Film noir

French critics assigned the term film noir in 1946, citing a trending confluence of American film elements anti-
heroic characters, biting dialog shot from the hip, and bold visual design. The exact parameters of film noir are still
up for debate some argue that true noir films were made during a specific period, the post-World War II 1940s to
around 1958, labeling films made before and after proto- and neo-noir respectively, while others argue film noir is
more of a style or mood than a genre.

Film noir emerged during World War II when German migrs like Fritz Lang (M) brought the experimental sensibility
of German Expressionist cinema to Tinseltown. Directors utilized high key cinematography that dominantly featured
bright direct light and cascading shadow, off-kilter camera angles, and asymmetrical compositions to emphasize
spooky or sordid storylines meant to thrill and intrigue.

Contemporaneously, hardboiled detective novels were having a heyday stateside with the emergence of pulp fiction
writers like Dashiell Hammett (The Maltese Falcon), James M. Cain (Double Indemnity), and Raymond Chandler (The
Big Sleep). It was only a matter of time before noir filmmakers directed their lens toward this befitting merger
crime fiction and psychological thriller storylines were well coupled with the moody aesthetic elements gaining
popularity in cinema.

The height of the classic noir period was the simultaneous pinnacle of propriety in media. Hollywood leaders, fearing
the monkey see, monkey do potential of cinema, erected the Motion Picture Production Code in 1930 to ensure
films didnt endorse immoral behavior. During its reign, adherence to the codes moral censors could make or break
a films popularity by severely limiting its distribution.

As a result, noir films of the 1940s portray the seedier sides of life while notably excluding graphic violence, lustful
kissing, or even showing men and women sleeping in the same bed. While many of these films feature adultery, their
kisses are more like quick clashes than lingering, amorous gestures, and the adulterers rarely enjoy their affairs
before being offed in the end. Murders are shot suggestively rather than explicitly in Billy Wilders Double
Indemnity, for example, Barbara Stanwycks stone-cold stoicism is all the viewer sees as her characters husband is
choked to death in the car passenger seat beside her.

Pressured by television culture and successful foreign films with more lenient standards, the codes puritanical grip
on Hollywood began to loosen, reflected in films like the morally ambiguous noir Fallen Angel (1945) and Anatomy of
a Murder (1959), which deals with murder and rape both films were directed by Otto Preminger, whose pushing of
boundaries significantly influenced the genre. In 1952, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that film is protected under the
First Amendment, and in 1968, the Production Code was thrown out in lieu of the MPAA film rating system.

Meanwhile, the private eye trope waned, and trends like science-fiction noir surfaced in the early 60s and 70s with
films like Jean-Luc Godards Alphaville (1965) and Richard Fleischers Soylent Green (1973).

Film noir elements have found their way into modern classics like Roman Polanskis Chinatown (1974) and Ridley
Scotts Blade Runner (1982). Christopher Nolans Memento (2000), Robert Rodriguezs Sin City (2005), and Nicolas
Winding Refns Drive (2011) are some of the recent high-profile titles that pay homage to the genre.

All in all, film noir has left an indelible mark on the medium, and its compelling characteristics will continue to
influence cinema well into the future.
The Origins Of Film Noir

The noir films occurred in America during the war, and continued to be made during the forties and fifties, but it did
not come out of nothing. The noirs were inspired both by literature and previous film history along with the
sociohistory of the period it grew out of. In America in the thirties there was a literary tradition called hard-boiled
novels. These were crime novels and so called pulp fiction, and very popular. The American hard-boiled fictions
represented a completely different world and a different kind of detective than those found in english and earlier
detective stories; both content and style were differentiated. This kind of fiction added a new tradition of realism to
the detective fiction. The hero was as much an anti-hero, the action was taken down on the streets, it was violent,
and the language was cut short and it was often marked by verbal wit. Instead of upper-class "detectives", we are
now introduced to the proletarian tough guy detective that are walking the mean streets, and often he finds himself
on the edge of law and crime. Contemporary America is described as an urban and industrialized area where people
are in the hands of naturalistic drives. Many of these works were adapted to the screen, such as the works of
Hammet, Chandler, Cain and McCoy to mention some, and many of the authors were hired by Hollywood as
screenwriters. Obviously this hard-boiled fiction had a considerable influence on the film noirs.

Another thing that influenced the noir was the film traditions of German expressionism of the twenties and French
poetic realism of the thirties. The German expressionism was a expressionistic and conventionalized film style,
where the aesthetics were marked by distortions and exaggerations. It had a world wide influence and the
filmmakers of America sought to integrate this popular stylistic style in their own movies.

