Modern World Cinema Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Modern World Cinema - Essay Example In the past two and a half decades movie industry in Nigeria was in bad shape, most films produced then were of very poor Quality, just a few exceptions like those produced by Late Actors and producers, by name Chief Hubert Ogunde and Moses Olaiya a.k.a Baba Sala.These two actors took Nigeria movie across the Globe and they were largely applauded for their immense contribution to the Nigerian movie Industry. The films produced by Hubert Ogunde include Aiye and Jaiyesimi, all these films were masterpieces of their own time, and today these films are still available at special occasions in cinemas all over the country. Chief Hubert Ogunde single-handedly built a film village in Musan, Ogun State in Nigeria. The film village is equipped with state of the art African artifacts required to give Nigerian films the necessary African background and other required parafinaliars, the Structure is still there today for use.

In Search of Shakespeare Summary

In Search of Shakespeare Summary This documents first episode begins while looking at the London Gate Bridge and London as a whole. The narrator begins by describing William Shakespeare as the greatest author of all time and how we know so little of his life. Michael Wood (the narrator) begins by walking up an ancient road towards where Shakespeare grew up. He heads into an archive of English history to learn more of Shakespeare from the policed state of England that he grew up in. He describes what he intends to describe, for instance where Shakespeares company did its original plays and his summons for grievance and bodily harm. Shakespeares life began in Stratford England, and the tale begins with William Shakespeares (son of John and Mary Shakespeare) baptism record in the parish register at Stratford-on-Avon. He had two deceased siblings, and was his parents first child to grow to adolescence. He was born in the mid 16th century during religious conflict, when the religion of the nation had changed numerous times by the Tudors whom ruled England. It changed by Henry to Protestant from Catholic, back to Catholic with his daughter Mary and then back to protestant by his next daughter Elizabeth, all in the matter of twelve years. Shakespeare was born at the beginning of Elizabeths reign. The Shakespeares were originally country farmers, some of the lingo that Shakespeare used in his plays originated from these beginnings. He was not a peasant, his mother had a long standing family history, and in fact his maternal grandfather was a rich farmer whom had passed away before Elizabeth came to the throne. His family had initially been loyal to the old faith (Catholicism). However, his father was ambitious and thus moved from the country. John Shakespeare was a glove maker with a modern middle class home with the latest in designs. William Shakespeare was raised in a fairly well to do home. John Shakespeare was elected a town counselor when William was one. John Shakespeare was required to maintain Elizabeths will and was forced to deface with whitewash the medieval Catholic paintings in their local perish. John was then elected mayor when William was four. William started school at the age of seven, when over one hundred and sixty new schools were opened. William was taught six days a week, by teachers chosen by the town council in the local school, primarily religion and Latin. He fell in love with the theatre here, and may have partaken in the play Ralph Roister Doister. John Shakespeare had clients all around England and made a lot of money, not all was legal. John was an illegal wool dealer (brogger); wool was monopolized by the government. He had also done illegal activities in the form of lending money for profit. William later fell in love with the mystery plays that told old stories from the bible. William used them as inspiration in his own plays. William went onto a further school at age nine where he was introduced to poetry. However, at the age of twelve Williams parents began losing their money and Johns business was faltering. First, the government was cracking down on illegal wool dealers and second, John stops going to council meetings possibly due to his religious reasons and withdraws William from school. William was forced to work for his fathers leather business. Around this time Catholics and Protestants are virtually forced into a figurative battle for the soul of England. Many people were hauled in by Elizabeth, including Williams father John, for natural security. He is eventually released. At this time, William was eighteen (in 1582) and he fell in love with an older woman named Ann Hathaway who was the daughter of his fathers business partner. He was married to Ann Wately under the name of William Shaxspeare on November 30th 1582 because Ann was pregnant. People often speculate that Ann Hathaway and Ann Wately were different people; however it is believed that it is actually a clerical error. He gained his marriage license on November 27th, 