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Introduction

Sports Direct Plc is a profitable and successful with an immense potential for growth as indicated by the Price Earning ratio of 27.73 times (Appendix 1).

The purpose of this essay is to analyse the financial performance of Sports Direct Plc based on the calculation of the profitability, liquidity, efficiency, solvency and investor ratios. Thereafter, the essay will compare the financial performance and position of Sports Direct Plc with that of JD Sports Fashion Plc. Subsequently, the essay will provide a recommendation to the investors regarding the investment in Sports Direct’s shares. Finally, the essay will conclude by assessing the limitations of the financial analysis carried out based on the accounting ratios.

Analysis of the financial performance of Sports Direct Plc and Comparison to a competitor – JD Sports Fashion Plc

Sports Direct Plc’s revenue has grown by 23.8% from GBP 2,706m in 2013 to GBP 2,185.6m in 2014 (Sports Direct Plc, 2014). This success is underpinned by Sports Direct’s core strategy of expanding their product base (Sports Direct Plc, 2014). Sports Direct has not resorted to price cutting strategies in order to achieve this growth. This is evident by the improvement in its gross margin from 40.94% in 2013 to 42.68% in 2014 (Appendix 1). The product mix of Sports Direct is improving with its premium category products gaining greater acceptance in the market (Sport Direct Plc, 2014). Operating and net margins have witnessed a modest fall because the new stores that have opened to support the growing premium lifestyle divisions are performing slightly below the capacity (Sports Direct Plc, 2014).

Sports Direct Plc has significantly outperformed JD Sports Fashion Plc in terms of the overall profitability despite of JD Sports Fashion Plc having a better gross margin (Appendix 1 and Appendix 2). The sales channel mix of the two businesses is the key driver of the overall profitability. Although online sales grew for both the businesses, the growth in online sales was higher for Sports Direct Plc compared to JD Sports Fashion Plc contributing to the improved operating profit and net profit margin for Sports Direct Plc. Online sales typically attract lower overheads compared to the retail sales and can significantly contribute to improving profitability of a company (ICAEW, 2012).

Current ratio and liquidity ratio are identified as key indicators of liquidity in a business (Robertson, 2007). The current ratio of Sports Direct Plc has fallen from 1.64 in 2013 to 1.06 in 2014 (Appendix 1). The fall in the current ratio for Sports Direct Plc is not reassuring and the absence of cash is worrying. Furthermore, weak quick ratio of 0.35 is indicative of weak liquidity position and could be indicative of inability of Sports Direct Plc to meet its short-term liabilities in the future. JD Sports Fashion Plc has a better current and quick ratio compared to that of Sports Direct Plc. One of the important factors contributing to a poor liquidity position in Sports Direct Plc is the consumption of cash to facilitate expansion through opening new stores (Sports Direct Plc, 2014). Furthermore, higher inventory turnover days of 133 days for Sports Direct Plc compared to inventory turnover days of 105 for JD Sports Fashion Plc has also contributed to lower liquidity in Sports Direct Plc compared to the liquidity in JD Sports Fashion Plc (Appendix 1 and Appendix 2).

The purpose of calculating gearing ratios is to analyse the financing structure of the business (ICAEW, 2012). Gearing ratios reflect the level of risk attached to the company and the sensitivity of earnings and dividends to changes in profitability level (Grewal, 2014). The statements of financial position of the two businesses are significantly affected by their different capital structures. JD Sports Fashion Plc is more geared compared to Sports Direct Plc. Lower gearing compared to competitors for Sports Direct Plc can enhance its ability to raise more debt to fund future expansion. Sports Direct Plc inclination towards leasing assets and reliance on overdraft facilities contributes to its relatively low level of gearing. This may allow Sports Direct plc to have flexibility in operations and reduce its risk. Furthermore, the value of non-current assets in Sports Direct plc accounts is higher than the value of non-current assets in JD Sports Fashion Plc accounts (Sports Direct Plc, 2014: JD Sports Fashion Plc, 2015). This is indicative of its ability to raise capital through debt market to fund the future expansion.

The purpose of calculating interest cover ratio is to assess the ability of a company to meet its interest obligations out of profits (Goyal and Goyal, 2012). Although the interest cover ratio for Sports Direct Plc has fallen from 22 times to 13 times and is lower than the interest cover ratio of JD Sports Fashion Plc, it is still reflective of a healthy interest cover ratio and is indicative of Sport Direct Plc’s ability to meet the interest obligations out of its profits.

The purpose of calculating efficiency ratios is to analyse the management’s effectiveness in running the business efficiently (Grewal, 2007). Efficiency ratios reflect management’s ability to reduce the working capital requirement for a given level of activity (ICAEW, 2012a). Receivables collection days of 16 days highlight low level of credit sales, which is consistent with the retail nature of the business and enables Sports Direct Plc to manage its working capital efficiently. The increase in payables payment period from 48 days in 2013 to 56 days in 2014 further contributes to efficient working capital management (Appendix 1). This reflects Sports Direct Plc’s ability to negotiate better payment terms with its suppliers. Furthermore, this is also indicative of efficient management, as the gap of twenty-seven days in the payables payment period between the two companies in the prior year has been narrowed down to a gap of two days. The inventory turnover days are 133 days and 105 days for Sports Direct Plc and JD Sports Fashion Plc respectively (Appendix 1 and Appendix 2). Furthermore, the inventory turnover days has increased by seven days from 2013 for Sports Direct Plc (Appendix 1). This is reflective of increased inventory holding cost for Sports Direct Plc. Rapid innovation of new products contributes to making previous product lines obsolete (ICAEW, 2013). This can impact the future margins because of the net realisable value for these products may drop significantly below its production cost (ICAEW, 2013). Management needs to invest more time in clearing up stock and improving the inventory turnover days because it can contribute to increasing the working capital requirement in the future.

The purpose of calculating investor ratios is to enable investors to assess the level of future returns and growth (ICAEW, 2012). Earning per share reflects the level of profit allocated to each outstanding share. Price earning ratio is one of the most commonly used ratios by the investors and reflect their level of confidence in a business (ICAEW, 2012). Increase in price earning ratio from 17.51 times in 2013 to 24.19 in 2014 reflects investors expectations of significant future earning growth and their willingness to pay a large multiple of historic earnings (Appendix 1). Price earning ratio of Sports Direct Plc is 24.19 times compared to price earning ratio of 14.33 times for JD Sports Fashion Plc. Lower price earning ratio is indicative of lower growth expectations by the investors (ICAEW, 2012).

Advice to the investors regarding the purchase of Sports Direct Plc shares

Investors principal concern in respect of the investment in the shares of a company is to be able to earn a good rate of return. Sports Direct Plc is fundamentally a profitable business. Furthermore, a price-earning ratio of 24.19 is reflective of the investor’s faith in the growth potential of the company (Appendix 1). However, the sales growth in the third quarter of 2015 is short of the comparable growth in the third quarter of 2014 (Ficenec, 2015). The slowdown in the growth rate and no dividend offered on the shares may make it an expensive buy in the short term. Furthermore, investment in Sports Direct may be prone to the cyclical risk as the clothing industry is directly linked with the macro economic cycles (ICAEW, 2012a). Nonetheless, slower growth in the current year is impressive given the macro economic environment in the United Kingdoms and England’s early exit from the world cup (Guardian, 2014). Furthermore, the company has invested heavily in the expansion of its product base and its margins have improved despite of competitive environment and challenging macro economic environment (Sports Direct Plc, 2014). This investment in constant innovation has the potential to translate into benefits for the investors in the long term. Favourable capital structure of Sports Direct Plc as highlighted by the gearing ratios calculated in the appendix one also makes it an attractive investment. Based on the considerations above, the essay acknowledges that there are risks associated with the investment in the shares of Sports Direct Plc, nonetheless future returns from the investment is expected to outweigh the risks. Thus, the essay recommends investors to purchase the shares of Sports Direct Plc.

Weaknesses of Ratio Analysis

Although there are a lot of advantages of ratio analysis, it is not without weaknesses (Goyal and Goyal, 2012). One of the key weaknesses of ratio analysis is that the calculation of the ratios is contingent on the figures contained within the financial statements of a company. Thus, the results of the ratio analysis would be distorted if the underlying numbers in the financial statements are inaccurate (Grewal, 2014).

Furthermore, seasonality in a business could limit the usefulness of ratio analysis (ICAEW, 2012). To illustrate this better, consider a toy retailer with a 31 December year-end. Majority of its sales is likely to be made in the last quarter of the year leading up to the Christmas. As a result, the inventory levels at the year-end might be at its lowest point throughout the year. Thus, calculating the relationship between inventory and cost of sales at the year-end to analyse management’s efficiency in managing inventory levels would be misleading (ICAEW, 2012).

Financial statements of different companies are affected by different estimates and assumptions made by the management (Whittington, 2007). Furthermore, accounting standards also may permit different companies within the same industry to apply different accounting policies (Whittington, 2007). This may impair the comparability of accounting ratios of different companies and limit its usefulness.

Ratio analysis is historic in nature, while users of the financial statements are more concerned about the future (Gracia, 2007). It is common for businesses to have both good and bad ratios, which makes it difficult for the users of the financial statements to assess if it’s a good or a bad company (Grewal, 2014).

Lastly, non-existence of ideal level of ratio makes it difficult for user of the financial statements to assess whether a particular trend is good or bad (Grewal, 2014). For example, a company with high current ratio may be interpreted as a good sign, however it could also be indicative of lack of growth potential for a company as a result of which it is holding large reserves of cash (Grewal, 2014).

Conclusion

Sports Direct Plc has witnessed a significant growth over the past two years and has been profitable. However, declining profit margins in the past two years should be a key concern for the management of Sports Direct Plc. Nonetheless, despite the fall in the profit margin of Sports Direct Plc, it still outperforms the profit margins of its competitor – JD Sports Fashion Plc. The management of Sports Direct Plc should strive to strike a balance between achieving growth and improving the profit margins of the business.

Inefficient inventory management should be another key concern for the management of Sports Direct Plc. The inventory turnover period of 133 days seems to be high for a business in the fashion industry and could be indicative of aged obsolete inventory. The management should take immediate steps to clear up old stock to improve the working capital management.

Lastly, the essay recommends the investors to purchase the shares of Sports Direct Plc because high PE ratio, sales growth and expansion into new products are likely to translate into attractive returns for the shareholders in the future.

References
Ficenec, J., 2015, Questor share tip: Sell Sport Direct as growth slows, Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/questor/11424054/Questor-share-tip-Sell-Sport-Direct-as-growth-slows.html
Gracia, L., 2007, Introduction to Financial Accounting, Harlow: Pearson.
Grewal, T., 2014, Analysis of Financial Statements, New Delhi: Sultan Chand.
Goyal, V., and Goyal, R., 2012, Corporate Accounting, 3rd edn. New Delhi: PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd.
Guardian, 2014, Who should take the blame for England’s early World Cup exit? http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/jun/24/blame-england-world-cup-exit
ICAEW, 2013, Financial Accounting and Reporting Study Manual, Exeter: Polestar Wheatons.
ICAEW, 2012, Financial Reporting Study Manual, 6th edn. Exeter: Polestar Wheatons.
ICAEW, 2012a, Financial Accounting Study Manual, 6th edn. Exeter: Polestar Wheatons.
JD Sports Fashion Plc, 2015, Share Price. http://www.jdplc.com/investor-relations/share-price.aspx
JD Sports Fashion Plc, 2015, 2015 – Annual Report. http://www.jdplc.com/investor-relations/reports.aspx
Robertson, J., 2007, Financial Ratio Analysis, 3rd edn. Lancaster: John Robertson.
Sports Direct, 2015, Share Price Chart. http://www.sportsdirectplc.com/investor-relations/share-information/share-price-chart.aspx
Sports Direct Plc, 2014, Annual Report 2014. http://www.sportsdirectplc.com/~/media/Files/S/Sports-Direct/annual-report/Annual%20Report%202014.pdf
Whittington, G., 2007, Profitability, Accounting Theory and Methodology, New York: Routledge
Appendix 1 – Sports Direct Plc
S.no.RatioYear End 27th April 2014Year End 28th April 2013
1Gross Profit Margin42.68%40.94%
2Operating Profit Margin9.21%9.75%
3Net Profit Margin6.64%6.94%
4Current Ratio1.061.64
5Quick Ratio0.350.60
6Interest Cover Ratio13.06 times22.39 times
7Financial Gearing8.15%41.52%
8Equity Gearing25.93%23.89%
9Earning per share32.1p26.9p
10Price Earning Ratio24.19 times17.51 times
11Receivables Collection16.6 days16.1 days
12Payables Payment Period56.35 days48.06 days
13Inventory Turnover Period133.07 days126.39 days

(Source: Sports Direct Plc, 2014)

Note:

The formulas used to calculate the ratios above are included in Appendix 3.
Share prices used for calculating price earning ratios are 776.50 pence and 471.1 pence for the year-end 27th April 2014 and 28th April 2013 respectively (Sports Direct, 2015).
Appendix 2 – JD Sports Fashion Plc
S.no.RatioYear End 31st Jan 2015Year End 1st Feb 2014
1Gross Profit Margin48.6%48.7%
2Operating Profit Margin6.1%6.4%
3Net Profit Margin3.5%3.4%
4Current Ratio1.221.15
5Quick Ratio0.540.50
6Interest Cover Ratio33.24 times48.46 times
7Financial Gearing19.9%18.05%
8Equity Gearing27.2%16.6%
9Earning per share35.17p29.08p
10Price Earning Ratio14.33 times13.88 times
11Receivables Collection Period12.9 days20 days
12Payables Payment Period58.1 days75.1 days
13Inventory Turnover Period104.9 days108.8 days

(Source: JD Sports Fashion Plc, 2015)

Note:

The formulas used to calculate the ratios above are included in Appendix 3.
Share prices used for calculating price earning ratios are 503.00 pence and 403.50 pence for the year-end 31st Jan 2015 and 1st Feb 2014 respectively (JD Sports Fashion Plc, 2015).
Appendix 3 – Formulas
S.no.RatioFormula
1Gross Profit MarginGross Profits/Revenue * 100
2Operating Profit MarginProfit from Operations/Revenue*100
3Net Profit MarginNet Profit/Revenue * 100
4Current RatioCurrent Assets/Current Liabilities
5Quick Ratio(Current Assets – Inventory)/Current Liabilities
6Interest Cover Ratio(Profit before interest Payable + Investment Income)/Interest Payable
7Financial GearingLong term liabilities/capital employed * 100
8Equity GearingNet Debt/Equity * 100
9Earning per share(Net Profit – Dividend on preference stock)/ No. Of shares
10Price Earning RatioMarket Value of Share/ Earning per share
11Receivables Collection PeriodTrade Receivables/Revenue*365
12Payables Payment PeriodTrade Payables/cost of sales*365
13Inventory Turnover PeriodInventory/Cost of Sales * 365

(Source: ICAEW, 2012)

Note: Capital Employed = Equity + Net Debt, where net debt = interest bearing debt (non-current and current) minus cash and cash equivalents

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Introduction

The essay intends to cover the development of capital structuring theory over the course of the 20th Century. It will highlight the different theories put forth by researchers, primarily Franco Modigliani and Merton Miller and their work during the 1950’s and 1960’s, and describe the differences in the theories and their implications and impact in the world of business and finance.

