Film Noir History and Conventions

Before the gender conventions can be analysed they must first be defined and to define them without defining the genre conventions within which they are depicted would give a very two dimensional view of the subject. So to start I will be looking at some of the more apparent of the stylistic conventions often attributed to Film Noir.


Film Noir is dark, unsurprising when Film Noir is French for black film, these films are dark not just in lack of light but also in subject matter, but for now let's concentrate on the style.

The visual style of film noir, Naremore (1998) writes, "is characterised by unbalanced and disturbing frame compositions, strong contrasts of light and dark, the prevalence of shadows and areas of darkness within the frame, the visual tension created by curious camera angles and so forth. Moreover, in film noir, these strained compositions and angles are not merely embellishments or rhetorical flourishes, but form the very substance of the film."


The most obvious of the style conventions is the lighting, or lack there of, giving much of the dark feel to the films. Shadows, too are used to great effect in Noir often creating a sense of foreboding, impending doom or plain old fear. Then there are the odd camera angles used to create much of the claustrophobic feeling associated with these film as well as many of the surreal and bizarre scenes they are used in.


Much of these major stylistic conventions can be traced back to the origins of Film Noir in it's German Expressionist cinema roots. Brought about by the mass migration of German filmmakers fleeing the Nazi regime and seeking artistic freedom in Hollywood during the nineteen thirties. These German filmmakers went onto create many of the films now considered Film Noir.


The German and other European influences can be seen in more than just the odd camera angles and expressionistic styling of these films though. The gritty paranoia and distrust of government officials can be seen throughout many, along with the depiction of many of these people of power acting like criminals or gangsters who carry a badge and work in the name of freedom. Much of this has obvious links to the situation and atmosphere in Europe during and prior to this period.

References

Printed References

Naremore, J. (1998). More than Night: Film Noir in its Contexts. California. University of California Press

Online References

Author Unknown. From German Expressionism to Film Noir. Available from Accessed April 2010

Filmography

The Night Of The Hunter (1955). Directed by Charles Laughton. USA. United Artists

M (1931). Directed by Fritz Lang. Germany. Vereinigte Star-Film GmbH

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920). Directed by Robert Wiene. Germany. Decla-Bioscop.

The Stranger on the Third Floor (1940). Directed by Boris Ingster. USA. RKO Radio Pictures

The Rules Of Film Noir (2009). Witten by Matthew Sweet. London, BBC4, 24 May.

Introductory Post

Welcome to my opinions on films. This is the place where I can explain, expand and develop my opinions on films, genre and art. Just to be as clear as possible these are my opinions and in no way am I attempting to pass them off as facts, I feel it is necessary to state this as clearly as possible in a bid to prevent the many waiting and willing internet users from pouncing on me for being inaccurate or holding a different opinion to themselves. Obviously I intend to be as factually accurate as feasibly possible but so much of what I will be discussing will come down to personal opinion, so you have been warned!

For the time being I am going to be concentrating on looking into the gender conventions depicted within the genre of Film Noir. Before I continue I would like to point out that yes, Film Noir is a genre, despite what certain academics and others may believe (remember it's all opinions) and I see no reason why a certain style or group of stylistic conventions can not be classed as a genre, especially when they are so often backed up with narrative and character conventions.

Noir movies can be identified by a structure involving certain visual and thematic conventions. They generally have convoluted plots, often with a displaced sense of time. The labyrinthine narrative accentuates the feeling of anxiety and contributes to noir's overall mood of trepidation and hopelessness (Borde and Chaumeton, 1955).


In this series of blog posts I intend to define the gender conventions as depicted within Film Noir specifically looking at the characters of the Femme Fatale and the Hard Boiled Man, investigate and critique previous analysis of these conventions.

I expect to find that the gender conventions depicted, whilst being highly entertaining and creating some of the most incredible on screen chemistry in film history, are not very flattering to either gender.

Referemces

Borde, R. And Chaumeton, E (1955). Panorama of American Film Noir (1941-1953). Paris: Editions de Minuit, 1955.