The Nature of The Film Noir

I used to believe a “Film Noir” was classified as either “weird”, independent or even B-list movies. After our analysis of Mulholland Drive and Pulp Fiction, it reminded me of other films I liked that don’t get heard about or praised often. I now have a different perspective. Not all films have to be independent to be considered a film noir. It is likely a film noir can be accepted and made easier if independent but that is not the way to define it. A film noir usually conducts itself in the style of a “modern” story and is also at times awkward and unusual. They are even described that way by people. I didn’t know that it had more to do with the point or theme of the movie. I knew it was surrounded with narrative periphery, but also realized it has a lot to do with the drama and crime involved in the stories. Considering this theme, there is a big involvement of sin in the stories to produce this effect. In a film noir, at times we see its sexual implications and awkward violent moments (ex: Sin City, Fargo). Strangely enough we also see hysterical moments in the form of satire to keep the film “different”. They have been around for over 60 years and seem to be recognizable by the Academy at high-profile award shows but I’ve always wondered: why aren’t they that popular? They’re still followed by a “cult” style fan base. Aren’t they so much cooler anyway? I admit films like The Dark Night and Fight Club were big hits but I could not also forget the lesser known films like The Big Lebowski and Reservoir Dogs that both (quietly) became ways of life rather than just being films. After I watched Lynch’s work in Mulholland Drive I acknowledged the fact that the intentions of the directors are to bring some creativity and something “dark” you might not have seen before. This might be why the films have “cooler concepts”. I do think films can produce the same amount of popularity and success as any other Hollywood blockbuster but it doesn’t appeal as easily .Even if a film is classified a drama, it has glimpses of sinful intentions like highly explicit sex, graphic violence and unusual satire through peripheral characters and objects. This might be the reason why it doesn’t get accepted as easily because it’s not as if these morals are easy to watch. Although instead of being your “classic” type of story it is appealing because it is a lot more realistic and “cool”. I’ve decided that a film noir might not be as praised as a Hollywood classic but we can find some of the most interesting and guilty-pleasurable concepts in a film noir.

the big lebowski (trailer) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHuyjYJCCOA
reservoir dogs (trailer) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-C5MEv7eXRw
fargo (trailer) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EB4PmbfG4bw
lost highway (trailer) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMWMCbQxEsE
fight club (trailer) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xD8kWrd1aBE