Blog Post #8, Baby

6. Themes

This film noir, Double Indemnity by Billy Wilder, displays multiple common themes throughout the film common to the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare. In the movie, Barbara Stanwyck’s character is "Lady Macbething" Walter Neff.  Phyllis Dietrichson pretends to fall madly in love with Walter and he takes the bite. This reveals the dual identity theme in this film. Mrs.Dietrichson manipulates Walter to do what she wants and thus is able to excerpt her power through him. By manipulating him, she was able to accomplish the act of murdering her husband. At the end of the movie, Walter Neff also reveals the theme of dual identity when he makes the decision to confront her at her house and ends up shooting her.

Another theme related to Macbeth is the concept of power and absolute power. This theme is revealed in Double Indemnity as displayed by the characters Walter and Ms.Dietrichson. In the beginning of the movie, she allows Walter to believe that he has all the power and is in control by her act of falling in love with him and meeting him at his apartment. By doing these acts, she makes him feel comfortable in his position to murder her husband. However, Ms. Dietrichson holds the real power for most of the movie (until the end). Her manipulation allows her to remain almost one step ahead of Walter. She is able to learn inside information about the case because of Walter. She also displays the theme power when she manipulates him to kill her husband. This act shows how controlling she is in a passive and feminine way. This is extremely similar to Lady Macbeth. She holds the real power but when it came time to kill Duncan, she manipulated Macbeth into committing the deed.

Lastly, I want to explore the theme gender, more specifically, gender roles. In Macbeth, Lady Macbeth assumes the role of a masculine and authoritative character. She then ends up developing into the weaker person in the relationship because she gets sick from the anxiety and dies. Macbeth developed from the weaker to the stronger person in the relationship. This also occurs in Double Indemnity. Walter, who in the beginning of the play was almost a puppet to Ms. Detrichson, ended up being the more authoritative of the two when in the end, he uses her hand gun to shoot her. On a separate note, Ms. Detrichson was able to hold power over Walter through sexual desire. He fell victim of her "charm" and fell for the trap.

Overall, there are many similar themes between Macbeth and Double Indemnity. The film is about the manipulation of individuals through gender roles to fulfill a desire or accomplish something. If I had to sum up the movie in one quote, I think it is trying to say: "things aren't always as they seem."
-Irish Proverb

Malcolm's Netflix Recommendation List

Malcolm's Netflix Recommendation List:





1. The Mentalist: The Mentalist is a man who works for the California Bureau of Investigation in order to find "Red John," a man who murdered his wife and daughter. Jane, the mentalist, is the main character who is very psychoanalytic and cracks all of the other cases he works on. He is very good at reading people and understanding how people react. This serves him well in the investigation but he is very analytic and out to find who killed his wife and daughter. Likewise, Malcolm would probably enjoy this show because he can somewhat fit the character of Jane because of his situation. After his father, King Duncan, was murdered he had to flee to Scotland to be safe. He thinks he knows who the murderer is, Macbeth, but wants to stay in Scotland where he knows he is safe. The Mentalist would definitely show up on Malcolm's Netflix Recommendation List.

2. Modern Family: Modern Family is about three different but related families who face trials and tribulation in a comedic way. In this movie, Malcolm's/Duncan's family, Macbeth's family, and Macduff's family could all play the part of "not so" Modern Family. This show would turn into more of a tragic than a comedy but would essentially still fit the plot overall. This show would use the same strategy and do small interviews for each family member occasionally which adds comedy to the show. It would be interesting to see what Malcolm and Donalblain would say in their interview. For these reasons, I believe Modern Family would make Malcolm's Netflix Recommendation List.

3. Friends: Friends is a comedy about a group of friends and their adventures and relationships in the city. This show would humor Malcolm because he and Macduff become friends again so it is like Monica and Rachel becoming friends again. At first, Malcolm did not trust Macduff but soon after Macduff says he would make the best king he mends their friendship. This show would definitely be on Malcolm's Netflix Recommendation List because it shows his friendship with his friend Macduff.

