Horror Women Clover

Horror Women Clover How has the role of women in horror films changed? Using Carol Clover, ‘Theory of Final Girl to analyse 1 scene from ‘The Hitcher, the changing roles of women in horror films will be explored. Traditionally horror films have seen women take on the role of the victim. More recently this has changed whereby the  women has taken on a more powerful and dominant position. ‘Carol Clover a professor of film wrote a book called ‘Men, Women and Chainsaw: gender and the modern horror film which focused on women. She developed a theory, which changed the way gender is looked upon in horror films. In a lot of ‘slasher films the women are represented as victims although what interested me is how the womens role has changed in recent years to what ‘Carol Clover claimed to be the ‘final girl. Women have been subject to different representations throughout time, within the horror genre; of which female audience consider being a sexist image. I will be exploring how women are represented in the films mentioned, analysing the scenes and comparing this to Carol Clover, and how the roles of women have changed through time. To do this I will look at ‘The Hitcher a 2007 remake (Michael Bay production) (Director Dave Meyer) which presents a clear representation of the ‘final girl. Grace Andrews (Sophia Bush) and Jim Halsey (Zachary Knighton) decide to hit the road for spring break. However the film turns from a chick flick to the two of them fighting for their lives and trying to save others. The 1986 original is some what different from the remake where there is no final girl and the boyfriend is the only survivor. Dave Meyers wanted to create ‘female empowerment which is an added twist to the remake. Female empowerment is also demonstrated in a film series called ‘Saw. Directed by James Wan, the plot revolves around ‘Jigsaw Killer who kidnaps his victims, put them in traps and gives them a chance to repent from their previous lifestyle in which they took for granted. One victim from Saw named ‘Amanda Young (Shawnee Smith) survives the trap and becomes ‘Jigsaw Killer partner. ‘Amanda is a heroin addict which she started while in prison. She is ‘Jigsaws only known survivor and believes it has made her a better person. This film clearly displays the female role changing from victim to survivor although this film goes against the theory of Carol Clover, in terms that ‘Amanda becomes a murderer. Women throughout horror film history have been stereotyped to victimisation and the focus of brutal murder. History has seen change from women not being able to vote to having basic human rights and a high status in society. Feminists have come along way to changing this stereotype, this being, able to direct films and having the chance to control a piece of media which affects the way people (women) are perceived by an audience. (Bridget (1999) â€Å"Without feminism there would have been no final girl or avenging women†. This quote shows that even though films such as ‘The Hitcher or ‘Scream were not writen, directed or produced by women, feminism has come a long way where women have more power in soceity and is being portrayed in films just as Dave Meyers wanted to create. This is to do with social change. According to film maker magazine blog, women are now attending the cinema to watch horror films more and are exceeding male figures. Carol Clover questioned who the audience identifies them with. It is assumed that the male identifies with murderer who is usually male. Many argue that men in the audience are sexually aroused by the victimisation of the female. This is caused by the camera angles and lighting. Murder of the female if shot from the mens point of view ‘Gaze Shot (masculine voyeur vs feminine victim). Carol Clover argues that the audience identifies with ‘final girl, and that the viewer (male or female) identifies with the fright of being attacked rather than the satisfaction of the murderer as he attacks. The final girl remains ‘virginal and ‘pure while her friends do the opposite. She escapes because she does not partake in adult hood such as drugs, and sexual intercourse. The final girl fights back and is the damsel in distress. The unempowered woman makes a movement to power over men. In order to compare Carol Clovers theory to ‘The Hitcher I shall look at 2 scenes from The Hitcher. The first scene opens and the viewer sees Grace (Sophie Bush) and Jim (Zachary Knighton) walk to a motel. There, they take a shower together and Jim steps out of the room to make a phone call, telling her that he will be gone for 15 minutes. Hes gone for several hours and Grace falls asleep watching a Hitchcock film. She is then awakened by someone in the bed who is feeling her up. She assumes it is Jim but then sees that it is Ryder (Sean Bean) trying to rape her. She tries to push him away, but Ryder gets on top of her. We see his hand over her mouth trying to stop her screaming. The camera shot is high angle which is used to make her look vulnerable and powerless. We see her bite Ryder hand and he hits her. The shot is then focused from Grace Eyes also known as point of view shot. When the low angle shot is used it emphasises the power and strength that Ryder has being on top of her. Throughout the scene a master shot is applied whereby the director cut from Ryder to Grace and back to Ryder throughout most of the scene. This showed the reaction of the two characters and established a clear spatial (space) and temporal (time) relationship. The audience then sees Grace grab the phone on the side table, of which she then hits him over the head and tries to get off the