White Collar in a Noir World

Emma Bailey

Professor Sinowitz

HONR 101C

3 December 2017

White Collar in a Noir World

         Noir, most easily defined as “black” or “dark” as translated from its French roots is involved in much of our popular culture. From movies like The Maltese Falcon and Pulp Fiction to novels such as Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl, noir is a genre with a deep history and many elements. Throughout the semester, we have added many examples of noir into our repertoire; as we have come to an end, I have reached a conclusion on how we should spend our last week. The television show White Collar is the perfect addition to the neo-noir family.  Foster Hirsch states that neo-noirs of 1980s and 1990s “resonate with themes of the classic noir” and this can be said for the neo-noirs created in the 21^st century (Hirsch 20). While White Collar may not have the hard core, black and white feel as the classic noirs, it certainly contains several of the same characteristics and explores similar themes to its classical predecessors.  Additionally, to reestablishing some of the traditional noir themes, White Collar does what noirs do best; it creates a “vivid co-mingling of lost innocence, doomed romanticism, hard-edged cynicism, desperate desire, and shadowy sexuality” (“What Is Noir?”). This is not to say that White Collar is an extremely dark television show, but rather that it explores and perpetuates these areas. Because White Collar is a lengthy series, I have decided to recommend season 5 and the first episode of season 6 for our class to watch. While the whole series is a neo-noir, I believe these episodes best exemplify the noir in this show.

So, what exactly is noir?

We spent much of our class time discussing what exactly noir is. Even after a whole project specifically on this topic, there is still much disagreement about noir as a genre versus noir as a general feeling. Earlier in the semester, I argued that noir is a genre based on Wittgenstein’s ideology of genre as a family, found in MH Abram’s “Glossary of Literary Terms,” and I contend that Wittgenstein’s theory has held true for all of the semester. Wittgenstein’s theory, which states “there are no essential defining features, but only a set of family resemblances,” allows for there to be an amalgamation of some noir elements, without requiring all of them (Abrams). Using this definition of genre as it pertains to noir, I can confidently say that we should incorporate the popular television series White Collar into our noir curriculum.

         Throughout the semester, our class recognized key themes central to the novels and films we engaged with in class. On the most basic level, and with a nod to Roger Ebert’s “A Guide to Film Noir Genre,” we noted that often times noirs had elements of drinking, smoking, trench coats, and fedoras. A step up from this, our class recognized that a femme fatale was present in almost every noir we explored, and it could be argued that every noir had a femme fatale of sorts. For a plot, we stated that noir consisted of either a general criminal theme or had a hard-boiled detective attempting to solve a puzzle. With this in mind, we also noted that noirs generally have a sense of impending doom. Noirs follow desire-fueled, disgruntled detectives who attempt to find and create their own justice all while wearing their fedora and perpetuating their cigarette habit.  Essentially, noir “at no time misleads you into thinking there is going to be a happy ending” (Ebert).

White Collar Synopsis

White Collar is a television show that aired from 2009 to 2014 and starred Matt Bomer and Tim DeKay. Bomer played Neal Caffrey, a charming ex-conman with a penchant for solving crimes in an unconventional way. A foil to Bomer’s character, DeKay was cast as a hard-working FBI agent named Peter Burke. Caffrey and Burke worked alongside each other throughout the 6 seasons, solving various white-collar crimes. It was not all work and no play; Caffrey’s charm and good looks attracted many gorgeous young women, and these young women often manipulated him to make him act a certain way.

During the episodes in season 5 and the first episode in season 6, Caffrey meets a young woman named Rebecca who is introduced to us as sweet, nerdy museum curator. As they get more involved, Rebecca becomes intertwined in Caffrey’s career by taking interest in the cases he is working on for the FBI. It is also during these episodes that career criminal Curtis Hagan begins pulling the strings in Caffrey’s life. Because Hagan has information with which he can incriminate Caffrey, Hagan blackmails Caffrey into solving the puzzle of the Codex – which supposedly leads to treasure. Along the way, Caffrey relies on his criminal sidekick Mozzie to help him accomplish various tasks. Finally, Caffrey operates outside of the FBI for much of this season because his handler Peter Burke is wrongly incriminated. This diminishes Caffrey’s faith in the system and develops much cynicism about the FBI.

A noir on a basic level

         Following the scenery of a traditional noir, White Collar is set in the busy New York City. Just as Ebert suggests, “locations that reek of the night, of shadows, of alleys, of the back doors of fancy places, of apartment buildings with a high turnover rate, of taxi drivers and bartenders who have seen it all” make up the set of White Collar (Ebert). Caffrey, who lives for the extravagant, enjoys an apartment in the home of the widow of a famous ex-con and friend of Caffrey. But outside of this, he often looks for criminals in sketchy back areas. For example, in episode 5 in season 5, Neal follows the supposed son of a wealthy art collector through back alleys to prove that he is not the rightful heir to the family fortune. To do this, Neal ends up outside of a run-down veterinary clinic in which a fake vile of blood was placed in the arm of the fraudulent son. Sneaking through alleys and into fancy buildings is a regular activity of Neal’s throughout the series.