4. Mean Girls: Mean Girls is a comedy that depicts a new girl going to school and becoming friends with some of the "unpopular kids." However, she was accepted into the "popular" group and was invited to eat lunch at their table. Once fully emerged in the group, the girl, Cady, starts to become one of them. Her unpopular friends become mad at her because they say she acts different around the Plastics and puts on a show. This relates to the saying from Macbeth, "fair is foul and foul is fair" because of the mask that she puts on around the Plastics. Malcolm would really enjoy this show because Cady directly reminds him of Macbeth. This is because Malcolm knows that Macbeth is the one who murdered his father so he could have the crown. This way, Macbeth is putting on a mask to hide his deed to the others, but Malcolm knows that he is the one who committed the crime. In the movie, Malcolm would be one of Cady's unpopular friends because Macbeth and Duncan, Malcolm's father, used to be great friends but Macbeth's ambitions ruined their friendship...literally. This show would definitely make Malcolm's Netflix Recommendation List for those reasons.

Fate vs. Chance

I do not believe that my life is guided by chance. The idea that my life is guided by chance makes me feel like I have no control over my future or my my choices, that my actions are just result of an effect on me. I want to feel like I have control over my life and my actions. However, fate implies that my actions are determined by God. Therefore, I believe that God knows ultimately what my actions are but I am the determiner and thus I believe in choice. I think God has given us free will to do what we think and make the choice for our lives. Free will means we can stray from God's path and not make the preferred choices. But God knows what we will do and how we will act. So I guess my life is partly by determined by fate since God knows whether I will go to heaven or to hell and what I will achieve in my life but I am the one that makes the choices. My life is determined by fate in the light of predestination, the big picture, but free will allows me to make the choices, the smaller picture.

A biblical example of fate are the Israelites. These people are the chosen people of God. They were enslaved by the Egyptians and sent to foreign countries, but were ultimately led to the promise land. God let these people be enslaved and live a hard life but this may have been to develop them as Christians.

I think Shakespeare believed in fate and free will. The best example which leads me to believe this is the witches. The witches tell him that he will be thane of Cawdor and Glamis. They know his predestination and are revealing it to him this way.

First Witch

All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, thane of Glamis!

Second Witch

All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, thane of Cawdor!

Third Witch

All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter!

When Macbeth heard this from the witches he tries to question them and learn more about this intriguing destination. He is confused because he is not heir to Cawdor, Duncan is the king and his sons are his successors. After them, he is next in line. Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth about the prophecy. Lady Macbeth plots the idea to murder Duncan and tries to push the intentions into her husbands head. He, however, does not initially agree with the idea, for he and Duncan are close friends. Ultimately, Lady Macbeth persuades Macbeth to commit the crime with her and they kill Duncan. It is by fate that Macbeth becomes heir to the throne because after he kills the guards, Malcolm and Donalbain are still in the way of the goal. Macbeth does not have to try and kill them though, because they flee to Ireland and England in fear that they would be tried to murder as well. Thus, by this action, Macbeth becomes the king. The prophecy of the witches becomes true. But how much of this was determined by free will? Each action was a choice that he made but the destination was already predetermined by God.

Wyrd means fate. Shakespeare has a common trend of fate in the play and shows how it can affect the actions of the characters. Through this concept of wyrd, the witches prophecy becomes reality and, in my opinion, shapes Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's actions to commit the deed.

Limited Visability

The photograph above is taken from my cell phone at the CAM and a I do not think I captured the entire piece.

This piece immediately caught my attention because there were so many individuals but none of them were actually facing the camera. This piece is called 89 Huicholes and was created by Santiago Sierra in 2006. The medium is ink because these are printed photographs in black and white. The size can vary depending on which part of the piece is carried to the museums. However, this particular piece was very large and stretched about 12 feet wide and 5 feet tall (there are no specific measurements online).

Santiago, the artist, was born in 1966 in Spain. This piece was published in 2006 and since then the piece has helped contribute to the problems with identification. The subjects of this piece are the heads/portraits of the people. Santiago says in an interview that "in presenting the persons with their backs to the viewer, there is a connotation of guilt and shame." In my personal experience, this was correct. When I first saw this piece I started making up personal stories for each individual represented and most of them were sad because they did not want to show their face. When you see a persons face and their eyes, you are able to connect with them and share an emotion with them. Here, you feel like you are unable to connect with the person.