The French poetic realism was a film style where poetic conventionalization were combined with realistic topics and
milieus. Also the american gangster movies were an inspiration for the film noir. All of these movie styles have in
common the description of a dark and fatalistic image of the world. This is something we find in the film noir as well.
From these movements the film noir could gather inspiration, and alongside this, Hollywood received quite a lot of
migrs with roots in these movie milieus in Europe during the prewar years. The migrs took jobs in different parts
of the american movie industry, both as technicians and as directors. Thus they also made a contribution to the
society and heritage that film noir emerged from.

Historical Main Currents

In the 30s America was struggling with Depression. This era of depression led to a widespread unemployment, and
was in general a difficult time for the American people. Roosevelt had his New Deal, but the problems would not go
away. Furthermore the country led an isolationist politic, had beliefs of lasting world peace and pledged neutrality.
Thus they had among other things a very small standing army. Their entrance to the battlefields of World War 2 was
about to change the United States forever.

The U.S.A emerged from the war as the one great victor. The war actions had left behind a devastated Europe and a
shattered Asia which had led major economic an military losses. America on the other hand had not had warfare on
its own territory, and during the war it had managed to leap out of the depression and reach almost full employment
for its inhabitants. It was also in possession of the worlds largest military force and the worlds most threatening
weapon. In addition the country now had interests and responsibilities all around the world, but especially in
democratic Europe. Thus, as the americans emerged from war they were elated and proud, happy with their victory
and proud of their military and industrial might. The postwar era presented an unprecedented prosperity to the
american people, at a time where the last fifteen years had been filled with deprivation and sacrifice.

The 40s and 50s were an era of economic boom, mainly upheld by military demands during and after WW2, and
partly by the American peoples new consumer demands. The earlier fifteen years of saving and sacrifice naturally
gave way for increasing consumer demands when the population now lived in increasing prosperity. Most people
now wanted new and better things, which they also could afford. The federal government participated in this
development by sustaining the military demands to some level, and by the creation of the G.I.Bill of Rights. The
government also had campaigns directed to increase and sustain the consume of the people. Among other things
advertising was a phenomenon that came to show its full potential during the postwar years. The government was
interested in making the public believe that the affluent times were there to stay, and all of the things earlier
mentioned along with the successful remains of the New Deals social program helped supporting this belief.

The G.I.Bill was a veteran funding system that led to an increase in both college education and the founding of the
suburban homes of the 50s. This was kind of a social revolution with consequences like democratization of the
education system and the mere fact that more people got higher educated. The veterans also returned to create a
baby boom. After the war there were a high increase in marriages and new house owners, and alongside this the
new baby boom came. These new babies contributed to the expanding society and consumers culture with their
massive demands for things such as diapers, baby food and schools.

Another new phenomenon in postwar America was the explosion of suburban communities. All in all there was a
metropolitan increase and a population decrease in the agrarian areas. For one thing the new affluent populations
cry for their own homes created a need for building new houses. The easy answer for the place to build and the way
to do it was lying in the suburbs. Alongside this came a demand for cars and highways which went trough an
increase. People had a number of reasons for wanting to live in suburbs. They were longing for more spacious
homes, greater security, and better education for their children. Some also moved to suburbs because of racial
issues. (The suburbs were mainly segregated) All of this could these minor societies provide. The suburban lives
encouraged uniformity; all the surroundings were similar, there was a need of a sense of belonging. There were
created a conforming culture where social life had a homogenized character. The conformity of suburban lives gave
way to a drastic increase in memberships in social institutions, the religious participation was especially renewed.
Religion was set in bloom partly because of the Cold War where Communists were seen as anti God. Hence became
religion an expression for patriotism. This was underlined by president Eisenhower among others. The American
people wished that their own comfortable way of life could be reassured through religion, and so came an upbeat
and soothing religious tone to be for sale; the gospel.

In corporate life big business grew bigger, and this had an effect on the working man. He went from being a hard-
working individual, advancing by means of his own creativity and ability, to becoming a person within a collective
cooperation and achievement.These things had consequences at home. The women were led back to the roles they
played before the war. Campaigns were led to lead the women back to the kitchen. They were considered obliged to
leave their jobs in the workforce so that the veterans could get "their jobs" back. The most honorable thing women
could do were considered to be fostering a family at home.

As shown there existed a conforming culture consisting of affluent, consuming and content american people. These
people were satisfied with what the new America had to offer, and at ease with their lives such as they were.

