They Live By Night Essay

The film industry has gone through many different eras and genres, but one of the most significant in all of the industry’s history was film noir. Film noir is not necessarily a type of genre but rather a tone that branched off from the crime/gangster sags of the 1930’s. It has certain elements such as crime, sex, greed, and violence that are supposed to represent the same type of evils found in society. As any noir film, Double Indemnity also contains a moral conflict at the base of its plot. Film noir is generally defined as a dark, suspenseful thriller with a plot-line revolving around crime or mystery. Film noir gained more recognition after World War II. Particularly because Hollywood thrillers were been watched in French cinemas. The idea of film noir

It has been observed that many movies have gained or lost its reputation over the years. The values, attitudes and actions of people have changed as years have gone by, which is reflected in their changing opinions and expressions; the changing society behavior is responsible for the gain or loss of reputation of a particular movie over a period of time.

This essay will identify the importance of the elements of Film Noir between the movies Maltese Falcon, Chinatown, and L.A. Confidential. This will also discuss if Chinatown and L.A. Confidential remain true to the classical form or if they are in the baroque level of genre. This essay will also identify these discussions using examples for each film.

With the large variety of interests that flourish within the society, it is no shock that genres exist, especially in film, as the definition of entertainment differs from person to person. A genre is a category of films that are characterised by similarities in the narrative elements and conventions found within the films. Genres are extremely useful to both film producers and audiences as it helps them narrow down the target audience and search for films that are in their range of interests. No one wants to watch a political drama overrun with teenagers or go into a cinema with the intentions of watching a romantic comedy, only to receive blood and gore instead.

Borde and Chaumeton, two French film scholars who coined the name “film noir”, also offered ideas on what a “classical noir” is. The two write that “the presence of constant crime” is a characteristic of classical noir that is present in and throughout noir films (Borde and Chaumeton 19). Like Schrader, Borde and Chaumeton agree that authority

Genres of film generally possess certain traits that define our fundamental understanding of the genre’s structure. These are referred to a genre convention. The genre of drama within film lends itself to a few fundamental ideals (Grant, 2007:10). Firstly is the concept of a grounded and realistic setting, which in essence relates to characters dealing with conflicts that could be experienced in our reality. The second ideal presents itself through the characters dealing with their conflicts, both internal and external, in what is generally quite an emotional and intense manner (Grant, 2007:21). This can also feature a growth in character, as well as a shift in status or power dynamics between characters in a film. Finally, another important ideal of the drama genre is the way in which addresses a social issue that is prevalent in society (Right Direction, 2014), such as abuse, addiction and

“Art imitates life”; thus stories on television screens are accurate representations and reflections of societal attitudes, belief systems, and culture at a given moment in time. In addition to imitating life on screen, film noir tackles rising tensions and controversial issues within society. Traditionally, film noir is "an anti-genre that […] produces a psychological, […] moral disorientation, [and] an inversion of capitalist and puritan values, as if it were pushing [the government] system toward revolutionary destruction”. This specific style of television unapologetically presents latent cultural and social issues that directly oppose pre-established values and central belief systems, leading to unprecedented progression of political

Viewers of films usually expect certain aspects to be included in the film for instance love, war, and crime. The expectations of the viewers and their attitude at the end of the film usually define the genre, to which the film will fall. In most cases, the purpose of the films and the attitudes developed by the audience as the plot of the film grows, will help shape the genre to which the film will be categorized. Even though these expectations exist, it would be unfounded for the film to follow an individual ideal like communicativeness and knowledge that defines the genre. The shifts in these genres between combat and romance, for instance, are used to facilitate the conceptualization of the purpose and the representations used in the film.

Since the times of silent films, movies have been used to depict American society and history. As advancements in technology have been created, films have become more accurate but have also added more dramatizations to certain eras of history. Movies are made for entertainment, but how far will Hollywood go in order to appeal to the public? One era that has been portrayed a great deal in films is drug trafficking in the 1970’s. This era signified the beginning of America’s ongoing war with drugs. The scandalous lives of smugglers inspired Hollywood directors to revisit the era many times in various films. Movies like Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas, Ted Bemme’s Blow, and Ridley Scott’s American Gangster are all based on the

Development and adaptation of the western genre has occurred throughout the twentieth century in relation to the shift in context, this is still relevant. Stereotypes of a western genre and the context are determined by the time in which the film is being produced. The time in which they were produced determine how social construction, gender ideas, values and attitudes, the setting and SWAT codes are demonstrated. I have chosen to present this speech by looking at the film studied in class, and a film of my choice and how the difference in context has changed in the tie of these two films.

Television has become a vital aspect of daily life, within modern society; every aspect of television exhibits, to a certain extent, a reliance on genre (Mittell, 2001). Industries rely on genre to produce programs, and audiences use genres as a means of organizing fan practices (Mittell, 2001). According to a 2006 Nelson Media Research study, ratings confirm that aside from prime time shows such as American Idol and Survivor, part-time crime drama’s have been classified as one of the most favoured genre (DeTardo-Bora, pg. 154, 2009). The relationship between the media and criminal justice system is delicate, where more often than not, crimes are portrayed in a false light (Graveline, pg. 1, 2015). These misconceptions lead to

The movies under this category have attracted the attention of many reviewers because of some reasons. The films are widely appreciated because of their wider exposition of culture as well as sophisticated and rich subject matter. The show of culture and emotional expression that the movie contains has drastically changed the description of the category from action films to relationship film. Additionally, the movies

The producers will develop a test and the audience will tell the producers whether it is something they want to see or they are not going to see. This can affect the next text to be produced in an attempt to conform to the audience demands. Looking at the development of different types of genres and the development of films within the same genre, it’s possible to look at similarities and differences and identify changes in society and audience ideologies and tastes.

Genre theory is used to study films and put them into a classification so that audiences know what type of film it is before they see it. Genres are categories based on the story of the film, sometimes the actors and actresses, or even the directors. All films fall under a genre or sub-genre category. Romantic Comedy is an example of a genre which is light-hearted, humorous story involving people in love, sometimes overlapping with subgenres such as screwball comedy teen comedy, or gross-out comedy. ( Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2014, table 4.1). This paper will focus on the romantic comedy genre and movie Rocky. It will take a better look at the specific conventions of this genre and how this movie fits the gangster genre.

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.