All Good Things Must Come To An End

Hi All!

My apologies to begin, this may be a long winded and frazzle dazzle blog on my part.

396A has been a lot of things this semester. Boring is not one of those things. I feel like this class and the cultural artifact project has been so helpful in developing my skills as a researcher and scholar, but also so much more. I do not mean to sound all flowery, that is not my intention. There have been moments when this project seemed ridiculous. In reflection I am able to see what an amazing journey Film Noir and Phyllis the femme fatale have taken me on.

I know this final blog is about my presentation and a self-reflection on it, but I cannot help but wander off a bit for the purpose of a more thorough and self-aware exploration on the cultural artifact project as a whole.

To start things off I must say I have been convincing myself first for, then against, my artifact all semester. It was so difficult to pick one subject, one book or literary-esque piece of culture, and then commit an entire semester to working on it. I feel like my choice in artifact was directly correlated to apprehension for/on research over an entire semester. I must say here and now that an entire semester is such a short amount of time. After everything was said and done, I felt like I had too little time to actually look in depth at Film Noir and the femme fatale. This is all so silly in retrospect.

The Presentation, oh so scary!

For me, this was terrifying. I am not one to enjoy speaking in front of people, and I can firmly say that my “stage fright” or fear of public speaking got the best of me during this presentation. I spent such a great amount of time over the past few weeks attempting to piece together a coherent and insightful panel presentation, only to realize too late how much information I had to share.

I feel like my research has come a long way from the initial “I don’t know what to do” stage into a great dialogue on women in film. I almost feel like I stumbled, half blind, cold and hungry, into a gold mind of feminist criticism and research. Film Noir is fascinating and complex and dripping with double meaning. Honestly, I feel like I hit the research gold mine. I loved this and really wanted to present everything I had become so excited over during the semester.

So, with my over enthusiasm out of the way, back to the presentation and all this research. I simply ran out of time. I really prepared too much to share with the class in 10 minutes. My note cards were full of information that I glossed over or did not even touch on as those little numbered cards kept flying up from Emily’s hand.

Slight side note: The timing and card display was so awful I felt like fainting. Every time another number would appear I would lose my train of thought and have a mini panic attack thinking about all I still had to say.

I feel like my power point was a good representation of my progression from Noir, to Double Indemnity, to Phyllis and finally to the conversation of the public verse private sphere of the Cult of Domesticity. There were some points that I did not touch on, but again it all came down to a time issue. It seems there is just never enough time.

Looking back, wish I had been able to better articulate how exciting this research and my own project progression was. I really feel that I started empty handed and completely lost. My focus was obtuse at best. It was a real struggle at the beginning of this project, but I feel that after my review debacle I narrowed everything down and really came into my own as a researcher.

Several different reasons are to blame for my frazzled state on Monday and during the presentation, but like Ben, I am at peace with it all. I loved the experience of presenting and I was in awe of my classmates and their kick butt presentations. There are some truly amazing undergrads that have so much to add in the academic world and the “parlor conversations” taking place.

The experience of this class is invaluable. I can honestly say that I have learned far more about research, methodologies, the progression of scholarly learning, etc. The list could go on and I feel very accomplished knowing that I have these tools in my arsenal now. My undergraduate academic career may be coming to an end, but I feel like I am ready to begin “baby steps onto the bus”(thank you Bill Murray) towards my own scholarship. YAY!

Okay, one final note.

This has been my first semester blogging for a class and it was amazing. I love the openness and accessibility for my own research discussion, but also that of my classmates. I think it was so wonderful to have constant feedback from my peers. I learned so much about my research from reading suggestions and questions from Ben, Courtney and Becca. It is amazing to be engaged regularly in conversation about my research methods and progressions, as well as that of others. Ben’s blog was amazing and I learned a great deal about my own project through his. So, I sincerely appreciate each and every blog comment. I would not have been able to finish this project or progress forward the way I did without this format.

I will miss this blogging business and my classmates.

Love and gratitude to each of you,

Kara Elizabeth Brennion

Cultural Studies here I come!

I have been straying away from the blog prompts lately, instead concentrating on aspects of my research that have been a little more interesting to me. Today I am going to pick back up with the syllabus prompts. I want to pick apart the theoretical framework of Cultural Studies in today’s blog and attempt to apply it to my ongoing research.