But at the same time there were people questioning this contentment. These were americans that expressed a
growing sense of unease. They felt that maybe the american society was becoming too conformist and too
materialistic. The battle between idealism and materialism had begun.

The same events that had created the earlier mentioned cultural expression, had also created a reaction upon it self.
The new situation in which America was placed did not always give people a feeling of ease. The fact that The States
now had global influence and responsibilities was reason enough to give some of the american people a scare. Also
in postwar America a paranoid feeling developed. As mentioned earlier, the americans view of communists was not
very pleasant.Presumably they felt their new interests threatened and as a guardian of democracy there developed
what Churchill called "the iron curtain" between east and west. I do not intend to discuss the outbreak of the Cold
War, but merely point out that it existed. With McCarthy this Red Scare developed to a countrywide plague. This of
course could as easily result in a feeling of suspicion and anxiety as in neglect (as in the cultural expression above). In
addition the mere fact that much of the american might and welfare were build on military power contributed to an
uneasy feeling amongst a people known to be isolationistic in a country which in prewar times did not go for a big
military force, but for lasting peace. Only a short time after World War II America got involved in the Korean war. But
the two biggest consequences of The War were that the american people were given insight in the cruel capabilities
of humans (i.e. concentration camps) and were given the knowledge of the annihilation powers of their new
weapon--the nuclear war heads--at the same time.
All of the above contributed to giving some of the americans a feeling of unease. This is mostly expressed in art
works of the time, often as a feeling of alienation and disillusionment. A result of these feelings could easily end with
nihilism.

The Male Protagonist

In film noir the male protagonist is often a detective or an otherwise social alienated individual. Sometimes the male
heroes are featured as amnesiacs, a situation that absolutely creates a feeling of social estrangement and
disillusionment. These hard-boiled heroes are anti-social loners that are subject to existential angst. The
environments they live and work in are dark and scary metropolises, often red-light districts, or otherwise
dehumanizing environments, like large desolate office buildings. They are experiencing anonymity through their
large scale surroundings. The tough guy is often marked by an excellent gift of verbal wit, even if they are not always
given the strongest intellect; this is a heritage from the hard-boiled novels. Their worlds are dominated by crime,
corruption and cruelty. The protagonist often gets tangled up in some of these activities himself, in addition to his
interest in the erotic. Thus, he lives in a distorting world.

The men are, as well as the women, portrayed as stereotypes. As a result of this they are not allowed to live their
lives in alternative ways anymore than women. The patriarchal order that is surrounding them, and that they in
addition to women are trying to upheave, represents a certain set of rules they have to follow and live up to. As it
seems, the patriarchy is asking for quite a bit. The struggle to keeping women in their place also keeps the men in
their places. The men can not show much emotion in order to upheaval their masculinity, (to be emotional is
regarded a female virtue), and they have to work alone and be successful in what they do (something Oedipal). They
have to seek meaning in activity, not in contemplation which also is regarded a female virtue. Their position within
the patriarchal system provides them with purpose in life; to work, provide, protect and serve and protect the
patriarchy. The first three virtues must be seen in the context of the family and the masculine.

The existence led by men in film noir is one of toil and loneliness. The actual choices men have in life are either to
become a family man, which is the accepted thing to do, or not. Because of the way women are defined in these
films, life as a married man would doom him to a domestic life, with a dull domestic woman. There would never be
excitement or individual thought. So, the male must do all the thinking, and becomes surrounded by a deading
conformity. For the film noir men and women are all the same: they are nobody. This must produce a non-
interesting heterosexual relationship. So the reason is clear why the male protagonists becomes obsessed and
fascinated with the femme fatale. A life outside this patriarchal determined role is a life of destruction in a closed
and claustrophobic world. He is victimized by society, and perhaps also by a woman, and expresses the awareness of
the loss of the fixed ties that bind a man to a community. The similarities between different male protagonists in
different films are underlined by the mere fact that most noir heroes/actors were cast against type.

The sexuality of the hard-boiled hero is a question often brought up in film noir research. A consequence of the noir
females masculine characteristics is that feminine characteristics are attributed to the male. This is why the noir
male is humiliated and reduced. Because of an underlying misogynous attitude, females are not suitable objects,
except for the women that make the noir male dull, and who offers an existence without emotional and sexual
commitment. At the same time as women do not represent a tempting alternative, patriarchy has made homo
sexuality taboo. What remains for the male hero is male friendship. (In America male bonding intensified during the
war). It's a tough world.