Background of Theory

In 1952, David Durand produced an article titled “Cost of Debt and Equity Funds for Business: Trends and Problems of Measurement” (Durand, 1952), for the National Bureau of Economic Research. Within this publication he created what is now known as a ‘Traditional View’ of capital structuring which “according to this view, the value of the firm can be increased or the cost of capital can be reduced by the judicious mix of debt and equity capital” (Chand, 2015). This implies that the market valuation of a corporation can be altered depending on the capital structure used to finance the organisation.

The ‘Traditional View’ assumes that as debt capital increases the overall cost of capital decreases and thus the market valuation of a company can be increased through the benefit of a “Tax-shield of Debt” that is apparent when a company decides to finance through debt (FT Lexicon, 2015). This is due to the fact that interest payments on debt capital are treated as tax-deductable therefore a company will obtain more profit and shareholders are more inclined to accept a certain amount of debt finance. However, as leverage begins to increase beyond a certain amount – an optimal point – then shareholders are aware of bankruptcy risks, resulting in an increased cost of capital to compensate an increase in risk, lowering company market valuation. Furthermore, as you increase debt capital you are at the whim of some macro-economic factors, such as the setting of interest base-rates by the country’s central bank which of course would increase debt payments, perhaps beyond an efficient level, again increasing risk.

However, in 1958 Franco Modigliani and Merton Miller published a conflicting article in The American Economic Review titled “The Cost of Capital, Corporation Finance and the Theory of Investment” (Modigliani and Miller, 1958). Within this article they put forth different propositions in relation to how capital structuring affects the market value of a corporation and they criticised David Durand’s “assumption that the cost of equity remains unaffected by leverage up to some reasonable limit” as in their view the cost of equity is an increasing function of debt capital (Chand, 2015). This is likely to be because as bankruptcy risks are increasing shareholders are more inclined to request an increasing amount of returns to compensate, therefore the cost of equity will increase.

Within the 1958 article Modigliani and Miller had the view that an organisation’s weighted average cost of capital is not affected by changes in its capital structure. Modigliani and Miller also published an article in 1963 titled “Corporate Income Taxes and the Cost of Capital: A Correction” for the American Economic Association (Modigliani and Miller, 1963). Within this article they had back-tracked on statements made within their first article published in 1958 and now were stating that “among other things, that the tax advantages of debt financing are somewhat greater than we originally suggest and, to this extent, the quantitative difference between the valuations implied by our position and by the traditional view is narrowed” (Modigliani and Miller, 1963, pp.434). This modification leads Modigliani and Miller to “admit that tax relief on interest payments does lower the weighted average cost of capital.”(ACCA, 2012, pp.314)

Development of Theory

As we have stated, David Durand’s’ theory – the traditional view – is of the belief that a company can alter its market valuation by finding an optimal capital structure point which in turn would lower the Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) and thus increase market valuation. This theory has been created on the basis of certain assumptions which are as follows;

“The company pays out all its earnings as dividends”
“The gearing of the company can be changed immediately by issuing debt to repurchase shares or by issues shares to repurchase debt. There are no transaction costs for issues.”
“The earnings of the company are expected to remain constant in perpetuity and all investors share the same expectations about these future earnings”
“Business risk is also constant, regardless of how the company invests its funds”
“Taxation, for the time being, is ignored”

(ACCA, 2012, pp.310-311)

This theory was used as a basic backdrop to the issues of debt and equity costing and finance. Durand had put forth a Net Income (NI) and Net Operating Income (NOI) in his article “Cost of Debt and Equity Funds for Business: Trends and Problems of Measurement” (Durand, 1952). The combination of these ideas formed the basis of the ‘Traditional View’. That was until the creation of a publication in 1958, Modigliani and Miller put forth propositions which had built upon the theory created by David Durand in 1952 which assumed certain initial assumptions. The assumptions for the first proposition are as follows;

“A world without taxation”
“A world without transaction costs”
“A world without bankruptcy costs”
“A world without growth opportunities”
“A world without asymmetric information between insider and outsider investors” i.e. a perfect capital market exists
“A world where there are differences in risk between different firms and individuals”

(Frentzel, 2013, pp.13)

Within this theory Modigliani and Miller had rejected the idea put forth within the ‘Traditional View’ and they had believed “that the firm’s overall weighted average cost of capital is not influenced by changes in its capital structure” (ACCA, 2012, pp.310). This is likely to be because, in the absence of taxation, an organisations market value is determined by only two factors; i) The total earnings of a company and ii) the level of business risk attached to those earnings.

The WACC would then be determined “by discounting the total earnings at a rate that is appropriate to the level of operating risk” (ACCA, 2012, pp.312). Therefore capital structuring would be deemed to be of irrelevance, thus the name of this theory was deemed “Irrelevance Theory”.

However, after receiving large amount of criticism due to the unreasonable assumptions, mainly that of an omission of taxation, Modigliani and Miller had to produce a correction paper in 1963 – as mentioned earlier. This theory – a second proposition – had included corporation tax in their model and they had then concluded that capital structuring does affect WACC and therefore market valuation. The reason for their conclusion arises after “they [had] identified taxation as the primary reason why the combination of financing sources does matter because interests on debt may be deducted from the firm’s income and thereby reduces the net taxable earnings. As a result, this tax saving that constitutes an additional advantage to using debt capital lowers the effective cost of debt capital” (Frentzel, 2013, pp. 15-16), this is known as the ‘Tax Shield’. This would suggest a firm would benefit from funding their organisation entirely out of debt as they would lower their tax liability due to the savings incurred from interest payments that are tax-deductable.

This notion of a firm funding itself entirely out of debt in practice seems illogical considering; a) shareholders would deem the company a risky investment should it be completely funded by debt and would request a higher return to compensate and b) the bankruptcy costs and increased likelihood of insolvency should a company fund itself entirely out of debt even though the model rejects the idea of bankruptcy costs, in reality we know there are such costs.

This then brings us onto the next theory which has been named “Trade-Off Theory”. This theory arose out of the controversy surrounding the second proposition put forth by Modigliani and Miller which implied a company can and should fund itself entirely out of debt due to the benefits of the ‘Tax Shield’. This of course does not make sense and sounds extreme due to the reality of bankruptcy costs and therefore an off-setting mechanism is needed which comes in the form of “the tax advantages of borrowed money and the costs of financial distress when the firm finds it has borrowed too much” (Shyam-Sunder and Myers,1998, pp. 210).

This seems to make more sense in that an optimal point between equity and debt financing can be reached as well as including assumptions previously omitted from earlier theory such as the effects of corporation tax and that of bankruptcy.

The final theory highlighted in this essay is named “Pecking-Order Theory” and it has been developed as an alternative to ‘Traditional’ Theory. It made an appearance in an article titled “The Capital Structure Puzzle” (Myers, 1984) within the Journal of Finance and suggested that there exists a particular pecking order of funding which, put one way, is that “Firms prefer internal finance [retained earnings]…If external finance is required, firms issue the safest security first. That is, they start with debt, then possibly hybrid securities such as convertible bonds, then perhaps equity as a last resort. In this story, there is no well-defined target debt-equity mix, because there are two kinds of equity, internal and external, one at the top of the pecking order and one at the bottom” (Myers, 1984, pp. 581). Put in simpler terms, “adverse selection implies that retained earnings are better than debt and debt is better than equity” (Murray and Vidhan, 2005, pp.19).

The “Pecking-Order Theory” is an “explanation of what businesses actually do, rather than what they should do” (ACCA, 2012, pp.315). This theory does not provide us with an optimal mix of finance but does provide us with a preferred method of funding for numerous reasons, for example, it is easier to use retained earnings as you have no external expectations set upon the company, there are also no issuing costs with retained earnings, issuing debt provides a signalling effect which is better than issuing equities. This final reason is because should a company start to issue equity, it could be sign that the managers believe that their equities are overvalued and are trying to cash in on the equities before they return to fundamental value, there is also a fixed income in regard to issuing debt whilst having a priority on liquidation.

Conclusion

In conclusion, there have been some productive developments concerning the area of capital structuring. In just over half a century various different hypothesis have developed which have contributed largely to the field, from an initial period where capital structuring was questioned to have any relevance at all to a view-point where a mix of debt and equity finance can achieve an optimal point of capital structuring. The importance of this cannot be underestimated as achieving an optimal point can lower the Weighted Average Cost of Capital so that a discount factor used in investment appraisals can lead a company to increase or decrease its market valuation. Reaching the optimal point is a case of trial and error for a company however once a company has reached this point the benefits can be profound, should a company increase its market valuation it may attract a different kind of investor or increase the possibility of a merger or an acquisition. Achieving the optimal point will allow a company to have a greater understanding of its Weighted Average Cost of Capital and therefore a discount factor; once this is achieved certain investment opportunities that may once have been out of reach may now be an acceptable possible idea to pool company resources or capital. This in turn may allow a company to enter into investment opportunities that it once thought it couldn’t, perhaps leading to the entrance into new markets, the development of new technology, or an avenue to achieve re-engineered growth, all leading the company to a position to move forward and most importantly keeping the current and possibility new shareholders content with the current business model and situation.

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This essay will define and explore the inception and development of auteurist approaches to cinema – the conceit that a film may be said to have an individual author in the manner of a book or a stage play, and that such authorship should be ascribed to the film’s director. Two directors will be used as case studies to illustrate the points being made: Martin Scorsese, and Stephen Frears. Scorsese’s work will be analysed to better understand how auteur status might be aligned with a director, as well as probing the possible limitations of such an approach, and Frears will be invoked as a significant British film director who has worked extensively in both UK and Hollywood cinema, who is critically and commercially successful, yet refutes the concept of auteurism.

Authorship became an intellectual consideration initially with the politique des auteurs developed by French film critics in the immediate post-Second World War years. It developed largely in the pages of the influential film periodical Cahiers du Cinema. The politique, less a fully-conceived theory of popular film than a concordance of critical opinion, sought to position film in line with literature, theatre and classical music by identifying with an “essentially literary and Romantic conception of the artist as the central, even the sole source of meaning in a text”, as Stoddart (1995, p. 39) indicates. Theorist Alexandre Astruc’s 1948 article “The birth of a new avant-garde: la camera-stylo” outlined, as Stoddart (1995, p. 39) goes on to summarise, three important considerations for the approach:

First, that cinema has obtained an equivalence to literature, or any other art form of ‘profundity or meaning’.
Second, that it is constituted through a new and unique language; and,
third, that this situation affords directors a means of personal expression.

Francois Truffaut developed this in his 1948 Cahiers article ‘Une certain Tendence du Cinema Francais’. Truffaut here identified the main problems he saw with French film. Dismissing it as le cinema de papa, and of pursuing a tradition de la qualite, he “accused it of being script-led, redolent of safe psychology, lacking in social realism and of being produced by the same old scriptwriters and film-makers whose time was up”, as Hayward (1996, p. 14) indicates.

The politique advocated a refocus onto mise-en-scene, the visual aspects of cinema, rather than the verbal aspects privileged to date. Following this approach, it would be possible to make both aesthetic judgments about the film, and assign to directors an authorial signature. The politique drew a distinction between auteurs, directors who demonstrated their own creativity and personal stylistic and thematic voice, particularly within the constraints of the Hollywood production system, and those who functioned only as competent practitioners of the technical and organisational aspects of film direction, dubbed metteurs-en-scene. These latter directors, as Stoddart (1995, p. 40) shows “were seen as craftsmen rather than artists, (William Wyler and Fred Zinneman are cited)”. Recognised auteurs included “the likes of Alfred Hitchcock, Howard Hawks, John Ford and Sam Fuller” (Hayward, 1996, p. 15).

Among American film directors, Martin Scorsese may be seen as one who is auteurist. Phillips (2007) deconstructs the 1977 Scorsese-directed New York, New York as a case study of the applicability of a range of theoretical approaches to cinema. For Phillips (2007, p. 17), the “Scorsese auteur structure is assembled deductively from the films Martin Scorsese has directed”; in other words, generalities across a career are deduced, then applied retrospectively back to the individual film text.

Scorsese has collaborated extensively with leading actor Robert de Niro, who is the male lead of New York, New York. Scorsese’s movies typically deal with Italian-American experience and with New York as a setting; elements that are reflected in this text. Many Scorsese-directed films are inflected with crime and gangster genre elements (other Scorsese crime genre films include Mean Streets, Goodfellas, Casino, The Departed); though New York, New York is also generically a musical, there is this thematic subtext to the film too.

Phillips (2007, p. 19) identifies a range of thematic concerns common to other Scorsese-directed films that appear in New York, New York, including: a strong focus on masculinity, on awkward male attitudes towards women, on Catholic guilt, on violence as a flawed solution to problems. Phillips (2007, p. 19) also notes the use of formal aspects of cinema that recur across Scorsese’s films: a quasi-documentary mode of representation, the use of mobile cameras, the interplay of popular music and visuals to create meaning and mood. These kinds of observations may be “amplified by reference to biographical information concerning Martin Scorsese” (Phillips, 2007, p. 19). These include “his Catholic background provid[ing] useful corroborating evidence, and … personal statements such as that in which he says that as a boy he wished to be either a priest or a gangster” (Phillips, 2007, pp. 19-20).

By the early 1960s, the politique des auteurs had fallen out of cachet in France (partly a direct effect of former Cahiers writers like Truffaut, Claude Chabrol and Jean-Luc Godard having turned to direction themselves) , though it was continued in Anglo-American criticism, in British periodical Movie, and significantly, by American critic Andrew Sarris. Sarris developed the French position into what he termed an auteur theory. Sarris sought a “meaningful coherence” between directors as artists and their work (Stoddart, 1995, p. 42). Directorial ability was seen as being comprised of what Sarris saw, according to Mast, Cohen and Braudy (1992, p. 587) as “three concentric circles: the outer circle as technique; the middle circle, personal style; and the inner circle, personal meaning”. These corresponded to the director as technician, as stylist, and as artist respectively. Over time, a director could move through these circles, in either direction, and their status thus diagnosed. Sarris constructed a pantheon of great American directors, among which he listed John Ford, Orson Welles, D W Griffith and Howard Hawks.

Auteurist theories as expressed above are significant in that they examined popular cultural forms with serious scrutiny, though this was done not to understand the popular but what Lapsley and Westlake (1988, p. 107) understand to attempt to “elevate one small section…to the status of high art”. The consideration of mise-en-scene is important in that it laid the ground work for studies of the specifically cinematic. However, as Lapsley and Westlake (1988, p. 109) conclude, there is something perhaps trivial about auteurism, which is both faddish and elitist. There seems to be little engagement with social realities, any examination of cinema’s engagement with the real world is replaced by questions of ranking and relative worth of directors. Questions of the collaborative nature of cinema, of the industrial aspects of commercial film production and exhibition are not dealt with. Similar omissions are made with regard to the role of the audience. At best, auteur theory here sees two types of spectator: the mass audience member who receives the director’s intent without question, and the aware cineaste, who both perceives the intent, and relishes the ways it is conveyed cinematically. Sarris, for example, was criticised (Stoddart, 1995, p. 43) for constructing little more than a personal list of favourites, employing a quasi-rational system that made little objective sense.

