Cover Letter

February 25, 2009

30 S. Court St. Apt. 4
Athens, OH 45701

Clear Concepts

To Whom It May Concern:

I am interested in applying for the Chemical Engineering position available in the R&D Department. The company’s development and manufacturing of Photovoltaic equipment is an area to which I would be able to apply my strengths and previous experiences.

Please see my attached resume. I believe I would excel in the R&D department, as I already have research experience. By working on an undergraduate research project and planning my own experiments, I have learned critical multi-tasking, time-management and organizational skills. My research experience has also taught me to adapt quickly to new technology, and the importance of experimental design. Aside from my research experience, I have gained valuable team-working experiences through heat transfer process design projects and general engineering experimental design projects. My position as a peer mentor has also enhanced my communication and organizational skills.

Aside from my strong work ethic, my research experience along with my communication and team-working skills make me a well-suited candidate as a Chemical Engineer in the R&D Department. I will contact you again by March 10 to assure that you have received all my necessary application materials. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,


Courtney Abram

Notes on B Film Noir

Paul Kerr made many interesting points on the origins of many qualities of film noir. Prior to reading this essay, I, like many critics that Kerr writes about, thought that film noir was mostly a result of the movie industry’s “unmediated reflection of an all-pervading postwar gloom” (p. 108) and of “an audience that no longer needed cheering up” (p. 108). Kerr goes on to attribute film noir qualities not to public attitude and ideology, but rather, to the current economics of the industry. This idea makes sense, as it is obvious that most noir films were low-budget. The darkness and scenery of these movies, along with the montages that commonly appear in them can all be attributed to the fact that the directors and producers did not have much money to work with.

Kerr also goes on to say that film noir is not characterized by content, character, setting and plot, but by style (p. 110). To be completely honest, I do not agree with that observation. Yes, noir films are characterized by contrast lighting and sharp camera angles, and certain qualities that make them obviously low-budget films. However, unlike Kerr, I would definitely characterize them not only by style, but also by the characters, content, setting and plot. In almost every film noir movie that I have analyzed, including Out of the Past, and Double Indemnity, I have mentioned how the characters and certain recurring themes in these movies are characteristic of noir films. The femme fatale appears in almost every noir film, and, as far as I know, these were the first films that such a character appeared in (although I could be wrong, I’m no film expert). Aside from other common character types, the idea that ‘one cannot escape his or her past’ also seems to come up over and over again in film noir. Therefore, I do not possible see how to characterize film noir only in terms of style. I realize that this was only a very small portion of the essay, but it was just something that stuck out to me.

Detour is obviously a B film noir. Kerr mentioned that due to money shortages, filming was often rushed and an entire movie was shot over the course of a week. Perhaps this was one of the issues that the director of Detour had to face, as I felt that the acting was often not believable in some of the scenes. For example, in the beginning of the movie, Al is describing his new romance with Sue as “the most beautiful thing,” yet as he does so, he still seems depressed. Then, when he speaks to Sue on the phone after receiving the ten dollars in the club, he seems overly-ecstatic (which I thought was fake and cheesy). Maybe if the actors had more time to film the movie, these scenes could have been performed better.

Detour definitely displayed one of the recurring themes of film noir. Although I have yet to see the end of the movie, I am almost certain that Al will never be able to escape his situation with Mr. Hasco. Al will never escape his past, and no matter where he goes, “fate will stick out a foot to trip him.”

"The Dilemma of the Dead Lady"- Not Pulp Fiction, but rather, Noir Fiction.

