TED Talks

The Louise & Brenna Show: Season 1, Episode 1- Pilot

https://www.ted.com/talks/the_jill_and_julia_show

We realize this makes no sense, but what do you honestly expect from us?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdb9NKJcK5U

(In case the video above doesn't work.)

Double Indemnity

   2.  Film noir literally means “black film.” As you are watching the film, keep track of all the elements in the picture that seem dark or depressing. Think about the characters, the setting, and the storyline.

Double Indemnity is full of dark, twisted ideas that surprise and capture the audience. The film itself challenges the distance a seemingly good guy will go with the encouragement of a woman. The first depressing aspects of the film come out in the setting and lighting. The opening scene consists of a street at night and a character with a dark hat and a black jacket. This may have been the traditional attire of the time, but the set up of a "murky and dark street" with low lighting accented the theme. Moreover, many of the scenes happen at night including the murder of Mr. Dietrichson on the train. The lighting is an important element of any film that may be directly manipulated by directors to add to the core themes, these being dark and depressing. There is a creepy silence that adds to the suspense felt by the audience throughout. The number of people in each scene is kept to a minimum, for example in the confession by Mr. Neff at the closed insurance office. This eliminates the happiness felt by social chatter and adds to the secrecy of the plans. 

There are dark motiffs found in the very characters themselves as well. One important example is the flirtatious nature of Phyllis to a man other than her husband. Walter Neff plays along and is quickly swept up in her manipulative ways. She has a secret motive to the majority of her actions and this is shown by her immediate interest in accident insurance for her husband. Neff finds himself falling for Mrs. Dietrichson despite his suspicions about her plans for her falling marriage. The talk of murder and the guilty confession throughout are all elements that fit into the idea of a "black film". 

The storyline of the film is obviously not that of a traditional cheery film. Double indemnity has lots of key characteristics of Film Noir found in the events themselves. The story is told in a "confessional, first person narration about the downfall of an innocent everyman who fell victim" to the evil plotting of Neff and Dietrichson. The attraction that is felt between the two main characters is twisted in the murder plans of Phyllis' husband, and emphasizes the "brutal, unhealthy, seamy, shadowy, dark and sadistic sides of the human experience." 

*All of the quotations come from the sheet we received on Double Indemnity and Film Noir.