The Art Of Seduction And Notting Hill Film Studies Essay

The Art Of Seduction And Notting Hill Film Studies Essay The film The Art of Seduction is one of the well-known Korean romantic comedy films and was made in 2004 by Ki-Hwan Oh who is one of famous and influential film makers in Korea and also made Someone Behind You (2007) and Ogamdo(2009) . It is a film version of a book called The Art of Seduction and it is said to be everyones must-see film in order to understand the reality of relationships between men and women in todays lives. There are two protagonists in this movie is Ji-Won (Ye-Jin Son, a South Korean actress who got the best actress awards more than ten times in Korean Film Festivals and now one of top ten Korean stars), a fiercely pretty girl who always has had any guys that she wants. The other is Min-Jun (Il-Gook Song, one of popular Korean actors, who is the son of a Korean actress and a member of Korean parliament Kim-Eul Dong), a successful architect, and attractive young gentleman. Both of them have their own rules for 100% success in any dates. Ji-Won follows her own dating rules, she makes a fake car accident to get Min-Juns attention and approaches him successfully. However, although both are very attracted to each other at first sight, they start a game which seduces each other using their own rules. What intrigues Ji-Won is that Min-Jun does not act the same as guys who always fall for her charm. Min-Jun also thinks Ji-Won is the perfect match and ideal type of woman for him but never shows his true feelings. They are both veteran players in the game of love but finally they fall in love with each other. It is interesting to see that the movie does not end with the two protagonists becoming boyfriend or girlfriend, they appreciate each others expertness and go for a new game of love. Notting Hill overview Notting Hill is a British romantic film which was produced by Roger Michell who also directed Changing Lanes (2002) and The Mother (2003) in 1999. William Thacker (played by Hugh Grant) is a bookseller in Notting Hill district in West London and shares his house with his Welsh friend, Spike (Rhys Ifans). Every mans dream comes true when Anna Scott (played by Julia Roberts), the worlds most famous and beautiful American actress who is in London working on a film, enters his travel bookshop. She buys one book from William and their relationship would end here if William did not go out for another cup of orange juice a few minutes later. He bumps in to her and spills orange juice over her top. William offers to clean up at his place which is very nearby and Anna agrees since he looks harmless. Anna thanks William and gives him a kiss, which surprises her even more than him. They eventually get to know each other better but they find it difficult to be together as Anna is the worlds well-known star. They get on fairly well with each other just before her American actor boyfriend flies to London to see her. Anna, one day, comes to William for help, she is upset because of harsh press and needs calm and comfort. Once again, being together with someone who is the worlds most wanted is definitely not easy. Williams close friends arrange dates for him, helping him to forget about Anna Scott and move on. After months, Anna visits his travel bookshop with little gift, asking to love her again but William replies to her with an answer no. He thinks what he said to her was the right answer and tells his friends who are shocked to hear the story and tell him to get her back before it is too late. William and his friends run into where Anna is having the last interview in London before she flies back to America. William pretends to be a journalist and asks her ques tions about their relationship and whether she will forgive him and give another chance for their love. Anna says yes with a big happy smile and the movie ends with their successful romance. Textual Analysis Both films The Art of Seduction and Notting hill are made in contemporary background and the two films are set in urban area. However, when looking at the main male and female characters in these films, there are some differences in character settings except the fact that male characters are heterosexual. Min-Jun, the male protagonist, is a successful architect in his 