Hayward (1996) usefully breaks author-based theories into three phases. The first phase, as outlined above, conceives the author-role as that of the director, and this as being central to the production of meaning. Hayward’s second phase is that of the interaction of auteur theories with structuralism in the 1960s. Hayward identifies a third phase, that of 1970s post-structuralism, which is discussed in the section below.

Author-based theories were allied with French structuralism in the mid-1960s. As Hayward (1996, p. 16) points out, this impetus came not from within film, but from the attentions of semioticians and structuralists, and it was “unquestionably their work that has legitimated film studies as a discipline”. Theorists such as Christian Metz sought to invoke the rational approach of structuralism to counter the romantic subjectivity of auteur theory to this point. The grande syntagmatique that Metz set out in his Essais sur la signification au cinema attempted a totalizing structural theory of cinema. Using Saussure, Metz perceived cinema as a langue, and each individual film as parole. Hayward (1996, p. 16) reminds us that such an all-encompassing theoretical perspective irreversibly overshadows the texts being examined. In addition, aspects outside the theory get ignored, such as “the notion of pleasure and audience reception, and what occurs instead is a crushing of the aesthetic experience through the weight of the theoretical framework” (Hayward, 1996, p. 16). As Cook (1985, pp. 61-2) reminds us, contemporary revisions in both Cahiers du Cinema and the British film periodical Movie sought to refocus the author as one of several structures to be considered in establishing the meaning of film, alongside stars, the industry, linguistic concerns, and social factors. Still unexamined, though, were questions of audience and of ideology.

The third phase Hayward identifies, that of the influence of 1970s post-structuralist thought on the study of cinema, again demonstrates the extent that understanding of film is indebted to theorists from outside film using the medium to exemplify and examine their approaches. Key to this is Roland Barthes’ 1968 declaration of the death of the author. The text, Barthes declared, as King (2002, p. 110) quotes, is:

“not a line of words releasing a single “theologial” meaning (the “message” of the Author-God) but a multidimensional place in which a variety of writings, none of them original, blend and clash. The text is a tissue of quotations drawn from the innumerable centres of culture”

This definitive rebuttal of the romantic ideal of the director as author has been accompanied by a plurality of theories variously combining, according to the individual theorist. Lacanian psychoanalytic, semiotic, Althusserian Marxist, feminist and deconstructivist approaches have all been applied in combination to this end. As King (2000, p. 111) states, an “implicit auteurism remains a convenience for journalism and other film writing and criticism [and] the name of the director remains a potentially useful marketing tool”.

Phillips (2007) examines Scorsese’s filmmaking through three main approaches; auteurist, genre and audience studies, concluding that, in order to most fully understand a film and a director’s work, a range of tools need to be used: “the critical approaches outlined here and applied to New York, New York need to be supplemented by others which explore the relationship between image, sound and their impact on the spectator at more ‘micro’ levels.”

British director Stephen Frears is vocal on the subject of auteurism. Fraser (2010) notes how Frears is reticent to see himself as an auteur, preferring instead to have himself seen, as Fraser reports on BBC executive Alan Yentob’s description of Frears as “the ultimate hired gun”. Fraser (2010) goes on to question if one may “really speak of a coherent style or, indeed, vision, from the man who made, amid some disasters, successful films as various as The Grifters, Dangerous Liaisons, The Deal, and now Tamara Drewe?” The interest for Frears is in the making of films presented to him, rather than exploring personal themes and finding or creating scripts that will permit that exploration. In a recent article (Leigh, 2015) in support of his latest film, the Lance Armstrong biography The Program, this is highlighted, not just by interviewer Danny Leigh, but by Frears as well: “As a young film-maker in the 1960s, [Frears] was amused by the rise of the auteur theory, the idea of directors as visionaries. “I never believed all that rubbish. I haven’t had a vision in my life.””

Auteurist film theories are useful in that they represent a first step towards a theoretical language for cinema, though by themselves they may offer little more than generalities or perhaps an expression of personal preference and taste. The origins of the approach in literature might give auteur theory some initial legitimacy, though it does a disservice to the necessarily collaborative nature of film and of the filmmakers involved in the multiple stages of conceiving, financing, writing, producing editing and distributing a film to its multiple audiences. Though auteurist identifications may be made, and there may be some usefulness in marketing terms to such links, film is perhaps more complicated than this, and required more nuanced study.

Bibliography

Cook, P. (1985) The Cinema Book. London: British Film Institute.

Fraser, N. (2010) Stephen Frears: ‘Audiences aren’t fools – their judgement is crucial’. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/aug/15/stephen-frears-tamara-drewe-interview (Accessed: 4 October 2015).

Dangerous Liaisons (1989) Directed by Stephen Frears [Film]. Warner Bros.

The Grifters (1991) Directed by Stephen Frears [Film]. Miramax.

The Deal (2003) Directed by Stephen Frears [Film]. Granada Productions.

Tamara Drewe (2010) Directed by Stephen Frears [Film]. BBC Films.

The Program (2015) Directed by Stephen Frears [Film]. Working Title.

Hayward, S. (1996) Key Concepts in Cinema Studies. New York: Routledge.

King, G. (2002) New Hollywood Cinema: An Introduction. London: I B Tauris & Co.

Lapsley, R. and Westlake, M. (1988) Thinking About Cinema: An Introduction to Contemporary Film Theory. Manchester, UK: St. Martin’s Press.

Leigh, D. (2015) Interview: Stephen Frears. Available at: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/9a1e8f20-6762-11e5-a57f-21b88f7d973f.html (Accessed: 4 October 2015).

Mast, G., Cohen, M. and Braudy, L. (eds.) (1992) Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings. 4th edn. New York: Oxford University Press.

Phillips, P. (2007) Genre, star and auteur critical approaches applied to Martin Scorsese’s New York, New York. Available at: http://cw.routledge.com/textbooks/9780415409285/resources/genrestar.pdf (Accessed: 4 October 2015).

Mean Streets (1973) Directed by Martin Scorsese [Film]. Warner Bros.

New York, New York (1977) Directed by Martin Scorsese [Film]. United Artists.

Goodfellas (1990) Directed by Martin Scorsese [Film]. Warner Bros.

Casino (1995) Directed by Martin Scorsese [Film]. Universal Pictures.

The Departed (2006) Directed by Martin Scorsese [Film]. Warner Bros.

Stoddart, H. (2000) ‘Auteurism and film authorship theory’, in Jancovich, M. and Hollows, J. (eds.) Film Studies: A Reader. New York: Oxford University Press.

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8 1/2

Federico Fellini’s 8 1/2 is one of the early landmarks of postmodernism. (Bondanella, 93-116) If the myth is to be believed, Fellini had signed with producer Angelo Rizzoli to direct something like a sequel to his enormously successful La Dolce Vita. Actors were hired. The crew was ready. And a large set had been built: a rocket launching pad. But where was the story? In early drafts of the scenario, Guido Anselmi (Marcello Mastroianni) had been a writer.

Only when Fellini turned the character into a film director did the elements fall into place. This would be a film about director’s block: about not being able to make a film. About what the scholars call ‘the creative process.’ Weaving together fantasy, flashback, fear, and celebration all orchestrated, as usual, by Nino Rota he achieved an overwhelming international success. (Bondanella, 93-116)

8 1/2 remains the key Fellini movie because it is freer from the tyranny of narrative than anything that came before or since. In the Fifties Fellini had been a storyteller in the neorealist tradition. But that wasn’t his real calling. The meandering plot of La Dolce Vita had given him a more accommodating framework for his collection of gorgeous images, extreme characters, and musical set pieces. In 8 1/2 he is free entirely to organize these quintessentially cinematic tropes in a way that fits the curious logic of cinema (not the demands of narrative.) The film is more like a night at the opera than an afternoon at the movies. (Bondanella, 93-116)

Today, national cinema is on the top. It is producing more and more films based on socio-political circumstances. It’s not the quotes from Rossini and Wagner; its Nino Rota and Fellini. To me, Rota has always been Fellini’s co-auteur. There’s a powerful interplay between Rota’s evocative music and Fellini’s musical images. Both of them use their images and themes over and over, reworking variations in interesting ways. 8 1/2 gives Rota more room to elaborate on Fellini’s visuals than he had had in earlier films. Industrial and economic factors are highlighting major issues in modern films like 8 1/2.

Apart from other international standards, the musical nature of 8 1/2 makes it a perfect candidate for DVD. This is one film, like music, that you want to play again and again. About the only feature missing from this Criterion edition is a random player that would allow you to run through the twenty-six chapters in arbitrary order! I’m not joking: restructuring 8 1/2 would reveal a lot about Fellini’s art. You can see from the DVD’s chapters that the maestro’s unit of thought was the sequence, not the narrative. You could make four smaller films from the material the women, the dreams, the production, the spa. You could reverse the first and last sequences (Guido trapped in the traffic jam, the circus at the spaceship) and it would work, but as a much darker film.

Aside from that random player, not much else is missing from this typically rich and careful Criterion production. It’s a minicourse in Fellini that should keep your evenings occupied for most of the week (even if you watch the film only once).

The commentary track skillfully interweaves three different tracks. There’s no indication who wrote the competent essay read by actress Tanya Zaicon, but Antonio Monda teaches film at NYU and Gideon Bachmann was a longtime friend and colleague of Fellini. A telling line from Gideon Bachmann: Everyone loved being used by Federico. Including myself. Their additions make the commentary track less of a lecture, more a discussion. (The Terry Gilliam introduction is just decoration: the premise was that both he and Fellini started as cartoonists.)

The transfer is up to Criterion’s usual high standard, made from “a 35mm fine-grain master made from the original negative.” (Although I still prefer Criterion’s laserdisc edition but that’s another story.)

The ‘extras’ on disc two are remarkable. Fellini A Director’s Notebook is the documentary he made for television in 1969 dealing mainly with his inability to make The Voyage of G. Mastorna several years earlier: a case of life imitating art (except that producer Dino Di Laurentiis sued Fellini for the expense of the sets that had been built). It is cloying and silly but his only chance to amortize the cost of the Mastorna sets.

The documentary on Nino Rota is essential viewing if you believe, as I do, that Fellini would not have been possible without Rota. (This is a film from German television made by Vassili Silovic.) The interviews with Lina Wertmuller (an uncredited Assistant Director on 8 1/2) and cinematographer Vittorio Storaro (who never worked with Fellini) are both worthwhile.

But the real jewel of the extras is a twenty-six-minute monologue by Sandra Milo. (This is one of the interviews apparently shot especially for the DVD.) Milo played Carla, Guido’s mistress, in 8 1/2, and then had a seventeen-year affair with Guido’s alter ego, Fellini. The interview is an eerie mirror of the forty-year-old movie. Milo paints breathless word pictures of life with Fellini. She didn’t want to make the film, at first. One day Fellini arrived at her apartment with cinematographer Gianni di Venanzo, designer Piero Gherardi, camera, and costumes. We’re here to make your screen test, he announced. Her housekeeper dragged her out of bed to meet him.

A few years later he offered her the role of Gradisca in Amarcord. She describes how the two of them worked out the character on a cold, dark soundstage at Cinecitta in the dead of winter. But her husband wouldn’t let her make the film. The role was eventually played by Magali Noel, imitating Milo (imitating Carla). At the end of these stories she puts a period: This is my story with Federico Fellini. But the camera rolls on. After a few seconds she adds: When I go to Fregene I think I see him among the trees. (Fellini died in 1993.)

A few beats. Her smile crumbles; a tear forms; she sways. Sometimes he calls me, and laughing, he asks me to chirp. (She laughs.) As if I were a bird, and could go on the trees, too! Another long pause. Another false ending. But I cannot tell you more. There is a part, a little secret and mysterious, I believe is for me alone.

She blows us a kiss goodbye. It is a strangely moving moment. ‘Felliniesque.’ I’d like to have seen Sandra Milo play Tosca. You can almost hear her singing the great aria Vissi d’arte, vissi d’amore. (I lived for art, I lived for love.)

With its self-referential quantum psychology, 8 1/2 remains a key postmodern work. But it’s more. With hindsight it also shows us the way beyond postmodernism to a time when sentiment such anathema to modernists and postmodernists alike for a hundred years will return. Like his nineteenth-century paisani Verdi, Puccini, and the other maestri, Fellini/Rota understood the transcendence of celebration: feeling together.

In the last scene of 8 1/2 all the characters in Guido’s life descend from the rocket gantry to the circus ring as he orchestrates them. The last words of the film: “Tutti insieme!” “All together!”

If we look into the roots of national cinema then we may find different cultural traditions on its way. Numerous links between locations in films and their condition today are made. Thus, we see the spot where Zampano abandoned Gelsomina in La Strada (near Ovindoli, a small town eighty kilometers from Rome); the courtyard of the Palazzo del Drago in Filicciano (seventy kilometers from Rome) where Guido and Claudia meet in 8 1/2 Cecchignola Military Reserve (some twenty minutes from Cinecitta outside of Rome), where Fellini shot the scene in which Guido imagines his father’s tomb in 8 1/2 and so forth.

(Bondanella, 93-116) These shots, so precious to the specialist, are unfortunately wasted on the neophyte, since they are never clearly identified in the documentary. Indeed, the individuals interviewed by Pettigrew are not identified for the audience until the end of the film, an unfortunate arrangement of his material that presupposes a great deal of knowledge about Fellini that few of Pettigrew’s spectators will possess.

Nevertheless, the numerous clips of Fellini discussing his work and his esthetics (thankfully uninterrupted by endless journalistic questions and accompanied only by pertinent clips from his works or other comments by his collaborators) provide what one reviewer rightly calls a master class on filmmaking, Fellini style.

Among the topics Fellini addresses are the relationship of reality to fiction (the former is mistrusted, the latter is praised); the question of improvisation (Fellini rejects it, declaring that making a film is similar in its attention to detail to the launching of a rocket ship into space; Fellini does believe in what he calls disponibilita or openness to possibilities on the set that have not been envisioned prior to shooting); inspiration (Fellini has no use for waiting for inspiration, believing that creative artists who do so merely waste precious time in relying upon such a Romantic concept); alienation (Fellini asks how a man can be a film director, a vocation that is akin to being a magician, if he or she lacks faith in the future); imagination (for Fellini, film directing involves a combination of the qualities of a simple artisan and that of a medium); imagery (for Fellini, cinema is first and foremost painterly, relying upon light more than dialog); and esthetics (regardless of whether something is beautiful or ugly, culturally sophisticated or simple, Fellini’s only criterion of value is whether a work of art is “vitale” or alive).

I can think of no better examples than Federico Fellini’s 8 1/2 (1963). Fellini is known even in amateur circles as a filmmaker with a distinctly dark and depressive vision. His work is deeply troubled, preternaturally focused on himself and morbidly preoccupied with death.