bed. Grace hits him over the head with the lamp she picks up from the floor and runs to the bathroom. Grace is trying to shut the door and the camera is focused mainly on her. Here a Close up is used. This is to draw the viewer/audience closer and involve them in what is happening. The close up shot also enables the audience to observe the reactions of Ryder and the emotions of Grace. There are two sorts of lighting being displayed in the scene; these are artificial and key light. The artificial lighting is low key to create a slight shadow on Ryder to make him seem dark and mysterious just as his character is portrayed throughout the film. The key lighting was needed as the scene was shot in the bathroom where there is no natural light available. Grace manages to close the door as she reaches for a gun and Ryder walks out of the room. She then makes her way to find Jim who she sees tied up between two trucks of which is stretching Jim every time Ryder accelerates. Throughout the whole of the last scene you see her fight for her life and she survives but she becomes extremely weak in this next scene when Jims life is on the line. Ryder keeps hitting the gas, brutally hurting Jim and tells Grace to get in and close the door. Grace begs and pleas with Ryder to stop and begins to cry but asks him questions such as what do you want and calls him sick. Her character changes from being strong to being very weak. Ryder says he cant stop and he wants to die. Here the theory of Carol Clover audience identification takes place. The close up shot enables the audience to identify with him or her and clearly the director wanted the scene to be focused on the audience identifying with the female. When focusing on editing of the scene there is a lot of cuts from Grace to Ryder and a two shot in between, this is often used when two people are in conversation. When counting the cut shots, when focused on Ryder they add up to less than 30 while the shots focused on Grace are over 30. The cops show up and see Grace with Ryder at gunpoint. They tell her to drop the gun, but Ryder tells Grace not to listen to them. Ryder then tells her to point the gun between his eyes. Grace cant do it so Ryder does it for her. Ryder then tells her to shoot him, but she cant, puts the gun down and says for Ryder not to hurt Jim. Grace shows a sign of femininity whereby she becomes very emotional and shows how much she cares for Jim Throughout the scene the audience can hear Jim moaning and groaning in agony. Ryder then gets impatient and snatches the gun out of her hands. He then mutters under his breath, Useless waste. There is a FX sound effect where the audience can hear a ‘splat where the blood explodes outwards to make the audience feel as thought they are the experiencing what has just happened to the victim (Jim). Although there is more to this than blood and emotion that makes the scene work, if she shoots him the foot will come off the brake and he will die and if she doesnt he puts his foot on the accelerator and Jim will die. Its a no win situation making you wonder what will be her decision. At the end of the film Grace does shoot and kill Ryder. Before hand Ryder smiles and asks Grace if it feels good. Grace tells him she doesnt feel a thing shoots him and walks away. The analysis has made the theory of Carol Clover more clear in terms of audience identification. Who does the audience identify with and why, are questions Clover asked when watching the slasher films. According to her theory, Carol said that audience identification was down to gender fluidity whereby the male killer was sexually repressed and therefore the male viewer could not identify themselves with them. For example: films such as Halloween, Psycho and Nightmare on Elmstreet, all the killers are sexually repressed and having something wrong mentally. Freddy Kruger (Nightmare on Elmstreet) was the result of him being brutally raped, and ‘Halloween was in response to his sister indulging in adulthood. However Ryder is not sexually repressed. Here her theory does not work. I believe that the camera shots and cuts affect who the audience is ‘forced to identify with. The audience (male) was being made to identify themselves with the female (Grace). Whereby there were more cuts of her, the audience had no choice but to see her emotion and hear her plea. At times Grace was isolated and alone making the audience only identify with the character they are being shown. I also feel as though the male audience identifies with Grace rather than Ryder because he lacks masculinity and deep down is weak as I will explain. Many times Ryder says he wants to die and for them to kill him as he cant do it himself. He makes Grace strong enough to kill him by killing others. However its always a no win situation. It is as if he doesnt want to die alone and is scared. The analysis above demonstrates a no win situation. Eric Red (director is ‘Hitcher 1986) talks about the film in 1986 and states that, â€Å"Because of the hell living inside his skin, John Ryder wants to die. But he wants to make Jim Halsey strong enough to kill him and he does.