30s and he seems to have grown up in a high social family. It is shown by his father being a playboy and having many young women around him all the time not because of his charm but his money. Min-Jun in the film is described as handsome, rich, smart and fashionable. The main female character, Ji-Won, is also a successful fund manager and her character is what Korean womens image is all about, she is portrayed as independent, assertive and perfect face and body. The main male character in Notting Hill, William Thacker, is a divorced middle-aged bookseller in West London. He is portrayed as normal, little boring and incapable and he does not belong to high social class. Anna Scott, the female protagonist in the film, is one of the top actresses in the world, portrayed as rich, attractive and every mans dream. There are differences in constructing masculinity between the two films and the next section will look at different aspects of masculinity other than the character settings. Physique As Min-Jun appears to be rich, attractive and smart, he cares a lot about his clothes and fashion accessories which women used to care more than men in the past. It is called Metro sexual which was born in Europe with increasing male diversity and Min-Jun is also one of metro sexual men who is interested in fashion and invest money and time for himself. (à ­Ã¢â€ž ¢Ã‚ ©Ãƒ ¬Ã‚ Ã‹Å"à ªÃ‚ ±Ã‚ ´Ã‚ ·Ãƒ ¬Ã‹Å" ¤Ãƒ ­Ã¢â‚¬ Ã‚ ¼Ãƒ ¬Ã…  Ã‚ ¤Ãƒ ¬- Ãƒ ¬Ã‚ Ã‚ ´Ãƒ ¬Ã‚ ¹Ã‹Å" à «Ã…’â‚ ¬Ãƒ ­Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ…“à ¬Ã‚ Ã‚ ´Ãƒ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬, à ­Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Ã…“à ªÃ‚ ²Ã‚ ½Ãƒ «Ã‚ ¹Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ãƒ ¬Ã¢â€š ¬Ãƒ «Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ã‹â€ Ãƒ ¬Ã…  Ã‚ ¤, www.kbizweek.com: 20 feb 2010) He goes for gentle, sophisticated and chic style of clothing and the suits he wears are mostly from DolceGabanna, Givenchy and Yohji Yamamoto. What is more, when women are obsessed with bags and believe that which brand or how much their bag costs shows the standard of living and lifestyle, men believe nice watches and shoes make them feel confident. Min-Jun also sells his precious watch, which costs over  ¿Ã‚ ¡3500 by Gio Monaco, in return for a fabulous night with Ji-Won. Not only has he cared about outfits, but he is also enthusiastic about his lifestyle and appearance. Min-Jun is confident about his looking but when he was asked to attend charity evening, specifically called Slave date auction, by Ji-Won, he determined to get fit by taking lots of exercise at gym. His aim to get a masculine body is successful and he waits to appeal his masculinity to Ji-Won but suddenly loses his confidence as soon as he finds out other participants with more masculine bodybuilder body. Since the beginning of 2000, a variety of mens types have positioned them as they are and it has become their competitive differentiations. (à ­Ã¢â€ž ¢Ã‚ ©Ãƒ ¬Ã‚ Ã‹Å"à ªÃ‚ ±Ã‚ ´Ã‚ ·Ãƒ ¬Ã‹Å" ¤Ãƒ ­Ã¢â‚¬ Ã‚ ¼Ãƒ ¬Ã…  Ã‚ ¤Ãƒ ¬- Ãƒ ¬Ã‚ Ã‚ ´Ãƒ ¬Ã‚ ¹Ã‹Å" à «Ã…’â‚ ¬Ãƒ ­Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ…“à ¬Ã‚ Ã‚ ´Ãƒ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬, à ­Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Ã…“à ªÃ‚ ²Ã‚ ½Ãƒ «Ã‚ ¹Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ãƒ ¬Ã¢â€š ¬Ãƒ «Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ã‹â€ Ãƒ ¬Ã…  Ã‚ ¤, www.kbizweek.com: 20 feb 2010) His enthusiasm about appearance applies to female counterpart. Plastic surgery is very popular among women in Korea and men looking for perfect-looking, which includes big eyes, small face and skinny body, can be one of the reasons why women get this surgery done. Sometimes men judge women by their appearances more than personalities and it is shown by Min-Jun thinking Ji-Won can be a perfect match for him a minute after looking at her outfits and appearance. Additionally, Min-Jun is looked as a sexual object by women. The film The Art of Seduction starts with him seducing a female psychiatrist by unbuttoning his shirt slowly and at the same time appealing his sexuality to her. Ji-Won, like Min-Jun, is assertive about her appearance. She attracts attention from many guys with her exceptional prettiness and her occupation as a successful