This film that I have in mind as a definitive representation of how explicitly existentialist ideas can be expressed in film is Federico Fellini’s 8 1/2, which has been analyzed by Jerry Solomon. Given the capable analysis he supplies in his own study, I will only say a few words here about the character of Fellini’s efforts in film and will direct our attention to Bondanella book for the bulk of what needs to be said about 8 1/2 in particular. Fellini’s Italy is a vibrant and rich artificial landscape, in contrast to the natural picturesque and spare visions of Bergman’s Sweden.

Despite the flurry of activity that is always going on in Fellini’s work, there is no activity, even including, as Bondanella (1992) points out, the activity of directing film, that is intrinsically worthy of pursuit. Instead, Fellini’s characters are busily distracting themselves with useless vanities. Again, as Mr. Solomon has noted, there is in Fellini’s work a fixation on the acute need for choice, for some kind of act, without any solid guidelines for choice. Besides 8 1/2, I would personally recommend La Dolce Vita (1961) as one of Fellini’s films that best represents his concern with the futile and arbitrary choices of man.

His films are gloriously photographed, filled with vibrant images of glamorous and exciting people, whose external beauty and grace conceal their internal emptiness and frustration. (Bondanella, 68-149) He is a master of imagery. La Dolce Vita alone is a lush but pruned arrangement of strikingly vivid visual compositions, from the opening shot of a helicopter airlifting a massive statue of Jesus over Saint Peter’s Cathedral to the closing scene in which an abnormally large fish is dragged onto a beach as some kind of eerie signal of the main character’s final confinement in his own despair.

The world of 1960’s Italy, as Fellini depicts it, is hopelessly superficial, exhausting itself in a frenzied hurricane of champagne bubbles, costume parties, gossip and paparazzi’s flash bulbs. Fellini’s mood is bizarre and frantically upbeat where Bergman is obsessive and morbid. Fellini’s experimentation with the extremely surreal will surpass that of Bergman. Yet, these two, despite their divergent styles, stand together as the greats who understood perhaps more fully than any other film makers the implications of existentialist philosophy for their medium.

Their films are “existentialist” not necessarily because they treat existential themes, but because they benefit from the impact of existentialism on popular culture. As has been indicated many times, existentialism, more than any other philosophical movement, would come to pass out of the hands of the privileged elite and would be claimed by the common man. In so far as this movement took place, film benefits, in that as a medium open to the common man, it is able to continue to bear highly conceptual subject matter to a wider thinking community.

Thus while film in the wake of existentialism may not be existentialist, it is often at the least deeply philosophical in a medium accessible to thinking individuals who may not be formal students of philosophy. Whereas the “existential” films prior to Bergman and were inspired not so much by existentialist thought but by post-war shifts in culture, the “existential” films that follow Bergman and Fellini are not necessarily inspired directly by existentialist thought, but are certainly inspired by Bergman and Fellini and by what existentialism in part stands for, namely, the communication of philosophical ideas to all men.

For many audiences, critics, and film historians, 8 1/2 remains the benchmark film by Fellini, the work that justifies his status as a master and continues to reward the spectator after numerous screenings. Besides a host of awards (including an Oscar for Best Foreign Film) received when it first appeared in 1963, a group of thirty European intellectuals and filmmakers in 1987 voted 8 1/2 the most important European film ever made and, on the basis of this work, also named Fellini as the European cinema’s most important director.

The film occupies an important role in the director’s complete works, not only because of its obvious autobiographical links to Fellini’s life but also because it focuses upon the very nature of artistic creation in the cinema. La dolce vita is the last film Fellini made with obvious mimetic intention: It provides a panoramic view of a society gone wild with press conferences, image makers, paparazzi, and celebrities, and in spite of its ability to create stirring images of an unforgettable character (such as the Trevi Fountain scene, which was indelibly etched into the imagination of an entire generation of moviegoers), its subject matter remains steadfastly connected to the society within which Fellini lived. After La dolce vita, however, Fellini turns toward the expression of a personal fantasy world that often, as in the case of 8 1/2, also deals with the representation of cinema itself in a self-reflexive fashion.

References

Bondanella, Peter. (1992). The Cinema of Federico Fellini (Princeton: Princeton University Press), pp.68-149.

Bondanella, Peter. (2002). The Films of Federico Fellini (New York: Cambridge University Press), pp.93-116.

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European film movements are most clearly understood as part of the cinema of periphery in relation to popular Hollywood productions. In consideration of examples from one European country, to what extent is this an accurate view?

This essay will focus on some of the key movements in British cinema, looking at how they relate to the world of Hollywood. Firstly,I shall look at how British films have found their way into the American and world markets via the London-based company Working Title Films, and to what extent these films are integrated into the Hollywood scene. Secondly, There will be an assessment of the tradition of social realism in British cinema,including the New Wave and Brit Grit movements, and their place in international cinema. Next, I shall look at the documentary movement in British cinema, and its impact on the wider world.

One of the most noticeable movements in British cinema in recent years has been the proliferation of the Working Title Films Company. Founded in London by Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner, Working Title has enhanced the profile of British cinema to an unprecedented extent. The screening of Four Weddings and a Funeral in 1994 proved a turning point in the history of British film, proving vastly popular with American audiences,and subsequent productions from Working Title have helped to cement the place of the British Blockbuster in Hollywood. In this way, British cinema has been able to produce films with international mass appeal, and it is probably fair to say that there are more mainstream British films on at the cinema now than there were fifteen years ago.

However, it is important to consider that,although there has been an increase in the commercial success of British film,it is still arguably seen as a satellite of Hollywood. For instance, even successful British films are often labelled as art cinema. In an article on Shekhar Kapur’s Elizabeth, Julian Hill argues that,

Although it does offer entertainment through a fascinating narrative, the film as a whole is presented in a creative way, owing to the amateurish vision of Kapur. (Hill, 2000)

Indeed, its relationship to Hollywood is entirely coloured by its status as an art film, and by implication, its partly British origins. Bordwell and Thompson argue that any British film of this type would be viewed as art cinema in Hollywood, as art cinema is a term,

used by the US film industry to describe imported films of interest the upper-middle class, educated audiences. (Bordwell and Thompson, 1990)

In this respect, British film is still marginalized in relation to Hollywood. Commercial success has been forthcoming, but the very fact that a film is British in origin leads it to be viewed in different terms to those in which a Hollywood movie is viewed. Even the big blockbusters of the Four Weddings ilk are viewed at least partly as foreign curiosities, and crucially they often try to appeal directly to an American audience, for example, containing a token American character.

One area in which British cinema has perhaps demonstrated greater independence from Hollywood is in the field of so-called social realism films. There have been many movements over the different eras which fall into this category, from the New Wave cinema of the 1950s and ’60s, such as Room at the Top (1958), to the what have been called Brit Grit films, like Nil by Mouth (1997), and this recurring idea of kitchen sink realism forms an important part of the British cinema tradition. Indeed,it has been suggested that all of these movements are a tradition in themselves(Thorpe, 1999, cited in Lay, 2002) It is in this area that, for many critics,the real essence of British cinema is found. It has been argued that the aesthetics of British realism are defined in terms of opposition to Hollywood spectacle. Visual and acting styles were to be restrained, the emphasis was to be on ordinary people in ordinary settings. (Cook, 1996)

In this respect, British cinemais not always a mere satellite of Hollywood, as it also tries to be deliberately antagonistic towards Hollywood ideals. Unlike many of the Working Title films, with their quasi-American leanings and their use of a highly stylised Britishness, some social realism has sought to challenge this position. For example, in Trainspotting the audience is introduced to a much darker vision of Britain, and one less obviously palatable to Hollywood audiences, than that which is seen in Four Weddings and a Funeral. At first glance, one could argue that much British realism is so idiosyncratic as to be marginalized in the wider world, but films like Trainspotting and The Full Monty show that it is possible to make a film depicting ordinary British life that has mass appeal.

However, although this form of cinema apparently demonstrates an indifference to Hollywood conventions, as cook notes above, it is actually not indifference but a form of rebellion. In this sense, British social realism as a part of international cinema can be seen as still subservient to Hollywood, albeit in a more subtle way than some of the other blockbusters. In order for it to be deliberately antagonistic toward the ideals of Hollywood, it is necessary that those ideals must exist,and in that sense, social realist films are peripheral to Hollywood as they fulfil the role of a counter-movement.

Alongside realist fiction, a major area of British cinema is the documentary. Arguably Britain’s major contribution to world cinema, its heyday was in the 1930s. The documentary movement was headed by John Grierson, and funded by the film units of the Empire Marketing Board and the General Post Office. Through landmark productions such as Housing Problems (1935), the movement used its state backing, and freedom from commerce, to highlight many of the social problems of its day, and has been identified as the first movement to have a lasting influence on the art of film (Rotha, 1972). Like the fictional forms of social realism, it demonstrated a freedom from, and to some extent an aversion to, the ideals of Hollywood. However, unlike other forms of social realism, it is often criticized for its lack of aesthetics.

There was no consistent artistic theory underlying the movement; the film art was to be used as a means to apolitical end. (Guynn, 1975)

In this sense, then, not only is there the consideration of the documentary movement being antagonistic to Hollywood, but also the fact that it lacks artistic drive means that it can only form part of a balanced view of cinema. The art of film making is certainly able to deliver important views and to comment on the state of the world, but it is ultimately an art, and in this aspect the documentary movement, as we have seen, was lacking. Therefore, it must necessarily be peripheral since it does not engage the full potential of its genre, rather in the way that apolitical pamphlet usually shows less artistic development than a poem or a novel. In the light of this consideration, one could view the documentary movement and its legacy as a marginal aspect of cinema – an important marginal aspect, even a necessary one, but nevertheless something that exists as a useful sub-genre and therefore is secondary to Hollywood.

In conclusion, it does seem that British cinema is to some extent peripheral to Hollywood. Working Title films have in recent years brought British films into the Hollywood mainstream, but many of the films have contained an Americanised element, or have been seen as art cinema. In this way, even hugely popular British films are in a sense marginal. Social realism has provided an avenue in which British cinema has been able to shrug off Hollywood ideals in favour of showing ordinary people’s lives, and many films of this type have been successful overseas. However, in rebelling against Hollywood in this way, such films can be viewed as peripheral to it in an antagonistic sense. Similarly, the documentary movement rebelled against Hollywood to some extent, and the movement’s international importance is undoubted, being described as Britain’s major contribution to world cinema. However, its lack of an artistic aesthetic makes it necessarily marginal in the world of cinema. Film is, at bottom, an art form, and any movement that neglects the artistic element in favour of a political message can only ever be a marginal – if important – part of the whole.

British cinema then, when viewed in an international context, is always peripheral to Hollywood. It is doubtless an important part of world cinema, and has made invaluable contributions to both the art of film and to the tradition of reportage through film, but the dominance of Hollywood in the international scene means that any movement that is outside it is, as a matter of course, a comparatively minor player in world cinema.

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In 2004, the American film-maker Morgan Spurlock made a documentary film “Supersize Me”. Produced in response to the unsuccessful legal suits against McDonald’s fast food, the film brings to light Spurlock’s own experiment with eating fast food and, above all, addresses those Americans who are obsessed with unhealthy fast food. The film-maker conducted the experiment for a month, during which he ate food only from McDonald’s and observed the impact of fast food on his physical and emotional well-being. The more he ate in MacDonald’s, the more side-effects he experienced, including depression, fatigue, sexual problems, headache, and chest pain. The camera captures all emotional and physical changes which occur in Spurlock. The film-maker cooperates with three doctors (a gastroenterologist, a cardiologist, and a general practitioner) who indicate the changes in his physical and psychological state (Sheehan, 2005, p.69). However, the principal idea to which Spurlock constantly returns throughout his documentary is that McDonald’s fast food increases obesity in the United States (Sheehan, 2005, p.68). As is shown in the documentary, the weight of Spurlock before the experiment was 84 kg. In a period of one month, his weight increased up to 95 kg (Lusted, 2008, p.33). In addition to the weight increase, his cholesterol level changed from 168 to 230 (Sheehan, 2005, p.69). Observing such a damaging impact of fast food on patient’s health, the doctors recommended Spurlock to stop eating fast food in McDonald’s.

Although a low-budget documentary (with a budget only $65,000), “Supersize Me” has acquired great popularity among the national and international public due to its crucial social commentary on the issue of increasing obesity (Baym and Gottert, 2013, p.159). Spurlock’s film consists not only of his own reflections and investigations, but also of a series of interviews which he took in the process of experiment (Day, 2011, p.116). Through his interviews with nutritionists, gym teachers, doctors, lawyers, cooks, and other experts, the film-maker attempts to gather diverse views on fast food eating and the fast food culture of modern America. In addition to the interviews, Spurlock also spreads a survey among children and finds out that they know perfectly well who Ronald McDonald is and know nothing about Jesus or George Bush. As is shown by Spurlock, McDonald’s encourages children to eat fast food by organising birthdays and giving children free toys with its Happy Meals. To make his film more vivid, interactive, and factual, Spurlock uses cartoon animation (e.g. when showing how McNuggets are produced), statistics, and graphics (Day, 2011, p.116). Some statistical data are rather disturbing; for instance, the evidence gathered by the film-maker suggests that over 60 percent of Americans suffer from obesity and diabetes because of eating unhealthy fast food (Fazekas, 2005, p.144). Besides, 10,000 fast food advertisements are shown on television annually, attracting attention of not only adults, but also children (Fazekas, 2005, p.144).

Throughout the documentary, the film-maker employs the shock techniques to evoke powerful emotions and reactions in his viewers. For instance, he depicts liposuction surgery, his own vomiting during the second eating of McDonald’s meals, the numerous images of obese Americans, and school children’s addictive ingestion of harmful food. Spurlock also constantly returns to his own fast food addiction, demonstrating that he feels good only when he eats McDonald’s food. While at the beginning of his experiment Spurlock looks and feels healthy, his physical and emotional state becomes worse with the progression of the experiment. Spurlock’s girlfriend acknowledges that he smiles less than before, has sexual dysfunction, and depressive moods. Spurlock also demonstrates his own fears over the health problems which occur during the experiment. For instance, he depicts that one night he wakes up because of his inability to breathe. He is so afraid of this side-effect that he doubts whether to continue the experiment that threatens his life. However, Spurlock decides to finish the experiment even at the expense of his physical and emotional health. At the end of the film, Spurlock shocks his viewers by stating that he restored his physical and emotional health for about 14 months. He also shows a tombstone for the clown Ronald McDonald and asks his viewers: “Who do you want to see go first, you or them?”

In addition to the use of shock techniques, the film-maker also uses comparative techniques. For instance, he contrasts American schools with fast food meals and soda machines to a school for troubled teenagers in Wisconsin where fast food was substituted for natural food (Fazekas, 2005, p.145). As Spurlock demonstrates, this food change has positively influenced children’s emotional well-being and behaviour. The film-maker gathers people’s opinions and visits McDonald’s restaurants not only in Manhattan, but also in other American cities, such as Texas and California. By using both shock techniques and comparative techniques, Spurlock makes an attempt to engage the public into a dialogue on the issue of fast food eating. He also encourages parents to reconsider their children’s eating in McDonald’s and their own responsibility for children’s healthy development. As Spurlock clearly shows in his documentary, parents are responsible for developing healthy eating habits in their children; otherwise, the consequences of their neglect will be detrimental for their children.

