Jessica Marie Alba (/ˈælbə/AL-bə; born April 28, 1981)[2] is an American actress. She began her acting career at age 13 in Camp Nowhere (1994), followed up by The Secret World of Alex Mack (1994), and rose to prominence at age 19 as the lead actress of the television series Dark Angel (2000–2002), for which she received a Golden Globe nomination.[3][4][5]
In 2011, Alba co-founded The Honest Company, a consumer goods company that sells baby, personal and household products.[7] A number of magazines, including Men's Health, Vanity Fair and FHM, have included Alba on their lists of the world's most beautiful women.
Jessica Marie Alba was born in Pomona, California[8] on April 28, 1981, to Catherine Louisa (née Jensen) and Mark David Alba. Her mother has Danish, Welsh, German, English and French ancestry, while her paternal grandparents, who were born in California, were children of Mexican immigrants.[9] She has a younger brother, Joshua. Her third cousin, once removed, is writer Gustavo Arellano.[10] Her father's Air Force career took the family to Biloxi, Mississippi, and Del Rio, Texas, before they settled in Claremont, California when she was nine years old.[4] Alba has described her family as "very conservative… a traditional, Catholic, Latin American family", and herself as very liberal; she says she identified as a "feminist" as early as age five.[11]
Alba's early life was marked by a multitude of physical maladies. During childhood, she suffered from pneumonia four to five times a year and had partially collapsed lungs twice as well as a ruptured appendix and tonsillar cyst. She has also had asthma since she was a child.[4] She became isolated from other children at school because she was hospitalized so often, no one knew her well enough to befriend her.[12] She has said that her family's frequent moving also contributed to her isolation from her peers.[11] She graduated from Claremont High School at age 16 and subsequently attended the Atlantic Theater Company.[13]
Alba expressed an interest in acting from age five. In 1992, the eleven year old Alba persuaded her mother to take her to an acting competition in Beverly Hills, where the grand prize was free acting classes. She won the grand prize, and took her first acting lessons. An agent signed her nine months later.[4][14] Her first film appearance was a small role in the 1994 feature Camp Nowhere as Gail. She was originally hired for two weeks but her role turned into a two-month job when one of the prominent actresses dropped out.[3]
Alba appeared in two national television commercials for Nintendo and J. C. Penney as a child. She was later featured in several independent films. She branched out into television in 1994 with a recurring role as the vain Jessica in three episodes of the Nickelodeon comedy series The Secret World of Alex Mack.[15] She then performed the role of Maya in the first two seasons of the 1995 television series Flipper.[3][15] Under the tutelage of her lifeguard mother, Alba learned to swim before she could walk, and was a PADI certified scuba diving skills which were put to use on the show, which was filmed in Australia.[15][16]
Her big break came when James Cameron picked Alba from over 1000 candidates for the role of the genetically engineered super-soldier Max Guevara on the FOX sci-fi television series Dark Angel.[19] The series ran for two seasons, until 2002, and earned Alba critical acclaim, a Golden Globe nomination, the Teen Choice Award for Choice Actress, and a Saturn Award for Best Actress.[6][20] Her role has been cited as a feminist character and is considered a symbol of female empowerment. Writing for the University of Melbourne, Bronwen Auty considered Max "the archetypal modern feminist hero—a young woman empowered to use her body actively to achieve goals", citing Max's refusal to use firearms and instead using martial arts and knowledge as weapons.[21] In 2004, Max was ranked #17 in TV Guide's list of "25 Greatest Sci-Fi Legends".[22][23] Her Dark Angel role led to significant parts in films. She had her big screen breakthrough in 2003 when she starred as an aspiring dancer-choreographer in Honey.[24]Rotten Tomatoes' critical consensus was: "An attractive Jessica Alba and energetic dance numbers provide some lift to this corny and formulaic movie".[25] Budgeted at US$18 million, the film made US$62.2 million.[26]
Alba portrayed the Marvel Comics character Invisible Woman in Fantastic Four (also 2005), alongside Ioan Gruffudd, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis, and Julian McMahon.[31]The Guardian, in its review for the film, noted: "Feminists and non-feminists alike must absorb the Fantastic Four's most troubling paradox: having been admitted to the story on the grounds of her beauty, [Alba's] superpower is to be invisible".[32] The film was a commercial success despite negative reviews, grossing US$333.5 million worldwide. At the 2006 MTV Movie Awards, Alba earned nominations for Best Hero and Best On-Screen Team. Her last 2005 film was the thriller Into the Blue, where she portrayed, opposite Paul Walker, one half of a couple who find themselves in trouble with a drug lord after finding the illicit cargo of a sunken airplane. The film saw moderate box office returns, with a US$44.4 million worldwide gross.[33] She hosted the 2006 MTV Movie Awards and performed sketches spoofing the movies King Kong, Mission: Impossible III and The Da Vinci Code.[34]
Alba reprised her role in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, released in June 2007. According to Alba, Tim Story's direction during an emotional scene almost made her quit acting. "[He told me] 'It looks too real. It looks too painful. Can you be prettier when you cry? Cry pretty, Jessica.' He was like, 'Don't do that thing with your face. Just make it flat. We can CGI the tears in.'" According to Alba, this experience filled her with self-doubt: "And then it all got me thinking: Am I not good enough? Are my instincts and my emotions not good enough? Do people hate them so much that they don't want me to be a person? Am I not allowed to be a person in my work? And so I just said, 'Fuck it. I don't care about this business anymore.'"[35] The film grossed US$290 million globally.[36]
In Good Luck Chuck (also 2007), Alba portrayed the love interest of a womanizer dentist. She posed for one of the Good Luck Chuck's theatrical posters parodying the well-known Rolling Stone cover photographed by Annie Leibovitz featuring John Lennon and Yoko Ono in similar poses. While the film was heavily panned by critics, it made almost US$60 million upon its release.[37] Her third starring vehicle in 2007 was the psychological thriller Awake, portraying the girlfriend of a wealthy man who is about to have a heart transplant.[38] Reviews were lukewarm, but Roger Ebert praised her performance,[39] and budgeted at around US$8 million, the film made US$32.7 million.[40]
While Alba did not have any film release in 2009, five high-profile films released throughout 2010 featured her in significant roles. Her first role in the year was that of a prostitute in The Killer Inside Me, an adaptation of the book of the same name, opposite Kate Hudson and Casey Affleck, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to polarized reactions from critics.[49][50][51] Her next film was the romantic comedy Valentine's Day, in which she played the girlfriend of a florist as part of a long ensemble cast consisting of Jessica Biel, Bradley Cooper, Taylor Lautner and Julia Roberts, among others. Despite negative reviews, the film was a commercial success, with a worldwide gross of US$216.5 million.[52] In the action film Machete, Alba reunited with director Robert Rodriguez, taking on the role of an immigration officer torn between enforcing the law and doing what is popular in the eyes of her family. Machete made over US$44 million globally.[53]
The drama An Invisible Sign of My Own, which Alba filmed in late 2008, premiered at the Hamptons Film Festival. In it, she portrayed a painfully withdrawn young woman.[54][55][56] Her last 2010 film was the comedy Little Fockers, in which she played an extrovert drug representative, reuniting with Robert De Niro, who was also in Machete. Despite negative reviews from critics, the film grossed over US$310 million worldwide.[57] For all her 2010 roles, she received a Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actress.[58]
2011–present: action and independent media productions[edit]
In 2011, Alba worked for the third time with Robert Rodriguez in the film Spy Kids: All the Time in the World, portraying a retired spy who is called back into action. To bond with her new stepchildren, she invites them along.[59] The film paled at the box office in comparison to the previous films in the franchise, but was still a moderate success, taking in US$85 million around the globe.[60] Alba next appeared with Adam Scott, Richard Jenkins, Jane Lynch, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and Catherine O'Hara in the comedy A.C.O.D. (2013), portraying what the Washington Post described as a "fellow child of divorce", with whom Scott's character "almost cheats on" her girlfriend.[61]ScreenRant critic Ben Kendrick wrote: "[Winstead] and [Alba] also deliver in their contributions – though both of their characters are mainly designed to be mirrors for Carter to examine his own life and choices."[62]A.C.O.D. received a limited theatrical run in North America.[63] In 2013, Alba also made her voice acting debut in the moderately successful animated film Escape from Planet Earth.[64]
Alba worked once again with director Rodriguez for two film sequels. She reprised her role of an Immigration Officer, in an uncredited cameo appearance, in Machete Kills (2013), which flopped with critics and audiences,[65] and her much larger role of stripper Nancy Callahan, seeking to avenge her late protector, in Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, which was released in August 2014, on 2D and 3D.[66][67][68] Unlike the first film, A Dame to Kill For was a commercial failure, grossing US$39 million against its US$65 million production budget,[69] and received mixed reviews from film critics. Variety felt it was a "late, limp attempt to turn Alba's character from an exploited figure into an empowered one".[70] She next took on the roles of a cabaret show performer in the dramedy Dear Eleanor (2014), the athletic girlfriend of a successful and well-respected English professor in the romantic comedy Some Kind of Beautiful (2014), a receptionist at a limo company in the thriller Stretch (also 2014), an emotionally vulnerable weapons trafficker in the crime comedy Barely Lethal (2015), and that of a documentary filmmaker in the horror film The Veil (2016); all films were released for limited theatrical runs and VOD.[71][72][73]
In the action film Mechanic: Resurrection (2016), alongside Jason Statham, Alba played the girlfriend of a retired hitman. She did Krav Maga to get into shape for the film,[74] and was drawn to the strength her character exhibited, remarking: "I think for these types of movies you don't often get to see the female romantic lead kind of kick butt. I mean, it's usually she's being saved by the guy, and so it's nice that I got to come to the table with a toughness, and a real heart".[75] The film made US$125.7 million worldwide.[76]
She will star in and executive produce a new documentary series for Disney+ called Parenting Without Borders (working title) which will focus on families around the world and their beliefs and culture.[77]
In January 2012, Alba and business partner Christopher Gavigan launched The Honest Company, selling a collection of household goods, diapers, and body care products.[7] The company was successful, and was valued at US$1 billion as of 2014[update].[78]
In early 2013, Alba released her book, The Honest Life, based on her experiences creating a natural, non-toxic life for her family. The book became a New York Times Best Seller.[79][80] In October 2015, Alba launched a collection of skin care and beauty products called Honest Beauty.[81][82]
As of April 2022, Alba owned 6.5 percent of the company. She was employed as the company's chief creative officer, receiving an annually base salary of $700,000 and restricted stock valued $1,500,000.[83] Alba stepped down as chief creative officer in April 2024.[84]
Alba posed for a bondage-themed print advertising campaign by Declare Yourself, a campaign encouraging voter registration among youth for the 2008 United States presidential election. The ads, photographed by Mark Liddell,[85][86] feature Alba wrapped in and gagged with black tape, and drew national media attention.[86] Alba said of doing the advertisements that "it didn't freak me out at all." Alba also said, "I think it is important for young people to be aware of the need we have in this country to get them more active politically...People respond to things that are shocking."[86]
In June 2009, while filming The Killer Inside Me in Oklahoma City, Alba was involved in a controversy with residents when she pasted posters of sharks around town.[89] Alba said that she was trying to bring attention to the diminishing population of great white sharks. Media outlets speculated that Alba would be pursued and charged with vandalism.[90] On June 16, 2009, Oklahoma City police said that they would not pursue criminal charges against Alba, because none of the property owners wanted to pursue it.[91][92] Alba apologized in a statement to People magazine and said that she regretted her actions.[91] She later donated an undisclosed amount of money (over US$500)[93] to the United Way, whose billboard she had obscured with one of the shark posters.[94][95][96][97]
In 2011, Alba participated in a two day lobbying effort in Washington D.C. in support of the Safe Chemicals Act, a revision of the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976.[98][99] Alba returned to Capitol Hill in 2015 to lobby lawmakers as they once again debated a replacement for the 1976 Substances Control Act.[100] She has also been a strong supporter of gay rights and on June 27, 2013, she expressed her delight with the Supreme Court's decision to strike down DOMA on her Twitter account. She tweeted "#equality #love".[101]
Alba's charity work has included participation with Clothes Off Our Back, Habitat for Humanity, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Project HOME, RADD, Revlon Run/Walk for Women, SOS Children's Villages, Soles4Souls, Step Up and Baby2Baby.[102][103] Alba is an ambassador for the 1Goal movement to provide education to children in Africa.[104] She has also served as a Baby2Baby "angel" ambassador, donating and helping to distribute items such as diapers and clothing to families in Los Angeles.[105]
In 2015, Alba and The Honest Company sponsored a laboratory at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. The lab was announced to be a specialized room designed to keep out dust and particles, where a team of epidemiologists would research links between household chemicals and autism.[106]
The iPhone was the first mobile phone to use multi-touch technology.[3] Since the iPhone's launch, it has gained larger screen sizes, video-recording, waterproofing, and many accessibility features. Up to the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, iPhones had a single button on the front panel, with the iPhone 5s and later integrating a Touch ID fingerprint sensor.[4] Since the iPhone X, iPhone models have switched to a nearly bezel-less front screen design with Face ID facial recognition, and app switching activated by gestures. Touch ID is still used for the budget iPhone SE series.
The iPhone is one of the two largest smartphone platforms in the world alongside Android, and is a large part of the luxury market. The iPhone has generated large profits for Apple, making it one of the world's most valuable publicly traded companies. The first-generation iPhone was described as a "revolution" for the mobile phone industry and subsequent models have also garnered praise.[5] The iPhone has been credited with popularizing the smartphone and slate form factor, and with creating a large market for smartphone apps, or "app economy". As of January 2017[update], Apple's App Store contained more than 2.2 million applications for the iPhone.
