Life is a Mystery... Box

Click to watch "The mystery box"

J.J. Abrams gave the TED Talk titled "The mystery box" in March 2007. In this TED Talk, Abrams draws attention to a literal box he has from when he was a child called the Magic Mystery Box. The box itself is not the entire topic of the talk, but rather what the box represents. Abrams starts the talk with a joke, meant to relax the audience and to start with a humorous tone. From there, Abrams goes into how he decided on a topic to give his talk about. 

What's the topic? Mystery. Why mystery? Well, Abrams says that so many of the TV shows and films he works on deal with some sort of mystery. He has always been drawn to mystery ever since he was little, which he attributes to his grandfather. His grandfather used to deconstruct technology so Abrams could see the inner workings. He also brought Abrams to a little magic shop where he bought the Mystery Magic Box. 

Films are full of mystery boxes. Abrams uses examples such as E.T. and Star Wars to show that movies always have mystery boxes. Every time a mystery gets solved, a new one appears. Abrams then talks how available technology is in the modern world. Now, anyone can make a high quality movie with equipment that you can buy over the counter. Abrams encourages people to make movies simply because they can. The Talk ends with Abrams  saying that the box still remains unopened in memory of his grandfather. 

The overall purpose of this TED Talk is to encourage people to make movies. This is shown by Abrams addressing how technology is available to almost everyone. He uses his own stories to show how you can still make great movies without great technology. Ethos is used simply through who he is. He has written, directed, and produced TV shows and movies such as Lost, Star Trek, and the newest Star Wars movie. At one point, Abrams almost starts to cry, which shows pathos. This might not have been intentional, but it did show how much Abrams actually cares about this subject. Through this, the audience gets more involved and they care more, as well.

The first thing that caused me to pick this talk was the word "mystery". I love a good mystery, so I already wanted to watch it. The next thing I noticed, however, was that the Talk was given by J.J. Abrams. As someone who loves both Star Trek and Star Wars, I immediately clicked on the video. As Abrams described how mystery boxes are in every movie, I found myself thinking of films I had seen and how I could point out mystery boxes in them. I also realized that stories in general have mystery boxes, not just movies. In Macbeth, you hear about Macbeth from the witches, yet you don't know who Macbeth is, which is a mystery. This trend continues throughout all of the stories we have read in class, whether they have been  mystery or not. Overall, I was very glad I picked this talk as I was able to connect it to class, but also to movies that I love.

It's Film Noir, Baby

Film noir might sound fancy, but it has a very dark meaning... literally. It means "black film" and this can be easily seen throughout Double Indemnity. Simply the coloring of the film is dark as it is black and white, with an emphasis on black. Much of the movie occurs at night which makes a majority of the film dark. The events that happen at night are often crimes. For instance, at the end of the movie, Phyllis is killed by Walter at 11 pm. Not only does much of the film occur at night, but it is even raining in some scenes. Rain is often seen as depressing, giving the movie a depressing tone. The music used throughout the movie is ominous and gives the audience an idea that the movie will not have a joyful mood. The narration sounds as if a man is confessing to a murder, which he is. This narration causes the movie to be much darker in tone,especially because of Walter's tone of voice.

The characters in Double Indemnity present a lot of darkness in that they do not seem to hold many morals. Phyllis is only out to get life insurance money through her husband's death the entire movie, revealing her decision that money matters more than human life. Phyllis uses Walter in order to kill her husband and then shoots Walter later on. The motive behind Mr. Dietrichson's death being money makes it even more sinister. Walter, although not being presented as a villain, is no hero either. After meeting Phyllis, he decides to help her kill her husband even though he knows her motive. His character is dark as well and does not do anything to combat Phyllis' murderous ideas. In fact, after a while, he encourages them. 

The plot only darkens the movie as it's full of death and deception. Phyllis attempts to trick Walter when she first meets him. While Walter does not fall for the deception, he does agree to help Phyllis. It is later revealed that Phyllis is still deceiving Walter at this point as she has convinced him that she loves him, when she actually does not. Once the murder of Mr. Dietrichson has been committed, Walter starts having to hide his involvement from the insurance company he works for. Phyllis and Walter start having to meet in secret in stores because it cannot be revealed that they have a relationship. The movie ends with Phyllis shooting, but not killing Walter, and Walter killing Phyllis. We then see Walter recording the tape that we have been listening to the entire movie. Once Walter is discovered by Keyes, he tries to escape. He ends up not able to leave and collapses at the door. This inability to run away gives a depressing end to the movie because the main character is unable to accomplish their goal, even though the goal was dark.