On the handout from Katie and Sean the main idea section had a point that stated, “A cultural studies scholar would first study an object and then connect that information to a larger progressive political project.” I think this will be something that is very helpful in my cultural artifact project for a couple of reason:

1. My research has absolutely taken a turn towards women’s studies issues, just as I anticipated at the beginning of the semester. This becomes very relevant to the women’s liberation movement. Right there I have an artifact and a correlating political issue.

2. 2. The timeline of Film Noir is the 1940s and 1950s. On the global stage the world was dealing with WWII and the aftermath.

3. 3. I am looking at the feelings the femme fatale has towards the home. The conflict of female roles in the public and private spheres is expressed when we The Cult of Domesticity.

There is such a strong conversation going on between the femme fatale and the audience in regards to “norms” and society. Every Film Noir I watch seems to bring up dark and dicey questions for the time period through the use of this “evil” character and their actions. I have been viewing these movies more and more on the use of language by the femme fatales, their dress, the lighting, and so forth. I see the cinema as a stage to voice problems of society and American culture. These women sacrifice themselves in order to vocalize the disconnect between public and private spheres in regards to women. (Yikes, did I just say the femme fatale was actually a righteous character?)

Cultural Studies seems like the right place to help ground my cultural artifact criticism. Along with this, Feminist Criticism will definitely come into play. Now I feel confident and ready to make some big bad claims and back it up using these sweet frameworks.

And to answer your question Becca, being a research rocks! I don't think I want this project to end.

Where is this leading me?

The article that I mentioned last week was not actually an article, but a book. I had a Document Article from the university that highlighted part of the 6^th chapter from the book for one of my WS class and the citation the professor gave was incorrect. So, my sincere apology must be given for the misinformation. The book is:

Women and Men:

Cultural Constructs of Gender

3^rd Edition

Author: Nancy Bonvillian.

So, now that I am looking more into the domestic aspect of the femme fatale I have come up with a plan. I want to look at two aspects of the genre. First, I want to look at the idea I discussed in my last blog, the femme fatale’s dislike of domestic life, as well as the idea of domestic life being unattainable for the femme fatale.

When I first began this project I was completely overwhelmed and disorganized. I do not want this to happen again, so I am tackling this new research feet by looking at my trusty 100 Film Noirs book. I have been reading cover to cover the film history, background and plot of each entry. I am compiling a list of no more than 10 films I will watch and possibly discuss for my final conference presentation (I plan on doing a lot of movie watching and note taking over Thanksgiving).

So while I am still compiling my list, I have come up with a nice Jacquess Tourneur film to discuss. Cat People is not technically Film Noir to some, but it has a great quality in the female character. The premise of the film is that a woman named Irena believes herself to be a decendent from a satanic tribe of people able to change into large, dangerous cats. She marries a man named Oliver after a brief courting. The problem: Irena believes if she becomes intimate with her husband she will change into a cat and kill him. This is a tricky spot these two characters are in because Irena wants nothing more than to be a good wife, while Oliver has a desire and need to be intimate and close to her.

The distance between the two characters is obvious. There is this unbelievable desire from Irena to be a wonderful wife and a good home caretaker. Oliver on the other hand wants nothing more than to provide a wonderful and fulfilling life for his new bride.

What is really interesting here in terms of my research is this ultimate desire that Irena has towards domestic life. Unlike Phyllis who hates being married and confined to the home, Irena wants to be there in the home and be the best wife possible for her husband.

I feel there is this unbelievable paradox surrounding the home and the domestic sphere in 1940’s films. Whether they are classically called Film Noir or not, there is a huge dialogue going on about the place of the woman. What really meant someone was a “good” wife or an “ideal” homemaker? I know that the 1940’s were an absolutely fascinating time in history in terms to gender studies and the conversation the place of women in society.

One more aspect and then I will sign off for tonight, the idea of post WWII. I mentioned in my initial work on this project that Noir came out of this hard period of time during and after WWII. I think this plays a huge role in the reworking of the family dynamic and the place of women. There is the idea of the nuclear family and where women stand in terms of public and home life. Men are returning and reclaiming jobs, while women are questioning where they belong. This may sound like a rant, but I feel like I am on a good path looking at the conversation about women and place. I feel that the historical context of the time lends itself vehemently to the larger discussion of gender roles/identity in these films.

