seek thy noble father in the dust. (I, II, 70-71). He has so much pent up anger and emotion from the death of his father and the hasty marriage between Gertrude and Claudius, he doesnt know what to do. Act III Scene IV can be presented as a point where Hamlet finally releases all his anger because Claudius has just shown his guilt from his reaction to the Mousetrap play. This leads to the confrontation with his mother, where he shows his dislike for their marriage, Mother, you have my father much offended (III, IV, 9), and where he warns her to stay away from Claudius But go not to my uncles bed (III, IV, 161). He is so angry he has no hesitation in killing the person behind the arras, especially as he thinks its the king. The play can be presented at face value, simply as a story of revenge as it would have done at the time it was written. I think the Oedipus complex is a valid interpretation of the text when psychoanalysed and can be performed well with the theory in mind, but it is a twentieth century interpretation. In the seventeenth century when it was performed, it would have been written to be performed as entertainment. The performers would of performed it to entertain the audience and the audience would of understood it as it was performed, not my looking into the text and looking for deeper meanings.

The Metamorphosis Essay Example

The Metamorphosis Essay Example The Metamorphosis Essay The Metamorphosis Essay Essay Topic: The Metamorphosis heir dreams, while doing this he have lost his self and control of his life. Gregor has been trying to fulfill his fathers wishes by paying Mr. Samoas debt, working and trying to meet the familys needs so Mr. Samsa would not have to work. Gregor cares for his sister to a great extent and she also expects him to work and fulfill her dreams. Grete has an easy life until Gregor worked and which indicates that Grete had used Gregor. Gregor also had an obligation to send Grete to conservatory, which was one of many social expectations of him.Gregors obligation to his mother was to obey her and she expected him to take care of everyone, and bring a paycheck home, which is why she was always telling him when to wake up what to do. Gregors unwavering devotion to his family signifies his character as a victim of Social expectations to family which he is compelled to finish. Gregor is a victim of his fathers social expectations. Gregor comes from a bourgeoisie family which is why Mr.Samsa expects Gregor to work while he stays home and spends rest of his day at home and read news paper (133), where it states Gregors father; and he would draw it out for hours on end by reading various newspapers. Since they lived in society where parents beat their children so they would behave properly, this is clearly shown(138), where Mr. Samsa ran after Gregor to beat him and when he finally succeeded in delivering a blow he slammed the door as if Gregor was a little boy and he should stay in his premises. Mr.Samsa also expected Gregor to pay his debt, because Gregor was his son(150), Furthermore, since the money that Gregor had brought home every month and never been fully spent Actually, he could apply it toward settling his fathers debt. Paying the debt is only one of the obligations to his father. Since Gregor was no longer able to work his father had to take up job at a bank, to keep his family running. Mr. Samsa was now hostile towards Gregor, because his expectations from Gregor were not fulfilledled, just like a little boy misbehaves and does not fulfill his fathers wishes.For this Gregor was punished (164), his bombarded him with apples, and one of them had been lodged into Gregors back. Kafkas irony is clearly seen here, that as long as Gregor worked and brought home a paycheck his father was happy and that he was a good boy, but as soon as Gregor turned into a bug he was a bad boy and did not bring his paycheck home his father decided to beat him and that way punish him, but this time there was no way for Gregor to redeem himself, and be a good boy again except take control of his life even if it means loosing his life.Mr. Samsa expected Gregor to be his good little boy and fulfill his expectations by giving him easy days for rest of his life, paying his debt, this Cleary indicates Gregor as a victim of his fathers expectations.

Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 132

Essay Example According to him, a government is not needed and should be regulated when a natural society is large enough as a moral virtue is unnecessary in governing man prone challenges. In comparison to my own ideas enlightenment living, Paine’s idea of government as unavoidable evil is out of place because; people need an authority and a point of reference. Governments and monarchies are rightly places because people need a leader in charge of decision-making, protect and preserve the community. The government represents its citizens in the entire nation and without it citizen would lack a single entity to stand for their feelings. The country’s security is risked without the government that represents the voice of its people. Paine argues that monarchy is not grounded in liberty but prejudice, while people’s constitution is the real freedom form. He challenges people to see the underlying problems of the monarch irrespective of its enduring tradition that is unquestionable, (Paine, Cronauer & Recorded Books, 2005). Paine firmly disagrees with the monarchy and hereditary succession principle and he quotes the bible in many occasions that the basis of monarchy is strongly in opposition of the truth of bible. He terms the Kings government as outright idolatry, an kind of administration that did not emanate from nature or divinity but originated from Heathens that resulted from disorderly gangs and cruelly forced themselves in power against people’s will. He refers to as England’s Monarchy founder as French bastard because he believes that William the Conqueror forced his way to boastful rule against his people’s will, (Paine & University of Virginia, 1993). According to pain the hereditary leaderships of leaders is not a moral virtue guarantee because moral virtue cannot be inherited and future generations will be led by enthroned gracious kings. Hereditary

Inventory Planning and Control Systems Research Paper

Inventory Planning and Control Systems - Research Paper Example Supported with an example of the sugar industry, the report further emphasizes on the disadvantages of inventory mismanagement. Listing the problems related to inventory control encountered by the management the report further identifies the solutions required to solve them. The report contains valuable information regarding efficiencies that exist in a firm due to proper inventory planning and control. It also emphasizes on the impact inventory planning and control has on the competitiveness of a firm and how the competitiveness results into increased profitability. The report summarizes the critical importance of inventory planning and control for a firm to survive in an industry and the fierce competition. An inventory can be defined as a list of goods which are either finished, in form of raw material, in process or just simply as stock in hand. Inventory is also usually referred to as the list which contains all the information regarding the operation management of an organizati on. In detail, an inventory includes the amount of raw material available and the amount required to be ordered, finished goods ready to be delivered to the customers, goods stocked in the warehouse and even the half finished goods that require space to be stored before they move on to the next phase of the production process. Besides exceptional cases such as of those firms in the services industries; inventories are considered to be a firm’s major revenue producer. Reasons for holding inventory Inventory is basically the most critical component of a production process and it exists in an organization just so that the firm is able to respond to requirements in relation with forecasted demand. The need for inventory can arise in situations where the product has uncertain demand and the producers are not particularly sure about the amount they should produce (Broyles, 2003, p.389). They therefore resort to inventory tactics such as producing in excess of the estimate forecaste d. In some industries there is even a percentage of uncertainty regarding the availability of raw material. For example the sugar industry is plagued with the uncertainty attached to sugar cane because floods may sometimes ruin the crop. Furthermore, lack of rain and lack of fertility of a land leads to low levels of sucrose extracted

The Great Gatsby Essay Example for Free

The Great Gatsby Essay In the novel, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the character of Nick Carraway as his mouthpiece, his own little spy in the lives of the characters in the novel to relate back the events happening. Because of this, there are a number of things which we need to bear in mind about his narration such as to what degree it could be biased and how the first person descriptive effects the way that we portray Nick. First being introduced into the novel, Fitzgerald has Nick Carraway talk about some advice that his father had given him when he was younger, therefore enlightening us to the way that he was brought up and how it has affected the way he is now. He still remembers the words: â€Å"Whenever you feel like criticizing any one, just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had. † This reveals to us that Nick is not of lower class and is very well educated, which is further reinforced by the fact that he went to Yale, one of the most highly esteemed colleges in the country. Nick explains how doesn’t judge a person, which has therefore â€Å"opened up† people to him as they shared their troubles with him. However, we also get the impression that he is uninterested in the petty problems of people’s lives, as the comparison of â€Å"curious natures† to â€Å"veteran bores† is used, suggesting that while some of the people who confided in him intrigued him, others may have just left him sitting there offering mild condolences, a â€Å"victim† who’s subject to listen to their inconveniences when they were â€Å"unsought†: he didn’t look for people to come and talk to him, they came to him. Whether this proves that he is a trustworthy character is