The Final Debate: Exploring Neo-Noir as a Genre

Gillian Hughes

Noir Film & Novel

December 3, 2017

The Final Debate: Exploring Neo-Noir as a Genre

Ah, the never-ending debate concerning noir continues. The 16-year time gap between what is recognized as the last film noir (The Killing, 1956) and the first neo-noir (Chinatown, 1974), left time for major technological advances, as well as pivotal changes in society. The America of Roman Polanski, the director of Chinatown, was vastly different from that of Stanley Kubrick, the director of The Killing. Whereas Kubrick was likely responding to questions of identity and trust brought about by the Cold War, Polanski was exploring questions of humanity brought about by the Civil Rights movement and the Watergate Scandal. Due to these different societal backdrops, the films of the postmodern era were very different than those of classic noir, and therefore neo-noir is a distinct form that merits the addition of ‘neo.’  

Aside from the glaring time gap between film noir and neo-noir, the most obvious difference between the two is the fact that directors of neo-noir films were aware of the existence of a ‘noir’ genre. As Todd Erickson, a film critic, notes, “Film noir, at its inception was an innocent, unconscious cinematic reaction to the popular culture of its time. The contemporary film noir is self-conscious, and well aware of its heritage. As Stephen Schiff wrote in reference to film noir in his article entitled The Repeatable Experience, ‘It’s a matter of ontology. When a being is aware of itself, it becomes a different being’ (Erickson 323).” This awareness, as the quote lays out, inevitably causes the more recent films to be separate from the originals. Knowing the fundamentals of film noir, neo-noir directors intentionally included elements like femme fatales and dim lighting in their films, and this intentionality changed the essence of the films themselves. For example, Chinatown begins in much the same manner as The Maltese Falcon: a woman walks in, acts helpless, and begs the hard-boiled detective type to take pity on her, and help her with her problem. However, because we recognize this imitation of a classic scene, the entire dynamic is changed. Because of the audience’s prior knowledge, we know that the woman is likely untrustworthy, and are less surprised when we learn later in the movie that the first woman was a poser. Interestingly, this concept of ontology can be connected to the philosophies of the existentialists who arguably inspired classic noir. Martin Heidegger, in particular, focused on the importance of self- awareness, and ‘being-in-the-world’ (Bakewell 65). This shows how, despite the fact that classic and neo-noir are distinct from one another, they are also impossibly intertwined.

Despite these obvious differences, the most shocking difference to me between classic and neo noirs is the striking increase of on-screen violence in the modern films. When I first watched these movies, I wondered why this was the case with neo-noirs: why are the newer films even darker and more sadistic than the originals? Interestingly, this increase in violence was brought about by the demise of the Motion Picture Production Code, informally known as the Hays Code. A collaboration among major Hollywood studios, the Hays Code was a collection of rules censoring the material that could be included in major motion pictures. It was created in response to growing concerns from the American public that films were getting out of control, and that such an influential entertainment medium needed to be reined in. An excerpt from the original Hays Code shows Hollywood’s realization of the impact films could have on the public: “the motion picture within its own field of entertainment may be directly responsible for spiritual or moral progress, for higher types of social life, and for much correct thinking (The Motion Picture Production Code).” It had high intentions, but, ultimately, societal changes led to the end of censorship in America. The Hays Code was undermined when, following WWII, the success of films in other countries could be seen- films that did not have rules limiting their content. Along with this, recent events in America’s history, including urban riots, antiwar protests, and an alienating counterculture had left Americans dissatisfied with the wholesome, veiled nature of American films. They wanted films that did not mask the harsh realities of the world. After the code was weakened, American films were flooded with more violent and explicit content, perhaps more so because such content had been outlawed for so long. Films like Taxi Driver and Pulp Fiction were produced. These films did not omit a gory detail, a scandalous difference from the implied, off-screen violence of classic noirs. This increased violence made it possible for neo-noir films to explore even darker sides of humanity than classic noir films could.

With the possibility for more explicit content came the opportunity for postmodern directors to discuss more controversial themes. When the first neo-noir films and novels were released, America was in the throes of change: women were fighting for equality, African Americans had just recently won theirs, and the silent majority was calling for a return to traditional values. Richard Nixon had just shocked the American Public with his involvement in the Watergate scandal, causing a widespread distrust of the federal government. In response to these movements and events, directors like Polanski explored the corruption of society as a whole, and authors like Walter Mosley investigated questions of race and equality. Themes like these satisfied American’s cravings for more realistic films, cravings that could never have been satisfied with classic noir’s exploration of tamer, family friendly subjects like the “American Dream.”