† (Eric Red Interview) In the 2007 remake, Grace is made strong enough to do this. There is a connection between her and the killer just like there was a connection between Jim and Ryder in the original Eric Red says, â€Å"I really think that this strange psychological connection between The Hitcher and the Kid, the irony that something of value is passed from this horrific guy Ryder to Halsey, strength to persevere in a nightmarish world† (Eric Red Interview) Looking closely at the film, it has made me has made me think about the narrative structure and that although the target victim in cab scene was not a girl; Ryder used Jim to get to Grace. Ryder was making Grace even more vulnerable and weak by taking away the man (protector) of her. She proved her weakness by not shooting Ryder and letting her boyfriend (Jim) die. This causes the narrative to move on and have Grace as Ryders last victim and for her to be the avenging women/ final girl. The audience does not need to know the killer past, but here the killer is trying to pass what he does and what he feels onto someone else so they can kill as well. This also happens in Saw. Amanda takes on the role of Jigsaw. Ryder many times says he wants to die and for them to kill him, but its always a no win situation. It is as if he doesnt want to die alone. For example the analysis shown above demonstrates a no win situation. Moving on, Clover argued that the final girl fights back just as Grace is doing. Grace is the one who sees everyone die. â€Å"Final Girl is chased cornered, wounded; whom we see scream, stager, and fall, rise, and scream again. She alone looks death in the face, but she alone also finds the strength either to stay with the killer long enough to be rescued (ending A) or to kill him herself (ending B)†. (Screams Of Terror) The two different endings are due to the evolution of feminist movement in film. If we look back at one of the first Final Girl films such as in Psycho, Lila figures out the unknown and when Bates attacks her, she is not given the chance to fight back as she is almost immediately rescued. This is ending A. Halloween, Laurie, was the first final girl to fight back (Ending B). Hitcher has ending B whereby the female (Grace) has empowerment to kill Ryder and to be just as strong as a male. This is where gender fluidity of the final girl plays its part. This enables the final girl to be identified by the male audience. She is not too feminine but has masculine traits such as being brave, intellectual and strong. The Final Girl is the one to make it to the end of the film. However I feel as though that her theory has left out an important thought that females can be crazy and psychotic as men. ‘Urban Legend, ‘Friday the 13th and ‘May show that females can be serial killers too. I feel as though her theory is one sided. ‘Urban legend is the result of her boyfriend dying due to few girls carrying out an urban myth. The killer in ‘Friday the 13th is revealed as a middle-aged woman whose son, Jason, drowned years earlier as a consequence of negligence on the part of the camp counselors. The women in these films commit each murder as an act of revenge. However ‘May just like the male according to Clover theory is also sexually dysfunctional. ‘May doesnt understand how to react around others and this frightens people, so the only way she can keep them in her life is by killing them and keeping parts of them to make a ‘big doll. The big doll wont even leave her as a doll isnt real. Bibliography Carol Clover (1992) Men, Women and Chainsaws: Gender and the modern horror film, BFI Publishing Bridget, Cherry (1999) Refusing to look: female viewers of the horror film, Publisher The Hitcher Saw 1, 2, 3 www.best-horror-movies.com/female-serial-killer.html comm2.fsu.edu/faculty/comm./sapoisky/research/bookch/slasher.html Mass Media and Society edited by A. Wells and EA Hakanen. 1997. Greenwich, CT; Ablex Publishing www.filmmakermagazine.com/blog/2007/02/female-trouble.php Hitch with Red, Jan. 16, 2007 http://www.joblo.com/arrow/index.php?id=6449 Eric Red Interview http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1775841 Feminist Horror Film Theory Mon Jan 09 2006 http://www.screams-of-terror.com/teenie.asp screams of terror 14/2/08

Freedom Writers Diary Movie Questions Essay

1. Eva’s view of herself and her people is that their nationality is competing with other races because of the discrimination. When Eva is a child, she is taught by her father that she has to fight for her people. â€Å"An Aztec princess is chosen for her blood, to fight for her people, as Papi and his father fought, against those who say we are less than they are, who say we are not equal in beauty and in blessings†. 2. According to Eva her father is arrested for retaliation, he was innocent but was jailed anyway, because of the respect he had from his people. Eva was waiting for the bus on her first day of school when she witnessed the war between races for the first time. â€Å"They took my father for retaliation. He was innocent, but they took him, because he was respected by my people. They called my people a gang because we fight for our America†. 3. The reason that Erin Gruwell decided to teach instead of be a lawyer is because of the influence from her father, being part of the civil rights movement and watching the L.A. riots on TV. Thinking of going to law school but thought that the case is already lost if it reaches the courtroom which indicates that Ms. G believes that going to the beginning where she can educate her students on the fundamentals and essentially prevent them from ending up with a lost court case because a good prevention method has no need for a cure. â€Å"And I remember when I was watching the LA riots on TV, I was thinking of going to law school at the time. And I thought, God, by the time you’re defending a kid in a courtroom the battle’s already lost. I think the real fighting should happen here in the classroom.† 4. In the beginning, obstacles that Ms. G faced are that the students didn’t believe in her, thinking that she wouldn’t be able to last in the classroom or teach because of the difficult interracial battles between students. â€Å"I give this bitch a week.