debatable; if he told everyone about the â€Å"secret griefs† that he was privy to then he wouldn’t be trusted and have people coming to speak to him, and yet he frequently deceived the people who sought after him, feigning â€Å"sleep, preoccupation or a hostile levity† when they tried to speak, which makes you wonder what else he could have done in the lines of deception, and whether or not it went further than just lying to avoid people. It would seem that he is very good at getting along with people in public and on the surface, whilst analysing them in private, to us, the readers. The reader learns soon on that Nick is from the Middle West, but moved further east to West Egg where he’s living now to learn the bond business. West Egg and East Egg are both enormously wealthy suburbs of New York City, located on Long Island where they face the ocean, but there is a clear differentiation between the two. East Egg is the home of the aristocratic people with inherited fortunes gathered over generations, roots running deep in American society. These people place great value on tradition, family background, manners and social convention, and look at people who weren’t born into their kind of wealth – â€Å"old money† – with contempt. Those who live in West Egg are also very wealthy but they lack the sense of entitlement that those in East Egg have, as they earned their money and weren’t born into it. They aren’t as ‘polished’ or ‘refined’ in their manners, and can therefore never fit in with those from the East Egg; they lack the background of a well established family. Nick himself is â€Å"descended from the Dukes of Buccleuch†, so therefore has a rather esteemed lineage in his own right, and yet he lives a rather modest life in the West Egg in a small house he describes as an â€Å"eyesore† next to the large mansion next door belonging to Gatsby; he isn’t drowning in wealth himself, but he is connected to people like his neighbour, Gatsby, and Tom and Daisy Buchanan. Because of this, he has an insight in to what happens in the lives of these people, and this is what Fitzgerald will have intended: Nick relates what goes on from the inside, acting as the eyes, ears and mouthpiece for Fitzgerald. Although the intention of using Nick as the narrator may have been for him to give a rather objective viewpoint of the story’s events, that wasn’t truly the way that it was portrayed. Yes, he’s an outsider compared to the rest of the characters, having only recently moved to the West Egg himself and therefore not knowing too much about the lifestyles that these people are living, other than the fact that they are rich. However, he has former opinions of the characters he meets in chapter one which may or may not have clouded the way in which he describes them. Daisy Buchanan is his second cousin once removed, and it is clear that he is taken by her: he describes her as â€Å"charming† with a â€Å"low, thrilling voice† that was difficult to forget, which is a rather biased opinion of her; of course, we are still shown some of her carelessness and snobbish ways, but they are mainly through her actions, little things between the lines that could be easily overlooked if one didn’t know what to look for. Tom Buchanan on the other hand is introduced differently; through Nick, Fitzgerald first describes how he is a wealthy, athletic figure, listing his achievements and purchases before describing the man himself: he is portrayed as an arrogant man, having a â€Å"supercilious manner† and â€Å"established dominance†, thinking he’s superior to everyone around him and especially the black race as he describes how thinks it’s up to themselves, â€Å"the dominant race† to make sure that they keep the control and not any other races. He is generally described much more negatively by the narration of Nick, and this influences the way in which we perceive Tom as the automatic ‘bad guy’ in Chapter One. This perception is only accentuated when the reader finds out that he is cheating on Daisy with a woman in New York, and that men at New Haven (the college that he and Nick both attended) â€Å"hated his guts. † It is clear that he is a powerful man as his physique is referred to numerously, like the â€Å"enormous power† of his body and the â€Å"great pack of muscles† he had. He filled his boots until he â€Å"strained at the top lacing†, which could be likened to the saying that someone is too big for their boots – Tom is, both in the literal sense and the way in which he thinks that he is more important and powerful than everyone else. Heck, Fitzgerald even describes how Nick seems to think he radiates the â€Å"I’m stronger and more of a man than you are† vibe! Considering the fact that Fitzgerald has Nick introduce himself as an honest man who is â€Å"inclined to reserve all judgements†, we as readers don’t really get this impression from him in the first chapter. Not only does he already have – possibly subconscious – opinions of the Buchanans, he also has â€Å"unaffected scorn† for his neighbour Jay Gatsby, and all that he represents. However, he also says that there is â€Å"something gorgeous† about him, highlighting the fact that not only is he contradicting his previous statement when he said that he reserves judgements, but he’s contradicting his own opinion of the same man in only the next sentence! Because of all these things combined, it is uncertain to what degree the narration of Nick Carraway is actually reliable, as his own opinions can get in the way and make the narration biased. Overall, I think that Nick is portrayed as a fairly honest man in this first chapter of the novel, The Great Gatsby, but because of a few underlying things that could be picked up on, that may not be the full extent of his character. His opinion of things, even in the first chapter, contradicts itself; this not only puts into question which opinion we should agree with, but also makes us doubt his reliability as a narrator, which then in turn makes us wonder to what extent the story is accurate and in how much of it has had the illusion of the lifestyle the characters are living take over the actual reality.

