Film Noir1941-1958???Film Noir1941-1958???

Film Noir “Black Film”Film Noir “Black Film”» Discovered and coined in

postwar France» During German Occupation of

France (1940-1944):» No American films in French

Theaters» In 1945, backlog of American

films hits French screens.

“Black Film” cont…“Black Film” cont…» Prewar moviesRationalSymmetricalOrdered

» Postwar moviesGrimmerBleakerBlackerDominated by:CrimeCorruptionCruelty“Unhealthy” interest

in the erotic

Film Noir: 3 different ways to look at it

Film Noir: 3 different ways to look at it

» As Genre

» As Series

» As Mode

Film Noir as GenreFilm Noir as Genre» Conventions and expectations» Iconography: Low-key lighting,

dark city, character archetypes, predictable narrative patterns (p. 227-228)

» What kind of character types would you expect to encounter?

Film Noir as SeriesFilm Noir as Series» Aesthetic movement?» No body of conventions to

follow, people didn’t necessarily set out to make films noirs

» Generic story lines in films noirs don’t make them noir, but more the stylistic effects within the story lines (p. 228)

Film Noir as ModeFilm Noir as Mode» Produces a certain emotional

response in people: anxiety, uneasiness, distress (p. 229)

» Only needs to be “noir” for a moment or two, whatever it takes to create an emotional disturbance

» Thus, mode is the particular way in which noir is conveyed

Quick WriteQuick Write

» Given what you’ve learned about the differences between genre and series, where do you think film noir fits in? Should it be known as a genre of film, or a series? Both? Explain in a full paragraph.

Noir Aesthetics, Themes, and Character Types

Noir Aesthetics, Themes, and Character Types

» Aesthetically: Shadowy, low-key lighting; deep-focus cinematography; distorting, wide-angle lenses; sequence shots, etc…(p. 230)

» Thematically: existential issues such as futility of individual action; alienation, loneliness, and isolation of the individual in industrialized, mass society, etc…

» Noir heroes: antisocial loners, tramps, drifters, subject to existential angst due to faceless anonymity in a larger, dehumanizing work environment

American ExpressionismAmerican Expressionism» Soft, evenly distributed, high key

lighting style of the 1930’s that existed to glamorize stars quickly turned into harsh, low-key lighting in the 1940’s, which obscured the action, deglamorized the stars

» Use of expressionistic devices: For example, highly subjective voiceover narration, hallucinatory sequences

Disturbing Conventions to Conventional DisturbancesDisturbing Conventions to

Conventional Disturbances

» Noir stylistics showed up in sleazy detective films, low-budget crime pictures, but even typical genre films developed psychotic tendencies, which was frightening to the public at the time

Noir and the Production Code

Noir and the Production Code

» In 40’s and 50’s, strict limits existed to what you could show in movies, so noir aesthetics left a lot up to suggestion and the audience’s imagination (p. 234)

» Filmmakers used the dark shadows and inventive narration to suggest what was happening

Literary Origins of Film NoirLiterary Origins of Film Noir» Spirit of noir can be traced back to

thematic and stylistic elements in popular fiction from the 20’s and 30’s

» Hard-Boiled Fiction: New tradition of realism, heroes lived on fringe of criminal world

» Set in back alleys, grungy offices, etc…

Women in Film NoirWomen in Film Noir» Independent, aggressive, and sexual

(p. 239)» From the proletarian tough-guy

perspective, he achieves his toughness by repressing any signs of weakness, and weakness is associated with the feminine

» Ex. Maltese Falcon: Sam Spade struggles between his feelings and loyalty to professional codes…and rejects his “feminine” side

Women cont…Women cont…

» Threat posed by women to the noir hero on two different fronts

» Socioeconomic

» Psychoanalytic

SocioeconomicSocioeconomic» Changing status of American

women during WWII and post-WWII challenged male dominance

» Entered workforce, which violated order of sexual relations (took over “male” roles)

» Posed threat to traditional values…

Socioeconomic cont…Socioeconomic cont…» Noir registered antifeminist backlash by

showing a postwar America in which family doesn’t exist

» And if it did, family is portrayed in a negative light:

» As claustrophobic, emasculating trap» Women abandoned or neglected domestic

responsibilities» Women as willful creatures intent on

destroying their mates and the institution of family

» In noir, the world of crime and family overlap

Women as Psychological Terror

Women as Psychological Terror

» Psychic threat to insecure hero» Hollywood supported male

dominance and patriarchy» Alleviated anxiety about threat

through disavowal of women» Done through fetishization,

devaluation, or both

FetishizationFetishization

» Women overvalued» Portrayed as objects» Ex: Lingering close-ups » Glamorous costumes

DevaluationDevaluation» Viewed as guilty object» “Castration” serving as the symbol of

her punishment

» Remember: Women in film noir characterized as femme fatales, intent on “castrating” or otherwise destroying the male hero

» Devaluation seen as their punishment, existence as female seen as punishment

Critique of PopulismCritique of Populism

» Destabilization of sexual relationships: symptomatic of larger social disorder

» Noir reflects transitional stage in American ideology and identity, what do you think that transition is?

New culture, Old mythsNew culture, Old myths» Prior to WWII, society held together by

various myths that structured America’s identity

» Jeffersonian democracy: fundamental equality based on ownership of property-->drove 19th c. expansionist ideology

» Promise of cheap or free land to frontier settlers served as motivation for Western settlement (realization of America’s manifest destiny)

However,However,» Rapid industrialization in the late 19th

c. began a process of social change» 1920-more people lived in urban than

in rural areas» New middle class dominated by

hourly wage earners, who owned neither land nor houses

» Millions of laborers, but they still subscribed to the old, pre-industrial era myths

Myths cont…Myths cont…

» Post depression- old myths began to waiver as the economy boomed during wartime

» This identity crisis led to a feeling of instability, and ultimately contributed to the development of film noir

Double Indemnity and Identity Crisis

Double Indemnity and Identity Crisis

Walter Neff» Corporate worker» Lives alone in apt.» Goes bowling for

fun» Has affairs w/

married women

Quick WriteHow is this profile

representative of a new American ideology? Would you agree that America was in the midst of an identity crisis? Explain.

Double Indemnity cont…Double Indemnity cont…

» Neff’s profile reflects a chaotic period in which old myths began to crumble and now new myths took hold, just as for many people, America’s national identity was in crisis

» Film noir captures the emptiness of his world