1582. William composed a sonnet for his wedding, a poem addressed to his new wife Ann Hathaway. Ann gave birth five months later to a daughter, Susanna and lived with Williams parents and younger siblings. Under legend, William apparently later poached a dear that belonged to a local lord. Apparently William was beaten and banned from town. The narrator then gives us another theory as to why William was banished from the town when he was nineteen. On the 26th of October that year, Shakespeares cousin Summerville announced that Queen Elizabeth was a heretic and that he planned on murdering her. Elizabeth turned to the local lord whom had Williams mothers family arrested. Williams cousin, his family, and his relative Edward Ardin (the head of Williams mothers family) and his family were sentenced to death. Episode two begins by analyzing Shakespeares lost ten years in which little information is known. The current theory is that William changed his name to William Shakeshaft and found a job in Lancasier. It is theorized based on the word of one of the actors of Shakespeares playhouse whom said that Shakespeare once worked as a teacher in the country that William may have taught in Lancasier. It is known that William was in Stratford-upon-Avon on February 2nd, 1585 when his twins were baptized, Hamlet and Judith which were named after their catholic god parents. He was the main source of income for the family and he lived in a small house with his wife, children, siblings and parents. On September 6th 1586, John Shakespeare is removed as an alderman of the town for no longer attending the sessions. In the summer of 1587, good news came to William. The queens royal company came to Stratford-upon-Avon for political and propaganda purposes. Two of the actors, William Nell and John Town, got into an argument in which William Nell attempted to kill John Town. Instead Town stabbed him in apparent self defense and Nell passed away. So the company was one man short and missing a young male actor. It is believed that William Shakespeare joined the Queens men (company) at this point and left his family. After the war with the Spanish armada, William comes to London with the Queens men. At this point, he breaks off to become a writer. He lived in a middle class section of town. His company first performed at the first amphitheatre ever built. At this point, a theatre revolution was underway, lead by the University educated Christopher Marlowe who is believed to have been gay, hip, iconoclastic. Williams first play was the tragedy Titus Andronicus. Meanwhile, Marlowe had been hired as a spy. He was not secretive. Marlowe spoke of joining the Catholic side and counterfeited money. On March 3rd, 1592 Harry the sixth was Shakespeares first boxoffice number one. This is when he becomes bigger than Marlowe. Shakespeare however received a bad review for being an uneducated play write, rather than a university wit. However, in early 1593 many play writes and printers were executed or tortured for treason or heresy. Marlow himself was murdered, it was claimed to have been in self defense according to three witnesses. Shakespeare however did not believe it. It was shortly after this that Shakespeare added to his trilogy in the form of Richard III. The next episode entitled The Duty of Poets begins by claiming that the stage was dominated for the next twenty years by Shakespeare. The question for the narrator was what made him the most popular play write of the time, rather than the other young play writes of the time? In 1593 plague strikes the streets of London and the play houses are closed. At this time, Shakespeares distant cousin whom was loyal to Catholicism writes the new manifesto of English poetry which was a challenge to Shakespeare. This challenge states that poetry is not for the purpose of love or entertainment, but rather to glorify God. Shakespeare had no interest in this, however when the plague struck he was forced to seek other forms of income. He seeks employment as a published author of a poem Venos and Adonis which became a best seller. This poem did not focus on God, but rather on love. This poem was dedicated to Henry Earl of Southampton in order to gain money and prestige. In 1594, Shakespeare began a new acting company. His cousin whom had written for him the challenge of writing for God was killed shortly after for being a supporter of Catholicism. It is said that his friends visited Queen Elizabeth after his death and gave her a book as a gift, inside of it contained his letter to Shakespeare. It apparently moved the queen and struck her to grief. Shortly after this incident, Shakespeare wrote his first great Tragedy, Romeo and Juliet. Shortly thereafter, Hamlet, Shakespeares only son, died at the age of eleven. Shakespeare underwent a period of grief, but bought the second largest house in Stratford-upon-Avon, but it was in disarray. He also applied for a coat of arms for his father, in order to make his father a gentleman. It is believed these acts were a form of apology for not being there when his family needed him