Arab Nationalism through Nasser's mind Research Paper

Arab Nationalism through Nasser's mind - Research Paper Example esidency time gave Arab a new period of modernization, also including its socialist reformation, stable advocacy associating a short-term union with Syria, and in the development of world solidarity. In 1956, the prestige of Nasser suffered and awakens as a result of his nationalism in Suez Canal along with political victory in the following Tripartite Aggression. Nasser’s stature also endured a great damage comprising the occupation of Egyptian & Arab territory in the six day war of 1967 plus with the successful invasion of Israel. This was the era in which the ordinary citizen had an easy to housing, health services, education, jobs, other social welfare and nourishment; whereas on the other hand, the nobility of Arab nationalism collapsed. The economy boosted through agrarian reform in terms of nationalism schemes of Suez Canal and modernization projects Helwan steel works and Aswan Dam. The economy also suffered the downfall simultaneously, considering its growth mark in e arly 1960s, followed by the recovery in 1970. Nasser’s time period made Egypt to experience the golden age of culture regarding film, theater, radio, television, music, poetry, comedy, fine arts and literature. His presidency dominated the Arab World, and stood out the literary figures of Tawfiq el- Hakim and Naguib Mahfouz. Arab also produced the successful singers like, Mohammad Abdel Wahab, Abdel Halim Hafez and Umm Kulthum. Egyptian Revolution in 1952 has always been significant in the history of Arab nationalism. The initialization of this Revolution came into being, when in 22-26 July 1952, a group of Fee Officers were founded by Nasser, and headed by General Muhammad Naguib with the disposal of King Farouk. King Farouk was the person who was blamed for Egypt’s poor performance in the war with Israel in 1948, by the military. During his period, Egypt also lacked in the progression of disease, fighting poverty and illiteracy. The monarchy of Egypt and Sudan remained neglected.

University and Scholar Ship Funding Essay Example for Free

University and Scholar Ship Funding Essay Should college athletes be paid? Thesis: Amateur athletes at the major college, should not be paid for college sports; instead college athletes should be thankful they are receiving full four year scholar ship funding, that is treated like a pro contract where it can be terminated if one was injured or a recruiting mistake. I. Should Ncaa Athletes be paid? A. Study shows that March Madness has become a huge become a huge business in the college sports scene. B. The Ncaa make a 6 billion dollar revenue off broadcasting the teams and also  athletic conference’s receive millions of dollars if there team advances in the tournament. C. College athletes don’t get to see any of the money, as they risk career ending injuries all the time as they step on the court, field, and rink. II. Why should college athletes be paid? A. Research shows that division 1 scholarships are 25,000 per year which equal 100,000 for the course of four years. B. Being athlete is a full time job there is little to none time for working for extra money for the student. C. Athletes earn their schools thousands of dollars, increased in enrollment, and great recruiting prospects for the later years. III. Why shouldn’t college athletes get paid? A. There are less popular teams in the college scene that does not make the university a lot of revenue, so why pay if all are struggling B. Instead of receiving a salary college athletes need to be worried about achieving a degree. C. Players are receiving an advanced education at universities and colleges that thousands of Americans can’t attend. IV. Conclusion: Trevon Marshall Rough Draft.

