Film Noir

What were some of the elements of film noir in the 1940’s and 50’s and can they be seen as symptomatic of cultural anxieties?

Film noir is a French label on the American film phenomenon. It wasn’t until Post-war France that they could see many American films. The French observed the relationship between American movies in the forties and literature called “roman noir”, which means dark literature and film noir means black film. The term was not used very much in production and only French critics used it during the noir era. Now the term is used universally but it is still a very much debated topic. Some film critics like Higham, Greenberg and Paul Kerr refer to film noir as a genre, which is classified by its generic conventions and expectations the films arouse. For example film critic; Foster Hirsh indicates that titles in themselves of film noirs can be a “generic identification”, which can predict the narrative and fulfil what might be expected of film noir like, violence, crime and sexuality (NB 1.a). However many problems arise, for example genres normally span over periods rather than be influenced by them, as film noir is closely associated with 1940’s Hollywood. Film producer; John Hausman predicted that film noir “

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As with other femme fatales like Cora in The Postman Always Rings Twice(1946), also has no voice in her marriage, which leads to the murder of her husband. Poetic Realist films are often reflect the anxiety felt by fascism and the war(NB 2. The synchronisation of sounds is a motif throughout the film. The woman’s entry to the male-dominated world, made the American male lose track of his position in society he had before controlled and displacing men as the main mover of culture(NB 1. would be seen by future generations as the most emblematic films of post-war period”(NB 1. Hammer not being able to look at people at crucial times, conveys his duplicity and his alienation. Many ex- soldiers found themselves to be an embarrassment, which they often responded bitterly and sometimes turned to violence, which classifies them a role of a different kind of outsider getting even. The city in film noir presents symptomatic meaning and acts as a visual metaphor, portraying it as shadowy, secretive and dangerous. This could convey the fear and confusion of America at a time where it lost all its old conventions and identities, the rise of a new consumer society . The American Dream was connected to the middle class suburban lifestyle.

The portrayal of women in film noir can be seen as symptomatic of the cultural anxiety that America was feeling during the 1940’s and 1950’s. This pessimism can be connected to Poetic Realism. When Hammer replies “What kind of message does it send you?”, it reveals that Hammer is so sure of himself and knows exactly how he presents himself. Noir also breaks the generic conventions, as other films classed as genres can be noir films also; like noir musicals, noir gangster films, noir comedy or noir horror.

Approximate Word count = 2623
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)

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