The journey across the high wire

http://www.ted.com/talks/philippe_petit_the_journey_across_the_high_wire/transcript?language=en

The TED talk The journey across the high wire given by Philippe Petit in 2012 is about his journey through life, how he became a high wire walker, and what hes been able to do with his skills as a performer, wire walker, and street juggler. He is sharing with audience his keys to success and how he has gotten where he is in life. Passion, Tenacity, Intuition, Faith, Improvisation, and Inspiration. Six words Philippe used throughout his TED talk to share his story with the audience. HE says,

“Passion is the motto of all my actions,” HE shares how he used this motto from a young age to go from learning magic at 6 to learning how to juggle at 14. He shared how is passion drove him to keep trying and to do things he was passionate about.

“Tenacity is how I kept it against all odds,” When he was 14 he brought his juggling clubs to the best juggler in the world and while Philippe could juggle well it wasn’t fluid or graceful and the best juggler in the world told him that his clubs were bad and that’s why he couldn’t juggle fluidly. He kept going to the circus and watching or listening rather to the wire walkers and at 16 he became a wire walker. The he goes on to discuss the learning process and how he taught himself to wire walk.

“Intuition is a tool essential in my life,” He taught himself the tricks wire walkers in the circus do within a few months of learning, but he wasn’t happy he wanted to do more and be better. He got kicked out of 5 schools while also mastering wire walking. He invented his own tricks and took bigger chances including walking across the Sidney Harbor bridge and in 1974 walking between the World Trade Centers. He describes his first steps over New York City as unsure. But he says,

“Faith is what replaces doubt in my dictionary,” When he’s unsure he has faith in himself, his training, and his equipment so he doesn’t have doubts while hes performing. He explains to the audience that he is just as happy and creative in the clouds on a wire as he is juggling in the street. He then juggles for everyone.

“Now improvisation is empowering because it welcomes the unknown. And since what's impossible is always unknown, it allows me to believe I can cheat the impossible.” He then shares the story of wire walking in Israel between the Arab section and the Jewish section. His plan was to get in the middle of the wire, make a dove appear and then release the symbol of peace. But the dove had other plans and instead of flying away it landed on his head. He nudges it and it goes onto his balancing pole then improving he bows and hits the pole with his head to move the bird who instead of flying for the third time goes onto the wire. He shares this story not for its comic value but for what happened next. As he was tired and walking the crowd started clapping in encouragement for him to finish. The Arabs and the Jews together, in unison, in encouragement of a similar goal despite their vast differences.

“Inspiration. By inspiring ourselves we inspire others.” With his walk in Israel he inspired Teddy Kolak the mayor of Jerusalem to never give up when trying to solve problems in Jerusalem.

Philippe Petit uses mainly Pathos in his talk, which is backed up by Ethos. He is very credible on the subjects of performing, wire walking, and juggling. Having done it all his life his background makes him a credible source for telling this story. NO one is a better expert on their life than themselves. He uses a lot of Pathos in his story. The six words he uses to lead his TED talk evoke emotion from the audience. They are powerful words that are given meaning by the stories Philippe shares. The story of his walk in Israel uniting two sides that usually hate each other is moving.

 I chose this TED talk because I think Philippe Petit is fascinating to listen to and I wanted to learn more about him. Over the summer for IB Film we had to watch a documentary off a list and Man on a Wire, the documentary that follows Philippe’s walk over between the Twin Towers was one of the options. I recommend it for anyone that likes documentaries or just wants to be amazed by what he was able to accomplish. (It’s on Netflix) Watching him talk with such passion and enthusiasm about how he was able to walk across on a wire, or cheat the impossible was very entertaining and interesting.

The purpose of Petit doing the TED talk is to share his story with the audience, and in doing that he inspires the audience to do what they’re passionate about, be inspired and inspire, improvise when they’re unsure, have faith instead of doubt, use their intuition to guide them, and have tenacity when things get hard. It’s easy to take advice on those 6 things from someone that has done them all himself throughout his life. He has experienced so many things throughout his life using his talents to travel all over the world and inspire groups of people throughout.

Double Indemnity as part of film noir

2. Film noir literally means “black film.” As you are watching the film, keep track of all the elements in the picture that seem dark or depressing. Think about the characters, the setting, and the storyline.

Film Noir is a mood, tone, or style of a film. It developed in the post WWII era in the United States and is similar to German Expressionism. Double Indemnity is a typical film noir piece from 1944. It is a black and white film which is significant to how it fits into film noir. By shooting in black and white lighting becomes key for telling viewers the mood that is being created by the film makers. The lighting in film noir is generally low key and plays on shadows and sharp lighting to tell a story. For example a majority of the action in the film happens at night which allows the film makers greater freedom to enhance shadows that would already exist to create a mood for the scene. The entire time Walter is leaving the confession for Keyes he is shot in low key lighting that leaves shadows on him and behind him. Even in the shots during the day there are shadows in the shot. For example when Keyes is talking to Walter in his office about the case there are shadows on Walter but not Keyes hinting that Walter is dark.

These films typically were centered around a dark male character and he usually meets a seductive, attractive girl who usually has her own dark agenda in mind. This is seen in Double Indemnity in the main characters Walter Neff and Phyllis. Throughout the film he is always dressed in dark suits that contrast well with the lighting, hats that cover his face, and is angled so you can't look at both his eyes at once when he is doing something dark, morally wrong, or illegal. For example when he goes to shoot Phyllis and they shoot each other you can't make out his eyes because of the lighting. Phyllis is often shown in seductive clothes, which are made even more seductive by the lighting and her positioning in the shot. The "black film" aspect is seen for her character through her actions and motive more than her clothes. However she is usually shot in lighting that brings out shadows and creates an eerie or dark mood. 

The plot is dark because the plot fits perfectly into a plot of a film noir. It is motivated by money and sexual desires. Phyllis has already killed someone before and now she's tired of her husband wants to be with Nino Seketti and uses Walter to get rich so she and Nino can go and be rich and happy. Walter wants to help Phyllis because in the beginning he believes they love each other and wants to help her so they can live happily ever after. None of the killing is shown on screen because at the time these films came out it was barely acceptable to have plot driven by dark things and it wasn't yet acceptable for murders to be shown on screen they were too dark. The setting of the train tracks and the field surrounding it are seen as dark because they are desolate and eerie. And again all the dark acts take place in the dark of night adding to the setting being seen as dark. 

With all the dark features of this film Double Indemnity is a typical film noir that is a classic from its time period.