"From Cancer to Dance"

How can you survive cancer? Ananda Shankar Jayant tells her story of how she conquered her disease through dance. Ananda, a dance teacher, danced all her life. After visiting the hospital, she finds out that she has breast cancer. As she struggled in the beginning with shattered confidence, she finds the stage as a hopeful platform to fight head on with cancer. Battling with hair loss and a weakened body, she regained a new perspective through dance and religion. She performs two styles: Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi. The styles are very close to each other because both incorporate a lot of similar rhythmic movements and music styles. With all Indian dance forms, they are built on the foundation of Indian poetry, philosophy, and the Hindu religion. 

I chose this video primarily because I could relate to her story as I am an Indian, also because I have worked over four years in the oncology ward at Duke Hospital. I spent eight hours every work day in the summer with the cancer patients. I was a junior nurse taking care of the patients' needs and running basic lab work. Although it was a depressing job to see people suffering, some patients really turned their life around due to the disease. I saw how patients changed from every chemo, becoming stronger and more determined. I have heard countless survivor stories, but never have I heard a story like this. Dance never struck me as a technique to fight cancer because it weakens people mentally and physically. However, she was different. I was surprised with the immense amount of dedication she had for the art. All together, I feel empowered by her words that with a change in the mindset, I can turn around my life for the better. 

Ananda Shankar Jayant

This story's purpose it to change one's mindset positively to encourage oneself to fight against a relentless disease like cancer. Her intentions are to persuade and to teach the audience how to enlighten and reconnect with one's passion to fight any sort of difficulty. Apart from using pathos as a way of communicating with the audience, she uses an interesting technique in her presentation- dance. Another interesting fact is that the target audience is not just the Indian population, but people from different nationalities as well. People of all nationalities seemed to appreciate and admire Ananda's self confidence and her story. She explains that narrative dance is a metaphor for her. The story of each dance is specific to a God in the Hindu religion. This allows her to feel and communicate the message of each story. Dance is a symbol representing all the struggles she has gone through. 

This quote from her speech is especially motivating and it is the main argument she makes throughout her presentation, "Your mind is really your final frontier. I was able to take my thoughts and push them into my dance. I made it so that cancer was not a big deal. I would go and get my chemo, take the three days rest that my body needed, and then I was back in the studio dancing, teaching class or doing choreography." Ananda starts by presenting a Bharatanatyam, a energetic dance demonstrating her power, then she ends by presenting Kuchipudi. This form of dance reveals a sense of beauty, devotion, and physical art. Her performances capture the audience through her intense facial expressions and her hand forms which depict symbolic gestures to convey a message to the audience. 

Double Indemnity

Question 6. What types of themes are being explored here in this film? What do you think this film is about? What is it trying to say? Support your answer with specific examples from Double Indemnity.

Double Indemnity 

The film is about Walter Neff and Phyllis Dietrichson who are drawn to each other, and in their attempts to be together the couple commits a murder. Walter murdered Mr. Dietrichson in order to be with Phyllis, however, both are paranoid as their truth may be exposed by Keyes, Walter's boss. Initially, Walter devised a plan to make the murder of her husband appear to be an accidental fall from a train that will trigger the "double indemnity" clause and pay out twice the value of the insurance policy. However, Keyes refuses to believe the suicide story and deduces that Phyllis and another unknown accomplice killed her husband for the money. As the plot unravels, Phyllis is shown to have illicit connections with another man. Eventually, this causes Walter to shoot Phyllis and wait for the police to arrive.

Some themes that reoccur throughout the film are adultery, betrayal, guilt, sexual desire, seduction, money, and murder. Adultery drives the plot as Phyllis Dietrichson, a married women, has an affair with Walter Neff. Consequently, both of them scheme to murder Mr. Dietrichson in order to receive the double indemnity. Money is the primary motivator for Phyllis to partake in the crime,  and she gains Walter's support by seducing him. Sexual desire is obvious as both characters Walter and Phyllis are attracted to each other. Guilt appears when Walter feels responsible for the step daughter of Phyllis, Lola. This theme also shows up near the end where Phyllis feels guilty for involving Walter because she confesses to have not loved him. This causes Walter to kill Phyllis for her betrayal. Near the end Walter intends to pin the blame on someone else, but instead waits for the ambulance and police to arrive. 

I think the film is about lust and specifically about the power of women. Lust is obvious throughout the film and is a major reason for Walter to commit the crime. However, the power of women seems evident in the story due to the portrayal of Phyllis. She uses her strong points to lure Walter into her calculating scheme. Phyllis uses her looks to seduce Walter intentionally. For example, her dressing purposely shows more skin, the way she walks and speaks, and even her hair style is noteworthy. Makeup and jewelry are also used to accentuate her body to make Walter feel enticed by Phyllis. This shows that a women can to a certain degree control or ignite a man's lust; moreover, women can use tricks to make men more susceptible to their demands. Walter eventually agrees to carry out the plan to kill Mr. Dietrichson. I think the film is trying to say that women have power over men to a certain extent. The characterization of Phyllis may seem like the movie objectifies women, but Phyllis chooses to use herself in such a way and better yet does it knowingly. This shows she recognizes her figure as a powerful weapon, rather than a weakness. Therefore, I do not think the film intentionally targets women negatively. This film shows how women exhibited power over men during the old time, although it is shown in a different way than today's society normally thinks.