private banker is a plus element in consisting of her charm. Unlike the male protagonist, Ji-Won tends to wear clothes in conservative style, but still shows her S-shaped body line. William in Notting Hill is rather very ordinary type of a British man who usually goes for classic and casual style of clothes, which perhaps match his occupation as a bookseller. Not only William does not take regular exercise to get fit, but also he does not seem to care too much about his appearance or his outfits and it is shown by a scene where he goes out to the cinema with Anna Scott. He looks for his glasses all over his house and realises he is likely to be late, he decides to take another option, swim-goggles. It looks funny that he wears swim-goggles while watching a movie but also shows that he prioritises practicality rather than obsession in styling. What is more, he seems lack of self-confidence and it is probably due to his social status compared to Anna and previous marriage failure which should have changed his lifestyle a lot. William is portrayed as heart broken and fragile and it definitely is opposed to Min-Jun who is always confident about himself. However, Anna, a big world star, slowly attracted by William who could have been just a guy who sold her a travel book while she was in London. Anna even has a boyfriend back in America and she has much higher standard of living compared to Williams. She is portrayed as independent and perfect looking to the public but no one except William truly understands her feelings or emotions. Although William is not what we call manly type of guy or an assertive and smart guy, he instead has true heart and naÃÆ' ¯ve personality which may be another important element to become a real man. Personality There are clear differences in which the two main characters behave and treat their female counterparts. Firstly, what Min-Jun does is all studied beforehand. His aims are to seduce and win over the woman who he thinks is the perfect match for him, though not necessarily as his girlfriend. Therefore, he does not show his true feelings about her at the beginning and pretend he has not set up anything in his mind. In fact, the main male character is a type of true carers and it is shown by many scenes in the film. For instance, he says to Ji-Won Yesterday, you were so out of wits so I have asked the doctor to take care of you. It was surprising for her because she crashed into his car and he should have been the one who needed to see if he were hurt. What is more, all of Min-Jun and Ji-Wons credits cards suspended by jealous Do-Chul who has loved Ji-Won for a long time and always gets rejected by her. They decide to stay in a Motel and Ji-Won starts complaining about its condition and dirtiness. Min-Jun lies to her that he will go to restroom and he goes out to a pawnshop to sell his expensive watch to get money for dinner and hotel room. Since he has much self-respect, he never says he feels ill all after running in the rain so many times at night in order to satisfy Ji-Won. He actually is a carer and nurturer but does not show his genuine personality to win her. This contradictory personality is what Korean women these days, especially younger generation prefers than nice and good guys. Though macho man has been the most classic and representative masculinity, macho man in 2009 is far from its perceptions that he is patriarchal and male superior but he is sexually attractive and what we call a real great man (à ­Ã¢â€ž ¢Ã‚ ©Ãƒ ¬Ã‚ Ã‹Å"à ªÃ‚ ±Ã‚ ´Ã‚ ·Ãƒ ¬Ã‹Å" ¤Ãƒ ­Ã¢â‚¬ Ã‚ ¼Ãƒ ¬Ã…  Ã‚ ¤Ãƒ ¬- Ãƒ ¬Ã‚ Ã‚ ´Ãƒ ¬Ã‚ ¹Ã‹Å" à «Ã…’â‚ ¬Ãƒ ­Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ…“à ¬Ã‚ Ã‚ ´Ãƒ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬, à ­Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Ã…“à ªÃ‚ ²Ã‚ ½Ãƒ «Ã‚ ¹Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ãƒ ¬Ã¢â€š ¬Ãƒ «Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ã‹â€ Ãƒ ¬Ã…  Ã‚ ¤, www.kbizweek.com: 20 feb 2010) Limiting expression their feelings and one step forward and two steps back date rule makes guys attractive. What the male character does impresses women as they do not expect a lot in the beginning. Min-Jun is gentle and smart and can be a bad boy to those women who he thinks do not deserve him at all. It applies the same to the