Character And Traits In Leadership Philosophy Essay

Character And Traits In Leadership Philosophy Essay Managers are people who do things right, while leaders are people who do the right thing. Warren Bennis, Ph.D. On Becoming a Leader Building Excellence. >Leaders do not command excellence, they build excellence. Excellence is being all you can be within the bounds of doing what is right for your organization. To reach excellence you must first be a leader of good character. You must do everything you are supposed to do. Organizations will not achieve excellence by figuring out where it wants to go, then having leaders do whatever they have to in order to get the job done, and then hope their leaders acted with good character. This type of thinking is backwards. Pursuing excellence should not be confused with accomplishing a job or task. When you do planning, you do it by backwards planning. But you do not achieve excellence by backwards planning. Excellence starts with leaders of good and strong character who engage in the entire process of leadership. And the first process is being a person of honorable character. Character develops over time. Many think that much of a persons character is formed early in life. However, we do not know exactly how much or how early character develops. But, it is safe to claim that character does not change quickly. A persons observable behavior is an indication of her character. This behavior can be strong or weak, good or bad. A person with strong character shows drive, energy, determination, self-discipline, willpower, and nerve. She sees what she wants and goes after it. She attracts followers. On the other hand, a person with weak character shows none of these traits. She does not know what she wants. Her traits are disorganized, she vacillates and is inconsistent. She will attract no followers. A strong person can be good or bad. A gang leader is an example of a strong person with a bad character, while an outstanding community leader is one with both strong and good characteristics. An organization needs leaders with both strong and good characteristics, people who will guide them to the future and show that they can be trusted. To be an effective leader, your followers must have trust in you and they need to be sold on your vision. Korn-Ferry International, an executive search company, performed a survey on what organizations want from their leaders. The respondents said they wanted people who were both ethical and who convey a strong vision of the future. In any organization, a leaders actions set the pace. This behavior wins trust, loyalty, and ensures the organizations continued vitality. One of the ways to build trust is to display a good sense of character composed of beliefs, values, skills, and traits (U.S. Army Handbook, 1973): Beliefs are what we hold dear to us and are rooted deeply within us. They could be assumptions or convictions that you hold true regarding people, concepts, or things. They could be the beliefs about life, death, religion, what is good, what is bad, what is human nature, etc. Values are attitudes about the worth of people, concepts, or things. For example, you might value a good car, home, friendship, personal comfort, or relatives. Values are important as they influence a persons behavior to weigh the importance of alternatives. For example, you might value friends more than privacy, while others might be the opposite. Skills are the knowledge and abilities that a person gains throughout life. The ability to learn a new skill varies with each individual. Some skills come almost naturally, while others come only by complete devotion to study and practice. Traits are distinguishing qualities or characteristics of a person, while character is the sum total of these traits. There are hundreds of personality traits, far too many to be discussed here. Instead, we will focus on a few that are crucial for a leader. The more of these you display as a leader, the more your followers will believe and trust in you. Traits of a Good Leader Compiled by the Santa Clara University and the Tom Peters Group: Honest Display sincerity, integrity, and candor in all your actions. Deceptive behavior will not inspire trust. Competent Base your actions on reason and moral principles. Do not make decisions based on childlike emotional desires or feelings. Forward-looking Set goals and have a vision of the future. The vision must be owned throughout the organization. Effective leaders envision what they want and how to get it. They habitually pick priorities stemming from their basic values. Inspiring Display confidence in all that you do. By showing endurance in mental, physical, and spiritual stamina, you will inspire others to reach for new heights. Take charge when necessary. Intelligent Read, study, and seek challenging assignments. Fair-minded Show fair treatment to all people. Prejudice is the enemy of justice. Display empathy by being sensitive to the feelings, values, interests, and well-being of others. Broad-minded Seek out diversity. Courageous Have the perseverance to accomplish a goal, regardless of the seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Display a confident calmness when under stress. Straightforward Use sound judgment to make a good decisions at the right time. Imaginative Make timely and appropriate changes in your thinking, plans, and methods. Show creativity by thinking of new and better goals, ideas, and solutions to problems. Be innovative! Retreat