| Summary: | In cinematic circles, much has been made of the film noir genre. While
debates continue to circulate about what exactly film noir is and how films can
be seen to fit this model, contemporary examples of the film noir produced in
the last ten years have begun to exhibit an exciting and inventive postmodern
tendency: a non-linear narrative structure. Narratives are scrambles, run
backwards, replay a significant moment several times or are a blend of two or
more of these innovative narrative tropes. I will be looking exclusively at these
films and have termed them post/neo/noirs. Thus, those films that feature an
intersection between the film noir, the postmodern and feature an
unconventional and non-linear narrative structure will form the basis for this
study.
I will first present a brief summary of the existing scholarship dedicated
to film noir as well as my own original template of essential film noir
characteristics. Next, a framework outlining the fundamental and recurring
characteristics of postmodern theory will be established, as this will be the
major theoretical structure used to dissect and analyze the films within this
thesis. Chapters l-IV will act to show the distinct types of post/neo/noirs,
provide a close analysis of ten recent films, and show how certain films and
sub-categories of the post/neo/noir emerge as more successful and important
cultural texts.
The argumentation and subsequent conclusions of this thesis will be
threefold:
a) The post/neo/noir sub-genre is fundamentally postmodern and
produces transnational texts that embrace these concerns.
b) Only those post/neo/noirs that fully incorporate both postmodern
filmmaking impulses and a deft merging of film form and content are
effective at producing a significant commentary.
c) Not only is film noir a stable genre category, it can be seen as a
dominant one, as films that fit the film noir framework can be
considered film noir regardless of what other genres they might
seem to otherwise belong to.
d) The post/neo/noir has the potential to offer a vital, profound and
complex social criticism and is designed for consumption and
interpretation by a sophisticated postmodern audience. === Arts, Faculty of === Theatre and Film, Department of === Graduate
|
|---|
