Before I get started, I have to be honest. I have not been terribly engrossed in the class for the past two weeks since we have been going over this film noir genre or style or whatever you want to call it. In fact, I have been bored for the most part until I saw Kiss Kiss Bang Bang this past Wednesday. Up until this point, Ifound film noir to be this stale, unentertaining, so-not-colorful-in-so-many-ways-than-one genre. Even though Kiss Kiss Bang Bang kinda parodied film noir movies, it made me more interested and more appreciative of real film noir films. Plus, I got a really good laugh out of the movie! It made me see all the good things about film noir and not focus on the annoying things about it. If anything, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang was a satirical instruction manuel to film noir. So when I went back to look at Out of the Past and Chinatown, I did not find them to be as humdrum or as unexciting as they were when I first saw them.
Anyway, over the past week, the debate of the status of film noir in movie history has been going on in our class. Up until this point, I had decided to stay out of the debate because a) I was not all that enthralled in the topic at that point and b) before this class, I had always thought of film noir as a genre so in my mind, there was no reason for a debate to begin with. Then I read Paul Schrader's "Notes on Film Noir" and Steve Neale's "Questions of Genre". After reading their thoughts, I was forced to think about what qualifies as a genre and what qualifies as a style. After much thought, I came up with my answer. A genre is a category of film (music, literature, or whatever floats your boat) that provides a criteria, strict or relaxed, to be classified for the benefit of the viewer. Style is the way one uses elements to make up your piece of art. For example, when we look at horror movies, we expect fear as a driving force in the movie. When we look at romance films, we expect love as the main source of energy. When we look at action flicks, we expect a semi-decent plot with million-dollar explosions, edge-of-your-seat car chases, and dangerous fight scenes. With that being said, I am going to have to side with Schrader on this one. Film noir is indeed a style and not a genre.
I say this because film noir does not create a set of criteria like genres do. It is possible for a movie to be a crime flick with film noir elements. Just like it is possible for a crime movie to have another set of elements. No matter what, that movie will be a crime flick. It is just up to the director to determine what style he will use in order to illustrate his movie. Get what I am saying? If not, Schrader explains it really well: "Film noir is not a genre. It is not defined...by conventions of setting and conflict, but...by...qualities of tone and mood."
Now while I have admittedly been very critical of film noir, I am grateful of its utilization of a strong, intelligent, beautiful, and dangerous woman - otherwise known as the femme fatale. This rejection of the conventional roles of women like devoted wife and loving mother was needed in order to diversify roles for women. However, when you really think about it, film noir still shows women as what men allows them to be. And when women become self-sufficient, independent, and powerful, they will be punished in the end. I guess the psychological power of the "male gaze" (aka male control) still rears its ugly head - even in film noir.
6 comments:
I like how you point out the use of women in film noir, something no one else in our group has yet discussed. I agree, it's nice to see women in these films having power and taking on a main role. Even if the end doesn't turn out so well for them, it is still refreshing to see them being treated on the same level as men by the way they take action and make their own decisions. If you think about it, a good deal of the men in film noir also end up with a tragic ending (think of Jeff, Fisher and Witt in "Out of the Past"), so I don't think the fact that the women have a dark ending is necessarily tied to the fact that they are female and have acquired independence and power, but rather to their devious actions (which is just as often a result of the death of male characters).
The stylistic aspect of film noir is my favorite, and arguably the most pervasive, part of this genre. However, I don't think that film noir as a style and noir as a genre are mutually exclusive. The presence of a femme fatale can be argued as a criteria for a film noir, and this independent woman is not just a style, she is also part of the convention of the narrative.
Other syntactic elements of film noir also transcend style, such as the cynical exploration of the underbelly of society, rotten luck, and the presence of a detective operating on the edge of the law. For example, I would argue that the "crime flick" with the stylistic aspects of film noir would make it a noir film, just as "Chinatown" with the thematic set of criteria but without the black and white style of noir, still makes it a noir film. Either way, the combination of both style and generic convention dictate how much a noir fits into its genre, but its presence as a genre will always exist.
To be honest, I'm still not sure that the argument between genre and style can be so clearly defined. i agree with you when you say that there are some films that definitely fit a certain genre more than another; I'd call "Blue Streak" an action flick first and foremost, with various other elements thrown in. But does that mean that comedy, which is certainly a large part of the film, is a style, and not a genre, as it's used to define the movie rather than provide it with a strict set of conventions? And though "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" is certainly a movie about a dirty deed, with elements of film noir (parodied), romance, and comedy, I wouldn't call noir a style any more than I would call romance or comedy styles.
I do very much agree with your analysis about the femme fatale, however. They are forced to work within a set of confines, yes; within the boundaries men set for them. However, they do that work to the best of their formidable abilities, and become key players rather than bit parts.
The boundaries between genre and style are very faint and almost undefinable. If you look up the definition of genre on Merriam-Webster it will tell you it's a category defined by a "particular style, form, or content". So, when it comes to film noir, does its style overtake the genre, or are the form and content of the genre strong enough to maintain its definition? I would ultimately disagree with your claim film noir is simply a style, though I will agree that, of the three stipulations of genre, style is the strongest and the one that stays with the viewer the most. I think that the classic film noirs of the 40s and 50s all include crime, sexually charged actions, and the moral corruption of society, and, therefore, the form and content do play a significant enough part to legitimize film noir as a genre. That all being said, I enjoyed your post and your interaction with the film noir, and echo your sentiment about how "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" made you much more interested in the genre. I also loved your analysis of the film as "a satirical instruction manual to film noir", as that really sums up how the film pays homage to the genre itself.
I am not quite sure if believe Schrader fully in his statement about film noir not being a genre. I feel that a genre is a field of film that is subject to various common applications of style. This is the very substance of genre that allows to the develop and be malleable. I do believe however, that films can have elements of different genres. For example if the "style" of the film is, as you say, constituent of love as the main source of energy, romance is a type of style that could be used to classify the film into the genre. My main argument is that the genre as we know it has been tarnished in a way the diminishes our appreciation of the film and I think its just a result of our desperation in trying to classify film. See the last paragraph of Tom's post for context.
Interesting addition to the debate Afftene. I think some more specific examples would help though! Also...like Shayna...I'd love to se a more in-depth look at the potential of women in film noir.
Best,
Alexis
Post a Comment