the most. His fathers coat of arms was approved and William became a gentleman. William is also known to have written numerous sonnets for a boy, it is widely debated but it is believed that they are autobiographical and about his own son. Sonnet 33 clearly emphasizes this. In 1597 the theaters, under the direction of the government for sedition, were closed. William was also under penalty of the government because of tax evasion. Later in that year he is in trouble for threatening mutilation and murder because he got into the middle of battles between landlords. In this time of darkness for William, he fell in love with a dark skinned musical married woman while he was still married to Ann. She became his mistress and she wrote of her in sonnets, such as sonnet 128. She is believed to have been a dark skinned Venetian Jew by the name of Amelia. He writes in his sonnets that he was struck with grief and desire; however despite this painful time in his life he wrote three new plays and numerous poems. In 1598, Shakespeare moved his theatre and company to the Southbank. It was called The Globe and opened in 1599. In 1600, the Earl of Essex was aware of the power of the theatre. He wished to overtake the queen, and requested Shakespeare to perform Richard II with a very dangerous scene on the overthrowing of the King. Unfortunately for Essex he spent too much time picking a clean shirt and thus was late for his own event. His revolt failed, and he and his men were arrested. Shakespeares company was interrogated at this time. None were punished; however they were commanded to perform Richard II before her as they had on their own stage. To add to all of this, the war of the poets was to begin. Shakespeare was now at war with a new style of theatre, a theatre performed strictly by boys. Shakespeares response to these plays was Twelfth Night. In Hamlet, Shakespeare makes a snide comment about the boys theatre. Hamlet became the next big thing, and won the War of the Poets. To add to the controversy, Shakespeare wrote Othello, which is believed to been about race. Shakespeare was well aware that both black and white people intermarrying, and wrote of one of these relationships in Othello. He makes his black male Othello into his tragic hero. In the final episode, entitled For All Time, the tale of Shakespeare continues in 1603. In March 1603 Elizabeth dies. She was childless and without an heir, so the throne went to her half sisters son whom united Great Britain, King James. King James appreciated poets and play writes, and thus Shakespeare was placed on the royal payroll. Shakespeare found himself in a public role during the coronation of King James. William was one of the ushers of the canopy; however he wrote in his sonnets that this was merely a gesture and not meaning anything. To add, Shakespeare and his band of Kings men were required to entertain the King for two weeks straight during every Christmas. In response for a plot to kill the royal family, Shakespeare wrote a play called Macbeth. Theatres were further censored and plays rewritten to have no further obscenities. A year after the terrorist plot, the government required all catholics to undergo protistent communion or else face heavy fines, for which Shakespeares twenty-three-year-old daught Susanna faced. Shakespeare at this time wrote the play King Lear in response to a king that destroys his own kingdom through unethical and vein actions to strike cord with King Richard. The next year Shakespeares daughter Susanna married a protestant doctor after falling in love with him. Shakespeare then became a grandfather. His son-in-law was a fairly open minded man whom treated anyone who needed treating, and was a modest protestant. The day after Susannas wedding, an uprising of the Diggers occurred to argue with their land being taken by rich land owners. They were struck down; however, Shakespeare used their movement as an underlying theme in his next play. To add, Shakespeares company opened a second theatre in London. Shakespeare began to consistently communicate with scientists and philosophers. It is believed that he was told a story of a shipwreck and he turned this story into his final solo play, The Tempest. This play is believed to contain autobiographical elements, and is about a man with supernatural powers that strikes at his enemies, but later forgives them and his daughter marries the son of his enemy. This could suggest that Shakespeare returned to Stratford-upon-Avon. The next spring it is known that he returned to his wife Ann back in Stratford-upon-Avon. In 1613, Shakespeare buys a large house in London which was once a safe haven for the Catholic underground. He continues to write with a coauthor, and wrote Henry VIII (All is True). The Globe theatre was burnt down accidently during a performance of Henry VIII (All is True) in 1614, it is believed that Shakespeare then left the theatre business and sold his share in the company to return to his wife in Stratford-upon-Avon. At the age of 51 in 1616 Shakespeare became ill and passed away. The legend