Out of the Past: Neo-noir as a More Complex Genre Than its Predecessor

Out of the Past: Neo-noir as a More Complex Genre Than its Predecessor

When I first cracked the spine of Devil in a Blue Dress, on the car ride home through beautiful, harvest season Indiana, already exasperated by my siblings bickering and my mother’s endless stories, I was expecting yet another cookie-cutter hard-boiled novel. I anticipated a witty, cynical private eye, enlisted to solve a crime, somehow mixed up with a beautiful yet dangerous woman, and all this overshadowed by a sense of impending doom. However, from the very first sentence I knew this would not be like previous noirs. Told from the perspective of an African American man, this is the first and most obvious difference between this and other noir novels. Despite this difference, at first glance Devil in a Blue Dress may simply appear to be an offshoot of the popular noir genre, with just this slight variation to set it apart. It has the typical femme fatale character, a number of seedy establishments, and a man hired to find the girl. Yet, on closer inspection, it is revealed that, in fact, this novel manages to critique American society in a completely original way, and adds much depth and diversity to the genre.

Renowned literary critic Fredric Jameson claims that neo-noir films and novels “see the present as (past) history; the classical nostalgia film, while evading its present altogether, registered its historicist deficiency by losing itself in mesmerized fascination in lavish images of specific generational pasts,” (Jameson).” This is a complex quote that I did not comprehend when I read it for the first time. However, after reading it several times, I grasped that Jameson is contending that neo-noir films completely avoid the problems of their modern times, and focus entirely on a nostalgic view of the past, a view derived from the original noir films. I would argue that, on the contrary, newer films and novels like Devil in a Blue Dress confront modern problems head-on by analyzing them through the veil of the past. Devil in a Blue Dress may be set in the Los Angeles of The Maltese Falcon and The Big Sleep, but it analyzes problems prevalent in L.A. post World War II, which was the present when this novel was written. Devil in a Blue Dress is not merely a pastiche- a novel that copies the motifs and styles of previous noirs- it is an original novel that, though containing some of the elements associated with classic noir, can stand on its own as a distinct work.

From the start, the social critique of racism is a prevalent theme in the novel. This is an element that sets Devil in a Blue Dress apart from classic noirs. As Digby Diehl, a writer for the Los Angeles Times, notes, "Devil in a Blue Dress honors the hard-boiled tradition of Hammett/Chandler/Cain in its storyline and attitude, but Mosley takes us down some mean streets that his spiritual predecessors never could have because they were white. The insightful scenes of black life in 1948 provide a sort of social history that doesn't exist in other detective fiction, and they lend an ambiance that heightens this story of crime and violence” (LA Times). However, Devil in a Blue Dress doesn’t merely have an African American as the main character and adhere to the noir genre in every other way. Instead, the novel delves deeper into societal corruption and the dark side of human nature than any novel has previously done.

Reading a novel written from an African American’s perspective not only set it apart from other noirs, it also gave me insight into a worldview completely foreign to me. As a Caucasian female growing up in the 21^st century, I have not experienced many of the hardships that Easy withstands. Although I have read about them in history textbooks and learned about them in class, vicariously experiencing the injustice of 1940s America has given me an enhanced empathy for minority figures. One specific scene that helped me to truly appreciate the trials people like Easy faced occurred when Easy was waiting for Mr. Albright, and was approached by a young white girl. He politely responded to questions she directed at him, but nothing more. When the girl’s white, male friends notice the two talking, they intend to attack Easy. The injustice of this situation- the idea that no matter what Easy did, the situation would have ended poorly- truly helped me to empathize with him, and made me very frustrated with 1940s America. Walter Mosley’s depiction of the trials Easy must face throughout day-to-day occurrences allowed me to live life through a different lens, and by so doing gave me an added appreciation for people who come from different backgrounds than me.