In addition to parents’ irresponsibility, Spurlock also speaks against constantly increasing advertising of fast food. Although McDonald’s claims that the company does not bear responsibility for people’s decision to eat fast food, it spends billions of dollars on advertising its products (Fazekas, 2005, p.144). To make things worse, Spurlock compares the amount of money which fast food companies spend on advertisements to the amount of money which healthy food organisations spend on advertisements. The figures he brings to the fore clearly demonstrate that the budget of healthy food organisations is significantly lower than the budget of fast food companies. In addition to his appeals to parents, advertisers, and the general public, Spurlock also appeals to the American government which fully neglects the reasons for people’s visits of McDonald’s and consumption of unhealthy fast food. For instance, he shows the community which has no playground for children; hence, parents go to McDonald’s because it has a playground. In other scenes, the film-maker focuses on school meals, demonstrating that schools often purchase fast foods for children because it is cheaper to buy fast foods than to prepare fresh meals. In view of such limited choices, children have to consume fast food instead of consuming healthy food. All these examples mentioned in Spurlock’s documentary signify that both the government and educational establishments maintain the fast food culture to gain their own profits.

Spurlock’s documentary consists of several sections, each of which brings to light a new factor for his criticism of fast food eating. The film-maker often employs humour and satire in his discussion of a serious issue. On the one hand, this makes his documentary significantly entertaining. On the other hand, Spurlock succeeds in producing a black comedy which heavily relies on the elements of comedy to spread some crucial messages. This is especially evident in the scene when the American family tries to perform the Pledge of Allegiance near the White House, but forgets the words and starts singing McDonald’s song. Although such scenes evoke laugh, they also make people think. Spurlock intentionally introduces funny elements to destroy people’s barriers and encourage them to perceive crucial information. As “Supersize Me” has clearly shown, such a technique is really successful as people tend to create barriers to somebody else’s views and opinions; they tend to perceive these views with caution and distrust. However, when views and opinions are presented in a light, funny, and entertaining manner, people are more willing to accept them and, more importantly, believe the speaker. The film-maker also integrates music (e.g. Fat-Bottomed Girls by Queen) and new phrases (such as McStomach Ache or McTwitches) into his documentary to create appropriate mood and atmosphere. Besides, Spurlock pays great attention to details (e.g. a hair in his food), uses entertaining pictures when changing the scenes, and effectively combines video and graphics. The use of all these techniques signifies that Spurlock attempts to produce not only a reflexive film, but also a highly experimental and dynamic film. Due to a masterful juxtaposition of techniques, Spurlock gradually engages viewers into the discussion.

However, instead of providing a balanced standpoint, the film-maker expresses a significantly biased view on popularity of fast food eating in the United States. As such, the results of Spurlock’s non-scientific experiment can be exposed to some criticism. For instance, Guy Russo, the chief executive of Australian McDonald’s, opposed the view expressed by Spurlock by claiming that people do not eat fast food every day for three times (Gumbel, 2004, n.p.). Russo also criticised Spurlock’s decisions not to do physical exercises and double his usual food intake during the experiment. In his viewpoint, such irresponsible and extreme actions, but not fast food eating had detrimental effects on Spurlock’s physical and emotional well-being (Gumbel, 2004, n.p.). Klosterman (2006, p.65) points at the fact that Spurlock exaggerates the negative impact of fast food on his health because it is impossible to “sell a movie about eating fast food and feeling fine”. Klosterman (2006, p.65) also asserts that instead of putting the blame for eating fast food on an individual person, Spurlock puts the major blame on McDonald’s and the American government. However, in the viewpoint of Klosterman (2006, p.66), McDonald’s only gives “people the product they want”.

Despite the mentioned critical comments, Spurlock has succeeded in producing a very important documentary which questions increasing popularity of fast food eating and makes the public and the American government reflect on the issues of unhealthy food and obesity. The film-maker has taken active steps in recognising a serious problem and in stirring up people’s emotional responses to the problem of unhealthy fast food and obesity. Throughout the documentary, Spurlock tries to convince viewers that fast food is a really bad choice; by bringing to light his recollections of childhood eating habits (e.g. when his family gathered together and ate home-made food), the film-maker demonstrates that such eating habits are significantly healthier and benefit children more than visits to McDonald’s restaurants. As for Spurlock’s biased views on fast food eating, it is necessary to take into account that the film-maker attempts to produce a point of view documentary which draws on the subjective approach and “is strongly skewed toward a certain viewpoint” (Lees, 2010, p.99). According to this distinct viewpoint, it is not only unhealthy menus of McDonald’s and other fast food restaurants that pose a threat to the physical and mental well-being of children and adults, but the impact of fast food culture on people’s values and lifestyles. Spreading fast food culture throughout America, corporations serve their own interests, while fully neglecting the needs and interests of common people.

Although McDonald’s fast food is inexpensive and tasty, the excessive consumption of this food (as Spurlock has clearly shown in his documentary) may be poisonous to the body of an adult, let alone to the body of a growing child. Spurlock’s decision to focus on McDonald’s restaurants does not mean that the film-maker has a personal dislike for McDonald’s. His choice is explained by the fact that McDonald’s is the largest company in the American fast food industry. Hence, by attacking McDonald’s, Spurlock expresses his criticism of the whole fast food industry which manipulates people and makes them develop unhealthy eating habits. Although at times Spurlock turns to exaggerations, his documentary is perceived as a realistic account of the situation with American fast food eating. The film-maker intentionally exaggerates some facts to accentuate the seriousness of unhealthy eating and obesity. In response to Spurlock’s documentary, McDonald’s has diversified its menu with some healthy food and has taken away the supersizing option (Sood, 2004, n.p.; Lusted, 2008, p.34; Baym and Gottert, 2013, p.159). Moreover, McDonald’s has also started to provide information on fat content and calories so that McDonald’s visitors can decide for themselves what to eat. As such, Spurlock’s film has inspired slight changes in the American industry of fast food.

Bibliography

Baym, G. & Gottert, C. (2013). 30 days. Social engagement. In: E. Thompson & J. Mittell (Eds.), How to watch television (pp.159-167). New York: New York University Press.

Day, A. (2011). Satire and dissent: Interventions in contemporary political debate. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

Fazekas, I. (2005). The alkalizing diet: Your life is in the balance. Virginia Beach: A.R.E Press.

Gumbel, A. (2004). The man who ate McDonald’s. The Independent, 18 April. Available from: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/the-man-who-ate-mcdonalds–acirc-6167144.html [Accessed 17 April, 2015]

Klosterman, C. (2006). Chuck Klosterman IV: A decade of curious people and dangerous ideas. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Lees, N. (2010). Greenlit: Developing factual/reality TV ideas from concepts to pitch. London: A&C Black Publishers.

Lusted, M. (2008). Obesity and food policing. Edina: ABDO Publishing.

Sheehan, M. (2005). Supersize Me: A comparative analysis of responses to crisis by McDonald’s America and McDonald’s Australia. In: C. Galloway & K. Kwanash-Aidoo (Eds.), Public relations issues and crisis management (pp.67-80). Melbourne: Thomson Social Science Press.

Sood, S. (2004). Weighing the impact of Super Size Me. Alternet, 29 June. Available from: http://www.alternet.org/story/19059/weighing_the_impact_of_%26%238216%3Bsuper_size_me%26%238217%3B [Accessed 18 April, 2015]

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Changing image of Asian women – why these changes have occurred and investigate the effect Western fashion imagery has on Asian women.

A recent and rapidly-developing trend among an alarming number of Asian women has become a major focus of attention: the lengths to which they will go in pursuit of beauty or rather, the Western version of it. Growing numbers of Asian women are relying on artificial procedures to alter sometimes temporarily, sometimes permanently their appearances to fit an unrealistic Western ideal.

At one end of the spectrum are quick cosmetic applications which may or

may not have lasting side effects. At the other end are surgical procedures, ranging from minor to major, all of which pose varying degrees of risk. Whatever the procedure from applications of skin-lightening chemicals to permanent changes in tissue and bone structure, one message is very clear: white features continue to be the prevailing ideal, and for many Asian women, achieving this ideal is a goal to be attained at any cost.

All of these processes from the temporary, relatively benign ones to the riskier, sometimes life-threatening procedures are actively promoted by the fashion industry. Ubiquitous advertisements link professional and personal success to women with Western, or Caucasian, features, along with a not-so-subtle message that to succeed, one must follow this Western paradigm.

Furthermore, these procedures are tacitly condoned by a society which allows them to proliferate a society which allows its members to fall victim to these pressures to conform to an ideal of beauty that is unrealistic, unattainable, and of questionable worth.

In their attempts to achieve this goal, Asian women risk physical health, mental well-being, and financial security often to the detriment of the lives of the friends and family who surround them. This dangerous trend must be put to an end, and that will not happen while the fashion industry continues to promote the value of Caucasian features to non-Caucasian individuals, particularly women.

This paper will explore the factors that cause Asian women to feel pressured to conform to the Western ideal of beauty, as well as the cosmetic and surgical procedures they resort to in this pursuit. Finally, it will explore the complex issues raised by these societal pressures, and suggest that the key to change lies within the psyche of the Asian woman.

Body Modification: A Historical Perspective

Modification of the female body is nothing new; women have willed themselves to meet the prevailing modes to satisfy societal standards for years. Body modification has been practiced in a number of ways and for a variety of reasons since ancient times; it has existed on many levels for thousands of years. Historical evidence suggests that, as many as 20,000 years ago, red dye extracted from hematite was used to paint and decorate the body.

After that, archaeological evidence proves that as many as 10,000 years ago, parts of animal bones, animal teeth, and colourful stones were used as adornments. The first hair grooming objects appear to have been combs, the earliest of which date back to nearly 5,000 years ago. As for mirrors, ancient people observed their image as it was reflected in pools of water. This, however, changed when the first mirror is believed to have been invented, approximately 4,500 years ago (Yaghmaie, 49-52).

Society has progressed since those early days. One need only turn on the television or leaf through a magazine to be bombarded with all kinds of advertisements for body modification. Chemical treatments can straighten hair and change skin tone and texture. Surgical procedures can decrease or (more often) augment breast size. Unwanted fat can be removed in any number ways, ranging from dietary changes to liposuction. Some signs of ageing can be temporarily reversed with injections of Botox; others can be permanently altered, again through surgery.

Body Modification Across Cultures

Today in the Western world, body modification is widely practiced in all classes of society, often as a result of societal pressure to achieve perfection. However, this is not an issue unique to Western cultures: physical appearance matters across cultures, across ages, across genders. Hence, we see that Asian cultures are just as immune to societal pressures to conform.

Lisa Takeuchi Cullen points out that in the past, Asia had lagged behind the West in catching the plastic surgery wave, held back by cultural hang-ups, arrested medical skills and a poorer consumer base. However, it is now clear that cosmetic surgery is enjoying increasing popularity. According to Cullen:

In Taiwan, a million procedures were performed last year, double the number from five years ago. In Korea, surgeons estimate that at least one in10 adults have received some form of surgical upgrade and even tots have their eyelids done. The government of Thailand has taken to hawking plastic surgery tours. In Japan, non invasive procedures dubbed ‘petite surgery’ have set off such a rage that top clinics are raking in $100 million a year.

Thus, Asian women, including those living in their native countries as well as those in the Western world, have begun to respond in increasing numbers to the pressures of fashion. As a result, they may subject themselves to a range of procedures, pay exorbitant fees, and suffer both mental and physical pain. As Cullen points out, Asians have always suffered for beauty:

Consider the ancient practice of foot binding in China, or the stacked, brass coils used to distend the necks of Karen women. In fact, some of the earliest records of reconstructive plastic surgery come from sixth century India: the Hindu medical chronicle Susruta Samhita describes how noses were recreated after being chopped off as punishment for adultery.

Current practices embraced by Asian women indicate that pain continues to remain an inherent element in their quest for physical perfection. Phoebe Eng discusses this in Warrior Lessons: An Asian American Woman’s Journey Into Power, explaining that operations like eye-lifts have become as common as root canals: They are the most frequently occurring plastic surgery procedure among Asian women in America.

In fact, Eng notes, eye-lifts are so accepted among Asian women in cultural hubs like Los Angeles that it is not uncommon for women who have had them to let friends know proudly where they got theirs done, and for how much, and by whom (119). The second most common procedure is nose build ups, in which a section of ear cartilage, bone or plastic is surgically inserted to enlarge the nose (Eng,1999, 118-119).

One of the major body issues concerning Western women is weight but this is one issue that plays a subordinate role for Asian women. According to Eng, the more prevalent issues seem to involve the facial features that make us indelible and patently ‘Asian,’ and therefore different. Facial features, asserts Eng, are what most clearly and uncomfortably place Asian women outside the concept of an American ‘norm’ (121). Once outside this norm, the Asian woman is seen as foreign and exotic, and all that implies (Eng 121).

But what lies behind this fixation on physical attributes? Eng asserts that the definition of us as a group, whether we like it or not, bonds us more by our faces than by any particular shared set of perspectives.. She asserts that Asian women are defined, by themselves as well as by others, by a set of common physical features, and that they are define more by physical appearance than by any single set of historical experiences or political agendas (122).

Thus the very features that highlight Asian women, that make them stand out as separate and unique, ultimately end up being divisive and destructive. Instead of celebrating the shared features that draw them together, many Asian women opt to instead modify them. They do this in a number of ways, and with varying success, and often with less than satisfactory results but always start out with the same ultimate goal: to break free of the physical ties to their heritage, and in effect to other Asians, in order to become more acceptable in Western society.

Eng also points out that unlike other minorities such as blacks and Latinas, Asian American women do not have a strong sense of cultural identity that might give them a firmer inner sense of their own beauty and a self-respect that goes beyond appearances (122-123). Lacking this, they are more vulnerable to the over whelming outside pressures of society and of their own strong desires to succeed.

Our solution up till now has been to obliterate the differences either through attempts at assimilation or, more extremely, by cosmetic alteration, asserts Eng. In this way Asian women fail to develop a framework for appreciating physical differences, so that the onus of change is societal rather than individual (Eng122).

Cosmetic Alteration: Skin Tone

Eng followed a survey conducted by an Asian-based lingerie company and reported the results as follows:

Beijing women (already tall by Asian standards) want to be even taller.

Taipei women want to be curvier they seek the classic hourglass figure.

Hong Kong and Singaporean women lean towards breast augmentation.

Bangkok women want wider hips.

Despite these differences, Eng informs us, there was one consistent wish by all Asian sub-groups: everyone wants to be lighter (126).

According to Eng makeup companies in Asia capitalize on deep-seated Light Skin Worship, marketing skin-bleaching products like UV White and Neo white (126).Advertisements for these creams generally feature a Caucasian woman basking in a halo of light, looking upward, saintly and pure (Eng 126). UV White, available only in Asia, is a much sought-after product by Asian women not only those in Asia (where the product is widely available) but also in the U.S. (where it is not).