As far as the pulp stories we have read from The Black Lizard Big Book of Pulps, I think “The Dilemma of the Dead Lady” is the darkest story yet. In the foreword to the story, Woolrich is described as a “master of noir fiction” (p. 406) and based on this story, I would agree. I would definitely classify “The Dilemma of the Dead Lady” as noir fiction rather than pulp fiction; there is no “good guy” in this story, unlike in other pulp stories we have read, and it is full of darkness and suspense from beginning to end. No matter how evil the villains were in the other pulp stories, there were always a few characters with some moral standards. However, in “The Dilemma of the Dead Lady,” there are no moral characters at all. Woolrich succeeded in portraying Babe Sherman as a ruthless, evil villain (I would even go as far as to say he was so evil, he gave me the chills). Even Fowler, the supposed detective and only hope of a “good guy,” turns out to be a criminal. This story is more similar to a noir film, rather than a pulp story.

As I mentioned previously, Babe Sherman is one of the most evil characters I have yet to read about. What makes Babe’s character even more interesting is the fact that he seems to sense his own demise as he brings it on himself. His blatant actions portray him as evil; however, Woolrich adds little descriptions that make Babe seem cowardly and afraid as well. After Babe murdered the girl, he “wasn’t as cool as he looked, by any means, but he wasn’t as frightened as a decent man would have been, ether” (p. 410), and he even spoke to the dead body as “a defense mechanism, to show himself how unfrightened he was” (p. 410). It seems as though Babe is trying to convince himself from the very beginning that he is capable of following through with this horrible crime scheme, but really in fact, knows he will eventually be brought down. As the story continues, Babe feels his own death coming on. Every time some type of suspense occurs in the story, Babe feels as though he “died a little then inside himself” (p. 417). I think that these subtle insecurities contribute to the drama and suspense of the story.

I also found the ending of the story to be satisfying, not in the sense that “good prevailed over evil,” but in the sense that Babe receives the ultimate punishment. Once he discovers that Fowler was a criminal as well, it becomes obvious that Babe could have avoided any altercation with him, and been able to fully commit his evil crime, which is a torturous thought to him. Success would have been his had he been a bit more patient. However, like in almost all noir films and pulp stories, Babe, the criminal, got the punishment he deserved in the end.

Questions:
Did Fowler truly know Babe was hiding a body in his chest?

The Femme Fatale "with the silver eyes" doesn't fool all the men...

For the most part, the characters in pulp stories and noir films are all very similar. Each film or story has a detective who is stoic and clever, and one of two types of female characters- the first of which is the “damsel in distress” who needs to be rescued, and the second is the “femme fatale” who uses her good looks to fool men and further some sort of criminal scheme. I found the characters in “The Girl with the Silver Eyes” to be typical of pulp fiction, although this story did differ from other pulp stories in the interactions of the detective and the femme fatale.

It seems as though in most pulp stories or noir films involving a femme fatale, this seductive female character manages to deceive (even if only very briefly) the detective or protagonist of the story. We have not read many pulp stories with a femme fatale, but in almost all of the noir films we have watched, this has been the case. However, in “The Girl with the Silver Eyes,” Jeanne Delano, the heartless femme fatale, does not manage to fool the unnamed detective. After attempting to convince him of her motives and intentions in the murder of Burke and the other men, she attempts to fool the detective by admitting that she has “played with” men in the past, but is now intrigued and attracted to the detectives seeming disinterest in her. As the reader, it would be easy to believe Jeanne’s story at first. Personally, I was not fooled by her excuses, as I expected her to be the same as every other femme fatale we have come across- lying and deceiving until the very end. However, I also expected the detective to believe her for a moment, and give in to her seduction. As I mentioned previously, all the detectives we have come across have fallen into this trap, and I expected this one to do the same. I found it surprising, but definitely satisfying, when the detective called her a liar and resisted her temptation.

After reading this story, I continue to notice a distinct difference between film noir and pulp stories, even though the characters seem to be very similar. It seems as though had “The Girl with the Silver Eyes” been a noir film originally, rather than a pulp story, the detective probably would have been deceived by the femme fatale’s lies, and probably destroyed in some way in the end (I realize that this is a somewhat broad generalization, but it just seems like the protagonists in film noir commonly manage to die in the end). However, because the story is a pulp story rather than a noir film, good prevails over evil and the detective is able to punish the femme fatale rather than be destroyed by her.