Like anyone who regularly sneaks through alleys and into fancy buildings, Neal Caffrey could have walked straight from the set of a classic noir. He puts the finishing touch on his well-tailored suit by always wearing a fedora; he may even add a trench coat given the weather. Roger Ebert, concerned with the visuals of noir, wrote that “For men: fedoras, suits and ties…” (Ebert). Essentially, Caffrey wears the attire of the typical noir star. That’s not the only way Caffrey fits the stereotypical noir character; he and his sidekick Mozzie frequently smoke. From cigars to cigarettes, the two fill their lungs with smoke while solving crimes. To top it off, Caffrey exchanges the bourbon for wine and enjoys a glass almost every night.

Noir – In Depth

         Neal Caffrey is not the traditional detective; given his criminal past he often solves crimes using unconventional methods. He is disillusioned to the American Dream because if he is solving crimes, he is not free; he must work for the FBI or spend his time in jail. Additionally, he is cynical that the FBI is truly after justice. In season 5, agent Peter Burke writes the FBI on behalf of Neal’s release.  Unfortunately, the FBI denies his release because Neal is so valuable to the agency. Due to this, Neal, like most noir detectives, harbors resentment for traditional law enforcement. While his distrust manifests in many ways, most frequently he withholds information from the FBI. Given his good looks and charm, it is not unusual for Caffrey to find out information that the FBI cannot obtain by coercion; because he often gains this information while working alone, he keeps some of his findings secret. In addition to gaining insight on cases, Caffrey’s appearance also leads him to have many attractive women pining for his heart.

While several women in White Collar could fit the femme fatale role, Rebecca in season 5 tops the list. Nerdy and shy when we first meet her, Rebecca awkwardly flirts with Neal while he attempts to solve a crime in the museum. They begin to form a relationship built around solving the puzzle of the Codex – an ancient book that promises to solve a puzzle of treasure. Rebecca is able to convince Neal to tell her things about his plans by using her beauty and allure. Due to her intelligence and interest in the museum artifacts, Rebecca becomes way more involved in the finding of the Codex than any of Neal’s other girlfriends got involved with his career. It is only after the revealing of her true identity that Neal becomes wary of who she truly is. While on a murder case, Peter Burke finds a clue that leads him and his team to a sketchy apartment; in the apartment they find photos of Caffrey, Burke, and their friends, a variety of disguises, and discover that the apartment belongs to Rebecca. After this, Caffrey attempts to get a confession out of her pertaining to her true identity. Eventually, it comes to light that Rebecca is truly Rachel and a former agent for MI5. Rachel was successfully able to manipulate Neal Caffrey throughout their entire relationship; and episode 1 of season 6 ends with Caffrey changing the pace and tricking her. She is caught between surrendering and escaping with no money. Instead of taking either of these options she steals an FBI agent’s gun and is immediately shot by a second agent. By using her sexuality to manipulate Neal, being a danger to both herself and others, and hiding her true identity, Rebecca/Rachel is a true femme fatale and a staple of noir.

The Naysayers

Not all critics felt like White Collar had the same daunting feeling as I did. Kenny Herzog, critic for AV/TV Club, wrote that season 5 “was all like something out of a silent movie, and one of those White Collar moments where you imagine the cast and crew are sharing equal childlike joy over their shenanigans” (Herzog). Agreeing with Herzog, writer for TV guide, Matt Roush calls White Collar an “eye-candy caper” (Roush). Both critics agree that White Collar is a great show and worth watching, however they both describe the show using cheerful words. While Herzog and Roush argue that White Collar can be categorized in a more light hearted way, I contend that the show has dark overtones. Like many of the noirs we engaged with in class – there are moments of comedy in the show; however, the show deals with the heavy topics of blackmail, betrayal, and death.

White Collar, the noir

With smoking and drinking, fedoras, femme fatales, and an unconventional detective, White Collar is the perfect candidate for the last noir to explore. While it may not contain all of the elements we have established as noir, it contains a good majority of them. Using Wittgenstein’s genre as family, it is clear that White Collar fits into the same category as neo-noirs, which look to reinvent and recreate the elements of traditional noirs. Now, I’m not crazy; I understand that watching 14 episodes hour-long episodes of White Collar is more than a week’s worth of material. To combat this, I suggest watching an episode a week, and devoting part of Thursday’s class time to dissecting the character. Unlike two-hour long movies, watching this show over the span of the semester will allow the class to engage with the characters on a more in depth basis. By spreading out the assignment, students will increase understanding of characters and general noir plots. For the extra week of class time, I propose the class discusses White Collar in its entirety; through plot twists and evolving characters, there is plenty to talk about. What is unique about watching a season of a series is that there is far more character development and action than a film or novel can provide. It is evident that White Collar is a noir, but more than that, it is a noir worth discussing every week. It is worth the time to analyze the characters and their motives and the plot, because it ultimately strengthens the understanding of noir.

Works Cited

Abrams, M.H. A Glossary of Literary Terms. Woodsworth Press, 2012.

Ebert, Roger. "A Guide to Film Noir Genre." (1995): n. pag. Web.

Herzog, Kenny. “White Collar: 'At What Price'.” AV TV Club, AV/TV Club, 17 Oct. 2013

Hirsch, Foster. “Mapping the Route.” Detours and Lost Highways: A Map of Neo-Noir, Limelight Editions, 1999.

Roush, Matt. “The Thursday Playlist: Reign, White Collar Join a Crowded Night.” TVGuide.com, TV Guide, 17 Oct. 2013

“What Is Noir?” What Is Film Noir?, Film Noir Foundation