Development of an Apple smartphone began in 2004, when Apple started to gather a team of 1,000 employees led by hardware engineer Tony Fadell, software engineer Scott Forstall, and design officer Jony Ive,[6] to work on the highly confidential "Project Purple".[7][8]
Then-Apple CEO Steve Jobs steered the original focus away from a tablet (which was later revisited in the form of the iPad) towards a phone.[9] Apple created the device during a secretive collaboration with Cingular Wireless (later renamed AT&T Mobility) at an estimated development cost of US$150 million over thirty months.[10] According to Jobs in 1998, the "i" word in "iMac" (and thereafter "iPod", "iPhone" and "iPad") stands for internet, individual, instruct, inform, and inspire.[11][12]
Apple rejected the "design by committee" approach that had yielded the Motorola ROKR E1, a largely unsuccessful "iTunes phone" made in collaboration with Motorola. Among other deficiencies, the ROKR E1's firmware limited storage to only 100 iTunes songs to avoid competing with Apple's iPod nano.[13][14] Cingular gave Apple the liberty to develop the iPhone's hardware and software in-house, a rare practice at the time,[15][16] and paid Apple a fraction of its monthly service revenue (until the iPhone 3G),[17] in exchange for four years of exclusive U.S. sales, until 2011.[18]
Jobs unveiled the first-generation iPhone to the public on January 9, 2007, at the Macworld 2007 convention at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.[19] The iPhone incorporated a 3.5-inch multi-touch display with few hardware buttons, and ran the iPhone OS operating system with a touch-friendly interface, then marketed as a version of Mac OS X.[20] It launched on June 29, 2007, at a starting price of US$499 in the United States, and required a two-year contract with AT&T.[21] The price was reduced by a third after two months. The resulting complaints forced Jobs to issue an apology and offer a partial rebate to early purchasers of the phone.[22]
Worldwide iPhone availability:
iPhone available since its original release
iPhone available since the release of iPhone 3G
On July 11, 2008, at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2008, Apple announced the iPhone 3G, and expanded its launch-day availability to twenty-two countries, and it was eventually released in 70 countries and territories.[23][24] The iPhone 3G introduced faster 3G connectivity, and a lower starting price of US$199 (with a two-year AT&T contract).[25] It proved commercially popular, overtaking Motorola RAZR V3 as the best selling cell phone in the US by the end of 2008.[26] Its successor, the iPhone 3GS, was announced on June 8, 2009, at WWDC 2009, and introduced video recording functionality.[27]
First iPhone on display under glass at the January 2007 Macworld show
The iPhone 4 was announced on June 7, 2010, at WWDC 2010, and introduced a redesigned body incorporating a stainless steel frame and a rear glass panel.[28] At release, the iPhone 4 was marketed as the "world's thinnest smartphone";[28] it uses the Apple A4 processor, being the first iPhone to use an Apple custom-designed chip. It introduced the Retina display, having four-times the display resolution of preceding iPhones, and was the highest-resolution smartphone screen at release;[28] a front-facing camera was also introduced, enabling video calling functionality via FaceTime.
Users of the iPhone 4 reported dropped/disconnected telephone calls when holding their phones in a certain way, and this issue was nicknamed "antennagate".[29] In January 2011, as Apple's exclusivity agreement with AT&T was expiring, Verizon announced that they would be carrying the iPhone 4, with a model compatible with Verizon's CDMA network releasing on February 10.[30][31]
The iPhone 4s was announced on October 4, 2011, and introduced the Sirivirtual assistant, a dual-core A5 processor, and an 8 megapixel camera with 1080p video recording functionality. The iPhone 5 was announced on September 12, 2012, and introduced a larger 4-inch screen, up from the 3.5-inch screen of all previous iPhone models, as well as faster 4G LTE connectivity.[32] It also introduced a thinner and lighter body made of aluminum alloy, and the 30-pin dock connector of previous iPhones was replaced with the new, reversible Lightning connector.[32]
Bottom angle comparison between iPhone 5c (top), iPhone 5s (middle), and iPhone 4s (bottom)
The iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c were announced on September 10, 2013. The iPhone 5s included a 64-bitA7 processor, becoming the first ever 64-bit smartphone;[33] it also introduced the Touch ID fingerprint authentication sensor. The iPhone 5c was a lower-cost device that incorporated hardware from the iPhone 5, into a series of colorful plastic frames.[34]
On September 9, 2014, Apple introduced the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, and included significantly larger screens than the iPhone 5s, at 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch respectively; both models also introduced mobile payment technology via Apple Pay.[35]Optical image stabilization was introduced to the 6 Plus' camera. The Apple Watch was also introduced on the same day, and is a smartwatch that operates in conjunction with a connected iPhone. Some users experienced bending issues from normal use with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, particularly on the latter model, and this issue was nicknamed "bendgate".[36]
The iPhone 6s and 6s Plus were introduced on September 9, 2015, and included a more bend-resistant frame made of a stronger aluminum alloy, as well as a higher resolution 12 megapixel main camera capable of 4K video recording.[37] The first-generation iPhone SE was introduced on March 21, 2016, and was a low-cost device that incorporated newer hardware from the iPhone 6s, in the frame of the older iPhone 5s.[38]
The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus were announced on September 7, 2016, which introduced larger camera sensors, IP67-certified water and dust resistance, and a quad-core A10 Fusion processor utilizing big.LITTLE technology;[39] the 3.5 mm headphone jack was removed, and was followed by the introduction of the AirPods wireless earbuds.[40] Optical image stabilization was added to the 7's camera. A second telephoto camera lens was added on the 7 Plus, enabling two-times optical zoom, and "Portrait" photography mode which simulates bokeh in photos.[41]
The iPhone 8, 8 Plus, and iPhone X were announced on September 12, 2017, in Apple's first event held at the Steve Jobs Theater in Apple Park. All models featured rear glass panel designs akin to the iPhone 4, wireless charging, and a hexa-core A11 Bionic chip with "Neural Engine" AI accelerator hardware. The iPhone X additionally introduced a 5.8-inch OLED "Super Retina" display with a "bezel-less" design, with a higher pixel density and contrast ratio than previous iPhones with LCD displays, and introduced a stronger frame made of stainless steel. It also introduced Face ID facial recognition authentication hardware, in a "notch" screen cutout, in place of Touch ID;[42][43] the home button was removed to achieve the “bezel-less” design, replacing it with a gesture-based navigation system.[44] At its US$999 starting price, the iPhone X was the most expensive iPhone at launch.[45]
The iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and XS Max were announced on September 12, 2018. All models featured the "Smart HDR" computational photography system, and a significantly more powerful "Neural Engine".[46] The XS Max introduced a larger 6.5-inch screen. The iPhone XR included a 6.1-inch LCD "Liquid Retina" display, with a "bezel-less" design similar to the iPhone X, but does not include a second telephoto lens; it was made available in a series of vibrant colors, akin to the iPhone 5c, and was a lower-cost device compared to the iPhone X and XS.[47]
The iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max were announced on September 10, 2019. The iPhone 11 was the successor to the iPhone XR, while the iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max succeeded the iPhone XS and XS Max. All models gained an ultra-wide lens, enabling two-times optical zoom out, as well as larger batteries for longer battery life.[48][49] The second-generation iPhone SE was introduced on April 17, 2020, and was a low-cost device that incorporated newer hardware from the iPhone 11, in the frame of the older iPhone 8, while retaining the home button and the Touch ID sensor.[50]
The iPhone 12, 12 Mini, 12 Pro, and 12 Pro Max were announced via a livestream event on October 13, 2020. All models featured OLED "Super Retina XDR" displays, introduced faster 5G connectivity, and the MagSafe magnetic charging and accessory system; a slimmer flat-edged design was also introduced, which combined with stronger glass-ceramic front glass, added better drop protection compared to previous iPhones.[51][52] The iPhone 12 Mini introduced a smaller 5.4-inch screen, while the 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max had larger screens of 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch respectively. The iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max additionally added a Lidar sensor for better accuracy in augumented reality (AR) applications.
The iPhone 13, 13 Mini, 13 Pro, and 13 Pro Max were announced via a livestream event on September 14, 2021. All models featured larger camera sensors, larger batteries for longer battery life, and a narrower "notch" screen cutout.[53] The iPhone 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max additionally introduced smoother adaptive 120 Hz refresh rate "ProMotion" technology in its OLED display, and three-times optical zoom in the telephoto lens.[54] The low-cost third-generation iPhone SE was introduced on March 8, 2022, and incorporated the A15 Bionic chip from the iPhone 13, but otherwise retained similar hardware to the second-generation iPhone SE.
The iPhone 14, 14 Plus, 14 Pro, and 14 Pro Max were announced on September 7, 2022. All models introduced satellite phone emergency calling functionality. The iPhone 14 Plus introduced the large 6.7-inch screen size, first seen on the iPhone 12 Pro Max, into a lower-cost device.[55] The iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max additionally introduced a higher-resolution 48-megapixel main camera, the first increase in megapixel count since the iPhone 6s; it also introduced always-on display technology to the lock screen, and an interactive status bar interface integrated in a redesigned screen cutout, entitled "Dynamic Island".[56]
The iPhone 15, 15 Plus, 15 Pro, and 15 Pro Max were announced on September 12, 2023. Starting with this group of devices, all models switch to using USB-C as their power connector to comply with European Commission regulations, replacing Apple's proprietary Lightning connector after eleven years of use in previous models.[57] All models feature the Dynamic Island, which debuted with the iPhone 14 Pro (effectively retiring the "notch" display cutout), slightly curved edges, and a frosted glass back.[58][59][60] The iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max also replace the mute switch and stainless-steel edges with the "Action" button and titanium, respectively.[60]
DC has featured Batman in many comic books, including comics published under its imprints such as Vertigo and Black Label. The longest-running Batman comic, Detective Comics, is the longest-running comic book in the United States. Batman is frequently depicted alongside other DC superheroes, such as Superman and Wonder Woman, as a member of organizations such as the Justice League and the Outsiders. In addition to Bruce Wayne, other characters have taken on the Batman persona on different occasions, such as Jean-Paul Valley / Azrael in the 1993–1994 "Knightfall" story arc; Dick Grayson, the first Robin, from 2009 to 2011; and Jace Fox, son of Wayne's ally Lucius, as of 2021.[4] DC has also published comics featuring alternate versions of Batman, including the incarnation seen in The Dark Knight Returns and its successors, the incarnation from the Flashpoint (2011) event, and numerous interpretations from Elseworlds stories.
In early 1939, the success of Superman in Action Comics prompted editors at National Comics Publications (the future DC Comics) to request more superheroes for its titles. In response, Bob Kane created "the Bat-Man".[6] Collaborator Bill Finger recalled that "Kane had an idea for a character called 'Batman,' and he'd like me to see the drawings. I went over to Kane's, and he had drawn a character who looked very much like Superman with kind of ...reddish tights, I believe, with boots ...no gloves, no gauntlets ...with a small domino mask, swinging on a rope. He had two stiff wings that were sticking out, looking like bat wings. And under it was a big sign ...BATMAN".[7] According to Kane, the bat-wing-like cape was inspired by his childhood recollection of Leonardo da Vinci's sketch of an ornithopter flying device.[8]
Finger suggested giving the character a cowl instead of a simple domino mask, a cape instead of wings, and gloves; he also recommended removing the red sections from the original costume.[9][10][11][12] Finger said he devised the name Bruce Wayne for the character's secret identity: "Bruce Wayne's first name came from Robert the Bruce, the Scottish patriot. Wayne, being a playboy, was a man of gentry. I searched for a name that would suggest colonialism. I tried Adams, Hancock ...then I thought of Mad Anthony Wayne."[13] He later said his suggestions were influenced by Lee Falk's popular The Phantom, a syndicated newspaper comic-strip character with which Kane was also familiar.[14]
Kane and Finger drew upon contemporary 1930s popular culture for inspiration regarding much of the Bat-Man's look, personality, methods, and weaponry. Details find predecessors in pulp fiction, comic strips, newspaper headlines, and autobiographical details referring to Kane himself.[15] As an aristocratic hero with a double identity, Batman has predecessors in the Scarlet Pimpernel (created by Baroness Emmuska Orczy, 1903) and Zorro (created by Johnston McCulley, 1919). Like them, Batman performs his heroic deeds in secret, averts suspicion by playing aloof in public, and marks his work with a signature symbol. Kane noted the influence of the films The Mark of Zorro (1920) and The Bat Whispers (1930) in the creation of the character's iconography. Finger, drawing inspiration from pulp heroes like Doc Savage, The Shadow, Dick Tracy, and Sherlock Holmes, made the character a master sleuth.[16][17]
In his 1989 autobiography, Kane detailed Finger's contributions to Batman's creation:
One day I called Bill and said, 'I have a new character called the Bat-Man and I've made some crude, elementary sketches I'd like you to look at.' He came over and I showed him the drawings. At the time, I only had a small domino mask, like the one Robin later wore, on Batman's face. Bill said, 'Why not make him look more like a bat and put a hood on him, and take the eyeballs out and just put slits for eyes to make him look more mysterious?' At this point, the Bat-Man wore a red union suit; the wings, trunks, and mask were black. I thought that red and black would be a good combination. Bill said that the costume was too bright: 'Color it dark grey to make it look more ominous.' The cape looked like two stiff bat wings attached to his arms. As Bill and I talked, we realized that these wings would get cumbersome when Bat-Man was in action and changed them into a cape, scalloped to look like bat wings when he was fighting or swinging down on a rope. Also, he didn't have any gloves on, and we added them so that he wouldn't leave fingerprints.[14]
Kane signed away ownership in the character in exchange for, among other compensation, a mandatory byline on all Batman comics. This byline did not originally say "Batman created by Bob Kane"; his name was simply written on the title page of each story. The name disappeared from the comic book in the mid-1960s, replaced by credits for each story's actual writer and artists. In the late 1970s, when Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster began receiving a "created by" credit on the Superman titles, along with William Moulton Marston being given the byline for creating Wonder Woman, Batman stories began saying "Created by Bob Kane" in addition to the other credits.
Finger did not receive the same recognition. While he had received credit for other DC work since the 1940s, he began, in the 1960s, to receive limited acknowledgment for his Batman writing; in the letters page of Batman #169 (February 1965) for example, editor Julius Schwartz names him as the creator of the Riddler, one of Batman's recurring villains. However, Finger's contract left him only with his writing page rate and no byline. Kane wrote, "Bill was disheartened by the lack of major accomplishments in his career. He felt that he had not used his creative potential to its fullest and that success had passed him by."[13] At the time of Finger's death in 1974, DC had not officially credited Finger as Batman co-creator.