† Erin had to deal with two students fighting on the first day of teaching, and witnessing another between different tribes within the school. Along with the discouragement from her father. â€Å"You’re gonna waste your talents on people who don’t give a damn about education. It breaks my heart†. 5. With gang violence and racial tension reaching an all-time high, the racial situation in Long Beach was separated into tribes based on the races of each person because of the L.A. riots. â€Å"Total civil unrest is happening throughout the Los Angeles area.† â€Å"The city resembles a war zone.† 6. At first, the students of room 203 relate to one another because of the similar situations and issues that each have experienced. Another way the students can relate to one another are the difficult moments of their individual lives they have to face because they’re all trying to cope with the cards they have been dealt in life. Also with discriminating against other races. Most of the students in room 203 are of different race to the teachers of Woodrow Wilson high school and feel separate from the community. â€Å"You can’t go against your own people, your own blood.† 7. A character that I like is Jamal because he seems like he is a funny person and entertaining to be around, making jokes out of negative situations. I can relate to him because I am a student myself. Having to complete unnecessary tasks when there are more important activities that I can be doing. 8. Ms. G tried to engage the students by finding something she thought they would be interested in and using it to relate to them with 2pac rapper lyrics with poetry as an example of an internal rhyme. The students are bothered by this, â€Å"Think we don’t know 2Pac? -White girl gonna teach us about rap†. She mixed up the separate boarders in the classroom to engage the students with differentiation without separate races but fails because of the lack of interest and students stop attending. 9. Reasons that the students do not respect Ms G are because of the racial situation at Long Beach, they think that she is just another white person analogous the rest of the teachers that have never really put any effort into actually teaching or caring about their education and don’t try understand their situations. The students are used to never being a priority in the education system, constantly being looked down on as not being smart enough or trusted with the schools proper resources and recognized as people who don’t want to learn and basically never having the opportunity to become  anything other than the stereotypes they have been categorised into. So Ms G. wasn’t seen as an individual, she was seen as another teacher that didn’t care. â€Å"Lady, stop acting like you’re trying to understand our situation†. They think she doesn’t deserve the respect given from them because she hasn’t earned it. â€Å"I’m not just gonna give you my respect because you’re called a teacher.† 10. Eva hates white people because of negative experiences she has had with white police. â€Å"I know what you can do. I saw white cops shoot my friend in the back for reaching into his pocket, his pocket! I saw white cops come into my house and take my father away for no REASON except they feel like it! Except because they can! And they can, because they’re white†. She feels that white people demand respect without earning it. â€Å"You don’t know what we got to do. You got no respect for how we living†. White people always wanting their respect like they deserve it for free†. Eva thinks that all white people feel that they have authority over her ethnicity, that whites run the world no matter what resulting in Eva hating all white people on sight. 11. Erin’s husband is a very considerate and devoted husband but shows resentment towards her career after assimilating extra jobs to support her teaching career without consulting him. He doesn’t appear to want to talk about her job and when he does, he doesn’t show any support toward it. While not paying attention to Scott, his attitude toward Erin’s career is that he feels that she is getting too involved as a result, letting their marriage suffer. â€Å"Scott, I finally found what I’m supposed to be doing and I love it. When I’m helping these kids make sense of their lives, everything about my life makes sense to me. How often does a person get that?† â€Å"Then what do you need me for?† â€Å"You’re my husband, why can’t you stand by me and be a part of that the way wives support husbands?† â€Å"Because I can’t be your wife.† And their marriage results in divorce because his life with Eri n wasn’t how he wanted it to be. 12. Ms G. again attempts to peak an interest with the students by using topics that relate to them with non-curriculum books about lives similar to  their own that she has bought herself for the students. 13. When Ms G. finds he picture of Jamal she confronts them, belittling their gang actions. â€Å"You think you know all about gangs? You’re amateurs†. Ms G informs the students about discrimination, bringing up the holocaust and how using racist pictures and antics is a way of wrongfully blaming others for their lives being hard to give themselves pride and identity. 14. The holocaust is relative to the students because they’re all associated or associate with gang violence and annihilation of people for the satisfaction of being the prime race. 15. The philosophy of the students is that they believe that the world is all about what colour someone is, not who they are. The students make illegitimate judgements about people of different ethnicity to themselves. To the students, graduation isn’t perceived as a concern when more important factors have to be dealt with. To them, making it through another day is an achievement alone, â€Å"Lady, I’m lucky if I make it to 18. We in a war. We’re graduating every day we live, because we ain’t afraid to die protecting our own. At least when you die for your own, you die with respect, you die a warrior†. 