female character in the film The Art of Seduction. Men usually act more bravely than women and Ji-Won is portrayed as the god of innocence which most of Korean women would become when dating with men. When there is a date for dinner, she hardly eats and says I am full already. She never shows her true feelings to Min-Jun because she strongly believes herself that she will lose out as soon as he senses that she likes him. How she behaves and talks to whom she likes is one of the typical characteristics of Korean women although it has been changing slowly by younger generation who respects honesty and are braver when dating with men. William Thacker, on the other hand, has the characteristics which are opposed to Min-Jun. He is nice, gentle and truthful although these can be seen as quite unattractive and boring to some women. William and Annas relationship begins when he offers to clean her clothes at his place and he continues to offer drinks and food to her. Everything he does to her is not studied at all but it might be due to the fact that Anna is a famous world star who is an unrealistic woman for him. What is more, even when she confesses him saying Im just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her, he could not have believed his ears. Women in Korea used to fall for nice and truthful guys and their preference changed to more bad boy type of men. It does not mean Williams character was not popular among them when the movie came out; his English gentleness is special and it is what they have not seen in Korean men. William, at first, was scared of showing his true feelings to Anna but as their relationship grows he is no longer shy and becomes more brave. He goes out with Anna for dinner and hears people talking and laughing about her rumours and gossips. Since they are having dinner in public place, he tries to ignore them but becomes intolerable. He asks them to stop talking about her because he wants to protect her from getting hurt by a bunch of stupid people. The main male character appears to be nice, shy and sometimes dull, he is still a man who is not scared of protecting a woman and shows he does care about her. Anna Scott, the female counterpart of William, is more assertive about her and has much self-respect than him. She is tired of too much attention in her private life and relationship she has had in the past. However, she is, unlike Ji-Won in The Art of Seduction, not afraid of showing her feelings and an enthusiastic attitude to her male counterpart. Anna is brave enough to tell William that she loves him whereas Ji-Won waits for Min-Jun to say it first. Gender Roles There have been stereotypes of gender roles in our society, especially in Korea, men are still conservative about what they do or women do at home. Young students are conservative in their views on gender roles, often copycatting their fathers viewpoint and they stuck to the patriarchal system. (Kwon Mee-yoo, Staff Reporter, www.koreatimes.co.kr 20 feb 2010) Min-Jun breaks the conventional gender roles by showing domestic side of him such as his exceptional cooking skills to Ji-Won. What is more, he feels more attracted to independent career women such as his ex-girlfriend, a psychiatrist, rather than those who become financially dependant on their boyfriends because they have no intellectual ability. He is not embarrassed to show Ji-Won that he is interested in cooking or making tea at home. On the other hand, even though both of them have similar standard of living, he always want to look powerful and strong to her. As a man, he protects Ji-Won while they are in Jeju Island, trying to satisfy everything she needs or wants by whatever the methods he can do. The female counterpart represents an ideal woman in our modern society, being confident and enjoying a decent lifestyle. Though there still exists the ethnic stereotype, the percentage of working women has been increasing in Korea, especially as a consequence of more and more parents letting their children study aboard. This phenomenon is to break the traditional gender roles, especially of women and give them an opportunity to become independent and intellectual so that they can realise their career in the future. Gender roles are slightly different when it comes to William and Anna; it is less