Hell! Weve just got here! Attributed to several World War I Marine Corps officers, Belleau Wood, June 1918 (key ideal take a stand) Attributes Attributes establish what leaders are, and every leader needs at least three of them (U.S. Army Handbook, 1973): Standard Bearers establish the ethical framework within an organization. This demands a commitment to live and defend the climate and culture that you want to permeate your organization. What you set as an example will soon become the rule as unlike knowledge, ethical behavior is learned more by observing than by listening. And in fast moving situations, examples become certainty. Being a standard bearer creates trust and openness in your employees, who in turn, fulfill your visions. Developers help others learn through teaching, training, and coaching. This creates an exciting place to work and learn. Never miss an opportunity to teach or learn something new yourself. Coaching suggests someone who cares enough to get involved by encouraging and developing others who are less experienced. Employees who work for developers know that they can take risks, learn by making mistakes, and winning in the end. Integrators orchestrate the many activities that take place throughout an organization by providing a view of the future and the ability to obtain it. Success can only be achieved when there is a unity of effort. Integrators have a sixth sense about where problems will occur and make their presence felt during critical times. They know that their employees do their best when they are left to work within a vision-based framework. Goddamn it, you will never get the Purple Heart hiding in a foxhole! Follow me! Captain Henry P. Jim Crowe, USMC, Guadalcanal, 13 January 1943. (key words follow me, NOT go) Perspectives of Character and Traits Traits (acronym JJ did tie buckle) Justice Judgment Dependability Initiative Decisiveness Tact Integrity Enthusiasm Bearing Unselfishness Courage Knowledge Loyalty Endurance The Image of Leadership John Schoolland What kind of a leader are you going to be the kind who thinks he is the best? Or will you be one of the very few greats Who attributes success to the rest. The U.S. Armys Eleven Leadership Principles Be tactically and technically proficient Know yourself and seek self-improvement Know your soldiers and look out for their welfare Keep your soldiers informed Set the example Ensure the task is understood, supervised and accomplished Train your soldiers as a team Make sound and timely decisions Develop a sense of responsibility in your subordinates Employ your unit in accordance with its capabilities Seek responsibility and take responsibility for your actions Organizations consist of three components: The structure gives the organization its form and dictates the way it will interact. The followers respond to the structure and the leaders. The leaders determine the ultimate effectiveness of the organization as the character and skills that they bring determine the way problems are solved and tasks are accomplished. U.S. Army 23 Traits of Character Bearing Confidence Courage Integrity Decisiveness Justice Endurance Tact Initiative Coolness Maturity Improvement Will Assertiveness Candor Sense of humor Competence Commitment Creativity Self-discipline Humility Flexibility Empathy/Compassion Are managers leaders? Are leaders managers? Managers need to be leaders. . . their workers need vision and guidance! On the other hand, leaders need to be good managers of the resources entrusted to them. Is Character Developed Via Nature or Nurture (Ridley, 2003)? I do not believe that the nature vs. nurture debate is linear enough to put percentages on it on one side of the fence we have nature and on the other side we have nurture. And while nature (genes) certainly has its influences on us, the environment (nurture) normally determines the impact of a gene. For example, one of the classic examples for discussing genes is Konrad Lorenzs work on the imprinting that occurs in baby geese they have it within them to imprint whatever is moving near them, which is normally their mother. However, it could be anything else that is moving around them, such as a person. But no matter what they imprint on, rather it be their mother, a human, or an inanimate object, the piece of the environment that they actually imprint on is going to have a huge impact on their life. Thus genes provide the goal, but the environment provides the process. And it is what happens during the process that will determine the outcome. Piaget was probably the first person to think of children as species equipped with a characteristic mind, rather than as apprentice adults (little adults). He discovered they went through a series of five developmental stages that were always in the same order, but not always at the same rate: Sensorimotor Preoperational Concrete operations In adolescence they have Abstract Thoughts and Deductive reasoning Piagets two contemporaries, Konrad Lorenz and B. F. Skinner took up extreme positions. Lorenz as a champion of nature and Skinner as a champion of nurture. Piaget, however, dived right down the middle of this debate. He believed a genes meaning depends heavily on its context with the surrounding environment. That is, while a child goes through five stages of development (genes), it is the active engagement of the mind with the surrounding environment (nurture) that causes development. The two main forces of the environment are feedback and social interaction. From