After reading the stories, “The Kidnapper Bell” and “City of Commerce” in the collection Los Angeles Noir, I came to the conclusion that the authors did a very good job at describing and using the Los Angeles landscape. Growing up in Los Angeles, I could see the L.A. River in my head, clear as day. Kidnapper Bell written by Jim Pascoe gave detailed description that made it easy to imagine being there at that moment. The “knee-high barrier of loose chain-link tops” (pg.212) and the “graffiti on the drain covers” (pg.220). However Neal Pollack’s City of Commerce does a better job in making you feel and visualize parts of Los Angeles. How easily “on an ordinary day, an overturned tractor-trailer can destroy your plans in L.A.” (pg.240). Pollack’s also describes the change in landscape as he heads South on the I-5. “The landscape grew generic, sooty, industrial…” (pg.231). Pollack also describes how the leather-bound nightclubs and fancy Valley gallerias change to the outlet malls and truck-stop Arby’s as he travels down the I-5 to the City of Commerce. Overall I get the sense that the authors know not only the brightness, shining lights of L.A. but the dark side as well, of what goes on when the lights are off.

Blog 6

            In reading Space, Time, and Subjectivity in Neo-Noir Cinema by Jerold J. Abrams I came to the realization that though film noir and neo-noir include the similarities in characters, they were completely different. Though both are told by first person perspective, the detective in film noir is always searching for a criminal. As written by Abrams, neo-noir is where the “detectives search is for himself, for his own identity and how he may have lost it.” Hence, neo-noir protagonist detectives, heroes always have some form of amnesia. They either cannot form new memories, cannot remember past events, or one particular event. However, time is very important to the structure of neo-noir, where it can be classified as past neo-noir, present, neo-noir, and future neo noir.

            When talking about past neo-noir the protagonist hero, detective seems to be vulnerable and in search for something he cannot reach. It seems that the only way to find what he is looking for is to go back in time. Once there, after facing many obstacles he realizes the truth of what he was searching for. He tends to find himself in the brink of danger.

            Future neo-noir is more about science and technology.  In this case the protagonist hero must find himself, despite technology. For example in the movie Blade Runner the main character is of course in most noir films a detective, of the name Rick Deckard, where he believes that he is looking for a villain... android. When he comes face to face with Rachel he comes to the conclusion that not everything is as it seems. He begins to search for the truth, his truth. Was it possible that he is an android too, and if so why didn’t he realize it sooner?

            As for present neo-noir it seems that the protagonist heroes always seem to be trying to remember who they were, rather than searching for who they are. They are trying to explain what their bodies know, but what their minds don’t.  The antihero tends to be deeply uncertain about his past and unsure about the meaning of the present activity he is engaged in, therefore questioning his identity.

            Hence forth, neo noir’s protagonist hero is somewhat different from that of film noir. As written by Abrams, the heroes “can never escape the illusions of his own mind.” Meaning that everything they think they did, every action they take will always be questionable because of the inability to escape oneself, for the fact that one is always ahead of the other.

Blog #3 My Film Noir

                  As I walked in I decided to leave the lights off, it was better that way. It was so dark. The only light came from the crescent moon, illuminating my entire living room and engulfing it in shadows. There was a deathly silence all I heard was the chime of the clock, “tick, tock, tick, tock.” As I sat down on my oversize brown leather chair, crackling with every movement I made, all I could think was “that I had done it.” “I had gotten away with it.” Yet, I still had this awful feeling, a lurching, sinking, butterfly movement at the pit of my stomach. That’s when I knew something was wrong. I don’t know how or when but it was going to happen. It was not done.

                                I took out a cigar, to ease my nerves. As I tried to light it, my hands began to shake violently. I took out a handkerchief to wipe my brow. I could feel the sweat pouring down, like droplets of water running silently down my face. I look down and I notice that the handkerchief is red…..blood red.

                                Was this a sign? It had to be. Suddenly there’s a loud bang against my window, I jump. I realize that it has begun to rain. As I try to calm my nerves, all I hear is the roar of the rain, hurling violently, a sign that something bad was coming. As I sit there, drenched in sweat with my hands grasping the arms of the chair with such force that my knuckles are turning white. All I could do was wait. As I look around, I see bars running across the walls, making me feel trap. I hear a sound. I turn, and there I saw it. A dark long shadow, engulf in shadows sliding towards me. An evil glow reflected on its eyes, that sinister smile spread across its face. “It was as if death itself was coming for me.” As I open my mouth to speak, it comes into view.