"About Kid Deth" Brings a Sense of Resolution

“About Kid Deth” met most of the “requirements” of the mystery story, according to Raymond Chandler. One of the aspects I especially liked about the story was the fact that it “punished the criminal in one way or another, not necessarily by operation of the law” (p. 37).

There were multiple criminals in this story, including Gil Nasser, Charlie Gay, and Lou Rands, and all of them received some sort of punishment in the end. Most of them, however, did not recieve punishment directly from the law. According to Chandler, criminals do not need to receive punishment from the law, just so long as the detective of the story “resolves the consequences of the crime” (p. 37). In this story, Kid Deth was the detective. Sarlow, an actual police detective, was following this case as well, but he was not the one to figure out the actual roles of Charlie Gay and Gil Nasser, making Kid the true detective. Kid resolved the mystery of who tried to frame him and of who killed Bess.

Neither the law, nor Kid Deth, punished Nasser, Charlie Gay, or Lou Rands. They actually murdered each other, or were murdered by other gang members (with the exception of Nasser, who was shot by Sarlow because he was about to shoot Kid Deth). Because Kid did not have to kill anyone, he was able to remain a relatively innocent character. Although he was a criminal in the lawful sense of the word, he was not a criminal who deserved to be punished in this story, and it was for this reason that I believe he was able to go free in the end.

Kid Deth, serving as the detective of the story, resolved the mysteries in “About Kid Deth”. The criminals were punished, leaving a sense of resolution to the story.

Out of the Past

Out of the Past contained most, if not all of the film noir elements mentioned in “Twelve Notes on the Mystery Story” and “Some Visual Motifs of Film Noir.” The lighting and the contrast between night and day played a significant role in the film.

In the beginning of Out of the Past, the scenery is full of sunshine and beautiful views of the countryside, unlike many other noir films, where the opening scenes are dark and dreary (much like in The Killers). As the movie continues on and the dark secrets of Jeff’s past become known to the viewer and to Anne, the scenery becomes more typical of noir films- full of darkness and shadows. Throughout the film, the daytime seems to symbolize honesty and innocence. Anne, a harmless and innocent character, is mostly present only in daytime scenes. It is only when she is with Jeff, a character with a past full of murder and lies, that she is shown in the dark. Kathy is nearly a complete opposite of Anne. She is deceiving and selfish, and is mostly only present at night. This idea of daytime symbolizing honesty and goodness, and nighttime symbolizing corruption and crime is violated when Joe is murdered by the creek in the middle of the afternoon. However, one could argue that Joe, being a “bad guy” was about to murder Jeff, who could be considered a “good guy”, and Joe’s death was a way of “good” prevailing.

This film had many similarities to other noir films we have watched in class, and many the comparisons can be made between Jeff in Out of the Past and Walter Neff in Double Indemnity. In Double Indemnity, Walter Neff commits a murder that eventually leads to his own destruction. He commits a horrible crime and receives the punishment that he deserves. He cannot escape his past, which is also the case for Jeff. Both Walter and Jeff are deceived by the “femme fatale” character at some point, and this deception plays a role in their demise. However, unlike Walter, Jeff does not commit such a horrible crime. Yes, he witnesses the murder of his partner, but he never kills anyone. According to “Twelve Notes on the Mystery Story,” the criminal must be punished in the end. Kathy is shot and killed in the end of Out of the Past, which makes sense. It is surprising that Jeff should receive this same punishment, since he did not commit nearly as severe of a crime.


Questions:

Why did Jeff’s assistant tell Anne that Jeff was going to run off with Kathy?

What happened to Whit in the end?

Double Indemnity: A Story of How No One Can Escape their Past...

Part 1

Paragraph 1: The author gives a catchy opening line to get the reader interested in learning more about the film.

