Film Noir Films Analysis

The years surrounding the Great Depression and World War II were neither pleasant domestically nor internationally. During the Great Depression, businesses and industries fell rapidly, people became unemployed, and chaos ensued in trying to pick the global economy back up. Like every other industry, the movie industry, albeit a few years later than others, suffered a massive dip. Despite the conditions, however, many Americans still went to see movies, averaging around 60 to 80 million patrons every week. During this time, movies were not necessarily a means of escaping real world problems despite the fact that they did help to keep morale stable. Instead, movies that were produced in this era could be seen more as following a trend of realism, as we saw a rise in criminal, gangster, and scandal movies (Hollywood).

Film noir employs several character archetypes to tell a story. Cultural changes and shifts in gender roles of post WWII America unsettled men when many women refused to regress back into traditional housewife tasks. This fear was manifested in cinema’s femme fatale. Deceptive and manipulative, femme fatales were there to seduce, betray, and destroy the film noir hero. Norma, along with being deranged, is all of these things. She is at home in her eerie film noir setting. Her movements showing her as a self absorbed echo of her career in silent era films and her voice and facial expressions set the listener on edge. Joe Gillis

L.A Confidential (Curtis Hanson, 1997) is a neo-noir film about a shooting at an all night diner and the three Las Angeles policeman who investigate in their own unique ways. It is based on the book by James Ellroy and after a very well adapted screenplay, won nine academy awards. It starred actors with big names like Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce and Danny Devito, which made it a very high earning film.

After all, the social contexts of these eras resonate profoundly with their respective films. Science-fiction films may have emerged as a storytelling medium in 1902 with Méliès’ From the Earth to the Moon, but the genre reached cinematic prominence in the 40s and 50s, when it began to reflect the problems of American society (Anderson 2). Produced in 1951, Wise’s Earth manipulates its myth and conventions to cross-examine the social dispositions of 1940s America (Gehring 231).

The Serial is an interesting audio podcast that is hosted by a journalist named Sarah Koenig. Sarah tells the story in a form of a reporter, in which she explains the murder case that occurred in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1999, Hae Min Lee, a popular high-school senior, was disappeared after school one day. After six weeks, a jury convicted Adnan Syed, Hae’s ex-boyfriend, for her murder. Adnan stands firm on the fact that he is innocent and he has nothing to do with Hae’s murder case. Due to the lack of true evidence people are starting to question whether Adnan was falsely accused of the murder. I personally think Adnan is innocent.

The 1930’s were a difficult time for America and her people. The Great Depression put millions worldwide into deep poverty and invoked historic deviations from the standing political structure. The political ideals of Communism and Fascism were gaining more and more popularity among the middle classes across Europe and Asia. Communism especially, was becoming a grave threat to the established precedent of democracy. The growing global clashes of these varying ideologies is often seen as a catalyst of World War II in the late nineteen thirties. However, a several months before the start of war, the release of Frank Capra’s latest film,

The 1950s marked an incredible time in United States history. Many events that lead to the inspiration of future generations were revolutionized in economic and social expenditures of paramount proportion, most notably the manufacturing of war related materials for World War II. With an economic surge that catapulted the US even further into a position of world power, several industries flourished and suburban America took shape. Of these industries, film was one of the most substantial influences on the public and subsequently sparked a multitude of emotions. The culmination of entertainment adjoined with pressing issues allowed for designations of many political agendas. Some agendas proved to be melodramatic in nature regarding social reform while others were seen as substantial regarding national safety and protection.

Many people from different countries across the world have been coming to United States, including Austrian director Billy Wilder. He directed many film with different genres including Film Noir. Film Noir translates to “Dark Film,” the name was given by the French after watching Hollywood crime thrillers that began to show after World War II. These films typically had dark lighting style closely related to those in German Expressionist films. However, Film Noir borrows its form from influences of major Hollywood popular genres, using themes that were related to social context and civilian life in the United States. Two films that demonstrate how Film Noir was influenced by Hollywood and the social context in America include Sunset Boulevard (1950) and Ace in the Hole (1951) both directed and written by Billy Wilder.

The film styles of the 1940's reflected great optimism, patriotism, self-confidence, and liberalization by many groups. Hollywood was putting out works such as They Were Expendable (1945) that celebrated the American war effort by showing how strong and triumphant American soldiers were during battle. Other movies such as The Best Years (1947) demonstrated how the problems of the readjustment of Veterans in postwar American were balanced with traditional values, love, and sense of togetherness of the American people. Although these movies and others paid homage to American society, they were completely off track. During the postwar years, American were instilled in fear of communism taking over.

The comprehensive authority of the Office of War Information in the United States, and the Ministry of Information in the United Kingdom, over their respective film industries highlights this. Notably, the home front formed part of the six key areas promoted by the U.S. Government in film production. This suggests that common themes within these wartime films can provide insight into crucial domestic issues for governments. For example, the importance paid to self-sacrifice, rationing, and employment for women within Since You Went Away emphasise the material shortages in the period.

The movies came out at a time when the country was at unrest in regards to new age racism. Racism today is well documented through the use of social media s compared to the past. In addition, the time period in which the movies were set people were afraid to express their opinions on racism due to fear of retaliation from the whites but this is not the case today. People are expressing their opinion in regards to racism be it through social media or peaceful protest such as the popular kneeling by Colin Kaepernick a football quarterback. The

Film Noir was extremely trendy during the 1940’s. People were captivated by the way it expresses a mood of disillusionment and indistinctness between good and evil. Film Noir have key elements; crime, mystery, an anti-hero, femme fatale, and chiaroscuro lighting and camera angles. The Maltese Falcon is an example of film noir because of the usage of camera angles, lighting and ominous settings, as well as sinister characters as Samuel Spade, the anti-hero on a quest for meaning, who encounters the death of his partner but does not show any signs of remorse but instead for his greed for riches.

My media production is in the genre of film noir which has had debate over who the target audience is because many believe that the genre of film noir is aimed at the older generation between the ages of 40 and 80 years old. This is due to the nostalgic effect of having grown up within the era the films focus on or the era in which the genre of fil noir was at peak popularity. This age group is a part of my target audience however I am still trying to appeal to the new generation specifically those between 15 and 18 years of age because I want the younger generation to appreciate this genre. The reason for this age group is because of the tones and themes that are present within a film noir the audience needs to be more mature and understand

Genre is a reflection of society. Film noir is a genre that has a distinctive relationship with the American society from 1941 - 1958 because it reflects America’s fears and concerns from when they experienced major upheaval after The Great Depression and during World War I. In particular, the unstable atmosphere from the aftermath of World War 1 as Bruce Crowther, author of the book ‘Film Noir: Reflections in a Dark Mirror’, elaborates on how Film Noir films produce “a dark quality that derived as much from the character's depiction as from the cinematographer’s art.” These dark moods are transparent through the key features of the femme fatale, the film techniques and the impact of the Hay’s code on American film and American society.

Mildred Pierce is a film noir despite being a "Woman's picture". This classic tale takes you through the life of a woman of desperately wanted to give her kids everything she never had, at the expense of herself. While doing so, it takes you on a mystery rollercoaster while we all try and conclude who is responsible for the Monte murder. This story was filmed in the 1940’s and opens with the murder of Monte whose words introduce us to the movie and its title character "Mildred." The story is told via flashback, with Mildred narrating and being brought down by the conspiracies of a femme fatale; in this case Mildred's daughter, Veda.