Jerry Robinson, who also worked with Finger and Kane on the strip at this time, has criticized Kane for failing to share the credit. He recalled Finger resenting his position, stating in a 2005 interview with The Comics Journal:
Bob made him more insecure, because while he slaved working on Batman, he wasn't sharing in any of the glory or the money that Bob began to make, which is why ...[he was] going to leave [Kane's employ]. ...[Kane] should have credited Bill as co-creator, because I know; I was there. ...That was one thing I would never forgive Bob for, was not to take care of Bill or recognize his vital role in the creation of Batman. As with Siegel and Shuster, it should have been the same, the same co-creator credit in the strip, writer, and artist.[18]
Although Kane initially rebutted Finger's claims at having created the character, writing in a 1965 open letter to fans that "it seemed to me that Bill Finger has given out the impression that he and not myself created the ''Batman, t' [sic] as well as Robin and all the other leading villains and characters. This statement is fraudulent and entirely untrue." Kane himself also commented on Finger's lack of credit. "The trouble with being a 'ghost' writer or artist is that you must remain rather anonymously without 'credit'. However, if one wants the 'credit', then one has to cease being a 'ghost' or follower and become a leader or innovator."[19]
In 1989, Kane revisited Finger's situation, recalling in an interview:
In those days it was like, one artist and he had his name over it [the comic strip] — the policy of DC in the comic books was, if you can't write it, obtain other writers, but their names would never appear on the comic book in the finished version. So Bill never asked me for it [the byline] and I never volunteered — I guess my ego at that time. And I felt badly, really, when he [Finger] died.[20]
In September 2015, DC Entertainment revealed that Finger would be receiving credit for his role in Batman's creation on the 2016 superhero film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and the second season of Gotham after a deal was worked out between the Finger family and DC.[2] Finger received credit as a creator of Batman for the first time in a comic in October 2015 with Batman and Robin Eternal #3 and Batman: Arkham Knight Genesis #3. The updated acknowledgment for the character appeared as "Batman created by Bob Kane with Bill Finger".[3]
The first Batman story, "The Case of the Chemical Syndicate", was published in Detective Comics#27 (cover dated May 1939). It largely duplicated the plot of the story "Partners of Peril" in The Shadow #113, which was written by Theodore Tinsley and illustrated by Tom Lovell.[21] Finger said, "Batman was originally written in the style of the pulps",[22] and this influence was evident with Batman showing little remorse over killing or maiming criminals. Batman proved a hit character, and he received his own solo title in 1940 while continuing to star in Detective Comics. By that time, Detective Comics was the top-selling and most influential publisher in the industry; Batman and the company's other major hero, Superman, were the cornerstones of the company's success.[23] The two characters were featured side by side as the stars of World's Finest Comics, which was originally titled World's Best Comics when it debuted in fall 1940. Creators including Jerry Robinson and Dick Sprang also worked on the strips during this period.
Over the course of the first few Batman strips elements were added to the character and the artistic depiction of Batman evolved. Kane noted that within six issues he drew the character's jawline more pronounced, and lengthened the ears on the costume. "About a year later he was almost the full figure, my mature Batman", Kane said.[24]Batman's characteristic utility belt was introduced in Detective Comics #29 (July 1939), followed by the boomerang-like batarang and the first bat-themed vehicle, the Batplane, in #31 (September 1939). The character's origin was revealed in #33 (November 1939), unfolding in a two-page story that establishes the brooding persona of Batman, a character driven by the death of his parents. Written by Finger, it depicts a young Bruce Wayne witnessing his parents' murder at the hands of a mugger. Days later, at their grave, the child vows that "by the spirits of my parents [I will] avenge their deaths by spending the rest of my life warring on all criminals".[25][26][27]
The early, pulp-inflected portrayal of Batman started to soften in Detective Comics #38 (April 1940) with the introduction of Robin, Batman's junior counterpart.[28] Robin was introduced, based on Finger's suggestion, because Batman needed a "Watson" with whom Batman could talk.[29] Sales nearly doubled, despite Kane's preference for a solo Batman, and it sparked a proliferation of "kid sidekicks".[30] The first issue of the solo spin-off series Batman was notable not only for introducing two of his most persistent enemies, the Joker and Catwoman, but for a pre-Robin inventory story, originally meant for Detective Comics #38, in which Batman shoots some monstrous giants to death.[31][32] That story prompted editor Whitney Ellsworth to decree that the character could no longer kill or use a gun.[33]
By 1942, the writers and artists behind the Batman comics had established most of the basic elements of the Batman mythos.[34] In the years following World War II, DC Comics "adopted a postwar editorial direction that increasingly de-emphasized social commentary in favor of lighthearted juvenile fantasy". The impact of this editorial approach was evident in Batman comics of the postwar period; removed from the "bleak and menacing world" of the strips of the early 1940s, Batman was instead portrayed as a respectable citizen and paternal figure that inhabited a "bright and colorful" environment.[35]
Batman was one of the few superhero characters to be continuously published as interest in the genre waned during the 1950s. In the story "The Mightiest Team in the World" in Superman #76 (June 1952), Batman teams up with Superman for the first time and the pair discover each other's secret identity.[36] Following the success of this story, World's Finest Comics was revamped so it featured stories starring both heroes together, instead of the separate Batman and Superman features that had been running before.[37] The team-up of the characters was "a financial success in an era when those were few and far between";[38] this series of stories ran until the book's cancellation in 1986.
Batman comics were among those criticized when the comic book industry came under scrutiny with the publication of psychologist Fredric Wertham's book Seduction of the Innocent in 1954. Wertham's thesis was that children imitated crimes committed in comic books, and that these works corrupted the morals of the youth. Wertham criticized Batman comics for their supposed homosexual overtones and argued that Batman and Robin were portrayed as lovers.[39] Wertham's criticisms raised a public outcry during the 1950s, eventually leading to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority, a code that is no longer in use by the comic book industry. The tendency towards a "sunnier Batman" in the postwar years intensified after the introduction of the Comics Code.[40] Scholars have suggested that the characters of Batwoman (in 1956) and the pre-Barbara GordonBat-Girl (in 1961) were introduced in part to refute the allegation that Batman and Robin were gay, and the stories took on a campier, lighter feel.[41]
In the late 1950s, Batman stories gradually became more science fiction-oriented, an attempt at mimicking the success of other DC characters that had dabbled in the genre.[42] New characters such as Batwoman, the original Bat-Girl, Ace the Bat-Hound, and Bat-Mite were introduced. Batman's adventures often involved odd transformations or bizarre space aliens. In 1960, Batman debuted as a member of the Justice League of America in The Brave and the Bold #28 (February 1960), and went on to appear in several Justice League comic book series starting later that same year.
By 1964, sales of Batman titles had fallen drastically. Bob Kane noted that, as a result, DC was "planning to kill Batman off altogether".[43] In response to this, editor Julius Schwartz was assigned to the Batman titles. He presided over drastic changes, beginning with 1964's Detective Comics #327 (May 1964), which was cover-billed as the "New Look". Schwartz introduced changes designed to make Batman more contemporary, and to return him to more detective-oriented stories. He brought in artist Carmine Infantino to help overhaul the character. The Batmobile was redesigned, and Batman's costume was modified to incorporate a yellow ellipse behind the bat-insignia. The space aliens, time travel, and characters of the 1950s such as Batwoman, Ace the Bat-Hound, and Bat-Mite were retired. Bruce Wayne's butler Alfred was killed off (though his death was quickly reversed) while a new female relative for the Wayne family, Aunt Harriet Cooper, came to live with Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson.[44]
The debut of the Batman television series in 1966 had a profound influence on the character. The success of the series increased sales throughout the comic book industry, and Batman reached a circulation of close to 900,000 copies.[45] Elements such as the character of Batgirl and the show's campy nature were introduced into the comics; the series also initiated the return of Alfred. Although both the comics and TV show were successful for a time, the camp approach eventually wore thin and the show was canceled in 1968. In the aftermath, the Batman comics themselves lost popularity once again. As Julius Schwartz noted, "When the television show was a success, I was asked to be campy, and of course when the show faded, so did the comic books."[46]
Cover of Batman#227 (November 1970) returning Batman to the darker roots of the original publications. Art by Neal Adams.
Starting in 1969, writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Neal Adams made a deliberate effort to distance Batman from the campy portrayal of the 1960s TV series and to return the character to his roots as a "grim avenger of the night".[47] O'Neil said his idea was "simply to take it back to where it started. I went to the DC library and read some of the early stories. I tried to get a sense of what Kane and Finger were after."[48]
O'Neil and Adams first collaborated on the story "The Secret of the Waiting Graves" in Detective Comics #395 (January 1970). Few stories were true collaborations between O'Neil, Adams, Schwartz, and inker Dick Giordano, and in actuality these men were mixed and matched with various other creators during the 1970s; nevertheless the influence of their work was "tremendous".[49] Giordano said: "We went back to a grimmer, darker Batman, and I think that's why these stories did so well ..."[50] While the work of O'Neil and Adams was popular with fans, the acclaim did little to improve declining sales; the same held true with a similarly acclaimed run by writer Steve Englehart and penciler Marshall Rogers in Detective Comics #471–476 (August 1977 – April 1978), which went on to influence the 1989 movie Batman and be adapted for Batman: The Animated Series, which debuted in 1992.[51] Regardless, circulation continued to drop through the 1970s and 1980s, hitting an all-time low in 1985.[52]
Frank Miller's limited series The Dark Knight Returns (February–June 1986) returned the character to his darker roots, both in atmosphere and tone. The comic book, which tells the story of a 55-year-old Batman coming out of retirement in a possible future, reinvigorated interest in the character. The Dark Knight Returns was a financial success and has since become one of the medium's most noted touchstones.[53] The series also sparked a major resurgence in the character's popularity.[54]
That year Dennis O'Neil took over as editor of the Batman titles and set the template for the portrayal of Batman following DC's status quo-altering 12-issue miniseries Crisis on Infinite Earths. O'Neil operated under the assumption that he was hired to revamp the character and as a result tried to instill a different tone in the books than had gone before.[55] One outcome of this new approach was the "Year One" storyline in Batman #404–407 (February–May 1987), in which Frank Miller and artist David Mazzucchelli redefined the character's origins.[56] Writer Alan Moore and artist Brian Bolland continued this dark trend with 1988's 48-page one-shot issueBatman: The Killing Joke, in which the Joker, attempting to drive Commissioner Gordon insane, cripples Gordon's daughter Barbara, and then kidnaps and tortures the commissioner, physically and psychologically.[57]
The Batman comics garnered major attention in 1988 when DC Comics created a 900 number for readers to call to vote on whether Jason Todd, the second Robin, lived or died. Voters decided in favor of Jason's death by a narrow margin of 28 votes (see Batman: A Death in the Family).[56]
The 1993 "Knightfall" story arc introduced a new villain, Bane, who critically injures Batman after pushing him to the limits of his endurance. Jean-Paul Valley, known as Azrael, is called upon to wear the Batsuit during Bruce Wayne's convalescence. Writers Doug Moench,
In the sociology of knowledge, a controversy over the boundaries of autonomy inhibited analysis of any concept beyond relative autonomy,[3] until a typology of autonomy was created and developed within science and technology studies. According to it, the institution of science's existing autonomy is "reflexive autonomy": actors and structures within the scientific field are able to translate or to reflect diverse themes presented by social and political fields, as well as influence them regarding the thematic choices on research projects.
Institutional autonomy is having the capacity as a legislator to be able to implant and pursue official goals. Autonomous institutions are responsible for finding sufficient resources or modifying their plans, programs, courses, responsibilities, and services accordingly.[4] But in doing so, they must contend with any obstacles that can occur, such as social pressure against cut-backs or socioeconomic difficulties. From a legislator's point of view, to increase institutional autonomy, conditions of self-management and institutional self-governance must be put in place. An increase in leadership and a redistribution of decision-making responsibilities would be beneficial to the research of resources.[5]
Institutional autonomy was often seen as a synonym for self-determination, and many governments feared that it would lead institutions to an irredentist or secessionist region. But autonomy should be seen as a solution to self-determination struggles. Self-determination is a movement toward independence, whereas autonomy is a way to accommodate the distinct regions/groups within a country. Institutional autonomy can diffuse conflicts regarding minorities and ethnic groups in a society. Allowing more autonomy to groups and institutions helps create diplomatic relationships between them and the central government.[6]
In governmental parlance, autonomy refers to self-governance. An example of an autonomous jurisdiction was the former United States governance of the Philippine Islands. The Philippine Autonomy Act of 1916 provided the framework for the creation of an autonomous government under which the Filipino people had broader domestic autonomy than previously, although it reserved certain privileges to the United States to protect its sovereign rights and interests.[7] Other examples include Kosovo (as the Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo) under the former Yugoslav government of Marshal Tito[8] and Puntland Autonomous Region within Federal Republic of Somalia.
Although often being territorially defined as self-governments, autonomous self-governing institutions may take a non-territorial form. Such non-territorial solutions are, for example, cultural autonomy in Estonia and Hungary, national minority councils in Serbia or Sámi parliaments in Nordic countries.[9][10]
Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) defined autonomy by three themes regarding contemporary ethics. Firstly, autonomy as the right for one to make their own decisions excluding any interference from others. Secondly, autonomy as the capacity to make such decisions through one's own independence of mind and after personal reflection. Thirdly, as an ideal way of living life autonomously. In summary, autonomy is the moral right one possesses, or the capacity we have in order to think and make decisions for oneself providing some degree of control or power over the events that unfold within one's everyday life.[12]
The context in which Kant addresses autonomy is in regards to moral theory, asking both foundational and abstract questions. He believed that in order for there to be morality, there must be autonomy. "Autonomous" is derived from the Greek word autonomos[13] where 'auto' means self and 'nomos' means to govern (nomos: as can be seen in its usage in nomárchēs which means chief of the province). Kantian autonomy also provides a sense of rational autonomy, simply meaning one rationally possesses the motivation to govern their own life. Rational autonomy entails making your own decisions but it cannot be done solely in isolation. Cooperative rational interactions are required to both develop and exercise our ability to live in a world with others.