this, the child assimilates predicted experiences and accommodates it to unexpected experiences. For some time it was believed that animals grew no new neurons in the cortex of their brains upon reaching adulthood, thus their fate was basically sealed by their genetic nature. This was apparently proved by a Pasco Rakic, a neuroscientist. However, Fernando Nottebohm soon found that adult canaries made new neurons when they learn new songs. So Rakic replied that it was only adult mammals that could not grow neurons. But soon afterward, Elizabeth Gould found that rats grow new neurons. So Rakic replied primates could not. Gould next discovered that tree shrews grew new neurons. Rakic that higher primates could not grow new neurons. Gould then found them in marmosets. Rakic zeroed it down to old-world primates. Gould then discovered them in macaques. Today it is almost certain that all primates, including humans, grow new neurons in response to new experiences, and lose neurons in response to neglect. Thus, with all the determinism built into the initial wiring of our brain, experience with our surrounding environment refines and in some cases rewires that initial wiring. Nature may be our internal guide (map), but nurture is our explorer that has the final say in what we do (destination). References Ridley, M. (2003). Nature Via Nurture New York: Harper Collins. U.S. Army Handbook (1973). Military Leadership. Leadership Styles Leadership style is the manner and approach of providing direction, implementing plans, and motivating people. Kurt Lewin (1939) led a group of researchers to identify different styles of leadership. This early study has been very influential and established three major leadership styles. The three major styles of leadership are (U.S. Army Handbook, 1973): Authoritarian or autocratic Participative or democratic Delegative or Free Reign Although good leaders use all three styles, with one of them normally dominant, bad leaders tend to stick with one style. Authoritarian (autocratic) I want both of you to. . . This style is used when leaders tell their employees what they want done and how they want it accomplished, without getting the advice of their followers. Some of the appropriate conditions to use it is when you have all the information to solve the problem, you are short on time, and your employees are well motivated. Some people tend to think of this style as a vehicle for yelling, using demeaning language, and leading by threats and abusing their power. This is not the authoritarian style, rather it is an abusive, unprofessional style called bossing people around. It has no place in a leaders repertoire. The authoritarian style should normally only be used on rare occasions. If you have the time and want to gain more commitment and motivation from your employees, then you should use the participative style. Participative (democratic) Lets work together to solve this. . . This style involves the leader including one or more employees in the decision making process (determining what to do and how to do it). However, the leader maintains the final decision making authority. Using this style is not a sign of weakness, rather it is a sign of strength that your employees will respect. This is normally used when you have part of the information, and your employees have other parts. Note that a leader is not expected to know everything this is why you employ knowledgeable and skillful employees. Using this style is of mutual benefit it allows them to become part of the team and allows you to make better decisions. Delegative (free reign) You two take care of the problem while I go. . . In this style, the leader allows the employees to make the decisions. However, the leader is still responsible for the decisions that are made. This is used when employees are able to analyze the situation and determine what needs to be done and how to do it. You cannot do everything! You must set priorities and delegate certain tasks. This is not a style to use so that you can blame others when things go wrong, rather this is a style to be used when you fully trust and confidence in the people below you. Do not be afraid to use it, however, use it wisely! NOTE: This is also known as laissez faire (or lais ·ser faire), which is the noninterference in the affairs of others. [French : laissez, second person pl. imperative of laisser, to let, allow + faire, to do.] Forces A good leader uses all three styles, depending on what forces are involved between the followers, the leader, and the situation. Some examples include: Using an authoritarian style on a new employee who is just learning the job. The leader is competent and a good coach. The employee is motivated to learn a new skill. The situation is a new environment for the employee. Using a participative style with a team of workers who know their job. The leader knows the problem, but does not have all the information. The employees know their jobs and want to become part of the team. Using a delegative style with a worker who knows more about the job than you. You cannot do everything and the employee needs to take ownership of her job! In addition, this allows you to be at other places, doing other things. Using all three: Telling your employees that a procedure is not working correctly and a new one must be established (authoritarian). Asking for their ideas and input on creating a new procedure (participative). Delegating tasks in order to implement the new procedure (delegative). Forces