Todd Erickson in his essay Kill me Again: Movement becomes a Genre (in Silver & Ursini), discusses the emergence of noir motifs in films subsequent to the canonical period and suggests studying them as a new genre. “Contemporary film noir is a new genre of film. As such, it must carry the distinction of another name; a name that is cognizant of its rich noir heritage, yet one that distinguishes its influences and motivations from those of the bygone era” (pg. 321). Erickson proposes the term neo-noir because he identifies the films as new forms of noir. Thus neo-noir is “quite simply, a contemporary rendering of the film noir sensibility” (pg. 321). The neo-noir films, according to Richard Martin in his book Mean Streets and Raging Bulls, “not only [..] suggest noir’s continuing exploration of the collective anxieties of American society, but [..] also reflect a sustained tradition of artistic creativity and technical virtuosity nurtured within the confines of American genre cinema” (pg. 6) However, all attempts to validate the term neo-noir and its relation to film noir, deal with, what are by necessity, delicate boundaries considering that the subject of analysis is one of Hollywood’s most unstable genres.

Based on research into neo-noir, I would suggest that there are four basic types (if not more) of production. The first, perhaps the easiest to identify, are those films that constitute a remake of canonical films such as D.O.A, Farewell My Lovely and The Postman Always Rings Twice. The second is that which carries an inflection of nostalgia and make explicit reference to the style and the mood of noir, amongst which are titles such as, Chinatown and L.A. Confidential. The third kind could be identified as those films that pay homage to noir by making references to motifs, dialogue and scenes, such is the case of Pulp Fiction and generally of the work of Quentin Tarantino. The fourth category of neo-noir is perhaps the most difficult to define as all the films I have previously mentioned are examples in which film noir is deliberately referenced. This ‘group’ holds films that do not fit in to any of the aforementioned ‘categories’ and yet audiences can easily perceive certain tropes of noir within these films. Among these we find examples of films as diverse as Matrix, Blade Runner, Lost Highway, Basic Instinct and Black Rain.

Erickson, in his essay accuses two films: The Two Jokes (1990) and The Public Eye (1992) of failing “to maintain the slightest notion of the true noir spirit” (pg. 312). Although the question of truth is problematic Erickson succeeds in adding to the lists of noir definitions the word “spirit”. What defines then the noir spirit? Could it be the “cynical and the pessimistic tone […] the darker side of human condition, modern fables that highlight the dangers of alienation, the fragmentation of society, the breakdown of human interaction, the debasement of love, the beguiling power of wealth, the corruption of government, and mankind’s inherent propensity for inertia and impotence” (Martin, pg. 6)? Is noir “spirit” allowed to evolve, mutate as the environment in which it exists changes? It is also entitled to refer and quote to the noir canon since contemporary audiences are not only conscious of the legacy of noir but also amenable to noir references in modern perspectives and environments?

When discussing authenticity the Argentinean poet Jorge Luis Borges once stated that being original was a matter of having a good memory. Implying that, in art at least, we are the sons of history and beholden to an artistic past. Any attempt to deny the influence of, and our indebtedness to, past artists and art is to forfeit a valuable resource.

Ensayos del libro de Mark Jancovich, Horror: The Film Reader
-Introduction (pg 1- 21) (Presented by: Julián Díaz)
-Andrew Tudor, Why Horror? The Peculiar Pleasures of a Popular Genre (pg 47 – 56) (Presented by: Manolo Constaín)

Chapter 4 from Rick Altman´s, Film / Genre.
-Are genres stable? (pg 49-68)

Chapter 5 from Bordwell &Thompson´s Film Art:
- The Animated Film (pg 144-154)

Película: Ghost in the Shell, Mamoru Oshii, 1995

Assignments: According to what was discussed in class, please write a brief analysis of the movie we watched and its relation to Noir. Keep in mind and refer to the anxieties that were played in Film Noir and the new anxieties that are played in Sci-Fi (Science Fiction).

Please remember that you must hand in a draft of the proyect you wish to develop as your final paper. The draft MUST include filmography and bibliography.

Write a structured synopsis of the text.

All texts available here.

The French noticed a certain similarity between the gangster film, the police genre and the detective fiction. Authors like Raymond Chandler, James Cain, and Dashiell Hammett among others were already well know writers and film viewers were already familiar with some of the novels that served as inspiration to the movies, such as The Postman Always Rings Twice, Double Indemnity, Farewell, My Lovely and The Maltese Falcon.

It is no coincidence that when you look up the definition of detective fiction you find that it resembles the definition(s) that critics tend to give of film noir. However, a closer reading of the attempts to define noir as a genre reveals that scholars have found it impossible to capture and define its essence in any absolute sense. In her article on Film Noir and Women, Elizabeth Cowie (in Copjec’s Shades of Noir) discusses the public’s fascination with film noir and how this plays a crucial role in the construction of the category as such.

“Whether it is a genre, a cycle of films, a tendency or a movement, film noir has been extraordinarily successful as a term. As a ‘genre that never was’ – since the term was not used by the studios themselves, or by the audiences at the time..[..] The term has succeeded despite the lack of any straightforward unity in the sets of films it attempts to designate. This tenuousness is matched by a tenacity of critical use, a devotion among aficionados that suggest a desire for the very category as such, a wish that it exist in order to ‘have’ a certain set of films altogether. Film noir as a genre is in a certain sense a fantasy…” (pg. 121)

Cowie does not deny the particular style, or phenomena, present in the Hollywood cinema of the 1940’s and 50’s, she merely points out the contradictions that the study of film noir poses and the discrepancy between the canon and the term itself.

