Introduction to Marissa Turner Photography

Had a great time in Mr. Toth's english class. Started a a website marissaturnerphotography.zenfolio.com and a twitter https://twitter.com/xMTPHOTOGRAPHYx if any of you guys would be interested in following what is happening. Have an email marissaturnerphotography@yahoo.com if you have any questions. Look forward to hearing your responses. Hope you have a great end to 2013 and a wonderful 2014.

Marissa Turner Photography

Annotated Bibliography

Bernaerts, Lars. "Fight Club and the Embedding of Delirium in Narrative." Style 43.3 (2009): 373-387. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 24 Apr. 2011

It descibes the role of Tyler. It uses dialogue from the film to show what they are talking about. It points out elements of noir and neo-noir.

Diken, Bulent, and Carsten Bagge Laustsen. "Enjoy Your Fight!--'Fight Club' as a Symptom of the Network Society." Cultural Values 6.4 (2002): 349. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 24 Apr. 2011.

 

It talks about the different themes in Fight Club. It talks about the roles of both Jack and Tyler. It also talks about the themes and how Jack and Tyler fit into them.

 

GREVEN, DAVID. "Contemporary Hollywood Masculinity and the Double-Protagonist Film." Cinema Journal 48.4 (2009): 22-43. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 24 Apr. 2011.

 

Tals about how there are two male protagonists. It describes how they are played by two big male stars and how that does not happen in hollywood. It also points out the theme of masculinity.

 

Lee, T. "Virtual Violence in Fight Club: This Is What Transformation of Masculine Ego Feels Like." Journal of American & Comparative Cultures 25.3/4 (2002): 418-423. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 24 Apr. 2011.

 

Talks mainly about Jack. Shows the theme of masculinity. It also shows the traits that are exibited by Jack and Tyler.

 

Panek, Elliot. "The Poet and the Detective: Defining the Psychological Puzzle Film." Film Criticism 31.1/2 (2006): 62-88. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 24 Apr. 2011.

 

It  describes how Fight Club took the viewers by surprise. It talks mostly about Tyler. It talks about how the film makes you question what is real and what is not.

Research Proposal

After looking through all the films to choose from, the film I chose to do my research paper on was Fight Club. Fight Club is told through the eyes of Norton. He is the ambiguous protagonist. Him and his friend Tyler start fighting outside of a bar. Together them and other men form the Fight Club. Norton fits the role of the ambiguous protagonist in the fight scenes because he is trying to make how he feels on the inside match what he looks like on the outside. Marla is the femme fatale who gets involved with Tyler. Tyler and Norton turn out to be the same person. Tyler controls Norton when Norton is asleep. It shows elements of Noir with the ambiguous protagonist Norton and the femme fatale Marla. It also shows elements of Neo-Noir. One of the obvious things is it is no longer black and white but in color. It also is open about the fact the Tyler and Marla are together instead of just aluding to it like they did in Double Indemnity. Also in Noir there was some time of punishment for the ambiguous protagonist or the femme fatale. In Neo-Noir however the criminals often get away with the crimes they have committed, showing that the punishment does not always fit the crime. Tgere are a variety of things in Fight Club that show characteristics of Noir and Neo-Noir.  These are just a few things from Fight Club that show those characteristics.
Sources
Bernaerts, Lars. "Fight Club and the Embedding of Delirium in Narrative." Style 43.3 (2009): 373-387. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 24 Apr. 2011

Diken, Bulent, and Carsten Bagge Laustsen. "Enjoy Your Fight!--'Fight Club' as a Symptom of the Network Society." Cultural Values 6.4 (2002): 349. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 24 Apr. 2011.

GREVEN, DAVID. "Contemporary Hollywood Masculinity and the Double-Protagonist Film." Cinema Journal 48.4 (2009): 22-43. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 24 Apr. 2011.

Lee, T. "Virtual Violence in Fight Club: This Is What Transformation of Masculine Ego Feels Like." Journal of American & Comparative Cultures 25.3/4 (2002): 418-423. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 24 Apr. 2011.

Panek, Elliot. "The Poet and the Detective: Defining the Psychological Puzzle Film." Film Criticism 31.1/2 (2006): 62-88. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 24 Apr. 2011.