Reconstruction or Deconstruction Essay -- American America History

Reconstruction or Deconstruction Following The War for Southern Independence the radical Republicans of the North took unjust measures over the conquered and impoverished social structure, economy and governments of the defeated southern states. In fact, the whole idea of "reconstruction" was in fact "deconstruction". Reconstruction was not to "heal the nation's wounds," or to economically revitalize the South (which it did not). Indeed, Reconstruction was economically destructive to the South. The purpose was to continue the economic plundering of the Southern states for as long as possible, and to establish a national Republican party political monopoly. Congress Passes the Reconstruction Act On March 2, 1867, Congress passed the Reconstruction Act and thus abolished local civil government in the southern states. It divided the southern states into five military districts-each commanded by a battalion of Federal troops to insure that southern whites were held in total subjugation to every radical Republican policy of the northern politicians. During this reconstruction period many Northerners came southward to take unfair advantage of a destroyed economic and governmental structure in order to gain political and or financial advantage. These greedy opportunists were self-seeking in their quest to exploit the South. With no regard what so ever to the quiet, peaceful Southerners the Northerners attempted to implement their beliefs and ways of life upon the grieving Southerners. Carpetbaggers "Carpetbaggers were supposedly sleazy Northerners who had packed all their weordly goods into a carpetbag suitcase at the war's end and had come South to seek personal power and profit (2)." Although these carpetbagger... ...es offered no financial assistance to the Confederate veteran, while at the same time passing laws "legalizing" their misappropriation of public finds for their own selfish gain. Aftermath Following the war, what lasted from 1865 to 1866 was the greatest trial that the South had to bear, not excepting the terrible ordeal of war. No people had to undergo so dark a period with such complications. The cost to the South was great, but her citizens didn't lose hope, yet began to work with a will to revoke all improper and corrupt legislation, to restore economy in public expenditures, to reduce taxation, to do away with useless offices, to make schools efficient, and to build up waste places. History will certainly condemn the legislation that entailed such misery, such corruption, and such extravagant expansion of the money of an impoverished and crushed people. Reconstruction or Deconstruction Essay -- American America History Reconstruction or Deconstruction Following The War for Southern Independence the radical Republicans of the North took unjust measures over the conquered and impoverished social structure, economy and governments of the defeated southern states. In fact, the whole idea of "reconstruction" was in fact "deconstruction". Reconstruction was not to "heal the nation's wounds," or to economically revitalize the South (which it did not). Indeed, Reconstruction was economically destructive to the South. The purpose was to continue the economic plundering of the Southern states for as long as possible, and to establish a national Republican party political monopoly. Congress Passes the Reconstruction Act On March 2, 1867, Congress passed the Reconstruction Act and thus abolished local civil government in the southern states. It divided the southern states into five military districts-each commanded by a battalion of Federal troops to insure that southern whites were held in total subjugation to every radical Republican policy of the northern politicians. During this reconstruction period many Northerners came southward to take unfair advantage of a destroyed economic and governmental structure in order to gain political and or financial advantage. These greedy opportunists were self-seeking in their quest to exploit the South. With no regard what so ever to the quiet, peaceful Southerners the Northerners attempted to implement their beliefs and ways of life upon the grieving Southerners. Carpetbaggers "Carpetbaggers were supposedly sleazy Northerners who had packed all their weordly goods into a carpetbag suitcase at the war's end and had come South to seek personal power and profit (2)." Although these carpetbagger... ...es offered no financial assistance to the Confederate veteran, while at the same time passing laws "legalizing" their misappropriation of public finds for their own selfish gain. Aftermath Following the war, what lasted from 1865 to 1866 was the greatest trial that the South had to bear, not excepting the terrible ordeal of war. No people had to undergo so dark a period with such complications. The cost to the South was great, but her citizens didn't lose hope, yet began to work with a will to revoke all improper and corrupt legislation, to restore economy in public expenditures, to reduce taxation, to do away with useless offices, to make schools efficient, and to build up waste places. History will certainly condemn the legislation that entailed such misery, such corruption, and such extravagant expansion of the money of an impoverished and crushed people.