goes that he died of a fever after a drunken fit with friends. He died on April 23rd, 1616. It is speculated from his will that he didnt love his wife as he gave her nothing but a bed, however, it is speculated that this was not a sign of a lack of love. Most was left to his eldest daughter Susanna. Response to In Search of Shakespeare This documentary was a touching and informing tribute to Shakespeare. I felt this documentary focused on what we know about Shakespeare, and while there was a fair amount of speculation, the speculations were not extreme nor were they far stretched such as to suggest that Shakespeare did not write his own plays. I learnt much of Shakespeares life. I did not know that Shakespeare had been a poor young man, uneducated beyond the age of twelve, and married as a teenager. I had always thought Shakespeare to be an eternal romantic, giving wondrous gifts and love to the woman that he fancied. However, despite being a fantastic author of romance, he seemed to lack romance in his life beyond his twenties and the elicit affair he had with a married woman. While we do not know how much time he spent with his wife Ann Hathaway, I was shocked to learn that he had lived apart from her for so many years. I found the history of Shakespeares plays, including those that we studied in this course, interesting. I had not fully realized that plays such as Twelfth Night, Hamlet, King Lear, and Henry VIII were written with motives. I have a new respect for the craftiness of Shakespeare, managing political satire as well as forthright claims against and warnings for the different monarchs of his time. He managed to escape religious persecution, which seemed again to result from his cunning mind. What I found most interesting about this documentary is that is interwove Shakespeare into the fabric of the Elizabethan times. Rather than just focus on Shakespeares biography, it gave foundation information about the times that goes beyond Shakespeare. I learnt much of Elizabeths times and religious insecurities, and King James turn from the liberal new age king to another king of religious persecution. I believe that Shakespeares death was premature. After finding much about his life, it saddens me that he died so soon after retiring and returning to his wife and family. While maybe his love for his wife was not strong, which is purely speculation, I am a true romantic in that I had hoped he would return and live out a fulfilling long life with his wife. However, I do not believe he lived long enough to truly see the impact of his words and in this I believe the world lost its greatest author of all history.

Andrea Yates and the Drowning of Her Kids :: Andrea Yates Mental Disorders Murder Essays

Andrea Yates and the Drowning of Her Kids How does a perfectly normal woman, living in a typical suburban neighborhood wind up in jail on charges of murdering her five children? On June20, 2001, Rusty Yates receives a call from his wife Andrea to return home from work. He learns that his wife of eight years has systematically drowned each of his five children in the family bath tub. She is arrested in Texas on charges of capitol murder and is convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Andrea Yates was born in Houston, Texas on July 2, 1964. In high school she was valedictorian, captain of the swim team, and Valedictorian. She graduated from Milby High school in Houston, Texas in 1982. She graduated in 1986 from the University of Texas, school of nursing. For the next eight years she worked at a cancer center for children as a nurse. At age twenty five she met her husband Rusty in the apartment complex where they both lived. Rusty and Andrea married in 1993. During their eight years of marriage they had five children. In 1998 Rusty moved his family into a three hundred and fifty square foot remodeled bus. With four young children in such a cramped space, Andrea began to show signs of mental decline. In June of 1999, Andrea had her first suicide attempt then was hospitalized and diagnosed with a major depression disorder. She was prescribed an antidepressant and released. Hallucinations, self mutilation, and the hearing of voices began. On July twentieth of 1999, Andrea made a second suicide attempt. She put a knife against her throat, and begged to die. She was hospitalized and in a catatonic state for ten days. She was injected with the antipsychotic drug Haladol, and her condition improved. The attending psychiatrist warned them that having further babies might bring on additional psychotic episodes. She was released from the hospital, placed in outpatient care, and prescribed Haladol. Upon the urging of Andrea’s family, Rusty purchased a home for Andrea and the children in a small suburban neighborhood and moved the family out of the cramped bus. Andrea’s condition began to improve to the point that she began to swim again, and socialize with the neighbors. She told Rusty that for the first time she felt encouraged about the future, but would always view their past life on the bus as failure as a mother.