This artist also added a layer of depth to this piece by printing the photographs in black and white. The light in the photographs are dim and and fairly concentrated on the upper part of the photograph shining down on the person, casting a shadow. The composition is harsh since there is little background and the back of the people are in the center of the photograph, all lined up symmetrically. Since there are so many individual portraits put together it makes it hard on the eye to see the full picture because our eyes want to focus on smaller individual pictures. Printing these images in black and white influences the audience to perceive the individuals to be in shame. The black and white causes certain emotions to arouse that contribute to this perspective. Most pictures are printed in color which allows for the audience to perceive emotion in a different way than that of black and white. However, in this case, if all of the pictures were printed in color than the composition would be hard to analyse because of the many different colors and shapes. In black and white the audience is allowed to focus on the bigger picture better.

I think the meaning of this piece is that every individual has an important and unique story and it is hard to connect to these individuals to get a glimpse into their story without seeing their faces. I came to this conclusion because of the emotion that this piece provoked and the thought process I used when I FIRST saw this piece. When I first saw it, I immediately wondered why they were ashamed to get their picture taken. If you notice that all of the individuals are different you start to think about all of the different stories. Some of the individuals have on hijabs, some hats, some bandannas, some ball caps, and some no head coverings. Each were dressed in different clothes and some had slings over their shoulders (probably a bag of some sort). This variation caused me to think a lot about the different stories each individual carries with them and what they had done to make themselves feel shameful. All of these aspects help to touch on another theme: individuality. Each person is different in their own way. This also helps to confirm the human nature of connection. People feel the need to connect to each other and try to force the connection; that is why I feel distant from these people because I am unable to connect to them. This piece was important to include in "Limited Visibility" because it reinforces multiple themes that are presented throughout the collection while still being unique.
This piece reminds me of the time I spent in South Dakota. When I was a freshman, I went on a mission trip to Pine Ridge Reservation. We spent a week connecting and working with the Native Americans there and we learned a lot about their culture. One things that I found interesting is that the Native Americans believe that if you capture their face as the focus point of a photograph, then you have captured their sole. They asked us not to take pictures of them individually but allowed us to take pictures of them as a group. This applies to this piece by Santiago in that these people are not fully captured because we are not allowed to see their face. Thus, we are only allowed to see a limited part of this persons personality.

My sketch

Jen's Thirsty

Is Jen "thirsty"? It just so happens she's trying to sell water as well....

This advertisement by SmartWater, published in 2010 in magazines and online sky rocketed Smart Water's campaign. I wonder why?

In the advertisement, Jen poses in bed with the sheets wrapped around her, covering herself. She is photographed in the center of the picture, which is in black and white. The affect of using black and white instead of color helps the audience to focus on the colored text as well. Black and white is also easier to sense emotion than colored images, which helps promote a sexual desire. The right side of the ad is text which is in both color and black text. The significance of certain words being colored is to draw attention to and bold certain words, attracting the eye to the text instead of beautiful Jennifer Aniston. The text says, "My Secret Revealed: I've got nothing to hide. I simply love clean, crisp, pure tasting smart water (see, I'm not afraid to spill)". The advertisement uses words like "revealed," "nothing to hide," and "spill" to add to the lustful theme. These words and phrases hold a double meaning in selling the product and layering a sexual perspective to the ad. 

By layering this perspective, both men and women are attracted to this advertisement. Most men are attracted to this add because it is visually appealing and causes a sexual desire or lust. Women could be attracted to this ad because they are inspired to be and look like Jen. These women want to feel the way that Jen feels and looks. By generating this ad, many people are targeted including men and women from young to around 50 years of age, Jen is 45. This target market is most likely middle to high class, since smart water is very expensive. The company claims the water is "vapor distilled" and "high quality water"-that means expensive. The brand image is also another factor in targeting the middle to high class. Branding is a way for socioeconomic statuses to connect through products. To have purchased a certain brand image, you are furthering the invisible barrier between socioeconomic classes. 

Mass media uses language and this image to inform people about the affects of smart water and that hydrating is good for the body. The purpose of this advertisement is to persuade the audience to buy smart water; you can look and feel like "this" if you drink smart water! There is some textual bias in this advertisement, due to the layer of sexual desire, in that the audience wants to look and feel like Jen because of her image.

This image uses one of the seven deadly sins, lust, to sell the product. The sexual desire provoked by Jen allows smart water to manipulate their audience to believe that they can be like Jen if they buy smart water. Lust plays a large roll in impacting the audience and how they perceive the product.

