What Is Film Noir
What Is Film Noir
What Is Film Noir
To help me better understand film noir and bring its tropes into my brands story, I have researched
into what makes it what it is and have seen how I could implement it into my project providing it fits
within the target audience. This information will help me with the brand story but also the following
(all the sources are shown at the end):
I have come to realise that Film noir is defined by its themes and its feelings through visual styling of
low-key lighting and story conventions, typically crime drama based, rather than it being a stone set
genre. It typically employs certain tropes and characteristics which leads to the title of Film Noir
being appliable.
INFLUENCES
I have started off by looking at what has mainly influenced the style of film noir and its stories and
have found the following:
• US Crime Fiction
• German Cinema of the Weimar (German expressionism was brought over by Germans that
were escaping Nazi threat – the cabinet of dr.caligari (1920), Metropolis (1927))
• Gangster Movies (Scarface)
• French poet realist films of the prewar period
• Low Budget (due to being B List films)
I will further investigate German Cinema and expressionism to see how it could influence my project
as film noir is hugely based on it and its style is unique. Crime and Gangster films influencing the
genre could provide me with a strong brand story so I will keep this in mind.
From looking at the storyline plots and features, the stories are usually based around the downfall of
a man due to his corruption of self, and usually involving a feminine betrayal. I feel like this would be
a good inspiration source to work with as this possess the idea of greed for more, acting out of love
and heartbreak which my age and genre target audience can relate to - I wouldn’t want the story to
directly just revolve around the male character like it usually is as I’m targeting both girls and guys
and I will look further into the depiction of the female in the genre as I want it to be tailored to a
modern audience as the portrayal in the films are usually very objectified with outdated views. I
think using flashbacks/flashforwards and reflective/confessional first person voiceovers as a concept
idea could work really well in narrating the story on the garments so I will keep this in mind.
THEMES
Within the film’s storyline, there are clear themes and ideas that were referred through that much
reflected the audience’s headspace at the time too. I have discovered the following being explored:
• Pervasive nihilism (puts the audience in a world untouched by culture and conventional
values at the time – almost beyond good and evil)
• Thrills and seduction of the criminal underworld - infamous gangsters romanticised the
world of the criminal (frustration of models of finance and business were higher and crime
was becoming more relevant during the depression)
• Publics rational fears (Political Corruption, Nightmares of the surreal, Effects of war) as they
were a population on the verge of collective insanity.
• Our dark nature - “You enter the heart of darkness and it is a descent into hell, both visually
and internally from which you cannot escape until it’s over with” – Kathryn Bigelow –
representative of film noirs presentation of the American dream as it follows the psyches of
characters that give into our most forbidden and twisted desire
• Deterioration of their morals, usually being a trade for material good
• Obsession with the past
• Cynical view
• Doomed love
• Chinatown and Generic Transformation by John Cawelti – “big business, politics, crime, and
the whole underlying social and environmental structure of LA – essentially a place from the
outside looking in appears as though anything is possible, however when characters land
they realise it’s an exaggeration , a dream, an idea of something that isn’t actually there –
the illusion of something good is film noirs overarching message, which ends up being much
worse than what anyone could’ve possibly imagined
• Walking the tightrope between good and evil, pure and corrupt, and law and lawlessness –
like the desperate American people in the 30s
I know I will definitely implement nihilistic qualities as this was a trend that was recognised in my
previous research regarding my audience, so it being present in film noir is a big plus. The
romanticisation of gangsters could be a strong theme to involve to the brand story for the
exaggerated entertainment and visual influence as it isn’t directly relatable to the audience but
fits in with film noir and adds a stronger narrative – it would attract both males and females and
especially the young as they have a rebellious mindset. This can also bring in the themes of
morals deteriorating, our dark nature and the balance of good and evil, pure and corrupt, and
law and lawlessness.