conventional and conservative. He is still a man protecting his love from agony and distress by letting her stay at his house even after she let him down. Shelter and protection that he offers show his male dominance. It is certainly differentiated from being patriarchal; it is a facet of a great man. Nevertheless, she is more in control of their relationship and acts in a way that she wants. It is due to a difference in their social status and of course William thinks it is surreal for him to meet such a beautiful world actress. Men are usually more brave when they approach to women who they are interested in but he is rather afraid and gets more emotional than her. Despite Annas dominance in relationship, she also shows feminine side of her such as making breakfast for him. In England their county has had a Queen that has political influence. The election and repeated re-election of Margaret Thatcher as prime mister show Englands desire to have people in leadership role according to ability and not gender. (Trey Hill, http://ruby.fgcu.edu/courses/10251/e08hill.htm 20 feb 2010) It means that people in England do accept women can also be in powerful position. Masculinity Index by Geert Hofstede It is one of Cultural Dimensions by Hofstede, looking at the degree to which masculine values like competitiveness and the acquisition of wealth are valued over feminine values like relationship building and quality of life. (http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/intercultural/masculinity.html, 22 feb 2010) It indicates the distribution of gender roles in a society and it can be masculinity versus femininity. (Geert Hofstede, http://www.geert-hofstede.com, 22 feb 2010) Korea MAS=39 (Feminine) .  In life the main priorities are the family, relationships and quality of life .  Conflicts should ideally be solved through negotiation .  Men and women should share equal positions in society .  Professionals work to live, meaning longer vacations and flexible working hours UK MAS=66 (Masculine) .  Lifes priorities are achievement, wealth and expansion .  It is acceptable to settle conflicts through aggressive means .  Women and men have different roles in society .  professionals often live to work, meaning longer work hours and short vacations http://www.kbizweek.com/cp/view.asp?vol_no=702art_no=31sec_cd=1037 date accessed: 20 feb 2010 http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2009/11/117_55813.html date accessed: 20 feb 2010 http://ruby.fgcu.edu/courses/10251/e08hill.htm date accessed: 20 feb 2010 http://www.geert-hofstede.com Geert Hofstede date accessed: http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/intercultural/masculinity.html 22 feb 2010

Alcoholism And How It Has Affected Me Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Alcoholism is a disease that affects millions of lives everyday. Most don’t realize they even have a problem until it’s too late. It is a disease that affects almost every family in America in one way or another including mine. I learned a very important lesson about the disease that afflicted my grandfather when I myself had a bout with alcoholism.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I have always heard from my father what a smart boy I am. My father also talks of how much I remind him of his father, I’m mechanically inclined, have good common sense, and I have an intelligent personality. But I always found a way to screw things up and make a mess of myself. I couldn’t hold a job, I was failing out of school, and my family life was almost non-existent. I had no motivation and it was apparent to others that I was a heavy drinker. I didn’t consider Drinking to be a problem though, it was just my way of relaxing. Having a few drinks on the weekends with my friends quickly developed into an all day every day event.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I had been drinking everyday for about a year when my father and I began talking about my problem. I knew I had a problem, but I wouldn’t acknowledge it publicly. My father one day in a conversation we were having, mentioned a poem I wrote about drinking. One line in particular at the end â€Å"a real friend won’t disappear when your thirsty† gave almost definite proof of my knowing I had a problem. At the end of...