                                I felt a rush of relief. Who was I kidding everything was fine. But as it turns I see the glistening of shiny metal mirrored, straight at me. I gasp, “How could I be so foolish.” Then I hear it. That loud pop, the same sound a Chinese firecracker makes when it goes off. I feel heavy, I feel as if I am being dragged. All around me I see the lifeless faces of those I killed. As my eyes close for the last time, all I hear is a booming, high pitch, ferocious, sinister laugh. It had won.

 

  

Blog #2

As with all film noir, murder is usually the element and greed, jealousy is the motivation. For example, in the website Filmsite, it states “Very often, a film noir story was developed around a male character who encountered a beautiful but promiscuous and seductive femme fatale.” This being the case, the women or better yet the femme fatale gets the man to commit her crimes on the promise of her and her money.  As seen in the novel Double Indemnity written by James M. Cain, this is exactly what happens.

The male character is an insurance salesman by the name of Walter Huff who meets the femme fatale Phyllis Nirdlinger. As is the case in all film noir, Mr. Huff is the anti-hero that is flawed and morally questionable because he decides to help Mrs. Nirdlinger murder her own husband. The reason he agrees to help her can be found on page 22 in Double Indemnity for it reads ““What would you do this for?” “You for one thing.” “What else?” “Money.”” Therefore this shows that greed and lust is the element.  

As stated in the website Filmsite the femme fatales are “mysterious, duplicitous, double-crossing, gorgeous, unloving, predatory, tough-sweet, unreliable, irresponsible, manipulative and desperate women” and that is exactly who Phyllis Nirdlinger is.  She tries to make excuses for the reasons she wants to murder her husband, she says “He’s not happy. He’ll be better off-dead.” (pg.23) She also states that she does not love him and acts duplicitous on page 23 were she states “Please Walter, don’t let me do this. We can’t. It’s simply-insane.” In reality she’s hoping that Mr. Huff would help her double-cross her husband by seducing Mr. Huff in her web of innocence,  which is only a façade that Mr. Huff sees right away. However he still agrees to help her because as stated on page 30 “When I met Phyllis I met my plant.”

In the article, Towards a Definition of Film Noir,” the authors Raymond Borde and Etienne Chaumeton state “film noir is [crime] from within; from the point of view of the criminal.” As well as in Double Indemnity the story is told by Mr. Huff the” criminal” for he murders Mr. Nirdlinger. It shows his point of view on how he came about his disastrous decision to commit murder and why. It shows that Mr. Huff and Mrs. Nirdlinger decided on a railway accident in order to collect twice the amount of a twenty-five thousand dollar policy under its double indemnity provision.  It shows his every thought, decision, and action he decides to make in order to get what he wants.

In the end Double Indemnity surely falls under the various definitions of film noir, a psychological thriller and crime drama, that is based on a anti -protagonist hero  that is lured to a life of crime because a femme fatale. With its subjects of violence, murder, adultery, and insurance fraud, Double Indemnity is and will always be classified under the film noir genre.

Blog #1, Question #3

Film Noir vs. Neo-Noir

When people refer to film noir they are referring to the classical period, between the early 1940’s to 1950’s. However films produce after that period was known as neo-noir. Film noir was born in a time the Unites States was recovering from World War II, therefore the moods and themes were different from neo-noir. Though both film noir and neo noir included love, murder, deception, and intrigue the contrast was somewhat great. Film noir dealt with crime dramas with the same plot and character types such as the detective, private eye, “heroes” that are flawed, femme fatale, affairs, false suspicion and double crosses.  Film noir was also associated with low key lighting, which includes the dramatic shadow pattering, the black and white visual, its weird angle shots and its special effects. On the other hand neo- noir film re-emerge in the 70’s and 80’s where it reflected much of the skepticism, and introduced innovations that were not available in film noir. Neo-noir shot in color, due to the progression in technology and its themes consisted of identity crises, and memory issues rather than the earlier version that included detectives and femme fatal, which are hardly present in the films now. Neo-noirs content, style, and visual elements are more explicit and different in artistic view.  While film noir audience had to build a relationship with the anti- heroes, neo-noir reversed it , so that you wouldn’t feel as if you were taking part in the movie. Though many elements  are similar, film noir and neo-noir are seen and created from an entirely different perspective due to the fact that they were entirely from different eras.