Rampart Scandal

Abstract This paper looks at the history of the Los Angeles Police Department as it relates to police culture and several major incidents leading up to the Rampart Scandal. The police culture of a young LAPD ultimately seemed to linger and affect the LAPD of today. The lack of supervision and positive community interaction seemed to solidify the primitive police culture. The History of Police Culture Leading to the Rampart Scandal The Los Angeles Police Department is one of the biggest and most innovative police departments in the world that has been in existence since 1853.The LAPD encompasses nearly 468 square miles in over 19 divisions and employing nearly 10,000 sworn police officers to police a population of roughly 4 million people (Los Angeles Police Department, 2012). When many people think of police, they often have visions of old television re-runs of Adam 12 or Dragnet, both of which were police shows with officers and detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department. The television programs depicted officers and detectives conducting their investigations, where the officers maintained absolute professionalism when making arrests or dealing with the public.These television programs never told the true story of crime and life out on the street or the real people that police it every day. The Los Angeles Police Department has had a very colorful history as it has led to modern times. The Zoot Suit Riots of 1943, the Watts Riots of 1965, the Rodney King Riots of 1992 and the Rampart Scandal all have had an impact on the LAPD and law enforcement in general, as well as how the public perceives police and their mission.In 1926, when Chief James Davis ran the LAPD, he gave a directive to his officers to rid the city of the â€Å"gun toting element and rum smugglers†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , and if his officers showed mercy to these people that he would reprimand them for that behavior (The LAPD:1926-1950, 2012). The mentality of Chief James Davis is where the LAPD e ssentially started, in a time when there was no true equality of citizens. The police officers were threatened with the possibility of losing their jobs if they showed mercy to people that they dealt with on the streets.With that type of attitude, the police and citizens did not have any type of a working relationship to solve problems or create an atmosphere of trust with the general public; only fear. There have been many Police Chiefs since that time and many have attempted to change the atmosphere in which the officers operate and treat each other and the citizens. Chief Willliam Parker ran the LAPD from 1950 until his death in 1966. Chief Parker was able to desegregate the LAPD and he allowed minority officers to work areas where they traditionally weren’t allowed to work before due to their minority status.Chief Parker also created a â€Å"professional† model of policing so as to cope with the rising population with a small amount of police officers (Martin, 2009 ). Despite the fact that change in how the LAPD dealt with the population was coming, the underlying attitude amongst most officers was that they were the law and they could do most anything that they felt needed to be done. To feed to this totalitarian attitude, the LAPD has had to deal with many civil unrest situations like the Watts Riots of 1965.The Watts Riots stemmed from an arrest of an African American subject named Marquette Frye that took place in the Watts neighborhood on Los Angeles. An altercation started possibly out of frustration with the lack of employment, housing and quality schools in the Watts area and turned into six days of riotous behavior in that poverty stricken area of Los Angeles. The LAPD as well as members of the National Guard were deployed to quell the violence on the streets (Unknown, 2012).The riot cost the lives of thirty-four people and created an even bigger rift with the LAPD and the community in which it serves. The police culture that had been passed on to generations of LAPD officers was one that was truly inconsistent with what law enforcement should be about. This came from an era where racial segregation was common in various parts of the country but civil rights began to become a hot topic in the world. The way in which officers of the LAPD dealt with people while interacting and doing their jobs was such an ineffective way of enforcing the laws as they were meant to be enforced.Many times the personal rights of individuals guaranteed under the United States Constitution were trampled on just because the attitudes of those in charge of both the police and the courts were primitive. Chief Daryl Gates took the helm of the LAPD in 1976 and he was creative in his ideas on how to modernize the LAPD. Chief Gates was there during the 80’s when gang-related violence was at an all-time high and something had to be done to effectively combat the problem. Community Policing philosophy was not a new idea at this point, b ut it had not been effectively implemented to cause any change. Chief Gates had the LAPD begin is form of â€Å"proactive† or iron fist policing tactics by implementing Operation Hammer in the streets in 1987. Operation Hammer was a police officer overload by the C. R. A. S. H. officers (Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums) in a certain area that has been experiencing numerous acts of gang-violence and officers enforce laws with ferocity using a zero-tolerance attitude with everybody in the neighborhood. This type of policing countered with other community policing programs that were in place to ensure that residents of these impoverished neighborhoods were being provided resources to help their situations (Sahagan, 1990).Operation Hammer was not just a way for the LAPD to take violent criminals off the streets, but some have said that it was LAPD’s way of sending a message to the violent offenders to stop the violence. Officers during these various â€Å"oper ations† were not only searching and seizing items of evidence, but destroying property and disrespecting family of the gang members they sought to arrest. These tactics were not effective and did nothing to combat the crime but seemed to enrage the citizens of those neighborhoods to cause further community relations problems for the LAPD.The distrust with the public and the LAPD continued to get worse until March 1991, when officers from the LAPD began chasing a speeding vehicle in their jurisdiction from the freeway. Rodney King was the driver of that speeding vehicle and he led officers on a chase that ultimately ended in a neighborhood area, where residents were woken up and videotaped recorders began recording. The videotape showed Rodney King being beaten numerous times with police batons at the hands of officers of the LAPD. The result was that the videotaped beating was given to the news media, which aired the footage to the world.The public outcry wanted the officers c harged for using excessive force upon Rodney King, which resulted in four officers being charged for using excessive force and ultimately acquitted of all charges. The response to the verdicts sparked complete civil unrest in the South Central area of Los Angeles, where the original beating took place. Initial rioters became enraged at the fact that an incident that was videotaped for the world to see could not convict police officers of excessive force. The riots lasted a total of six days and damage was estimated at one billion dollars.At this point, there was no relationship with the LAPD and the impoverished areas of Los Angeles and crime seemed to run rampant. The attitude of the LAPD had not evolved with the world’s views on civil rights and it had been proven based on the various riots and scandals of this era of the LAPD. I feel that in some ways, attempts had been made at this point to try and connect with the community but the weak attempts failed. LAPD continued to use their iron fist approach to handling problems, which history has showed that it was not effective enough to cause change.This attitude caused the LAPD to stand still while the world around was continuing to evolve and grow, which ultimately caused many issues for the LAPD and the city of Los Angeles. During the LA Riots, a young officer named Rafael Perez had been learning the skills of the job to move to the most sought after specialty positions such as narcotics and C. R. A. S. H. positions. When Rafael Perez, a native of Puerto Rico, was a child growing up he had ironically envisioned himself as being a Los Angeles Police Officer like the ones that he watched on the television program â€Å"Adam-12†.Rafael Perez ended up landing a police officer job with the LAPD in 1989, a time when tension amongst police officers and the communities it served was at a boiling point (Cannon, 2000). Many officers, ultimately found to be involved in some type of scandal or wrongdoing w ithin the LAPD had been hired within the same time period and had grown up with the LAPD police culture. Rafael Perez and many other officers involved in the Rampart Scandal, including Kevin Gaines, David Mack, and Nino Durden were hired in a time period between 1988 and 1990.Some critics say that these officers and many other officers that have partaken in misconduct of a criminal nature were hired at a time when there were federal rules of affirmative action hiring practices. These federal rules forced agencies, such as the LAPD to hire minority candidates and lower standards based on race and sex. When hiring standards for candidates of any job, much less a law enforcement job are lowered then the candidates are less desireable, regardless of race or sex. A statistical analysis of data from the U. S.Department of Justice from economist John Lott found that â€Å"aggressive† affirmative action hiring practices requiring a quota for hiring minority officers increased crime r ates. The report reads â€Å"When affirmative action rules take over†¦ the result is a reduced quality of officers† (Golab, 2005) With the federal regulations requiring affirmative action hiring practices, police departments, including the LAPD got away from the traditional hiring practices. Normally police officers are chosen as good candidates when they are hired on value-based hiring practices.The practices are to look thoroughly into the candidate’s background, mental background and learn about the candidate and his/her morals and values. When affirmative action regulations take over, value-based hiring practices are not used due to