The desire for lighter skin is so deeply ingrained that it need not be advertised. The text below, from an advertisement for Neowhite, a Fairness Cream by Avon, does not sell the concept of lightening. Rather, it focuses on the advantages of this particular product, assuming the desire to lighten the skin is a given:

Neo white is formulated to whiten skin without the known harmful side effects of lesser brands. . . .There are two Neo white creams Fairness Protection Cream formulated with effective sunscreen (SPF 15) and moisturizers to keep skin fair and soft and Moisturizing Pearl Cream which his a combination of moisturizer and light tint that provides the skin with moisture and a natural, even skin tone. (125).

The language of this advertisement is clearly designed for the upwardly mobile, appealing to their desire to change their appearance while satisfying their concerns about possible harmful effects to the skin.

Despite the price, skin care products that boast whitening properties continue to sell, and advertisements for them are ubiquitous. Consumers will be willing to spend on premium products as long as these products are able to deliver the required results, and at greater convenience, notes Luann Theseira, adding that sales of super premium products remain largely unchanged despite their prohibitive costs.

Eng also points out that whiteness also comes at a price, reiterating the connection between privilege and complexion (127). However, it may be argued that the cost goes far beyond the monetary amount of the product or service purchased; it is impossible to place a price on the physical and psychological pain suffered.

Cosmetic Alteration: Focus on Eyes

Using makeup to enhance one’s eyes is hardly a novel concept. As noted earlier, this practice has been in effect since ancient times.

Skilful use of shading can disguise perceived flaws and accentuate strong points; it can create, or at least enhance, the appearance of desired illusions, even if the effects are fleeting. It is a well-established practice. However, items such as glue and tape are not normally found in the makeup bags of Western women at least not as eye treatments.

Makeup routines for Asian women who want to change the appearance of their eyes to mimic Western eyes will probably contain at least one of these items. Glue, or tape, are often used to hike up the eyelid….the skin stays folded for most of the day. Some Asian teens say they do this to make their eyes look bigger and prettier. Others would simply say it makes them look more Caucasian (Valhouli).

Cosmetic Alteration: Permanent

In Making the Body Beautiful: A Cultural History of Aesthetic

Surgery, Sander Gilman states that Asian-American women, whose ‘blank’ look is equated in American society with ‘dullness, passivity, and lack of emotion, ‘have ‘their eyelids restructured, their nose bridges heightened, and the tips of their noses altered’ (99).

In some Asian cultures, the acceptance of any surgical procedure at all is a relatively recent development. The traditional Chinese prohibition against opening the body limited all forms of surgical intervention until fairly recently (Gilman 99).Modern medicine in China is in many ways Western medicine combined with traditional methods.

In Japan, plastic surgery was not even recognized until 1975, and then only for reconstructive purposes. It was not until 1978 that aesthetic surgery elective plastic surgery was sanctioned as an acceptable subspecialty (Gilman 100). However, procedures to correct the shape of the eye had been performed on a frequent and regular basis since the end of the nineteenth century. These procedures were considered, significantly, to be within the bounds of official medical practice.

In the 1930s,Gilman explains, American surgeon Henry Junius Schireson claimed that the shape of the Japanese eyelid actually impaired proper vision a claim that was totally false. However, it is significant in that it reflects again the view of Asian features as somehow inferior and in need of correction. The claim that the eyelid form has a negative impact on sight is nonsense, asserts Gilman, but he concludes that it was clearly evident that the focus of the surgery was to create beautiful women beautiful according to Western standards (102).

After World War II, with the American occupation of Japan, there was a renewed interest in surgical procedures which would transform Japanese eyes into Western eyes. It was just a matter of time before the number and range of surgical procedures increased throughout Asia to include other types of physical enhancements, particularly breast augmentation. Again, here, as Gilman notes, this responded to the introduction of the Western notion of the larger breast as a sign of the erotic (103).

Dr. Ichiro Kamoshita, director of Japan’s Hibiya Kokusai Clinic, believes that the prevalence of this type of elective surgery is a direct result of the massive advertising efforts of aesthetic salons. The advertising encourages inferiority complexes in Japanese women of all ages in fact, surgical procedures in adolescents are rising in number. There is now a pattern of presenting procedures as gifts from patents to children, especially those seen to be ‘hindered by small eyes, a flat nose or a big face’ (Gilman 104). Use of the word hinder is quite telling here; the notion that Japanese features will impede an individual’s future accomplishments is practically a given.

Cullen notes that in Asia, surgically enhanced beauty is both a way to display wealth and a tool with which to attain it. However, advertisers continue to lure those who are less wealthy. Individuals who have strong aspirations to get ahead often succumb to the promise of upward mobility that is not-so-subtly implied in these advertisements. It is not uncommon for individuals to take out loans or empty savings accounts in order to finance these procedures. The rationale for paying such exorbitant fees is based on their belief that this will help them get ahead. Often they believe this is the only way they will get ahead.

Sexual allure is also part of the advertising package: just as Asian faces require unique procedures, their bodies demand innovative operations to achieve the leggy, skinny, busty Western ideal that has become increasingly universal (Cullen). A surgeon in Seoul, Dr. Suh In Seock, has struggled to find the best way to fix an affliction the Koreans call muu-dari and the Japanese call daikon-ashi: radish-shaped calves.

Liposuction has proven to be ineffective in changing the appearance of the calves of Asian women the way it does for Western women, since the tissue to be removed is mostly muscle, not fat.

Rather than accept thick calves, some Asian women will resort to the type of surgery Suh now performs exclusively. The procedure involves severing a nerve behind the knee; this, explains Suh, will eventually cause the muscle to atrophy, “there by reducing its size up to 40% (Cullen).

The most drastic form of surgery, it may be argued, is a surgical procedure that actually increases the patient’s height. In a Time Magazine feature, it was explained that this procedure originally developed in Russia to help patients with legs disfigured by accidents or birth defects, such as dwarfism (Beech, 2001). Though in Western hospitals the practice is limited to cases in which it is explicitly for medical conditions, in Asian countries it has become a popular and profitable procedure.

Despite the exorbitant fees, the considerable risk, the lengthy recovery time, hospitals and clinics that provide this procedure often have waiting lists of a year or more. The procedure is particularly popular with individuals who aspire to professions for which they do not meet the height requirements. In addition, it is clear that increased height is sought by those with strong drives to get ahead, particularly in Western societies. Yet this may be seen as yet another way and a drastic one at that in which Asians respond to the pressure to appear more Western.

Some who have studied overseas felt inferior because of their lack of stature the article points out. A surgeon at a Beijing hospital explains that for individuals who feel disadvantaged because of their height, “for them, the main purpose of the operation is not to improve their physical health…it is to help their psychological growth [Beech].

However, the value of such drastic surgery as an antidote to feelings of inferiority is fraught with ethical issues. The fact that many will resort to such drastic measures to have an equal footing in society speaks volumes about the tremendous pressure placed on women to meet unrealistic ideals. It is also a telling statement about the power of advertising in not only shaping but reinforcing these beliefs. In the larger framework of society, this has ominous implications for the future.

Social, Legal and Moral Issues of Cosmetic Alteration

Doctors Bennett Johnson and Ronald Moy explain that cultural traditions and resistance often have a profound psychological influence on the non white person who is contemplating cosmetic surgery, and these changes can be far-reaching. Changing ethnic appearance (e.g., ‘Westernization’ of the Asian eye lid or reduction cheiloplasty in blacks) can cause feelings of guilt (Johnson & Moy, 245).

The decision to choose surgical body modification may in fact affect the entire family, particularly older family members who are less willing to understand or accept the need to conform to Western ideals: because elders play a dominant role in many non white societies, their acceptance or rejection of cosmetic procedures has a psychological influence on the ethnic patient (Johnson & Moy 245).

The fact that so many women continue to opt for elective surgery is especially frightening when considering the possible complications. As Johnson and Moy assert:

Complications are not uncommon with blepharoplasty in Asians; up to 10% will require revision procedures. Complications that are of special concern with blepharoplasty in Asians include eyelid asymmetry, loss of the palpebral fold, laxity of pretarsal skin, retraction of the upper eyelid, hypertrophicscars, and excessive fat removal (257).

Eng, too, writes of the side effects, which can sometimes be quite drastic, that can result from botched surgeries or infections. The procedures are more risky and complicated than beauty magazines and friends’ accounts let on, asserts Eng, citing post-surgical infections and permanent scars as the most common. In some cases, operations to re-contour the jaw line can cause the jaw to weaken to the point that it becomes difficult to even chew.

And like any invasive surgery, the months that follow can be uncomfortable and chock-full of antibiotics, as the body attempts to heal (Eng119).

The legal complications that result from surgeries which fail to produce the desired results are incredibly complex. The complexity is further deepened by the murky psychological and social issues involved in both making the decision and following through on it.

Surgeries which not only fail to fulfil expectations, but also result in additional pain and suffering, are even more complicated, as well as emotionally-charged. The financial losses individuals, and sometimes their families and friends, are burdened within the wake of these procedures, are rarely compensated. Part of the problem, notes Cullen, is that, unlike the medical malpractice suits in the West, legal recourse in Asia is much more difficult to obtain. Most Asian lawyers avoid malpractice cases, writes Cullen, since so few result in victory and financial payoff.

Cullen asserts that it is the bargain-hunting instinct that leads patients astray, tempting them to use unqualified cosmetic practitioners. However, bargain rates are still exorbitant sums to individuals who pour their life savings into something they view as an investment in their future, and the future of their children. People who pay high prices in the attempt however misguided to further their success, often disregard the risks that accompany the procedures. Driven to succeed, they are compelled to move on, fully cognizant of and choosing to ignore the risks.

According to Cullen, elsewhere in Asia, this explosion of personal re-engineering is harder to document, because for every skilled and legitimate surgeon there seethes as warm of shady pretenders. As an example, she cites Indonesia, which has a mere 43 licensed plastic surgeons registered yet which somehow manages to perform 400 illicit procedures each week in the capital city.

Another example Is Shenzhen, China, which Cullen describes as a boomtown housing thousands of unlicensed “beauty-science centers.”

These centers cunningly target the upwardly mobile and openly vulnerable to market a new pair of eyes or anew nose as the perfect accessory to their new cars and new clothes. The ease and immediacy of access increase the probability that women will succumb to the pressure to undergo risky procedures in questionably safe environments, and there is little recourse available to them if the procedures fail, or worse, cause additional harm.

Conclusion

These murky legal issues will demand to be addressed eventually. Many believe that strict government regulations, faithfully and consistently enforced, will be the only controls on this highly-profitable industry. However, considering the fact that this industry is so profitable, government regulation will probably be along way off. In the meantime, the government’s inaction suggests a tacit approval. This approval only serves to help the proliferation of unethical, unsafe surgery centers, and it further reinforces the negative messages that women are already bombarded with through advertisements.

Indeed, these issues are far-reaching; steeped in cultural taboos and mired in medical complications, the root of the problem is often obscured. The plain and glaring truth, however, is that risky procedures are continually undertaken by Asian women, often with tragic and irreversible consequences, physical and psychic damage, and considerable financial loss.

Benignly disguised in the language of self-improvement, the fashion industry continually bombards them with the message that this is what they must do to fit in. Essentially, the message that is so powerfully reinforced is that in order to get ahead, they must change who they are…if you are an Asian woman who wants to succeed: this is your last resort.

Large numbers of Asian women continue to cling to this belief that assimilation of Western features will facilitate their advancement in the world; that it will make them sexier, more successful, and of course more content. The lengths to which some of them will go to achieve this are frightening on a number of levels, as demonstrated here. It has also been made clear that selling the concept of Westernization is a profitable business: industries promoting it are largely unregulated by government, resulting in gross abuses and often tragic results.

The key to change, then, lies within the psyche of the Asian woman. More and more Asian women are becoming aware of the manipulative methods and subliminal messages that they are bombarded with on a daily basis. This awareness is what will give them the power to decide not to buy into an unrealistic and unattainable ideal, and to take charge of their bodies and their futures.

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Introduction / Background

Can we imagine life without water? Water is a very precious and limited vital natural resource. The demand of water for development of agricultural, industrial, urban use and power generation is increasing at very fast rate. Wise use of these resources should really be the concern of all people, whether they are involved in agricultural production activities or not. By accepting it, we can manage to conserve soil and water effectively, then there will be measurable effect on the development of country.

Watershed resources play a significant role in the development of a country depending on the location of a watershed; we can get water for domestic, agriculture and industrial uses. It is for this purpose, proper evolution and management of water resources acquires significant importance. Detailed survey work is carried out to find points of equal elevation, ridges and valleys. The reduced levels obtained from this survey were plotted to obtain contour plan. Three main valleys, which yield the water, were obtained from contour map.

The water from these valleys in rainy season is not conserved and gets wasted, and adverse effects are seen such as soil erosion and gully formation. Conversely, if we save and utilize this water there will be proper soil conservation and recharging ground water table will be possible. According to the slopes found on contour plan, various soil and water are constructed in our watershed area. Due to several conservations schemes the water, which have been wanted will get conserved and will give benefit to residents of the area.

Water is a limited natural vital resource, which is indispensable for the existence of all-living matter, plant, animal and man. Potable water, which was once thought to be an infinite natural resource, it would not last longer and become as dearer as are fossil fuels today. Today water covers 7/10th part of the globe surface, fills its atmosphere and lies unfathomed, beneath the crust of the world. Only less than 1% of it is fit and available for use and consumption by mankind. There are serious apprehensions that greater part of earth may go without water in the coming decades. Water tables in several Asian countries like India, Pakistan and Bangladesh have already gone significantly low.

The further projections are that by 2025 grater part of India may go without water unless suitable new resources are tapped and available water is conserved. Total water in the world estimated to be 1.5 billion cu.Km. about 95% of this is in the salty seas, of the remaining 5% fresh water, 60M.cu.Km are immobilized as continuously frozen polar ice and snow, leaving only 1.5M.cu.Km.

As fresh liquid water for plants, animals and man. of the 15 M.cu.Km.of fresh water, of which about 1% is surface water and 99% is stored at varying depths. About half of the ground water is stored at depths greater than 1000m. Therefore for all practical purposes 7M.cu.Km.of fresh water is at reasonable depths plus the 150000cu.Km.of surfaces water is the worlds, usable water where, at any, only 15000 cu.Km.of fresh liquid water exists in lakes and streams of the world. Each year 380000 cu.Km. Of fresh water falls on land oceans, and the same amount is evaporated from the oceans and lands.

On an average country like India receives about 120cm of precipitation per year, mostly as rainfall. On the volume basis is 400 M.Ha.m. The fate of precipitation is estimated as, evaporation 18%; surface runoff 29% and soil infiltration 53%. Nothing can be done to reduce this 18% loss by evaporation. However, wise management can reduce 29% of surface runoff. This can be various water conservation techniques. The wisest management of water is to encourage every drop of rainfall to move into the soil at the point where it strikes the earth.

When this happens, evaporation will be at a minimum, there will no erosion and crop production will be at a maximum. Watershed management or protection implies the proper use of all land water resources of a watershed for optimum production with minimum hazard to natural resources. Proper planning is therefore absolutely so as to obtain as many benefits as possible with minimum expenditure. Planning for water resources development in its wider sense may broadly be defined as through study of pros and cons of various possible ways of harnessing this wonderful natural resource and finally bring down the means and ways of achieving the best and optimum benefits.