Thematic Essay on Diary of Anne Frank

The Diary of A Young Girl, written over a two-year period, tells about the life of a young girl named Anne Frank who is also the author, while she and her family are in hiding in Holland. They are staying in a secret attic of the office building where Mr. Frank used to work in order to escape from the Nazis during World War II. During their stay in the annex, they are supported by several people in the office building, who risk their own lives to insure the secrecy of the Jewish hideout and to provide them with food and basic supplies. Throughout the time Anne spends hiding in the annex she develops maturity and gains respect from the people around her. I would say that the theme of this book is adolescence. I think the theme of this book is adolescence because Anne writes in her diary about how she has become more of a women since moving into the annex. She also develops adolescence by being able to see what she did not see in a person before. For example she is asked by Mrs. Van Daan if she could ever picture Peter as a brother, instantly she reacts with disgust like a child. Later on in the book though she begins to develop feelings for Peter, stronger than a brother. She begins to confide in him, and ask him questions about sex. She also writes her father a letter describing her feelings for Peter. Throughout the 2 years Anne spends hiding in the Annex her child self, develops into a mature being, but not yet an adult making the theme of this story adolescence. In The Diary of A Young Girl, Anne Frank, who is our author of the diary writes many entries describing the relationship between her and her Mother. She feels that she does not fit in with her mother, who she thinks is very sentimental. On a diary entry dated October 3, 1942 (page 51) Anne writes â€Å"I simply can’t stand mother, and I have to force myself not to snap at her all the time, and to stay calm, when I’d rather slap her across the face, I don’t love her, I can imagine mother dying some day. † This diary entry written by Anne clearly shows the strong dislike she had towards her mother. Because Anne is a child and not mature enough she feels that when her mother tells her she did not do something right, and to do it again, Anne takes it personal and gets very frustrated. Her mom constantly does this and it makes Anne furious causing her to hate her mother at an unbelievable level. Later on in Anne’s diary though the theme adolescence is developed when Anne reads through her diary and is shocked at how negatively she wrote of her mother in past entries. On Page 155 in her entry of December 24, 1943 she wrote â€Å"Do you know what I’ve come up with? In order to give me the feeling of calling my mother something that sounds like â€Å"Mom,† I often call her â€Å"Momsy. Sometimes I wish I could honor her by removing the â€Å"s. † In this entry it clearly shows us Anne has more respect towards her mother now and has matured significantly. She regrets all the horrible things she ever said about her mother, and is able to see that it was not her mother that was really the problem but her maturity, and she realizes this because of her adolescence. Anne thinks she has grown wiser since then and now understands her mother bette r. She sees herself as an adolescent now. Another way the theme is developed in this is story is how Anne’s feelings change towards Peter, a boy who is also staying in the annex with his family and the Frank family. In Anne’s diary she writes an entry on September 25, 1942 (page 40) describing Peter’s personality, â€Å"They asked me in a typically grown-up way whether I could ever learn to love peter like a brother, since he loves me like a sister. â€Å"Oh, no! † I said, but what I was thinking was, â€Å"Oh, ugh! † Just imagine! I added that Peter’s a bit stiff, perhaps because he’s shy. Boys who aren’t used to being around girls are like that. In this entry she writes about Peter in a childish way, she says with disgust that she could never see Peter as a brother, and of course she would say it that way because her personality and attitude is still like one of a child. The theme adolescence is developed because her feelings towards Peter change. Earlier in her diar y entries she wrote how Peter is nervous around girls because he is not used to being around them, and she goes on about how immature and foolish he is. But they soon begin to talk like adults and open up to each other. Anne soon then confides in him, and begins to see he is not who she thought he was. She is more mature around him, and treats him with great respect because she likes the personality she gets from him. She transitions from a child to a mature teenager, her maturity is greatly because of the time she spends with Peter. Anne’s adolescence is also due to appreciating what she has in life. In a diary entry on November 27, 1943 (page 149) Anne writes about a dream she has about an old school mate, Hanneli. She writes about the dream and how it akes her thankful for what she has. In the dream Anne