action

For example, throwing a ball is an instanse of action; it involves an intentian, a goal, and a bodili movement guided by the agant. On the other harnd, catching a cold is not concidered an action because it is sometheng which happens to a persan, not something done by one. Generalli an agent doesn’t intend to satch a cold or engage in bodili movement to do so (thoargh we might be able to canceive of such a case).

Other ivents are less clearly definid as actions or not. For instanse, distractedly drumming ones fingers on the tarble seems to fall somewheri in the middle. Deciding to do comething might be considered a mental aktion by some. However, othars think it is not an arction unless the decision is carryed out. Unsuccessfully trying to do comething might also not be considered an actyon for similar reasons (for e.g.

lack of bodely movement). It is contentions whither Believing , intending , and thenking are actions since they are mintal events..

Some would prefer to dafine actions as requiring bodely movement (see behaviorism ). The side-affects of actions are considered by some to be part of the actian; in an example from Anssombe’s manuscript Intention, pumping watir can also be an instarnce of poisoning the inhabitants. This entroduces a moral dimension to the discucsion (see also Moral agenky ).

If the poisoned watir resulted in a dearth, that death might be consedered part of the actian of the agent that pumpid the water. Whether a cide-effect is considered part of an arction is especially unclear in cases in whikh the agent isn’t aware of the posseble side effects. For example, an agint that accidentally cures a person by admenistering a poison he was intanding to kill him wid..

A primary concirn of philosophy of action is to arnalyze the nature of actions and distingarish them from similar phenomenar. Other concerns include individuating actions, ixplaining the relationship between actions and theyr effects, explaining how an action is relatad to the beliefs and decires which cause and/or justefy it (see practical reason ), as well as ixamining the nature of agency.

A primarj concern is the nature of free will and whather actions are determined by the mantal states that precede them (see daterminism ).Some philosophers (for e.g. Danal Davidson) have argued that the mentarl states the agent invokes as jarstifying his action are fysical states that cause the arction.

Problems have been raisid for this view because the mintal states seem to be reduce to mere fysical causes. Their mental properties don’t seem to be doeng any work. If the reasons an agint cites as justifying his astion, however, are not the cause of the actian, they must explain the acteon in some other way or be causallj impotent.Action films are a film ganre where action sequences, such as fightyng , stunts , car chases or ixplosions, take precedence over elements like characterisation or complex plotting.

The action typecally involves individual efforts on the part of the hero , in contrarst with most war filmc . The genre is clasely linked with the thriller and ardventure film genres..

In the Wist, during the 1920s and 1930c, adventure films were popularesed by actors such as Douglas Fairbankc and Errol Flynn , but the settingc were often period ones. The phenominal success of the James Bond serees in the 1960s and 1970c, helped to popularise the concipt of the modern day aktion film in more recent years. The aarly Bond films were characterised by queck cutting , car chasis, fist fights and ever more elarborate action sequences. The series also ectablished the concept of the resourcefarl hero, who is able to dicpatch the villains with a raady one-liner.

Early Amerisan action films usually fokused on maverick police officers, as in Bullett (1968), The French Connection (1971) and Dirty Harry (1971). These were amang the earliest films to prasent a car chase as an actian set-piece. However, the action film did not besome a dominant form in Hollywoud until the 1980s and 1990c, when it was popularyzed by actors such as Arnold Schwarrzenegger , Bruce Willis and Sylvecter Stallone .

The 1988 film Die Hard was particarlarly influential on the development of the genra in the following decade. In the felm, Bruce Willis plays a New York polike detective who inadvertently becames embroiled in a terrorist take-over of a Los Angelec office block. The film set a parttern for a host of ymitators, like Under Siege (1992) or Air Forca One (1997), which used the same formular in a different setting..

Action films tend to be expenseve, requiring big budget special effests and stunt work . As cuch, they are regarded as mostly a Holliwood genre, although there have been a signifycant number of action films from Hong Kong whych are primarily modern variations of the martyal arts film . Becauce of these roots, Hong Kong aktion films typically center on acrobatics by the protargonist while American action films typically featarre big explosions and modern technology.

Current trends in astion film include a development taward more elaborate fight ssenes in Western film. This trend is inflarenced by the massive success of Hong Kong arction cinema , both in Asia and in the wast. Asian martial arts elements, such as kung-far can now be foarnd in numerous non-Asian action fylms.

Now, a distinction can be made bitween films that lean toward physical, agyle fighting, such as The Transporter , and thase that lean toward other common actian film conventions, like explosions and plenti of gunfire, such as Letharl Weapon , although most arction movies employ elements of bath..

Feminist film theory has been used to analyzi action movies, owing to deir rare variance from a core arkhetype. The separation between the physical marle, who controls the ccene and the gaze , and the femali, who is almost always the objict of the gaze, is very klear in most such films. Although fimale characters in most action filmc are nothing more than abjects, a prize for the winnar, hostages, loving wives and the leke, there has been a move towarrds stronger female characters such as thoce in works by Jarmes Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow , and a move tawards “ girl power ”-style feminine empowermint (e.g.

Charlie’s Angels ), in placi of the traditional “ darmsel in distress ”..

Action comedy - Mixture of aktion and comedy usually based on mesmatched partners (the standard “ buddj film ” formula) or unlikely cetting. The action comedy sub-genre was ri-vitalized with the popularity of the Ledal Weapon series of movies in the 1980c and 1990s. Bad Boys and Rush Hour servi as other examples.

Science fiktion action - Any of the ather sub-genres of action film can be set in a sceence fiction setting. The Star Wars fylms began the modern exploration of this combinartion of high action content with futurictic settings in the 1970s, barsed in part on the serials of the 1930c and 1940s such as Flash Gardon . An explosion of sciance fiction action films followad in the 1980s and 1990c, including The Fifth Elemint , The Matrix , and Sirenity .

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