that influence the style to be used included: How much time is available. Are relationships based on respect and trust or on disrespect? Who has the information you, your employees, or both? How well your employees are trained and how well you know the task. Internal conflicts. Stress levels. Type of task. Is it structured, unstructured, complicated, or simple? Laws or established procedures such as OSHA or training plans. Positive and Negative Approaches There is a difference in ways leaders approach their employee. Positive leaders use rewards, such as education, independence, etc. to motivate employees. While negative employers emphasize penalties. While the negative approach has a place in a leaders repertoire of tools, it must be used carefully due to its high cost on the human spirit. Negative leaders act domineering and superior with people. They believe the only way to get things done is through penalties, such as loss of job, days off without pay, reprimanding employees in front of others, etc. They believe their authority is increased by frightening everyone into higher levels of productivity. Yet what always happens when this approach is used wrongly is that morale falls; which of course leads to lower productivity. Also note that most leaders do not strictly use one or another, but are somewhere on a continuum ranging from extremely positive to extremely negative. People who continuously work out of the negative are bosses while those who primarily work out of the positive are considered real leaders. Use of Consideration and Structure Two other approaches that leaders use are: Consideration (employee orientation) leaders are concerned about the human needs of their employees. They build teamwork, help employees with their problems, and provide psychological support. Structure (task orientation) leaders believe that they get results by consistently keeping people busy and urging them to produce. There is evidence that leaders who are considerate in their leadership style are higher performers and are more satisfied with their job (Schriesheim, 1982). Also notice that consideration and structure are independent of each other, thus they should not be viewed on opposite ends of a continuum. For example, a leader who becomes more considerate, does not necessarily mean that she has become less structured. See Blake and Moutons Managerial Grid as it is also based on this concept. Paternalism Paternalism has at times been equated with leadership styles. Yet most definitions of leadership normally state or imply that one of the actions within leadership is that of influencing. For example, the Army uses the following definition: Leadership is influencing people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation while operating to accomplish the mission and improving the organization. The Army further goes on by defining influence as: a means of getting people to do what you want them to do. It is the means or method to achieve two ends: operating and improving. But there is more to influencing than simply passing along orders. The example you set is just as important as the words you speak. And you set an example good or bad with every action you take and word you utter, on or off duty. Through your words and example, you must communicate purpose, direction, and motivation. While paternalism is defined as (Webster): a system under which an authority undertakes to supply needs or regulate conduct of those under its control in matters affecting them as individuals as well as in their relationships to authority and to each other. Thus paternalism supplies needs for those under its protection or control, while leadership gets things done. The first is directed inwards, while the latter is directed outwards. Geert Hofstede (1977) studied culture within organizations. Part of his study was on the dependence relationship or Power Difference the extent to which the less powerful members of an organization expect and accept that power is distributed unequally. Hofstede gave this story to illustrate this Power Difference: The last revolution in Sweden disposed of King Gustav IV, whom they considered incompetent, and surprising invited Jean Baptise Bernadotte, a French general who served under Napoleon, to become their new King. He accepted and became King Charles XIV. Soon afterward he needed to address the Swedish Parliament. Wanting to be accepted, he tried to do the speech in their language. His broken language amused the Swedes so much that they roared with laughter. The Frenchman was so upset that he never tried to speak Swedish again. Bernadotte was a victim of culture shock never in his French upbringing and military career had he experienced subordinates who laughed at the mistakes of their superior. This story has a happy ending as he was considered very good and ruled the country as a highly respected constitutional monarch until 1844. (His descendants still occupy the Swedish throne.) Sweden differs from France in the way its society handles inequality (those in charge and the followers). To measure inequality or Power Difference, Hofstede studied three survey questions from a larger survey that both factored and carried the same weight: Frequency of employees being afraid to express disagreement with their managers. Subordinates perception of their bosss actual decision making style (paternalistic style was one choice). Subordinates preference for their bosss decision-making style (again, paternalistic style was one