Can't bury these tales: Canterbury Tales & Jane Eyre

Pass :)

The Name Game

Names play a huge role in society today. They can be used to categorize, make assumptions, and describe heritage. I am usually called Christy- a nickname my mom and dad have called me since I was little. Christy means "from Christ" which is an accurate description of my beliefs. My religion is very important to me and I try to spread God's word, which is why I take a lot of pride in the meaning of my name. Christine-my actual name- simply means "follower of Christ". I like to go by my nickname because it sounds more informal, while Christine sounds elegant and more feminine. My full name reads Christine Samatha Johnson, that's right, s.a.m.a.t.h.a. Why did my mom misspell Samantha on my own official birth certificate? Truth is- she didn't. 

The omission of the "n" was purposeful actually. If the "n" were to be included in the name, then the word "man" be hidden in between the "Sa" and the "tha"-unrecognizable, but not to my mom. She did not want the word man in my name because it did not accurately describe my gender or my personality. I think my name provides a pretty accurate generalization of my personality but it does not define me. One could assume that I am white, because of my name. One could assume I am female, because of my name. And one could assume I am Christian, because of my name. But, in no way is white, Christian, and female the definition of Christy Johnson. 

There is a time when I feel like I have to act a different personality because of the groups I am a part of. At school, I have classes with other IB diploma peers and teachers. When I am in class, I feel an urge to act more composed, well-thought out, and academically excellent to impress friends and teachers. However, when I am alone or with my family, I can act differently and feel less pressure to be accepted.  At home I am more energetic, silly, and communicative, while at school I try to assume a role of being a “good” student by expressing myself with curiosity, being a leader, and being involved. But sometimes, it’s good to be a follower. If Jesus did not have any followers than where would Christianity be today? Or my name for that matter? I admit, sometimes I am content with NOT knowing the answer. These characteristics of a good student are in fact “good”, but it is important to keep a balance. I just choose to exercise my balance in different “me’s” because I feel as though I am more accepted during those appropriate times. 

What-a World

Click for picture!

This breath-taking picture above captures a part of Wing Young Huie and his's perspective. He lives in Minnesota and captures the urban society that is being pressured by societal and economic change.  He attempts to capture "up-to-the-minute societal mirrors of who we are, seeking to reveal not only what is hidden, but also what is plainly visible and seldom noticed."  This photograph, which is done in black in white, was published in the album "We Are the Other" in 2012-2013 by Wing Young Huie.

The particular photograph I have chosen depicts an African American man in a barber shop. A small chalk board is pressed up against his chest saying, "I am a fair minded person, I wish the world would do the same." A fair world, who does not judge and suppress groups by economic status, skin color, or even eye or hair color.  The Asian man who is buzzing his hair seems old and has his two fingers supporting the temple of the customer. The customer sits with his eyes closed, resting. As I dove deeper into the meaning of this picture, I notice the expression on face looks solemn  or suppressed.  He is getting a hair cut, which is a great place to think and ponder.  The hair cut may signify change, since it changes your appearance. It may signify the change the world is making to a more fair and dignified society.

In Huie's photograph, he uses the African American to be the center of the image. The color of the photograph makes him stand out and appear out of place, or alien. Margret Atwood uses othering in her book, The Handmaid's Tail, by alienating handmaids. These women have to wear a long red cloak with white gloves and wings (Atwood 24).  Red brings text and images to the foreground. It is also used as an accent color to stimulate people to make quick decisions, judgments, or stereotypes. To bring the handmaids to the foreground and bring attention to them, alienating them. The language between the two documents is parallel. The language on the chalk board in the photograph have a negative connotation. The explanation point gives me the idea he feels suppressed and treated unfairly. Atwood also uses language to alienate characters. She uses the language musing "ladies in reduced circumstances" to give an idea of the women being below other figure heads.

These properties from both texts provide a deliberate manipulation of the audience. By using the chalk board, Huie is able to give the audience a concept or idea the man is thinking about. He wants the audience to agree with the man by giving the audience "a look into his thoughts." If the text on the chalk board were to say "this man gives bad hair cuts" than the audience might assume the photograph was intended to depict a haircut with a comical aspect. Atwood also deliberately manipulates the audience to believe that handmaids are others and suppressed. Since the book is written in the perspective of a handmaid, it allows the audience to feel more sympathy or relate to the character on a more sentimental basis. These two aspects deliberately manipulate the audience and give a since of othering.