Kant argued that morality presupposes this autonomy (German: Autonomie) in moral agents, since moral requirements are expressed in categorical imperatives. An imperative is categorical if it issues a valid command independent of personal desires or interests that would provide a reason for obeying the command. It is hypothetical if the validity of its command, if the reason why one can be expected to obey it, is the fact that one desires or is interested in something further that obedience to the command would entail. "Don't speed on the freeway if you don't want to be stopped by the police" is a hypothetical imperative. "It is wrong to break the law, so don't speed on the freeway" is a categorical imperative. The hypothetical command not to speed on the freeway is not valid for you if you do not care whether you are stopped by the police. The categorical command is valid for you either way. Autonomous moral agents can be expected to obey the command of a categorical imperative even if they lack a personal desire or interest in doing so. It remains an open question whether they will, however.
The Kantian concept of autonomy is often misconstrued, leaving out the important point about the autonomous agent's self-subjection to the moral law. It is thought that autonomy is fully explained as the ability to obey a categorical command independently of a personal desire or interest in doing so—or worse, that autonomy is "obeying" a categorical command independently of a natural desire or interest; and that heteronomy, its opposite, is acting instead on personal motives of the kind referenced in hypothetical imperatives.
In his Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals, Kant applied the concept of autonomy also to define the concept of personhood and human dignity. Autonomy, along with rationality, are seen by Kant as the two criteria for a meaningful life. Kant would consider a life lived without these not worth living; it would be a life of value equal to that of a plant or insect.[14] According to Kant autonomy is part of the reason that we hold others morally accountable for their actions. Human actions are morally praise- or blame-worthy in virtue of our autonomy. Non- autonomous beings such as plants or animals are not blameworthy due to their actions being non-autonomous.[14] Kant's position on crime and punishment is influenced by his views on autonomy. Brainwashing or drugging criminals into being law-abiding citizens would be immoral as it would not be respecting their autonomy. Rehabilitation must be sought in a way that respects their autonomy and dignity as human beings.[15]
Friedrich Nietzsche wrote about autonomy and the moral fight.[16] Autonomy in this sense is referred to as the free self and entails several aspects of the self, including self-respect and even self-love. This can be interpreted as influenced by Kant (self-respect) and Aristotle (self-love). For Nietzsche, valuing ethical autonomy can dissolve the conflict between love (self-love) and law (self-respect) which can then translate into reality through experiences of being self-responsible. Because Nietzsche defines having a sense of freedom with being responsible for one's own life, freedom and self-responsibility can be very much linked to autonomy.[17]
The Swiss philosopher Jean Piaget (1896–1980) believed that autonomy comes from within and results from a "free decision". It is of intrinsic value and the morality of autonomy is not only accepted but obligatory. When an attempt at social interchange occurs, it is reciprocal, ideal and natural for there to be autonomy regardless of why the collaboration with others has taken place. For Piaget, the term autonomous can be used to explain the idea that rules are self-chosen. By choosing which rules to follow or not, we are in turn determining our own behaviour.[18]
Piaget studied the cognitive development of children by analyzing them during their games and through interviews, establishing (among other principles) that the children's moral maturation process occurred in two phases, the first of heteronomy and the second of autonomy:
Heteronomous reasoning: Rules are objective and unchanging. They must be literal because the authority are ordering it and do not fit exceptions or discussions. The base of the rule is the superior authority (parents, adults, the State), that it should not give reason for the rules imposed or fulfilled them in any case. Duties provided are conceived as given from oneself. Any moral motivation and sentiments are possible through what one believes to be right.
Autonomous reasoning: Rules are the product of an agreement and, therefore, are modifiable. They can be subject to interpretation and fit exceptions and objections. The base of the rule is its own acceptance, and its meaning has to be explained. Sanctions must be proportionate to the absence, assuming that sometimes offenses can go unpunished, so that collective punishment is unacceptable if it is not the guilty. The circumstances may not punish a guilty. Duties provided are conceived as given from the outside. One follows rules mechanically as it is simply a rule, or as a way to avoid a form of punishment.
The American psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg (1927–1987) continues the studies of Piaget. His studies collected information from different latitudes to eliminate the cultural variability, and focused on the moral reasoning, and not so much in the behavior or its consequences. Through interviews with adolescent and teenage boys, who were to try and solve "moral dilemmas", Kohlberg went on to further develop the stages of moral development. The answers they provided could be one of two things. Either they choose to obey a given law, authority figure or rule of some sort or they chose to take actions that would serve a human need but in turn break this given rule or command.
The most popular moral dilemma asked involved the wife of a man approaching death due to a special type of cancer. Because the drug was too expensive to obtain on his own, and because the pharmacist who discovered and sold the drug had no compassion for him and only wanted profits, he stole it. Kohlberg asks these adolescent and teenage boys (10-, 13- and 16-year-olds) if they think that is what the husband should have done or not. Therefore, depending on their decisions, they provided answers to Kohlberg about deeper rationales and thoughts and determined what they value as important. This value then determined the "structure" of their moral reasoning.[19]
Kohlberg established three stages of morality, each of which is subdivided into two levels. They are read in progressive sense, that is, higher levels indicate greater autonomy.
Level 1: Premoral/Preconventional Morality: Standards are met (or not met) depending on the hedonistic or physical consequences.
[Stage 0: Egocentric Judgment: There is no moral concept independent of individual wishes, including a lack of concept of rules or obligations.]
Stage 1: Punishment-Obedience Orientation: The rule is obeyed only to avoid punishment. Physical consequences determine goodness or badness and power is deferred to unquestioningly with no respect for the human or moral value, or the meaning of these consequences. Concern is for the self.
Stage 2: Instrumental-Relativist Orientation: Morals are individualistic and egocentric. There is an exchange of interests but always under the point of view of satisfying personal needs. Elements of fairness and reciprocity are present but these are interpreted in a pragmatic way, instead of an experience of gratitude or justice. Egocentric in nature but beginning to incorporate the ability to see things from the perspective of others.
Level 2: Conventional Morality/Role Conformity: Rules are obeyed according to the established conventions of a society.
Stage 3: Good Boy–Nice Girl Orientation: Morals are conceived in accordance with the stereotypical social role. Rules are obeyed to obtain the approval of the immediate group and the right actions are judged based on what would please others or give the impression that one is a good person. Actions are evaluated according to intentions.
Stage 4: Law and Order Orientation: Morals are judged in accordance with the authority of the system, or the needs of the social order. Laws and order are prioritized.
Level 3: Postconventional Morality/Self-Accepted Moral Principles: Standards of moral behavior are internalized. Morals are governed by rational judgment, derived from a conscious reflection on the recognition of the value of the individual inside a conventionally established society.
Stage 5: Social Contract Orientation: There are individual rights and standards that have been lawfully established as basic universal values. Rules are agreed upon by through procedure and society comes to consensus through critical examination in order to benefit the greater good.
Stage 6: Universal Principle Orientation: Abstract ethical principles are obeyed on a personal level in addition to societal rules and conventions. Universal principles of justice, reciprocity, equality and human dignity are internalized and if one fails to live up to these ideals, guilt or self-condemnation results.
Robert Audi characterizes autonomy as the self-governing power to bring reasons to bear in directing one's conduct and influencing one's propositional attitudes.[20]: 211–212 [21] Traditionally, autonomy is only concerned with practical matters. But, as Audi's definition suggests, autonomy may be applied to responding to reasons at large, not just to practical reasons. Autonomy is closely related to freedom but the two can come apart. An example would be a political prisoner who is forced to make a statement in favor of his opponents in order to ensure that his loved ones are not harmed. As Audi points out, the prisoner lacks freedom but still has autonomy since his statement, though not reflecting his political ideals, is still an expression of his commitment to his loved ones.[22]: 249
Autonomy is often equated with self-legislation in the Kantian tradition.[23][24] Self-legislation may be interpreted as laying down laws or principles that are to be followed. Audi agrees with this school in the sense that we should bring reasons to bear in a principled way. Responding to reasons by mere whim may still be considered free but not autonomous.[22]: 249, 257 A commitment to principles and projects, on the other hand, provides autonomous agents with an identity over time and gives them a sense of the kind of persons they want to be. But autonomy is neutral as to which principles or projects the agent endorses. So different autonomous agents may follow very different principles.[22]: 258 But, as Audi points out, self-legislation is not sufficient for autonomy since laws that do not have any practical impact do not constitute autonomy.[22]: 247–248 Some form of motivational force or executive power is necessary in order to get from mere self-legislation to self-government.[25] This motivation may be inherent in the corresponding practical judgment itself, a position known as motivational internalism, or may come to the practical judgment externally in the form of some desire independent of the judgment, as motivational externalism holds.[22]: 251–252
In the Humean tradition, intrinsic desires are the reasons the autonomous agent should respond to. This theory is called instrumentalism.[26][27] Audi rejects instrumentalism and suggests that we should adopt a position known as axiological objectivism. The central idea of this outlook is that objective values, and not subjective desires, are the sources of normativity and therefore determine what autonomous agents should do.[22]: 261ff
Autonomy in childhood and adolescence is when one strives to gain a sense of oneself as a separate, self-governing individual.[28] Between ages 1–3, during the second stage of Erikson's and Freud's stages of development, the psychosocial crisis that occurs is autonomy versus shame and doubt.[29] The significant event that occurs during this stage is that children must learn to be autonomous, and failure to do so may lead to the child doubting their own abilities and feel ashamed.[29] When a child becomes autonomous it allows them to explore and acquire new skills. Autonomy has two vital aspects wherein there is an emotional component where one relies more on themselves rather than their parents and a behavioural component where one makes decisions independently by using their judgement.[28] The styles of child rearing affect the development of a child's autonomy. Autonomy in adolescence is closely related to their quest for identity.[28] In adolescence parents and peers act as agents of influence. Peer influence in early adolescence may help the process of an adolescent to gradually become more autonomous by being less susceptible to parental or peer influence as they get older.[29] In adolescence the most important developmental task is to develop a healthy sense of autonomy.[29]
In Christianity, autonomy is manifested as a partial self-governance on various levels of church administration. During the history of Christianity, there were two basic types of autonomy. Some important parishes and monasteries have been given special autonomous rights and privileges, and the best known example of monastic autonomy is the famous Eastern Orthodox monastic community on Mount Athos in Greece. On the other hand, administrative autonomy of entire ecclesiastical provinces has throughout history included various degrees of internal self-governance.
In ecclesiology of Eastern Orthodox Churches, there is a clear distinction between autonomy and autocephaly, since autocephalous churches have full self-governance and independence, while every autonomous church is subject to some autocephalous church, having a certain degree of internal self-governance. Since every autonomous church had its own historical path to ecclesiastical autonomy, there are significant differences between various autonomous churches in respect of their particular degrees of self-governance. For example, churches that are autonomous can have their highest-ranking bishops, such as an archbishop or metropolitan, appointed or confirmed by the patriarch of the mother church from which it was granted its autonomy, but generally they remain self-governing in many other respects.
In the history of Western Christianity the question of ecclesiastical autonomy was also one of the most important questions, especially during the first centuries of Christianity, since various archbishops and metropolitans in Western Europe have often opposed centralizing tendencies of the Church of Rome.[30] As of 2019[update], the Catholic Church comprises 24 autonomous (sui iuris) Churches in communion with the Holy See. Various denominations of Protestant churches usually have more decentralized power, and churches may be autonomous, thus having their own rules or laws of government, at the national, local, or even individual level.
Sartre brings the concept of the Cartesian god being totally free and autonomous. He states that existence precedes essence with god being the creator of the essences, eternal truths and divine will. This pure freedom of god relates to human freedom and autonomy; where a human is not subjected to pre-existing ideas and values.[31]
According to the first amendment, In the United States of America, the federal government is restricted in building a national church. This is due to the first amendment's recognizing people's freedom's to worship their faith according to their own belief's. For example, the American government has removed the church from their "sphere of authority"[32] due to the churches' historical impact on politics and their authority on the public. This was the beginning of the disestablishment process. The Protestant churches in the United States had a significant impact on American culture in the nineteenth century, when they organized the establishment of schools, hospitals, orphanages, colleges, magazines, and so forth.[33] This has brought up the famous, however, misinterpreted term of the separation of church and state. These churches lost the legislative and financial support from the state.
The first disestablishment began with the introduction of the bill of rights.[34] In the twentieth century, due to the great depression of the 1930s and the completion of the second world war, the American churches were revived. Specifically the Protestant churches. This was the beginning of the second disestablishment[34] when churches had become popular again but held no legislative power. One of the reasons why the churches gained attendance and popularity was due to the baby boom, when soldiers came back from the second world war and started their families. The large influx of newborns gave the churches a new wave of followers. However, these followers did not hold the same beliefs as their parents and brought about the political, and religious revolutions of the 1960s.
During the 1960s, the collapse of religious and cultural middle brought upon the third disestablishment.[34] Religion became more important to the individual and less so to the community. The changes brought from these revolutions significantly increased the personal autonomy of individuals due to the lack of structural restraints giving them added freedom of choice. This concept is known as "new voluntarism"[34] where individuals have free choice on how to be religious and the free choice whether to be religious or not.
In a medical context, respect for a patient's personal autonomy is considered one of many fundamental ethical principles in medicine.[35] Autonomy can be defined as the ability of the person to make his or her own decisions. This faith in autonomy is the central premise of the concept of informed consent and shared decision making. This idea, while considered essential to today's practice of medicine, was developed in the last 50 years. According to Tom Beauchamp and James Childress (in Principles of Biomedical Ethics), the Nuremberg trials detailed accounts of horrifyingly exploitative medical "experiments" which violated the subjects' physical integrity and personal autonomy.[36] These incidences prompted calls for safeguards in medical research, such as the Nuremberg Code which stressed the importance of voluntary participation in medical research. It is believed that the Nuremberg Code served as the premise for many current documents regarding research ethics.[37]
Respect for autonomy became incorporated in health care and patients could be allowed to make personal decisions about the health care services that they receive.[38] Notably, autonomy has several aspects as well as challenges that affect health care operations. The manner in which a patient is handled may undermine or support the autonomy of a patient and for this reason, the way a patient is communicated to becomes very crucial. A good relationship between a patient and a health care practitioner needs to be well defined to ensure that autonomy of a patient is respected.[39] Just like in any other life situation, a patient would not like to be under the control of another person. The move to emphasize respect for patient's autonomy rose from the vulnerabilities that were pointed out in regards to autonomy.
