Film Noir & “Double Indemnity”

Response to Question #2:

Film noir was developed by French film critics to describe 'dark', downbeat and black themes of many American crime and detective films released in France following World War II (I guess film class came in handy, huh?). Typically, a film noir story was commonly developed around a cynical, hard-hearted male character who encountered a beautiful, but promiscuous and seductive female. This female character would use her feminine ruses/trickery and sexuality to manipulate the guy into becoming the fall guy - often following a murder. Consequently, these general guidelines of a film noir production are explicitly present throughout the plot of the film “Double Indemnity”.

Phyllis is the main female character who ends up seducing the main character, Walter. Through her convincing manipulative skills and constant seduction techniques, she convinces him to help her kill her husband in hopes of obtaining some extra money by playing the insurance company. She manipulates him by telling him that she’s in love with him, but she never really is. Phyllis just uses Walter to get what she wants, and to run away with another man. The plot alone fits perfectly into the characteristics that suit a film noir film. Almost every scene revolves around the centralized theme of darkness and depression (whether that’s developed through the character traits listed above, or their actions that lead to a depressing mood – murder/death scenes).

The film is set to take place in Los Angeles, California which is a very interesting choice for a dark/depressing setting. Typically, Los Angeles is a very sunny and bright place to be, completely contrast of film noir characteristics; however, the crew made it work. To make the film a film noir production in such a contradictory location, the crew chose to shoot the entire film using low-key lighting. This means that the film was shot without the use of natural light at all, and was rather shot with very little, weak lighting techniques to add to the dark mood. This can be seen explicitly considering that the majority of the film was shot at night, with little to no light. In addition, it was interesting to note how the lighting got even darker and more dramatic in certain scenes (specifically when Walter murders Mr. Dietrichson). The director surely stayed true to his knowledge of what makes a true film noir movie.

Macbeth's Recommendations

Macbeth increasingly developed into an ambitious, “power-hungry” ruler that would do whatever it would take to have complete and utter dominance over his people. Over the months during which he was ruling (and subsequently murdering people left and right), Macbeth was also spending his long nights curled up in bed watching some of his favorite shows on Netflix. After his death, Macbeth’s Netflix account was investigated in search of possible motives connecting to his harsh motives of ruling. Upon his ‘recommended’ section were the following titles: Dexter, Criminal Minds, Breaking Bad, and Sons of Anarchy.

Macbeth’s Queue:

 

Dexter

Dexter is a television show about a detective’s secret second life as a serial killer. The main character, Dexter (who would’ve guessed?), hunts down criminals who have slipped through the cracks of the justice system, and treats them a lesson personally. This show is a great example of the Macbeth motif, “Fair is foul and foul is fair” because Dexter exemplifies Macbeth’s concept of hiding behind masks. Dexter pretends to be someone he is not, so those he is trying to protect around him do not become haunted with the idea that he is actually a murderer. This is much like the situation that Macbeth is in during the play, as he must hide the true him from those around him, and shield the fact that he was the one who murdered King Duncan. This show would help Macbeth relate to the inner-conflict he has with himself and help him better understand the repercussions of the familiar concept of appearance vs. reality.

Criminal Minds

Criminal Minds is police-procedural television program that follows a team of profilers from the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU). The BAU is part of the FBI National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime. The show differs from many other dramas by focusing on profiling the criminal, rather than the crime itself. I think that Macbeth would love this show because seeing some of these criminals investigated could have a personal connection with the crimes that Macbeth committed himself. Hearing murderers confess their motives and drives behind their killings could allow for Macbeth to understand the true meaning behind his ambition to kill and have complete power. Being that the show focuses on going into the minds of criminals, Macbeth could develop a clearer consensus on what is going on in his own fuzzy, criminal mind.

