Insert Creative Double Indemnity-Themed Title Here

As I watched Double Indemnity, I consistently noticed the lack of empathetic emotion felt by the characters; the idea of committing murder did not seem to faze them (although the idea of being caught sure did). Because of this, I completely agree with the statement that Double Indemnity was "a film without a single trace of pity or love".

Throughout the film, I had the impression that the relationship between Walter and Phyllis was fake. Neither of the two seemed to actually care for each other, despite their situation. The motivation behind their actions always seemed to be money, desperation, and complete detachment from life. They appeared to disguise these motivations behind the idea of love, preferring to think of themselves as passionate and caring, rather than the calculating and cold-blooded individuals that they truly are. My impression was validated towards the end of the movie, when the scheme unraveled and things went awry. Walter shot Phyllis with (relatively) little remorse, even after she confessed that she could not shoot him. Their love for each other was not substantial enough to carry them through the ordeal that ensued when their true love for money took precedence.

"Watched by Banquo"

Banquo plays an integral role in Shakespeare's Macbeth as a foil to the infamous Macbeth himself. Despite his importance to the story, Banquo is often underrepresented, and the majority of his internal feelings are not revealed through dialog or soliloquy. In this way, much of his character is left up to the audience to determine: Is he loyal to his 'friend', Macbeth, until the very end? Or is he creating his own plot to acquire the throne at the time he was killed?

We will never know for sure, but I have created below a Netflix playlist for Banquo that will hopefully provide my own insight on Banquo as a character.

WATCHED BY BANQUO

#1 - Betrayal


Betrayal is an ABC television series (well, it was until it was canceled after its first season) that revolves around two married individuals who take part in a secret affair. On top of this, there is a murder trial taking place, in which the two are on different sides. The idea of the show is to illustrate the surrounding corruption and lies that result from a compelling story of sex, love, loyalty, marriage, and treachery.

I suppose Banquo might have watched this show if he felt suspicions about Macbeth's intentions. From my own interpretations of Banquo, I believe that he did recognize the danger following the strange sequence of events that progressed after the witches' prophecies, but believed that Macbeth still respected their friendship. Betrayal represents some of these issues of trust, loyalty, and danger that Banquo must have been experiencing at the time he was murdered.

#2 - Beowulf


Beowulf is the film adaption of the Old English tale by the same name. Set in Scandinavia, it is the story of an epic hero. A monster named Grendel wreaks havoc on the mead hall of Danish King, Hrothgar. Beowulf is a boastful warrior eager to earn renown across the land, and he quickly accepts Hrothgar's pleas for help in eliminating Grendel. The story progresses with Beowulf defeating the creature, and then becoming king through questionable practices (namely, making a deal with the creature's mother).

Banquo would have likely watched this movie not only due to its warrior-culture influences, but the hints to corruption and unrightful kingship as well. Also, throughout the movie, Beowulf has a trusting and loyal friend who always stays by his side, despite his corruption. I also expect that Banquo would enjoy the ending, where ***SPOILER ALERT*** Beowulf makes the right choice and saves his kingdom, regardless of how he became king of said kingdom, at the cost of his own life. I suspect that Banquo would ultimately hope that if Macbeth were responsible for the murder of King Duncan, he would still honor their friendship and make a right decision.

#3 - Harry Potter (Yes, the entire series)


Harry Potter is a seven book series by author J.K. Rowling following the lives of Harry Potter and his friends, as well as his enemies. It takes place in the present day world, as well as the secret world of wizards and witches.

The only reason I expect that Banquo would have watched this series is for its interpretation of witches. Although vastly different that the ones in Macbeth, I believe Banquo would be eager to get as many views on witches as possible, in order to explain his and Macbeth's strange encounter with the three witches in the story.

#4 - Percy Jackson & The Lightning Thief


Percy Jackson & The Lightning Thief brings to film the book by the same name, in which an age-old story in Greek mythology is given a modern rendition.