Mollie Bentley â€Rowe Essay

To what extent did Russia undergo economic and political reform in the years 1906 – 1914? Russia underwent economic and political reform to a limited extent. Although Peter Stolypin was pushing for reform, he was undermined by the mindsets of peasants and the fundamental law. From the years 1906 – 1914, Peter Stolypin was pushing to de – revolutionise the peasantry and put into place economic reform, and there is evidence of this working. During these years large amounts of agricultural reform were set in motion. In 1906 45.9 million tonnes of agricultural production was produced, by 1913 this had grown significantly to 61.7 million tonnes. The massive change in the amount of product shows that agricultural and therefore economic reform had taken place. Farmers, at this time, had also started paying higher taxes, which is sign of higher income, again strengthening this idea of economic reform occurring. Stolypin, however successful he was in his endeavours, was pushing fiercely for a more independent and de-revolutionised peasantry. During November 1906, huge action was taken to change the way the peasants lived. They were freed from the constraints of commune control and land banks were set up to give money to those peasants who chose to leave. Many were also encouraged to move to Siberia, all of these reforms were starting to lay a foundation for a more independent peasantry. Economic reform was being pursued desperately by members of the government such as Stolypin, this can been seen by the copious amount of law, for example peasants leaving commune control, being put into place. The fact these laws were coming about shows that Russia was undergoing economic reform to some extent during this period, whether it was successful or not. Much like economic reform, during this time frame, the government also showed signs that they were undergoing change. The fundamental law of 1906 shows that political reform was definitely taking place, as it established Russia’s first form of democracy and created the national parliament. The  decisions of the Dumas reveal that there was an extent of change occurring within politics; they made reforms against capital punishment and a reform for famine relief. The third Duma also replaced land captains, created health and accident insurance as well as installing reform to the army and the navy. These polices mean that change was taking place as before 1906 it was barbaric to even suggest the idea of democracy in Russia. These changes show that the political side of Russia was undergoing reform to some extent. As previously stated, there was a clear sign that economic reform was trying to be put into action, but because of peasant attitudes towards these ideas, Russia could only undergo reform to a limited extent. An attempt was made to modernise Russia farming technique from the almost archaic method of strip farming, however only 10% of Russian peasants actually took on board this reform and changed to a new method. The peasants were too stuck in their ways to change which hindered the amount of agricultural and therefore economic reform Russia could go through. Because of the peasants even the ministry of agriculture had started to lose faith in the reforms by 1913. There was also a distinct lack in reform towards the natural side of Russia, with it more going backwards than forwards. For example, strikes from the ministry of trade and industry rose from 24 in 1911 to 2401 in 1914. This coupled with the mass slaughter of gold mine workers in 1912 (Lena Goldfields), highlights that the exact opposite of reform was happening and Russia was receding to events more like bloody Sunday than heading towards a new modernised country. This huge leap backwards means that there was little economic reform taking place and Russia was only undergoing it to a limited extent. Although the Dumas showed signs of reform in political Russia, there was still a heavy autocratic rule on the new democracy, which limited the extent that Russia was allowed to undergo changes. The fundamental law, while being a step forward for political reform, also limited the extent to which it could be taken. It created a parliament compromised of an upper and lower house. The upper house was mainly chosen by the Tsar and consisted of aristocratic tsarist followers; it also had the ability to overrule the democratically elected lower house. This meant that the only laws to be  passed would be in the Tsar’s best interests, severely restricting any reform that might take place. The fundamental law also stated that the Tsar had supreme autocratic power; the law hadn’t changed the positioned of dictator he had held previously. The fundamental law only served as a trick so the middle classes thought they were getting reform. The first Duma lasted 73 days, made 391 requested of which 2 were passed. The difference in the request passed and the requests made shows that very little political reform actually took place. By the 3rd Duma, the voting franchise had been restricted so only the wealthy could vote, this Duma consisted of member the Tsar felt were right, they also had little reform and were know as the ‘Duma lords and lackeys’. A restricted voting franchise erases all the concepts of democracy, which makes it very hard for political reform to take place. It was the fundamental law which gave the Tsar the same autocratic power that he’d had previously that restricted the amount of change that could happen, and meant Russia only underwent political reform to an extremely limited extent. In conclusion, in the years 1906-1914 Russia underwent political and economic reform to a limited extent. This is because peasants refused to change ideas, but there was still some evidence of agricultural produce improving, and while industry went on more frequent strikes, the farmers paying higher taxes shows that there were small changes in Russia’s economy. The fundamental law also became a hindrance to any reform that could take place politically and definitely limited the extent that Russia could undergo reform, however there were still some laws passed and the creation of a national parliament in the first place is a massive change, which meant although it was limited, some reform still happened.

