Eintrag von: dada - geschrieben am: 13.11.2002 - 17:52 Uhr
Titel: dada While in prison, Tupac Shakur studied in depth the teachings of the political philosopher Machiavelli. Tupac said he learned a lot from reading Machiavelli's books, particularly The Prince and The Art Of War.
After his release from prison, Tupac began using the name Makaveli to represent his new way of thinking.
Niccoló Machiavelli (1469-1527)
ALSO: Niccoló Macchiavelli
"Men are always wicked at bottom unless they are made good by some compulsion."
Biography:
The first great political philosopher of the Renaissance was Nicolo Machiavelli (1469-1527). His famous treatise, The Prince, stands apart from all other political writings of the period insofar as it focus on the practical problems a monarch faces in staying in power, rather than more speculative issues explaining the foundation of political authority. As such, it is an expression of realpolitik, that is, governmental policy based on retaining power rather than pursuing ideals.
Machiavelli was born in Florence, Italy at a time when the country was in political upheaval . Italy was divided between four dominant city-states, and each of these was continually at the mercy of the stronger foreign governments of Europe. Since 1434 Florence was ruled by the wealthy Medici family. Their rule was temporarily interrupted by a reform movement, begun in 1494, in which the young Machiavelli became an important diplomat. When the Medici family regained power in 1512 with the help of Spanish troops, Machiavelli was tortured and removed from public life. For the next 10 years he devoted himself to writing history, political philosophy, and even plays. He ultimately gained favor with the Medici family and was called back to public duty for the last two years of his life. Machiavelli's greatest work is The Prince, written in 1513 and published after his death in 1532. The work immediately provoked controversy and was soon condemned by Pope Clement VIII. Its main theme is that princes should retain absolute control of their territories, and they should use any means of expediency to accomplish this end, including deceit. Scholars struggle over interpreting Machiavelli's precise point. In several section Machiavelli praises Caesar Borgia, a Spanish aristocrat who became a notorious and much despised tyrant of the Romagna region of northern Italy. During Machiavelli's early years as a diplomat, he was in contact with Borgia and witnessed Borgia's rule first hand. Does Machiavelli hold up Borgia as the model prince? Some readers initially saw The Prince as a satire on absolute rulers such as Borgia, which showed the repugnance of arbitrary power (thereby implying the importance of liberty). However, this theory fell apart when, in 1810, a letter by Machiavelli was discovered in which he reveals that he wrote The Prince to endear himself to the ruling Medici family in Florence. To liberate Italy from the influence of foreign governments, Machiavelli explains that strong indigenous governments are important, even if they are absolutist.
THE PRINCE. Machiavelli opens The Prince describing the two principal types of governments: monarchies and republics. His focus in The Prince is on monarchies. The most controversial aspects of Machiavelli's analysis emerge in the middle chapters of his work. In Chapter 15 he proposes to describe the truth about surviving as a monarch, rather than recommending lofty moral ideals. He describes those virtues which, on face value, we think a prince should possess. He concludes that some "virtues" will lead to a prince's destruction, whereas some "vices" allow him to survive. Indeed, the virtues which we commonly praise in people might lead to his downfall. In chapter 16 he notes that we commonly think that it is best for a prince to have a reputation of being generous. However, if his generosity is done in secret, no one will know about it and he will be thought to be greedy. If it is done openly, then he risks going broke to maintain his reputation. He will then extort more money from his subjects and thus be hated. For Machiavelli, it is best for a prince to have a reputation for being stingy. Machiavelli anticipates examples one might give of generous monarchs who have been successful. He concludes that generosity should only be shown to soldiers with goods taken from a pillaged enemy city. In Chapter 17 he argues that it is better for a prince to be severe when punishing people rather than merciful. Severity through death sentences affects only a few, but it deters crimes which affects many. Further, he argues, it is better to be feared than to be loved. However, the prince should avoid being hated, which he can easily accomplish by not confiscating the property of his subjects: "people more quickly forget the death of their father than the loss of their inheritance." In Chapter 18, perhaps the most controversial section of The Prince, Machiavelli argues that the prince should know how to be deceitful when it suits his purpose. When the prince needs to be deceitful, though, he must not appear that way. Indeed he must always exhibit five virtues in particular: mercy, honesty, humaneness, uprightness, and religiousness. In Chapter 19 Machiavelli argues that the prince must avoid doing things which will cause him to be hated. This is accomplished by not confiscating property, and not appearing greedy or wishy-washy. In fact, the best way to avoid being overthrown is to avoid being hated.
|
Eintrag von: dada - geschrieben am: 13.11.2002 - 17:51 Uhr
Titel: dada Tupac Shakur Filmography
Gang Related (1997)
Two cops, played by Tupac Shakur and James Belushi, kill an undercover DEA agent by mistake, and frantically try to cover their tracks by framing a homeless man for the crime. That involves juggling evidence, coaching witnesses, and improvising to keep their desperate scheme from unraveling.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gridlock'd (1997)
After a friend overdoses, Spoon (played by Tupac Shakur) and Stretch (Tim Roth) decide to kick their drug habits and attempt to enroll in a government detox program. Their efforts are hampered by seemingly endless red tape, as they are shuffled from one office to another while being chased by drug dealers and the police.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rhyme & Reason (1997)
A study in the world of hip-hop, done mostly with interviews, in order to see why it is as popular as it is today and what the future holds. This documentry features Tupac Shakur, Dr. Dre, Puff Daddy and Ice-T among others.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bullet (1996)
In this gangland action thriller, a pair of urban underworld thugs struggle to come to terms with both their intense, violent rivalry and their grudging respect for one another. A small role for Tupac (playing Tank).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Above The Rim (1994)
Story of a promising high school basketball star and his relationships with his two brothers, one a drug dealer and the other a basketball star now employed as a security guard. Tupac Shakur stars as Birdie.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Poetic Justice (1993)
After witnessing the murder of her first and only boyfriend, young Justice decides to forget about college and become a South Central Los Angeles hairdresser. Avoiding friends, the only way for her to cope with her depression is by composing beautiful poetry. On her way to a convention in Oakland, she is forced to ride with an independent-minded postal worker whom she has not gotten along with in the past. After various arguments between them and their friends, they start to discover that their thoughts on violence, socially and domestically, are the same. Justice may finally feel that she is not as alone as before. Movie stars Janet Jackson as Justice and Tupac Shakur as Lucky.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Juice (1992)
Best friends Q, Bishop (played by Tupac Shakur), Raheem, and Stell live in a world where fun and danger exist side-by-side, and violence is powerfully seductive. These four Harlem friends take on the neighborhood - and each other - to get the power and respect they call Juice.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nothing But Trouble (1991)
A financier [Chevy Chase] meets a spurned lover [Demi Moore] and agrees to take her to a business meeting. On the way there, they run a stop sign in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere. They are arrested and taken to the local court. But all is not as it seems: the courthouse and the "prison" are a maze of zany booby- traps and deadly contraptions. The antics of the captured couple as they try to escape from the mad judge and his bizarre family make up the rest of this unusual film. Tupac Shakur appears in a cameo as a member of Digital Underground.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Notable TV guest appearances:
"Saturday Night Special" (1996)
Saturday Night Live (1995)
"Different World, A" (1987) playing "Picolo
|