However, autonomy does not only apply in a research context. Users of the health care system have the right to be treated with respect for their autonomy, instead of being dominated by the physician.[40] This is referred to as paternalism. While paternalism is meant to be overall good for the patient, this can very easily interfere with autonomy.[41] Through the therapeutic relationship, a thoughtful dialogue between the client and the physician may lead to better outcomes for the client, as he or she is more of a participant in decision-making.
There are many different definitions of autonomy, many of which place the individual in a social context. Relational autonomy, which suggests that a person is defined through their relationships with others, is increasingly considered in medicine and particularly in critical[42] and end-of-life care.[43] Supported autonomy[44] suggests instead that in specific circumstances it may be necessary to temporarily compromise the autonomy of the person in the short term in order to preserve their autonomy in the long-term. Other definitions of the autonomy imagine the person as a contained and self-sufficient being whose rights should not be compromised under any circumstance.[45]
There are also differing views with regard to whether modern health care systems should be shifting to greater patient autonomy or a more paternalistic approach. For example, there are such arguments that suggest the current patient autonomy practiced is plagued by flaws such as misconceptions of treatment and cultural differences, and that health care systems should be shifting to greater paternalism on the part of the physician given their expertise.[46] On the other hand, other approaches suggest that there simply needs to be an increase in relational understanding between patients and health practitioners to improve patient autonomy.[47]
One argument in favor of greater patient autonomy and its benefits is by Dave deBronkart, who believes that in the technological advancement age, patients are capable of doing a lot of their research on medical issues from their home. According to deBronkart, this helps to promote better discussions between patients and physicians during hospital visits, ultimately easing up the workload of physicians.[48] deBronkart argues that this leads to greater patient empowerment and a more educative health care system.[48] In opposition to this view, technological advancements can sometimes be viewed as an unfavorable way of promoting patient autonomy. For example, self-testing medical procedures which have become increasingly common are argued by Greaney et al. to increase patient autonomy, however, may not be promoting what is best for the patient. In this argument, contrary to deBronkart, the current perceptions of patient autonomy are excessively over-selling the benefits of individual autonomy, and is not the most suitable way to go about treating patients.[49] Instead, a more inclusive form of autonomy should be implemented, relational autonomy, which factors into consideration those close to the patient as well as the physician.[49] These different concepts of autonomy can be troublesome as the acting physician is faced with deciding which concept he/she will implement into their clinical practice.[50] It is often references as one of the four pillars of medicine, alongside beneficence, justice and nonmaleficence[51]
Autonomy varies and some patients find it overwhelming especially the minors when faced with emergency situations. Issues arise in emergency room situations where there may not be time to consider the principle of patient autonomy. Various ethical challenges are faced in these situations when time is critical, and patient consciousness may be limited. However, in such settings where informed consent may be compromised, the working physician evaluates each individual case to make the most professional and ethically sound decision.[52] For example, it is believed that neurosurgeons in such situations, should generally do everything they can to respect patient autonomy. In the situation in which a patient is unable to make an autonomous decision, the neurosurgeon should discuss with the surrogate decision maker in order to aid in the decision-making process.[52] Performing surgery on a patient without informed consent is in general thought to only be ethically justified when the neurosurgeon and his/her team render the patient to not have the capacity to make autonomous decisions. If the patient is capable of making an autonomous decision, these situations are generally less ethically strenuous as the decision is typically respected.[52]
Not every patient is capable of making an autonomous decision. For example, a commonly proposed question is at what age children should be partaking in treatment decisions.[53] This question arises as children develop differently, therefore making it difficult to establish a standard age at which children should become more autonomous.[53] Those who are unable to make the decisions prompt a challenge to medical practitioners since it becomes difficult to determine the ability of a patient to make a decision.[54] To some extent, it has been said that emphasis of autonomy in health care has undermined the practice of health care practitioners to improve the health of their patient as necessary. The scenario has led to tension in the relationship between a patient and a health care practitioner. This is because as much as a physician wants to prevent a patient from suffering, they still have to respect autonomy. Beneficence is a principle allowing physicians to act responsibly in their practice and in the best interests of their patients, which may involve overlooking autonomy.[55] However, the gap between a patient and a physician has led to problems because in other cases, the patients have complained of not being adequately informed.
The seven elements of informed consent (as defined by Beauchamp and Childress) include threshold elements (competence and voluntariness), information elements (disclosure, recommendation, and understanding) and consent elements (decision and authorization).[56] Some philosophers such as Harry Frankfurt consider Beauchamp and Childress criteria insufficient. They claim that an action can only be considered autonomous if it involves the exercise of the capacity to form higher-order values about desires when acting intentionally.[57] What this means is that patients may understand their situation and choices but would not be autonomous unless the patient is able to form value judgements about their reasons for choosing treatment options they would not be acting autonomously.
In certain unique circumstances, government may have the right to temporarily override the right to bodily integrity in order to preserve the life and well-being of the person. Such action can be described using the principle of "supported autonomy",[44] a concept that was developed to describe unique situations in mental health (examples include the forced feeding of a person dying from the eating disorderanorexia nervosa, or the temporary treatment of a person living with a psychotic disorder with antipsychotic medication). While controversial, the principle of supported autonomy aligns with the role of government to protect the life and liberty of its citizens. Terrence F. Ackerman has highlighted problems with these situations, he claims that by undertaking this course of action physician or governments run the risk of misinterpreting a conflict of values as a constraining effect of illness on a patient's autonomy.[58]
Since the 1960s, there have been attempts to increase patient autonomy including the requirement that physician's take bioethics courses during their time in medical school.[59] Despite large-scale commitment to promoting patient autonomy, public mistrust of medicine in developed countries has remained.[60]Onora O'Neill has ascribed this lack of trust to medical institutions and professionals introducing measures that benefit themselves, not the patient. O'Neill claims that this focus on autonomy promotion has been at the expense of issues like distribution of healthcare resources and public health.
One proposal to increase patient autonomy is through the use of support staff. The use of support staff including medical assistants, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, and other staff that can promote patient interests and better patient care.[61] Nurses especially can learn about patient beliefs and values in order to increase informed consent and possibly persuade the patient through logic and reason to entertain a certain treatment plan.[62][63] This would promote both autonomy and beneficence, while keeping the physician's integrity intact. Furthermore, Humphreys asserts that nurses should have professional autonomy within their scope of practice (35–37). Humphreys argues that if nurses exercise their professional autonomy more, then there will be an increase in patient autonomy (35–37).
After the Second World War, there was a push for international human rights that came in many waves. Autonomy as a basic human right started the building block in the beginning of these layers alongside liberty.[64] The Universal declarations of Human rights of 1948 has made mention of autonomy or the legal protected right to individual self-determination in article 22.[65]
Documents such as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples reconfirm international law in the aspect of human rights because those laws were already there, but it is also responsible for making sure that the laws highlighted when it comes to autonomy, cultural and integrity; and land rights are made within an indigenous context by taking special attention to their historical and contemporary events[66]
The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples article 3 also through international law provides Human rights for Indigenous individuals by giving them a right to self-determination, meaning they have all the liberties to choose their political status, and are capable to go and improve their economic, social, and cultural statuses in society, by developing it. Another example of this, is article 4 of the same document which gives them autonomous rights when it comes to their internal or local affairs and how they can fund themselves in order to be able to self govern themselves.[67]
Minorities in countries are also protected as well by international law
Mario first appeared as the player character of the 1981 platformer game Donkey Kong. Originally Miyamoto wanted to use Popeye as the protagonist, but was unable to acquire the licensing rights, leading him to create Mario.[25] Many elements of Mario's design were due to the graphical limitations of arcade hardware, such as a large nose, a mustache to accentuate his nose, and overalls to make his arms more identifiable.[26] Originally called "Mr. Video" and "Jumpman", he was renamed Mario after Nintendo of America's landlord, Mario Segale. Following his appearance in Donkey Kong, he would make cameo appearances in other video games before making his appearance in Super Mario Bros. (1985), a Nintendo Entertainment System game that started the Super Mario series. Charles Martinet voiced Mario from 1991 to 2023, before being succeeded by Kevin Afghani.
An established pop culture icon, Mario holds multiple Guinness World Records titles, such as "Most Prolific Video Game Character", "Longest-running Computer Game Character", and "Godfather of gaming". He has appeared in a variety of merchandise, such as clothing and collectible items, and people and places have been nicknamed after him. He has inspired a considerable amount of unofficial media.
Shigeru Miyamoto created Mario while developing Donkey Kong in an attempt to produce a successful video game for Nintendo; previous games, such as Sheriff, had not achieved the success of games such as Namco's Pac-Man.[27] Originally, Miyamoto wanted to create a game that used the 1930s characters Popeye, Bluto, and Olive Oyl.[28][29] At the time, however, as Miyamoto was unable to acquire a license to use the characters (and would not until 1982 with Popeye), he ended up creating an unnamed player character, along with Donkey Kong and Lady (later known as Pauline).[28]
In the early stages of Donkey Kong, Mario was drawn using pixel dots in a 16x16 grid.[30] The focus of the game was to escape a maze, while Mario did not have the ability to jump. However, Miyamoto soon introduced jumping capabilities for the player character, reasoning that "If you had a barrel rolling towards you, what would you do?"[31][27] Continuing to draw from 1930s media, King Kong served as an inspiration, and Mario was set in New York City.[32][33][34]
Though the protagonist was unnamed in the Japanese release of Donkey Kong, he was named "Jumpman" in the game's English instructions[35] and "little Mario" in the sales brochure.[36] Miyamoto envisioned a "go-to" character he could use in any game he developed if needed, albeit in cameo appearances as Miyamoto did not, at the time, expect the character to become singularly popular.[37] To this end, he originally named the character "Mr. Video", comparing what he intended for the character's appearances in later games to the cameos that Alfred Hitchcock had done within his films.[38] In retrospect, Miyamoto commented that if he had named Mario "Mr. Video", Mario likely would have "disappeared off the face of the Earth."[38]
The character was named after Mario Segale, a real estate developer.[29]
According to a widely circulated story, during the localization of Donkey Kong for American audiences, Nintendo of America's warehouse landlord, Mario Segale, confronted then-president Minoru Arakawa, demanding back rent. Following a heated argument in which the Nintendo employees eventually convinced Segale he would be paid, they opted to name the character in the game Mario after him.[39][40] A friend of Mario Segale commented: "My direct understanding and perception is that Mario Segale doesn't mind at all the fact that his name inspired such an iconic character, and that he shows humble pride in that fact in front of his grandchildren and close-knit adult circles."[41]
While it is implied by the title of the Mario Bros. series, in a 1989 interview, his full name was stated not to be "Mario Mario".[42] The first notable use of "Mario Mario" was in the 1993 live-action film adaptation of the Super Mario series, and was further used in Prima's official video game strategy guides, in 2000 for Mario Party 2[43] and in 2003 for Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga.[44] In 2012, after Mario voice actor Charles Martinet stated that the character's name was, in fact, "Mario Mario" at the San Diego Comic-Con,[45] Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata said Mario had no last name,[46] with which Miyamoto agreed the month after.[47] Two months after Iwata's death in July 2015, Miyamoto changed his stance, asserting at the Super Mario Bros. 30th Anniversary festival that Mario's full name was indeed "Mario Mario".[48][49] Mario can also be referred to as "Super Mario" when he acquires the Super Mushroom power-up.[50]
By Miyamoto's own account, Mario's profession was chosen to fit with the game design: since Donkey Kong takes place on a construction site, Mario was made into a carpenter; and when he appeared again in Mario Bros., it was decided that he should be a plumber, because a lot of the game is situated in underground settings.[22] Mario's character design, particularly his large nose, draws on Western influences; once he became a plumber, Miyamoto decided to "put him in New York" and make him Italian,[22] light-heartedly attributing Mario's nationality to his mustache.[51] Other sources have Mario's profession chosen to be carpentry in an effort to depict the character as an ordinary hard worker, making it easier for players to identify with him.[52] After a colleague suggested that Mario more closely resembled a plumber, Miyamoto changed Mario's profession accordingly and developed Mario Bros.,[28] featuring the character in the sewers of New York City.[53]
Due to the graphical limitations of arcade hardware at the time, Miyamoto clothed the character in red overalls and a blue shirt to contrast against each other and the background, making the movements of his arms easily perceptible.[54] A red cap was added to let Miyamoto avoid drawing the character's hairstyle, forehead, and eyebrows, as well as to circumvent the issue of animating his hair as he jumped.[28][22] To give distinctly human facial features with the limited graphical abilities, Miyamoto drew a large nose and a mustache, which avoided the need to draw a mouth and facial expressions.[55] Omitting a mouth circumvented the problem of clearly separating the nose from the mouth with a limited number of pixels available.[54]
Over time, Mario's appearance has become more defined; blue eyes, white gloves, brown shoes, a red "M" in a white circle on the front of his hat and gold buttons on his overalls have been added. According to an interview, Japanese character designer Yōichi Kotabe, who worked on redesigning characters in Super Mario Bros. (1985), revealed that Mario's M on his hat was originally the resemblance of McDonald's logo; Kotabe later changed the design of M and straightened its lines to clearly distinguish the difference.[56] The colors of his shirt and overalls were also reversed from a blue shirt with red overalls to a red shirt with blue overalls. Miyamoto attributed this process to the different development teams and artists for each game as well as advances in technology.[52]