Breaking Bad

Breaking Bad is a television show about an ordinary chemistry teacher who finds out he has cancer, and chooses to take extreme drastic measures to save himself and those he loves. Now, while the developed plot isn’t completely similar to Macbeth’s life situation, the main idea of the story could be argued to be. Walt, the main character in Breaking Bad, starts out just like any other-ordinary man, but ultimately develops more and more into a criminal because he is told of a “prophecy” that states he will die soon of cancer. Macbeth is identical to this in the sense that he started the play as an ordinary soldier, but is then told of a prophecy of his future and commits more and more crimes, with the likewise indent of protecting himself and those around him.

Sons of Anarchy

Sons of Anarchy is a crime drama television series about the lives of a close outlaw motorcycle club operating in California's Central Valley. The show centers on Jackson "Jax" Teller, initially the vice president of the club, who begins questioning the club and himself. Each season involves two parallel plotlines that intertwine and overlap: the first centers on the personal life of Jax and his immediate family while the second deals with SAMCRO (Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, Redwood Original). SAMCRO is involved with gun-running throughout the western United States and deals with many rival gangs and local politicians and authorities. As Vice-President and then President of the motorcycle club, Jax struggles with the dealings of SAMCRO, while still trying to keep up with his personal life. Macbeth would feel connected to this show because the protagonist is much like himself. Jax ultimately questions his role in his ‘criminal’ club vs. the safety of his family, much like Macbeth eventually starts to question his crimes and feel sympathy for the ones he loves around him. This show would help Macbeth cope with his eventual feelings of remorse, and allow him to stay strong in front of those around him.

Macbeth & Evil

Question #1:

We typically see the world as being filled with good people and bad people. Good people are considered to be the ones that help out one another, do the right thing, and try to be the best person they can possibly be. Bad (or to some extent, evil) people tend to try and harm others, cause disturbance, or just plain out do the morally wrong thing in situations.  This controversy is interesting because it brings up the question: Why are people either good or bad, and how can someone become evil?

Everyone starts out their lives as good people. Everyone has a clean slate, and it’s up to them to decide how they want to carry out their lives. For the most part, people try to be a good person as their lives develop, but sometimes things change. Since there are evil people in this world, there had to have been something that happened to the good soul embodied in this person, but what? What usually marks the transition from good to evil? I think that one of the main contributing factors is the feeling of self-importance and greed. People get so caught up in their own lives and only think about themselves and their future that they begin to disregard what’s good for others. This is exactly what happened in Macbeth. Macbeth heard the prophecy that he was to become king, focused only on the benefit of his well-being, and completely disregarded the life of King Duncan (who was literally murdered by Macbeth). This sudden sense of conceitedness is usually provoked by surrounding peers. Others may make comments toward a person that switches their train of thought and ideas of how they perceive themselves and others. For example, in Macbeth, Lady Macbeth was a huge contributing factor in Macbeth’s murder of Duncan. She basically peer pressured him to commit the crime and altered his mindset on the way he viewed himself as a person. She did this mainly by calling him names, and making fun of him.

Once an individual has chosen the path of evil in his/her life, it’s hard to go back. The memory of the evil crimes/actions one has committed typically stay with that person internally forever. This can cause dementia, or even lead to worse crimes being committed in the future. Macbeth learned this fairly quickly. Once he had committed the murder, it was all he could think about. He could not get the subject out of his mind and was practically paranoid of the entire circumstance. Now, controversially, committing one evil crime or just doing something evil doesn’t mean a person is doomed forever evil. One could take the evil situation and learn from it. They could become an even better person after learning what it’s like to do something so bad and realizing that that’s not how they want to live their life. Typically, this is not the case because once people have stooped to the level of evil, it’s hard to go back. They see their lives as something meaningless and not even worth fixing; yet, it’s amazing what a different mindset could do for the bright future they potentially behold.

Modern Art Exhibit

When I first entered the exhibit, I was actually pretty surprised at how vacant the museum seemed to be. There was just one huge open room near the entrance and a few pieces of art on the surrounding walls. This took me as a shock because previous art museums I have gone to have had a ton of art amongst the entire facility, while this one did not. Yet, my faith was briefly renewed when I heard that there was a lower level to the art museum. I say briefly because the lower level had just as few pieces on display. Even though there were few pieces, however, the majority of the pieces of art that were presented were very intriguing based on their originality. The exhibit truly did feel "modern".