Paragraph 2: The author provides a small amount of background on the director and on the genre of the film. He does this in order to give the reader an idea of what kind of movie they could end up watching, and what its general content is.

Paragraph 3: The author describes the plot in more detail. He does not give away the ending, but tells the reader the circumstances of the main characters in the film. He describes the sequence of events that get the story started.

Paragraph 4: The author writes why he enjoyed the film. He comments on the manner in which the script was written and the way this movie was directed which, in the author’s opinion, are responsible for the greatness of the movie. This gives the reader more insight as to the style of the movie.

Paragraph 5: The author comments on the performances of the actors in the movie, which obviously contribute to the overall quality of the film.

Paragraph 6: The author gives his conclusion to the review, and his final attempt to encourage readers to either go see the movie, or not go see the movie. In this case, the author thought the movie was worth watching, so he was urging readers to go watch it.



Part 2

Double Indemnity, starring Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck, is a psychological thriller full of lust, mystery, and of course, murder.

Director and screenwriter Billy Wilder, previously the director of lighter, more comical films such as Ball of Fire and The Major and the Minor, has completed yet another Oscar-worthy film, although Double Indemnity is certainly not a comedy. Rather than laughter and romance, this movie is full of murder and deception, and is told through the eyes of Walter Neff (played by MacMurray), an insurance salesman.

During the first scene of the movie, Walter Neff confesses that he has murdered the husband of Phyllis Dietrichson (Stanwyck). We then go back in time through Neff’s mind to when the murder scheme began. The attractive and seductive Phyllis Dietrichson manages to convince Neff to fraudulently sell her husband an insurance policy, and help her in his murder so she can collect on his insurance policy. Neff, being driven by his love for the beautiful seductress, willingly agrees and becomes sucked into this suspenseful web of murder and lies. The only person capable of discovering the true fate of Phyllis Dietrichson’s husband is Barton Keyes (played by Edward Robinson), the insurance claims manager at the company where Walter Neff works. Keyes is an insurance genius, and knows an infinite amount of insurance and death statistics. Not only has Keyes taught Neff everything that he knows about the insurance business, but he is also one of Neff’s best friends and mentor. While we know the truth about the murder committed by Neff, the authorities do not, and the thrill of the movie comes from watching Neff and Phyllis Dietrichson attempt to hide their actions and guilt as the mystery is unraveled.

While it comes as no surprise when Neff actually murders Mr. Dietrichson, the true drama lies within the gradual destruction of Neff and Phyllis as the authorities attempt to discover their secret. Not only does Neff have to hide the truth from the authorities, but he has to hide the truth from Keyes, which is difficult and emotionally painful. Walter Neff was sure of his motivations and love for Phyllis in the beginning, but as time passes after the murder of her husband, Neff’s mind begins to fight between its guilt and between its feelings for Phyllis. As Neff’s conscience gradually becomes beaten down by the guilt he is feeling, Phyllis appears unhindered by the murder of her husband. Her insensitivity and selfishness cause her to become even further tangled in a web of lies, and play a major role in her eventual demise. The dramatic relationship between Neff and Phyllis evolves, or rather, devolves, as Keyes and the authorities discover more about the murder, and as pieces of Phyllis’s past are revealed. The mental destruction of Neff and his relationship with Phyllis makes the movie a realistic reflection of human nature, in that once such a horrible crime is committed, it is nearly impossible for humans to continue on without consequence. In the end, it becomes obvious that no one can escape their past.

Fred MacMurray does an excellent job of playing a character that follows his heart rather than his mind, especially in the final scene, and Barbara Stanwyck is seductive and deceiving enough to persuade any man. Edward Robinson is smart, witty, and a voice of reason in a story where emotions are at their peak.

Although Billy Wilder has little experience directing suspense films, Double Indemnity is an emotional rollercoaster that is thrilling enough to keep anybody hooked from beginning to end.