Mario was voiced by Charles Martinet from 1991 to 2023.[57][58] When he crashed the audition,[59] the directors were preparing to close for the night, already packing up when he arrived. He was prompted with "an Italian plumber from Brooklyn"; when he heard the phrase, he immediately thought of a stereotypical Italian accent with a voice similar to that of a mobster.[60] He then assumed the voice would be too harsh for children, so he planned on using a voice of an older figure.[60] However, according to Martinet, the audition for Mario was the only time where his thoughts crashed and he spoke complete nonsense. After he was prompted the character, he babbled the following in a soft and friendly voice instead:[61]
"Hello, ima Mario. Okey dokey, letsa make a pizza pie together, you go get somea spaghetti, you go geta some sausage, I getta some sauce, you gonna put some spaghetti on the sausage and the sausage on the pizza, then I'm gonna chasea you with the pizza, then you gonna chasea me with the pizza, and gonaa makea lasagne."[62]
The voice he chose was derived from another voice role he used to play the character Gremio from William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew.[59][63] Martinet kept speaking with the voice until the audition tape ran out; the clip was the only tape sent back to Nintendo, and when the director called the company he said he "found our Mario".[57][64] For the following years he would use the voice for an attraction at trade shows: small tracking sensors were glued onto his face, and he would voice a 3D model of Mario's head on a television while he remained hidden behind a curtain. When attendees would approach the screen, they could talk and interact with Mario.[59][57][65] The attraction was successful and would be used for five years until he was called by Miyamoto, requesting that he use the voice for a video game.[59]
His first official video game voice role would be the CD rerelease of Mario Teaches Typing in 1994, but his first major voice acting role was Super Mario 64. He received instructions on the types of sound clips needed from Miyamoto, and Martinet appreciated the fun tone of the game and later called Miyamoto a genius.[60] He has since also continued to voice other various Mario characters, such as Luigi, Wario, and Waluigi.[60] His time in the studio recording voice clips consisted of "45 takes of every sound [he] can think of", according to Martinet at a Q&A in Canada.[66] What time he gives vocals for the game varies, and according to him has ranged from three years before a game's release to one week. The amount of clips varies as well, ranging from one hour of audio to 20.[63][67] Martinet was recognized by the Guinness World Records for the most roles performed with the same character, at the time one hundred, and is the most of any video game voice actor.[68] As of January 2022, he has voiced Mario in over 150 games and has recorded 5 million audio files with the voice.[63][66] In an interview, Martinet said he wants to continue voicing the character until he "drops dead", or until he can no longer perform the voice accurately.[66] In August 2023, Nintendo announced Martinet would be retiring from the voice role of Mario,[58] though he would continue to promote the franchise as a "Mario Ambassador". Voice actor Kevin Afghani succeeded Martinet in Super Mario Bros. Wonder the following October.[69][70]
He wears a long-sleeved red shirt, a pair of blue overalls with yellow buttons, brown shoes, white gloves, and a red cap with a red "M" printed on a white circle. In Donkey Kong, he wore a pair of red overalls, and a blue shirt. In Super Mario Bros., he wore a brown shirt with red overalls. He has blue eyes, and, like Luigi, has brown hair, and a dark brown or black mustache. This consistent difference in color is attributed to being a relic from designing the characters for their original platforms, wherein certain features were actively distinguished while others had to be curtailed due to technical limitations.[79]
Mario's occupation is plumbing, though in the original Donkey Kong games he is a carpenter.[22] Mario has also assumed several other occupations: in the Dr. Mario series of puzzle games, which debuted in 1990, Mario is portrayed as a medical physician named "Dr. Mario";[80] in the Game Boy game Mario's Picross, Mario is an archaeologist;[81] in Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis, Mario is the president of a profitable toy-making company.[82] Mario is an athlete in Mario sports games in games such as tennis and golf, as well as a kart racer in the Mario Kart series.[83] In September 2017, Nintendo confirmed on their official Japanese profile for the character that Mario was no longer considered a plumber,[84] but the statement was changed in March 2018.[85] Although according to Nintendo, Mario has seven careers, which include plumber, doctor, racer, martial artist, basketball player, baseball player, and soccer player.[86]
Nintendo's characterization of Mario as a Brooklynite Italian-American has been described as an example of mukokuseki, or "nationlessness", with "roots across [the] three continents" of Europe, North America, and Japan.[87]
Luigi is Mario's younger fraternal twin brother, who is taller, slimmer, and can jump higher than him.[72][93] He is a companion in the Mario games,[72] and the character whom the second player controls in two-player sessions of many of the video games.[94] Luigi has also occasionally rescued Mario as seen in Mario Is Missing! and the Luigi's Mansion series.[95]Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins for the Game Boy saw the arrival of Wario, Mario's greedy counterpart and self-declared arch rival, who usually assumes the role of a main antagonist or an antihero.[96] The dinosaur character Yoshi serves as Mario's steed and sidekick in games such as Super Mario World.[97]Toad is Mario's trusted close friend, who gives him advice and supports him throughout his journey to rescue Princess Peach.[98]
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Devil May Cry[a] is an urban fantasyaction-adventure game franchise created by Hideki Kamiya. It is primarily developed and published by Capcom. The series centers on the demon hunterDante and his efforts to thwart various demon invasions of Earth. Its gameplay consists of combat scenarios in which the player must attempt to extend long chains of attacks, avoiding damage and exhibiting stylized combat by varying their attacks; this combat, along with time and the number of items collected and used, are considered in grading the player's performance.
The series has been successful; the main entries has sold 31 million copies worldwide and received Capcom's Platinum Title award.[1] The success of the video-game series has led to comic books, novelizations, two animated series, guides, collectibles, publications, and a variety of action figures.
Devil May Cry: Players assume the role of Dante, a skilled demon hunter. The gameplay focuses on fast-paced, highly stylized combat; a high style ranking requires long attack and evasion strings while avoiding damage. Although the game also features puzzle-solving and exploration elements retained from its survival-horror origins, they are downplayed in favor of action. In later games, the system was modified; players had to vary their attacks to maintain their style rank.[2] The Devil Trigger enables a player's character to assume a devilish form with additional powers (based on their current weapon), while the character's strength and speed increase, and health is slowly restored.[2]
Dante attacks an enemy with the sword Alastor. The word "Cool!" assesses the player's performance in combat.
Devil May Cry 2: Dante is generally the game's lead character. Two other playable characters, Lucia and Trish are also available. The ability to perform combination attacks in mid-air and evasion and weapon-change buttons were introduced. With the latter, a player can cycle through ranged weapons without switching to the inventory screen.
Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening: A selection of gameplay styles were added, allowing the player to focus on favorite techniques or weapons. Each of the four styles gains experience points, which unlock more techniques and abilities without costing red orbs (the series' currency). A second weapon-change button was added, allowing the player to cycle through a character's melee weaponry.[3] The game was re-released as Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition with new skills for Dante and the ability to play as Vergil.[4]
Devil May Cry: Two different mobile games for feature phones were released in 2007–2008. One has similar gameplay to Devil May Cry 3 and uses enemies and characters from that game. The other one is a 2D side-scrolling beat 'em up.[5]
Devil May Cry 4: This entry introduces a new protagonist, Nero, who is playable alongside the returning Dante. Nero's Devil Bringer arm gives players the ability to pull distant enemies in to be attacked or destroyed. Nero is also armed with a sword which can be throttled up, allowing players to pre-charge it for extra damage on the next hit; with precise timing, it can be charged after each attack for extra damage and style. As Dante, players can switch fighting styles in mid-combat, allowing more varied and unique combos.[6] The game was re-released as Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition, featuring the ability to play as Vergil as well as returning characters Lady and Trish.
Devil May Cry HD Collection: A collection of the series' first three games for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, ported by Pipeworks Software and Double Helix Games, eventually released on March 22, 2012, in Japan and March 29, 2012, in the US.[7] It was later ported to the PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One on March 13, 2018.[8][9]
DmC: Devil May Cry: This reboot of the series introduced a new continuity. Players could reach hidden areas with the Ophion whip and grappling hook. The environment often "attacks" Dante by changing its architecture and infrastructure to a more-hostile form, prompting fast-paced chase sequences and platforming scenarios.[10][11]
Devil May Cry 5: This game continues the original continuity from Devil May Cry 4. It again features Nero and Dante as playable characters, as well as a new character named V. Nero's Devil Bringer arm is replaced with a selection of swappable cybernetic arms dubbed Devil Breakers, each one featuring distinct gameplay mechanics. V remotely commands three demons in battle due to his weak physical state.[12] The game was re-released as Devil May Cry 5: Special Edition, featuring the ability to play as Vergil.
Devil May Cry: Peak of Combat: A mobile-phone game by Yunchang Games, based on Devil May Cry 3. Its rendition of Dante's appearance was criticized, and the developers promised to fix it when the game left the beta period for release in 2020.[13]
The series begins two millennia before the first game with the demon Sparda, the Black Knight, defeating Demon World ruler Mundus. Sparda stops Mundus from conquering the human world by sealing several Hellgates and Temen-Ni-Gru (the last portal) with a ritual requiring his blood and the aid of a human priestess. Sparda meets Eva, who gives birth to his twin sons Dante and Vergil.
The plot begins with Devil May Cry 3, a year after Dante has a falling-out with Vergil.[14] A large tower erupts from the ground near the shop, and Dante interprets it as a challenge from Vergil.[15] Dante is defeated in Temen-Ni-Gru by Vergil, who takes his locket and leaves with Arkham. Dante's dormant devil power revives him, and he resumes pursuing his brother. Vergil wants to use the pendants their mother gave them in a ritual to create a portal to the Demon World. The battle is joined by Lady, who wants to avenge her mother's death by Arkham; Arkham manipulated the three into completing the ritual, which would allow him to acquire Sparda's sword: the Force Edge.[16][17] Dante and Vergil defeat him, and resume battling each other. The portal begins to close, and Vergil approaches it. Dante pleads with his brother not to go, but Vergil leaps into the Demon World before the portal closes. Vergil is tested and encounters Mundus, his mother's killer. When Lady returns to the human world, she coins the phrase "devil may cry"; Dante uses it for the shop.[18][19]
Dante is confronted in Devil May Cry by Trish, who reveals that Mundus is planning to return and only a descendant of Sparda can defeat him.[20] He explores Mallet Island (where Mundus is set to return), encountering demons which include Mundus' general:[21] the undead Vergil, Nelo Angelo.[22] As Dante approaches Mundus, he falls into a trap which reveals that Trish is the demon's agent; he saves her, however, because she resembles his mother. Trish saves Dante from Mundus, and Dante realizes his father's power.[23] Dante defeats Mundus when Trish helps him return Mundus to the Demon World.[24] Dante and Trish escape as the island collapses and work together in the Devil Never Cry shop.
In the Devil May Cry: The Animated Series anime, Trish is a demon hunter; Dante is the bodyguard of Patty, a young heiress who becomes obsessed with him. Patty's mother is descended from a sorcerer who sealed the power of Abigail, an ancient devil lord. Patty is targeted by Sid, a demon seeking Abigail's power. Lady and Trish fight demons summoned by Sid, and Dante kills him.
Dante is invited by Lucia in Devil May Cry 2 to meet her mother, Matier. Dante learns that Arius is collecting artifacts (Arcana) to summon the demon lord Argosax.[25] Dante flips a coin, and decides to help.[26] Lucia confronts Arius, who reveals that he created her.[27] Lucia gives Dante the last of the Arcana before facing Arius alone.[28] Dante encounters Matier, who asks him to take the Arcana to save Lucia from Arius.[29] Lucia attacks Arius, but he captures her. Dante arrives, trades the Arcana for Lucia, and attacks Arius (who escapes).[30] A stream of energy strikes the Ouroboros tower, and a portal to the demon world opens. Dante and Lucia argue about who will enter, and Dante determines that he will go.[31] After Dante leaves, Arius returns to the human world and Lucia defeats him.[32]
In Devil May Cry 4, Dante and Trish discover foul play within the Order of the Sword and investigate while learning its religious leader's scheme to conquer the world using demonic power. Dante seemingly assassinates the Sanctus, only to face a young holy knight named Nero, who awakened his demonic forces as a descendant of Sparda. Nero quests to capture Dante while gaining Yamato, only to learn the Order's dark secrets before being captured by Sanctus through his girlfriend. Dante manages to cripple Sanctus's plans before freeing Nero to finish the job. The two part ways on good terms with Nero allowed keeping Yamato.
In Devil May Cry 5, set several years after Devil May Cry 4, Nero runs a mobile branch of Dante's Devil May Cry business.[33] He befriends Nico, a weapons artist and descendant of the gunsmith who crafted Dante's Ebony and Ivory handguns.[34] Nero's Devil Bringer arm from Devil May Cry 4 is stolen; armed with a prosthetic Devil Breaker created by Nico, he leaves with Dante and the demon hunter V to face their "strongest foe yet".[35][36]
Although the series' timeline had placed Devil May Cry 4 before Devil May Cry 2, it was retconned with the release of Devil May Cry 5.[37][38]DmC: Devil May Cry, developed by Ninja Theory, is not part of the timeline and takes place in an alternate universe from the main series. Along with a very different looking Dante, it moves away from the gothic look of the previous games to a more contemporary setting with some social commentary on mass media and culture.[39]
After the completion of Resident Evil 2 in 1998, preliminary work on a PlayStation 2 installment of the Resident Evil series began by Team Little Devil under the direction of Hideki Kamiya.[40] Early research and development included a trip to Spain to examine castles as a basis for the game's environments. Its prototype, however, was a radical departure from the Resident Evil formula and the survival horror genre. Kamiya rewrote the story and changed its premise, drawing from Italian poet Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy[41][42] for Devil May Cry.[43]
Strider, another Capcom franchise, is cited as a vital influence on the Devil May Cry games and their action, particularly in their inclusion of the "boss rush".[44][45]
Despite the success of the original game, its sequel was not created by Kamiya or Team Little Devils.[46][47] Although an unidentified director was placed in charge of the project, Capcom was dissatisfied with their work and assigned Hideaki Itsuno "with only 4 to 5 months remaining in development" to steer the project back on course.[48] Despite Itsuno's limited time on the project, he is the only person credited as director in the final version of the game.[49] According to producer Tsuyoshi Tanaka, the design aim was to make Devil May Cry 2 bigger than its predecessor; Tanaka estimated that the game's environments were about nine times larger than the first.[50]
After Devil May Cry 2's mixed reception, Capcom decided to develop the next game like the more critically successful Devil May Cry. Gameplay elements, such as environment size and battle engine, were reconsidered.[51] In the original game, Vergil was killed by demons early and his soul was controlled by Mundus; Bingo Morihashi wanted to create an alternate universe in which Vergil was alive. However, Kamiya gave Morihashi the freedom to rework Vergil's backstory and make him a living teenager for Devil May Cry 3.[52] As a result, the game was designed as a prequel to the series, set several years before the events of the first game.