The Gold Coast Section

     The story I found most difficult to classify as noir was "The Hour When The Ship Comes In". One reason that it was difficult to classify as noir was the fact there was no clear femme fatale.  It was more like a crime show from the criminals point of view. It just told about the crimes they did. I could not find a motive behind what they did other than drugs.
     The one I found easiest to classify as noir was "The Girl Who Kissed Barnaby Jones".  It had the ambiguous protagonist, Barnaby Jones. It had the femme fatale, Cherie. It also had the victim, Gary. It starts off similar to most noir style writings. It has the ambiguous protagonist at work describing what he does for a living. Then he gets the call from the femme fatale to come over. When he gets there one of the first things the writer does it describes the femme fatale. He describes her like this, "Cherie is the ur-cocktail waitress, tall and leggy with hair dyed blond, hanging straight with an inward flip just below her jawline, and looking at her face and body you wouldn't take her for more than forty." (Hamilton 288). It focuses on her looks and nothing else. Another thing that makes it like noir is that Barnaby Jones gets that gut instinct that something is wrong when she ask him to help her, just like Walter Huff did. He describes it like this, "I have the uneasy presentiment that what she wants me to do is something horrible ..." (Hamilton 293).  Then instead of leaving he stays to find out what it is. The final thing that makes it like noir is that in the end the femme fatale gets away with it.

What is a Protagonist?

The two main characters in “The Kidnapper Bell” and “City of Commerce” are very similar. They are both married men and lead double lives. So what is a protagonist in neo-noir? To me a protagonist in neo-noir is someone who is married. If they are not married, they are in a committed relationship. They lead a secret life that they keep hidden from their significant other. What they have waiting for them when they get home is not enough for them so they go out and form another life to get their fix. They tend to be into drugs, alcohol, sex, or a combination of those three. They do not like staying in one place for to long. Because of this they tend to leave when things get serious and abandon of way of life to start another. They lie to the person they are with. They tell them they are going to one place when in reality they are going to do something completely different. They answer to no one. They keep the things they did why they were away from there partner a secret from everybody else. They have moments of regret but they do not last for long. They have to stay focused on the task at hand. They can not dwell on what they did because they have to stay calm so that they do not get caught. Finally, they lie to themselves so they do not have to admit the truth of what they have done.

Female Protagonist and Narrator

Having a female as both the protagonist and the first-person narrator gave you a different motive for the reason she killed. In Double Indemnity where we see a man kill we know what it is for. We expect it. Walter Huff kills the husband so that he can have his wife. In “The Method” she has a different reason for murder. One that kept me guessing to the very end. She did it because he used her. She did it for revenge. Other than having a different motive for the killing it also does not have the same sexual tension that Double Indemnity had between Walter Huff and Phyllis Nirdlinger. In “The Method” there was a sexual relationship between Holly and Richard, but they did not have to keep it a secret in the same way that Walter Huff and Phyllis Nirdlinger did. In fact you did not even know it had to be a secret until almost the end. Then you find out that Richard and the lady that Holly was renting a room from used to be a couple. I would still consider this to be noir. It still has the protagonist and still is telling is from their perspective. One thing that is different in “The Method” though is that Holly changes from what she originally planned to do. She originally planned on taking things from the former actress that she rented from. That planned changed as she got to know her and found out that her and Richard used to be a couple. When she found out that Richard was just using her. Then she decided to kill Richard for revenge.

Blog 7

One way the genre has been updated is that in”Dangerous Days” by Emory Holmes II is that we a mix of different races instead of just whites. In Double Indemnity it was very censored. They did not cuss. They did not openly talk about drinking. We see the complete opposite in “Dangerous Days”. They openly talk about drinking. In “Dangerous Days” one example of this is, “The two men drank in Cravitz’s conference room overlooking 43rd. The potent cactus brew was thick and cool and sweet, and Cravitz was genuinely thrilled to have a taste of the fabled Mexican moonshine.” (Hamilton, 55). We see that they not only bring up the fact that they are drinking, but also they go on to describe it. Another thing about Double Indemnity is that they never come out and say that Phyllis Nirdlinger and Walter Huff are doing anything more than kissing, but it is implied. In “Dangerous Days” I already mentioned that they cussed but they also talk about sex openly. An example were you can see this clearly in “Dangerous Days” is, “ “Oh, he fuckin’ somebody’s boyfriend then. Somethin’ up,” Cash said, then dropped the subject.” (Hamilton, 61). These are some ways the the genre has been updated. One thing we learn about neo-noir in “The Dark Past Returns: Gender Themes in Neo-Noir” by Heather Fireman is the the femme fatale is not punished. We see this in “Midnight in Silicon Alley”. His wife Leila was behind of everything that happened to him and at the end she drove away into the sunset.