I believe that Banquo would have watched this movie due to his confusion and skepticism regarding the prophecies made by the three witches in the story. This would have given him a new point of view on prophecies, how and why they are fulfilled, and so on.

Fate or Chance?

I do not like the idea of fate.

I hate to think that, no matter what I do, my life will end up a certain way, but rather, I prefer to look at it through the eyes of chance: things happen and we react to them. The ways in which we react determine our path through life. My life is the way it is today because of the things that I did yesterday, and equivalently, my life will be what it is tomorrow because of the things that I do today. I don't believe that the road ahead of me is already built. I build a little bit more of it every day, doing my best to build it well and making choices that I will not come to regret later.

It is a shame that Macbeth did not share my ideology, as it would have saved him a lot of trouble. Through Macbeth, Shakespeare presented a meaningful conflict between fate and chance, although I would argue that Shakespeare fought for both sides of the argument.

Shakespeare presented fate through the witches in the story, who possessed a mysterious ability to prophesy the future. Macbeth initially dismissed their claims, but eventually he was consumed by the allure of the power which they promised him. At first, Macbeth follows the traditional belief of fate as demonstrated by his statement: "If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me, without my stir " (Act One, Scene 3, Line 144). He believes that fate will be fulfilled regardless of what he does or does not do.

As the story progresses, Macbeth begins to realize just how difficult becoming king will be. He doubts fate and decides to take matters into his own hands by killing the current king, causing the king's sons flee to neighboring countries. After this, Macbeth is crowned king, and fate has been fulfilled. This brings the question of whether or not fate was actually responsible for the outcome. It appears that without Macbeth's intervention, it would not have been possible for him to become king. It also appears, however, that without the establishment of Macbeth's fate, none of these events would have occurred either. In this way, Shakespeare leaves the interpretation of the story to the reader, further continuing a debate that has been waged for thousands of years.

Is this a PARTicipation Grade?

Walking through the various exhibitions at CAM Raleigh was an interesting experience, especially since it overlapped conveniently with our Art as an Area of Knowledge unit in TOK. Overall, I was surprised by the variety and depth of the artwork presented. There wasn't a single piece in the museum whose meaning I was able to discern immediately.

VISUAL ANALYSIS

Stacey L. Kirby: PARTicipate

PARTicipate is an interactive exhibition that was envisioned and created by Stacey L. Kirby. It was open from September 5th Through October 26th. It consisted two ongoing works, The Declaration Project and VALIDnation. It was set in an office space designated as a part of the Bureau of Personal Belonging.

The exhibition had a unique style. Kirby created a dry and seemingly insignificant office space (with reference to the interior style of the typical late 20th century work space) as the setting for an influential, soul searching activity. As viewers entered the exhibition, they were prompted to carry out activities through monotone instructional pamphlets, reminiscent of a government process such as voting for a government position. This style of presentation allowed viewers to focus on the task that Kirby aimed for them to accomplish, which involved putting into words they way they felt about certain controversial subjects.

The concept/idea of the presentation, as mentioned above, was to have viewers put into words the way they feel about certain controversial subjects. This was accomplished through the use of official-looking pamphlets onto which viewers would write their feelings and then proceed to deposit them anonymously in a collection box. This prompted the viewers to dig deep into their own ideals and beliefs and to organize their thoughts on a variety of subjects.

PARTicipate was a very interesting concept which, when put into practice, accomplished its goal very well. As viewers received their "ballots" it was evident upon many of their faces that the questions being asked on the papers that they held were not simple. It is often incredibly difficult to put into words exactly how we feel about controversial subjects, and PARTicipate gave us the opportunity to sit down and focus in order to sort out where we stand.