The concept of watershed is basic to all hydrologic designs. Since big watersheds are made of many smaller watersheds, it is necessary to define the watershed in terms of a point. This point is usually the location at which the design is being made and is referred to as the watershed outlet. With respect to the outlet, the watershed consists of all land area that sheds water to the outlet during a rainfall. Using the concept that water runs downhill watershed is defined by all points enclosed within an area from which rain falling at these points will contribute water to the outlet.

Watershed development has been proved as an attractive approach to rural development over recent decades. All the Projects and programmes have been put into practice across America, Africa and South Asia, but it is perhaps in India where the approach has been most popular and permanent. Here, central government investment has been running at over US$ 500 million a year. This paper considers watershed development in rural areas where water supplies for domestic use. Several new studies and papers have mentioned the current use of watershed development efforts.

When we see some country like India, which are implemented by government, have been widely criticised for a lack of impact. (Rhoades, 1998; Malla Reddy, 2000). Weaknesses in participation, and inflexibility in choice of technology have been blamed in many cases and guidelines for watershed development have been improved. Where watershed development projects have achieved significant impacts, it is often the landed (and not the poor) who have benefited. Positive impacts of projects in dry land India include improved agricultural production, and development of local-level institutions (Batchelor et al. 2000).

In India large irrigation canals are were built in the nineteenth as well as twentieth centuries and large number of multipurpose water resources projects were built in the last century. These projects were either entirely funded or heavily subsidized by national government in recognition of the crucial role of that water plays in national development. Approximately 170 million hectares in India are classified as degraded land, the majority falling in undulating semiarid Areas where rain fed framings is practised (Farrington and Lobo, 1997).

These areas are characterised by deforestation, loss of biomass, high rates of erosion and lack of fertile soils which results in low productivity of land and poverty. Seasonal or permanent migration tends to be high in these areas. Migration increases the seriousness of problems related to urbanisation, such as unemployment, poor health and housing problems.

Therefore, arresting environmental degradation and increases in land productivity are both necessary aims of rural development programmes in south Asia. The Government of India is giving particular attention to environmental regeneration of catchment areas. Approximately US$ 300 million per year are disbursed by the Government of India on interventions that are aimed at improving all categories of land in watersheds (Farrington and Lobo, 1997).

Apart from the Government of India, various state governments, national and international organisations are funding watershed development projects. World population has increased nearly threefold in the last 50 years. The standard of living has gone up. In India nearly 70% of the population still depends up on the agriculture which is the biggest user of water. There is considerable uncertainty as to the climate change and its manifestation.

In developing countries both non-government organisations and government development agencies have implemented watershed management projects for last 25 years with the aim of increasing agricultural productivity and reducing poverty on hillsides in rural areas. Many of the watershed management projects throughout the world have not taken into account land use capacity and its restoration and prevention potential. They have centred on activities that although important at the plot level do not add up to transformations at the landscape level.

A major question is, therefore, how to select watershed management sites and activities in such a way that organisations can simultaneously address the social and economic goals for local inhabitants as well as the aims of watershed conservation and restoration. This paper summarises observations derived from earlier assessments of watershed management projects, including short-term reviews of watershed management projects in Bangladesh, Bolivia, Thailand and Uganda carried out by Perez between 1989 and 1999. In all these case, they visited field sites, interviewed project personnel and participant farmers and reviewed project documents and other technical literature. They have also taken into account evidence from the international literature on watershed management.

Aim

The main aim of this research study is:

To investigate the demand of water for development of domestic use and agriculture use and

To examine how to manage existing water resources.

Objectives

The objectives of this study are:

To control damaging excess.

To manage and utilize excess for useful purposes.

To control erosion and effect reduction in the sediment production.

To have moderate floods in the downstream areas.

To enhance ground water storage.

Appropriate use of the land resources on the watershed and thus developing Forest and Food

Resources

The research will look at the current development of various natural resources, particularly land and water, the watersheds or hydraulics units are considered more efficient for carrying out necessary surveys and investigations for assessment of these resources as well as for subsequent planning and implementation of development programs. The watershed approach is more rational because the inherent potential of soil and water resources in a particular area is governed by various factors, most important of which are physiographic, geological base, soil characteristic’s, climate, present land use, socio economical and legal aspects and other relevant factors.

It has been observed that there is optimum interaction between the natural factors of physiographic, soil and climate on watershed bases for their optimum utilization and output. The watershed approach is, therefore, increasingly being employed in various development programmes like soil conservation, command area development, deficiency level area programmes, shifting cultivation, recovery or very hungry areas, erosion control in catchments of river valley projects etc. the watershed also important with respect to the development of water resources in the shape of major, medium and minor irrigation projects.

The programmes for water harvesting on form level have been developed on watershed bases. After all the feasible sites for exploitation of the surface water are explored, the only alternative left to cope with the droughts is to make the use of ground water resources. As ground water also depends on the rainfall received, there is need to harvest and use this resources sufficiently with the help of watershed management.

For planning a particular watershed, the planner must have a basic objective or multiple objectives and keeping this in mind should then proceed with the formulation and evolution of the various alternatives. The objectives of watershed management programme are to control damaging runoff, to manage and utilize runoff for useful purposes, to control erosion and effect reduction in the sediment production, to have moderate floods in the downstream areas, to enhance ground water storage. Appropriate use of the land resources on the watershed and thus developing forest and fodder resources.

These objectives can be achieved by bringing about improvement in physical condition of soil through proper managing and cropping with a view to increase water infiltration and holding capacity. Ensuring good crop growth by adopting the recommended agronomic practices for each crop.

Practicing other conservation measures like contour Bunding, terracing, contour trenching, contour cultivation, strip cropping, mulching, reclamation of gullies etc. adoption of conservation farming practices to improve agriculture, controlled grazing to keep the pastures productive , water management for irrigation and drainage and all other types of erosion control measures could be considered as the parts of watershed management.

Methodology

A wide variety of methods were used for data collection. These include Best Interviews, Participant observation, Semi-structured focus group interviews, Questionnaire and Case study method. A flexible approach was used for deciding methodologies. In the initial stages of data collection best interviews and group interviews were conducted with experienced watershed committee members, farmers, government officers and non-government organisation representatives.

It takes considerable courage to openly accept and discuss the argument one is facing. Therefore in focus groups and best interviews importance was given to active listening, creating a comfortable and friendly atmosphere, building trust and acknowledging the experiences of the narrator without criticism or judgement.

To make it easier for participants to discuss their argument and to build relationship, previous argument and their management were discussed to help feel safe through the distance that time gives. After understanding was built people felt more comfortable discussing their present arguments. The other technique of creating distance was through asking similar questions in the context of other watersheds. For this reason, the author of this report explains what a research study is and how it is carried out in this chapter.

Definition of research

The word research has been defined and explained in so many different ways, but more importantly; all the various definitions seek to point out in one particular direction. The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary defines Research as A search or investigation undertaken to discover facts and reach new conclusions by the critical study of a subject or by a course of scientific enquiry.

Research was defined by Hitchock and Hughes (1993), as the systematic enquiry that is characterized by a certain amount of rigor and governed by set principles and guidelines for procedures. For instance, social research, therefore, refers to both the collection and analysis of information on the social world in order thereby to understand and explain it better.

According to Naoum (1998), there are two types of research strategies, namely ‘Quantitative research’ and ‘Qualitative research’. The choice of the type to use depends on the purpose of the study and the type and availability of the information which is required.

Qualitative Research

This type of research emphasizes meanings, experiences, description and so on. The information obtained after carrying out a qualitative research can be categorized into two classes of research. These classes are ‘exploratory’ and ‘attitudinal’.

Quantitative Research

It is defined as an enquiry into a social or human problem, based on testing a hypothesis or a theory composed of variables, measured with numbers, and analyzed with statistical procedures, in order to determine whether the hypothesis or the theory hold true. Quantitative data is, therefore, not abstract, they are hard and reliable; they are measured of tangible, countable sensate features of the world. Quantitative research, therefore, is said to be ‘objective’ in nature.

Exploratory research

This type of research is used when there is limited amount of knowledge about the topic under consideration. The purpose of exploratory research is intertwined with the need for a clear and precise statement of the recognised problem. The raw data provided in exploratory research will be exactly what people have said (in interview or recorded conversation) or a description of what has been observed.

Attitudinal research

This type of Qualitative research is used to ‘subjectively’ evaluate the ‘opinion’, ‘view’ or ‘perception’ of a person, towards a particular object. Qualitative research, therefore, is said to be ‘subjective’ in nature.

Postal Questionnaire

This technique of data collection is maybe the most commonly used. It is very suitable for surveys with clearly defined objectives and normally asks questions that need specific response, like ‘write’ or ‘wrong’. The main advantages of postal questionnaires are Economy, Speed and Consultation.

Personal interview

This is yet another technique of collecting data or information from respondents by a face-to-face interactions. With this technique, answers to questions are received instantly.

For the purpose of this work, the author in a bid to collect data for the research analyses, the personal interview technique will be adopted. Personal interviews will be conducted and with a number of selected watershed companies. The feedback received from respondents of the companies selected will then be analysed and conclusions drawn from them. From the conclusion drawn, suitable recommendations will then be made.

This research method will be used due to the fact that unlike the research questionnaire, the respondent is known and there is a close interaction between interviewer and respondent. Even though it takes a longer time to go through the interview and the cost is high, the sample size is smaller and the quality of information received is deep and detailed.

This is because the interviewer has the chance to probe and the flexibility to reword question and clarify terms that are not clear. Moreover, with this technique, answers to questions are received instantly, they are more accurate, the rate of response is relatively high and it is easy to analyse why the particular answers are given to the questions. The data received from the interview will be represented and analysed by using graphs and charts.

For the purpose of this research, both published and unpublished literature available in the subject area as well as similar areas will be reviewed critically and in details in order to establish facts about the topic and draw conclusions. Also journals, such as magazines and watershed journals will be reviewed since they tend to discuss very current issues in the industry. Other literature to be reviewed will include other research reports as well as reports from seminars.

Watershed management websites will be reviewed and information will be gathered from them. Due to the method selected to be used to collect data, which is the personal interview technique, equipment such as voice recorders and hand held PDAs will be used in order to enhance the data collection process and facilitate easy analysis afterwards. During the data collection process, the writer imagine a lot of travelling hence various transportation means available, such as trains, public buses, taxis and private means, will be used.

After the collection of data, computer software such as SPSS will be used to present and analyse the data. Other computer programmes, like Microsoft Office Project and Microsoft Office Excel among other software will be used in order to enhance the final presentation, analysis and conclusion of all the data collected.

This proposed research program, even though will yield very physical and useful results, will involve a lot of financial investment due to the resources needed to carry it out successfully. Hence it will cost the researcher a lot of money to be able to achieve good and useful results.

Another major control picture will be the willingness and availability of respondents to the survey. It will be very difficult to get respondents who are willing to spare some time to give an interview and even if they do, they might not be sincere in giving accurate responses especially if the questions are a bit searching into their company’s activities or personal opinions.

Research Beneficiaries / Dissemination

This proposed research, when completed successfully, will be a useful report which will go a long way to blow on the watershed industry because it will bring out and highlight some, of the points, of the existing water management in the country and continue to improve the general performance of the watershed industry in the world.

Even though quite a lot of research has been carried out in this area and a lot of reports written, most of them are focused on Watershed management and more especially relating it mainly to water resources issues, which is what makes this research a bit different and unique for that matter.

This report will be forwarded for publication in different print magazines in the industry and also posted on the internet so that anybody can have access to it. It will not only benefit the watershed industry but other industries can also access it and apply the theories propounded as well.

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Introduction

If one considers the most profound changes in the social and physical conditions attached to human existence, one would have to suggest that the land use dimensions, including the shift to sedentary agriculture, the Industrial Revolution and large-scale urbanisation, are the most significant. However, it is important to understand that land is more than a mere material base. Indeed, Gladwin et al (1995) described land as a diverse, contradictory property with both social and cultural meanings that are mixed with human labour, the biotic community and a land ethic. From this it is easy to understand why land use has been the subject of persistent political struggle over the years and why it is challenging in both theory and practice to ensure sustainable development, whilst also taking into account the needs of a growing population. The eco-modernist interpretation of sustainable development encourages the use eco-efficient building materials and heat and power sources, and encourages doing more with less (Banerjee, 2003). Whilst this has shown that there is a theoretical possibility that energy and material intensity can be reduced, therefore reducing the environmental impact of population and industrial growth, this somewhat simplified approach does not take into consideration the relationships between land, the environment and economic activity (Baker, 2007).

The focus on pollution and resource consumption by many ecological modernist theorists has failed to address the intrinsic qualities of the non-human world that are generally the cause of many conflicts over the use of greenbelt land (Hajer and Versteeg, 2005). Part of the problem lies in the way in which the development of land and environmental change causes uncertain effects. These effects are generally caused through the multiplicity of direct, indirect and cumulative processes that are difficult to predict (Hudson, 2005). These processes operate within economic, political and legal dimensions, with many crossing over between a number of jurisdictions. Whilst interactions between proximal land uses have historically concentrated on the effects of pollution, odour and noise on the human population, it is only recently that consideration has been taken over the effects of these environmental problems on the local flora and fauna and the wider scale sustainability of vulnerable species (Scully-Russ, 2012). From this it can be seen that land use and sustainability go hand in hand. As such, it is deemed necessary to focus attention on the planning processes and regulations currently utilised within the UK. The remainder of this essay will consider the way in which UK planning processes have been designed to protect the environment before critically discussing the reasons that they fail.

Sustainable development: the need for planning

The concept of sustainable development emerged in the late 1980s with Brundtland et al (1987), followed closely by the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), forming the view that it is necessary to consider planning applications as interrelated processes that need to take into account the needs of both human and nonhuman residents (Barkemeyer et al, 2014). This encouraged the development of national sustainability plans, whilst Agenda 21 of the UNCED encouraged the environmentally sound physical planning of sustainable development within urban areas (Jabareen, 2006). These planning and sustainability ideas were rapidly incorporated into local government policy. In the UK, these ideas encouraged a new environmental movement that saw local councils considering the environmental impact on both urban and rural developments (Jabareen, 2006). Indeed, by the start of the 1990s, nearly 75% of all councils within the UK had developed a green charter that recognised the need for environmental planning to mitigate against issues such as global warming, the destruction of the rainforest and depletion of the ozone layer as well as considering the impacts such a development would have on the local environment (Barkemeyer et al, 2014).

The emerging concepts of sustainability and the connections with the planning process were often outside of the statutory domain; however, incentives from central government, which supported sustainable development and controlled land use planning often encouraged the development of local policies (Cowell and Lennon, 2014). These local policies, along with international commitments, were rapidly incorporated into legislation, with the UK’s first official sustainable development White Paper urging planning authorities to consider the environmental effects of all planning policies (Cowell and Lennon, 2014). In the same year, the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 ensured that all planning applications considered the conservation, natural beauty and amenity of the land. This act also encouraged improved traffic management and changes to the physical environment within both urbanised and rural areas in order to deliver sustainable land use change.