16. Within society, the students see themselves just as others perceive them. That being not as real graduates, as people who are going to be like their parents, as people who won’t really ever amount to much. No one has ever really taken them seriously which has resulted in the students not taking themselves seriously. â€Å"Nobody cares what I do. Why should I bother coming to school?† 17. The activity that united the students was learning about the holocaust, reading the books, hearing the stories of the victims and the excursion to the holocaust exhibition really spoke to students on a personal level that they could all connect and relate too. The main reason all the students are uniting for once is because of Ms Gruwell. Students know she goes above and beyond for them and that she actually cares. â€Å"My crazy English teacher from  last year is the only person that made me think of hope. Talking with friends about last year’s English and our trips, I began to feel better. I receive my schedule and the first teacher is Mrs. Gruwell in Room 203. I walk into the room and feel as though all the problems in life are not so important anymore. I am home.† Ms. G’s teaching is the activity that first started to unite the students. 18. The scene with Sindy and Eva shows that Ms. G’s class has united the students and created a bond between the two making them look beyond their own races. Ms. G’s students are starting to do right within society and not just right for their own race. For example, â€Å"I am my father’s daughter, and when they call me to testify, I will protect my own no matter what.† instead of Eva doing that which is what her family wanted her to do, she told the truth so an innocent man didn’t end up in jail. Eva thought about her actions and the consequences they would have on everyone and she did the right thing. This scene goes to prove that Ms Gruwell’s teaching initiative is working. 19. Marcus’ diary entry struck me most because it’s so unfair that human beings are judged by other human beings by their skin colour when it shouldn’t be considered as a negative factor because underneath it all we’re all the same. When Clive, accidentally shot himself and he stayed by his side until the police came the assumption shouldn’t have automatically been that Marcus did it because he was black, it was so unfair especially when Marcus lost his best friend that day. Marcus’ story moved me the most because he is still searching for his freedom after being wrongfully locked up. If Marcus had never been blamed for Clive’s death and had never gone behind bars, his life could’ve been different. â€Å"Every day I worry, when will I be free?† 20. At the beginning of Freedom Writers Ms. G was full of doubts and was questioning whether she was going to be able to connect with her students, get them to listen to her, to attend every class and whether she would be a good teacher or not, but throughout the movie she earned respect, grew and was taught so much from her students and by the end of the movie she had  transformed a classroom full of racial boarders and hate into a non-judgemental, safe place where the students found hope, connected with one another and felt at home. She had found what she was supposed to do with her life. 21. In the beginning, the students of room 203 were resistant to Erin, especially Eva who hated all white people and blamed them for taking her dad away when she was 5. They were disrespectful, extremely racist and mean toward one another to the point where Ben was scared to be in the classroom. None of the teachers cared about the students or their education. They were seen as lost causes which only made them feel like lost causes, especially Jamal who thought school was a waste of time. With the guidance of Ms. G every student in the class made a transformation for the better. Eva overcame her prejudice against white people and discovered they aren’t all the same; a lot of the racial barriers were broken down within the class. All the students attitude toward their education and each other changed, they developed respect and started caring and wanting to learn. Room 203 was transformed into an accepting, tolerant, secure, place like a home where all students, especially Ben, stopped being terrified. 22. All it takes is feeling as though you have one person in your life that genuinely cares about you, supports and encourages you and takes the time to help you and is behind you every step of the way to have the power to achieve anything and everything in life regardless how many people are against you. Every raindrop raises the sea so hope must never be lost. The most significant lesson to learn from this movie is that no matter what your background may be or how different you might think you are from someone, you’re not because at the end of the day we’re all human beings and we should never forget that. 23. The students of room 203 aren’t similar to the students of our classroom because I don’t think that anyone in my class has to face the sought of problems that the students of room 203 had to. Those kinds of difficulties come from gang violence, drug or alcohol abuse or physical injustice, I don’t know everyone’s story but I don’t think that our classroom has to deal  with those struggles.