The Galaxy S5 vs. iPhone 6 Debate Rages On... (Despite the Galaxy's obvious superiority in every aspect, I mean just look at the S5's 5.1 inch 1920x1080 AMOLED display, 16 MP camera, internal and microSD storage up to 160 GB total, Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset, quad-core 2.5GHz cpu, 2GB RAM... but I digress)

As we all know, the debate between the Samsung Galaxy and the Apple iPhone has been a prominent conflict over the past few years (although it is obvious that there is no contest; the Galaxy line takes the cake, so to speak. Also, I promise I am not biased). The advertisement linked below was originally posted on YouTube by Samsung, and has been used in commercials as an attempt to persuade its audience into siding against the iPhone.

Credit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSDAjwKI8Wo

Publisher: Samsung
Date of Publication (on YouTube): July 21st, 2014
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The Little (just like the Apple iPhone) Picture...
The video opens to a scene where two male friends are seated in a small coffee shop. Both of the men are looking at their cell phones. The man on the left is using the Samsung Galaxy S5 whereas the man on the right is using some version of the Apple iPhone (no one really cares which one).

The man on the right begins a conversation with a smirk on his face, casually stating:

"Aw dude... iPhone might be getting a bigger screen.",

to which the man on the left tersely responds by saying:

"That hasn't happened yet?".

Immediately after the second man's statement, the scene freezes and a sarcastic narrator interjects with a short monologue that initially seems to be praising the iPhone 6 (haha praise the iPhone? yeah right), but then abruptly transfers that praise towards the (more deserving) Galaxy S5. The narrator's monologue was as follows:

"You know that thing you've been waiting on for like two years? How it's supposed to be awesome and how it's going to blow your mind? Well it's been here this whole time."

The video resumes, showing the two men comparing their phones, particularly noting the difference in size between the tiny (and insignificant) iPhone and the larger Samsung Galaxy S5.

The narrator finishes his speech with a final parting jab at the iPhone:

"But maybe you just like waiting."

The man on the left then resumes the conversation by stating:

"(chuckles) You must be happy."

To which the man on the right answers:

"(chuckles with a perplexed look on his face) Yeah"

To end the scene, the man on the left receives a phone call and leaves the table to answer it. The video then fades to black and the narrator briefly discusses the Galaxy S5 before the video ends.
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The Big (unlike the Apple iPhone) Picture...
While it is more or less clear throughout the video for whom the advertisement is advocating, there are numerous subtleties that, in my opinion, enhance the effectiveness of the advertisement. The most important of these is the use of one of the strongest of the seven deadly sins: envy. As the video progresses, it is clear that the man with the iPhone changes his opinion of his own possessions when he notices that his friend has something that is clearly (and indisputably) better. This use of envy seems to accomplish two tasks:

1. Inspiring jealousy in iPhone users, in hopes of prompting them to make the switch to a Galaxy phone
2. Inducing pride in Galaxy users, in hopes of increasing sales among their loyal customers

Samsung's thoughtful placement of envious undertones throughout the video greatly increased the advertisements effectiveness in its goals.

(Also, it seems to me that the occurrence of the phone call at the end of the scene that prompts the man to leave his iPhone-using friend hints to the idea of Samsung leaving Apple behind in terms of technological development (which is entirely true (and again, this cannot be disputed (I am not biased (the iPhone is dead, long live the Galaxy S5)))).
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The Intended Audience

Based on the main characters in the video, as well as its setting, I believe that the advertisement was intended have the greatest influence on adult males. Typically, young children and the elderly do not have smartphones (although this seems to be changing in our society today). Also, there are none of the typical feminine appeals that are often seen in advertisements directed towards women. The video seems to be directed towards the average American male, in hopes of influencing their smartphone (well, not so smart in terms of the iPhone) preference.

FREEBIE 10/5/2014

I can't remember how to use a freebie...

I, Justin Irene, hereby declare and predicate that I am expending my first-semester freebie.

Hi! My name is... (what?) My name is... (who?)

     My name is Justin Irene. My family is Italian on my father's side (and German on my mother's side, which is why I don't look Italian at all), and the name Irene has been our surname for as many generations as we have been able to retain records of (about 5).

IRENE

- From Greek Ειρηνη (Eirene), derived from a word meaning "peace".