The piece of art that I chose to examine in-depth was Jorge Mendez Blake's Hotel Monturiol (2011-2012). The entire piece consisted of 2 piezographies (with colored pencil), 6 piezographies, 1 collage on paper, 3 colored pencil on paper, and a bronze sculpture. Dimensions vary. The piece was created in 1974 in Mexico. Where in Mexico is unknown. Of this entire piece, one of the main pieces I examined was the second piece of the details of the hotel's interior. The original piece can be found here, and this is my poor attempt at sketching it:

 

This specific piece displays an entirely vacant room in what is supposed to be the 'Monturiol Hotel'. The room is extremely dark, but there appears to be two small skylights that are allowing a small amount of light in. The entire room is made out of marble, and thus, reflections are abounding on all of the walls. I think this piece could be argued to represent the concept of life itself. Our lives can be hard and there are several moments of adversity that we face throughout our lifespan, but there are also these 'bright' moments in our life that shed light on us and make it worth living. This is conveyed through this picture because of how dark it appears the room is initially; however, the small amounts of light seem to really brighten up the room entirely. The use of marble material as a means for reflection could be used to convey the fact that we reflect upon on lives by looking at these bright moments in them. In this piece, if there was no light shedding through the skylight, there would be no reflections either. For the most part, we like to reflect and look upon the good moments in life, rather than the 'dark' or bad ones.

As stated above, I believe that the purpose of this specific piece from Blake's Hotel Monturiol is to represent life itself. Now of course, not everyone agree that this is the pieces purpose, but it is how I view it. I don't think it works to persuade anyone to think religiously or politically, or is directed toward a popular appeal because of how bland the piece really is. The blandness of the piece just being a picture of an empty room with some light allows for the audience to interpret it so vastly that there is no concise common purpose. Looking at this piece the way I did actually made me re-look at my perception of life. The bright moments in our lives can be the moments that make our lives. These moment overpower dark times we experience, and that in itself, is the beauty of life.

Male Pride or Female Ridicule?

Several years ago, Dr. Pepper started a new campaign of advertising in hopes of increasing sales of their new low-calorie soft drink. They made the assumption that low-calorie soft drinks are usually only appealing to woman, and thus went to the extent of having a man showcase his pride while drinking the new soda in the advertisement: "Mountain Men" (Dr. Pepper, Sierra Nevada, 2011). The hopes were that the actor's pride in masculinity would influence males to switch to Dr. Pepper 10.
 
The Dr. Pepper 10 commercial “Mountain Men” is directed toward male customers feeling pride by the use of several different male stereotypes. First, the entire setting of the commercial takes place outdoors and in the wilderness. Throughout the commercial, the actor is running through the woods, up cliffs, and walking in a river with a wild bear. It is commonly known that males are more persuaded by outdoorsy themed concepts and activities, which is exactly the intent of Dr. Pepper in this commercial. Another aspect that is used to appeal to the male stereotype is the use of imprudent humor. Near the beginning of the commercial, the actor rips off a piece of bark from a tree and proceeds to chew it. Furthermore, near the end of the commercial, the actor is riding in a canoe that a wild bear is rowing. These aspects are evidently directed toward males because usually males have a very immature, unrealistic sense of humor in comparison to most females.

The commercial “Mountain Men” is also unmistakably prideful toward men because the actor in the commercial has very masculine characteristics. Primarily, the actor in the commercial has a full grown beard and mustache. He also speaks in an extremely deep, masculine voice when describing the product. Another example of masculinity being displayed is not only through the actor’s characteristics, but by his actions. In the commercial, the actor carries a whole tree and also shatters glass like it is nothing to represent male strength. Moreover, the actor is interacting with wild animals to represent the absence of fear, which is usually something males tend to exemplify. All of these aspects are used as methods of persuasion because Dr. Pepper wants the viewer to feel the pride of being a man and believe that he will become a more masculine individual if he buys their product. Males' background knowledge of societal norms make them believe that they should be considered the strongest individual, and full of pride because of their "idealized" rank in society.