Storytelling

George Takei: Why I love a country that once betrayed me

     The argument of this talk is that although our lives may have a predetermined fate, it is up to us to change it. George than discusses the fact that many Japanese Americans felt betrayed by their government because they placed them in internment camps, despite them being citizens. He says that he didn't understand why they were doing this especially because these same citizens were signing up for the draft to put their lives at risk to stand up for a country that saw them as non- alienable enemies. Takei also discussed the fact that because he was so young when his family was in the internment camp, after they got out, he thought of the camp as home. This was mainly because his family struggled to get back on their feet.
     The purpose of Takei's talk is to show how fear can explain the duality of human nature in times of distress. The main way he gets his point across is through his use of anecdotes to allow the audience to feel what he was going through during WWII. Through this Takei hopes to further peoples understandings of internment camps and understand that despite the fact that their own country treated them as if they were enemies. The ethos seen within this talk comes primarily from the fact that George Takei starred in Star Trek as Hikaru Sulu. He is a well credited actor with many achievements and that encourages the audience to perceive what he has to say as important. He also is Japanese American so his view on the internment camps and Pearl Harbor is different from that of other American citizens at that time and uses that to convey his purpose to the audience. The evidence that Takei uses in his speech is very personal for the most part. At the end he discusses the success the 442nd had against the Germans, but the rest of his speech contains a lot of personal experiences that are very valuable to Takei but might not help further the logistics of his argument. This also means that there is a substantial amount of bias in his speech, because this is something that directly effected him. There is a lot of emotion used by Takei to further his purpose. Every personal story that he tells helps the audience connect and better understand what George and his family went through. In this case Takei uses emotion as an effective way to help further his purpose. Any personal experience definitely causes the audience to feel sympathetic for the speaker and Takei uses that to his advantage. When he talks about the day the soldiers came to his house and ordered his family out he says that he mother had his sister in one arm, "a huge duffel bag in the other and tears were streaming down both her cheeks." He then says he will never be able to forget that moment because it has been burned in his memory forever.
     I chose this talk because  I enjoy learning about WWII and really like learning about the ways in which different races were affected by it. This talk also parallels with my extended essays because I look at how African Americans were affected by the war and the struggled they had to endure before during and after the war. I think that this talk also illustrates the recurring theme of duality of human nature and more specifically how we change the way we view certain events or people out of fear. Japanese American citizens were placed in interment camps because the US government acted out of fear. It also covers the theme of known vs. unknown because the US was afraid of what was to come after the attacks so they did what they believed would be best for everyone's protection.

Blog Post #8 Double Indemnity

2.  Within Double Indemnity there are several stylistic features that contribute to the Film Noir mood that has been frequently associated with the film. The way the characters are portrayed, the setting of the film, and the overall story line of the film contribute to the Film Noir mood that is created. The portrayal of the main characters is dark and full of mystery. Walter Neff, the insurance salesman, appears to be very mysterious, and always seems as if he is thinking about the guilty things he has done. This is seen more frequently throughout the film, especially after he murders Mr. Dietrichson. The way he looks at other people is another thing I picked up on that helps his characterization contribute to the Film Noir mood. Neff always looks at others with a sense of suspicion, whether he is suspicious of himself or that person, which plays well with fact that Neff is guilty of murder and was around people who were suspicious of him, such as his boss. The other main character, Phyllis Dietrichson also was characterized to further emphasize the darkness of the film. She does not follow typical gender roles as she wants to kill her husband for the insurance money. Typically people who think like that are very dark in nature and during this time a person like this, most likely would not be a woman.  She also is very sneaky and was bale to easily manipulate everyone into thinking that she was so upset about the lost of her husband. This characterization alludes to the darkness of the film in terms of darkness being evil, and bad.

The setting of the film also impacts the dark depressing nature of the film. Double Indemnity opens with Neff talking to a recording device about the events that have recently happened. He is alone and does this at night, when no one else can see or hear him. All of the major events that occur in the film also occur at night, such as the murder, which is a key event. The important parts that do occur in the day are typically seen being done in secrecy or involve the characters to talk to one another without being face to face or using code words. The use of lighting to show the amount of expression on the characters faces also helps to portray the darkness of the film.

The storyline in Double Indemnity also has hey features that contribute to the dark and depressing nature of the film. First, the plot revolves around a murder, something that will always be dark and depressing. The plot also has other features that are dark such as the fact that Neff and Dietrichson are trying to cover up the murder in order to get something out of it. The film also uses first person voice over narration to help the audience better get into the corrupted mind of Neff and this is most commonly seen right after Neff has just done something controversial, such as murdering a man. This is important because it allows the audience to hear what the character is thinking without them having a dialogue, and contributes to the mystery within the film.