Despite the UK Government generally falling short of making sustainable development a legal requirement of all planning laws, they have developed a number of Acts that can be called upon in certain situations. These include the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, Natural Heritage (Scotland) Act 1991, the Sustainable Communities Act 2007 and the Government of Wales Act 1998 (Wilkinson et al, 2013). Section 121(1) of this latter act places responsibility on the National Assembly for Wales to set out proposals for the promotion of sustainable development within the Welsh region. However, more recently there has been an international emergence of the ecosystem assessment approach to land planning. This approach is promoted to ensure that the true value of the environment is taken into account during all decision-making processes (Adelle et al, 2012). The key concept of the ecosystem assessment approach is that natural ecosystems provide significant benefit, in both health and economy, to human society. Numerous proponents of the ecosystem services approach describe how the method would benefit the spatial planning of habitats to help deliver ecosystem services (Medcalf et al, 2012), in environmental assessment (Wilkinson et al, 2013) and in order to plan for a more environmentally friendly urban development (Baker et al, 2013). The following section of this paper will consider the problems encountered by UK planners in balancing the needs of an expanding population and the potential impacts on the environment.

Planning Difficulties

In order to highlight the issues associated with planning and environmental protection, it is deemed necessary to utilise a number of case studies in which planning departments have clashed with developers. The first of these cases occurred in the early 1990s in the county of Berkshire and was described by Cowell and Owens (1998). Berkshire County Council received a planning application to expand the capacity of a construction minerals extraction quarry to 2.5 million tonnes per year. The application was supported by central government, who at that time had apportioned a share of projected national demand for construction aggregate to each county. However, Berkshire County Council was concerned about the environmental consequences of this increased carrying capacity and decided that to meet the share of aggregate demand would be unsustainable for their region as it would breach the county’s environmental capacity. In order to reach this decision, the county planning department used a methodology that involved an assessment of environmental suitability at the quarry. This methodology included a traditional sieve analysis, a process of strategic choice and public engagement. In their report, Berkshire Planning Authority stated that the protection of environmental features within the county was vital and the conservation value of the broader environment outweighed the economic benefits of such a development. The planning authorities stated that the environmental capacity of the area would be breached and that this environment capacity was based on the county council’s judgements about the compensatable and critical environmental capital within the county. As such they framed sustainable development by identifying the environmental limits of the area. Indeed, Berkshire Planning Authority asserted that the level of aggregate supply should fall by 3% per year from 1996 to 2011.

As was expected, the quarry company appealed the decision and the planning enquiry inspector sided with industry. The appeal report criticised Berkshire Planning Authority for ignoring the economic, local and national need for aggregates. The enquiry inspector did find the planning authority’s explanation of environmental capacity and the need for sustainable development persuasive; however, the report suggests that there is lack of demonstration on why the county could not maintain production of construction aggregates at 2.5 million tonnes per year. As such, the enquiry inspector agreed with the objections made by the quarry company that the concept of critical environmental capital and environmental capacity carried no weight within current realms of planning policy. The planning decision was therefore overturned.

The second case study also occurred in Berkshire where a major international company applied for planning permission to build its new headquarters in a green field location (Parker and Street, 2015). The plans immediately raised objections from local residents and environmental pressure groups who claimed that congestion and pollution would increase if the company’s headquarters was located in this area as well as damaging sensitive wildlife habitats. These opponents claimed that the government planning guidelines, which sought to reduce dependency on cars, would be flouted if the planning application was granted. However, the Planning Authority was significantly influenced by the company’s ‘green transport’ plan and the potential employment and economic benefits that such a development would bring. Therefore, following acrimonious debate, planning permission was granted without any formal environmental assessment being carried out in the area.

In the Cairngorms, a planning application to develop a tourist funicular railway, to carry passengers to the peak of the mountains, was met with much resistance (Warren, 2002). Initially, the Planning Authority sought to reject the application, claiming that such a development would encourage more visitors to the remote area and damage an ecologically vulnerable area. However, pressure from other council departments, who saw opportunity for economic growth, additional employment and future potential development, forced the Planning Authority to grant permission, regardless of the extensive Environmental Impact Assessment that had been carried out by the Planning Authority proving that the development would cause considerable harm to the sensitive habitats of this area.

Despite these case studies showing significant failures in the UK’s planning regulations, there is one instance where the environmental value of a particular area was successfully defended. This final case study occurred within the cathedral city of Salisbury (Parker and Street, 2015). The Planning Authority received an application from the Highways Agency to construct a bypass that would reduce congestion within the city centre. This was in line with the County Council’s green plans to reduce pollution within the area. However, the route of the proposed bypass would bisect the environmentally important water meadows surrounding the city. These water meadows provided the habitat for a large number of migratory wading birds and were considered environmentally important areas. However, the subsequent public enquiry supported the application, claiming significant benefits for the city if the bypass was built. As such, a number of government advisory bodies on nature conservation and landscape protection were consulted in order to find ways in which to mitigate the impacts of the bypass on the wetland areas. These advisory bodies found that there were no measures that could be adopted that would effectively protect the sensitive habitats and mitigation, for the damage could not be advised. This led the Planning Authority to refuse the application and forced the Highways Agency to consider alternative routes.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it can be seen that, despite sustainable development being at the forefront of the planning regulations, pressure from industry and the need for economic growth has a tendency to sway Planning Authority decisions. Despite all local and county councils now having green plans and sustainable development plans which encourage protection of the local landscape and environment, many are not being fully utilised. It is considered that until sustainable development is incorporated into national policy and regulations, then the needs for economic growth will always outweigh the needs of the environment. In addition, it is considered that whilst there are ways in which human impacts on the environment can be mitigated against, in many instances these opportunities are not fully taken due to the cost implications associated with adopting many of these mitigation measures. Therefore it is concluded that current UK planning regulations do not hold enough weight to successfully protect the environment.

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Introduction

There is a growing body of evidence available in the published literature that suggests that anthropogenic activities are the primary cause of global warming and the subsequent climate change that has occurred and will occur due to global warming (Solomon et al., 2009). The increasing international agreement has resulted in a general consensus that there is a global need to coordinate the responses to the global threat that anthropogenic activities pose regarding negative environmental impacts (Ostrom, 2010). In order to adequately address the negative environmental impacts of anthropogenic activities it is necessary to understand how the aforesaid activities interact with the environment to enable the development of appropriate solutions. However, the acknowledgement of the current global environmental issues and the need for comprehensive action does not necessarily translate to strategic responses worldwide. There are many different aspects to the global response to environmental issues, one of which is the subject of this essay. The particular aspect of the global response that is considered in this essay is the adoption of environmental technologies: in particular, what determines the successful adoption of environmental technologies?

The adoption of environmental technologies is a pivotal aspect of mitigating the impact of anthropogenic activities on the environment. This is due to the fact that it is unlikely that societies will regress to the point where the continuation of day-to-day existence will cease to impact negatively upon the environment. Features of modern living such as electricity consumption and the use of automobiles are unlikely to cease in the near future. Therefore in order to reduce the negative impact of the global society on the environment it is necessary to reduce the impact of everyday activities by substituting technologies that are harmful to the environment with technologies that at the very least reduce the environmental degradation if not cease it completely (Bergman and Eyre, 2011).

It is a given that there is a global comprehension regarding how anthropogenic activities are degrading the environment, yet there has not been a cessation of the use of environmentally damaging technologies. Therefore the question that is asked within this essay is what determines the successful adoption of environmental technologies? If an answer to this question can be determined then it may be possible to use the findings to promote the adoption of environmental technologies on an increasingly widespread basis and thereby reduce the potential environmental degradation that is associated with the current level of technology use.

The following paragraphs will discuss aspects of the successful adoption of environmental technology.

The factor of scale

The level at which technologies are adopted is likely to have a substantial influence on the successful adoption of environmental technology. The scale of the levels at which technology is adopted run from the household level, the community level and the national level up to the international level. At each level there will be different dominant influencing factors that determine whether the adoption of environmental technology will be successful. However, it is also important to differentiate between which of these levels is likely to have the most influence over the other levels. For example, it is unlikely that the household level will have a significant influence over whether an environmental technology will be successfully adopted or not. This is because of the influence that will be had by those in control at the levels above the household level (i.e. all other levels). There will be a limited influence at the household level, for example in government responses to the desire of populations; however this influence is unlikely to be substantial overall.

The National Scale

It is much more likely that the national government will have a greater controlling influence over the successful adoption of environmental technologies than those individuals at the household level. This is due to the fact that the national governments set the policies and regulations for the country as a whole: an ideal method for expressing support or a lack of support for particular technologies (Jacobsson and Lauber, 2006). For example, the use of solar thermal technology as a means of producing hot water at the household level only became popular in the United Kingdom when the United Kingdom government introduced policy that was supportive of the use of solar thermal energy at the household level with the introduction of grants and supportive policies. A specific example is when the United Kingdom introduced the low carbon buildings programme which resulted in 3,000 solar thermal installations in the first two years; however the government subsequently reduced the grant funding that was available for this programme and there was a corresponding drop in the number of solar thermal installations that were implemented (Bergman and Jardine, 2009). Overall, the adoption of renewable energy systems at the household level in the United Kingdom is low (Caird et al., 2008). The previous example demonstrates the extent of control that the national government possess in regards to the uptake and the successful adoption of environmental technology, although it should be noted that to some extent the policies of the government are likely to reflect the desires of the population, particularly in democratic nations. The increasing popularity and support among the general population for environmentally friendly technologies will go some way towards encouraging the governments to be supportive of environmental technologies. For example, there are numerous environmental groups, such as Greenpeace, that campaign for governments to introduce more extensive legislation to protect the environment from degradation, one aspect of which is the use of environmental technologies (Gough and Shackley, 2001).

Thus it can be seen that the national government policies and legislation can be a key factor that can be highly influential in terms of the successful adoption of environmental technologies. It is not just the current government policies that can potentially be highly influential for the successful adoption of environmental technologies. The historical policies and technology use patterns can also have a substantial influence over the success of environmental technologies. For example, in Denmark the use of environmental technology to harness the wind for electricity generation has been occurring since the early 1900s, and in 1918 3% of the electricity needs of Denmark were generated by windmills (Beise and Rennings, 2005). This early adoption of harnessing wind for energy generation is most likely the primary reason for the extensive use of wind turbines in Denmark in comparison to other countries (see figure 1). It should also be noted that Denmark had a more prolific use of wind turbines significantly earlier than many other countries (see figure 1).

In comparison to Denmark, the United Kingdom utilises relatively little of the potential energy that they could generate from their wind resources (see figure 1). This is not because the environmental technology is not developed – it can be seen from the successful implementation of wind turbines in other countries that the technology is fit for purpose, and the United Kingdom government is known to be supportive to the use of renewable energy technologies. Therefore there must be some other reason why there is relatively low exploitation of wind resources in the United Kingdom. One potential reason is the dislike of the wind turbine infrastructure that has been expressed by many organisations and individuals that inhabit areas near to proposed turbine sites (Jones and Eiser, 2010). Another reason may also be the difference in policies to encourage the use of wind technologies between the United Kingdom and Denmark. Denmark has operated a policy based on the principle of renewable energy feed tariffs, whereas the United Kingdom has operated a policy termed bidding systems (Beise and Rennings, 2005). When examined in closer detail, studies have found that the renewable energy feed tariffs, such as that used by Denmark, are far superior to that of the bidding system in terms of promoting the proliferation and thus successful adoption of environmental technologies that are used for energy generation (Beise and Rennings, 2005).

Figure 1. The extent of exploitation of wind for energy generation as a percentage of the total potential energy generation from wind (Beise and Rennings, 2005 p. 10).

Thus it can be concluded that whilst the policy of the governing body is a key factor in the uptake of environmental technology at the national level, not all government policies are created equal. As is the case with wind energy in Denmark and the United Kingdom, both governments have policies in place that are meant to support the adoption of technology that allows the generation of energy from wind; however it is apparent that the Danish policy has enabled a greater adoption of the technology than the United Kingdom policy.

The International Scale

International policy is also likely to have an influence on the potential success of environmental technology adoption. There is a growing body of international treaties that are signed by numerous nations that detail the need for global action to reduce the impacts of anthropogenic activities on the environment. An example of these treaties is the Kyoto protocol. The Kyoto protocol is an international agreement regarding the issues of global warming and climate change, within which the signatory nations agree to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases, particularly those that are carbon-based, with the aim of achieving eventually atmospheric levels that are equal to a 1990 base level (Manne and Richels, 2000).

Several methods have been introduced by the signatory countries to achieve this, including the introduction of regulations that require the limiting of emissions. In order to limit emissions from processes that previously would have emitted greenhouse gases, new environmental technologies have to be introduced that either do not emit these gases or capture the gases before emission. However, it is not just the signatory countries which have agreed to limit their emissions that have introduced new environmental technology adoption (again through the medium of government policy and regulation), but also some countries which are not required to actively reduce their emissions (due to their development status) that have introduced environmental technologies to achieve this aim – for example China (Fang et al., 2001).

China has made significant gains in reducing their emissions of greenhouse gases by introducing the successful adoption of environmental technologies through policies and regulations. Indeed, the emissions reductions of China could potentially exceed those of the countries required under the Kyoto protocol to reduce their emissions (Zhang, 2010). It is possible that the driving factors for the adoption of the new environmental technologies in China are due to a combination of the relatively extreme impact on the environment that anthropogenic activities have precipitated in China, a desire to increase their economic growth, and an additional desire to operate in the global market (Liu and Feng, 2011). The adoption of environmental technology in China is a relatively new occurrence. Previously the focus in China was on economic growth, with little concern for the environmental impact: therefore there was little to no environmental regulations in place with few incentives for the adoption of environmental technologies (Zhang, 2010). This is an issue that was noted in a study that was conducted by Popp (2010), who suggested that the proliferation of environmental technology is intrinsically linked to the proliferation of environmental regulations. Therefore a country that has poor environmental regulations is highly likely to not have seen the successful adoption of environmental technology.

In a similar vein, a study conducted by Costantini and Crespi (2008) concluded that when environmental regulations are more extensive and stringent, there is an increase in the investments that are made in environmental technologies, thereby likely increasing the successful adoption of environmental technologies as the technologies mature and become more generally regarded as reliable.

Conclusions

In conclusion, it was found that there is an intrinsic link between policy and regulations, be it on an international or a national level, and the successful adoption of environmental technologies. Whilst it was found that there were also other factors that could potentially influence the successful adoption of environmental technologies, these factors were considered to be incidental when compared to the influence of policy and regulations. The influence of policy and regulations on the successful adoption of environmental technology is suggested to occur because the regulations and legislation of governing bodies are not something that can easily be ignored without repercussions; thus it could be said that this method of introduction to the option of environmental technology is not a choice, but rather forces individuals, communities and businesses to implement environmental technologies in their homes and workplaces.

The link between policy and the successful adoption of environmental technologies was further highlighted when considering developing countries such as China. Prior to the introduction of environmental policies there was little to no proliferation of environmental technology within China – it was only subsequent to policy changes that environmental technologies began to be adopted. Therefore in order to support the adoption of environmental technologies it is of extreme importance that the national policies of the governing bodies are supportive of environmental technologies in order to reduce the environmental degradation caused by anthropogenic activities.

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