Noir

Film Noir and Hardboiled Detective Fiction

Terms best describing noirCynicismPessimismDarknessShadowsDisillusionmentGuiltMoral ambiguityMoral corruptionEvilDesperationParanoia and

Terms best describing noirAlienation (of course)

I feel so alienatedClassic Film Noir:1940-1960

Classic Film Noir:1940-1960

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXy3tF5uD6A Noir Visual StyleUrban settingsCold, rainy, dark, claustrophobic streetsLow, stark camera angle shotsDark ForegroundsShadows!Chiaroscuro: strong one-directional light, creating deep shadows.Noir Visual Style (cont.)Wet asphalt, dark alleys, rain-slicked streetsFlashing neon lightsLow ceilings, claustrophobic settings

Example of Noir Visual Style

Noir Characters

You guys have no character.Are you a character?Im no character.The Hero (or anti-hero)

What are you looking at, punk?Hero/Anti-heroNormal guy attacked by twists of fate (usually this character is male)Never all good or all badA mixture of light and darkOften a hard-boiled detective (although not always)The Continental Op from Red Harvest: a perfect exampleTwo main types of female characters

The Femme FataleLiterally: fatal womanA seductive woman idealized by the heroShe is the source of hope and his downfallDangerous

Femme Fatale (cont.)The duplicitous seductive, sirenOften amoral, promiscuousWould use her feminine wiles to manipulate him into becoming the fall guy (often it would lead to her downfall as well)

The Innocent Woman

The dutiful, trustworthy, loving woman

Types of noir characters (cont.)

The heros struggle to determine which type of woman she is (innocent or femme fatale) is central to the noir styleCharacters are often trapped by circumstances or by the past

Claustrophobia

Violence

OMGThere is totally a shadow of a bird on my shoulder, isnt there?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dn8EImlkRV8 ObsessionThe obsession is often of a sexual natureRevenge and greed usually play a roleObsessions usually are not satisfied in noir literature/ filmshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3wjJcuGsVE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gz-5wKegyOw&NR=1

Trying to Escape the PastCharacters are haunted by a loss in the pastor by past deeds.Characters are often fleeing from their pasts.Usually the past catches up with them.

Knock, knockWhos there?The past.Corruption and Moral Decay

Something is rotten in the state of Poisonville, see?If you say that one more time, Im gonna smack you with this newspaper.Criticism of noir

Often misogynisticSometimes racist (certainly from a 21st century perspective)Violence is often glorified

Examples of noir writersDashiell HammettRed HarvestThe Maltese FalconRaymond ChandlerThe Big SleepJames M. CainDouble IdemnityMickey SpillaneMike Hammer

Examples of film noirThe Big SleepThe KillersKey LargoTo Have and Have NotFear in the NightThe Third ManTouch of EvilOut of the Past

Red Harvest was named one of Time MagazinesTop 100 Novels of the 20th century

Neo-NoirChinatown (1974)Bladerunner (tech-noir) (1982)The Usual Suspects (1995)Pulp Fiction (1994)L.A. Confidential (1997)Brick (2005)Sin City (2005)L.A. Noir-videogame (2011)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeYym1U226M

ParodySteve Martins Dead Men Dont Wear Plaidhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixAyGhUgr0E The Naked Gunhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGx5JUp_i-A Many other examples (Whose Line is it Anyway?, numerous cartoons, Seinfeld, etc.)