What Is Film Noir

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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):

• Developing my brand identity


• Discover influences of the genre that can inspire the visual style of the brand/illustrations.
• Discover story conventions and themes that I can apply to the fictional story of my brand to
make it stronger.
• Find visual conventions of the genre that will influence the visual imagery of the brand.
• Discover films that I can watch and use as inspiration points.

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.

STORYLINE PLOTS AND FEATURES

• Hardboiled detective films from the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s


• Male protagonist wishes to elude his mysterious past and has to choose/have fate decide
what path he goes on
• Starts with a strong sense of ambition and hope to be successful but the wanting for more
takes over and results in corruption of self – usually following the seduction and dangerous
but desirable wishes of the fatalle.
• Murder investigations – (Stranger on the Third Floor (1940) is an iconic film for this)
• Heists
• Con games
• Innocent men or women wrongly accused of crime.
• Feminine betrayal in one form or another is certain.
• Double-cross
• Complex narratives that are further convoluted by Flashbacks and Flash Forwards and are
guided through reflective/confessional first person voiceovers (character usually ponders
and questions his own morality)
• Narration tying everything together, assuming we can trust it.
• Mainly about unhappy men and the fall of a character

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

• The Antihero – cynical, hard-hearted, disillusioned male


• pursues the goading’s of a traitorous, self-destructive femme fatale who would lead the
struggling, disillusioned, and doomed hero into committing murder or some other crime of
passion coupled with twisted love
• Femme fatalle - mysterious, duplicitous, double-crossing, gorgeous, unloving, predatory,
tough-sweet, unreliable, irresponsible, manipulative and desperate (transgressed societal
norms with her independent and smart, menacing actions, would bring both of them to a
downfall)
• Secondary Females – is a dutiful, reliable, trustworthy and loving woman.
• Investigator
• Criminal
• Boxer
• Private Eye

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.

Portrayal of Gangsters and Anti-Heroes in Modern Day

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.

Feminism and the Portrayal of the Femme Fatalle


Feminism is a current movement amongst society to help both women and men be seen equally,
whether that be in job opportunities, payment, presentation etc.
It aims to remove stereotypical and patriarchal views society has
built on woman in the past, such as objectification and their
reliance on men, and allow them to live with independence. There
have been many protests and educational campaigns on the
reform of this so the importance of it is clear and my brand
abiding by it is also necessary. The reason why this is especially
relevant in my case is due to the presentation of women in film noirs, especially the Femme Fatalle.
Having the femme fatalle as someone that had power over the men she came across and someone
who thinks for herself and is smart is clearly a good thing, however, this came with a catch as this
goes against the norms of what society thought woman should be therefore she was made the cause
of the male’s downfall or death, or even her own death – the woman was made to show she wasn’t
to be interacted with and was presented incredibly seductively, objectified and often badly man-
handled, with the male interest stemming from lust. As times have moved on and adapted, I won’t
be taking forth this lustful and wicked presentation aspect and will create a different reason for the
interaction between the femme fatalle and the male with one that possesses depth and mental
attraction, not over sexualisation. As well as her taking care of her own future.

Other Key Factors Learnt

• “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.

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