Development of Devil May Cry 4 began shortly after its predecessor's success.[53] The development team had 80 members.[54] A new protagonist was discussed many times at Capcom, but was not approved until producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi said that Dante had to be in the game.[55] Kobashi said before the game's release that they wanted to make Dante seem significantly more powerful than Nero, to create an obvious difference between the strength of a "veteran" compared to a "rookie".[56] Writer Morihashi collaborated with film director Yuji Shimomura, who worked on the earlier games. Morihashi left Capcom at one point, but returned at Itsuno's request. It took him a year to finish writing the game; he had difficulty with the characterization of Nero, the new protagonist. Dante returned as a supporting character.[57]
Although the fourth game was a commercial and critical success, the staff considered rebooting the series because other game series had better sales.[58] They chose Ninja Theory, impressed with their work on Heavenly Sword (which the staff thought would work with a Devil May Cry game).[59] However, in 2013 Itsuno expressed interest in developing a fifth installment.[60] It was originally thought that Itsuno intended for the series to go on hiatus or end if Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition was not a commercial success,[61] but he said in a GameSpot interview that the series' future did not depend on Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition's sales. He alleviated fears that DmC: Devil May Cry's sales would kill the series, confirming that Capcom was satisfied with them.[62] In mid-January 2016, Itsuno tweeted that he had begun work on a new project.[63] Reuben Langdon and Johnny Yong Bosch, who had done voice acting and motion capture for Dante and Nero in Devil May Cry 4, took pictures of themselves in motion-capture gear in March 2016; this led to speculation that a new Devil May Cry game was in development.[64] According to Capcom Vancouver, "It's not a game that [they] announced that [they are] working on at [their] studio".[65] On May 17, 2018, the domain name "DevilMayCry5.com" was registered under Capcom's Onamae domain register.[66]
Devil May Cry 5, featuring the return of Dante and Nero, was confirmed at E3 2018 for release the following year.[67] Most of the team had worked on the recently released Resident Evil 7, and were experienced with the game engine; Itsuno was influenced by his work in Monster Hunter: World to provide content appealing to new gamers but also felt that making the game challenging would appeal to long-time fans.[68] Other members of the staff had worked on the reboot game DmC: Devil May Cry, but the Osaka team was more willing to make a sequel to the fourth installment of the main series. The team listened to fan opinions about previous games to ensure that the new game appealed to them; an "auto" mode facilitated combos.[69] Itsuno was moved to tears by a film in which three robots combined into a giant robot to overcome their foe, and wanted to create similar moments.[70] He wanted to convey the style of a Hollywood movie such as Marvel's Avengers series.[71] In November 2017, Kamiya expressed interest in making a remake of the first installment and a crossover game with Dante and Bayonetta.[72]
The series has several print adaptations. Two Devil May Cry light novels, written by Shinya Goikeda and illustrated by Shirow Miwa, were published in Japan in 2002 and translated and published in the United States in 2006. The first, Devil May Cry Volume 1, was published in Japan in conjunction with the release of the first game and explored Dante in an adventure set before the game's events. The second, entitled Devil May Cry Volume 2 in the US, was published in Japan to coincide with the second game's release and is set after the first game's events. Tokyopop published the books in the United States in June and November 2006, respectively.[73][74]
Bingo Morihashi wrote a Devil May Cry 4 novel entitled Devil May Cry 4 Deadly Fortune. The two-volume novel, published in Japan in 2009, has a number of scenes which were not included in the original game due to time constraints.[75][76] A prequel novel by Morihashi titled Before the Nightmare, set before Devil May Cry 5 and leading to the beginning of the game, was published on March 1, 2019.[77]
Three issues of a comic adaptation of the first game were published by the Canadian Dreamwave Productions in 2004, but the series was left unfinished when the company went bankrupt the following year.[78] On July 25, 2008, WildStorm (a DC Comicsimprint) and Capcom announced that they would collaborate on a Devil May Crycomic-book series. Details about the series were planned to be announced at a later date,[79] but no new information has been provided.
Two volumes of a planned three-part Devil May Cry 3 manga series have been published in Japan and the United States. Set a year before the events of Devil May Cry 3, the manga describes how the characters come to be at the beginning of the game.
On March 7, 2019, Capcom announced that a tie-in manga entitled Devil May Cry 5 Visions of V would be serialized on the Japanese manga-hosting site Line Manga (LINE マンガ).[80] The manga's prologue was published before the serialization began. Illustrated by Tomio Ogata, the manga (only available in Japan) would update every other Sunday beginning on April 27.[81][82][83]
An anime series, Devil May Cry: The Animated Series, premiered on Japan's Wowow TV network on June 12, 2007. The 12-episode series,[84][85] produced by Madhouse, was directed by Shin Itagaki. Bingo Morihashi, a writer of the third and fourth games, was one of its writers.
In November 2021, Shankar revealed that the show's first season will have 8 episodes.[88] He also have plans for a connected "multi-season arc", like what he did with Castlevania, and that fan-favorite characters will make their debut throughout the series.[88] In November 2023, Netflix announced that the series will premiere in 2024.[89]
On February 28, 2011, Screen Gems (which made Resident Evil into a film series) had purchased feature-film rights to the Devil May Cry series.[90] Kyle Ward was hired to write the screenplay for the film (based on DmC: Devil May Cry), which would be Dante's origin story.[91][92][93] No news has emerged about the project's status.
Capcom produced Sengoku Basara vs. Devil May Cry a staged amalgam of the Devil May Cry and Sengoku Basara series, in August 2015. In the play, Dante, Lady, Trish, and Vergil encounter mysterious historical ruins while chasing a devil and are sent back in time to Japan's Warring States period; there, they meet Date Masamune, Sanada Yukimura, and other characters from the Sengoku Basara franchise. The play ran at the AiiA 2.5 Theater in Tokyo for 18 performances. Masanari Ujigawa wrote and directed the play, and Hideaki Itsuno and Izaki Matsuno collaborated on the scenery. Kazushi Miyakoda and Tetsuya Yamaura were the producers, supervised by Hiroyuki Kobayashi and Makoto Yamamoto.[94]
Devil May Cry: The Live Hacker, a musical, ran for 13 performances in March 2019 at Zepp DiverCity in Tokyo. Jun Yoriko wrote and directed the musical and its video,[95] and a DVD was released in late August of that year.[96]
The Devil May Cry series has seen the release of seven separate soundtracks. Initially, Capcom was very reluctant to release an officially sanctioned soundtrack for the Devil May Cry series, due to worries that the products would sell poorly. As a means of testing the market, Capcom decided to ask for pre-release sales.[97]
Devil May Cry characters appear in the PlayStation versions of the Viewtiful Joe games, another Capcom series created by Hideki Kamiya; Dante is a playable character in the PlayStation 2 port of the first Viewtiful Joe. The PSP version of Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble also includes Dante and costumes based on Vergil, Trish, Sparda, Marionette, and Plasma.
In a deal between Capcom and Atlus, Megami Tensei character designer Kazuma Kaneko created Dante and Vergil's demonic forms in Devil May Cry 3. In return, Atlus included Dante in his Devil May Cry 2 costume as a character in an enhanced release of Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne (Maniax in Japan). The English localization of Nocturne was based on the game's Maniax edition.[98]
Dante and Trish are playable characters in Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds, and Vergil, Dante, and Trish are playable characters in its Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 update. Dante and Vergil retain their Kazuma Kaneko-designed Devil Trigger forms since they are based on the third game of the Devil May Cry series. Dante is also a playable character in Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite.
The DmC: Devil May Cry version of Dante is a playable character in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, and he is a playable character in Project X Zone for the Nintendo 3DS as half of a pair with Darkstalkers'Demitri Maximoff; Lady is a separate character. Dante returns in its sequel, Project X Zone 2, with Vergil; Vergil's future self, Nelo Angelo, is a rival character.
On June 28, 2021, it was announced that a Mii costume based on Dante would appear in the crossover fighting game
Organisms respond to the changes brought by nightfall, including darkness, increased humidity, and lower temperatures. Their responses include direct reactions and adjustments to circadian rhythms, governed by an internal biological clock. These circadian rhythms, regulated by exposure to light and darkness, affect an organism's behavior and physiology. Animals more active at night are called nocturnal and have adaptations for low light, including different forms of night vision and the heightening of other senses. Diurnal animals are active during the day and sleep at night; mammals, birds, and some others dream while asleep. Fungi respond directly to nightfall and increase their biomass. With some exceptions, fungi do not rely on a biological clock. Plants store energy produced through photosynthesis as starch granules to consume at night. Algae engage in a similar process, and cyanobacteria transition from photosynthesis to nitrogen fixation after sunset. In arid environments like deserts, plants evolved to be more active at night, with many gathering carbon dioxide overnight for daytime photosynthesis. Night-blooming cacti rely on nocturnal pollinators such as bats and moths for reproduction. Light pollution disrupts the patterns in ecosystems and is especially harmful to night-flying insects.
Historically, night has been a time of increased danger and insecurity. Many daytime social controls dissipated after sunset. Theft, fights, murders, taboo sexual activities, and accidental deaths all became more frequent due in part to reduced visibility. Cultures have personified night through deities associated with some or all of these aspects of nighttime. The folklore of many cultures contains "creatures of the night," including werewolves, witches, ghosts, and goblins, reflecting societal fears and anxieties. The introduction of artificial lighting extended daytime activities. Major European cities hung lanterns housing candles and oil lamps in the 1600s. Nineteenth-century gas and electric lights created unprecedented illumination. The range of socially acceptable leisure activities expanded, and various industries introduced a night shift. Nightlife, encompassing bars, nightclubs, and cultural venues, has become a significant part of urban culture, contributing to social and political movements.