I have a file folder far too full of research that I need to start cutting down and organizing in preparation for my conference presentation. Do scholars ever become overwhelmed with the mass of papers, books, articles, downloads and every other type of research material? I think I am starting to realize why so many professors and scholars have an office filled to the brim with books and papers a foot thick on their desks!

Arriverderci!

Ciao miei amici di 396a!

Hello 396 friends. Welcome to another femme fatale blog.

In today's segment we're looking further into "The Cult of Domesticity"! Yay!

I was fortunate enough to take a wonderful women's studies class at UA a few years ago. After I began researching the idea of domestic perception of my femme fatale character(s), I decided to consult back on my texts and information from that WS class to help guiding me towards helpful sources. Thankfully, I am one of those people that tends to keep text books from past courses, unless of course I have serious mental trauma or lingering feelings of hatred from the content. So, I found both some helpful information in Women's Studies: Gender in a Transnational World, as well as an article that touched on Early Industrial Development.

The text that really got me thinking into the Cult of Domesticity was within the Journal article mentioned above. Within it states, "the cult of domesticity developed as an ideological justification for separation of the genders and for the relegation of women to the domestic sphere. [...] Men are assigned responsibility for providing material support for their families; women are suited to perform domestic tasks. " The article goes on to talk about women being seen as "innately nurturing and passive" and men being "competitive and aggressive". These justifications were put in place to show that men were much more adept at succeeding in the public sphere, while women were more suited for the domestic sphere.

What I also found extremely interesting was the use of Darwinian theories which many used to justify these separations. Because of evolution and the competitive nature of men, they became the idea species to be within the workforce, and thusly women needed to be within the domestic sphere. This article touched on a great deal of information regarding the urban, economic and industrial states of the early period of the 20th century.

I really am in the early stages of putting together my research in regards to the gender dynamics in relations to Film Noir and the femme fatale, but I am extremely excited as to this new avenue of theory that has popped up! I think I need to organize my thoughts a little more, but I promise more is to come on this gender front. Also, I have a great friend and former water polo coach that graduated from U of A two years ago with a JD and a Master's in WS who I have set up a phone call with for Sunday. She will hopefully give me some good theorists to look into for my new research angle.

I've been really worried about my project in the last month or so because of my lack of focus. This renewal in research avenues has been refreshing and I can not wait to keep going! Hopefully I will have more to post in the coming days.

Prison...

Have you ever been to prison? Have you ever known someone in prison? Have you ever thought about what it would be like to be in prison? Yeah, me either...

This past week I have been researching some of the fabulous women of the Film Noir genre. As I said before, or at least I think I said before, I have switched my focus from all of the women that depict femme fatales in Noir Cinema, to one lovely lady, Phyllis Dietrichson from Double Indemnity. I watched the movie again this week, for the 20th time I'm guessing, and again something new emerged! (I just love finding new and interesting moments, themes, motives, etc. when I reread or re-watch something)

So, the new theme that has emerged... drum roll please... DOMESTICITY.

In particular, Phyllis mentions, both directly or indirectly, the home as a prison. She brings up her domestic life as a wife and how depressed she is in her current state of affairs. Hence the murder plot...

So, I've begun to wonder if there isn't a link between Phyllis and other femme fatales in terms of their view on marriage, the home and domestic life. Phyllis compares being a married housewife to prison. I have a book I have been reading called "100 Film Noirs," which is done by the British Film Institute and put together by Jim Hiller and Alastair Phillips. This book looks into the progression of the genre through history, evaluating and presenting 100 pictures by name and director, while briefly summarizing each film.

After I watched DI this week, I went to this book and read DI's entry. Right there in the short summary was a bit about the home being a prison for Phyllis.

This is obviously a very important aspect of the film, and I can't believe I actually let myself go this far into my research without picking up on it. Phyllis talks about prison sentences for women who commit murder and in the same moment talks about the home being a prison. Then the real kicker... prison might be better than the prison she currently inhabits by being married to her husband! Yes, she really did say that.