pictures Hanneli dressed in rags, her face thin and, worn, and she is begging Anne to rescue her, in the dream Hanneli is at a concentration camp. In this dream Anne can not help Hanneli, she can only stand by and watch while other people suffer and die. Anne realizes that there are millions of Jews who do not have the advantages she has, she could be at a concentration camp starving and d oing hard labor work, or even dead. But instead she is safe and warm with her family, who she before could not get along with. Anne greatly matures after all of this, she is able to see that she was such a child before who thought greatly of herself. She hated doing work around the house, and complained constantly about her mother. But after this dream she knows that she should have worried about other things, like the war. Anne leaves her childish acts and complaints behind and becomes a mature young adult! The best theme for this book is clearly adolescence. A young girl hiding in an Annex writing in her diary for 2 years can definitely develop a sense of maturity even with no contact of the outside world what so ever. Just because Anne is stuck hiding in an Annex and not able to go outside, she has plenty to do, to pass the time. She writes her feelings and thoughts in her diary, and writes meaningful events that talk about her adolescence. Her adolescence is greatly due to her appreciating what she has in life, because it makes her realize that not everyone has the advantages she has and that her complaints and hate towards many things are things that are less to even think about, she should not think about herself too much. Also changing her thoughts and opinions develops her maturity as well. She does not get along well with her mother or Peter, but she soon is able to confide in them and love and appreciate them. I think that Anne’s adolescence throughout the book is a very good thing. She is still very young when she does mature, and not many people at that age have the maturity that she gains. I appreciate the fact that Anne is able to mend the relationship with her and her mother. I know how it feels to have someone constantly nag at you and it is very hard to forgive someone, and I respect and honor that Anne was able to love her mom in the end of it all. I think everyone has a little bit of Anne in them, people regret things they do and say in life, and although it is a mistake it helps them to look back and learn from it, and gain a sense of maturity. It is a very good thing, and although Anne did not survive the war we can all learn from this book and appreciate life as it is now!

Medical Pluralism Essay

Despite being very different countries, Africa and Australia share a phenomenon termed medical pluralism. This form of health care is indeed pluralistic as it â€Å"consists of the totality of medical subsystems that coexist in a cooperative or competitive relationship with one another† (Baer 2004, p. 109). Although medical pluralism is not recent by any means, it is still used differently in various cultures around the globe. This essay will first describe the array of healthcare strategies that form different cultures’ pluralistic health care systems and how these cultures choose which path to take. As well, both the advantages and disadvantages to this approach will be explored through select case studies. Finally, a glimpse of issues regarding the future of medical pluralism in Australia will be looked at. According to both Baer (2004) and Quinlain (2011), anthropologists divide treatment options into three categories: the professional sector, the popular sector, and the folk sector. The professional sector, or rather biomedicine or even western medicine, includes those that obtain formal training. This form of treatment was established in the 1900’s based on scientific reasoning with an emphasis on pathogens. Even though biomedicine has become more dominant over the other categories in industrialized societies with large bureaucracies and legal systems (Quinlain 2011, p. 394), popular medicine, or natural medicine has been around for the past 10,000 years (Schwager 2012). Approximately 70-90% of health care takes place in popular medicine, making it the most commonly used (Quinlain 2011, p. 394). This broad range of treatment can take on the form of special diets, over the counter drugs, herbs and other home remedies. Popular medicine is different than that of the folk sector, which includes those individuals that obtain talents, information passed down from ancestors and special training. Baer (2004) asserts that the different medical systems are placed into a hierarchy based on class, caste, racial, ethnic, regional, religious, and gender distinctions, where biomedicine is the most prestigious and folk medicine is the least. However, in some cultures around the world, the treatment option can be based on convenience, accessibility, religious views, and knowledge of home remedies. In the case of a man named Shosi in Kenya, as explained by Beckerleg (1994), a number of therapy