the fact that a minority quota is put in place instead of hiring the best quality candidate regardless of race or sex. In the case of the LAPD, this type of hiring practice allowed people like Rafael Perez, David Mack and the rest to take the law into their own hands and victimize citizens of Los Angeles.Once the officers in the Ra mpart Scandal were hired onto the LAPD, they learned how to do their jobs and in some instances came off as model police officers. Many of these officers received awards and commendations for the work that they had done while employed with the LAPD. Although I don’t know the entire career of these officers, it seems likely that their careers started with very minor â€Å"perks† being given to them as a result of their position of authority. Officers on this slippery-slope model of police corruption are brought into grafting subcultures that are already involved in this sort of corrupt and illegal activity.Once the newer officers of the group begin their path on the slippery-slope of corruption, it is often difficult for them to ever come back. This is due to them being a part of previous corruption, where other members of the grafting subculture group were witness to, and there is now fear amongst the members of the corruption being discovered. In the case of the LAPD, it appeared that the officers found to be involved in the corruption, had been involved for quite some time.The investigation into the Rampart Scandal began with the investigation into a shooting death of an off-duty LAPD officer by an on-duty LAPD narcotics detective. When investigators began looking into this case, they found that the off-duty officer that was killed, named Kevin Gaines had been involved with Death Row Records. Death Row Records was owned and run by a Piru-Blood gang member named Suge Knight. Kevin Gaines was also alleged to be involved with the Piru-Blood gang. As investigators looked deeper they found several LAPD officers working for Death Row Records and being involved in the Piru-Blood gang.A incident occurred on November 6, 1997 when the Bank of America branch in South Central Los Angeles was robbed at gun point. Two men entered the bank and demanded money from the customer service manager and she gave them approximately $722,000. When robbery detectives be gan investigating the crime, they were able to question the customer service manager extensively and she revealed that the bank robbery was an â€Å"inside job†, with the main suspect being her boyfriend and LAPD officer David Mack.Two days after the bank robbery, David Mack and Rafael Perez had gone to Las Vegas to celebrate. Investigators were learning that Rafael Perez had a relationship with each of these other officers and Rafael Perez was even thought to have been the second suspect in the bank robbery. When questioned about the bank robbery and his relationship with David Mack, Rafael Perez denied any involvement with the robbery but said that David Mack had saved his life when they worked in a narcotics unit together (Cannon, 2000).While investigators were looking for clues in the Kevin Gaines shooting and the Mack bank robbery, the LAPD began investigating the theft of six pounds of cocaine from the evidence storage by one of their officers. The officer was Rafael Pe rez and he had already been suspected of being associated with Kevin Gaines and David Mack. Rafael Perez also had a connection to Death Row Records and had gang ties to the Piru-Blood gang. Rafael was a member of the C. R. A. S. H. anti-gang unit at the time, which was a unit that had quickly gained a reputation for playing hardball with gang members but also for being corrupt.Investigators would soon learn that many other officers in the Rampart Division were a part of the noble cause corruption that seemed to run rampant in that division. David Mack was convicted of federal bank robbery charges and was sentenced to fourteen years in prison, even though the money was never recovered and the other suspect has never been identified. Rafael Perez was able to negotiate a sentence of five years in prison in exchange for Rafael Perez’s cooperation in identifying additional corruption of other officers within the Rampart Division of the LAPD (Cannon, 2000).The LAPD administration a nd the LA District Attorney’s Office felt that too many incidents of corruption were coming out of the Rampart Division and this was a fair way to make sure that they cleaned up the division and go after the corrupt officers. Rafael Perez talked with investigators about the socialization to C. R. A. S. H. and how officers new to the unit are treated and tested to see if they are trustworthy enough to be part of the corruption that was taking place. He also stated that the supervisors knew about the corruption and even encouraged officers to do whatever it took to make arrests and bring in uns, drugs and money from the streets (Caldero & Crank, 2004). Some citizens of the area seemed to think that what C. R. A. S. H. unit officers were doing to rid the streets of thugs and gang members was worth it to keep them safe. Others had differing feelings regarding the way officers acted, as many innocent people not affiliated with any gangs were caught up in the fray. Rafael Perez det ailed to investigators about the