FILM NOIR

HISTORY

Film Noir is a film genre in the 1940’s which was most commonly used in American films including gangs and/or spies. It uses techniques such as low key lighting to give the audience a feeling of unease and menace.

Film Noir is a stark contrast to other Hollywood movies at this time which were often filled with positive outlooks of life. Film Noir on the other hand is considered to be more rough and ominous.

THEMES OF FILM NOIR

While many film genres were more optimistic at the time, Film Noir was known for having much more strong and emotive themes in their movies for example:

Corruption Greed Sex Murder Justice Death Jealousy Lust

MISE EN SCENE: LIGHTING

This genre often uses low key lighting to create a sense of mystery and unease. The lighting is often used to connote certain characters as being either good or bad. For example, the hero/ heroin of a movie would be shown in brighter light meanwhile the villain’s face would be shaded and in the dark.

Another method used to make the audience of Film Noir movies feel unease is the use of high contrasting images. For example, a scene would contain bright white shots as well as deep black however contain little grey.

Film Noir frequently use venetian blinds in shots as they naturally produce a contrast in black and white as can be seen in the shots below.

MISE EN SCENE: FACIAL EXPRESSIONS To match the common themes in

Film Noire, characters in this genre tend to have very stern faces which show either little emotion or a mix between deep thought and frustration.

Film Noir uses facial expressions to indicate what may be occurring outside of the shot for example if someone witnesses a murder they may seem panicked. This gives additional information to the audience and allows them to try and predict what is about to come (which also makes them more interested to see if they correctly guessed what comes next). This can be seen in the images to the right.

MISE EN SCENE: COSTUMES Costumes in Film Noir movies are often seen

to be that of the time the films were set. They are often sharp suits for male characters while women have a more flirtatious dress.

The women(also known as “Femme Fatale” who frequently represent the love interest) wear dresses that represent sexual desire. The dresses often aim to appeal to the male hero in the movie. These characters connote seduction and lust as well as independence and strength.

The male characters in this genre are often seen wearing detective suits that can represent a sense of professionalism and power in what he does.

In both cases, costumes are used to show the audience both when the time was set and the personality/ characteristics of the characters themselves.

MISE EN SCENE: LOCATION

Mise en scene is often filmed in inner city streets or urban areas with little money that are often the street that the male character lives on. The use of small alleyways behind houses can give the audience a sense of claustrophobia adding to the discomfort they are feeling while watching Film Noir movies.

This genre also use dark alleyways to their advantage as they can more easily create strong contrasts in light with street lights only illuminating a partial area of the street while other parts of the street are pitch black. This also adds a sense of mystery and suspense as there is little way of knowing whether or not someone is lurking in the shadows. This can be seen in the image on the right.

FILM NOIR CHARACTERS

Vladimir Propp suggests that all movies have a structures character type no matter the genre. He believes there is a hero and villain who are both essential in the progress of the story line however there is also a heroin who needs to be saved by the hero from the villain.

However, this theory does not necessarily apply to Film Noir which almost breaks the gender stereotypes where the females must be rescued by the males. In fact, in some film noir movies, the females are the villains or seem independent and equal to the male hero.

FILM NOIR CHARACTERS Femme fatale: Femme fatales ,which is French

for ‘fatal woman’, are often found in Film Noir movies as the love interest for the male hero.

They are seen as being mystical and seductive. The love that the male hero has for this woman often results in him being caught in dangerous situations.

In many cases the femme fatale is actually villainous and in opposition to the male hero however uses his lust for her as a tool to manipulate him.

Male hero/protagonist: The male lead character could have a

number of occupations such as a detective, spy, gang member or mobster.

They are often seen having to make “morally ambiguous” decisions (meaning the moral decision to take is unclear to the character)

They are often seen as being obsessive, cynical and very serious.

These characters (as well as female characters) are often seen smoking or drinking alcohol which could be because that was a common character trait for people in the late 1940’s

SOUND

What has been made quite obvious in previous slides is that an aim for the Film Noir genre is to create tension and uncomfortable situations for the audience to view. It can easily do this with sound.

The non-diegetic sound (sound not heard by the characters in the scene) tends to be slow and dark jazz music which is a technique primarily to educate the audience as to when the film is set. This is because jazz music became quite large in areas of America where these films are set.

The diegetic sound however (sound that is present in the scene), is often very quiet and subtle depending on the scene. For example, if the scene involves someone hiding then the audience would hear very tense and heavy breathing or when there is a confrontation between the hero and villain

CAMERA ANGLES/ POSITIONING OF CHARACTERS IN SHOT (1) Camera angles in the shot can add

lots of extra information to the shot which may not be necessarily clear to the audience.

Camera angles can place characters in the front of a shot while also exposing the background. This at first sight can show the location of the character however is can also show what is on his/ her mind. For example, if a man is in the foreground and a woman in the back it could represent the fact that she is on his mind. This can be seen to the right.

Film noir use shots that are at unusual angles in relation to what is in shot. For example, a shot of a door frame may be squinted and not parallel to the shot of the camera. This can be seen in the top image to the right.

In addition to this, this genre uses a lot of high and low angle shots which further can reinforce the relationships between characters in terms of superiority and inferiority (this can be seen in the images to the bottom right). This and the point above both create more discomfort for the audience members making them feel uneasy while watching the film

CAMERA ANGLES/ POSITIONING OF CHARACTERS IN SHOT (2)

AUDIENCE

Many critics have argued on the target audience for Film Noir movies. Many would argue that it would be for a younger audience as that will allow them to have a look at what American life would have been like back in the 1940’s.

However, it is also argued that the film genre is for an older audience of about 30+. This is because of the more adult mature themes that accompany the genre which would be both disturbing and uninteresting to younger age groups. For example, teenagers may not be entertained by watching movies with themes mentioned in slide 3 such as corruption and justice.

In addition to this, the target audience is a more masculine audience. This is because the cast of Film Noir movies are quite androcentric (male focused) along with few women who act as femme fatales who are objectified by the men. This all suggests that Film Noir movies are not aimed at females and the creation of them was not necessarily considered to be made for women.