The shift from a focus on the corruption of the individual, as was common in classic noir, to the corruption of society as a whole, which was triggered by the Watergate scandal, caused a fundamental change in noir.  Whereas in archetypes like The Maltese Falcon and Laura, individuals like Joel Cairo, Gutman and Waldo Lydecker were blamed for the crimes that took place during the movies, and the solution was always simple: either imprison the bad guys or kill them; in neo-noir things were not so clear-cut. In focusing on the corruption of society as a whole, solutions became much murkier and more difficult. When the entire government is corrupted, what is the solution? Often, the solution was that there was not one. Chinatown has one of the bleakest endings of any noir I have seen. After revealing to the audience that the most powerful, high up government officials in the film were also the ones involved with the lowest of crimes, the ending left all of these horrible men untouched, and instead concluded with the murder of one of the most innocent, victimized characters in the film. Such a shocking ending reflected the feelings of Americans at the time: distrustful of the government, and ready for change.

To go along with more complex themes, neo-noir directors and authors also employed the use of better developed characters. While traditional characters were static throughout, and little information was given about their lives before the present moment in the story, neo characters tend to be dynamic, and readers and viewers are allowed a glimpse into the character’s past. For example, in Mosley’s Devil in a Blue Dress, the main character Easy goes through a transformation. In the beginning of the novel, Easy has just been fired, has no detective skills, and is dissatisfied with his overall life. By the end of the novel, he has started his own business as a private eye and has accomplished his own version of ‘The American Dream.’ This transformation allows readers to connect with Easy, something that had not been possible in classic noirs. In a very recent neo-noir, we see the transformation of Amy in Gone Girl. When the femme fatale of the story is first introduced to us, it is in the form of diary entries. She is a likeable character, slightly naïve but relatable and kind. She reminds me of the innocents in film noirs like Out of the Past- harmless girls that you instinctively want to protect. However, in a major plot twist the character of Amy completely transforms when the reader finds out Amy has been lying to us this entire time: the diary entries were carefully constructed by Amy to trick the reader and the police in the story. Suddenly a sweet, innocent character is transformed into a crazy, intelligent woman who is willing to kill herself just so that her husband would suffer. We are also given some of her backstory. We learn bits and pieces about her childhood: what her parents were like, where she went to school, and the ‘Amazing Amy’ that she is expected to live up to. All these insights into her character allow the reader to understand her better, and add to the complex, multi-faceted nature of neo-noir that is so different from the flat, black and white makeup of classic noirs.

            After building my knowledge base on neo-noir films and novels, I have come to the conclusion that this reincarnation of the noir genre is not only different but vastly improved. Contrary to some critic’s claims, like Fredric Jameson,  who asserts “It seems to me exceedingly symptomatic to find the very style of nostalgia films invading and colonizing even those movies today which have contemporary settings: as though, for some reason, we were unable today to focus our own present, as though we have become incapable of achieving aesthetic representations of our own current experience… an alarming and pathological symptom of a society that has become incapable of dealing with time and history, (Jameson 28)” neo-noir does not simply mimic the styles of classic noirs. Instead, it uses these classic ideas as a foundation, and builds upon them, adding more complex themes that are better explored than in older noir films and novels. Jameson is incorrect in stating that modern films are “incapable of dealing with time.” On the contrary, in every neo-noir film I have watched, complex, current themes have been explored. In neo-noir predecessors, bland concepts like the American Dream and the most basic sense of right and wrong were commonly critiqued. In neo-noir, more complex and controversial topics are explored, like racism and sexual perversity, and an element of grey was introduced into the idea of right and wrong. In the first noirs, the corruption of the individual was focused on- specific people were to blame for the bad that happened. However, in neo-noirs, the corruption of society as a whole is brought to light. The societal changes that triggered the revival of the noir genre also pushed it to become better, and despite critics who claim neo-noir works are bland, pastiche imitations of the originals, I would argue that they are insightful, imaginative creations that, while maintaining some of the elements of classic noir, are their own category entirely.

Works Cited

Bakewell, Sarah. At the Existentialist Café: Freedom, Being and Apricot Cocktails. Chatto & Windus, 2016.

Erickson, Todd. “Kill Me Again: Movement Becomes Genre.” Film Noir Reader, pp. 307–329.

Jameson, Fredric. “Postmodernism and Consumer Society.” Postmodern Debates, PALGRAVE, 2001, pp. 22–36.

“The Hays Code .” TV Tropes, tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode?from=Main.HaysCode.

“The Motion Picture Production Code of 1930 (Hays Code).” ArtsReformation.com - Reformation of the Arts and Music, www.artsreformation.com/a001/hays-code.html.

“The 1970s.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2010, www.history.com/topics/1970s.