So, back to my point of domestic roles and the femme fatale. I can't help but jump to something I have always been fascinated with known as the cult of domesticity. I am going to have to do some research, because I apparently have come down with a case of early onset Alzheimer's (thanks grammy), but I think that this term was coined during the height of the Film Noir Genre, the 40's and 50's. The idea behind the cult of domesticity: women were to be the ideal homemaker and wife. Her domain, the home. Her job, caring for the children and taking caring for the home. Women were in charge of the domestic sphere...

Again, I need to do more research and look back at some of my older textbooks, but I think this may be a very good jumping point to better link Phyllis the femme fatale to her Noir counterparts. I'm not going to put all my eggs in one basket, but I would be willing to wager a hefty sum that Phyllis is not the only femme fatale that hated the domestic life.

So, this is where I am progressing to... Fingers crossed this will help to open up some new avenues of research...

Till next time, stay classy my blogging friends.

Quantitative Research

Oh, To Blog:

First, I am actually very happy for the newly instituted blog deadline of 9pm. I think this will help me greatly on keeping my research on the straight and narrow. I like freedom, but sometimes I can take advantage of a lack of structure, thusly transferring that into laziness and procrastination. A sad panda face for the new deadline for those that were actually keeping up with the blogs regularly. I was getting behind, as I am sure most others were, so happy day for our renewed chance at blog obedience. I look forward to keeping my research going, as well as reading the new blog posts from Courtney and Ben.

Ok, on to Quantitative Research...

I think quantitative research can be helpful in some projects. The right artifact research could really be moved forward using the quantitative approach. I for one, don't see a whole lot of room for it in my particular study, but that is not to say I do not think it could be beneficial.

I think, if someone was looking to use this in their study, you would have to be careful not to get skewed numbers. For instance, I think surveying people and then potting their responses in a quantitative, mathematical approach could be great. I liked the example of looking at responses to Poe's 4 works. But, even in a study like that you would most likely have to involve the elements of the IRB formatting, so as to not offend, hurt or do any other kind of mental of psychological harm to those that you wish to survey. (Granted, those pieces alone could scar someone or greatly hinder their psychological and mental health standing as is, but Poe started that ball rolling...)

Personally, I think it could be really easy to manipulate numbers to get the response you wanted, which really is a disadvantage in my mind to using this method. Someone could theoretically throw out certain studies or number finding; a survey, a percentage, whatever the quantitative material, so as to drive their research in their "right direction." That aspect really makes me frown. If you were to survey people, you could make up any excuse you wanted to shrink the spectrum you are looking at, changing the results. And personally, this kills the research and the reason for doing the research in the first place. Finally, that makes the whole shebang unethical!

If you think about if for a moment, it could be argued that we can unethically change/skew our research using any and all methods of research. We have to rely on our own moral conscience to stay ethically honest and authentic.

Let us get down to the nitty gritty of this project. First, I got a super crappy grade on my Article Review. It was totally deserved. Although I spent a lot of time attempting to write it, it was crap. I got a C+ which was totally deserved. I am not one to get bad grades, but this review grade was totally warranted. It sucked to be perfectly honest. I went back and re-read it after I got it back, with a glass of wine in hand, and was extremely embarrassed. It was so incoherent it was ridiculous. My ideas were scattered, the summary was decent, but I did not accomplish anything other than making sweeping generalizations. This was totally due to the fact that I have not had a clear path towards where I was starting and where I was attempting to go. First, just looking at the femme fatale in film noir is so large that I could spend a lifetime just looking at that. I also had no overall ideas as to where I wanted to end up. This was all reflected in my craptastic review.

In revision, I settled down on one femme fatale. Phyllis, the blonde murderous wife in Double Indemnity my target. This woman is evil. Pure and simple. She plots and uses her sexuality to seduce Neff, an insurance salesman, to take out a life insurance policy on her husband , and then proceeds to have Neff kill him. Poor pitiful Neff is the pawn on the story. He does what Phyllis wants just because he believes they are in love. In actuality this woman uses her overt sexuality to seduce Neff into a lustful state and then uses his weakness for her to her advantage. Pathetic.

Anyways, this woman is my new focus. Her characterization of a strong, sexually charged woman with purely greed and lust on her mind is the ultimate Femme Fatale in a classic Film Noir feature.