Among early critics and enthusiasts there was a tendency to define noir; Borde and Chaumeton, for example, argue that the presence of crime constitutes noir’s most essential characteristic. The inclination to find boundaries has led critics to disagree on noir’s essential ingredients, although recent criticism is more aware of the dangers of such a limited scope. French film critic, Andre Bazin, aware of the difficulty of delimiting noir as a genre, suggests that we consider noir as a style. This allows the term more flexibility than the designation ‘genre’ and it also points to the limitations of inscribing noir in a singular or series of definitions.

Bazin is correct in pointing out film noir’s peculiar style. It is in fact it’s style, what attracted audiences to it and what we as contemporary viewers tend to admire the most. Noir’s style was greatly influenced by the German Expressionism that was imported to Hollywood when both Austrian and German filmmakers immigrated to the US to escape the war. Figures like Billy Wilder, Fritz Lang, Robert Siodmak, Otto Preminger, are among the filmmakers that are most alluded when one refers to the cannon of noir films.

Watching a ‘noir movie’ is always an exquisite experience precisely because, despite the fact that they were B-movies, there are very ‘stylized’; their convoluted voice over narrations, their costume design (the hats, the rain coats, the femme fatale’s attires, the cigarette holders, etc), their witty dialogue and the cleverness of their characters, the camera work and moreover the lighting, are among the traits that define such style. (One of the most beautiful and influential camera work was done by cinematographer John Alton)

Theorizing on the term ‘film noir’ can be difficult and so critics and scholars have a tendency to look for common traits shared by (what is understood as) its canon of films. Many documents define noir as an essentially male discourse. One of the most common scenarios presents a male character, usually a detective, cop, journalist, agent or even a criminal, confronted with a crime and with a ‘choice’ between two women. Often a tension arises between the two opposite female characters, usually good and evil. Most films share a fatalistic tone with a pessimism dominating the atmosphere. They usually narrate an urban tale that brings out the corruption of society and confronts the spectator with the idea of the ‘American dream’. Other features of film noir are the “use of high contrast lighting and other ‘expressionistic’ devices, the focus on mentally, emotionally and physically vulnerable characters, the interest in psychology, …the downbeat emphasis on violence, anxiety, death, crime and compromised morality”(Neale, 174), and the convoluted relations between male and female characters.

• Semana 10
Bourbon, noche y mujeres fatales: algunos temas noir
Textos:
Ensayos del libro de Silver y Ursini, Film Noir Reader.
-Karen Hollinger, Film Noir, Voice Over and the Femme Fatale (pg. 243-259) Joan Manuel Galindo
-Todd Erickson, Kill Me Again: Movement Becomes Genre (pg. 307-329) Jean Peter Kluckhonn

Película: Detour, Edgar G. Ulmer, 1945
• Semana 11
Neo Noir: La frontera del espacio y los detectives y los cowboys intergalácticos
Textos:
Capitulo 11 del libro de Rick Altman, Film / Genre.
- Have genres and genre functions changed over time? Sebastián Lerma

Película: Double Indemnity, Billy Wilder, 1944

• Semana 12
Futuros distopicos: Sci-Fi recapitulado
Textos:
Ensayos del libro de Annette Kuhn, Alien Zone II.
-Janet Staiger, Future Noir: Contemporary Representations of Visionary Cities (pg.97-122) Juan Esteban Díaz

- David Dresser, Race Space and Class: The Politics of Cityscapes in Sicence Ficiton Films – Ivan Palacio.

Capitulo 4 del libro de Rick Altman, Film / Genre.
-Are genres stable? (pg 49-68) Jose Miguel Terán

Película: Blade Runner, Ridley Scott, 1982

• Semana 13
Entrega de ante-proyectos
Existencialismo cibernético, el amor en los tiempos de la máquina
Textos:
-Vivian Sobchak, Cities on the Edge of Time: The Urban Science Fiction Film (pg 123-146) Andrés Zafra

Capitulo 8 del libro de Rick Altman, Film / Genre.
-Why are genres sometimes mixed? Manuel Calle

Capitulo 5 del libro de David Bordwell y Kristin Thompson
- The Animated Film (pg 144-154)

Película: Ghost in the Shell, Mamoru Oshii, 1995

• Semana 14
Pesadillas marcianas, horror en el espacio exterior
Textos:
Ensayos del libro de Mark Jancovich, Horror: The Film Reader
-Introduction (pg 1- 21) Julián Díaz
-Andrew Tudor, Why Horror? The Peculiar Pleasures of a Popular Genre (pg 47 – 56) Manolo Constaín

Película: Alien, Ridley Scott, 1979

• Semana 15
Muertos de risa: lo cómico del cine del horror
Textos:
Segmento sobre Horror en el libro de Steve Neale, Hollywood and Genre.
-Horror (pg. 92-100)

Ensayos del libro de Leo Brady y Marshal Cohen, Film Theory and Criticism:
-Tania Modleski, The Terror of Pleasure: The Contemporary Horror Film and Postmodern Theory (pg. 691-700) Nicolas Valencia

Película: El día de la bestia, Alex de la Iglesia, 1995

• Semana 16
Presentación de trabajos finales

Introducción y los siguientes ensayos del libro de Silver y Ursini, Film Noir Reader.
- Introduction (pg. 3-16)
- Raymond Borde & Etienne Chaumont, Towards a Definition of Film Noir. (pg. 17-27)
- Charles Highman and Joel Greenberg, Noir Cinema (pg. 27-36)

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.