Appraisal Questionnaire Essay

1. Introduction Explain the purpose and structure. The performance appraisal is an opportunity to discuss on performance related issues, give clear feedback and reach a mutual agreement on objectives and what can be improved, finalising with a plan for further development. †¢ How do you think your performance was over the past six months – from December to May so I can a feedback from you and then have a discussion on that. †¢ What has gone well and what do you think was success for the period? 2. Measure on performance. 2.1. Areas of responsibilities/ Company business goals. †¢ Do you understand the targets and how to achieve them and how they comply with the company business goals: 2.2. Confirm what successful issues were. †¢ Will you summarise what do you mark as your personal success in regard of your responsibilities? 2.3 Areas that need improvement/ Behind target †¢ Which are according to you the areas of performance that need improvement? †¢ What factors have an impact on your performance? †¢ Do you think you may need any assistance and further couching? †¢ Are you ready to meet new challenges? 2.4.Offer support †¢ Is there anything you would like us to do in order to support you? †¢ Do you think regular reviews (one to ones) will be beneficial to your work? †¢ Can we offer you counselling or some other support? 3. Job satisfaction †¢ What gives you most satisfaction in work? †¢ Are there any ways we can improve your job satisfaction? (environment improvement, technical assistance, providing opportunity to develop in a specific area†¦) †¢ Are there any new areas you feel you want to improve? 4. Agree on an action plan – Meeting to discuss on specific trainings – Counselling from line manager – Monthly reviews/one to ones to discuss results, difficulties, needs for further counselling. – New objectives 5. Positive finish. We’d like to encourage your personal performance and I will advise for a further personal development in a new direction. Analysing your strengths and implementing the agreed plan for improvement I believe you will achieve the targets placed. You can rely on my assistance and advice. I will make sure you will have a copy of the documents and all the points we agreed on and the action plan for further development.

Compare and Contrast of Judaism and Christianity - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 7 Words: 2191 Downloads: 8 Date added: 2017/09/25 Category History Essay Type Argumentative essay Tags: Christianity Essay God Essay Judaism Essay Did you like this example? Breiana Dailey Instructor: Cory king Eng. 112 Compare and Contrast Out Line Thesis: Judaism and Christianity are two religions that play a significant role in today’s society with so much in common; yet they are in constant dispute with one another. Item #1 Judaism| Item #2 Christianity| Points of comparison | * The Torah * Beliefs * Descendants of Abraham * RitualsPassover Festival | * The Holy Bible * Beliefs * Descendants of Abraham * Rituals Palm Sunday Good Friday EasterE| * Holy Books * Religious History * Religious Rituals | Compare and Contrast Full Out Line Religious History Common Denominator Abraham God Beginning of the Religion Isaac Parentage Promise made concerning him What he believed Father of Jacob (Israel) Moses a direct descendant of Holy Books Torah Bible Jesus Parentage Promise made concerning him What he believed Direct descendant of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob Father of Christian Faith Religious Rituals Judaism The Passover Christianity Palm Sund ay Good Friday Easter They’re just alike Judaism and Christianity are two religions that play a significant role in today’s society. Although these religions are in constant dispute with one another, they have more in common than most people know about. Both of these religions trace the genealogy of their beliefs, and the foundation of their beliefs back to Abraham. He is their physical common denominator. Both Judaism and Christianity tell the story of Abraham. During a time when the majority of society was worshipping many gods, Abraham believed that he had heard the voice of the one true living God; who call Abraham to worship Him and Him alone. That is why Abraham is considered by theologians and scholars in Judaism and Christianity to be the father of monotheism; thus the next common denominator between the two religions, the belief in one true and more importantly living God. According to https://www. essortment. com/all/callabraham_rssf. htm Abraham was 75 when he first heard the voice of God. According to www. jewfaq. org/origins. htm he was born in 1800 BC, if there information is correct this would roughly place the start of monotheism at about 1725 BC. God had promised Abraham that He would make him the father of many nations. However Abraham’s wife Sarah was barren. Sarah gave her servant Hagar to Abraham so that he could have a child. Thus this is when Ishmael was born. Sometime later, Sarah in her old age gave birth to Isaac. Through these two children would be the birth of three