choices were available, but the Islamic movement and economic change created restrictions. Locals were lead to reject treatments of those who offer sorcery. Shosi instead exhausted medical pluralism until he found a treatment that worked for his severe fever. He first started with home remedies, then moved to poorly understood drugs of western medicine but only found relief through a local Halali Sunna leader that practiced a form of folk medicine using plant materials. Fortunately for Shosi, he had different medical treatment options available to him. Since biomedicine is practiced more in western society, those in places like Kenya and Africa do not always understand the scientific background of it. This has a negative consequence on medical pluralism as two treatment options can contradict each other. A situation in Cameroon, Africa reflected this scenario. Medical doctors informed patients that their diabetes was a life sentence, but patients had false hope when the indigenous healers assured their diabetes could be cured. Awah and Phillimore (2008) described a situation in Cameroon of a patient with previously diagnosed diabetes that sought treatment at a local clinic for what she thought was typhoid. She told the doctor her diabetes was already treated and cured so she stopped taking the prescribed medication. There was a mutual frustration since â€Å"she believed the doctor was ignoring her real health problems, while he could not get her to accept that her symptoms were a consequence of her poorly managed diabetes† (Awah and Phillimore 2008, p. 485). Thus, this approach of medical pluralism led to a conflict with different medicines. Another example of a repercussion from using medical pluralism was seen in Tanzania. Kamat (2009, p. 54) wrote a case study describing how a woman named Fatumas took her daughter to see the local Zaramo healer. She informed the doctor that her daughter has been crying constantly throughout the night and waking up convulsing for which he prescribed medicine for. However, she failed to tell him that she was giving her daughter over the counter drugs for a fever. With her misunderstanding, these two symptoms were actually signs of the same illness, which required a single treatment, rather than the two different ones. Kamat (2009, p. 55) described, â€Å"In her pragmatic quest for therapy, Fatuma had routinely combined elements from diverse and even contradictory medical traditions. Fatuma thought she was dealing with two different illnesses†. Although there were these few cases where medical pluralism did not work to one’s advantage, there are cases where using different medical treatments is advantageous such as the previously described situation of Shosi and also in Papua New Guinea. Here, medical treatment is at a lower cost than the local traditional healers since it receives funds from the government (Macintyre et al. 2005). Many locals first visit the local clinic, but in some cases need to resort to the local healers. The healer called Motkel successfully provides treatment in her village by using traditional herbal medications alongside biomedical treatment. Motkel works with cranial trepanation, a standard form of treatment in Papua New Guinea. She also believes that by alleviating symptoms and healing patients her work is analogous to medical doctors. This form of pluralism seems to work for the locals, even though it may not in other areas of the world. As previously stated, many people rely on natural medicine. That being said, natural medicine is a large part of the medical industry as 57% of the 150 drugs on the market contain at least one plant product (Schwager 2012). However, at the time Schwager’s article was published, a group of Australian doctors and scientists were fighting to remove alternative medicine degrees from the local universities. They declared that, â€Å"alternative medicines are making Australia look bad and trashing the universities reputation† (Schwager 2012). However, this could just be the next attempt to persuade the public in to choosing biomedicine over natural medicine. Natural medicine still fights to prove it is not â€Å"quackery† despite being the most popular treatment in the world. Medical treatments vary around the globe, but are still shaped around the three categories of professional, folk and popular medicine that when used in conjunction, create what is termed medical pluralism. This broad term helps us understand health care systems and health care seeking behaviours within specific cultural contexts. The process of seeking medical treatment depends on the availability, convenience, and religious views amongst other factors in each culture. In some cultures this approach of medical pluralism works to one’s advantage, but in others, can have various consequences as seen through each example provided in this essay. Biomedicine shows dominance over popular medicine and continues to test the ladder that is still widely practiced. Popular medicine, however, still stays part of the pluralistic setting.