Characters Archetypes
From looking at the character archetypes, a criminal/male protagonist and femme fatalle are
present in the established narrative so far, however I do wish to adapt these character types to
make both characters likeable and their relationship more relatable to my audience, as well as
modernise them. There isn’t a need for any other significant characters in the brand story as it
already gives a male and female for the audience to respectively relate to from their experiences so
there isn’t a need for an extra focus.
From my research I’ve found that even in moden times there seems to
be a societal romantacisation of gangsters and the love for the outlaw,
with the idea and aesthetic being present fashion, pop culture, video
games and the music scene, and mainly stemming from the release of
Scarface in 1932. The reason as to why they’re liked is because the
gangster holds deeper value of someone who defies his surroundings
caused by socio-cultural capatilism or is corrupt and is obsessed with
weatlh,fame and power, being aspirational and taking life into his own
hands and wins. The sense of power they have is an attration to people,
but their traits of loyalty to family (like in The Godfather) and genorisity to
good people, woman and children but violence to their enemies is what allows audience sympathy
for them. Due to the Hay’s Code at the time, noir films would usually end with the criminal in prison
or dead however this isn’t necessarily the case for modern times, but this sort of ending could work
well for the story. There does tend to be patriarchal and mysogynistic views within the portrayal of
gangsters but I will adapt this to make the character representative of modern times along with the
admirable qualities highlighted before. Some character stories which I came across and admired
particularly were Scarface and Thommy from Peaky Blinders.
• “Shooting on location is a must as film noir is reality” – Andre de Toth (Film Director) – The
films were made to reflect society so in order to do this as best as possible, they had to be
shot on location (this is very significant so I will keep this in mind for my photoshoot for the
garment)
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
• Heckmann, C. (2020). What is an Anti Hero? Definition and Examples in Film and Literature.
[online] StudioBinder. Available at: https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-an-anti-
hero-definition/.
• A fascination with gangsters. (2015). BBC News. [online] 21 Sep. Available at:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-34312359 [Accessed 3rd February 2021].
• HIGHXTAR. (2020). Mafia, fashion and glory. The romanticization of the gangster. [online]
Available at: https://highxtar.com/mafia-fashion-and-glory-the-romanticization-of-the-
gangster/?lang=en.
• Anon, (n.d.). Why are gangsters romanticised on screen? | The Artifice. [online] Available at:
https://the-artifice.com/why-are-gangsters-romanticised-on-screen/ [Accessed 5th February
2021].
• www.filmsite.org. (n.d.). Film Noir - Examples. [online] Available at:
https://www.filmsite.org/filmnoir6.html [Accessed 5th February 2021].
• IWDA (2018). What Is Feminism? | IWDA. [online] IWDA. Available at:
https://iwda.org.au/learn/what-is-feminism/.
• Anon, (2017). The “Fatal Woman” In Feminism And Modernism (Eric Galowitsch). [online]
Available at: https://esthesis.org/the-fatal-woman-in-feminism-and-modernism-eric-
galowitsch/ [Accessed 6 February 2021].
• Brown, C. (1986). The Feminist and the Femme Fatale. Washington Post. [online] 7 Dec.
Available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1986/12/07/the-feminist-
and-the-femme-fatale/d9301d18-5f37-452a-a608-4bd5d6cf7688/.
• sites.lafayette.edu. (n.d.). The Femme Fatale in Hollywood – The Femme Fatale and the
Distortion of Female Criminality. [online] Available at:
https://sites.lafayette.edu/deaconm/the-femme-fatale-in-hollywood/.
• www.youtube.com. (n.d.). Defining Film Noir. [online] Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K77aPil7btM.
• www.youtube.com. (n.d.). Understanding Film Noir. [online] Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFkUbDQW1u4.
• Jack's Movie Reviews (2018). Film Noir & The American Dream. YouTube. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-h1ceF9ToI.
• Jack's Movie Reviews (2018). Film Noir & The American Dream. YouTube. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-h1ceF9ToI.
• Filmmaker IQ (2013). Origins of Film Noir. YouTube. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_i2CsU2ldQA.