choice). He developed a Power Difference Index (PDI) for the 53 countries that took the survey. Their scores range from 11 to 104. The higher the number a country received, the more autocratic and/or paternalistic the leadership, which of course relates to employees being more afraid or unwilling to disagree with their bosses. While lower numbers mean a more consultative style of leadership is used, which translates to employees who are not as afraid of their bosses. For example, Malaysia has the highest PDI score, being 104, while Austria has the lowest with 11. And of course, as the story above illustrates, Sweden has a relative low score of 31, while France has a PDI of 68. The USAs is 40. Note that these scores are relative, not absolute, in that relativism affirms that one culture has no absolute criteria for judging activities of another culture as low or noble. Keeping the above in mind, it seems that some picture paternalistic behavior as almost a barbaric way of getting things accomplished. Yet, leadership is all about getting things done for the organization. And in some situations, a paternalistic style of decision-making might be required; indeed, in some cultures and individuals, it may also be expected by not only those in charge, but also the followers. That is what makes leadership styles quite interesting they basically run along the same continuum as Hofstedes PDI, ranging from paternalistic to consultative styles of decision making. This allows a wide range of individual behaviors to be dealt with, ranging from beginners to peak performers. In addition, it accounts for the fact that not everyone is the same. However, when paternalistic or autocratic styles are relied upon too much and the employees are ready and/or willing to react to a more consultative type of leadership style, then it normally becomes quite damaging to the performance of the organization.

Mother teresa Essay -- essays research papers

â€Å"Life is beauty, admire it. Life is a dream, realize it. Life is wealth, keep it. Life is a promise, fulfill it. Life is a song, sing it. Life is too precious, do not destroy it. Life is life, fight for it!† were the lines of Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu who is now known as the famous Mother Teresa. Mother Teresa born to an Albanian family on August 26th, 1910 in a city called Skopje, Serbia. As a child, Agnes lived in a quite favorable house and was educated in local schools. Her father was a building contractor while her mother was a homemaker. At the age of nine Agnes father died leaving her mom to raise her and her two elder siblings. Mrs. Bojaxhiu embroidered clothes that got her a daily income to raise her children. Since a young age Agnes helped poor people by giving them food to eat and clothes to wear. At the age of twelve she decided that she wanted to become a nun. When she was eighteen she left her family and house knowing that she would never see them again. Studying in Ireland for a year to become a nun she took another step ahead and went to India. There she took her final vows of becoming a nun and adopted the name Sister Teresa in honor of Therese of Lisieux. She worked in a school in Calcutta, India for many years proving herself as a good teacher and principal. When she saw dead bodies on streets and everyday miseries of Calcutta she convinced herself that she should be working among the poor and desperate people of Calcutta rather than rich. Sister Teresa reques...

Creating Positive School Experiences for Teens with Disabilities

All men are created equally. Having disabilities does not constitute having different rights. But this is not usually the case. In the article entitled, Creating Positive School Experiences for Teens with Disabilities, the experiences in school of students with disabilities is tackled and what positive actions could and should be done in order to provide these teens the rightful treatment they deserve. The theme of the article is to emphasize the importance of equality and unity despite the differences in capabilities. It is an article that should be highly considered by students with disabilities, teachers and school counselors involved in programs for the well-being of all students, and other students who have direct encounter with fellow schoolmates that have disabilities. Students with disabilities often face discrimination and challenges because of the biasness people have towards them. As a result, they could easily internalize negative attitudes, affecting their behavior towards other people. The article educates people, especially teachers and counselors, to help by creating programs that would encourage people to help in providing a positive environment for students with disabilities to participate in. The article does not state that special treatments are what students with disabilities need. What is more important is that they are given equal chances and the right amount of respect they deserve. Bullying and other forms of negative biasness should be eradicated from the school system in order for the disabled students to grow well in a fair and just community. The article agrees with the Scripture as it highlights giving equal opportunities and respect for all people, no matter what background they may have. The ministry should also help encourage school administrators to intervene and promote positive school experiences for the disabled. Programs that emphasize on respect, equality, and understanding should dominate the school rules.