religions. We however are going to discuss the two that were birthed through the descendants of Isaac; Judaism and Christianity. God made Abraham a promise concerning his son and this promise can be found in the Bible and the Torah. The promises that I will quote is that found in the bible Gen 17:21 But I will make my promise to Isaac. Sarah will give birth to him at this time next year. To sum the promises up in a few words it was that t hrough Isaac’s seed would come the Redeemer for mankind. Now Isaac, gave birth to Jacob. Jacob’s name was later changed by God to Israel. Gen 35:10 God said to him, Your name is Jacob. You will no longer be called Jacob, but your name will be Israel. So God named Jacob Israel. He had 12 children, thus the twelve tribes of Israel. The Israelites who later become known as the Jewish Nation followed the worship methods that were taught from Isaac to Jacob (Israel) and thus to the twelve tribes. Moses fits into this line in one major way. He is a direct descendant of Isaac and he was the one chosen by God to lead the children of Israel out of bondage into the promise land, and to give the Laws to the children of Israel, this is why it is referred to as the Mosaic Laws. These were not all new Laws, but those Laws that were passed down generation from generation as well as those laws that were not known of until then. There were many laws and feast days that were to b e observed by the Jewish faith. But for this discussion we are going to look at the Passover. The Passover is a celebration of remembrance of the night before the Israelites were released from slavery in Egypt. For those of you unfamiliar with the story of the Exodus, this section has been included to outline briefly the context of the Passover. After migrating to Egypt from Canaan (Gen 46:1-7), the family of Israel grew enormously to the extent that they began to rival the numbers of native Egyptians that lived in the land (Exodus 1:7-9). Fearful that the Israelites might at some future date ally themselves with its enemies, Egypt forced them to become their slaves (1:10-11). When the Lord appeared to Moses after a forty years’ exile from Egypt (3:1-6), He charged him (3:10) to ‘bring forth My people out of Egypt’ because (3:7) the Lord had ‘ heard their cry because of their taskmasters; I know their sufferings’ But Pharaoh wouldn’t let th e children of Israel go, which was hardly surprising. As a result of that first encounter with Moses, Pharaoh increased the burden on the Israelites (5:6-14), resulting in the people turning on Moses and Aaron (5:21). God then sent on the land of Egypt plagues, though the Israelites weren’t troubled by them (8:22-23 at least from the time of the flies onwards). Each time, Pharaoh was given opportunity to let them go, but each time he refused or recanted after having given them permission. The plagues, in order, were: 1. The Nile was turned to blood (7:14-25) 2. Frogs (8:1-15) 3. Gnats (8:16-19) 4. Flies (8:20-32) 5. A plague upon the cattle (9:1-7) 6. Boils (9:8-12) 7. Hail (9:13-35) 8. Locusts (10:1-20) 9. A darkness that was oppressive (10:21-29) 10. The Passover â€Å"and the Lord promised Moses (11:1) that ‘ fterwards [Pharaoh] will let you go’ The Lord inaugurated a new calendar by making that month the first (12:2), corresponding to our March/April. A lamb was to be taken into each household on the 10th of the month (12:3), slain on the 14th (12:6) and subsequently eaten on the 15th. The blood was to be applied to both doorposts and lintel (12:7) for the Lord was to pass through the land that night and slay all the first-born in the houses that hadn’t applied the blood (12:12-13). He ‘passed over’ those that had applied the blood and so gave meaning to the name of the festival. During the night, after the destroyer had killed the first-born, Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and told them and all the Israelites to get out of the land (12:29-32). Though that wasn’t the end of the story as regards the Egyptians, nevertheless, God had delivered His people out of the bondage of slavery to take possession of a land where they would be free to serve God (3:8, 13:3-5, Deut 6:23-24). God had affected redemption by ransoming His people out of the hand of their masters, the Egyptians (6:6). Thus the beginning o f the Passover Ritual. Now no matter which religious group you are addressing, the Jews or Christians you can summarize that story in exactly that way; because the story is found in the Bible and the Torah. In the Bible it can be found in the book of Genesis, in the Torah it can be found in the book called Breshiyth (which in English means Genesis). To be honest there are a lot of books found in the Torah which are also in the Bible. The writings that they have in common are: TORAH BIBLE TORAH (The Law): Bereishith (In the beginning ) (Genesis) * Shemoth (The names ) (Exodus) * Vayiqra (And He called ) (Leviticus) * Bamidbar (In the wilderness ) (Numbers) * Devarim (The words ) (Deuteronomy) NEVIIM (The Prophets): Yehoshua (Joshua) * Shoftim (Judges) * Shmuel (I II