A planet's rotation causes nighttime and daytime. When a place on Earth is pointed away from the Sun, that location experiences night. The Sun appears to set in the West and rise in the East due to Earth's rotation.[1] Many celestial bodies, including the other planets in the solar system, have a form of night.[1][2]
Day and night during the winter solstice in the northern hempisphere
The length of night on Earth varies depending on the time of year. Longer nights occur in winter, with the winter solstice being the longest.[3] Nights are shorter in the summer, with the summer solstice being the shortest.[3] Earth orbits the Sun on an axis tilted 23.44 degrees.[4] Nights are longer when a hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun and shorter when a hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun.[5] As a result, the longest night of the year for the Northern Hemisphere will be the shortest night of the year for the Southern Hemisphere.[5]
Night's duration varies least near the equator. The difference between the shortest and longest night increases approaching the poles.[6] At the equator, night lasts roughly 12 hours throughout the year.[7]The tropics have little difference in the length of day and night.[6] At the 45th parallel, the longest winter night is roughly twice as long as the shortest summer night.[8] Within the polar circles, night will last the full 24 hours of the winter solstice.[5] The length of this polar night increases closer to the poles. Utqiagvik, Alaska, the northernmost point in the United States, experiences 65 days of polar night.[9] At the pole itself, polar night lasts 179 days from September to March.[9]
Diagram of atmospheric refraction at sunrise and sunset
Over a year, there is more daytime than nighttime because of the Sun's size and atmospheric refraction. The Sun is not a single point.[10] Viewed from Earth, the Sun ranges in angular diameter from 31 to 33 arcminutes.[11] When the center of the Sun falls level with the western horizon, half of the Sun will still be visible during sunset. Likewise, by the time the center of the Sun rises to the eastern horizon, half of the Sun will already be visible during sunrise.[12] This shortens night by about 3 minutes in temperate zones.[13] Atmospheric refraction is a larger factor.[10] Refraction bends sunlight over the horizon.[13] On Earth, the Sun remains briefly visible after it has geometrically fallen below the horizon.[13] This shortens night by about 6 minutes.[13] Scattered, diffuse sunlight remains in the sky after sunset and into twilight.[14]
There are multiple ways to define twilight, the gradual transition to and from darkness when the Sun is below the horizon.[15] "Civil" twilight occurs when the Sun is between 0 to 6 degrees below the horizon. Nearby planets like Venus and bright stars like Sirius are visible during this period.[16] "Nautical" twilight continues until the Sun is 12 degrees below the horizon.[17] During nautical twilight, the horizon is visible enough for navigation.[18] "Astronomical" twilight continues until the Sun has sunk 18 degrees below the horizon.[16][19] Beyond 18 degrees, refracted sunlight is no longer visible.[19] The period when the sun is 18 or more degrees below either horizon is called astronomical night.[17]
Similar to the duration of night itself, the duration of twilight varies according to latitude.[19] At the equator, day quickly transitions to night, while the transition can take weeks near the poles.[19] The duration of twilight is longest at the summer solstice and shortest near the equinoxes.[20]Moonlight, starlight, airglow, and light pollution create the skyglow that dimly illuminates nighttime.[21][22] The amount of skyglow increases each year due to artificial lighting.[21]
The Moon's phase at hourly intervals throughout 2020, as viewed from the Northern Hemisphere
Night exists on the other planets and moons in the solar system.[1][2] The length of night is affected by the rotation period and orbital period of the celestial object.[23] The lunar phases visible from Earth result from nightfall on the Moon.[24] The Moon has longer nights than Earth, lasting about two weeks.[23] This is half of the synodic lunar month, the time it takes the Moon to cycle through its phases.[25] The Moon is tidally locked to Earth; it rotates so that one side of the Moon always faces the Earth.[26] The side of the Moon facing away from Earth is called the far side of the Moon and the side facing Earth is called the near side of the Moon. During lunar night on the near side, Earth is 50 times brighter than a full moon.[27] Because the Moon has no atmosphere, there is an abrupt transition from day to night without twilight.[28]
Sunset on Mars
Night varies from planet to planet within the Solar System. Mars's dusty atmosphere causes a lengthy twilight period. The refracted light ranges from purple to blue, often resulting in glowing noctilucent clouds.[29] Venus and Mercury have long nights because of their slow rotational periods.[30] The planet Venus rotates once every 243 Earth days.[31] Because of its unusual retrograde rotation, nights last 116.75 Earth days.[32] The dense greenhouse atmosphere on Venus keeps its surface hot enough to melt lead throughout the night.[33][34] Its planetary wind system, driven by solar heat, reverses direction from day to night. Venus's winds flow from the equator to the poles on the day side and from the poles to the equator on the night side.[35][36] On Mercury, the planet closest to the Sun, the temperature drops over 1,000 °F (538 °C) after nightfall.[37]
The day-night cycle is one consideration for planetary habitability or the possibility of extraterrestrial life on distant exoplanets.[38] Some exoplanets, like those of TRAPPIST-1, are tidally locked. Tidally locked planets have equal rotation and orbital periods, so one side experiences constant day, and the other side constant night. In these situations, astrophysicists believe that life would most likely develop in the twilight zone between the day and night hemispheres.[39][40]
The giant moray eel is most active by night. Its brain has adapted to rely less on visual input and more on its sense of smell.[41]
Living organisms react directly to the darkness of night.[42] Light and darkness also affect circadian rhythms, the physical and mental changes that occur in a 24-hour cycle.[43] This daily cycle is regulated by an internal "biological clock" that is adjusted by exposure to light.[43] The length and timing of nighttime depend on location and time of year.[44] Organisms that are more active at night possess adaptations to the night's dimmer light, increased humidity, and lower temperatures.[45]
Animals that are active primarily at night are called nocturnal and usually possess adaptations for night vision.[46] In vertebrates' eyes, two types of photoreceptor cells sense light.[47]Cone cells sense color but are ineffective in low light; rod cells sense only brightness but remain effective in very dim light.[48] The eyes of nocturnal animals have a greater percentage of rod cells.[47] In most mammals, rod cells contain densely packed DNA near the edge of the nucleus. For nocturnal mammals, this is reversed with the densely packed DNA in the center of the nucleus, which reduces the scattering of light.[49] Some nocturnal animals have a mirror, the tapetum lucidum, behind the retina. This doubles the amount of light their eyes can process.[50]
Nocturnal insects drawn to an artificial light
The compound eyes of insects can see at even lower levels of light. For example, the elephant hawk moth can see in color, including ultraviolet, with only starlight.[46] Nocturnal insects navigate using moonlight, lunar phases, infrared vision, the position of the stars, and the Earth's magnetic field.[51] Artificial lighting disrupts the biorhythms of many animals.[52] Night-flying insects that use the moon for navigation are especially vulnerable to disorientation from increasing levels of artificial lighting.[53] Artificial lights attract many night-flying insects that die from exhaustion and nocturnal predators.[54] Decreases in insect populations disrupt the overall ecosystem because their larvae are a key food source for smaller fish.[55]Dark-sky advocate Paul Bogard described the unnatural migration of night-flying insects from the unlit Nevada desert into Las Vegas as "like sparkling confetti floating in the beam's white column".[56]
Time-expanded recording of a bat using echolocation to home in on its prey
Some nocturnal animals have developed other senses to compensate for limited light. Many snakes have a pit organ that senses infrared light and enables them to detect heat. Nocturnal mice possess a vomeronasal organ that enhances their sense of smell. Bats heavily depend on echolocation.[57] Echolocation allows an animal to navigate with their sense of hearing by emitting sounds and listening for the time it takes them to bounce back.[57] Bats emit a steady stream of clicks while hunting insects and home in on prey as thin as human hair.[58]
People and other diurnal animals sleep primarily at night.[59] Humans, other mammals, and birds experience multiple stages of sleep visible via electroencephalography.[60] The stages of sleep are wakefulness, three stages of non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREM) including deep sleep, and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.[61] During REM sleep, dreams are more frequent and complex.[62] Studies show that some reptiles may also experience REM sleep.[63] During deep sleep, memories are consolidated into long-term memory.[64] Invertebrates most likely experience a form of sleep as well. Studies on bees, which have complex but unrelated brain structures, have shown improvements in memory after sleep, similar to mammals.[65]
Compared to waking life, dreams are sparse with limited sensory detail. Dreams are hallucinatory or bizarre, and they often have a narrative structure.[66] Many hypotheses exist to explain the function of dreams without a definitive answer.[66]Nightmares are dreams that cause distress. The word "night-mare" originally referred to nocturnal demons that were believed to assail sleeping dreamers, like the incubus (male) or succubus (female).[67] It was believed that the demons could sit upon a dreamer's chest to suffocate a victim, as depicted in John Henry Fuseli's The Nightmare.[67]
Fungi can sense the presence and absence of light, and the nightly changes of most fungi growth and biological processes are direct responses to either darkness or falling temperatures.[44] By night, fungi are more engaged in synthesizing cellular components and increasing their biomass.[68] For example, fungi that preys on insects will infect the central nervous system of their prey, allowing the fungi to control the actions of the dying insect. During the late afternoon, the fungi will pilot their prey to higher elevation where wind currents can carry its spores further. The fungi will kill and digest the insect as night falls, extending fruiting bodies from the host's exoskeleton.[69] Few species of fungi have true circadian rhythms.[44] A notable exception is Neurospora crassa, a bread mold, widely used to study biorhythms.[70]
During the day, plants engage in photosynthesis and release oxygen. By night, plants engage in respiration, consuming oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide.[71] Plants can draw up more water after sunset, which facilitates new leaf growth.[72] As plants cannot create energy through photosynthesis after sunset, they use energy stored in the plant, typically as starch granules.[73] Plants use this stored energy at a steady rate, depleting their reserves almost right at dawn.[73] Plants will adjust their rate of consumption to match the expected time until sunrise. This avoids prematurely running out of starch reserves,[73] and it allows the plant to adjust for longer nights in the winter.[74] If a plant is subjected to artificially early darkness, it will ration its energy consumption to last until dawn.[74]
Succulent plants, including cacti, have adapted to the limited water availability in arid environments like deserts.[75] The stomata of cacti do not open until night.[76] When the temperature drops, the pores open to allow the cacti to store carbon dioxide for photosynthesis the next day, a process known as crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM).[76][77] Cacti and most night-blooming plants use CAM to store up to
A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images intended for satire, caricature, or humor; or a motion picture that relies on a sequence of illustrations for its animation. Someone who creates cartoons in the first sense is called a cartoonist,[1] and in the second sense they are usually called an animator.
The concept originated in the Middle Ages, and first described a preparatory drawing for a piece of art, such as a painting, fresco, tapestry, or stained glass window. In the 19th century, beginning in Punch magazine in 1843, cartoon came to refer – ironically at first – to humorous artworks in magazines and newspapers. Then it also was used for political cartoons and comic strips. When the medium developed, in the early 20th century, it began to refer to animated films that resembled print cartoons.[2]
Christ's Charge to Peter, one of the Raphael Cartoons, c. 1516, a full-size cartoon design for a tapestry
A cartoon (from Italian: cartone and Dutch: karton—words describing strong, heavy paper or pasteboard) is a full-size drawing made on sturdy paper as a design or modello for a painting, stained glass, or tapestry. Cartoons were typically used in the production of frescoes, to accurately link the component parts of the composition when painted on damp plaster over a series of days (giornate).[3] In media such as stained tapestry or stained glass, the cartoon was handed over by the artist to the skilled craftsmen who produced the final work.
Such cartoons often have pinpricks along the outlines of the design so that a bag of soot patted or "pounced" over a cartoon, held against the wall, would leave black dots on the plaster ("pouncing"). Cartoons by painters, such as the Raphael Cartoons in London, Francisco Goya's tapestry cartoons, and examples by Leonardo da Vinci, are highly prized in their own right. Tapestry cartoons, usually colored, could be placed behind the loom, where the weaver would replicate the design. As tapestries are worked from behind, a mirror could be placed behind the loom to allow the weaver to see their work; in such cases the cartoon was placed behind the weaver.[2][4]
John Leech, Substance and Shadow (1843), published as Cartoon, No. 1 in Punch, the first use of the word cartoon to refer to a satirical drawing
In print media, a cartoon is a drawing or series of drawings, usually humorous in intent. This usage dates from 1843, when Punch magazine applied the term to satirical drawings in its pages,[5] particularly sketches by John Leech.[6] The first of these parodied the preparatory cartoons for grand historical frescoes in the then-new Palace of Westminster in London.[7]
Editorial cartoons are found almost exclusively in news publications and news websites. Although they also employ humor, they are more serious in tone, commonly using irony or satire. The art usually acts as a visual metaphor to illustrate a point of view on current social or political topics. Editorial cartoons often include speech balloons and sometimes use multiple panels. Editorial cartoonists of note include Herblock, David Low, Jeff MacNelly, Mike Peters, and Gerald Scarfe.[2]
Comic strips, also known as cartoon strips in the United Kingdom, are found daily in newspapers worldwide, and are usually a short series of cartoon illustrations in sequence. In the United States, they are not commonly called "cartoons" themselves, but rather "comics" or "funnies". Nonetheless, the creators of comic strips—as well as comic books and graphic novels—are usually referred to as "cartoonists". Although humor is the most prevalent subject matter, adventure and drama are also represented in this medium. Some noteworthy cartoonists of humorous comic strips are Scott Adams, Charles Schulz, E. C. Segar, Mort Walker and Bill Watterson.[2]
Political cartoons are like illustrated editorials that serve visual commentaries on political events. They offer subtle criticism which are cleverly quoted with humour and satire to the extent that the criticized does not get embittered.
The pictorial satire of William Hogarth is regarded as a precursor to the development of political cartoons in 18th century England.[11]George Townshend produced some of the first overtly political cartoons and caricatures in the 1750s.[11][12] The medium began to develop in the latter part of the 18th century under the direction of its great exponents, James Gillray and Thomas Rowlandson, both from London. Gillray explored the use of the medium for lampooning and caricature, and has been referred to as the father of the political cartoon.[13] By calling the king, prime ministers and generals to account for their behaviour, many of Gillray's satires were directed against George III, depicting him as a pretentious buffoon, while the bulk of his work was dedicated to ridiculing the ambitions of revolutionary France and Napoleon.[13]George Cruikshank became the leading cartoonist in the period following Gillray, from 1815 until the 1840s. His career was renowned for his social caricatures of English life for popular publications.
Nast depicts the Tweed Ring: "Who stole the people's money?" / "'Twas him."
By the mid 19th century, major political newspapers in many other countries featured cartoons commenting on the politics of the day. Thomas Nast, in New York City, showed how realistic German drawing techniques could redefine American cartooning.[14] His 160 cartoons relentlessly pursued the criminal characteristic of the Tweed machine in New York City, and helped bring it down. Indeed, Tweed was arrested in Spain when police identified him from Nast's cartoons.[15] In Britain, Sir John Tenniel was the toast of London.[16] In France under the July Monarchy, Honoré Daumier took up the new genre of political and social caricature, most famously lampooning the rotund King Louis Philippe.
Political cartoons can be humorous or satirical, sometimes with piercing effect. The target of the humor may complain, but can seldom fight back. Lawsuits have been very rare; the first successful lawsuit against a cartoonist in over a century in Britain came in 1921, when J. H. Thomas, the leader of the National Union of Railwaymen (NUR), initiated libel proceedings against the magazine of the British Communist Party. Thomas claimed defamation in the form of cartoons and words depicting the events of "Black Friday", when he allegedly betrayed the locked-out Miners' Federation. To Thomas, the framing of his image by the far left threatened to grievously degrade his character in the popular imagination. Soviet-inspired communism was a new element in European politics, and cartoonists unrestrained by tradition tested the boundaries of libel law. Thomas won the lawsuit and restored his reputation.[17]
Cartoons such as xkcd have also found their place in the world of science, mathematics, and technology. For example, the cartoon Wonderlab looked at daily life in the chemistry lab. In the U.S., one well-known cartoonist for these fields is Sidney Harris. Many of Gary Larson's cartoons have a scientific flavor.
The first comic-strip cartoons were of a humorous tone.[18] Notable early humor comics include the Swiss comic-strip book Mr. Vieux Bois (1837), the British strip Ally Sloper (first appearing in 1867) and the American strip Yellow Kid (first appearing in 1895).
In the United States in the 1930s, books with cartoons were magazine-format "American comic books" with original material, or occasionally reprints of newspaper comic strips.[19]
In Britain in the 1930s, adventure comic magazines became quite popular, especially those published by DC Thomson; the publisher sent observers around the country to talk to boys and learn what they wanted to read about. The story line in magazines, comic books and cinema that most appealed to boys was the glamorous heroism of British soldiers fighting wars that were exciting and just.[20] DC Thomson issued the first The Dandy Comic in December 1937. It had a revolutionary design that broke away from the usual children's comics that were published broadsheet in size and not very colourful. Thomson capitalized on its success with a similar product The Beano in 1938.[21]
On some occasions, new gag cartoons have been created for book publication.
Because of the stylistic similarities between comic strips and early animated films, cartoon came to refer to animation, and the word cartoon is currently used in reference to both animated cartoons and gag cartoons.[22] While animation designates any style of illustrated images seen in rapid succession to give the impression of movement, the word "cartoon" is most often used as a descriptor for television programs and short films aimed at children, possibly featuring anthropomorphized animals,[23]superheroes, the adventures of child protagonists or related themes.
In the 1980s, cartoon was shortened to toon, referring to characters in animated productions. This term was popularized in 1988 by the combined live-action/animated film Who Framed Roger Rabbit, followed in 1990 by the animated TV series Tiny Toon Adventures.
^Samuel S. Hyde, "'Please, Sir, he called me "Jimmy!' Political Cartooning before the Law: 'Black Friday', J.H. Thomas, and the Communist Libel Trial of 1921", Contemporary British History (2011) 25(4), pp. 521–550.
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