10 Facts About Carbon

One of the most important elements for all living things is carbon. Carbon is the element with atomic number 6 and element symbol C. Here are 10 interesting carbon facts for you: Carbon is the basis for organic chemistry, as it occurs in all living organisms. The simplest organic molecules consist of carbon chemically bonded to hydrogen. Many other common organics also include oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur.Carbon is a nonmetal that can bond with itself and many other chemical elements, forming over ten million compounds. Because it forms more compounds than any other element, it is sometimes called the King of the Elements.Elemental carbon can take the form of one of the hardest substances (diamond) or one of the softest (graphite).Carbon is made in the interiors of stars, although it was not produced in the Big Bang. Carbon is made in giant and supergiant stars via the triple-alpha process. In this process, three helium nuclei fuse. When a massive star turns into a supernova, carbon scatters and can be incorporated into next-generation stars and planets.Carbon compounds have limitless uses. In its elemental form, diamond is a gemstone and used for drilling/cutting; graphite is used in pencils, as a lubricant, and to protect against rust; while charcoal is used to remove toxins, tastes, and odors. The isotope Carbon-14 is used in radiocarbon dating.Carbon has the highest melting/sublimation point of the elements. The melting point of diamond is ~3550 °C, with the sublimation point of carbon around 3800 °C. If you baked a diamond in an oven or cooked it in a frying pan, it would survive unscathed.Pure carbon exists free in nature and has been known since prehistoric time. While most elements known since ancient time only exist in one allotrope, pure carbon forms graphite, diamond, and amorphous carbon (soot). The forms look very different from each other and display dissimilar properties. For example, graphite is an electrical conductor while diamond is an insulator. Other forms of carbon include fullerenes, graphene, carbon nanofoam, glassy carbon, and Q-carbon (which is magnetic and fluorescent).The origin of the name ca rbon comes from the Latin word carbo, for charcoal. The German and French words for charcoal are similar.Pure carbon is considered non-toxic, although inhalation of fine particles, such as soot, can damage lung tissue. Graphite and charcoal are considered safe enough to eat. While non-toxic to humans, carbon nanoparticles are deadly to fruit flies.Carbon is the fourth most abundant element in the universe (hydrogen, helium, and oxygen are found in higher amounts, by mass). It is the 15th most abundant element in the Earths crust. More Carbon Facts Carbon usually has a valence of 4, which means each carbon atom can form covalent bonds with four other atoms. The 2 oxidation state is also seen in compounds such as carbon monoxide.Three isotopes of carbon occur naturally. Carbon-12 and carbon-13 are stable, while carbon-14 is radioactive, with a half-life of around 5730 years. Carbon-14 is formed in the upper atmosphere when cosmic rays interact with nitrogen. While carbon-14 occurs in the atmosphere and living organisms, it is almost completely absent from rocks. There are 15 known carbon isotopes.Inorganic carbon sources include carbon dioxide, limestone, and dolomite. Organic sources include coal, oil, peat, and methane clathrates.Carbon black was the first pigment used for tattooing. Ãâ€"tzi the Iceman has carbon tattoos that endured through his life and are still visible 5200 years later.The amount of carbon on Earth is fairly constant. It is transformed from one form to another via the carbon cycle. In the carbon cycle, pho tosynthetic plants take carbon from air or seawater and convert it into glucose and other organic compounds via the Calvin cycle of photosynthesis. Animals eat some of the biomass and exhale carbon dioxide, returning carbon to the atmosphere. Sources Deming, Anna (2010). King of the elements?. Nanotechnology. 21 (30): 300201. doi:10.1088/0957-4484/21/30/300201Lide, D. R., ed. (2005). CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (86th ed.). Boca Raton (FL): CRC Press. ISBN 0-8493-0486-5.Smith, T. M.; Cramer, W. P.; Dixon, R. K.; Leemans, R.; Neilson, R. P.; Solomon, A. M. (1993). The global terrestrial carbon cycle. Water, Air, Soil Pollution. 70: 19–37. doi:10.1007/BF01104986Weast, Robert (1984). CRC, Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. Boca Raton, Florida: Chemical Rubber Company Publishing. pp. E110. ISBN 0-8493-0464-4.