Another interesting element I noted was the fact that, unlike classic noirs, which tended to critique the American dream of settling down with a wife and a nice house, this entire novel is built around Easy simply trying to pay his mortgage. All he wants in life is to own a house and tend his garden. This is yet another element that points to changing societal views and an evolving genre. Rather than scorning the conventional path, Devil in a Blue Dress explores the route to suburbia. Yet in a way this is a social critique; as Mouse says, “That’s just like you, Easy. You learn stuff and you be thinkin’ like white men be thinkin’. You be thinkin’ that what’s right fo’ them is right fo’ you… But brother you don’t know that you both poor niggers. And a nigger aint never gonna be happy ‘less he accept what he is. (Mosley 253).” Essentially, Mosley has found another way to analyze and critique the racism prevalent in society when he was writing the book: by showing Easy striving to own a home of his own, Mosley is showing that perhaps the so-called “American Dream,” is more aptly named the “White Man’s Dream.”

I couldn’t help but notice as I became more engrossed in the story that part of my emotional investment in the outcome was because of my attachment to the protagonist himself. In previous noirs, such a strong attachment has not been possible. However, in this novel, Mosley deliberately develops Easy Rawlin’s character, in a much more thorough manner than previous authors of hard-boiled fiction have done. In classic noir novels, the hard-boiled detective has been a static character- at the beginning of the novels, he is an experienced, tough, witty, resourceful bloke, and this remains unchanged throughout the novel. This is seen in Dashiel Hammett’s Sam Spade and Raymond Chandler’s Phillip Marlowe. However, in Devil in a Blue Dress, Easy is first introduced to us as a man down on his luck, who just wants to pay his mortgage. By making Easy a more relatable character, the reader is more likely to sympathize and wish for the best outcome for him. Instead of reading about a cynical man already well-versed in the crime circles he frequents, and who is easily able to deal with policemen and criminals alike, we get to learn alongside Easy as he matures from a 9 to 5 working man to someone entirely capable of competing with the classic detectives, and by doing so feel closer to his character. This creates an interesting dynamic not previously seen in noirs. By making Easy a dynamic character we are able to vicariously experience the path to becoming a detective, something I know I dreamed about in my childhood, and I’m sure many others did as well- what child didn’t want to be a detective?

Easy wasn’t the only character better developed than in most hard-boiled novels. The femme fatale, Daphne Monet, is also more complex than I have come to expect. Mosley constructs a backstory for Daphne that brings depth and understanding for her personality while simultaneously allowing Monet to explore the dark theme of sexual perversity. This is another, more complex social criticism present in Devil in a Blue Dress that cannot be found in classic noirs. This theme appears multiple times throughout the novel, with Matthew Teran’s young sex slave, and Daphne Monet’s rape by her father. Both instances show the extreme evil humans are capable of, and exemplify the corruption of society as a whole. The fact that influential public figures like Matthew Teran are involved in the immoral realms of pedophilia tells us that no part of the society Easy lives in is free from corruption. This criticism of such dark, controversial issues shows that Jameson was wrong to claim that neo-noirs like Devil in a Blue Dress are merely pastiche.

As I moved through the book, I could see how this novel was moving away from the mold of previous hard-boiled detective novels, and toward a more profound analysis of society and existence. Devil in a Blue Dress is the first to step away from the traditional noir category, and is followed by even more radical novels like Citizen Vince and Gone Girl. Neo-noir moves past simply critiquing concepts like the American Dream, and into more controversial realms such as racism and sexual perversity. Rather than the bland, pastiche imitations Jameson claims these novels and films to be, readers of Devil in a Blue Dress and similar novels can appreciate them for what they really are: profound, original works that critique modern society with a polite nod to the past.

Works Cited

Diehl, Digby. “A Stiff Shot of Black and White.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 29 July 1990, www.latimes.com/newsletters/topofthetimes/la-bk-devil-in-a-blue-dress-review-story.html.

Jameson, Fredric. Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism. Duke University Press, 1991.

Mosley, Walter. Devil in a blue dress. Washington Square Press, 1990.