- GENDER: Feminine

     Although the name Irene is fairly common as a first name in the United States today, it is much more rare as a last name. According to data taken from the 2000 Census, "Irene ranks #51809 in terms of the most common surnames in America". The census reports that Irene had only 377 occurrences as a surname in the entire country. That's pretty cool to me! (Feel free to check out your own surname: http://names.mongabay.com/data/1000.html)

     Along with its rarity, my last name has put me in a few somewhat-comical situations. In elementary school, my friends and I joked about my last name being a "girl's name" and things like that. We all got a kick out of it, and some of my friends started calling me "Irene" rather than Justin. In middle school, a few of my teachers started calling me Irene (I'm not sure how that started) and it began to stick. When Hurricane Irene passed through North Carolina, my nickname changed from "Irene" to "Hurricane" for a while, which I didn't mind at all.

     My parents have received numerous letters in the mail addressed to women named "Irene Thomas", since my dad's name is Thomas Irene. Also, callers on the phone often ask my dad if they can speak to my mother, whom they believe is named "Irene Thomas". Sometimes these occurrences can be irritating, but overall my family and I think they are pretty funny.

     My name has never really had an ill effect on my life, at least as far back as I can remember, and I don't ever plan on changing it.

     In my opinion, names are part of what makes us unique. However, I characterize myself by my personality more than by my name. I rarely think of myself as Justin Irene, but rather as "me". I think that the name itself is more or less irrelevant; It can be anything. What is important is the person behind the name. I wouldn't have thought any differently about Beowulf had his name been Skagi Brynjolfson.

     Like Anna Quindlen, I believe that "there are two me's, the me who is the individual and the me who is a part of a family of four...". I act a certain way when I am around my family, not necessarily who I really am. I don't think that this is a bad thing, as it allows me to be an individual inside while still being a part of my family.

"Othering" and Other Things

Author:
Wing Young Huie

Date:
2007

Published:
Inside the Springs
http://know.wingyounghuie.com/

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Summary:

     At first glance, this photo may seem boring or dull. Especially so if the viewer's eyes are immediately drawn to the bare walls, the limited decorations in the room, and the modest appearance of the three male subjects of the photo. These traits may immediately give the viewer a sense of unexceptionality (that's not a word, but it should be) and disinterest.

     However, if the viewer takes a moment to look deeper into the photo, they will begin to notice that every object in the room has a purpose in telling the story.

     The main attention grabbers in this photo, at least to me, are the pictures held by two of the men seated in the photo. As soon as I saw them, combined with the appearance of the men and the state of their residence, I immediately guessed that they were migrant workers of some form. They hold what keeps them going each day: pictures of their loved ones who are still in their native country. The lamp sitting on the cheap folding chair lacks a lamp shade and the beds in the room are unadorned, showing either severe poverty or a poor taste in interior design (I would presume the former, not the latter). I noticed the book with the word "Larousse" on it and presumed (correctly) that it was some sort of language dictionary. The only thing in the picture that I did not immediately recognize its importance was the Disney-themed poster hanging on the wall behind a ceremonious lit candle. I initially thought it was just some cheap thing that the men found to spice up the décor in the room. Upon further examination, I found that it was in fact the their dream to one day visit Disney Land. "Only then would they know they had truly arrived". This was very powerful to me. It connotes the hope that the men possess, despite their hardships.

"Othering"

     Margaret Atwood, like Wing Young Huie, uses "othering" to convey ideas. While Huie uses his character's visual appearance and symbolic objects to represent greater meaning, Atwood uses her character's thoughts and actions. For example, the main character and narrator, Offred, is rebellious and defiant to the Gileadean regime through her thoughts. She constantly remembers her life from the past and how happy she was with her husband, Luke, and their young daughter. She is always contemplating the possibility of salvation, either through escape, or more likely, death. Although Offred no longer has any pictures of her family to hold and cherish, she keeps them alive in her mind through flashbacks. She always holds on to a thin shred of hope that she will one day see her family again.