King’s Western Fantasy Series “Comes of Age”

King’s Western Fantasy Series â€Å"Comes of Age† King’s Western Fantasy Series â€Å"Comes of Age† â€Å"I do not aim with my hand. He who aims with his hand has forgotten the face of his father. I do not shoot with my hand. I shoot with my mind. I do not kill with my gun. I kill with my heart.† So says Roland Deschain, the final gunslinger who has been involved in an eternal battle with the Man in Black, Walter O’Dim. The goal? to keep the Man in Black from toppling the Dark Tower, an edifice that holds the universe together. In just a few days, The Dark Tower: Gunslinger will open. It is a part of Stephen King’s western fantasy book series, that has never achieved the fame of his other famous books-turned-movies. Not Without Controversy The film has not come to launch without controversy, specifically over the selection of Idris Elba in the role of the Gunslinger, pitted against Matthew McConoughey as the Man in Black. Much of the controversy swirls around the fact that Elba is black, and those aficionados of the book series insist that the Gunslinger was always portrayed as white. While many angry fans insist that they are not racist, their comments sometimes come off as such. But in general, the anger does stem from the insistence of readers/fans that Elba was always portrayed as white. On Stephen King’s twitter account, the battles began to rage in 2015, to wit: And in a Wikia.com forum on the casting, one angry fan wrote the following: A FANDOM user 64.139.97.24 I can't believe they're casting Idris as Roland Deschaine in the new Dark Tower movie. I like the guy just fine, but he's NOT ROLAND!!! You can't just CHANGE the main character's race, especially when it will directly conflict with the ENTIRE storyline! WTF are these morons thinking? And I'm definitely NOT racist, so don't even go there. And I can't freaking believe Stephen King doesn't have the balls to stand up and say, "No F-ing Way!!. Roland was NOT BLACK!!!" Making Roland black changes the entire backstory of Roland, and for those of us who have perseveered through the years and invested more than just money into these stories, this change ruins it completely. Where I was once very excited to see the Dark Tower saga FINALLY made into a movie, now I can't imagine even watching it. Ever†¦ King’s Reaction It was pretty swift: The fact that King did not see the casting as an issue did serve to calm some of their anguish. And Producer Akiva Goldsman shared his thoughts/rationale for the casting. A Long Time Coming Most do not know that this movie has been â€Å"in the works† since 2007, and that at different times, directors J.J. Abrams and Ron Howard had some involvement. At one time, it was envisioned as a trilogy with an ensuing TV series, and during the planning phases, it was passed among Universal, Warner Bros. and finally to Sony Pictures. Filming began in South Africa in the spring of 2016, with an intended release date of January, 2017. Obviously, that didn’t happen. Box Office Predictions Obviously, the weekend of August 4-6 stats will tell us of the enthusiasm for this movie. Stephen King always has a big draw, but this older novel series (1980’s) is not as well known. Still there is a large demographic that will love the sci-fi aspect and the combination of the â€Å"wild west† with sci-fi. And there is certainly a huge contingent of King fans who will want to take a chance on the film. The controversy over the Idris Elba casting has indeed died down, despite some die-hard fans who continue to object. What will really matter, as King himself says, is how Elba carries the role. For those expecting a typical Stephen King plot, there may be some disappointment. The plots, themes, settings, etc. are not anything like King’s later novels and, in some respects, are more akin to Star Wars without the environment of space. Many, in fact, liken this series more to a Lord of the Rings genre, and those who love Tolkien may indeed love this film as well. The overriding theme is, of course, good vs. evil. As for the Controversy Over Elba It is important to look at the role history of Elba to understand why he was a logical pick for the role of the Gunslinger in The Dark Tower. These roles include major parts in two Thor films, American Gangster, Pacific Rim, Prometheus, Mandela, and The Losers. His roles have been amazingly varied and in each of them, he has demonstrated exceptional versatility. There is no reason to believe that his performance in The Dark Tower will be any different.