patterns of corruption that were used by C. R. A. S. H. unit officers. This included using the INS to deport gang members or people that associated with gang members.Often times â€Å"sweeps† were conducted and INS agents were used during these â€Å"sweeps† to get gang members off the streets. Using the INS for this purpose was strictly forbidden by the LAPD policies but seemed to be a common practice for members of the C. R. A. S. H. unit as a tactic. Other tactics that officers were using would be to plant guns and drugs on subjects, use violence against suspects, and to lie under oath during court proceedings all to ensure that gang members were prosecuted (Caldero & Crank, 2004).During investigators debriefs with Rafael Perez, he blamed the LAPD and the aggressive police culture that it has bred as the reason that he became a corrupt officer. The C. R. A. S. H. unit motto, which was printed over the office door read â€Å"We intim idate those who intimidate others. † Rafael Perez said that he developed that US vs. THEM attitude that many police officers develop over time of working with and around hardened criminals. He blamed the supervisors and management of the LAPD for expecting high numbers of arrests and seizures as a catalyst for the accepted corrupt police culture amongst the C.R. A. S. H. officers (Cannon, 2000). Rafael Perez told investigators about a time when he and fellow C. R. A. S. H. unit officer Nino Durden shot an unarmed gang member, Javier Ovando. The shooting resulted out of a second contact with Ovando for trespassing, but the clear motive for the shooting is still not known. Durden and Perez planted a gun on Ovando after the shooting and Ovando was later charged and convicted for assault on a police officer with a firearm.Investigators knew that Rafael Perez had lied about many of the details of the shooting of Ovando, and this called into question the other corruption cases that Rafael Perez had been telling investigators about (Cannon, 2000). The corruption cases that have been learned from the Rampart Division Scandal prompted the US Department of Justice to mandate LAPD to enter into a consent decree. The Assistant Attorney General accused the LAPD of â€Å"engaging in a pattern or practice of excessive force, false arrests, and unreasonable searches and seizures in violation of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution. (unknown, 2012) The consent decree was used as a tool to reform the police culture of the LAPD and to hold the LAPD accountable for violations of policy and procedure as well as criminal laws by officers of the LAPD. I feel that the history of the LAPD is the history of what we call modern day policing. LAPD has been so inventive and they have led the way in innovation in some regards. The attitudes of past leaders of the LAPD caused a police culture that was that of rough and tumble and not willing to â€Å"take shitâ⠂¬  from anybody.This type of attitude was prevalent for many years and spread to most police agencies, becoming the way to do police work. LAPD did not change with the times and continued with the attitude that they were above the law ultimately causing corruption to run rampant throughout the ranks. Understanding the history of the LAPD and the police culture that it has promoted, the consent decree was a necessary thing that has been used to reel in the aggressive tactics of officers that seemingly went unsupervised.The federal consent decree caused the LAPD to revisit the policies and procedures that were supposed to have been used by officers and supervisors alike. All personnel received additional training to hold each individual accountable to what they were responsible for. The future of the LAPD is one that many outsiders will look on with baited breath to see if the consent decree helped with changing aggressive police culture and problems associated with it. Only time wi ll tell to see if they (LAPD) learned their lesson and realize that they are there to uphold the laws and protect lives and property. ReferencesLos Angeles Police Department. (2012). Retrieved from lapdonline. org The LAPD:1926-1950. (2012). Retrieved from The Official Site of the Los Angeles Police Department: lapdonline. org/history_of_the_lapd/content_basic_view/1109 Caldero, M. , & Crank, J. P. (2004). Police Ethics: The Corruption of Noble Cause,Second Edition. Matthew Bender & Company, Inc. Cannon, L. (2000, October 1). One Bad Cop. Retrieved from The New York Times Magazine: http://www. truthinjustice. org/20001001mag-lapd. html Golab, J. (2005, June). How Racial P. C. Corrupted the LAPD (and Possibly Your Local Force as Well). The American Enterprise, 16(4).Retrieved from http://www. questia. com/library/1G1-132678217/how-racial-p-c-corrupted-the-lapd-and-possibly-your Martin, G. B. (2009, January 28). LAPD Chief Parker:a product of his time. Retrieved from LA Times: www. la times. com/news/opinion Sahagan, L. (1990, December 25). Parents called Vital to ‘Operation Hammer'. Retrieved from LA Times: http://articles. latimes. com/1990-12-25/local/me-7125_1_operation-hammer unknown. (2012). The Aftermath. Retrieved from Frontline: www. pbs. org Unknown. (2012, April 30). Watts Riots. Retrieved from Civil Rights Digital Library: http://crdl. usg. edu/events/watts_riots/