Samuel) * Melakhim (I II Kings) * Yeshayah (Isaiah) * Yirmyah (Jeremiah) * Yechezqel (Ezekiel) * The Twelve (treated as one book) Hoshea (Hosea) * Yoel (Joel) * Amos Same Name * Ovadyah (Obadiah) * Yonah (Jonah) * Mik hah (Micah) * Nachum * Chavaqquq (Habbakkuk) * Tzefanyah (Zephaniah) * Chaggai * Zekharyah (Zechariah) * Malakhi KETHUVIM (The Writings): Tehillim (Psalms) * Mishlei (Proverbs) * Iyov (Job) * Shir Ha-Shirim (Song of Songs) * Ruth Same Name * Eikhah (Lamentations) * Qoheleth (the authors name) (Ecclesiastes) * Esther Same Name * Daniel Same Name * Ezra ; Nechemyah (treated as one book) (Two books) (Nehemiah and Ezra) * Divrei Ha-Yamim (The words of the days) (Chronicles) Now how do Jesus Christ and Christianity fit into all of this? Jesus is believed to be â€Å"the seed of promise† that was to come through the descendants of Abraham, the awaited Messiah. For that was the initial promise that through Abraham’s seed a Savior, Messiah would come. Everyone of Jewish decent was looking for the Messiah. Followers of Christ believe that Jesus is the Messiah. That he is God manifested in the flesh to save mankind. Christians believe that because that is what Christ believed and taught. Jesus was born of Mary who is believed to have been a virgin. Christians believe that Mary was impregnated by God. Christians believe that Jesus is God in the flesh. (John 1:14) â€Å"and the Word became flesh and dwelt amongst us† That Jesus Christ came to redeem man back to God; He is the â€Å"Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world† Jesus was Jewish he was born of the tribe of Benjamin, and a direct descendant to King David through both his mother Mary’s bloodline and his earthly father Joseph. He was brought up in and under the Jewish faith and bloodline. He knew all of the laws of Moses. He personalized those laws and lived them to the point of fulfilling the laws. Jesus himself taught â€Å"I did not come to change the law, but to fulfill it†. (Mathew 5:17) So what laws did Jesus come to fulfill. If you recall at the beginning I stated that we would look at the Passover. Jesus taught that he came to take away the sins of th e world. There is a law that was believed to be taught to him by God. That for the remission of sins there must be the shedding of blood. For death to pass over the Israelites on the original â€Å"Pass over† evening an innocent lamb had to be killed and the blood of it wiped on the door post and lintel. When Adam was put out of the Garden of Eden, God covered him with animal skin, which means an innocent animal died. Once a year the High Priest had to go into the Holy of Holies to make the atonement offering for sins, they had to kill a lamb and sprinkle its blood on the altar. And for mankind as a whole to be reconciled back unto God, Jesus had to sacrifice his life. So let’s examine again what was required of the Israelites at the original evening of the Passover. A lamb was to be taken into each household on the 10th of the month (12:3), slain on the 14th (12:6) and subsequently eaten on the 15th. The blood was to be applied to both doorposts and lintel (12:7 ) for the Lord was to pass through the land that night and slay all the first-born in the houses that hadn’t applied the blood (12:12-13). He ‘passed over’ those that had applied the blood. Now on the 10th day the Lambs that were going to be sacrificed were to be led into town before all of the Children of Israel. On the 10th day Jesus entered Jerusalem Christian call this his triumphant entry. Because Jesus, just like the Lamb for the Passover sacrifice was led into the city before the Israelites by the disciples. The Israelites waved palms at him and throw palms before him on the ground and worshipped him. Now the Passover lamb was to be held from the 10th. to the 14th day. During this time the lamb was being examined by the people to determine if it was free from all spots and blemishes. And as for Jesus what was going on with him from the 10th to the 14th. the Bible tells us that he was being questioned and examined and setup. On the 14th. day the lamb tha t was found not to have a spot or a blemish was announced to be pure and it was slain so that its blood could be applied to the doorpost and lintels. On the 14th day Pontius Pilot declared to the crowd â€Å"I find no fault with this man. † In other words he is pure. Jesus was then led to the Calvary where he was slain so that the blood can be applied to our lives so that death will pass us over. Christian celebrate that as â€Å"Good Friday† and Christians believe that Jesus rose from the dead and that one day he will raise each of them. For almost every Jewish Feast day that you have Christians believe that Jesus is and was the fulfillment of it. They still believe in those days just as the Jewish faith does. So when you really think of it to say that you are Christian, a follower of Christ; then you are also saying that you are Jewish for he was. Think about it. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Compare and Contrast of Judaism and Christianity" essay for you Create order